| The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Friday, November 4, 2016 |
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Director of the Institute of Archaeology Nikolai Makarov speaks at an excavation site in Moscow's Kremlin on October 20, 2016. Descending into the basement of the 1930s-era Kremlin administration building is an eerie experience with its brown Soviet tiles and remnants of secret communication wires. But it also houses some of the best-preserved remains of early Moscow's bustling mediaeval quarters. Natalia KOLESNIKOVA / AFP.
by Maria Antonova
MOSCOW (AFP).- Descending into the basement of the 1930s-era Kremlin administration building is an eerie experience: the corridors are still lined with brown Soviet tiles and walls bear remnants of secret communication wires. But turning off to the left or right, concrete foundations have been removed from the humid underground storage rooms, giving a glimpse at some of the best-preserved remains of early Moscow's bustling mediaeval quarters. Human bones jut out from the earthy sides of the dig, leftovers from an old necropolis for the gentry who once lived here. Beneath the drab flooring, archaeologists have marked the layered strata: 12th century, 13th century, 14th century. Since 2014, when President Vladimir Putin ordered the dismantling of a massive Stalin-era building known as "The 14th Wing" inside the Kremlin walls, archaeologists have enjoyed unprecedented access to the premises, says Nikolai Makarov, director of Moscow's Institute of Archaeology. "There are many mysteries in the Kremlin," ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day The sun rises near the Arc de Triomphe (Arch of Triumph), at the end of the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, in Paris on October 31, 2016. LIONEL BONAVENTURE / AFP
| Passion droops for France's only erotic museum | | 'Rare' Anne Frank poem to be auctioned | | Albertina opens first-ever major exhibition devoted to film stills | 
Two persons stand in front of the the Erotic Museum of Paris on November 2, 2016 prior to the auction sale of the collection on November 6 and the closure of the museum. PATRICK KOVARIK / AFP.
PARIS (AFP).- France's only erotic museum is closing its doors, its owners said Thursday, after passions flagged in the "city of love" for its titillating though surprisingly tasteful collection of artefacts. Just down the street from the famous Moulin Rouge cabaret in Pigalle, the closure hastens the slide of Paris' naughtiest neighbourhood towards respectability. Owners Jo Khalifa and Alain Plumey, a former porn star, who founded the museum nearly 18 years ago, said the double whammy of falling tourist numbers and rising rents caused by creeping gentrification had done for the Paris Erotic Museum. "We never got any support from either the state nor the city of Paris," Khalifa told AFP. "Although it has to be said, I could never imagine politicians supporting us." He said its whole collection, including its love chairs and a notorious 18th-century French musical automaton of a couple in flagrante, will be sold off when the doors close ... More | | 
The 12-line long text, written with black ink on white paper, is reportedly only the fourth time that something in the young diarist's handwriting has gone up for sale.
THE HAGUE (AFP).- An "extremely rare" handwritten poem by Anne Frank, penned shortly before she went into hiding from the Nazis, is to be auctioned and could fetch up to 50,000 euros ($55,000), the auctioneers said Thursday. The poem was written in the friendship book of the older sister of Anne's best friend, and is signed by the Jewish teenager and dated March 28, 1942, auctioneers Bubb Kuyper said. The 12-line long text, written with black ink on white paper, is reportedly only the fourth time that something in the young diarist's handwriting has gone up for sale, according to the Dutch daily NRC.next. "The Diary of a Young Girl," which Frank wrote while hiding from the Nazis in an Amsterdam attic from June 1942 to August 1944, has sold more than 30 million copies and been translated into 67 languages. She died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany in early 1945 less than a year after the Nazis found her and her family members. ... More | | 
Sam Shaw, Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell in The Seven Year Itch, Director: Billy Wilder, 1954 C. Sam Shaw Inc.- licensed by Shaw Family Archives, Private collection.
VIENNA.- Who doesnt know them: that picture from The Seven-Year Itch of a smiling Marilyn Monroe with her white dress blown upward by the air from a subway grate, or the photo of a conspiratorial James Stewart in Rear Window? Regardless of whether one has seen the actual movies, such images are familiar. Its film stills like these that have burnt themselves into the collective memory and had a major impact on how their films are perceived. Film stills embody visual traces of films as well as independent photographic images. Taken on set during production, they are based on an elaborate process in which film photographers re-stage film scenes for the still camera. In the first-ever major exhibition devoted to this hybrid genre, the Albertina is showing 130 film stills taken between 1902 and 1975 in cooperation with the Austrian Film Museum. That was the period during which black-and-white film stills reached their highest level o ... More |
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| National Portrait Gallery launches public appeal for Duke of Wellington portrait | | Almine Rech Gallery opens first exhibition to explore the creative dialogue between Calder and Picasso | | David Zwirner's first exhibition dedicated to the work of Josef Albers opens in New York | 
Sir Thomas Lawrence, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, 1829. © Private Collection.
