February 24, 2010
Filed under: Art News — Alan @ 5:30 am
The long list of nominees for the 2010’s Art Fund Prize is dominated by multimillion pound projects and national institutions that total up when combined to cost over £230m, with a few of the larger projects including the Conflicts of Interest project at the National Art Museum, which cost £573,000, and the Darwin Centre at the National History Museum which cost £78m.
Team leader for the Conflicts of Interest exhibit, Mairead O’Hara stated that she was excited and thrilled to hear that it was included on the long list, stating that they are proud to be behind the project and overjoyed that their efforts were recognized by the art world. The exhibition spans the last forty years, and thus the project was built in flexible terms so that the content could stay current.
The Art Fund Prize is worth £100,000 and will be given to the project that is chosen as the best example of excellence, originality, and imagination.
There are 11 contenders in the running for the prize this year including the Asmolean Museum, Ulster Museum, Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Blists Hill Victorian Town, Great North Museum, Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, the Leach Pottery, Towner Eastbourne, Hampton Court Palace, and the Royal Institution of Great Britain.
The list will be cut down to a short-list of four which will be decided and released by the close of May, and the final winner will be declared on the 30th of June.
The judging panel consists of Lars Tharp, Jonathan Yeo, AC Grayling, and Chairwoman Kristy Young.
February 23, 2010
Filed under: Exhibitions — Alan @ 5:23 am
Henry Moor seems to be a large problem in the art world as it is hard to recognize him as a true artist given his sci-fi creations can be a bit out of this world, and yet, he did live as a cultural hero and even a national mascot during the sixties, although by the time he died in 1986 he was already living well past his glory days.
Now although it is 50 years later, Tate Britain is hoping that this is the time to bring his name back to the forefront with a new retrospective opening tomorrow that shows an edgier side of Moore.
Instead of showing an organic, archetypal type of art, what viewers will see is a political artist that is more surreal, the basis of which was formed by Moore as he lived through both World Wars and as a founding member of the CND.
A Tate Britain curator commented that Moore managed to create a troubling form of art that shows the bare essence of life and the modern experience. While this phrase may sound intriguing, the real question is if Tate Britain is able to take Moore’s work and create the emotion that they hope it conveys.
For instance, Moore’s piece the Atom Piece, is simply a half-mushroom cloud and half-skull which is clearly about the nuclear threat, but yet it is just a lump on a canvas making it quite hard to actually view it as a masterpiece.
February 17, 2010
Filed under: Art News — Alan @ 8:52 am
A Devon arts centre may have to close soon due to problems with funding. In order to keep the Centre for Contemporary Art and Natural World open in Haldon Forest Park about £140,000 per year of funds will need to allocated or found.
However, the Devon County Council and the Arts Council, the two main funding sources, are not able to guarantee support, and the county council has also officially stated that it cannot guarantee its support during 2010.
Usually the Arts Council matches the funding that is received from the Devon County Council, but this year without money coming from the council it is not certain how they will receive funding.
Johanna Korndorfer, the learning centre manager, Johanna Korndorfer, commented to a news station that the centre is a great place for leisure activity because it helps to inspire creativity and stimulate imagination. She added that they often get many people visiting who normally would not go to a visual arts centre.
Inside of the centre is a twenty mile network of walks, an outdoor theatre area, and views across the Teign Valley, and the forest, these are areas for on site art teaching and experience in a stunning location. Also on the grounds are children’s play trails and cycle trails.
February 16, 2010
Filed under: Art events — Alan @ 6:31 am
Banksy, the world famous but determinedly unknown street artist from Bristol is truly a master of the paradox.
He creates his art works in the most unlikely places, from a Guantanamo Bay detainee in Disneyland to English bank notes with the Queen’s face replaced by Princess Diana’s.
At the Berlin Film Festival Sunday 14 February, Banksy may or may not have been in attendance, but he introduced his new film “Exit Though the Gift Shop” with commentary (recorded, in a disguised voice) explaining that he never intended to make a film.
With typical wry humour he claims, “…it’s a good film as long as you’ve got very low expectations.” Critics didn’t necessarily agree with him on that – there were some rave reviews for the film.
Banksy has developed much more than a cult following with his daring and often illegal graffiti. Some of his work has been sold for hundreds of thousands of pounds, and more than half a million people in Britain and the U.S. have flocked to one or more of his four exhibitions. Banksy insists on anonymity, and though he appears in his own film, viewers can only see a shadowed silhouette.
Banksy’s graffiti is a satire on politics and cultures – much of it is considered outrageous and prosecutable by the ‘mainstream’ – but Banksy is an artist. What began as a counter-culture activity has become a world phenomenon, and he may actually realize his stated goal of raising the standing of urban graffiti art.
February 11, 2010
Filed under: Art Sales — Alan @ 9:43 am
A sketch composed by Peter Howson that originally was sold for only a penny, fetched £1,680 at a Glasgow auction.
The sketch is titled Mr. Ness after a teacher that he drew at age 12, while in class in 1970.
The sketch was just one of the 80 pieces that was auctioned off at the sale that took place yesterday by McTear’s auctioneers.
A representative from McTear’s, Magda Ketterer, stated that they always knew that the early sketch would draw an immense amount of attention, which is why it was not surprising that it sold for such a great price.
Ketterer also stated that the simple sketch shows the ability and insight of the renowned artist even from a young age.
Howson was born in London, and after moving to Ayrshire in his youth, later studied at the Glasgow School of Art.
