| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Monday, June 14, 2021 |
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| | Parties settle in legal fight over Robert Indiana's legacy | |
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The home of the artist Robert Indiana in Vinalhaven, Maine, May 18, 2018. Sarah Rice/The New York Times.
by Graham Bowley
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- After three years of courtroom hostilities, the estate of artist Robert Indiana and his former business partner said Friday that they had agreed to settle the legal disputes that cost the estate millions of dollars and clouded the market for a man known for such works as the sculpture called LOVE. In a filing in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Morgan Art Foundation, the business partner, James W. Brannan, the personal representative for Indianas estate, and Jamie L. Thomas, Indianas former caretaker, said they were dropping the claims and counterclaims that began around the time of Indianas death in May 2018 at age 89 in Maine. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. The legal back-and-forth drained assets that would otherwise have gone to a project designated by the artist in his ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day The Baltimore Museum of Art charted new territory in 2018 when it deaccessioned seven artworks from its contemporary holdings to create an acquisition fund for purchases of works by artists underrepresented in its collection and within broader art historical narratives. The BMA is presenting 26 of these works---most on view for the first time since their acquisition---in an exhibition titled Now Is The Time: Recent Acquisitions to the Contemporary Collection.
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| Sotheby's to offer rare physical Cryptopunk artworks | | Sotheby's and Jay Chou collaborate to present "Contemporary Curated Asia" | | UK government slams students for ditching 'colonial' queen portrait | 
The 24 signed prints created at the inception of the CryptoPunks are in themselves rare. Courtesy Sotheby's.
LONDON.- Later this month, Sothebys will offer five exceptionally rare CryptoPunks. Of the 10,000 Cryptopunks created, only 24 were issued in physical form, as certified prints signed by co-creator John Watkinson. In an auction first, five of those 24 prints each of which also exist in digital form - will be offered in a standalone sale at Sothebys, with bidding open from 24 June to 1 July. First released in 2017 by artists Matt Hall and John Watkinson, the founders of Larva Labs, CryptoPunks were one of the earliest NFT projects and a catalyst for the entire Crypto-Art movement. While the duo released 10,000 Punks for free besides a small transaction fee they have since been the subject of a tsunami of interest. Today, Alien Punk #7523 fetched $11.8 million at Sothebys a record for a single CryptoPunk. The NFT was acquired by Shalom Meckenzie, the largest shareholder of DraftKings. T ... More | | 
Pablo Picasso, Buste dHomme, 1969, oil on canvas, 116 x 89 cm. Est: HK$93,000,000 - 143,000,000 / US$11,980,000 - 18,420,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.
HONG KONG.- Sothebys and K11 Group the two leading cultural pioneers join forces once again this June to present the preview exhibition of Jay Chou X Sotheby's. The one-of-a-kind collaboration, facilitated by Enviseam, marks the inaugural edition of Sothebys celebrated Contemporary Curated auction series in Asia with the legendary musical icon and avid art collector Jay Chou as the esteemed curator. From 11 18 June, art collectors, lovers of music and culture, and members of the public are cordially invited to K11 MUSEA and K11 ATELIER to experience the singular artistic and curatorial vision of Jay Chou. Under Jays special direction, the traditional exhibition space has been transformed into an immersive environment, offering visitors an unconventional experience uniting fine art, culture, and entertainment. Jay Chou says: In this collaboration, ... More | | 
View across the Cloister. Photo: Ed Webster - Magdalen College, Oxford.
LONDON (AFP).- The UK government has criticised graduate students at the University of Oxford who removed a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, claiming it represented a colonial past that many found offensive. The move comes as students across the country have played a leading role in protests against historical figures with links to the British empire or slavery. The queen "has become the latest victim of cancel culture", or ostracism of those whose opinions are deemed unacceptable, the right-leaning Daily Telegraph wrote on Wednesday. Graduate students at Magdalen College took down the colourised print of the queen from their recreation room after a majority vote, because "for some students, depictions of the monarch and the British monarchy represent recent colonial history", The Times reported. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson reacted angrily Tuesday night, calling the move "simply ... More |
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| Phillips Hong Kong Spring Auctions realise US$122 million with four white glove sales | | New exhibition examines the seismic creative revolution of New York City in the 1980s | | The inaugural Helsinki Biennial opens to the public | 
Auctioneer Jonathan Crockett conducted the sale of 20th Century & Contemporary Art and Design. Image courtesy of Phillips.
