The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, August 26, 2022

 
RM, boy band superstar, embraces new role: Art patron

M, the leader of the South Korean pop group BTS, at his recording studio in Seoul on Aug. 18, 2022. RM has been championing canonical artists from his native South Korea — studying their work, buying it and sometimes talking to it. Dasom Han/The New York Times.

by Andrew Russeth


SEOUL.- RM, the leader of the South Korean pop group BTS, first visited Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan to perform for Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show.” It was early 2020, before the coronavirus lockdown, and in middle of the night, joined by a sizable dance crew, BTS’ seven members put on a raucous display for their single “ON” in the otherwise empty hall. Late last year, RM returned as a civilian. “It felt really strange to be in Grand Central for the second time with so many people,” he told me one recent afternoon, sitting in the Seoul headquarters of Hybe, the entertainment firm behind the boy band. This time, he said, “I went with my friends, and I’m just a visitor buying tickets.” They jumped aboard a Metro-North train headed to Dia Beacon, the Minimalist art Xanadu in the Hudson Valley. “It’s a utopia,” he said. A room there is devoted to his favorite artist, On Kawara, who spent his career making austere darkly col ... More



The Best Photos of the Day
Best Photos of the Day
Performers from the Lviv Drama Theater in Lviv, Ukraine, May 27, 2022. The country’s experimental dance artists, independent and resilient, are using their skills in a new arena: war. Diego Ibarra Sanchez/The New York Times.






Ray Johnson's camera was disposable. The photos are unforgettable.   Stone disc allusive to the God of Corn corroborates the common religious base of the Tonin and Palenque peoples   Detroit Institute of Arts acquires Emma Amos' Equals; now on view at DIA


Ray Johnson (1927–1995), Harpo Marx bunny, headshot, and payphone, February 1994. Commercially processed chromogenic print. The Morgan Library & Museum, Gift of the Ray Johnson Estate, courtesy of Frances Beatty. © Ray Johnson / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

by Martha Schwendener


NEW YORK, NY.- Ray Johnson (1927-1995), the American artist and downtown New York figure, might have become a household name if he hadn’t burned his early abstract paintings. Instead, Johnson set out on a different course, creating collages, mail art sent through the postal service and exploring photography — but not as a high-end “art photographer” or darkroom practitioner. Johnson was fascinated by vernacular photography. He copied photographs from magazines, used disposable cameras and treated photo booths as ad hoc art studios. In the end, he left behind about 3,000 color photographs, many made in the last three years of his life and virtually ... More
 

Disco de piedra alusivo al joven dios del maíz corrobora la base religiosa común de Toniná y Palenque. Foto INAH.

Translated by: Liz Marie Gangemi


OCOSINGO.- In the year 687 of our era, the kingdoms of Lakamha' and Po'p, settled in the current archaeological zones of Palenque and Toniná, began a bloody war that lasted 24 years. However, new studies shed light on the cosmogonic universe and the ritualism that both societies shared despite their political rivalry. Such is the case of a stone disc, with the iconographic representation of the young God of Corn, which the Secretary of Culture of the Government of Mexico, through specialists of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), recovered, in 2021, in the Temple of the Sun in the archaeological zone of Toniná, in Chiapas. According to the architect in charge of the investigation and conservation of the site Juan Yadeun Angulo, the location of this limestone disc -45 centimeters in diameter and 9 centimeters thick- stemmed ... More
 

The female in Equals is Amos herself.

