As part of the European Partage Plus project, on the 13th and 14th February 2014 KIK-IRPA will hold a symposium dedicated to the study of Art Nouveau. It will be the 15th art history seminar, an initiative of the Documentation department of KIK-IRPA:
Art Nouveau Revisited: Trends and Peculiarities" will be laid on the different coexisting trends and peculiarities of Art Nouveau, both in Belgium and abroad. Freed from the yoke of historicism, artists and craftsmen drew their inspiration from highly diverse sources, revisiting local cultures and celebrating secular artisanal techniques (wrought iron, hammering, sgraffito, ceramics, stained glass?) and regional materials. The invention of this unique decorative vocabulary was enriched by the assimilation of organic forms inspired by nature, archetypes of industrial civilization as well as japonism.

The symposium will be a unique opportunity to present the variety of examples from our cultural heritage as well as to exchange point of views on the matter.

If you would like to give a presentation on this issue, please send following documents to artnouveau@kikirpa.be before the 20th of December: a short summary of maximum 15 lines, a provisional title, your CV and a list of publications. The presentations, which will last about thirty minutes each, will be given in French, Dutch or English.

More information can be found on www.kikirpa.be.

"The Natures of Art Nouveau" is a travelling exhibition 2013-2015 organised by the Réseau Art Nouveau Network in the framework of the European project "Art Nouveau & Ecology" (2010-2015) supported by the Culture 2007-2013 programme of the European Commission, the exhibition comprises two identical concurrent exhibitions.

The goal of the exhibition is to draw visitors into an original discovery of Art Nouveau and its relation with nature, showing the evolution of artistic work from the idea to final products in Art Nouveau style, thanks to a richly documented iconography.

The exhibition is divided into three sections:

- The eye of the period, which examines artistic fascination with nature, with scientific discoveries in botany, zoology, oceanography, with evolutionary theories and technical inventions of microscope, photography and cinema.

- The Nature´s Workshop, which shows artistic experimentations with natural and artificial materials and new techniques to create new forms, inspired by nature: new line, ornaments and structures, patterns and symbols.

- Artificial landscapes, which illustrate art nouveau interpretations of natural periods and elements - spring, earth, water, air, light, fire.

The exhibition gives the general public and Art Nouveau lovers the opportunity to understand the role of nature in art, especially during the Art Nouveau period. Children can enjoy the exhibition as well, thanks to an activity book.

Entrance to the exhibition is free.

Press release

This year marks the 150th birthday of Edvard Munch. One of the highlights of this anniversary is the exhibition "Munch on paper", which presents Edvard Munch´s diverse and rich oeurvre of works on paper.
Besides presenting key images, the exhibition will also show more or less unknown works and curiosities which give fascinating insights into Edvard Munch´s life and work, says the Sture Portvik, press officer of the Munch Museum.

The reopening of the Domènech i Montaner site allow people to enjoy the results of its rehabilitation process of this unique complex.

Free tours of the most representative spaces of the Modernista complex are available until 16 March 2014 from 11am in the morning to 6pm in the afternoon, highlights of which include the Administration Pavilion, the Sant Rafael Pavilion and the Sant Jordi Pavilion, together with the site´s outdoor areas.

Entrance to the Modernista complex is through the main gate of the Administration Pavilion, located at the intersection of Sant Antoni Maria Claret and Cartagena.

For more information: www.santpaubarcelona.org

The search for beauty, utility and comfort and a certain element of exhibitionistic luxury are essentials of Modernism, as found in the interiors of bourgeois housing.
Together with architects, carpenter-decorators became a fashionable profession, receiving commissions from the bourgeois and concerning themselves with the furniture design and decoration of the houses; a reflection of the tastes of the time and the new way of living. Gaspar Homar and Joan Busquets are two outstanding examples of this profession. The Museu Nacional d´Art de Catalunya holds a notable range their work, both projects and furniture.

The exhibition "Empremtes: Lluís Domènech i Montaner a Canet de Mar" (Traces: Lluís Domènech i Montaner in Canet de Mar), organised by the Lluís Domènech i Montaner House Museum in Canet de Mar, analyses the deep relationship between the architect and this town.

The exhibition "Staging the Body. Loïe Fuller´s Metamorphosis" celebrates the work of this avant-garde artist through photographs, documents and films from European and American collections. The show also includes a newly produced film that pays tribute to Fuller made by La Ribot in collaboration with Carles Santos.

On the occasion of the 130th birthday of Franz von Zülow, an artist shaped by a fashionable inclination toward rural life and the reflection of rural heritage, works on paper from the MAK collection and the artist´s estate will be exhibited. Von Zülow did his training at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna, where he already created illustrations and designs for the Wiener Werkstätte. Active in many areas, Zülow designed textile patterns, carpets, ceramics, and interiors and developed new graphic techniques. His most important achievements in this area are the monthly pen-in-ink-drawn notebooks produced in a paper-cut stencil printing process from 1909 to 1915, subscribed to by artists such as Hoffmann, Klimt, and Schiele. Clearly evident in these works is his decorative, Jugendstil- derived surface art, which he combined with folk art inspirations. Arising at the same time were stage-like watercolors and scenic picture books along the lines of a diorama in expressive style.

Curator Kathrin Pokorny-Nagel, Head of Library and Works on Paper Collection

As part of the bookseries MAK Studies, a catalogue will be published in conjunction with the exhibition.

On display the rich unpublished material stored by the artist's family in Torre Pellice. The exhibition is the first monographic exhibition held in Rome since 1938.