| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Thursday, August 29, 2019 |
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| | Skull find in Ethiopia yields new clues on how humans evolved | |
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A picture taken on August 28, 2019 shows a 3.8 million-year-old skull of an early human, known as 'MRD' and belonging to the species Australopithecus anamensis, displayed during its presentation in Addis Ababa. A "remarkably complete" 3.8-million-year-old skull of an early human has been unearthed in Ethiopia, scientists announced on August 28, 2019, a discovery that has the potential to alter our understanding of human evolution. The skull, known as "MRD", was discovered not far from the younger Lucy -- the ancient ancestor of modern humans -- and shows that the two species may have co-existed for about 100,000 years. MICHAEL TEWELDE / AFP.
by Robbie Corey-Boulet
ADDIS ABABA (AFP).- A "remarkably complete" 3.8-million-year-old skull of an early human has been unearthed in Ethiopia, scientists announced Wednesday, a discovery that has the potential to alter our understanding of human evolution. The skull, known as "MRD", was discovered not far from the younger Lucy -- the ancient ancestor of modern humans -- and shows that the two species may have co-existed for about 100,000 years. "This skull is one of the most complete fossils of hominids more than 3 million years old," said Yohannes Haile-Selassie, the renowned Ethiopian paleoanthropologist of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History who is a co-author of two studies published Wednesday in the journal Nature. It "looks set to become another celebrated icon of human evolution," joining the ranks of other high-profile hominid findings, Fred Spoor of the Natural History Museum of London wrote in a commentary accompany ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day Ed Hardy: Deeper than Skin at the de Young museum is the first museum retrospective of Ed Hardy, the renowned tattoo artist known for fueling the late 20th-century boom in the practice of tattoo. Featuring more than 300 objects ranging from paintings and sketches (including drawings Hardy created as a 10-year-old) to prints and three-dimensional works, the exhibition will track the evolution of tattooing from its "outsider" status through Hardy's work and influence.
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 | | Nazi bombs still vivid for survivors of 'Polish Guernica' | | Häusler Contemporary offers an insight into the art scene of western Switzerland | | Largest coin hoard of the post-Conquest period found near Somerset | 
Zofia Burchacinska, an eyewitness to the bombing of Wielun holds a picture of the destroyed town on August 20, 2019. The attack on the small central city of Wielun has been called a kind of Polish-Jewish Guernica. But the raid, at the beginning of World War II, is less well-known than the Nazi bombing of the Basque town two year earlier, during the Spanish Civil War. Janek SKARZYNSKI / AFP.
WIELUN (AFP).- It has been 80 years, but Polish pensioner Zofia Burchacinska has no trouble recalling the day her city, sometimes called the "Polish Guernica", became the first target of World War II. "It was dawn and still grey out. I was woken up by a strange sound, a strong roar I'd never heard before," the now 91-year-old said of the heavy bombing of Wielun on September 1, 1939. "Suddenly, the ceiling cracked and all the glass shattered. That's because our windows looked out on the street where the first bombs fell, on a hospital further down," she told AFP. The attack on the small central city of Wielun has been called a kind of Polish-Jewish Guernica. But the raid, at the beginning of World War II, ... More | | 
Denis Savary, Fumée, 2019. Leather, fabric, wood, metal, 102 x 120 x 60 cm / 40 1/8 x 47 1/4 x 23 5/8 inches. Courtesy: The artist and Maria Bernheim.
ZURICH.- Häusler Contemporary gives an insight into the art scene of western Switzerland with an exhibition of eleven guest artists and one gallery artist. Xavier Fischer, who was invited to curate the show, made a selection of works that guide us into a world full of stories that call up art-historical references as well as fantastic narratives and myths. Quite wide a «Röstigraben» still runs through the Swiss art. Although individual local positions are known in the French-speaking part of Switzerland and vice versa, in Zurich we know very little about what moves the scenes in the Lemanic region. Häusler Contemporary has one connection to the Romandie with Geneva-based artist Koka Ramishvili. In addition, the Zurich gallery director Gianfranco Schiavano studied in Geneva and from that time kept a curiosity for the creative energies seething there. On the occasion of this years Season Opening, he thus invited the young Art ... More | | 
Penny of William I. Photo: Pippa Pearce © The Trustees of the British Museum.
