| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Saturday, May 23, 2020 |
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| | United States museums are reopening: To see Monet, don a mask | |
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A sign announcing precautionary requirements for visitors at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, on May 20, 2020, the day before its reopening. As several states begin to reopen, their museums are carefully doing the same: MFAH will be the first major arts institution in the country to welcome the public back since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Bryan Schutmaat/The New York Times.
by Robin Pogrebin
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- You wont be able to use the drinking fountains, check your coat or eat in the cafe. You will have to wear a mask, submit to a temperature check and agree to leave if you show signs of illness. These are the requirements set by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, when it reopens on Saturday, the first major arts institution in the country to welcome the public back since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. Were getting as many as 90 to 100 calls a day When are you opening? I want to see my favorite works of art, said Gary Tinterow, the museums director. Thats our mission, thats why we exist: to facilitate those encounters between works of art and individuals. And I fully believe that we can create as safe an environment as possible. As several states begin to reopen, their museums are carefully doing the same, with new policies and protocols in place: the San Antonio Museum of Art on May 28; the Boca Raton Museum ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day Abdel Muti Said (C), 53, a displaced Syrian decorator from the western countryside of Aleppo province, curates items in a man-made cave which he dug and converted into a makeshift heritage museum with artefacts from his home, in the town of Aqrabat in the north of Idlib province close to the Turkish border, on May 20, 2020. OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP
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 | | Sotheby's announces 'I have to stay at home', an auction for lockdown | | Susan Rothenberg, acclaimed figurative painter, dies at 75 | | Joan Mitchell's monumental masterwork Noël to be offered at Phillips | 
George Condo, Woman with Golden Hair, est. £900,000-1,200,000. Courtesy Sotheby's.
LONDON.- I have to stay at home is an auction for lockdown: a sale conceived by a Sothebys team who are stuck working from home, for collectors who will likely be stuck bidding from home. Taking inspiration from a Martin Kippenberger painting that carries the inscription I have to stay at home, Sotheby's challenged themselves to build an auction from scratch in just three weeks. The mantra has always been to source globally and sell locally. Here, Sotheby's have flipped that on its head, sourcing everything locally in London with a global online audience of collectors in mind. The sale gently alludes to the lockdown through a number of works that seem particularly relevant to now. But, more importantly, it includes top quality works that wouldnt be out of place in our flagship Evening Sales signalling the fresh opportunities and possibilities presented by the new ... More | | 
Susan Rothenberg. Photograph by Koos Breukel © 2020 Susan Rothenberg / Artists Rights Society (ARS), courtesy Sperone Westwater, New York.
by Randy Kennedy
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Susan Rothenberg, whose flayed, lushly foreboding paintings radiated a Paleolithic grandeur and helped usher figuration back into an art world that had declared it extinct in the 1970s, died on Monday at her home in Galisteo, New Mexico. She was 75. Her death was confirmed by the Sperone Westwater gallery, which has represented her for more than 30 years. A specific cause was not given, though she had been ill for some time. As an art student at Cornell University, Rothenberg dreamed of becoming a sculptor but switched to painting after the head of the sculpture department flunked her, seemingly displeased with fetishistic pieces resembling alarm clocks with teeth that she had made ... More | | 
Joan Mitchell (1925-1992), Noël, signed "Joan Mitchell" lower right, oil on canvas, 80 1/2 x 78 3/4 in. (204.5 x 200 cm) Painted in 1961-1962. Estimate $9,500,000 - 12,500,000. Image courtesy of Phillips.
NEW YORK, NY.- On 2 July, Phillips will offer Joan Mitchells Noël in the 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale in New York. This uplifting work of explosive colour, dripping fields of paint and rapid brushstrokes is exemplary of Mitchells rich painterly language, and hails from her highly acclaimed body of work from the early 1960s. Robert Manley, Deputy Chairman and Worldwide Co-Head of 20th Century & Contemporary Art, said, Joan Mitchells large scale paintings from this period are rarely seen on the auction market, and it is an honor to present Noël as a leading highlight of our July Evening Sale. Appreciation of her work has quickened over the last few years, during which we have seen some of her highest prices ever achieved at auction. As the Baltimore Museum of Art and ... More |
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| | PAFA announces 88 new acquisitions: Purvis Young, General Idea, Liliana Porter, Jonathan Lyndon Chase, more | | Michael Rosenfeld Gallery acquires the Estate of Bob Thompson | | The Ginny Williams Collection joins Sotheby's June auctions in New York | 
Philadelphia Wireman, Untitled, ca. 1970-75. Wire, metal. 2 1/2 x 3/4 inches. Gift of Jill Bonovitz and Nancy Hellebrand in recognition of Janet Fleisher.