DETROIT, MICH.- The Detroit Institute of Arts today announced it has acquired one of the most significant works by trailblazing figurative artist Emma Amos. The painting Equals (1992), which was featured both in the first major retrospective exhibition of the work of Amos and in critical reviews, is the most emblematic of the series depicting falling figures which she developed between 1988-1992 and continued into the 21st century. Equals is now on view at the DIA. The female in Equals is Amos herself, seen floating in free fall against the backdrop of a giant American flag. Replacing the flag’s field of stars is a photographic image of a Southern sharecropper’s shack. The composition is framed in patches of African fabric alternating with printed portraits of civil rights leader Malcom X. Stars can be seen throughout the painting with a large red equal sign in the center. The equal sign signifies the importance of her message: equality. The r ... More


Xavier Hufkens opens an exhibition of works by Frank Walter   Ewbank's to mark Battle of Britain Day with sale of Spitfire pilot's personal effects on September 23   The latest find as water levels fall: Dinosaur tracks in Texas


The exhibition draws the multiple strands of Frank Walter’s life together and explores the contradictions that shaped both his visual art and prose.

BRUSSELS.- Xavier Hufkens is presenting an exhibition dedicated to the work of Antiguan painter, sculptor, writer, philosopher, and true Renaissance man, Frank Walter (1926-2009). Curated by Barbara Paca, OBE and Nina Khrushcheva, the presentation charts the physical, emotional and socio-cultural trajectories of Walter’s life as he travels — both literally and figuratively — between two distinct worlds: that of the Caribbean and Northern Europe. His fierce intellect, political awareness, connection to nature and capacity for cosmic thought are all brought to the fore, revealing him as a polymath who, in the eyes of many, was born ahead of his time. Frank Walter largely worked in seclusion in middle age, meaning his ideas, writings and art were never fully appreciated during his lifetime. A radical reappraisal of his legacy in the decade since his death, however, has brought his work to a wider international audience. Today ... More
 

A collection of personal effects and ephemera relating to the flying career of Battle of Britain pilot Squadron Leader James Ritchie. They include his personal Omega wristwatch, medal bar and wings, Spitfire propeller tip 132 Squadron with the scratched signatures of many of the Squadron members, ink Gremlin cartoon depicting Ritchie and F/O Sumpter standing by a crashed aircraft, photographs, training material, contemporary maps and other items. The estimate is £2,000-4,000.

WOKING.- Inspired by Battle of Britain Day Ewbank’s Auctioneers will sell the personal effects of a Spitfire pilot and squadron leader on September 23. On September 15 it will be 72 years since the height of the war in our skies that changed the course of history. Thanks to The Few, Hitler’s hoped for decimation of the Royal Air Force never took place, and as so he cancelled his planned invasion of Britain. Now Ewbank’s will offer the personal Omega wristwatch, medal bar and wings of Squadron Leader James Ritchie (1920-94), as well as a Spitfire propeller tip inscribed 132 Squadron, and ... More
 

A photo provided by Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose, Texas, shows dinosaur tracks that were previously hidden underneath the Paluxy River. Dinosaur Valley State Park via The New York Times.

NEW YORK, NY.- As a punishing drought grips parts of the world this summer, bodies of water have been drying up, exposing submerged World War II relics in Europe, several sets of human remains at Lake Mead outside Las Vegas, and even an entire village in Spain. The latest find as water levels fall: dinosaur tracks in Texas. Severe drought conditions at Dinosaur Valley State Park, about 60 miles southwest of Fort Worth, exposed dinosaur tracks from around 113 million years ago that were previously hidden underneath the Paluxy River, according to Stephanie Garcia, a spokesperson for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The tracks, which were discovered this month, belong to Acrocanthosaurus, which are theropods, or bipedal dinosaurs with three toes and claws on each limb. The dinosaur would have stood 15 feet tall and weighed close ... More



How to get published: A book's journey from 'very messy' draft to bestseller   Art Museum receives award for Blanche Lazzell traveling exhibition   When did we become so obsessed with being 'symmetrical'?


Meredith Kaffel Simonoff, a literary agent for the breakout author Jessamine Chan, at her office in Manhattan, Aug. 1, 2022. Desiree Rios/The New York Times.

