317 Tenth Ave, Ground Floor (between 28th and 29th St.) Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 to 6 p.m.

(Art) Amalgamated, a new project space in Chelsea, will present FAIR, an interactive installation of work by Mikel Glass, April 21 – May 12, 2012. During Freize New York, the gallery will stream live bulletins from the fair on Friday May 4th and Saturday May 5th, 2012.

The exhibition, which is a commentary on the art market, will take place in two distinct spaces in the gallery. One space will be an active, manned broadcast studio – disguised as an artist’s studio. Separated by a glass and steel wall, the other half will feature six large-screen monitors that will simultaneously broadcast a constant feed of different, but related, “hyperactive” videos as they, along with an array of audio speakers, submerse the viewer in a cacophony of sights and sounds from the art fairs and featured segments exploring several specific artists and themes.

FAIR, Glass’s first show with (Art) Amalgamated, will include recent works as well as earlier paintings to show the development of the artist’s work that culminates in the immersive installation. Instead of assuming an oppositional, documentary-like stance against the art market, Glass has chosen to create an elaborate, semi-fictitious world, which draws upon a myriad of influences and relies on the comedic and absurd to get its message across to the viewer.

To accomplish this, an array of interesting and colorful correspondents, including William Powhida, Lisa Levy, Graydon Parish, Eric Doeringer, the legally blind play write Jeremy Basescu and fourteen-year-old Cami Rubach will report from the various art fairs in NYC during Frieze Art Fair week. Their observations, comments and impromptu interviews will be streamed and presented as “breaking news” bulletins, via the broadcast studio constructed within the gallery Friday May 4th and Saturday May 5th. Surprises will be in store for the gallery visitor, who will become active participants in the installation, such as an in-house correspondent who will interview visitors and whose opinions will then be incorporated into the presentation.

On www.fairnyc.com, a website created specifically for the exhibition, there will be video vignettes of a few contemporary artists, as well as recorded and live streaming footage from the art fairs.

Filmmaker, Shimon Azulay created the video content in the exhibition with Glass. Additionally, Glass has enlisted a team of over 40 people to assist him to video, interview, build and design this installation. Sound engineer Rob Paustian has designed an audio program that grips and enthralls. Larry Lustberg of Stortz Lighting has lent his vision, expertise and equipment to help create a completely immersive environment. Artist Daniel Baltzer offered his engineering genius in collaborating in the fabrication of the installation.

ABOUT MIKEL GLASS
Mikel Glass (b. 1962) has had a 20 -year career exhibiting in major galleries and museums. Trained as a realist painter, Glass received a B.A. from Pomona College, in Claremont, Calif., and an M.F.A. from the New York Academy of Art. Glass’s work has been featured in numerous solo and group shows around the country. In 2009, he had a solo exhibition at The Taylor Museum, Fine Art Center in Colorado Springs, CO.

ABOUT (ART) AMALGAMATED
Located in New York City, (Art) Amalgamated is a new project space that bypasses the conventional gallery system. Founder Gary Krimershmoys showcases both modern and contemporary art, with a particular emphasis in utilizing innovative methods for the curatorial framing of our shows. (Art) Amalgamated’s goal is to provide an exhibition platform that does not fit comfortably within the confines of traditional art venue, but rather a comprehensive entity encompassing full art advisory, collection management and art appraisal services.
317 Tenth Ave, Ground Floor (between 28th and 29th St.) Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 to 6 p.m.

Changing Hands 3 features more than 130 works, ranging from site-specific installations and video to sculpture and jewelry—approximately 25 of which were designed and created specifically for the exhibition. Following its New York City premiere, the exhibition will travel to museums in the United States and Canada, including the Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY, and the McMichael Collection in Ontario, Canada.

“The Changing Hands series has been groundbreaking in shedding new light on the vitality and variety of contemporary Native art—an artistic genre that has frequently been overlooked by the broader art world,” says Holly Hotchner, MAD’s Nanette L. Laitman Director. “MAD is committed to representing the artistic diversity of world cultures and revealing the transformative power of materials and innovative artistic processes. Changing Hands exemplifies the seamless merging of artistic disciplines, themes, and traditions that MAD is dedicated to bringing to the fore.”

