| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Sunday, June 14, 2020 |
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| | Museums are finally taking a stand. But can they find their footing? | |
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Arthur Jafa, Love Is The Message, The Message Is Death, 2016. Video (colour, sound), 7 minutes 25 seconds. Courtesy the artist and Gavin Browns enterprise, New York/ Rome © Arthur Jafa, 2019.
by Holland Cotter
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- The protests sparked by the public killing of George Floyd in police custody have added up, day by day, to a history-altering human rights movement, potentially the most consequential of the past 50 years. But theyve left some of our history-writing and history-preserving institutions scrambling to find ways to join. Our big art museums, still in lockdown, have offered the awkward spectacle of suddenly woke institutions competitively jostling to assert their solidarity with Black Lives Matter. And the gestures have felt both self-aggrandizing and too little too late. There have been impassioned we-must-do-more statements on institutional home pages, though very little mention of what, precisely, the more might be. And there have been random postings of work by African-American artists. But, plugged in without commentary or historical context, these seem to have been pulled out of digital storage mostly to demonstrate the inclusiveness of a collection. Somewhat more am ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day The exhibition ÂPoetic Faith at S.M.A.K can be seen as a tribute to the power of, and belief in, the imagination. It challenges us to set aside the faith we place in our own (rational) reality, thereby allowing us to perceive Âimpossible artworks as Âperfectly possible at first sight. In this image: Poetic Faith Installation S.M.A.K. 2020. Image Dirk Pauwels.
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 | | Doge's Palace reopens as tourists flock back to Venice | | Exhibition at Gagosian explores three divergent approaches to sculptural process | | Art world wunderkind arrested months after fleeing the U.S. | 
Hundreds of Italians and foreigners lined up for more than 300 metres (yards) in Saint Mark's Square, in front of the Ducal Palace.
VENICE (AFP).- After three months of empty squares and alleys and gondoliers stranded on dry land, Venice sprang back to life on Saturday as tourists flocked back to the city for the reopening of the Doge's Palace. Hundreds of Italians and foreigners lined up for more than 300 metres (yards) in Saint Mark's Square, in front of the Ducal Palace. A local news agency said a thousand internet bookings had been recorded for the reopening day. "There were people queuing at 8:00 am this morning and, to be honest, it's just what we were hoping for," Maria Cristina Gribaudi, president of the Venice Civic Museums Foundation, told AFP. "It's a very strong emotion, like the first day of school," she explained. Inside the palace, masks are compulsory, numerous signs encourage people to "keep their distance" and all the rooms are controlled to avoid ... More | | 
John Chamberlain, Untitled, c. 1967. Galvanized steel, 36 x 28 1/2 x 27 1/2 in. 91.4 x 72.4 x 69.9 cm. Collection: Cy Twombly Foundation © 2020 Fairweather & Fairweather LTD / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, NY.
LONDON.- Gagosian will present Crushed, Cast, Constructed: Sculpture by John Chamberlain, Urs Fischer, and Charles Ray. An exploration of three divergent approaches to sculptural process, Crushed, Cast, Constructed juxtaposes works in metal by Chamberlain, Fischer, and Ray, orchestrating a rich conversation around material and method. Chamberlain, who died in 2011, made sculptures out of used automotive parts and other premanufactured metal components, expanding the rhythmic impulses of Abstract Expressionist painting into three dimensions. In his works, these forms retain the aura of their industrial origins while simultaneously conveying a baroque mannerism. In the late 1960s, Chamberlain began using ... More | | 
Rudolf Stingel (b. 1956), Untitled. Price realised: USD 6,517,500. Christie's Images Ltd 2020.
by Scott Reyburn
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Inigo Philbrick, the elusive contemporary art dealer who disappeared in the fall after being accused of defrauding clients of more than $20 million, was arrested Thursday by U.S. law enforcement agents on the Pacific island of Vanuatu. Philbrick has since been transported to Guam, where he is expected to be presented in federal court Monday, according to prosecutors. You cant sell more than 100% ownership in a single piece of art, which Philbrick allegedly did, among other scams, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said in a statement. When his schemes began to unravel, Philbrick allegedly fled the country. Now he is in U.S. custody and facing justice. Philbrick, 33, is accused of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. ... More |
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| | Hockney unlocked: Escape to the Yorkshire countryside with Britain's greatest painter | | Neuer Berliner Kunstverein opens a solo exhibition of works by Monika Baer | | UK PM defends history in statue row, as fears grow over protests | 
David Hockney: A Bigger Picture is available to stream on demand here.
