MELBOURNE.- A major international exhibition featuring two of the most significant artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries – Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei – opened at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, on 11 December 2015. Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei, developed by the NGV and The Warhol, with the participation of Ai Weiwei, explores the significant influence of these two exemplary artists on modern art and contemporary life, focussing on the parallels, intersections and points of difference between the two artists’ practices. Surveying the scope of both artists’ careers, the exhibition at the NGV presents over 300 works, including major new commissions, immersive installations and a wide representation of paintings, sculpture, film, photography, publishing and social media. The exhibition explores modern and contemporary art, life and cultural politics ... More
Jacob Waben Schilderij, Vrouw Wereld, 1622 (detail). Olieverf op doek, 151 x 131 cm. Invnr. 00237.
KIEV(AFP).- Ukrainian investigators on Thursday called on the Netherlands to help probe the fate of a batch of precious Dutch paintings reportedly being held by a volunteer battalion fighting pro-Russian insurgents in the east of the ex-Soviet state. "We are waiting - and they are welcomed here in Ukraine - the official investigators who can investigate this material", Ukraine's police chief Khatia Dekanoidze told a press conference. She said the Dutch experts could work together with their Ukrainian counterparts. "Our doors are opened, we are transparent", she said. The Westfries Museum in the Dutch town of Hoorn said on Monday that two dozen 17th-century paintings that went missing a decade ago had been found in a villa in a Ukrainian-controlled part of Donbass - a splintered zone of a conflict that has already killed more than 9,000 people since April 2014. Two men claiming to represent the Organisation of ... More
Sotheby’s Paris confirms leadership in France for Contemporary Art in 2015. Photo: Sotheby's.
PARIS.-Sotheby’s Contemporary Art in Paris concluded today with a total of €25.5 million / $27.9 million / £18.5 million, one of the company’s highest totals for a Contemporary Art sales series in France. Stefano Moreni, Head of Contemporary Art, Sotheby’s Paris: “It’s been an outstanding week for Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s in France. The market for works defined by a classical French postwar aesthetic is truly alive and kicking. It was a privilege to offer two masterpieces by Jean Dubuffet, who is scaling new heights at auction, and there was a strong appetite for ‘School of Paris’ artists. Collectors responded to the exceptional quality and freshness of the work we sourced, reflected in the depth of bidding from around the world.” CONTEMPORARY ART, 9 & 10 December 2015 Sale Total: €25,545,900 / $27,857,548 / £18,523,538 Pre-sale estimate €18.2-26.1m / $19.8-28.4m / £13.2-18 ... More
Seated bodhisattva (left attendant of a triad), ca. mid-17th century. Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). Korea. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Mary Griggs Burke Collection, Gift of the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation, 2015.
NEW YORK, NY.-The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea signed a memorandum of understanding today at the Museum, establishing a long-term relationship of cooperation in the area of Korean art and culture. The agreement was signed on behalf of the Metropolitan Museum by Daniel H. Weiss, President, and on behalf of the Ministry by Seung Je Oh, Director of the Korean Cultural Service of New York. On this occasion, the Ministry further announced a gift of approximately $1 million (KRW 1,250,000,000) to the Metropolitan Museum, where the gift will fund initiatives over a three-year period, 2016–2018, including a major exhibition in 2018, enhancement of the presentation of Korean art in the ... More
An Italian pietre dure table top inlaid with the arms and symbols of the Grimani Family, probably to a design by Bernardino Poccetti (1548-1612) Grand Ducal Workshops, Florence, circa 1600 - 1620. Est. £400,000- 600,000. Sold for £3,509,000. Photo: Sotheby's.
LONDON.- Today, at Sotheby’s London, The Grimani Tables, two of the greatest inlaid hardstone and antique marble table tops ever made sold for a combined total of £5,134,000. Made in Florence circa 1600-1620, the first table top set a world auction record for any hardstone inlaid top table top at £3,509,000 / $5,323,855 / €4,839,252. Five bidders competed for this highly unique piece of art in a 10-minute bidding battle, driving the final price high above its pre-sale estimate (est. £400,000-600,000 / $620,000-930,000 / €565,000-845,000). This magnificent pietre dure top with the arms and symbols of the Grimani Family was probably a gift from a member of the Medici family to the Grimanis. No fewer than four bidders vied for the second table top which sold to a private ... More
Exceptional Cushion-cut Sugarloaf Cabochon Kashmir Sapphire and Diamond Ring, 25.87 carats. Estimate $3,500,000 / 4,500,000. Sold for $5,122,000 ($197,990 per carat). Photo: Sotheby's.
