| | Rijksmuseum installs innovative LED lights that bring out the best of "Night Watch"
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A security guard stands next to Rembrandt's "Night Watch" painting, illumintaed by newly installed LED lights in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The "Night Watch" may need a different nickname after the painting has been put under new lighting that makes it look like a day scene. AP Photo/Peter Dejong.
By: Toby Sterling, Associated Press
AMSTERDAM (AP).- Rembrandt's "Night Watch" may need a different nickname after the painting was put under new lighting on Wednesday that makes it look like a day scene. The change at the national Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is startling, as characters once barely visible or relegated to the background now stand out in vivid color. The 1642 painting was commissioned for one of Amsterdam's citizen militias and is officially titled "The Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch," the two most prominent and central of 34 figures depicted on the large canvas. Museum director Wim Pijbes said Wednesday the painting — widely considered Rembrandt's greatest masterpiece for its composition, dynamic motion, and use of light, color and shadow — may in fact only have acquired the "Night Watch" title because of a dark varnish that was removed decades ago. "It's a reasonably dark painting, and with aging it's gotten darker," Pijbes said. "It's not certain that it's a nigh ... More |
| Christie's in Hong Kong announces Asian 20th Century and Contemporary art sales | | Colorado College geologist's teeth study shows big dinosaurs trekked for food | | Serbian police finds two Picasso paintings stolen from a gallery in Switzerland in 2008 | 
Chen Cheng-Po (Chinese, 1895-1947), Sin-Lau Girls School, Taiwan. Oil on canvas. Painted in 1941, 91 x 115.8 cm. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2011.
HONG KONG.- This autumn, leading global auction house Christie’s will mark another significant milestone in the auctions of Asian 20th century & contemporary art. Previously sold in a separate category, Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art will be integrated into the Asian 20th century & contemporary art sale, enjoying a new level of international exposure when placed alongside the art from China, India, Japan and Korea. This integration – a first for any international auction house – completes the consolidation of contemporary and modern art from different parts of Asia to create a wider pan-Asian category that is a parallel to its Western counterpart. Four sales of Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Art will be held on 26 and 27 November at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, offering more than 540 works of art valued over HK$550 million/US$70.1 million. This season two Evening Sales will ... More | | 
A sampling of dinosaur teeth from the Dinosaur National Monument in Utah. AP Photo/ Henry Fricke,/Colorado College.
By: Alicia Chang, AP Science Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP).- What did giant plant-munching dinosaurs do when they couldn't find enough to eat in the parched American West? They hit the road. An analysis of fossilized teeth adds further evidence that the long-necked dinosaurs called sauropods — the largest land creatures — went on road trips to fill their gargantuan appetites. Scientists have long theorized that sauropods foraged for precious resources during droughts because of their preserved tracks and long limbs that were "ideal moving machines" and allowed them to cover long distances, said paleobiologist Matthew Bonnan of Western Illinois University. The latest study is the best evidence yet that at least one kind of sauropod "took to the hills in search of food when times got tough in the lowlands," said paleontologist Kristi Curry Rogers at ... More | | 
Picasso's artwork 'Head of Horse (Tete de Cheval)' from 1962 which was stolen from an exhibition in the town of Pfaeffikon. EPA/SERBIAN POLICE.
