| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Thursday, August 20, 2020 |
 |
| | Italy wants its tourists back, unless they sit on the statues | |
|
|
St. MarkÂs Square in Venice, a city that is usually swarmed with tourists, on June 1, 2020. Damaged treasures and broken rules have put the spotlight on the countryÂs fragile cultural heritage, and the need to better educate visitors. Alessandro Grassani/The New York Times.
by Elisabetta Povoledo
ROME (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- First, two German tourists took an unauthorized dip in the Grand Canal in Venice, under the Rialto Bridge. Then an Austrian tourist broke the toe of a plaster statue of NapoleonÂs sister while posing for a photograph at a museum in northern Italy. After that, a French tourist was caught red-handed using a black felt-tip pen to immortalize her stay in Florence on the cityÂs famed Ponte Vecchio. Now Italian officials have set their sights on a young woman who took a selfie standing atop some newly reopened thermal baths in Pompeii, the fragile archaeological site. ÂAn investigation has been opened, said Massimo Osanna, the outgoing director of the Pompeii site, adding that prosecutors in a nearby city were looking into the events. The coronavirus pandemic may have crushed the tourism industry in Italy this year  delivering a significant blow to the countryÂs economy  but Italians say that should not give tourists who do come a free pass to run amok amon ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day View of portraits of the sons and wife of Russian revolutionary, political theorist and politician Leon Trotsky, one of the leaders of the Russian Revolution, at his House Museum in the Coyoacan neighborhood of Mexico City, on August 10, 2020. August 21, 2020 marks the 80th anniversary of Trotsky's assassination in Mexico. CLAUDIO CRUZ / AFP
|
|
|
| 
|
 | | Sotheby's to offer limited-edition photographs of leading contemporary artists at work in their studios | | Christie's to offer The Collection of Prince and Princess Sadruddin Aga Khan | | Phillips and Poly Auction announce an unprecedented collaboration | 
Aubrey Mayer, Jacqueline Humphries, 2013 (Portrait). Archival Pigment Print. Image: 35 by 26 ¼ in. Sheet: 37 ½ by 28 ¾ in. Executed in 2020, this work is from an edition of 5. Courtesy Sothebys.
NEW YORK, NY.- Sothebys announced the offering of Aubrey Mayer: New Portraits, a new series of limited-edition photographic works by Aubrey Mayer, capturing six of contemporary arts most renowned and celebrated artists at work in their studios: Jacqueline Humphries, Mark Grotjahn, Raymond Pettibon, Ed Ruscha, Henry Taylor, and Jonas Wood. With unprecedented access to the studios of some of the worlds leading contemporary artists, 35-year-old self-taught artist and photographer Aubrey Mayer provides an intimate, behind-the-scenes window onto the artistic process, highlighting each artist's personal space and their unique way of working. The works, which have never been exhibited or offered for sale, are now available for immediate purchase through sothebys.com. Printed on aluminum, paper, linen and occasionally in the form of unique monographs, Mayers ... More | | 
Visionaries, and ahead of their time, Prince Sadruddin and Princess Catherine Aga Khan have been the discreet patrons of many major philanthropic projects, aimed at preserving cultural and natural sites, from Egyptian temples to the Alps. © Christie's Images Ltd 2020.
PARIS.- Christie's will present the remarkable private collection of Prince and Princess Sadruddin Aga Khan on 1st October 2020. The highly recognised French interior designer Henri Samuel had been entrusted with the display of the collection in their Geneva home, Bellerive Castle. Visionaries, and ahead of their time, Prince Sadruddin and Princess Catherine Aga Khan have been the discreet patrons of many major philanthropic projects, aimed at preserving cultural and natural sites, from Egyptian temples to the Alps. Over a period spanning the decades, the Aga Khans gathered an outstanding collection from a variety of cultures across the globe, reflecting their essence with this incredibly universal, yet very personal selection of fascinating objects and masterpeices. Each work ... More | | 
Phillips in association with Poly will present 20th Century & Contemporary Art Sales in Hong Kong in November 2020.
