| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |   | Established in 1996 | Tuesday, December 29, 2020 |
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| | With no tickets to sell, arts groups appeal to donors to survive | |
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A donation box at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Dec. 22, 2020. Virtual cocktail parties have replaced black-tie galas as cultural institutions struggle to pay their operating costs. James Estrin/The New York Times.
by Robin Pogrebin
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- One of the headliners of the New York Philharmonics fall gala last month was Leonard Bernstein, leading his old orchestra in the overture to Candide. Yes, Bernstein died three decades ago. But since the gala, like so much else, was forced to go remote, the Philharmonic had some fun with the format, filming its current players performing to historical footage of Bernstein wielding his baton. The virtual gala had some advantages: it cost less to produce, with no catering, linen rentals and flower arrangements for a black-tie audience, and it reached some 90,000 people, while the concert hall holds around 2,700. But when it came to the bottom line, the picture was less rosy. The virtual event raised less than a third of what the gala concert took in last year: $1.1 million, down from $3.6 million, a vivid illustration of the steep challenge of raising money for the arts during a global pandemic. With little or no earned income coming in amid canceled performances and pro ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day Palestinian printmaker Omar al-Asouli, 25, hangs a finished piece to dry at his water transfer (hydro-dipping) printing workshop in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip on December 28, 2020. This method which has been lately spreading in Arab countries, uses pre-prepared dyes and stencils, and allows printing on iron, gypsum, wood, car tyres, and all objects that can be immersed in water. SAID KHATIB / AFP
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| National Gallery of Art acquires 40 works by African American artists from Souls Grown Deep Foundation | | "Country Dance" by Guido Reni is back in Cardinal Scipione Borghese's collection | | Andrew Jones will ring in the New Year with a pair of online sales | 
Mary Lee Bendolph, Blocks and Strips, 2002, wool, cotton, and corduroy, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Patrons' Permanent Fund and Gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation, 2020.28.1 © 2017 Mary Lee Bendolph / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
WASHINGTON, DC.- The National Gallery of Art announced a major acquisition of 40 works from the Souls Grown Deep Foundation by 21 African American artists from the southern United States. The acquisition is made possible through the generosity of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation in addition to funds from the Patrons Permanent Fund. Some highlights of this important acquisition are nine quilts by the artists of Gees Bend, Alabama, including Mary Lee Bendolph and Irene Williams; three paintings, three drawings, and one sculpture by Thornton Dial; works on paper by Nellie Mae Rowe, Henry Speller, Georgia Speller, and Prophet Royal Robertson; four sculpted heads ... More | | 
Guido Reni, Country Dance (detail). Photo: C. Giusti.
ROME.- The Galleria Borghese announces its acquisition of the painting Country Dance (c. 1601-02). After a series of intensive studies, the restoration of its attribution to Guido Reni (Bologna 1575-1642) together with its documented provenance from Cardinal Scipione Borgheses collection constitutes one of the most important and unexpected discoveries of the last few years. In addition to its art-historical value, its documented provenance from Scipione Borgheses collection enables us to add an important detail to the fundamental matter of the relations between the Borghese family and Guido Reni. The cardinal wanted to make Reni his court painter, considering him after the death of Annibale Carracci the most important artist in Rome. The Borghese family, in the person of Pope Paul V, entrusted him with the frescos of The Pauline Chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore and commissioned one o ... More | | 
Full-length oil on canvas portrait of a girl in a white dress with flowers thought to be Elizabeth O'Kane, 1842, by George Henry Durrie (American, 1820-1863), estimate $5,000-$7,000.
LOS ANGELES, CA.- Andrew Jones Auctions will greet the New Year with two big online sales in January. Both will be DTLA Collections & Estates auctions. The first, on Tuesday, January 12th, will feature select American and English decorative arts. The Wednesday, January 27th event will be broad and varied, highlighted by fine Chinese and Asian works of art. As we head into 2021, after an amazingly successful 2020, we start strong with a marathon of nearly 900 lots over two sales in January, said Andrew Jones, the president and CEO of Andrew Jones Auctions. The auctions are full of eclectic, whimsical and interesting items spanning hundreds of years of world culture. Both auctions will begin promptly at 10 am Pacific time. The January 12th auction will be led by rare American and ... More |
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| Mexican songwriter Armando Manzanero dies of Covid aged 86 | | Jackie Saccoccio, painter of explosive abstraction, dies at 56 | | Foam exhibits works by a new generation of artists in the group exhibition Foam Talent 2020 | 
In this file photo taken on October 30, 2001 Mexican singer Armando Manzanero holds his Grammy for "Best Pop Album by a Duo or Vocal Group" for his album "Duetos". LEE CELANO / AFP.
