| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net | | Established in 1996 | Sunday, March 21, 2021 |
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Rich people who shopped too much used to be called collectors. Now they and those belonging merely to the aspirational class are all investors. Via Rago/Wright via The New York Times.
by Jacob Bernstein
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Rich people who shopped too much used to be called collectors. Now they and those belonging merely to the aspirational class are all investors. Its not just that theyve spent the last year splurging on stakes in untested, newly formed public companies that have yet to produce products, much less profits. Its that during the pandemic, seemingly every luxury acquisition has become a so-called alternative asset class. Rather than elbowing past each other for reservations at the latest restaurants from Marcus Samuelsson and Jean-Georges Vongerichten or getting into bidding wars for apartments at 740 Park Ave., they are one-upping each other in online auctions for jewelry, watches, furniture, sports cards, vintage cars, limited-edition Nikes and crypto art. Bread lines grew longer, Birkin bags got hotter. A number of retailers were reticent to speak about the trend, stating that they did not wish to be on the record talking about nearly sold-out $90,000 earri ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day White Cube is presenting an exhibition of video works by Bruce Nauman. Widely regarded as one of the worldâs most influential contemporary artists, this is the first exhibition of his work in Hong Kong.
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| Rare Bernini drawing fetches record price at French auction | | Unique first time launch of NFT-based digitally reinvented real-world artwork to be auctioned | | After being scratched and punched, Trump wax figure is removed |
Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680), Académie d'homme. Sanguine avec de légers rehauts de craie blanche, 56 x 42,5 cm.
LILLE.- A rare drawing by the Italian 17th century sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini sold for 1.9 million euros ($2.3 million) in France on Saturday, the highest price ever paid for a drawing by the artist, the auction house said. The original estimate price for the sanguine, or red chalk drawing of a male nude dating from somewhere between 1630 and 1640, had been set at 30,000-50,000 euros by the Acteon auction house in Compiegne, northern France. But an anonymous, "probably Anglo-Saxon", buyer secured it for 1.3 million euros, which including fees and commission represented a final purchase price of 1.9 million euros, auctioneer Dominique Le Coent told AFP. The previous world record price paid for a Bernini drawing was 139,000 euros in 2014. Bernini (1598-1680) designed statues for many of Rome's landmarks such as the Four Rivers Fountain in Piazza Navona. The "Academie d'Homme" drawing, which belongs to an "extremely small body of academic ... More | |
"Reflections on Art & Life is powered by unique 3D digitization technology of FloatScans, an Amsterdam based startup, that creates digital twins of real-world art that is indistinguishable from reality.
AMSTERDAM.- Today marks the worldwide launch of the auction of Reflections on Art & Life by bo.kè, which consists of two series of 5 digitally reinvented artworks inspired by 17th century Delftware. Using lifelike digital twins created with cutting-edge 3D digitization technology and creatively adapting them in ways that wouldnt be possible physically, this work proves that existing artworks can be used to create a new high value (digital) art form itself. Dubbed digital twin art, the artform is both indistinguishable from reality but at the same time free of real-world limitations. The sale marks the first time ever that NFT-based digital twin art will been auctioned, marking another milestone in the rapidly developing market for digital art. The original artwork remains on sale as well, marking the first ever split of digital vs. physical ownership of the same artwork. With digitization technology rapidly advancing and awaiting the ... More | |
An undated photo provided by Ripleys Believe It or Not!, a wax figure of former President Donald Trump at Louis Tussauds Waxworks in San Antonio, Texas. Ripley's Believe It or Not! via The New York Times.
by Jesus Jiménez
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- When he was in office, Donald Trump often complained that he felt battered and under assault, but that did not compare with the physical beating a wax statue of the former president recently endured at a Texas attraction. The figure of Trump at Louis Tussauds Palace of Wax in San Antonio had been punched and scratched so much lately that it was removed from display for repairs this week. The assault was not the first time a wax likeness of a president or celebrity had been marred, highlighting a history of such cases extending back decades. Wax statues of politicians, including former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, have been temporarily removed from display after being damaged or vandalized, said Suzanne Smagala-Potts, a spokesperson ... More |
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| Christie's Asian Art Week achieves $54.49 million | | Guggenheim introduces 'Re/Projections: Video, Film, and Performance for the Rotunda' | | Walter Storms Galerie opens an exhibition of recent works by Turi Simeti |
The top lot of Asian Art Week New York was The Luboshez Gong which sold for $8,604,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2021.
