| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net | | Established in 1996 | Friday, October 9, 2020 |
| | | Exploring the Traditions of Antique Oriental Rug Weaving | |
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A spectacular oversize Serapi, with a spacious design and soft mid-tones, partially the result of the high content of copper in their local water, that contributed to these rugs extraordinarily radiant blues.
By Jan David Winitz, President & founder of Claremont Rug Company
OAKLAND, CA.- The term antique Oriental rug encompasses a broad spectrum of weaving techniques practiced for centuries throughout what we have come to call the Middle East (effectively the Near East and Central Asia) woven at least a century ago. To better understand this inspiring and influential art form, I will over the next several weeks explore the various styles, their antecedents and the influences that impacted their design. For those interested in antique Oriental rugs, it is best to understand that there are four essential forms: Tribal Village Town City In this installment, I will examine the Tribal and Village weaving styles. Tribal rugs have been woven for millennia, forming one of the earliest and most enduring modes of human expression. The tribal weavers of the Caucasus and the western half of Persia were particularly prolific and artistically inspired. Their antique tribal rugs are prized by modern audiences for their elemental simplicity, exceptional i ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day A gallery manager examines the exhibition of Basquiat drawings, at the Volcano gallery in Nuits-Saint-Georges on October 7, 2020. How is it possible? A very small gallery in a village in Burgundy exhibits 35 "unpublished" drawings by New York painter Jean-Michel Basquiat, a great friend of Andy Warhol and one of the most highly-rated artists in the world, arousing perplexity and suspicion among experts. JEFF PACHOUD / AFP
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| | A trove of Basquiat drawings in a French village? Experts scoff | | The artist John Newman says a fake check scam cost him $12,000 | | Guggenheim's top curator is out as inquiry into Basquiat show ends |
A gallery manager examines the exhibition of Basquiat drawings, at the Volcano gallery in Nuits-Saint-Georges on October 7, 2020. JEFF PACHOUD / AFP.
by Loïc Vennin
NUITS-SAINT-GEORGES (AFP).- Modern art rebel Jean-Michel Basquiat turned out scores of drawings in his short career, but more than a few eyebrows are being raised over a French gallery show of 35 unknown -- and virtually priceless -- works from the artist. Shortly after the works went on display last month in Nuits-Saint-Georges, a village in the heart of Burgundy wine country, experts began casting doubt on their supposed origins and authenticity. "These have never been shown to the public," says an employee at Volcano, a gallery in a rustic stone house, where visitors can peruse the sketches that do indeed jibe with Basquiat's frenetic style. Many include the crown-of-thorns motif often employed by the former graffiti artist, who was spotted by Andy Warhol only to die of a heroin overdose in 1988 at just 27 years old. The gallery's directors are no longer speaking to the press, but initially said that "several experts" had ascertained there is no reason to believe the works are fake. They are not naming names. ... More | |
John Newman's sculptures, drawings and prints are found in institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Tate Modern in London. Photo: Courtesy John Newman.
by Sarah Bahr
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- When the $12,000 showed up in John Newmans bank account from someone who had bought a pair of his drawings online, his first thought was relief. But five days later, the money was gone. The check was fraudulent. His bank reversed the payment. And now the New York artist was out both the cash and the drawings, which he had already shipped. Newman had been swindled by a fake check scam, in which fraudsters take advantage of the lag between when banks show funds are available in a sellers account and when a check actually clears. I was furious, said Newman, whose sculptures, drawings and prints are found in institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Tate Modern in London. I realized I got screwed, and there was nothing I could do. Fake check scams have become more common in recent years and are responsible for some of the ... More | |
Chaédria LaBouvier, the first black woman to organize a solo exhibition at the the Guggenheim, who has criticized her treatment by the museum, in New York, July 22, 2019. Mary Inhea Kang/The New York Times.
by Robin Pogrebin
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- An independent investigation into how the Guggenheim Museum handled last years exhibition on artist Jean-Michel Basquiat has concluded there is no evidence that the shows guest curator, Chaédria LaBouvier, who is Black, was subject to adverse treatment on the basis of her race, the museum announced Thursday. The museum simultaneously announced that Nancy Spector, the artistic director and chief curator, who is white, was leaving to pursue other curatorial endeavors and to finish her doctoral dissertation. She has spent 34 years at the Guggenheim and has been publicly criticized by LaBouvier, who did not participate in the investigation. The announcement comes at a time when many cultural institutions are defending themselves against charges of racism and have committed to reform. The Black Lives Matter Movement has raised awareness in the art world about inequity in hiring, programming ... More |
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| | American poet Louise Gluck wins Nobel Literature Prize | | Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for your booze stash | | Amy Sillman's breakthrough moment is here |
This file photo taken on November 19, 2014 shows Louise Gluck attending the 2014 National Book Awards in New York City. Robin Marchant / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP.
