| The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Tuesday, December 26, 2017 |
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| | An order from the Chinese emperor who created the terracotta army: Find immortality | |
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This photo taken on October 21, 2016 shows the sculptures of the Terracotta Army at the Terracotta Warrior Museum in Xian in north China's Shaanxi province. The first emperor of China, also known as Qin Shihuang, had an executive order of the elixir of life, according to a text on a set of wooden slips discovered through archaeological excavations, local media reported on December 25. AFP.
BEIJING (AFP).- New archeological research has shed fresh light on China's first emperor -- creator of the world-famous terracotta army -- and his quest for eternal life, state media reported. A set of wooden slips found in the central province of Hunan contain an executive order from emperor Qin Shihuang for a nationwide search for the elixir of life, along with replies from local governments, according to Xinhua news agency on Sunday. It cited Zhang Chunlong, a researcher at the provincial institute of archaeology, as saying the emperor's decree reached even frontier regions and remote villages. Qin Shihuang's obsession with eternal life was well-known: he was responsible for the massive underground mausoleum in the northern province of Shaanxi filled with nearly 8,000 terracotta soldiers built to protect him in the afterlife. By studying the 36,000 wooden slips -- found in 2002 at the bottom of a well in Hunan -- archaeologists have uncovered not only the imperial order to find an "elixir of life" ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day Judaica Research Centre chief Lara Lempertiene files through rediscovered Jewish documents, long thought to have been destroyed during World War II, in Lithuanian national library in Vilnius on November 3, 2017. For decades, a confessional in a church in Lithuania's capital Vilnius kept a precious secret: a trove of documents offering an unprecedented glimpse into Jewish life in Eastern Europe before and during the Holocaust. Petras Malukas / AFP
| Impressive exhibition at the Dordrechts Museum includes works by Monet, Sisley, Boudin, Daubigny and others | | Tribal weavings from the Collection of William and Inger Ginsberg on view at the Metropolitan Museum | | Borders, territory, and migration: Three themes shared by three new exhibitions | 
Claude Monet, Le Port de Trouville, 1870, Szépmuvészeti Múzeum/Museum of Fine Arts Budapest.
DORDRECHT.- Johan Barthold Jongkind (1819-1891) was a key figure in nineteenth century European painting. He was a linking pin in the development of modern painting and quite rightly a true pioneer of Impressionism. Working from the Dutch, realistic tradition, Jongkind gave the initial push to Impressionism in France. He was born in the Netherlands, but most of his life he lived in France where he became friends with artists such as Monet, Sisley, Boudin, Daubigny and Pissarro. Dordrechts Museum dedicates an impressive exhibition to the work of Jongkind and several of his well-known artist friends. Jongkind painted cityscapes and in particular coastal and river sceneries. His apt observations of nature and his direct, loose way of painting were an eye opener to the French artists. Camille Pissarro, for instance, was one of the first to mention Jongkind as a model: "Landscapes without Jongkind would have a completely different view". Claude Mon ... More | | 
Spindle Bag, ca. 1935. From Western Iran, Bakhtiari tribe. Wool, cotton, goat(?) hair, metal rings, braided strap, and faience beads; weft-faced plain weave with pattern in sumak extra-weft wrapping; symmetrically knotted pile. H. 20 1/2 in. W. 12 3/4 in. Gift of Inger G. and William B. Ginsberg, 2015.
NEW YORK, NY.- Woven bags produced by and for nomads from Iran, Turkey, and the Caucasus contained all of the necessities of life, from bedding to salt. On view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the exhibition Portable Storage: Tribal Weavings from the Collection of William and Inger Ginsberg highlights 19 distinctly patterned examples of woven bags, accompanied by one pile-woven saddle cover, that lend insight into a way of life practiced in the Middle East for hundreds of years. The gift, which came to The Met in 2015, greatly expands the Museums holdings of tribal weavings from the region. The exhibition also includes two Islamic paintings from the Museums collection that illustrate bags and trappings in use in traditional society. The Ginsbergs have been interested in small textiles since the 1970s, and ... More | | 
Alejandro Cartagena, Daughter on the USA-Mexico Border Wall, Border Field State Park, California, 2017 (detail). Digital print. Collection of the artist. Photo: Alejandro Cartagena.
