| The First Art Newspaper on the Net | Established in 1996 | Saturday, November 12, 2011 |
| | Public gets first look at Wal-Mart heiress' new Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
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Architect Moshe Safdie looks out of a window next to a large red untitled magnifying disk sculpture by artist Fred Eversley at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark. The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art was created using pieces acquired by Wal-Mart heir Alice Walton, who wanted to build something important in her hometown of Bentonville. AP Photo/Danny Johnston.
By: Chuck Bartels, Associated Press
BENTONVILLE (AP).- Art lovers got their first look Friday at the treasures amassed by Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton and displayed at the new Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, an enormous facility that took six years to build. Walton helped open the museum that's situated on 120 acres just a 10-minute walk from Bentonville's downtown square. The museum expects to draw about 200,000 visitors in its first year of operation. "This is it," Walton said during a ceremony to mark the public opening. "I'm prejudiced, but it's the most beautiful building I've ever seen." Designed by architect Moshe Safdie, the museum includes six buildings, two of which are structured as bridges over ponds fed by a clear-running stream. ... More |
| Today, Her Majesty The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh visited Turner Contemporary | | Indianapolis Museum of Art presents "Universe Is Flux: The Art of Tawara Yūsaku" | | £9M Imperial Chinese vase tops Bonhams stunning Chinese art sale in London | 
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, right, meets artist Tracey Emin in front of JMW Turner's "Crossing the Brook" painting, during a visit to the Turner Contemporary Gallery in Margate. AP Photo/Suzanne Plunkett.
MARGATE.- An honour for the gallery, this historic moment came after a hugely successful first seven months, which has seen Turner Contemporary welcome over 300,000 visitors. Her Majesty The Queen met with gallery Director Victoria Pomery, Chair John Kampfner and key members of staff. She was taken on a tour of the gallery, where she was introduced to guests including artist Tracey Emin, architect Sir David Chipperfield, and Deputy Director of Tate Alex Beard. The Royal couple met with the young winners of our Page Turner competition, whose works hang in the gallery, pupils from Northdown Primary School and Hartsdown Technology College who were involved in activities in the Clore Learning Studio, and participants from our current and past community projects; Artworks, Blank Canvas, Cultural Ambassadors, The Great Art Quest, Generate and Art of Sound ... More | | 
Tawara Yūsaku, Japanese, (1932-2004), Untitled, [ Ichi, 95], from Sora [Sky] series, 2001, ink on paper, 5-5/8 x 4 1/8 in (image). Loan from Mrs. Kayoko Okada.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN.- The Indianapolis Museum of Art presents the first largescale exhibition of works by Tawara Yūsaku, a contemporary Japanese artist known for his highly energetic brushstroke. Universe Is Flux: The Art of Tawara Yūsaku, on view from November 11, 2011, to April 1, 2012, featuring works inspired by Tawara’s belief that the universe is unstable and constantly changing. Executed primarily in ink on paper, his works use the cumulative effect of many brushstrokes to create powerful and expressive works, apparent in even his smallest 3 in. x 5 in. paintings. Although Tawara eschewed representational art, many of his paintings recall traditional ink landscapes or other forms in nature. “With this exhibition, the IMA will introduce the inventive and insightful vision of Tawara Yūsaku to an American audience,” said Maxwell L. Anderson, The Melvin & Bren Simon Director and CEO of the IM ... More | | 
An Imperial Chinese vase thought to have been kept at the royal palace in Beijing's Forbidden City. AP Photo / Bonhams.
LONDON.- Bonhams took a dominant position on Asian Arts in Europe with outstanding sales of Chinese Art in which the top item was an Imperial Chinese vase which sold for £9,001,250. The outstanding highlight of the huge 700-lot Chinese sale at Bonhams was a magnificent turquoise Imperial vase, decorated with chrysanthemums, which sold for £9,001,250, making it the highest priced Asian artwork in London this year. After keen and protracted bidding by three separate phone buyers it was knocked down for £9m to a round of applause from the packed saleroom. Its pre-sale estimate was £5m to £8m. These results in London’s Asian Art Week, place Bonhams in a unique position in Europe, heading Asian Art sales for all auction houses. Colin Sheaf, Head of Asian Art at Bonhams, said: "This is the latest milestone in Bonhams growing international strength and it occurs in one of the most exciting collecting areas. All things in clas ... More |
| Paris' Arts Decoratifs museum retrospective celebrates ad man Jean-Paul Goude | | Reflex Gallery offers rare opportunity to view a selection of Roger Ballen's work in Amsterdam | | The Collection of Will Fisher, founder of Jamb, to be offered at Christie's London in February 2012 | 
A creation by designer Jean-Paul Goude and used in 1989 for the French Revolution bicentennial is seen at the Arts Decoratifs museum in Paris. AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani.