by Pia Ohlin
STOCKHOLM (AFP).- American poet Louise Gluck won the 2020 Nobel Literature Prize on Thursday, an unexpected choice known for themes of childhood and family life that draw inspiration from myths and classical motifs. Gluck, 77, was honoured "for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal," the Academy said. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1993 for her collection "The Wild Iris" and the National Book Award for her latest collection, "Faithful and Virtuous Night", in 2014. The pick came as a surprise to the poet herself, who told news agency TT that she didn't expect the Academy would've considered her. "No. I mean I'm a white American lyric poet. And I thought well maybe in a different century, but not now," she said. Gluck was not seen as a favourite for the Nobel in the run-up to Thursday's announcement -- though betting sites' odds on her reportedly plunged just before Thursday's announcement. The chair of the ... More | |
Kevin Langdon Ackerman and some of his liquor collection, in Los Angeles, Sept. 25, 2020. Rozette Rago/The New York Times.
by Aaron Goldfarb
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Kevin Langdon Ackerman had a good lead, so he left his home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Beachwood Canyon on a Tuesday morning in August and drove 18 miles northwest to Sylmar, California. He guided his metallic black BMW off the 210 and up the winding road to the top of Little Tujunga Canyon; on the right side, Middle Ranch, an equestrian facility and popular wedding venue, on the left, multimillion-dollar estates, everything surrounded by the mountains of the Angeles National Forest. Eventually he reached his destination, a Santa Fe-style home built in the early 1900s. There he met his contact, Caroline Debbané, who took him not through the front door but around to the back of the property. There, a modern lock code opened the swinging cellar doors, and the two descended a flight of concrete steps to the bunker. One entire wall had built-in wine turrets, with dusty bottles of wine and champagne lying on their side. Another wall acted ... More | |
The artist Amy Sillman in New York, Oct. 6, 2020. A walk through the artists new show offers a master class in how abstraction can capture the fraught spirit of 2020. Calla Kessler/The New York Times.
by Jason Farago
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- These pandemic months have been so full and fraught, so lacking the silence we foresaw with the initial shelter-in-place orders, that one of its first clichés has fallen into obscurity. Do you remember, mid-March, when everyone kept recalling that Shakespeare wrote King Lear while in quarantine? As an inducement to write that novel or learn that new language, it felt hollow as early as April. Well, not everyone lost their focus in the discord and inundation of 2020. Amy Sillman did not. The New York painter whod already scored a big hit last year with The Shape of Shape, a show she curated at the reopened Museum of Modern Art has had a year of unparalleled productivity, even as the coronavirus outbreak kept her from her usual studio. Whats up now in her new show Twice Removed, which opened last week at Gladstone Gallery in Chelsea, is just a fraction of the hundreds of abstract paintings she produced ... More |
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| | Devastation inside Karabakh church hit by rocket | | The Met acquires commissioned works by Cree artist Kent Monkman | | Anti-Semitic ex-mayor becomes magnet for Vienna statue protests |
A man walks on October 8, 2020 in the alley leading to the Ghazanchetsots (Holy Saviour) Cathedral in the historic city of Shusha. ARIS MESSINIS / AFP.
by Hervé Bar
SHUSHA (AFP).- Knocked to the ground by the blast, a bible in Armenian script lay open on the floor, covered in dust. Sun passing through a hole in the roof lit a scene of devastation. The Ghazanchetsots (Holy Saviour) Cathedral, an iconic site for the Armenian Apostolic Church, came under rocket fire on Thursday, as fighting raged between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia blamed its arch-rival, but Azerbaijan said any damage to the church "has nothing to do with the military actions of the Azerbaijani army". One of the rockets hit the roof of the 19th-century building in the town of Shusha, which is perched on a plateau some 14 kilometres (nine miles) from the regional capital Stepanakert. "I was arriving at the church when I saw three rockets in the sky. Two went by, but the third hit the roof," said the local groundskeeper. "My knees are still shaking, it's a miracle I'm not hurt." ... More | |
Kent Monkman, (Cree, b. 1965). Welcoming the Newcomers, 2019 (detail). 132" x 264". Acrylic on Canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, Donald R. Sobey Foundation CAF Canada Project Gift, 2020. Courtesy of the artist. Photo by Joseph Hartman.
