| | The First Art Newspaper on the Net |    | Established in 1996 | Wednesday, August 16, 2023 |
| | A museum of 'Electrifying Frankness' weighs dialing it down | |
|
|
Kate Quinn, executive director of the Mütter Museum, at the facility in Philadelphia, Aug. 10, 2023. The Mütter, a beloved 19th-century collection of medical curiosities and human remains, wants to adopt a more respectful approach, but many enthusiasts of the museum are opposed to such changes. (Hannah Beier/The New York Times)
by Franz Lidz
NEW YORK, NY.- The Mütter Museum, a 19th-century repository of medical oddments and arcana at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, attracts as many as 160,000 visitors a year. Among the anatomical and pathological specimens exhibited are skulls corroded by syphilis; spines twisted by rickets; skeletons deformed by corsets; microcephalic fetuses; a two-headed baby; a bound foot from China; an ovarian cyst the size of a Jack Russell terrier; Grover Clevelands jaw tumor; the liver that joined the original Siamese twins, Cheng and Eng Bunker; and the pickled corpse of the Soap Lady, whose fatty tissues decomposed into a congealed asphalt-colored substance called adipocere. People are just intrinsically more interested in the unusual, said Dean Richardson, a professor of equine surgery at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicines New Bolton Center. Who could look at a two-headed calf without wanting to know how that happened? Biology is a ... More |
The Best Photos of the Day La Belle Epoque Auction House in NYC will present a bronze by sculptor Lorenzo Quinn at their August 19th sale. The piece called "Trust" is a much smaller, earlier version of Quinnâs monumental bronze "Hand of God" now on open-air exhibit in Saint-Tropez.
|
|
|
|
|
| Brice Marden: A legacy beyond the monochromes | | This ancient whale may have been the heaviest animal ever | | Lorenzo Quinn bronze to be offered at La Belle Epogue Auctiion | 
Brice Marden at his studio in Tivoli, New York, Dec. 28, 2018. Marden, who died on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, at the age of 84. (Lauren Lancaster/The New York Times)
by Roberta Smith
NEW YORK, NY.- In the mid 1960s, at the height of the painting-is-dead delusion, Brice Marden painted himself into a corner. He was making reductive monochrome works horizontal and vertical canvases in a range of subdued tones of oil paint thickened with melted beeswax. There seemed to be no place to go that someone else hadnt been before. Critic Barbara Rose, citing two masters of one-color canvases, wrote if Ellsworth Kelly were to paint a Jasper Johns, it would look like a Marden. Indeed Marden, who died Thursday at the age of 84, had studied Johns art while working as a guard at the Jewish Museum, during the older painters 1964 survey, and always acknowledged his influence. In 1970, he made a generously proportioned three-panel painting titled Three Deliberate Grays for Jasper Johns. At a time when abstract ... More | | 
A comparison of Perucetus, top, with a blue whale, middle, and another, smaller basilosaurid, Cynthiacetus peruvianus. (Florent Goussard; Imaging and Analysis Centre at the Natural History Museum in London; Marco Merella and Rebecca Bennion via The New York Times)
by Carl Zimmer
NEW YORK, NY.- Paleontologists this month unveiled the fossilized bones of one of the strangest whales in history. The 39-million-year-old leviathan, called Perucetus, may have weighed about 200 tons as much as a blue whale, by far the heaviest animal known, until now. Although blue whales are sleek, fast-swimming divers, Perucetus was a very different beast. The researchers suspect that it drifted lazily through shallow coastal waters like a mammoth manatee, propelling its sausagelike body with a paddle-shaped tail. Some experts cautioned that more bones would have to be discovered before a firm estimate of Perucetuss weight could be made. But they all agreed that the bizarre find would change the way paleontologists saw the ... More | | 
Known for his skillful use of the hands, Quinn aims to establish dialogue with his viewers through an intelligible and universal language.
