| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net | | Established in 1996 | Thursday, June 4, 2020 |
| | | DNA research uncovers Dead Sea Scrolls mystery | |
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A conservator of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) shows fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls at their laboratory in Jerusalem on June 2, 2020. DNA research on the Dead Sea Scrolls has revealed not all of the ancient manuscripts came from the desert landscape where they were discovered, according to a study published today. Numbering around 900, the manuscripts were found between 1947 and 1956 in the Qumran caves above the Dead Sea in the West Bank. The parchment and papyrus scrolls contain Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic and include some of the earliest-known texts from the Bible, including the oldest surviving copy of the Ten Commandments. Research on the texts has been ongoing for decades and in the latest study, DNA tests on manuscript fragments indicate that some were not originally from the area around the caves. MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP.
JERUSALEM (AFP).- DNA research on the Dead Sea Scrolls has revealed that not all of the ancient manuscripts came from the desert landscape where they were discovered, according to a study published Tuesday. Numbering around 900, the manuscripts were found between 1947 -- first by Bedouin shepherds -- and 1956 in the Qumran caves above the Dead Sea that are today located in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The parchment and papyrus scrolls contain Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic and include some of the earliest-known texts from the Bible, including the oldest surviving copy of the Ten Commandments. Research on the texts has been ongoing for decades and in the latest study, DNA ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day On May 14, the Parrish debuted its Light It Blue tribute to honor and extend its gratitude to the health care workers and first responders working tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This tribute, visible at night, will continue into the foreseeable future. Photo: Parrish Art Museum from the east, under Venus. Chris Siefert, Parrish Art Museum.
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| | Phillips' live auctions resume in London with rare works of design | | New arts executives sail into the unknown | | Auschwitz museum struggling for funds under lockdown |
Marc Newson, Orgone chair, 1993. Estimate: £200,000 - £300,000. Image courtesy of Phillips.
LONDON.- Following a rescheduled Spring season of sales, Phillips announced that live auctions will resume in London with the upcoming Design auction on 19 June. The pre-sale public viewing is currently set to happen by appointment only from 15 to 19 June, with the safety of clients and employees being the top priority. Collectors will also be welcomed into the saleroom remotely with a digitally enhanced viewing experience. Comprising 175 lots, the sale presents significant works from key periods of 20th and 21st century design, from French Art Deco and Contemporary through to Italian and Nordic Design, as well as British Studio ceramics. Domenico Raimondo, Head of Design, Europe and Senior International Specialist, said: Live sales continue to be a cornerstone of our business therefore it is with great joy that we are able to stage a full-scale preview of these exceptional works. Virtual tours will also enable ... More | |
The Childrens Museum of Manhattan, one of a score of museums naming new directors, in New York, June 2, 2020. Karsten Moran/The New York Times.
by Robin Pogrebin
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- The Childrens Museum of Manhattan had planned to announce the appointment of Aileen Hefferren as its new chief executive and director Tuesday. But the board decided to wait until Wednesday in deference to Blackout Tuesday, a social media action intended to show solidarity with the protests over the death of George Floyd. The Childrens Museum is among a growing number of arts institutions from New York to Virginia to Colorado trying to navigate the sensitive, uncharted territory of making major appointments and initiating new cultural leaders in this difficult cultural moment. And new appointees find themselves stepping into positions of leadership made much more complicated by questions like when and how to safely reopen, how to stem financial ... More | |
This file photo taken on December 5, 2019 shows the main gate with the inscription "Arbeit macht frei" (literally in English: "work makes (one) free") at the entrance to the former Auschwitz German Nazi death camp in Oswiecim, Poland. JANEK SKARZYNSKI / AFP.
WARSAW (AFP).- The Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum was forced to launch an appeal for funding on Wednesday after two months under a coronavirus lockdown that saw revenue from visitors dry up. The site of Nazi Germany's most notorious death camp normally draws more than two million visitors from across the globe each year. "We are calling for financial assistance from all those who consider it necessary to preserve memory," the museum said in a statement published on its official website. "The 2020 budget has collapsed," it said, despite "special support" from the Polish culture ministry and the Auschwitz-Birkenau International Foundation, which will help maintain jobs and continue maintenance work to preserve the site. But lost ... More |
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| | Vienna State Opera reopens with just 100 guests per show | | A global bidding festival: Sworders Asian art sale topped by £21,000 Qing silk scroll | | The Asian Art World and COVID-19: SOAS Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art to hold online panel discussion on 9th June |
General music director of the Berlin State Opera Daniel Barenboim speaks during a press conference at 'Musikverein' the home of Vienna's philharmonics in Vienna, Austria on June 3, 2020. JOE KLAMAR / AFP.
