Recent Art News

Written by Ray Mark Renaldo Sunday, 15 April 2012 21:40

Artist Andy Bell creates killer George Zimmerman portrait with Skittles

DENVER, COLORADO - The most crucial facts remain in dispute about what happened on February 26th, the night George Zimmerman killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida. But one detail is clear: Martin had been on a trip to the store to buy Skittles and ice tea when the incident took place. The popular candy has become a symbol of Trayvon Martin’s innocence (if you believe in it) and his youth (no matter what you may think about the killing facts). Trayvon was a 17 year old minding his own business, walking, and talking to his youg girlfriend on a cell phone. And they make an appropriate medium for Denver artist Andy Bell’s portrait of George Zimmerman, now hanging in RedLine Gallery downtown Denver. Bell’s piece, “Fear Itself,” transforms Zimmerman’s much-seen mug shot into a 36″ by 48″ artwork. The portrait consists of 12,250 Skittles, each one of various colors glued to plywood and covered with varnish.

Bell, 31, who is just days from graduating from Metro State College with his BFA, started the portrait when he first got word of the killing and thought a possible injustice wasn’t getting the attention it deserved. “I wanted to do all I could to raise awareness about the case,” he said.

Andy Bell is an unknown artist and a student at Metro State College

He put the now-famous Zimmerman mug shot through some Photoshop paces and mapped out a way of recreating it in red, green, yellow and orange candies. His wife and friends helped him with the gluing each piece of candy. “It became family puzzle night,” he said.

Bell was on a school field trip to RedLine this week and showed a few phone shots to operations manager Louise Martorano. RedLine, a fine arts space that does not shy away from showcasing controversial work, quickly found a place for it on its walls. RedLine’s executive director PJ D’Amico describes the work as a “crazy, terribly beautiful piece,” that is “profound beyond measure.”

Bell’s piece is clever, but it’s grounded in the solid sort of art history, an art student wears on his sleeve. There are influences of everything from the late 1800s work of Georges Seurat , the father of pointillism, to Chuck Close , the contemporary artist who builds large portraits by assembling smaller images in pixilated form. The use of Skittles offers a nod to Andy Warhol’s taste for incorporating mass commercial products in fine art.

Despite the portrait’s title, Bell makes clear he has some sympathy for the older Zimmerman, who may have a history of mental illness. He is waiting to hear the facts before making his own judgment, he said.

The piece isn’t about condemning George Zimmerman before his criminal trial, but a way of tapping into the conversations that have sprung up in a country divided by judgment on the case. Some believe Zimmerman killed an innocent kid. Others think he was acting in self-defense.

“It’s a symbol of what happens when you let fear or hatred rule your life,” Bell said.

Written by Trevor Mullholand Friday, 13 April 2012 20:13

Serbian and Swiss police raid recovers stolen Cezanne painting

BELGRADE, SERBIA - Police from Serbia and Switzerland have recovered a Paul Cezanne masterpiece that was stolen from a Swiss museum in 2008 and captured four men as they were trying to sell it, officials said Thursday. The work was worth 100 million Swiss francs ($110 million, (euro) 84 million) when it was stolen by three masked gunmen who witnesses said spoke German with a Slavic accent in what was one of the biggest art thefts in Europe at the time.“I think this is really an impressive action conducted jointly with Swiss police,” said Miljko Radisavljevic, Serbia’s organized crime prosecutor.He said four men, including the leader of the gang that conducted the robbery, were arrested in raids in Belgrade, the capital, and the central city of Cacak.

Read more: [Stolen Cezanne Painting Recovered]

Written by Raphael Satter, AP Monday, 09 April 2012 20:51

The new SeaCity Museum in Southampton charts obsession with "Titanic"

SOUTHAMPTON, UK - Somewhere between the black Titanic teddy bears and the pale Iceberg beer, the Titanic Barbie doll and the "Tubtanic" bath plug, the global obsession with the story of the doomed ocean liner began to border on the absurd. A new museum opening April 10th in the English port city of Southampton has taken this into account, explaining how the world has reported, retold, and sometimes become utterly fixated on the fateful night in April 1912 that saw the White Star liner sink beneath the waves. The ship is at the center of one of the world's best-known tales and one of the best-selling films in Hollywood history. Nearly 100 years to the day since it went down, claiming 1,514 lives, the demise of the reputedly unsinkable ship continues to fascinate, launching films, books, television mini-series and — here and elsewhere — museums. This museum had plenty of material to draw on.