NEW YORK, NY.- Internationally acclaimed sculptor Lorenzo Quinn, whose legendary actor father was Anthony Quinn, is the toast of St Tropez this summer with his exclusive open-air Hands On exhibition of five monumental artworks in the heart of the Cote dAzur, presented in conjunction with Galeries Bartoux and the town of Saint-Tropez. The most popular of all the sculptures is the 17 foot long bronze Hand of God which was inspired by Quinns earlier, much smaller 10" H x 8" D x 12" W bronze on marble base called Trust, going on exhibit this week at La Belle Epoque Auction House in Manhattan, where the piece goes up for auction on August 19th with an estimate of just $2-3000. Known for his skillful use of the hands, Quinn aims to establish dialogue with his viewers through an intelligible and universal language. His figurative artistic approach conveys his passion for eternal values and authe ... More |
|
|
|
|
| How old is that polar bear? The answer is in its blood. | | An oil painting by Louis C. Tiffany and a French carved walnut vestment headline auction | | British Library researcher throws new light on Elizabeth I | 
So-called epigenetic clocks are helping wildlife biologists estimate the ages of animals far more easily than in the past. (Damon Winter/The New York Times)
by Carl Zimmer
NEW YORK, NY.- Susannah Woodruff cant wait to stop pulling teeth out of polar bears. Woodruff, a wildlife biologist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, keeps tabs on Alaskas population of the bears. She needs to know how old they are to estimate how many will soon die of old age, and how many will enter their reproductive years and start producing cubs. Until recently, the only reliable way to determine the age of a polar bear has been to extract a premolar and inspect its growth rings. No researcher wants to do it, Woodruff said in an interview Monday, just before embarking on a trip to Alaskas North Slope. On this trip, rather than pull teeth, she will merely draw blood. Using a method known as the epigenetic clock, she and her colleagues will be able to estimate the bears ages by analyzing chemical tags on their DNA. She and her colleagues have recently found that using ... More | | 
19th century French carved walnut vestment chest in the Renaissance taste with the crown of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, 40 inches tall by 41 ½ inches wide (est. 18,000-$24,000).
ATLANTA, GA.- A lovely oil on canvas painting by the renowned artist and stained glass and jewelry designer Louis C. Tiffany (1848-1933) and a 19th century French carved walnut vestment chest in the Renaissance taste are expected headliners in Ahlers & Ogletrees two-day Fine Estates & Collections auction planned for Friday and Saturday, August 25th and 26th, online and live in the Atlanta gallery. The auction, starting at 10 am Eastern time both days, will feature 480 lots of Modernism, weapons, collectible books, jewelry and Asian arts on Friday, August 25th; and 473 lots of antiques and fine art, scrimshaw, silver and rugs on Saturday, August 26th. Live gallery bidding will be held in Ahlers & Ogletrees new gallery location on Atlantas Upper West Side, at 1788 Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard. The oil on canvas painting by Louis C. Tiffany, titled Boat at Sea Bright (1888), depicts four men carrying a boat in the sand with ... More | | 
A lightsheet used to reveal hidden text in one of the manuscripts of Camden's Annals: © The British Library Board.
LONDON.- For centuries, dozens of passages in the original manuscript drafts of William Camdens Annals have been invisible to the naked eye. In many instances, pieces of paper were pasted over the original text and the passages over-written, implying that Camden was concerned not to offend his patron, King James. Now, thanks to advances in enhanced imaging, these concealed lines can be read for the first time using transmitted light, offering a deeper insight into the political machinations of Elizabeths court. Camdens Annals is one of the most valuable sources on early modern Britain and is considered to be the official contemporary account of Elizabeth Is reign (15581603). Written in Latin, the text is based on first-hand evidence such as eyewitness reports and official parliamentary records, collected by the historian William Camden (d. 1623). The Annals was started in Elizabeths lifetime but was completed in the first decades of the 1600s at the command o ... More |
|
|
|
|
| Nationalmuseum acquires iconic portrait of Axel von Fersen | | 'Where Land Meets Sea' the work of six South Korean contemporary artists feature of Stroll Garden exhibition in NY | | Jack Shainman Gallery announces representation of the Estate of Emanoel Araújo | 
Unknown British artist, Portrait of Axel von Fersen, 1778. Photo: Stockholms Auktionsverk.
