| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net | | Established in 1996 | Saturday, January 6, 2024 |
| | | As the art world watches, an oligarch takes an auction house to court | |
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The Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev looks out from his penthouse in Monte Carlo, Monaco, Sept. 18, 2018. At a trial next week, Rybolovlev is set to accuse Sothebys of helping an art dealer trick him into wildly overspending for artworks, a claim the auction house disputes. (Benjamin Bechet/The New York Times)
by Graham Bowley and William K. Rashbaum
NEW YORK, NY.- In 2013, when Dmitry Rybolovlev, a Russian oligarch, was in the midst of buying $2 billion worth of art, one of the many works he purchased was Tête, a sculpture by Amedeo Modigliani, for $83 million. That, he says, was the price Yves Bouvier, a man helping to handle the transaction, told him the seller would need to part with such a masterpiece. But actually, there was no other seller. Bouvier himself owned the sculpture, which he had quietly bought only months before at half the price, according to court papers. For years, Rybolovlev has accused Bouvier of defrauding him in that and dozens of other transactions by posing as an art adviser negotiating sales on Rybolovlevs behalf when, in fact, he was secretly acting as an art dealer and often increasing the prices by tens of millions of dollars. Bouvier denies this. Next week, the dispute one of the art worlds longest-running and fiercest moves to a Manhattan courtroom, where Ryb ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day The PAV Parco Arte Vivente presents the exhibition Car Crash. Piero Gilardi and Arte Povera curated by Marco Scotini, which investigates the production of Piero Gilardi (Turin, 1942-2023) during the 1960s.
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| Martha Diamond, painter who captured New York vistas, dies at 79 | | Told ya so: The pescient posters of the environmental movement | | He ran the Uffizi. Can he run Florence? |
Her work, at the border of representation and abstraction, cast a strong influence over younger painters but did not gain broad public recognition until late in her life. Photo: Olivia Funk.
by Will Heinrich
NEW YORK, NY.- Martha Diamond, a painters painter who captured the endlessly changing face of New Yorks buildings, streets and light-filled vistas with deceptively simple expanses of color, died Saturday after a long illness. She was 79. Her death was confirmed by the Martha Diamond Trust. Diamonds work occupied a unique point at the intersection of several approaches. She handled paint with the gestural elan of a materials-focused abstract expressionist. Her stark but vibrant depictions of her native city, in which an eight- or 10-story edifice on a busy street might be reduced to a liquid gray rectangle against an undifferentiated orange sky, recalled mid-period Piet Mondrian, before that Dutch pioneer fully abandoned representational painting. So as never to do anything rote, she painted with her nondominant left hand. And in her deep commitment to the particulars of her own milieu she often painted the view from her light-filled Bowery loft she ... More | |
An undated image via Poster House shows a satirical poster from 2015 by Barnbrook, put up at bus stops in Paris during the COP21 summit, which refers to Volkswagens emissions cheating scandal and attempts by the carmaker to apologize. (via Poster House via The New York Times)
by Travis Diehl
NEW YORK, NY.- Last year was the warmest in recorded history. The graphic artists of the environmental movement tried to warn us. Their posters aimed to scare people straight with pictures of ecological ruin, or glorified nature, clean air and water, sunshine and verdure. Some offered earworm-y slogans and haunting visuals. Whatever their approach bright, witty, somber, blunt, even sexy they sought an image, a phrase, that could change enough minds to literally save the world. Through Feb. 25, an exhibition at Poster House in Manhattan demonstrates these visual and rhetorical styles, and how they reflect the evolving movements shifting strategies. There are 33 posters on view, along with dozens of postage stamps and a pair of socks by Vivienne Westwood. Environmentalism began honing its voice in the 1970s, with roots in the counterculture and protests ... More | |
Eike Schmidt, the former director of the Uffizi museum and the newly appointed director of the Capodimonte Museum, in the Uffizis contemporary gallery, in Florence, Italy, Jan. 28, 2022. (Clara Vannucci/The New York Times)
by Elisabetta Povoledo
