COLUMBUS, OH.- The Columbus Museum of Art announces the establishment of the William and Sarah Ross Soter Endowed Curator of Photography. The first endowed position in CMA history, this pivotal gift builds upon the Soter and Ross families’ commitment to photography. The Soters’ pledge of $1.5 million to the Art Matters endowment and capital campaign enables the Museum to present special exhibitions of photography, support original scholarship related to the medium, and provide educational and other programs for generations to come. Catherine Evans has accepted the first William and Sarah Ross Soter Curator of Photography appointment. At age thirteen, Sally Ross Soter began volunteering at the Columbus Museum of Art. She inherited her commitment to the Museum from her parents, Elizabeth M. and Richard M. Ross. Mrs. Ross is a long-time Museum Trustee and founding member of the Museum’s Women’s Board.
Baloise Art Prize Winner Geert Goiris in the Hamburger Kunsthalle
HAMBURG.- On 5 May 2010, the Swiss insurance company Baloise Group will present Geert Goiris’ slide projection Whiteout to the Hamburger Kunsthalle. The Belgian artist is one of two recipients of the 11th Baloise Art Prize awarded by the Basel-based company in 2009. Since 1999, the Baloise Group has awarded an annual prize to two outstanding young artists participating in the Art Statements sector of the international art fair Art Basel. The awards of CHF 30,000 to each of the prize-winning artists are made by a jury of international experts. In consultation with the jury, the Baloise Group also acquires a selection of works by both recipients, which are subsequently donated to two important European museums. In 2009 the jury chose the Swedish artist Nina Canell, whose work is being donated to the Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig (MUMOK) in Vienna, and the Belgian photographer Geert Goiris, whose slide proj
Six New Video Works by Shoja Azari at Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery
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. In the early 20th century, coffee house-style painting flourished in Iran. Based on Persian mythology, the large paintings depicted the heat of battle, the afterlife and martyrdom, truth and justice, and the apocalypse. The paintings expressed respect for religious and traditional beliefs and served as a backdrop for entertainment in the coffee houses of Iran as storytellers would act out the epic scenes depicted in the paintings. Azari has appropriated coffee house p
Museum-Quality Photographs Featured at Swann Galleries’ Auction
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 opens with nearly 200 lots of Photographic Literature, including many sought-after monographs such as a first edition of Berenice Abbott’s Changing New York, 1939, signed and inscribed to photograph collector and dealer Howard Daitz (estimate: $4,000 to $6,000); signed and inscribed first editions of Manuel Alvarez Bravo’s Fotografias, Mexico, 1945 ($9,000 to $12,000), and Alexey Brodovitch’s Ballet, New York, 1945 ($8,000 to $12,000); as well as Robert Frank’s The Lines of my Hand, Tokyo, 1972 ($3,500 to $4,500). There are three sumptuous examples from 21st Editions books’ Platinum Series: Sally Mann, illustrated with 10 platinum prints by the artist, pl
Christoph Schlingensief to Design German Pavilion Artist for Venice Biennial
FRANKFURT AM MAIN.- Christoph Schlingensief has accepted the invitation by the Commissioner of the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennial 2011, Dr. Susanne Gaensheimer, Director of MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt/Main. Christoph Schlingensief is currently busy with rehearsals in Berlin for his VIA INTOLLERANZA II project, which takes as its starting point the action opera “Intolleranza 1960” by Italian composer Luigi Nono and which Schlingensief considers a research project accompanying his project for an opera village in Burkina Faso in West Africa. The performance will be on stage in Brussels as of mid-May and then move on to Hamburg, Vienna and Munich. With the German Pavilion, Schlingensief is tackling what is for him yet another new task. Christoph Schlingensief commented on his acceptance as follows: “That is a fantastic surprise. I have worked in many areas, as a film,
Third Annual American Masters at Salmagundi Club
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. “We’re thrilled to have American Masters back for the third year. In the footsteps of last year’s success, we’re looking forward to a phenomenal show,” said Tim Newton,
Van Gogh Masterpiece Travels to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
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
Winfrey, Wintour Host Metropolitan Costume Gala in New York
NEW YORK, NY (AP).- Two of the most powerful women in entertainment and fashion teamed up to throw a party in New York City. Oprah Winfrey and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, and Gap creative director Patrick Robinson co-chaired the annual Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Gala Benefit on Monday night in New York. This year’s theme celebrated the American woman. Stars like Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift, Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer Lopez were there. Many were accompanied by the designer who dressed them. Winfrey walked the arrival line with Oscar de la Renta, wearing a navy couture gown by the designer. She said she looked forward to going into the party and having a few shots of tequila. “Harry Potter” actress Emma Watson took a break from studying for her final exams at Brown
Archaeologists in Egypt Find Ptolemaic-Era King Statue
CAIRO (AP).- Archaeologists in Egypt said Tuesday they have discovered a headless granite statue of an unidentified Ptolemaic-era king that is more than 2,000 years old. An Egyptian-Dominican team made the discovery at the temple of Taposiris Magna, west of the coastal city of Alexandria, said a statement from the Supreme Council of Antiquities. Alexandria was the seat of the Greek-speaking Ptolemaic Dynasty, which ruled Egypt for 300 years, until the suicide of Queen Cleopatra. The statue’s height is 53 inches (135 centimeters) and its width at the shoulders is 22 inches (55 centimeters). “The well-preserved statue may be among the most beautiful carvings in the ancient Egyptian style,” archaeology chief Zahi Hawass said. Hawass said the statue could belong to King Ptolemy IV and represented
Christie’s to Offer the Forbes Collection of Winston Churchill Letters and Books
LONDON.- Christie’s announced that they will offer at auction the most important and comprehensive private collection of letters and books related to Winston Churchill ever assembled. Presenting an insight into the mind and methods of one of the greatest statesmen of the 20th century, the collection was assembled over a period of more than 30 years by Malcolm S. Forbes Jr., son of the late Malcolm Forbes, grandson of Forbes magazine founder B. C. Forbes and chief executive of Forbes Inc. The collection will be offered in three parts; the first in London on 2 June, with a second section in New York on 3 December and a third part at South Kensington, London, in summer 2011. Thomas Venning, Director of Books and Manuscripts at Christie’s, London: “Winston Churchill is one of the most famous historical figures of the 20th century and his feats as a politician, and as the war