STOCKHOLM.- Nationalmuseum has acquired a portrait of Axel von Fersen at the age of 23, painted in London in the summer of 1778. The superb miniature by an unknown British artist depicts a self-assured young man, perhaps on account of his intended marriage to a rich heiress. It was unusual for British artists to paint portraits of Swedish subjects in the latter half of the 18th century. Axel von Fersen (17551810) has become known around the world for his close relationship with Queen Marie-Antoinette. As the current exhibition at the Archives Nationales in Paris makes clear, his affections were reciprocated. They first met at a masked ball in January 1774. Some months later, Fersen travelled to London. Although he did not stay long, he learned some English, which was unusual for a Swede in the 18th century. Fersen returned to the British capital in April 1778 for a visit lasting four months, during which time he sat for an unidentified p ... More | | 
Yoonjee Kwak, Patterned Memories No. 2, 2023. Ceramic, 20h x 20d inches.
EAST HAMPTON, NY.- Stroll Gardenthe Los Angeles- based gallery known for its focus on contemporary ceramics, sculpture, and designhas opened Where Land Meets Sea, a pop-up group exhibition taking place in East Hampton. Curated by Brooklyn-based ceramicist Jane Yang-D'Haene, the exhibition showcases the work of six South Korean contemporary artists featuring over twenty sculptures by Yoonjee Kwak, Jaiik Lee, Re Jin Lee, Eun-Ha Paek, and Jinsik Yoo, as well as photographs by Peter Ash Lee. Where Land Meets Sea is on view from at the former home and studio of the revered American abstract expressionist painter, sculptor, and printmaker, Adolph Gottlieb. This group of exceptional artists is bound by their exploration of their Korean heritage through art-making, shares Yang-DHaene. Transferring generational memories and culture through their very fingertips, the artists in the ... More | | 
Emanoel Araújo, Totem, 2015. Wood and automotive paint, 82 5/8 x 11 3/4 x 11 3/4 inches.
NEW YORK, NY (ú).- Jack Shainman Gallery has announced the representation of the Estate of Emanoel Araújo and the forthcoming exhibition Emanoel Araújo. This will not only be his debut presentation at the gallery, but also the first major survey of his work in New York since the 1980s. The late Brazilian artist, curator, and collector had a career that defied categorization; Araújo forged personal and public platforms to express the nuances of Afro-Brazilian life and culturereenvisioning philosophies of Modern aesthetics, creating space for marginalized artists to exhibit their work, and preserving the material history of his ancestral heritage in a time before Afro-Brazilian voices were championed by regional or international audiences. Born in 1940 in Santo Amaro da Purificação, Bahia, to an Afro-Brazilian goldsmithing family of modest means, Araújos adolescence orbited creative outputover the course of his youth ... More |
|
|
|
|
| Kerstin Honeit, The Society of Affective Archives, and Rodolfo Andaur works featured at PHI Foundation | | Rago and Toomey & Co. present historic auction 'Roycroft: Life in Abundance, The Collection of Richard Blacher' | | Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive presents new work by Kenneth Tam | 
Kerstin Honeit, [ˈzi:lo]5, 2019. Video still. From the exhibition REMEMBER, PERFORM, FORGET: Binding Space Through Utopia, at the PHI Foundation.