In the 1990s he was declared the ‘war artist’ of the Bosnia conflict by the Imperial War Museum. Most of his work contains themes of down and out subjects with biblical overtures.
The highest priced painting by Howson entitled Three Faces of Eve sold in 2008 for £300,500.
February 10, 2010
Filed under: Art Sales — Alan @ 9:50 am
Due to the battle among avid art collectors for works by Yves Klein, Peter Doig, Willem de Kooning, Lucio Fontana, and Frank Auerbach, a London auction finished up with total sales of £54.1m
One of the paintings, a self-portrait by Lucian Freud, was the second highest priced painting sold at a Sotheby’s auction this month, selling for £2.8m. There were 77 lots at the auction, out of which, all but three were sold.
Christophe Van de Weghe, a New York based dealer, stated that people are starting to gain confidence in purchasing art again, because with the erratic stock market, and a lack of bank interest, art is now a great investment opportunity.
Artwork investors have also been encouraged by the record price of £43.8m that the painting sold for at a New York Sotheby’s auction last November.
According to ArtTactic, the Confidence Indicator for both the European and US art markets has increased up to 58 from 28, which is the highest it has been since November of 2007.
The highest winning bid at last night’s auction was £4m offered by a telephone buyer for an abstract painting by Kooning titled ‘Untitled XIV.’
Also secured for a high price by a telephone buyer was ‘Saint Anton’ by Doig, which went for a bid of £2.8m.
The majority of the auction’s publicity came from the 1978 painting by Freud entitled “Self Portrait with a Black Eye” which sold for £2.8m to Elana Guena the former Sotheby’s Europe director.
February 5, 2010
Filed under: Art Sales — Alan @ 5:50 am
An Alberto Giacometti sculpture broke records at the auction house last night by becoming the highest priced artwork sold via an auction with a stunning final bid of £65m.
The auction took place at London’s Sotheby’s and brought in five times more than its pre-sale estimate of £12 to £18m. It also beat the current record for the top selling auction piece set in 2004 by a Picasso artwork.
Adding to the surprise of course is the fact that the piece sold so well even in the midst of the recession, a fact made more ironic given the fact it was up for auction due to the recession, given it was part of a collection that Dresdner Bank’s new owners chose to sell off.
For buyers the Giacometti auction was extra important given the fact that the sculpture is often considered to be one of his most respected 20th century artworks. This created quite a buzz throughout the auction room with interest in the sculpture clear as people started bidding without prompting from the auctioneer.
Ten bidders competed for the piece in all with two telephone bidders who continued to vie for the piece after it reached past £35m to the astonishment of most in the room.
Co-chairmen of Sotheby’s, Melanie Clore, stated that they were thrilled with the result of the sale which was the highest sale made at a London auction house as well.
For now the auction house refuses to reveal who the telephone bidder was that won the painting.
Filed under: Exhibitions — Alan @ 5:42 am
With an exhibition that honours Gandhi, The Saatchi Gallery, London has opened an exhibit titled “The Empire Strikes Back: Indian Art Today” which will be open to the public until May 7th of this year.
When viewers first enter the exhibit they pass through an area that contains 4,479 fibreglass bones that are arranged to spell out a peaceful non-violent plea that was made by Gandhi.
However, as viewers turn the corner the mood quickly chances as the art becomes much darker and almost frightening at times throughout the remaining eleven spaces.
The most shocking piece is possibly the Allah O Akbar by Jaishri Abichandani, which portrays the glory of martyrdom and the rigorous demands of Islam by spelling out ‘God is Great’ with shining green and red whips.
Also frightening is a large figure in a bag with clay hands that emerge resembling the remains of an executed individual in the form of a sculpture by Huma Hhabha.
Another notable installation is the sculpture of a Mumbai child that was created by Jitish Kallat. While the small child is offering books for sale portraying him as a fighter, the mood quickly switches for those who reach out to touch him and find that the statue’s black lead finish will leave a dark mark on their hands.
For the most part, the aim of the gallery is to shock visitors by violently shaking their senses and emotions instead of pleasurably calming them. However, it is a different taste of the world that should not be missed; especially given the fact the gallery is free.
February 2, 2010
Filed under: Art crime — Alan @ 7:53 am
The fine art world was rocked by the loss of a Rolf Harris painting back in 2005, when the artwork valued at around £100,000 disappeared from a warehouse. The painting titled Lovers on the Seine II is known as one of the best work by Harris.
Since its loss at a Warwick museum, the widow of Dean Hardy, Maxine Hardy, has fought to find out what happened to it.
In June of 2009 Judge Simon Brown once again stirred up scandal when he ruled that the Washington Green Fine Art Publishing company of Birmingham had ‘dishonestly appropriated’ it.
The judge ruled that Udi Sheleg, the managing director of Washington Green, knew where the painting is or knew what had happened and thus was responsible for its loss. After the court case closed Washington Green was fined £135,000 which included £95,000 due to Hardy for reparations.
This Monday however Washington Green challenged the ruling in the London Civil Appeal Court claiming that there was not any evidence that proves Washington Green ever had possession of the piece or that at any point Sheleg may have done something dishonest.
QC for Washington Green, Philip Marshall, attacked Judge Brown’s previous ruling as ‘perverse’ stating that he was so intent at looking for a conspiracy involving Sheleg he overlooked the more obvious fact that a third party may have stolen the painting or it simply may have been lost.
The last time the painting was seen was in October of 2005.