HONG KONG.- Phillips and Poly Auction are proud to announce they will jointly conduct sales of 20th Century & Contemporary Art in Hong Kong in November 2020. In this landmark collaboration, the two auction houses will work together to broaden their global reach, offering more collectors and art enthusiasts the unique opportunity to participate in sales of the very best 20th century and contemporary art. Edward Dolman, CEO of Phillips, said, We feel that now is the perfect moment for Phillips to seize the initiative in launching this historic collaboration with Chinas leading auction house. As Asia continues to rise as an important art market region, this mutually beneficial partnership will enable Phillips to establish a broader foothold across Greater China, whilst offering Poly our global reach and expertise. This collaboration marks a notable stage in our trajectory of growth and underscores Phillips commitment ... More |
|
|
|
| |
| | Lisson Gallery now representing Van Hanos | | The axe that killed Leon Trotsky now a museum exhibit | | The Amon Carter Museum of American Art presents exhibition dedicated to pioneering Modernist artist Everett Spruce | 
Harder Party, 2020, Oil on linen, 152.4 x 121.9 cm, 60 x 48 in © Van Hanos.
NEW YORK, NY.- Lisson Gallery announced representation of American artist Van Hanos in New York, London and Shanghai, in collaboration with Château Shatto, Los Angeles. A solo exhibition of all new work is scheduled for Spring 2021 at the gallery's newest location in New York City at 508 West 24th Street. Harder Party (2020), a new painting by Hanos, will be debuted in Lisson Gallery's recently launched East Hampton location from August 20 24, 2020. The work will also feature alongside a group of other recent paintings in a digital publication the artist has collaborated on with his friend and author, Stephen Intlekofer. Entitled Deepest Dreamer, the book investigates notions as vast as metaphysics and the phantasmagorical, but is formatted specifically through its unembellished text and imagery to be accessible for readers as young as 710 years old. Hanoss approach to painting is best defined by its stylistic freedom a ... More | | 
View of budenovkas hats, part of the Communist military uniform used during the Russian Civil War (1917-1922), at the House Museum of Russian revolutionary, political theorist and politician Leon Trotsky, one of the leaders of the Russian Revolution. CLAUDIO CRUZ / AFP.
by Paul Handley
WASHINGTON (AFP).- The ice axe that was plunged into Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky's skull during his gruesome murder in Mexico on August 20, 1940 is today among the prized exhibits at Washington's International Spy Museum. It took Keith Melton, an espionage historian for the CIA, nearly four decades to find it -- as well as to figure out why the assassin sent by Joseph Stalin, Ramon Mercader, used the axe to kill Trotsky. Melton, who combed the world to amass the collection of ingenious and macabre tools of the black arts of spying that fill the museum, had his eye on finding the weapon since the 1970s. It had disappeared shortly after the assassination. Following clues from Mexico to ... More | | 
Everett Spruce (19082002), Veteran, 1932, oil on Masonite, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Maggie Joe and Alexandre Hogue © 2019 Alice Spruce Meriwether.
FORT WORTH, TX.- The Amon Carter Museum of American Art announces Texas Made Modern: The Art of Everett Spruce, the first exhibition in nearly 30 years to highlight the pioneering and inventive career of Texas artist Everett Spruce (19082002). Featuring nearly 50 works from private and public collections from across the country, the exhibition traces five decades of Spruces career, revealing how he adapted his style and subjects to the era in which he worked. On view August 18 through November 1, 2020, with three Carter member-only preview days August 1416, Texas Made Modern reclaims the legacy of this Texas artist. Texas Made Modern considers the exciting range of Spruces art from the 1920s to the 1970s. Known for his inventive depictions of Texas, Spruces modern, visionary landscapes countered the popular narrative of the state as only a land of cattle and cowboys. From his early, surreal ... More |
|
|
|
| |
| | 80 years since Trotsky assassinated by Stalin agent | | Artistic redemption for Belgian king's 'dirty laundry' | | Nelson-Atkins Museum to reopen September 12 | 
View of the bedroom of Russian revolutionary, political theorist and politician Leon Trotsky, one of the leaders of the Russian Revolution, at his House Museum in the Coyoacan neighborhood of Mexico City. CLAUDIO CRUZ / AFP.
by Natalia Cano with Moises Avila in Havana
MEXICO CITY (AFP).- Bullet holes still pockmark the walls of the house in Mexico where Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky was brutally murdered 80 years ago, a reminder of an earlier failed assassination attempt. "I'm already familiar" with death, Trotsky said after he survived that attack in his home in a suburb of Mexico City where he spent his last years in exile. "I've been followed by the black hatred of Stalin across half the world," he told a Mexican newspaper. Months later, on August 20, 1940, that trail of persecution finally caught up with him when he was killed with an ice axe by an assassin acting on Joseph Stalin's orders. "It was an ideological, symbolic crime," Cuban writer Leonardo Padura, who spent years researching the murder for ... More | | 
Delphine Boel, Guilty Guilty Guilty, 2015 (detail). 68 x 96 cm © Delphine Boel.
