| The First Art Newspaper on the Net | Established in 1996 | Sunday, December 11, 2011 |
| | First ever exhibition in Australia dedicated to Renaissance paintings opens in Canberra
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Sandro Botticelli, The story of Virginia the Roman c.1500 (detail). Tempera and gold on wood panel, 83.3 x 165.5 cm. Accademia Carrara, Bergamo, bequest of Giovanni Morelli 1891.
CANBERRA.- The National Gallery of Australia opened the first ever exhibition in Australia dedicated to Renaissance paintings. The exhibition is titled Renaissance – 15th & 16th Century Italian Paintings from the Accademia Carrara, Bergamo, it is the Gallery’s major summer exhibition. The exhibition features more than 70 paintings including works by Italian masters such as Raphael, Botticelli, Bellini and Mantegna – artists whose paintings have never been seen in Australia before. The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries of Italian art are the foundation of the grand tradition of European painting. The genius of artists such as Raphael, Botticelli and Titian is known to most Australians, but visitors to this exhibition will also discover the talents of less wellknown painters such as Tura, Crivelli, Lotto, Vivarini, Carpaccio, Perugino and Moroni. ... More |
| Sotheby's Paris sale of Contemporary art soars above estimate, fetches $ 15,098,358 | | Robert Burns and the creation of the beloved song "Auld Lang Syne" is the subject of a new exhibition | | Exhibition showcases more than 120 contemporary drawings from the Irving Stenn Jr. Collection | 
Pierre Soulages, Peinture 195 X 130 CM, 3 Decembre 1956. Oil on canvas, 195 x 130 cm. Executed on 3 December 1956. Sold for: 1.576.750 €. Photo: Sotheby's.
PARIS.- In a packed saleroom Sotheby’s Paris Evening Auction of Contemporary Art soared above estimate to bring a total of €11, 282,250/$ 15,098,358 (est. € 6,600,000- 9,370,000/ $ 8,832,384 / 12,539,309). There was competitive bidding throughout; all of the lots found buyers and three-quarters of the lots sold above their high estimates. Commenting on his first evening sale as Director of Sotheby’s Contemporary Art department in Paris, Stefano Moreni said: “Our presale strategy of sourcing works of high quality and distinguished provenance attracted collectors from all around the world and brought in many new buyers. Five of the ten top works were competed for by multiple bidders and achieved prices which doubled their high pre-sale estimates.” There was strong competition for an iconic work from a key period of Pierre Soulages’ career, Peinture 195 x 130cm – 3 December 1956, a monu ... More | | 
Robert Burns, Engraved portrait by Paton Thomson (ca. 1750–after 1821) after a painting by Alexander Nasmyth (1758–1840). London and Edinburgh: Published by T[homas] Preston and G[eorge] Thomson, 1817
The Morgan Library & Museum, New York. Photo: Graham S. Haber, 2011.
NEW YORK, N.Y.- Each New Year’s Eve, millions raise their voices in a chorus of “Auld Lang Syne,” standing with friends and looking back with nostalgia on days past. But how did a traditional Scots folk song—with lyrics that many people scarcely understand—emerge as one of the world’s most enduring popular songs? It was Robert Burns (1759–1796), the great eighteenth-century Scottish poet, who transformed the old verses into the version we know today. Robert Burns and “Auld Lang Syne” at The Morgan Library & Museum untangles the complex origins of the song that has become, over time, a globally shared expression of friendship and longing. On view from December 9, 2011 at noon, through February 5, 2012, the ... More | | 
Bridget Riley, Turquoise and Red Greys, Sequence Study, 1967. Gouache over graphite on ivory wove graph paper, 444 x 332 mm. Partial and promised gift of the Irving Stenn, Jr. Drawings Collection.
