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Art Basel highlights Hong Kong's new status as arts hub with an array of international art |
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A man (L) and a woman are seen in an alley of the Art Basel Hong Kong fair in Hong Kong on May 22, 2013. The first Art Basel fair to be hosted by Hong Kong, previewed by VIPs on May 22 and opening to the public on May 23, boasts a prestigious array of international art, highlighting the city's new role as a global arts hub amid an explosion of personal wealth in mainland China. AFP PHOTO / Philippe Lopez.
By: Aaron Tam
HONG KONG (AFP).- The first Art Basel fair to be hosted by Hong Kong boasts a prestigious array of international art, highlighting the city's new role as a global arts hub amid an explosion of personal wealth in mainland China. The four-day annual show is the world's premier art fair and has until now only been held in Switzerland and the United States. On Wednesday wealthy VIPs flocked to the waterfront exhibition centre hosting the fair, which opens to the wider public on Thursday. Dressed in glamorous outfits and against a backdrop of popping champagne corks, they perused an eclectic mix of works from more than 3,000 international artists exhibiting through 245 of the world's leading galleries. The main section showcases work from an international group of 171 modern and contemporary art galleries, with selections of paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs and video. ... More |
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| Move over Pompeii - British Museum does fine dining Roman Britain style in new display |
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The Whitney presents first in-depth study of Edward Hopper's working process |
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New York Public Library announces agreement to display original copy of the Bill of Rights |
The Great Dish from the Mildenhall treasure: Roman Britain, 4th century AD. Found in Mildenhall, Suffolk. Copyright the Trustees of the British Museum.
LONDON.- The Mildenhall Treasure is Britain’s finest late Roman silver dining service, and the Great Dish is its magnificent centrepiece. Dating to the fourth century, it is an enormous disc of pure silver, over 60cm in diameter and over 8kg in weight. It shows a Bacchic revel, the god of wine and his entourage drinking, dancing and generally making merry, and is a masterpiece of Roman craftsmanship. Found in 1942 by a farmer whilst ploughing near Mildenhall in Suffolk, the treasure came to the Museum in 1946 and is considered to be one of the most impressive hoards ever recovered from British soil. This unique display is to accompany a new publication of ‘The Mildenhall Treasure’ by curator Richard Hobbs. The display will see a late Roman dining room recreated as a means of demonstrating the Roman habit of eating whilst reclining on a couch, with the Great Dish providing an example of the type of large platter on which food for sharing would have been presented. This image of ... More |
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Edward Hopper, Study for New York Movie, 1938 or 39. Fabricated chalk on paper. 10 7/8 x 8 3/8 in. Whitney Museum of American Art, NY. Josephine N. Hopper Bequest.
NEW YORK, NY.- This spring, the Whitney Museum celebrates Edward Hopper’s achievements as a draftsman in the first major museum exhibition to focus on the artist’s drawings and working process. Along with many of his most iconic paintings, the exhibition features more than 200 drawings, the most extensive presentation to date of Hopper’s achievement in this medium, pairing suites of preparatory studies and related works with such major oil paintings as New York Movie (1939), Office at Night (1940), Nighthawks (1942) and Morning in a City (1944). The show will be presented in the Museum’s third floor Peter Norton Family Galleries from May 23 to October 6, before traveling to the Dallas Museum of Art from November 17, 2013 to February 6, 2014 and the Walker Art Center from March 15 to June 22, 2014. Culled from the Museum’s unparalleled collection of the artist’s work, and complemented by key loans, the show illuminates ... More |
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The Library and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania today announced an agreement to share display of the national treasure.
NEW YORK, NY.- Members of the public in both New York City and Pennsylvania will soon get to see The New York Public Library’s original copy of the Bill of Rights, which will be exhibited for the first time in decades. The Library and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania today announced an agreement to share display of the national treasure, which has been preserved in The New York Public Library’s collections since 1896. The document will go on public display alternately at The New York Public Library and in Pennsylvania beginning in fall 2014 (the year marks the 225th anniversary of the document being drafted and proposed by Congress). “This landmark agreement makes public one of the most important documents in the nation’s history, an over 200-year-old, original copy of the Bill of Rights,” said Library President Tony Marx. “The document has been expertly preserved at the Library for over a century, leaving it in prime ... More |
| Never-before-seen on the international auction market, Matta's "Prisoner of Light" leads Christie's sale |
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Christie's to offer the most important silver coffee-pot ever to come to auction |
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Fine drawings and paintings featured in Swann Galleries' Auction of American Art |
Matta (Chilean 1911-2002), El prisionero de la luz (detail), oil on canvas. Painted in 1941. Estimate: 2,500,000 - 3,500,000 U.S. dollars. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2013.