by Marc Burleigh and Matthieu Demeestere
KNOKKE-HEIST (AFP).- After a lifetime of pain and a bruising legal battle, in January Delphine Boel finally won what she had always wanted: recognition that she is the daughter of former Belgian king Albert II. But the victory was bittersweet for the 52-year-old artist, turning an unwanted media spotlight on a painful part of her life. Albert, 86, acknowledged in January that he was Boel's father after a DNA test came back positive, ending a paternity battle that had dragged on since he abdicated in 2013. "I felt shameful of just my existence," Boel told AFP in an interview in the upmarket Belgian seaside resort of Knokke. "Just to remind you that I didn't become famous because of my artistic talent -- it was because I was the 'dirty laundry' of Albert II, and so it was kind of a shameful fame". Boel, who gives few media interviews, spoke to AFP at a retrospective exhibition of her work. The interview comes ... More | | 
New hours, rigorous safety procedures implemented. Photo: Beth Byers.
KANSAS CITY, MO.- The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, closed since March 14 due to COVID-19, will re-open to the general public on Saturday, Sept. 12. Admission is still free, but timed tickets will be required to promote social distancing and limit the number of guests in the museum and individual galleries at any one time. We have been anxiously awaiting the day when we can safely open our doors to visitors, said Julián Zugazagoitia, Menefee D. and Mary Louise Blackwell CEO & Director of the Nelson-Atkins. The new experience will feel a bit different to those accustomed to visiting the museum before the pandemic. But the encounters with art will continue to be powerful, engaging, and transcending. Members and museum volunteers are invited to enjoy members-only days in advance of the public opening to provide feedback on new safety protocols that have been put in place. The public is invited beginning Sept. 1 ... More |
|
|
|
| |
| | Archive of prints by 20th century artists from The Curwen Studio, Chilford Hall, to go under hammer | | Naomi Milgrom Foundation releases MPavilion: Encounters with Design and Architecture | | Peter V. Tytell, a typewriter whisperer, is dead at 74 | 
Gail Brodholt, Saturday Girl.
CAMBRIDGE.- A large archive of prints by the likes of Edward Bawden, Lionel Bulmer and Kip Gresham will go under the hammer at Cheffins in Cambridge on the 21st 28th August. In a timed online format, the prints on offer are the remaining items from the famous Curwen Studio, previously located at Chilford Hall, Cambridgeshire. The Curwen Studio was founded by the Reverend John Curwen in 1863 and based in Plaistow, Newham. Initially publishers of sheet music, the press went on to become one of the first institutions to produce lithographs and prints by some of the UKs most well-known graphic artists from the early 20th century. In 1977, an exhibition at the Tate Gallery named Artists at Curwen: A Celebration of the Gift of Artists Prints from the Curwen Studio was the turning point to putting the Press on the map and was the start of the Tates archive of contemporary prints. The Curwen Studio was relocated t ... More | | 
Exploring how each architect addressed the design of MPavilion, the book reflects a growing and much needed broader conversation about design today, and investigates the critical use of pavilions, parks, and our open public spaces in creating healthier cities and communities.
MELBOURNE.- Published by Thames & Hudson Australia in collaboration with the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, MPavilion: Encounters with Design and Architecture is the first publication on the MPavilion project and chronicles the first six remarkable years. A celebration of what MPavilion has collectively achieved, this volume captures the groundbreaking contributions of each of the MPavilion architects from 2014 to 2019; Sean Godsell, Amanda Levete, Bijoy Jain, Rem Koolhaas, David Gianotten, Carme Pinós, and Glenn Murcutt, and celebrates the hundreds of collaborators who have made MPavilion a local and global design icon. Commenting on the MPavilion concept: Even with the ... More | | 
Peter V. Tytell, whose knowledge of the intricacies of typewriters, shaped amid the Olivettis, Underwoods and Royals of his parents renowned repair shop in New York, led him to a career as a forensic document examiner, and even a small part in the 2004 presidential campaign, died on Aug. 11, 2020, at his home in Manhattan. He was 74. Tytell Family via The New York Times.