HONG KONG.- Jonathan Crockett, Chairman, Asia, Phillips, said: Building on momentum from 2020, Phillips continues to grow its business significantly in Asia with exceptionally strong sale results in the first half of 2021. Our Hong Kong Spring Auctions achieved HK$946 Million/ US$122 Million, an increase of 121% over the previous year and once again marking our best season in Asia. Four consecutive white glove various owner auctions over four days is unprecedented, and the impressive sell-through rates reflect how well our tightly-curated groupings of art, design, jewels and watches resonated with collectors in the region. Phillips accelerated digital outreach strategy and ability to adapt during the pandemic brought an ever-deepening pool of collectors across all categories, seeing a 50% year-on-year increase in online participants ... More | | 
William Coupon, Cindy Lauper, 1981. Photo: Courtesy William Coupon
NEW YORK, NY.- Museum of the City of New York, the citys storyteller for almost 100 years, opened New York, New Music: 1980-1986, a new exhibition that revisits the music scene of early 1980s New York City. The exhibition examines this transformative era through the lens of emerging pivotal music genres and the influence they played on New Yorks broader cultural landscape. The exhibition highlights diverse musical artistsfrom Run DMC to the Talking Heads, from Madonna to John Zorn to explore the broader music and cultural scene, including the innovative media outlets, venues, fashion, and visual arts centered in the city during that time. The early 1980s were a time of significant transition in New York, with the city facing crime, urban decay, and homelessness. And yet, despite those challenges, it was also a particularly fertile time for music and other creativity in New York City, says Whitney Donhauser, Ronay Me ... More | | 
Dafna Maimon, Indigestibles, 2021 © Maija Toivanen HAM Helsinki Biennial 2021.
HELSINKI.- The inaugural Helsinki Biennial opened to the public on 12 June, the citys annual celebratory Helsinki Day. Running over the summer until 26 September 2021, the biennial brings contemporary art to the former military island of Vallisaari in the Helsinki archipelago, as well as further artworks on the citys mainland. Titled The Same Sea, the biennial presents 41 artists and artist groups from Finland and across the globe, showcasing 75% new commissions and site-specific installations which engage with the cultural history, geopolitical location, and diverse environment of Vallisaari. The biennial opened to visitors after the challenges of the past year, and looks forward to welcoming international audiences as soon as travel restrictions allow, with a programme of digital and virtual activities enabling access from afar in the meantime. Whilst some artworks bring to life former gunpowder cellars and o ... More |
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| Kunstmuseum Den Haag opens 'CoBrA and Chaissac - Kindred Spirits' | | Julians Park and Six Private Collections: Live achieves £4,107,063 | | Galerie Bene Taschen opens an exhibition of photographs by Joseph Rodriguez | 
Gaston Chaissac (1910-1964), Regard Noir (Dark gaze), 1959/1960, Collage, Private collection, Switzerland.
THE HAGUE.- In 1961 Gaston Chaissac (1910-1964) exhibited work at Iris Clerts renowned Paris gallery. It was enthusiastically received by all. The CoBrA artists (no longer a group by then) were the most excited by the works on show, and indeed they fought over them. The entire exhibition sold out in no time. Unfortunately, Chaissac was unable to attend for health reasons, and he would never meet his admirers in person. But they had inspired each other for years by then, as Kunstmuseum Den Haag demonstrates for the first time in its exhibition CoBrA and Chaissac Kindred Spirits. Self-taught artist Gaston Chaissac lived a reclusive life far from the cultural metropolis of Paris. Yet his expressive drawings, paintings and sculptures, with their vibrant colours and black contours, did not go unnoticed. Though he never joined any art movement, the similarity between his work and that of the CoBrA artists is ... More | | 
A Chinese Pale Greenish-White Jade Dragon Vase and Cover, which realised £181,250 over ten times the low estimate of £15,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2021.
LONDON.- Christies announced results from Julians Park and Six Private Collections: Live, realising a total of £4,107,063 across the 275 lots offered on 8 June, exceeding its pre-sale low estimate by 131%. Interest came from 485 bidders, with registrants from 31 countries and buyers from 24 countries across 4 continents. The sale comprised works of art from Julians Park, Hertfordshire; the Desmond Heyward Collection, from Haseley Court, Oxfordshire; Property from an East Anglian Country House; Works of Art from the Collection of Hugh and Marion Sassoon; Property from Meonstoke House, Hampshire; Works of art from the Collection of Mr and Mrs David Wheeler; and items formerly in the collection of Leontine, Lady Sassoon. The Live sale included an array of fine art including Impressionist Paintings, Old Master Paintings and Modern British Art, in addition to a strong representation ... More | | 
Joseph Rodriguez, TAXI Series, Self Portrait, NY 1984 © Joseph Rodriguez, courtesy Galerie Bene Taschen.
