| The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Friday, February 23, 2018 |
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| | Earliest cave art belonged to Neanderthals, not humans: study | |
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Professor Alistair Pike (University of Southampton) collecting samples for dating in Maltravieso cave. Tiny (less than 10mg) samples of calcite that form on top of cave paintings are dated using the radioactive decay of uranium. Photo: C.D. Standish)
by Kerry Sheridan
MIAMI (AFP).- The world's oldest known cave art was crafted by Neanderthals more than 20,000 years before modern humans arrived in Europe, showing that our extinct cousins were capable of symbolic thinking just like us, international researchers said Thursday. The report in the journal Science is based on new technology that reveals the most accurate age yet of ancient cave paintings at three different archeological sites in Spain. "This is an incredibly exciting discovery which suggests Neanderthals were much more sophisticated than is popularly believed," said co-lead author Chris Standish, an archaeologist at the University of Southampton. "Our results show that the paintings we dated are, by far, the oldest known cave art in the world." Since they were created some 64,000 years ago -- at least 20,000 years before modern humans arrived in Europe from Africa -- "they must have been painted by Neanderthals," he added. ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day On Monday 26 February 2018, the Mauritshuis launches The Girl in the Spotlight: an in-depth scientific examination of the Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665) by Johannes Vermeer. The museum's most famous painting was last examined in 1994, during a conservation treatment.
| 'Girl with Pearl Earring' to undergo public examination | | Scientists recreate virtual copy of Mexican underwater cave | | Frieze announces new contemporary fair in Los Angeles to launch in February 2019 | 
The Girl in the spotlight. Photographer: © Ivo Hoekstra / Mauritshuis, The Hague.
THE HAGUE (AFP).- One of the world's most famous paintings "Girl with a Pearl Earring" is to undergo a two-week scientific examination in front of curious visitors to the Dutch museum where it lives. The luminescent tableau painted by Dutch master Johannes Vermeer around 1665 was last examined in 1994 during a conservation treatment at the Mauritshuis museum in the centre of The Hague. "Although further restoration is not yet required, major advances in non-invasive technical analysis have been made over the last 25 years," the museum said in a statement. Researchers have long been fascinated by the painting of a young girl with an enigmatic gaze, as she stares out of the canvas, wearing an eastern blue and yellow turban, her ear adorned with a large pearl. They have "a number of unanswered questions about how Vermeer painted this work of art and which materials he used," the ... More | | 
Scientist Blaine W. Schubert of the Hoyo Negro Speleological Project, speaks during a conference at the Anthropology National Museum in Mexico City. RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP.
MEXICO CITY (AFP).- Scientists from all over the world will soon be able to dive into a virtual 3-D replica of a vast underwater cave off Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, where the oldest skeleton in the Americas was found seven years ago. Anthropologists, cave experts, archeologists and photographers are working to fashion a virtual copy of the cave known in Spanish as Hoyo Negro, or black hole, where the skeleton of Naia, a young girl, who lived more than 13,000 years ago was found in 2011. The first results of their work were presented Wednesday night by archeologist Alberto Nava, who discovered the cave in 2007. That cavern is part of something much bigger, believed to be the world's largest underwater cave network. Its existence was made public last month. "Some day I will have a complete replica," said Nava of the ... More | | 
Anri Sala, Marian Goodman Gallery, Frieze New York 2017. Photograph by Mark Blower. Courtesy of Mark Blower/Frieze.
LOS ANGELES, CA.- Frieze today announces the launch of a new annual contemporary art fair in Los Angeles, presented at Paramount Pictures Studios. Premiering February 14 17, 2019, Frieze LA will join Frieze New York, Frieze London and Frieze Masters on the international art-world calendar, reflecting Los Angeles position as a global arts capital. Frieze has appointed Bettina Korek as the fairs Executive Director, working with Victoria Siddall, Director of Frieze Fairs to launch the inaugural edition of Frieze LA. In addition, curator Ali Subotnick will oversee a site-specific program of artist projects and film at the fair. Frieze New York and Frieze LA will together present a unified voice for Frieze in the Americas. So many great artists and writers have lived and worked in Los Angeles, a city with an incredibly rich landscape of museums, galleries ... More |
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| "Fra Angelico: Heaven on Earth" opens at Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston | | Hammer Museum announces $180 million capital campaign to support multi-year transformation and expanded endowment | | Picasso's hidden mistress set to fetch millions at sale | 
Fra Angelico (Italian, about 1400-1455), The Dormition and Assumption of the Virgin (detail), 1424-1434. Tempera with oil glazes and gold on panel, 85.7 x 45.1 cm (33 3/4 x 17 3/4 in.) Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston (P15w34).