QUEBEC.- The notion of public art is a utopian and contradictory concept that can only be achieved through extraordinary circumstances, as it is meant to be fully public, made by the people, for the people, as Lucy Lippard wrote in her 1977 essay, Art Outdoors, In and Out of the Public Domain. [1] At that time, only one example had achieved this democratic form of art, which will be presented as part of this program of events in the film Brigada Ramona Parra (1970). It encapsulates a political utopia at a given moment that will serve as the basis for an ideal political climate for this project. Is art best created under certain political conditions? REMEMBER, PERFORM, FORGET: Binding Space Through Utopia, on view at the PHI Foundation, is a program of gatherings with Kerstin Honeit, The Society of Affective Archives, and Rodolfo Andaur, that is grounded in historical references that ... More | | 
Roycroft. Large and Rare tray with poppies, USA, c. 1910. Patinated and handwrought copper, ⅝ h à 9¼ w à 12¼ d in (2 à 23 à 31 cm).
LAMBERTVILLE, NJ.- Rago and Toomey & Co. have announced about Roycroft: Life in Abundance, The Collection of Richard Blacher. This two-part presentation on August 23rd is dedicated to the exquisite craftsmanship of The Roycrofters. The second installment of the auction catalog will be available in the coming days. From beautiful publications to an impressive selection of bookends, and an assortment of furniture and lighting, Richard Blacher amassed a stunning and comprehensive collection that captures the spirit of this significant community within the Arts & Crafts movement. Founded in East Aurora, New York by salesman Elbert Hubbard in late 1894, the Roycroft reformist communitywhose members were known as Roycroftersbecame a hub for the production of texts, decorative arts, furniture, lighting, metalwork, and more in the burgeoning Arts & Craft ... More | | 
Video still from Kenneth Tam, The Founding of The World, 2023. Courtesy of the artist
and Commonwealth and Council, Los Angeles.
BERKELEY, CA.- A new artwork by the acclaimed interdisciplinary artist Kenneth Tam is making its museum debut at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive in Kenneth Tam / MATRIX 281: The Founding of the World, the latest installment in Tams ongoing exploration of masculinity, intimacy, and identity. The Founding of the World, Tams immersive video and sculptural installation, presents a stylized depiction of the probate, a choreographed ritual that is performed in many Asian American fraternities to herald the induction of new members. Along with a concurrent presentation of Tams work at Stanfords Cantor Arts Center, the exhibition at BAMPFA marks the artists first major showcase in the Bay Area and the latest installment of the museums MATRIX Program, a vanguard exhibition series that highlights distinctive and important voices in contemporary art. ... More |
|
Mary Miss' collective vision for social change | BUILT ECOLOGIES: ARCHITECTURE AND ENVIRONMENT
|
|
|
| More News |
 Witness and chronicler of the world, works by photographer and poet Allen Ginsberg featured at Fahey/Klein GalleryLOS ANGELES, CA.- The Fahey/Klein Gallery has now opened Muses & Self: Photographs by Allen Ginsberg. This exhibition of Ginsberg's personal photographs balances our understanding of the public, outspoken poet and most prominent figure of the Beat Generation. At his core, Allen Ginsberg was a witness and chronicler of the world; his profound admiration for the beauty of the vernacular, intense observation, and celebration of the present moment guided his photography and poetry. The photographs included in this exhibition are joyful, often tender, sometimes profound while at other times humorous and capture Ginsbergs numerous meaningful relationships. The poignancy of a photograph comes from looking ... More  'On the Value of Time: New Presentation of the Collection of Contemporary Art' at Museum LudwigCOLOGNE.- Every two years the Museum Ludwig presents a new selection of contemporary art from its collection. This edition will focus on different concepts of time and ways in which artists handle the topic in their work. Many artists draw attention to the fact that art is experienced in the present, while also questioning memory, remembrance, and historiography. The presentation is framed by value of time as a concepta socially determined value on which abstract, quantifiable time is based. The starting point is Walter Benjamins haunting image from 1940 of the angel of history, with which he described the relationship between past, present, and future. This established the concept of a critical historiography that originates from economic parameters. Various facets of this concept are reflected by the exhibited works, in which temporality ... More  Thamesmead's talented youth shone at the annual, community-powered festivalLONDON.