| The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Thursday, July 5, 2018 |
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| | One of J.M.W.Turner's greatest watercolours left in private hands sells for £2 million | |
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Joseph Mallord William Turner, R.A., The Lake of Lucerne from Brunnen, Watercolour over traces of pencil, 308 by 469mm (est. £1,200,000-1,800,000). Courtesy Sotheby's.
LONDON.- Today at Sotheby?s, a stunning Swiss landscape by Britain?s favourite artist, J.M.W. Turner sold for £2 million, among the top prices ever achieved for a watercolour by the artist. Created in the final years of the artist?s life and widely considered to be the pinnacle of his achievements in the medium, The Lake of Lucerne from Brunnen depicts one of the most dramatic landscapes in the Swiss Alps, capturing the view over the picturesque village of Brunnen on the eastern shores of Lake Lucerne. Inspired by Turner?s travels to the region between 1841 and 1844, the work was commissioned by Turner?s great patron Elhanan Bicknell to hang as a companion piece to the iconic Blue Rigi, which achieved a record price at Sotheby?s in 2006 and now hangs in Tate Britain . Works from Turner?s ?late? Swiss series, of which this is one, have come to be seen as the ?climax of a lifetime devoted to the expression of light and colour?. Mark Griffith- ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day View taken on July 3, 2018 of the Portico Oriental at the Caliphate City of Medina Azahara in Cordova, southern Spain. The Caliphate city of Medina Azahara, an archaeological site of a city built in the mid-10th century by the Umayyad dynasty as the seat of the Caliphate of Cordoba, was added on July 2, 2018 to the UNESCO World Heritage list. CRISTINA QUICLER / AFP
| Strong bidding for Modern & Contemporary Art at Koller Auctions | | Egypt unearths ancient artefacts 'hidden' in WWII | | European police seize 25,000 trafficked ancient finds | 
Kees van Dongen, Portrait de femme. Circa 1913. Oil on Canvas. 65 x 55 cm. Sold for CHF 240 500.
ZURICH.- Kollers auctions on 29 30 June were marked by strong bidding for Modern & Contemporary works, which often sold far above expectations. The fine art auctions concluded with total sales far exceeding the pre-sale estimates. The saleroom, telephone banks and internet bidding terminals were all extremely active during Kollers Modern & Contemporary sales on 29 30 June, led by a Fauvist work by Kees van Dongen, Rouge et Jaune (lÃgyptienne) from 1910-11, which sold to a European private collector for CHF 1.7 million. Another painting by van Dongen from the same private Swiss collection which was compiled from the 1920s, and included further works by Gen Paul and Maurice de Vlaminck (lot 3231, sold for CHF 204 500) «Portrait de femme» from 1913, realized CHF 240 500. Sculpture was particularly sought after in the June sales: a Bust of a Rising ... More | | 
Pots and other receptacles dating back to Greek, Roman, Coptic and Islamic eras were discovered.
CAIRO (AFP).- Hundreds of ancient pottery items have been discovered in an Alexandria museum in a hiding place "most probably" created during World War II, Egypt's antiquities ministry said Wednesday. Pots and other receptacles dating back to Greek, Roman, Coptic and Islamic eras were discovered "during restoration work" in a garden inside the Greco-Roman museum of Alexandria in northern Egypt, the ministry said in a statement. "These pots were most probably hidden by (British) archaeologist Alan Rowe and employees in the museum's garden during World War II", Ayman Ashmawy, head of Egyptian antiquities at the ministry, said in the statement. The artefacts were hidden to "protect them from looting or being destroyed by repeated bombardments during the war", he said. "The hiding process was carried out quickly without being documented ... More | | 
Some 25 000 archeological goods seized worth a total of EUR 40 million. Photo: Europol.
