| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |    | Established in 1996 | Tuesday, January 9, 2024 |
| | An antique dress held a secret: A coded message from 1888 | |
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In an undated photo from Sara Rivers Cofield, a silk bustle dress. For nearly a decade, sleuths had tried to decode a cryptic note discovered in the silk bustle dress. An analyst finally cracked the case. (Sara Rivers Cofield via The New York Times)
by Livia Albeck-Ripka
NEW YORK, NY.- Sara Rivers Cofield was on her usual search for interesting period clothing about a decade ago when she noticed what appeared to be a textbook silk bustle dress from the 1800s at an antique mall in Maine. The bronze-colored dress was in good condition, with a draped skirt, puffy bustle, and metal buttons that appeared to depict a Shakespearean motif. Rivers Cofield, an archaeologist, bought it for $100. Little did she know that the garment also contained a mystery: a secret pocket with a cryptic note. Part of the message, written on two, scrunched-up translucent sheets of paper, read: Bismark Omit leafage buck bank / Paul Ramify loamy event false new event. Rivers Cofield was baffled. Was it a writing exercise? A list? A code? What the
?, she wrote on her blog in 2014. Im putting it up here in case theres some decoding prodigy out there looking for a project. Wayne Chan, a data analyst at the University of Manitoba, final ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day The exhibition 'Picasso 1906: The Turning Point' currently on view at the Museo Reina Sofia looks to survey, from a contemporary aesthetic awareness, the artistâs first contribution to the definition of âmodern artâ.
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| Rare 1843 first edition of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' up for auction | | 'The Pharoah's Judgement', a newly discovered painting, to be shown at Christopher Bishop Fine Art | | Two new works by Robert Grosvenor are focus of new exhibition at Karma | 
First published on December 19, 1843, just six weeks after Dickens began writing it, the book had sold out by Christmas Eve and had been through 13 editions by the end of 1844. Image courtesy of John Nicholsons Auctioneers.
LONDON.- An 1843 First Edition of Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol will be up for auction at John Nicholsons in Fernhurst on January 23. The novella was originally published by Chapman & Hall under the longer title of A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas. First published on December 19, 1843, just six weeks after Dickens began writing it, the book had sold out by Christmas Eve and had been through 13 editions by the end of 1844. So successful was the First Edition that barely a month after it was published, Parleys Illuminated Library released an unauthorised version, incurring Dickens wrath and a suit for breach of copyright, which the author won. However, Parleys declared themselves bankrupt, leaving Dickens to pay the £700 costs of the case. A landmark work that has not only helped shape the modern idea of Christmas, but also inspired many other interpretations, A Christ ... More | | 
Embroidery Workshop of the Monastery of the Escorial (Spanish, 16th Century), ca. 1585. The Pharaohs Judgment, Pen and brown ink with brown washes, highlighted in white on blue paper, extensively pricked for transfer throughout, 304 x 193 mm, Christopher Bishop Fine Art.
NEW YORK, NY.- Christopher Bishop Fine Art will exhibit a newly discovered drawing from the 16th century at Master Drawings New York (MDNY) on view from January 27 through February 3, 2024, at Christopher Bishop Fine Art, 1046 Madison Avenue. The annual show, a well-established and highly anticipated art fair, which takes place in 26 galleries throughout Manhattans Upper East Side, will open with a preview event on Friday, January 26, from 3 p.m.- 8 p.m. The extraordinarily rare Spanish drawing, The Pharoahs Judgment, was first discovered by Christopher Bishop at a small New England auction earlier this year. Its gripping subject matter and modern feel make it the type of drawing that only emerges once every 20 years, Christopher Bishop stated. A priceless object, worth more than 50 times its high estimate, The Pharaohs Judgment presents an extraordinary ... More | | 
Robert Grosvenor, Untitled, 2023. Automobile, fiberglass resin, automotive paint, spray paint, goggles, and rabbit's-foot keychain, 59 Ã 67 Ã 165 in. (149.9 Ã 170.2 Ã 419 cm).