Organized by guest curator Ellen Taubman in collaboration with MAD’s Chief Curator David McFadden, the works in the exhibition come from a broad cross-section of indigenous cultures, including Native Americans from the U.S., and First Nations, Metis and Inuit people from Canada. Featured artists are presented without tribal designations, however, and the exhibition is instead organized around the following three significant themes that illuminate artistic, intellectual, and cultural resonances among Native artists:

• “Evolution and Exploration” examines how Native artists are reinterpreting their cultural traditions through contemporary perspectives, and includes the work of scholar and beadwork artist Joe Baker, whose creative use of color and patterning in textiles is based on the complex floral and geometric elements that once decorated early bandolier bags among the Delaware and Southeastern people; performance and mixed media artist Barry Ace, who uses computer components in lieu of the more “traditional” glass trade beads identified with many Native groups; Jeremy Frey, whose innovative sculptural baskets reference early Maine basketry techniques; and Jamie Zane Smith, who has developed an entirely new language of ceramics through the study of prehistoric and proto-historic forms among the Wyandot tribe.

• “Natural Selection” features a group of artists whose works respond to and investigate nature through the lens of contemporary art, including Truman Lowe, whose dramatic and conceptual openwork sculptures are created from willow branches harvested by the artist; acclaimed sculptor and glass artist Robert Tannahill, who creates stylized “masks” that represent the interplay of natural wood forms and molten glass; and Frank Shebegaget, whose major installation, “Cell,” is constructed from hundreds of fine strands of fishing wire interspersed with hooks that create both a visceral and emotional impact.

• “De-Coding History/Historical Provocation” presents works that are often politically nuanced and contrast the realities of history with the mythology of cultural assimilation that has marginalized much indigenous art. Among the featured artists are Robert Houle, whose work addresses the disruption and dislocation of individuals, families, and often times, entire cultures as well as the public apology made by the Canadian government for the abuse of indigenous peoples in government residential schools. His installation, “Sandy Bay Residential School,” which is featured in the exhibition, recounts his experience at a residential school after being removed from his family at a very young age; mixed media artist Shan Goshon, whose featured woven basket is comprised of a photograph of Indian schoolchildren and adults at a typical boarding school, titled “Educational Genocide: The Legacy of the Carlisle Indian Boarding School;” and performance and installation artist Kent Monkman, who questions history, colonization, boundaries of identity, gender and more in a broad body of work, evidenced in this exhibition with a number of works, including the film “Shooting Geronimo,” which highlights the way Hollywood has caricatured indigenous people in film, and “Emergence of a Legend,” a series of five photographs which depict Monkman’s alter ego, Miss Chief, in various costumes that confront how Native Americans have been forced to perform their identity for other cultures, among other works.

“Changing Hands 3 provides audiences with a sensory experience of the complex, multilayered work of contemporary Native artists as they confront cultural expectations, reclaim lost traditions, and create a new identity for themselves shaped by historical, political, and personal circumstances,” says Ellen Taubman, Changing Hands curator. “Through an extraordinary melding of past and present, and direct opposition between stereotype and tradition, the Native artists featured in the exhibition confront what Native art has meant and what it means today.”

2 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019

Reviews of Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr.:
• The New York Times: “Ms. McCoo and Mr. Davis, now both in their mid 60s, are the most famous alumni of the Fifth Dimension, the group that homogenized pop and rock strains into cheerful, polished lounge music that made grown-ups feel comfortably groovy… Both are still strong singers.”
• Cabaret Scenes: “After forty years in the music biz and thirty-nine years of married life together, these 2/5ths of the original “Fifth Dimension” are still struttin’ their stuff. They look and sound great… Their act is squeaky clean and polished with lots of information about their career(s) and personal lives. Just what an audience loves to hear! McCoo’s pure, smooth and supple sound is as good as it gets.”

Saturday, March 17th

Even the traffic slowed down on busy Okeechobee Boulevard, when more than 200 guests were spotted “conga-lining” up the red carpet at the Cohen Pavilion on Saturday, March 17th for “A Hot Night in Havana at The Tropicana” — an evening of dining and dazzling dancing— in celebration and support of West Palm Beach’s only professional theater company, Palm Beach Dramaworks. Co-chaired by Jan Willinger and Don & Linda Silpe, the evening’s Latin tone was set from the start when cocktails were served in an amazing garden setting recreating the famous Cuban outdoor nightclub. Planned by noted designer Peter Rogers, gasps were heard as the tropically clad guests moved into the grand ballroom, which was transformed into the legendary nightclub complete with countless ceiling height Royal Palms and exotic flowers — even native birds! The evening continued with Producing Artistic Director William Hayes inviting Palm Beach Dramaworks Board Chairman, Mark Perlberg, to the stage, and both honored long-time supporter Ed Ricci with the fifth annual “Shelly Award”, an award dedicated to an individual who made an extraordinary commitment to developing and supporting the theatre community in South Florida.