THE HAGUE (AFP).- Police forces in four countries on Wednesday seized some 25,000 Greek and Roman archaeological items worth over 40 million euros ($46 million) in pre-dawn raids, cracking down on illegal trafficking in cultural goods. Some 250 officers in Italy, Spain, Britain and Germany simultaneously swooped on 40 houses -- the culmination of a four-year investigation led by the Italians, the European police agency said. In Italy, the raids were focused on the regions of Sicily, Calabria, Piedmont, Apulia, in what is considered one of the biggest crackdowns in such crimes "in Italian history". In the Sicilian Caltanissetta area "which is rich in archaeological sites from the Greek and Roman epochs, local members of the organised crime group illegally excavated artefacts," Europol said. The items were then smuggled out of Italy, "equipped with false provenances and sold via German ... More |
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| Bolivia to build museum at bottom of 'sacred lake' | | Untold stories of enslaved and paid laborers revealed at 1 West Mount Vernon Place | | Jools Holland/Squeeze drummer and artist Gilson Lavis presents London art exhibit | 
Lake Titicaca on the Andes from Bolivia. Photo: Anthony Lacoste/wikipedia.org
LA PAZ (AFP).- Bolivia is to build an underwater museum in its sacred Lake Titicaca, the culture minister said. The move comes after thousands of priceless artifacts were discovered at the bottom of the abyss. "It will be both a tourist complex and a centre for archeological, geological and biological research, which will make it the only one in the world," culture minister Wilma Alanoca said on Tuesday. The museum will cost $10 million (8.6 million euros) to build, in partnership with Belgian development agency Enabel. Alanoca said Belgium and Unesco would contribute $2 million to the project. Titicaca holds an important place in the hearts of local people -- legend has it that Manco Capac, the son of the Sun God and his wife Mama Ocllo, emerged from its waters. One of the main figures in Inca mythology, Manco Capac is believed to have founded the Peruvian city of Cusco, ... More | | 
The discovery of the identity of one of those enslaved servantsSybby Grant, the Thomases cookchanged how the Walters Art Museum tells the story of 1 West.
BALTIMORE, MD.- 1 West Mount Vernon Place, the Walters Art Museums awe-inspiring 19th-century mansion, opened after a multi-year transformation. Located in the heart of Mount Vernon, 1 West offers visitors exciting new ways to experience the Walters renowned collection in one of Baltimores most distinctive and spectacular buildings. With the reopening of 1 West Mount Vernon Place, we are thrilled to showcase the Walters in new ways, says Julia Marciari-Alexander, Andrea B. and John H. Laporte Director. This project represents the next step in the museums evolution as a place where we can collaborate with the public to create exceptional experiences that are accessible to a wide range of audiences. 1 West served as a home during the 19th and 20th centuries, with staff maintaining ... More | | 
Prince, c2008, acrylic on canvas board, signed by artist, framed. 24 x 30 inches.
LONDON.- Highly acclaimed British drummer and artist Gilson Lavis will present his new London art exhibit Gilson Lavis: From Drums to Canvas at the very fashionable Karma Sanctum Soho Hotel at 20 Warwick St. in London from July 5th through August 12th, 2018. This unique new collection of acrylic on canvas board paintings and ink drawings by the veteran rock and R & B drummer will now take center stage in London. The black and white music-themed portraits, along with a series of very personal sketches by Lavis, have become much sought after by tastemakers and those in art and music circles. Best known currently as the superbly versatile drummer with Jools Hollands Rhythm & Blues Orchestra and the original drummer for the British band Squeeze,Gilson Lavis has achieved legendary status in the British music world over the last 40 years and is now shining the ... More |
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| London Design Biennale gets emotional | | Exhibition at The MAK in Vienna offers a diverse spectrum of contemporary poster designs | | Kunsthalle Mainz presents an exhibition of works by Julian Charrière | 
London Design Biennale 2016. Photo: Ed Reeve.
LONDON (AFP).- The second London Design Biennale will explore the emotional states of joy, stress and sadness through installations from 40 countries, showing how design "affects every aspect of our lives", according to organisers. Artistic director Christopher Turner told AFP on Wednesday that the event, to be held at the iconic Somerset House during September, would showcase works from around the world in an attempt to "put an end to the eurocentric understanding of design. "Every geographic region is represented. We travelled to Africa, to the Middle-East, to South America and we made sure that Africa was better represented this year," he added. Following 2016's inaugural event, the 2018 edition will take over the entirety of Somerset House, with organisers saying that the entries "will explore how design affects every aspect of our lives - the way we live and how we live -- and influences our very emotions, being and experiences." The Canadian installation will offer ... More | | 
Graphic design: Erich Brechbühl, The Happy Show. Client: Museum für Gestaltung Zürich. Printing: Serigraphie Uldry AG. Technique: screen print. Switzerland © Erich Brechbühl/100 Beste Plakate e.V.
VIENNA.- From humorous advertising slogans to socially critical statements, the MAK exhibition 100 Best Posters 17: Germany Austria Switzerland offers a diverse spectrum of contemporary poster designs. On show are the one hundred winning posters that this years international jury of experts chose from entries to the annual competition. The posters, all of which are considered equal winners, range from student projects to commissioned work by established graphic designers and advertising agents. In 2017, the selection manifests a pronounced trend towards serial poster combinations and unconventional graphic solutions. The five-person jury for the graphic design competition, which is by now a well-established tradition, comprised communications designer Jens Müller (Düsseldorf, Chair), poster artist Peter Bankov (Prague), the graphic designers ... More | | 
Detail: Julian Charrière, The Other Side of Eden, 2018, Photo: N. Miguletz.
