| The First Art Newspaper on the Net | Established in 1996 | Tuesday, January 10, 2012 |
| | Two Paintings by Pablo Picasso and Piet Mondrian stolen from Greece's National Gallery
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A file photo dated 04 January 2012 shows the Picasso 'Woman's head' on display in the National Gallery of Athens, Greece. Burglars broke into the National Gallery in the pre-dawn hours on 09 January 2012 and took unknown number of paintings including Picasso's 1939 'Woman's Head' EPA/CHRISTINA ZACHOPOULOU.
Thieves carried out a well-organized, pre-dawn heist at Greece's biggest state art museum on Monday, taking two oil paintings by 20th century masters Pablo Picasso and Piet Mondrian, police said. A police statement said the burglars who entered through a balcony door also took a pen and ink drawing of a religious scene by Italian 16th century painter Guglielmo Caccia. It said a fourth work by Mondrian also was removed from the National Art Gallery in one of the best-guarded areas of central Athens, but the thieves abandoned it as they fled. ... More |
| Jesús Soto: Paris and Beyond, 1950-1970 at New York University's Grey Art Gallery | | 1793 penny fetches a record $1.38 million at Heritage Auctions sale in Florida | | Sotheby's New York to sell 'The Rockefeller Raza' during Asia Week sales in March | 
Jesús Soto, Sans titre (Structure cinétique à éléments géométriques) (Untitled [Kinetic Structure with Geometric Elements]), c. 1955–56. Paint on wood and Plexiglas, 24 x 24 x 9 3/4 in. (61 x 61 x 25 cm) Private collection © 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.
NEW YORK, N.Y.- The first large-scale exhibition dedicated to Jesús Soto to be held at a New York museum in more than 35 years, Soto: Paris and Beyond, 1950–1970 will be on view at New York University’s Grey Art Gallery from January 10 through March 31, 2012. Curated by Estrellita B. Brodsky and comprising a focused selection of approximately 50 works, the exhibition highlights this major Venezuelan artist’s early career, after he moved from Caracas to Paris in 1950. Soto: Paris and Beyond offers a rare opportunity to trace Soto’s visionary trajectory as well as his reciprocal influence and exchange with other members of the avant-garde. The artist’s groundbreaking achievements in the fields of perception and interactive art established his reputation ... More | | 
The front of the first pennies struck at the United States Mint in Philadelphia. AP Photo/Heritage Auctions.
ORLANDO (AP).- A once-cent copper coin from the earliest days of the U.S. Mint in 1793 has sold for a record $1.38 million at a Florida auction. James Halperin of Texas-based Heritage Auctions told The Associated Press on Saturday that the sale was "the most a United States copper coin has ever sold for at auction." The coin was made at the Mint in Philadelphia in 1793, the first year that the U.S. made its own coins. Heritage officials said in a news release that the name of the buyer was not revealed but that he was "a major collector." One of the coin's earliest owners was a well-known Baltimore banker, Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. "Mr. Eliasberg was nicknamed, 'the king of coins' because before his death in 1976 he assembled a collection that consisted of at least one example of every coin ever made at the United States Mint, a feat never duplicated," Halperin said in the news release. The final bid for the coin last week was one of the largest sales at the Florida United Numisma ... More | | 
Sayed Haider Raza, Village With Church, 1958. Photo: Sotheby's.
NEW YORK, N.Y.- Among the highlights of Sotheby’s March 2012 Asia Week sales in New York is one of the most significant paintings by Sayed Haider Raza ever to appear on the market - Village With Church from 1958. The painting was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller III from the landmark 1958-59 exhibition Trends in Contemporary Painting In India and remained in their historic collection until 1994. Village With Church represents the apex of Raza’s early period and is estimated to sell for $1.5/2.5 million. The painting will be included in Sotheby’s sale of Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art on 19 March 2012 and will be on view beginning 16 March. Priyanka Mathew, Head of the Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art Sale at Sotheby’s said: “We are delighted to bring this important and historic painting to auction. John D. and Blanchette Rockefeller were two of the most important early cha ... More |
| Two new acquisitions at the Akron Art Museum by artist Kiki Smith and Trenton Doyle Hancock | | Exorcising the Fear: Exhibition of British sculpture from the 50s & 60s at Pangolin in London | | Major Eugene von Guérard retrospective opens at the Queensland Art Gallery | 
Kiki Smith, Seer (Alice I), white auto body paint on bronze, 63 1/2 in. x 72 in. x 41 in., Collection of the Akron Art Museum, The Mary S. and Louis S. Myers Endowment Fund for Painting and Sculpture in honor of the 25th anniversary of Dr. Mitchell D. Kahan’s tenure as director of the Akron Art Museum 2011.48.