OTTAWA.- The fall-winter season at the Canadian Photography Institute of the National Gallery of Canada opened with three exhibitions, each exploring borders, territory, and migration: Gold and Silver: Images and Illusions of the Gold Rush; Frontera: Views of the U.S.-Mexico Border, and PhotoLab 3: Between Friends. Organized by the Canadian Photography Institute in partnership with Library and Archives Canada, this exhibition was made possible thanks to the gift of The Origins of Photography collection from the Archive of Modern Conflict. More than 150 images, most of them never exhibited before, tell a story of the hopes, dreams, and illusions of an entire generation of pioneers during North Americas two great gold rushes: the California gold rush of 1849, and the Klondike gold rush of 1896, which led to the establishment of the Yukon Territory. In the second half of the 19th century, ... More |
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| Daniel Crouch Rare Books will bring monumental town plans to the Winter Antiques Show 2018 | | Exhibition of portraits from the "la Caixa" Contemporary Art Collection on view at Pera Museum | | New works announced for Lumiere London | 
Bernard Ratzers Plan of the City of New York, 46.75 by 34.5 inches.
NEW YORK, NY.- Daniel Crouch Rare Books will bring maps of three of the most exciting cities in the world to the Winter Antique Show, which runs from 19 28 January in New Yorks Park Avenue Armory. Visitors to the Winter Antiques show will be awestruck by the unmissable display of George and Walter Bromleys Atlas of the City of New York Borough of Manhattan from 1908: a strikingly pink 25 (yes, 25!) wide fire insurance map in 38 individually framed sheets. The map is not only a fascinating and important document from the end of the gilded age, but also demonstrates how maps can be displayed in interior spaces to make bold and arresting design statements. The map includes outlines of buildings, street names, sidewalk widths, number of stories, basements and natural features such as rivers. It also shows the composition of buildings by listing materials such as brick, stone, iron a ... More | | 
Roni Horn, ... Muayenehanesi Cabinet of, 2001-2002. Installation of thirty-six colour photographs, 84 x 84 cm (each).
ISTANBUL.- The Pera Museum is presenting the exhibition Look at Me!: Portraits and Other Fictions from the la Caixa Contemporary Art Collection. The exhibition examines portraiture, one of the oldest artistic genres, through a significant number of works of our times. Paintings, photographs, sculptures and videos shape a labyrinth of gazes that invite spectators to reflect themselves in the social mirror of portraits. As Nimfa Bisbe Molin, the curator of the exhibition and the head of la Caixa Banking Foundation Contemporary Art Collection, mentions in her article, Portraiture today encompasses multiple ways of producing images of the human condition and exploring the complex notion of identity. Divided into four thematic sections, Spotlight on Emotion, The Conventions of Identity, The Memory of the Face, and Masks and Other Fictions, the exhibition presents ... More | | 
Bough 1, Simon Corder. Photograph: Simon Corder.
