| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net | | Established in 1996 | Friday, May 17, 2019 |
| | | I.M. Pei, a pillar of modern architecture, dies at 102 | |
|
|
In this file photo taken on September 27, 1985 Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei poses with the architectural model of the Louvre Pyramid in Paris. Legendary US-Chinese architect I.M. Pei has died at the age of 102, the NY Times reported on May 16, 2019. Pascal GEORGE / POOL / AFP.
by Maggy Donaldson, with Michael Langan in Washington
NEW YORK (AFP).- I.M. Pei, the preeminent US architect who forged a distinct brand of modern building design with his sharp lines and stark structures, has died in New York, his sons' architecture firm said Thursday. He was 102 years old. The Chinese-born Pei was the mastermind behind the bold Louvre pyramid in Paris, the landmark 72-story Bank of China tower in Hong Kong and Athens' Museum of Modern Art, works seen as embracing modernity tempered by a grounding in history. Pei Partnership Architects confirmed Pei's death to AFP. The New York Times, citing Pei's son Li Chung, said the architect had died overnight Wednesday into Thursday. In his adopted home country the United States, Pei became perhaps best known for his landmark East Building at Washington's National Gallery of Art, deftly melding sharp modern angles with the monumental grandeur the US capital is known for. "Contemporary architects tend to impose modernity on something. There is a certain concern for history but it is not very deep ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day A picture shows bells gathered during preliminary work at the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral one month after it sustained major fire damage on May 15, 2019, in Paris. The April 15, fire destroyed the roof and steeple of the 850-year-old Gothic cathedral. Images of the ancient cathedral going up in flames sparked shock and dismay across the globe as well as in France, where it is considered one of the nation's most beloved landmarks. Philippe LOPEZ / AFP / POOL
|
|
|
|
|
| | | Egyptian Queen by Frank Frazetta sets $5.4 million world record at Heritage Auctions | | Toledo Museum of Art to return vessel to Republic of Italy | | Elton John biopic 'Rocketman' blows Cannes away |
Frank Frazetta, Egyptian Queen Painting Original Art (1969).
DALLAS, TX.- The 1969 fantasy painting Egyptian Queen, one of the most legendary artworks by famed artist Frank Frazetta, sold for a world record $5.4 million Thursday, May 16, at a public auction of vintage comic books and comic art held by Heritage Auctions in Chicago, Illinois. The painting bests the world record as the most expensive piece of original comic book art ever sold at public auction. The previous record was the $1.79 million paid for Frazettas Death Dealer 6, 1990, which was set by Heritage in May 2018 The masterpiece is credited more than any other with revolutionizing fantasy illustration in American art. Egyptian Queen first appeared in print as the cover for Eerie magazine #23 in mid-1969, and as multiple prints and posters over subsequent decades. The winning bidder does not wish to be identified at this time. The painting has been in the possession of Frazettas family ever since it was created 50 years ago, and Thursda ... More | |
Skyphos (Drinking Vessel) with the Return of Hephaistos to Olympos. The Toledo Museum of Art.
TOLEDO, OH.- The Toledo Museum of Art and the Italian Ministry of Heritage and Cultural Activities announced today that they have reached an agreement for the repatriation of an object in the Museums collection. The Attic red-figured skyphos, an earthenware drinking vessel decorated with the story of the return of Hephaistos to Olympos, is attributed to the Kleophon Painter of Athens, Greece, and dates to approximately 420 B.C.E. Per the agreement, the vessel will remain on view at TMA for four years, after which the Museum may ask to renew the loan or request another significant object from the Italian government as part of a continuing and rotating cultural exchange. The Toledo Museum of Art purchased the skyphos in 1982 for $90,000 with funds gifted from Edward Drummond Libbey. The provenance of the object was called into question in 2017 by Christos Tsirogiannis, a forensic archaeologist, after which the Museum began an internal in ... More | |
British singer-songwriter Elton John leaves after attending the screening of the film "Rocketman" at the 72nd edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 16, 2019. LOIC VENANCE / AFP.
