A small 17th-century book bound with human skin at the New York Antiquarian Book Fair in Manhattan, April 5, 2024. Harvard’s recent decision to remove the binding of a notorious skin-bound volume in its library has thrown fresh light on a shadowy corner of the rare book world. (Jeenah Moon/The New York Times)
NEW YORK, NY.- The New York International Antiquarian Book Fair is the place to inspect some of the most exquisite rare books on the market. But at this year’s event in early April, some browsers may have been unprepared for a small, grayish item on view: a book bound in human skin. The book, which measures about 3 by 5 inches, came with a price tag of $45,000 — and a colorful backstory. According to a statement by its owner, the binding was commissioned in 1682 by an Italian doctor and anatomist identified as Jacopo X and ... More
Stacks of redacted government documents relating to the deaths of Indigenous Australians in police custody, part of the installation, “kith and kin,” by Archie Moore at the 2024 Venice Biennale on April 18, 2024. (Matteo de Mayda/The New York Times)
NEW YORK, NY.- Archie Moore, an Indigenous Australian artist who has created an installation including a monumental family tree, won the top prize at the Venice Biennale on Saturday. Moore, 54, took the Golden Lion, the prize for the best national participation at the Biennale, the world’s oldest ... More
NEW YORK, NY.-Christie’s made strong results for a single-owner sale that featured a rich array of 18th century French furniture, Old Master paintings and drawings and Chinese works of art. A Park Avenue Collection totaled $8,890,582, which was 130 percent above low estimate, with 79 percent of lots sold. There were outstanding results across categories. The top lot of the sale was ... More
Artist Erick Meyenberg, who is representing his country at the Venice Biennale with a solo exhibition in the Mexican Pavilion, at his studio in Mexico City, April 1, 2024. (Brian Harkin/The New York Times)
MEXICO CITY.- There is an engaging little rhyme tucked into the title of artist Erick Meyenberg’s piece for this year’s Venice Biennale — “Nos marchábamos, regresábamos siempre” — but the cadence does not convert neatly into English. “It is beautiful in Spanish, and it works in a very poetic way,” said Meyenberg, who will represent ... More
PARIS.-Christie's Impressionist & Modern Art Week in Paris featured a selection of museum-quality works in four sales, including Man Ray dans la Collection Marion Meyer and the final Parisian act with the Sam Josefowitz Collection. The market demonstrates solidity, with nearly 96% of lots sold, totaling €25.7m across four sales that exceeded the high ... More
ST IVES.- On 26 and 27 April 2024, Tate St Ives will be opening the doors to Barbara Hepworth’s former studio - the Palais de Danse - for the first time in almost 50 years. Ahead of a major project to renovate this historic space, local residents are invited to drop in and hear more about plans to reimagine the building as a community-focused heritage ... More
NEW YORK, NY.-Christie’s had strong results for Modern American Art, the second edition of an innovative sale format focused on Modernism, with a live auction on 18 April, which totaled $13,286,378, selling for 98% by low estimate and 82% by lot. The sale’s top lot was Thomas Hart Benton’s White Horse, which realized $2,228,000. The ... More
Spotted outside the Smithsonian Castle on the National Mall, the helix nebula augmented reality effect provides a sense of the end of a star’s life.
WASHINGTON, DC.- The Smithsonian has created interactive Instagram experiences using 3D models of celestial objects generated from data collected by the Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes. Through augmented reality, users will be able to view and immerse themselves in nebulae, exploded stars and more through their phone cameras while listening to the data transformed into sound—or data ... More
Shigaraki Jar for Tea Leaves, 16th/17th century, Japan. Stoneware with natural ash glaze. Size 12¼ x 8¾ x 8½ in. (31 x 22 x 21.5 cm)
NEW YORK, NY.-Thomsen Gallery invites you to their spring exhibition Japanese Ceramics: Medieval to Contemporary. This special show—devoted to a key component of the Japanese aesthetic tradition that is as dynamic today as it was 10,000 years ago—starts with a small group of stoneware vessels dating from the sixth to the eighteenth century, all of them fired for several ... More
Pauline Bazignan, 26.04-23.05.2023 (Tempête 6), 2023. Acrylic on canvas, 80 x 70 cm. 31 1/2 x 27 1/2 in.
PARIS.-Praz-Delavallade Paris is presenting Pauline Bazignan's new solo exhibition with the gallery, on view from 20 April to 8 June. The time has come. For whom? For what? And to move in which direction? These are the questions that arise when visiting Momentum, a new exhibition by Pauline Bazignan in which the Italian Renaissance and the invention of perspective gives us the keys to understanding the Anthropocene. This ... More
VENICE.-Xirómero/Dryland, which is representing Greece at the 60th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, is an interdisciplinary collective work conceived by Thanasis Deligiannis and Yannis Michalopoulos, and created along with the artists Elia Kalogianni, ... More
Rendering of a 3D model of “The Last Supper” sculpture by Akili Ron Anderson, 1982; digitally recreated 2021.Collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, original artwork Copyright Akili Ron Anderson.