CHICAGO, IL.- In only a decade, Chicago lawyer Irving Stenn Jr. has built a collection of more than 170 seminal drawings by more than 90 artists, a collection that focuses on the paradigm-shifting 1960s. This era saw a radical change in the way in which works on paper were made, used, and appreciated, and for the first time the public will be able to see this foundational moment in the history of drawing as represented through Stenn’s singular sensibility. Contemporary Drawings from the Irving Stenn Jr. Collection will be on view November 19, 2011 through February 26, 2012 in the Jean and Steven Goldman Prints and Drawings Galleries in the Richard and Mary L. Gray Wing (Galleries 124–127) of the Art Institute of Chicago. This illustrative and exceptional exhibition includes more than 120 works by Mel ... More |
| Louis Comfort Tiffany: Works from a Long Island Collection at Nassau County Museum of Art | | Nautical narrative of American history on view this winter at the Tyler Museum of Art | | The Hirshhorn announces one of the most groundbreaking exhibitions in its history | 
Tiffany Drop Head Dragonfly Lamp.
NEW YORK, N.Y.- Drawn from an important Long Island collection, The Paintings of Louis Comfort Tiffany: Works from a Long Island Collection is a major exhibition that showcases approximately 125 oils and works on paper by Louis Comfort Tiffany, an American artist most closely associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements. This exhibition, the first focusing on Tiffany’s paintings to be seen in the New York metropolitan area since 1979 opens at Nassau County Museum of Art on December 10, 2011 and remains on view through March 18, 2012. Centered on Tiffany’s paintings, which he created for himself to memorialize his travels and surroundings, The Paintings of Louis Comfort Tiffany offers an uncommon glimpse into the artist’s personal world. The exhibition also includes some examples of Tiffany’s decorative arts, especially stained glass lamps and windows. Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933 ... More | | 
Edward Percy Moran (American, 1862-1935). Children Playing on the Beach, ca. 1890 (detail). Oil on canvas, 15 x 22 inches. The Arthur J. Phelan Collection.
TYLER, TX.- This winter, linger for a moment on the water’s edge at the Tyler Museum of Art, where you will escape into a nautical narrative of American history and maritime adventure. Reflections on Water in American Painting–The Arthur J. Phelan Collection combines 50 paintings that together tell a unique history of the country’s maritime growth from the grand sailing ships of the U.S. Navy and the river boats of Mark Twain’s Mississippi River to the more contemporary pleasure of leisure time spent by the sea. Ranging in date from 1828 to 1945, the exhibition opens with the earliest form of American maritime painting with a selection of grand, academic-style portraits of graceful sailing ships. The exhibition progresses forward in time with waterscapes from the sea to the lakes and rivers of the American heart- ... More | | 
Concept sketch images courtesy Doug Aitken Workshop.
WASHINGTON, D.C.- In spring 2012, the Hirshhorn will present its boldest commission and one of the most groundbreaking exhibitions in its history. Internationally renowned artist Doug Aitken will illuminate, animate, and transform the Hirshhorn’s iconic circular building into "liquid architecture." Using approximately eleven high-definition projectors, the artist will seamlessly blend imagery to envelop the entire façade of the Museum with a 360-degree projection that will make the structure recede into cinematic space, rotating, rising, and evolving into new forms. Exploding film conventions, the work cannot be viewed from any single perspective or at any single moment in time. Visitors must walk the perimeter of the building in order fully to experience of the work. This site-specific work will animate the Museum beginning in ... More |
| Architect Steven Holl awarded the 2012 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal | | Strong selection of works in important 20th Century design sale at Sotheby's New York | | Jill Dawsey Named Associate Curator at Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego | 
Higgins Hall. Photo: Steven Holl Architects.