- This years celebration which took place on Saturday 12 August was expanded to spotlight young talent with the new Wanderlust Hill Stage, entirely programmed and co-produced by local youth collective The South East Way. Over six months, eleven 14-16 year-olds, brought together by community arts project Three Rivers, learned about every aspect of putting on a show, from prop making and set-building to DJing and programming the young local acts. The stage was a major success on the day with acts including young talent Jabz, four-piece rockers Everything in Mono, alternative hip hop artist Lavs, singer-songwriter HURU, UK-based K-Pop dance group Paradox, soul songstress Taite Imogen and pop-punk band Breakup Haircut all of whom performed against a beautiful, Alice in Wonderland-inspired backdrop, designed and created ... More  Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki publications and branding internationally honouredAUCKLAND.- Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki has won several awards and commendations at the 2023 Australasian Museums and Galleries National Awards, demonstrating the international standards it achieves: Winner for Art Lab Visual Identity in the Exhibition Branding (level A) category Winner for Walls to Live Beside, Rooms to Own: The Chartwell Show in the Exhibition Catalogue (level B) category Highly commended for Toi Tū Toi Ora: Contemporary Māori Art in the Exhibition Catalogue (level B) category Highly commended for The Collection Te Kohinga in the Book (level B) category Highly commended for Art Toi in the Magazine (level B) category Auckland Art Gallery Director Kirsten Lacy said Publishing on the Gallerys collection and contributing to scholarship and writing on New Zealand art is such an important part of our role in New Zealand. Im absolutely delighted t ... More  Is Albarino the next great white wine? It depends.MEAÃO.- Here in RÃas Baixas, the Galician home of albarino in northwestern Spain, the most typical answer to a direct question is, It depends. Its not that Galicians are noncommittal or hedging their bets. Its more that they are aware of the complexity of many situations and dont want to overly simplify matters. Thats why if you ask a winemaker here about the future of albarino, or best practices for growing the grapes or making the wines, the response you are most likely to get is, It depends. The answers to these sorts of questions are especially pertinent now as RÃas Baixas is at an inflection point. Since RÃas Baixas became an appellation in 1988, growers and winemakers have been encouraged to produce albarino and plenty of it. The result has been a popular commodity wine: cheap, aromatic, easy to drink and forget. In many peoples minds, thats all albarino can be. ... More  Rare X-Men #1 comic book from 1963 up for auction in celebration of the 60th AnniversaryRUNNEMEDE, NJ.- An original X-Men #1 comic released in September 1963, which contains the origin and first appearance of the X-Men, is up for auction at leading collectible marketplace Goldin ahead of the 60th Anniversary. The comic is graded a remarkable 9.2 by CGC and X-Men #1 comics of a similar high grade have sold regularly for over $100,000. Goldin expects this auction to be no different. After the success of Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Iron Man and the Fantastic Four, legendary superhero creators Jack Kirby and Stan Lee were looking to create another superhero group to add to the Marvel Comics roster but didnt want to explain how they got their powers. Stan Lee remarked at the time, "I couldn't have everybody bitten by a radioactive spider or exposed to a gamma-ray explosion." In 1963, Kirby and Lee found ... More  Museum for Art in Wood presents new exhibition 'Placing: The Windgate Arts Residency Program in Wood 2023'PHILADELPHIA, PA.- The Museum for Art in Wood has opened a new multi-disciplinary exhibition, PLACING, featuring the works of seven fellows who participated in its annual Windgate Arts Residency Program in Wood (WARP Wood). The exhibition displays works created by the fellows both before and during the residency and is on view to the public through October 15. Established in 1995, the WARP Wood residency is a collegial experience that encourages fellows to explore new work either solely in wood, or in other materials in meaningful combination with wood, through research, exploration, and collaboration. This year, the Museum awarded these prestigious fellowships to an international group ... More  Magoo, rapper and former Timbaland collaborator, dies at 50NEW YORK, NY.