Art News. Vasari Codex

article culture schedule Dec 12, 2025 visibility 14 link 5 artists, 1 gallery

‘Lust for Life’: The Van Gogh book designed to fit in pockets of US soldiers during the Second World War

Irving Stone's 1934 novel *Lust for Life*, a fictionalized biography of Vincent van Gogh, was published as an Armed Services Edition during World War II for U.S. soldiers. These pocket-sized books, measuring 11cm by 17cm, were designed to fit in uniform pockets and withstand harsh conditions. Over 123 million copies of various titles were printed from 1943 to 1947, with distribution including parachute drops to troops on Pacific islands and handouts to soldiers before the Normandy Landings. The surviving copies are scarce and often damaged, with browned pages and covers marked as U.S. government property, not to be resold.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

article local schedule Sep 8, 2025 visibility 10 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

Spouses of PIF leaders visit Art Gallery

Spouses of Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders visited the National Art Gallery in Honiara on Monday as part of the official program for the 54th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting. Hosted by Madam Jocelyn Manele, spouse of the Solomon Islands Prime Minister, the delegation toured exhibitions featuring shell money, wood carving, and lava-lava textiles, and engaged with local artisans demonstrating traditional crafts. Acting Curator Julie Fakaia noted that the exhibition showcased gallery collections and live demonstrations, including shell money making and weaving from Rennell and Bellona. The spouses also purchased handmade items from the Solomon Islands Artisans, with traditional gifts exchanged during the visit.

newspaper Solomon Star News open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule May 28, 2025 visibility 9 link 3 artists

Arts of Oceania

The article explores the rich artistic traditions of Oceania, emphasizing how the vast network of islands and ocean passageways fostered a dynamic exchange of cultures, materials, and ideas over millennia. It describes Oceanic art as vessels for metaphysical journeys, with objects like fishhooks, stick charts, and carved figures serving as tangible expressions of ancestral power and cultural knowledge. The text highlights the role of artists as chiefs and orators who manipulate local materials to manifest spirits, and traces the region's entanglements with European colonial powers from the sixteenth century onward.

newspaper The Metropolitan Museum of Art open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule May 5, 2026 visibility 12 link 2 artists

'Ocean of Peace' Micronesian art exhibition opens at Honolulu Hale

The Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts, in collaboration with the East-West Center Arts Program, will present 'Ocean of Peace,' a group exhibition featuring seven artists of Micronesian heritage at Honolulu Hale from May 8 to June 11, 2026. The exhibition centers on the 'Ocean of Peace' declaration, a political and cultural framework endorsed at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ meeting in the Solomon Islands in September 2025, which envisions Pacific Island nations as sovereign and free from geopolitical conflict and coercion. Participating artists include James Bamba, Carol Ann Carl, Gillian Duenas, Kalany Omengkar, Anthony Watson, Lissette Yamase, and Manny Crisostomo, exploring themes of Indigenous Pacific knowledge, identity, and storytelling.

newspaper KITV open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Feb 24, 2026 visibility 7

New exhibition sheds light on thriving traditional Samoan art in American Samoa

The Field Museum in Chicago is set to debut "Amerika Samoa," a temporary exhibition opening March 6, 2026, in the Regenstein Halls of the Pacific. Co-curated by Reggie Meredith Fitiao and Su’a Uilisone Fitiao of the nonprofit Fa’asamoa Arts, the show focuses on two primary Samoan art forms: siapo mamanu (painted barkcloth) and tatau (tattoo). The exhibition features contemporary works alongside historical pieces from the museum's collection, including a collaborative large-scale siapo created with the Chicago Samoan community.

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