A Ukrainian police officer guards the painting "Port de la Rochelle" (1915) by French artist Paul Signac (1863-1935) during its presentation at the ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Kiev on April 23, 2019. The painting, which costs 1,5 million dollars, was stolen a year before from the Museum of Fine Arts of Nancy, France, and found by the police in Ukraine and is to be returned to France after the end of the police investigation. Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP.
KIEV(AFP).- Ukrainian authorities said Tuesday they had found an oil painting by the French Impressionist Paul Signac, valued at 1.5 million euros ($1.68 million), which was stolen last year from a museum in France. Police chief Sergiy Knyazev said the painting was discovered at the home of a Kiev man who was also wanted on suspicion of murdering a jeweller. He added that the suspects in the theft, all Ukrainian, had been arrested. The painting would shortly be returned to the Museum of Fine Arts in Nancy in northeast France, Ukraine's interior minister Arsen Avakov said as he presented the work at an event with French ambassador Isabelle Dumont. The 1915 oil painting, which was cut from its frame during the theft, depicts boats at the entrance to the French port of La Rochelle. "We received information about a group of people looking for buyers for paintings stolen in Europe last year," said another police official, Sergiy Tykhonov. "Several works of art have been discovere ... More
Yoshie Sakai, Koko's Love: About Yuki 'Daydream Reality', 2019; mixed media. The Autotopographers installation view at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, 2019. Photo courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center.
SHEBOYGAN, WI.- Through September 15, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center presents The Autotopographers—a group exhibition featuring works by Joianne Bittle, Sarah Braman, Andy Coolquitt, Beatriz Cortez, iris yirei hu, Benjamin Larose, Azikiwe Mohammed, Yoshie Sakai, Becky Suss, and Ray Yoshida. In a 1995 essay, art historian Jennifer A. González coined the term “autotopography” to articulate the ways in which biography is revealed in the creation of one’s environment. The personal objects comprising an autotopography are extensions of the maker’s self, of life events, and cultural identity. González writes “...just as a written autobiography is a series of narrated of events, fantasies and identification, so too an autotopography forms a spatial ... More
Bloch’s vision, leadership and commitment integral to museum’s success.
KANSAS CITY, MO.-The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art joins the Bloch family and Bloch Family Foundation in profound sadness with news of the death of Henry Wollman Bloch, who died peacefully, surrounded by his family, at the age of 96. The Nelson-Atkins was honored to be among the many organizations and civic efforts that benefited from Mr. Bloch’s philanthropic leadership. Mr. Bloch founded the Business Council at the Nelson-Atkins in 1985. It is the most successful Business Council of any art museum in the country. “This is an enormous loss to the community and to the Nelson-Atkins,” said Richard C. Green, Chair of the museum’s Board of Trustees. “Henry Bloch had an unfailing vision and enthusiasm that was borne of genuine gratitude. The Nelson-Atkins was truly fortunate to benefit from Henry's leadership, guidance, and passion for the arts. It is now our responsibility to reflect his wonderful example as we move into the ... More
LONDON.- A rare, late work by Britain’s favourite artist, J.M.W. Turner, will be unveiled in Moscow today ahead of its sale at Sotheby’s Old Master Evening Sale on 3 July. One of an important group of works painted by the artist in the last ten years of his life, Landscape with Walton Bridges, comes to the market for the first time in over 35 years with an estimate of £3-4 million. One of the preeminent figures that mark the pages of history – like da Vinci, Darwin, Picasso or Einstein – who changed the way we see and think about the world, Turner is an artist rooted in the aesthetic philosophy and culture of his time. Perpetually engaged with the art of both his predecessors and contemporaries, he was at the same time possibly the first ‘modern’ painter; who directly inspired the Impressionism of the nineteenth century, and presaged the Abstract Expressionism of the twentieth. Seemingly inspired by a sense of ... More
