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| | | Digital archive on show in Berlin hopes to help rebuild Syria | |
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A woman visits the exhibition titled "Cultural Landscape of Syria ? Preservation and Archiving in Times of War" at the Museum of Islamic Art in the Pergamon Museum on February 27, 2019 in Berlin. The exhibition, running until May 19, 2019, provides insight into the practice of cultural preservation and the work of the Syrian Heritage Archive Project. The Project aims to preserve the millennia-old history of a part of the world that saw some humanity's earliest urban centres and writing systems, but which has become a symbol of the barbarity of war. Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP.
by David Courbet
BERLIN (AFP).- After eight years of brutal war in Syria, the UNESCO World Heritage-listed city of Aleppo lies in ruins -- but a vast digital archive in Germany aims to keep its memory alive and help rebuild it one day. The Syrian Heritage Archive Project documents what it can of the millennia-old history of a part of the world that saw some humanity's earliest urban centres and writing systems, but which has become a symbol of the barbarity of war. The special exhibition that opened in Berlin on Thursday features a digital treasure trove of photographs, maps and films as well as artefacts to take visitors on a virtual journey through Aleppo and other cultural marvels of Syria. "This project aims to preserve the past and also has a vision for the future: to gather archives so that reconstruction can happen quickly," said Stefan Weber, director of Berlin's Museum of Islamic Art, which is hosting the exhibition until May 26. "For over 100 years, our museum has had a special connection with Syria," said ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day White paint thrown by an unknown person covers a controversial mural outside the Vortex art gallery, which Jewish groups call anti-Semitic and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti called for its removal, in Los Angeles, California on February 27, 2019. The artwork which was defaced overnight depicts a Grim Reaper-type figure wearing a cloak covered with Stars of David, holding what appears to be a dead baby and a missile. Mark RALSTON / AFP
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| | | Koller Zurich announces highlights from its March auctions | | Almine Rech now represents the Estate of Antoni Tàpies | | British artist Hockney freed from Amsterdam elevator by firemen |
Among the Old Master Paintings to be auctioned on 29 March is a portrait by Lucas Cranach and his workshop of Cranachs patron, Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony (CHF 90 000/120 000).
ZURICH.- An impressive work by Arnold Böcklin, Der Kampf auf der Brücke (The Battle on the Bridge), will be offered in the auction of 19th Century Paintings on 29 March at Koller Zurich. Inspired by Rubens Battle of the Amazons, this dynamic composition depicts a struggle between a Germanic tribe and a Roman army, and is estimated at CHF 250 000/350 000. Two particularly luminous works by German artists stand out among the 19th century works on offer, a view of Venice with the Doges palace by Carl Morgenstern (CHF 60 000/80 000) and a merry company before Mount Vesuvius in Naples by Oswald Achenbach (CHF 30 000/40 000). The collection of Dutch film maker Jef Rademakers included many highly representative works of 19th century Dutch Romanticism, over one hundred of which will be offered in the 29 March auction. Two of the numerous highlights are a Winter Landscape with k ... More | |
Antoni Tà pies, Claus i corda, 2002 (detail). Mixed media and assemblage on wood, 114 x 150 cm, 44 7/8 x 59 inches © The Estate of Antoni Tà pies. Courtesy of Almine Rech.
BRUSSELS.- Almine Rech is now part of the galleries representing the Estate of Antoni Tà pies. The first exhibition with the gallery will take place in Brussels in March 2020. From the 1940s, Antoni Tà pies (b. 1923, Barcelona; d. 2012, Barcelona) has developed a strong visual language through a wide range of sources that coalesce into a complex fusion of materials, gestures, and symbols. Co-founder of the magazine Dau al Set in 1948, and influenced by Miró and Klee, he became increasingly interested in iconographic and magical subjects. He gradually began to incorporate geometrical elements and colour studies leading to an interest in matter through the use of heavily textured canvases of great expressive and communicative possibilities. Tà pies achieved international recognition by the mid-1950s. In the 1960s, he began incorporating new iconographic elements (writing, signs, anthropomorphic ... More | |
British artist David Hockney was stuck in an elevator in the Conservatorium Hotel in Amsterdam for almost half an hour after he had given the press conference. Robin UTRECHT / ANP / AFP.