NEW YORK, NY.- On May 29 and 30, Christie’s Latin American Sale will offer an outstanding selection of over 300 lots from some of the region’s most prominent modern and contemporary masters. The two-day auction includes esteemed private collections and an exceptional offering of paintings and sculpture from important Latin American artists such as Fernando Botero, Leonora Carrington, Matta, Wilfredo Lam, Alfredo Ramos Martínez, and Alfredo Volpi, among others. Never-before-seen on the international auction market, El prisionero de la luz (Prisoner of Light) (lot 56) by Matta (pictured above; estimate: $2,500,000 – 3,500,000) will make its debut May 29 at Christie’s New York. Painted in 1941, Prisoner of Light was created at a time during the artist’s career when he began to incorporate the violence of nature into his work as a metaphor for the hidden forces that surround ... More |
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A George II Silver Coffee-Pot, Mark of Paul de Lamerie, 1738. Estimate: £3.5 million – 4.5 million. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2013.
LONDON.- With an estimated 1.6 billion cups of coffee being consumed worldwide each day, Christie’s London presents the most important coffee-pot ever to come to the market in The Exceptional Sale on 4 July 2013 (estimate: £3.5 million – 4.5 million). This Rococo masterpiece by Paul de Lamerie (1688–1751) - the greatest silversmith working in Britain in the 18th century - is expected to become the most valuable piece of English silver ever to be sold at auction. The George II silver coffee-pot was created in 1738, for a successful merchant. This exceptional piece of craftsmanship has recently been the centerpiece of the British Silver exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum in New York. Lamerie’s works have been prized above all others for the last two hundred and fifty years. He was apprenticed to his fellow Huguenot Pierre Platel in 1703, becoming free of his master in 1711. Within six years he was described as the King& ... More |
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Charles Sheeler, The River Rouge Plant, charcoal, 1920. Est: $20,000 to $30,000.
NEW YORK, NY.- On Thursday, June 13, Swann Galleries will offer more than 150 unique works of art in an auction of American Art. Highlights include a run of works by Paul Cadmus, created in his early 90s and representing the culmination of his career as a master draftsman of the human form—specifically males. The Male Nude, NM series was of his longtime lover, Jon Anderson, 32 years his junior, whom he met in Nantucket in 1965—the “NM” notation stands for “Nantucket Man.” Cadmus and Anderson’s collaboration explored all aspects of the male nude, and the two remained lovers until Cadmus’s death just days before his 95th birthday. The variety among these drawings is evident in color crayon drawings such as Male Nude, NM 165, toned with raw umber and white acrylic, 1981; Male Nude, NM 199, 1986 ($20,000 to $30,000 each); and Male Nude, NM 276, toned with old rose acrylic, 1996 ($18,000 to $22,000). Other ... More |
| First American museum retrospective devoted to major Viennese artist and designer opens at Neue Galerie |
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Mumbai-based artist Shilpa Gupta opens exhibition at Galerie im Taxispalais in Innsbruck |
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Outstanding Modern and Contemporary South Asian masterpieces at Sotheby's London |
Koloman Moser, Armchair, ca. 1903. Prag-Rudniker Korbwaren Fabrication. Beechwood, painted white; woven cane seat, painted black and white, 70 x 65 x 63.1 cm. Neue Galerie New York. Photo: © Neue Galerie New York.
NEW YORK, NY.- From May 23 to September 2, 2013, the Neue Galerie New York will present a monographic exhibition devoted to the Austrian artist, designer, and Wiener Werkstätte co-founder Koloman Moser (1868-1918). This show surveys the sum of Moser’s decorative arts career, comprising important interior design commissions, examples of graphic design, furniture, textiles, jewelry, metalwork, glass, and ceramics, many of which are illustrated by rare preparatory drawings and prints. "With this exhibition, we present the first American museum show devoted entirely to Koloman Moser," said Renée Price, Director of the Neue Galerie. "Often overshadowed by the more famous Josef Hoffmann, Moser will be a discovery for many." "As a graphic ... More |
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Untitled, Installation with used doors.