LONDON.- Hockney Unlocked launches online this week, to encourage people across the UK and beyond to spend an hour in the Yorkshire countryside with David Hockney, Britains greatest and best-loved living artist. Hockney Unlocked consists of 80 short films produced, directed and edited by Bruno Wollheim. This exclusive behind-the-scenes footage shows Hockney as never before: at work, relaxing, joking, unguarded, always unpredictable and larger than life. The films will be released daily on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. On YouTube, Wollheim has created a curated space, writing a commentary on each of the short films informed by a friendship stretching back thirty years. The films are outtakes from Wollheims award-winning documentary, David Hockney: A Bigger Picture, filmed single-handedly over five years with unprecedented access to David Hockney. Wollheim says: This was a special time for David: hed come back ... More | | 
Monika Baer, Courtesy Monika Baer; Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin © Photo: wowe.
BERLIN.- Monika Baer was awarded the Hannah Höch Prize 2020 by the State of Berlin for her outstanding artistic achievements. On the occasion of the award ceremony, Neuer Berliner Kunstverein honors her complex artistic oeuvre with a solo exhibition. This first solo presentation of Baers work at an institution in Berlin offers insights into her most recent experimental approaches, begun last year in Los Angeles. With a new constellation of large-format paintings and small-format collages, Baer continues her investigation of art historical references as well as the new discursive spaces that painted images can produce. In her work, often produced as series, Baer makes use of various painterly traditions and techniques, from monochrome and representational approaches to physical disruption to the surface of the canvas. During her studies in the 1980s, art was undergoing a period of repoliticization, in which art criticism questioned the auto ... More | | 
The statue of former British prime minister Winston Churchill is cleaned in Parliament Square. JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP.
by Alice Ritchie / Phil Hazlewood
LONDON (AFP).- Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday said a wave of anti-racism protests across Britain had been "hijacked by extremists", as fears mounted about clashes between activists and far-right groups, and vandalism spread. Several statues were boarded up as a precaution, including one of World War II leader Winston Churchill and the Cenotaph war memorial in central London, after previous damage. In Liverpool, street signs of Penny Lane, which was immortalised in The Beatles' 1967 song, were daubed with graffiti claiming it was named after a slave trader. In Bannockburn, central Scotland, a statue to king Robert the Bruce -- who led the Scots to victory against the English in 1314 -- was defaced, calling him a racist. Statues, monuments, street and building names commemorating historical figures ... More |
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| | Exiled fallen oligarch thorn in flesh of Bulgarian authorities | | New auction record for Richmond Barthé at $629k in African-American Fine Art at Swann | | Exhibition at Fondation CAB offers perspectives on Minimal art | 
This picture taken on January 22, 2020 shows Vasil Bozhkov, former owner of Levski Sofia football club, speaking during a meeting with fans of the team in Sofia. STRINGER / AFP.
by Vessela Sergueva
SOFIA (AFP).- The recent fall from grace of one of Bulgaria's richest men has stunned his compatriots as they keenly follow his judicial woes in their corruption-ridden country. After seemingly enjoying government protection for his business interests for decades, lottery king and owner of Levski Sofia top-flight football club Vasil Bozhkov saw his luck falter in January. The 64-year-old lover of exquisite antiques and fine cigars was charged in absentia with 18 crimes, including murder and leading an organised criminal group, as well as for tax fraud, racketeering and money-laundering. Bozhkov, who was abroad when he was accused and has not returned since, now staying in Dubai, has denied all the charges. Bulgaria is currently seeking his extradition. "Oligarchs can no longer remain unpunished as they have for 30 years" since ... More | | 
Richmond Barthé, Feral Benga, cast bronze, with dark brown patina, modeled in 1935, cast in 1986. Sold for $629,000, a record for the artist.