ROME.- Will he? Or wont he? Its a question thats been buzzing at dinner parties and on street corners in Florence and throughout the Italian art world. The he in question is Eike Schmidt, who until last month was the director of the Uffizi museum, and who has hinted that he might run for mayor of Florence in upcoming municipal elections. Since the summer, Schmidt has been toying somewhat mischievously with the idea of running with the Brothers of Italy, the hard-right majority party in the coalition that governs the country. Even after he was appointed in December as the new director of the Capodimonte Museum in Naples, a four-year posting set to begin this month, Schmidt has not clarified his intentions, except to say in an interview in an Italian newspaper that he would be unable to do both jobs at once. On Wednesday, Italys culture minister, Gennaro Sangiuliano, posted a photo on social media with Schmidt and wrote in an ... More |
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| Clandestine crossings at sea subject of paintings by Alioune Diagne now on view at Galerie Templon | | Persian alphabet 'ART IRAN: Falling into Language' group exhibition features work by Iranian artists | | Inauguration of a new shared learning center in École Polytechnique's district |
The Prayer, 2023. Acrylic on canvas, 200 à 180 cm, 78 3/4 à 70 3/4 inches. © Isabelle Arthuis. Courtesy the artist and TEMPLON ParisBrusselsNew York.
PARIS.- For his very first exhibition at Galerie Templons Paris space, painter Alioune Diagne, who is representing his country on the Senegalese Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2024, is showing a selection of eight paintings on the theme of clandestine crossings at sea. Alioune Diagne uses a technique he developed and has gradually perfected where small modules, which he calls unconscious signs, cluster together to form a coherent figurative mass. He uses a complex process based on these signs, reminiscent of forgotten calligraphy, to create dynamic paintings that depict daily life in Senegal as well as the everyday experiences of the African diaspora around the world. For Seede, which means the witness in Wolof, Diagne spent several weeks visiting the Senegal coastline. His canvases echo the stories of local ... More | |
Alphabet of Silence, 2006. Installation, wood panels, variable depth, paper and encaustic on wood panel; and 16 sculptures, paper and encaustic on air-dry clay, 72 x 2 x 72. Private collection.
LOS ANGELES, CA.- In collaboration with nonprofit Farhang Foundation, a compelling new group exhibition, ART IRAN: Falling into Language, opens at the art museum Craft Contemporary on Jan. 28, 2024 with an artist talk, and runs through May 5. ART IRAN: Falling into Language presents nine expatriate Iranian artists who engage diverse forms of the Persian alphabet, handwriting, and fragments as an essential part of their artistic practice. This exhibition includes installation works, drawings, collages, site-specific art, and an interactive installation. The methods used range from sewing; assemblages of letters, words, and ceramics; and wall painting. The technique of handwriting on objects of different materials, from dishes to architectural tiles, is part of daily life in Iranian cultureand has been throughout history, ... More | |
©Sergio Grazia, 2023 / Ãcole Polytechnique.
PARIS.- The construction of the shared learning building (BEM) center in Ãcole Polytechniques district has been completed. This singular building will accommodate classes from seven leading French engineering Institutions. The project was designed by Sou Fujimoto Architects (headmaster), OXO architects and DREAM. The shared learning building (BEM) was built to the common ambition of 7 engineering schools, all located in Ãcole Polytechniques district, to pool their educational spaces in order to optimise, as part of a responsible approach to the use of resources, the space built and the room occupancy rate. A building that encourages meetings, interactivity and innovative teaching methods: The building is able to host multidisciplinary inter-institutional projects. With a capacity of 1,470 students, it has a large 250-seat amphitheatre, three 80-seat amphitheatres and around fifty rooms spread over 3 floors. ... More |
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| Celebratory exhibition at Leiden's Museum De Lakenhal of Rembrandt's 'Four Senses' | | Milestone Auctions' Antique Toy Extravaganza presents international mix rarities | | 'The Thunder Hurried Slow' explores a distinct phase of artist Emily Mason's life |
Rembrandt's Unconscious Patient (Allegory of Smell).
