The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, July 14, 2023


 
Vandal burns major public artwork by one of Italy's top living artists

A man was detained in connection with the destruction of a monumental version of ‘Venus of the Rags’ by Michelangelo Pistoletto. City officials pledged the installation will rise again.

by Elisabetta Povoledo


NAPLES.- A vandal in Naples burned down a recently installed artwork by one of Italy’s most famous living artists, prompting outrage among residents along with a pledge by city officials that the piece would be replaced with a new version. Just before dawn on Wednesday, a vandal set fire to a monumental version of Michelangelo Pistoletto’s “Venus of the Rags,” which had been inaugurated in a square in front of City Hall two weeks ago. It is a seminal work by the artist, a protagonist of arte povera, or “poor art,” the Italian avant-garde movement that emerged in the 1960s and often uses humble materials. The nearly 23-foot-high work consisting of an oversize statue of a neoclassical Venus pressing lightly against a mound of bright, discarded clothing, burned quickly, the flames fueled by the art materials — and by temperatures so hot that the Venus, crafted from expanded polyethylene, melted. After the flames were extinguished, all that was left was the artwor ... More



The Best Photos of the Day
Best Photos of the Day
'AI: Who's Looking After Me?' at Science Gallery London, King's College London, 21 June.





Almine Rech now represents Choi Myoung Young   First-ever compilation of Eva Hesse's drawings published by Hauser & Wirth Institute   'Two Views of Abstract Expressionism: Seymour Boardman (1921-2005) and Ernest Briggs (1923-1984)' at Anita Shapolsky


Portrait of Choi Myoung Young, 2023. Courtesy of the Artist and Almine Rech.

PARIS.- Almine Rech announced the representation of Korean artist Choi Myoung Young in Europe, United States, United Kingdom, and Asia (except Korea and Japan). The gallery will present his first solo exhibition at Almine Rech Paris, Matignon opening on September 7, 2023. “In my work, I impose conditions on my painting process to help the paintings acheive their fundamental state, which is, ultimately, a flat plane”. — Choi Myoung Young Born in Haeju, Hwanghae-do, in 1941, Choi defected to South Korea during the Korean War and grew up in Gunsan and Incheon. In 1957, he began studying art at Incheon National School of Education under master artist Chung Sanghwa after which he entered the Hongik University College of Fine Arts in 1960 to study painting. After graduating college in 1964, Choi spent the remainder of the ... More
 

Eva Hesse in her Bowery Studio, 1966.

NEW YORK, NY.- Hauser & Wirth Institute announced a new digital catalogue raisonné, Eva Hesse Drawings, developed under the direction of scholars Dr. Renate Petzinger and Barry Rosen of the Eva Hesse Estate, who previously collaborated on the two-volume catalogue raisonné of Eva Hesse’s paintings and sculpture. Originally planned as a print publication, Hauser & Wirth Institute provided the support to produce this first-ever compilation of Hesse’s entire body of works on paper as a free, online resource. Drawing is the continuous thread as Hesse turned from the painter she began as to the sculptor she became…there is certainly a ferocious sense of herself – and her hand – on a sheet of paper, however diverse her practice would become. — Briony Fer, 2019 Known for her pioneering work in sculpture and innovative use of latex, fiberglass, and plastics, Hesse’s works on paper reveal ... More
 

Installation view of 'Two Views of Abstract Expressionism: Seymour Boardman (1921-2005) and Ernest Briggs (1923-1984)' at Anita Shapolsky.

NEW YORK, NY.- Opening July 14 at Anita Shapolsky Art Foundation 'Two Views of Abstract Expressionism: Seymour Boardman (1921-2005) and Ernest Briggs (1923-1984)' these masters together display an appreciation to the many subtleties of abstract expressionism. Seymour Boardman and Ernest Briggs explored contrasting expressions of abstraction, both vigorous and dynamic, yet while the former demonstrated cool and controlled forms, the other spoke a more forceful and fiery language of a raw and cataclysmic nature. Seymour Boardman spent his formative years in New York and Paris before and after WWII. His style developed alongside fellow influential artists such as Sam Francis, Larry Calcagno, John Hultberg, and Frank Lobdell. Exhibiting ... More


Exhibition explores how the prince of artists became the artist of princes   Dual opening at PM/AM featuring Nicolas Coleman and Xiao Wang   New commission: Rebecca Louise Law creates hanging garden in centre:mk for IF: Milton Keynes International Festival


Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (Montauban, 1780 – Paris, 1867), Autoportrait d’Ingres à vingt-quatre ans, 1804 (Paris Salon of 1806). Canvas ; H. 0,77 ; W. 0,61 m. Chantilly, Musée Condé, PE 430 ©RMN-Grand Palais Domaine de Chantilly-Harry Bréjat.