Live music by the Grammy award-winner “Tomasito” Cruz & his critically acclaimed Salsa/Tropical Rhythms Orchestra and Stage Show had guests toe-tapping and shaking maracas while being enthralled by the breathtaking nightclub setting, glowing in shades of tropical gold and green light, with tables topped with prize-winning sky-high birds of paradise. Sponsors were graciously acknowledged by Managing Director Sue Ellen Beryl. Mr. and Mrs. Silpe and Jan Willinger also welcomed the guests and thanked their Gala Committee, including Calla & Ralph Guild, Roy Bartolomei & Peter Wronsky, Penny & Mitchell Beers, Susan Bloom, Hon. Ann & Don Brown, Peter Cromarty, Esther & Sidney Dinerstein, Hermine Drezner & Jan Winkler, PNC Bank, Daphne & Robert Fessler, Mimi & Alec Flamm, Beth & Mark Goldberg,Kelly & Michael Gottlieb, Roe Green, Lois & Allan Hutensky, The Northern Trust Company, Dorothy Lappin, Sidney Lesowitz & Peter Rogers, Hon. Mary Lupo & Ed Ricci, Zelda & Allen Mason, Pamela & Brian McIver, Marilyn Meyerhoff, Diane & Mark Perlberg, Stephanie & John Pew, Marsha & Stephen Rabb, Ann Marie & Peter Rezzonico, Linda & Jay Rosenkranz, Shari Santell, Marlene & Martin Silver, Selma & Joseph Sitrick, David Veselsky & Kenneth Elias and Shelia & Larry Wilensky. Then the music and dancing really started under the incredible eye of the endearingly loved and celebrated “Tomasito” Cruz. Cited as one of the top percussionists in the world, he is a noted singer/songwriter and presented a unique show, full of Cuban flavor and Latin jazz fusion.

Reviews of Chita Rivera:
• Stephen Holden, The New York Times: “Chita Rivera has a gleam in her eye, a smirk on her lips and a bounce in her step… You leave this show walking on air.”
• Los Angeles Times: “Shimmering show-biz perfection.”
• Associated Press: “Chita Rivera is more than a musical theatre star. She’s a force of nature.”
• Newsweek: “Chita Rivera is irresistible!
• USA Today: “Ever-riveting! Chita Rivera has the rare presence of a thoroughbred star.”
• Wall Street Journal: “Chita Rivera is a wonder to behold.”

The site will reopen its doors on 30 March 2012 under its new name “Carrie`res de Lumie`res” with the show “Gauguin and Van Gogh, the colour painters”, created by Gianfranco Iannuzzi with Renato Gatto and Massimiliano Siccardi. Culturespaces has chosen this name to give this man-made site a
new focus and emphasise the ever-present role of light here.
In the heart of Alpilles, the monumental “Carrie`res de Lumie`res” host extraordinary multimedia shows which are unique in the world.
Culturespaces is organising an innovative and ambitious project with 4 key aspects: A new programme of cultural events on the theme of the History of Art in the Carrie`res rooms and galleries: audio visual shows, live shows, concerts, lectures, and more.The ‘Carrie`res de Lumie`res’ aims to become a cultural hub for multiple events, and will be offering one big new
show every year profiling the greatest names in the History of Art.
A new event in which the Carrières quarries are gradually lit up to highlight the unique nature of the site between each show, allowing visitors to admire their mineral beauty.

New high-performance technological equipment for this outstanding audio visual show. Each area of the Carrie`res invites visitors on an extraordinary audio visual journey made possible by cutting-edge technological equipment and methods developed by Culturespaces and its multimedia partners: 70 video projectors, 3D audio adapted to the specific characteristics of the site, etc.
More surfaces used in the show to give it more breadth and extend this artistic journey.

Spectators are totally immersed in the image projected onto all the surfaces of the rock. We are now using twice the number of video projectors in order to cover twice the wall area. The ground is completely covered, too, and becomes a vast carpet of images.

The aim of this show is to show the links between Paul Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh and to analyse their very different ways of using colour. While Gauguin uses well defined areas of flat colour, Van Gogh prefers vibrant layers of paint which bring a relief effect to his paintings.