NEW YORK, NY.- Jessamine Chan spent five years drafting her book. It was her first — a novel about a mother who loses custody of her toddler after one “very bad day” and then, in a surreal twist, is sent to an experimental “school for good mothers.” Like most new authors hoping to break into the industry, Chan had much working against her. The publishing world can be opaque and intimidating to outsiders. Although Chan had published a few short stories and had worked at Publishers Weekly, a trade magazine that gave her some insight into the process, she had few connections. And she had no platform: She was not a celebrity, had no personal brand and was not on social media. She lived a quiet life in Philadelphia with her husband and her child, whose birth made her recast the book — again. And yet Chan’s “The School for Good Mothers” was published in January— and soared ... More
 

Blanche Lazzell (1878–1956), Untitled, 1917 Oil on canvas, 20 in. × 18 in. (50.8 x 45.72 cm) Art Museum of West Virginia University: Gift of the Sander family.

MORGANTOWN, WV.- The Art Museum of West Virginia University announced generous support from Art Bridges to develop and tour a major exhibition of the work of Blanche Lazzell, one of the most progressive American artists of the first half of the twentieth century. A West Virginia native, Lazzell created some of the earliest abstract paintings in the United States and is one of only 23 artists currently represented in the Whitney Museum of American Art’s At the Dawn of a New Age: Early Twentieth-Century American Modernism. While Lazzell’s role in avant-garde American art is recognized within specialists’ circles, she has not received a major solo exhibition in nearly two decades and is due for a reassessment. The award from Art Bridges allows the Art Museum of West Virginia University to create such an exhibition from their extensive holdings, now increased by the museum’s acquisition of four new ... More
 

A slew of filters on social media allow users to evaluate their features, reigniting age-old obsessions with perfection and beauty. Miki Kim/The New York Times.

NEW YORK, NY.- Mirrors lie. They reverse things. That face you see in the bathroom every morning, in your makeup compact: that is “opposite you” — the inverse of the face everyone else sees. We all know this, in theory. And yet, for the past two years or so, this simple fact has riveted and sometimes deeply upset many people (especially young ones) trying out the facial-symmetry filters on social media. Some of these filters invert the mirror’s reflection, revealing images of one’s face as others perceive it, unnerving many users by casting new light on all the imperfections to which our familiar mirrored reflections inure, or even blind us: the uneven hairline, the crooked mouth, the not perfectly level eyes. These all spring sharply into focus when reversed. For these reasons, confronting one’s “flipped” face can feel a bit alienating (not unlike hearing your own voice on tape). Other filters startle in a different way, by creating ... More


Sullivan+Strumpf debut solo exhibition with Yvette Coppersmith, Presage   RISD Museum staff members of the Climate Emergency Sustainability Task Force curate exhibition   John Moran Auctioneers presents "Property from the Thomas and Erika Jayne Girardi Residence"


Yvette Coppersmith, Untitled Movement (Magenta II), 2022. Oil on jute, 76.5 x 61 cm.

SYDNEY.- The ballet was the first thing Yvette Coppersmith was allowed to watch on television. If Yvette’s parents were hoping for influence of the form, their wishes would be fulfilled. As a child Yvette was a ballet dancer—and while ballet is the inspiration for the undeniable energy of her latest show Presage, Yvette’s paintings come from someone who has always been entranced not only by the body’s gestures and movements, but also the gaze that accompanies having a body in the world. The ballet was the first thing Yvette Coppersmith was allowed to watch on television. If Yvette’s parents were hoping for influence of the form, their wishes would be fulfilled. As a child Yvette was a ballet dancer—and while ballet is the inspiration for the undeniable energy of her latest show Presage, Yvette’s paintings come from someone who has always been entranced not only by the body’s gestures and movements, but also the gaze that accompanies having ... More
 

Masami Teraoka, Namiyo at Hanauma Bay, 1985. Gift of Evelyn Lincoln.