NEW YORK, NY.- Swann Galleries sale of African-American Fine Art on June 4 was met with much fanfare, despite an online-only format due to social distancing guidelines in New York City. The sale bested its high estimate and totaled $3.5 million. The auction resulted in numerous auction records and had an 88% sell-through rate by lot. The sale was led with an artist record for Richmond Barthé, whose cast bronze sculpture Feral Benga sold to a collector for $629,000. The work, which was modeled in 1935 and cast in 1986, represents the culmination of Barthés study of the figure in sculpture, anatomy and dance in the 1930s, and his pioneering realization of an ideal male nude. We had a number of interested parties who together swiftly bid the lot up to around $100,000, but the bidding quickly became a battle between two very determined collectors. Feral Benga is the sculptor's best-known work and a notable artwork from the Harl ... More | | 
Installation view. Courtesy Fondation CAB, photography Lola Pertsowsky.
BRUSSELS.- Figures on a Ground presents works by female pioneering Minimalist artists alongside contemporary practices that inscribe themselves in, or question the movement. Minimal art is thus approached through themes such as spatial perception, relationships, nature, the sacred, the body and spirituality. For an exhibition on Minimalism, Figures on a Ground might seem rather antagonistic in its boldness and abundance. Despite the common thread of reductionism that forms the base principle of minimal art, this exhibition maxes out in an attempt to renegotiate the conditions against which we perceive Minimalism. The exhibition challenges rigid juxtapositions such as universality to the personal; the rational to the emotional; calmness to hysteria; reduction versus expansion and so forth, that have been used as vehicles in academic writing and journalism, to describe Minimalism as an art form that negates the external world. Self-referential and non-representative, the widespread use of mass-prod ... More |
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| | What we look like | | What does it mean to tear down a statue? | | Oklahoma Contemporary wins $25,000 NEA grant for Ed Ruscha exhibition | 
Eleven Asian American artists celebrate their experiences of culture and identity with illustrated self portraits. Illi Ferandez/The New York Times.
by Antonio de Luca and Jaspal Riyait
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Since the coronavirus arrived this spring in the United States, there has been an uptick in acts of violence and prejudice toward Asian Americans. For many, these incidents represent a compounded bigotry: They are wrongly blamed for the virus, and they are lumped together as a single group. The term Asian American masks profound national and cultural differences in the name of representation. We asked 11 illustrators of Asian descent to create a self-portrait, reflecting on their heritage, their stories of immigration and how they identify as an Asian American. The self-portrait is a complex form of representation. Through facial expression, posture, brush stroke and color, the artist attempts to explore the perception of culture and self. These portraits convey how the artists see themselves and are an ... More | | 
Image of George Floyd projected over the statue of Confederate General Robert Lee on June 12, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. Eze Amos/Getty Images/AFP.
by Jonah Engel Bromwich
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Confederate statues and statues of other historical figures, including slave traders and Christopher Columbus, are being toppled throughout the U.S. and around the world this week an outgrowth of weeks of protests over entrenched racism in the United States, reignited by the killing of George Floyd in police custody. This follows years of debate about public display of Confederate symbols, following the 2015 murder of nine black church congregants in Charleston, South Carolina, by a Confederate-flag-bearing white supremacist, and the deadly clash in 2017 between white nationalists and counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. Art historian Erin Thompson, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, has spent her career thinking about what it means ... More | | 
Ed Ruscha speaks at the 2105 Governors Arts Awards after being named an Oklahoma Cultural Treasure.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK.- Oklahoma Contemporary announced a $25,000 Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for the upcoming Ed Ruscha: OKLA exhibition. NEA Chairman Mary Anne Carter has approved more than $84 million in grants as part of the Arts Endowments second major funding announcement for FY20. These awards demonstrate the resilience of the arts in America, showcasing not only the creativity of their arts projects but the organizations agility in the face of a national health crisis, Carter said. We celebrate organizations like Oklahoma Contemporary for providing opportunities for learning and engagement through the arts in these times. In spring 2021, Oklahoma Contemporary will present Ed Ruscha: OKLA, a landmark survey of work by Oklahoma-raised, world-renowned artist Ed Ruscha, his first-ever solo exhibition in his home state. Focusing on his groundbreaking drawings, prints, books, photos, films ... More |