LONDON.- Today the British Museums Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) announced the discovery of the largest hoard from the immediate post-Conquest period ever unearthed. The hoard, which primarily includes coins depicting Harold II (1066), the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England and his successor, William the Conqueror (1066-87), first Norman King of England, is also the largest Norman hoard found since 1833, and the largest ever found from the immediate aftermath of the Norman Conquest. In January 2019 a group of metal-detectorists including Lisa Grace and Adam Staples were searching on land near the Chew Valley, Somerset when they discovered an initial group of coins. Along with five other colleagues they found a total of 2,528 coins dispersed in the ploughsoil over a small area. The find was reported to the local Coroner, as required under the Treasure Act 1996. The coins were brought to the British Museum the day after be ... More |
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| | Sotheby's Hong Kong Chinese Works of Art Autumn Sale Series 2019 to take place on 8th October | | Sir Rod Stewart's clear out auction | | Flagship arts and heritage project for Northern Powerhouse given go ahead | 
Nicolas Chow and glass vase. Courtesy Sotheby's.
HONG KONG.- Sothebys Hong Kong Chinese Works of Art Autumn Sale Series 2019 on 8th October will be led by A Highly Important Beijing-Enamelled Pouch-Shaped Glass Vase, Blue Enamel Mark and Period of Qianlong, arguably the greatest example of Qing dynasty art in private hands. Two other highlights include An Exceptionally Rare Blue and White Dragon Stem Bowl, Mark and Period of Xuande, unseen on the market since 1986 and A Superb and Fine Blue and White Day Lily Palace Bowl Mark and Period of Chenghua from the Alan Chuang Collection. In addition, we are offering three private collections, namely Important Chinese Art from the Collection of Sir Quo-Wei Lee II, riding on the success of its first sale in October 2018, Qing Imperial Porcelain A Private ... More | | 
An armchair, modern, upholstered with floral fabric. Provenance: Sir Rod Stewart. Estimate: £250 - £350.
ESSEX.- Lovers of taxidermy and Sir Rod Stewart delight. The singer has had a clear-out and is offering fans the chance to buy a piece of his quirky interior style. Among the 20 items for sale are a stuffed and mounted fox, estimate at £2000-300, a George III carved and gilt wood settee with a price tag of £1,500-2000 and a couple of elaborate gilt wood clocks. Stewart and his wife Penny had a sort-out of their belongings after selling their home in Epping, Essex last year. Sworders Fine art auctioneers sold some of Stewarts furnishings at this time and is putting a second wave of items under the hammer this month. Leading the price list is a George III marble-topped gilt wood hall table with a price tag of £4,000-6,000. John Black of Sworders ... More | | 
Park Hill Art Space will feature one of the largest contemporary art galleries in the North of England.
SHEFFIELD.- Plans for Park Hill Art Space in Sheffield by award-winning architects Carmody Groarke, which will transform the heart of the iconic Park Hill Estate, have been granted planning permission by Sheffield City Council. This national flagship project, led by Sheffields S1 Artspace, will provide a world-class destination for arts, culture and heritage and underlines Sheffields role as a key player in the Northern Powerhouse. It will be a major economic driver for the city, acting as a catalyst for its visitor economy and a creative industry incubator encouraging inward investment. Louise Hutchinson, Artistic Director/CEO, S1 Artspace, said: We are delighted that Sheffield City Council have approved our plans for Park Hill Art Space. Over the past ... More |
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| | 3rd Christie's Middle Eastern Art Sale to be held in London this October | | Darth Vader helmet among Hollywood treasures in $10 million auction | | Dorsky Museum will open three new exhibitions | 
Louay Kayyali, Portrait of Umayma Hussein Ibish. © Christie's Images Ltd 2019.
LONDON.- Christies third Middle Eastern Modern & Contemporary Art auction to be held outside of Dubai will take place on 23 October and is included as part of the rich and traditional Islamic Art Week in London. Around ninety works of Middle Eastern art have been consigned from around the globe, including Los Angeles, New York, London, Dubai, Paris, Beirut, Buenos Aires, Milan, Perth and Casablanca, among others. The auction is mainly focused on modern Arab and Iranian works, with an emphasis on contemporary practice. Strong modern artists from the region include Louay Kayyali and Fateh Moudarres (Syrian), Manoucher Yektai (Iranian), Ismail Shammout (Palestinian), as well as strong selection of modern female artists, including Bibi Zogbé (Lebanense), Chaïbia Talal (Moroccan), Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian (Iranian), Zeinab Abd El Hamid (Egyptian) and Tahia Halim (Egyptian). Contemporary artists include Farhad Moshiri, Ali ... More | | 
A Darth Vader helmet and mask from the film "The Empire Strikes Back" on display at the Profiles in History auction house on August 28, 2019 in Calabasas, California. Frederic J. BROWN / AFP.