WASHINGTON, DC.- The Board of Directors of The American Institute of Architects to award the 2012 AIA Gold Medal to Steven Holl, FAIA. The AIA Gold Medal, voted on annually, is considered to be the profession’s highest honor that an individual can receive. The Gold Medal honors an individual whose significant body of work has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. Holl will be honored at the 2012 AIA National Convention in Washington, D.C. Holl and his firm, Steven Holl Architects have completed projects that tackle the urban-scale planning and development conundrums that define success in the built environment throughout the world. He’s able to work with diverse clients to get his projects executed, all while being a tenured professor at Columbia University. His explorations have served as an inspiration to his colleagues. Holl completed two projects located in China in 2009 that are emble ... More | | 
Naum Slutzky, An Important and Extremely Rare Teapot. Circa 1928. Est. $60/80,000. Photo: Sotheby's.
NEW YORK, N.Y.- Sotheby’s New York auction of Important 20th Century Design on 15 December 2011 will offer a strong selection of works across a diverse range of styles, featuring important pieces from the Arts & Crafts movement, European and American Modernism, and Postwar and Contemporary Design. The sale will be on exhibition in Sotheby’s York Avenue galleries beginning this Saturday, 10 December, alongside the auction of Important Tiffany. Following the success of Sotheby’s New York sale of Ruhlmann: An Important Original Interior in December 2010, the upcoming sale will be led by two pieces from the legendary furniture maker. A Fine and Rare “Meuble á Fards” Cabinet, Model AR1524/NR2302 circa 1927 was acquired directly from the designer and has since descended in the same family to the present owner (est. $450/650,000). A Superb and Rare Vanity, Model AR1537/NR 1828 and “Tivo” Chair, Mod ... More | | 
Dawsey has held curatorial posts at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and, most recently, at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.
SAN DIEGO, CA.- Dr. Hugh M. Davies, The David C. Copley Director and CEO of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, announced that Jill Dawsey has been appointed the new Associate Curator. Dawsey has held curatorial posts at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and, most recently, at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. She began work at MCASD Dec. 5. "Jill Dawsey has the eye and intellect to identify today's most compelling artists and contextualize them within the history of art and the particularities of place," said MCASD's Chief Curator Kathryn Kanjo. "She is warm, engaging, and curious--qualities that will be felt on staff and in the community. We are delighted to welcome home this talented San Diegan." In Dawsey's new position she will coordinate and originate exhibitions, as well as help to build and refine the Museum's collection, currently comprised of more than 4,000 works. In her recent position at the Utah Museum of ... More |
| Highly curated selection of important Tiffany presented in sale at Sotheby's New York | | Debt crisis strikes Greek monuments, closed monuments or curtailed trips irk tourists | | Jacqueline Hassink & Immo Klink in new exhibition at Kaune Sudendorf Gallery in Cologne | 
Tiffany Studios, A Highly Important Three-Panel “Magnolia” Window (detail). Circa 1910. Est. $400/600,000. Photo: Sotheby's.
NEW YORK, N.Y.- In the afternoon of 15 December 2011, Sotheby’s New York will present for sale a highly curated selection of Important Tiffany that includes strong examples across each of the artistic disciplines for which Louis Comfort Tiffany and Tiffany Studios are well known, from a painting by the artist to works in favrile glass, bronzes, leaded glass lamps and an important window. The sale will be on exhibition in Sotheby’s York Avenue galleries beginning this Saturday, 10 December, alongside the auction of Important 20th Century Design. The Important Tiffany sale will be highlighted by A Highly Important Three-Panel “Magnolia” Window, circa 1910 (est. $400/600,000*). As Julie L. Sloan writes in her catalogue essay, “this brilliantly colored, small jewel of a window required a bold and confident eye, as all of the modeling relies on the accidental swirls and ribbons of color within a single she ... More | | 
A couple leaves the archaeological site of the Acropolis in Athens. REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis.
