“Timeless Realism” reflects how medicine and art have been a continuous pair throughout history. During the Renaissance, the Guilds representing doctors and artists were closely connected. It was believed that the doctor healed the body, while the artist healed the soul. As such, in continuing with this belief, Dareau and Perenchio are exhibiting paintings that display real life at its most beautiful – to both uplift the soul and help with the advancement of medicine.

As artists, Dareau and Perenchio paint the world around them, rather than focusing on internal visions. Dareau mentions a newly-developed 21st-Century yearning for the realism that once intrigued us in the past and discusses her art,

“My work is about time that goes by. Time that is taking things away, making memories, but memories disappear after a while. So I paint my own garden, like a Candide who would take care of what is close to him.”

Perenchio follows:

“My work is about the story – the narrative. There are those special moments that we will never forget, but a painting gives us that snapshot in time where we can see and maybe even hear the innermost feelings of a human soul – timeless thoughts – today, but with respect to realism in a classical sense.”

Beyond the beautiful artwork, this exhibition is  most profound because the collaborators are using their art to point to a cause that’s truly important to all of society – that of woman’s health, especially because women determine the survival of mankind and the future of our children.

Click HERE to read the entire article – including more information about LA Art House, the Women’s Endowment, Margaret perenchio and Laurent Dareau.

Each year the Met’s Costume Institute presents an exhibition that becomes the theme for the gala. This year’s exhibition, “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity” could be seen along the venue’s mural-clad walls, against which curator Andrew Bolton placed exceptional American pieces created between 1890 and the 1940s.

Gala guests had their own ideas of how American style can be defined. Designer Vera Wang, wearing a long white dress, stated,

“I think it’s confidence.”

Italian Vogue editor Franca Sozzani, wearing a beige silk satin Valentino dress, said, “To me, American fashion is Charlie James.”

“American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity” runs through August 15, 2010 and examines American women from 1890 through the 1940s (hence the decor of the gala) and looks at how these women have influenced our perceptions of the modern world. The exhibition (which includes pieces not publicly seen for the past 30 years) harnesses the resources of the newly established Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at the Met and truly celebrates American fashion and style during a period where the changing world influenced creativity and led to innovations in design, style and fashion.

Read more about the exhibition HERE

See what else is going on at the Met HERE

Read the entire NY Times article associated with this post HERE

Fashion 2010 promises to display a “spectacular runway show” which will feature “cutting-edge garments by the next generation of up-and-coming designers.” The models will strut down the runway against a stunning backdrop of architecture by the renowned Renzo Piano.

This year’s fashion show is a celebration of contemporary fashion, art, architecture and design, featuring over 200 innovative student-designed pieces work by 60 professional models from Factor Model Management. SAIC sophomores in the Fashion Design Department have designed garments for the show inspired by themes present in the architecture of the AIC’s Modern Wing.

Additionally, SAIC hosts THE WALK 2010, an annual gala held in conjunction with the fashion show. The proceeds from THE WALK benefit scholarship funding for SAIC students. This year’s WALK will include the presentation of the 2010 SAIC Legend of Fashion Award to SAIC alumnus and NY-based designer Gary Graham.

Click here to read the entire article associated with this post – which includes details about SAIC’s Fashion 2010, info about a new late-night fashion party called NightWalk2010, and to read about some of the SAIC student designers whose clothing will be featured at Fashion 2010

Beyond the art world’s own fundraising contributions, organizations often utilize art as a way to raise money for their causes. Organizations that support everything from cancer research, providing dire AIDS patience with medicine, helping developing countries recover from natural disasters, (and so on) use art in its various forms to raise money. Whether it be with a silent art auction, special dance performance, or teaching illness-stricken children the benefits of art therapy, art seems to play an important role in raising money for thousands of causes around the world.

See how organizations and individuals are using art to raise money and support significant causes:

The Prostate Cancer Charity COUPLES Project (This collaboration is a venture between Danny Kelly, a cancer professional and Tim Wainwright, a photographic artist. It explores the impact that prostate cancer has on relationships – by offering a glimpse into people’s everyday lives who are affected by prostate cancer – using images, speech, sound and words)

Paws for Charity 2010 (This year’s “Paws for Charity” offers a book featuring images of dogs and cats from 65 artists and photographers – including 4 breast cancer survivors. Along with some beautiful images, the book contains photos of the artists, information about them, and a statement in their own words. All proceeds are donated to the Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade).