By: Jenny Barchfield, Associated Press
PARIS (AP).- For Jean-Paul Goude, the days of false modesty are over: The extravagant French illustrator, photographer and ad man — best known internationally for his TV spots for Chanel's Egoiste and Coco perfumes — says he now finally considers himself an artist. A new retrospective at Paris' Arts Decoratifs museum shores up that conclusion. With hundreds of drawings, sketches, photo collages, videos and installations that include a life-size steam engine made of wood, "Goudemalion" traces the evolution of his exuberant style over the past six decades. The show plunges visitors into Goude's very particular creative universe which — peopled with long, lean uber-women — is no less compelling than those of many who have long worn the mantle of "artist." "Before ... More | | 
Roger Ballen, Exhaustion. Courtesy Galerie Alex Daniels - Reflex Amsterdam and Roger Ballen.
AMSTERDAM.- Roger Ballen is regarded as one of the world’s foremost practitioner’s of black and white photography. He has been shooting in monochrome for nearly half a century, from his renowned documentary images of South African villagers to his recent extraordinary explorations of the psyche and its aesthetic. Ballen’s work has been exhibited across the globe, and is widely collected by the world’s important art institutions, from Moma in New York, to the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. The Reflex Gallery, Amsterdam, presents a rare opportunity to view a selection of Ballen’s work from over the past 20 years. The exhibition will showcase iconic images from his acclaimed books, Shadow Chamber, Outland, and Boarding House, as well as important photographs that have never been shown before. In their rich complexity and visual daring, the 25 works on displa ... More | | 
Several items seen on display at Jamb, to be auctioned at Christie’s single owner sale on 2 February 2012. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2011.
LONDON.- Christie’s announces the sale of The Collection of Will Fisher; founder of Jamb to be held on 2 February 2012 at Christie’s South Kensington. All lots to be offered at the auction will be on view to the public at an exhibition at Jamb’s premises at 107a Pimlico Road (from 28th January to 1st February) leading up to the sale. The auction will include approximately 500 lots both from Will Fisher’s own home in Camberwell and from Jamb in Pimilco. With a total estimate in excess of £1 million, the auction will include a broad array of antique chimneypieces, English and Irish furniture, lighting, natural history, sculpture, architectural and garden ornaments. Estimates will range from £500 to £120,000; one of the smaller highly collectable pieces in the sale is a large enamel advertising sign for the News of the World (estimate: £800-1,200) ... More |
| Amid a time of economic uncertainty, United States history museums struggle to update exhibits | | 'Nancy Chunn: Chicken Little and the Culture of Fear' at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum | | Norton Museum of Art names LACMA's Tim B. Wride as new Curator of Photography | 
Tourists stand by a British flag during a tour at Fort William Henry in Lake George, N.Y. AP Photo/Mike Groll.
By: Chris Carola, Associated Press
LAKE GEORGE (AP).- Robert Flacke Sr. can remember the days when Fort William Henry's multimedia exhibit consisted of two Kodak carousel-style color slide projectors that kept breaking down. The history-heavy tourist attraction on the southern end of Lake George upgraded years ago to a video display, an improvement that looks positively futuristic amid all the aging, dusty exhibits sprinkled throughout the privately owned reconstructed French and Indian War fort and museum. Many of the displays look like they haven't changed since the place was built more than a half-century ago. In an effort to boost numbers of visitors, museum and historical sites around the country are searching for new ways to update old exhibits amid a time of economic uncertainty and declining support for museums in general and history museums in particular. "History is tough to sell," said Flacke, president of the ... More | | 
Nancy Chunn, Chicken Little and the Culture of Fear, Scene II: The Bathroom (detail), 2004–05. © Nancy Chunn. Photography by Bill Orcutt. Courtesy Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York.
