Houston Press Article by Susie Tommaney reviews Ingrid Magidson’s Exhibition at Unix Gallery.
Category Archives: Museum
Ingrid Dee Magidson’s Work Presenting at Aspen Art Museum Benefit
The Traveler to benefit the Aspen Art Museum
Ingrid’s beautiful work, The Traveler will be shown at Artcrush 2013, the Aspen Art Museum’s annual benefit and gala on August 2nd. The Traveler will be auctioned off along with many other exceptional contemporary works to benefit the Aspen Art Museum. Artcrush has become so popular, the event tickets sell out within hours of their announcement. If you aren’t going to the event on August 2nd, you can still preview and bid on the auction items either online : http://aspenartmuseum.org/artcrush/auction_items.htm or at the Baldwin Gallery in Aspen. If you’d like to go directly to Ingrid’s piece on the Aspen Art Museum Website, click here: http://aspenartmuseum.org/artcrush/artwork/ingrid_dee_magidson.html.
Artcrush auction preview will be presented at the Baldwin Gallery on South Galena on Thursday, August 1st
The Artcrush event is on Friday, August 2nd. For more information and how to place an absentee bid, here is the website link: http://aspenartmuseum.org/artcrush/event_info.html
Artcrush is presented by Sotheby’s and sponsored by Barclays, Netjets, Audi, Dom Perignon and others.
Thank you for supporting the Aspen Art Museum and Ingrid’s work!
New Book by Ingrid Dee Magidson – Available Now!
Ingrid’s new book, Madness of the Muses – the Art of Ingrid Dee Magidson is in print and available!
Madness of the Muses
From the back cover:
Ingrid Dee Magidson’s art career began just over six years ago. In that brief time, she has had 15 solo exhibitions (most of those sellout shows), a museum exhibition, her work included twice at the Hermitage Museum Foundation Gala in New York City, numerous magazine features and a loyal international group of art collectors which include: the Alpina Gstaad, Antonio Banderas, Melanie Griffith and Jackie Bezos. The Madness of the Muses is a richly illustrated look at the life and work of this rising art star. Magidson’s unique style combines the poetic paintings of the Renaissance with contemporary and antique materials to form works of sublime beauty. Each piece is imbued with a sense of spirit, as if time has stopped and we are looking at people long gone, but brought back to life in Magidson’s extraordinary work. One collector describes his experience:
It is as if the artist has compressed 500 years into a single work of art. These few fragile layers of antique objects, paint and butterflies are arranged in such a way that I can see into the very depths of a stranger’s soul. I begin to pull away, but I can’t stop looking.
Here are a few glimpses inside of the book:
You can learn more about Madness of the Muses on Ingrid’s web site.
Madness of the Muses – The Art of Ingrid Dee Magidson
176 pages, hardcover with dust jacket
Available signed and dedicated by the artist
Stratumentis Publishing $65
Available on Amazon.com in August
Also available at the art galleries which represent Ingrid’s work (Aspen, Vail, Miami and New York).
Back from NYC – Hermitage Museum Benefit a HUGE Success
We returned from New York City a few days ago. Our hearts go out to all the people of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut who are still dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. For the most part Manhattan looked pretty good (excluding some of the southern part). New Yorkers are a hearty bunch and they got things up and running very quickly. We visited our dear friend Eva Cellini in New Jersey and that was another story. Trees and light poles littered the streets. The damage took one’s breath away. It is obviously much better now, but we certainly offer those still suffering our thoughts and prayers.
Saturday, November 10th the Hermitage Museum Foundation threw its annual gala to support the Hermitage Museum and specifically the “Art From America” program. Jeff Koons and Erik Bulatov were this year’s honorees. Both spoke eloquently about their art and inspirations. Two great artists from different cultures, with more in common as artists than not. Truly inspiring.
Ingrid and “Reflection” at the Hermitage Benefit
After the dinner and speakers the auction began. OK, I’ll admit it now, Ingrid and I were nervous. Her piece was the first to be auctioned off. We held our breaths as the bidding began. This was an $18,000 piece and the bidding began at $2,000. It bounced around, $4,000, $6,000, then stalled at $8,000. OK, somebody’s going to get a great bargain, we thought. Then a collector jumped in at $10,000 and the bidding stopped. The auctioneer was about to slam the hammer down when… I’m not going to tell you. You are going to have to see for yourself. I posted the video of the auction on YouTube. Forgive the poor quality, it was taken using my iPhone.