INNSBRUCK.- In the exhibition will we ever be able to mark enough? by Shilpa Gupta, the Galerie im Taxispalais, Innsbruck, presents a comprehensive display of works by one of India’s most significant contemporary artists. Shilpa Gupta’s works – known internationally since the late 1990ies – unite a wide variety of media, including video, photography, installations and objects. Influenced by the politics and by the cultural reality of her country, Gupta’s works address the modern-day globalized world, revealing how daily life is permeated by and influenced by historical events, religion, terror, social inequality, power, gender, the media and local and international developments. Her early works in particular are frequently participation pieces, in which she addresses herself directly to the viewers, calling upon them to precisely observe and to critically question certain forms of behavior within society. In ... More |
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Sayed Haider Raza, Black Moon. Est. £50,000-70,000. Photo: Sotheby's.
LONDON.- Hot on the heels of the landmark Amaya Collection, its first Evening Auction of Indian art, Sotheby‟s has sourced an exceptional line-up of works - many fresh to the market and with outstanding provenances - for its Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art sale in London on 11th June. In this, the centenary year of his birth, the sale will feature two magnificent works by Maqbool Fida Husain which are offered at auction for the first time – one from the collection of a former Indian Ambassador. Other highlights will include Vasudeo S. Gaitonde’s recently discovered masterpiece, the luminous Painting No.1, previously in the collection of the great international champion of Indian art John D. Rockefeller III, as well as important works by Francis Newton Souza, Bhupen Khakhar and Jehangir Sabavala. The sale will also feature exciting works by Contemporary ... More |
| The New York Botanical Garden exhibits Philip Haas's monumental sculpture series Four Seasons |
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Major exhibition of works by Kenyan-born artist Wangechi Mutu opens in Sydney |
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Sean Kelly announces acquisition of work by Tehching Hsieh by the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority |
Philip Haas, Winter and Summer. Painted fiberglass sculptures in situ at The New York Botanical Garden, 2013. Courtesy The New York Botanical Garden.
NEW YORK, NY.- Internationally-renowned contemporary artist Philip Haas is the subject of a one person show, titled Four Seasons, at The New York Botanical Garden May 18–October 27, 2013. Haas’s work is distinguished by meticulously rendered tableaux seeking to illuminate the source of creativity, often through contemporary interpretations of masterworks from the history of art. In Four Seasons, Haas has created four monumental, 15-foot-tall, portrait busts that reference each of the seasons and are displayed in the round. In the artist’s exploration of the past, reinterpreted in the present, Haas references classical Italian Renaissance portraiture, with roots in the celebrated Four Seasons series created by Renaissance master Giuseppe Arcimboldo. Haas gives viewers a fresh perspective on the classical form by blowing up the scale to colossal proportions. What has formerly been a two-dimensional experience—the painted portr ... More |
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Wangechi Mutu, Drowning Nymph I 2007. Ink, paint, mixed media, plant material and plastic pearls on X-ray paper. Collection: Kamran Amin. Image courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro Gallery, London© the artist.
SYDNEY.- Mutu’s collages represent bodies subjected to strange deformations or embellishments, combining drawn elements and image fragments from a variety of media including fashion magazines and ethnographic journals, as well as representations of the female body in pornography. MCA Chief Curator Rachel Kent said: ‘She blends elements of humour, pathos and sexuality in often surprising ways. Themes include human desire, conquest, empire building and alienation, expressed through and extending beyond the body’s limits.’ Exhibition highlights include The Ark Collection (2006) of erotic collaged postcards, and the X-ray series (2007) of strangely morphed life forms that sit between human, animal and plant worlds. The single collage Intertwined (2003) extends this theme with its elegant depiction of two conjoined female figures with canine heads. Wangechi Mutu said: ‘My work starts with a ... More |
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Tehching Hsieh, One Year Performance 1980-1981, Apr 11, 1980 –Apr 11, 1981, Punching the Time Clock. Photo: Michael Shen © 1981 Tehching Hsieh. Courtesy the artist and Sean Kelly Gallery, New York.
