Dr. Nour Foundation for Art and Heritage: iulie 2011

Holy icons from millions of knots

"St. Alexander Nevsky", Vladimir Denshchikov, applied art macrame, linen thread, size: 70 x 100 cm

The above icon had been created during 14 months and there are over 9 million knots in it, each knot was tied up manually. Saints' faces are made in oil on a linen canvas.

"The Mother of God of Kaluga", Vladimir Denshchikov, applied art macrame, linen thread , size: 40 x 50 cm

These are works of Vladimir Denshchikov, artist who uses a knot weaving techniques in his works, called macrame, he has been practising this technique for more than 30 years. Linen threads are used as the material for the artist's works. Millions of knots are made manually by the artist during months of painstaking work. In his latest works the artist used several kinds of handmade fabric that was created and patent by him.

"St Nicholas the Miracle-Maker", Vladimir Denshchikov, applied art macrame, linen thread, size: 70 x 100 cm

"Saint Panteleimon the Healer", Vladimir Denshchikov, applied art macrame, linen thread, size: 40 x 50 cm

Everything that you can see on Vladimir's icons - the details of the patterns on settings and all ornaments are made of the marvelous material - linen thread (0,5-2 mm), each knot is made manually without knitting needles, crochets, etc.

"The Mother of God of Kazan", Vladimir Denshchikov, applied art macrame, linen thread, size: 40 x 55 cm

"The Mother of God of Kazan", Vladimir Denshchikov, applied art macrame, linen thread, size: 40 x 50 cm

"Saint Sergius of Radonezh", Vladimir Denshchikov, applied art macrame, oil, linen thread, canvas, year of creation: 2008 size: 40 x 60 cm

Each artwork is unique and numbers from one to several millions of knots. This technique is unique and has no copies in the world. All artist's rights reserved.

"St. Nicholas the Miracle-Maker", Vladimir Denshchikov, applied art macrame, linen thread, size: 40 x 50 cm

"The Mother of God of Tenderness", Vladimir Denshchikov, applied art macrame, linen thread, size: 40 x 50 cm

It takes the artist 3-6 months to create an icon 40x50 cm.

"Holy Protection of the Mother of God", Vladimir Denshchikov, applied art macrame, linen thread, size: 40 x 50 cm

"The Mother of God of Kazan", Vladimir Denshchikov, applied art macrame, linen thread, size: 40 x 50 cm

All artist's works are made in the accordance with the church canons and most of the icons are sanctified by Church. The artworks have been exhibited in Germany, Ukraine and Crimea. They are also held in personal collections of Ukraine, Russia, Czechia, Hungary, Germany and USA.

"Bells", Vladimir Denshchikov, applied art macrame, linen thread, size: 40.0 x 50 cm

Vladimir Denshchikov - the national artist of Ukraine. He was born in July, 1952. He graduated from the Kyiv State University of Theatre in 1974. Since 1975 till 2007 he worked as an artist in the Simferopol theater. After he survived a stroke in 2007, he moved to a teaching job.

Exhibitions:

1998 - Germany – Heidelber

2002 - Germany – Heidelber

2008 - Kiev - the 1st Festival "Flax fest";.

December 2008 - Simferopol, art museum.

February 2009 - Moscow, the Rerikh museum.

April 2009 – Saki , museum of local lore.

May 2009 – Yalta, the Livadia Palace.

November 2009 - Kiev, the 2nd All-Ukranian Festival "Flax fest ";.

January 2010 – Sevastopol, the Moscow House

Qatar, the world’s biggest contemporary art buyer

The small but energy-rich Gulf state of Qatar is the world’s biggest buyer in the art market—by value, at any rate—and is behind most of the major modern and contemporary art deals over the past six years, according to The Art Newspaper.

Coat of arms of Qatar

Last month, Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani—the 27-year-old daughter of the Emir of Qatar and a driving force behind the country’s art buying—announced that Christie’s chairman, Edward Dolman, will become executive director of her office. Dolman will also join the board of trustees of the Qatar Museums Authority (QMA), which oversees museums and cultural initiatives in the country.

Sheikha Al Mayassa at the opening of Takashi Murakami’s exhibition at Versailles in 2010

Dolman will be working on art acquisitions for the growing network of museums, which are directed by the art historian and former head of the Rhode Island School of Design, Roger Mandle. According to Dolman: “Qatar is looking to deliver a series of exciting cultural projects in time for the World Cup in 2022.”