NEW YORK, NY.- Karma presents an exhibition of two new works by Robert Grosvenor, on view from January 6 to March 2 at 22 East 2nd Street, New York. Horizontality defines much of Grosvenors enigmatic, five-decade-long oeuvre. At Karma, two materially distinct artworks, united in their horizontal orientation, share one gallery. A twelve-foot-long board, screwed laterally into the west wall at eye level, is obscured by a cloud of black spray paint. A low-slung, modified readymade occupies the center of the space. Together, they provoke a consideration of the relationship between the upright human body and these recumbent forms that nonetheless float above the ground. Coated in deep-purple automobile paint, the central sculpture reflects its viewers in its gleaming surface. Where one expects a windshield, there is only open space. The hubcaps and headlights, like the wall sculpture, have been spray-painted matte black. A pair of vintage drivi ... More |
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| Solo exhibition of new work by Irish artist Niamh O'Malley on view at GRIMM | | Who was the mysterious woman buried alone at the pet cemetery? | | Discover the wonders of Singapore through art during 'Singapore Art Week 2024' | 
Niamh O'Malley, Lightbox, 2023. Mirrored stainless steel, beech, mild steel, tinted glass, LED strip, 200 x 130 x 30 cm | 78 3/4 x 51 1/8 x 11 3/4 inches. Provenance Gather, Temple Bar Gallery & Studios, Dublin (IE), 2023.
NEW YORK, NY.- GRIMM is currently presenting Lightbox, a solo exhibition of new work by Irish artist Niamh O'Malley which opened on December 15. This is the artist's first exhibition with GRIMM and her debut solo exhibition in the United States. Lightbox builds on OMalleys presentation for the Irish Pavilion in the 59th Venice Biennial (2022) titled Gather, and opens in parallel with Ciarán Murphys still, weight, thing. OMalleys sculptural installations incorporate a delicate balance of space and object, her artwork punctuating the room with its distinctive vocabulary of steel, limestone, wood and glass. Responding thoughtfully to the dimensions and history of the gallery space, OMalleys sculptural works coalesce in a purposeful landscape of forms, acknowledging their location in her first ever US exhibition in the vibrant hum of New York City, while considering the influence ... More | | 
Dana Bassett with his mother, Patricia Chaarte in an undated photo. At Hartsdale Pet Cemetery, Ed Martin III had become accustomed to unusual requests. Then came Patricia Chaarte. (Carlos Acuna via The New York Times)
by Andrew Keh
NEW YORK, NY.- Ed Martin III was 14 years old when he began working at his fathers pet cemetery, and in the decades since, he has tended to the graves of innumerable dogs, many cats, flocks of birds, a few monkeys, a lion cub, a Bengal tiger and countless other creatures from every corner of the animal kingdom. In all that time, after all those burials, there was only ever one request, a few years ago, that gave him pause. Calling that morning, on Jan. 29, 2020, was Bruce Johnson, a lawyer from New York, who had in his possession the cremated remains of a woman named Patricia Chaarte. Chaarte had died at her home in Mexico, at the age of 92. In her will, she had requested that her ashes be interred at Hartsdale Pet Cemetery, just north of New York City. She had no next ... More | | 
Sterling Ruby Scale (5167), 2014.
SINGAPORE.- Singapore Art Week (SAW) returns from 19 to 28 January 2024. Art Takes Over Singapore with over 130 visual arts experiences across the island, from the heartlands to the urban core. Now in its 12th edition, SAW is the longest running art week in the region. Art enthusiasts and collectors from around the world are invited to learn about Singapores diverse arts scene while discovering new perspectives towards art made in Southeast Asia. Organised by the National Arts Council (NAC) and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), audiences can look forward to a showcase of Singapores visual art all in one place. There is something for everyone, from international art fairs and quality museum exhibitions to world-class private collections and gallery openings, street art, brand activations, as well as exciting lifestyle and community art activities across the island. SAW 2024 will redefine what the visual arts is and can be ... More |
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| Andy T's 'Urban Vision 2001-2024' includes almost a hundred photos, videos, and sculptures | | National Academy of Design presents exhibition of newly elected artists and architects | | 'Oppenheimer' wins 5 Golden Globes and 'Succession' wins 4 | 
Untitled: Anton Art Center, Andrew W. Thompson. Inkjet print, 2012.