PROVIDENCE, RI.- Inspired by the fear and panic engendered by the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, the Museum of Art Rhode Island School of Design presents Nancy Chunn: Chicken Little and the Culture of Fear, a series of paintings that represents the media sensationalism infecting our current political and cultural landscape, feeding our anxieties and distracting us from dealing with real dangers. “Nancy Chunn’s very recognizable and humorous imagery from the childhood fable Chicken Little was created as commentary on the events of 9/11, but continues to resonate through current events,” says Interim Museum Director Ann Woolsey. Chunn’s allegorical narrative features 339 cartoon-like paintings that reimagine the folk fable of Chicken Little. Chunn portrays Chicken Little’s exaggerated fears, (“The sky is falling!”), in a graphic style—adapting found clip art images to repres ... More | | 
Before joining the Norton, Wride spent 14 years at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) as Curator of Photography.
WEST PALM BEACH, FL.- The Norton Museum of Art today announced the appointment of Tim B. Wride as the William & Sarah Ross Soter Curator of Photography. The position was previously held by Charlie Stainback, who was promoted to Assistant Director of the Norton earlier this year. Before joining the Norton, Wride spent 14 years at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) as Curator of Photography. He also founded and served as Executive Director of the Los Angeles-based No Strings Foundation, a non-profit philanthropic organization that provides artist grants to American photographers. Before founding that organization, he established The Curatorial Eye, which offered lectures, seminars, workshops, and mentoring to photographers, collectors, and not-for-profit institutions. “The Norton Museum, like any museum, is only as great as the curators and the collection,” says Hope Alswang, Norton Director and CEO. “Wi ... More |
| Apparent 19th-century slave cemetery uncovered on former cotton plantation in Florida | | Home decor on offer in early December period art & design auction at Bonhams | | Ultra-rare and pristine copy of Action Comics 1, lost 11 years, up for sale at ComicConnect.com | 
Johnnetta Cole is joined in consecrating the ground with libation (water), by Yoruba priestesses Ok Sun Burkes, left, and Frances Bradley seond right). AP Photo/The Florida Times-Union, Bob Mack.
By: Matt Sedensky, Associated Press
WEST PALM BEACH, FL (AP).- A 19th-century cemetery, believed to hold the remains of slaves, has been uncovered at a former cotton plantation in Florida, archaeologists announced Thursday. The discovery of six gravesites was made last year at the Kingsley Plantation in Jacksonville, but the announcement was delayed to allow for further research and to alert possible descendants of those buried there. It brought a sense of accomplishment to those who spent years finding the site and a surge of emotions to those whose ancestors were enslaved there. "The word emotional almost seems not powerful enough," said Johnetta Cole, director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African Art and a descendant of the Kingsley family. "I wept. This is not ordinary; this is not an everyday experience." A team led ... More | | 
A George III japanned corner cabinet, height 93in; width 24in; depth 41 1/4in. Est. $2,500-3,500. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Bonhams looks forward to presenting its Period Art & Design Auction, December 11-12 in San Francisco, featuring property from the Estate of Katherine Elkins Boyd; jewelry from the Collection of “Golden Age” actress Hedy Lamarr; and unique designs for the home, sold to benefit museums and notable organizations throughout the Western United States. Leading the sale is the much-anticipated “part two” of Bonhams sales of Property from the Estate of Katherine Elkins Boyd (Bonhams Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts sale, October 31, featured “part one” of Property from the Estate). Elkins Boyd was a well-known San Francisco Bay Area figure, Co-Chair of the Republican National Committee Eagles, delegate to the Republican National Convention, and daughter of legendary 20th century designer Frances Adler Elkins. On offer from the Estate will be a selection of custom painted furniture a ... More | | 
1938 cover of Action Comics. The issue, featuring the first appearance of Superman, goes up for auction on Friday, Nov. 11, 2011, and is expected to surpass the $1.5 million record set in 2010. AP Photo/Metropolis Collectibles.