NEW YORK, NY.- The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today the acquisition of a grand diptych by Kent Monkman, mistikôsiwak (Wooden Boat People), created by the Ontario-based Cree artist as the inaugural commission for a new series of contemporary projects in the Museum's Great Hall. The paintingstitled Welcoming the Newcomers and Resurgence of the Peopledebuted in December 2019 and will remain on view in that space through November 16, 2020. Monkman's Welcoming the Newcomers and Resurgence of the People were acquired through support of the Donald R. Sobey Foundation, CAF Canada Project. "We are thrilled to share the momentous news that the Museum has acquired these ambitious, sweeping historical paintings by Kent Monkman, a Canadian artist of First Nations heritage," said Max Hollein, Director of The Met. "With monumental scale and breadth, and at a critical moment of reckoning, ... More | |
Lena Floerl, 25, a member of a prominent feminist organisation (Schandwache), is taking part in a so-called "vigil of shame" in Vienna, Austria. JOE KLAMAR / AFP.
by Jastinder Khera
VIENNA (AFP).- A statue of an anti-Semitic former mayor of Vienna who inspired Hitler has become the focus of competing left- and right-wing protests, with anti-racist activists mounting a "shame vigil" around the monument. The likeness of Karl Lueger, on a prime spot on Vienna's imposing Ringstrasse boulevard, has been defaced several times in recent months with graffiti reading "Schande" ("Shame"). Galvanised by protests around historical monuments elsewhere in the world and the Black Lives Matter movement, an artists' collective took matters a step further and fixed two sets of concrete, gold-painted letters spelling "Schande" to the statue's plinth on Sunday night. The collective then set up a "shame vigil" at the site to prevent the city from removing the words. Jewish and Muslim youth organisations, feminists and left-wing groups are also taking turns manning the vigil. However, a group of men described ... More |
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| | 'Pressing Issues' at Krannert Art Museum shows WPA printmakers' thoughts on social justice | | Iran's Shajarian, iconic singer often at odds with authorities, dies | | The Glory of Prussia: The renowned collection of Gerhard Drewko, Berlin, comes under the hammer |
Krannert Art Museum Assistant Curator Kathryn Koca Polite, 2020. Photo by L. Brian Stauffer.
CHAMPAIGN, ILL.- Printmakers employed by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s created images that dealt with issues of labor unrest, racial violence, immigration and the rise of fascism subjects that remain relevant today. Among its strong collection of works on paper, Krannert Art Museum holds hundreds of WPA prints. Many of them will be on view as part of the exhibition Pressing Issues: Printmaking as Social Justice in 1930s United States that opened at the museum Oct. 3. Curator Kathryn Koca Polite organized the exhibition in response to the upcoming election and the way these works address many similar issues the U.S. is confronting today. WPA prints often are seen as nostalgic or celebratory, but these are very different, she said. The exhibition is looking at the ways that artists produced critical commentaries of various social injustices plaguing the country during the 1930s the Depression exacerb ... More | |
This picture taken on April 11, 2009 shows Iran's legendary singer, instrumentalist, and composer Mohammad-Reza Shajarian holding a stringed instrument at a house in the capital Tehran. Alireza SOTAKBAR / ISNA / AFP.
by Amir Havasi and Ahmad Parhizi
TEHRAN (AFP).- Legendary Iranian singer, instrumentalist and composer Mohammad-Reza Shajarian died on Thursday at the age of 80 after a long battle with illness, sparking an outpouring of grief in the country. A national treasure in his homeland, Shajarian nevertheless maintained difficult relations with the authorities in Tehran throughout his career, first under the reign of the shah and then with the Islamic republic. The "Ostad" -- master in Persian -- who had been battling cancer for several years, "flew to meet his beloved (God)", his son Homayoun Shajarian, himself a famous singer, wrote on Instagram. Soon after the announcement, thousands of fans converged on the Jam hospital in Tehran ... More | |
A unique piece from the wardrobe of Kaiser Wilhelm II, his visor cap for officers of the dragoons, circa 1900, is listed in the catalogue at 2,500 euros.