LONDON.- The National Portrait Gallery has launched a public appeal to acquire Sir Thomas Lawrence's unfinished final portrait of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, it was announced today, Thursday 3 November 2016. The portrait has been offered to the National Portrait Gallery for ã1.3 million. The appeal was kick started today by a donation of ã350,000 from the Art Fund, whose generous support means that alongside the Gallery's own funds, ã1 million of the total has already been raised. The Gallery has ã300,000 to raise by spring 2017. The Gallery has no other significant portrait of the Duke in its Collection, an omission of one of the most iconic and popular figures in British history. The Gallery has been seeking to secure such a portrait since it opened in 1856. This work is one of only two world-class portraits of Wellington ever likely to come up for sale. The leading artist of his age Sir Thomas Lawrence made ... More | | 
Pablo Picasso, Portrait of a Bearded Man, December 1964, oil on canvas 18.1 x 14.9 in (46 x 38 cm), Zervos XXIV - 299 (Tête d'homme).
Private Collection. © FABA, Photo: Marc Domage.
NEW YORK, NY.- Almine Rech Gallery is presenting Calder and Picasso, the inaugural exhibition at its new gallery in New York City. Curated by the artists esteemed grandsons, Alexander S. C. Rower and Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, this exceptional and intimate exhibition is the first to explore the creative dialogue between these two modern masters. The exhibition brings together more than fifty works created between 1912 and 1967, highlighting the shared formal, social and political concerns that informed their varied and seminal creative outputs. All of the works on view, including paintings, sculpture and works on paper, have been drawn from the respective private family collections, many of which have rarely or never before been exhibited in public. Calder and Picasso is the culmination of more than two years of conversation and ... More | | 
Homage to the Square (detail). Oil on Masonite, 16 x 16 inches (40.6 x 40.6 cm) © 2016 The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
NEW YORK, NY.- David Zwirner announces the gallerys first exhibition dedicated to the work of Josef Albers since having announced its representation of The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. The exhibition takes place at the gallerys 537 West 20th Street location and presents a selection of works that explore Alberss use of black, white, and grey across the full breadth of his career. Josef Albers is considered one of the most influential abstract painters of the twentieth century, as well as an important designer and educator noted for his rigorously experimental approach to spatial relationships and color theory. The exhibitions title is taken from a passage in Interaction of Color (1963), Alberss significant treatise on color studies and an essential handbook for artists and teachers. Particularly concerned with the study of chromatic interaction, ... More |
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| "Maps and the 20th Century: Drawing the Line" opens at the British Library in London | | Personal property of Shirley Temple Black, including her 8-carat diamond ring, offered at Heritage Auctions | | Exhibition at Eykyn Maclean reintroduces two opposing perspectives on Serial Art | 
Installing dress made of German silk escape maps. On loan from Worthing Museum. Photo by Clare Kendall.
LONDON.- Maps and the 20th Century: Drawing the Line opens at the British Library on 4 November 2016. From questions of war and peace, to understanding the movements of people, nature, and even the financial markets, it will explore how maps became increasingly present in 20th century lives. The exhibition looks at the spectacular advances in the technology of mapping across the century, from the land surveys of 1900 to the development of satellite imagery by 2000. For the first time, we could see from the Atlantic Ocean floor to the far side of the Moon. Telling the history of the 20th century in maps allows us to reconsider the recent past from different perspectives. After all, there is more than one way to read a map. Exhibition highlights include: 3D relief models of the Western Front from 1917, on display for the first time A dress made out of World War II escape maps printed ... More | | 
Diamond, Platinum Ring.
DALLAS, TX.- Personally-owned property and never-before-seen keepsakes cherished by Shirley Temple Black ranging from an 8.43-carat diamond ring to two pairs of childhood tap shoes worn by "America's Little Darling" make their debut at Heritage Auctions Dec. 5 and 6 in a special sale celebrating the legacy of the famed child movie star and ranking U.S. diplomat. "Shirley Temple smiled and danced her talented way into the nation's heart at a time when there was little hope for prosperity," said Carolyn Mani, Consignment Director at Heritage Auctions. "We are proud to represent Shirley's family and honored to offer a collection of special items spanning her entire life." As an actress, singer and dancer, Shirley Temple was Hollywood's number one box-office star from 1935 to 1938. As an adult, Shirley Temple Black served as U.S. Ambassador both to Ghana and to Czechoslovakia, and as the first woman U.S. Chief of Protocol. The property being ... More | | 
Lucio Fontana, Concetto spaziale, Attese, 1967, waterpaint on canvas, 31 1/2 x 25 5/8 in. (80 x 65 cm.). Private Collection, London. © 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SIAE, Rome.