The show touches on their two careers, which had a number of similarities: both started out painting landscapes in northern Europe (Brittany for Gauguin and the Netherlands for Van Gogh) before returning to the South of France, later reaching an explosion of colour inspired by the Pacific islands for Gauguin and northern France for Van Gogh.

The seven sequences of this show transport visitors in music to the colourful world of these two painters and submerge them in a world of images, where paintings come to life before their very eyes.
Van Gogh, the northern prelude This prelude introduces us to the austere northern light in Van Gogh’s first paintings. The dark somber colours depict ordinary people in hard living conditions. Like a prelude at the Opera, this phase
shows the audience an important but often little known aspect of the artist’s work.

Gauguin in Pont-Aven, a new theory of picture Gauguin went to Pont-Aven in Brittany for the first time in 1886. There he encountered the culture and
customs and discovered its colours and vibrant green landscapes. The large expanses and special atmosphere here inspired him to fill sketch pads and
to create his own personal style. He developed a new theory of picture characterised by the simplification of forms, the removal of details and
the use of expanses of colour to preserve only what is essential. Away from Paris, he was able to work freely on the expressive effects of exaggerating
shapes, combined with a wealth of colour and stylised lines. This period of intensive research shows a move away from impressionist forms and
techniques and the development of his own stylistic vocabulary.

Gauguin & Van Gogh – correspondence
The third sequence brings the two artists together through their correspondence, which shows their coming together, their encounter and their
separation. Their exchanges went in fits and starts, but each of them kept up ongoing conversations with friends and family. Van Gogh corresponded
regularly with his brother Theo. His letters talked about painting, Gauguin, art and his aspirations as an artist. The artists’ own handwriting is displayed dynamically, and their words resonate around various parts of the quarry.
The encounter at Arles The two painters met for the first time amidst the
warm colours of the South of France. Gauguin joined Van Gogh’s ‘Studio of the South’ on 23 October 1888. The latter had a deep desire to bring
together artists on the fringe of traditional art markets to create synergy through collaboration. The painters of the Studio of the South gathered in a
small yellow house that Van Gogh rented outside the old city wall of Arles.
This encounter marked the beginning of a partnership filled with opposition and conflict, admiration and contempt, but with only one objective – authenticity in painting, and specifically, in the use of colour. Two months after his arrival, Gauguin left the Studio of the South because of insurmountable differences in personality and ideas. At this point, Van Gogh was already starting to go mad, and cut off part of his ear in a nervous state. They continued, nonetheless, to correspond, but they would never meet again.

Gauguin in the Pacific islands, back to Eden After several intense months in Arles, Gauguin decided to head to Tahiti. This was the start of
“the Studio of the Tropics”. Gauguin produced a great deal of work in Papeete and its surroundings: he sculpted, painted and engraved, taking documents that he had brought from Paris as his inspiration (photographs, Japanese prints, etc.) and superimposing them onto Polynesian superstitions and customs.

These far-off islands plunge us into a mythical world. The sensory dimension of this new picture world is expressed with the generous use of colours.
The artist’s palette becomes both harmonious and dissonant, and ranges from pink to indigo, lemonyellow to red ochres, jade to emerald. Van Gogh in Saint-ReÅLmy, under the Southern sun Van Gogh stayed in Provence, where the turbulent power of the sky, cypress and olive trees reflected
his tormented soul which can be seen in the curves of his drawings, the strength of his lines, the dense texture of the paint and the intensity of colour.

On 8 May 1889, he committed himself to the asylum in Saint-ReÅLmy. hroughout his stay there, he maintained an imaginative and creative mind, and adopted a more innovative approach with a strong drawing style, bright colours and daring perspectives like the famous “The Starry Night”, or his famous series of “Cypresses”. The Auvers-sur-Oise plain This artistic journey comes to an end with two intensely emotional paintings. “Wheat field with crows” is a strong and poetic image, full of the vibrant life of nature. The sky is stormy, and the
crows are flying off from the wheat fields. Then the image of almond blossoms points towards renewal. Unlike the previous one, this painting is full of hope and life. It is the sign that painting is immortal, and that it does not end with the painter but lives on.

Gianfranco IANNUZZI trained as a sociologist and photographer. His artistic approach uses image, sound and light to communicate through the senses. He works to provide a cultural and artistic re-imagining of diverse existing places and spaces, both indoor and outdoor. On each occasion he creates an installation that respects, profiles and transforms the space in a temporary way.
He designs an “interactive environment” which spectators can move through at their own pace, and even change their perception of the show. The use of state-of-the art multimedia and interactive technology encourages audiences to participate and get actively involved with the work of art. He has been producing shows for the Carrie`res at Les Baux de Provence for many years.
He is currently working on a number of projects across Europe and the world, filling new spaces with his artistic creations.