LEIDEN.- Museum De Lakenhal, which opened its doors in Leiden on 1 May 1874, is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2024. The festivities will kick off with the presentation of Rembrandt's Four Senses His First Paintings. Rembrandt created this series of paintings, comprising his earliest known work, when he was around 18 years old and living in Leiden. In addition to the Spectacles Seller (Allegory of Sight) from Museum De Lakenhal's permanent collection, the presentation features three works from The Leiden Collection, New York: Stone Operation (Allegory of Touch), Three Musicians (Allegory of Hearing) and Unconscious Patient (Allegory of Smell). No trace has ever been found of the fifth painting in this series, the Allegory of Taste. The four works will be on display at the museum for 150 days. A master in the making: The series of allegories depicting the senses clearly demonstrates that Rembrandt has always been an original and e ... More | |
Yonezawa (Japan) windup Diamond Planet Robot, 10in tall, very rare variation with blue body and red arms. All original and complete, including googly eyes, oxygen meter on chest, and windup key. Diamond Planet is the largest windup robot ever made and one of the most sought after of all toy robots; few ever appear at auction. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. Courtesy of Milestone Auctions.
WILLOUGHBY, OH.- Toys, toys and more toys! Thats whats in store for collectors at Milestones big January 13 New Years Antique Toy Extravaganza in suburban Cleveland. The 732-lot sale includes some of the most sought-after of all European, American and Japanese playthings from the golden era through postwar-production years. Many have their rare factory boxes and present in excellent original condition. Marquee highlights include a super-rare boxed Linemar Mechanical Popeye & Olive Oyl Tank, a stellar Diamond Planet Robot, and a Marx Big Loo robot prototype with impeccable documentation and provenance from its original designer. The toy ... More | |
Lists of Clay, 1978, Oil on canvas, 50 x 30 inches, 127 x 76.2 cm, MMG#36105
NEW YORK, NY.- There was no one way to be in the 1970s. The period was about self-definition and experimentation, said the art historian and curator Dr. Barbara Stehle, who recently rediscovered Emily Masons presence in a 1974 group photo featuring Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, Robert Indiana, Nancy Graves, Jo Baer, John Chamberlain, Robert Rauschenberg, Richard Serra, James Rosenquist, Joseph Kosuth, and others. They embody the 1970s: long hair, short skirts, shades, and free spirits. Some laugh, some smile, some are cool, some arent. They are artists, and that means something different to each of them. The Thunder Hurried Slow explores a distinct phase in the career of an artist whose circle of influence spans three generations of art historyfrom being nurtured into the American Abstraction movement by way of her artist-mother Alice ... More |
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| Missoula Art Museum presents Mimi Jung's large-scale woven and cast sculptures in new exhibition | | Gallery EXIT opens Glary WU: A Sentimental Journey | | 'Diary' a solo exhibition featuring artist Tammam Azzam's recent body of work at Ayyam Gallery |
Mimi Jung with A Brief Fall, 2021, poly cord, paper, and plywood, installed in UPlanet, Gwangmyeong, Korea.
MISSOULA, MT.- The Missoula Art Museum presents Mimi Jung: Just Between Us, a new exhibition of large sculptural works that stretch the traditional art of weaving from tapestry and large sculptural woven works to experimental materials and forms, including cast metal. The public is invited to meet the artist at a March First Friday celebration. Mimi Jung uses intricate and new techniques and unexpected materials to explore her personal experience and the interplay of external relationships. The sculptures combine industrial materials and organic forms to dominate large spaces while remaining airy. Across the works in the exhibition, neons play harmoniously with bright white, Kraft brown, mineral blues, and metallic black. The artists says that she, examines multiple dimensions of self-preservation, particularly as it relates to private and public self-representation, and ... More | |
Glary WU, To be with, 2023, oil on canvas, 110 x 85 cm.