AKRON, OH.- The Akron Art Museum’s collection is always changing, and the galleries are updated frequently to reflect new artistic perspectives. Sending works out on loan or for conservation, borrowing works and acquiring amazing new objects can significantly change the look and experience of the galleries. The Akron Art Museum Board of Trustees recently approved two major purchases. This month, works by acclaimed contemporary artists Kiki Smith and Trenton Doyle Hancock wow visitors to the Sandra L. and Dennis B. Haslinger Family Foundation Galleries. The installation of these new acquisitions, along with several other works on view for the first time, bring a near-total makeover of galleries devoted to the ... More | | 
Kenneth Armitage, Model for Krefeld Monument , 1956, The Ingram Collection.
LONDON.- Taking the sixtieth anniversary year of the XXVI Venice Biennale of 1952 as its starting point, Exorcising the Fear will explore a pivotal point in the history of British sculpture. Returning to the essay by Herbert Read which left an indelible mark on the history of art with the phrase ‘the geometry of fear’, the exhibition aims to recapture the excitement and vitality of the moment when eight young British sculptors – Robert Adams, Kenneth Armitage, Reg Butler, Geoffrey Clarke, Lynn Chadwick, Bernard Meadows, Eduardo Paolozzi and William Turnbull - burst onto an international scene and jump started a chain reaction that brought about a crucial sculptural renaissance in the history of British sculpture, the impact of which can still be felt today. Pangolin London are able to show three rare works that are particularly closely related to those exhibited at the biennale (Lynn Chadwick’s Bull ... More | | 
Eugene von Guérard, Waterfall, Strath Creek 1862. Oil on canvas, 83 x 65 cm. Collection: Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. Purchased 1967.
BRISBANE.- A major retrospective of the work of Eugene von Guérard (1811–1901), one of Australia’s most renowned colonial landscape painters, is being shown at the Queensland Art Gallery through 4 March 2012. Queensland Art Gallery Director Tony Ellwood said ‘Eugene von Guérard: Nature Revealed’ features over 65 works from throughout the Austrian-born artist’s 50-year career, including many of his iconic landscapes and several sketches. ‘Eugene von Guérard is arguably Australia's most important colonial landscape painter. His works are remarkable in their detail and greatly valued for their depiction of Australian landscapes of the mid-1800s,’ Mr Ellwood said. The National Gallery of Victoria touring exhibition, curated by Dr Ruth Pullin, illustrates how von Guérard’s artistic ... More |
| $1 million angel investment for online art fair, expansion includes three new fairs in 2012 | | Art Dubai to launch 2012 edition with its most innovative and dynamic programme to date | | NASA chief Charles Bolden says he is working to resolve space items ownership | 
Rosy Keyser, Abacist in Heat, 2011. Enamel, dye, house paint, and twine on canvas, 68 x 60 in (172.7 x 152.4 cm). Photo: Courtesy Peter Blum Gallery.
NEW YORK, NY.- VIP Art Fair, the world’s first contemporary art fair held exclusively online, announced the closing of an initial round of angel funding by two international investors. The fair, which launched in January 2011, will be hosting its second edition, VIP 2.0, from February 3rd – 8th. Selmo Nissenbaum, Brazilian art collector and Partner in Personale Investimentos, and Philip Keir, Australian collector, media and arts specialist and former Founder of NextMedia, have invested a total of $1 million into VIP Art Fair. With a new executive team including CEO Lisa Kennedy and newly appointed Fair Director Liz Parks, and the financial backing from this substantial investment, VIP Art Fair is well positioned to develop and expand their unique contemporary art brand. As a first move towards expansion, VIP Art Fair is launching three new art fairs to take place later this year: • VIP Paper – 20th ... More | | 
Eko Nugroho, Happy Army, 2011. Acrylic on canvas, 1500 x 1000 mm. Courtesy of the artist and Lombard Freid Projects, NY.