by Natalia Cano
MEXICO CITY (AFP).- Mexican singer-songwriter Armando Manzanero died Monday at the age of 86 after being hospitalized with the coronavirus, sparking an outpouring of tributes for one of the country's best-loved musicians. The composer and crooner of romantic Latin ballads, who became the first Mexican to receive a Grammy lifetime achievement award in 2014, suffered a cardiac arrest, his publicist told AFP. Manzanero's songs, which include "Adoro" (I Adore) and "Voy a apagar la luz" (I'm Going to Turn Off the Lights), are known across Latin America. His lyrics, some of them translated into English, have also been sung by international stars including Frank Sinatra, Christina Aguilera, Andrea Bocelli and Elvis Presley. The artist was admitted to hospital on December 17 ... More | | 
Jackie Saccoccio in a studio in Umbria, Italy, in 2017. Marco Giugliarelli/Civitella Ranieri Foundation via The New York Times.
by Roberta Smith
NEW YORK (NYT NEWS SERVICE).- Jackie Saccoccio, a painter known for explosive yet delicately structured, almost atmospheric abstract paintings that exploited paints fluidity in the tradition of Jackson Pollock, Paul Jenkins and Helen Frankenthaler, died Dec. 4 in Manhattan. She was 56. Her death, in a hospital, was announced first on Instagram by her husband, sculptor Carl DAlvia, and later by her gallery, Van Doren Waxter in Manhattan, which said the cause was cancer. Saccoccio belonged to a generation of female artists now in their 40s and 50s who added a new vitality to abstract painting beginning around the turn of the 21st century, including Charline von Heyl, Julie Mehretu, Joanne Greenbaum, Michaela Eichwald, Amy Sillman, Katharina Grosse and Cecily Brown. Most of them saw new potential in the art of the past, and several, like Saccoccio, experimented with paint handling ... More | | 
Adji Dieye responds to economically determined stereotypes and traditional roles by reinventing an African tradition of studio portrait photography.
AMSTERDAM.- This winter, Foam is all about young talent and presents the work of a new generation of artists in the group exhibition Foam Talent 2020. Each year, Foam invites photographers to submit their portfolios via the Talent Call, an international search for exceptionally talented photographers under the age of 35. Selected photographers gain international exposure and recognition within the photography industry through a number of career-building opportunities offered by Foam, including publication in Foam Magazine, participation in a travelling group exhibition and the opportunity for their work to be added to the prestigious Art Collection Deutsche Börse of the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation in Frankfurt. After an edition in Berlin earlier this year and the online version Foam Talent | Digital Foam now shows the exhibition in its headquarters in Amsterdam. These exceptional young photographers were selected out of 1.619 receiv ... More |
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| London's Natural History Museum to star in new television series | | Yorkshire Sculpture Park unveils new works in the open air this winter | | Immersive, multisensory art experience welcomes viewers to an inviting exploration of Van Gogh's work | 
Palaeontologist Dr Susie Maidment, who is one of the experts responsible for the thousands of dinosaur remains at the Museum. Image: The Garden Productions.
LONDON.- Natural History Museum: World of Wonder will air weekly from 7 January 2021 at 8pm on Channel 5 and will be available to view on the video on demand player My5. Channel 5 Factual Commissioning Editor Lucy Willis commissioned multi-award-winning production company The Garden Productions to make the series. Lucy says, 'In this series we go behind the doors of one of the greatest museums in the world. Every year, over five million visitors come to see its incredible collection: from extraordinary dinosaurs to giant whales, rare fossils to space rocks as old as the solar system itself, all looked after by its passionate staff. 'But visitors see only a fraction of the staggering 80 million items in the collection. Now our cameras have been allowed not just front of house but behind the scenes too, to capture the incredible specimens ... More | | 
Kalliopi Lemos, Bag of Aspirations, 2018. Courtesy the artist and Gazelli Art House, London. Photo © Jonty Wilde, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
WAKEFIELD.- This festive season, YSP offers a much-needed opportunity to escape to an inspirational and safe environment where you can experience art and nature. There are around 100 sculptures to encounter, sited in parkland, woodland, formal gardens, and around the two lakes. One of the most fascinating things about seeing sculpture outdoors is the way it changes with the seasons, weather and light. Winter is the perfect time for a bracing walk around our 500 acres of beautiful, historic landscape, with thought-provoking works and spectacular, frosty views around every corner. There are always plenty of reasons to return to YSP: our open-air collection is made up of an everchanging display of sculptures, so you can be sure of something new to discover. We are especially thrilled to announce that several exciting additions have arrived this winter. Taking centre stage on the ... More | | 
The special exhibition features Van Gogh images at enormous scale. © 2020 Grande Experiences.