WASHINGTON, DC.- The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture recently digitized a 20-foot sculpture by artist Akili Ron Anderson, now available online nmaahc.si.edu/lastsupper. The sculpture, created by ... More
Marcella Hazan, courtesy of Victor Hazan.
WASHINGTON, DC.- Marking the centennial of Marcella Hazan’s (1924–2013) birth, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History has received a donation from the family of the influential cookbook author and legendary teacher of regional Italian cuisine in the United States and United Kingdom. Hazan is widely known for her six cookbooks on the cuisines of Italy, published between 1973 and 2004. Her husband Victor ... More
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Rosamund Pike sways to alt-rock and Robert De Niro takes in some jazz NEW YORK, NY.- Here is a lesson in not leaving a party early: When the Dior show ended Monday night, some guests headed straight for the exit. This is standard behavior at runway shows — muscle memory for many attendees like fashion editors, influencers, buyers and celebrities. (On the VIP list for this production: Charlize Theron, Naomi Watts, Michelle Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy and Haerin from NewJeans.) Often, guests must rush across traffic-jammed cities to make it to their next appointment. But this wasn’t fashion week — Dior presenting a fall collection at the Brooklyn Museum in the middle of April was a special occasion. No need to storm the exits! Have a glass of Champagne and some canapés, like bagels the size of half-dollar coins. Linger for a chat with Lauren Santo Domingo, the co-founder and chief brand ... More
36 hours in Toronto TORONTO.- Locals may insist (politely, of course) that Toronto doesn’t belong atop any traveler’s wish list, but don’t fall for that Canadian modesty. Proudly multicultural with an outstanding art scene, fantastic food and a patchwork of diverse neighborhoods to explore, this sprawling city — Canada’s most populous — has more to offer than one could possibly digest in a single weekend. But that’s enough time to sample the local smorgasbord, from the many new restaurants and shops to the latest art exhibitions and a newly revitalized landmark theater. Anyone in town for Hot Docs, North America’s biggest documentary festival, which begins Thursday, will find plenty of reasons to roam beyond the downtown core, from the beaches in the east to drinking and dining hot spots that have sprouted in some unexpected places in the west. ... More
Hope Brew is Hiromitsu Kuroo's first solo exhibition with Morton Fine Art WASHINGTON, DC.-Morton Fine Art opened Hope Brew, a solo exhibition of new works from Japanese collage painter Hiromitsu Kuroo’s Bleach Painting series. Requiring few materials while allowing for complex structures and intense sensitivity, the series’ simplicity, feasibility and rigor appeal to Kuroo, who first devised the Bleach Paintings series during COVID-19 pandemic’s long period of uncertainty and scarcity. Using everyday items for creation, the artworks are created on linen canvas using a bleach-based collage technique. The artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery and first in Washington D.C, Hope Brew, will be on view from April 19 - May 18, 2024 at Morton Fine Art’s D.C. space (52 O St NW #302). Thinned and sharpened by his use of bleach, the color and forms in Kuroo’s works evince a state of long endurance ... More
Parrasch Heijnen Gallery opens Ali Dipp's first solo exhibition in Los Angeles LOS ANGELES, CA.-parrasch heijnen is presenting Ali Dipp: Fair Fabric, the artist’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles. In this new body of work, Ali Dipp continues to explore concepts reflecting upon research-based observations of historic artifacts. Commenting on her references to Lincoln’s Lyceum address and her images of John Trumbull’s paintings installed in the Capitol rotunda, the artist notes: “The pieces in this show contend with the U.S. Capitol between 1814 and 1866. Across these nearly fifty years, the British burned, Union soldiers sheltered, and the deceased body of the assassinated president rested in the Capitol. Fair Fabric exclusively draws from existing historical artifacts, including paintings, plaques, and speeches. Each artwork is constructed entirely of stitch on denim and steel letter appliqué. Ultimately, ... More
The Fralin Museum of Art awarded $125,000 from the Terra Foundation for American Art CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.-The Fralin Museum of Art has been awarded $125,000 from the Terra Foundation for American Art to support “O’Powa O’Meng: The Art and Legacy of Jody Folwell.” The grant marks the first award for The Fralin and the University of Virginia (UVA) from the Terra Foundation for American Art and will fund the traveling exhibition and scholarly exhibition catalog. The Fralin partnered with the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) to organize “O’Powa O’Meng.” The exhibition will be on view at Mia from September 2024 to January 2025, and at The Fralin Museum of Art from February to June 2025. Two additional venues are anticipated. “This sponsorship from the Terra Foundation for American Art to support ‘O’Powa O’Meng: The Art and Legacy of Jody Folwell’ and the accompanying catalog directly advances The Fralin’s mission of encouraging the spirit of curiosity an ... More