DEARBORN, MICH.- Andy Ts Urban Vision, 2001-2024 is the first mid-career retrospective of Detroit-based sculptor and installation artist Andrew W. Thompson. Covering over two decades of artistic production, this comprehensive exhibition delves into the underpinnings of Thompsons creative process rooted in the study and the reuse of everyday commonplace materials. Thompson utilizes items that have been discarded, including old tires, used clothes, plastic bottles, bags from supermarkets, and junk mail to assemble three-dimensional artworks. These works of art are directly influenced by the physical design of the exhibition spaces they are displayed in. Moreover, motivated by his belief in art as a life-organizing principle, the artist, having resided on Kansas City and Detroit, makes art in direct response to his immediate urban surroundings. He examines the use and spatial circulation of everyday objects in public spaces, comprehending how they serve as conduits for worldviews, ... More | | 
Sanford Biggers, Sugar Sell the Pie, 2023. Antique quilts, wood, gold leaf, mirror base, 63 3/8 x 18 1/4 x 12 1/2 in., 161 x 46.4 x 31.8 cm.
NEW YORK, NY.- The National Academy of Design will be presenting Sites of Impermanence, an exhibition of art and architectural works by the recently elected 2023 National Academicians Alice Adams, Sanford Biggers, Wille Cole, Torkwase Dyson, Richard Gluckman, Carlos Jiménez, Mel Kendrick, and Sarah Oppenheimer. The exhibition will run from February 8 to May 11, 2024, at 519 West 26th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, the Academys new permanent Chelsea location. A public opening reception will be hosted on Thursday, February 8, from 6 to 8 pm. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 12 to 6 p.m. Although disparate in their approaches to material and subject matter, the artists and architects featured in Sites of Impermanence form a vivid cross-section of responses to urgent contemporary conditions and the underlying histories that have shaped them. From site-specific projects to sculpture, drawing, ... More | | 
Taylor Swift at the Golden Globes Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. (Sinna Nasseri/The New York Times)
by Brooks Barnes
NEW YORK, NY.- The 81st Golden Globes kicked off Hollywoods awards season Sunday in a chaotic and sloppy manner, with the host, Jo Koy, delivering a train wreck of a monologue, winners alternately seeming to take the ceremony seriously and not at all, and prizes going to a wide array of films and television shows. Oppenheimer, which entered the ceremony with eight nominations, emerged as the movie to beat in the coming Oscar race, winning five Globes, including for best drama, Christopher Nolans directing and Cillian Murphys acting. Barbie, The Holdovers and Poor Things also won notable movie awards. Here are the other main takeaways: The most nominated film, Barbie, which received citations in nine categories, won two Globes, including the one for best cinematic and box office achievement, a newly created prize. ... More |
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| Joel Sternfeld's 'American Prospects' with text by Andy Grundberg now out | | How the obscure song 'Insomniac' became an a cappella sensation | | Klee Benally, Navajo activist and artist, dies at 48 | 
Lake Oswego, Oregon, June 1979. All images © Joel Sternfeld.
NEW YORK, NY.- Returning to the original 1987 publications format, this new edition of Sternfelds lyrical portrait of Americas hopes and sorrows includes previously unseen images. Born of a desire to follow the seasons up and down America, and equally to find lyricism in contemporary American life despite all its dark histories, American Prospects has enjoyed a life of acclaim. Its pages are filled with unexpected excitement, despair, tenderness and hope. Its fears are expressed in beauty, its sadnesses in irony. Oddly enough, the society it seems to presage has now come to be; oddly enough, the ideas of this book bespeak our present moment. Often out of print, this new edition of Joel Sternfeld's seminal book returns to the format of the original 1987 edition. All of the now classic images within italongside a group of never published photographsexamine a once pristine land stewarded by indigenous peoples who needed no lessons in stewardship, and a land now occupied ... More | | 
In an undated photo provided by Billy Pilgrim, the sheet music for Insomniac. Few people were aware of the 1994 single, and it quickly sank into obscurity. But a cappella groups cant stop singing it. (Billy Pilgrim via The New York Times)
by Sopan Deb
NEW YORK, NY.- In high school, I joined Rebel Yell, an a cappella group named after the Billy Idol song. I mostly beatboxed or sang background vocals. But one year, my chorus teacher gave me a lead vocal. It was on a song called Insomniac, by a folk rock duo called Billy Pilgrim. Our audiences didnt know the song before we sang it. None of us did, which made it an odd choice for contemporary a cappella, where most of the songs performed are big hits. I didnt realize until years later that groups all across the country were singing this song, without knowing anything about the original version. But why? Two students at Emory University, Kristian Bush and Andrew Hyra, formed Billy Pilgrim in the early 1990s, and their self-titled major record label debut came in 1994. Insomniac ... More | | 