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Museum Network: In Conversation with V&A Director Tristram Hunt
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| | More News |
 NGV launches video series inspiring floral arrangements drawn from works in the collectionMELBOURNE.- The National Gallery of Victoria has launched a new three-part instructional video series, inspiring audiences to create at-home floral arrangements inspired by art works from the NGV Collection. In the series, audiences will learn the art of arranging flowers through the exploration of several different floral styles and seasonal bouquets, including Japanese ikebana, Australian native inspired compositions and working with florals which can be found in your own garden. Featuring works drawn from the NGV Collection spanning several centuries, the series will explore the stories behind some of the NGVs most significant floral inspired works by international and local artists. Curators will give insights into works by artists including Tawaraya Sōtatsu, Margaret Preston, Rosslynd Piggott and Trevor Nickolls. Tony Ellwood AM, Director, ... More Robert Northern aka Brother Ah, jazz explorer, dies at 86NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Robert Northern, a masterly French horn player who hopscotched between the worlds of jazz and classical music before embarking on a solo career in which he made music that defied categorization, died on May 31 in Washington, D.C. He was 86. His wife, Ayana Watkins-Northern, said the cause was a respiratory illness that he had been battling for about a year. In his 20s and 30s, Northern played on some of the most storied orchestral recordings in jazz history, including The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall, John Coltranes Africa/Brass and Charlie Hadens Liberation Music Orchestra. He spent a decade in Sun Ras Arkestra, an experimental group that espoused a spiritualist ethos. He carried a similar approach into his own career as a bandleader. In that role, he went by the name Brother Ah, an artfully ... More Quinn's June 27 auction welcomes summer with Fine & Decorative Arts AuctionFALLS CHURCH, VA.- Quinns Auction Galleries will welcome the summer season with an online-only Fine & Decorative Arts Auction on Saturday, June 27, starting at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. The sale includes a fine selection of Asian, American, European and Modern artworks, with selections by Merton Simpson, Dale Chihuly, Anton Chittussi and other noted artists. Distinctive furniture designs by Mira Nakashima also highlight the sale. Bronzes, silver, fine clocks, Russian icons, rugs, glass, porcelains and ceramics including coveted Wedgwood Fairyland Lustre wares will cross the auction block together with a varied selection of Asian decorative arts. The latter category incorporates Chinese porcelain, silk textiles, snuff bottles and other beautiful objects of the Far East. With a pre-sale estimate of $10,000-$15,000, a large Chinese three-piece bronze ... More The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth announces Modern Billings with Mark Bradford FORT WORTH, TX.- With the support of Clear Channel Outdoor, the Education Department of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth announces the summer season of the public program, Modern Billings. This iteration is curated by the artist Mark Bradford, whose work is the focus of the Modern's current special exhibition, Mark Bradford: End Papers. The billboards are on view through early July 2020. Using space from Clear Channel Outdoor as programming sites, Assistant Curators of Education Jesse Morgan Barnett and Tiffany Wolf Smith work with artists to situate imagery and text onto billboards, elements of the city that traditionally present commercial advertisements rather than cultural curiosities. For Modern Billings, artists place works into under-served communities along the periphery of downtown Fort Worth. By featuring works from ... More Toppled, beheaded, daubed: five controversial statuesPARIS (AFP).- Protests in the wake of African American George Floyd's killing by a white police officer in the United States have led to the unceremonious toppling and vandalism of statues of controversial historical and political figures. Five symbolic examples: On Sunday, in England's southwestern port of Bristol, protesters pulled down a bronze statue of 17th century slave trader Edward Colston and dumped it in the local harbour. Colston was a leading figure in a royal slave trading company that sold 100,000 west Africans in the Caribbean and the Americas after first branding its initials on their chests. But his name remains attached to streets and buildings in honour of his funding of local hospitals and schools for the poor, and officials fished the statue out. Overnight Tuesday, in Boston, a statue of Christopher Columbus was beheaded, in the park named ... More Delroy Lindo on 'Da 5 Bloods' and playing a Trump supporterNEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- In Spike Lees newest film, Da 5 Bloods (streaming on Netflix), three African American veterans of the Vietnam War are dismayed to learn that a fourth buddy, Paul, is now a supporter of President Donald Trump. Delroy Lindo, the actor who plays their conservative pal, said he too was dismayed by the characters choice. I asked Spike if we could make Paul conservative or even an archconservative without specifically being Trumpian, Lindo, 67, said by phone from his home in the Bay Area. But Lee held firm and Lindo said he had to think more empathetically about the character. It worked: Reviewing the film for The New York Times, A.O. Scott raved that Lindos performance was achingly specific, rigorously human scaled. Speaking with Bruce Fretts last month before protests swept the country, the actor discussed ... More Moderna Museet hosts create short films inspired by Walid RaadSTOCKHOLM.