| | Exhibition devoted to Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven opens in London
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Exhibition officer Amy Concannon (L) and designer Eric Pearson view Canadian artist Tom Thomson's 1917 oil painting The Jack Pine at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London. The gallery is hosting Painting Canada: Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven from October 19, 2011 to January 8, 2012. REUTERS/Chris Helgren,
LONDON.- Painting Canada: Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven is organised by the Dulwich Picture Gallery and the NGC, in collaboration with the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo and the Groninger Museum, with the generous support of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and other institutional and private lenders. The Canadian galleries are lending some of the country’s most iconic paintings, and a significant number of rarely seen works are coming from private collections. Ian Dejardin, Director at Dulwich Picture Gallery, said: “These artists produced some of the most vibrant and beautiful landscapes of the twentieth century. The Canadians have kept this particular light under a bushel for far too long – I am proud, and frankly amazed, that this is to be the very first major exhibition of their work to be held in this country since the sensati ... More |
| National Gallery of Art to reopen newly renovated 19th-century French galleries in West Building in January | | Archaeologists find Viking burial site in Scotland, believed to be more than 1,000 years old | | Nearly four decades after, landmark Hanoi Hotel unearths Vietnam War bunker | 
Paul Cézanne, Boy in a Red Waistcoat, 1888–1890. Oil on canvas, overall: 89.5 x 72.4 cm (35 1/4 x 28 1/2 in.) National Gallery of Art, Washington, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art.
WASHINGTON, DC.- Following a two-year renovation, the galleries devoted to impressionism and post-impressionism in the West Building of the National Gallery of Art will reopen to the public on January 29, 2012. Among the greatest collections in the world of paintings by Manet, Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, Van Gogh, and Gauguin, the Gallery's later 19th-century French paintings will return to public view in a freshly conceived installation design. "The Gallery's French impressionist and post-impressionist holdings, comprising nearly 400 paintings, are among the most prized in the Gallery, and rightly so," said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art. "A world-class collection of this caliber results from the generosity of many donors, from the 1942 Widener bequest that brought the Gallery its first impressionist paintings to other treasured works of art, received primarily through gifts ... More | | 
Dr Hannah Cobb. co-director of the Ardnamurchan Transitions Project, poses at a press conference with a thousand year old Viking sword. AP Photo/Andrew Milligan.
LONDON (AP).- Archaeologists said Tuesday they have discovered the remains of a Viking chief buried with his boat, ax, sword and spear on a remote Scottish peninsula — one of the most significant Norse finds ever uncovered in Britain. The 16-foot-long (5-meter-long) grave is the first intact site of its kind to have been discovered on mainland Britain and is believed to be more than 1,000 years old. Much of the wooden boat and the Viking bones have rotted away, but scraps of wood and hundreds of metal rivets that held the vessel together remain. The archeologists also unearthed a shield boss — a circular piece of metal attached to the middle of a shield — and a bronze ring-pin buried with the Viking. They also found a knife, a whetstone to sharpen tools, and Viking pottery on the site on the Ardnamurchan peninsula on Scotland's west coast. The boat and its contents were discovered by a team of archeologists from Manchester and Leicester universities working with t ... More | | 
A technician of the Metropole Hotel climbs from a Vietnam war underground bunker. AP Photo/Na Son Nguyen.
By: Mike Ives, Associated Press
HANOI (AP).- The siren's wail at the historic Metropole Hotel sent American folk singer Joan Baez and other guests scampering across a garden and into an underground bunker. Even through five feet of concrete, they could still hear the roar of American bombs raining on parts of Hanoi. Nearly four decades have passed since the so-called Christmas Bombings rocked parts of Vietnam's capital in December 1972. After the war ended three years later, the bunker was sealed and all but forgotten. Its exact location remained a mystery until this summer, when a worker's drill pierced its thick concrete roof during renovations of a poolside bar. Since then, workers have been excavating the flooded and low-ceilinged space. Not much has been found in the seven rooms: a wine bottle, a rusty paint can and a light bulb still in a socket. But a few tales remain, some involving famous guests. "If these walls could talk, they would tell a lot of stories," says hotel general manager Kai Speth, while ... More |
| Masterpieces of Italian Renaissance and Baroque sculpture on view at Moretti Fine Art | | Architect Frank Gehry answers critics on future Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial idea | | National Portrait Gallery in London opens "The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons" | 
Monumental Terracotta Portrait Busts of Saint Peter (circa 1660), by Domenico Giudi.