NEW YORK, NY.- Eykyn Maclean announces The Serial Attitude, an exhibition that reintroduces two opposing perspectives on Serial Art. In November 1967, Elayne Varian, the Director of the Finch College Museum of Art in New York, called upon a young artist Mel Bochner to help organize an exhibition on Serial Art. To coincide with the show, Bochner wrote The Serial Attitude, published in Artforums December 1967 issue. In his essay, Bochner devised a set of operative rules to define Serial Art, specifying that it is a process that must be pre-determined, and must have a rigid system with progressive numbers or elements where order takes precedence over the execution. Eykyn Maclean explores Bochners perspective with works such as Jasper Johns 0-9 trial proof from 1960, Sol LeWitts 3 x 3 x 3, 1965 (on ... More |
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| Paul Kasmin Gallery announces the representation of Mexican artist Bosco Sodi | | Sotheby's Geneva November Sale of Important Watches to offer one-of-a-kind pieces | | Van Doren Waxter opens exhibition of seven paintings completed between 1948-1974 by John McLaughlin | 
Bosco Sodi, Untitled, 2014 (detail).
NEW YORK, NY.- Paul Kasmin Gallery announces the representation of artist Bosco Sodi (b. Mexico City, 1970). The inaugural solo exhibition at the gallery is scheduled to open in Fall 2017 and will be the first to focus exclusively on Sodis Clay Cube sculptures. Made at Casa Wabi, the artists foundation and studio in Oaxaca, Sodis solid clay cubes begin the gathering slabs of clay from a local hillside, which are then mixed with sand and water. Sodi then fashions this raw material by hand into large, typically 60 cm cubes, and fires them in many hours in an outdoor kiln, resulting in objects that express a timeless, imperfect geometry and bear the chance results of the process. The cubes are stacked in columns of four, producing totemic architectural forms through which views can move. Notes Noguchi Museum curator Dakin Hart, the only thing they contain is earth; they are vessels for and of their own substance. ... More | | 
A rare gold, enamel and pearl-set simple médaillon à tact. Ref. 2732. Estimate: CHF 40,000 60,000 / US$ 41,000 61,500. Photo: Sotheby's.
GENEVA.- Sothebys Autumn sale of Important Watches in Geneva will be led by a selection of exceptionally rare models featuring bespoke features and unique commissions from the worlds greatest manufacturers, including Patek Philippe and Rolex. The leading highlights of the sale offer the opportunity for collectors of the finest timepieces to acquire one-ofa-kind examples, many of which are being offered for the first time at auction. The sale on November 15 will also feature an extensive selection of very fine vintage and modern wristwatches from Patek Philippe, Rolex, Breguet and Vacheron Constantin, as well as independent watchmakers such as F.P. Journe and Greubel Forsey, to name just two. Connoisseurs of rare pocket watches will no doubt be captivated by a group of fine timepieces from ... More | | 
John McLaughlin, #1 - 1974, 1974. Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 inches (152.4 x 121.9 cm) Signed, titled, dated on reverse.
