November 30, 2009
Filed under: Exhibitions — Alan @ 7:57 am
Previously known as a cricket captain, Michael Vaughan has a new collection of artwork on display at the Bluewater, which is inspired by both his love of art and the game of cricket.
However, the art itself is not so much inspired by cricket, as it is created with the tools of cricket, which include a bat and ball that are used in place of a paintbrush to create his masterpieces.
Vaughan has nicknamed the technique ‘artballing’ which includes taking a cricket ball that is covered in paint and either batting or bowling it onto a canvas that is placed either on the wall or the floor.
In the art world, the style is referred to as abstract expressionism and was popular in the 40’s and 60’s when Jason Pollock started to allow paint to simply drip on a canvas instead of using a traditional paint brush.
The former cricket captain retired from the game in June, and said that since then he has used his paintings to try and catch some of the most important moments from his career as well as the drama of his sport.
Vaughan stated that at first it was just a fun project but the more he played with the idea the more he took his new found art seriously. He continued to say that he first began to collect art about four years ago and then started got the idea to try painting with a cricket ball after he heard from a friend about Martina Navratilova’s discovery of painting with a racket and tennis ball.
November 26, 2009
Filed under: Art events — Alan @ 4:08 pm
The new X Factor for artists, School of Saatchi, is set to give unknowns the chance to be plucked out of their normal lives and cast up aside other contemporary artists such as Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin who are represented by Saatchi the art collector.
The show will be filmed over the three months as six artists who have been chosen to live together in an East London art studio. Over the time span the unknown artists will face various challenges to create a series of public art projects.
Included in the list of challenges is a Saatchi commission for Hastings seafront pieces, which two artists met by creating a ‘zoo without animals’ which in realty was a rock and a climbing wall for monkeys.
On another location two finalists attempted to create a ‘ghost hut’ using mesh wire scaffolding on the site of burnt out fisherman’s hut.
Although Saatchi will not make an appearance on the camera, due to his reclusive nature, there will be a panel of art experts on hand to critique the work of the finalists and asses their abilities as the show moves on.
The judges are Frank Cohen, Kate Bush, Emin, and Matt Collings.
The winner of the show will receive an art studio in London for the next three years and their very own exhibition at the State Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg where some of the most celebrated collections in the world are housed including acquisitions by Saatchi.
November 20, 2009
Filed under: Art News — Alan @ 6:08 am
Graffiti artist Banksy has received a state of legitimacy for once in his career as the wall on which he painted a mural has been clamped to prevent vandals from continuing to attack the mural.
The wall is owned by Hanson Premix and is found on a corner in Croydon. The mural features a punk next to a box that reads IEAK who appears to be reading instructions about how to create graffiti.
Sutton Council met last month and asked the public to weigh in with their opinions on whether Banksy’s work should be permitted to stay or whether it should be removed.
90% of those who took the time to fill out the survey by the council stated that they wanted the mural to remain on the corner.
Generally speaking the council usually removes graffiti immediately as soon as they become aware of it, but the mural is famous and those in town view it more as art than as vandalism.
Ultimately the decision of the mural’s fate lays in the hand Hanson Premix since they own the building it is painted on, but even the company is unsure of the fate of the mural although they are considering restoring and protecting it.
November 18, 2009
Filed under: Exhibitions — Alan @ 5:57 am
A re-creation of the red light district in Amsterdam is opening at the National Gallery in London tomorrow and while it may be art, it is not the prettiest piece of work.
The artwork is an installation piece that shows the alleyways of the Dutch city, complete with mannequins with blank faces outside of the brothels waiting for men.
However, director of the National Gallery, Nicholas Penny, stated that the artwork is not meant to romanticize prostitution.
The art piece is called The Hoerengracht and shows the figures are dimly lit peering out from the shop corners in exact representation of the streets with anguished faces that may cause observers to think of the Madonna paintings from other display rooms of the National Gallery.
This is a first for the National Gallery, which does not normally show contemporary artwork, let alone an installation piece outside of its schemes that display work of their artist in residences.
The Hoerengracht is the work of an American couple from the 1980’s and is on display by the museum due to the light that it can offer to other pieces in the gallery, according to the curator of the National Gallery Colin Wiggins.
Wiggins stated that there are plenty of works that represent prostitution including Marriage a la Mode by Hogarth and The Les Demoiselles Au Bord de la Seine. He stated the only difference is that they subject matter seems safer in gold frames.
November 17, 2009
Filed under: Art crime — Alan @ 7:53 am
Friday a new law was passed that allows national museums to return pieces of art stolen by the Nazis back to their original owners or to their rightful descendents.
The bill is titled the Holocaust (Stolen Art) Restitution Act and was introduced by Labour MP Andrew Dismore, who stated that its purpose is to correct an injustice that has been allowed to stand for too long.
According to Dismore while he cannot foresee that the act would be used in many cases, it is a moral law that allows those who need closure on an aspect of the appalling events of the Holocaust to seek legal support in doing so.
Across Britain it is estimated that there are around 20 pieces of confiscated art in museums that were savagely looted from Jewish homes by Nazis.
Now the owners of these pieces can step forward and agree to take financial compensation or the pieces of art back.
In the past several of the prominent British national museums offered heirs compensation if they could prove that a family member owned the artwork in question during World War II.
The Culture Minister, Margaret Hodge commented that the bill’s passage marked a wonderful day for those that had suffered so much lose during WWII. Hodge continued to say that at least now families could get something back that was taken from them by the Nazis.