NEW YORK, NY.- In their third collaborative exhibition, Andrew Butterfield of Andrew Butterfield Fine Arts and Fabrizio Moretti of Moretti Fine Art, will stage Masterpieces of Italian Renaissance and Baroque Sculpture on Thursday, October 20 through Friday, November 11, 2011 at Moretti Fine Art, 24 East 80th Street in New York. The exhibition centers around several significant discoveries of the past year, including A Pair of Monumental Terracotta Portrait Busts of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (circa 1660), by Domenico Giudi -- perhaps the largest terracotta portrait busts currently in America. “Large scale terracotta busts are extremely rare, especially at this level of quality and liveliness. I cannot think of another such pair in America, other than the two Medici busts at the National Gallery in Washington,” said Andrew Butterfield. These newly rediscovered, lively and spirited works are impressive both f ... More | | 
Renowned architect Frank Gehry talks about his concept for a Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial to be built near the National Mall in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. AP Photo/Charles Dharapak.
By: Brett Zongker, Associated Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP).- Renowned architect Frank Gehry explained his ambitious design for a future Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial to architecture colleagues Tuesday night, saying criticism of the sweeping scale of his project honoring the 34th president has mostly been fair. Famous for his striking structures with undulating exteriors, Gehry said his design is evolving for his first project in Washington. He explained his concept to the editor of Architectural Record and others at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. The design draws on Eisenhower's homecoming speech after World War II when the war hero spoke of a barefoot boy from Kansas who went on to fame in Europe. The design would include ... More | | 
Eleanor ('Nell') Gwyn by Simon Verelst, c.1680. © National Portrait Gallery, London.
LONDON.- The first exhibition to explore art and theatre in eighteenth-century England through portraits of women opens at the National Portrait Gallery. With 53 portraits, some brought together for the first time and others not previously seen in public, the exhibition shows the remarkable popularity of actress-portraits and provides a vivid spectacle of eighteenth-century femininity, fashion and theatricality. The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons shows large paintings of actresses in their celebrated stage roles, intimate and sensual off-stage portraits and mass-produced caricatures and prints, and explores how they contributed to the growing reputation and professional status of leading female performers. The exhibition combines much-loved works by artists such as Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough, John Hoppner, Thomas Lawrence, Johan ... More |
| 2011 Praemium Imperiale international arts awards presented at a formal ceremony in Tokyo | | Luminous new paintings by Johnnie Winona Ross at Stephen Haller Gallery in New York | | Mike Kelley and Michael Smith: A Voyage of Growth and Discovery at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art | 
Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta speaks at a press conference in Tokyo, Japan. EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON.
TOKYO.- On Wednesday, October 19th, His Imperial Highness Prince Hitachi, honorary patron of the Japan Art Association, presented the Praemium Imperiale art awards at a formal ceremony in Tokyo to an esteemed class of Laureates who have shown extraordinary achievement in the fields of painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and theatre/film. Academy and Tony Award-winning actress Dame Judi Dench and her four fellow Laureates were on hand to receive their specially-designed gold medals and diplomas from Prince Hitachi. Carrying prizes of 15 million yen (approximately $195,000) each, the awards recognize lifetime achievement in the arts in categories not covered by the Nobel Prizes. The co-recipients of the annual Grant for Young Artists award (presented in July) were The Royal Court Young Writers Programme and Southbank Sinfonia. Each group received 2.5 million yen (approximately $30,000) to support their goals of nur ... More | | 
Johnnie Winona Ross, Lisbon Seeps, 2011, Minerals, paint burnished on linen, 48x46 inches. Photo: Courtesy Stephen Haller Gallery.
NEW YORK, N.Y.- Stephen Haller Gallery presents Johnnie Winona Ross: Seeps, Traces, and Paths, an exhibition of luminous new paintings by the American artist – Oct 20th – Nov 26th. “Ross’ incandescent works approach the ecstatic.” Maureen Mullarkey, City Arts. Washington Post critic Stephen Parks characterized Ross’s work in this way: “From a distance his canvases appear to be simple, minimal constructions of horizontal stripes with hints of vertical color in the background. Up close the paintings are seen to be extraordinarily beautiful and complex objects that induce a humming meditative state.” Ross grounds his work in the inspiration of the desert of the American Southwest, and borrows techniques from ancient Native American sources, melding them with a distinctly sophisticated and utterly contemporary vision. His use of the Native American technique of bu ... More | | 
Mike Kelley and Michael Smith, A Voyage of Growth and Discovery. Installation view: West of Rome at the Farley Building, Los Angeles, 2009.