Read more: [New Titanic Museum]

Written by Thomas Matthews Saturday, 07 April 2012 23:45

Thomas Kinkade ~ Painter of Light ~ Dies at 54

San Francisco (Associated Press).- Artist Thomas Kinkade once said that he had something in common with Walt Disney and Norman Rockwell: He wanted to make people happy. And he won success with brushwork paintings that focused on idyllic landscapes, cottages and churches — highly popular works that became big sellers for dealers across the United States. The self-described “Painter of Light,” who died Friday at age 54, produced sentimental scenes of country gardens and pastoral landscapes in dewy morning light that were beloved by many but criticized by the art establishment.

Read more: [Thomas Kinkade Dies at 54]

Written by Olivia Maudsley Thursday, 05 April 2012 23:21

The Walters Art Museum Announces Gift from Robert Meyerhoff of 21 Floral Still Lifes

Baltimore. Maryland.- The Walters Art Museum has announced the planned gift by Robert E. Meyerhoff of 21 works of art depicting flowers assembled by his late wife, Jane B. Meyerhoff. This collection includes a selection of watercolors, pastels and drawings by artists such as Eugène Delacroix, Paul Cézanne, Egon Schiele, Piet Mondrian, Henri Matisse, Paul Klee, Joseph Stella, Salvador Dalí and Renee Magritte. Since Jane Meyerhoff was allergic to fragrance she could not have flowers in the house. She decided instead to collect flowers on paper. In the spring of 2007, these artworks were on view at the Walters in the focus show Floral Still Lifes from the Collection of Robert and Jane Meyerhoff. “We are honored that Robert Meyerhoff is donating this intimate collection of floral still lifes by masters of Romanticism, Impressionism, Surrealism and beyond to share with the public. These works will continue to add depth to the museum’s early modern collections,” said Walters Director Gary Vikan. “We are grateful for their legacy of philanthropy throughout the region.”

Read more: [Walters Museum Gets Flowers]

Written by Denise Lavoie, AP Sunday, 01 April 2012 23:41

FBI said . . "Connecticut man knows something about stolen art from Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum"

NEW HAVEN, CT - It remains the largest art heist in history, a brazen robbery in which two thieves disguised as police officers walked into Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, disabled two guards and stole masterworks worth more than half a billion dollars. The 1990 robbery and the recovery of the paintings have puzzled investigators for more than two decades. Now federal authorities appear to be pinning some hope of solving the mystery on a 75-year-old reputed mobster from Connecticut, Robert Gentile, who is jailed in a drug case. The FBI believes Robert Gentile "had some involvement in connection with stolen property" related to the art heist, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Durham said in federal court in Hartford this week. Durham said FBI agents have had unproductive discussions with Gentile about the theft, but didn't elaborate on his allegations.

Read more: [Stolen art from Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum]

Written by Ralph Binkerton Monday, 26 March 2012 00:14

Nice Cindy Sherman Print For Only $2,800,000 – $3,800,000 at Christies

AKRON, OH.- Coinciding with the retrospective at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, Christie’s will offer an acclaimed masterpiece by Cindy Sherman consigned by the Akron Art Museum, Ohio. All proceeds from the sale will be directed to the museum’s acquisition fund to allow for future strategic purchases that will augment the core of the Akron Art Museum’s strong Contemporary collection. Cindy Sherman’s Untitled #96 is recognized as an icon within her career to date. Another example of this image was sold at Christie’s in May 2011 for $3,890,500, which represents not only a world auction record for Sherman, but also a world record price for any photograph at the time. The work from the Akron Art Museum is a vintage print in excellent condition and will have a pre-sale estimate of $2,800,000 – $3,800,000.

