The Best Features from Aesthetica 2011 – In Pictures

This year the arts have been subject to a double squeeze – big falls in business contributions to the arts coupled with the much documented cuts to funding from the public sector.

Dislocated Flesh, Julien Ottavi; Jenny Pickett, Tenderpixel Gallery, London

Dislocated Flesh features the work of Julien Ottavi and Jenny Pickett. This new body of work stems from their long term collaboration exploring perception, memory and architecture.

Stretching the Physical Limitations of Art, Mark Handforth: Rolling Stop, MOCA, North Miami

Mark Handforth’s (b. 1969) Rolling Stop opened at the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami, for Art Basel Miami Beach. Curated by MOCA Executive Director Bonnie Clearwater.

The Language of Television, Dara Birnbaum, South London Gallery

The main room of South London Gallery is entirely taken up by Birnbaum’s Arabesque. Before even entering the room, the flowing piano of Robert Schumann’s composition Arabesque Opus 18 reaches out to draw one into the space.

Paloma Varga Weisz, Spirits of my Flesh, Chapter Gallery

Taking its place in Chapter’s 2011 roll call directly after Resident, WITH Collective’s über-conceptual Autumn show, Paloma Varga Weisz’s solo outing at the Cardiff gallery is a difficult one to approach.

A Peep Through The Looking Glass, Alice in Wonderland, Tate Liverpool

Since their original publication in 1865, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass have had an unprecedented influence on the visual arts.

Things Which Come Together; Then Fall Apart, Martin Boyce Wins The Turner Prize 2011

When Mario Testino announced Glasgow-based Martin Boyce as the winner of this year’s Turner Prize at the Baltic last Monday night, he accepted the award with modesty to the point of bashfulness.

40:40 – Forty Objects For Forty Years, Craft Council Online Exhibition Launches

The Craft Council celebrates 40 years of the Crafts Council Collection with a major online show 40:40 – forty objects for forty years that launches today.

Two New Collections From Aesthetica, Artists & Writers

At Aesthetica we encourage creativity and innovation, fostering artists and writers through the Aesthetica Creative Works Competition. This year’s competition saw a fantastic response.

Christophe Von Hohenberg, The Day The Factory Died, Coldharbour London Gallery

This December Coldharbour London Gallery will be exhibiting The Day The Factory Died, a collection of never-before published photos by acclaimed fashion photographer Christophe Von Hohenberg.

Photography Vs. Photography

This year’s August/September issue featured the work of Lara Jade, a fashion, portraiture and commercial photographer who has worked with brands such as Sony and magazines such as Elle.

In The Presence, Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2011, ICA, London

The Bloomberg New Contemporaries has long presented art lovers with an annual snapshot of emerging talent from the next generation of artists in the UK. The first exhibition was held in 1949.

Don’t Miss This, Sarah Baker, Le Fan Fan, CARTER Presents

In her explorations of representation and social status, Sarah Baker often disseminates her artwork unconventionally to heighten the tension between fabrication and authenticity.

Who Should Win the Turner Prize?

The Turner Prize will be awarded at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art later this evening, during a live broadcast on Channel 4, to an artist under 50, born, living or working in Britain.

Artistic Responses to the Icelandic Ash Cloud 2010, Under That Cloud, Manchester Art Gallery

The Icelandic ash cloud of 2010 brought many parts of the world to a halt, and showed international societies just how fragile our technological networks really are, despite advanced machinery.

Milagres

Brooklyn quintet Milagres’ debut album bursts into life with more than a hint of Human League style 1980s electropop in rousing opener Halfway.

ASFF 2011, Q&A with Maria de Gier, Winner of the Best Music Video Category

The Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) was a dynamic, four-day international event that took place in the City of York from the 3 – 6 November.

The Poet of Modernism, André Kertész Retrospective, The Hungarian National Museum, Budapest

Following on from the Royal Academy of Arts’ show, Eyewitness: Hungarian Photography in the 20th Century, The Hungarian National Museum celebrates the career of André Kertész.

ASFF 2011, In Pictures

From Australia, to the Netherlands, South Africa and France, crowds descended on York for the inaugural ASFF. See who came out to play for this year’s event!

The Orchestrated Spontaneity of Ryan McGinley, Wandering Comma, Alison Jacques Gallery, London

For his first London exhibition since his celebrated Moonmilk series, Ryan McGinley has assembled seven new photographs, all in the largest format the American artist has yet worked in.