NEW YORK, NY.- Van Doren Waxter is presenting Marvelous Void, an exhibition of seven paintings completed between 1948-1974 by the post World War II abstractionist John McLaughlin (1898-1976). Conceived and curated by Robert C. Morgan, this specific investigation into the purely abstract work of John McLaughlin opened November 2, 2016 and remains on view through January 7, 2017. The exhibition title derives from Sesshu Toyo, a 15th Century Japanese artist and Zen monk, whose approach to ink painting introduced the concept of emptiness or the marvelous void into Japanese painting, ultimately influencing the work of the American painter five hundred year later. According to Professor Morgan: The use of empty space moves through the paintings of Sesshu in a way that echoes the natural living environment as a ... More |
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Curator Mary Schneider Enriquez discusses the works of Doris Salcedo
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 Thriller about 'killer nanny' wins France's top literary prizePARIS (AFP).- Moroccan-born Leila Slimani won France's top literary prize, the Goncourt, on Thursday with a novel guaranteed to "scare the wits out of parents". The chilling tale of a "perfect" nanny who murders the two children she is looking after, "Chanson douce" (roughly translated as "Sweet Song") is based on the real-life story of a Dominican child-minder shortly to stand trial for the double murder of her charges in New York in 2012. The book -- which begins with the words "the baby is dead" -- is already a bestseller in France. A mother herself, 35-year-old Slimani, who caused a stir with her first book about a female nymphomaniac, said "the idea of paying someone to love your children for you" fascinated her. "It leads to a very ambiguous relationship... We are always afraid they will steal our place in our children's hearts," said the writer, who is pregnant with her ... More Matthew Barton Ltd announces bi-annual auction of European & Asian Decorative Works of ArtLONDON.- A wonderful array of objects from all corners of the globe will be included in Matthew Barton Ltds bi-annual auction of European & Asian Decorative Works of Art which will take place at 11am on Wednesday, November 23, 2016 in London at 25 Blythe Road, W14. The sale which comprises almost 600 lots of Silver, Ceramics, Jewellery, Watches, Works of Art, and Objects of Vertu, from both Europe and Asia, has prices ranging from £50 through to £45,000. With late night and weekend viewing, it is the perfect place to find a unique and interesting Christmas gift! Asian objects catalogued by specialist Arthur Millner are well represented; a late Chola bronze figure of Hanuman, the monkey god, dating from the 13th/14th century and originating from Tamil Nadu, Southern India carries an estimate of £35,000-45,000, while two Tibetan figures dating from the 11th/12th century and ... More Teresa Hubbard / Alexander Birchler and Carol Bove at the Pavilion of Switzerland ZURICH.- Curator Philipp Kaiser has invited artists Teresa Hubbard / Alexander Birchler and Carol Bove to show their work in the exhibition «Women of Venice» at the Pavilion of Switzerland at the 57th International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia. With the project Kaiser aims to explore Alberto Giacomettis absence in the history of the Swiss Pavilion. During his lifetime, Giacometti declined all requests for him to exhibit his work there. The exhibition «Women of Venice» refers to the little known absence of Alberto Giacometti at the Biennale di Venezia. Set in the Pavilion of Switzerland, which was built in 1952 by Albertos brother, the renowned architect Bruno Giacometti, it will feature new work by Teresa Hubbard / Alexander Birchler and Carol Bove created specifically for the Biennale di Venezia in reference to the legacy and universe of Alberto Giacometti. Philipp ... More Ida Ivanka Kubler presents "The Letter" works NEW YORK, NY.- Today, mixed media artist Ida Ivanka Kubler announces the completion of a new phase in her well-travelled series, The Birth of An Idea. Growing up on a silk sericulture farm in rural Bulgaria shaped Kublers creative practice. I must have been around five-years old, sitting under one of the trees in my grandparents mulberry forest, when I discovered silk cocoons, Kubler recalls from inside her current Chinatown studio (coincidentally a block from Mulberry Street), where she is surrounded by the cocoons of previously hatched silk moths that she gathered from select sites in Europe and Asia. The Letter departs from Kublers signature brightcolored canvases featuring hand-painted silk cocoons arranged as mandalas. In this evolution, Kublers meticulous ordering of intricate geometric patterns gives way to her wild, process-driven shaping of silk fibers ... More Frist Center presents paintings by filmmaker and artist Harmony Korine NASHVILLE, TENN.- An exhibition of paintings by Nashvillebased filmmaker and artist Harmony Korine will be on view at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts from November 4, 2016, to January 16, 2017. Korine, who is best known as the filmmaker/auteur of such films as Kids, Gummo, Trash Humpers, and Spring Breakers, is also an accomplished painter, having shown works in museums throughout the United States, as well as in Europe and Japan, since 1999. The twelve large and dynamic works of Shadows and Loops have the improvisatory spirit of outsider art and share some of the disruptive qualities of his films. Seen together, the crudely painted figures, shadowy sublayers, and psychedelic looping patterns of the paintings offer up an environment of alienated weirdness, with an emphasis on raw expression and impulsivity rather than intellectual clarity. His figurative ... More New exhibition brings art of Old West to VirginiaNORFOLK, VA.