NEW YORK, NY.- Propelled by top prices for important diamonds, exceptional colored stones and historic designs, Sotheby’s final jewelry auction of 2015 concluded last night in New York with a $52.3 million total, raising the Company’s annual worldwide sales of jewelry to $571 million. Below is a look at the jewels that drove Sotheby’s results both last night and throughout 2015: • An Exceptional Platinum, Kashmir Sapphire and Diamond Ring. Set with a sugarloaf cabochon sapphire of 25.87 carats, and with no indications of heating. Sold for $5,122,000 ($197,990 per carat) (estimate $3.5/4.5 million) AUCTION RECORD PRICE-PER-CARAT FOR A SUGARLOAF CABOCHON KASHMIR SAPPHIRE. This Kashmir sapphire hails from three generations of one of America’s most prominent families: that of Thomas Fortune Ryan (1851-1928), who stands alongside J.P. Morgan, Andrew ... More
"Standart", 1969. Dispersion on canvas, 50 x 38 3/4 inches, 127.5 x 98.5 cm. RP 30/A.
Courtesy Michael Werner Gallery, New York and London.
LONDON.-Michael Werner Gallery, London presents an exhibition of early works by German artist A.R. Penck. This is the first comprehensive exhibition in London of Penck’s rarely seen early works. Featuring important paintings and sculptures created in Dresden in the 1960s and early 1970s, the exhibition presents unique insights into the artist’s distinctive style and sensibility. A.R. Penck’s mature style, characterised by brusquely painted signs and symbols rendered with an intense graphic impact, is by now recognisable to anyone familiar with the art that emerged in Europe during the post-war period. Penck’s reductive pictorial vocabulary and determinedly unfussy painterly style have made it all too easy for unsympathetic viewers to dismiss the artist as primitive or neo-expressionist. The exhibition at Michael Werner, focused entirely on important early paintings and the ... More
BERLIN(AFP).- Berlin's parliament on Thursday voted to open the doors of museums, zoos, operas and theatres for free on January 31, 2016, to thank the capital's residents for their mobilisation in the country's biggest refugee relief drive since World War II. "With open arms and with an infinite energy, Berliners welcomed thousands of refugees to Berlin," the city state's parliament said. "Without the unconditional help of thousands of Berliners in the refugee shelters, and the donations of clothes, toys, medicine and food... Berlin would not have been able to cope with this exceptional situation," it added. The institutions which would offer free entry for the day would be listed on a website called "Berlin says thanks" or berlin-sagt-danke.de. Further details of the programme were not yet available. The decision came as the capital's ... More
Jay Zukerkorn, Parallel, 2015 (detail). Archival pigment print, 50.8 x 50.8 cm.
NEW YORK, NY.- Waterhouse & Dodd presents an exhibition benefitting the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which has supported the fight against Parkinson’s so dynamically since 2000 by raising over $450 million. A portion of all sales from the exhibition will contribute to the Foundation. Paintings, drawings and photographs of 5 artists represented by Waterhouse & Dodd are being featured. Two of these artists – Tom Shannon and Jay Zukerkorn – have Parkinson's. Jay Zukerkorn was diagnosed in 2004. Born in Hawaii, Zukerkorn has been a successful commercial photographer for 25 years and Waterhouse & Dodd is the first gallery to showcase his fine art endeavors. Zukerkorn’s first series Movement Disorder began as a response to his initial diagnosis, as he accentuated his condition by deliberately blurring the images in bright, colorful beach scenes. In his new series, The Road I Am On, the photographs ... More
Mark Ryden, Quantum Entanglement, 2015 (detail). Oil on panel, 14 x 11 inches.