BELGRADE (REUTERS).- Police in Serbia have recovered two paintings by Pablo Picasso stolen in 2008 from a gallery in Switzerland, Belgrade's interior minister said Wednesday. Interior Minister Ivica Dacic told reporters the paintings -- Tte de Cheval (Horse's Head) and Verre et Pichet (Glass and Pitcher) -- were found in Belgrade. "The paintings were found in close cooperation with police from Switzerland," Serbian media quoted Dacic as saying. The paintings, worth millions of dollars, were snatched from a gallery in the Swiss town of Pfaeffikon, near Zurich. The Interior Ministry said no arrests were made and declined to specify where the paintings were found. "We are now trying to ascertain who brought the paintings into Serbia, when and how, and where they were hidden," Serbian police director Milorad Veljovic told Reuters. ... More |
| National Portrait Gallery in Washington presents "Seeing Gertrude Stein: Five Stories" | | Yale Center launches fall season with premiere of Zoffany exhibition that re-evaluates artist | | Worcester Art Museum announces appointment of Matthias Wascheks as new Director | 
Gertrude Stein, by Man Ray. Gelatin silver print, 1927. Mat: 55.9 x 40.6cm (22 x 16"). National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution © 2010 Man Ray Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris NPG.86.141
WASHINGTON, D.C.- Gertrude Stein (1874–1946) is famous as a modern writer and the creator of such memorable phrases as “rose is a rose is a rose is a rose.” But Stein’s reach went far beyond literature to include collaborations in book making, operas and ballet. As an American expatriate in Paris, she was an influential style-maker, art collector and networker. This fall, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery presents the major exhibition “Seeing Gertrude Stein: Five Stories” from Oct. 14 through Jan. 22, 2012. This exhibition is an art-filled exploration of Stein’s multiple identities as a literary pioneer, transatlantic modernist, American celebrity, art collector and muse to artists of several generations. The exhibition also features Alice B. Toklas (1877–1967), Stein’s lifelong ... More | | 
John Cuff and his assistant, ca. 1772, oil on canvas, The Royal Collection, © 2011 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
NEW HAVEN, CT.- This fall the Yale Center for British Art will be the first and only US venue for a major retrospective of Johan Zoffany, considered one of the most fascinating and visually captivating artists of the eighteenth century. Opening October 27, Johan Zoffany RA: Society Observed will feature sixty-fi ve oil paintings and a selection of drawings and prints—many of which have rarely or never been exhibited—from public and private collections around the world, including Britain, India, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, and the United States. Incorporating revelatory new research carried out over the past decade in Europe and India, the exhibition will constitute a timely and radical re-evaluation of the extraordinary life and career of this brilliant and enigmatic artist. It is the first exhibition devoted to the artist to be held in the United ... More | | 
Matthias Wascheks is currently directing the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts.
WORCESTER, MA.- Worcester Art Museum announced the appointment of Matthias Waschek as Director of the 115-year old institution, effective November 16. He succeeds James A. Welu, who announced one year ago that he would step down in 2011 to transition into the newly-created position of Director Emeritus. “Matthias Waschek’s experience and success in directing the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts to international renown make him the ideal choice as the next Director of the Worcester Art Museum,” said Clifford J. Schorer, III, President of the Worcester Art Museum Board of Trustees. “For 20 years, his scholarship, curatorial skills and leadership have undeniably established him as a force in the next generation of museum management. This paired with his contagious passion for art, and for making art accessible to all make his appointment an exciting, evolutionary step for Worcester and our amazing mus ... More |
| New Museum presents first New York survey of works by Belgian artist Carsten Höller | | Water crisis? Dutch artist Ap Verheggen to make ice in desert with help from refrigeration company | | Christie's announces results of Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish art part I sale | 
"Singing Canaries Mobile" hangs overhead while a New Museum employee, left, gives a visitor instruction as she begins to ride "Untitled (Slide)" during the press preview of the Carsten Holler: Experience exhibit at the New Museum in New York. AP Photo/Mary Altaffer.
By: Ula Ilnytzky, Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP).- "Museum visit" takes on a whole new meaning at the New Museum in New York where visitors can ride a three-story slide that winds through the building or jump into a salty pool — in the buff — for an out-of-body experience. The "Experience" exhibit features the creations of German artist Carsten Holler (pronounced HOO-ler). It opened Wednesday and runs through Jan. 15, allowing visitors to explore different sensations through Holler's odd interactive works of art. The exhibit may be a first for museumgoers and for a museum. Visitors are asked to sign a waiver and are given helmets and elbow pads for the slide. Slides are Holler's signature installations, and the 102-foot-chute at the New Museum is the only ... More | | 
Dutch artist Ap Verheggen will create a "glacier" in the desert. AP Photo/Peter Dejong.
By: Arthur Max, Associated Press
ZOETERMEER (AP).- Is it a piece of art, or a groundbreaking water experiment in the desert? Take the design of a leaf — nature's master at absorbing the sun's energy — and cover its 200 square meter (2,153 square feet) surface with solar cells. Under the face of the elm leaf-shape structure are cooling condensers that soak up humidity from the desert air. Even in the hottest conditions, it will produce a layer of ice on the leaf's ridged underside — so the theory goes. Ap Verheggen's vision of creating a "glacier" in the desert is a statement. It's not meant to solve the world's ever-worsening water problems, but to demonstrate, as he says, that the seemingly impossible is indeed possible. For the Dutch artist, his sculpture will be a cry of alarm at the rapid pace of global warming. Impractical in itself, it is meant to spur others to strive for innovative responses to the evolving ... More | | 
A woman looks at the artwork 'The last Look' by UAE artist Kateefa Bint Maktoum during the Christie's exhibition held at Jumairah Emirates Twin Towers. EPA/ALI HAIDER.