Christie's to offer the Collection of Norman & Lyn Lear NEW YORK, NY.-Christie's announced The Collection of Norman & Lyn Lear, the signature collection of Spring Marquee Week in New York. The collection comes from the walls of the Los Angeles home of Lyn Davis Lear and Norman Lear—legendary screenwriter, producer, and activist, whose innumerable contributions to American television during the second half of the 20th century were instrumental in shaping the arc of modern-day entertainment and culture. Seven works from the collection will debut during the 20th Century Evening Sale on May 16, 2024. Additional works will be offered in the Post-War and Contemporary Art Day Sale and subsequent sales. In total, the full collection is estimated to realize in excess of $50 million. Lyn Davis Lear remarks, “Norman was truly one-of-a-kind—the shows he created effectively ... More
The TV show that predicted America's lonely, disorienting digital future NEW YORK, NY.- Since its first episode aired in 2012, “Catfish: The TV Show” has held up a mirror to our online lives, reflecting how we present ourselves and make sense of love, lust, trust, companionship and loneliness in an increasingly digital world. Each episode unfolds like a detective show, with host Nev Schulman summoned to untangle truth from lies, to take relationships that exist only on computers and phones and drag them into our three-dimensional reality. The saga of Danny and Jose, which aired in 2017, is emblematic of the deception, dashed hopes and complicated situations regularly featured on the show. Danny contacted “Catfish” for help, believing Rosa had moved from Connecticut to Orlando, where he lived, but still would not meet him. Rosa had warned Danny that she had anger issues, in part because she had ... More
"The Temple of Invention Augmented Reality Experience" debuts at the Smithsonian American Art Museum WASHINGTON, DC.- History comes alive in a new augmented reality (AR) experience at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Before it was an art museum, the historical building housed the patent office for the United States, where ingenuity was celebrated and knowledge shared through the display of thousands of patent models. Known as a “temple of invention,” it was a place for ideas and exploration, creativity and change. “The Smithsonian American Art Museum is delighted to present the latest in AR technology that allows visitors to experience history in a new way in its Luce Foundation Center, a space where we pilot innovative programs and new approaches to audience engagement,” said Jane Carpenter-Rock, deputy director for museum content and outreach at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. “It is particularly fitting to see ... More
New-York Historical Society explores the bygone landmarks and sites of "Lost New York" NEW YORK, NY.- This spring, the New-York Historical Society debuted Lost New York, a new exhibition exploring the places that once defined New York City. On view April 19 – September 29, 2024, the exhibition invites visitors to experience the city’s lost landmarks, such as the original Penn Station, Croton Reservoir, Chinese Theater, and river bathhouses. Throughout the exhibition, community voices bring these lost sites to life: a woman recalls attending the Old Met Opera House in 1939, a Broadway carpenter reminisces about a photograph of his father in front of the Hippodrome Theatre, and a choir director reflects upon the demolished Harlem Renaissance monument Lift Every Voice and Sing. Curated by Wendy Nālani E. Ikemoto, vice president and chief curator of New-York Historical, Lost New York showcases treasures from ... More
'From Ukraine: Dare to Dream' opens at the Venice Biennale 2024 VENICE.- The Victor Pinchuk Foundation and the PinchukArtCentre present an official collateral event of the 60th International Art Exhibition — La Biennale di Venezia. Entitled From Ukraine: Dare to Dream, when the world is in constant fear, the exhibition opened at the Palazzo Contarini Polignac in Venice on 18 April 2024 and is open until 1 August 2024. The official opening included the address of Victor Pinchuk, businessman, philanthropist and founder of the PinchukArtCentre where he called on attendees of the Venice Biennale: “I don’t want to have a situation in 20 or 30 years when someone will make an exhibition about my country - Ukraine - that was destroyed.” There were also remarks from Hanna Vasyk, junior sergeant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and previously head of the programs of the PinchukArtCentre, Björn ... More
Juan Muñoz: Seven Rooms | EXHIBITION PREVIEW
Flashback
On a day like today, Australian painter Sidney Nolan was born
April 22, 1917. Sir Sidney Robert Nolan OM, AC (22 April 1917 - 28 November 1992) was one of Australia's leading artists of the 20th century. His oeuvre is among the most diverse and prolific in all of modern art. He is best known for his series of paintings on legends from Australian history, most famously Ned Kelly, the bushranger and outlaw. Nolan's stylised depiction of Kelly's armour has become an icon of Australian art. In this image: Sidney Nolan, Death of Sergeant Kennedy at Stringybark Creek, 1946, enamel on composition board, 91.0cm x 121.7cm, Purchased 1972, Courtesy National Gallery of Australia.