NEW YORK, NY.-Paul Kasmin Gallery announces Dodecahedron, Mark Ryden’s second exhibition at the gallery, on view at 293 10th Avenue from December 10, 2015 - January 23, 2016. Dodecahedron features the Los Angeles-based artist’s first-ever bronze sculpture, along with eight new paintings, drawings, color studies and a new porcelain edition. The vocabulary of images in Ryden’s new body of work remains consistent with his pervasive distortion of scale and his iconic fairytale-like creatures set against seductive landscapes of untouched beauty. However, the subject of his latest series is informed by the geometric structure “dodecahedron,” a solid figure bearing twelve sides whose perfect symmetry has been the source of extensive query by mathematicians and scientists since antiquity. Drawing upon the form’s mystery and divine connotations as a source of inspiration, Ryden explores the bridge between ... More
Most recently, Rivas has worked as an independent curator in New York City and as the associate curator of Latin American Art at LACMA.
DENVER, CO.-The Denver Art Museum announces Jorge Rivas Pérez as the new Frederick & Jan Mayer Curator of Spanish Colonial Art. The announcement comes today as the museum celebrates the longstanding dedication and generous contributions of the Mayers at its annual Collectors’ Choice fundraising event. Beginning in February 2016, Rivas will oversee the DAM’s world-renowned Spanish Colonial art collection, and continue the museum’s commitment to acquiring works with a broad, Pan-American focus. He joins the New World department alongside Margaret Young-Sánchez, the museum’s Frederick & Jan Mayer Curator of Pre-Columbian Art. As a Venezuelan native, Rivas cultivated extensive experience during his 14 years as the curator of Spanish Colonial art at the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros (CPPC). Based in New York City and Caracas, Venezuela, the ... More
Rare Kashmir sapphire ring sets world-record at Bonhams Fine Jewelry. Photo: Bonhams.
NEW YORK, NY.- A rare sapphire and diamond ring achieved U.S. $1.35 million, including premium, at Bonhams New York’s Fine Jewelry auction on Dec. 8, setting a world-record for a Kashmir sapphire under 10 carats ($172,000 paid per carat). A stunning turn-of-the-century Tiffany & Co. ring centered by an oval-cut sapphire, the stone is of rare quality—deep and rich blue—and flanked by beautiful European-cut diamonds, weighing 7.84 carats. “On the heels of three world-records at our recent Bonhams London jewelry sale, Bonhams New York sets another world-record in price per carat for a Kashmir sapphire under 10 carat,” said Senior Director of International Jewelry Daniel Struyf. “It’s been a successful week for Bonhams’ international jewelry department and a sign that colored gemstones are on the rise.” Other top lots include: • AN IMPORTANT SAPPHIRE AND DIAMOND RING, cushion-shaped ... More
Ernst Wilhelm Nay (1902-1968), Schwarz mit gelbem Band, 1966. Signed and dated; signed, titled and dated on the reverse. Oil on canvas, 162 x 131 cm; (63 3/4 x 51 5/8 in.).
HONG KONG.-Ben Brown Fine Arts Hong Kong is presenting Aspects of German Art (Part One) - Revisited, a comprehensive survey of German post-war and contemporary art, featuring works by some of the most important and pioneering artists working in Germany during this period. The exhibition brings together seminal paintings, photographs and installations that provide an overview of the artistic, socio-economic and political concerns of post-war Germany, a time period when these artists were reconciling with the trauma of war, finding a national identity and constantly pushing the limits of modern and contemporary art, through to the present day. Georg Baselitz (b. 1938) Georg Baselitz, a pioneer of the Neo-Expressionist movement in Germany, has spent his career exploring the post-war German identity, creating ... More
Quote All painting is abstract, it must be organised. David Hockney
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Clark Art Institute awards Clark Prize for Excellence in Arts Writing to Eileen Myles NEW YORK, NY.- Poet and writer Eileen Myles was awarded the Clark Art Institute’s 2015 Clark Prize for Excellence in Arts Writing on Monday, December 7 in New York. Clark Trustee Frederick Beinecke presented the award at the Tribeca residence of photographer Ariane Lopez-Huici and sculptor Alain Kirili. The Clark Prize is funded by the Beinecke family through the Prospect Hill Foundation, established in New York in 1959 by the late Elizabeth G. Beinecke and William S. Beinecke. Established in 2006, the Clark Prize recognizes insightful and accessible prose that advances a genuine understanding and appreciation of the visual arts. “The Clark Prize underscores the Institute’s emphasis on promoting scholarship while encouraging public appreciation of art,” said Francis Oakley, interim director of the Clark. “Through her work, Eileen Myles has inspired new ideas and discourse ... More
