Central Station, Alignment, and Sumo are “situation portraits” that present whimsical characters within distorted and troubling worlds. These portraits explore the relationship between the psyche and contemporary social environments, focusing on isolation, identity, and distress. The figure in Alignment slouches with his head in his hands in a gesture of failure or despair, speaking to the difficult task of balancing individual freedom and societal rules. In each of the portraits, Lai explores how individuals adapt to their environments and the ways in which bodies communicate emotions for which there are no adequate words.
Firenze Lai is a Hong Kong painter known for her atmospheric portraits that explore the ways in which contemporary life causes people to adjust to their surrounding conditions in disturbing ways. She paints by immersing herself in the state of mind and situation of each character. Her work was exhibited at the New Museums 2015 Triennial and the Shanghai Biennale (2014).
Louvre raises ticket prices by 30% in Olympics year Art market Museums & heritage Exhibitions Books Podcasts Columns Technology Adventures with Van Gogh Search Search Museums & Heritage news Louvre raises ticket prices by 30% in Olympics year The price increase will help to subsidise free entry for some visitors and regulate crowd size Gareth Harris 12 December 2023 Share The museum's last ticket raise occurred in 2017 Photo: Inge Knoff via Flickr The Musée du Louvre in Paris is increasing its basic ticket price from €17 to €22 from 15 January as part of a plan to support free admission programmes for some visitors...
Ai Weiwei criticises ‘fragile’ state of Western democracy following Sky News interview Art market Museums & heritage Exhibitions Books Podcasts Columns Technology Adventures with Van Gogh Search Search Artists news Ai Weiwei criticises ‘fragile’ state of Western democracy following Sky News interview The dissident artist argues that restrictions manifest more subtly in Europe and the US Gareth Harris 6 February 2024 Share Ai tells The Art Newspaper that the idea that "the West embodied greater freedom of speech and press" is an illusion Courtesy skynews.com The Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has gone into more detail about his views on censorship in the West after telling Sky News in an interview at the weekend that “in universities, in the media, political sector, everywhere—you cannot talk about the truth”...
Like many contemporary photographers who play with the codes of realism, Valérie Jouve composes her images, having already a more or less predetermined result in mind, in order to deliver a complex representation of the world instead of a bold presentation of facts...
Marina Abramović spreads the love in one-off performance at the Royal Academy Art market Museums & heritage Exhibitions Books Podcasts Columns Technology Adventures with Van Gogh Search Search Diary blog Marina Abramović spreads the love in one-off performance at the Royal Academy Against backdrop of turbulent real-world events, crowds gathered and hugged for Unconditional Love recital The Art Newspaper 11 December 2023 Share Marina Abramović performs An Invitation to Love Unconditionally in the Annenberg Courtyard at the Royal Academy of Arts, London...