Tag: Art

LONDON (REUTERS).- Berlin-based Susan Philipsz,
whose artworks center around recordings of her voice singing folk songs in
public spaces, is one of the four nominees for Britain’s top art award. The
Turner Prize, awarded to British artists under the age of 50 for an outstanding
exhibition or other presentation, is handed out annually and traditionally
attracts popular debate about the nature and role of art. Also on the shortlist
is the Otolith Group comprising Anjalika Sagar, 42 and Kodwo Eshun, 44, who both
live and work in London.

BOSTON, MA.- Imitation may be the
sincerest form
of flattery, but for Vincent van Gogh, it was a means of self education
for the
artist in the 1880s, who copied numerous works by Jean-François Millet
to teach
himself how to draw and paint. The visual dialogue that ensued between
master
and student is the focus of Visiting Masterpieces, an ongoing series at
the
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), which showcases great art from
museums and
private collections around the world within the context of the MFA’s
encyclopedic collection. To inaugurate the series, the Museum
welcomes
van Gogh’s “The Sower” (1888), on loan from the Van Gogh Museum in
Amsterdam, to
Boston for juxtaposition with the work that inspired it, Millet’s The
Sower
(1850), one of the MFA’s celebrated masterpieces. The paintings,
which
have never before been seen together in Boston, will be on view from May
11 to
August 8 in the Impressionist Gallery.

NEW YORK, NY.- On Thursday, May 20, Swann
Galleries will conduct a two-part auction of Photographic Literature
&
Important Photographs that features many scarce and significant
works—both
individual photographic images and books. The auction will begin at
10:30 a.m.
on Thursday, May 20 with Photographic Literature, and will continue at
2:00 p.m.
with Important Photographs. The photographs and books will be on public
exhibition at Swann Galleries Saturday, May 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.;
and
Monday, May 17 through Wednesday, May 19, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

LONDON.- The
work of Stuart Pearson
Wright (b. Northampton 1975) reflects a search for lost identity. One of
the
first children born in the UK by artificial insemination the artist
feels that
the process has created an ‘identity void’ which his work attempts to
deal with.
Wright’s new series of paintings at Riflemaker –
shown alongside a film installation
featuring Keira Knightley – explore and dispel the stereotypes of
masculinity
and femininity as depicted in films, books and comics; specifically in
the
stories and myths of the American West. Choosing
portraiture in an era when it
was not always seen as a legitimate part of contemporary art, and a
winner the
BP Portrait Award aged just 26, Wright has spent much of his career
attempting
to subvert traditional portrait painting. He distorts his subjects,
employing
his own features and those of his fiancée in meticulously painted and
stylised
characters set in pulpy, fictional situations.  On view
until 26
June.

NEW
YORK,
NY.- The Salmagundi Club will host the third
annual American
Masters at SCNY on May 7th, featuring many of the nation’s finest
artists – from
Richard Schmid to John Stobart. Proceeds from the show and sale will
benefit the
Salmagundi Club, one of New York City’s oldest and most valued historic
art
institutions. The 2010 American
Masters welcomes back many of last year’s artists and several new faces
as well.
The show and sale includes works from artists Bill Anton, Christopher
Blossom,
Scott Christensen, David Leffel, Walter Matia, Dean Mitchell, Thomas
Quinn,
Tucker Smith, Curt Walters and 37 others. Artists new to the show
include Nancy
Guzik, Quang Ho, Kevin Macpherson, Daniel Pinkham, and Daniel
Smith.

NEW
YORK,
NY.- Video work by
artist and filmmaker Shoja Azari will be on view at Leila
Taghinia-Milani Heller (LTMH)
Gallery from May 4 though 27,
2010. SHOJA AZARI: ICONS, the artist’s first solo exhibition in New York
City,
will feature six new video works, which examine the role of saints and
heroes in
modern society. A fully illustrated catalogue with essays by Sam
Bardaouil, Dr.
Hamid Dabashi, and Benjamin Genocchio will accompany the
exhibition.  The Icons
series, 2010, is comprised of five video works and five photographs on
light
boxes that appropriate popular posters of saints in Iran. Inspired by
how
Renaissance painters humanized religious figures, Azari seeks to make
icons
resonate in a new way.

SYDNEY, AU – ‘Luminaries’ is a new solo
exhibition
by renowned British artist Pam Glew, and here she will be bringing her
own brand
of iconic imagery to a surprising Sydney location from May 6, 2010 at
Bicker
Gallery. This will be the first time Glew has exhibited in Australia –
her work
already features in important collection in Europe, USA and the Far
East. The
artist has been featured in various Urban Art shows in London, Los
Angeles and
Paris. ‘Luminaries’ will be her 9th solo exhibition.

NEW YORK, NY (AP).- A 1932 Pablo Picasso
painting of his mistress has sold for $106.5 million, a world record
price for
any work of art at auction. “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust,” which had a
pre-sale
estimate of between $70 million and $90 million, was sold at Christie’s
auction
house on Tuesday evening, May 4th,  to an unidentified telephone bidder.

There were nine minutes of bidding involving eight clients in the sale
room and
on the phone, Christie’s said. At $88 million, two bidders remained. The
final
bid was $95 million, but the buyer’s premium took the sale price to
$106.5
million.

BERLIN.- As part of the celebrations for
the
Mexican Independence Bicentennial and Revolution Centennial, President
Felipe
Calderón attended the exhibition entitled: Frida Kahlo Retrospective at
the
Martin Gropius, during his state visit to Berlin, Germany. Accompanied
by his
wife Margarita Zavala and Foreign Affairs Secretary, Patricia Espinosa
Cantellano, the Mexican president highlighted the importance of the art
of this
Mexican artist, whom he regarded as a link between Germany and Mexico.