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.- Vincent van Goghs paintings, including the magical Starry Night and radiant Sunflowers, have astounded viewers with their vibrancy and color. His brief and troubled life makes him one of the most fascinating figures in Western art history. Van Gogh Alive, opn view at The Dalà Museum, offers visitors an immersive art installation, harnessing multisensory technology that will allow them to revel in the celebrated painters artistic genius. The experience will be on display at The Dalà through April 11, 2021. The special exhibition features Van Gogh images at enormous scale, presented through high-definition projectors and synchronized to a powerful classical score. Cinema-quality surround sound amplifies the emotion generated by the works themselves. The installationis powered by SENSORY4, a unique system developed by Grande Experiences of Melbourne, Australia. The Dalà Museum is at the foref ... More |
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| New video art exhibition dazzles online viewers | | Luxury watches, exquisite jewels, Tiffany lamps and Amphora powered Morphy's glittering $4.3M holiday auction | | Patti Smith to ring in the New Year with midnight performance on Europe's largest screen | 
Pulse, 2014. HD video. 6-minute loop. Projection in new education center. Courtesy of the Artist.
BOCA RATON, FLA.- Trine Lise Nedreaas: The Entertainers is a mesmerizing new video art exhibition that also features online viewing, enjoyed virtually from anywhere in the world, presented by the Boca Raton Museum of Art. Curated by Kathleen Goncharov, the museum's Senior Curator, this video art exhibition is on view until January 3rd and the art videos in this show may be viewed online virtually from anywhere in the world here. The films in this new exhibition comment on our desire for fame and admiration from others, reflecting our current compulsions with social media. One of the videos in the Museum's exhibition -- Pulse -- was seen by millions at New York's Times Square when it was selected by Times Square Arts NYC to be showcased on the massive Jumbotron screens in Times Square. The Mask, another video in this museum exhibition by the Norwegian artist Trine Lise Nedreaas, eerily shows the clown character gradually ... More | | 
Circa-1910 Tiffany Studios Peony leaded-glass table lamp, both 22in shade and telescopic, six-socket Chased Pod base are signed. Excellent condition. Sold within estimate for $102,000.
DENVER, PA.- Bidders had a taste for luxury and rarity at Morphys lavish Dec. 8-10 pre-Christmas Fine & Decorative Arts Auction, paying above-estimate prices on many of the sales premier lots. The $4.3 million event boasted fabulous Tiffany lamps, art glass, high-quality silver, bronzes, coins, fine art, and a formidable array of art pottery, including exotic Amphora. More than 200 lots of magnificent jewelry and important watches attracted the attention of connoisseurs worldwide, with a superb timepiece a platinum Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar wristwatch, Ref. D34714 claiming top-lot honors. Purchased new in Paris in 1994, the automatic Quantieme Perpetuel Automatique octagonal wristwatch, hallmarked and featuring moon phases in solid platinum, has a textured blue dial and white gold hands ... More | | 
Patti Smith has also created 4 limited edition prints in support of the #CIRCAECONOMY costing £100 each. Photo: CIRCA, courtesy of the artist.