MAINZ.- Tambora, which literally means "an invitation to disappear", is a volcano on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa. In 1815 it became clear just how appropriate and fateful the choice of name would prove to be, for that was when Tambora became active, triggering what was and still is the largest volcanic eruption in recorded human history. Not only the islands inhabitants fell victim to the explosion, for the cloud of ash spread across the globe and led to temperatures falling as far away as Europe and North America. 1816 went down in history as the "year without a summer". The volcanic winter, which persisted until 1819, caused failed harvests, floods and famines. But it produced other colours, too. The sunsets changed due to the countless aerosols in the atmosphere. The works created by J.M.W. Turner and Caspar David Friedrich during this period exhibit a remarkable spectrum of colours. It has been argued that both painters, as chroniclers of their ... More |
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| Frutta Gallery Glasgow exhibits works by Cornelia Baltes | | The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts displays a selection of intelligently designed objects made by Quebec creators | | Mutina for Art opens a site-specific installation 'Passaggio della Vittoria' by artist Paul Thorel | 
Cornelia Baltes, Nil, 2018. Acrylic and routed black MDF, 70 Ã 56 cm (27 1/2 Ã 22 inches).
GLASGOW.- Entering Cornelia Baltess latest solo exhibition at Frutta Gallery, the viewer is immediately confronted with 13 paintings on board suspended from the ceiling. Freed from the walls, the paintings actively occupy the room, seemingly of their own accord. As we navigate a course through the exhibition the paintings reveal and obscure each other, decoupling, recoupling and unsettling our understanding of them. In the exhibition, Baltes reconfigures the archetype of display by transforming Frutta Gallery into a setting where the viewer experiences an imaginative attempt away from pre-existing modes of display. The works float above us, their jet black negative space--made by routing the edges on the reverse-presents an escape from modern reason and the art histories of the masculine subject. On one, white lines gesture upwards. On another, geometric forms force a sense of depth, a harmonious, nuanced way for exploring the grou ... More | | 
Anne Thomas (born in 1962), The Shopping Cart Bag, 2010, cotton, synthetic material. On loan from TOMA Objects. Photo MMFA, Christine Guest.
MONTREAL.- The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts celebrates the culinary arts and homegrown creativity with the presentation of some fifty objects designed by Quebec creators. Exhibited in the Design Lab for contemporary design and decorative arts, the exhibition Bon appétit! Contemporary Foodware Designs in Quebec brings together the accoutrements of welcoming people to a table the tools and equipment used for preparing, cooking, and keeping food industrial and artisanal objects that are always attractive. The exhibition features contemporary pieces by Loïc Bard, Diane Leclair Bisson, Louise Bousquet (Porcelaines Bousquet), Chifen Cheng (Maison Milan), Leïla Chouikh, Gaëlle Couléard, Michel Dallaire, Sol Desharnais, Manuel Desrochers (AQUAOVO), Koen de Winter, Marie-Hélène Beaulieu and Sébastien Duchange, Bob Katz and Sylvain Duchesne (Katz Design Inc.), Stéphane ... More | | 
Passaggio della Vittoria dissolves a combination of shapes and colors through a special process of image decomposition, typical of Thorels work. Photo: Amedeo Benestante.