Sinatramania anew 100 years since 'The Voice' was born HOBOKEN(AFP).- With his perfectionist musical instincts, tough guy swagger and impeccable sartorial sense, Frank Sinatra captivated the 20th century like few other entertainers. A singer who so defined his craft that he was often called simply "The Voice," the sight of Sinatra would send young fans into a tizzy starting in the 1940s as he became pop culture's original heartthrob. Even 17 years after his death, the phenomenon then called "Sinatramania" or "Swoonatra" has persevered to a startling extent with the singer still enjoying a hold on the public imagination. With Saturday marking 100 years since Sinatra's birth in the working-class town of Hoboken, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York, at least 10 new books have been published this year on Sinatra, exploring the colorful and often brash lifestyle of the singer who famously sang, "I did it my way." A new ... More
Art of War: Hixenberg Ancient Art announces its latest gallery exhibition NEW YORK, NY.-Hixenbaugh Ancient Art announces its latest gallery exhibition, “ART of WAR.” The exhibition brings together an unprecedented accumulation of weapons and armor from ancient Greece. “ART of WAR” features over a dozen bronze helmets, breastplates, and other pieces of armor. Great civilizations from the dawn of humanity were often born out of advancements in military technology. Ancient Greece was no exception. Militarism pervaded every aspect of Greek society from the Bronze Age until the rise of Rome. Competing Greek city-states engaged in an arms race whereby each fielded increasingly well-equipped troops in a continuous series of disputes over land and resources. This relentless fighting between competing city-states led to technological innovations which by the time of the Persian invasions of the early 5th BC demonstrated the unrivaled military ... More
Detroit Institute of Arts hires Jill Shaw as associate curator of European art (1850-1950) DETROIT, MICH.-The Detroit Institute of Arts announced today it has hired Jill Shaw as associate curator of European art (1850–1950). Shaw comes to the DIA from Colgate University, where she was senior curator of collections for the Picker Art Gallery and a research affiliate in the department of Art and Art History. She begins at the DIA January 19, 2016. This is the first curatorial hire by Salvador Salort-Pons, who became DIA director in October. “We are excited to welcome Jill to our curatorial staff. She brings a wonderful set of scholarly skills and is keen on our visitor-centered approach,” said Salort-Pons. “Among other responsibilities, Jill will conduct much-needed research on our modern European collection, one of the finest in the nation. I am confident she will bring new light into our Modern art holdings, reinforce them with new acquisitions and organize innovative exhibitions in ... More
Untitled, Miami Beach, 2015 raises the bar with increased attendance and robust sales MIAMI, FLA.- On Sunday, December 6, Untitled, Miami Beach, the international art fair, closed its fourth edition. Comprised of 127 international exhibitors - that included non-profit organizations and artist-run exhibition spaces - and an innovative program of events including performances and talks, the fair received top accolades from visitors and exhibitors, securing its place as a must-attend event during Miami Art Week. This year, despite uncooperative weather, the fair achieved a 35% increase in daily attendance, bringing in a total of over 36,000 visitors. Collectors and art world professionals from around the globe braved the elements and flooded the fair’s airy aisles to view and acquire works from an exceptional selection of emerging and established exhibitors. “This year, our team put together an outstanding fair,” stated Jeff Lawson, Untitled’s Founder, “Our ... More
Dunlop 'Burrell Collection can be Scotland's calling card on the world' GLASGOW.- Scotland Office Minister Andrew Dunlop today saw works from Glasgow’s Burrell Collection which are set to be part of an ambitious loan scheme to some of the world’s most prestigious galleries and museums. From October 2016, the Burrell Collection will embark on plans to refurbish the building and redisplay its unique collection. An entirely new visitor experience will be created with basement stores open to the public for the first time, and a new central core greatly increasing access to the many artworks. An exhibition of the works from The Burrell Collection will be on display at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow during that time, whilst a number of works will be sent on loan to some of the world’s most important museums and galleries, partly as a way to highlight the fundraising effort and encourage donations towards the redevelopment from overseas ... More