THE HAGUE (AFP).- British artist David Hockney had to be freed by Dutch firefighters from an elevator in Amsterdam as he was about to open a new exhibition of his works. The 81-year-old, who holds the record for the most expensive painting by a living artist, had been heading down for a cigarette at his hotel late Wednesday when it suddenly stopped. Hockney was in Amsterdam for the opening of "Hockney-Van Gogh: The Joy of Nature" at the Van Gogh Museum, which compares the British legend's works with those of the Dutch post-impressionist. In the lift with Hockney was a group of journalists including BBC reporter Jim Naughtie, who later interviewed him. "We were in there half an hour," Hockney said. Asked if he had ever had a similar experience before, Hockney replied : "No never." The BBC's Naughtie said the lift had "jerked to a halt" and that nothing had happened when they pressed the alarm button. ... More |
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| | | Arts Minister steps in to save £5 million Sargent First World War landscape from export | | Record Carmen Herrera leads part I of 'By Women, For Tomorrow's Women' | | Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden opens three new exhibitions to celebrate the Bauhaus anniversary year |
Arts Minister Michael Ellis has stepped in to prevent a £5 million John Singer Sargent painting from export.
LONDON.- A painting by official war artist John Singer Sargent, is at risk of export unless a UK buyer can be found to match the £5,750,000 + VAT asking price. Arts Minister Michael Ellis has placed a temporary export bar on Sargents In the Austrian Tyrol, painted in the autumn of 1914 when he found himself trapped in foreign territory after the outbreak of the First World War and unable to return to England. Experts believe that the landscape depicts Sargent and his guide, resting by a watermill at the foot of the dramatic Sella mountain range in Kolfuschg, Austria - today known as Colfosco and part of Italy. From the late 1850s until 1873, the Sargent family visited the Alps almost every year, however he did not begin to paint the region until the early 1900s. The visit in 1914 marked the longest period of time Sargent spent in the mountains since his childhood visits. A complex piece, In Austrian Tyrol represents one of Sargents Alpine scenes which are rar ... More | |
Carmen Herrera, Blanco y Verde (detail), signed, titled and dated 1966-67 on the stretcher bar, acrylic on canvas, 40 by 70 in. 101.6 by 177.8 cm. Estimate $1.5/2 million. Courtesy Sothebys.
NEW YORK, NY.- This morning in New York, the first offering of Sothebys and Miss Porters Schools benefit auction By Women, For Tomorrows Women totaled an impressive $3.9 Million well in excess of its $2.8 million high estimate, and with an exceptional 100% of lots sold. Marking the first-ever all-women artist benefit auction at a major auction house, the initial group of 26 works offered in todays live auction were led by Carmen Herreras Blanco Y Verde from 1966-1967, which established a new auction record for the artist when it sold for $2.9 million, besting its $2 million high estimate. Over the course of several months, 43 pieces by 41 pioneering women artists have been donated to create this distinct offering of modern and contemporary works. Miss Porters School will use their full proceeds from the sale to support financial aid for its students. Sothebys sales of By Women, ... More | |
Naum Gabo, Model for 'Rotating Fountain', 1925, zusammengesetzt 1986. Metall und Plastik, 44 x 40 x 40 cm, Tate, London © Tate, London 2018.
DRESDEN.- In the Bauhaus anniversary year, three exhibitions pursue historic and contemporary questions on the theme of space, display, and constructivist art. The exhibition "Visionary Spaces: Kandinsky, Mondrian, Lissitzky and the Abstract-Constructivist Avant-Garde in Dresden 19191932 brings together master works from international museums. In the center of the show are spatial designs by Piet Mondrian and El Lissitzky, which were created for Dresden in 1926. This is also the starting point for new works by contemporary artists. The historical designs are the intellectual framework for a confrontation with different categories of space as geometric form and as a social place. In Paris in 1926, Piet Mondrian designed a boudoir for the Dresden collector Ida Bienert in a way that had never been seen before, while in Moscow El Lissitzky conceived of a room for abstract art in a comparably ... More |
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| | | Museum der Moderne Salzburg presents an in-depth survey of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's work in photography | | Pace Gallery opens an exhibition of new works by Kiki Smith | | SFMOMA announces three key appointments to the museum's leadership team |
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Self-portrait, around 1928. Glass negativ. Kirchner Museum Davos Donation Estate Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1992.