by Richard Sandomir
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Peter V. Tytell, whose knowledge of the intricacies of typewriters, shaped amid the Olivettis, Underwoods and Royals of his parents renowned repair shop in New York, led him to a career as a forensic document examiner, and even a small part in the 2004 presidential campaign, died Aug. 11 at his home in Manhattan. He was 74. His sister, Pamela Tytell, said the cause was pleural mesothelioma. Tytells vast expertise in typewriter, paper and handwriting ... More |
|
Graff Light & Form | From Michelangelo to Barbara Hepworth
|
|
| |
| | More News |
 Forced online, Battery Dance Festival brings the world to youNEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Staged in recent years on the bottom tip of Manhattan, with the harbor and the boats and the Statue of Liberty as a backdrop, the Battery Dance Festival could be glorious. If a breeze was blowing and the light was right, the dancing almost didnt need to be distinctive for the experience to be so. Still, you might discover something wonderful: a dancer or a company you were unlikely to encounter elsewhere. At other times it was too damn hot and the setting sun was blinding. Then the impression that much of the dancing and choreography was not so great that the variety of this free, public event had been purchased at the expense of aesthetic discrimination could swell. Well, this year you can factor out the weather as a variable, since the festival, like almost everything else in New York dance, is ... More The Currier Museum of Art reopensMANCHESTER, NH.- The Currier Museum of Art reopens to the public on Thursday, August 20, 2020. The museum welcomes visitors back with three new special exhibitions, including Open World: Video Games and Contemporary Art, Photographs from the Civil Rights Movement, and Richard Haynes: Whispering Quilts. The museum is taking measures to ensure the safety of its visitors and staff. All visitors must wear a mask and the number of visitors in each gallery will be limited. In order to maintain social distancing, the museum is instituting timed ticketing, and encourages the public to buy their tickets online in advance. Surfaces will be regularly cleaned and disinfected. The museum will also offer new hours to expand accessibility and be open four days a week, Thursday 10 am to 8 pm, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 10 am to 5 pm. 10am to 11am ... More Creditors take control of struggling Cirque du SoleilMONTREAL (AFP).- A group of Cirque du Soleil creditors has announced it will take control of the heavily indebted Canadian circus troupe. Suitors had until Tuesday afternoon to better the proposal of the dozen lenders, led by the Canadian fund Catalyst Capital Group. The world's most famous circus troupe, placed under the protection of the courts, later said that the proposal -- estimated at more than $1.2 billion -- had not been topped, according to Canadian media. The creditors' offer will still have to be validated by the Quebec courts in the coming weeks. According to the Globe and Mail, the creditors will inject $300 million to $375 million into the circus and also agree to reduce the circus's guaranteed debt from $1.1 billion to $300 million. Gabriel de Alba, managing director of Catalyst, welcomed the "great result for Cirque", its employees, ... More Small wonders: the Vietnamese artist making tiny foodHANOI (AFP).- Squinting in concentration, Vietnamese artist Nguyen Thi Ha An drops a bright red chilli onto a bowl of pho noodles barely bigger than a coin -- the finishing touch to a miniature clay model that has eaten up days of her time. An -- a 28-year-old architecture graduate -- began crafting food miniatures a year ago, spotting a chance to capitalise on the world's growing love of Vietnamese cuisine. "Each Vietnamese dish has its specific beauty," she says, using tweezers to softly lay a scallion beside a "banh mi" sandwich. "I want the models to help people see that." Less globally well-known dishes such as sweet rice dessert "che com" are also on the menu at An's Hanoi studio. But the classics get plenty of attention, with An modelling tiny bottles of chilli sauce and pickled garlic to accompany her bowls of pho. "Each model comes with its own ... More Christina Sinclair appointed new director of Edinburgh World HeritageEDINBURGH.- Edinburgh World Heritage today announced the appointment of Christina Sinclair as the new director of Edinburgh World Heritage, replacing Adam Wilkinson. Born and raised in Aberdeenshire, Christina studied at both the Universities of Edinburgh and Dundee before working in England in a number of heritage and conservation roles for, among others, Historic England, the Design Council and various consultancies. Specific projects she has worked on include the restorations of both Manchester and Rochdale Town Halls. Most recently, Christina has been working for the Scottish Borders Council as lead advisor on heritage. Professor James Garden, Chair of Edinburgh World Heritage commented: Were delighted that Christina will be joining us at this crucial time for the charity, and for Edinburgh. Christina brings a wealth ... More Compound announces Airrion Copeland as Executive DirectorLONG BEACH, CA.