By: Gareth Jones
ATHENS (REUTERS).- At the end of a sunny day on the Acropolis last month, Svein Davoy gazed awe-struck at the columns of the Parthenon gleaming in the twilight. "It's marvelous. This is where Western civilization began. I will certainly tell my friends to come to Greece and see all this," enthused Davoy, 63, an economist from Norway. Davoy was luckier than he realized. The union representing security guards at museums and archaeological sites very nearly shut down all Greece's monuments in November in a dispute with the culture and tourism ministry over overtime pay. Greece's debt crisis has badly hurt tourism -- forcing visitors to clamber over fences to see closed monuments or curtail trips to avoid strikes and unrest, endangering new cultural initiatives and even raising concerns about the security around some of the country's most precious archaeological sites. Culture and Tourism Minister Pavlos Yeroulanos has said the ... More | | 
Chanel, Paris 2007, aus der Serie ‚Haute Couture Fitting Rooms. © Jacqueline Hassink, © Immo Klink, Courtesy Kaune, Sudendorf Galerie, Köln.
COLOGNE.- Ground floor: a riot. First floor: a fitting room. That‘s the contrast you should have in mind when envisaging the encounter of two photo artists in Cologne‘s Kaune Sudendorf Gallery. In the exhibition, conceived by Immo Klink und Jacqueline Hassink, the two artists present a selection of very special motifs. And even if the subject matter - namely labels, luxury and brand name fetishism - has similar aspects, it is tackled in two very different ways. The former lawyer, Immo Klink, shows us barricaded up brand name stores like Prada and Gucci & Co. which have braced themselves for indiscriminate display window break-ins, looting and riotous demonstrations by using plywood panels to board themselves up. Jacqueline Hassink‘s photographs portray places where consumerism, merchandising and brand name fetishism have literally reached new levels: she shows us the so-called ‚fitting rooms‘ ... More |
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 New work from Saatchi Gallery New Sensations nominee Ross Brown at EB&Flow LONDON.- EB&Flow presents an exhibition of new work from Saatchi Gallery and Channel 4’s New Sensations nominee Ross Brown. Brown’s oil paintings explore the experience of built environments and focus on architectural landscapes in which abandoned structures take on a filmic appearance and a frail dystopian beauty. Brown’s work investigates changes in usage that occur throughout the lifespan of built spaces. His new work is based on the history of the former USA Listening Station at Teufelsberg in Berlin. Originally built by the US National Security Agency during the Cold War to intercept radio transmissions, the site fell vacant after the fall of the Berlin wall and has become an impromptu venue nurturing the growth of certain subcultures. Like many locations in Berlin, the space at Teufelsberg is saturated by fragments of past ideologies which reside uncomfortably beneath the shifting landscape of t ... More Victims and Martyrs at Göteborgs Konsthall GOTHENBURG.- During the winter, Göteborgs Konsthall presents the second part of the project Victims and Martyrs with several national and international artists. In our time, victims and martyrs have been the subject of wide media attention. We are constantly fed reports of individuals and groups suffering under oppression, injustices and conflicts—circumstances linked to victims and, in an extended sense, potentially also to martyrdom. The exhibition Victims and Martyrs focuses on the concepts' complexity and inner contradictions, which frequently leads to the break-up of the borders between victims and perpetrators. The participating artists interpret, activate and stage the landscape in which victimisation and martyrdom take place. A number of interventions focus the conditions that make it possible to maintain and reproduce the roles today. Why do some historical figures appear as victims and martyrs to so ... More Haus der Kunst marks its 75th anniversary MUNICH.- In 2012 Haus der Kunst will mark the 75th anniversary of its public inauguration in the summer of 1937. It will do so with an exhibition that will present an extensive reflection on and overview of the legacy of Haus der Kunst drawn directly from documents, objects, and images in its archive and from historical collections in Germany. The precursor of the architecture of Haus der Kunst was the Glass Palace, built in 1853/54 by August von Voit for the First General German Industry Exhibition. The Glass Palace was a large, open modern structure constructed in glass and iron. It had developed into the largest exhibition forum in Munich, when in the night of the 6th of June 1931 it was destroyed by fire. After the fire, the Bavarian Ministry of Culture planned its replacement, a new stone-built edifice for exhibitions as the successor. When the National Socialists came to power, the architect Paul Ludwig Troost recei ... More Annette Kelm & Michaela Meise and annual editions at Bonner Kunstverein BONN.