Dr. Mitchell Kahan, Akron Art Museum director and CEO, states: “The Akron Art Museum is extremely happy to partner with Christie’s on this sale. The result will be a new acquisitions endowment that generates significant growth for our collection. I am especially looking forward to continuing a commitment to Cindy Sherman by acquiring works made after the famous Centerfolds images.”

Akron Art Museum has for thirty years strategically used funds to acquire great new works for its collection, ranging from American masters Philip Guston, Frank Stella and Chuck Close in the early 1980s to more recent purchases of works by Kiki Smith and Yinka Shonibare.

Dr. Kahan notes that the museum will retain in its collection another 1981 masterpiece by Cindy Sherman from the Centerfolds series, Untitled #93 (Black Sheets). Akron Art Museum has a longstanding commitment to Sherman’s work, having organized her first major exhibition in 1984, which traveled to the Walker Art Center and the Whitney Museum of American Art.


“Untitled #96 represents the apotheosis of what Rosalind Krauss termed Sherman’s ability to distill a ‘copy without an original’ and thus signify pictorial archetypes that define our culture,” adds Andrew Massad, International Contemporary Specialist. Untitled #96 is an outstanding example from her highly acclaimed Centerfolds series, which Sherman made as a project for Artforum magazine in 1981. Untitled #96 is recognized as the most important work from the series.

It showcases all the themes and ideas of Sherman's best work, yet is also the most paradoxical of the series. The artist composed the image clearly, but left the narrative behind it deliberately ambiguous. Sherman adopted the persona of a teenage girl in this large, almost life-size photograph. Lying supine on the floor, she clutches a page torn from the newspaper classifieds—perhaps a personals ad. The work’s scale and the boldness of Sherman's tight compositional framing exude surprise and confrontation, yet the figure at the work's center is also endearing and curiously vulnerable. Sherman places these conflicts at the very heart of her work, questioning not only the medium of photography, but also our wider assumptions about gender and truth in the modern world.

Although Sherman designed the Centerfolds images to resemble quick snapshots of a young woman’s life, she heavily choreographed, acted and staged them herself. As both the subject and executor of these images, she takes the utmost care to develop the various guises for each photograph she produces. She will dress the set, create the costumes, design the lighting and finally execute the photograph entirely by herself without the use of assistants. By controlling every aspect of the image's production, she dispels the long held belief that photography is the medium of "truth."

Untitled #96 is among the best examples of Cindy Sherman’s entire oeuvre. Several of the world's major museum and private art collections include examples from this small edition. This image has become the icon of the major retrospective currently at the Museum of Modern Art and is reproduced in all the media related to this show.

Written by Joseph Logan Friday, 23 March 2012 00:27

Human Rights Watch calls for protection for UAE museum workers

DUBAI - (Reuters) - The abuse of workers building a cultural centre in Abu Dhabi that will host branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums has eased, but more is needed to protect vulnerable migrant labourers, a human rights group said on Wednesday. The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) had criticized the United Arab Emirates for allowing forced labour at the $27-billion Saadiyat Island site that artists have threatened to boycott in protest. Abu Dhabi's plan to build the cultural district off the emirate's Gulf coast has been hit by a series of delays since being unveiled five years ago. The museums were to start opening this year, but in January, TDIC said Abu Dhabi's first prized attraction, the Louvre, is now slated to open in 2015, followed by Guggenheim two years later.

The New York-based group said that although those behind the museum projects in Abu Dhabi have made important commitments, "protection gaps remain," such as a failure to reimburse workers for recruiting fees, which often take months or years to repay.

They are "the single greatest factor in creating conditions of forced labor," Human Rights Watch said in an 85-page report on the ambitious projects on Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island.

HRW had previously accused the Gulf state, which effectively imports its manual labour, of turning a blind eye to contractors who impose hidden administrative charges on workers and confiscate their passports as they work off the debt.The group said on Wednesday the UAE had moved to ensure payment of wages and provide medical care for workers, who are mostly from South Asia, and to allow some independent oversight of contractor practices. But violations such as passport confiscation continued.