COLOGNE.- New York in the 70s and 80s Joseph Rodriguez sits behind the wheel of his taxi. During his shifts, he created his first photographic works, documenting everyday life from the perspective of a worker on the job. TAXI: Journey Through My Windows 1977 1987 takes viewers back 30 years to the past of the most famous metropolis in the world. From his taxi, Rodriguez begins to capture the moments whizzing by with his camera. He goes from Manhattan to the Bronx, from Queens to New Jersey, from Brooklyn to Staten Island, from Downtown to Uptown, from the Meatpacking District to the East Village, and back to Midtown Manhattan. During his shifts as a traveling flaneur he also witnesses the darker sides of life on the street. His routes are unpredictable, as are the encounters that become his motifs. The taxi drivers gaze sees prostitutes waiting for customers, homeless people begging for a few cents, and the dreary facades of buildings that reach for th ... More |
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| Ugo Rondinone "your age and my age and the age of the rainbow" on view at Belvedere Museum | | Exhibition of recent ceramics by Elisa D'Arrigo opens at The Elizabeth Harris Gallery | | Sotheby's to offer an exceptional private collection of works by Degas, Renoir and Redon | 
All elementary schools in Vienna and throughout the provincial capitals were invited to take part in the project. Photo: Volksschule 45, Linz / Belvedere, Vienna.
VIENNA.- 1,600 children, twelve schools, one motif: the rainbow. At the initiative of New York based Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone, elementary-school-aged children from across Austria painted their version of the natural spectacle. The Belvedere is thus hosting a nationwide art project that has become the world's largest rainbow painting: the seventy-meter-long installation your age and my age and the age of the rainbow. It will be on view until 1 November 2021 in the baroque garden between the Belvedere and the Belvedere 21. "Ugo Rondinone's project your age and my age and the age of the rainbow comes to us at the moment we wish to fulfill our desire for togetherness and the lightness of being." CEO Stella Rollig "A spectacle of color that should bring joy to everyone who sees it . . .a bridge between everyone and ... More | | 
materializing refers to DArrigos spontaneous approach to her pieces.
NEW YORK, NY.- The Elizabeth Harris Gallery is presenting materializing, a show of recent ceramics by Elisa DArrigo. In this exhibition, her 11th with the gallery, DArrigo continues to explore the possibilities for integrating painting, drawing, improvisational process and animated sculptural form within the context of the glazed ceramic vessel. materializing refers to DArrigos spontaneous approach to her pieces. The works begin as variously sized hollow and hand-built cylindrical forms that the artist then manipulates and combines while wet, in a period of intense improvisation. DArrigos penchant for intuitive decisions yields forms that seem surprising, yet oddly familiar, as they allude to the body in a gestural and even visceral manner. They exude a figural presence their hollowness evokes the notion of interiority, and animation from within. The artist has stated that she is compelled by the way we ... More | | 
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Femme à la rose, oil on canvas, 1910, est. £1,000,000-1,500,000. Courtesy Sothebys.
