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Art News

December 12, 2009Darko Topalski

Sir Thomas Lighton Appointed New Chief Executive at Agnew’s in London

LONDON.- Agnew’s, one of London’s leading
international art dealers, has appointed Sir Thomas Lighton as its new Chief
Executive and is moving to a gallery in Mayfair in the heart of the capital’s
art world. These important changes herald the beginning of a new era
for the prestigious, long-established gallery which will see a gradual move
towards greater involvement in 20th century and contemporary art, whilst
continuing with its more traditional dealing in Old Master and British
paintings, drawings and watercolours.

Art News

December 11, 2009Darko Topalski

LACMA Presents Luis Meléndez ~ Master of the Spanish Still Life

LOS ANGELES, CA.- The Los Angeles County Museum of
Art (LACMA) presents Luis Meléndez: Master of the Spanish Still Life, the first
U.S. exhibition in twenty-five years of eighteenth-century Spanish painter Luis
Meléndez (1715-1780). Meléndez is now recognized not only as one of the
greatest Spanish painters of the eighteenth century, but also as one of the most
accomplished still life painters of the time. Drawing works from major American
and European museums as well as private collections, the exhibition will
showcase nearly thirty paintings by Meléndez—many of which have never been
exhibited before. In addition, a selection of eighteenth century Spanish
kitchenware, similar to those used by the artist as studio props, will be
featured. LACMA’s presentation will be the only West Coast showing of
Luis Meléndez: Master of the Spanish Still Life and will be on view on the third
floor of the Ahmanson Building through January 3, 2010.

Art News

December 11, 2009Darko Topalski

Jeff Koons “Elephant” (Purple) Sold for $593,560 at Sotheby’s Paris Sale

PARIS.- Sotheby’s biannual Evening
Sale of Contemporary Art in Paris realised the remarkable total of €8,051,100
(£7,302,584 /$11,947,027), far surpassing pre-sale expectations of
€4,680,000-6,440,000* ($6,938,240-9,547,493/£4,192,797-5,769,575). The
auction saw all but one lot sell, achieving the joint-highest sell-through rate
of 96.3% for a Sotheby’s Paris Evening Sale of Contemporary Art, and established
a sold-by-value rate of 98.1% – the second-highest for an Evening Sale of
Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s Paris.

Art News

December 11, 2009Darko Topalski

Yes . . . There Is A Museum of Communism in Prague

PRAGUE (REUTERS).-Glitzy new shops, fast food restaurants
and trendy bars have replaced Prague’s former monochrome socialist-era landscape
but a museum dedicated to the country’s communist past offers glimpses of the
uglier times.The Museum
of Communism, which focuses on politics, history, sport and other aspects of
daily life in socialist Czechoslovakia, touts itself as the first of its kind in
Prague exclusively devoted to the system that dominated the country for more
than four decades following World War II. For many Czechs who grew up under communism,
there is little need of a reminder of how brutal the system was. But 20 years
after the Velvet Revolution some wonder whether many have forgotten the past in
a country where the communist party still attracts about 15 percent of the
vote.

Art News

December 11, 2009Darko Topalski

The Cycladic Art Museum shows “Eros: From Hesiod’s Theogony To Late Antiquity”

ATHENS
(REUTERS).- Sex, love and lust among the gods, rulers and lesser
mortals of the ancient world are the focus of a new exhibition in the Greek
capital this month. Phallic-shaped lamps, love letters engraved in clay
and erotic symbols on lucky charms dating from 7 BC to 4 AD are just a fraction
of what visitors will see at an exhibition dedicated to the Greek and later
Roman god of love. “Eros: From Hesiod’s Theogony to late antiquity” runs
from Dec 10 to April 5, 2010 at the Cycladic Art Museum, featuring a collection
of 280 artifacts from 50 museums in Greece, Cyprus, Italy and France, including
the Louvre.

Art News

December 11, 2009Darko Topalski

Kunsthalle Fridericianum presents Exhibition by Artist Carlos Amorales

KASSEL, GERMANY – With the exhibition Nuevos
Ricos, the entire produce range and scope of the art project and record label by
the Mexican artist Carlos Amorales is presented for the first time. The
Kunsthalle Fridericianum not only provides an overview of the history and social
positioning of the project, but above all reflects the broad artistic spectrum:
From December 2009 to 14 February 2010 performances, band acts and
lectures supplementing the exhibition will enable the philosophy and social
policy of Nuevos Ricos to be experienced live.

Art News

December 11, 2009Darko Topalski

Sotheby’s London Old Master & British Paintings ~ Total Sales US$24,510,499

LONDON.- The sale of Old Master & British
Paintings at Sotheby’s in London saw a new auction record established for Sir
Anthony van Dyck – one of the most important artists to have worked in England –
when his last Self Portrait soared above expectations and sold for £8,329,250/
€9,207,960/US$13,521,704. The portrait was the top-selling lot in a
sale which realized £15,098,250/ €16,691,068/ US$24,510,499, within the pre-sale
expectations of £12,340,000-18,410,000. Strong prices were also seen for works
by the Dutch artist Cesar Boetius van Everdingen and the prominent British
masters, Sir Edwin Henry Landseer and Samuel Scott.

Art News

December 11, 2009Darko Topalski

Audrey Hepburn’s Givenchy Dress Sold For Nearly $100,000 at London Auction

LONDON
(AP).- The black cocktail dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in ‘How to
Steal a Million’ has sold for nearly $100,000 at auction. Kerry Taylor Auctions
says the Chantilly lace dress sold to an anonymous bidder for about
$97,700. It was one of 40 items from Hepburn’s wardrobe sold off by her
friend Tanja Star-Busmann. The auctioneer said Tuesday’s sale made a total of
268,320 pounds. It says half of the net proceeds will go to The Audrey
Hepburn Children’s Fund.

Art News

December 11, 2009Darko Topalski

The Art Fund International Adds To Glasgow’s Contemporary Art Collection

LONDON.- Two purchases funded by the UK’s leading
independent art charity The Art Fund, through its £5 million funding scheme Art
Fund International, are going on display for the first time at a new exhibition
at the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow. The works by Lothar Baumgarten
and Emily Jacir form part of the exhibition ‘Unsettled Objects’ which features
pieces from Glasgow’s collection of contemporary art, and runs from 10 December
2009 until March 2011.

Art News

December 10, 2009Darko Topalski

International Center of Photography to host Alan B. Stone and the “Senses of Place”

NEW YORK, NY.- On view at the International Center
of Photography, ICP, from January 29 through May 9, 2010, Alan B. Stone
and the Senses of Place explores photography’s unique ability to revive one’s
sense of connection to the past, and considers some of the many meanings
associated with “place.” Guest curator David Deitcher presents the work
of the little-known Montreal-based photographer Alan B. Stone (1928–1992) as a
case study that considers some of the ways in which people experience, use, and
are affected by photographs. This intimate installation of around 75
photographs, newspaper clippings, and small magazines proceeds from the
assumption that one knows one’s past in part through pictures, through
identifying with photographs that relate to one’s lived experience.

Tag: Arts and Culture