PHILADELPHIA, PA.- The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts announced the addition of 88 historic, modern, and contemporary works to its renowned permanent collection of American art. These new acquisitions include works in painting, sculpture, ceramic, wire and found objects, photography, and works on paper, among other media, created between c.1839 and 2019. Among the works in this group of new acquisitions are General Ideas Great AIDS (Ultramarine Blue) (1990/2019); a 1997 mixed-media work by Liliana Porter (b. 1941); 12 photographs from the series An Indian from India-Portfolio by Annu Palakunnathu Matthew (b. 1964); three pencilon- paper works by Sharka Hyland (b. 1954); a 1985 sculpture in unbleached Belgian linen paper, redwood, and silver Mylar by Winifred Lutz (b. 1942); a c. 1839 oil portrait by Robert Street (1796-1865); and a 2017 work on paper by Astrid Bowlby (b. 1961). Philadelphia artist Kambel ... More | | 
Bob Thompson (19371966), Inspection, 1962-63, gouache on paper, 21 1/4 x 18 inches / 54 x 45.7 cm, signed; © Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY; Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York, NY.
NEW YORK, NY.- Michael Rosenfeld Gallery announced the historic acquisition of the Estate of Bob Thompson (1937-1966). After 23 years of representation, working closely with the artists widow Carol Thompson and later, her heirs, the gallery acquired the Estate in 2019. The gallery has taken the last year to fully process this monumental acquisition which includes all remaining works in the familys possession, artist sketchbooks, and the intellectual property rights. Michael Rosenfeld states: Throughout my career, I have been devoted to the legacy of Bob Thompson. I enjoyed many years of close friendship and collaboration with Carol Thompson and following her passing, sisters Elaine and Cathy. Bob is one of the great twentieth-century painters; he has been and will always be at the core of the gallerys program. Acquiring his estate is a great honor and ... More | | 
Louise Bourgeois, Observer, 1947-49. Edition 4 of 6 plus 1 artist's proof. Bronze, 78 ½ x 28 x 12 inches. Estimate $1.5/2 million. Courtesy Sotheby's.
NEW YORK, NY.- Sothebys announced that they will offer more than 450 works from the celebrated collection of Ginny Williams across a series of sales throughout 2020, beginning with a dedicated evening auction to be held in New York the week of 29 June. A pioneering collector and gallerist born in rural Virginia in 1927, Ginny Williams was a larger-than-life personality and dynamic force in the contemporary art and photographs communities in Denver, Colorado, where she lived and worked from the late-1950s onwards, as well as on the East Coast, including her time on the boards of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. As an avid photographer herself, who studied with Austrian-American photojournalist and photographer Ernst Haas, Williamss collecting journey began with classical figurative photography, which led her to open the Ginny Williams Gallery ... More |
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| | Massimo De Carlo reopens Hong Kong gallery space with exhibition of works by Lee Kit | | Phil May, British rocker of unbridled energy, is dead at 75 | | Bryant items fetch premium prices, Trout card sets record | 
Lee Kit, The Gazing Eyes Won't Lies. Massimo De Carlo, Hong Kong. May 15 - July 4, 2020. Installation view: Cpak Studio. Courtesy Massimo De Carlo, Milan / London / Hong Kong.
HONG KONG.- Massimo De Carlo is presenting The gazing eyes wont lie, exceptionally launching simultaneously in Massimo De Carlo Hong Kong and the new Massimo De Carlo Virtual Space, The gazing eyes wont lie marks the reopening of Massimo De Carlo's Hong Kong gallery, after months of lockdown. This project, conceived by Lee Kit, who was born in Hong Kong, contributes to reactivate the Hong Kong arts community. By happening both in a real space and in a virtual realm, The gazing eyes wont lie is also an experimentation both on the concept of an exhibition itself and exhibition making during these difficult times when the global world is put on hold. This exhibition explores the breadth and complexity of discrete moments, combined with an intriguing exposition of both personal and collective emotions. Lee Kit creates meditative installationsor as the artist refers to them, 'situations', through ... More | | 
An announcement on the bands website said he died in a hospital from complications following hip surgery.