LOS ANGELES (AFP).- Darth Vader's helmet from "The Empire Strikes Back" is among a vast collection of coveted Hollywood treasures going under the hammer next month, with experts predicting it could fetch nearly $500,000. The mask and helmet is one of only a handful worn by actor David Prowse, who played Luke Skywalker's nemesis and -- spoiler alert -- father on-screen in the 1980 "Star Wars" blockbuster, making them the "holy grail" of science fiction artifacts, according to auction organizers. "The catalog estimate is $250,000-$450,000, and you never know what something will go for until it crosses the block -- it could well exceed that," said Zach Pogemiller of auctioneer Profiles in History. "Star Wars is always popular. It's never been hotter than it is right now, with the franchise continuing as strongly as it is." The "Icons and Legends of Hollywood" sale will take place ... More | | 
Birge Harrison, St. Lawrence River Sunset, n.d (detail). Oil on canvas, 25 x 31 in. New York State Museum, Historic Woodstock Art Colony. Arthur A. Anderson Collection.
NEW PALTZ, NY.- The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at SUNY New Paltz invites community members to a public reception on Saturday, Sept. 7, from 5 7 p.m., to celebrate the opening of three new exhibitions: Tonalism: Pathway from the Hudson River School to Modern Art showcases more than 60 paintings, prints and photographs that reposition the Tonalist movement as an outgrowth of the Hudson River School of the 19th century, which helped lay the foundation for Modernism. Paper Media: Boetti, Calzolari, Kounellis is the first exhibition in the United States focusing on works on paper by artists related to the Arte Povera movement. The Ukiyo-e Movement: Gems from the Dorsky Museum Collection of Japanese Woodblock Prints features Ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world) prints produced in Japan during the Edo period (16001868.) Also ... More |
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| | Paddle8's new artist commissioning program | | Mother, muse and maker: Discover the influence of women in Indigenous art at Tribal Art London | | Not lost in translation: Binoche and Deneuve interpret Kore-eda's 'The Truth' | 
Paddle8 Offices lower level featuring installation by Yok & Sheryo, 2019, photography by Chris Coe, courtesy of Paddle8.
NEW YORK, NY.- Paddle8 announces a new artist-in-residence program based in its New York City headquarters, Paddle8 Salon. Each year, Paddle8 will commission artists to take over their space to install site-specific murals and open-ended activations. The inaugural commission includes murals, sculptures and a ceramic installation by Spanish artist Nuria Mora, and an immersive lower level universe by street artists Yok & Sheryo that includes murals, installations of sculpture as well as a full build out event space which mimics a tattoo parlor. The Paddle8 Salon commissions will debut during a three-hour activation on August 27 featuring performances by dance collective Hivewild and artist Leeroy New. Founded as an online auction house, Paddle8 has been largely a secondary marketplace, said Paddle8 CEO Izabela Depczyk. With the debut of Paddle8 Salon, we are thrilled to be ... More | | 
Philip Keith. Kuba mask, Democratic Republic of Congo. Priced in the region of £12,000.
LONDON.- Tribal Art London is the UKs premier collectors event in the field of ethnographic culture and indigenous tribal art. The fair opens 4-7 September 2019 at Mall Galleries, London SW1 with a Preview on Tuesday 3 September. Now in its 12th year, TAL 2019 takes the theme Mother, Muse and Maker, and brings together more than 20 international dealers, each a reputable specialist in fine, original purpose works of art drawn from all corners of the globe. Every item offered for sale is chosen for its quality and authenticity. Tribal art be it African, Oceanic or South American - centres on performance and ritual. Objects that go with these pursuits, however, are tied into the ritual of life: birth, puberty, marriage, and death. Tribal art at first glance seems male-dominated but the contribution that women have played as muses and makers is undeniably important. This year, Tribal Art London focuses on ... More | | 
French actress Juliette Binoche poses as she arrives for the opening ceremony and the screening of the film "La Verite" (The Truth) presented in competition on August 28, 2019 during the 76th Venice Film Festival at Venice Lido. Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP.