HONG KONG.- Gallery EXIT presents Glary Wus solo exhibition A Sentimental Journey, featuring a new series of nine oil paintings, on show from 6 January to 3 February, 2024. Like a visual journal, the exhibited new works record recent events during the time when Wu, experiencing a state of loss, went travelling with her intimate friends. In an attempt to extend her memories and personal feelings through these paintings, the artist engages in a private self-dialogue and self-discovery, in the process gaining more self-knowledge and grounding, reflecting on what the act of painting means for her. In Wus paintings, scenes and characters from daily life are presented on the canvas as individual scenes from a stage play. Revolving around trivial happenings and interactions between people, her paintings are rich in imagination and narrative quality, with special attention to the interactions between the various elements and ... More | |
Tammam Azzam, Untitled, 2022. Acrylic on paper, 60 x 40 cm.
DUBAI.- Ayyam Gallery will be opening Diary, a solo exhibition featuring Tammam Azzams recent body of work. The vernissage will be on January 8th from 6 pm - 9 pm, in presence of the artist. In the exhibition Diary, Tammam Azzam, an artist known for his profound explorations of the destruction and reconstruction of an image or space, showcases works that play with perspective. Horizon lines expand outward and urban vistas are cut into parts, interrupted like the lines of a window frame. In one untitled 2021 painting, the sky is a turquoise sea-blue, which complicates the boundaries of the subject, an earthy terrain referencing the lava fields in the south of Syria, where Azzam is from. The sea-skys color marks a tonality he has carried with him, visible in paintings of scenes from parts of Berlin, thus connecting different places in visual moments. In four 2022 studies ... More |
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Gerhard Richter: Engadin
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How cancer has influenced, but not controlled, a musician's work
COLOGNE.- Harpsichordist and pianist Andreas Staier has never been a morning person. And since August 2019, when he was diagnosed with primary myelofibrosis, a rare bone marrow cancer, he has felt what he called a fundamental fear most vividly in the mornings. Playing music helps. After getting out of bed, Staier goes to one of his keyboard instruments and sight-reads a piece or practices a tricky spot. The music stays as beautiful as it is, he said in an interview at his home in Cologne, Germany. It doesnt change. And that is very, very consoling. Staier, 68, has shaped the European early music movement for 40 years. Born in Göttingen, Germany, he joined the period instrument ensemble Musica Antiqua Köln as a harpsichordist in 1983. In 1986, he left the group to concentrate on solo and chamber music, with an emphasis ... More
MACRO extends artistic director Luca Lo Pinto's mandate and announces exhibition programme 2024
ROME.- Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome, under the aegis Azienda Speciale Palaexpo, has extended Luca Lo Pinto's contract as artistic director until the end of the year: Lo Pintos project, Museum for Preventive Imagination, will continue throughout 2024 to give form to the programming of the museum. With Museum for Preventive Imagination MACRO has taken on the experimental guise of a magazine, as a method of investigation of the work of artists and tool of interpretation of contemporary culture. Season after season, every exhibition space of the museum has narrated, under the title of an entrance banner Solo/Multi, Arrhythmics, Polyphony, Bibliographic Office, Chamber Music, In-Design, Rehearsal and Retrofuture a specific medium or point of view, often bringing out unusual stories and figures ... More
Anthony Dias Blue, whose writing elevated California wines, dies at 82
NEW YORK, NY.- Anthony Dias Blue, a longtime wine writer and radio personality whose love for California whites and reds helped elevate the reputation of American vintners, died Dec. 25 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 82. His daughter Amanda Blue confirmed the death but did not provide a cause. Blue, known by friends and readers as Andy, moved to San Francisco in the late 1970s and soon found himself enmeshed in the emerging California wine scene. It had been just over a decade since Robert Mondavi opened the first major winery in the state since Prohibition, and just a few years since a pair of Napa Valley wines beat out a host of French chardonnays, Bordeaux and Burgundies in the so-called Judgment of Paris. Still, American wine as a whole was poorly regarded, even among aficionados. Blue set out to change that ... More