LONDON.- An exceptional group of works by Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Odilon Redon, will be offered as part of Sothebys Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale this summer in London, on 29 June. From an esteemed private collection and fresh to the market, these five works look beyond Impressionism and convey the uniquely sensitive vision of each artist. Three of these works were executed in pastel, by the two artists most closely associated with the medium. Edgar Degas and Odilon Redon are widely considered to be two of the greatest proponents of pastel of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. No other artists of their time created images possessing so much vibrancy, subtlety or profundity with the medium, which was first used and invented by Leonardo da Vinci during the Renaissance. But it was Degas and Redon who both grasped ... More |
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David Hockney on the Arrival of Spring, Normandy, 2020
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 One for the books, as Heritage Auctions' rare books event hits a record-setting $2.7 millionDALLAS, TX.- The first Boston newspaper printing of the Declaration of Independence soared to $175,000, and a single folio leaf from the first volume of the Gutenberg Bible brought a winning bid of $162,500 to lead Heritage Auctions June 9-10 Rare Books Auction to $2,700,043 in total sales. The final tally was the most ever at a Heritage Rare Books Auction, eclipsing the October 2020 sale that totaled $2,255,403. We are beyond thrilled with the results of this auction, Heritage Auctions Rare Books Director James Gannon said. Coupled with the outstanding results from our October event, and our successful sale of Childrens Literature from Justin G. Schiller Ltd. In December, this shines a light on Heritage Auctions rapidly ascending stature as a prime destination for both buyers and consignors of rare books. The Declaration of Independence was ... More  Hockney painting to headline Phillips' New York Evening Sale of 20th Century and Contemporary ArtNEW YORK, NY.- David Hockneys seminal painting, A Neat Lawn, will lead Phillips 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale on 23 June 2021 in New York. Belonging to a series of monumental canvases painted in 1967, the work stands a remarkable eight-feet tall and now comes to auction for the first time in fifteen years, estimated to bring $12-18 million. Robert Manley, Phillips Deputy Chairman and Co-Head of 20th Century and Contemporary Art states, A Neat Lawn is one of the most significant examples of Hockneys California Dreaming paintings, long considered among his greatest achievements. A Neat Lawn comes on the heels of Phillips spectacular sale of Nichols Canyon, which soared over $41 million, achieving the world record for a landscape by David Hockney. We are thrilled to offer another iconic Hockney, marking ... More  Wayne Thiebaud landscape to be offered in Phillips' Evening Sale of 20th Century & Contemporary ArtNEW YORK, NY.- Phillips announced Wayne Thiebauds outstanding landscape Winding River as one of the star lots in the upcoming Evening Sale of 20th Century and Contemporary Art, taking place on 23 June from the auction houses new state-of-the-art gallery and auction space at 432 Park Avenue. Thiebauds Winding River encapsulates the artists longstanding reverence for the Sacramento River Delta in California. Capturing a sinuous river meandering through the agricultural valleys of the California countryside, Winding River situates Thiebaud within the rich lineage of American landscape painting while showcasing his mastery of referencing myriad sources from the art historical tradition in his virtuosic handling and singular painterly language. A striking departure from his San Francisco cityscapes, Thiebauds captivating riverscapes are drawn ... More  Phillips to offer Matthew Wong's Field in a Dream in New York Evening Sale NEW YORK, NY.- Phillips announced the sale of Matthew Wongs Field in a Dream in the upcoming 20th Century and Contemporary Art Evening Sale. On view to the public from 17 June in the new state-of-the-art galleries at 432 Park Avenue, this unique work by Wong will star in the Evening Sale on 23 June at 5pm. Painted between 2014-2017 and depicting a lone figure in a dreamlike field bursting with vegetative life, Field in a Dream captures the chromatic and material vibrance of Matthew Wongs hypnotic landscapes. Defying laws of gravity and space, the landscape of brilliant flora collapses into a singular plane of the mind. Intermixing Western and Eastern art historical influences, Wong developed a unique painterly sensibility that has redefined the genre of landscape. Evoking the luscious scenes of Gustav Klimt and the expressionist power of Edvard Munch, ... More  Sonoma Valley Museum of Art opens two new exhibitionsSONOMA, CA.- Sonoma Valley Museum of Art is presenting two stimulating summer exhibitions, running June 12- September 5, 2021 Sacred Landscapes: The Art of Ynez Johnston and Question Bridge: Black Males. Sacred Landscapes: The Art of Ynez Johnston is a retrospective of this modernist Bay Area artist featuring a luminous body of paintings, sculpture, and prints spanning seven decades. Johnston, born in Berkeley, CA., was influenced by numerous personal topographies and cultural inspirations gleaned from many adventurous travels throughout the world. Her distinctive hybrids reference a universal cultural history of dream-like epic voyages, where mythic creatures beckon the viewer to enter and explore the sacred landscapes they inhabit. San Francisco art critic, Alfred Frankenstein, wrote in 1956 that Johnstons unique style ... More  Happy World: On a Cloud arrives at NewfieldsINDIANAPOLIS, IN.