- The exhibition by Walid Raad: Lets be honest, the weather helped opened on 15 February, and had barely been open for five weeks when Moderna Museet closed temporarily due to the covid-19 pandemic. The hosts who would have been greeting and talking to visitors to the exhibition and who had been specially trained for this in workshops with Walid Raad himself suddenly had none of the tasks they had been preparing for. Eventually, however, they began to feel a connection with the situations in which Walid Raads art had emerged. The result can now be viewed on Moderna Museets YouTube channel, in six short videos, created by seven of the Museum hosts. - In hindsight, we saw how the corona virus and its consequences including the closure of Walid Raads exhibition put us in a situation where we actually ... More Exhibition brings Hong Kong's successful participation in the 58th Venice Biennale to local audiencHONG KONG.- M+, at the West Kowloon Cultural District, and the Hong Kong Arts Development Council will co-present Shirley Tse: Stakes and Holders, an exhibition that renews and responds to Shirley Tse: Stakeholders, Hong Kong in Venice, Hong Kongs presence at the 58th Venice Biennale, in 2019. The Venice exhibition drew more than 102,000 visitors during its six-month run, and was widely acclaimed by the public and the international media. The exhibition in Hong Kong, held at the M+ Pavilion, includes new configurations of Shirley Tses site-responsive installations. Over the past two decades, the Los Angelesbased Hong Kong artist Shirley Tse has addressed the various meanings and possible interpretations of materials and things. Her sculptural practice has evolved from considering plastics as the prime signifier of ... More A streetwear designer who graduated from 'yeezy university'NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Name: Philip Post Age: 24 Hometown: Norwalk, Connecticut Now lives: In a three-bedroom apartment in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, New York, that he shares with two artists. Claim to fame: Post, who is also known as Prince Philippe, is the designer, painter and artist behind Dertbag, a Connecticut streetwear brand that has been spotted on Kanye West; Tyler, the Creator and others. Dertbag stands for divine energy radiates through beauty and genius, and thats exactly what I want consumers to feel when theyre wearing my clothing, Post said. I want my pieces to inspire them and simply make them feel beautiful and good when theyre rocking a fit. Big break: In 2016, Kanye West was photographed wearing a gray Dertbag hoodie while heading to a Vivienne Westwood store in London. After ... More A model for the 'dance world we want'NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Fair pay for dancers, abuses of power in dance companies, racism in dance criticism: As the hosts of the Dance Union, an independent podcast started in 2018, J. Bouey and Melanie Greene are known for speaking out on topics often shrouded in silence. So a few weeks ago, when a document titled An Open Letter to Arts Organizations Rampant With White Supremacy began circulating online, they joined in the dialogue. Written by artist Nana Chinara, the letter called out Gina Gibney the chief executive of Gibney, a lower Manhattan dance institution for failing to honor a grant commitment to Chinara and dismissing her concerns. More broadly, the letter demanded change from white people who actively foster environments that lead to Black harm. (Gibney has since publicly apologized, ... More Pax Romana to host sale featuring ancient jewelry, weaponry and coinsLONDON.- On June 20-21, Pax Romana, the acclaimed London antiquities gallery and boutique auction house headed by Dr. Ivan Bonchev (PhD, University of Oxford), will present The Kings Sale. Traditionally a favorite with its international clientele, the blue-chip event with a royal theme is specifically focused on ancient objects that symbolize the wealth and power vested in reigning monarchs. Absentee and live online bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers. All lots are offered with no reserve and will be sold to the highest bidder at or above the starting price. Our Kings Sale features a superb selection of museum-quality pieces, with representations from all around the ancient world, from the Middle East through the Mediterranean to the North Sea, Dr Bonchev said. We are very pleased to offer an exclusive array of arms and armor, rare ... More |
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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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