VIENNA (AFP).- The renowned Vienna State Opera will reopen its doors from Monday -- with 100 guests per show in line with anti-coronavirus government guidelines, the opera house announced Wednesday. Classical concerts will also resume at Vienna's famous Musikverein and Konzerthaus for limited audiences from Friday. "We only have 100 people in the audience. It's not very much but it is a beginning, and this is how music can and should be experienced -- live," said conductor Daniel Barenboim, who will lead the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at Friday's first performance at the Musikverein following the coronavirus lockdown. All orchestra members tested negative for the virus on Wednesday. They will play without masks but ... More | |
A magnificent Chinese silk kesi 'Peach Festival' hanging scroll, sold £21,000.
LONDON.- A magnificent Qing dynasty (1644-1911) embroidered silk hanging scroll topped Sworders' Asian art sale on May 28 selling at £21,000. With quality Chinese and Japanese works of art performing strongly throughout the sale, this was a truly global event attracting bidding from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Italy, Germany, USA, Austria, Sweden and the UK . The silk kepi scroll, dating from the 19th century depicts the folkloric Peach Festival, a highly auspicious event held once every 6000 years at the celestial Jade Palace in Paradise. It shows a pantheon of Daoist immortals and deities celebrating as the goddess Xiwangmu, Queen Mother of the West, descends gracefully from the sky seated astride her phoenix. As part of her birthday festivities she bestows upon her followers great fortune and ... More | |
© Victor Wong and 3812 Gallery.
LONDON.- The Directors of the SOAS Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art will be hosting an expert panel on Asian Art, exploring how museums, auction houses, art fairs, galleries and artists are adapting to the challenges of Covid-19. Panelists
Calvin Hui Founder of Ink Now and Co-owner of 3812 Gallery Anna Jackson Keeper of the Asia Department, Victoria and Albert Museum, Curator of Kimono: From Kyoto to Catwalk Jonathan Stone Co-Chairman of Asian Art, Deputy Chairman, Asia Pacific, Christies Victor Wong TECH-iNK Artist Chair Dr Malcolm McNeill Director, SOAS Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art, Senior Lecturer in Arts Education This event is free and open for to all to attend. For more details and to register your attendance please email [email protected] All of our lives have been transformed by the covid-19 pandemic. Our interaction wit ... More |
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| | Venice glimpses a future with fewer tourists and likes what it sees | | Breaking glass and gloomy skies inspire this artist | | Fondazione Prada reopens its Milan venue |
People ride a gondola in Venice, Italy, June 1, 2020. Alessandro Grassani/The New York Times.
by Jason Horowitz
VENICE (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- For a change, it was the Venetians who crowded the square. Days before Italy lifted coronavirus travel restrictions Wednesday that had prevented the usual crush of international visitors from entering the city, hundreds of locals gathered on chalk asterisks drawn several feet apart. They had come to protest a new dock that would bring boatloads of tourists through one of Venices last livable neighborhoods but also to seize a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show that another, less tourist-addled future was viable. This can be a working city, not just a place for people to visit, said the protests organizer, Andrea Zorzi, a 45-year-old law professor who frantically handed out hundreds of signs reading, Nothing Changes If You Dont Change Anything. He argued that the virus, as tragic ... More | |
"Liquid Sunshine/I am a Pluviophile," a commission for the museum and the best-known work of Rui Sasaki. It is made of more than 200 raindrop-shape pieces of phosphorescent glass. Yasushi Ichikawa/Corning Museum of Glass via The New York Times.
by Ted Loos
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Artists and designers who work with ceramics and glass might be thought of as delicate types. After all, they specialize in works that can easily break. But the converse tends to be true. It requires steady-handed bravery to blow glass or fire up a kiln, given the melting, explosions and shattering that are a normal part of the process. Rui Sasaki fits this counterintuitive mold. She is soft-spoken but extremely dogged in her exploration of a tricky medium on a large scale, as with what is perhaps her best-known work, Liquid Sunshine/I am a Pluviophile, a commission for the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York, which was on long-term ... More | |
Installation view of Storytelling at Fondazione Prada, Milan.