NEW YORK, NY.- Christies announces Asian Art Week New York achieved a total of $54,490,000 with 81% sold by lot and 145% hammer above low estimate. There was global participation with bidders from 41 countries across five continents. Additionally, unique visitors from over 117 countries visited the online sale pages leading into the week. During the week five records were achieved and nine lots exceeded $1M across all categories of Asian art. The top lot of Asian Art Week New York was The Luboshez Gong, an exceptional and highly important bronze ritual wine vessel and cover from the late Shang dynasty, 13th-12th century BC from Shang: Early Chinese Ritual Bronzes from the Daniel Shapiro Collection which sold for $8,604,000. Other notable results included a woodblock print by Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave, which achieved $1,590,000 and set ... More | |
In-Between Days includes works by artists Meriem Bennani, Ali Cherri, Shezad Dawood, Sky Hopinka, Steffani Jemison, Jesper Just, Liz Magic Laser and Simone Leigh in collaboration with Alicia Hall Moran, Lawrence Lek, Beatriz Santiago Muñoz, and Lucy Raven.
NEW YORK, NY.- Conceived amid the historic social and cultural transformations of the past year, Re/Projections: Video, Film, and Performance for the Rotunda rethinks the Guggenheims iconic architecture as a site of assembly, reflection, and amplification. The series comprises four distinct projects that occupy the entire rotunda one at a time. In-Between Days: Video from the Guggenheim Collections, a screening program of videos from the museums permanent collection, is on view from March 19 to April 19, 2021. It is followed by site-specific, immersive installations by artists Christian Nyampeta, Ragnar Kjartansson, and Wu Tsang. Each of these varied presentations draws on the buildings unique capacity for distanced ... More | |
Turi Simeti, 7 ovali rossi, 2017, 80x80cm, Acrylic on shaped canvas, Photo: Studio Turi Simeti.
MUNICH.- The solo exhibition "Turi Simeti" at Walter Storms Galerie shows recent works of the Milanese artist. Since his participation in 1965 in the exhibition "ZERO Avantgarde" in the studio of Lucio Fontana in Milan, Turi Simeti (*1929-2021) has been internationally recognized for his monochrome reliefs with oval structures. The exhibition honors Turi Simeti who unexpectedly passed away, with a composition of selected works by artist friends. Therefore, the gallery presents in parallel the group exhibition "Turi Simeti in the Context of the European Concrete Art Movement of the 60s/ 80s" with works by Dadamaino, Ulrich Erben, Rupprecht Geiger, Stanislav KolÃbal, François Morellet, Roman Opalka, Giuseppe Spagnulo and Günther Uecker. Born in Alcamo, Sicily, in 1929, Turi Simeti discovered his passion for art at an early age. At the age of 29, he therefore moved to Rome in 1958. There he quickly finds access ... More |
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| Rare books and incunabula now open for bidding on iGavel Auctions | | Christie's to offer a curated selection of fine European and English furniture and works of art | | She kept a library book for 63 years. It was time to return it. |
The Original Works of William Hogarth, London, 1790.
NEW BRAUNFELS, TX.- iGavel Auctions has announced that its sale of rare books and incunabula is now open for bidding through March 30th. Ranging from extremely rare 15th century texts to signed first editions of Ayn Rand's most popular titles Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, this sale encompasses six centuries of man's drive to record and share information. The 200 lots are expected to exceed their initial estimates of $83,000 to $162,500. We are delighted to offer such an important and diverse range of rare books, says Lark Mason III. Works like these can be found in the greatest libraries throughout the world and others sparked the minds of readers throughout the centuries. The topics are varied and include religious and historic texts some with important provenance such as St. Bonaventures Paupers Bible by Nicklaus S. Hanapis, 1477 estimated at ... More | |
A George IV Porphyry and Specimen Marble Rosewood, Goncalo Alves and Parcel-Gilt Center Table. Circa 1825. Estimate: USD 15,000 - USD 25,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2021.