DUBAI.- Christie’s established Dubai’s place as a truly international sale centre with the introduction of a two part sale format, in line with the major auctions in London, New York and Hong Kong. The most important works of the season were offered at this evening’s auction of Modern and Contemporary Arab, Iranian and Turkish Art Part I, with a second session (150 lots) to follow tomorrow offering works at a more accessible price level, encouraging a new, younger group of collectors to participate. With a pre-sale estimate of $4.5million, this evening’s auction (Part I) realised $4,998,850 / AED18,360,776. Buyers for the 38 sold lots came from 10 different countries. The buyer breakdown was 35% international and 65% Middle Eastern. Three of the top ten lots were contemporary works, a pattern which mirrors the results of our April sale, a clear sign of the developing taste for contemporary works among ... More |
| "Niclaus Gerhaert: The Medieval Sculptor" at Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung | | Original 1942 Batman cover art featuring The Penguin expected to bring $300,000+ at HA | | Francois Morellet's interest in Kasimir Malevich in new exhibition at Annely Juda Fine Art | 
Niclaus Gerhaert von Leyden (?), Christ with grape, Strasbourg, about 1465/70.
FRANKFURT.- From October 27, 2011 to March 4, 2012, the Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung presents a major exhibition devoted to art from the Middle Ages, entitled “Niclaus Gerhaert. The Medieval Sculptor.” The Netherlander Niclaus Gerhaert von Leyden, who was likely born in Leyden around 1430, was first documented in Strasbourg in 1462, and died in Wiener Neustadt in 1473, is undoubtedly one of the most important and influential artists of the Late Gothic period. His works strike us for their amazing modernity and the lifelike quality of the figures. Such famous medieval sculptors as Tilman Riemenschneider, Veit Stoß, Michel Erhart, or the Tyrolean Michael Pacher would be unthinkable without him. The small number of signed works and the scarcity of written documents make it difficult for scholars to reconstruct Gerhaert’s origins, career, and oeuvre. Yet the sculptor must already have enjoyed a high reputa ... More | | 
The cover art is one of three Treasures from the Robinson Collection being offered in the auction.
BEVERLY HILLS, CA.- The original 1942 Jerry Robinson artwork from Detective Comics #67, one of the earliest Batman covers still known to exist - consigned by the legendary Golden Age artist himself - is being offered for the very first time at auction and is expected to bring $300,000+ when it comes across the block on Nov. 15 as part of Heritage Auctions' Vintage Comics & Comic Art Signature(r) Auction in Beverly Hills. The cover art is one of three Treasures from the Robinson Collection being offered in the auction, all of which have been tucked away in Jerry Robinson's personal collection for almost 70 years. "It's an extreme honor to work with Mr. Robinson, truly one of the founding architects of the American comic book, on such an important group of early Golden Age art," said Ed Jaster, Senior Vice President at Heritage. "The World War II-era historical significance and sheer artistic beauty of these three classic ... More | | 
Francois Morellet, Sous-Prematisme No. 3 2010. Acrylic on wood, 29 white neon tubes, 170 x 145cm. Photo: Courtesy Annely Juda Fine Art.