The developer, Tourism Development & Investment Company TDIC.L, welcomed the improved assessment but said the study was outdated and based on a limited sample of workers interviewed.

"TDIC therefore firmly believes that this report is not an accurate reflection of the current situation on Saadiyat," it said in a statement.

TDIC is "fully committed to review its policies regularly, and amend them when warranted, in order to continue setting the highest standards," it said.

Saadiyat Island is one of the largest cultural projects in the Middle East but last year more than 130 artists said they would boycott the Guggenheim museum there over what they said was exploitation of foreign workers. The Guggenheim and Louvre museums and New York University are among institutions that plan to set up branches on the island where they will be housed alongside a golf course and high-end housing.

The seven-member UAE sharply limits political activity among its own citizens, let alone migrant workers, and avoids the risk of labour organization through a visa sponsorship system that gives employers broad control over workers.


Saadiyat Island is undergoing a remarkable transformation. In 2004, the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) commissioned the Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) to make Saadiyat Island a world-class leisure, residential, business, and tourist center of global proportions, all the while maintaining an environmentally sensitive philosophy.

Just seven minutes from downtown Abu Dhabi and twenty minutes from Abu Dhabi International Airport, Saadiyat Island will be reached by two major highway bridges linking it with the mainland. This unique place will offer an entirely new experience to the discerning traveler.

Saadiyat is a multi-faceted island offering a great variety of attractions to many different people. With seven distinct districts—Saadiyat Cultural District, Saadiyat Beach, Saadiyat Retreat, Saadiyat Reserve, Saadiyat Marina, Saadiyat Promenade, and Saadiyat Lagoons—it is a thriving business hub for international commerce, a relaxed waterfront home for residents, a cultural magnet for arts aficionados, a home for dazzling architectural icons, a pristine beachfront tourism destination, and a focal point for compelling sporting experiences. With major institutions designed by some of the world’s most renowned architects—Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel, Norman Foster, Tadao Ando, and Zaha Hadid—Saadiyat Island will be an irresistible magnet attracting the world to Abu Dhabi.

(Reporting by Joseph Logan; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Written by William Danzigburg Wednesday, 21 March 2012 22:05

Kroeller-Mueller Museum confirms by new X-Ray technique that flowers still life is by Vincent van Gogh

THE HAGUE (AP).- It was, it wasn't, it is: A still life once thought to be by Vincent van Gogh but later downgraded to being the work of an anonymous artist is indeed by the tormented Dutch impressionist himself, researchers announced Tuesday, March 20th. The process leading to the confirmation of the painting's authenticity reads like a cold case detective story. A new X-ray technique helped experts re-examine what they already knew about "Still life with meadow flowers and roses" and draw on a growing pool of scholarly Van Gogh research. A detailed X-ray of an underlying painting of two wrestlers and knowledge of the painter's period at a Belgian art academy led a team of researchers to conclude that the painting really is by Van Gogh.

Read more: [van Gogh X-Rayed and is Confirmed]

Written by Stuart Sorenson Thursday, 15 March 2012 23:18

"Sanctuary" just Published by Thames & Hudson features a Stellar Cast of Artists

LONDON.- From Botticelli to Bacon, artists have always invested their personalities in their working environments, but these private spaces, often containing the visible remains of artistic ingenuity, toil and torment, are usually kept behind firmly closed doors. Sanctuary: Britain’s Artists and their Studios gives a rare and privileged insight to the studios and inspirations of 120 of Britain’s greatest living artists working today, both in Britain and abroad. Sanctuary features a stellar cast of artists including Frank Auerbach, Ron Arad, Fiona Banner, Peter Blake, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Martin Creed, Tracey Emin, Gilbert & George, Susan Hiller, Howard Hodgkin, Polly Morgan, Cornelia Parker, Grayson Perry, Paula Rego, Juergen Teller, Gavin Turk, Keith Tyson, Rachel Whiteread – the list is extraordinary - and their work encompasses many different ways of thinking about and making.