DUBAI.- Art Dubai goes into its sixth year with a dynamic, curated programme, consolidating its position as the key point at which the international art world meets the art scenes of the Middle East and South Asia. After welcoming over 20,000 visitors in 2011, the region’s leading fair features its biggest programme to date, expanding the Global Art Forum, launching artists’ and curators’ residencies, and establishing a year-round education programme. Art Dubai (March 21-24, 2012), held in partnership with Abraaj Capital and sponsored by Cartier, takes place at its home Madinat Jumeirah. The fair will welcome a carefully selected roster of 74 galleries from 32 countries, showing work by over 500 artists. The 2012 gallery selection features major new names joining a strong existing base of galleries that have become synonymous with Art Dubai. Key galleries joining in 2012 include Arndt (Berlin), Rodolphe Jansse ... More | | 
Apollo 13 commander James A. Lovell Jr., foreground, speaks during a news conference. AP Photo.
By: Curt Anderson, AP Legal Affairs Writer
MIAMI (AP).- The head of NASA met Monday with former astronauts to discuss who owns space artifacts from moon shots and other missions, saying afterward that the agency will work cooperatively with them to resolve what's recently become a contentious issue. NASA chief Charles Bolden said in a statement that there have been "fundamental misunderstandings and unclear policies" regarding items that astronauts took home from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Skylab programs. The statement marks a switch from NASA's recent confrontational stance, which included suing Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell in Miami federal court over rights to a 16mm video camera that went to the moon. "These are American heroes, fellow astronauts, and personal friends who have acted in good faith, and we have committed to work together to find the right policy and legal paths forward to address outstanding ownership questions," Bolden said. ... More |
| Sotheby's in Hong Kong to hold first global wine auction of 2012 on 14 January | | Heritage Auctions posts $806+ million 2011 total sales, the company's best year to date | | Rhode Island art woven across Blackstone River in home to first successful textile mill | 
Robert Sleigh and Romanee Conti 1990. Photo: Sotheby's.
HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s will open 2012 global wine auctions on 14 January 2012 at Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong with a various owner sale of Finest and Rarest Wines Including the Bordeaux Winebank Collection. Highlights include over 200 cases of investment grade Bordeaux from the Bordeaux Winebank Collection, Super Second Bordeaux of exceptional quality and value, great Burgundy from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, historic Champagne direct from the cellars of Veuve Clicquot, as well as a selection of rare California Cult Wines. The most valuable lot in the sale is a case of Romanée-Conti 1990 estimated at HK$1 - 1.5 million / US$130,000 - $190,000*. Overall 982 lots are estimated to fetch HK$50 - 70 million / US$6.2 - 8.7 million. Serena Sutcliffe, MW, Worldwide Head of Sotheby’s Wine Department said: “We are excited to begin 2012 with another fabulous selection from Bordeaux Winebank. It goes without saying that th ... More | | 
Front of a Year 1 prototype silver shekel. AP Photo/Heritage Auctions.
DALLAS, TX.- The year 2011 proved to be a great one for Heritage Auctions, as the company posted a gross total of more than $806 million, a number that represents the company’s best performance ever. “The bottom line is that service and value will always sell, and Heritage specializes in the very best of both,” said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auctions. “Collectors respond to that. They know us and they know we understand them. The result has been a decade of tremendous growth.” U.S. Coins continue to be the backbone of the company with the category registering an impressive $196 million auction total, including Weekly US Coin Internet-only auctions, which realized $22 million - a new record for the subset and an 80% increase over 2010 – and Gallery US Coin auctions, which accounted for $5,340,889, another record total for the subset and a 70% increase over 2010. Heritage’s World Coins categ ... More | | 
Sculptor Donald Gerola, of Providence, R.I., stands near one of his sculptures outside his studio in Pawtucket, R.I. AP Photo/Steven Senne.
