People look at the "Bouclier avec le visage de meduse" by Arnold Bocklin during the exhibition "The Angel of the Odd. Dark Romanticism from Goya to Max Ernst" at the Orsay museum in Paris, on March 4, 2013. The exhibition will run from March 5 until June 9, 2013. AFP PHOTO / LIONEL BONAVENTURE.
PARIS.- After opening at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt am Main, the exhibition The Angel of the Odd – Dark Romanticism from Goya to Max Ernst travels to the Musée d’Orsay. It brings together around 200 works: paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures from the late 18th century to the early 20th century, as well as twelve films from the inter-war period. It was literary critic and art historian Mario Praz who first used the term “Dark Romanticism”, thus naming a vast swathe of literature and artistic creation, which from the 1760s onwards exploited the shadows, excesses and irrational elements that lurked behind the apparent triumph of enlightened Reason. Dark Gothic novels first appeared in England at the end of the 18th century and were instantly a great success. Although set in the contemporary world, they were mainly concerned with mystery and heightened emotions that could make the reader shiver with fear as well ... More
Al Held (1928 - 2005), IVAN THE TERRIBLE 1961. Acrylic on canvas, 144 x 114 inches, 365.8 x 289.6 centimeters.
NEW YORK, NY.-Cheim & Read announced an exhibition of seven monumental paintings, dating from 1961–67, by New York painter Al Held (1928–2005). Curated from several private collections, the show presents a unique opportunity to see first-hand the geometric, “hard-edge” works that defined Held’s artistic output for almost a decade. The exhibition is accompanied by a full-color catalogue (including 20 illustrated works) featuring an essay by Robert Storr. Born in Brooklyn, Held dropped out of high school and joined the Navy at 16, serving from 1945-47. In 1948 he studied at the Art Students League in New York, and from 1950-53 invoked the G.I. Bill to attend the Académie de la Grand Chaumière in Paris. Held returned to New York at the height of Abstract Expressionism and its related philosophical discourse, in which he took part. However, the genesis of his later work was already forming; as he said at the ... More
An empty space is seen on October 16, 2012 where a painting by French artist Henri Matisse was stolen at the Kunsthal museum in Rotterdam. AFP PHOTO / ANP / ROBIN UTRECHT.
THE HAGUE(AFP).- Dutch police on Monday arrested a young Romanian woman on suspicion of helping smuggle a haul of masterpieces stolen from Rotterdam's Kunsthal museum out of the country. The 19-year-old woman is the girlfriend of one of three suspects being held in Romania for alleged involvement in October's swiftly-executed theft of works by Picasso, Monet and Gauguin, among others. "Detectives investigating the art heist at the Kunsthal on Monday afternoon arrested a 19-year-old Romanian woman who is suspected of being involved in the handling of the seven stolen paintings," Rotterdam police said in a statement. The woman arrested in Rotterdam is Natasa Timofei, the girlfriend of suspect Radu Dogaru, police sources in Bucharest told AFP. Dogaru was allegedly present at a meeting when two of the paintings were offered for sale in Romania, according to Romanian ... More
Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577 - 1640), Man in Korean Costume, about 1617 (detail). Black chalk with touches of red chalk in the face, 38.4 x 23.5 cm. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES, CA.- Among the greatest of Old Master draughtsmen, Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640) drew influence from an extraordinarily wide range of subject matter. Around 1617, he created a large-scale chalk drawing of a man wearing voluminous silk robes and a transparent headdress. This masterwork, now identified as a Man in Korean Costume, was acquired by the J. Paul Getty Museum in 1983. It is the centerpiece of an exhibition that provides the first in-depth study of this compelling drawing. Since its creation, Rubens’s Man in Korean Costume has fascinated viewers. It was copied in the artist’s Antwerp studio and circulated as a reproductive print in the eighteenth century. Despite the drawing’s renown, why it was made and whether it actually portrays a specific individual are questions that remain unanswered. This intriguing work and the questions that ... More
A Pale Celadon Jade ‘Longevity’ Table Screen Qing Dynasty, 18th/19th Century, (est. $60/80,000). Photo: Sotheby's.