NEW YORK, NY.- Christies will present The Collector: English & European Furniture, Ceramics, Silver & Works of Art from 23 March-7 & 8 April, offering a curated selection of fine European and English furniture and works of art, ceramics, silver and Chinese works of Art spanning from the 17th to 20th centuries. The online auction features an interactive Viewing Room of original watercolor vignettes depicting auction highlights from the imaginative and adventurous illustrator Riley Sheehey. Each playful mise-en-scène brings dynamic context and fresh perspective to the sale offerings, while embracing the auctions digital platform. The sale offers more than 300 lots and includes several prominent collections of English furniture featuring iconic ... More | |
Betty Diamond at her home in Madison, Wis., March 7, 2021. Lauren Justice/The New York TImes.
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- A vintage childrens hardback turned up in the mailroom of the Queens Public Library in Auburndale recently. The book was Ol Paul, the Mighty Logger, by Glen Rounds, a collection of Paul Bunyan tall tales. According to the date stamped on the borrowing card inside, it was about 23,000 days late. Betty Diamond, of Madison, Wisconsin, had sent it back after more than 63 years, along with a $500 donation to the Queens Public Library, which more than covered the late fees. As a girl, Betty had been too ashamed to go to the library with an overdue book, she recalled. So, Ol Paul ended up staying with her as she grew up, establishing a career in academia and settling in the Midwest. In 1957, Betty was a 10-year-old growing up in Whitestone, Queens. She read just about anything she ... More |
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| Janet Borden Inc. opens a new exhibition featuring the work of three artists | | Return of traffic cops to landmark piazza brings unlikely joy in Rome | | Magnificent light and art festival launches in Riyadh |
This is Olivia Reavey's first commercial gallery exhibition.
BROOKLYN, NY.- Janet Borden Inc. opened Tracking, a new exhibition of three artists: Garrett Grove, Dawn Kim, and Olivia Reavey. The common thread among these photographers' work is a delight in the random visual gifts of the world. These documents reflect activities that are generally unnoticed and undocumented. Since "Evidence," the ground-breaking book by Mike Mandel and Larry Sultan, photographers have reveled in photography's ability to confer a narrative on almost any image. Inherently, photography is a medium of looking. These three artists are searching with a particular curiosity, tracking their subjects. The narratives have an urgency to them. A woman clutches her skull swathed in tangled hair in front of a dirty mirror. Globes surround a flapping bird. A boy floats on the surface of a pool, stalactites protruding from the roof of the cave above. Curator Anita Qian has selected works that are strange and inviting. Garrett Grove (b. ... More | |
A veteran traffic officer, Pierluigi Marchionne, directs traffic on the Piazza Venezia in Rome, March 18, 2021. Nadia Shira Cohen/The New York Times.
ROME (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- If, as its said, all roads lead to Rome, then they intersect at Piazza Venezia, the downtown hub of the Italian capital, watched over by a traffic officer on a pedestal who choreographs streamlined circulation out of automotive chaos. For many Romans and tourists alike, those traffic controllers are as much a symbol of the Eternal City as the Colosseum or the Pantheon. That may explain why the return this past week of the pedestal (plus its traffic cop) after a yearlong hiatus while the piazza was being paved, set off a media frenzy even if there was little traffic to direct given the widespread lockdown that began this past week to contain an upsurge of coronavirus cases. In this difficult period, I think that it was seen as a sign of something returning to normal, said Fabio Grillo, 53, who, with 16 years under his belt, is the senior member of the team of four or five municipal police officers who ... More | |
teamLab Flowers and People A Whole Year per Hour, 2020 Interactive Digital Work, 12 channels (6 channels x 2 rows), endless Sound Hideaki Takahashi Courtesy ©teamLab, Pace Gallery and Superblue Photo © Riyadh Art 2021.