Renato GATTO is a drama teacher and assistant director. He has produced his own teaching and training programme focussed on the relationship between
the body and the voice, gestures and sounds. He teaches vocal technique in the main Italian theatre schools, and works as a teacher and performer with the Fenice Theatre teaching project in Venice. He is Head of the Accademia Teatrale Veneta actor training school.

Massimiliano SICCARDI is a video director and multimedia artist.
He has developed a research and production business using new image, sound and video technologies. He works with images, seeking to integrate them into artistic performances and choreographies. Current projects
“IMAX Flying Theater Project” – Vancouver, Canada
“Grande Exhibitions” – Melbourne, Australia
“DebbaneÅL Museum” – Saida, Lebanon
“Tokyo National Art Center Project” – Japan*
“Kyoto University Hall Project” – Japan*
* postponed due to 2011 earthquake
Interview with Gianfranco Iannuzzi…
1. Where does the idea for this project come from?
G.I.: The idea behind this project is to take the opportunity to go deeper into the world of twopainters, and to bring them together in one outstanding and grandiose location to tell the story of alegendary and intriguing relationship using only images and musics, providing a total immersion in
colour through the work of two exceptional artists.
2. What is your feeling about the peculiar friendship between Gauguin and Van Gogh?
G.I.: Despite their differences in personality and artistic perspective, it is beyond doubt that Van Gogh and Gauguin influenced each other. I don’t think, though, that we could call it friendship. Van Gogh believed that Gauguin was the artist who could help him develop his Studio of the South idea, a community of artists that would correspond to his ideals for life and painting. For Gauguin, it was nothing more than a temporary opportunity to help him find his way, a turning
point in his career that marked a before and after. Both of their techniques involved the juxtaposition of colour. This is one of the show’s key themes.
3. How do you portray this relationship in the show?
G.I.: The relationship between the two artists is shown as two parallel lives which criss-cross like meteorites, moving together and then apart.
They have different starting points: “Nuenen: the austere northern light” and “Pont-Aven: a new theory of picture” An encounter and a confrontation:
“Correspondence” and “Arles: the encounter” Two different journeys with a similar destination: “The Studio of the Tropics” and “Saint-ReÅLmy and the Auvers Plain”
5. What do you want to communicate to the audience through this work?
G.I.: We’re not trying to undermine the role of museums and exhibition halls, which is where people should go to discover a painter’s work. Our creative work aims to amplify the emotional aspect of each work by letting the general public engage with it in a multi-sensory, three-dimensional experience.
I also want to get the viewers out of a classic passive attitude and draw them into the work, as if they were “actors” on a huge stage. When I see couples dancing in the quarry or children playing with the images on the ground, I feel I have succeeded.
6. You have produced a number of shows at the Carrières du Val d’Enfer. What does the new technological capability of the Carrières offer you as a creator? How will it improve the audience’s experience?
G.I.: Technology is no more than a tool. But the better the tool, the more room there is to express ideas and creativity. We now have twice the number of top-of-the-range projectors, and their brightness has been increased. There are now 4000 m2 of vertical projection areas, and a new 2000 m2 carpet of images
has been produced on the floor. All this has required significant IT investment in both hardware and software to keep the show synchronised and manage the room. Audio has been a particular priority, and we now have a top quality multi-channel sound system. These technological developments will create a strong audio visual impact and immerse the audience in the show.
Finally, the scenic lighting of the quarry’s “architecture” will allow the audience to admire its beauty between shows.
7. How do you approach the production of a show of this scale?
G.I.: The artist’s point of view is the starting point for the work.
The artist’s work is spread around the space of the quarry, and members of the audience reconstruct it depending on their position and how they move around. The viewer’s perspective is my starting point as I look at the paintings and the space. For my partners Renato Gatto and Massimiliano Siccardi and myself, the key is first to get to grips with the overall work of the artists from the point of view of both their pictures and their theory. We then do a great deal of selection and iconographical development. The works are then broken down into the different figures and colours that make them up, which we use to construct the animations
and visual effect. All this material finds its place in the scenario that we have written beforehand and which forms the show’s narrative journey. The music supports and provides structure to the narrative, gives keys to understanding it and deepens the overall emotional impact. This approach offers each viewer the opportunity to create their own show depending on their level of perception, their movements and their own knowledge.