NEW YORK, NY.- On 19th and 20th March 2013 Sotheby’s will present the bi-annual Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art auction as part of Asia Week New York. As ever the sale will be particularly focused on property from over 50 private collections. Among the highlights of these are A Private Japanese Collection, A Private North American Collection as well as many others formed by distinguished collectors over several decades. All works go on view on Friday 15th March. Among the leading collections in the sale and opening the auction is A Private Japanese Collection of 53 lots which reflects the exquisite taste of the collector and their deep understanding of East Asian Art. It includes archaic Chinese bronzes, ceramics, jades and Buddhist art, as well as Korean metal-work and ceramics. Among the highlights is An Important Gilt-Bronze Votive Stele Of Guanyin, Northern Wei Dynasty, depicting bodhisattva Padmapani known as the “lotus bearer” that wa ... More
A Magnificent Falangcai Bowl From The Collection of Dr. Alice Cheng (Expected to fetch in excess of HK$70 million / US$9 million).
HONG KONG.-Sotheby’s Hong Kong announced that the Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Spring Sale Series 2013 will take place on 8 April 2013 at Hall 5, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Led by the single-lot sale - A Magnificent Falangcai Bowl From The Collection of Dr. Alice Cheng, the sale also highlights two other prestigious private collections namely The Meiyintang Collection (Part V) - a fine selection of Chinese art from the Ming and Qing dynasties - and the Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection – a spectacular group of scholarly art. These three sales together with a various-owner sale offer over 300 lots with an estimated total value of over HK$600 million / US$78 million*. Nicolas Chow, Sotheby’s Asia Deputy Chairman and International Head of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, said, “We are privileged to present this season a magnificent falangcai bowl, one of the finest treasures from the collect ... More
Cecil Skotnes, Portait of Anthony Quinn. Photo: Bonhams.
LONDON.- Eight works from the collection of Anthony Quinn, the late American actor, feature in the next Bonhams sale of South African art on March 20th in New Bond Street, London. Including paintings and sculptures by Cecil Skotnes, Lucky Sibiya, Dumile Feni-Mhlaba and Cyprian Shilakoe, the selection ranges in price from £2,500 to £30,000. Anthony Quinn (1915-2001) was known to the world for his performances in films such as La Strada, Zorba the Greek, Lawrence of Arabia and Viva Zapata! – a stellar career in which he won two Oscars. What is less well known is that he was a keen artist and collector. As a child, he won an award for a plaster bust of Abraham Lincoln, and he often sketched the movie stars he saw when his father, an assistant cameraman, took him to the studio. On one occasion, he was paid $25 by Douglas Fairbanks for a drawing of the star. Later, he studied art and architecture under Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin. While a ... More
FORT WORTH, TX.- This spring, the Amon Carter Museum of American Art presents two uniquely American looks at the medium of photography—Big Pictures, on view March 5 through April 21, and Marie Cosindas: Instant Color, on view March 2 through May 26. Big Pictures pulls together 40 works to explore what increased size brings to contemporary photography. Today photographs often reach staggering dimensions, stretching across museum walls to compete with large-scale paintings. “Suggesting a different purpose for the depicted scene, oversized photographs—unlike smaller ones—stop viewers from quickly glancing at the image and instead force them to step back and acknowledge the work and its physical presence,” says Katherine Siegwarth, exhibition curator and Luce Curatorial Fellow for Photographs. “Big photographs command more attention and draw the viewer into their wealth of information.” Grand-scale photographs are ... More
NEW YORK, NY.-Gagosian Gallery presents an exhibition of Ed Ruscha’s legendary artist books together with books and works of art by more than 100 contemporary artists that respond directly and diversely to Ruscha’s original project. Organized by Bob Monk, “Ed Ruscha Books & Co.” has been drawn from private collections, including Ruscha’s own. Most of the books are installed so that viewers can interact with them and browse their pages. Inspired by the unassuming books that he found on street stalls during a trip to Europe, in 1962 Ruscha published his first artist book, Twentysix Gasoline Stations under his own imprint, National Excelsior Press. A slim, cheaply produced volume, then priced at $3.50, Twentysix Gasoline Stations did exactly what its title suggests, reproducing twenty-six photographs of gasoline stations next to captions indicating their brand and location. All of the stations were on Route 66, the road myth ... More
Lou Gehrig's 1927-28 game worn jersey lead the offerings with a final price realized of $717,000.