RIYADH.- Noor Riyadh, one of the worlds most exciting festivals of light and art combining the highest quality of light artworks across the largest city footprint, ignited this week lighting up the night sky of the Saudi Arabian capital. Over 60 celebrated global artists from as far and wide as Argentina, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States and including 23 leading Saudi artists have been selected to display significant works of light art under the theme of Under One Sky. Noor Riyadh is part of the larger Riyadh Art program that is investing in more than 1,000 pieces of public art to turn the city into a gallery without walls. It was inaugurated as one of the four mega-projects of Riyadh City by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ... More |
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Jean-Michel Basquiat's 'Warrior' | A Closer Look | Christie's
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| More News |
London Gallery Weekend launches 2021
LONDON.- Over 80 of Londons leading contemporary art galleries are coming together this summer to launch a new annual three-day event, London Gallery Weekend, with the inaugural edition set for 46 June 2021. A first for the UK capital, this democratic, peer-led initiative represents a future-facing art landscape which embraces the community and mutual support of a diverse London gallery network. Over a dynamic three-day public event, which is free to attend, LGW will host a rich public programme of discussions, studio visits, children's events, late openings and performances across the city, produced by participating galleries. A VIP programme of events designed for curators and collectors will run alongside. This new art world event unites the galleries of the capital, which are zoned into three areas of London. LGW will ... More
George Bass, archaeologist of the ocean floor, dies at 88
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- George F. Bass, who was often called the father of underwater archaeology, scouring shipwrecks for revelatory artifacts and developing new techniques for exploring the ocean, died March 2 at a hospital in Bryan, Texas. He was 88. His son Gordon confirmed the death. Bass was a graduate student in 1960 when he first donned a scuba tank and dived to the seabed of the Mediterranean. He went on to find bronze ingots more than 3,000 years old, wooden fragments that solved mysteries about shipbuilding from the time of the Odyssey, and much more treasures that opened up a new field for archaeology, one that seemed to him as limitless as the Seven Seas. Excavation of shipwrecks could provide not only the ultimate histories of watercraft, he later wrote, but also the ultimate histories of virtually everything ... More
Theater actors step up push for union to allow them to work
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- As states around the nation move toward reopening, theater actors and stage managers are protesting what they see as their unions slow pace toward helping them get back to work. Nearly 2,000 members of Actors Equity have signed a petition that asks the simple question, When are we going to talk about the details of getting back to work? The petition was spearheaded by Timothy Hughes, who, in an art-meets-reality echo, is a member of the workers chorus in Hadestown. We feel unheard, we feel left out, and we feel way farther behind than any other industry when it comes to putting in place practical protocols that would get us back to work, Hughes said in an interview. Among the signatories are Tony Award winners Stephanie J. Block, Rachel Bay Jones, Karen Olivo and Ali Stroker, and numerous ... More
Museum appoints Veronica Stein as the new Woman's Board Executive Director, Learning and Public Engagement
CHICAGO, IL.- The Art Institute of Chicago announced today that Veronica Stein will be the museums new Womans Board Executive Director, Learning and Public Engagement. Stein joins the Art Institute from Chicagos Snow City Arts Foundation, an organization dedicated to inspiring and educating children and youth in hospitals through the arts, where she has served as program director since 2018. In her role as Womans Board Executive Director, Learning and Public Engagement, Stein will explore what museum education can be, guiding a holistic vision for learning and creativity that fulfills the needs of diverse constituents of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. Steins strategic thinking, enthusiasm, and energy will ... More
Armenian Museum of America launches fourth virtual series with focus on early recordings
WATERTOWN, MASS.- The Armenian Museum of America has launched its fourth online program called the Sound Archive, which is featured on its website and social media pages every month. The debut offering presents the full catalog of Mardiros Der Sarkis Tashjian and his brothers for the first time and is considered to be the earliest known Armenian sound recordings produced in the United States in the early 20th century. To kick off the launch of the Sound Archive, the Armenian Museum is hosting its first-ever webinar with music researcher and collector Harout Arakelian on Thursday, April 1 at 7:30 pm EST (4:30 pm PST). This online Zoom event is free and registration is required via Eventbrite at the following link. The content of the Sound Archive is supplemented with vintage images from the collection of Project SAVE Armenian ... More
'Formal' in-person Oscars in hands of veteran director
