Willy Ronis a Poetics of Engagement at the Monnaie de Paris

PARIS.- Marking the centenary of his birth and approaching the anniversary of his death, this exhibition of the work of Willy Ronis (1910–2009), jointly organised by Jeu de Paume and the Monnaie de Paris with the contribution of the Médiathèque de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine, is not just a homage to one of the most internationally famous French photographers, whose images have been distributed by the Rapho agency since 1950; it also sets out to reveal previously unknown aspects of [...]

Face-offs/Takeovers: 25 years of the Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art

SAN JUAN.- As a celebration of its 25th anniversary, the Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art has organized a wide and rich exhibition of its permanent collection. The show, titled Face-offs/Takeovers: 25 years of the Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art, presents around 100 outstanding artworks that belong to the permanent collection of the MAC and that are milestones in the recent history of contemporary art in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Being the groundwork of the long [...]

Fritz Chesnut Opens Concurrent Exhibitions in Los Angeles and Cincinnati

CINCINNATI, OH.- Country Club presents Peak and Flow, Fritz Chesnut’s concurrent solo exhibitions in both Los Angeles, CA and Cincinnati, OH. These are his first solo exhibitions in both cities. Fritz Chesnut is well known for a dynamic series of photo-realist paintings of crowd scenes and performers that deal with fandom and idol worship. Chesnut’s move to abstract painting, though formally opposed to his previous work, similarly mines ideas of the transcendent and the sublime. Chesnut has turned his attention [...]

Did Duchamp was a quack? What about contemporary artists?

How an artist can consider his masterpiece an object that he even produced? For me, Duchamp was a quack, but I forgot one thing: the historical context!

West-Coast Architect Frederick Fisher Exhibits at Edward Cella Art + Architecture

LOS ANGELES, CA.- Edward Cella Art + Architecture (ECAA) opened the Gallery’s inaugural solo exhibition by renowned contemporary West-coast architect Frederick Fisher (principal, Frederick Fisher and Partners of Los Angeles). Entitled Frederick Fisher: Thinking by Hand, this exhibition of new and recent watercolors explores the form making process and composition strategies Fisher employs when envisioning and creating proposals for a wide variety of potential architectural commissions. Surprisingly, this is Fisher’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles and is the gallery’s [...]

Exhibition at the National Galleries of Scotland Explores the Theme of Dance

EDINBURGH.- The National Galleries of Scotland opens Dance, a vibrant exhibition which explores this fascinating theme through some of the most famous artworks in the national collection. Dance contrasts fourteen works of art of the very highest quality made in different periods, styles and media selected from both the National Gallery of Scotland and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, as well as the ARTIST ROOMS collection jointly owned by the National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. This refreshingly [...]

Scottish and Liverpool Artists Break World Records at Bonhams

LONDON.- The top lot at yesterday’s 19th Century Paintings auction at Bonhams was ‘Evening – Concarneau’ by Terrick John Williams which sold for £144,000 – more than six times the previous world record for the artist at auction. He painted several views of this harbour, with this work being an excellent example of his early, large-scale scenes. Meanwhile, a ‘Female figure study’ by John Constable with a hidden history sold for four times it pre-sale estimate to make £24,000. A [...]

French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s Dad Unveils Exhibit of Digital Paintings

PARIS.- French President Nicolas Sarkozy likes his father’s paintings more than his tell-all writings, Pal Sarkozy said Friday as he unveiled an exhibit of digital artworks. The exhibit, at the Espace Pierre Cardin right across the street from the French presidential palace, features images of women, religion and his life as an immigrant. Pal Sarkozy, 81, suggested that his son is probably more at ease with his father’s latest form of artistic expression than with an autobiography he released a [...]

Artist Jeff Koons Presents His Cracked Egg Sculpture at the Pinchuk Art Center in Kiev

KIEV.- The PinchukArtCentre presents a major international group exhibition with 19 leading artists of our time, devoted to Sexuality and Transcendence as a central theme of contemporary art. On view from April 24, 2010 through September 16, 2010 the exhibition examines the diversity and complexity of the art produced on this theme today. The show displays the sparkling dialogue of various artistic approaches in the tension field between the two extremes of raw sexuality and a sublime transformation into transcendence. [...]

Rare St. Ives School Works for Sale at Bonhams in London

LONDON.- A very rare and unusual screen-print by Ben Nicholson is one of the star lots in Bonhams Prints from the St Ives School sale on 25 May in London. The image, George and Rufus (£2,500 – 3,500), is printed in colour on rayon and was based on a series of paintings that Nicholson produced in the 1930s for a children’s book that in the end was never published. The print shows two of the story’s heroes, the dogs George [...]

Archaeologist Pilar Luna Erreguerena Awarded the J.C. Harrington Medal

MEXICO CITY.- As an acknowledgement to a life of dedication, the Society for Historical Archaeology of the United States of America elected Mexican underwater archaeologist Pilar Luna Erreguerena, to award her with the J.C. Harrington Medal, to be presented in Austin, Texas, in January 2011, as part of the 44th SHA conference. For Pilar Luna, officer of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) Underwater Archaeology Sub Direction, this acknowledgement adds up to others awarded to her research, preservation [...]

The Drawing Center Appoints New Curator Claire Gilman

NEW YORK, NY.- The Drawing Center announces the appointment of Claire Gilman to the post of Curator, effective July 1, 2010. The Drawing Center’s Executive Director, Brett Littman, says of the appointment, “Claire brings to The Drawing Center the right level of intellectual rigor and curiosity, art historical knowledge, extensive publishing experience, and an engagement with the art and artists of our time that will continue to push our programming in new and interesting directions.” Frances Beatty Adler, Co-Chair of [...]

Dame Rosalind Savill to Retire as Director of the Wallace Collection

LONDON.- Dame Rosalind Savill, Director of the Wallace Collection since 1992, will be retiring in October 2011. Dame Rosalind, who will be sixty in May 2011, joined the Wallace Collection from the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1974 and published her seminal three-volume work, The Wallace Collection Catalogue of Sèvres Porcelain, in 1988. Dame Rosalind said at the recent Trustees meeting that she felt that this would be a fitting moment for her to go because she will have completed [...]

African Art from 40-Year Private Collection at Morphy’s, May 13-15

DENVER, PA.- A collection of authentic African tribal art amassed over 40 years by a private collector in Ohio is the centerpiece of Dan Morphy Auctions’ May 13-15, 2010 Spring sale. The collection will be offered in 300 lots, the contents of which were cataloged by the noted specialist African art dealer and appraiser Oumar Keinde. Keinde confirmed that all of the art in the sale was carved in Africa and is geared mostly toward entry-level buyers or those who [...]

Christie’s 2010 Inaugural Green Auction Evening Sale Raises $1,387,000

NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s announced The Green Auction: A Bid to Save the Earth evening sale raised $1,387,000 to benefit four environmental organizations: Conservation International, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and The Central Park Conservancy. The live auction celebrates the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day and has a companion silent auction hosted by Charitybuzz that runs through May 6th. The top lot, All You Need is Jealousy by Damien Hirst, sold for $92,000. “Christie’s is honoured to play its [...]