LONDON.- Ringing in the New Year with a moving tribute to 100 NHS and healthcare workers who passed away this year from COVID-19, Patti Smith and her Band will mark the beginning of 2021 with a 10-minute performance at midnight on the iconic Piccadilly Lights screen, presented by the innovative digital art platform, CIRCA. A gift to London, the city that Smith loves, the event will be streamed around the world for free, via the CIRCA YouTube channel on Thursday 31st December, 23.45 GMT. In a run-up to midnight, CIRCA will present ONE a major new 10-minute commission by the winner of the Venice Art Biennale 2017, Anne Imhof using footage filmed at the Tate Modern during the artists large-scale installation and performance in 2019. Piccadilly Circus will be washed in the glow of a setting sun, whilst the video counts down to midnight and the arrival ... More |
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Conservator's Corner: Ellen Hanspach
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| More News |
 Artist Hilla Toony Navok is the recipient of the 2020 Discount Artistic Encouragement AwardHERZLIYA.- Artist Hilla Toony Navok is the recipient of the 2020 Discount Artistic Encouragement Award at the Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art. Excerpt from the jurys reasoning: Hilla Toony Navoks works draw their inspiration from the material Israeli environment surrounding her. In her work familiar, readymade objects, and accordingly acute realism, are coupled with geometric abstraction. Contemporaneity and modernism are combined with great talent, encapsulating expressions of humor and critique of our time. Hilla Toony Navok, born in 1974 in Tel Aviv, pursues both drawing and sculpting. She holds a bachelors degree in design from WIZO Haifa, and a masters degree in art from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. Her works have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions at museums and galleries in Israel and abroad. A ... More  Dix Noonan Webb to sell the final part of the North Yorkshire Moors Collection of Coins and MedalsLONDON.- The fourth and Final Part of the North Yorkshire Moors Collection of Coins and Medals will be offered in a live/online auction by International coins, medals, banknotes and jewellery specialists Dix Noonan Webb on Thursday, January 21, 2021. Amassed by American-born Marvin Lessen, who later moved to Scarborough in North Yorkshire. The highlight of the Collection of 200 lots is an extremely fine and rare Oliver Cromwell 50 shilling gold coin, dating from 1656 by Thomas Simon, who was Cromwells chief engraver. Depicting a portrait of Cromwell, this coin is estimated to fetch £100,000-150,000 and only 12 specimens are believed to exist, with most being in institutions [lot 1142]. As Peter Preston-Morley, Head of Department and Associate Director, Dix Noonan Webb, explains: Marvin Lessens favourite period of numismatic study ... More  Anime epic 'Demon Slayer' ousts Ghibli classic as Japan's top-grossing filmTOKYO (AFP).- An anime epic in which a teenager hunts down and beheads demons on Monday became Japan's top-grossing film of all time, its production company said, ending the near two-decade reign of Studio Ghibli's "Spirited Away". "Demon Slayer", based on the hit manga series, has chalked up 32.5 billion yen ($314 million) in box-office sales since its October release, a spokeswoman for anime producer Aniplex said. The story of Tanjiro, whose life transforms when his family are killed in a demon attack, has drawn 24 million viewers to cinemas, she added -- in a year that has seen movie theatres and film releases around the world hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. After weeks of closing in on the top spot, "Demon Slayer" dethroned the 2001 fantasy classic "Spirited Away", whose total takings had reached 31.7 billion yen including ... More  Artist Jolyon Fenwick launches Virus Classics, Penguin books reimagined for age of CovidLONDON.- Virus Classics, a collection of sculptures and prints, is a sharply humorous response to the current state of affairs by artist, photographer and historian Jolyon Fenwick. Through this new collection he has created a lightly-satirical, black-humoured and, with luck, soon hugely nostalgic - graphic record of these extraordinary times. Twenty-one spoof volumes, each mimicking the size and style of the paperbacks of The Penguin English Library, designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith, take some of our most treasured literary classics and give them a topical spin. Title plate and logo debossed, the artworks feel both hearteningly familiar and laden with satire. Titles in the series include At Least 2 Metres From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy, Covids Metamorphoses, Lionel Shrivers We Need to talk about Boris and Samuel ... More  Zeitz MOCAA presents Waiting for Gebane, the first museum solo exhibition of artist Senzeni MaraselaCAPE TOWN.- Zeitz MOCAA presents a long-due institutional focus on the work of Senzeni Marasela. Marasela, who was born in Thokoza, South Africa, is an artist whose mediums include photography, video, prints, textiles and embroidery. Her work deals with history, memory, and personal narrative, and emphasises historical gaps and overlooked female figures. Titled Waiting for Gebane, the exhibition is an overview of the artists practice, and centres around Theodorah Mthetyane, Maraselas fictional alter ego who was inspired by, and is a femage to her mother. Theodorahs story begins when her husband, Gebane, leaves her behind in a village in the Eastern Cape when he sets off to work in faraway Johannesburg. After many years of waiting, Theodorah leaves the village for the sprawling city streets to look for her partner. In a series of ... More  Clear glass sparkles in new Chrysler Museum of Art exhibitionNORFOLK, VA.