CANNES (AFP).- The Elton John biopic "Rocketman" took the Cannes film festival by storm Thursday, with the warts-and-all movie about his wild rock 'n' roll years wowing critics. The extended standing ovation for the film brought its director Dexter Fletcher and star Taron Egerton -- who plays the singer -- to tears. With some critics saying it was among the most searingly honest biopic in years, Variety's Stuart Oldham tweeted minutes after the end that "'Rocketman is fantastic, a musical drama that hits all the right notes, especially the sad ones." The Hollywood Reporter's Rebecca Keegan was equally euphoric, lavishing praise on "hot damn Taron Egerton (who) is the real deal. 'Rocketman' is a musical about picking yourself up off your ass and Taron delivers the sweat, grit and vulnerability it needs." Indiewire predicted a box ... More |
|
|
|
| |
| | | Susan Meiselas wins the 2019 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize | | An emperor's ring, designer pieces, diamonds and gem-set jewelry star in Rago's June 7 & 9 auctions | | Art on auction: five most expensive works for living artists |
Susan Meiselas, Taymour Abdullah, 15, the only survivor of village execution, shows his bullet wound, Arbil, Northern Iraq, December, 1991 © Susan Meiselas.
LONDON.- Magnum photographer Susan Meiselas was announced as the 2019 winner of the prestigious £30,000 prize at a special award ceremony at The Photographers Gallery, on Thursday 16th May by British Turkish award winning writer and activist Elif Shafak. Meiselas was deemed to have made a consistently outstanding contribution to photography, influencing the way that audiences encounter and understand the form and exemplifying a commitment and personal investment to her subject matter and subjects that has left an indelible mark on the history of photography. A leading documentary photographer, Meiselas is widely acknowledged for her work in the conflict zones of Central America (19781983), and in particular for her powerful photographs of the Nicaraguan revolution. Drawing on more ... More | |
Victorian, Gilt Cuff Bracelet. Estimate: $200 - $400.
LAMBERTVILLE, NJ.- Rago Auctions presents a sale of fine and important jewelry on Sunday, June 9, preceded by a sale of jewelry sold without reserve on Friday, June 7. The catalog is available in print and online as of May 20. Previews begin June 1. Antique and modern jewelry, watches and luxury accessories sold without reserve. Highlights include gold and diamond rings, signed and gem-set jewelry, and costume jewelry. A diverse offering of fine, antique and modern jewelry including Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian and Art Deco designs, important signed works, substantial diamond and gemstone jewelry, as well as loose gemstones, watches, accessories and objets de vertu. This lovely sale will present works by Cartier, Bvlgari, Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany & Co., and David Webb, among others. Highlights include: lot 1037, a rose-cut diamond button ring, the central diamond of which once belonged to the last Emperor of Mexico, Maximilian I; lot 1096, an Art ... More | |
Jeff Koons (b. 1955), Rabbit. Stainless steel, 41 x 19 x 12 in. (104.1 x 48.3 x 30.5 cm.). Executed in 1986. This work is number two from an edition of three plus one artist's proof and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist. Estimate: USD 50,000,000 - USD 70,000,000. Price Realized: USD 91,075,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.
PARIS (AFP).- Here are the five works by living artists that have fetched the highest sums at auction, with Jeff Koons' "Rabbit" breaking the record in New York on Wednesday. The stainless steel casting of an inflatable rabbit fetched a record price for a living artist of $91.1 million at Christie's on Wednesday. Created in 1986 and measuring 1.04 metres (41 inches) in height, it is among the best-known works of 64-year-old Koons. The piece was auctioned from the collection of deceased publishing mogul S.I. Newhouse, whose empire included Conde Nast, which published magazines like Vogue, The New Yorker and Vanity Fair. Christie's in New York set the record for the most expensive work of art known to have been sold ... More |
|
|
|
| |
| | | Sotheby's Hong Kong Chinese Works of Art Sales to take place on 30-31 May | | Häusler Contemporary opens an exhibition of works by Michael Venezia | | Rare huanghuali side table makes £1.1 million at Bonhams Fine Chinese Art Sale |
Two fine gilt bronze Buddhist sculptures from an old Hong Kong collection. Estimate (left): HK$400,000-600,000 / US$51,500-77,000. Estimate (right): HK$80,000-120,000 / US$10,300-15,400. Courtesy Sotheby's.