FIORANO.- Mutina for Art presents a new project for the series Dialogue, dedicated to ceramics experimental productions of contemporary artists. The great site-specific installation Passaggio della Vittoria by artist Paul Thorel, commissioned by Madre Museum in Naples, opened on 22 June 2018. It is a large-scale mosaic of about 180 square meters made with 1,832,400 tiles, each one square centimeter, and decorated with digital machines, laid on the four walls of the passage that connects the central courtyard of the museum to the sculpture courtyard. Passaggio della Vittoria dissolves a combination of shapes and colors through a special process of image decomposition, typical of Thorels work. The installation, commissioned by Museo Madre, quotes natural elements, typical Neapolitan architectural references and physical and mental landscapes suggestions. ... More |
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Painting Ed Sheeran by Gilson Lavis
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 Stamped out by war and communism, Polish luxury is backWARSAW (AFP).- A grey Ferrari comes to a halt in Warsaw and a young woman emerges. Wearing Chanel sunglasses and carrying a little dog, she enters the Raffles Europejski hotel, a symbol of the luxury that has returned to Poland. Her destination is the historic pastry shop Lourse, which is located at the hotel, where guests pay between 250 and 4,000 euros ($290 and $4,700) a night and can count on perks like a personal butler. The legendary Hotel Europejski, which was considered eastern Europe's best in the 19th century, has just reopened after five years of renovation work spearheaded by the Raffles brand. Poland's first Hermes store could be housed at the site, a source told AFP, though the French luxury goods giant would only confirm that it was looking into a project "in Warsaw in late 2019, early 2020". Luxury has become increasingly visible in Poland ... More PAFA announces new acquisitions; Partnership with Paulson Fontaine PressPHILADELPHIA, PA.- During its most recent Collections Committee meeting, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts announced a relationship with the Paulson Fontaine Press to be the only East Coast repository for all of its prints by African American artists. The museum also added nearly 40 historic, modern and contemporary works to its permanent collection of American art at the quarterly meeting. With the acquisition of these prints, PAFA is positioned to become the East Coast archive of works on paper by African American artists from that press, said Jodi Throckmorton, PAFA Curator of Contemporary Art. The West coast repository is the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco. This collection of prints represents some of the most important artists working today, Throckmorton said. The Paulson Fontaine Press is one of the most experimental ... More Bruce Museum welcomes new trustees, bestows awards, at Annual MeetingGREENWICH, CONN.- The Bruce Museum, Inc. Annual Meeting on June 19, 2018, featured annual awards for service and the election of new and returning trustees. Jan Rogers Kniffen, Chairman of the Board, gave The Chairman's Award to Sachiko T. Goodman, citing her years of valued service as a Bruce Museum Trustee and longstanding supporter of the Museums programs and exhibitions. Peter C. Sutton, The Susan E. Lynch Executive Director, named Accounting Manager Bill Raymond the Employee of the Year and honored Bruce Trustee William Deutsch with the Directors Award. Receiving Employee Appreciation Awards were Mary Ann Lendenmann for 10 years of service, Daniel Buckley for 25 years of service, and Sue Brown Gordon for 25 years of service. The Bruce Museum Board of Trustees welcomed six first-term Members, Class of 2021. They ... More British Library to develop shared open access repository services LONDON.- The British Library, working with a group of cultural and memory organisations, is piloting a shared repository service for research content built on an open source platform. The repository aims to increase the visibility and impact of research outputs, making the knowledge generated by cultural institutions easier to explore and use for new research. The Library has appointed open access publisher Ubiquity Press to build the pilot repository. It will initially be populated with research outputs produced by the projects partners, the British Museum, Tate, National Museums Scotland and MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology), as well as the British Librarys own open research content. The pilot organisations are all Independent Research Organisations (IROs), which are cultural and memory institutions undertaking significant research, and eligible to apply for ... More Nationalgalerie presents projects by recent graduates from German art academiesBERLIN.- Rundgang 50Hertz is an exhibition series curated by the Nationalgalerie Staatliche Museen zu Berlin that promotes new perspectives in contemporary art. Over a period of three years, in cooperation with the transmission systems operator 50Hertz, the Nationalgalerie will present projects by recent graduates from art academies in Berlin, Hamburg and Leipzig. Their work is being presented to the public this summer in a flexible pavilion designed by Florian Stirnemann (raumlabor berlin) at the corporate headquarters of 50Hertz, located in direct proximity to the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum für Gegenwart Berlin. In 2018, for the second edition of Rundgang 50Hertz, this years jury, comprised of Franka Hörnschemeyer (artist), Katharina Herrmann (50Hertz Chief Human Resources Officer), Joachim Jäger (Head of the Neue Nationalgalerie) and Gabriele ... More FOMU Fotomuseum Antwerp opens Paul Kooiker's first major museum exhibitionANTWERP.