MILAN.- Fondazione Prada will reopen its doors in Milan on 5 June 2020. The exhibition spaces will be accessible to the public from Friday to Sunday, from 10 am to 7 pm. Audience will be able to visit the three temporary exhibitions K, The Porcelain Room, and Storytelling. All sanitary and safety measures necessary to preserve the health of the public and staff and ensure a pleasant and serene visiting experience will be implemented in the outdoor and indoor spaces of the foundation. In compliance with the rules on containment and management of the epidemiological emergency, admission is limited and requires the purchase of a ticket online. The permanent projects Atlas, Haunted House, Le Studio d'Orphée, and Processo grottesco will not be on view. The Cinema program, the activities of Accademia dei bambini and the guided tours remain temporarily suspe ... More |
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| | Wes Anderson, Steve McQueen in Cannes official 2020 selection | | Artissima launches online project | | Crowds define opera. They're also keeping it from returning. |
Cannes Film Festival's director Thierry Fremaux reveals the 73rd Cannes Film Festival Official Selection, in Paris, on June 3, 2020. Serge ARNAL / STARFACE / AFP.
PARIS (AFP).- The Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday unveiled its official 2020 selection of 56 films, with nods for filmmakers Wes Anderson, Francois Ozon and Steve McQueen, despite the physical festival being scrapped this year due to the coronavirus. Originally scheduled for May 12 to 23, the 73rd Cannes festival was first delayed to late June-early July, but then finally cancelled. The prestigious competition for awards that include the iconic Palme d'Or for best film will not take place this year. But the festival has still given its choice of films and these will be able to carry the label of "Cannes 2020 official selection" when shown at other festivals and on release. "This selection shows that cinema is still alive, just as it was during the lockdown," said the festival's general delegate Thierry Fremaux. The list includes American filmmaker Anderson's ... More | |
Luca Francesconi, Untitled, 2016, stainless steel, vegetable. Courtesy the artist and Pedro Cera, Lisbon.
TURIN.- Artissima presents Fondamenta, a curated online project that will run from 5 June 5 July 2020. Conceived as part of the 2020 fairs work in progress, Fondamenta considers the factors that are transforming our globalised art world. It is an invitation to experiment and respond creatively to the frenetic standstill in which we find ourselves in this challenging present. Fondamenta - the Italian for Foundations, a nod to galleries as wholly fundamental to the existence of art fairs and the art market, will offer an insight into Artissimas research process, exactly five months ahead of the 2020 edition of the fair in Turin (6 8 November, preview 5 November). Presented on artissima.art, a simple and intuitive interface, Fondamenta offers a virtual selection of approximately 200 art works, presented by Italian and international exhibitors from Artissima 2019. Each gallery will show works by one s ... More | |
Olga Kulchynska, center, in La Bohème, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Oct. 20, 2019. Sara Krulwich/The New York Times.
by Anthony Tommasini
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Most of Verdis Aida is focused on intensely dramatic scenes for only one, two or three singers at a time. But its crowds that define the experience of this opera. Its not just the spectacular Triumphal Scene. In the first act, priests, ministers and military officers, summoned by the King of Egypt, assemble to learn who has been chosen to command their troops against advancing Ethiopian invaders. Full-throated choral outbursts shift from avenging threats against their enemies to stirring expressions of Egyptian resolve. Crowds are essential to this moment and, really, to opera as an art form. Choruses fill the stage; musicians cram into the orchestra pit; thousands of people sit shoulder to shoulder in the theater. The Metropolitan ... More |
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Healing and Magic in Ancient Egypt | Insider Insights
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Taiwan's 'Uncle Stone' turns pebbles into colourful keepsakes
TAIPEI (AFP).- From Chinese characters to traditional Aboriginal totems, artist Wu Rong-bi has been selling intricately painted pebbles on the streets in Taiwan for the last 40 years. Dubbed "Uncle Stone" by his fans, the 64-year-old street artist began painting small rocks as Christmas gifts for his pupils when he was a young teacher. The idea was a hit and he went on to pass a test to become a licensed busker in Taipei. Wu sees his paintings as more than decorations -- instead they are a way to convey good wishes to his customers. "I often tell them there is a positive concept behind each stone and I hope they can find it helpful in some ways," he told AFP at his stand outside a department store in Taipei. One popular pattern he paints is the leaves of the ginkgo plant. In Mandarin the tree is known as "yin hsin", a phrase that also means wishing happine ... More