Co-chair of the Commission for Looted Art in Europe, Anne Webber, also commented that it was a great step forward and that the act shows that the UK is committed to pursuing justice.
November 16, 2009
Filed under: Art News — Alan @ 4:40 am
Peter Howson has decided not to paint a large canvas that would have had an estimated gallery value of about half a million pounds for the Catholic Church.
Originally he was commissioned to build a centrepiece for the Glasgow St. Andrew’s Cathedral as part of its new renovation once it opens next year by Archbishop Mario Conti, but he pulled out after he found out that he would not be paid for the work.
The church called the proposed artwork one of the most important commissions since the Reformation for a Scottish Catholic church, with an estimate of about 600 individual figures showcasing the martyrdom of St. John Ogilvie at the size of 24ft x 18ft. It would have the largest scene of its type in Scotland.
Archbishop Conti stated at the time of the commission that the opportunity to have Howson paint the memorial was due to his spirituality and artistic talent.
However, Howson told friends that he will not be completing the painting due to the fact that he is ill and drawing is difficult for him let alone painting. His friends stated that with his current problems, not to mention a police probe that was launched of his former manager, he will not be able to complete the painting for the cathedral.
November 12, 2009
Filed under: Art Sales — Alan @ 7:10 am
Pieces of art by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol have not sold despite high hopes at a contemporary art auction that took place in New York.
However, although they did not sell, the rest of the pieces at the Christie’s sale added up to a total of about £45m which the auctioneers declared were closer to the sale totals of auctions before the recession hit.
The auction house felt that the Warhol and Basquiat pieces did not sell due to the fact they only had an appeal for collectors of the artists. The pieces were expected to have sold for about £4.5m and £7.1m respectively.
At the same time that the two collectors’ pieces did not amass any bids, other pieces by artists such as Jasper Johns and Jeff Koons sold past expectations. In fact, some items sold double what was estimated although estimates were low to encourage bidders to show.
One Warhol piece that did perform well at the auction was a £485,000 portrait of Michael Jackson. The last owner of the Jackson painting was said to have purchased it from the New York Jackson foundation.
November 11, 2009
Filed under: Art Sales — Alan @ 7:14 am
The National Museum Wales just bought the first oil painting ever created by Pablo Picasso the ‘Still Work with Poron’ which was painted in December of 1948.
The gallery paid over £1.4m for the work and was purchased through the museum’s Centenary Fund. The Art Fund charity also donated £100,000 towards the cost of the Picasso painting.
Heritage Minister Alun Fred Jones stated that the new acquisition shows the commitment by the museum to make the National Museum a place to see ‘world-class art.’
The painting has a lemon, lobster, and a Spanish wine pitcher in it that references Cubism which was developed by Picasso in the first decade of the 20th century.
Oliver Fairclough, the keeper of art for the National Museum Wales said that the purchase is an important move for the museum which currently has four Picasso works and a decent amount of ceramics which were purchased last year through the Centenary Fund.
Fairclough continued to say that the acquisition of the oil painting is the last component of the museum’s portrayal of Picasso as one of great artists of the twentieth century.
Outside of Picasso, the museum also has a large collection of Monet, Van Gogh, and Cezenne paintings. It also includes paintings from after the war period from such artists as Graham Sutherland and Ceri Richards.
The museum’s director general, Michael Houlihan, said that the museum is grateful to the different trusts that have made the purchase a reality including the partners in the Centenary Fund, the Derek Williams Trust, and The Art Fund.
November 10, 2009
Filed under: Art News — Alan @ 8:19 am
Welsh artist Dan Llywelyn Hall from Cardiff painted two of the oldest WWI veterans before they died, has gifted the portraits to the nation.
One of the paintings was of Henry Allingham who was the oldest man in the country at the time. The sitting took place just a couple of days before Allingham died. The other painting is of the last Tommy alive in Britain, Harry Patch, which preceded the portrait of Allingham by a few months.
Both of the preparatory images were given to the Royal Collection and the National Museum Wales because Hall felt that it was only appropriate that the nation own the paintings so that they could be preserved for generations to come.
Hall also stated that it was a privilege to have painted the veterans. In several sketches he has Allingham in his room, while Patch is shown getting coffee at his nursing home. Another shows Patch dressed with his war medals pinned onto his jacket.
The Royal Collection is on public display at various locations including Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace as well as other principal royal residences. It can also be seen around the world during special exhibitions.
November 9, 2009
Filed under: Art News — Alan @ 8:28 am
After a £61 redevelopment plan the oldest public museum and gallery in the UK is back open with a new look designed by Rick Mather.
The Oxford Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology was renovated to increase the gallery space from its original 17th Century design.
During just the first two hours of its reopening over 3000 people entered through the museum doors, and opening hours on a daily basis have been extended until 2200.
As part of the renovation there are 39 new galleries, which is almost double the previous size of the museum, as well as four new temporary exhibition galleries, a rooftop restaurant, conversation studios, and an education centre.
The work for each of these areas was funded in part with a £15m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Chairman of the Ashmolean, Nicholas Barber, stated that the Ashmolean has always been known for their collections but with the new building that can house many more display, the museum now holds a much stronger position on the cultural map.
The Ashmolean takes its name from Elias Asmole who was an aficionado of antiquities during his post in the military and subsequent studies at the University of Oxford.
Director of the museum Christopher Brown stated that since the Ashmolean first considered the expansion project the aim was to create a new avenue to display the museum’s wonderful collections so that more people could benefit on a wider scale.
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