BOSTON, MASS.- The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is the sole venue for Fra Angelico: Heaven on Earth, on view Feb. 22 through May 20, 2018. The exhibition explores renowned Renaissance painter Fra Angelicos talent for storytelling. For the first time ever, the four newly restored reliquaries containers for holy relics that were painted for the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence between 1424 and 1434 - have been reunited at the Gardner. Together they picture the life of the Virgin Mary and offer the opportunity to explore his talent for sacred tales. Fra Angelico (about 1400-1455) was celebrated in his own time as the most famous painter in Italy. With remarkable ingenuity and rare technical expertise, he reconceived popular ... More | | 
Lynda and Stewart Resnick, photo by Steven Gomillion.
LOS ANGELES, CA.- Hammer Museum director Ann Philbin announced today that the ambitious multi‑year project to renovate, expand, and transform the institution has taken a major step forward with the public launch of a $180 million capital campaign. The announcement coincides with a lead gift of $30 million from L.A. philanthropists Lynda and Stewart Resnickthe largest in the museums history. In recognition of this generous gift, the Hammers building will be dedicated as the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Cultural Center. Art has long inspired Stewart and me in a profound and meaningful way, said Lynda Resnick. For decades, weve been committed to Los Angeless dynamic arts and culture scene, and are proud to witness its growth into a nationally recognized epicenter for cutting-edge talent. As longtime admirers of director Ann Philbins vision and of the Hammers role in this meteoric rise, we ... More | | 
Picasso painted the portrait a few months after his masterpiece "Guernica" was conceived in 1937 in the depths of Spain's devastating civil war. Courtesy Sothebys.
LONDON (AFP).- A Pablo Picasso painting depicting his muse Marie-Therese Walter with future lover Dora Maar emerging from the shadows behind is expected to fetch an eye-watering sum at a London sale next week. The 1937 "Femme au Beret et a la Robe Quadrillee (Marie-Therese Walter)" is expected to reach $50 million (40 million euros) at a sale of Impressionist, Surrealist and Modern Art at prestigious London auction house Sotheby's on Wednesday. The identity of its current owner remains a mystery. "It's an incredibly important museum quality picture," James Mackie, director of the Impressionist and Modern Art department at Sotheby's, told AFP on Thursday. "It comes from a key era in Picasso's career, 1937, when he makes the great painting 'Guernica'," he added, ... More |
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| Buddhist treasures from the Jingyatang Collection to be offered at Sotheby's | | Phillips announces highlights from largest London auction in company history | | Michael Werner Gallery, London opens two exhibitions of works by A.R. Penck | 
An Inscribed And Dated Huanghuashi Buddhist Stele. Eastern Wei Dynasty, Dated Xinghe Third Year, Corresponding To 541. Height 17 in., 43.2 cm. Estimate $1.2/1.5 million. Courtesy Sothebys.
NEW YORK, NY.- Sothebys will present four stone sculptures from the esteemed Asian private collection, Jingyatang. Exemplary works of art from the Northern Wei through to the Sui Dynasties beautifully illustrate the diverse aesthetics of Buddhist sculpture in China. Jingyatang: Treasures of Buddhist Sculpture will be on view in Sotheby's New York headquarters from 15 March, alongside over 1,300 other works of art, before it is offered at auction on 20 March at 10:30am. Angela McAteer, Head of the Chinese Works of Art Department in New York, commented: American institutions, including many of them here in New York, have a long-standing tradition of building phenomenal Asian art collections around the finest Buddhist sculpture. We are thrilled to introduce four such gems from China this Asia Week New York. Of the highest quality and ... More | | 
Rudolf Stingel (b. 1956), Untiled, 2012 (detail). Estimate: £4 - 6 million. Image courtesy of Phillips.