SALZBURG.- In collaboration with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac Salzburg is presenting an exhibition dedicated to Robert Rauschenberg’s Borealis series. Made between 1988 and 1992 in Captiva, Florida, the Borealis are considered to be one of Rauschenberg’s most experimental and innovative series. In these works, he characteristically silk-screened photographs taken during his ROCI tour (Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Interchange, 1984–91) onto brass, copper and bronze plates, adding tarnishing agents which would produce chemical reactions on the surface and alter the perception of the motifs. With their subtly reflective surfaces, the Borealis paintings change according to each viewpoint, alluding to the ever-changing landscape of modernity. Between 1984 and 1991 Robert Rauschenberg embarked on the ROCI project, ... More
Berni estimated the total value of the instruments stolen over the weekend at 300,000 euros ($340,000), but noted that it was hard to sell them
ROME(AFP).- Thieves have stolen 35 rare saxophones from an well-known Italian collection but missed the crown jewel: one which belonged to jazz great Sonny Rollins. Attilio Berni told AFP Tuesday that his collection of 600 saxophones, which has been exhibited at the Louvre museum in Paris, had been built up over 25 years. "They did not touch the Sonny Rollins saxophone... which suggests that they did not really know what they were doing," he said. "Thank God, eight of the 35 stolen instruments have already been found by police," abandoned in a poor Rome neighbourhood, he added. Berni estimated the total value of the instruments stolen over the weekend at 300,000 euros ($340,000), but noted that it was hard to sell them. The stolen saxophones include those made in the 19th century, or others that had belonged to well-known saxophonists such as US big band leader Adrian Rollini. Berni already planned to open what he says will be the ... More
The catalogue raisonné of paintings covers both surviving and lost works, while full-bleed details allow us to inspect even the subtlest brushstrokes that came to revolutionize art history.
NEW YORK, NY.- Unmatched in his ingenuity, technical prowess, and curiosity, Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) epitomizes the humanistic ideal of the Renaissance man: a peerless master of painting, sculpture, cartography, anatomy, architecture—and more. Simultaneously captivating art historians, collectors, and the millions who flock yearly to admire his works, Leonardo’s appeal is as diffuse as were his preoccupations. His images permeate nearly every facet of Western culture—The Vitruvian Man is engraved into millions of Euro coins, The Last Supper is considered the single most reproduced religious painting in history, and the Mona Lisa has entranced countless artists and observers for centuries. On the occasion of the 500th anniversary of his death, this updated edition of Taschen's XL title is an unrivaled survey of Leonardo’s life and work, including a catalogue raisonné encompassing both his ... More
PHILADELPHIA, PA.- On Wednesday, May 8, Freeman’s will hold its Modern and Contemporary Art auction, consisting of 145 lots and featuring exciting and fresh-to-market property from numerous private collections. The sale will include paintings, sculpture, works on paper, and ceramics, amongst other media by famed artists such as Pablo Picasso, Zao Wou-Ki, Sybil Andrews, George Rickey, Alexander Calder, Sam Francis, Bo Bartlett, and Andy Warhol. One of the prominent highlights is a painting by Sam Francis entitled “Red and Blue” (Lot 61). The piece hails from a private collection of which it has been a part for the past 35 years. Previously, it had been a part of famed collection of Leigh Block, former chairman of the board at the Art Institute of Chicago. “Red and Blue” was executed between 1958 and 1959 and is an important example from a seminal period of the artist’s career. It was included in major ... More
Harry Bertoia, Untitled Sculpture (Sonambient). Estimate: $15,000 - 20,000.