- On December 9, the Bonner Kunstverein opened the new project within the framework of its dialog-based series. The double exhibition with Annette Kelm (*1975 in Stuttgart, lives in Berlin) and Michaela Meise (*1976 in Hanau, lives in Berlin) takes as starting point for this experimental format a dialog between friends on art. Although Meise works mostly three-dimensionally, Kelm on the other hand photographically, they share an interest in questioning what is a picture and its status. Their project for the Bonner Kunstverein developed from this common ground. The exhibition "Hallo aber" proceeds from different kinds of images that have been shaping the background of the interchange between these artists. Viewers will not only come across a Gainsborough painting, but also record covers or paisley scarves: pictures possibly taken from postcards, magazines or found in local libraries. Reflecting about possible w ... More North Carolina Museum of Art presents solo exhibition of North Carolina artist Beverly McIver RALEIGH, N.C.- Reflections: Portraits by Beverly McIver is an exhibition celebrating McIver’s prodigious work from the past decade, highlighting her renowned, emotive self-portraits and portraits of her family. Opening December 11, 2011 in the North Carolina Gallery, the exhibition will be free to the public and on view through June 24, 2012. “Beverly McIver’s work is remarkable in its own right, but the timing of Reflections with Rembrandt in America is particularly illuminating, as both exhibitions examine self-portraiture in some way,” said Jennifer Dasal, curator of the exhibition. “McIver’s portraits of herself and her family offer an opportunity for visitors to experience her world view as an African American, a caretaker, a daughter, and a woman.” McIver, a Greensboro native whose first solo show was in 2003, is recognized as a significant presence in contemporary American art. Mc ... More 'Cities and Things That Matter' at Lombard Freid Projects NEW YORK, N.Y.- Lombard Freid Projects presents Cities and Things That Matter, featuring sculpture, installation, video, photography and drawing by Haig Aivazian, Emre Huner, Wilfredo Prieto, Michael Rakowitz, Raqs Media Collective, Nasan Tur and Mai Yamashita + Naoto Kobayashi. The artists explore the numerous rhythms, structures, stories and transactions of urban life that construct cultural ideologies and shape mankind. Cities, epicenters of social and public space, become the backdrop for the collective concerns of society. Economic trade, public knowledge, free speech, political and personal diplomacy along with structural development and decay are all elements of a contemporary metropolis. The seven-featured artists each use these fundamental cultural components to communicate the state of the present though their particular lenses. The resulting exhibition evaluates the structure of ... More 'Yorgos Sapountzis Head Zest, New Walls' at Simone Subal Gallery NEW YORK, N.Y.- Simone Subal Gallery announces the opening of Yorgos Sapountzis’s Head Zest, New Walls on December 11, 2011. The exhibition will be on view through January 22, 2012. This is the first New York solo show for the Berlin-based artist. Sapountzis’s multi-media works engage both public and private spaces. Many of his projects take as their starting points public monuments, objects that represent some aspect of social, collective memory. A native of Athens, Greece, Sapountzis is intimately aware of how such structures effect both the topography of a city as well as the way individuals construct their identity. He is, though, less interested in what a specific monument depicts, but the fact that the form means something particular for a group of people. For Sapountzis these monuments are conceived as a relational space. It is in the symbolic energy contained in these public works of art that S ... More |
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|  |  |  | | | | | Business Credit Cards | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | A celebrity’s stamp of approval can do wonders for a business. But when a celebrity decides to take a business into their own hands, there’s no guarantee it will succeed. Even with the biggest names and the highest hopes, celebrity businesses have proven to be just as much of a crapshoot as the next. Here are the 10 worst celebrity business ventures of all time: -
 Actress Kim Basinger made a bad business move when she decided to purchase the town of Braselton, Ga., to make it a tourist attraction with movie studios and a film festival. Needless to say, the idea never caught on and Basinger’s $20 million purchase went to waste. She sold Braselton for $1 million and went back to what she does best — acting.