By: Matt Moore, Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA (AP).- Up, up and away is synonymous with Superman and may have a new meaning for collectors, too, as an ultra-rare and pristine copy of Action Comics No. 1 goes up for auction online Friday. The issue, featuring the first appearance of Superman, is expected to surpass the $1.5 million record set in 2010. "It's an iconic milestone of the 20th century," said Stephen Fishler, CEO of ComicConnect.com and Metropolis Collectibles, of the issue, which was published in 1938 and cost just 10 cents. The auction at www.comicconnect.com lasts through Nov. 30. The issue for sale has a story of its own that wouldn't be out of place in the pages of a comic book plot, either. Twice before it set the record for the most expensive book ever — it sold for $86,000 in 1992 ... More |
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 University of Michigan Museum of Art to present five contemporary photographers in Face of our Time ANN ARBOR, MICH.- From November 12, 2011 through February 5, 2012, the University of Michigan Museum of Art will present Face of Our Time: Jim Goldberg, Daniel Schwartz, Zanele Muholi, Jacob Aue Sobol, Richard Misrach, an exhibition that features the work of five distinctive photographers who share an interest in making pictures that capture what the world looks like now. They describe poetic truths and complex, open-ended social realities within the context of current political events. The title of the exhibition refers to the book Face of Our Time, published in 1929 by August Sander, a major German photographer of the 1920s. His project was to convey his historical moment through the faces and comportments of his contemporaries in order to reveal the character and culture of Germany before the Second World War. Similarly, the photographers in this exhibition are aligned by their committed interest in ... More Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum announces monumental Owen Gromme gift WAUSAU, WIS.- The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum announces with gratitude and pride, a magnanimous gift from BMO Harris Bank of forty-three oil paintings by legendary Wisconsin artist Owen J. Gromme (1896-1991). M&I Bank, now part of BMO Financial Group, commissioned this extraordinary collection of paintings in the mid-1960s for its corporate office in downtown Milwaukee. These works, considered among the best created by Gromme, feature birds and other wildlife subjects specific to Wisconsin. "The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum is without question the most fitting home for this collection of Owen Gromme paintings," said Mark Furlong, President and CEO of BMO Harris Bank. "On behalf of BMO Harris Bank and M&I, I am delighted the gift is met with such great enthusiasm, and I'm confident that Museum visitors will enjoy these paintings for generations to come." Woodson Art Museum ... More Edgy Brooklyn Museum to show film of ants on crucifix NEW YORK, N.Y. (AP).- A major exhibition that includes a film of ants crawling on a crucifix opens next week at the Brooklyn Museum, an institution known for presenting edgy and bold artworks that in the past included a painting of the Virgin Mary that incorporated elephant dung. "A Fire in My Belly" is a film by the late David Wojnarowicz that was pulled from the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., when the exhibition was shown there last year. The ant scene angered some in Congress, and the Catholic League called the work sacrilegious. It is one of more than 100 pieces in "Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture," the first major museum exhibition to explore how gender and sexual identity have shaped American art. Brooklyn Museum Director Arnold Lehman said Wednesday that the museum wanted to present the exhibition "clearly because it's such an important aspect ... More Local talent the focus at August Wilson Center for African American Culture PITTSBURGH, PA.- The August Wilson Center for African American Culture announces two major exhibitions. The first, “Teenie Memories: New Photographs by Rebecca Droke and Bill Wade," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette photographers, coincides with "Teenie Harris, Photographer: An American Story" at the Carnegie Museum of Art, which opened Oct. 29. Cecile Shellman, Artistic Director of Visual Arts and Exhibition Initiatives at the Center says, “The timing is ideal for devotees of Mr. Harris’ work and we hope that each will complement the other.” The exhibit opened Nov. 1 and runs through Feb. 16, 2012. August Wilson Center CEO Andre Kimo Stone Guess announced at the start of the new season that Affrilachia (af-ruh-LAY-shuh), a term describing African Americans living in Appalachia, was the theme for the Center’s 2011-12 Continuum, a series of programs tied to a specific theme. “Common Ground: A ... More Record for any photo sold at auction set in Christie's in New York NEW YORK, N.Y. (AP).- A 1999 photograph of the Rhine river by German artist Andreas Gursky has sold for $4.3 million in New York City, setting a record for any photograph sold at auction. Titled "Rhein II," the chromogenic color print face-mounted to acrylic glass, had a pre-sale estimate of $2.5 million to $3.5 million. It sold Tuesday at Christie's. The buyer was not disclosed. The previous record for any photography sold at auction was Cindy Sherman's "Untitled," which fetched $3.8 million at Christie's in May. Gursky's panoramic image of the Rhine is one of an edition of six photographs. Four are in major museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Tate Modern in London. ... More |
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