LONDON.- The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has hailed the upcoming Lumiere London as one of the most spectacular free events to ever take place in the capital, as producers Artichoke reveal ten of the artworks coming to London for the UKs largest light festival. The newly-revealed works include: ● Interactive illuminated singing see-saws in South Molton Street in Mayfair ● An immersive work that imagines a world under water at Kings Cross ● A meditation on time from the Industrial Revolution to the present day projected onto the iconic Hotel Café Royal building on Regent Street ● Flamingos flying through Chinatown London ● A triptych of animated self-portraits in Leake Street ● Matisse-inspired animation dancing across the facade of the Royal Academy of Arts on Piccadilly The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: The incredible line-up of artworks announced today gives a flavour ... More |
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| MoMA to celebrate Russian film auteur Andrey Zvyagintsev with mid-career retrospective | | Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary Fair returns for second edition to kick off 2018 | | Exhibition 'Beyond The Stijl. Gerrit Rietveld and the 1950s' extended until April due to overwhelming success | 
Loveless. 2017. Russia. Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
NEW YORK, NY.- The Museum of Modern Art presents a mid-career showcase of the films of Andrey Zvyagintsev, whose unsettling dramas explore moral dilemmas and spiritual torment, January 1224, 2018, in The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters. The retrospective opens with a special screening of Loveless (2017) that also marks the final night of MoMAs award-season series The Contenders and includes a post-screening conversation with Zvyagintsev. This gut-wrenching tale about a disintegrating marriage and a missing child won the Cannes 2017 Jury Prize, and will be Russias submission for the Best Foreign Film at the 2018 Academy Awards. Sony Pictures Classics will release the film in theaters February 16, 2018. Loveless: The World of Andrey Zvyagintsev is organized by La Frances Hui, Associate Curator, Department of Film, The Museum of Modern Art. The award-winning filmmakers work pulls Russia ... More | | 
Roy Lichtenstein, Metallic Brushstroke Head, 1994. Painted and nickel-plated bronze, 82,68 x 24 x 24 in.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA.- The Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary Art Fair, presented by Art Miami and sponsored by the City of West Palm Beach, will return for its second edition in West Palm Beachs Tent Site (825 S Dixie Hwy & Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach) located directly behind the new Restoration Hardware on Thursday, January 11th, 2018. The fair will open on Thursday evening with an exclusive VIP Preview at 5:00pm benefiting The Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society, The Joe Namath Neurological Research Center and the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens. The Fair is sponsored by Christies International Real Estate, The Official Luxury Real Estate sponsor of Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary, and together with its international affiliates, will host an elegant booth at the main entrance of the fair, showcasing luxury residential property ... More | | 
The exhibition was part of the Mondrian to Dutch Design year that was celebrated in 2017.
AMERSFOORT.- The exhibition De Stijl voorbij. Gerrit Rietveld en de jaren vijftig. (translation: Beyond De Stijl. Gerrit Rietveld and the 1950s.) in the first art hall of the Netherlands has been extended until the 22nd of April 2018 due to successful reception. A large number of visitors from Europe and the rest of the world have visited the exhibition and showed great enthusiasm for the relatively unknown Rietveld Pavilion, the only original exhibition pavilion that Rietveld made in the 1950s . The exhibition was part of the Mondrian to Dutch Design year that was celebrated in 2017. The iconic Rietveld Pavilion is brought back to the publics attention and the exhibition focusses on the turbulent post-war 1950s. The fifties of the twentieth century were crucial years in the life and work of Gerrit Rietveld. After a period of a slight decrease in commissions, a new recognition was achieved on a national and internation ... More |
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| Stephenson's New Year's Auction to feature antiques, jewelry, decorative art from Philadelphia's finest estates | | Artist 'released' in China after Liu Xiaobo tribute | | TEFAF Maastricht 2018 announces new exhibitors | 
Edwardian 14K white gold and (34) diamond girandole necklace, 3.50 carats TCW, 18-in fine-link chain, est. $2,000-$4,000. All images provided by Stephensons Auctioneers.
SOUTHAMPTON, PA.- Family owned and operated Stephensons Auctioneers has built its reputation on fresh-to-market art and antiques from the Philadelphia areas most elegant estates. Traditionally, their spotlight sale of the year is their New Years Auction, which, for 2018 will be a two-day event. All forms of remote bidding will be available for those who cannot attend in person, including phone, absentee or live via the Internet. The January 1 session opens with 200 lots of fine jewelry including Part II of the exquisite Ruth London estate collection. Part I, which was auctioned by Stephensons in August, caused quite a sensation with jewelry buyers, said Stephensons owner/auctioneer Cindy Stephenson. Mrs. London was a world traveler who loved to shop. She had very refined taste in jewelry and bought only the ... More | | 
"I was released a few days ago and we are in my hometown now," the Twitter account of painter Hu Jiamin read days after Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao reported that the couple had been taken away by plainclothes men.
