RICHMOND, VA.- With less than four months to go before the grand opening May 1, interior and exterior work on the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts expansion — the largest in its history — is in high gear. On the outside, sod and paving are being installed, and eight 20-foot lacebark elms have been planted on the new Mary Morton Parsons Entry Plaza. New landscaping is also under way in front of the existing building, simplifying the plantings and focusing on stately existing trees — an American elm, a water oak and a sycamore. “The result enhances the visibility of the museum on the Boulevard,” says Richard Woodward, the museum’s senior deputy director for architecture and design.

MADRID.- As we have come to expect in the month of February, galleries, collectors and other players from the contemporary art world will be travelling to Madrid for ARCOmadrid_ 2010, the 29th edition of the International Contemporary Art Fair from February 17th through 21st. Given its growing influence, this annual fair is now one of the world’s major art market events. Around two hundred galleries and almost three thousand top drawer artists will make the fair a good mirror of the latest tendencies in contemporary art. The work on view will undoubtedly reflect the existing plethora of languages, supports and expression, ranging from painting to performance, not forgetting sculpture, installation, digital art and more emerging creative expressions.

BERLIN.- The drawings of the Egyptian artist Shady El-Noshokaty, born in Cairo in 1971, are characterized by a nightmarish as well as a fantastic, persistent motif. They accompany his social-theoretical video and installation production and concur in the creation of a very intimate “Emotional Archive”, recalling entries in a personal diary. Shady El-Noshokaty uses oil crayon technique precisely on small format sheets, anatomical figures, organs and bodies fragments, which appear to acquire an own independent life by arising through a silver glimmer light in which they are immersed. Conceptually, they reconnect to the Egyptian mythology by touching the central themes of the Egyptian tradition and culture, such as death, rebirth and immortality. Shady El-Noshokaty particularly focuses on the Osiris mythos. The legend tells that her body was dismembered and then scattered throughout the land by Seth. The female god Isis would recollect the body’s parts and after havi

NEW YORK, NY.- From November 11, 2009, the Public Art Fund presents a group exhibition featuring six emerging artists at MetroTech Center in downtown Brooklyn. “Playful and provocative, Double Take brings fresh momentum to the Public Art Fund tradition of giving today’s most exciting young artists the chance to debut new work in our public spaces,” said Nicholas Baume, Director and Chief Curator of the Public Art Fund. Double Take showcases new commissions by Michael DeLucia, Christian de Vietri, Natasha Johns-Messenger, Johannes VanDerBeek, and the collaborative team of Matt Irie and Dominick Talvacchio. Designed with the site’s specific conditions in mind, the artists have taken an element of the existing architecture or environment and subjected it to a process of modification or metamorphosis. Each work plays with fantasy and illusion to force a shift in perception, in turn creating a mirage of sorts. Nothing is as it

NEW YORK, NY.- WET, creator of community experiences using nature’s elements, announces the unveiling of Revson Fountain in conjunction with the 50th Anniversary of Lincoln Center’s Celebration. WET was commissioned to redesign the fountain in Josie Robertson Plaza as part of the Lincoln Center Transformation. The world’s leading performing arts center desired to enhance the visitor experience while uniting The Plaza with its surrounding, modern cityscape. WET’s design program targeted these objectives while paying homage to the original fountain, designed by Philip Johnson. “We wanted to bring a vibrant new energy to The Plaza while maintaining the historical legacy of the existing fountain,” says WET CEO Mark Fuller, who worked with Philip Johnson on numerous fountain projects. “To us, this fountain expresses the synthesis of strong, expressive architecture and the passion of performance—a fitting piece for Lincoln Center .” Main