CHANTILLY.- A successful artist in the first half of the 19th century, Jean-Auguste- Dominique Ingres (1780-1867) was an unclassifiable and frequently visionary painter. Behind his apparent classicism lay an originality and search for perfection that continue to fascinate to this day. Where did this success come from? Following the advent of the July Monarchy (1830-1848), Ingres received considerable backing from the Orléans family, which would result in some of his greatest masterpieces. Those close ties will form the central thread of this major exhibition in Chantilly, which will explore how the prince of artists became the artist of princes. Held in collections in France and beyond, paintings and drawings commissioned or collected by the princes of Orléans have ... More
 

Nicolas Coleman, Messrs. Worldwide, 2023. Oil on canvas, 130 x 100 cm, 51 1/8 x 39 3/8 in.

LONDON.- PM/AM continues its summer exhibition programme with two July shows, each a solo presentation taking at the gallery’s central London exhibition space at 37 Eastcastle Street. Both Nicolas Coleman and Xiao Wang will show work created on their respective residencies. Nicolas places a likeness of himself in luxuriously painted settings - richly decorated interiors and atmospheric external spaces. His work is joyful, bright and energetic, and appears to be rooted in a calm idealism. He celebrates beauty and detail in every object and texture on the canvas; to abandon what we could call a hierarchy in the level of attention each receives. In contrast with the upbeat nature of his immediate aesthetic, however, Nicolas examines the roles of our complex psychologies and our responses to our surroundings, and how conflicts can arise between them. These concepts are revealed only when the themes and atmosphere of the work ... More
 

Rebecca Louise Law's 2022 work, Awakening. Photo credit The Honolulu Museum of Art USA.

MILTON KEYNES.- IF: Milton Keynes International Festival 2023 and centre:mk present The Place Between, an epic immersive artwork exploring the secret lives of plants and flowers by artist Rebecca Louise Law and sound artist Jason Singh at Middleton Hall, centre:mk from 14 to 30 July. IF: Milton Keynes International Festival has built a reputation for animating the public spaces of one of the UK’s most future-facing cities. Milton Keynes, which came to life in 1967, is a city which was always planned to be ‘better by design’. Since 2010, the biennial International Festival has collaborated with Grade II listed shopping mall centre:mk, celebrated for its iconic architectural design, to programme immersive artworks into its vibrant modernist spaces. For 2023, the Festival and the centre have commissioned The Place Between, a breathtakingly beautiful large-scale installation created by artist Rebecca Louise Law and sound artist Jason S ... More



The Shed hires its new CEO from Boston Ballet   Milan Kundera, Czech literary star and Communist Party outcast, dies at 94   RIBA announces shortlist for 2023 Stephen Lawrence Prize: An inspiring snapshot of early career talent in architecture


As the new arts space faces financial challenges, it tapped Meredith Hodges to take over its administrative leadership from Alex Poots, who will remain as artistic director. Photo: Ernesto Galan; courtesy of Boston Ballet.

NEW YORK, NY.- After a mixed beginning that was complicated by the coronavirus pandemic, the Shed in Manhattan’s Hudson Yards announced Wednesday that it had tapped Meredith Hodges, known as Max, the executive director of the Boston Ballet, to become its new CEO. “She is the right combination to join the Shed at this moment,” said Jonathan Tisch, who in April succeeded the Shed’s founding chair, Daniel Doctoroff, and who — with his wife, Lizzie — donated $27.5 million in 2019 toward the building’s construction. “She is a proven leader who understands the business side of culture, but also has an affinity for the culture side of culture.” The CEO position was initially held by Alex Poots, who previously founded the Manchester International Festival and served as the artistic director of the Park Avenue Armory. But he gave up the CEO title in January, when the organization said he would ... More
 

The author of “The Unbearable Lightness of Being,” he was known for sexually charged novels that captured the suffocating absurdity of life in his native Czechoslovakia.