- The Chrysler Museum of Art is showcasing approximately 50 objects from its extensive collection of glass in the exhibition Clear As Crystal: Colorless Glass from the Chrysler Museum, on view Dec. 26, 2020July 3, 2021. All of the artworks in the show are made exclusively with colorless glass, and historical objects are being displayed alongside contemporary artworks. The exhibition reveals the array of techniques that artists and designers have used to capitalize on the aesthetic and intellectual opportunities offered by clear, colorless glass. The selected artworks demonstrate how artisans and artists across time and around the world have adapted or manipulated colorless glass. Visitors can see the impressive range of forming and decorating techniques that have been used to achieve a desired effect, such as blowing, molding, ... More  Scottish yacht residencies offer artists the inspirational voyage of a lifetimeEDINBURGH.- Artists are being offered the residency opportunity of a lifetime a week aboard a 50ft yacht exploring the remote and beautiful coasts and waters around Arran and the Firth of Clyde. Not only will they be able to set their own itinerary for their voyage aboard Whimbrel, a beautiful Bluewater catamaran, they will receive a stipend plus travel expenses to and from Troon where it is moored. Skipper Ben Merritt knows the waters well and says the artists will have the chance to find inspiration exploring wild and seldom-visited spots on islands and along sea lochs. They might also get close to magnificent marine wildlife including whales and porpoises. The two free residencies, from 11-17 April, are being offered through Visual Arts Scotland in partnership with Whimbrels owners to support and nurture contemporary artists and ... More  Rochester Art Center opens an exhibition of works by Kieran McDonnellROCHESTER, MN.- Kieran McDonnell is an emerging artist and painter based in Winona, Minnesota. He received a Bachelor of Arts in studio art from Winona State University and an Associate of Fine Arts from Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC). Before relocating to Winona, McDonnell exhibited his work throughout the region at the Watkins Gallery, Weber Gallery, Garage Co-work Space, and the RCTC Art Gallery. Recent works were featured in the Rockchester Festival virtual art exhibition. McDonnell is a 2019 recipient of the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council grant for emerging artists. Through my art practice I explore a variety of themes including my Catholic faith, politics, justice, mental illness, nature and personal life experiences. Scrupulosity features a new series of paintings and mixed media sculptures that ... More  Spanish photographer and tastemaker Carlota Guerrero brings out first photography bookLONDON.- One of the most in demand photographers in the world, Spanish photographer Carlota Guerrero exploded onto the scene with her iconic portrait of Solange Knowles for the artists music album A Seat at the Table in 2016. Since then Guerrero has been producing work from photography to performance art working with a diverse selection of women including Rupi Kaur, Naomi Shimada and Madonnas daughter Lola Leon and has also collaborated with renowned brands and designers including Givenchy, Nike and Dior. Tengo un Dragón Dentro del Corazón is the first book of Carlota Guerreros photography and is an important record of her evolving style as well as a compilation of her visual obsessions. A self-taught photographer, tastemaker and storyteller for a new generation, Guerrero is one of many artists redefining the aesthetic ... More  Items from the estate of British conductor Raymond Leppard will be offered by Ripley AuctionsINDIANAPOLIS, IND.- Items from the estate of the legendary British conductor and composer Raymond Leppard (1927-2019), a Grammy-winning recording artist and scholarly revivalist of 16th and 17th century baroque operas, will come up for bid in a live and online auction slated for Saturday, January 16th, by Ripley Auctions. The 315-lot auction will begin at 11am Eastern time. The Maestros personal collection includes a rare and notable library of 100+ books, featuring orchestral, choral and operatic scores, historical reference material and music theory volumes, many dating from the 17th through the 19th century. Highlights include works by Bach, Rossini, Mozart, Handel, Schubert, Wagner, Tartini, Stamitz, Burney, Britten, Elgar, Stanley and others. In addition to his musical genius, Raymond Leppard was known for his warm character, generous ... More  City Art Centre reveals exhibition highlights for 2021EDINBURGH.- The City Art Centre, Edinburghs own public venue dedicated to championing historic and contemporary Scottish visual arts and crafts, announces exhibition highlights for 2021. All exhibitions are free to attend, but timed slots must be booked in advance. The Scottish Furniture Makers Association (SFMA) and Visual Art Scotland (VAS) in partnership present, Adjust / Adapt. The exciting new members exhibition at the prestigious City Art Centre, showcases work by Makers, Designers and Artists working in Scotland with a creative response to how domestic interiors are being adapted in light of the Covid pandemic and climate emergency. The exhibition explores how our homes and outdoor spaces are working harder for occupants; as multigenerational sanctuaries, workspaces, classrooms, fitness and entertainment settings. ... More |
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PhotoGalleries 
Anne Truitt Sound 
Islamic Metalwork 
Klaas Rommelaere 
Helen Muspratt
Flashback On a day like today, Mexican painter David Alfaro Siqueiros was born December 29, 1896. David Alfaro Siqueiros (born José de Jesús Alfaro Siqueiros, December 29, 1896, in Chihuahua - January 6, 1974, in Cuernavaca, Morelos) was a Mexican social realist painter, better known for his large murals in fresco. Along with Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, he established "Mexican Muralism." In this image: Unfinished 1940s mural painted by David Alfaro Siqueiros, in Escuela de Bellas Artes, a cultural center in San Miguel de Allende, Gto.
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