Albright-Knox Art Gallery

Book AK—Lives of the Artists
Spotlight on John Currin

American artist John Currin has successfully brought portraiture and figurative painting into the contemporary art world. While inspired by the masters of the Renaissance and Rococo eras, he is also influenced by the mainstream media, advertisements in women’s magazines, fashion models, and politics. These combined inspirations often result in erotic, figurative renderings of the female form that, at times, can be slightly distorted, dark, satirical, and provocative.

Learn more about Currin and nine other leading contemporary artists by reading Lives of the Artists, the second Book AK selection. Book AK is a museum-hosted book club that provides an opportunity to explore the lives of artists and learn more about art- and museum-related topics. The Book AK discussion for Lives of the Artists will take place on Saturday, June 8, 2013, from10:15 to 11:30 am. Learn More and Register

Happy Mother’s Day to all moms and moms-to-be! 

IMAGE: John E. Costigan (American, 1888–1972). Mother and Child, 1923. Crayon on paper, 10 5/8 x 8 3/4 inches (27 x 22.2 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery. Gift of the ACG Trust, 1970. 

Show Us How You Experiment with Photography: Altered Images

Throughout the course of Looking Out and Looking In: A Selection of Contemporary Photography, we’re inviting you to share photos based on different themes in contemporary photography that are reflected in the exhibition. This week: AlteredImages.

Let John Pfahl’s altered landscape image, above, inspire you, or interpret the theme in your own way. We will periodically feature submissions on our website.

Please share your photos by posting them on Instagram or Twitter and include #akaltered and @albrightknox in your caption. (When you share an image, you are giving us permission to repost it, accompanied by your Instagram or Twitter handle.)

Image: John Pfahl’s Lower Yellowstone Falls, Wyoming from the series “Métamorphoses de la Terre,” 2010 (© 2010 John Pfahl)

Window and door restorer Dan Farrell of Lost Cities Restorations created his house model Guitar House (pictured above) entirely with window and door materials.

Farrell is one of eight collaborating tradespeople whose sculptures are incorporated into Albright-Knox Artist in Residence Dennis Maher’s House of Collective Repair, on view through May 12, 2013.

Photograph by Kathryn Hobert.

Book AK—Lives of the Artists
Spotlight on Jeff Koons

American artist Jeff Koons, a leading figure in the contemporary art world, draws inspiration for his work from objects and images from popular culture and the media. He is best known for his unique sculptures, which have featured inflatable toys and a giant puppy made out of 60,000 fresh flowers, as well as large-scale works of commonplace items, including children’s balloon animals that he enlarges, produces in stainless steel, and finishes with a bright, colorful, reflective surface. In 2008, Koons garnered worldwide attention as seventeen of his sculptures were exhibited in the chambers and on the garden grounds of the Château de Versailles, the one-time home to King Louis XIV of France.

Learn more about Koons and nine other leading contemporary artists by reading Lives of the Artists, the second Book AK selection. Book AK is a museum-hosted book club that provides an opportunity to explore the lives of artists and learn more about art- and museum-related topics. The Book AK discussion for Lives of the Artists will take place on Saturday, June 8, 2013, from10:15 to 11:30 am. Learn More and Register

2013 Future Curators Spotlight

Get to know the Albright-Knox’s 2013 Future Curators through the works in the Gallery’s Collection that inspire them. 

Stephen Matthew:
Jim Hodges’s look and see, 2005

My favorite work of art is look and see by Jim Hodges. This is a great work because it is a sculpture, but it is referred to as a painting. Jim Hodges wanted to make something monumental and he sure did! I love this work because of the shape.

This is our last 2013 Future Curators spotlight. The team’s exhibition, In: Introspection, Interaction, opens tonight at 5 pm. Learn More about the Exhibition Opening

The Future Curators program is part of AK Teens, which is presented by First Niagara.

Image © 2005 Jim Hodges

Andy Goldsworthy, a Mini-series: Ephemeral Work

Today we continue our mini-series about Andy Goldsworthy’s works, leading up to his visit and talk on May 15.

During the artist’s July 2012 visit to the Albright-Knox, when he created one of the Rain Shadows pictured in a previous post, he also created and photographed this ephemeral work on the Delaware Stairs, exemplifying the beautiful simplicity of many of his works.

Join us for a rare opportunity to hear Goldsworthy talk about his work on Wednesday, May 15, at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $10 for Members, $20 for non-members, and $15 for students and seniors. Learn More and Buy Tickets

Image © Andy Goldsworthy

Book AK—Lives of the Artists
Spotlight on James Turrell

James Turrell has long had a fascination with light. Early in his career, he was associated with the Light and Space art movement, which originated in Southern California in the 1960s. In his light tunnels and projection works, he manages to create shapes that appear to have both weight and mass, using only light. One such light installation, the Albright-Knox’s Gap from the series “Tiny Town,” 2001/2006, is a contemplative space where, through focus and stillness, the viewer can experience a plane of pure blue color.

Learn more about Turrell and nine other leading contemporary artists by reading Lives of the Artists, the second Book AK selection. Book AK is a museum-hosted book club that provides an opportunity to explore the lives of artists and learn more about art- and museum-related topics. The Book AK discussion for Lives of the Artists will take place on Saturday, June 8, 2013, from10:15 to 11:30 am. Learn More and Register

IMAGE: Gap, 2001. Copyright James Turrell. Photograph by Jim Bush.