New museum gallery for Lily Parr - football's first female superstar
MANCHESTER.- Footballs first female football superstar will get a new permanent museum gallery dedicated to her life and legacy. The National Football Museum will celebrate Lily Parr Englands first international womens footballer - by creating a gallery to the player inside the museum. This gallery is expected to open in spring 2021. The news comes exactly a year to the day that the museum unveiled a statue to Lily the first statue ever for a female footballer. Born in St Helens in 1905, Parr was one of most astonishing and important figures in English football. Starting her career at hometown team St Helens Ladies, Parr moved on to Dick, Kerr Ladies FC and later Preston Ladies. Operating as an outside left winger, its believed she scored more than 980 goals in a 32-year career. Parr was renowned for having one of the most powerful shots ... More
Pamela Hugdahl named Executive Director of Rochester Art Center
ROCHSTER, MN.- The board of the Rochester Art Center announced today that Pamela Hugdahl has been named the institutions new Executive Director. In her role, Hugdahl will be responsible for RACs overall management, including personnel, financial development, marketing, and executing the organizations mission of offering opportunities for all people to understand and value the arts through innovative experiences with contemporary art. Hugdahl comes from the Port Washington Saukville Arts Council (dba Galley 224) in Port Washington, WI, where she served as the administrative director. Prior to Gallery 224, Hugdahl spent three years as the director of the Cedarburg Art Museum in Cedarburg, WI, where she successfully oversaw the organizations financial development, increased membership, and managed more ... More
Paul Aguraiuja to assume role of new director of Tallinn Art Hall
TALLINN.- The Council of Tallinn Art Hall Foundation has elected Paul Aguraiuja as the new director of Tallinn Art Hall. Aguraiuja is an experienced leader of creative teams and organisations and, according to the council, his strong foundation in the field of culture, combined his inclusive management experience and a bold vision were decisive in selecting him as the new director. Paul Aguraiuja will start working as the director of Tallinn Art Hall on 8 June. He has previously led large-scale cultural projects and developed cultural exports, and he has worked as the CEO of Theatre NO99, producer of the TV series Bank and also in the field of marketing in recent years. Thanks to these experiences, he is well acquainted with the functioning of both the public and private sectors and will bring to Tallinn Art Hall a fresh perspective on the communication ... More
Glenn Murcutt's MPavilion gifted to The University of Melbourne
MELBOURNE.- The Naomi Milgrom Foundation today released MPavilions expanded call-out for artists, educators and designers, while announcing that instead of building a new pavilion this year, it will focus on reconnecting communities with the six MPavilions gifted to the city by the foundation. It was also announced, MPavilion 2019 designed by Australias only Pritzker Prize Architect Glenn Murcutt AO, has been gifted to The University of Melbourne and will be relocated in the summer. The decision to engage with these MPavilions for the 2020/2021 season has been made as a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At a time where artists and designers have been disadvantaged, displaced and disconnected due to the pandemic, MPavilion is adapting its operation to be more accessible to more Melburnians while supporting new needs ... More
LAM museum acquires 3D Vanitas still life by Kathleen Ryan
LISSE.- Getting the work from the US was no easy feat. First, an American museum was about to snatch up the mouldy grapes created by Kathleen Ryan (1984). Then there was the coronavirus crisis, which made it difficult to bring the work to the Netherlands. But at long last, today, the American artist's XXXL grapes are safely in place in the LAM. The museum, located on the Keukenhof Estate, reopens on 5 June and everyone will be able to experience the 3D still life for themselves. (Tickets are available online only, each with a specific start time.) Kathleen Ryan's bunch of grapes, almost three metres long, features mouldy, shrivelled fruits. Like many of Ryan's works, the objects are made from sparkling stones and beads. Ryans rotten lemons have been well received at art fairs like Art Basel Miami, FIAC Paris and Frieze Art Fair. "Her work both repels and attracts. ... More
A panorama of design