- Compound, a new cultural non-profit dedicated to the intersection of contemporary art, wellness, and community opening October 2020 in Long Beach, is delighted to announce the appointment of Airrion Copeland as its Executive Director, effective immediately. Founder and Creative Director Megan Tagliafferi shares, With a background in business, wellness, nonprofit environmental work and film, the breadth of Copelands experience suits the amalgam of Compounds mission and programming. Known as "Air," he comes to Compound from his most recent post as the Executive Director of the nonprofit The 5 Gyres Institute an environmental and social justice organization dedicated to the eradication of plastic pollution. Historically he has served as Senior Vice President of Mercy for Animals, National Program Director for CoachArt, and Program Director ... More 44th Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair goes virtual, Nov 12-14BOSTON, MASS.- An alluring treasure trove awaits seasoned collectors as well as new visitors at the 44th annual Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair which will be held virtually November 12-14, 2020. The event will showcase the finest in rare and valuable books, illuminated manuscripts, autographs, ephemera, political and historic documents, maps, atlases, photographs, fine and decorative prints, and much more. Collectors will be able to virtually peruse the booths of every exhibitor in the Fair, or quickly visit their favorite dealers, hosted in an easy-to-navigate online version of the traditional book fair booth. A search feature will allow visitors to quickly browse by category, dealer, keyword, with each item featuring a brief description, condition, and price; with the ability to contact dealers directly to learn more about the items for sale. Each ... More Russian ballet returned to the stage. Then a COVID outbreak hit.NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- For the past three weeks, the Mariinsky Ballet, one of Russias most renowned companies, led the dance world in showing how ballet could return to the stage. It hosted galas at its St. Petersburg theaters, featuring solos and duets performed by dancers who had undergone weekly tests for coronavirus. More ambitiously, it had begun staging full-length ballets, with a run of the Romantic classic La Sylphide. Audience members were provided with masks and gloves, and seating was distanced, with an empty space between each viewer. Then, on Aug. 13, the performances stopped. In a development that will concern other dance companies hoping to return to the stage, the Mariinsky Ballet has suspended all performances, classes and rehearsals, a spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. ... More Holabird Western Americana Collections will host a 5-day Great Americana Pow-Wow saleRENO, NEV.- Native and general Americana will take center stage at Holabird Western Americana Collections huge, five-day auction planned for August 27th-31st, live in the gallery at 3555 Airway Drive in Reno, and online via several bidding platforms. The sale is officially titled The Great Americana Pow-Wow Auction. Start times all five days are 8 am Pacific time. This auction marks the best material we've offered in a hot August sale in many years, said Fred Holabird of Holabird Western Americana Collections. The variety is outstanding, as is the quality of goods offered. There is truly something for everybody. And sellers take note we average about 5,000 registered bidders per sale, probably the most in America for an Americana sale. With buyers all over the globe, we get to everybody. We are always after great collections. Native ... More American Swedish Institute reopens September 10MINNEAPOLIS, MN.- The American Swedish Institute, the ASI Museum Store and FIKA Café, all closed to visitors because of COVID-19 precautions since March 14, 2020, today announced that they will reopen on Thursday, September 10. The first reopening day will be for ASI Members Day with extended hours from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. On Friday, September 11 at 10 a.m., the ASI will reopen to the general public, marking the beginning of new public hours: Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Advanced, timed reservations to visit the museum, which can be made by the public starting August 24, are now required. The Store and FIKA will accept walk-in customers. For more details about visiting and expanded safety guidelines, please refer first to www.ASImn.org, or call 612-871-4907. ASI is located at 2600 Park ... More Ora-Ora opens Szelit Cheung solo exhibition ", "HONG KONG.- Ora-Ora is presenting the first solo exhibition "，" of contemporary artist Szelit Cheung from August 19 to September 19, 2020. The exhibition showcases Cheungs ingenuity on the theme of void. In Zen Buddhism, it is believed that all things come from Śūnyatā (emptiness or void). For Cheung, void is not a concept, but something that can be understood through experience. "，" features 14 works from different periods of the artists ongoing exploration of this theme. The exhibition is curated to provide a glance into the artist's studio, allowing the audience to accompany Cheung on his artistic journey. Cheung is able to provide new meaning to inconspicuous moments and objects within his delicate presentation, offering the audience another perspective to approaching their daily lives. The essence of void and the ... More |
|
Flashback On a day like today, Finnish architect Eero Saarinen was born August 20, 1910. Eero Saarinen (August 20, 1910 - September 1, 1961) was a Finnish American architect and industrial designer of the 20th century famous for varying his style according to the demands of the project: simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism. In this image: Eero Saarinen (1910 - 61) was one of the most prolific, unorthodox, and controversial masters of twentieth-century architecture.
|
|
| |
|
© 1996 - 2020