The city known for its ancient monuments and baroque churches finally has two new contemporary art galleries worthy of the name, both designed by foreign women.

The MAXXI gallery in Rome will open its futuristic doors to the public Sunday. The Museum of Art for the XXIst century is one of a few ultra-modern buildings to find a place in Rome, where modern architecture has often been met with resentment. The three-day inauguration festivities began on Thursday with the presentation of the gallery to crowds of enthusiastic journalists and critics.

The new structure designed by the Anglo-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid juts out dramatically from the side of a former military barracks in a residential neighborhood outside the city center. Hadid was the first woman to be awarded the Pritzker Prize for Architecture in 2004.

http://www.maxxi.beniculturali.it

Original article found here

Tina Spratt is a figurative painter based out of the United Kingdom. In 1999, she received her B.A. in illustration from the University of Wolverhampton. However, because of her passion for fine art, she decided to change her professional focus to drawing and painting.

Her work can best be described as snap shots of contemporary life with classical painting influences from Caravaggio,Lucian Freud, and Rembrandt.

Although Tina’s work does draw from the painters of antiquity, she has worked to develop her own personal style and approach. Her style was developed through layering multiple levels and experimenting with limited color palettes. Recently, she has begun to explore the use of texture and mood, in conjunction with the theme of fabric.

Most of Tina’s current work can be viewed on her website but you can find various images scattered throughout the web.

I would love it if Tina had a personal blog. It would be interesting to see a breakdown of her process and peer into her work methods. Let’s cross our fingers and be wishful thinkers, until then you can find more of her work at the links below.

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http://www.tinaspratt.co.uk/

http://www.oisingallery.com

http://www.absolutearts.com