LOS ANGELES (AFP).- No Zoom speeches, no jeans, and a returning veteran director: this year's pandemic-hit Oscars ceremony started to take shape Friday. The show on April 25, which will conclude a much-delayed Hollywood awards season, is taking place in Los Angeles with extensive Covid-19 testing precautions for nominees and their guests. The Oscars will be directed for a sixth time by Glenn Weiss, the Emmy-winning live-show expert, and produced by a team including "Contagion" director Steven Soderbergh, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Friday. "Our plan is that this year's Oscars will look like a movie, not a television show, and Glenn has embraced this approach and come up with ideas of his own on how to achieve this," Soderbergh and his fellow producers said in a statement. "We're thrilled to have him ... More
UNESCO's French chief set for second term: sources
PARIS (AFP).- The head of the UN's cultural agency UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay of France, appears assured of being given a second term after no other candidate emerged to challenge her, sources said Wednesday. No rival for the post of director general was registered by Monday's deadline ahead of a vote by UNESCO in November, and some three-quarters of countries on the executive council are backing her, a source close to Azoulay, who asked not to be named, told AFP. The re-election process in November would observe the usual formalities and steps, the source said, adding that "all the conditions have been united for her to be re-elected". Azoulay, French culture minister under Socialist president Francois Hollande, was elected in November 2017 to head UNESCO. The organisation, which monitors cultural heritage around the world, ... More
It will be a big, fat hairy deal when 'Jim Davis: The Art of Garfield' comes to Heritage Auctions April 15
DALLAS, TX.- Jim Davis, the man who has raised the world's most famous housecat since 1978, decided two years ago to begin selling his original strips through Heritage Auctions. That choice, the Garfield creator says now, was an easy one not because he needed the space in the vault, but because he loved the idea of letting readers own those hand-drawn originals dating back to the strip's debut. Fans' reasons for buying those Garfield strips have varied since they began appearing in Heritage's Comic Art auctions. Some collect special dates, strips that first ran on a birthday or an anniversary. Some collect certain characters, maybe Jon or maybe Odie, or certain gags about hating Mondays or loving lasagna. Some, because a specific strip helped pull them through a particularly rough patch. And some, merely for the bragging rights. "You ... More
Persons Projects opens an exhibition of works by Jari Silomäki
BERLIN.- On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Joseph Beuys birthday, Persons Projects presents the exhibition We are the Revolution, after Joseph Beuys by Jari Silomäki, based upon and inspired by the famous work of Beuys La Rivoluzione Siamo Noi from 1972. Silomäki has built his career around a documentary-like approach in how he creates his own personal narratives. He has developed a style in interacting with his subjects that enables him to twist and expand the space between fact and fiction in creating his own conceptual language, where his hand-writing becomes part of the photographs. Silomäki follows upon Beuys idea that society could transform itself through art and creativity, thus setting the groundwork for his experiments with social sculpture that reflected the Fluxus attitude that "everyone is an artist. Silomäki states, "Beuys ... More
Ronnie Wood releases new limited-edition Rolling Stones prints and previously unseen set lists
LONDON.- Ronnie Wood presents five new signed, limited-edition prints celebrating his life and work with the Rolling Stones. Two brand new editions from Ronnies sought-after Collector Series, titled Conversation and Forty Licks will be available as an edition of 295. Conversation captures an intimate moment in the recording studio. The interplay between band members shows not only the intensity and concentration of this unique bond, but also displays a calmness. Charlie, particularly, in the background, yet central to the piece appears to be keeping the whole band in check, holding his group together. Forty Licks is an explosion of energy and colour and a curtain call to the Stones first forty years. This vibrant image now offered by Ronnie in a new size is an absolute must for collectors of his art. These Collectors Series prints are individually named, numbered ... More
Kehrer Verlag publishes '100 hectares of understanding' by Jaakko Kahilaniemi
NEW YORK, NY.- Finland is one of the most forested countries in the world. Almost 75 percent of the country is covered by forests thats over 26 million hectares of which Jaakko Kahilaniemi owns 100 hectares. His conceptual project 100 Hectares of Understanding is his attempt to understand the forest area he inherited: »Throughout adulthood my relationship with the forest has been somewhat discordant and attitude towards my inheritance has been indifferent. Recent explorationsin the forest, and in the world of forestry have managed to provoke my interest towards unfamiliar property of mine I study what nature has to offer to urbanized people and I will try to create new ways of thinking and ways to experience and feel the forest. I capture nature through my lens before applying the alchemical process that makes art out of the familiar. I arbitrarily ... More
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PhotoGalleries
Mental Escapology, St. Moritz
TIM VAN LAERE GALLERY
Madelynn Green
Patrick Angus
Flashback On a day like today, German-American painter Hans Hofmann was born March 21, 1880. Hans Hofmann (March 21, 1880 - February 17, 1966) was a German-born American abstract expressionist painter. Hofmann's art work is distinguished by a rigorous concern with pictorial structure, spatial illusion, and color relationships. He was also heavily influenced in his later years by Henri Matisse's ideas about color and form. In this image: Hans Hofmann Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings.
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