NEW YORK, NY.- Sean Kelly announces a major museum acquisition of work by gallery artist Tehching Hsieh to the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority/M+ Museum in Hong Kong. Michael Lynch (CEO of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority) and Lars Nittve (Executive Director of the M+ Museum) announced the acquisition this morning in a press conference held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, timed to coincide with the opening of the Art Basel art fair in Hong Kong. This acquisition is the largest to date of Hsieh’s work and will be the most comprehensive collection of Hsieh’s work to be held in a public institution. The acquisition comprises a complete editioned set of the One Year Performance works and Hsieh’s final long-duration performance, which lasted thirteen years. The years from 1978 through 1999 witnessed Hsieh’s development of six individual performance works— all but one ... More |
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Patriotism is the last refuge of the sculptor. William Plomer. |
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| More News |
 Zurich selected as Host City for Manifesta 11 in 2016
AMSTERDAM.- The board of Manifesta announced their selection of the City of Zurich, Switzerland as Host City of Manifesta 11 in 2016. Since Manifesta's inception in the early 1990s it's mission has been to examine the cultural topography of Europe. Every two years it finds a new city or region in which to temporarily embed itself. In the past Manifesta has typically selected peripheral or contested regions as Hosts. Zurich’s dynamic and complex urban environment will provide a socially, politically and artistically significant trajectory for Manifesta in the coming years. Zurich has a very long history of artistic and intellectual liberalism. It was historically an incubator for revolutionary political and artistic movements. During periods of historical upheaval in Europe, Zurich offered asylum to intellectuals from around the world. Today’s Zurich is one of the most economically and ... More Gérard Rancinan exhibits at Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum
BRATISLAVA.- Born in the Bordeaux region, Gérard Rancinan travels the globe, bearing first hand witness to events of historical importance. With his imperious need to express himself, he delivers startling images of the contemporary world filtered through an ever-evolving aesthetic prism. His original perspective is applied to both real life situations and authentic mises en scène, veritable simulacra of our world. His approach is recognised by the world of contemporary art. Rancinan eschews conventional codes, preferring instead to travel a road which, while not solitary, is certainly unique. Known throughout the world, Gérard Rancinan’s works are displayed in the most prestigious international galleries and museums and feature in leading collections of contemporary art. Rancinan is a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. An independent journalist, Caroline Gaudriault has, for many ... More Porn star's calligraphy sparks art debate in China
SHANGHAI (AFP).- Calligraphy by Japanese porn star Sola Aoi has sparked a culture war in China, where she has a huge fan base, with purists dismissing the work as "unskilled" after it was reportedly auctioned for $95,000. Eight Chinese characters the actress wrote with brush and ink at a theme park in the eastern city of Ningbo were sold earlier this month, the Liberation Daily newspaper said Wednesday, without identifying the auction house or buyer. "The style of calligraphy is childish, unskilled," said the newspaper, which is backed by Shanghai's Communist Party branch. Sola Aoi, 29, is best known for her work in adult movies, with some of her less risque titles including Virgin Sky and Cosmic Girl. Despite China's official censorship of films, pornography is widely available on pirate DVDs. She has recently moved into mainstream films, appearing in one 2010 movie as a zombie- ... More Tibet House US presents "The Universe Within": Art by Govinda Sah 'Azad'
NEW YORK, NY.- Tibet House US has announced their upcoming art exhibit, The Universe Within, which will showcase the masterful works of renowned Nepalese artist Govinda Sah ‘Azad’. The exhibit will run from May 23, 2013 through July 24, 2013, with an opening reception to be held on May 23rd from 6-8pm ET. A portion of all sales will benefit Tibet House US and its ongoing work to preserve and present Tibetan culture. Govinda Sah ‘Azad’ is a celebrated, young Nepalese artist who studied in Nepal, Bangladesh, as well as London, where he is now based. The Universe Within, his first solo exhibition in the US, is an impressive display of his blossoming personal style – an introspective of the human life and soul through the study and display of creative cosmic, nebulous, and celestial occurrences. His paintings sometimes include vivid colors, but the paramount focus ... More A magnificent Cartier Art Deco Ruby and Diamond Necklace headlines Bonhams sale in Hong Kong