- Untitled (nude) is the first major museum exhibition of Paul Kooikers (NL, °1964) work outside the Netherlands. This alternative retrospective, focused on watching, voyeurism and distance, draws the viewer into a confusing, destabilising creative and obsessive vacuum. A new work that was created specially for FOMU takes centre stage: Eggs and Rarities (2018). The exhibition is part of 'Antwerp Baroque 2018.Rubens inspires' and is supported bij the Mondriaan Fund. Paul Kooiker (NL, °1964) is a man on a mission. He is not the conceptual artist who comes up with an idea and then executes it. Neither is he the artist who travels the world wanting to be surprised by what he finds there. He has spent three decades looking for a liberating intermediate where the impact of the image takes precedence and taboos are broken and in which he imposes ... More 10th anniversary of the world's top photography prize celebrated in ArlesARLES.- The 10th anniversary of the Prix Pictet, now recognised as the worlds leading award in photography, will be celebrated with a major retrospective exhibition of the work of the winners over the past ten years at Les Rencontres dArles in France opening on Thursday 5 July 2018. Prix Pictet winners will attend a special screening that evening in the spectacular setting of citys great landmark, the Théâtre Antique, focusing on the critically important issues identified by the artists shortlisted for the prize since its founding ten years ago. Launched in 2008 with a groundbreaking mandate to document and highlight the global issue of sustainability, Prix Pictet immediately attracted the best photographers in the world to participate. The project has grown over the past ten years, now attracting nominations from more than 300 world class experts internationally, ... More A night in Mandela's prison cell - yours for $300kJOHANNESBURG (AFP).- For rich corporate executives, fine food, expensive wine and five-star hotels come as standard. But one discerning top boss with a spare $300,000 (260,000 euros) will give up creature comforts for a night in the cramped prison cell that was Nelson Mandela's home for 18 years. That is according to organisers of the annual CEO sleepout, an initiative which raises money for various charities. South Africa's first democratic, black president was kept on South Africa's Robben Island prison off Cape Town for much of his 27-year incarceration. A night in his iconic 8-foot by 7-foot (2.4 metres by 2.1 metres) concrete cell will now be auctioned for charity to mark the centenary of prisoner number 46664's birthday. "The suggestion was to auction the cell to raise money to fund the Prison-to-College Pipeline... educating incarcerated people in South ... More Ronchini Gallery opens its second solo exhibition of works by the artist Adeline de MonseignatLONDON.- Ronchini Gallery presents O, the second solo exhibition of works by the artist Adeline de Monseignat at the gallery. O explores the multitude of ways in which cycles manifest themselves in nature and mythology including the cycles of life and death, birth and rebirth, the cycle of the seasons and the cycles of fertility and growth. Featuring a video work as well as new marble sculptures and photographic prints, this multi-media exhibition will also continue the artists personal investigation into the shape of the sphere as a signifier of infinity and continuity within a cyclical format. In The Flesh is a series of sculptures that turn the geometric shape of the sphere into a visceral and bodily form by adding a simple crease, or fold, as if it is flesh. This crease embeds itself in the pure, smooth form of the sphere, breaking the bounds of the classical ... More New site-specific commission by Nicolas Deshayes in Battersea ParkLONDON.- Pump House Gallery is presenting Nicolas Deshayes first exhibition of outdoor sculpture, a new site-specific work in Battersea Park. Combining fleshly form with urban infrastructure the work has developed Deshayes interest in bodies of water, taking the fountains of Battersea Parks Pleasure Gardens and the nearby River Thames as his starting points. Deshayes uses industrial materials and processes to create bulbous and suggestive bodily forms. Reminiscent of organic substances that are squeezed from cracks and crevices, the works also reference the waste that litters our cities as it mingles with drains, pipes, and other urban facilities. Battersea Park acts as a conduit for these encounters, where the lives of people, trees and animals meet the management of nature on the edge of the river artery. Deshayes work has dealt with the skin ... More Original pen and ink drawings of the Rolls Royce 'Spirit of Ecstasy' bonnet ornament for saleLONDON.- Of the 540+ lots entered, in this online H&H Classics sale of automobilia highlighted items include two original pen and ink drawings of the Rolls-Royce Spirit of Ecstasy mascot (by the original designer Charles Sykes), with an estimate value of up to £1000, amongst many others. The upcoming sale begins on 1st July with bidding closing on all listings the following Sunday 8th July. Early in 2018, H&H launched Timed Online-Only Auctions of Automobilia, the first of which achieved a 90% sale rate. Now on their third Online-Only Auction, the Automobilia sales have grown in both popularity and consumer trust, to the effect that there are now over 540 items entered with 490 of those entered with No Reserve. Other items of interest entered into the online auction include Del Boy, Rodney & the Reliant Regal Supervan III [Signed] Estimate: NO RESERVE A ... More |
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Flashback On a day like today, American-Italian painter Cy Twombly died July 05, 2018. Edwin Parker "Cy" Twombly Jr. (April 25, 1928 - July 5, 2011) was an American painter, sculptor and photographer. He belonged to the generation of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. In this image: Cy Twombly, (American, 1928 2011), Anabasis (Bronze), 2011. Bronze, 46 1/16 x 19 1/8 x 19 5/16 inches, Base (pedestal): 39 à 26 1/4 à 26 inches. © Cy Twombly Foundation.
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