by Daniel Lewis


NEW YORK, NY.- Milan Kundera, the Communist Party outcast who became a global literary star with mordant, sexually charged novels that captured the suffocating absurdity of life in the workers’ paradise of his native Czechoslovakia, died Tuesday in Paris. He was 94. A spokesperson for Gallimard, Kundera’s publisher in France, confirmed the death, saying it came “after a prolonged illness.” Kundera’s run of popular books began with “The Joke,” which was published to acclaim in 1967, around the time of the Prague Spring, then banned with a vengeance after Soviet-led troops crushed that experiment in “socialism with a human face” a few months later. He completed his final novel, “The Festival of Insignificance” (2015), when he was in his mid-80s and living in Paris. “Festival” was his first new fiction since 2000, but its reception, tepid at best, was ... More
 

Manber Jeffries House by James Alder Architects. An exquisitely conceived extension to a garden flat within a Victorian semi-detached villa in Willesden Green, London.

LONDON.- The Royal Institute of British Architects has today announced the shortlist for the 2023 Stephen Lawrence Prize. Now in its 25th year, the annual Stephen Lawrence Prize was founded in 1998 by Baroness Doreen Lawrence OBE and Marco Goldschmied, in memory of Stephen Lawrence, an aspiring architect who was tragically murdered in a racist attack in 1993. This year, for the first time, the prize celebrates new talent by exclusively recognising projects led by an early career project architect, typically someone who has qualified within five years prior to the project’s completion date. Including the world’s first multistorey skatepark, the renovation of an 18th-century building into a modern and accessible public space, and a children’s home designed to calm and inspire its young residents - this year’s shortlist offers an exciting showcase of early career talent in architecture. As part of the eligibility chang ... More


Rare Albert Einstein signed scientific manuscript fetches $43,750 at auction   'Lucie Rie: The Adventure of Pottery' opening today at the Holbourne Museum   In The Heart of Another Country: The Diasporic Imagination Rises explores the concept of home


Rare page of Einstein's handwritten working scientific equations, signed by the genius.

BOSTON, MASS.- A sought-after handwritten scientific working manuscript by Albert Einstein sold for $43,750, according to Boston-based RR Auction. This exceptional piece of scientific history consists of one page, written on both sides and is undated. The manuscript showcases numerous scientific formulae meticulously penned by Einstein, accompanied by a handful of German words written in his own hand. Believed to be an integral part of his efforts to develop a Unified Field Theory, the manuscript is adorned with capital lambdas, lowercase mus, Gs, Rs, and various other characters. What makes this manuscript truly remarkable is the scarcity of signed examples of Einstein's working scientific or mathematical notes. Typically dashed off quickly during his research, such papers would often be discarded or filed away. However, the presence of Einstein's signature, executed in a different, browner ink, strongly suggests that this manuscript was likely ... More
 

Vase, 1986. Stoneware with pitted red and green glaze, 26.5 cm tall. Middlesbrough Collection at MIMA, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art. Photo: Rachel Deakin / Jason Hynes.

BATH.- The Holburne Museum is bringing the major exhibition Lucie Rie: The Adventure of Pottery to the West Country today, following its successful presentations in Middlesbrough and Cambridge. This critically acclaimed exhibition gives art and ceramic lovers in the region a rare opportunity to enjoy six decades of the ground-breaking potter’s work. Works from across six decades - drawn from private and public collections – will be on display, showcasing Rie’s tremendous artistic achievements in the medium and the sheer variety, elegance and experimentation she demonstrated throughout her long and remarkable career. Nearly 30 years after her death, Dame Lucie Rie (1902–1995) remains one of the most celebrated potters of the 20th-century, and her iconic work, which helped define British style in the mid-20th century, continues to inspire not only potters but artists and ... More
 

Ibrahim Massouda, Untitled 7, early 1950s. Image courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation. Photo: Shafeek Nalakath Kareem.