SALZBURG.- Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880 Aschaffenburg, DE―1938 Davos, CH) was arguably the only one among the German Expressionists who did more than dabble in photography. He left an archive of ca. 1,300 glass and celluloid negatives, a collection of vintage prints, and bound albums containing photographic reproductions of his paintings, drawings, sculptures, and graphic art. Numerous exhibitions have offered public audiences opportunities to study Kirchners widely acclaimed oeuvre as a painter and sculptor; his photographic work, by contrast, has not received the same attention and appreciation. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. The Painter as Photographer is the first exhibition at an Austrian museum specifically devoted to the artists photography. It gathers a selection of ca. 300 photographs, with examples from all genres the artist tried his hand at: from nudes, studio scenes, and portraits to ... More | |
Kiki Smith, Oak Leaves VI, 2018. Bronze, 11-3/4" à 8-3/4" à 2-1/2" (29.8 cm à 22.2 cm à 6.4 cm).
NEW YORK, NY.- Pace Gallery is presenting an exhibition of new works by Kiki Smith. Encompassing etchings, cyanotypes, contact prints, and sculptural works in bronze, aluminum, and silver, the exhibition underscores the truly multidisciplinary approach to art-making that Smith has pursued throughout her career. Embracing the power of figurative art, Smiths recent work continues to advance her investigation of both the resonances and dichotomies between the natural and spiritual worlds. Kiki Smith: Murmur is on view from March 1 to 30, 2019 at 537 West 24th Street. A full color catalogue has been published in conjunction with the exhibition. Drawing together approximately 20 works made over the last three years, Murmur marks the gallerys eighth solo exhibition dedicated to the artist since she joined the gallery in 1994. The pieces span from the intimate to the large-scale, the delicate to the robust, and represent elements ... More | |
Chad Coerver; photo: Katherine Du Tiel.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art today announced the appointment of three key leadership positions at the museum. Janet Bishop was named Thomas Weisel Family Chief Curator and Curator of Painting and Sculpture. In this role, she will be responsible for the development and implementation of the museums overall exhibition strategy, as well as governance and oversight of the curatorial division. Chad Coerver was appointed the Leanne and George Roberts Chief Education and Community Engagement Officer. He will be responsible for strategizing and developing education programs and interpretive programs that foster and deepen engagement for a diverse audience of adults, families and youth. Both positions will report to Neal Benezra, Helen and Charles Schwab Director of SFMOMA, and are effective immediately. Bishop and Coerver will also serve as members of the museums executive leadership team. The museum also announced that ... More |
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| | | Forty sculptures by Jack Whitten interweave traditions of African, European, and ancient art | | Two major acquisitions strengthen Rice Public Art | | New exhibition uncovers musical treasures at the University of Leeds |
Jack Whitten, The Tomb of Socrates, 2009, wild cypress, black mulberry, marble, brass, and mixed media. © Jack Whitten Estate. Courtesy of the Jack Whitten Estate and Hauser & Wirth.
HOUSTON, TX.- The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, will present Odyssey: Jack Whitten Sculpture, 19632017 the first major exhibition dedicated to sculptures by renowned American contemporary artist Jack Whitten. While Whitten has long been celebrated for his work as an innovative abstract painter, this exhibition reveals an extensive and entirely unknown body of the late artists work. Odyssey: Jack Whitten Sculpture, 19632017 will feature 40 of Whittens sculptures made over the course of his five-decade careereach created with a diverse spectrum of materials, including wood, marble, copper, bone, fishing wire, and personal mementos and a selection of his paintings. The exhibition will be on view March 3 to May 27, 2019, following presentations last year at ... More | |
Ursula von Rydingsvard, Malutka II, 2018, Bronze, 70 3/8 x 53 3/16 x 37 inches (178.8 x 135.1 x 94 cm).
HOUSTON, TX.- Two new acquisitions by Rice Public Art are poised to dramatically strengthen and diversify the universitys collection of exceptional public artwork. A new bronze sculpture by Ursula von Rydingsvard will be installed this spring. It represents the first outdoor sculpture by a woman to be permanently displayed on the Rice campus and will be the world-renowned artist's first public work in Houston. The second major addition is a late-career wall drawing by celebrated American artist Sol LeWitt, widely viewed as one of the most influential artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. It is the first work of conceptual art to enter the Rice Public Art collection and will be installed at the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies this fall. Von Rydingsvards Malutka II, a 7-foot sculpture first carved from cedar and then cast in bronze, will occupy a grassy space near the ... More | |
Curator Dr Bryan White with a Sonata written by the 14-year-old Mendelssohn. Image: Special Collections, University of Leeds.
