Author: conte

ROCHESTER, NY.- Two new galleries showcasing the Memorial Art Gallery’s ancient art collections will open December 16. Renovation and reinstallation of the second-floor galleries, which began this summer, was made possible by one of the largest gifts in Gallery history—a $1 million donation from long-time MAG friend and supporter Helen H. Berkeley. The Helen H. Berkeley Gallery of Ancient Art will bring together works from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, including objects never before on view. Among its highlights are two of the most important acquisitions of recent years—the rare pair of fourth-century Egyptian coffins that were until recently in MAG’s Gill Discovery Center.

WASHINGTON, DC.- Dorothy Kosinski, Director of The Phillips Collection, announced today the appointment of Kara Mullins as the museum’s new Director of Development. Mullins brings a deep understanding of the Washington, D.C. arts community from her experience as a senior development officer at the National Gallery of Art, where she has worked in various capacities for nearly a decade. Mullins begins her new role at the Phillips on Jan. 4, 2010. “Kara impressed us all with her intelligence, poise, and elegant presence,” says Kosinski, “We look forward to introducing her into the Phillips community and working with her in realizing our ambitious goals.” During her tenure

EAST LANSING, MI.- Michigan State University will break ground on the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum on March 16, 2010. Eli Broad, who donated the naming gift for the project, and Zaha Hadid, the internationally known architect who designed the building, are expected to attend. The groundbreaking will be followed by 23 months of construction and a 2012 museum opening. The university also announced the creation of the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum Advisory Board that will advise on leadership structure, administrative structure and financial sustainability. The board is made up of an accomplished group of people with many combined years of experience

LEIDSCHENDAM.- During the first nine months of the Holland Art Cities art and culture event, well over 860,000 visitors from abroad, and 100,000 visitors from the United States saw one or more exhibitions. “Holland Art Cities” will run until mid 2011 and the theme until July 1, 2010 is “Young: Modern and Contemporary Art and Design”. The theme “Young: Modern and Contemporary Art and Design” presents a cross section of the very best in today’s world of art and design. Both Dutch and foreign artists, such as Matisse, Malevich, Picasso, Van Dongen, De Vlaminck, Derain, Kadinsky, Gauguin and fashion designers, including Aziz, Alexander van Slobbe and Chanel are

LONDON.- This exhibition will be the first survey of Marcus Coates’ work in a public gallery in the UK and will include early film pieces, sculpture, sound, costumes and photographs as well as new work. The show will run from January 15 through April 4, 2010. Coates often assumes the identity of an animal, such as a fox, goshawk or stoat, by simulating its appearance, enacting its habits and appropriating its language. In the film, ‘Stoat’, (1999), for example, Coates totters around on ramshackle platforms, learning to recreate the animal’s bounding movements; in ‘Goshawk’, (1999), a telephoto lens captures the artist as a rare bird perched precariously at the top of a tree; while in ‘Finfolk’, (2003), the artist emerges from the North Sea spluttering a new dialect, as spoken by seals. Coates has also trained as a shaman and the exhibition includes films of his rituals, where he achieves a trance-like state and communes with the animal kingdom to address social issues. Wearing a

WASHINGTON, DC.- One of the world’s most extraordinary gemstones, the “Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond”, will be on display at the National Museum of Natural History Jan. 28, 2010, through Aug. 1, 2010. This will be the first time it has been available to the public in more than 50 years. A diamond of rare deep-blue color and weighing 31.06 carats, the “Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond” will be presented in the “National Gem Collection” in the Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals, where the renowned Hope Diamond is on permanent view. The “Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond” has long been rumored to have originated from the same diamond mine in India as the “Hope Diamond”. Smithsonian scientists will explore this mystery while the diamond is in their care. “The “Wittelsbach-Graff Diamond” is an object of intrigue and legend, certainly one of the great gemstones of the world,” said Jeffrey Post, curator of the National Gem Collection. &#14

BENTONVILLE, ARK.- From the dilapidated back road barn to the backyard oak scarred by last winter’s ice storm but still standing, Northwest Arkansas is rich with landscapes at risk of being lost. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is inviting residents of Northwest Arkansas to grab their cameras, get outdoors and capture the landscapes that are most meaningful to them – especially those threatened by development, disease and the ravages of age. Photos of treasured sites in Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington counties may be submitted for inclusion in ‘Looking at Our Landscape’, a juried community photography exhibition planned for spring 2010. Special consideration will be given to landscapes with historic or cultural significance that are accessible to the public and at risk of being lost. Selected entries will be presented in an online gallery, and forty works will be displayed April 1 – May 31, 2010 in an

LONDON.- Christie’s London announced the discovery of a rare portrait of “Sir Alfred James Munnings Reading”, circa 1910, by Harold Knight, R.A. (estimate: £30,000-50,000) which will be offered in the sale of Victorian & British Impressionist Art Including Drawings & Watercolours on Wednesday, December 16, 2009. During a detailed examination of a painting by Dame Laura Knight, R.A. (1877-1970), “Carnaval”, circa 1915, Christie’s Specialist Tom Rooth noted that the back of the canvas was unusual; there appeared to be the edge of not one but two stretched canvases. In the process of skillfully removing all 83 nails which firmly pinned down Laura Knight’s canvas, Rooth first glimpsed a flash

NEW YORK, NY.- Lombard-Freid Projects announced two new exhibitions for 2010. “Postcards from the World”, Dan Perjovchi’s third solo exhibition at Lombard-Freid Projects, establishes a dialogue with an historical piece of his, “Postcards from America” (1994). Known for his insightful social and political commentaries in the form of ephemeral wall drawings in institutions, biennials and galleries worldwide- this, unique installation of drawings will be his first gallery exhibition devoted entirely to works on paper in more than a decade. In each piece, 500 postcard-sized drawing of observations from his travels in the US (1994) and throughout the world (2009)- are sketched with minimalist purity and succeed in being as humorous and satirical

LONDON.- The sale of Old Masters at Bonhams New Bond Street proved the enduring popularity of these paintings raising a total of £2,840,960 with 90% of lots sold by value. The results included a record price for a Roedig painting, with Tulips, roses and other flowers in a classical urn overturned by a cat chasing a mouse with a statue of Flora beyond; and Peaches, grapes, pumpkins, a lemon, a pomegranate and other fruit and flowers in a wicker basket on a marble plinth, with a classical urn beyond – sold as a pair – achieving £1,196,000 against a pre-sale estimate of £700,000-900,000.