Art for Charity (The charity offers various services – such as art classes for children and adults plus the ability to purchase art cards and prints whose profits go to helping a variety of causes that include issues related to children, community development, counseling, economic development, education, elders, employment, health, homelessness, immigrants, international development, literacy, mentoring, the “One World, One People, One Human Race Project,” personal development, poverty, refugees, etc.)

The Liane and Danny Taran Foundation (This non-profit promotes a sense of well-being among patients, caregivers, residents and visitors in hospitals by providing framed art photographs to hospitals to transform typically sterile spaces into more humane and comforting places).

Bravo to the devoted and fascinating people in charge of these and other charities who are making the world better one painting at a time…

Married couple Daniella Barsotti and Tom James  founded the charity,  Adam’s Hope, two years ago. The organization is dedicated to helping families in the Quinte region affected by autism.

In a local newspaper, Barsotti recently remarked on the importance of art in relation to autism:

“Art is such a great form of expression and often, people with autism are quite talented when it comes to drawing and painting. I remember a non-verbal young man I met in Trinidad in 2006 who expressed himself beautifully with his drawings and paintings and pieces he crafted by hand out of clay or paper.”

The Adam’s Hope founder hopes the April 9th event will raise money to pay for several projects (including programming for a week-long session of music and art for children with autism).

It’s extremely refreshing to hear about artists who use their talents and artwork to help those in need – especially in this case – because  like Barsotti said, art is a vital way for autistic children and adults to creatively express themselves and acts as a soothing form of therapy.

Other art events going on in Ontario

Check out the work of these Trinidadean Artists

The art walk is a unique chance to help support art students and institutes, as participants will tour four beautiful homes and their associated art collections and gardens. The weekend event will take place on March 19^th and 20^th, from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM each day.

A little about the four homes:

The historical Vista del Arroyo Bungalows, which overlook Pasadena’s lush landscape, have inspired Plein Air painters for years. Initially designed for wealthy families from the Midwest and East who wished to get away from frigid winters, the luxurious hotel bungalows contain strong architecture and dynamic color.

The designer / owner of the next home constructed the house to resemble the classic architecture of Myron Hunt. The interior contains rich textures, warm colors and alluring art, and the home is both a cozy haven and a cosmopolitan space that visitors are sure to enjoy.

Art Walk visitors will step inside a stunning Grand Avenue neoclassical structure that features panoramic views of the Arroyo and large open spaces. The home, which allows natural light to enter each room, has allowed its owner, a recent finalist of the recent Austin Film Festival, to garner inspiration for her sculpture and writing.

Finally, in the Oak Knoll Area, visitors will enter a sophisticated contemporary home that houses a phenomenal art collection, which includes (among other pieces) the owners’ extensive English and French antiques.

This rare opportunity to explore four of the area’s most artistically and architecturally interesting and exquisitely decorated homes and art collections should not be missed.

Tickets for the March 2010 benefit start at $100, and profits from the benefit (along with those from the Armory Show’s daytime Early Access Preview at Piers 92 and 94) will support exhibition programming for the MoMA and P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center.

Indie rock band The Walkmen and experimental band Human Rights will perform live at the benefit, and DFA Records’ Justin Miller will DJ the event.

The Armory Show, America’s leading fine art fair devoted to 20^th and 21^st century art, has gained international notoriety throughout its 12-year existence. This year the art fair will begin with the introduction of “Armory Focus,” a new section that will feature an important art community every year to come; this year focuses on Berlin and includes over twenty galleries from the German city.

Click here for more information on the MoMA benefit

Click here to purchase tickets

Click here to learn more about The Armory Show 2010

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Washington D.C. – Here’s a list of various fundraisers going on in our nation’s capital. A few highlights include: the Warehouse Loft’s concert featuring rapper Tabi Bonney on Friday, Jan. 22nd (the $5 admission fee goes to the Red Cross); the Cre8 Studio Gallery’s evening of art and music on Saturday, January 23rd ($5 or $10 donations  or non-perishable canned food items are requested and will go to the Red Cross);  and the Rock and Roll Hotel’s benefit concert featuring Honor by August and Todd Wright on Sunday, Jan. 24th (go to their website for more information).

