NEW YORK, NY.- Christie's announced the sale of one of the greatest private American collections of Modern Art to come to auction: The Collection of Mrs. Sidney F. Brody. Remarkable for its extraordinary depth and quality, the collection boasts a wealth of master works by the towering figures of the Modernist movement, including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Alberto Giacometti, Georges Braque, Edouard Vuillard, Marino Marini, and Henry Moore. The total value of the works to be offered is expected to exceed $150 million, making it one of the most valuable single-owner collections ever offered at auction. The strength of the collection is exemplified by a trio of spectacular works: Pablo Picasso’s "Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust" painted in March 1932 (estimate upon request), Henri Matisse’s Nu au coussin bleu, 1924 (estimate: $20-30 million), and Alberto Giacometti’s Grande tête de Diego, 1954 (estimate: $25-35 mil
LONDON.- Sotheby's announced that on Wednesday, July 14, 2010, it will present for sale, in its New Bond Street galleries in London, "An Exceptional Eye: A Private British Collection". The single-owner sale of some 250 lots will have at its heart an exquisite group of 18th and 19th century British Watercolours and Drawings and Portrait Miniatures, which ranks as one of the finest collections of its kind to have come to the market in recent memory. Magnificent Regency furniture will also be offered alongside English sculpture, vertu, clocks, ceramics, glass, silverware, design, books, manuscripts, rugs, and extends to prize winning steam model trains. The sale, which will be on exhibition at Sotheby’s London from July 10-14, is expected to bring in excess of £4 million. An exceptional depth of knowledge, together with an insistence on the highest quality, informed the purchase
LINCOLN, MA.- DeCordova Sculpture Park + Museum announces the acquisition of Reflection II, a sculpture by internationally acclaimed artist Antony Gormley. It is the first international acquisition for DeCordova. Reflection II is scheduled to be installed Monday, March 15, 2010. Director Dennis Kois says, "the Gormley acquisition not only brings an incredible work of art into the collection, but signals the seriousness of our intent to build an exciting, engaging, and ambitious sculpture program. As the largest year-round sculpture park on the East coast, we are in a unique position to be a national leader in connecting the public with great sculpture. We couldn't be more pleased." DeCordova's acquisition of Reflection II is the first in a series
SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) marks 75 years as a pioneering force in art with exhibitions and events, including a series of three Thursday evening happenings that offer a sophisticated social experience for late-night guests. Launching on March 18, 2010, SFMOMA: Now Playing invites artists to animate the museum in unexpected ways—and audiences to come play and see the museum in a new light. Guests can roam the galleries, take in live performances and talks, and unwind with cocktails and food while experiencing the atrium as a projection chamber, a hidden annex as a lounge, and artists playing the architecture. Now Playing is spearheaded by the museum's education department and curated by Frank Smigiel, SFMOMA associate curator of public programs. "These events explore the museum as a social platform where artists and audiences together can reinvent its environment and create art experiences in real time, shared space, and a spirit of p
BELLEVUE, WA.- The Gold Standard, on view at
Bellevue Arts Museum from March 18 through August 1, 2010, is Lisa Gralnick's most recent body of work, spanning over the last six years. A metalsmith by trade, Gralnick explores the relationship between gold's lore and history as an artistic medium and the function it serves in today's world as a commodity. Thought-provoking and incredibly well-crafted, the artist’s jewelry and sculptural works descend deep into the psychology and perception of value. The Gold Standard is a series comprised of three parts. In Part I: Commodification and Sensible Economy, Gralnick casts recognizable commodities and objects in 18k gold and plaster. The amount of gold used on each piece represents the monetary value of the depicted object. Part II: Phenomenology and Substantialism was borne out of the artist’s need to recycle gold from discarded jewelry and objects she collected. Gralnick
LONDON.- Rankin’s Cheeky brings together selected erotica by
Rankin. Taken from his recently published book of the same title, which includes forewords by Heidi Klum and Hugh Hefner, the photographs will be exhibited at Annroy Gallery from 11th March – 11th April. Rankin’s erotic studies combine outstanding female beauty with an exploration of human sexuality, whilst maintaining the skilful composition and unconventional aesthetic for which he is known. From beautiful nudes and mischievous lingerie shots including those of Kate Moss, Lily Cole and Helena Christensen, to works with more explicit undertones, Rankin’s Cheeky is a celebration of all that is sensual in the female form and of photography as a medium of sexual expression. “Any time Rankin takes a picture he knows what he wants, and there is really no chance of being anyone but who you are, even if you try. You can trust him. I trust him.”
LONDON.- An important exhibition telling the story of the Indian portrait over three centuries will open at the
National Portrait Gallery on 11 March 2010. Bringing together 60 works from international public and private collections, The Indian Portrait 1560-1860 will celebrate the beauty, power and humanity of these works of art. The exhibition sets out to show that Indian portraiture - an area of artistic achievement overlooked in Britain - should be seen alongside other outstanding portraits from around the world. The works in the exhibition range from magnificent formal portraits of the Mughal emperors to penetrating studies of courtiers and holy men, as well as candid depictions by Indian artists of Europeans living in India. These paintings are a record of a rich and complex history, embracing influences from Iran and Europe as well as local Hindu and Muslim traditions. They not only show a growing self-awareness of how I
LIVERPOOL.- The International Slavery Museum is continuing its celebrations of International Women’s Day with the unveiling of three new plaques on the Black Achievers Wall on Wednesday 10 March 2010. The plaques will be unveiled during "Celebrating Women", a special evening of guest speakers, dance performance and discussion at the museum. The three new faces, who have earned their places through creativity, bravery and talent are: Aretha Franklin - the multi-award winning American singer, songwriter and pianist commonly referred to as "The Queen of Soul". Since 1961, Franklin has achieved a total of 45 "Top 40" hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, which includes her anthemic version of the song "Respect". Franklin also sang at the 2009 presidential inauguration ceremony for Barack Obama. Andrea Levy - an award winning British author. Levy's book "Small Island" won the Orange Prize for Fiction, the Whitbread
HONG KONG.- Ooi Botos Gallery will present the 8irst solo show ever in Hong Kong of one of China’s most celebrated, avant‐garde photographers, Chen Man. The artist’s solo exhibition “Unbearable Beauty” opens March 13, 2010 and runs through May 22, 2010 and will be the internationally recognized artist’s 8irst exhibition in Hong Kong. It will also mark the premiere of three new works, represented exclusively by Ooi Botos Gallery. Chen Man’s unique, revolutionary vision was 8irst showcased in groundbreaking covers produced for Vision magazine from 2003 to 2007. These iconic images seared the memories of a generation and 8irmly established her as a pioneer. They also led to her 8lourishing career as China’s most important fashion photographer. A graduate of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, Chen Man regularly exhibits internationally in Europe, the US and China. In 2008, she part
VIENNA.- “Changing Channels” investigates how art reflected and drew on the mass media of television between the 1960s and the 1980s. The exhibition presents works that show the increasing significance and the economic, technological and social mechanisms of the medium. The works in question were made at the moment when television itself had undergone fundamental changes and this in turn brought about a comprehensive revision of the relationship between art and the role of media in the public sphere. Beginning in the mid 1960s, artists around Fluxus and the Expanded Arts such as Nam June Paik, Stan Vanderbeek or Wolf Vostell made use of the technical potential of manipulation for disruption or aesthetic transformation inherent to the electronic image. Using the audio-visual effects of feedback and interventions in the televisual apparatus, it seemed that new forms of participation and a comprehensive