Hermitage Museum Gala Auction Video – November 10, 2012
The video only shows the auctioning of Ingrid’s piece. The rest of the evening was terrific and I’ve heard report that they raised quite a bit of money from the sale of works by Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, Michal Rovner and Martin Mull. It is also gratifying to know that a portion of the money raised will go to help relief efforts for hurricane victims – nice touch.
Ingrid and I would like to thank the many people who put on this elegant and important event: the generous board members of the Hermitage Museum Foundation, especially Paul and Chauncie Rodzianko and their daughter Marina, Mark Kelner. Thank you staff and associates of the Hermitage Museum Foundation, especially Annie. Thank you Phillips de Pury Auctioneers for the beautiful setting surrounded by great contemporary art. And thank you Simon de Pury for your auction wizardry. A very special thanks goes to Brad and Penny Place, our dear friends and patrons who helped make the evening possible for us.
Wow what a night, we’re still flying!
Hermitage Museum Benefit Auction Catalogue Now Available
The Hermitage Museum Foundation Annual Gala and Benefit Auction Catalogue is now available. Items for sale are artwork: by Ingrid Dee Magidson, Martin Mull, Damien Hirst, Michal Rovner, David Levinthal, Jeff Koons; an exclusive tour of St. Petersburg White Nights, 2013 the 400th Anniversary of the House of Romanov, and many other exciting items. The Auction is November 10th at Phillips de Pury in New York. Click Here to See Entire Catalogue
Ingrid Dee Magidson – Incarnazioni (Incarnations)
Enjoy this terrific article released today on Centro Sociale dell’Arte. The Article is in Italian and English, so scroll down to the language of your choice. Lots of images too. Be sure to click on the link to see the whole article.
Ingrid Dee Magidson – Incarnazioni
A Detailed Look at Masquerade – Newest Work by Ingrid Dee Magidson
Queen of Masquerade 55 x 35 inches
Ingrid’s newest work, Queen of Masquerade is unique in many ways, even for her. In it she experiments with new materials to give a different illusion of depth and dimension. Masquerade, along with several other new works are made with acrylic, wood, butterflies and objects. Unlike her traditional work, the image is not transparent, but sits as the furthermost layer. The other objects sit in front of it, solid and weighty. The closest layer to the viewer is clear acrylic (Plexiglas) drawn with a fine grid, and a hint of misty paint. That’s the structure of the work. Let’s look inside and at some of the symbolism set there.
At first look, one sees the overall form of Countess Cecil, her mask against the dark background. Masquerade has a somber ghost-like quality that speaks of time, history, perhaps an ancient ball that the countess might have attended. Its monochromatic theme is only slightly broken by the bright flowers and butterflies. Even with the splashes of color, darkness pervades the piece. One might be tempted to stop here, interested enough in the overall mood and feeling of the piece. It is hauntingly beautiful in its entirety, but let’s move in for a closer look.
Queen of Masquerade – Detail (click to enlarge)
As with all portraits, we are drawn to the subject’s eyes. In this case, peeking through the ballroom mask, we find Countess Cecil’s haunting eyes. Cecil was a very beautiful woman, we can see that now. She was also confident of her beauty as she looks back at us, unafraid. The wasp’s nest which makes up her headdress suggests something of a sting. Gratefully this is softened by the feathers, soft and beautiful. The white butterfly to her left symbolizes life and beauty and the fleeting nature of both. Cecil may have been beautiful, powerful in her day, but she, like all living things, has been recaptured by time.
Queen of Masquerade – detail
We move our attention down to Cecil’s hands in the center of the artwork. In her right she lightly holds a fan, perhaps suggesting a bit coquetry. In her left hand a corsage of feathers balances that of the headdress. Cultures across time, countries, even continents are more similar than they are different. This is the same in Masquerade, suggesting that the countess could be African, Asian as easily as European royalty.
Queen of Masquerade – detail
At the bottom of the art we see the surprising detail and depth which makes this such an interesting work. The white butterfly seems to have landed on Cecil’s dress, which is deeply folded, and dark against the intricate patterns of the rich carpet. We also see a portion of the grid which Ingrid has painted on the surface. It gives us a sense of separation, a kind of window that we are looking through, or Countess Cecil is looking out of. It is a metaphor for time, that which ultimately separates the subject from the viewer. Transparent, but impenetrable.
The Queen of Masquerade is an example of how Ingrid continues to experiment with her work, breaking through barriers. A dear friend and artist described this new body of work, as “bold and fearless.” And indeed it is.
You can view the rest of Ingrid’s new work on her web site at www.IngridMagidson.com.