MUNICH.- Opening this year's Autumn Auction on 22 October 2020, the "International orders and collectibles from military history" segment once again presents an array of remarkable, extremely rare lots, along with objects sure to tempt aspiring collectors. Interested buyers are cordially invited to examine the pieces on offer, including 580 lots in this section alone, during the pre-sale viewing from 18 to 21 October in the rooms of our auction house in Grasbrunn, near. This autumn, Hermann Historica will be passing on to new owners the Prussian Collection amassed by the well-known Berlin collector, Gerhard Drewko, who was born in 1914. With enormous expertise, patience and finesse, he continued the family tradition. His grandfather before him had close connections to the Prussian army and also collected artefacts from its great military history. They ... More |
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Bidding Battle Drives Richter to Asian Auction Record
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A masterpiece by Pierre Soulages offered in Christie's Paris Avant-Garde sale
PARIS.- As part of the series of sales hosted on 22 October between London and Paris, Christies France will present a masterwork by Pierre Soulages in their next Paris Avant-Garde auction. Acquired in 1961 by the American collectors Donald & Jean Stralem from New Yorks Kootz Gallery, Peinture 162 x 130 cm, 9 juillet 1961 is making its first ever come back to the market since it was painted. Major players in the New York art scene, Donald & Jean Stralem once put together a prime collection which included works by Matisse, Cézanne, Giacometti, Van Gogh and Picasso. The presence of a Soulages masterpiece in this extraordinary collection is a testament to the crucial role New York played for the French artists international recognition from the 1950s onwards. Paul Nyzam, co-head of the Paris Avant-Garde sale: It is an immense honour for Christies ... More
More than 30 new acquisitions go on view in a pandemic-inspired change of plans
MADISON, WIS.- By now, the Chazen Museum of Art should be more than a year into a grand experiment. In July 2019, the Chazen introduced new open hours, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days per week, making it the most-open museum among its peers. For seven months, staff saw the results, as more students, faculty and community members stopped by to visit the museum or its newly opened café. New exhibitions and a celebration of the Chazens 50th anniversary were planned. However, in March, along with museums and universities across the country, the coronavirus pandemic shut down the UWMadison campus and the Chazen Museum of Art. Now, more than six months later, changes in the Museum are reflecting a new reality. These days, we are working on being nimble, because things can and do change on a daily basis, said Amy ... More
Costa Rica converts island prison into tourist attraction
ISLA SAN LUCAS (AFP).- Despite the country's coronavirus lockdown, Costa Rica's island of San Lucas, a former penal colony with a dark history, has been newly converted into a tourist paradise, albeit with strict pandemic protocols in place. Something of Costa Rica's own version of Alcatraz, the island was once home to one of the most notorious prisons in the country's history. Since its August reopening however, it has also become a picturesque destination for hiking, wild beaches and abundant fauna -- thanks in no small part to several government agencies opening up walking trails and renovating infrastructure to the tune of $2.4 million. Located in the Gulf of Nicoya off the country's Pacific coast, the formerly abandoned San Lucas served as a penitentiary between 1873 and 1991, known for its torture and subhuman conditions. In 1995 the island ... More
Maurice Edwards, busy figure in theater and music, dies at 97
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Maurice Edwards, whose long and varied résumé included directing operas and stage plays, acting in numerous off-Broadway productions and a few on Broadway and helping to found experimental theater troupes and manage the Brooklyn Philharmonic, died Sept. 23 in Englewood, New Jersey. He was 97. His executor, James Waller, said the cause was the novel coronavirus. Edwards nephew and closest living relative, Allen Markson, said Edwards had moved to the Actors Fund Home in Englewood from a nursing home in Queens five days before his death. Edwards was a man of many interests and seemed to find ways to indulge them all. In 1968 he was a founder of the Cubiculo on the West Side of Manhattan, a seat-of-the-pants theater operation that presented plays, poetry readings, films and lots of dance. To ... More
Christie's October 20th Century Week totals $387.2 million in New York
NEW YORK, NY.- Christies October 20th Century Week an innovative addition to the global sales calendar this year realized a grand total of $387,242,500, including the Evening Sale, two Day Sales of Post-War and Contemporary Art and Impressionist and Modern Art and an online-only sale of Robert Motherwell Prints from the Dedalus Foundation. Demonstrating continued demand in the markets for both masterpiece and core level works of art, the sales were further strengthened by Christies accelerated strategy of expanded digital reach and global connectivity. The series saw an increased number of registered clients engaging with Christies across platforms, from online to livestream, as well as a broadening demographic of bidders under the age of 40. The geographic breakdown across evening and day sales demonstrated the ... More
A choir finds a way to sing. Just ignore the steering wheel.