- Guests at Newfields are being welcomed by Happy World: On a Cloud, created by Los Angeles-based artist collective FriendsWithYou, inside the Efroymson Family Entrance Pavilion. This new exhibition features a smiling inflatable sculpture called Little Cloud, alongside two accompanying characters, Hug Bug and Peanut Butter. The installation encourages mutual, experiential loving connection, while allowing guests to connect with others through play, laughter and curiosity. FriendsWithYou is the art collaboration of Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandovall III. Since 2002, the pair has created mesmerizing installations with the mission of spreading a positive message of magic, luck and friendship. The duo present a newly commissioned work titled Happy World: On a Cloud, combining a site-specific installation with custom costumes ... More  Monumental flag installation outside the Women's Museum celebrates voting rightsWASHINGTON, DC.- The National Museum of Women in the Arts has partnered with Her Flag, a nationwide art and travel project created by artist Marilyn Artus. Her Flag celebrates the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which enshrined womens right to vote within the text of the Constitution. Artus collaborated with a woman artist from each of the 36 states that ratified the 19th Amendment by 1920 to create a large flag that is installed on the exterior of the museums New York Avenue façade. Her Flag is on display from June 10 until July 12, 2021. Artus put out a call via callforentry.org and reached out to artists and arts organizations in each of the 36 states. She received more than 340 submissions and evaluated them with the assistance of a panel of arts professionals. Each selected artist created artwork inspired by both ... More  World premiere exhibition traces fantasy illustration through five centuriesSTOCKBRIDGE, MASS.- Norman Rockwell Museum is presenting a new summer exhibition, Enchanted: A History of Fantasy Illustration. This special exhibition includes more than 100 works of original art created by more than 50 artists whose work spans over five centuries and have never before been exhibited together. Several years in the making NRM curator Jesse Kowalski, assembled an encompassing collection of work to present a serious examination of the history and influence of fantasy art. Enchanted: A History of Fantasy Illustration explores fantasy archetypes from Ancient Mesopotamia to today. The exhibition outlines eternal concepts within three sections; mythology, fairy tales, and the timeless narratives of good versus evil, heroes, and villains, told through paintings, etchings, drawings, and digital art created by imaginative ... More  Milton Moses Ginsberg, unconventional filmmaker, dies at 85NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Milton Moses Ginsberg, who directed two ambitious but eccentric films before falling into obscurity, one about the meltdown of a psychiatrist and the other about a press aide in a Nixon-like administration who becomes a murderous werewolf, died on May 23 in his apartment in Manhattan. He was 85. The cause was cancer, said his wife, Nina Ginsberg. Milton Ginsberg, a film editor determined to make his own movies, wrote and directed Coming Apart (1969), a raw black-and-white film that used a single, almost entirely static camera to document the loveless trysts and psychological disintegration of a psychiatrist, played by Rip Torn, who surreptitiously records his encounters with a camera inside a mirrored box. Coming Apart received mixed reviews, at best. But the one that devastated Ginsberg was from The Village ... More  On a Kentucky riverbank, a path to remembranceLOUISVILLE (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Sometimes Hannah Drake stands at the banks of the Ohio River in Louisville, closes her eyes and tries to conjure the faces and stories of enslaved women, men and children who stood on that same land. What were they dreaming of as they looked across the river just a mile wide in some places, far less in others to Indiana, toward freedom? How many made the attempt to escape by disguising themselves and hiding away on a boat, by crossing on a skiff in the dark of night or on foot on narrower parts of the river when it froze? How many made it? Drake, a spoken-word poet, visual artist, author and activist who has been a central voice in the Breonna Taylor protest movement, began thinking several years ago about the lost and the thin narratives of enslaved Louisvillians when she visited Natchez, ... More  A trailblazing female conductor is still alone on the trailBALTIMORE (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- On a steamy evening on June 5, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra gave a small, socially distanced concert to celebrate two milestones. It was a beginning: the orchestras first performance for a live audience in 15 months, and a long-awaited return to what were here for, as music director Marin Alsop told the audience. It was also an ending: the first of three farewell programs with which Alsop, 64, will conclude her 14-year tenure. In that time, she has brought Baltimore artistic successes and arguably the most impressive education program of any ensemble in the country. Even given the orchestras financial and labor struggles, before and during the pandemic, Alsop is leaving on a high note. But there is also reason to despair in her wake. When she took the position in 2007, she was the first female music director ... More |
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PhotoGalleries 
JR: Chronicles 
WOOD WORKS: Raw, Cut, Carved, Covered 
Stop Painting 
Agostino Bonalumi
Flashback On a day like today, American-French painter Mary Cassatt died June 14, 1926. Mary Stevenson Cassatt (May 22, 1844 - June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania (Now part of Pittsburgh's North Side), but lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and later exhibited among the Impressionists. In this image: Mary Cassatt (1845-1926), Mother and Two Children, 1906. Oil on canvas.
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