The Carrie`res de Lumie`res invites visitors on an extraordinary audio visual journey made possible by cutting-edge technological equipment and methods developed by Culturespaces and its multimedia partners.
- The only video equipment of its kind in France : we are now using twice as many projectors in order to cover twice the wall area. It is the largest permanent video installation in France with 70 video projectors, driven by 70 servers projecting images onto a surface area of more than 6,000 m2. The
ground is completely covered, too, and becomes a vast carpet of images.
Each server delivers a programmed image to its video projector, and it is all synchronised by a production computer that holds this ultimate installation together.
- 3D audio adapted to the specifics of the site. Each speaker covers 45 degrees of wall and broadcasts a more homogenous sound wherever the spectator is.
- The installation of fibre optic cables has revolutionised the installation with smoother image transmission. Each video signal is converted into light using fibre optic technology, and these signals can therefore be carried up to 500 metres, in a higher resolution than Full HD.
- The installation of a complete automatic management system for multi-screen production, sound and lighting.
There is nothing else like this classified natural site with its bespoke technology – just what is needed for a show on this scale.

The Carrie`res du Val d’Enfer quarry was created over the years.

ALFRED SCHNITTKE: Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano
JOSEPH ACHRON: Hebrew Melody, Op. 33
JOSEPH ACHRON: Hebrew Lullaby, Op. 35, No. 2
DIMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH: Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 134
ARVO PÄRT: Spiegel im Spiegel

YEVGENY KUTIK TAKES, SOUNDS OF DEFIANCE, ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND EUROPE
This spring and summer, Russian-American violinist Yevgeny Kutik will perform works from his debut album, Sounds of Defiance (Marquis Classics), throughout the United States and Europe with engagements in Boston, New York, Washington D.C., Germany, Poland, and elsewhere. His schedule includes performances in Krakow and Auschwitz-Birkenau on April 18 and 19 in recognition of the 25th anniversary of the March Of The Living. The March Of The Living is a 3-kilometer walk from Auschwitz to Birkenau held in tribute to victims of the Holocaust.
(See below for a full list of performances.)

Sounds of Defiance was inspired by Yevgeny Kutik’s family history and cultural heritage. Kutik and his frequent collaborator, pianist Timothy Bozarth, recorded music composed during some of the darkest periods in the lives of Alfred Schnittke, Joseph Achron, Dmitri Shostakovich and Arvo Pärt. Despite the turbulent, resigned, even angry sense these works may convey, they each contain themes of faith – faith in God, faith in the human spirit, and faith in art. Kutik writes, “It is their unyielding faith that provided these composers with a powerful weapon against tyranny – defiance.”
When violinist Yevgeny Kutik was five years old his family left Belarus and immigrated to the United States. As Soviet Jews living in the USSR, they experienced unjust pressures that permeated every aspect of life: life at school and work, public and private interaction, and the inability to openly practice their religion. These same pressures were experienced by a wide array of religious, ethnic and social groups, politicians and artists who suffered brutally for their beliefs in the former Soviet Union. It is the painful legacy of a country rich in culture and creativity, a country that throughout its history produced many incredible figures who have made incalculable contributions to society.
Kutik writes, “Although I have few memories of the Soviet Union, I feel a profound connection with its history and culture. Partly, this is due to all I have gathered about my family’s life in Belarus yet, maybe equally so, it has come from the incredible Russian music I’ve heard and studied since I first picked up the violin. This music features prominently in the soundtrack to my personal, cultural and philosophical worldview.”
Each of the composers featured on Sounds of Defiance was affected by the darkness of Soviet and pre-Soviet repression. Joseph Achron was born into a devout Jewish family in turn-of-the-century Russia, a time when anti-Semitism was rampant and violent. Stalin and his formalist Composers Union, which lived on long after his death, hounded Dmitri Shostakovich for much of his life. Alfred Schnittke ran afoul of the Composers Union for his compositional style and musical experimentation, resulting in blacklisting by Soviet authorities for many years. Arvo Pärt was born in Estonia immediately prior to its occupation by the Soviet Union and, though Estonian, lived under the same frustrating Soviet bureaucracy that plagued the lives of Schnittke and Shostakovich.
Yevgeny will perform repertoire from Sounds of Defiance (Alfred Schnittke’s Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano, Joseph Achron’s Hebrew Lullaby and Hebrew Melody, Dmitri Shostakovich’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 134 and Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel) on many of the concerts listed below. (Please see presenter websites for full details.)
March 5 – The Bohemians (NYC)