Benally, a dynamic Navajo activist, artist, and punk-rock musician who championed Native American and environmental causes died in a Phoenix hospital after a short illness on Dec. 30, 2023. (Hillary Abe via The New York Times)
by Penelope Green
NEW YORK, NY.- Klee Benally, a dynamic Navajo activist, artist and punk-rock musician who championed Native American and environmental causes, died Dec. 30 in Phoenix. He was 48. His death, in a hospital, was confirmed by his sister, Jeneda Benally. She did not specify the cause. For decades, Klee Benally, who lived in Flagstaff, Arizona, fought the expansion of the Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort on one of the San Francisco Peaks, a mountain range just north of Flagstaff that 13 tribes consider sacred. He also fought the resorts use of treated wastewater to make snow, a practice that Native Americans and environmental groups said was poisoning the ecosystem. He protested against a pumice mine on those same peaks, and against uranium mining and ... More |
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Trailblazer of sustainable architecture | BUILT ECOLOGIES: ARCHITECTURE AND ENVIRONMENT
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 Royal College of Art appoints new Heads of Programme for Painting and AnimationLONDON.- Dr Kamini Vellodi will join the Royal College of Art in April 2024 as Head of Programme for MA Painting within the School of Arts & Humanities. The programme embraces paintings rich material and conceptual history and its potential in the 21st century through shared practices, research, and a collaborative culture engaging with current global issues. Dr Samantha Moore has been appointed as Head of Programme for MA Animation within the School of Communication at the Royal College of Art. The programme cultivates critical thinking to examine social and cultural issues by embracing experimentation and creativity, and is renowned for its artistic excellence, director-led approach and innovative risk-taking. Dr Kamini Vellodi joins the RCA from Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh, where she ... More  She helped the Lillys blossom. Now she'll champion her own work.NEW YORK, NY.- Ask playwright Julia Jordan what the need was for the Lilly Awards, which she co-founded in 2010 to honor women in theater, and the answer is a mix of anecdote and statistic. Her mind goes straight to the years after she completed the playwriting program at the Juilliard School in 1996. As two men in her class, David Auburn and Stephen Belber, became some of the hottest young playwrights around, she struggled to get her work staged. Very good friends of mine, no slam against them, Jordan, 56, said on a December afternoon before she stepped down as executive director of the Lillys. It was just odd. The numbers bore out her perception. A report, published in 2002 by the New York State Council on the Arts Theater Program, found that only 17% of productions on U.S. stages in the 2001-02 season had been written ... More  TheGallery presents Ian McKeever's new configuration of the installation originally created in 2017DORSET.- TheGallery is presenting the exhibition Ian McKeever: Against Architecture, a new configuration of the installation originally curated by Robin Klassnik (Matt's Gallery London) in 2017. McKeevers site-specific installation, originally shown at Matts Gallery, London in 2017, is presented in a newly envisaged installation specifically made for the Upper Gallery at AUB. Using standard building materials, 3 x 2 stud walling timbers and sheets of plasterboard, often with the manufacturers markings left exposed, the artist creates what might loosely be called a labyrinth through the gallery. Making the space a provisional structure of passageways, cul-de-sacs and multiple viewing points. Onto these raw and often only half-closed walls, McKeever has placed a series of small photographic-painted panels. In doing so he sets ... More  Prince's 'Purple Rain' is being developed as a stage musicalNEW YORK, NY.- Purple Rain, Princes breakout rise-of-a-rock-star film, is being adapted into a stage musical featuring some of the pop musicians best-loved songs. Orin Wolf, the producer who previously shepherded the Tony-winning adaptation of The Bands Visit to the stage, and who is currently backing the theatrical adaptation of another music industry movie, Buena Vista Social Club, announced Monday that he is developing the musical, based on the 1984 film. The stage adaptation will feature a book by playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, a MacArthur Foundation genius grant winner whose family drama, Appropriate, is now running on Broadway. The director is Lileana Blain-Cruz, whose revival of Thornton Wilders The Skin of Our Teeth (with new material contributed by Jacobs-Jenkins) had a short run on Broadway ... More  Catch the latest wave of exciting developments and novelties in Helsinki in 2024HELSINKI .