PROVIDENCE, RI.- Take Care is curated by RISD Museum staff members of the Climate Emergency Sustainability (CES) Task Force. Prints, photographs, paintings, decorative arts, clothing, and objects of cultural heritage from the museum’s collection examine themes of local and global sustainability, materials and repair, biodiversity, oceans and pollution, deforestation, Indigenous kinship to the land, and resource extraction. Take Care is a call to action for stewardship of the land, the oceans, the earth, and each other. Created in January 2021, the CES Task Force includes staff from throughout the museum. We have spent the past year and a half studying the museum’s carbon footprint; researching ethical, economical, and sustainable business partnerships; and identifying best practices for sustainability and climate justice. We support and help implement measurable actions in our work and educate about climate issues both inside and outside th ... More
 

John Moran Auctioneers has been chosen to facilitate the auction, “Property from the Thomas and Erika Jayne Girardi Residence, A Court Ordered Sale,” on Wednesday, September 21, 2022, at 12:00pm PST. The proceeds will be used to help pay down debt.

LOS ANGELES, CA.- If you’ve turned on the news or perused social media this past year, you have probably heard the name, “Tom Girardi.” Previously married to Erika Jayne, Billboard pop star and cast member of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Girardi is most famous for the high-profile lawsuit that inspired the film, “Erin Brockovich.” Representing the residents of Hinkley, California, who sued the Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) for allegedly contaminating the local water with chemicals, Girardi was able to settle with PG&E in 1996 for the record sum of $333 million. Fast forward to today, Girardi is disbarred. The State Bar Court found him guilty on numerous counts of violating ethics rules and California law. This is after he was forced into bankruptcy, along with his law firm, Girardi Keese. Prior to their bankruptcy ... More




Anatomy of an Artwork: Walter Spies' Magical Fable in Bali



More News

Greenhut Galleries in Portland is set to open a show of painter Joel Babb's new work
PORTLAND, ME.- Joel Babb, who is known for his lush, large format nature paintings, as well as his series of complex and monumental cityscapes, is set to debut twelve new Nature works at Greenhut Galleries on Thursday, September 1st. Announcement was made by Kelley Lehr, the gallery’s Co-director and Co-proprietor, with John Danos. Forest Murmurs - The Maine Woods, which runs through October 1st, will open with a reception for Babb, from 5-7:00pm. Forest Murmurs will mark Babb’s third solo exhibition with Greenhut Galleries, which is among the oldest and most respected art galleries in Portland. Babb’s inspiration for his Nature paintings has historically been the Hudson River School artists, including Thomas Cole, Frederick Church, and Albert Bierstadt, among others. For his cityscapes, Babb draws inspiration from the panoramic ... More

What does a dancing body feel like in Ukraine? 'I am a gun.'
NEW YORK, NY.- Anna Vinogradova, an independent dance artist living in Kyiv, Ukraine, doesn’t carry a gun. She’s not even particularly patriotic, she said. Her body, though, is speaking up. “It’s like, I am a gun,” she said, “and I am staying here to protect the city.” She knows that she can’t actually defend people. She knows the army is in charge of that. “But with my presence, with my energy,” she said, “I’m fighting.” Before the Russian invasion Feb. 24, Vinogradova helped to run a small movement school for children. She had also become enamored of pole dancing, which led to a satirical work, combining stand-up and pole dancing, that she performed in a strip club. Vinogradova dressed as a miner — a homage to her hometown, Donetsk, which has been in conflict with Russia since 2014. “I tried to look at my culture through pole dancing,” she ... More

Exhibited by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 'Lauschende Faune' will be auctioned without reserve by Soulis
LONE JACK, MO.- A Met-exhibited artwork by the influential German Secessionist painter Franz von Stuck (né Franz Stuck, 1863-1928) has been rediscovered after being out of public sight for more than a century. Titled Lauschende Faune (Listening Fauns), the circa-1899 oil-on-panel with a distinguished history of museum exhibition is now known to have spent the last 60 years in a Kansas City residence. There, it was displayed by two consecutive generations of the same family, who were unaware of its background or true value. Soulis Auctions has been selected to sell the painting, without reserve, on the family’s behalf. It will be offered in a September 23 gallery auction, with all forms of remote bidding available. ... More