By: Erika Niedowski, Associated Press
PAWTUCKET, RI (AP).- The Rhode Island city that was home to the nation's first successful textile mill is showcasing its fibers once again. A sculptor in Pawtucket has stretched thousands of feet of synthetic fabric cords across the Blackstone River in a suspended display of color that is equal parts art and engineering. The installation, in the shadow of the Slater Mill, draws on the city's history as the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution and its modern-day incarnation as a sort of artists' colony. According to the city and artist Donald Gerola, who finished the work late last month, such a weaving has never been done. "This is the first river that was ever woven in the United States," said Gerola. "This is history." The "Weaving the Blackstone" project — reminiscent of the massive ... More |
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 Research at Star Carr enters exciting new phase YORKSHIRE.- Archaeologists at the University of York have secured major European funding to carry out sophisticated new research at one of the UK’s most important Early Mesolithic sites. A team led by Dr Nicky Milner has won a €1.5 million grant from the European Research Council to develop a high-resolution approach to understanding how hunter-gatherers adapted to climatic and environmental change between 10,000 and 8,000 BC at Star Carr in North Yorkshire. Last year a team of archaeologists, from York and the University of Manchester, discovered Britain's earliest surviving house. The house dates to at least 9,000 BC - when Britain was part of continental Europe. The research team unearthed the 3.5 metres circular structure next to an ancient lake at the site, near Scarborough, which archaeologists say is comparable in importance to Stonehenge. They also excavated a well preserved 11,000 year-old tree ... More Stuart Pearson Wright at the Riflemaker Gallery in London LONDON.- Stuart Pearson Wright’s second solo exhibition at Riflemaker features a series of meticulously-crafted works whose technical virtuosity flirts with high mannerism and heroic realism. The scene is set somewhere between Bow, Dagenham, Ancient Greece and William Shakespeare’s Denmark. Painting the human figure in an era when it was not always seen as a legitimate part of contemporary art, and a winner the BP Portrait Award (2001) aged just twenty-six , Wright (b. Northampton 1975) has spent much of his career attempting to subvert traditional portrait painting. “Stuart Pearson Wright’s work is masterly and contemporary, as well as slightly unnerving and surreal” - Sarah Howgate, contemporary curator, National Portrait Gallery, London. These new works emphasise the artist’s pre-occupation with the motif of the smile and its traditional role in the history of portraiture as well ... More Feast Projects announces Xie Lei's show extended through January 19th HONG KONG.- FEAST Projects announces that Xie Lei's debut show in Asia is extended through January 19th. The critical response to the exhibition has been overwhelmingly positive, including Xie Lei's being featured as "Artist to Watch" in The Art Economist. Xie Lei, a fresh, young painter living and working in Paris, is a representative of the “New Generation” of contemporary Chinese artists who believe in the “eternal value of Art,” in contrast to work they judge to be inspired by market demands. As such, their creative process starts in their minds and in their studios, ignoring the trends of the outside market. Xie Lei states that “painting is an adventure and I live it as such,” and in his most recent work he invites us to join him in his oneiric journey. His paintings are the visions of an awakened dreamer. Affected by the contemporary world, aware of its driving forces, and the mediati ... More A gaze at the watchman's post: A selection of prints by Walid Abu Shakra at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art TEL AVIV.- Mintarat Al-Batten is the name of a place in Umm el-Fahem, denoting the watchman's post at Al-Batten (Arabic for the belly)—the potbelly-like summit whose slopes are now covered with the city's new residential neighborhoods. These quarters, which surround the city's old center in gradually expanding concentric circles, replace the age-old olive trees and sabra hedges, the landscapes of Walid Abu Shakra's childhood and youth, which he repeatedly revisits in his prints. In its metaphorical use in the title of the exhibition, the name "Mintarat Al-Batten" deviates from its function of indicating a specific place, reflecting a process in Abu Shakra's life and art. While returning to the views of the place and retracing them—a repetition which is bound up with the memory of the time in which the watchman's post was hidden within the thicket of trees and sabra hedges—the artist himself seems to transform into a ... More Exhibition of new sculpture by Los Angeles-based artist Danny First at Maloney Fine Art LOS ANGELES, CA.- Maloney Fine Art presents Peaceful Solitude, an exhibition of new sculpture by Los Angeles-based artist Danny First. This marks Danny First's first solo exhibition in Los Angeles. Danny First has been exploring sculpture for the past five years; first working in clay and more recently in bronze, to create whimsical busts. He has also developed a body of work utilizing reclaimed / recycled materials to create functional benches which incorporate text reflecting First’s droll sense of humor. Whether it is figurative or utilitarian in nature, First’s work is light and unpretentious. Informed by art history and the tradition of creating sculptural forms, First’s sculpture reflects the artist’s optimistic view of life. Often, an artist's list of influences and references becomes predictable--if he is clearly influenced by one forebear, he will likely subscribe to that person's scho ... More |
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