BEIJING (AFP).- An artist that could not be reached for more than a week after he painted a politically charged mural in southern China wrote on Twitter Monday that he has been "released". "I was released a few days ago and we are in my hometown now," the Twitter account of painter Hu Jiamin read days after Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao reported that the couple had been taken away by plainclothes men. Hu noted in another post that he will return to France on December 30. The artist and his French wife, Marine Brossard, had painted a mural honouring China's late dissident Liu Xiaobo at the entrance of a public exhibition in Shenzhen on December 15. But city authorities covered the wall with a banner the same evening, witnesses told AFP. Their painting depicted an empty blue ... More | | 
Winslow Homer, In the garden, 1875 (detail). Watercolor on paper, 29.2 x 19.8 cm.
HELVOIRT.- 270 of the worlds leading dealers and specialists in the fields of fine art, antiques and design which cover over 7,000 years of art history will participate in TEFAF Maastricht 2018. Among these are 16 new exhibitors, bolstering the already unrivalled offering across all sections of the Fair. TEFAF Maastricht acts as a crucial meeting place for the best dealers in the world and is the leading commercial and academic hot spot within the international art market. The sheer breadth of its offering guarantees the attendance of both major international private and institutional collectors. TEFAF Maastricht 2018 takes place from 10-18 March 2018 at the MECC (Maastricht Exhibition and Congress Centre), Maastricht, The Netherlands. A notable update for the 2018 Fair is a review of the opening days. The first two days of the Fair will be by invitation only. On Thursday 8th March, from 10am to 7pm, the Fair will host ... More |
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MetCollects -- Episode 11 / 2017: Crest (Tsesah)
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 Rare 1882 gold certificate to push for top lot honors at Heritage's FUN currency auctionDALLAS, TX.- An extremely rare 1882 gold certificate that could sell for $500,000 or more is expected to draw the heaviest pursuit among serious collectors at the FUN Currency Auction in Tampa, Fla. "The January FUN auction is like no other event," Heritage Auctions Currency Director Dustin Johnston said. "Each year, we encounter some really extraordinary rarities, and this year's event is no exception." The rarity of the Fr. 1218e $1,000 1882 Gold Certificate (est. $500,000+) is beyond debate. It is believed to be one of just five in existence, and one of only two available to collectors. Series 1882 $1,000 Gold Certificates were issued from 1882 through 1906 with a total of eight different signature combinations. Notes with the signatures of William S. Rosecrans and Enos H. Nebeker, who were only in office together from April 1891 through May ... More Exhibition at Kunsthalle Zurich presents a selection of the most recent work by Emil Michael KleinZURICH.- Darkotic presents a selection of the newest work by the Swiss artist Emil Michael Klein (b.1982). It is a matter of abstract painting, and one initially understands it wrongly. Not that it is not abstract. And naturally, it orients itself around the eminent history of the genre. According to this, you will be able to draw out the relation it bears to other painters. Painters and art in general thrive from this, it is through comparisons and differences that sense and meaning, but also criticism, are established. And obviously none of this functions without composition, basecoats, oils, dispersion, canvas and thought. But in truth Kleins painting evolves in any case just as much from wood-carving, graffiti and tags. This is the origin of his painting, one that is no longer bound to a tradition. Rather, it is more craft, more an unsentimental mastery of the wall and a covering over of the canvas. ... More 'Sound of Music' star Menzies-Urich dead: industryLOS ANGELES (AFP).- Heather Menzies-Urich, a star of "The Sound of Music," which continues to win hearts worldwide after more than half a century, died at age 68, an industry source said Monday. "We... mourn the passing of Heather Menzies-Urich," the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, which holds the rights to the musical, said on its website. "We are all lucky to have known her, and she will happily live on in that beautiful movie. We will miss her." Menzies-Urich, then a teenager, had the role of Louisa von Trapp, one of the children of Captain von Trapp played by Canadian actor Christopher Plummer, who starred with English actress Julie Andrews. Menzies-Urich's son, Ryan Urich, said she had been diagnosed with brain cancer and died on Christmas Eve surrounded by family, according to celebrity website TMZ, as well as Variety magazine's website. ... More Irish Museum of Modern Art examines how digital technologies are impacting our daily livesDUBLIN.