LONDON.- Phillips upcoming Evening Sale of 20th Century & Contemporary Art is poised to set the highest total for a London sale in company history. With 50 works of art spanning over a century, the sale is anchored by an outstanding group of Modern artists, comprising works by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Max Ernst, Marino Marini and Henry Moore. Star contemporary works include Rudolf Stingels Untitled, and Mark Bradfords Helter Skelter I from the Collection of John McEnroe, 7-time Grand Slam Champion. The sale also represents an important group of German artists, offering Anselm Kiefer, Georg Baselitz, Albert Oehlen and Sigmar Polke, among others. Expected to realise in excess of £51 million, the 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale will take place at 7pm on 8 March and will be followed by the Day Sale on 9 March, which will feature 181 lots. Dina Amin, Senior Director and Head of 20th Century & Contemporary Art, ... More | | 
A.R. Penck, Onwards to the 38th Party Congress, 1983 (detail), Courtesy Michael Werner Gallery, New York and London.
LONDON.- Michael Werner Gallery, London announces two exhibitions of works by A.R. Penck, one of the most important artists to emerge from Germany during the post-war period. Paintings from the 1980s and Memorial to an Unknown East German Soldier are being presented concurrently from 22 February to 21 April. Featuring several large-scale paintings and a monumental sculpture in wood and bronze, these exhibitions represent a key moment in A.R. Pencks oeuvre. A.R. Pencks lifes work was to create a means of visual expression capable of addressing the entire range of social and political issues facing modern man. He invented a profound and vital pictorial language during a period of bleak social and political division and a looming nuclear threat. Abiding interests in science fiction, cybernetics, and information architecture guided his art toward an investigation of the relationships ... More |
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| Georgia Museum of Art adds Parker Curator of Russian Art | | Vanishing Blue in Pursue of Red in Black: Aurel Scheibler opens exhibition of works by Carolin Eidner | | Exhibition at Kunsthalle Bern assembles works with a tendency toward furnishing | 
Asen Kirin, Parker Curator of Russian Art at the Georgia Museum of Art.
ATHENS, GA.- Following several high-profile exhibitions of Russian art, the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia has received a gift from William Parker to establish the position of Parker Curator of Russian Art. The position has been filled by Asen Kirin, professor of art history at UGAs Lamar Dodd School of Art. Kirin will continue to teach at the art school, but he will also devote time to researching the museums growing collection of Russian art, publishing the results and developing special exhibitions, lectures, symposia and other educational events. The gift includes funds to support the collection, which Parker assembled over more than four decades and includes more than 2,200 separate objects. They range from paintings to sculptures, prints, textiles, photographs, silver, jewelry, glass, military artifacts, medals, badges and orders of chivalry. Many of them were presentation gifts from the ... More | | 
Carolin Eidner, Time Resistance Trend, 2018. Pigmented plaster on stryrofoam and wood, 138 x 101 x 5 cm.
BERLIN.- The synchronicity of truths - one of the main features of our time, rapidly growing against the backdrop of information era and spreading Internet could have caused a profound and impenetrable emptiness, but may also create an immense potential in any individual person. Its not that long ago that the idea of freedom could be expressed through a metaphor of the vast blue sky and be comprehensible as such. However, today the freedom, illuminated by the white light of computer screens, reveals itself no further than the darkness of the universe does, in its merely unconceivable abundance of possible reality interpretations. The disruption of human existence finally unfolds in everyday life and affects inevitably our social coexistence. The uncertainty about the systems of belief within knowledge accompanies us and flares up in our hearts. Dont the recent discoveries ... More | | 
Magali Reus, 'Lukes (Pelican)', 2014. Powder coated folded and riveted steel, polyester resin, pigments, vinyl, acid-dipped powder coated, laser cut and welded steel, charred wood, 175 x 59.5 x 51.5 cm & 138 x 54.5 x 50 cm. Courtesy of the artist and The Approach, London. Photo: Nils Klinger.