Read more: ["Sanctuary" just Published]

Written by Susan Lassing Wednesday, 07 March 2012 23:06

Bonhams Declares "Dogs Are In ~ and Cats Are Out"

LOS ANGELES (AP).- Dogs seem to be as popular on a canvas these days as they are on a leash, with paintings of dogs drawing big bucks and big crowds. At the annual "dogs only" art auction held after the Westminster Dog Show, two price records were broken this year, said Alan Fausel, vice president and director of fine art at Bonhams, the auction house that runs the event. Bonhams' Dogs in Show & Field auction is the only one in the country devoted solely to dogs. It was the best auction in years, Fausel said, adding: "The dog art market is certainly turning a corner." The highest price ever paid for a dog painting belongs to George Stubbs (1724-1806). He painted mostly horses, but a 6-by-7-foot portrait of a Newfoundland sold for $3.6 million in 1999.

Read more: [Dogs Are In Cats Are Out]

Written by Jill Lawless, Associated Press Tuesday, 06 March 2012 00:43

Tate Gallery buys 8 million of Ai Weiwei sunflower seeds for an undisclosed amount

LONDON - Britain's Tate gallery has bought a work by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei made up of 8 million porcelain sunflower seeds — a portion of the 100 million he brought to London in 2010. Tate said Monday that it had purchased "Sunflower Seeds 2010" — 10 cubic meters (13 cubic yards) of seeds, hand-crafted by Chinese artisans, which can be displayed either as a conical pile or as a square or rectangular bed. The gallery did not disclose the price. Last year Sotheby's auction house sold a 100 kilogram (220 pound) bag of the seeds for 350,000 pounds ($550,000).

Read more: [Tate Gallery buys Ai Weiwei's sunflower seeds]

Written by Wilber Coronado Wednesday, 29 February 2012 21:59

Million Dollar Ancient Shekel highlights world's greatest private Jewish Coin Collection

NEW YORK, NY.- The first silver shekel struck in Jerusalem by Jewish forces rebelling against Roman oppression in the first century CE, one of only two specimens known, will be auctioned as part of The Shoshana Collection of Ancient Coins of Judea, March 8-9, at the Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion (Ukrainian Institute of America) at 2 East 79th St (at 5th Ave.). The auction begins on March 8 at 6 p.m. ET. The Shoshana Collection, assembled over the course of four decades by an American collector of Judaean coins, is perhaps the greatest assembly of ancient coins related to the foundation of ancient Israel ever offered, with more than 700 coins spanning more than 11 centuries. Auction estimates on the coins range from $200 to $950,000.

Read more: [Million Dollar Ancient Shekel ]

Written by Robin Pogrebin Tuesday, 28 February 2012 23:55

Chinese Architect Wang Shu Awarded the 2012 Pritzker Prize

New York (New York Times).- The Chinese architect Wang Shu, whose buildings in a rapidly developing China honor the past with salvaged materials even as they experiment with modern forms, has been awarded the 2012 Pritzker Architecture Prize. Mr. Wang is the first Chinese citizen to win the prize (I. M. Pei, an American, was the first Chinese-born architect to win, in 1983) and the fourth-youngest. The selection of Mr. Wang, 48, is an acknowledgment of “the role that China will play in the development of architectural ideals,” said Thomas J. Pritzker, chairman of the Hyatt Foundation, which sponsors the prize and announced the winner.

Read more: [Architect Wang Shu Awarded Prize]

Written by Larry Neumeister, AP Saturday, 25 February 2012 23:18

Barack Obama 'HOPE' poster artist Shepard Fairey pleads guilty in New York City

NEW YORK (AP).- The creator of the Barack Obama "HOPE" poster pleaded guilty Friday to criminal contempt, saying he made a "terrible decision" in 2009 to destroy some documents and fabricate others in a civil lawsuit pertaining to The Associated Press photograph he relied upon to make the poster. Shepard Fairey entered the plea in federal court to the misdemeanor charge, which carries a maximum potential penalty of up to six months in prison. Sentencing was set for July 16. The criminal case originated after the artist acknowledged he had fabricated information in a lawsuit he brought against the AP in February 2009. The lawsuit sought a court declaration that he did not violate AP's copyrights when he made the Obama image. The AP countersued, saying the unaccredited, uncompensated use of its picture both violated copyright laws and was a threat to journalism. That civil case was settled last year.