HONG KONG.- Sothebys will present two sales of Chinese Works of Art at its Hong Kong Gallery: Tianminlou - A Small History of Chinese Ceramics (30 May) and Chinese Art (30-31 May). All works will be exhibited for public viewing from 24 29 May 2019. The Tianminlou Collection of Chinese porcelain assembled by renowned collector Ko Shih Chao since the 1950s is of unparalleled quality and has always played an important part in fostering appreciation for the ceramic arts of China. Comprising 35 ceramics from the Jin (265-420) to Qing dynasty (1644-1912), this sale offers collectors a journey through the history of Chinese ceramics, and the opportunity to acquire a piece from this renowned collection. The Chinese Art sale features works of art from several private collections, including Song to Qing ... More | |
Michael Venezia, P240, 2019. Acrylic pearlescent color and copper leaf on painter's palette, 40 x 30 cm / 15 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches. Courtesy Häusler Contemporary München | Zürich. Photo: Günter König.
MUNICH.- Häusler Contemporary München is presenting a new type of paintings and selected historical paintings on paper by Michael Venezia. The exhibition shows how this important renovator of painting in the 1960s has consistently developed his innovative approach, while constantly recollecting tradition at the same time. Gestural curves on horizontally mounted wooden beams and painter palettes with gold applications: the new paintings by Michael Venezia (* 1935, Brooklyn, US, lives in Brooklyn and Trevi, IT), which he presents for the first time at Häusler Contemporarys, seem surprisingly lyrical at first sight. On closer inspection, they prove to be a consistent continuation of Venezia's groundbreaking approach to painting, which nourishes itself from the tension between painterly tradition and innovation. In the endeavor to overcome and ... More | |
A rare huanghuali corner-leg table, fangzhuo 18th century. Photo: Bonhams.
LONDON.- A rare huanghuali rectangular side table with giants arms braces sold for £1,119,000 at Bonhams Fine Chinese Art sale in London today (16 May). It had been estimated at £40,000-60,000 and was the top lot in the sale which achieved a total of £7,189,355. Bonhams Asian Art sale in Knightsbridge on Monday 13 May made £1,791,106 (highlights in the Top 10 below) leading to a combined total for the two sales of £8,960,460. The total for Bonhams four Asian art week sales in London: Fine Chinese Art, Fine Japanese Art, the Robert S. Huthart Collection of Uwami Netsuke: Part I, and Asian Art Knightsbridge, was £11,338,767. Other highlights included: A six-character mark green-enamelled incised 'dragon' dish, Chenghua (1464-1487), reign mark. Sold for £879,000 (£10,000-15,000) A rare pair of 17th century huanghuali horseshoe-back armchairs. Sold for £471,000 (£100,000-150,000) A ... More |
|
|
|
| |
| | | Cannes to get sneak look at Velvet Underground doc | | The Fralin Museum of Art adds significant works to the collection | | Meet the Bauhaus's women artists |
In this file photo US singer Lou Reed performs during a concert in the garden of Viveros in Valencia. AFP PHOTO / JOSE JORDAN / FILES.
CANNES (AFP).- Oscar-nominated director Todd Haynes is to give a sneak preview of his documentary about the legendary rock band The Velvet Underground at the Cannes film festival Friday. The US indie favourite who scored a big hit with "Carol", starring Cate Blanchett, will show buyers footage from his feature-length look at the avant-garde outfit fronted by the late Lou Reed. Mystery surrounds the project which Haynes has managed to keep secret up to now, but a Cannes cinema confirmed to AFP there will be a screening. Before tackling the Velvets, who are regarded as one of the most influential rock groups ever, Haynes made the Bob Dylan film "I'm Not There" and "Velvet Goldmine", the glam rock flick starring Ewan McGregor. He is also set to direct a biopic of the jazz diva Peggy Lee starring Reese Witherspoon. ... More | |
Gandharan Artist, possibly the Swat Valley, Pakistan. Standing Buddha, 3rd century. Schist, 33 x 12 x 6 in (83.8 x 30.5 x 15.2 cm). Gift of Ann K. Wolfe, from the Collection of Alan D. and Anne K. Wolfe, 2017.9.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA.- The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA has been thoughtfully and strategically adding works of art to the permanent collection. Recently acquired works range from oil on canvas to etchings, and from photography to a 126-page artist magazine. Bona II, Charlottesville, Virginia, by Zanele Muholi joins the collection and goes on view as a part of the upcoming exhibition Otherwise this August. Muholi is a non-binary South African artist and visual activist who, for more than a decade, has documented black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex peoples lives in various townships in South Africa. In their recent ongoing series, Somnyama Ngonyama (Hail the Dark Lioness), Muholi becomes both the participant and the image-maker. Muholi has won numerous ... More | |
Bauhausmädels. A Tribute to Pioneering Women Artists by Patrick Rössler, Clothbound, 17 x 24 cm, 480 pages. ISBN 978-3-8365-6353-6. Multilingual Edition: English, French, German.