March 18 – Hammond Performing Arts Series (Hingham, MA)

March 25–30 – Residency and Performance (3/30) at UMass Amherst (Amherst, MA)

April 10 – New Center LIVE! – Performance and Discussion with Martin Bookspan (Boston, MA)

April 18, 19 – March of the Living (Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland)

April 25 – Boston University/Alea III – An International Salute to Roman Totenberg

April 28, 29 – Hammond Performing Arts Series (Hebron, ME and Weston, MA)

May 5 – Ludwig Symphony (Roswell, GA)

May 19, 20, 21 – Norddeutsche Philharmonie (Rostock, Germany)

May 23 – Lobkowicz Collections Series, Lobkowicz Palace (Prague, Czech Republic)

June 8 – The Embassy Series – Embassy of Poland (Washington, DC)

Reviews of Melba Moore:
• Stephen Holden, The New York Times: “Melba Moore is a one-woman sound machine… (A) theatrical jazz diva… she turned songs into sonic exhibitions in which emotion was superseded by extreme vocal display.”
• Cabaret Scenes: “Over 40 years after her smashing Broadway appearances in Hair and Purlie, Moore remains svelte, trim and in vigorous voice. With a five-octave range, her songs scoot and skim from soprano heights to deep alto depths.”
• Los Angeles Times: “Melba Moore Powerful in Comeback Bid”
• Variety: “The lady is a buoyant force of nature. She has lost none of her spunk and charm and has retained the escalating strength of that remarkable four-octave range. Her songs are laced with considerable emotional involvement. What shines through in Moore’s (performance) is a persuasive clarity of purpose and enveloping personal warmth

Suzanne Turner, CEO of the YWCA explains, “We all should know where public officials being elected in the upcoming 2012 election stand in terms of investment in the needs of our children making them a national priority! Our global economic competitiveness is at stake when over one-half million children annually are abused and neglected; more than seven million children do not have health care; and nearly half of all kindergarten teachers report that at least 50% of their children come to school with problems that hinder their success.”

The exhibit will be on display during the month of March at the Children’s Home Society, 3333 Forest Hill Blvd. in West Palm Beach and the Schoolhouse Children’s Museum, 129 East Ocean Avenue in Boynton Beach. Opening of the exhibit will be Monday, March 5th from 5-7pm at the Children’s Home Society and Thursday, March 8 from 6-8pm at the Schoolhouse Museum.

In addition to Children’s Home Society and the Schoolhouse Museum, supporting agencies are Adopt-a-Family, The Arc of Palm Beach County, Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County, Families First and The Lord’s Place. These agencies will be working with parents and advocates to better understand the federal issues that directly affect how children will be treated and cared for in the future and the environment in which they will become adults.

Reviews of Tom Wopat:
• Stephen Holden, The New York Times: “In a fundamental way, (Tom) Wopat is a keeper of the flame of the Sinatra saloon tradition. Like Sinatra he is not afraid to be tender and to bare his emotional vulnerability. At the same time, however, he is not a Sinatra imitator…he has a country singer’s relaxation.”
• Rex Reed, The New York Observer: Swarthy but cool, like a preppie rodeo cowboy with a tuxedo and a Rolex, Tom Wopat is so charismatic and versatile he can lock in a lyric and lasso an audience at the same time… With an appealing song list that ranges from Cy Coleman and the Beatles to Gershwin and Bobbie Gentry, he demonstrates with ease why he has become, with age and experience and a lot of good listening, what I call a category-defying performer capable of wearing many hats and tackling numerous trends, from country to jazz. He’s come a long way from The Dukes of Hazzard.”
• Cabaret Scenes: “How comfortable is Tom Wopat on a cabaret stage? Comfortable enough to pull out a guitar and start entertaining the audience fifteen minutes before his show was scheduled to start. Comfortable enough (to make) a cabaret feel almost like a living room… Tom Wopat is a jazz vocalist, and a darned good one.”