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- I love singing four-part harmony. It isnt just about the precision, the ringing sound when voices blend together. Its also about community, listening to one another and breathing together, creating a mood-lifter and balm in a fraught world. But like theater and hand shaking, choral singing has been canceled for now and for good reason. Singing is the AK-47 of expression in the coronavirus era, shooting out so many aerosols that a church choir in Washington made the news in March when almost everyone present contracted the virus after a rehearsal; 53 singers became ill, and two died. When my mens a cappella chorus on Long Island turned to Zoom rehearsals in the spring, I didnt last long. The lag time over Zoom didnt allow for live harmonizing or even the simplest singing in unison. Performing meant ... More
Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio awarded film restoration grant
LENOX, MASS.- Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio has been awarded a $9,210 grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation to preserve part of its collection of 16mm films taken by George L.K. Morris in the 1930s. The Foundation's grants support preservation of rare films such as silent films and films of sites receiving little media coverage. This current grant funds preservation of three films taken by Morris during a 1934 trip to the Far East during which he visited China, Japan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Hawaii, India, Korea, and Phillipines capturing on film colonial, pre-World War II life and historical and culturally significant sites. These 1934 films make up almost half of those in the FMH&S collection. These three films, documenting Hong Kong, Shanghai, Suzhou, Mount Abu, and Udaipur are the final Far East films to be ... More
Ciara Phillips is the winner of the Queen Sonja Print Award 2020
OSLO.- The winner of the worlds most important prize for printmaking, The Queen Sonja Print Award 2020, is the Irish-Canadian artist, Ciara Phillips it was announced today following a unanimous decision by the Jury. Forty-four artists were nominated for the 2020 award by curators, museum directors and fellow artists from all over the world. The nominees reflect the breadth of contemporary printmaking today, ranging from traditional forms to new approaches involving installation, collage and performance. The Award Winner received the prize yesterday, at a private audience with Her Majesty the Queen at the Royal Palace in Oslo. The 2020 jury consisted of Emi Eu, Executive Director of STPI - Creative Workshop & Gallery in Singapore, Philip Tinari, Director and CEO of UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing, and Christopher Le ... More
Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, Ph.D., named Director and CEO of the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens
JACKSONVILLE, FLA.- After an extensive national search, the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens announced the selection of Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, Ph.D., as the institutions next George W. and Kathleen I. Gibbs director and chief executive officer (CEO). Brownlee has served as the director of the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art in Atlanta, Georgia, for nearly 20 years. She will begin her new role in December 2020. Since our search process began, the Board sought candidates who shared our vision for the future of the Cummer Museum. Dr. Brownlee is widely known for her impactful leadership and significant exhibition agendas. We are eager to work with her to ensure the Cummer Museum continues to serve our community and beyond to the very best of its ability. We extend our warmest welcome to Dr. Brownlee, an esteemed ... More
Phillips announces selling exhibition curated by Vito Schnabel
SOUTHAMPTON, NY.- Phillips announced A Good Show For Strange Times, a selling exhibition curated by gallerist Vito Schnabel. The exhibition features a group of fifteen works, comprised of works by artists with whom Schnabel was raised and worked with closely including his father Julian Schnabel, Rene Ricard, Francesco Clemente, Walton Ford, Tom Sachs, and Pat Steir. Works by two young painters championed by Schnabel, Ariana Papademetropoulos and Robert Nava, will appear alongside masterworks by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Albert Oehlen. A Good Show For Strange Times will be on view at Phillips Southampton beginning on 10 October 2020. Miety Heiden, Deputy Chairman and Head of Private Sales at Phillips states: We are thrilled to partner with Vito Schnabel to present these remarkable works, particularly ... More
Maynard Solomon, provocative biographer of composers, dies at 90
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Maynard Solomon, a musicologist and record producer best known for influential, lucidly written biographies of Beethoven and Mozart as well as a hotly debated scholarly article on Schuberts sexuality, died on Sept. 28 at his apartment in Manhattan. He was 90. The cause was Lewy body dementia, his family said. Reviewing Solomons 1988 book Beethoven Essays, the New York Times music critic Donal Henahan described the author as one of the most persuasive voices on behalf of the perilous intellectual voyage known as psychobiography or, less kindly, psychobabblography. But in investigating the mysteries of creative energy, he wrote, Solomon builds even his most speculative essays on musicological foundations, not moonbeams. Solomons compelling 1977 biography of Beethoven, ... More
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PhotoGalleries
Ron Arad
David Adjaye
He Art Museum
To Be Determined
Flashback On a day like today, British artist Simeon Solomon was born October 09, 1840. Simeon Solomon (9 October 1840 No. 3 Sandys Street, Bishopsgate, London, England - 14 August 1905 in St. Giles's Workhouse, Endell Street) was an English Pre-Raphaelite painter. Examples of his work are on permanent display at the Victoria and Albert Museum and at Leighton House. In December 2005/January 2006, there was an important retrospective of his work, held at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, and in London at the Ben Uri Gallery in October / November 2006. In this image: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 1863.
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