LAMBERTVILLE, NJ.- On Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19, Rago Auctions hosts sales of Early 20th Century Design, Modern Design and Modern Ceramics and Glass. Highlights include: an exceptional and rare Cobra console table by Albert Cheuret and the Collection of Stephen Engel, comprising fifty-five lots of works by René Buthaud including pottery, works on paper, paintings, and verre églomisé panels, as well as Fulper, Grueby, Van Briggle, Dedham, Zsolnay, and more from a single-owner collection out of New York. Sarah Cutler, Specialist: “Among the many highlights in this sale, I am most excited about lot 1131 - a remarkable Albert Cheuret Cobra console with mirror. Its sinuous and exotic design reflects the renewed interest in ancient Egyptian art sparked by the 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. His work does not appear often on the secondary market ... More
PORQUEROLLES ISLAND.-The Fondation Carmignac on the island of Porquerolles announced its new exhibition taking place from 13 April to 3 November 2019. For the site’s second year of existence, the foundation has invited Chiara Parisi as a guest curator. Both the architecture of the Villa and the island itself have provided inspiration for La Source (The Source), the resulting show. Emerging from the woods, visitors are invited to take off their shoes before plunging beneath the surface of the Provençal farmhouse, where they can discover over sixty artworks from the collection, as well as important loans and new productions. Alice aux Pays des Merveilles (Alice in Wonderland) – a lithograph by Max Ernst and Édouard Carmignac’s first acquisition – is the starting point of a wall ... More
HAMBURG.-The Hamburger Kunsthalle is devoting a comprehensive exhibition to the German painter, graphic artist and filmmaker KP Brehmer (1938–1997). Brehmer dealt in his complex work with visual media in the Federal Republic of Germany and the conditions under which image production and reception take place in its capitalist economy. For KP Brehmer, graphic art was not just a technique but an instrument and metaphor for rendering transparent the conventions of social and political representation. More radically and consistently than any other artist he used graphics as a tool for visual political agitation. By appropriating the aesthetics of advertising displays in department stores, of stamps as symbol of state values, and ... More
Joan Miró, Danseuse Créole, colour aquatint and etching, 1978. Estimate $30,000 to $50,000. Courtesy of Swann Auction Galleries.
NEW YORK, NY.- A selection of colour prints by the internationally acclaimed Surrealist artist Joan Miró (1893-1983) is expected to make up to $200,000 at auction on May 2. With a top estimate of $50,000 for a single print, the dozen works are part of an even bigger sale of Old Master Through Modern Prints at Swann Auction Galleries where etchings by leading artists of the Renaissance, as well as the outstanding British animal artists, George Stubbs, should fetch from $50,000 to $150,000 each. Miró, who won the Grand Prize at the Venice Biennale in 1954, as well as the Guggenheim International Award in 1958 and the Gold Medal of Fine Arts in Spain in 1980, is hailed as one of the most important influences on the leading abstract expressionist artists of the 20th century. Here, his signed and numbered 1978 colour aquatint and etching, Danseuse Créole, from a limited edition of 50, is estimated at $30,000 to ... More
PARIS.- On May 5th, Artcurial will host an auction dedicated to Urban Art, auctioning off the works of the greatest names in graffiti and street art. Among them, the tireless invader with Vienna, one of the largest mosaics ever up for auction on the art market, measuring over 2 m in height. Older graffiti will be represented by Dondi White, Rammelzee, Lee Quinones and A-One. The new urban scene will be particularly illustrated by young Portuguese artist Vhils with a set presenting all the materials with which he works (polystyrene, wood, metal...). In closing, a private urban collection entitled Don’t believe the hype, a nod to American hip-hop giant Public Enemy will be dispersed on Sunday 5th May. Comprising 127 lots, it will present works by Kaws, including one of his first Companions, vinyl characters, Supreme objects or canvases by street artists. Three years after an Alias PA_1030 measuring over a meter-high set a world record r ... More
Quote No architecture is so haughty as that which is simple. John Ruskin
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Heritage Auctions' bidders fuel blazing sports card market in $8.86M Spring Trading Card Auction DALLAS, TX.-Heritage Auctions’ April 18-19 Sports Card Catalog Auction established itself as the most lucrative of the 2019 season to date, blasting past pre-auction estimate tallies of $7 million to close with aggregate winning bids of $8.86 million. The auction provided no quarter for bargain shoppers, with huge prices recorded across all subgenres of graded singles and sets, unopened wax and boxes, condition-rarities and low-pop commons. No fewer than seven cards recorded six-figure prices. “We’re certainly receiving a higher volume of consignment calls today,” said Chris Ivy, Director of Sports Auctions at Heritage. “The market remains strong, and these stunning results across the board are prompting some longtime collectors to consider selling.” Inaugural class Hall of Fame singles took the top three spots on the pricing podium April 18. Ty ... More