- Over 25 years since the World Wide Web phenomenon began, computer scientists, social psychologists, writers, and artists are now questioning how digital technologies are impacting our daily lives. The personal computer, touch screen devices, and always-on wearables now form the very fabric of how we engage and connect globally. Our prolific participation in social media, taking selfies, live streaming and constant sharing of personal information gives rise to big data profiling. Willingly or unwillingly, our output in this global digital community demands a representation of the self. This self is often fractured between text, sound, visuals, or data, filtered across different platforms as a multiple of identities. Linking new studies of the digital self to the critical concerns and creative tools of artists, this diverse public programme explores questions of identity, ... More RAY 2018: The international photography triennial to focus on the theme extremeFRANKFURT.- The international photography triennial RAY Fotografieprojekte Frankfurt/RheinMain returns between 24 May and 9 September 2018 to present outstanding contemporary photography and related media at over ten venues in Frankfurt and the region. For the first time, RAY will open with a festival kick-off. From 24 to 27 May photography fans, international experts of the medium as well as artists are invited to Frankfurt to explore photography and topics surrounding the RAY 2018 theme EXTREME. With over fifteen partners and a variety of public events RAY 2018 once again offers a summer of intriguing photographic highlights. Through a multitude of correlating exhibitions organised under this RAY editions theme of EXTREME the selected artists reflect upon social transformation, concepts of identity, and aesthetic tendencies in the twenty-first century. ... More The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens exhibits recently acquired works of artATHENS.- The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens is presenting 39 new acquisitions by 33 artists that were included in the museums collection from 2014 to 2017. A year after the partial operation of the museum and the opening of its temporary exhibition spaces, the first selection of its new acquisitions (2014 - 2017) marks the enrichment of the collection and the beginning of a new dialogue with the greater cultural and artistic production inside and outside EMST and brings the museum closer to the opening of its permanent collection spaces. EMST, along with its intensive activity in Greece and abroad and the resolution of administrative issues that will soon lead it to the complete opening of its spaces, has expanded its collection by 150 works, reaching the total number of 1150. With long-term loans, generous donations and some acquisitions, the ... More Outsider Art Fair announces exhibitors & programming for 26th editionNEW YORK, NY.- Wide Open Arts, the New York-based organizer of the Outsider Art Fair the premier event for self-taught art, art brut and outsider art announced its exhibitors for the 26th edition, taking place January 18-21, 2018 at The Metropolitan Pavilion. The fair will showcase 63 galleries, representing 35 cities from 7 countries, with 10 first-time exhibitors. Coming off of a successful 5th Outsider Art Fair Paris, which posted a 24% gain in attendance over the previous year, the forthcoming New York fair will continue to highlight the global reach of its artists and dealers, and will include: ex-voto sculptures unique to Brazil's Afro-Indigenous-European culture at Mariposa Unusual Art; and a collection of works by self-taught artists from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean at Indigo Arts. Korea Art Brut and Beijing's Almost Art Project will make their OAF ... More Remarkable results: Ketterer Kunst consolidates top level figuresMUNICH.- Total proceeds of 49 million is the excellent result for the business year 2017 at Ketterer Kunst. This is one of our best results ever, says Robert Ketterer. Indeed, the 1 million line was crossed twice. The auctioneer and company owner explains: Numerous records and almost a hundred results on or beyond the 100,000 line are the result of both the quality of our offers, as well as of the great network of potential buyers around the globe that our house has. Results show that, apart from the big international names, German art sells particularly well on the domestic market. Especially upon appearance of a very acclaimed work there is no limit and top figures are guaranteed. Next to Modern and 19th Century Art, the latter attracting up to 40% first-time buyers, Post War and Contemporary Art saw very high demand. Works in these sections were met ... More Major new Michael Stevenson work on view at Auckland Art Gallery AUCKLAND.