The world's most famous golf portrait sells at Bonhams LONDON.-Bonhams yesterday sold one of the most famous golfing paintings in the world for £722,500. Lemuel Francis Abbott’s The Portrait of Henry Callender standing in a landscape, in the red coat of Captain General of the Blackheath Golf Club and holding a putter is now the most valuable portrait of golf ever sold at auction. Also in the Old Master Paintings sale at Bonhams London was an extremely rare iron headed putter from around 1780, almost certainly the same club featured in the portrait, which sold for £62,500. Both lots went to the same buyer in the packed saleroom. Painted between 1790 and 1798, Henry Callender’s portrait is one of the earliest golf paintings of an identified sitter. Prints were made of the work in 1812 after Callender’s death and copies have hung in golf clubs and private collections worldwide for centuries. The original painting has hung at the Royal ... More
Stefanie Gutheil's fourth exhibition with Mike Weiss Gallery opens in New York NEW YORK, NY.-Mike Weiss Gallery presents Stefanie Gutheil’s fourth exhibition with the gallery, The Home of Mr. Peeps. For this show, the Berlin-based artist has delved deep into the recesses of her imagination – back where horned beasts, laser beams, onesies, a brass marching band, phonographs, multi-talented chickens, the original stooge named Krampus and a giant pink elephant all reside – and emerged with a phantasmagoric stable of characters à la a secularized and hallucinatory version of Noah’s Arc. With this herd of misfit creatures, Gutheil has left normality at the door and transformed the gallery into a sanctuary of the bizarre – a surreal, utopic landscape of chromatic and psychological vibrancy. With all their quirks and foibles in plain sight, the artist’s fantastical creatures appear to us as friends and intimates. In fact, it is precisely because of the alluring, ... More
Orange County Museum of Art appoints new Director of Public Engagement NEWPORT BEACH, CA.-The Orange County Museum of Art today announced the appointment of Cassandra Coblentz as the museum's director of public engagement. In this role, Coblentz will oversee the museum's public programming and develop an innovative program of talks, performances, and cutting-edge, community engagement projects that bring together artists and the public in new ways. She will also continue to strengthen the museum's long-standing commitment to serving the youth of Orange County through school tours and special outreach initiatives. "With Cassandra's extensive experience in the museum field, combined with her proven commitment to the Orange County arts community, I am thrilled that she has agreed to take the museum's public programs in new directions and targeted at new audiences," stated OCMA Director and CEO Todd Smith. ... More
Historic ocean liner posters sail to success NEW YORK, NY.-Swann Galleries’ November 19 auction of select Rare & Important Travel Posters brought over $482,000 and set auction records for multiple artists and posters. Nicholas D. Lowry, Swann Galleries’ President and Director of Vintage Posters, said, “This robust sale, with an enviable 80% sell-through rate, saw multiple records broken–setting new highs for both posters and, in four cases, for the artists themselves. Every auction has its surprises, and in this auction the Internet drove bidding especially high in the Italian posters being offered. Swann has been a market leader in broadening collector awareness about travel posters, and we continue to prove ourselves to be America’s best venue for offering select posters in this category.” A new auction record was set for artist Leslie Ragan, whose The New 20th Century Limited, 1939 sold for $22,500 and was the top ... More
Money money money for Abba's piano at Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia Sale LONDON.- Musical instruments from stars of rock and pop music saw sensational prices at Bonhams 10 December Entertainment Memorabilia sale. The piano which was used to compose almost all of ABBA's greatest hits between 1972-1979 today sold for £35,000 to an internet bidder. The piano was originally acquired by the group to be used at a small cottage on the island of Viggsö in the Swedish archipelago, which is where the group wrote their songs. It remained in the cottage until 1979, having been used for the composition of most of the major ABBA hits in this period, including: Fernando, Mamma Mia, Dancing Queen, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, Money Money Money, Take a Chance on Me, The Name of the Game, Thank You for the Music, Voulez-Vous, I Have a Dream, Does Your Mother Know and Chiquitita. • Two Rickenbacker guitars (one smashed and mounted on ... More
Ugo Rondinone - Liverpool Mountain
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Flashback
On a day like today, American-Swiss painter Mark Tobey was born
August 11, 1890. Mark George Tobey (December 11, 1890 - April 24, 1976) was an American painter. His densely structured compositions, inspired by Asian calligraphy, resemble Abstract expressionism, although the motives for his compositions differ philosophically from most Abstract Expressionist painters. His work was widely recognized throughout the United States and Europe. In 1921, Tobey founded the art department at The Cornish School in Seattle, Washington.
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