NEW YORK, NY.- Celebrating the centennial of a groundbreaking School of Art and Design, this volume marks the founding of the Bauhaus with a visual exploration of its most underrated members. While the institution provided women with new opportunities in education, along the way, they were faced with unreasonable family expectations, the ambiguous attitude of the faculty and administration, outdated social conventions, and, ultimately, the political repression of the Nazi regime. Unprecedented in current literature, Bauhausmädels presents 87 artists and artisans through texts and photographic portraits, many published for the very first time. Recent archival discoveries revive the biographies of better-known talents. In the 1920s, the title Bauhaus girl expressed a silent admiration for the young ... More |
|
Donna Huanca Interview: Disrupting the Male Gaze
|
|
| |
| | More News |
Paula Cooper Gallery exhibits works highlighting the breadth of David Novros's artistic production
NEW YORK, NY.- An exhibition of work by David Novros opened at Paula Cooper Gallery on May 11th, 2019, highlighting the breadth of his artistic production. In addition to several large-scale multipartite canvasesfor which the artist is most well-knownthe show explores Novross expansive and prolific approach to painting across a range of material and scale. Included are painted works of copper, iron, and ceramic as well as watercolors. The show remains on view through June 15th at 524 West 26th Street. Novros creates work that pushes beyond its internal pictorial space to generate a dynamic, kinesthetic experience. Inspired by Italian frescoes, Byzantine mosaics, Paleolithic cave paintings, and other in situ artworks, his surfaces are not intended to hold the eye but rather to promote movement with a painted place. The artist explains: I am trying ... More
NY judge rules Woodstock 50 festival can go on
NEW YORK (AFP).- A major festival commemorating the 50th anniversary of Woodstock can proceed, a New York judge ruled, saying in a decision Wednesday that a former investor can't unilaterally shelve the event. The two-day hearing came after the organization behind the anticipated festival, Woodstock 50, sued its former financier Amplifi Live for telling the public the celebration scheduled for August 16-18 was canceled. Judge Barry Ostrager of New York state's Supreme Civil Court decided in favor of the festival organizers but said Woodstock 50 "falls woefully short" of proving Amplifi Live -- a subsidiary of the Japanese marketing firm Dentsu -- needed to return the approximately $18 million in funds it withdrew from the festival bank account when it backed out. The feud is set for arbitration. Dentsu had thrown in the towel on April 29, alleging "misrepresentations, ... More
Eiffel Tower celebrates 130th birthday
The Eiffel Tower has celebrated its 130th birthday in Paris, with the city marking the anniversary with a light show at the famed monument. Built for the 1889 World's Fair, the tower -- which soars to 324 metres in height and weighs 7,300 tonnes -- still attracts nearly seven million visitors every year. Despite calls for its demolition in the years after the exhibition, it soon became the most iconic feature on the Paris skyline and is France's most visited monument. "The Eiffel Tower is a must," said Laurie, a tourist from Canada. Christophe Girard, overseeing cultural affairs at Paris's city hall said the recent fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral -- which destroyed its spire and most of its roof -- had awakened people to "the importance of our heritage", and that it "can disappear or be damaged". The tower was the tallest structure in the world for 41 years until the construction ... More
From mother to daughter, Tunisia potters pass on ancestral know-how
SEJNANE.- With bucket and spade in hand, Sabiha Ayari from Sejnane in northern Tunisia is among the women keeping alive an ancient tradition of creating pottery with all-natural materials. Using skills handed down from generation to generation, she extracts red and white clay from local wadis to craft terracota artefacts, such as dolls and animal figurines as well as cooking utensils for the kitchen. The pottery, mostly cream-coloured with black and red motifs, was added in 2018 to the prestigious "Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" of UNESCO, the United Nations cultural organisation. "These are Berber motifs, the same as those found on traditional outfits and tattoos," says Ayari, a respected potter in her 50s committed to preserving the ancestral tradition. Seated in her lean-to overlooking the family lands, she scoops up the clay ... More
Artistic director Jan Boelen appointed rector at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design