BERN.- Each space of the Kunsthalle Bern is defined by a distinct atmosphere as a result of its size, the incidence of light, and interior architectural details. Its architecture doesnt draw on the functionalism of the Bauhaus which was founded in 1919, a year after the Kunsthalle opened. The parquet flooring and the ornamental ceiling alone exude an elegance that doesnt conform to the Bauhaus agenda of stamping out all things bourgeois and celebrating artlessness as the new creed. Not quite nonbourgeois, the Kunsthalle is more indebted to the nineteenth century when exhibition spaces were still geared to partitioning and measuring. Appearing like a temple on the outside, the building harbors an almost homey coziness in its interior. ... More |
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Tracy Chevalier: Finding the story inside the painting
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 Adrienne Edwards appointed Curator of Performance at the WhitneyNEW YORK, NY.- Adrienne Edwards has been named Engell Speyer Family Curator and Curator of Performance at the Whitney Museum of American Art, where she will begin working in May. Edwards has served as curator of Performa since 2010 and as Curator at Large for the Walker Art Center since 2016. Scott Rothkopf, Deputy Director for Programs and Nancy and Steve Crown Family Chief Curator, remarked: Adrienne has distinguished herself as one of the most innovative curators working in performance today by engaging artists across diverse disciplines and often challenging them to explore new genres and experimental forms. She brings to the Whitney a wonderful complement of scholarly rigor, social commitment, and a deeply humane understanding of artists and their audiences. Edwards remarked: There could not be a more vital institution or more important ... More UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive mounts exhibition of new work by Jay HeikesBERKELEY, CA.- The UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive launches the fortieth anniversary of its MATRIX Programwhich introduces Bay Area audiences to exceptional voices in contemporary artwith an exhibition of work by Jay Heikes, the Minneapolis-based artist whose practice explores the interplay between borders, music, and material discovery. Jay Heikes / MATRIX 269 is the first museum presentation of a new series of works Heikes created during a 2017 residency in Marfa, Texas, which draws inspiration from the West Texas desert and the invisible presence of the nearby Mexican border. The son of a chemist, Heikes likens his practice to a form of alchemy, and his work often evokes a sense of curiosity about the transformation of material objects. Heikes began his career as a guitar player, and music remains integral to his practice, ... More Bob Greenberg brings together 42 innovative works in new exhibition at Cooper HewittNEW YORK, NY.- As guest curator of the next exhibition in Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museums acclaimed Selects series, Bob Greenberg, founder of the international design innovation company R/GA, engages his singular creative eye to uncover compelling design lineages and make thematic connections within the museums expansive collection of 210,000 objects. On view Feb. 23 through Sept. 9 in the Nancy and Edwin Marks Collection Gallery, Bob Greenberg Selects is the 16th installation in the series in which designers, artists, architects and public figures are invited to guest curate an exhibition. For his presentation, Greenberg brings together 42 innovative works from Cooper Hewitts holdings to explore creativity in the age of technology. A 2003 National Design Award winner for Communication, Bob is a true ... More Wexner Center Director Sherri Geldin to step down after 25 yearsCOLUMBUS, OH.- After 25 years as director of the Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University, Sherri Geldin has announced she will leave the helm at the end of December 2018. Geldin was appointed director in 1993. Under her leadership, the Wexner Center has emerged among the foremost contemporary art venues in the nation, with an ecumenically diverse array of programs in the visual, performing, film, video, and design arts, as well as pioneering education programs. Geldins strong commitment to a sustained and generous artist residency program has positioned the center as a laboratory for contemporary cultural inquiry and production and a veritable beacon for countless emerging, mid-career, and established artists. Among them are Barbara Kruger, Kerry James Marshall, Zoe Leonard, Josiah McElheny, Todd Haynes, Christine ... More Steve Jobs employment application among items in Pop Culture AuctionBOSTON, MASS.- A job application filled out and signed by Steve Jobs will be auctioned by Boston-based RR Auction. Jobs enrolled at Reed College for the fall semester in 1972 but dropped out after just six months to preserve his parents meager funds. However, he hung around campus for a year and a half to audit creative courses, including classes on Shakespeare, dance, and calligraphythese would help to shape his artistic worldview that influenced the innovation of the Macintosh computer. The one-page questionnaire completed by Jobs in 1972 where he fills out his name, "Steven jobs"; address, "reed college"; phone, "none"; and major, "english lit." In the middle section, he ... More Louvre Abu Dhabi appoints its first Scientific, Curatorial & Collections Management DirectorABU DHABI.