HONG KONG.- The Bonhams Hong Kong 2013 Spring Fine Jewellery & Jadeite Auction held on 25 May at the Island Ballroom of the Island Shangri-La Hotel offers 190 sparks of marvels that will entice collectors and aficionados alike. Headlining the sale is Lot 1092, a magnificent art deco ruby and diamond necklace, by Cartier, circa 1925, with an estimate of HK$3,000,000 – 4,000,000. Featuring approximately 20.00ct of rubies and 30.00ct of diamonds, the necklace’s linear outline and geometric design are classic examples of the art deco period. This important necklace was illustrated in the book "Bijoux Art Deco" by renowned French author Sylvie Raulet. The Art Deco period is one of the most popular and enduring design periods in the history of jewellery. The style reflected the flamboyant and playful attitudes of the era and gave birth to forms and motifs that continue to live on ... More Bonhams offers an eclectic selection of fine wines and spirits at Hong Kong auction
HONG KONG.- The Bonhams Hong Kong 2013 Spring Fine & Rare Wines, Cognac and Whisky Auction offers an exceptional selection of fine and rare wines and spirits from around the world. A total of 450 lots will go to block on 23 May at the Island Shangri-La Hotel. In the fine wines section, iconic Burgundy and Bordeaux wines that came directly from the outstanding private cellars of European wine connoisseurs continue to be top drawer picks. From one collection comes a case of Romanée Conti 1988 in their pristine original wooden cases with sequential numbers, a six-bottle case of Romanée Conti 1999 and solid cases of Chateau Petrus, Lafite and Mouton Rothschild from the legendary 1982 vintage. A collection from France comprises a selection of well drinking Bordeaux from the 1995 vintage including Latour, Mouton, Haut Brion and Cheval Blanc. With Bonhams ... More Cantor Arts Center chooses photography as an area for expansion
STANFORD, CA.- Connie Wolf, the John and Jill Freidenrich Director of the Cantor Arts Center, announces the launch of a comprehensive plan for the growth of the Cantor’s photography program. This will position the Cantor as a leader in the collection, exhibition and study of photographs in the Bay Area, which is recognized internationally as a center of photograph collecting and scholarship. The museum will significantly build its already strong holdings, present innovative exhibitions of work by distinguished artists and be an inspiring resource for students and faculty to learn directly from photographs. While the Cantor will continue to expand and deepen all areas of its comprehensive collection, Wolf identified photography as an area for strategic development. This focus on photography will enhance the museum’s collection, which currently includes more than 5,700 ... More Dennis Lee Mitchell's smoke drawings and works by Alexey Titarenko on view at C. Grimaldis Gallery
BALTIMORE, MD.- C. Grimaldis Gallery presents two concurrent solo exhibitions: Alexey Titarenko: Venice, and Dennis Lee Mitchell: Smoke Drawings. Both open on Thursday, May 23, 2013 with a reception from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Smoke Drawings is Dennis Lee Mitchell’s first solo exhibition at C. Grimaldis Gallery. In his current body of work, Mitchell uses smoke as a drawing tool, delicately applying carbon from a lit torch, depositing the soot from the smoke onto paper. While the resulting images evoke human forms or body parts, his imagery remains abstract, striking a balance between the representational and the ephemeral. For the artist, “carbon is both essential for life and the essence of the ephemeral. In my work, it is the result of heat transforming materials. The smoke becomes a vehicle to capture the elusive moment where chance and idea meet…. The images become ... More Sotheby's American Art Auction totals $28.1 million in New York
NEW YORK, NY.- For a third consecutive season, Sotheby’s American Art auction has surpassed its pre-sale expectations – today’s auction totaled $28,087,750, above a high estimate of $24.4 million*, and sold a strong 83.9% by lot. Highlights included: • The enduring strength of the market for works by Norman Rockwell was felt throughout the sale – the six examples on offer together sold for an impressive $6.5 million, more than double their overall high estimate of $3 million. Seven bidders battled for He’s Going to Be Taller than Dad, a domestic scene of a boy and his faithful dog that fetched $2,629,000 (est. $500/700,000). • This follows Sotheby’s November 2012 sale of American Art in which five works by Rockwell totaled $6.1 million, again demonstrating the continued appetite for works by the American icon. • The top lot of the auction was John Singer Sargent’s Marionettes ... More |
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Behind the scenes at Nick Cave's HEARD•NY
Directed by Jay Buim, Joanne Leonhardt Cassullo Video Fellow, Creative Time. Additional footage by Kyle Repka and James N. Kienitz Williams
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| Flashback |
| On a day like today, English architect John Wood, the
Elder, died |
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| John Wood, the Elder, (1704 – 23
May 1754, Bath), was an English architect, working mainly in Bath.
In 1740 he surveyed Stonehenge and the Stanton Drew stone circles.
He later wrote extensively about Bladud and Neo-Druidism. Because
of some of his designs he is also thought to have been involved in
the early years of Freemasonry. In this image: North side, Queen
Square. |
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