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Back to the Ether: Sight Unseens latest design show takes place where it all began. Nearly every May since 2010, online design magazine Sight Unseen has held an exhibition in New York presenting the work of up-and-coming creators. The event has always been scheduled to coincide with the International Contemporary Furniture Fair and thus take advantage of all the retail buyers and interior designers in the city at that time. This year, of course, the coronavirus upended everyones plans. But while the 2020 ICFF was canceled, Sight Unseen simply moved its event online where the brand got its start, after all. For us, it was a no-brainer, said Monica Khemsurov, who co-founded the site with Jill Singer. To promote sales, the partners set up a digital storefront on 1stdibs, where some of the new furniture, ... More
HAM Gallery opens an exhibition of works by Enni Suominen
HELSINKI.- HAM Gallery is presenting an exhibition by Enni Suominen. The show is open from 2 June to 9 August, 2020. The pigment slurry is brushed onto the moist surface of the grey mass consisting of sand and slaked white lime putty. The object is stored in restricted airspace for weeks to make the pigment adhere tightly to the base as a result of a chemical reaction. With time, the grey turns white as loose materials form layers of sediment; a physical mass mixed and muddied tightly together. Eternal is the first word that pops to mind when looking at the frescos. Creating a fresco is hard work. Realising even small pieces without assistants is physically demanding. The work must be completed in one day, in a matter of hours, in other words. Making the moist lime plaster by hand takes some time, and the freshness and receptiveness of the finished ... More
New art installation reveals the sounds of colour in paintings
LONDON.- Viewers will feel, hear and sense paintings online through an immersive multi-sensory video artwork inspired by masterpieces in the National Gallery by Van Gogh, Monet and van Eyck. Commissioned by its new digital studio National Gallery X (NGX), which explores the impact of future technology on art and museum experiences, KIMA: Colour in 360 by Analema Group is a residency launched today, 2 June 2020, as part of a programme responding to coronavirus. Three video works transform colour data from van Eycks The Arnolfini Portrait, Monets Water-Lilies, Setting Sun and Van Goghs A Wheatfield, with Cypresses into 360-degree light and sound experiences. Two of these are available to view on YouTube and the National Gallery website from today. Originally conceived as installations in the NGX studio, they have been reconceived ... More
Aileen Hefferren appointed as CEO and Director of Children's Museum of Manhattan
NEW YORK, NY.- The Childrens Museum of Manhattan announced today the appointment of Aileen Hefferren as its new Chief Executive Officer and Director. Currently the Chief Executive of Prep for Prep, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the academic, personal, and professional advancement of underserved New York City students , Hefferren has committed her career to creating equity and access in education across racial, cultural, and socioeconomic divides. A passionate advocate for the citys children, she brings nearly three decades of experience engaging youth and their families with educational opportunities and resources to support their ongoing development. Hefferren will assume her new role at CMOM on September 15, 2020. Since its founding in 1973, the Childrens Museum of Manhattan has been a steward of early ... More
Morphy's Revolutionary War and collector firearms auction hits $8.4 million
DENVER, PA.- An international call to arms resulted in an $8.4 million total at Morphys May 27-29 auction, which teamed a Founders & Patriots Arms & Militaria session with a two-day lineup of Extraordinary, Sporting & Collector Firearms. Phone lines buzzed nonstop while Morphys Internet live-bidding platform, Morphy Live, kept online bids flowing in from all over the United States and abroad. Any question as to the strength of the market for rare firearms and important militaria was resolved by the end of our sale, said Morphy Auctions Founder and President Dan Morphy. From our vantage point, we could see just how strong the hobby is right now. In addition to advanced collectors who went for the very rare and unique pieces, there were many enthusiastic new collectors who were guided by our experts meticulously detailed catalog descriptions. At every level, buyers were thrilled wi ... More
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PhotoGalleries
Mia Photo Fair 2020
Susan Rothenberg (1945 Â 2020)
Southern Light
Art After Stonewall
Flashback On a day like today, Danish artist Nicolai Abildgaard died June 04, 1809. Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard (September 11, 1743 - June 4, 1809) was a Danish neoclassical and royal history painter, sculptor, architect, and professor of painting, mythology, and anatomy at the New Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen, Denmark. Many of his works were in the royal Christiansborg Palace (some destroyed by fire 1794), Fredensborg Palace, and Levetzau Palace at Amalienborg. In this image: Nicolai Abildgaard (1743 - 1809), The Archangel Michael and Satan Disputing about the Body of Moses. ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum. C. 1782. Oil on canvas, 49.7 x 61.7 cm.
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