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 In 1995, supermodels Claudia Schiffer, Christy Turlington, Elle MacPherson, Naomi Campbell, and others opened Fashion Café at New York’s Rockefeller Plaza. The restaurant’s fashion-centered theme included display cases of outfits worn by the models and fashion show footage on the TVs, but the oddest part of all was the all-American menu filled with burgers, chicken wings, and pizza. Believe it or not, eating junk food while surrounded by images of skinny models didn’t thrill customers, and the restaurant closed its doors in 1998.
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 Former New York Mets player Lenny Dykstra may have won on the ball field, but he struck out one too many times with his personal businesses. Dykstra dabbled in several different businesses and managed to drive all of them into bankruptcy. One of his biggest business failures was the financial magazine Player’s Club. The magazine was geared toward professional athletes looking for financial advice. Ironically, Dykstra was having his own financial crisis. He was accused of credit card fraud, as well as failing to pay printing costs and rent on the magazine’s Manhattan offices. Dykstra eventually filed for bankruptcy and lost all of his businesses.
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 Wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan stepped into the ring of restaurant ownership when he opened up Pastamania, a fast-food restaurant in Minnesota’s Mall of America. Hogan fans could feast on different pasta dishes named after the wrestler, such as "Hulk-a-Roos" and "Hulk-U’s." Although Pastamania was promoted by the World Championship Wrestling, the restaurant didn’t take off as expected and it went under less than a year after opening.
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 Britney Spears thought it would be a good idea to merge her two favorite places, New York and Louisiana, by opening up a restaurant called Nyla in Manhattan’s Dylan Hotel. The Cajun-infused restaurant opened in 2002, serving Southern favorites like fried chicken and fried okra. Despite its star-studded support, Nyla got bad reviews and violated several health codes. Spears severed her relationship with the restaurant after a short six months.
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 The ’90s dream team of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and Sylvester Stallone teamed up to promote the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain. Unlike Hard Rock Café, Planet Hollywood didn’t meet the mark. Despite the celebrity backing, the restaurant did not turn a profit. The company was forced to file for bankruptcy two times and Schwarzenegger eventually cut ties.
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 The Hills starlet Heidi Montag has made some regrettable decisions throughout her career, but one of her biggest offenses was launching her own clothing line, called Heidiwood. The fashion line featured poorly-made and barely-there pieces that didn’t quite resonate with shoppers. The clothing retailer, Anchor Blue, pulled the plug on Heidiwood less than a year after its creation.
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 Steven Spielberg has directed some of the most successful movies in history, but directing a restaurant business was a whole other story. Spielberg and Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg launched Dive!, a submarine-shaped restaurant that took customers on a simulated dive and served submarine themed dishes. Despite the clever concept, Dive! sunk in sales and never really developed a loyal fan base. Dive! hit rock bottom in 1999.
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 Almost everything the Kardashians touch turns to gold, but that definitely wasn’t the case with the Kardashian Kard. The sisters truly maxed out with their glitzy prepaid debit card that was aimed at teenagers and young adults. The problem was that the Kardashian Kard came with ridiculously high fees and a controversial marketing scheme. After selling a pathetic total of 250 cards, the Kardashians pulled the plug on their card and spurred a $75 million breach-of-contract lawsuit.
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 Suzanne Somer’s Kitchen, a self-serve meal prep company, really missed the mark with customers. The queen of the Thighmaster teamed up with Kentucky Governor John Y. Brown Jr. to launch the DIY family-dinner business that allowed customers to pick their ingredients and prepare meals at the store to take home. Somers and Brown butted heads on the original concept of the business. She insisted on using organic-only food, but Brown disagreed. Suzanne’s Kitchen went up in flames after less than three months.
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