Juneau, Alaska – This Saturday Thunder Mountain High School will hold a fundraiser to benefit the Haitian School, Art Creation Foundation for Children, who the Juneau community had helped raise funds for after putting on a play in 2005 about Haiti entitled “Once on This Island” (and donating proceeds to the Haitian School). This weekend’s fundraiser at the Thunder Mountain High School will take place from 3-5pm on Saturday and will include live bluegrass music, an art/ music performance and a dessert auction.

Minneapolis, Minnesota – There are many events going on in the Minneapolis area to raise money for the Haiti relief effort; take a look at what’s going on through February.  If you’re in the area, be sure to check out the Minnesota-based Haiti Mission Project. They’re hosting the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fundraiser tonight (Thursday, Jan. 21st) from 6:30-9pm at the Hopkins Center for the Arts. Ticket proceeds ($20 in advance, or $25 at the door) will go to helping Haiti. The event features live music, a silent auction and food and wine.

Hanover, New Hampshire – Dartmouth students are more than half way to their $100k fundraising goal for Haiti relief. Students at Dartmouth for Haiti Relief (SDHR) has organized over 300 campus and community volunteers into various committees to raise money for Haiti Earthquake relief. All donations go to Partners in Health (a humanitarian relief organization co-founded by Dartmouth President Jim Yong Kim). Click here to read about the upcoming student-organized fundraisers at Dartmouth, including “Compas: The Haiti Relief Benefit,” a concert of Haitian music and student performances at 1:30 pm on January 31st.

Visit the Red Cross website to donate to Haiti today.

Along with a fashion show, which will include a jury-chosen array of 35 of the top creations, the evening will contain a performance exhibition that will seek to examine the creativity behind the uniquely designed costumes. Cash prizes will be rewarded – and the six prize-winners’ looks will be showcased at the Comox Valley Art Gallery. The event will also raise money for the gallery.

To read more about the event, click here.

Artistic director Michael Dowling explains the process of creating the Medicine Wheel,

“At first we thought the faces would be people who maybe had died from AIDS or suffered from AIDS and we sent out a call looking for photos and we didn’t really get much of a response … I think part of it was awareness around AIDS is waning. People aren’t really looking at it as a death and dying disease so much anymore. And maybe it’s just too painful to sort of revisit those memories. Then I sort of made the decision to send out an invitation to collect people’s light, the light of a memory of somebody, the light of somebody who’s still in your life, the light of yourself, and if we could join those lights together, then we would have this giant Luminaria, this giant lantern, so I guess I started chasing people’s lights and that was actually easier because the truth is in 2009 all of our lives have been changed by AIDS whether we admit it or not.”

“We still didn’t have enough photographs so we actually opened up the pedestals of Medicine Wheel, because every year people leave offerings to the shrines that have been put in the pedestals, and took out hundreds of photographs from the pedestals and used those as a memorial wall to people who had died and been lost to HIV and AIDS over the last 18 years that Medicine Wheel has been running,” said Dowling.

The stunning use of fully internal lighting serves not only a functional purpose, but also a poetic one. The internal lighting is meant to be a metaphor for looking to the light within us. 

Downing credits the positive outcome of the installation to the young artists and studio assistants who have helped him (several of whom have their own personal connections to AIDS.)

While awareness remains the main purpose and theme of “Luminara,” other themes like life and remembrance are also present.

Like the rest of Medicine Wheel, the exhibit was participatory, as attendees entered the giant embryo [by Agathi Pavlidis, a senior at the Art Institute of Boston] and rested on the circular bedding within the structure. Pavlidis said her experiences working with Dowling led to her extending herself as an artist and creating the work.

“He really just lets you explore yourself as an artist,” she said. “He’s there for guidance but he’s really just giving you an opportunity to kind of test boundaries and delve into a project head on. The best way to learn is to have these challenges, and you’re not going to really know what they are and how to deal with them unless you actually do them. So he’s just really giving you an opportunity to learn through experience.”

To read the entire article associated with this story, click here.

For more information on the exhibition (or to contribute), click here.

For a list of art events going on around Boston, click here.