GATESHEAD.- After its great success in New York and Los Angeles, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead announces the UK premier of A Voyage of Growth and Discovery, a remarkable collaboration between renowned American artists and longtime friends Mike Kelley and Michael Smith. A Voyage of Growth and Discovery centres on Baby IKKI, a character developed by Smith for over thirty years. Here the pre-lingual man-child, dressed in a nappy, sunglasses and baby’s bonnet, visits the Burning Man festival in the remote Black Rock Desert of Nevada. Infamous for its carnivalesque atmosphere and existence beyond wider societal norms, the annual event is an “experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance.” Alone in his journey, yet alongside thousands of revellers, the part-comedic, part-forlorn IKKI navigates ravers, erotic ... More |
| The Chrysler gets nostalgic with Colorama: panoramic photos reflect life and times of an idealized 1960s | | The Huntington Director of art collections, John Murdoch, announces retirement | | Marlborough Chelsea opens first solo exhibition by multi-media artist Rashaad Newsome | 
Jim Pond. Family in convertible somewhere in Texas, displayed June 3–24, 1968. Copyright Eastman Kodak Co. Courtesy George Eastman House.
NORFOLK, VA.- The Chrysler Museum of Art’s newest photography exhibition invites viewers to discover America in the 1960s as it probably never was. Colorama’s amazing array of 36 panoramic prints presents the American ideal—heartwarming holidays, sweeping landscapes, fun family vacations, grand excursions—and the virtue of amateur photography. The exhibition is on view through December 31, and admission is free. For 40 years travelers at New York's Grand Central Terminal scurried to their destinations under the brilliance of one of the most effective advertising programs in history, Kodak's Coloramas. The massive panoramas were known as the largest photographs in the world. All told, 565 of these 18’ x 60’ illuminated illustrations adorned the terminal from 1950 to 1990, and the campaign included images by some of the top photographers in the country, including Ansel Adams. With both technical a ... More | | 
Murdoch oversees the permanent installations of European and American art at The Huntington.
SAN MARINO, CA.- John Murdoch, the Hannah and Russel Kully Director of Art Collections, has announced his retirement from The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Murdoch has led the Art Collections for more than nine years; he will step down June 30, 2012. “His contributions have been absolutely extraordinary,” said Steven S. Koblik, Huntington president. “With the building of the Erburu Gallery, John played a central role in the development of the Scott Galleries of American Art, but most dramatically, his remarkable leadership in restoring the historic Huntington residence and creating a coherent display of the European art collections can only be described as awe inspiring.” Murdoch oversees the permanent installations of European and American art at The Huntington as well as the institution’s program of temporary art exhibitions. Under his leadership, the collections have ... More | | 
Rashaad Newsome, Mary, 2011, Co llage in customized antique frame, 83 x 48 x 8 in., 210 .8 x 121.9 x 20 .3 cm.
NEW YORK, N.Y.- The Directors of Marlborough Gallery announce the opening of Rashaad Newsome’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. A multi-media artist, Newsome will present his dramatic and opulent new collages, sculpture, video and installations on both floors of Marlborough Chelsea. The exhibition continues through December 3, 2011. Rashaad Newsome’s work comprises a visual vocabulary that combines high neo-Baroque style with low pop-advertising imagery in obsessively-handmade collages. His richly detailed compositions form a kind of Rosetta stone for the hip-hop culture. Newsome culls familiar images of luxury goods from glossy consumer magazines: sports gear, jewel-encrusted brooches, rings, watches, furs and yachts, which he meticulously affixes in richly layered compositions with patterned backgrounds and a distinctive use of central space with crests and shields built from unexpected detai ... More |
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 Nazi death camp art on show at Auschwitz museum WARSAW (AP).- Photos of 20 drawings and other artifacts clandestinely made by inmates at Nazi death camps during World War II are on show at the Auschwitz museum and are to travel next to the United States, an official said Tuesday. A museum spokesman, Pawel Sawicki, said that the "Forbidden Art" exhibition is on display at the former camp bath building at Auschwitz I, the original, red brick part of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. Large color pictures show drawings and sculptures made by inmates of Auschwitz and of the Buchenwald and Ravensbrueck German Nazi concentration camps. More than 1 million people, mostly Jews, died at Auschwitz that the Nazi Germans ran in occupied Poland between 1940-45. In Ravensbrueck, in north Germany, most among some 130,000 inmates from across Europe, were Polish. No more than 32,000 survived. Some 56,000 inmates are believed to have died at Buchenwald, ... More Thomas Rentmeister "Objects. Food. Rooms" at Kunstmuseum Bonn BONN.