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NORMAN, OK.- Christmas has come early to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, but a new sculpture is as much a gift to visitors as it is to the museum. Through March 15, 2010, museum visitors get a rare chance to view “The Kiss” (“Le Baiser”), one of only five lifetime casts, on this scale, of the bronze statue by Auguste Rodin (1840-1917). On loan for a limited time from a private collector, the sculpture depicts the famous, forbidden embrace of historical figures Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta

BARCELONA.- Under the title Pre-Columbian Funerary Art, the Egyptian Museum of Barcelona exhibits a series of pieces that are representative of the main cultures present in the areas of Mesoamerica, Centro-America and the Andes, before the arrival of any Europeans and the subsequent as well as abrupt culture upheaval that this entailed. Most of the objects on show were conceived and used as part of the funerary equipment that accompanied the deceased to their tombs. This protected and

LONDON.- In 2008-9, five Japanese venues hosted a touring exhibition, Self & Other: portraits from Asia and Europe, which traced a history of intra- and intercontinental influence on the human image in paintings, sculptures and installations. Breaking visitor records, it was curated by cultural and art historians and initiated a lively interdisciplinary dialogue. Posing Questions, at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS in London (21 January – 27 March 2010), is the first and only U.K. exhibition of four independent exhibitions designed to compliment the Japanese show. Each will offer a further distinctive take on portraiture to appeal to local audiences and prompt debate. Using an interdisciplinary approach like the Japanese exhibition, and thought-provoking images from several time periods, Posing Questions highlights key issues in the social significance of portraiture itself. This exhibition is organised through ASEMUS, the

MONTCLAIR, NJ.- The Montclair Art Museum (MAM) announces that children and teenage students in its Yard School of Art have been invited to show their works in an exhibition at Boiling Springs Savings Bank in Upper Montclair. The exhibition is currently on view at the bank, located at 122 Watchung Ave., during banking hours: Monday – Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. A reception, to which the public is invited, takes place on Saturday, January 9, 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The show runs through January 15, 2010. The artwork—approximately 35 works are included in the show—represents a range of classes and ages, and reflects a variety of subject matter and media. The students have been introduced to various materials and fine art techniques, including drawing, painting, and sculpture. Projects explore the use of line, shape, texture, pattern, and setting. Students a

NEW YORK, NY.- The Museum of Modern Art presents the first major museum retrospective of the artist Gabriel Orozco (Mexican, b. 1962), who since the early 1990s has forged a career marked by continuing innovation and has become one of the leading artists of his generation. On view from December 13, 2009, through March 1, 2010, this midcareer retrospective examines two decades of Orozco’s career in an exhibition of some 80 works, revealing how the artist roams freely and fluently among drawing, photography, sculpture, installation, and painting to create a heterogeneous body of objects that resists categorization. Works in the exhibition come from international public and private collections, including the collection of The Museum of Modern Art. Gabriel Orozco is organized by Ann Temkin, The Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture, The Museum of Modern Art, with Paulina Pobocha, Curatorial Assistant

BARCELONA (EFE).- Cuban and Spanish architects in Barcelona expressed the need to save both the colonial and modern architecture of Havana and not focus entirely on the old colonial district. Under the title “Arquitecturas de Ida y Vuelta” (Architectures on a Round Trip), the Catalonia College of Architects organized between Dec. 10-13 the 33rd edition of its International Architectural Heritage Days. During the event, Spanish architect Rafael Moneo was to unveil the remodeling

NEW YORK, NY.- The Tata Nano, designed to be the world’s most affordable car, will be on view at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum from Feb. 18 through April 25, 2010. Unveiled last year in India by Tata Motors, India’s largest automobile manufacturer, the Tata Nano is targeted to families who had not previously been able to afford a car. Billed as “the people’s car,” the base model starts at $2,200 in India and can accommodate up to five adults. A bright, sunshine yellow Nano will be on display in Cooper-Hewitt’s Great Hall, along with diagrams and a short film describing its concept, development and production.

HASTINGS.- This comprehensive retrospective exhibition provides a rare glimpse into the early talent and wit of the Chapman brothers. This exhibition, their first at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery will feature a complete portfolio of etchings from the ‘Gigantic Fun’ series, drawings and some early animal sculptures. Jake and Dinos Chapman were brought up in Cheltenham and Hastings and both studied at the Royal College of Art before deciding to work together. Emerging under the label of Young British Artists in the 1990s, the Chapmans’ art examines with searing wit and energy, contemporary politics, religion

FORT WORTH, TX.- The Kimbell Art Museum has added to its collection an exquisite oil sketch by the British artist Richard Parkes Bonington (1802–1828), “The Grand Canal, Venice, Looking Toward the Rialto”, painted on the spot in 1826. Its purchase was announced today by the Kimbell’s director, Dr. Eric M. Lee. Dr. Lee commented: “The opportunity to acquire one of Bonington’s beautiful oil sketches of Venice is extremely rare. Only eight are known, four of which were already in museum collections before the present one was acquired by the