by Steven Kurutz
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Phil May, the lead singer of the Pretty Things, a 1960s British rock band whose members played faster, louder and with more unbridled energy than their contemporaries, died on May 15 in Norfolk, England. He was 75. An announcement on the bands website said he died in a hospital from complications following hip surgery. The Pretty Things took their name from a Bo Diddley song, but they were far less in thrall to their influences than most of the elders of the English rhythm and blues scene. They didnt go for faithful re-creation; they roughed up the music, playing with a speed and rawness that foreshadowed punk rock. Joey Ramone called the Pretty Things the biggest influence on the Ramones and said they invented garage bands. The bands debut single, Rosalyn, released in 1964, contained the main ingredients: spiky guitars, manic drumming and Mays ... More | | 
Kobe Bryant's items from his illustrious career with the Los Angeles Lakers sold for $202,590.
NEW YORK (AFP).- A Hollywood moment for NBA legend Kobe Bryant proved a big draw in a Beverly Hills auction of sport memorabilia, his handprints in concrete selling for $75,000. Julien's Auctions said the handprints were tests that were made by Bryant in 2011, when he became the first athlete to leave his prints alongside those of some of Hollywood's biggest stars in the forecourt of the Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. The item fetched more than 18 times its presale estimate of $4,000-6,000. Other highlights of the Julien's auction included a full uniform worn by Bryant during the 1999-2000 NBA Finals and embroidered with an official NBA logo under a black band worn in remembrance of Wilt Chamberlain that sold for $43,750 -- more than four times its estimate of $10,000. Bryant, who won five NBA titles in a 20-year career with the Lakers, died in a helicopter crash in January that also claimed the life of his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others. Memorabilia of his career is fetching jaw ... More |
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| | Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac announces representation of Ron Mueck | | Stephenson's to auction estate dolls, toys, trains and banks | | Online auction dedicated entirely to the Kennedys is set for June 10th | 
Ron Mueck portrait by Gautier Deblonde. © Ron Mueck, Gautier Deblonde.
LONDON.- Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac announced that Ron Mueck is joining the gallery and his first exhibition will take place in their London gallery in October 2020. Some of the artist's most celebrated sculptures will be included, as well as recent, unseen work. The artists first exhibition in London in almost a decade will span his career from 1997 through to the present. The show will be mounted in collaboration with Anthony dOffay, who gave Ron Mueck his first solo exhibition in 1998, followed by a show in 2000. Since closing his galleries that year, dOffay has continued to represent Ron Mueck, in partnership with Hauser & Wirth from 2011, including a solo exhibition in their London galleries in 2012. Ron Muecks meticulously sculpted figures, ranging from the minute to the monumental, each reflect an inner world of private feelings with unsettling power. The artists intimate, understated meditations on universal e ... More | | 
1952 Vogue Ginny Rich Uncle special trunk set including Ginny doll with hang tag, numerous original factory outfits and accessories. Near-mint. Estimate $800-$1,200.
SOUTHAMPTON, PA..- Since staying at home became the new normal, it has become increasingly obvious that vintage toy collectors are not slowing down their buying. If anything, theyre stepping up their game and enjoying the opportunity to bid and buy in online auctions from high-quality auction houses whose galleries are temporarily closed to the public. The next auction being closely watched by the toy hobby is a 400-lot offering to be sold May 31 by Stephensons of Southampton (suburban Philadelphia), Pa. In addition of many of the most popular categories of toys, the auction includes trains, dolls and coin banks from multiple estates and private collections. All remote-bidding options will be available, including absentee, by phone, or live online. The sale will open with a selection of dolls that follows a timeline ... More | | 
Extreme close-up of a young John F. Kennedy, circa 1953, signed and inscribed To Perry, Best of Luck, John Kennedy U.S Senator Mass. (est. $2,000-$2,400).