- Louvre Abu Dhabi announced today the appointment of Dr. Souraya Noujaim as its first Scientific, Curatorial and Collections Management Director. Dr. Noujaim has been working on the Louvre Abu Dhabi project as Curator for Islamic Art at Agence France-Muséums over the past four years and headed the museums section dedicated to medieval times, based in Abu Dhabi for the majority of her tenure. In her new role she will oversee the scientific, curatorial and the museum collection management services. His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, praised Dr. Noujaim, saying: She has consistently brought passion and dedication to her work on the Louvre Abu Dhabi project. Souraya was nominated based on the intergovernmental agreement between the Government ... More Haute Photographie in Rotterdam has a successful second editionROTTERDAM.- The second official edition of Haute Photographie in Rotterdam closed its doors just 10 days ago. Returning to LP2 in Las Palmas and the Art Rotterdam Week, Haute Photographie continued with its unique concept of a fair presented as a museum-quality group exhibition. The group of galleries taking part in the fair grew this year, with many returning from the first edition, but the amount of exhibitors was still kept limited to maintain Haute Photographie's boutique spirit. This year's participants were Bildhalle (Zurich), Cokkie Snoei (Rotterdam), Galerie Esther Woerdehoff (Paris), Dorothée Nilsson Gallery (Berlin), Howard Greenberg Gallery (New York), Ibasho Gallery (Antwerp), Kahmann Gallery (Amsterdam), mc2gallery (Milan), NOOR (Amsterdam), Torch Gallery (Amsterdam), The Ravestijn Gallery (Amsterdam) and Galerie Wouter van Leeuwen ... More Joseph Alanen's Kalevala-themed works donated to the AteneumHELSINKI.- The Ateneum Art Museum, which is part of the Finnish National Gallery, has received three Kalevala-themed tempera paintings by Joseph Alanen (18851920) for its collection, from a private donor. Before this donation, the Finnish National Gallerys collection only included one work by Alanen. The works will be placed on display in the Kalevala exhibition gallery of the Stories of Finnish Art exhibition, on Kalevala Day, 28 February 2018. We are extremely grateful for this donation of Joseph Alanens works. The collection of the Finnish National Gallery has always been built in collaboration with private donors, and the same holds true today. Alanens works are a welcome addition to the Kalevala section of the Stories of Finnish art exhibition, says the museum director, Susanna Pettersson. Our family has had the pleasure and the privilege of living with ... More China rules out arson in Tibetan temple fireBEIJING (AFP).- Chinese authorities have ruled out arson as the cause of a recent fire at Tibetan Buddhism's holiest temple, state media reported Thursday, adding an important Buddha statue had emerged "intact" from the blaze. The report is the first official account of Saturday's fire at the more than 1,300-year-old Jokhang Temple, after authorities suppressed social media accounts of the incident, leading to accusations of a cover-up. The fire erupted on the building's second floor, but was soon put out, according to the official Xinhua news agency, which said the blaze had damaged the building's golden roof. There were no casualties and the building has already been reopened to the public, it said. Jokhang temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which lies at the heart of old Lhasa. It is Tibetan Buddhism's most sacred site and home to the Jowo ... More Archive of moments: Exhibition at Ketterer Kunst in Berlin exhibits works by Li TriebBERLIN.- The art of Li Trieb seems more real than reality and she puts focus on both visual and temporal aspects. As of 23 February, 2018 Ketterer Kunst in Berlin shows works of a structured beauty in which the artist examines questions regarding lifetime and the course of time in general. Li Trieb was born in Neustadt on the Danube. At the age of nine she was sent to a Catholic convent school where she had to learn to find freedom within. However, it was the boarding schools director who encouraged her to pursue her artistic talent, so Li Trieb began to study at the Augsburg Design School. In the following she completed an apprenticeship as a tailor and went to India, where she attended the Kolkata Academy of Fine Art. Asia called her time and again, she learned Thai Chi in Thailand and experienced the highs and lows of meditation in a Buddhist ... More Sotheby's S/2 Gallery in New York opens exhibition of works by architect and artist Richard MeierNEW YORK, NY.- Sothebys S|2 Gallery in New York is presenting an exhibition of collages, encaustics and silkscreens by Pritzker Prize-winning architect and artist Richard Meier. Famed for his gleaming, clean-lined structures like the Getty Center in Los Angeles, The Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, Romes Jubilee Church, and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Richard Meier: Artist seeks to explore a lesser-known side of the star-architect the artist. On view from 22 February through 29 March, the 30+ works examine the relationship between space, form and light all fundamental concepts for Meiers architecture. Julian Dawes, Vice President, Co-Head of Impressionist & Modern Art Day Dale said: Getting to know Richard Meier the artist has been an incredible treat and one Sothebys is thrilled to share. To me, Richards dual pursuits of architecture ... More |
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Flashback On a day like today, Ukrainian painter and theorist Kazimir Malevich was born February 23, 2018. Kazimir Severinovich Malevich (February 23, 1878 - May 15, 1935) was a Russian painter and art theoretician. He was a pioneer of geometric abstract art and the originator of the avant-garde Suprematist movement. He was a devout Christian mystic who believed the central task of an artist was that of rendering spiritual feeling.In this image: Kazimir Malevich, Self-Portrait, 1908 or 1910-1911. Gouache on paper, 27 x 26.8.
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