SHARJAH .- Most extensive presentation of works from the Sharjah Art Foundation Collection to date opens in Sharjah following its debut at Deichtorhallen Hamburg. The most extensive presentation of works from the Sharjah Art Foundation Collection to date opens on 15 July 2023, following its debut at Deichtorhallen Hamburg in November 2022. For its presentation in Sharjah iteration, In the Heart of Another Country has been reimagined to include new acquisitions and restored works, many of which are on view for the first time. Spanning all six galleries in Al Mureijah Art Spaces, the exhibition features over 150 works by more than 60 artists across three generations, and is on view through 24 September 2023. Over the past three decades, Sharjah Biennial and Sharjah Art Foundation have provided an internationally recognised platform for artists underrepresented in the global art canon, while ... More




Jacqueline Humphries, Modern Art, 2023



More News

Sydney Contemporary announces ambitious Installation Contemporary program, the inaugural MA Art Prize and more
SYDNEY.- Sydney Contemporary, in partnership with MA Financial Group, today announced the program for Installation Contemporary, as well as the inaugural MA Art Prize, and further gallery booth highlights for its anticipated seventh edition at Carriageworks from 7 – 10 September 2023. This year Installation Contemporary presents ambitious large-scale artworks by 12 leading contemporary artists; Abdul-Rahman Abdullah, Alex Seton, Brian Robinson, Jenna Lee, Jon Rafman, Julie Rrap, Lindy Lee, Louise Zhang, Mikala Dwyer, Roy Wiggan, Sarah Smuts-Kennedy and Tony Garifalakis. Curated by Sarah Hetherington, Director, Galleries at Sydney Contemporary, Installation Contemporary is designed ... More

'Interior Resonances: 10th Anniversary Exhibition' now on view at Fridman Gallery
NEW YORK, NY.- It has been 10 years since the first show at Fridman Gallery. From the beginning, the gallery aimed to show emerging artists working in painting, sculpture and installation, often giving the artists space to create new work and experiment and guest curators room to explore ideas. The gallery saw the value of giving artists free reign of the space, including setting aside time between the exhibitions to allow for live music, experimental performance, dance and other interdisciplinary works. Serial programs took root such as the annual New Ear Festival showcasing some of New York’s most exciting experimental performers. The exhibition Interior Resonances brings together a selection of works from the current gallery roster as well as from many of the seminal shows and performances that took place during the gallery’s early days on Spring ... More

Frye's seventieth anniversary, bringing together eight artworks acquired in 2022, 'A Living Legacy'
SEATTLE, WA.- Since its opening in 1952, the Frye has maintained its dedication to the art and culture of the present through collecting and exhibiting contemporary art. This practice is guided by the example of museum founders Charles and Emma Frye, who amassed a collection of paintings made within their own lifetimes, often by purchasing works directly from living artists. Over the past fifteen years, the museum has intentionally focused on broadening its holdings to include previously underrepresented identities, perspectives, and forms of expression. This ongoing work is an essential facet of the institution’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. A Living Legacy marks the Frye’s seventieth anniversary, bringing together eight artworks—all acquired in 2022 and on view at the museum for the first time—by Amoako Boafo, Sky Hopinka, ... More

'Monkey Business' curated by David Platzker at Susan Inglett Gallery
NEW YORK, NY.- Susan Inglett Gallery and Specific Object are currently presenting “Monkey Business,” an exhibition curated by David Platzker examining the missing link between chimpanzees, Action Painting, and artwork generated by artificial intelligence platforms. For the last 35 years I’ve been deeply invested in conceptual art, the artists that have been pigeonholed into the genre and the vocabulary required to support the framework of the critical discourse surrounding it. I’ve used words such as dematerialization, formulations, schemas, systems, systemizing and many other terms that express ordering processes far too many times for a single individual.That sentence alone sets the tone for a particular discourse that frequently occupies my mind. Words that form the base ingredients later distilled into a purified mode of artmaking that arose ... More

Salman Toor solo exhibition at Honolulu Museum of Art marks artist's debut in Pacific region
HONOLULU, HAWAII.- Opening July 14 at the Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA), Salman Toor: No Ordinary Love presents the first museum solo exhibition by Salman Toor (b. 1983, Pakistan) in the Pacific region. The exhibition, on view through Oct. 8, features the renowned artist’s unique approach to figurative painting through more than 45 recent paintings and works on paper. “Toor has an important perspective to share as a queer man from South Asia who immigrated to America,” said HoMA’s Director and CEO Halona Norton-Westbrook. “Leaning on his lived experience navigating shifting cultural environments, his scenes center underrepresented figures to tell modern stories of family life, queer desire and immigrant experience. HoMA is eager to share this unique point of view with our community to help deepen our connections with one another ... More

