Andre Derain - from July 3rd, 2010 Antiques Trade Gazette cover story

With the wonderfully unusual, amusing and petite painting on glass by Andre Derain, recently included in The Fine Art Partnership's collection, entitled Conical Privet dressed as a Gardener ...with hat and staff and red shoes; a reverse oil painting on glass. Signed. 10” x 8” (25.4cm x 20.3cm)

it was most reassuring for our buyers to read in the ATG that:

"Greater interest at Sotheby's (Impressionist & Modern Sale of June 22nd) emerged for a 1905 Fauvist landscape by Andre Derain (1880 - 1954), which came from the lost collection of dealer Ambroise Follard and had been stashed away, largely forgotten, in a paris bank vault for 40 years. Against a £9m-£14m estimate, at least four bidders pursued Arbres a Collioure and it sold to an anonymous telephone bidder for £14.5m, another artist record."

To have an original painting by Andre Derain being offered by The Fine Art Partnership Ltd, also from a private collection, for £13,750 makes another worthy news story indeed for art hunters of museum quality works of the period!

New Artist with The Fine Art Partnership Ltd - Alexander Gutyrya - Contemporary Painter & Sculptor

The artist Alexander Gutyrya was born in a Ukrainian town of Bakhmut that was founded in the early sixteenth century. The rich cultural and historic heritage of the town and the region as a whole had a great impact on development of the future artist. Alexander graduated from the Donetsk College of Applied Arts in 1985. He jumpstarted his professional career by participating in his first group exhibition at the Donetsk Museum of Arts the following year. At that time, very few of the young artists had the privilege of exhibiting their works at such institutions.


Since then, Alexander took part in numerous solo and group exhibitions domestically and abroad. His works are found in many private and public collections in Ukraine, Germany, France, Italy, Hungary, Finland, USA and Canada. The year of 2004 was marked for Alexander with his arrival on the Canadian soil to become a part of the Canadian cultural mosaic. He presently works and resides in Toronto, Ontario as a Canadian citizen. When Alexander was a teenager his parents used to take him every year on a trip to the heart of Ukraine, the Poltava region, where his aunt lived. The woman worked at the tapestry factory and during Alexander’s visits she would take her beloved nephew along with her to work.

Alexander enjoyed spending hours on end contemplating the process of creation of intricate tapestry patterns on fabric. Alexander learned this complex technique of weaving with great passion. This early interest in tapestry, specifically its exquisite patterns and color combinations, had laid the foundation for his unique artistic style. Alexander is a very diverse artist. He paints with oil on canvas and on wood, carves wooden plaques, does graphic art and creates sculptures. Creating sculptures is his real passion. When sculpting, he works with wood, sandstone, and bronze. In his sculptures Alexander likes to incorporate such materials as mammoth ivory, marble and colored glass. These combinations of juxtaposing materials create powerful effects that greatly enhance the aesthetic and philosophic value of the artist’s work. Alexander Gutyrya’s organically stylized sculptures are figurative and characterized by abstraction. The voluptuous forms of his works are multidimensional in what they convey. It can be a certain mood, specific moment in time, a thought or an idea.

All these aspects of the artist’s inner world are conveyed in his works either simultaneously or in portions. However, beneath the surface of each work one thing remains constant: the storytelling is always unique, unforgettable and captivating.

Go to: http://www.fineartpartnership.com/ And Browse works with artist's name in Search to read and see more.

Comment on the Government's Manifesto / BUSINESS section published on The Coalition: Our Programme for Government

In the spirit of this excellent collaborative website Program for Government – I would suggest the small / medium business (who will be most adept at helping you turn round the economy) could use: a UK Marketing Plan for Small Businesses.

Why not choose a small committee to join you in formulating that missing business proposal for the government to do marketing of the UK not only to secure inward investment, but to supporting small businesses wishing to expand their firms to new UK markets and/or are seeking new markets abroad physically and via the internet etc…?

I would suggest someone like Doug Richards head it up for the private sector (Entrepreneurs Manifesto *, School for Start Ups ex Dragons Den etc…). He seems to be someone who has the skill and the know-how and a huge selection of persons from all business disciplines and experience from which to choose your team.

Indeed it could be an online challenge/project for contributions initially from business people from over the UK who wished to share an insight; then this would be part of the content for you and your committee to edit – rework and ultimately it (along with a budget to support it) could be submitted formally. To make it more productive, you could create for the public ‘categories for comment’ (exactly as you are doing here for an overall public view on cuts), to channel our efforts more efficiently towards the ultimate goal of a UK Marketing Plan for Small Businesses which would be properly funded directly to business to get it into new national & international markets.

The RDAs are a waste of time and build empires (literally physically as well as metaphorically) which they then spend the funds they are granted to populate primarily with their own wage earning members. This idea would deliver some properly directed investment to fund real businesses to get into foreign markets, or develop new markets within the UK, via spending whatever funding is allocated directly on the businesses.

Underwriting their presence at global trade fairs over all sectors of business would be a good start. Not the often lame government stands at these shows, paying lip service, but really big innovative presence at ALL trade shows in places like China and India the US and on the continent – showing off what the UK can bring into all these markets.
At the moment, funding is minor, geared politically towards narrow market sectors and very complicated and most serious businesses are too busy trying to DO business to perform the clown like contortions to get themselves minor funding or to be part of fairs that are on arbitrary lists and not really where they KNOW they should be to make a real business impact. Business must tell government what they need not government tell business what they have to do to get what they (the government) thinks they should be given.

A Marketing Plan for internal and outward investment in our home grown entrepreneurs, where the content actually comes from an articulate and grounded grass roots, led and consolidated under your committees know-how and direction would deliver quick and sustainable results for minimal cost. Claire Swait (www.fineartpartnership.com )

What Art Investors can Learn from Gold Investors Part 2 – artmarketblog.com « Art Market Blog with Nicholas Forrest www.artmarketblog.com

What Art Investors can Learn from Gold Investors Part 2 – artmarketblog.com « Art Market Blog with Nicholas Forrest www.artmarketblog.com

News - Exclusive on Paintings from iconic Russian Historical and Spiritualist painter - rare availability outside Russia

Featured Contemporary Russian Artist: Alexander I Savin

“Art is a revolutionary force, actually the only one.”

“Art is a revolutionary force, actually the only one.” This bold statement of the influential sculptor and action artist Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) challenges us to reexamine the way we look at art. It suggests that doing and “consuming” ...art, rather than art being a merely entertaining pastime, is a vitally important human activity and can become a tool for transformation—of ourselves and the world. We will attempt to experience art as a transformative activity, in a most immediate and hands-on way through working with form and form development in sculpture. Clay-modeling will be accompanied by guided observation of the transformative processes in nature. Rudolf Steiner suggested that one of the most important concepts which humanity of our time will have to come to terms with is that of metamorphosis—the transformation of forms. This can be studied in an exemplary way in the development of plants and brought alive in us and through us in the artistic process. ...... Suggested reading: J.W. von Goethe, The Metamorphosis of Plants; New Eyes for Plants, M. Colquhoun, and A. Ewald, Art as Spiritual Activity, Michael Howard, Rudolf Steiner’s Contribution to the Visual Arts, Joseph Beuys, What Is Art? Conversations With Joseph Beuys  (See Rudolf Steiner Institute Courses for more)

CORA Members Call Residential Architects to Action - Architecture, Architects - residentialarchitect Magazine

Call Residential Architects to Action

A new position paper advocates for change within the profession to re-establish social relevance and credibility.