Massimo De Carlo opens Jennifer Guidi's new exhibition of paintings MILAN.- Mysticism and science are transferrable and inextricably related in Jennifer Guidi’s new exhibition of paintings, Eclipse. Guidi’s unique practice of applying sand grounds with patterned divots, then over-painting with chroma-rich oils, intersects two and three-dimensional planes like sine waves or tiny sand dunes scalloping her surfaces. Her work furthers Modernist histories of minimalism and spiritual abstraction, recalling perhaps Agnes Martin’s subtle geometric repetitions or Hilma af Klint’s seraphic forms and auratic color gradients: occult renderings that connect earthly material to aether. Guidi’s meditative process of developing compositional radial systems, in which “starting points” generate centrifugal mark-making force that often begin slightly left to represent the heart as an energy source, manifest loose, spherical circulatory systems of elliptic ... More
Cadogan Contemporary opens an exhibition of recent and new works by painter Ilana Manolson LONDON.-Cadogan Contemporary is presenting Chance Encounters, an exhibition of recent and new works by the acclaimed Canadian American painter Ilana Manolson. Her first London presentation, the show is comprised of more than 20 acrylic paintings executed between the years 2018 and 2019, in which the artist moves between representation and abstraction to capture the essence of nature. Manolson offers the viewer an intimate and profound knowledge of the natural world – a trained botanist, she began painting while working at Canada’s National Park system in Alberta, where her office became a de facto art studio. Eventually, her passion and talent led her to study printmaking and painting at one of America’s most prestigious art schools, The Rhode Island School of Design. On her relationship between art and nature, she says: ‘I ... More
Watermans presents a brand new solo show by Nye Thompson BRENTFORD.- Nye Thompson's new solo show CKRBT explores the emergent machine gaze and the unseen power structures that underpin it. Watermans presents a brand new solo show by Nye Thompson: CKRBT. The CKRBT (pronounced see-ker-bot) Network is browsing the world. It watches and consumes images collected and fed to it by feeder machines. Any thing, or person, entering the bots’ field of vision will be similarly analysed and categorised. The installation sets up a self-contained system where machines are performers, audience, content providers and commentators. CKRBT is a new installation from Thompson’s ongoing project The Seeker. The Seeker is a machinic entity—a proto AI—that travels the world virtually looking through compromised surveillance cameras and using machine learning algorithms to describe its visions. Named ... More
Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers announces highlights included in the Spring Fine Art & Antiques Auction CRANSTON, RI.- Just over 350 quality lots pulled from estates and collections across New England will highlight a Spring Fine Art & Antiques Auction planned for Saturday, May 4th, by Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers, online and in the Cranston gallery at 63 Fourth Avenue. A pre-sale of more than 150 lots will be sold to the in-house crowd only with no online bidding at 10:30 am. The main catalog will come up for bid starting at 12 noon (all times Eastern), with a wide variety of Asian arts, decorative arts, paintings, furniture, jewelry, collectibles, primitives, sterling silver and porcelain, among many other items. Previews will be held Thursday and Friday, May 2nd and 3rd from 9 am to 5 pm, and at 8 am when doors to the gallery swing open on auction day May 4th. “I’m sure Asian arts and jewelry will take the spotlight during this auction,” said Kevin Bruneau, ... More
V&A Illustration Awards 2019 shortlist announced LONDON.- Today the V&A announced the shortlisted artists for the V&A Illustration Awards 2019, a celebration of the best in book, editorial and student illustrations published over the last year. From the frantic world of the comic book to sun soaked pear blossoms of Florida, this year’s shortlist encompasses a broad range of styles and global influences. The winning published entries will be judged by Olivia Ahmed, Curator at the House of Illustration and Editor of Varoom Magazine, Nicholas Coleridge, Chairman of the V&A Trustees and Chairman of Condé Nast and Jessica Voorsanger, Artist and Academic. The 2019 Student Illustrator of the Year Award judging panel comprises Suzanne Dean, Creative Director at Vintage, Penguin Random House and Book Cover Winner 2018 and Cat O’Neil, Illustrator and Editorial Winner 2018. Winners will be announced at an awards ... More