Reviews of KT Sullivan:
• The New Yorker: “As vocally, comically and theatrically assured as contemporary cabaret performers get.”
• Wall Street Journal: “Too much of a good thing is simply wonderful. That’s KT Sullivan all over.”
• Stephen Holden, The New York Times: “One of the pleasures of cabaret reviewing over the long haul has been to observe the evolution of KT Sullivan from an effervescent musical comedian into the increasingly fearless and complex singing character actor she is today… Ms. Sullivan’s natural ebullience and perfect comic timing transport you to a blissful plateau.”
• Cabaret Scenes: “With the slightest lift of the eyebrows, most subtle tilt of the head, KT Sullivan communicates her songs with singular understanding. At this point in her career, she is a standard of interpretation. She does breezy comedy better than almost any singer around, using her expressive face, precise timing and immaculate phrasing and vocal stress.”

KAORUKO – Japanese artist KAORUKO draws upon both the rich cultural history of her homeland as well as her experiences as a former Japanese pop stars to create her large-scale, graphically illustrated paintings depicting women in their private domestic spaces. Her highly codified motifs sourced from traditional woodblock prints and textiles are juxtaposed with figures defiant against the contemporary Japanese construct of kawaii, which values the feminine in terms of ‘cuteness’ and ‘adorability.’ Using acrylic paint, traditional sumi calligraphy techniques and silkscreened kimono patterns on canvas, she explores the complexity of the modern Japanese woman in terms of her relationship with herself and tradition. KAORUKO’s first major solo show Aromako is on view in the gallery January 7, 2011.

Kim Dorland – Canadian artist Kim Dorland is noted for his “extreme” impasto oil paintings of phantasmagoric scenes. Landscapes are drenched in light and offer a connection with space and a natural beauty as well as an affinity and longing for departed eras. Through this investigation of traditional landscape painting, he pushes the limits of the medium to visually narrate his experience of being raised in rural environment.

Will Kurtz – Brooklyn based sculptor and urban voyeur Will Kurtz meticulously constructs life-size figures modeled after personal acquaintances and eye-catching characters encountered on the street in and around his Bushwick neighborhood. The sculptures are constructed from easily accessible, everyday household materials like glue, newspaper, masking tape, screws and wood, which when brought together give the work an immediate sense of comfort and familiarity. With utter sincerity, Kurtz gives us a candid and unapologetic mosaic of New Yorkers in their blunt, colorful, borderline-manic behaviors.

Yigal Ozeri – Israeli artist Yigal Ozeri is distinguished for near photo-realistic oil paintings capturing the spirit of his subjects enveloped in the beauty of a vast landscape, from lush rainforests to arid deserts. Thousands of tiny brushstrokes animate the paintings’ surfaces and give way to an uncanny realism, overt beauty, and seductive power; the viewer is compelled to gaze into the deeply symbolic realm between reality and fantasy. In Ozeri’s Aquabella series, time and locale are ambiguous against an infinite seascape. He painstakingly captures the spirit of his subjects through a heartfelt quest to capture his muses’ energy.

Liao Yibai born 1971, Jiang An, Sichuan, China (GR)
Lives and works in Beijing and Chongqing, China
Chinese artist Liao Yibai creates sculptures and drawings of fake luxury goods and antique treasures. Through his intriguing combination of humor, imagination, and cultural criticism, Yibai reevaluates potentials and explores the complexities of material value. The shiny brilliance and technical skill of his hand-welded, stainless steel sculptures offers a complex and intriguing dialogue with prestige and power. Yibai’s work has been exhibited throughout the United States, China, and France.

Mike Weiss Gallery – Booth B20
Location
The Art Miami Pavilion
Midtown Miami | Wynwood
3101 NE 1st Avenue
Miami, FL 33137
www.art-wynwood.com

Reviews
• Stephen Holden, The New York Times: “The return engagement of Paulo Szot, the smoldering Polish-Brazilian baritone… is an encouraging example of an opera singer belatedly finding his pop mojo… Mr. Szot’s lady-killer aura (bedroom eyes, pencil-line mustache, flickering half-smile, loosened tie and the slightly tousled look of a lover emerging from an erotic tussle) is matched vocally by a much more persuasive emotional connection with his material.”
• Cabaret Scenes: “The dreamy-eyed, mustached singer seemed very casual in his approach, using a music stand when needed, as he oozed sexy flair on a variety of Latin rhythms after giving the audience what they hoped for — a Some Enchanted Evening’ opening and ‘This Nearly Was Mine’ closing.”
• Variety: “Brazilian operatic baritone Paulo Szot turned heads in New York with his performance in the smashing 2008 revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific, earning himself a lead actor Tony and more than enough fans to fill the Allen Room many times over. Those fortunate to score a ticket for his one-night-only Lincoln Center American Songbook concert were not disappointed; Szot’s voice and personality more than filled the soaring space.”