NEW YORK, NY.- The great names of New York Yankees history dominated the night on Feb. 23 when Heritage Auctions held its' winter Platinum Night Sports auction, which realized more than $5.95 million, at the Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion (Ukrainian Institute of America) with Lou Gehrig's 1927-28 game worn jersey leading the offerings with a final price realized of $717,000, followed by Mickey Mantle's signed and endorsed 1949 Yankees signing bonus check, which soared to almost 30 times its pre-auction estimate to finish the night at $286,800 (all prices include Buyer's Premium). "Minus Babe Ruth, who was also well-represented in this auction, there are no Yankee legends greater than Gehrig and Mantle," said Chris Ivy, Director of Sports Memorabilia at Heritage. "Clearly prime material related to the greatest team of baseball's greatest era still commands the utmost respect and best prices from collectors." The auction made national and international news as ... More
A young couple observes the work of late 18th century artist Tilly Kettle.
PONCE, PR.-The Museo de Arte de Ponce’s collection has come to life with vitality composed of the past and the forthcoming. Some three hundred people attended the museum’s inauguration of the two exhibits that will head the bill of the institution’s offerings over the next few months. The first, The Art of Empire: Three Centuries of British Art, presents the museum’s impressive collection of British art in a never before seen manner that also includes contemporary works loaned by Casa del Libro, in San Juan, and private Puerto Rican collections. This exhibition is accompanied by a second display titled Art in Response: Jorge Díaz Torres, a contemporary art installation by young Puerto Rican sculptor Jorge Díaz-Torres. The attendees, mostly museum members, university students, professors, museum collaborators and special guests, received a unique first look of the exhibitions on the evening of February 23rd, and later ... More
Mnemonic Land Device, (For Blind Willie McTell), 2013. Cardboard, palm mat, enamel, wire, and steel, 86 x 64 1/2 inches (218.44 x 163.83 cm).
NEW YORK, NY.-Peter Blum announces the inaugural exhibition at 20 West 57th Street with new paintings by Rosy Keyser. It may be that poetry makes life's nebulous events tangible to me and restores their detail; or conversely that poetry brings forth the intangible quality of incidents which are all too concrete and circumstantial. Or each on specific occasions, or both all the time. Frank O’Hara In this new group of works titled Medusa Pie Country, Rosy Keyser continues to challenge the conventions of painting. She pushes her paintings to do things generally perceived to be beyond the medium’s natural habitat. By exploring themes of grace versus functionality, waywardness, and the notion of self-reliance as a kind of nonconformity, Keyser straddles the realms of traditional painting and painting as instrument: whether a stick chart, a rural neon light, or a visual poem. The paintings on view juxtapose humble elements with big g ... More
‘Bert Flugelman was a great Australian sculptor, teacher and inspirer of younger artists.
CANBERRA.-The National Gallery of Australia last week paid tribute with great sadness to esteemed Australian sculptor, Bert Flugelman. As one of this country’s pre-eminent sculptors, Bert Flugelman’s art over the decades was shaped by his passion and determination; his steadfastness, courage and humour. ‘Bert Flugelman was a great Australian sculptor, teacher and inspirer of younger artists. We are lucky to have his largest major work in our Sculpture Garden and have also fortunately been able to update our collection of his works with a recent major sculpture for our permanent display galleries’, said Ron Radford AM, Director, National Gallery of Australia. Much of Flugelman’s early work was highly experimental. Best-known as a sculptor, over the years he worked in a wide range of media, including performance, painting and printmaking. While a number of his formative sculptures were figurative, in the late 1960s Flug ... More
Quote If the future belongs to the working class then my work can be called art. George Grosz
More News
Natacha Merritt returns with new book "Sexual Selection" LONDON.- Internationally renowned photographer Natacha Merritt, author of the ground-breaking Digital-Diaries (Taschen, 2000) returns with her latest collection of genre-defying photographs in Sexual Selection in Jan 2013, published by cult Berlin arthouse Bongoût. At the age of 21, Merritt redefined the boundaries of artistic photography with the best seller Digital Diaries, the first digital photography book ever published. Her controversial and highly sexual work was soon featured in publications across the world from Rolling Stone to The Observer, Playboy to The Wall Street Journal and Der Spiegel. The book quickly became an L.A. Times and Amazon bestseller, moving over 300,000 copies. Merritt’s new book Sexual Selection is in many ways even more captivating. She applied her distinctive vision to a subtle and complex art, creating astonishing and surprisingly lyrical images as she ... More
