Douglas Kirkland is the legendary photographer who captured the Hollywood elite. Kirkland has been at the cutting edge of fashion, photojournalism and portraiture, working for the world's most reputable magazines for more than 50 years. As a young photographer in 1961 he was assigned to shoot Marilyn Monroe over several hours in a closed studio one night, and he captured a stunning portfolio of alluring and intimate images that survive to this day as a testament to her beauty and vulnerability. Kirkland was born in Toronto, Canada and started out as an assistant to Irving Penn when he...

Showcasing the greatest talents to emerge from the world of ceramics over the last 25 years, 4 sites in the city of Vallauris, France, will be opening up their spaces to artists who will redefine the very concept of the Biennale. The Musee Magnelli de la Ceramique, Eden, and the Maison des Quartiers, as well as Espace Grandjean, will in turn exhibit the latest trends in the field. Their fascinating exhibitions enhance this artistic vein, which is sparking renewed interest. Creative and innovative, the present edition of the Biennale highlights the emergence of new ways of creating with an...

On the 150th anniversary of the painter Henri Matisse (1869-1954), the Musee Matisse in Cateau-Cambresis, which was founded by the artist in his hometown in 1952, pays tribute to the lesser-known man of the North, who became one of the greatest masters of the 20th century. You thought you knew everything about Matisse's work? This exhibition reveals the mystery of the first 20 years of his career and the awakening of a genius moving from shadow to light. It honours his early works from the revelation of painting, and his academic training until the end of his academic studies in Paris,...

An item of jewellery is traditionally thought of as an ornament and decoration, a useless object, with no particular function or use, an embellishment that has no practical purpose. This book investigates the evolution of functional jewellery from the past to present day, while the three prestigious introductory articles by Alba Cappellieri, Paola Venturelli and Elisabeth Fischer show how jewellery has always played a functional role, especially in regard to clothing, throughout the ages. The various functions of jewellery are then defined by the projects of young international designers,...

This unique collection of exceptional breadth brings together almost 100 works by American artist Kiki Smith, from the 1990s to the present day. The exhibition at La Monnaie in Paris covers the major themes of the artist's oeuvre, including the human body, the female figure and the symbiotic relationship with nature, all of which are recurring motifs. Kiki Smith's oeuvre resembles a voyage, a quest in search of a union between the body and all other living beings and the cosmos. From microscopic elements to the organs of the body, from the organs to the body in its entirety, then from the...

One of the most prestigious contemporary art awards, the Marcel Duchamp Prize was created in 2000 by the ADIAF, Association for the international diffusion of French art which groups together 400 contemporary art collectors rallied around the French scene. Its ambition is to bring together the most innovative artists and help them raise their international profile. Each year, the Marcel Duchamp Prize is awarded to one of four artists, either French or living in France, all of them working in the field of the plastic and visual arts. Since the outset, this collectors' prize benefits from a...

Paintings, installations, sculptures and photographs from around fifty artists compose a chronological course of the different currents of non-conformist art in the former U.S.S.R and Russia. The Tretyakov Collection was created between 1983 and 2008 on the initiative of Russian art critic Andrei Erofeev to create a museum of the history of art mavericks in Moscow, as no Soviet institution was interested in the avant-garde. Originally composed of more than 5000 pieces, a selection of this collection eventually became part of the Tretyakov National Gallery, making it the first institution...

"Marialuisa Tadei succeeds in giving the mystery of life abstract form, implying that it trascends the nature in which it ordinarily manifests itself suggesting that it is unwordly - beyond space and time - like God's creative wisdom." - Donald Kuspit Tadei's sculptures encourage the awareness of a vital and universal spirituality, leaving the mind free to find its sense of immortality. This monograph dedicated to the artist showcases her works, characterised by her bold use of colour and materials, including mosaic, glass, bronze and feathers, and by the lyrical and spiritual qualities of...

The Musee international de la Croix-Rouge et du Croissant-Rouge owns a unique collection of posters from around the world. From the beginning of its history, the Humanitarian Movement uses this support to spread its messages and values. For the presentation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, the recruitment of volunteers, the request for donations, the call for blood donation, the promotion of hygiene rules, the prevention of diseases or disasters, the dangers of mines or the teaching of first aid, posters challenge the public, inform and try to rally to the humanitarian cause. More than a...

Lee Mingwei's artistic practice is primarily concerned with rituals of giving and receiving. His solo exhibition presented at Gropius Bau in Berlin, showcases his installations and performances from the last three decades: central to the exhibition is an exploration of art's potential to be a transformative gift. In Lee Mingwei's works immaterial gifts such as song, conversation or contemplation are given and received. For many of his projects the starting point is his personal encounters, which are then transformed into installations. Seeing such experiences as moments in which time is...