Read more: [Shepard Fairey Pleads Guilty ]

Written by Winston Naegele Friday, 24 February 2012 01:05

The NYC Tribal Art Show Will Open from May 7th - 13th

NEW YORK, NY.- A wealth of gallery exhibitions, auctions, and events focused on tribal art will take place from May 7 - 13, in New York City. A consortium of leading specialists offered traditional African, Asian, Oceanic, American and Asian works of art of the highest quality, including rare masterpieces as well as more affordable items. New York Tribal Art Week™ was created by gallery owner and publisher of Art Tribal-Les Arts Premiers Magazine, David Cassera said, “last year the excitement of the Sotheby’s auction had everyone enthralled, there was a great atmosphere everywhere. I had a vision two years ago when I created this event after Caskey Lees canceled their annual show. I am following the blueprints of New York's Asia Week, and I am pleased with the progress we have made over the last few years bringing Tribal Art excitement back to the City where it all began."

Participating NYC Tribal Art Week Galleries Include: Cassera Arts Premiers, Mark Eglinton Tribal Art, Brian Nault Tribal Art, Throckmorton Fine Art, Arte Primitivo - Howard S. Rose Gallery, Hemingway African Gallery, Turner Gallery, Reynold C. Kerr African Art, Tabwa Gallery, Alan Steele, David Zemanek, Howard Nowes, Chris Boylan, Fernandez Leventhal, Dave DeRoche, Cavin Morris Gallery, David Norden, Jacaranda Tribal, Patrick and Ondine Mestdagh, Gallerie J. Visser, Gallerie Flak, Neil Becker, Gail Martin Gallery, Claudia and John Menser, Earl Duncan, Michael Rhodes African Art, Bernard Dulon, John Giltsoff, Young Robertson African Art, PM Boyd Fine African Art, Amyas Naegele Fine Art, James Stephenson African Art, Fily Keita African Art, Pace Primitive, Alaska on Madison, Nasser & Co., Galerie Schoffel - Valluet, John Molloy, David Bernstein.


NYC Tribal Art Show A New Addition to NYC Tribal Art Week
The NYC Tribal Art Show 2012, is a one of a kind cultural event designed for collectors, dealers, curators and museum professionals to view, purchase and discuss traditional art objects from Africa, Oceania and the Americas (AOA). The NYC Tribal Art Show will take place at the Bohemian National Hall at the same time as major auctions at Sotheby's and Bonhams, as well as various AOA gallery exhibitions around New York City.

Historically, New Yorkers have been among the foremost collectors of AOA tribal art. New York politicians, artists, business leaders, professionals, fashion moguls and celebrities such as Helena Rubinstein, Nelson Rockefeller, Andy Warhol, John Friede, Armand Arman and Robert Mapplethorpe have solidified the international tribal art market rumored to now only exist in Paris.

The goal of the NYC Tribal Art Show during New York Tribal Art Week™ is to bring together those who share a common interest in the arts and to inspire a greater public knowledge of the cultural importance and artistic significance of non-western art forms. Local and visiting collectors and aficionados, as well as anyone interested in tribal art or simply wanting to learn about this fascinating art form are invited to attend and help bring back the excitement of AOA tribal art to it's original home in New York City!

Written by Sandy Cohen, AP Thursday, 16 February 2012 22:09

Oscar-nominated Costumes from "The Artist" on view at the FIDM Museum & Galleries

LOS ANGELES - To create the Oscar-nominated costumes for "The Artist," designer Mark Bridges had to think in both color and black and white. The costumes from "The Artist", a black-and-white silent film, can be seen in all their brilliant colors at the FIDM Museum & Galleries 20th annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibit, which is on view until April 28 at the downtown Los Angeles campus. The FIDM Museum is proud to present the twentieth anniversary Art of Motion Picture Costume Design exhibition. Celebrating the art and industry of costume designers, this exhibition will present more than 100 costumes from twenty films released in 2011. Admission is free.

Read more: [Costumes from "The Artist" ]