WESTPORT, CONN.- An online-only auction dedicated entirely to Kennedy memorabilia, entitled Collecting Camelot: John & Jackie Kennedy Family Auction, will be held Wednesday, June 10th, by University Archives, at 10:30 am Eastern time. The auction is up and online now, on several bidding platforms, including University Archives revamped website. University Archives pays tribute to Americas Royalty, the Kennedy family, with a spectacular themed sale consisting of more than 130 lots carefully selected from many different consignors, said John Reznikoff, the president and owner of University Archives. Kennedy collectors everywhere should mark their calendars for June 10th. The full catalog is already up and online for bidding and viewing, at the new University Archives website, as well as on the popular online ... More |
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Phoning It In, Ep.3: Sarah Thornton Discusses the Future of the Art World
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| | More News |
 Guinean singer Mory Kante, star of 1980s African wave, deadCONAKRY (AFP).- Guinean singer Mory Kante, who helped introduce African music to a world audience in the 1980s, died on Friday in the capital Conakry, his son Balla Kante told AFP. Kante is best known for his dance song "Yeke Yeke," which was a huge hit in Africa before becoming a No. 1 in several European countries in 1988. Nicknamed the "electronic griot" -- a play on the name for traditional West African musicians and storytellers -- Kante died in hospital at the age of 70 after succumbing to untreated health problems. "He suffered from chronic illnesses and often travelled to France for treatment, but that was no longer possible with the coronavirus," Balla Kante said. "We saw his condition deteriorate rapidly, but I was still surprised because he'd been through much worse times before," he added. Born into a celebrated family of griots, Kante played ... More Spike Lee and the battlefield of American historyNEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Its a funny thing, Zooming with Spike Lee. Hes remote, confined within a box within a box on your computer screen, yet somehow undiminished. Maybe its the look the ball cap and the glasses or maybe its the way he looks at you. Lee has been staring directly into cameras for more than 30 years. Think of his most famous characters Mars Blackmon, from his 1986 feature, Shes Gotta Have It, and a series of Nike commercials with Michael Jordan; or Mookie from Do the Right Thing and theyre confronting you head-on. This is Lees preferred stance: undaunted, in your face, eye to eye. And it works. Even on a stuttering videoconference, the man is unmistakable. Hes been isolating at his Manhattan home since March, when the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of New York City. His only regular ... More Denmark speeds up reopening as virus spread slowsCOPENHAGEN (AFP).- Museums and zoos began reopening in Denmark on Thursday, as the country decided to accelerate its exit from lockdown and health officials said the spread of the new coronavirus was slowing. The original plan for Denmark was to keep museums, zoos, theatres, cinemas and similar attractions closed until June 8. But after a deal was struck in the country's parliament late Wednesday they were instead allowed to open immediately. "It was pure cheer. Finally, we can get started," Peter Kjargaard, director of the Natural History Museum of Denmark, told broadcaster DR. Kjargaard added that he was excited to show off the museum's new dinosaur exhibit, even if it wouldn't be ready for another month. But not all museums reopened their doors on Thursday. Some said they would start receiving customers over the weekend or next week. ... More Bernice Silver, impish puppeteer and activist, dies at 106NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Bernice Silver, a hummingbird of a woman at 4-foot-8, was a puppeteer whose performances were mock-chaotic, subtly cerebral and always slyly subversive. She made sure to slip in a history lesson, or a plug for conservation or social justice. She called them happenings, for the political theater she was schooled in. Her fellow puppeteers called her the Queen of Potpourri, for the fast-and-furious storytelling form at which she excelled (potpourris, as these performances are known because they contain a little bit of everything, are a beloved feature of puppetry festivals). Silver died April 18 of respiratory failure at Englewood Health, a hospital in Englewood, New Jersey, said Dean Freedman, her nephew. She was 106. She had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Silver was a member of the sprawling ... More Museum of London launches Disease X as an online exhibitionLONDON.- Earlier this month the Museum of London shifted focus to become the Museum for London as part of a mission to bring first-class online content to visitors at home while our physical doors are closed. A primary strand of this digital programming is publishing objects and stories from some of the museums most popular exhibitions from both past and present. Today, the latest instalment of this programme launches with the temporary exhibition Disease X: Londons next epidemic?, originally open between November 2018 and March 2019, now available online here. London, like the rest of the world has been affected in unprecedented ways by the current Covid-19 crisis, but its not the first time a virus has hit the capital. London has been affected by many epidemics and pandemics over the centuries including plague, cholera, smallpox, ... More Sally Rowley, jewelry maker and freedom rider, dies at 88NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Sally Jane Rowleys birth name was Sara, but she preferred Sally. She found it more fitting for her free-spirited approach to life, which involved fighting for civil rights, living as a street artist and learning how to fly. My grandmother was a one-of-a-kind person, said Anika Pasilis, 20, a journalism student at the University of Arizona. She despised injustice and cherished freedom, for herself and for others. Rowley died of COVID-19 on May 14 after the virus spread into the Tucson, Arizona, nursing home where she lived, Pasilis said. She was 88. Her family said their goodbyes through a window at the facility. Rowley was born Oct. 20, 1931, in Trenton, New Jersey, to Emos and Sara Rowley. Her father had a paint company, her mother was a homemaker. She could have followed the rules, stayed on the East Coast ... More Pérez Art Museum Miami announces acquisitions to support Miami galleriesMIAMI, FLA.