LEEDS.- How did a church organist from Sheffield amass the largest private collection of Mendelssohn material in Europe? Gather them in: the Musical Treasures of W.T. Freemantle at the Universitys Treasures of the Brotherton Gallery, tells the undiscovered story of a passionate collector and the musical masters he admired. Running until the end of July, the exhibition is guest-curated by Dr Bryan White from the School of Music at Leeds University. It builds on new research and brings to light the untold story of Freemantles significant musical collection and reveals the true extent of his achievements. Dr White said: It was a revelation to learn that Freemantles love for collecting was spurred by a visit to the market in Sheffield, where he unwittingly bought his first Mendelssohn manuscript. His passion became so strong that he said ... More |
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Why an Emperor of China Spent a Month Transcribing this Buddhist Text
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GEM, museum of contemporary art opens Helen Dowling's first museum solo exhibition
THE HAGUE.- British artist Helen Dowling (b. 1982) uses a multitude of images that she has found, downloaded or filmed herself to create video works that have a hallucinatory effect, taking the viewer on a visual trip that presents them with an alienating view of existence. At the same time, the works reference philosophy and poetry from poet Kate Tempest to feminist thinker Hélène Cixous and universal themes like the landscape and humankinds impact on nature. Stranger on Display at GEM, museum of contemporary art, is Dowlings first museum solo exhibition, which brings together several films and sculptures to create a site specific installation. From celestial bodies to wandering humans, images appear in apparently random succession, forming stories with no linear plot. Dowling combines her own footage with existing material, including digitalised ... More
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art opens exhibition of works by Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist
HUMLEBÃK.- Over the past thirty years Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist (b. 1962) has been a striking and pace-setting figure on the contemporary art scene with her sensuous, colourful and norm-critical audio and video universes. Rists dizzyingly intimate gaze at the internal and external world often suffuses both body and mind as a sensory state. The artists name is a nod to the Swedish author Astrid Lindgrens rebellious, freethinking, and colourful heroine Pippi Longstocking. Louisianas exhibition Pipilotti Rist à bn min lysning [Open My Glade] is the first comprehensive presentation of the artist in Scandinavia and presents a panoply of Rists work. The formats range from single-channel videos to large spatial video and audio installations, and the exhibition also gathers together a number of video sculptures, a central category in the artists work from the start ... More
Massimo De Carlo exhibits a new series of works by Xu Qu
MILAN.- Massimo De Carlo is presenting a new series of works by Xu Qu, entitled Chaos. One of the most interesting and versatile artists to emerge out of contemporary China, Xu Qus work spans a wide variety of mediums, such as video, painting, sculpture and installation. Preoccupied with confronting the reality of our global world, Xu Qus previous work examined the symbolism of money, questioning our obsession with the aesthetics of power relations. For Chaos, Xu Qu presents a series of eroded acrylic paintings and black rubber soft sculptures, engaging with more existential themes of humanity and deviating from his prior concerns with the harsh reality of our capitalist society. Delving into ideas of space and the universe, Xu Qu has created three sets of paintings, titled Dust, Magnetic Fields, and Star Trail, exploring the imagined view of the Earth taken from ... More
Installation of new sculptures by Erik Lindman opens at Emmanuel Barbault
NEW YORK, NY.- Emmanuel Barbault, in collaboration with Almine Rech Gallery, is presenting an installation of new sculptures by Erik Lindman a first for an artist primarily known for his paintings alongside photographs in which these sculptures are activated by David Schoerner. From an essay commissioned for this project, Alex Bacon writes: Lindmans work has, almost since the beginning, involved found objects. He has a keen eye for materials that might engender a good painterly and now sculpturalcomposition. Sometimes these materials have been included in paintings as compositional elements, while other times they are present only by implication, as a matrix through which an imprint is left, or a logic out of which a series of marks or gestures are laid down and developed Lindmans sculpture is in many ways an extension of this practice, ... More
Pallant House Gallery opens the first major exhibition in over 35 years of Harold Gilman's work
CHICHESTER.- The first major exhibition in over 35 years of Harold Gilman (1876 1919), a British painter whose increasing engagement with post-impressionism from the continent resulted in a truly distinctive portrayal of modern urban life in early 20th century Britain. This exhibition focuses on the final decade of the artists short life he died aged just 43 during the influenza pandemic when he left behind the gritty, sombre formality of the Camden Town Group and his mentor Walter Sickert in favour of the vitality of French post-impressionism with its thickly applied paint and vivid colours. In the powerfully realist and yet enigmatic mature work, the influence of Van Gogh and Ãdouard Vuillard can clearly be seen. Gilmans subject matter and his precise manner of painting were not usual bedfellows. He retained some of the precision of his formal training ... More
