LONDON.- What do you get if you cross a Christmas tree with a bicycle? A “Tree-Cycle” – A sustainable Christmas tree made out of recycled bicycle parts. Leading sustainable architectural practice Sarah Wigglesworth Architects has been commissioned by developers igloo to create a bespoke Christmas tree for Bermondsey Square, London, SE1. The Bermondsey Square Christmas tree is composed of 35 recycled bike wheels, set on a simple structure, in the recognisable shape of a Christmas Tree. The 35 wheels incorporated in the design are on loan from UK charity Re~Cycle who are committed to providing cheap, sustainable transport in Africa. The charity collects
Commanding a Fortune: Roedig Achieves Record-Breaking Price at Bonhams Old Masters Sale
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.
Tree-Wheeling: Sarah Wigglesworth Architects Create Sustainable Christmas Tree for Bermondsey Square
LONDON.- What do you get if you cross a Christmas tree with a bicycle? A “Tree-Cycle” – A sustainable Christmas tree made out of recycled bicycle parts. Leading sustainable architectural practice Sarah Wigglesworth Architects has been commissioned by developers igloo to create a bespoke Christmas tree for Bermondsey Square, London, SE1. The Bermondsey Square Christmas tree is composed of 35 recycled bike wheels, set on a simple structure, in the recognisable shape of a Christmas Tree.
7th International Biennial of Photography and Visual Arts – Liege Announced
LIEGE.- The International Biennial of Photography and Visual Arts has been organized since 1997 every two years by the Cultural Centre of Liège – Les Chiroux. The event focuses on a specific theme and combines a high quality artistic program with the largest possible accessibility (affordable entrance fee, artistic mediation systems). The Biennial has always supported young emerging artists from Belgium and abroad and has at the same time invited internationally recognized artists to Liège. Each Liege Biennial offers the unique opportunity to discover the artistic creations of the country invited to present work from a selection of artists. Work from artists in the French Community will then be presented in the partner institution of the invited country and benefit in this way from an international showcase. The Biennial has already established ties with Chile, Canada, France, Poland, Portugal and Brazil in this manner. Finall
Atlanta Olympic Park Area: 3 New Museums, 5 Years
ATLANTA (AP).- New York City has Times Square. New Orleans is known for the French Quarter, and in San Francisco, camera-toting tourists flock to Fisherman’s Wharf. Now, city leaders in Atlanta hope to add Centennial Olympic Park — and the growing roster of museums dotting it — to the list of popular urban tourism corridors. The downtown district, once home to rundown buildings and dark streets, was transformed in the mid-1990s into the town square for the 1996 Olympic Games. Now the 21-acre park is bordered by the world’s largest aquarium, the international headquarters for CNN, the World of Coca-Cola, a children’s museum and the National Museum of Patriotism. In the next five years, three new museums will open around the park — the Center for Civil and Human Rights, the National Health Museum and the National College Football Hall of Fame (which is moving from its current location in South Bend, Ind.). And the Georgia Aquarium will premiere its $100 million dolp
A Rich Array of Victorian & British Impressionist Art Offered at Christie’s
LONDON.- Christie’s present a superb array of Victorian & British Impressionist Art Including Drawings & Watercolours to the international market on Wednesday 16 December 2009. The sale is led by Eve, a magnificent and monumental painting by Solomon J. Solomon, R.A., P.R.B.A. (1860-1927), which is estimated to realise between £700,000 and £1,000,000. Offered at auction by Ealing Council, who will use all proceeds of the sale to support culture and heritage in the Borough, this is the first opportunity for collectors, institutions and dealers around the globe to acquire the work. Further highlights range from An English Merrymaking in olden times by William Powell Frith R.A. (1819-1909) (estimate: £300,000–500,000), which is offered for the first time in over a century from the renowned collection formed in the late 19th Century by the 5th Earl of Carysfort, at Elton, Cambridgeshire; six lots by Henry Herbert La Thang
France Returns the Louvre’s Wall Paintings Sought by Egypt
PARIS (AP).- Fragments of an ancient wall painting that caused a feud between Egypt and the Louvre Museum are heading home. France returned the ancient artwork to Egyptian officials after President Hosni Mubarak inspected one of the fragments following a visit with his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy. The pockmarked slab in sepia and blue tones, from a 3,200-year-old tomb near the ancient temple city of Luxor, shows an offering from a nobleman to a servant. Egypt’s antiquities czar Zahi Hawass cut ties with the Louvre in October, saying the famed Paris museum had refused to return the fragments.
Egypt’s Zahi Hawass to Ask British Museum for Rosetta Stone
LONDON (REUTERS).- The head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities said he plans to ask the British Museum to hand the Rosetta Stone over to his country. The ancient stone was the key to deciphering hieroglyphs on the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs and is one of six ancient relics that Egypt’s chief archaeologist Zahi Hawass said his country wants to recover from museums around the world. “I did not write yet to the British Museum but I will. I will tell them that we need the Rosetta Stone to come back to Egypt for good,” Hawass told Reuters this weekend. “The British Museum has hundreds of thousands of artifacts in the basement and as exhibits. I am only needing one piece to come back, the Rosetta
Clyfford Still Museum in Denver Breaks Ground on Future Home
DENVER, CO.- The Clyfford Still Museum today officially broke ground on its future home in a public ceremony that brought together Denver City officials, art and cultural ambassadors, and business leaders. Scheduled to open in 2011 in the heart of Denver’s vibrant arts district, the museum will provide an intimate environment for the viewing of the Still Estates, encompassing some 2,400 works spanning the artist’s career and representing one of the most comprehensive single-artist holdings in the world. Designed by Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works Architecture, the new building reflects the institution’s mission to preserve, present, and celebrate the work of this legendary American artist and will provide
Christie’s to Sell Early Portrait by Sir Alfred James Munnings Hidden for Nearly a Century
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 16 December 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