Summer 2023 International Artists in Residence unveil new artwork at Artpace San Antonio
SAN ANTONIO, TX.- Artpace is has announced the opening of our Summer 2023 International Artist-in-Residence exhibitions. Xin Liu (London, England), Michi Meko (Atlanta, Georgia), and Ryan Takaba (San Antonio, Texas), were selected by Guest Curator Alejo Benedetti, Acting Curator, Contemporary Art, Crystal Bridges Museum of Art. Artist and engineer Xin Liu presents her captivating exhibition, At the End of Everything, which delves into the nature of oil as an assertive, almost sentient resource rather than a passive substance and explores the intersection of oil, life, and death. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a striking pyramid-shaped structure suspended over an oil fountain, with a glass globe containing oil at its core. Coming from a background deeply connected to petroleum exploitation in her hometown of Karamay, Xinjiang, China, ... More

A love of the worn
NEW YORK, NY.- Robin Brown sat on the patio of her home in Fredericksburg, Texas, in a dark pink bucket hat decorated with roses and birds, which covered most of her long platinum hair. Over video chat, the 59-year-old designer behind the fashion brand Magnolia Pearl was describing her aesthetic: butterflies, religious iconography, inspirational quotes, roses and lace. All of it is oversize — meant to be piled on and rolled up — often faded, torn and patched, or dotted with tiny holes and stains. It’s theatrical, nostalgic and expensive, but still meant to be comfortable. “I have a philosophy,” Brown said. “If you can’t climb a tree in it, then don’t make it.” Brown started Magnolia Pearl in 2001 with handbags she sold out of her home in Bandera, Texas. She and her co-founder and husband, John Gray, added clothing in 2003 and took both to the Round ... More

A revival of 'The Who's Tommy' seeks a new generation of followers
CHICAGO, IL.- Thirty years ago, when the Who’s 1969 concept album “Tommy” was transformed into a rock opera for Broadway, it was hailed as a triumph of the form — a production that had finally managed to authentically marry theater and rock ’n’ roll. Fueled by the spiritual exploration of a 23-year-old Pete Townshend, the Who guitarist and songwriter, the original production of “Tommy” drew crowds of baby boomers primed with adolescent nostalgia for the story of a boy who discovers a superhuman aptitude for pinball despite not being able to see, hear or speak. The Broadway show raked in a record number of ticket sales the day after opening night, ran for nearly 900 performances and won five Tony Awards, including one for its director, Des McAnuff. With its depictions of rebellion against authority and analogies to spiritual enlightenment, the show was ... More

Review: Delayed by the pandemic, Pilobolus celebrates its 50th
NEW YORK, NY.- Pilobolus has been pushing bodies to their limits in unusual shapes and precarious balances since 1971, when its founding members met at Dartmouth College. The company’s leadership has shifted and changed over the years, but what remains is the group’s collaborative approach. If a uniform mentality prevails — all for one and one for all — it’s partly because of the nature of its acrobatic, robust choreography. Strength is a must and so is trust. The group also possesses commercial appeal despite the origins of its name: Pilobolus is a genus of fungi that grows on herbivore dung. Now under the leadership of Renée Jaworski and Matt Kent — two former company members — Pilobolus, after a pandemic delay, concludes its 50th anniversary tour with a three-week season at the Joyce Theater. Its title, the “Big Five-OH!,” has much ... More

Gost publishes 'The Uncanny' by Léonard Pongo
NEW YORK, NY.- The Uncanny by Belgian-Congolese photographer Léonard Pongo is a visual interpretation of his experiences in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Following friends and family in the country, Pongo became immersed in their vision. He let them decide what he should witness as he attempted to understand the place, reconnect with his heritage and reconcile his preconceptions with realities. In 2011, Pongo travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo to photograph the country’s general election and its impact on society. He soon became aware of his inability to define which stories mattered, and to faithfully report on the overwhelming experience he went through. As his awareness of this increased, he came to terms with the limits of photography to show ‘the truth’ as well as his own limitations in accessing and analysing the environment, ... More


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Flashback
On a day like today, Austrian painter Gustav Klimt was born
July 14, 1862. Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 - February 6, 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. Klimt is noted for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art. Klimt's primary subject was the female body, and his works are marked by frank eroticism. In this image: Lady with a Muff (1916–1917).

  
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