Benefit auction celebrates South African artists and Fight for Good BROOKLYN, NY.- A stunning collection of 20 works by notable South African artists will be on view for a one-night-only benefit auction at Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, NY. Curated by Joel Bermano and South African painter Glen Josselsohn, this bold, honest, and emotive collection of works includes paintings, drawings, and sculptures by some of the country’s most respected artists. The live auction will be held on April 25 from 8pm to 11pm hosted by Ariella Kuper, one of South Africa’s leading auctioneers. The silent auction is open to attendees and remote bidders. Featuring a wide array of pieces valued between $200 and $15,000, this is a great opportunity for new and seasoned collectors alike to expand their collection while supporting a worthy cause. The event’s name, Fight for Good is titled after the organizations’ good work and the event’s unique setting. ... More
Christie's announces highlights included in the Spring edition of The Collector sales in London LONDON.-Christie’s Spring edition of The Collector sales in London will collaborate with Lulu Lytle of Soane Britain on 22 and 23 May, following a dynamic stand-alone sale Reshaped: Ceramics Through Time on 21 May, the first auction of its kind to bring together ceramic artworks from a broad span of cultures and time. Together, the week of auctions provides a rich celebration of craftsmanship across media and periods. The series of three Collector sales comprises an array of 17th, 18th and 19th century decorative arts and furniture spanning: English Furniture, Clocks & Works of Art & Portrait Miniatures (22 May); European Furniture, Works of Art & Ceramics (22 May), and Silver & 19th Century Furniture, Sculpture & Works of Art (23 May). Reshaped: Ceramics Through Time celebrates the versatility of ceramics as a medium for creative ... More
Stars come out for The Eve Appeal at Bonhams LONDON.- Famous names, including Oscar-winning actor Olivia Colman, the comedian, actor and presenter Jo Brand, star DJ Fat Tony, the internationally acclaimed Pop Art painter Sir Peter Blake, singer-songwriter and guitarist Joan Armatrading and fashion designer Bella Freud will be attending a special evening invitation- only preview event at Bonhams Knightsbridge on 29 April in support of The Eve Appeal, a charity dedicated to protecting women from gynaecological cancers. On view, will be the wonderful works which have been donated to the charity by artists such as Grayson Perry, Sara Pope, Anish Kapoor, Tomma Abts, Marc Quinn, Julian Opie and Patrick Hughes, and which are to be sold in a dedicated section of the Prints and Multiples Sale at Bonhams on Thursday 2 May in aid of the Eve Appeal. Writing in the introduction to the sale catalogue, ... More
Almine Rech Brussels opens the third exhibition of Brent Wadden with the gallery BRUSSELS.- In his third solo show at Almine Rech, Canadian artist Brent Wadden is presenting a new series of paintings in which he further interrogates his relationship to time. Brent Wadden has always been slightly outside the mainstream. After studying painting and drawing at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, in an age when most spent their time in front of a computer screen, he took an interest in weaving. He learned the trade from Travis Joseph Meinolf, an artist from San Francisco who was working in Berlin at the time. The connection with the Bauhaus school seems obvious, although Wadden’s curiosity was originally sparked by the quilt makers of Gee's Bend, Alabama, well before he deepened his knowledge of the movement. The interest of his work lies essentially in the sectorisation of different media, as he says himself: “to me, the ... More
Belgium's Dardenne brothers seek Cannes fest immortality BRUSSELS(AFP).- Belgium's Dardenne brothers are already Cannes Film Festival legends, with two Palme d'Or prizes under their belt, and they're well aware the bar is very high to win the top prize an unprecedented third time. After "Rosetta" in 1999 and "L'Enfant" in 2005, "we're starting with a serious handicap," joked Jean-Pierre Dardenne in an interview with AFP in Brussels on Tuesday, as the two filmmakers prepare to return to the famed Croisette next month. For a film, "Cannes can be a loudspeaker or the Terminator," he said, referring to a bad reception by Cannes' notoriously picky journalists and critics whose opinions can make or break a movie. While refusing details on their eighth selection for the two-week festival, the brothers just said the film dealt with the Islamist radicalisation of a teenager, a sensitive topic in their native Belgium that suffered ... More
Princess Cecilie of Prussia's Fabulous Fabergé Tiara
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Flashback
On a day like today, Dutch-American painter Willem de Kooning was born