- Auckland Art Gallery is presenting a solo exhibition by Berlin-based, New Zealand artist Michael Stevenson Serene Velocity in Practice: MC510 / CS183. For the occasion Stevenson has developed a significant new large-scale installation, commissioned by Auckland Art Gallery with partners the Biennale of Sydney 2018 and Monash University Museum of Art, Melbourne (MUMA). Serene Velocity in Practice: MC510 / CS183 is based on two seemingly unrelated academic courses, MC510 and CS183, which were modules taught for a short time in Californian higher-learning institutions. The installation takes the form of an imagined tertiary institution of two classrooms, each of which represents one of these courses. Auckland Art Gallery Director Rhana Devenport says Michael Stevenson has earned an exemplary reputation ... More Huis Marseille opens exhibition of works by documentary photographer Ad van DenderenAMSTERDAM.- For almost 25 years Ad van Denderen, the éminence grise of Dutch documentary photography, has been photographing daily life in Israel and the Palestinian territories. He originally worked in black and white, in a classical, direct, reportage style. About 15 years ago he switched to colour, and since then he has employed a more detached and monumental photographic style. The exhibition Jerusalem Stone unites these two approaches to create a subtle depiction of the complex and precarious situation in this part of the world, and makes much use of stone as a metaphor. It is stone that principally defines the landscape, and with it the areas water management and vegetation. Its quarries provide the material for houses being built on both sides of the border. Stones are used to throw up barriers and throw at adversaries. At one and ... More Exhibition of new and recent works by Deborah Butterfield on view at L.A. LouverVENICE, CA.- L.A. Louver is presenting new and recent works by Deborah Butterfield. For the artist, found materials are a continued source of inspiration for her horse sculptures. In a new direction, Butterfield has incorporated marine debris from the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami to create some of her most powerful and poignant works to date. The sculptures will be featured in the front courtyard, the second floor gallery and our open-air Skyroom. To create each sculpture, Butterfield uses gathered wood to build the skeletal armature of the horse. Once these wooden pieces are cast in bronze and welded together, this becomes the foundation over which the artist can begin forming the sculpture. With a keen eye, Butterfield selects wood from accumulated stockpiles to build her compositions, fastening them one by one to this underlying ... More British artist Edmund Clark opens exhibition at Ikon in BirminghamBIRMINGHAM.- As the pressures on Britains prisons appear ever more regularly in the national news, Ikon presents an exhibition of work by British artist Edmund Clark, the culmination of a residency in Europes only wholly therapeutic prison environment, HMP Grendon. Combining photography, video and installation, In Place of Hate explores ideas of visibility, representation, trauma and self-image, addressing how prisoners and the criminal justice system are perceived and discussed by the public, politicians and media in Britain today. Established in 1962, Grendons inmates must accept responsibility for their offence. They then exercise a degree of control over the day-to-day running of their lives, making a commitment to intensive group therapy and democratic decision-making, whilst holding each other to account. Through research ... More |
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Flashback On a day like today, French painter Maurice Utrillo was born December 26, 1883. Maurice Utrillo (26 December 1883 - 5 November 1955), was a French painter who specialized in cityscapes. Born in the Montmartre quarter of Paris, France, Utrillo is one of the few famous painters of Montmartre who was born there. In this image: Maurice Utrillo, Ruelle des Gobelins à Paris, 1921, oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right Maurice, Utrillo, V, Mars 1921, signed, dated and titled on the reverse Maurice Utrillo, V, Mars 1921, 65 x 92 cm.
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