Qatar flag

Among the purchases Qatar is believed to have made are:

• The “Merkin Rothkos”: A $310m deal saw 11 Rothkos sold by court order to an “unidentified buyer” in 2009. They came from the collection of financier J. Ezra Merkin, who is being sued in New York over his role as provider of funds to convicted Ponzi-scheme fraudster Bernard Madoff; the collection was the largest private holding of Rothkos in the world. They were subsequently exhibited at the Garage Centre in Moscow, leading to rumours that they had been bought by the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, which was strenuously denied. Two very well placed sources maintain that they have gone to Qatar.

• The Sonnabend estate: $400m worth of art from the estate of the famous art dealer, comprising major works by Lichtenstein and Koons. The deal was negotiated privately in 2007-08, going to GPS; multiple sources identified its client as Qatar. Ségalot told us that “the group was sold to more than one client”.

• The Claude Berri dation: A group of nine works by Ryman, Reinhardt, Morandi, Serra and Fontana was promised to the Pompidou Centre in Paris in lieu of tax. But the heirs of the film director finally sold them through Ségalot for about €50m to Qatar; he did not deny this but said “the reality was less exotic than the French press said at the time”.

• Andy Warhol’s The Men in Her Life, 1962, which sold for $63.4m at Phillips de Pury in New York in November 2010, in a sale orchestrated by Philippe Ségalot. He insists that the work was acquired by a US buyer. But a source who bought regularly from Ségalot said that sales often went through his US company, so while the buyer was technically American, the end owner could be of any nationality.

Lips + lipstick = ART

Can you believe that the paint from above is painted with lips? Brushes are the lips and paints are just lipstick!

Creative artist Natalie Irish from Houston, Texas paints by putting on lipstick, then pressing her lips against a blank canvas. She can create astonishing paintings by varying the pressure of her kisses on the canvas.

“I was getting ready to go to a show one night and put on a bit of red lipstick. I blotted it on a piece of paper and it hit me. I started experimenting and decided Marilyn Monroe would be the perfect candidate for a portrait with kisses!” Natalie Irish

Ms Irish admitted that her lips get very tired and that she owns ‘many tubes of both lipstick and chapstick’. She said her eyes get tired from constantly moving between very close to farther back from the canvas to examine her work.

There are a number of Art Colleges on line, so it has never been easier to find and develop your own style.

Careers in art are more possible that you may have thought.

Dr Nour Foundation awards the new art generation!

Dr. Nour Foundation for Art and Heritage launched a new art supporting activity: donations for the best art works of the graduated students of the National University of Art from Bucharest.

The three awarded students, the remarkable professors and representatives of DNFAH

2011 brought almost 40 graduated painting students who exhibited their art works at Constantin Brâncuşi Hall from the Parliament Palace, Bucharest. The selection was made by a jury which included members of the Dr. Nour Foundation for Art and Heritage and remarkable professors of The National University of Art.

Awarding festivity: professors from Art University and representative of DNFAH announcing the winners

Audience

Awarding festivity

There was no 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd place, all the three gifts were the same for all the 3 winners. Let's see them and admire their works:

George Marinciu and his work

Radu Popescu and his works

Naiana Vatavu and her works

Exhibition from Parliament Palace included works of master students from Painting Specialization and graduated students from Sculpture section, students of the remarkable professors: Ion Anghel, Cezar Atodiresei, Cătălin Bălescu, Marcel Bunea, Alexandru Chira, Petru Lucaci, Horea Paştina – painting section and Darie Dup, Adrian Pîrvu, Aurel Vlad – sculpture section.

“This exhibition is remarkably coherent which make it different from others. If we carefully look at the works displayed here I would say there is a real Painting School at Bucharest. There are 2 specializations: painting and sculpture, there are different classes, but together create a harmony of different voices where the figurative dimension is the one which dictates in this moment even if it is not the only one. The professors voices are also important even if they let free the students who are not only simple disciples.

Sculpture is not only decorative, it naturally dialogize with painting. You will notice different techniques and styles and we could say that the dialogue between painting and sculpture, as it is here, resume an older dialogue launched in Renaissance times. This means we are in a point who connect the modernity with post post modernity.” Ruxandra Demetrescu - Rector of National University of Art, Bucharest

The National Television of Romania was present at the event. If you want to see the news broadcasted, follow the link: Artist Diploma