- Pérez Art Museum Miami announced the acquisition of eight artworks by artists represented by Miami-based galleries for the museums permanent collection, the largest number of works purchased by PAMMs Collectors Council in a single session since its inception 15 years ago. The new artworks were purchased with $145,000 provided by PAMMs Collectors Council, which specifically dedicated this round of funding to bolstering Miamis arts ecosystem, taking into account the vital importance of supporting local artists and galleries while acknowledging the significant financial toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought upon Miamis arts community. As Miamis flagship arts institution, PAMM must do what we can to shine a light on the citys vibrant, multi-cultural community of artists and galleries who have been hit hard by the current ... More Guggenheim Bilbao celebrates International Museum DayBILBAO.- To celebrate International Museum Day this week, Jon Kortajarena, Itziar Ituño, and Ernesto Valverde share with the public their favourite pieces from the Collection of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Due to the present circumstances that make the Museums traditional gesture of free admission not possible this year, the Guggenheim Bilbao will celebrate International Museum Day in an alternative way. This year the Museum has created three videos with successful non-artworld professionals from different fields, Jon Kortajarena, Itziar Ituño, and Ernesto Valverde who discuss their favourite artworks from the Collection and why. Actress Itzia Ituño has selected Jenny Holzers 1997 Installation for Bilbao. Made up of nine vertical LED signboards, the site-specific work was created for the Museums gallery 101. Known for her roles ... More The Hepworth Wakefield Ceramics Fair goes online this weekendWAKEFIELD.- The Hepworth Wakefields annual Ceramics Fair has become an unmissable event for any art lover. The gallery brings together makers from all over the UK to sell unique ceramic pieces ranging from jewellery to homeware. This year, for the first time, the Ceramics Fair will be held online: hepworthwakefield.org/ceramics-fair. Over the weekend 22 May 25 May, The Hepworth Wakefield will be profiling the 55 artists and collectives who had, earlier in the year, been selected to take part in the Fair. With price ranges selected to suit most budgets, the makers include three winners of the Crafts Councils Hothouse award for makers at the beginning of their careers Jack Durling (2020), Jenny Chan (2019) and Katherine Lees (2012); Meghan Downs who was named Newcomer of the Year at the 2016 British Craft Trade Fair; and Matt Cronshaw, ... More V&A releases behind-the-scenes Curator Tour of Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk exhibitionLONDON.- Today, the V&A launches a series of five films that take viewers on a personal, 30-minute behind-the-scenes tour of our critically acclaimed exhibition Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk. Captured as the museum was closing its doors to the public, curator Anna Jackson guides viewers through the exhibition spaces, providing a personal insight into the making of the show, star exhibits and the fascinating history of the iconic garment. The first major exhibition devoted to kimono in Europe, the show had to close two weeks into its exhibition run. Positively received by critics and visitors alike, Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk explores what is arguably the ultimate symbol of Japan. The kimono is often perceived as traditional, timeless and unchanging, but this exhibition counters this conception, presenting the garment as a dynamic and constantly evolving icon of fashion. The exhibition reveals the sar ... More Hindman Auctions to hold The Art Altruist's auction to support artistsPALM BEACH, FLA.- As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to threaten the U.S., artists and collectors have witnessed the closure of every studio, gallery and institution. In response, The Art Altruist, a group of leading Palm Beach and Miami art experts with a global reputation are creating experiences to sustain artists and the art world from crisis to recovery. Led by Camilla Webster, Kate Waterhouse, Valeray Francisco, Kay List and Guy Clark, they are partnering with Art Synergy Aid, Juried Art Services, The Cultural Council of Palm to drive funds to the artist community as well as Art Palm Beach, The Armory, and The Norton to connect with collectors and enthusiasts. Their first sale with Hindman Auctions will support Palm Beach Countys Art Synergy Aid Fund. The fund will distribute $500 grants to artists in crisis via a juried selection process. Overseeing ... More |
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Flashback On a day like today, Flemish Baroque painter Bertholet Flemalle was born May 23, 1614. Bertholet Flemalle, Flemal, or Flamael (1614Â1675) was a Liège Baroque painter. His The Glorification of the Holy Cross is in St Bartholomew's Church, Liège. In this image: Heliodorus driven from the temple, 1658-62.
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