Vinie Burrows, acclaimed actress who became an activist, dies at 99
NEW YORK, NY.- Vinie Burrows, a Harlem-born stage actress who made her mark on Broadway in the 1950s, but who grew frustrated by how few choice roles were available for Black women and turned her focus to one-woman shows exploring the legacies of racism and sexism, died Dec. 25 in Queens. She was 99. Her death, at a hospice facility, was confirmed by her son, Gregory Harrison. Burrows made the first Broadway appearance of her seven-decade career in 1950 alongside Helen Hayes and Ossie Davis in The Wisteria Trees, a reimagining of Anton Chekhovs The Cherry Orchard by writer and director Joshua Logan that shifted the drama from an aristocratic Russian estate to a 19th-century Louisiana plantation. Her Broadway career continued to blossom into the mid-1950s. Among the high-profile productions in ... More
A reinvented 'True Detective' plays it cool
NEW YORK, NY.- There were times, a year ago, in Iceland, on a glacier, in the dark, in temperatures well below freezing, when Issa López thought to herself: Who wrote this? What is wrong with this person? López, the showrunner and director of Season Four of the HBO anthology series True Detective, had only herself to blame. This shivery True Detective, subtitled Night Country, premieres Jan. 14. Set in Ennis, a fictional town in northwest Alaska, it stars Jodie Foster as the chief of police and Kali Reis as an intimidating state trooper. Opening just as the area descends into months of unrelieved darkness, the six-episode season has an icy milieu and a female gaze forcefully distinct from the shows past outings. Created by Nic Pizzolatto, True Detective debuted nearly a decade ago as a bayou noir starring ... More
One indelible scene: A lovingly prepared meal in 'The Taste of Things'
NEW YORK, NY.- How a movie announces itself to you is everything, and The Taste of Things begins in a kitchen. Well, a kitchen garden. Its dawn, and someone is crouching near the rows, cutting heads of lettuce, pulling up a few carrots, unearthing a white knobby thing and bringing it all indoors. The light is coolly blue-tinged. The day is just getting started. I think its fair to group the garden with the kitchen. A garden doesnt spring up overnight. Seeds are planted in the spring, sometimes before, and the gardener cant control the results. If all of the elements cooperate sun, shade, water, soil nutrients, shifts in climate and weather then you get a head of lettuce, some carrots, some herbs, a perfectly pink radish. The same combination of skill and luck gets a cow to produce milk, a chicken to grow fat and tender, a cheese to ripen ... More
Exhibition program for 2024 for Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien
VIENNA.- Due to renovation work, Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien will be closed from January 8 until the end of May 2024. For the first half of 2024, during the museums closing, mumok will be offering five months of extensive programming. Under the framework mumok visits well provide many exciting alternatives to a museum visit. The mumok collection today comprises around 10,000 works by c. 1,600 artists. In 1959, the first purchases were made for the newly founded Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts, which held 90 works when officially opened in 1962. A key impulse for the museum's exhibition and collecting policy was provided by the Ludwig and Hahn Collections in the 1970s, which were shown from 1979 in a second building, the Palais Liechtenstein. The Hahn Collection was purchased by the Republic of Austria, ... More
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PhotoGalleries
Gabriele Münter
TARWUK
Awol Erizku
Leo Villareal
Flashback On a day like today, French painter and sculptor Gustave Doré was born January 06, 1832. Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré (6 January 1832 - 23 January 1883) was a French artist, printmaker, illustrator, comics artist, caricaturist and sculptor who worked primarily with wood engraving. In this image: Gustave Doré, Souvenir of Loch Lomond, 1875. Oil on canvas, 131 à 196 cm. French & Co. LLC.
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