Jeff Koons discusses his work on the occasion of being bestowed with a Medal from Department of State, as part of the 50th anniversary of the “Art in Embassies” cultural exchange program. Of the international reception to his art, Koons says, “…Americans are more intimidated by art, and they haven’t really come to realize that […]
In a luncheon ceremony tomorrow at the State Department’s Diplomatic Reception Rooms in Washington, D.C., U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will honor five contemporary artists — Jeff Koons, Cai Guo-Qiang, Shahzia Sikander, Kiki Smith, and Carrie Mae Weems — with the department’s inaugural Medal of Arts, a new award recognizing the honorees’ commitment to […]
‘Soundsuits’ sculptor Nick Cave performs at the U.S. State Department’s Art in Embassies 50th anniversary celebration Sculpture reinvents itself as sound, as music and as a source of protection in the hands of Nick Cave. The Chicago-based performance artist and sculptor constructs “Soundsuits,” material-heavy costumes that inspired a number of Corcoran College of Art + […]
In honor of the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations’ Office ofArt in Embassies (AIE) 50th anniversary, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will host a luncheon at 12:15 p.m. on November 30th in the State Department’s Diplomatic Reception Rooms to recognize AIE’s achievements. The AIE mission is two-fold – to create the highest quality […]
Clark Griswold, National Lampoon’s master of extravagant holiday displays, has got nothing on Cai Guo-Qiang. To celebrate the Sackler Gallery’s 25th anniversary, the Chinese artist famous for his Olympic pyrotechnics display will ignite a daytime fireworks show that riffs on the Christmas tree lightings taking place around the country. At 3 p.m. Friday in front […]
In celebration of 25 years of groundbreaking exhibitions, programs and scholarship in Asian art, the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery will host a week of public events, welcoming international arts and culture aficionados. Visitors can experience an immersive 3-D “cave,” meet their favorite authors as well as attend lectures and performances by distinguished scholars and […]
For 50 years, the State Department’s Office of Art in Embassies has selected and displayed American art, mostly behind locked doors in highly secure buildings. The pieces AIE purchases for embassies, and borrows for ambassadors’ residences, are usually seen only by official guests. “It may not be something specifically that the American citizen can experience,” […]
Embodying elements of performance art, sculpture, and fashion, the work of artist Nick Cave is hard to fit into one box. He’s best known for his SoundSuits, slightly silly (and scary) wearable fabric sculptures crafted from found objects like beads, fur, and flowers. Cave put this aesthetic diversity to use last January, when he traveled […]
Art In Embassies (AIE) is a program of the U.S. Department’s of State and Defense that promotes cross-cultural dialogue and understanding around the world through the visual arts, sponsoring dynamic artist exchanges. For five decades the public-private partnership program has played a big role in U.S. diplomacy. This month, in commemoration of Veterans Day, the […]
Serving Abroad…Through Their Eyes Best in Show Announced – In commemoration of Veterans Day, the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Art in Embassies (AIE) and the U.S. Department of Defense proudly announce the 12 “Best in Show” featured in AIE’s 50th anniversary “Serving Abroad…Through Their Eyes” photography exhibition. A year ago on Veterans Day, […]
Questions for Offbeat Materials Artist Jim Drain by Allison Meier. Q: It’s been eight years since you’ve had a major exhibition in Los Angeles. What do you have planned for “Drain Expressions” at PRISM? It is a homecoming of sorts. I moved to L.A. after school for a year. Allison Miller and Kerry Tribe were […]
Boston Globe – Students at the Rhode Island School of Design are getting a crash course in international diplomacy as they work with a professional sculptor on artwork for a new U.S. embassy in Morocco. The collaboration with the U.S. State Department’s ART in Embassies program is a first for the premiere arts school in […]
The U.S. Department of State Commemorates Art in Embassies 50th Anniversary – The Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations’ Office of Art in Embassies (AIE) proudly celebrates 50 years of facilitating the Department of State’s public diplomacy through the power of the visual arts. The AIE 50th anniversary features programming, events, and performances, including celebrations on […]
Nick Cave is into fabulous. Take the black marks that scar the floor of his 3,500-square-foot loft in Chicago. “Fabulous,” he says. Or the haunting portrait by the English artist John Kirby that Cave found at an art fair. “Isn’t it fabulous?” So is the porcupine-needle vestment from Cameroon that serves as a dividing screen […]
Sleeping with Anemones – Fused glass triptych “Sleeping with Anemones” by Fort Collins artist Mary Barron is her whimsical depiction of life on the sea floor. It was selected by the U.S. Department of State as the basis of a new work to include cichlids, a type of fish found in Lake Tanganyika, on the […]
Reed College Magazine – The art of Geoffrey Pagen, director of Reed College’s ceramic program, will grace the exterior of the new U.S. embassy in Bujumbura, the capital city of Burundi. Pagen has previously exhibited his work in Nouakchott, Mauritania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of the State Department’s Art in Embassies […]
Where the Wild Things Are – Batman might have a hard time recognizing the kaleidoscopic suit that he inspired artist Nick Cave to make; for one thing, there are spinning globes instead of a cape. “When Batman hits someone, there are all these words and images that explode,” explains Cave, 53, whose lair is in […]