LONDON.- Annely Juda Fine Art presents this exhibition of works by François Morellet and Kasimir Malevich. The gallery has had a long standing relationship with both artists’ works. François Morellet’s first solo-exhibition at Annely Juda Fine Art was in 1977 and they have had several collaborations since then. Kasimir Malevich’s work was included in their first Non-Objective World exhibition in 1970 and has played a strong role in many of their historical exhibitions since then. The exhibition includes recent works by Morellet, which reflect his interest in Kasimir Malevich’s Suprematist works. The three Sous-Prématisme works in this exhibition use the three Suprematist motifs of circle, square and cross. These works are made of white neon tubes and are essentially white on white. The Negatif works all include a black spare and white neon tubes with the neon tubes positioned at different angl ... More |
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 "Department of Civil Obedience" by Dan Tague for Prospect.2 NEW ORLEANS, LA.- Jonathan Ferrara Gallery announces that gallery artist Dan Tague is a featured artist in Prospect.2 New Orleans Biennial. Tague joins twenty-seven other featured artists from around the world in Prospect.2, the largest international biennial exhibition of contemporary art held in the U.S. Her installation, Department of Civil Obedience, will be on exhibit in the Contemporary Arts Center's St. Joseph Street gallery from October 20, 2011- January 29, 2012. Dan Tague has an MFA in Studio Arts from The University of New Orleans, and is a multi-media artist, curator, and activist whose work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally. He is the recipient of several awards and residencies including grants from The Joan Mitchell Foundation and Pollock Krasner Foundation, and has been an artist-in-residence at the Santa Fe Art Institute, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and the La Napoule ... More artnet auctions announces artnet DesignTV NEW YORK, N.Y.- artnet just launched this week artnet DesignTV, a new series of video interviews of Design-world persons. Shot at the artnet downtown New York City headquarters, the videos feature important figures in the Design and Architecture fields. Included will be industrial designers, interior designers, architects, curators, critics, gallerists, collectors, and other influential Design-world luminaries. The brief interviews will enable each to discuss recent and upcoming projects, their overall approach to their work, and to tell the stories behind the projects which define them. Organized by artnet Auctions Senior Specialist of Design, Brent Lewis, "artnet DesignTV is an easy and exciting way to hear the stories behind the most influential and important people in the Design field. The response to this project has been overwhelmingly positive and we are excited to continue to expand it to include seminal people from all ... More Malte Hagen Olbertz' State of Affairs at Kit Schulte Contemporary Art in Berlin BERLIN.- Kit Schulte Contemporary Art presents State of Affairs, Malte Hagen Olbertz tells stories of rooms filled with the forgotten, the abandoned and the hidden. Objects disappear in mysterious black areas and unexpected highlights suggest an abundance of forms behind it. Human bodies are shuffled into the interior, sleeping, dreaming or dead? Objects and bodies are composed in a homogenous manner and create wonderful, almost natural compositions. There are partly dipped into complete blackness, for the artist, a symbol for the inspiring primal substance. In urban 'non-rooms' we find piles of once used furniture: kitchen sinks, shelves, ovens, boards, pictures. In contrast to the classic still life, the compositions conceal an almost self-organized character: the sometimes loose configurations, which have not been planned intentionally do 'function' and here Olbertz can take a break from playing the composer. ... More Halloween comes to Bonhams in one-off Wunderkammer sale featuring a spooky ivory skull LONDON.- On Wednesday 2 November, to coincide with Halloween, Bonhams will hold its first sale dedicated to the Wunderkammer, also known as the ’Kunstkammer’ or ‘cabinet of curiosities’, a collection of fine objects created from the rarest and most exquisite materials and designed to induce excitement and wonder in the viewer. Comprising works of art ranging from ivory figures and reliefs, early and rare bronzes, fine enamels, chalices and caskets, the Wunderkammer brought together objects produced from the most expensive and highly prized materials of the day, including ivory, tortoiseshell, rhino horn, enamel and gilt bronze. This unique, one-off sale features one hundred and thirty ivory carvings, including a very spooky South German skull (estimate £10,000 – 15,000); an eerie 17th century anatomical model of an eye (estimate £4,000 – 6,000); and a gruesome relief depicting the martyrdom of S ... More Nationalmuseum acquires an armchair, table, and candelabra from the Paris exhibition of 1925 STOCKHOLM.- The Nationalmuseum’s collection of applied art and modern design has gained an armchair, a table and candelabra from the International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts in Paris in 1925. The acquisition is an important addition to the collections as several pieces from the period is missing. The Swedish pavilion was designed by Carl Bergsten and furnished with objects that can be categorised as “Art Deco”, a style that took its name from the event’s French title Exposition internationale des Arts décoratifs et industriels modernes. The exhibition was instrumental in launching Swedish art and design onto the international stage. With 20th-century Modernist historians and museum curators often tending to dismiss this type of exclusive object as decadent, the Nationalmuseum is missing several key pieces from the Swedish pavilion in Paris in 1925, which ... More Precious volumes from a connoisseur's library to be offered at Sotheby's in Paris PARIS.- On November 9, Sotheby’s will offer for auction a prestigious and refined collection of 18th century books that is remarkable in terms of content, the quality of its illustrations, and the elegant morocco bindings which constitute a veritable ‘leitmotif’ of the ensemble. The Library was assembled in the 1950s and ’60s by a captain of industry, who sought out the finest works from leading French and Swiss book-dealers. He had an enlightened, erudite and enquiring mind, imbued with great finesse and, as well as being an accomplished bibliophile, was also a collector of furniture and objets d’art. This superb Enlightenment Library contains the classical and modern works most in demand among 18th century book aficionados: from illustrated Greek classics to coloured scientific works and large-format best-sellers, they form an ensemble of great distinction, suitably clad in original binding ... More |
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