- Rapper Magoo, a foundational member of a groundbreaking hip-hop scene that emerged in Virginia in the 1990s and that included his collaborators Timbaland, Missy Elliott and Pharrell Williams, has died at 50. Magoo, whose birth name was Melvin Barcliff, died this weekend in Williamsburg, Virginia, according to his wife, Meco Barcliff, and a statement from his family. Barcliff said that he had no known health problems other than asthma, but that he had not been feeling well in the past week. The coroners office was still investigating the cause, she said. Magoo was a child when rap music was first broadcast on the radio, and he credited it with helping save him from a difficult early childhood in Norfolk, Virginia. At first, he thought hip-hop was something he could dance and listen to, but was made only by people in the Northeast ... More  Antique Gold Rush-era bottles, stock certificates, coins, tokens and postcards do well at auctionRENO, NEV.- Rare Gold Rush-era antique bottles, beautiful 19th century stock certificates, boxing cards from the first half of the 20th century and scarce old coins and tokens all did well in Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLCs online-only Time Flies in July auction, held July 28th, 29th and 30th. The special timed auction featured nearly 2,200 lots in many categories. The auction was hosted exclusively on iCollector.com (Holabirds preferred online bidding platform) and contained collectibles in over ten categories, including postcards and stamps, mining, art, general Americana, books, bottles, stocks, numismatics, railroad, tokens, Native Americana and more a collectors dream. Every lot had a starting price of just ten dollars. Day 1, on Friday, July 28th, contained 728 lots of general Americana, to include autographs, books, collectibles, cowboy, entertainment, ephemera, firefighting mem ... More  Strawser Auction Group announces major Majolica collectionWOLCOTTVILLE, IND.- The first of three auctions dedicated to the outstanding majolica collection of Ed Flower (1929-2022) and his wife Marilyn (1930-2017) will be held on Wednesday, August 23rd, online and live in the Holiday Inn ballroom at 1750 Sumneytown Pike in Kulpsville, Pa. The auction will begin at 10 am Eastern time. Two more auctions will follow, with dates to be determined. The initial sale will be held by Strawser Auction Group, based in Wolcottville, Ind. The Flowers purchased many majolica pieces at Strawser sales. The collection in its entirety comprises over six hundred pieces in all, each one carefully chosen for beauty, rarity and condition. The August 23rd auction will feature 185 lots, by many of the finest names in all of majolica: Minton, George Jones, Holdcroft, Wedgwood, Hugo Lonitz, Palissy, Massier, T. C. Brown - ... More  At Time Spans Festival, New York shows off new musicNEW YORK, NY.- Classical musics global summer season is full of destination-worthy presentations. In August, New York makes a contribution: The Time Spans Festival, a modern and contemporary-music event that is the equal of anything on the international circuit. So after a couple weeks covering operas and starry premieres in Europe, I made sure to be home in New York for the first shows in this years festival, which runs through Aug. 26. It all takes place in the refreshingly cool, subterranean hall of the DiMenna Center for Classical Music in Hells Kitchen. Saturdays opener was dedicated to works by 20th-century composer Luigi Nono. This Italian modernist worked frequently with the resident electronic specialists of the SWR Experimentalstudio, a German public radio electronic studio from Freiburg. At the DiMenna Center, this group ... More |
|
PhotoGalleries 
Gabriele Münter 
TARWUK 
Awol Erizku 
Leo Villareal
Flashback On a day like today, Italian painter and etcher Agostino Carracci was born August 16, 1557. Agostino Carracci (or Caracci) (16 August 1557 - 22 March 1602) was an Italian painter, printmaker, tapestry designer, and art teacher. He was, together with his brother, Annibale Carracci, and cousin, Ludovico Carracci, one of the founders of the Accademia degli Incamminati (Academy of the Progressives) in Bologna. In this image: Selfportrait as a watchmaker.
|
|
|
|
© 1996 - 2021