TheGreatNude Invitational - May 13 - 16, The Roger Smith Hotel

Due to the great amount of interest in TheGreatNude Invitational, we have rescheduled the event at The Roger Smith Hotel for May 13 – 16, 2010 – allowing for the participation of some great artists and galleries, and making this event truly exciting for the Figurative Arts community. Check the site for new information and regular updates at www.thegreatnude.tv/invitational

Artists Odd Nerdrum, Richard T. Scott, Scott Goodwillie and Adam Miller have joined the exhibition, along with a number of galleries representing some of the world’s most well-known figurative artists, including Forum Gallery.

In addition, we are pleased to announce that Peter Trippi, editor of Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine and renowned art critic Donald Kuspit, have joined our Host Committee. Click to Read More>

Galleries, Curators, Artists Groups & Art Schools who wish to exhibit at the Invitational will be happy to know about several new developments. Early payment Discounts available. Click to Read More>

Sincerely,
Jeffery Wiener
Publisher, TheGreatNude.tv

[This is the first Post in our new series on TheGreatNude.tv exploring the use of the Nude Figure in Advertising. Check back for more posts in several days.]

The cover of Time Out New York‘s recent Museum Issue featured a modern take on the famous statue, Discobolus of Myron. Also known as The Discus Thrower, the original work has been lost but numerous recreations have been made since the original’s creation in 450 B.C. The earliest known copy now sits in the Natural Museum of Rome. Discobolus revivals have altered in medium (the original was done in bronze), size, and in some cases with variations on musculature and facial features. In all of its incarnations, The Discus Thrower is still one of the most recognizable art works in Western History.

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Discobolus of Myron. Also known as The Discus Thrower

With the team at The Great Nude now back in the studio here in New York City, it’s time to take a look back at our week-long excursion to Art Basel Miami 2008. Overall, we found the figurative arts were sparsely represented at the larger fairs. At some of the bigger fairs the nude was treated as a fashion bauble, used more for shock value.

However, we did find some extremely talented and dedicated figurative artists hidden in the quiet corners of many of galleries in the smaller fairs. Some of them are exploring new and unusual ways to use the human figure in their art. We’re going to introduce you to them and bring their works to you over the course of the next few months here at The Great Nude .

Artists Interviews

Beyond the main Art Basel festivities on South Miami Beach were the several smaller artist’s fairs. In our search to find the dedicated figurative artist we found ourselves off the beaten path at Art Now Fair where we chanced upon the impressive, large-scale works of Victor Grasso now exhibiting with the Soma New Art Gallery. Stay tuned for an exclusive The Great Nude video interview with this self-taught painter from New Jersey, describing his various works, including the visually jolting “The Catch.”

Victor Grasso - "The Catch"

Over at The Artist Fair, we caught up with the representational painter Anthony Ackrill. Some may recall his stunning works from last years RAM (Representational Artists Movement) Show at the Miami City Ballet during Art Basel 2007. As Ackrill himself puts it, he takes a “traditional approach to the craft of painting, in that they were all painted from life, with careful observations of nature and requiring a live model to pose in the studio.” Stay tuned for an exclusive The Great Nude video interview with Ackrill about his techniques and the meaning behind the iconic figures in his paintings.

Anthony Ackrill - "Faith"

The Sketch Sessions: Miami.

During Art Basel festivities last weekend, The Great Nude set up an artist’s atelier in the heart of South Miami Beach. Stay tuned for a new series of videos from the Sketch Sessions: Miami. With a lush, tropical set and two dynamic models, we created a mysterious jungle dreamscape from which to stage our figures.

Subscribers to The Great Nude can get a sneak-peek at the upcoming videos and a chance to win one of the original drawings.

Hello from Miami!

Tonight The Great Nude toured the Bridge Art Fair at The Catalina Hotel. Despite less than optimistic projections for sales at Art Basel Miami this year, the place was lively and the mood was optimistic.  Artists and galleries appeared resilient in the face of the current market and happy to talk about art.

Silvina Mamni
Represented by Susan Elay Fine Art

The Argentinian born Silvina Mamni paints small, playful figurative studies filled with the joy of life.  Her paintings depict various shaped women. Her work is poetic and warm, “Fiesta”, for example, is a lively and spirited painting which captures the figure in dance. There’s a wonderful energy and sense of motion in her work.

Phillip Thomas
Represented by Still Life Modern

Phillip Thomas’ work was a wonderful discovery for us as we made our way through the Bridge Art Fair.  A senior at the New York Academy of Art, this up-and-coming Jamaican-born artist is talented and appears well-versed in the traditional academics of figurative drawing.  His narative is unique to his experience now that he’s a New Yorker, and his work shows the powerful influence of his current environment. We’re going to be keeping and eye on Philip Thomas.

Tomorrow, we’ll be checking out Scope and Pulse looking for more great nudes.

And don’t forget, if you are in the area come to our MIAMI: SKETCH SESSIONS live Drawing Event tomorrow night and Saturday!

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Attention all figurative artists! Join The Great Nude for an evening of drawing and painting from live nude models during the Art Basel Miami festivities. This Friday and Saturday, December 5th and 6th!

Professional models will be posing in a tropical setting accompanied by music and drinks. Art supplies will be provided. All attendees must R.S.V.P to [email protected].

For more information please download our flyer or Subscribe to TheGreatNude.tv. See you there!

As promised we’ve added a brand new video player to our main site. Now you can view all of our videos in on central location through an easy to use side bar.

Things are busy here at The Great Nude Studio as we plan for our event in Miami. If you are an artist coming down to Miami for Art Basel, be sure to check out our invitational for a private Sketch Sessions event. Attendance by R.S.V.P. only and seating is limited. Drop us a line if you’d like to come.

In other news a pleasant surprise – we were recently blogged by the Figurative Sculpting Blog iSculpt. Check out the site for various musings about Figure Scultping.

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The Great Nude Presents Sketch Sessions: Miami

South Beach, Florida
Friday December 5 and Saturday December 6 from 7 – 11 p.m.

FIGURATIVE ARTISTS!

Join us for an evening of drawing and painting from live nude models during the Art Basel Miami festivities. Professional models will be posing in a tropical set accompanied by music, drinks and a hot Miami vibe. Guests can sketch or paint with art supplies provided by The Great Nude.

For more information and to RSVP please contact [email protected] or subscribe.

Things have been busy over at The Great Nude Studio and we’d like to share with you what’s coming down the pipe in the coming months.

• The Great Nude will be down in Miami for Art Basel 2008. We are finalizing plans now to do a live taping of sketch sessions with several models (male and female.) Stay tuned for more specifics as they become available.
• The Asian Contemporary Art Fair proved fruitful, with excellent figurative pieces from China, Iran, and Japan. The Great Nude has lined up exclusive interviews some international figurative artists which will be featured on the blog in the coming weeks.
• We’ve revamped our blog with some new style and flair and will be launching a new custom video player on the main site soon that will allow you to watch multiple videos in one player.
• Don’t forget to subscribe to our Newsletter for the most up-to-date information about our videos and events.

Cheers,

The Great Nude