Katherine Bernhardt Does Pokeman. Tyler Hobbs in London. Matisse Room at the Vatican

I do hope that viewers take away a few things from my work: an enjoyment of color—or even a love of color; the idea that colors are extremely interesting in and of themselves; a love of painting; an idea that painting doesn’t have to be a serious thing to do: a painting can be fun!
- Katherine Bernhardt

Consumer culture and lots of color dominate the paintings of Katherine Bernhardt (b. 1975). People around the world can relate to her subject matter and enjoy the vibrancy that she brings to her works.

 

Her first solo show in Hong Kong is wild and wonderful. Each work is  based on the Pokeman cards that her son began collecting during the pandemic. 

 

 

The title of the exhibit is: Katherine Bernhardt: Dummy doll jealous eyes ditto pikachu beefy mimikyu rough play Galarian rapid dash libra horn HP 270 Vmax full art. Really, it is.

 

Katherine Bernhardt's exhibit at the David Zwirner Gallery in Hong Kong will run through August 2, 2023.

 

---

 

 Generative artist Tyler Hobbs (b.1987) is not just good at creating spectacular works of art; he’s also good at explaining his process.

 

 

 Hobbs had his first solo show in London in March, at a gallery in Mayfair. The guests on opening night included magazine critics, an art historian and invited art collectors. The works were done on both canvas and paper. The show was sold out. An exhibit at the Pace Gallery in New York followed the London show.

 

Part of the appeal of Hobbs’ work is his artist’s touch. He is an artist who studied Computer Science at the University of Texas, Austin (at his father’s suggestion). In addition to the algorithms he creates, he uses a plotter and finishes many of his works by hand. 

 

---

 

Last month, Pope Francis hosted an anniversary party to celebrate 50 years of the Vatican Museums' Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art. Since its inauguration by Pope Paul Vl in 1973 the collection has grown from 1,000 works to 9,000, including paintings, sculptures and works in other medium. 

 

 

 

One of the highlights of the collection is a separate gallery dedicated to the works of Henri Matisse (1869-1954). Many of the works in the collection are cut-outs, made between 1948 to 1952, designed to be used for Chapelle du Rosaire in Vence, Provence. 

 

The chapel was one of the last projects done by Matisse before his death and one of his most memorable works.

 

He was asked to help design the chapel by Sister Jacques-Marie, who had worked as Matisse’s nurse while he recovered from cancer-related surgery in 1941, before she became a nun. Matisse helped to design every aspect of the church, which is commonly called the Matisse Chapel.

 

Many of the works in the Matisse Room at the Vatican were donated by his son, Pierre Matisse, who was a successful art dealer in New York.

 

---

 

July 19, 2023