A touring exhibition of the Chuck Close's graphic oeuvre opens at White Cube Bermondsey LONDON.-White Cube Bermondsey presents ‘Chuck Close Prints: Process and Collaboration’, a touring exhibition of the artist's graphic oeuvre, curated and organised by the Parrish Art Museum, USA. Close made his first print in 1972 and, since then, has tirelessly explored the possibilities and limits of the print medium. Although Close is best known for his meticulous, large-scale paintings, his prints are equally time consuming and, unusually, they can often take longer to complete than a painting. The 150-plus works in this exhibition will include a comprehensive survey of his career, including copper-plate engravings, woodcuts, reduction linocuts, aquatints, etchings, mezzotints, pulp paper works and tapestries. Close makes pictures of faces, often recycling images of his family and friends such as composer Philip Glass or artists Keith Hollingworth, Alex Katz and Lucas ... More
Peabody Essex Museum presents the last of Nick Cave's Soundsuits SALEM, MASS.- Original and otherworldly, Nick Cave's art blends the boundaries between sculpture, costume, video, dance and public performance in unexpected ways. The Peabody Essex Museum continues its growing contemporary art program with three never-before-seen Nick Cave Soundsuits made especially for this exhibition, alongside his immersive film projection. FreePort [No. 006]: Nick Cave is on view at PEM March 2 through May 27, 2013. Cave's humanoid Soundsuit sculptures are built from a diverse bricolage of found objects and materials collected by the artist, including twigs, sisal, beads, sequins and feathers. When worn, Cave's Soundsuits take on a larger-than-life dimension, obscuring the wearer's identity, gender and class and unleashing the sculpture's kinetic potential. Drawing on his experience with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Cave ... More
The medals of Nelson's surgeon for sale at Bonhams in London LONDON.- A group of four medals awarded to Horatio Nelson’s personal surgeon, Sir George Magrath, will be offered at Bonhams next sale of Coins and Medals on March 27th in Knightsbridge. Estimated to sell for £9,000-12,000, the medals were awarded for Margrath’s work as Inspector of Hospitals and Fleets for the Royal Navy. Nelson's opinion of Magrath was of the highest order, as illustrated by his letters to Lady Hamilton, sent from HMS Victory on 27 May 1804. "My dearest Emma, Yesterday, I took Charles Connor on board, from the Phoebe, to try to do what we can do with him. At present, poor fellow, he has got a very bad eye, - and, I almost fear, that he will be blind in it - owing to an olive stone striking his eye; but the Surgeon of the Victory, who is by far the most able medical man I have ever seen (George Magrath), and equally so as a Surgeon, (says) that, if it can be saved, hei ... More
Ann-Marie James' new 'Proserpina' paintings on view at Karsten Schubert LONDON.-Karsten Schubert presents Ann-Marie James’ new ‘Proserpina’ paintings in the artist’s first solo show at the gallery. In this series, James takes the inspiration for her paintings from Bernini’s ‘Rape of Proserpina’ (1621-22) and ‘Apollo and Daphne’ (1622-25) – and, by extension, from Ovid’s epic poem, Metamorphoses. James ‘quotes and re-cuts’ her source materials, knitting her references together and creating a new symmetry of transformation, from the oral poem to the linguistic text, to carved stone and back to paper – a metamorphosis of Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’. The paintings are accompanied by drawings made on image plates found by the artist in Richard Norton’s Bernini and Other Studies (1914). These intricate paintings are built-up through layer upon layer of not only material, but also techniques. From the initial drawings come a si ... More
Mathias Poledna develops an installation for new exhibition at Vienna's Secession VIENNA.- Mathias Poledna deals in his work with connections between art and entertainment, modernism in architecture, fashion and design, the language of film and the history of exhibition-making, often taking the specific historicity of these phenomena as his point of departure. Most recently, he has been producing extremely concentrated cinematic installations that develop complex tensions between their subject matter and the associated references and cultural notions. The artist’s interest in different ways of expressing modernity manifests itself in the special, often highly diverse subjects in his work, ranging from post-punk music to a rain forest in Papua New Guinea, and in the aestheticism and extreme reduction of their formal idiom. Though always new and in many cases created jointly with professional collaborators, they often give the impression of found material, seeming to ... More
Exploring 'The Wiz' with Choreographer George Faison
PhotoGalleries
Flashback
On a day like today, Italian painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was born
September 05, 1696. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (March 5, 1696 - March 27, 1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style. He was prolific, and worked not only in Italy, but also in Germany and Spain. Giovan Battista Tiepolo, together with Giambattista Pittoni, Canaletto, Giovan Battista Piazzetta, Giuseppe Maria Crespi and Francesco Guardi are considered the traditional Old Masters of that period. In this image: View of the ceiling of the Imperial Hall in the Wurzburg Residenz.