- Discover a bonanza of Western paintings, films, and sculptures in the Chrysler Museum of Arts fall keynote exhibition. Branding the American West: Paintings and Films, 19001950 features classic images of cowboys, Native Americans, mountains and deserts. Though many of the works closely correspond to most Americans ideas of the Wild West, the show also includes artworks that challenge those popular views. The exhibition, organized by the Brigham Young University Museum of Art and the Stark Museum of Art, is on view to the public from Saturday, Oct. 29, 2016 through Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017 in the Museums Norfolk Southern Special Exhibitions Gallery (G. 101102). Admission is free. Headlining this stampede of more than 100 works of art are iconic images by Frederic Remington, Charles Marion Russell, and N. C. Wyeth. These master illustrators ... More MCA Australia opens Tatsuo Miyajima's largest exhibition in the Southern HemisphereSYDNEY.- The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia presents Tatsuo Miyajima: Connect with Everything as part of the Sydney International Art Series 201617. One of Japans leading contemporary artists, Tatsuo Miyajima is known for his immersive and technologically driven sculptures and installations. Curated by MCA Chief Curator Rachel Kent, this is the artists first major exhibition in the Southern Hemisphere and is exclusive to Sydney. Museum of Contemporary Art Director, Elizabeth Ann Macgregor OBE, said: Tatsuo Miyajima: Connect with Everything introduces audiences to works from across the artists extensive career from early LEDs prototypes through to large-scale environments, as well as video and performance works which have expanded his object-based practice over time. We thank Destination NSW for their ongoing support in bringing the work ... More Bonhams launches brand new art sale concept in Hong KongHONG KONG.- On 21 November in Hong Kong Bonhams presents a brand new sale, Unplugged, bringing together some of the most adventurous and thought provoking works and objects of the auction season. Writing in the sale catalogue, Bonhams Director of Contemporary Art from Asia, Ingrid Dudek, explains the thinking behind this new concept. With this sale we have selected works that inspire us in their fresh insights into old forms, their playful expressions, or their unique materiality. We aim to move away from the classic categories of Prints or Photographs to think more about how collectors develop their own visions and taste. As the title of the sale suggests, we invite the collector to unplug from the considerable noise of the outside world, to discover anew what inspires them, and, most of all, to have fun. Highlights include: Yellow, Red & Green Pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama ... More Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates announces November 12th Americana & Fine Arts AuctionMT. CRAWFORD, VA.- Important historical items including Presidential tablewares; rare Virginia, Shenandoah Valley, and other American furniture and folk art; early American coin silver including many Southern examples; and a fine assemblage of 17th and 18th century English and European Delft are just a few of the highlights for the 31st Semi-Annual Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates Americana and Fine Antiques Auction to be held November 12, 2016. With many fresh-to-the-market consignments from estates and private collections in Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and California, the auction includes a diverse range of material and promises to be a noteworthy event. Most anticipated among the folk art is an important group of three Shenandoah Valley of Virginia cut-work / scherenschnitte valentines and an embroidered show towel, each ... More Exhibition at Museum of Architecture features designs for health and wellbeing in architectureLONDON.- This November, the Museum of Architecture is launching Well Built: Designing for Health and Wellbeing in Architecture. The exhibition traces new ways of thinking about health and wellbeing beyond the design of traditional therapeutic environments towards a more integrated approach that includes everyday spaces. The exhibition is divided into five different sections, each of which examines a specific building typology hospitals and health centres, housing, workplaces, schools and public spaces. Demonstrating the enduring historical relationship between health and the city, Well Built points to the urgent need in reshaping our assumptions about health, place and space. Today, as in the past, architects, urban designers, landscape architects and designers have the ability to actively influence our health and wellbeing, with our homes, workspaces and urban areas ... More Art startup launches with anti-selfie exhibition that brings portraiture into the 21st centuryLONDON.- Dellasposa, a new London-based gallery, is launching with a pop-up exhibition that takes aim at our fake, narcissistic, selfie-loving era. The show, Face | Time, highlights the relevance of portraiture today through contemporary paintings which offer sincere portrayals of people unlike our manufactured identities on social media. Portraiture resonates now more than ever because our understanding of identity is changing. We use social media to curate the best possible version of ourselves - even if its artificial. Kim Kardashian can happily take 1,500 selfies a day just to capture the one perfect shot, and the rest of us are following suit. Our ever-expanding digital personas dont reflect reality. Portraiture is the opposite. The subject is painted as the artist sees them, rather than how they want to be perceived. Its authentic and it requires a huge amount ... More |
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Flashback On a day like today, Italian painter Guido Reni was born November 04, 1575. Guido Reni (4 November 1575 - 18 August 1642) was an Italian painter of high-Baroque style. In this image: An auction house client inspects Guido Reni's painting, titled: ' David with the head of Goliath', ahead of a sale in London, Friday, June 29, 2012.
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