With 'As You Like It,' public works aims for a reflection of humanity
NEW YORK, NY.- Eric Pierre, a pastor who teaches fifth grade English in the Bronx, has taken up an additional title this summer: royal duke. At least that’s the role he’s playing onstage in the Public Works production of “As You Like It.” He’s one of dozens of community members, ages 7 to 81 and from all five of the city’s boroughs, performing alongside several professional actors in the 90-minute musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy. The show, now in previews, is set to open Tuesday at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Pierre plays the cruel Duke Frederick, who banishes his brother, among others, to the Forest of Arden in this tale of camouflage, love and self-discovery. The role was not a natural fit for Pierre, who described the difficulty of channeling his nefarious character and trying to identify the pain associated with his ... More

NOMA welcomes Decorative Arts Trust Curatorial Fellow Laura Ochoa Rincon
NEW ORLEANS, LA.- The New Orleans Museum of Art welcomes Laura Ochoa Rincon as the Decorative Arts Trust Curatorial Fellow. Beginning this month, the two-year position is funded by a significant grant from the Decorative Arts Trust to support an emerging curator working with NOMA’s esteemed decorative arts and growing design collection, focusing specifically in the area of glass. “Championing emerging voices within our curatorial team is an important part of our mission, and we are grateful to the Decorative Arts Trust for supporting this work,” said Susan M. Taylor, Montine McDaniel Freeman Director of NOMA. “Laura brings experience working in a variety of important institutions, and we are excited to see how her career will continue to grow during her fellowship at NOMA.” Ochoa Rincon comes to NOMA following extensive internship ... More

Collection of scientific illustrations traces the visual history of knowledge
NEW YORK, NY.- Science and illustration have always walked hand in hand, and not only the scientific community but the general public as well have used images since early history to understand natural phenomena. Moreover, from Galileo to Einstein, our modern history has been written with the key support of art and with all the insights it contributes. This XL-sized book collects more than 300 graphic works that range from original sketches to technical drawings, and from meticulous hand illustrations to computer-generated images. The Western scientific revolution that started in the 14th century catapulted humankind into a completely new way of understanding how nature and the world around us behaved. Whether it was diseases caused by viruses or the vast galaxies of the cosmos, a new army of professionals turned their minds ... More

The Freud Museum stages its first ever exhibition of Lucian Freud's work
LONDON.- Lucian Freud: The Painter and His Family is the first exhibition of Lucian Freud’s work in the home of his grandfather, Sigmund Freud, and aunt, Anna Freud. The exhibition features paintings, drawings, family photographs, books and letters. These works are drawn from galleries and private collections, the Museum’s archives and members of Lucian Freud’s family. Some of the items have never, or very rarely, been seen in public before. Lucian Freud’s impact and influence on cultural history is undeniable. Like his grandfather, Sigmund, who revolutionised the way we understand the mind, Lucian affected the history of 20th century art. Migrating from surrealism to realism and often using family and friends as his subjects, Lucian’s work’s evolved over a 60-year career. The exhibition explores Lucian Freud’s childhood, family and friends. It celebrates ... More


PhotoGalleries

Indigo Waves and Other Stories

Carolina Caycedo

Embodied Knowledge

MAGELLAN


Flashback
On a day like today, Mexican painter Rufino Tamayo was born
August 26, 1899. Rufino Tamayo (August 26, 1899 - June 24, 1991) was a Mexican painter of Zapotec heritage, born in Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico. Tamayo was active in the mid-20th century in Mexico and New York, painting figurative abstraction with surrealist influences. In this image: Rufino Tamayo's painting "Sandias" or "Watermelons'' is seen in this undated picture. Mexico put out an international alert Sunday, Jan. 31, 1999 for 12 paintings that were stolen from an exhibition last week, including "Sandias" by one of Mexico's most famous painters. The paintings, on loan from private art collectors in Mexico, the United States and Europe, were part of a 43-canvas show the gallery organized to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Tamayo's birth.

  
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Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez