Dear Readers,

 

It is my pleasure to present this issue of The Art Section, which focuses on European artists and architects. Robert Stalker brings us an article about Chantal Akerman, who has always been my favorite video artist. Her Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975), a masterpiece of quiet movement, was one of the first video works I connected with.

For me, there is nothing like the personal appreciation of an artwork. I am therefore delighted to have Venetian Architect Monica Trevisan write for The Art Section about the new bridge in Venice designed by Santiago Calatrava. The last time there was major construction for a bridge there it was to complete the Scalzi, the bridge across from the train station in Venice, in 1934. For an architect who lives in the city of bridges to walk over something new must be fantastic. I am enchanted by the images of this new bridge juxtaposed with the cityscape of La Serenissima.

Anna Leung returns to us to write about the exhibition Miró, Calder, Giacometti and Braque: Aimé Maeght and his Artists at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. I love the ideas behind Maeght’s blueprint for a new kind community for artists. It is interesting that these artists are being shown in this context at this moment when there is a strong need for these kinds of friendships to reassert themselves worldwide. 

All my best,
Deanna