HASSELT.- In the autumn of 2019, artistic director Jan Boelen will leave Z33, the House for Contemporary Art in Hasselt. He will take up a new post as rector at the Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design (HfG Karlsruhe). Petra Olschowski, German Secretary of State for the Ministry of Science, Research and Art announced the name of the new rector of the HfG Karlsruhe. Jan Boelen, artistic director of Z33, will take up the position this autumn, following in the footsteps of philosopher Peter Sloterdijk, among others. With his extensive international experience in the design and art world, he will give an important impulse to the universitys further development. The move from Z33 to Karlsruhe is a logical next step in Jan Boelens professional career. In the same spirit as A School of Schools, the theme of the 4th Istanbul Design Biennale, HfG champions the critical ... More
Dix Noonan Webb announces highlights included in its next Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu sale
LONDON.- The auction of Jewellery, Watches and Objects of Vertu at Dix Noonan Webb, the international coins, medals, banknotes and jewellery specialists, on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at 1pm at their auction rooms in central Mayfair - 16 Bolton St, London, W1J 8BQ will include a varied selection including a large Private Collection of a Gentleman comprising mostly 19th century antique jewellery, watches, and boxes and featuring examples from the major 19th century jewellers - such as Castellani, Carlo Giuliano, Robert Phillips, John Brogden, Hunt & Roskell, etc. Within this private collection is an impressive aquamarine set bangle, circa 1830s, the aquamarine weighs approximately 89 carats and it is estimated to fetch £3,000-4,000, while a beautiful early Victorian portrait bangle, within blue serpent setting, probably a wedding commission ... More
Holly's International announces first auction in Hong Kong
HONG KONG.- Recently launched Hollys International will hold their first auction in Hong Kong from 25 to 27 May 2019. The auction will include over 300 art pieces, including Chinese classical paintings and calligraphy, modern and contemporary art, Chinese ceramics, porcelain and jade, as well as jewellery and watches, all presented across 9 sessions. Dr. Li Yifei, CEO of Hollys International Auction Co., Ltd., said The Hollys Intl (HK) team is made up of professionals from across the world. Although the company has been operating in Hong Kong for just one year, its mother company has long been the leading auction organization in Southern China, and has accumulated a network of high-quality clients. Hollys Intl (HK) has its own well-equipped art complex building, making a centre for scholars from Asian and Western, as well as top collectors and art-lovers. We aim to pre ... More
Exhibition at Design Museum Gent focuses on animals and contemporary design
GENT.- Cattle in enclosed spaces or lab-grown meat? Stroking a cuddly pet or a robot? The relationship between man and animal is highly complex and fraught with contradiction. On the one hand pets are pampered and we have an idealised image of the animal world. On the other hand animals are often treated inhumanely out of sight in slaughterhouses, laboratories or during transport. Starting on 17 May, Creatures Made to Measure strives to find the right balance between affection, respect and benefit. An exhibition as part of the design and society programme, in which Design Museum Gent wants to encourage us to reflect on the man-animal future relationship. Early cave paintings already demonstrated mans fascination with the animal world. However, we have also always felt a strong desire to use animals for our own benefit: what started with their ... More
US artist Jeff Koons, controversies and complaints
PARIS (AFP).- US artist Jeff Koons, whose "Rabbit" fetched $91.1 million at auction in a record for a living artist, has regularly attracted scandal across a career lived in the full glare of the media. Koons shocked the art world in the early 1990s with the "Made in Heaven" series of works depicting himself in sexually explicit poses with the Italian porn star Cicciolina, whom he married in 1991. He and Ilona Staller -- Cicciolina's real name -- who was also a one-time member of the Italian parliament, divorced in the glare of the tabloids in 1994. Koons has regularly been accused of plagiarism, particularly over a 1988 series of sculptures called "Banality" but he defends himself as an artist of appropriation. In 1992, he was found guilty of copyright infringement in the United States for basing the sculpture "String of Puppies" (1988) on a black-and-white photograph by Art Rogers called "Puppies". ... More
|
|
Flashback On a day like today, Italian painter Sandro Botticelli died May 17, 1510. Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi (c. 1445 - May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. He belonged to the Florentine School under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici, a movement that Giorgio Vasari would characterize less than a hundred years later in his Vita of Botticelli as a "golden age". In this image: Alessandro Filipepi, called Sandro Botticelli, The Madonna and Child with the Young Saint John the Baptist. Tempera, oil and gold on panel / 46.3 x 36.8 cm. Estimate: $5,000,000 - 7,000,000. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2012.
|
| |
|
|