VENICE (AFP).- French actress Juliette Binoche on Wednesday described the challenges of being directed through an interpreter in Hirokazu Kore-eda's "The Truth", but said working with the acclaimed Japanese director was a "dream". Kore-eda's spiky family drama, which also stars Catherine Deneuve and Ethan Hawke, opened the 76th Venice film festival and is among the 21 movies in competition for its top prize. It is the director's first foreign film and was shot in two languages that he does not speak -- French and English. Shot largely in the confines of a sprawling Paris house, it is about a French cinema star in the autumn of her career whose decision to publish her memoirs prompts a mother-daughter reunion that raises old ghosts. Oscar-winner Binoche, who plays the New York- ... More |
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Exquisite Chinese Art from The Irving Gift to the Metropolitan Museum
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 Placido Domingo accusations highlight transatlantic #MeToo splitNEW YORK (AFP).- Mere weeks after sexual assault allegations against Placido Domingo became public, a chorus of bravos resounded in Salzburg for the prolific opera singer, who blew kisses while receiving a standing ovation. It was his first of several upcoming European performances -- he will appear in Szeged, Hungary on Wednesday -- that remained on deck despite the #MeToo scandal festering against him, with numerous women saying the 78-year-old sexually harassed them over the course of decades. Classical music companies stateside were quick to err on the side of caution, with the Philadelphia Orchestra and San Francisco Opera immediately canceling his upcoming performances when news of the accusations broke. But houses in Europe took more of a wait-and-see stance, with some throwing their support behind the storied ... More  Sports photography auction totals $454,000, adding to massive summer tallyDALLAS, TX.- Just days after dropping the hammer on over $11 million of elite memorabilia and trading cards in its famous Summer Platinum Night auction, Heritage produced dramatic results in its special Sports Photography Auction Aug. 23, adding $454,000 to its industry-leading sales tally. No fewer than 10 photos had topped $10,000 by the time the last hammer fell, with the mighty Babe Ruth sweeping the medal stand with the top three results of the evening. The Babe wears the uniform of the Boston Red Sox in the first- and second-place shots: a full-body pitching image sold for $37,200 and a marvelous and virtually unknown bust portrait ended at $34,800. Nat Feins iconic Pulitzer-Prize-winning The Babe Bows Out from Ruths 1948 final farewell commanded $32,400 for third place. This might be the most dynamic subgenre ... More  Jim Davis opens vault to personal archive of 10,000+ Garfield original comic strips at Heritage AuctionsDALLAS, TX.- A trove of more than 10,000 pieces of the original art for Jim Davis iconic Garfield comic strip, with daily strips valued upwards of $500 each, and Sunday strips considerably more, will be offered exclusively through Heritage Auctions over the coming years in a series of Signature, monthly and weekly Sunday Internet Comics, Animation and Art Auctions. The collection features individual daily and Sunday strips by Jim Davis, the artist behind the most widely syndicated feature in the world, reaches two million readers daily. Davis created the strip in 1978. Garfield is one of the most popular comic strips of all time, and has been for decades, said Jim Halperin, Co-Chairman of Heritage Auctions. It has matured into a wildly successful franchise, evolving from the strip that has appeared in newspapers around the world to a television show, multiple ... More  Venice film festival opens under cloud of controversyVENICE (AFP).- A glittering array of A-listers swept up the red carpet as the Venice film festival opened in a flurry celebrity Wednesday, but the 11-day celebration of cinema is battling scandal over the inclusion of director Roman Polanski. The festival, which has become the launchpad for the Oscar race, has a host of Hollywood heavyweights in a line-up including Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Kristen Stewart, Meryl Streep and Scarlett Johansson. But as stars arrived for the gala launch, the world's oldest film festival was already embroiled in controversy. Venice, facing criticism for having just two films directed by women out of 21 in the running for its top prize, has sparked further fury with the films it has chosen. Campaigners have accused the festival of being out of touch in the era of #MeToo by including Polanski. It is also presenting a new film in a sidebar event from ... More  Susanin's announces highlights included in the Fall Premiere AuctionCHICAGO, ILL.- A collection of Tiffany Studios mosaic glass zodiac panels and favrile glass mosaic tiles, an oil on canvas painting by Vietnamese artist Lê Phổ (1907-2001), and a lacquered polyurethane Homme Chair with a tubular steel base by Ruth Francken (Czech-American, 1924-2006) are just a few premier lots in Susanins Fall Premiere Auction slated for Friday, Sept. 20th. Also to be sold is a collection of antique furniture and fine art from the estate of Lt. Gen. Hanford MacNicder and his son; and a collection of mostly early-to-mid-20th century Native American basketwork. The auction will be held online and in Susanins gallery at 900 South Clinton in Chicago. Start time is 10 am Central, with online bidding available through LiveAuctioneers.com. Telephone and absentee bids will also be taken. Previews will be held Sept. 14th (10 am-2 pm); Sept. ... More  Eight leading jewellery makers and designers pop up at Harvey NicholsEDINBURGH.