- Thomas Rentmeister, born in 1964 in Reken (Westphalia), studied under Günther Uecker and Alfonso Hüppi at the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf. During the 1990s he became prominent with his elegant polyester works which combine sculptural presence with a hint of the organically soft or even flowing. Thus, the reflective sculptures, which appear differently depending on the visitor’s point of view, lose their context-independent autonomy and “melt“ into their environment. His objects and installations, for which from the late 1990s on he has been using materials untypical for sculpture like handkerchiefs, potatoe chips, Penaten or Nutella creme, are yet another reference to everyday life. These materials do not only complement the plastic quality of his sculptures with their material-dependant dominant smell, they also ironize the neutral objectness that is so important to minimalism by establishing ... More First major Diane Arbus retrospective in France opens at Jeu de Paume PARIS.- Diane Arbus (New York, 1923–1971) revolutionized the art she practiced. Her bold subject matter and photographic approach produced a body of work that is often shocking in its purity, in its steadfast celebration of things as they are. Her gift for rendering strange those things we consider most familiar, and for uncovering the familiar within the exotic, enlarges our understanding of ourselves. Arbus found most of her subjects in New York City, a place that she explored as both a known geography and as a foreign land, photographing people she discovered during the 1950s and 1960s. She was committed to photography as a medium that tangles with the facts. Her contemporary anthropology—portraits of couples, children, carnival performers, nudists, middle-class families, transvestites, zealots, eccentrics, and celebrities—stands as an allegory of the human experience, an exploration of the relationship ... More Premier Bill Powell antique advertising and toy collection leads 'endless variety' in Noel Barrett's auction NEW HOPE, PA.- “In this business there are only about a half dozen people who can honestly be described as having a golden eye. Bill Powell is one of them,” said Noel Barrett, whose Nov. 18-19 auction features Powell’s peerless personal collection of antique advertising and toys. Those who have come to know Bill Powell over the years from his beautiful displays at major antique and Americana shows know him as the “go-to guy” for great trade signs, fabulous store fixtures and rare lithographed paper-on-wood toys, Barrett said. “Bill is one of the great pickers. He would hop into his car and drive all night if something special awaited him at the other end. Whenever you would come upon his booth at a show, you’d know immediately whose it was. He has always favored antiques that are figural, unusual, and have marvelous colors and patina,” Barrett said. Powell’s collection will be offered in approximately 400 lots during ... More David Findlay Jr Gallery announces new location NEW YORK, N.Y.- David Findlay Jr Gallery has just moved to a new and larger location at the 724 Fifth Avenue gallery building (immediately south of 57th Street). The gallery occupies the entire 8th floor which previously housed the legendary Grace Borgenicht Gallery and more recently, D.C. Moore Gallery. Among the other galleries located at 724 Fifth Ave. are Tibor de Nagy Gallery, Babcock Galleries and Maxwell Davidson Gallery. “The new location more than doubles the exhibition area of our previous gallery,” states owner David Findlay Jr. “Coincidentally, our move is also a return home for our gallery. In the 1940s my father moved the Findlay Gallery from Kansas City, Missouri, to New York City and then to 724 Fifth Avenue – to the very same 8th floor, where he stayed for about 10 years. History to the side, we have selected this new gallery with its two exhibition areas and larger space to offer o ... More Spencer Finch's "Lunar" illuminates the Art Institute of Chicago CHICAGO, IL.- American artist Spencer Finch (b. 1962) has recently installed his luminous and wistful Lunar (2011)--a solar-powered, buckyball-shaped spacecraft sculpture that exudes light like "a lunar module returning from the moon with moonlight on board"--on top of the Art Institute of Chicago's Modern Wing. Positioned on the open-air Bluhm Family Terrace, Lunar glows during evening hours the exact color and brightness of the full moon over Chicago as recorded in July 2011. Finch's first presentation at the Art Institute is on view through April 8, 2012, and is free and open to the public. Throughout his career, Spencer Finch has used color and light as primary subjects--and materials--in his drawings, photographs, mixed media projects, and large-scale installations. Best known for exploring ideas about memory and perception, the artist often employs a colorimeter, a device that measures the average color and temperatur ... More |
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