- Finland has been named the worlds happiest country for six years in a row. In Helsinki, this happiness is backed up by our goal of creating a sustainable and open city for everyone, where opportunities and experiences like nature and the sea are within everyone's reach. Lux Helsinki and the Tall Ship Races are free events that are once again bringing people together in 2024. The city's shoreline is being opened up even more, and a new theme playground invites children to discover the world of computers while playing without smart devices. The novelties offered by Helsinkis restaurants in turn draw their inspiration from the city's history and today's multiculturalism. Where art and science interact: The theme of the Lux Helsinki light festival in 2024 is science from art. The popular event attracts locals and visitors to enjoy ... More  Analytic and Synthetic Cubism featured in the exhibition 'Intertwined' by Koji Takei at William Turner GallerySANTA MONICA, CA.- William Turner Gallery will be opening, a group of remarkable new works by Koji Takei on January 13th-March 9th, 2024. Koji Takei, the sculptor acclaimed for his unique synthesis of Analytic and Synthetic Cubism unveils his latest exhibition titled Intertwined. Intertwined is a testament to Takei's mastery, where the Cubist and Surrealist traditions are re-appropriated in tongue-in-cheek fashion. Takei meticulously deconstructs and then reconstructs everyday objects creating illusions to the ghost of their histories. He re-interprets the objects with fragmenting in order to shift perception. The whimsical impressions are singular in their idiosyncratic phrasing, where the objects begin to lose their identity and intended purpose through brilliant technical skill and vision. Through his background in photography ... More  Photography by Rory Mulligan delights viewers at Grand Central Terminal's dining concourseNEW YORK, NY.- MTA Arts & Design is presenting a selection of works from photographer Rory Mulligans Auguries series throughout the Photography lightboxes in the East and West Dining Concourse at Grand Central Terminal. Twenty images depict birds in unexpected settings, chosen by the artist as both compositional elements and bird-attracting tools. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hastings-on-Hudson, New York-based artist Rory Mulligan turned his camera from the wider world to his own backyard. Auguries presents images from this ongoing project that capture moments of chance within a carefully constructed stage that combines fabric backdrops and found materials to attract a wide variety of birds. At a time of uncertainty and isolation, the regular departures and arrivals of birds brought the artist a sense of connection and peace. ... More  New Year, new art at the Art Gallery of South AustraliaADELAIDE.- Now open to the public, Metamorphosis in The Melrose Wing features new acquisitions by leading Australian and International artists. Dr Lisa Slade, Assistant Director, Artistic Programs, AGSA, says, A new year heralds new beginnings and new ways of seeing and we are thrilled that recent acquisitions by globally recognised artists feature in the fresh display titled Metamorphosis. This title speaks to art and humanitys capacity for transformation fitting themes for the new year. Indeed the space itself has undergone a transformation with a blush of fresh colour and some new collection conversations. Minister for Arts Andrea Michaels MP says, AGSA is well known for its innovative and thought-provoking collections and we will see that continue in 2024 with Metamorphosis. This new display includes exciting works ... More  Koo Bohnchang's 'Voyages' at Seoul Museum of ArtSEOUL .- Seoul Museum of Art is hosting Koo Bohnchangs Voyages (December 14, 2023 March 10, 2024), a retrospective by a representative of contemporary art, Koo Bohnchang (b. 1953). Koo has played a crucial role in the foundation and development of contemporary Korean photography since the 1980s to the present. Koo stirred a sensation in the Korean photography and art world with his new concept and form of making photo in works presented in The New Wave of Photography (May 16 June 17, 1988, Walkerhill Museum of Art, Seoul), an exhibition he organized as a curator and showed as one of the artists. The idea of photography taking off from its traditional role of recording or documenting, to becoming an art form charged with subjective expressions that reflect attributes of various mediums like painting, ... More |
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PhotoGalleries 
Gabriele Münter 
TARWUK 
Awol Erizku 
Leo Villareal
Flashback On a day like today, art collector Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, was born January 09, 1875. Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (January 9, 1875 - April 18, 1942) was an American sculptor, art patron and collector, and founder in 1931 of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. She was a prominent social figure and hostess, who was born into the wealthy Vanderbilt family and married into the Whitney family.
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