- Theres still time to see work by eight exceptional makers and designers on display in a pop-up shop promoting the finest hand-made jewellery from Scotland and the rest of the UK. The first Elements pop-up shop is a collaboration between The Incorporation of Goldsmiths of the City of Edinburgh, Lyon and Turnbull auctioneers and Harvey Nichols. Hosted by Harvey Nichols, Edinburgh, and taking place until 31 August, it offers an opportunity to meet and see work by Akvile Su, Eileen Gatt, Flora Bhattachary, Georgina Orme (TipToe Jewellery), Hannah Bedford, Hannah Louise Lamb, Romany Starrs and Ruth Leslie. All are recognised as highly accomplished jewellery makers and are part of the new wave who have embraced ethical practices buying precious metals and stones from responsible sources, recycling materials and minimising ... More  Jeremy Thomas donates personal collection to the BFI National ArchiveLONDON.- The BFI announced that Jeremy Thomas, one of the industrys most revered independent producers and founder of Recorded Picture Company, has made a significant donation from his working archive to the BFI National Archive. The archive spans Jeremy Thomass remarkable career both as a producer and executive producer from his first film, Mad Dog Morgan (1976) by Philippe Mora, through to Ben Wheatleys High Rise (2015). Consisting of both moving image and paper-based material this donation includes rare 35mm prints, scripts, production material and international posters from some of his most important and distinctive films such as Nicolas Roegs Bad Timing (1978), Nagisa Ãshimas Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (1983), Bernardo Bertoluccis 9-time Oscar®-winning The Last Emperor (1987), David Cronenbergs controversial ... More  Emily Mae Smith's first solo exhibition in Japan opens at PerrotinTOKYO.- Perrotin is presenting a solo exhibition by New York based artist Emily Mae Smith. This is her first exhibition in Japan. Emily Mae Smith doesnt mind pointing out that while shes been painting for some twenty years, her art really began to come into focus around 2013. That tells you a lotabout why her work can have the freshness, energy, and go-for-broke ingenuity of an emerging artist relishing her process of self-discovery, while still also showing the impeccable technical fluency and conceptual sophistication that usually only develop with considerable experience. And Smith has evidently been looking as long as shes been painting: her references encompass a big chunk of the history of Western painting, including often-overlooked episodes like nineteenth-century Symbolism, as well as a vast swath of the popular or commercial ... More  Richard Saltoun Gallery presents the work of two South African artists, Vivienne Koorland and Berni SearleLONDON.- Made Routes: Mapping and Making, curated by acclaimed academic and art historian Tamar Garb, brings together the work of two South African artists, Vivienne Koorland and Berni Searle. The encounter between them speaks to their shared artistic concerns and their participation in the landmark exhibition Trade Routes: History + Geography at the 1997 2nd Johannesburg Biennale, under the artistic directorship of the late Okwui Enwezor (19632019) to whom this exhibition is dedicated. In Trade Routes, Enwezor and his curatorial team explored the way in which contemporary art interrogates and negotiates national boundaries and cartographic hierarchies, as well as the global movement and flow of people and commodities across modernitys variegated landscapes. This exhibition at Richard Saltoun Gallery revisits key works ... More  in Pursuit of Venus [infected] by Lisa Reihana to premieres in San FranciscoSAN FRANCISCO, CA.- In conjunction with the recent acquisition of in Pursuit of Venus [infected] (2015) by New Zealand artist Lisa Reihana, The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are mounting the first presentation of this work in the continental United States. Panoramic in format, the animated, digital scroll is a moving image interpretation of the 19th-century French scenic wallpaper Les Sauvages de la Mer Pacifique (Native Peoples of the South Pacific). Its exhibition at the de Young is accompanied by the complete set of the wallpaper and an 18th-century folio with engravings of scenes from captain James Cooks travels in the Pacific Oceanalso part of the museums' holdings. Challenging the Dufour wallpapers imperialist conception of the encounter between Captain Cook, his crew and the Pacific Islanders, in Pursuit of Venus [infected] reclaims ... More |
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PhotoGalleries 
Exhibit Columbus 
Cosmoscow 2019 
Edinburgh Art Festival 
The Colonial National Historical Park
Flashback On a day like today, French painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres was born August 29, 1780. Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (29 August 1780 - 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassical painter. Although he considered himself to be a painter of history in the tradition of Nicolas Poussin and Jacques-Louis David, by the end of his life it was Ingres's portraits, both painted and drawn, that were recognized as his greatest legacy. In this image: The Envoys of Agamemnon, 1801, oil on canvas, Ãcole des Beaux Arts, Paris.
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