Exhibition at Frankfurter Kunstverein focuses on eight young and aspiring artists from the Rhein-Main area
FRANKFURT.- From March 2 to May 12, 2019, the Frankfurter Kunstverein will focus on eight young and aspiring artists from the Rhein-Main area with the exhibition And This is Us: Young Art from Frankfurt. The group exhibition will present works by Viviana Abelson, Jonas Brinker, Bertrand Flanet, Max Geisler, Hanna-Maria Hammari, Christian Leicher, Wagehe Raufi, and Catharina Szonn. The exhibition gives these young artists the opportunity to showcase their works on an institutional stage, in some cases for the first time. The aim of And This is Us: Young Art from Frankfurt is to highlight the diversity of contemporary artistic practices. At the same time, the exhibition paints a multifaceted picture of current art production in Frankfurt, which profits from the many international protagonists and exchange processes. With new works created specifically ... More
Anger over gender inequality, harassment mark Africa's top film festival
OUAGADOUGOU (AFP).- Africa's top film festival heads to a climax on Saturday after a fierce debate about gender equality and sexual aggression in the continent's movie industry. In its half-century of history, the Pan-African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (Fespaco) has never awarded its top prize to a female director -- a fact that faced uncomfortable scrutiny during the week-long event. "Where are the women?" asked South African actress Xolile Tshabalala, who stars in "Miraculous Weapons" made by Cameroonian director Jean-Pierre Bekolo. "Can it be that in 50 years, there hasn't been a single woman capable of telling a great story to win the Fespaco?" Alimata Salemembere, a pioneer of TV broadcasting in Burkina Faso, who helped launch the very first Fespaco back in 1969, said: "There's discrimination in the cinema and in television, just ... More
Collezione Maramotti rehangs ten rooms on the second floor of the permanent display
REGGIO EMILIA.- For the first time since the opening of Collezione Maramotti in October 2007, ten rooms on the second floor of the permanent display will be rehung to present some of the projects shown during the first ten years of activity: Enoc Perez (2008), Gert & Uwe Tobias (2009), Jacob Kassay (2010), Kritof Kintera (2017), Jules de Balincourt (2012), Alessandro Pessoli (2011), Evgeny Antufiev (2013), Thomas Scheibitz (2011), Chantal Joffe (2014), Alessandra Ariatti (2014). Presented in a series of small solo exhibitions, the projects offer an overview, albeit partial, of the sustained work conducted by the Collezione to support Italian and international artists in a pivotal moment of their artistic research, by inviting them to create a new body of works to be displayed and, subsequently, to enter the collection. The new exhibition itinerary reflects an interest in the ... More
'High energy' conductor takes US orchestra to new heights
WASHINGTON (AFP).- In the concert hall, the sound is crisp, slicing through the air like a sharp knife. Gianandrea Noseda's baton is a divining rod that draws fresh energy from a once sluggish National Symphony Orchestra. "You have to take things seriously and to get things done in the right way, try to motivate, encourage (like) parents," the 54-year-old conductor said in an interview at Washington's Kennedy Center the NSO calls home. The Milan native's tall stature is imposing on the podium, where he arcs his arms out while scanning musicians with his piercing blue-green eyes. "It's just really high energy all the time," said concertmaster Nurit Bar-Josef, whose role as principal violinist makes her a key liaison between Noseda and the musicians. "Every note matters and it feeds back to the orchestra," she said, with fresh marks on her neck and ... More
Speed Art Museum appoints Abby Shue as Chief Advancement and Programming Officer
LOUISVILLE, KY.- The Speed Art Museum has added a key position to its Senior Leadership team and announced today that Abby Shue has been hired as the Chief Advancement and Programming Officer for the Museum. Shue will begin her new role at the Speed on Monday, March 25, 2019. Abby has spent a decade preparing for a position like this, said Speed Director Stephen Reily. Through her work at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, the Fund for the Arts, and graduating from the Executive M.B.A. program at Vanderbilt, Abby has learned to make arts organizations strong by building and supporting strong teams and by connecting donors and the public to their mission. I am excited that she will be joining us in inviting everyone to celebrate art, forever, at the Speed. "The new Speed has done a remarkable job using its 90+ year legacy ... More
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Flashback On a day like today, French painter Berthe Morisot died March 02, 1895. Berthe Marie Pauline Morisot (January 14, 1841 - March 2, 1895) was a painter and a member of the circle of painters in Paris who became known as the Impressionists. She was described by Gustave Geffroy in 1894 as one of "les trois grandes dames" of Impressionism alongside Marie Bracquemond and Mary Cassatt. In this image: Berthe Morisot, Grain field, c.1875, Musée d'Orsay.
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