Dazzling Digital Illustration: 15 Artists to Watch

Watching an artist turn a piece of paper and some graphite into a realistic, imaginative work of art is amazing enough – but somehow, seeing such illustrations come to life from pixels on a computer screen can seem even more magical. Whether producing imagery for video games or for their own pleasure, these 15 digital illustrators combine modern technology with raw talent to create jaw-dropping works of art. Mark Verhaagen The lush candy-colored landscapes and strange but adorable creatures in [...]

Abu Dhabi Launches Tender Competition for Louvre Museum

ABU DHABI.- Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) said on Tuesday it has launched the main tender competition for building a branch of the Louvre museum on its flagship development Saadiyat Island. “The main contract works, the dome, mechanical, electrical, is tendered today,” Felix Reinberg, director of projects delivery at TDIC’s museum division, told reporters on the sidelines of a tour of the island. Reinberg said the tendering process would close in June. Located off the coast of [...]

First Museum Display Dedicated to Philip de Laszlo in Over 70 Years

LONDON.- Rarely seen works by the celebrated portrait painter, Philip de László, will be brought together for the first solo museum display of the artist’s work since his death over 70 years ago. This new display will include special loans from The Royal Collection and Chequers and will mark the completion of indexing of the de László archive at the National Portrait Gallery. Philip de László will run from 27 March until 5 September 2010 and provide an opportunity to [...]

Solo Exhibition of New Paintings by Valerie Jaudon at Von Lintel Gallery

NEW YORK, NY.- Von Lintel Gallery presents Sight Reading, a solo exhibition of new paintings by New York-based artist Valerie Jaudon. Valerie Jaudon’s new paintings feature bars and bands of white paint, either placed against a raw linen ground or seemingly incised into a solid white field. Short and concise figures blend with long, complex compound shapes. The asymmetric construction of the paintings sets up a reading that is programmed but non-logical – one that leads the eye in unexpected [...]

Renaissance Rivals Brought Together for Rare Art Exhibition in Gothenburg

GOTHENBURG.- A recently-discovered Leonardo da Vinci painting (sold in 2007 for $19,000, and now valued at 100 million pounds Sterling) is being exhibited for the first time at a ground-breaking exhibition in Gothenburg, Sweden. The exhibition will feature some 50 original masterpieces by Michelangelo, Raphael, da Vinci and other renaissance artists. Most of the pieces are privately owned and have rarely or never been shown in public. The exhibition ;And There Was Light, opened its doors in Gothenburg, West Sweden, [...]

Sotheby’s Sets Record for Classical Chinese Painting Sold in the US

NEW YORK, NY.- This morning at Sotheby’s a record was set for a Classical Chinese painting sold in the US when Bada Shanren’s “Two Mynas on a Rock” from 1692 sold for $2,994,500 – many multiples of the $400/600,000 estimate, at the Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art auction. Henry Howard-Sneyd, Vice Chairman, Asian Art at Sotheby’s said: “The price of nearly $3 million is a reflection of the compelling beauty of Bada Shanren’s “Two Mynas on a Rock”. [...]

Jean Nouvel Commissioned to Design 10th Serpentine Gallery Pavilion

LONDON.- In its 40th anniversary year, the Serpentine Gallery is delighted to announce that the 10th Serpentine Gallery Pavilion is being designed by world-renowned French architect Jean Nouvel. This year’s Pavilion is the 10th commission in the Gallery’s annual series, the world’s first and most ambitious architectural programme of its kind. It will be the architect’s first completed building in the UK. The Pavilion commission has become an international site for architectural experimentation and follows a long tradition of Pavilions [...]

Awe-Inspiring Staffordshire Hoard Saved for the Nation

LONDON.- The Art Fund announced that the Staffordshire Hoard, the largest archaeological Anglo-Saxon find ever unearthed, has been saved for the nation. The news comes after the National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF), the government’s fund of last resort for heritage items at risk, pledged £1,285,000 – bringing the campaign to the £3.3m target, just over three weeks ahead of schedule. Thanks to the support of the public, trusts and foundations, and the generous £1,285,000 NHMF grant, the awe-inspiring find has [...]

Exhibition Dedicated to the Works of Women Artists Opens at The Chrysler

NORFOLK, VA.- This spring, as the Commonwealth of Virginia celebrates the role of women in the arts through the statewide initiative, MINDS WIDE OPEN, the Chrysler Museum does the same with “Women of the Chrysler: A 400-Year Celebration of the Arts”, an extraordinary new exhibition dedicated to the works of women artists – all of them drawn from our permanent collection. This expansive show fills both the Large and Small Changing Galleries with more than 150 works by women painters, [...]

Cy Twombly: Third Contemporary Artist Invited to Install a Permanent Work at the Louvre

PARIS.- Selected by a committee of international experts, Cy Twombly is the third contemporary artist invited to install a permanent work at the Louvre: a painted ceiling for the Salle des Bronzes. The permanent installation of 21st century works at the Louvre, the introduction of new elements in the décor and architecture of the palace, is the cornerstone of the museum’s policy relating to contemporary art. This type of ambitious endeavor is in keeping with the history of the palace, [...]

Christie’s Presents Selections from the Baio Collection of Photographs this Spring

NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s announced the forthcoming sale of Selections from the Baio Collection of Photographs on April 15 at Rockefeller Center. The Baio Collection embraces many of the photographic techniques and methods used over the last 170 years, with a central theme running through its diverse imagery – children. One can follow the trajectory of this theme through the framework of the urban environment, starting with an early 1930s view of the shadowed walkways of Spain in Seville by [...]

Cornell University Study Super-Sizes the “Last Supper”

NEW YORK (REUTERS).- We’ve been overeating our way through ever-larger portions over the past 1,000 years, a U.S. study revealed after studying more than 50 paintings of the Biblical Last Supper. The study, by a Cornell University professor and his brother who is a Presbyterian minister and a religious studies professor, showed that the sizes of the portions and plates in the artworks, which were painted over the past millennium, have gradually grown by between 23 and 69 percent. This [...]

New Multichannel Video Installation by Alfredo Jaar on View at University of Connecticut

STORRS, CT.- On view from March 24 to April 22, the Contemporary Art Galleries at the University of Connecticut will present a new multichannel video installation titled “We wish to inform you that we didn’t know” by artist, architect and filmmaker Alfredo Jaar. Alfredo Jaar created The Rwanda Project, 1994-2000 as a response to the criminal indifference of the world community in the face of a genocide that claimed one million lives. This project lasted six years and included 25 [...]

Americas Society Showing Work by Argentine Artist Marta Minujín

NEW YORK, NY.- Americas Society presents Marta Minujín: MINUCODEs, an exhibition that revisits an earlier project by Argentine artist Marta Minujín, held in 1968 at the Americas Society, known then as the Center for Inter American Relations (CIAR). The project, called Minucode, explored social codes in four groups of leading figures in the arts, business, fashion and politics. Minujín collected social data through a series of cocktail parties attended by people who responded to a series of questionnaires the artist [...]

St. Louis Historical Museum to Host Vatican Collection

ST. LOUIS.- One of the largest collections of art, documents and historically significant objects from the Vatican ever to tour North America is coming to the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis for a limited engagement beginning May 15, 2010. “Vatican Splendors: A Journey through Faith and Art” will present unique objects illustrating the Vatican’s impact on history and culture through 2,000 years. Approximately 170 objects will be presented in galleries and recreated environments that enhance the visitor’s understanding of [...]