Multi-Part Sculptural Project by Antony Gormley at National Galleries of Scotland

EDINBURGH.- Work began in Edinburgh in April on an extraordinary multi-part sculptural project by the celebrated British artist Antony Gormley. Commissioned by the National Galleries of Scotland, 6 Times will consist of six life-sized figures positioned between the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the sea. Four of the figures will be sited in the Water of Leith itself, acting as gauges for the height of the river as it swells and recedes. The figure closest to the sea, [...]

Ghirlandaio and Renaissance Florence at Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza

MADRID.- On 23 June the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza presents the temporary exhibition Ghirlandaio and Renaissance Florence. Comprising a survey of quattrocento Florentine art, its starting point is one of the great icons in the Museum’s permanent collection: Portrait of Giovanna degli Albizzi Tornabuoni, painted by Domenico Ghirlandaio between 1489 and 1490. Displayed in conjunction with this masterpiece of Florentine art is a carefully-chosen group of 60 works including paintings, sculptures, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, medals and various decorative objects. They have been [...]

New Museum Presents First Survey of Brazilian Artist Rivane Neuenschwander

NEW YORK, NY.- From June 23 to September 19, 2010, the New Museum will present a major mid-career survey of Brazilian artist Rivane Neuenschwander (b. 1967, Belo Horizonte, Brazil). Covering a decade of the internationally admired artist’s work, “Rivane Neuenschwander: A Day Like Any Other” will span the fourth, third, and lobby galleries of the New Museum. It will spotlight the artist’s unique contribution to the narrative of Brazilian Conceptualism and reveal her wide-ranging, interdisciplinary practice which merges painting, photography, [...]

Archaeologists and Art Restorers Find Oldest Paintings of Apostles

ROME (REUTERS).- Archaeologists and art restorers using new laser technology have discovered what they believe are the oldest paintings of the faces of Jesus Christ’s apostles. The images in a branch of the catacombs of St Tecla near St Paul’s Basilica, just outside the walls of ancient Rome, were painted at the end of the 4th century or the start of the 5th century. Archaeologists believe these images may have been among those that most influenced later artists’ depictions of [...]

Mead Art Museum Publishes Book on Development of the Mead Collection for Amazon.com’s Kindle e-Reader

AMHERST, MA.- The Mead Art Museum at Amherst College has published its first e-book, The Development of the Art Collection of Amherst College, 1871-1971 (Kindle Edition), for the Amazon.com Kindle e-reader. The original version of the book was written by the museum’s first director, Charles H. Morgan, in 1972, and 1,000 copies of the 160-page volume were published by Amherst College Press. This past year, Teddy O’Connor, an assistant in the Mead, digitally transcribed Morgan’s text for the Kindle. The [...]

Tate’s Ben Borthwick Appointed CEO and Artistic Director of Artes Mundi

LONDON.- Ben Borthwick has been appointed Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Artes Mundi – the UK’s largest art prize. Borthwick is a curator and writer who specialises in contemporary art, with particular focus on sound and socially engaged practices . He joins Artes Mundi after seven years at Tate Modern where he was Assistant Curator and curated the exhibitions including Gilbert & George, Rodchenko and Popova and the Turbine Hall installation Bruce Nauman: Raw Materials. In 2007-08, he devised [...]

AGO Appoints Elizabeth Smith As New Executive Director of Curatorial Affairs

TORONTO.- After a five-month global search, the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) has hired Elizabeth Smith as its new Executive Director of Curatorial Affairs. Formerly the Chief Curator and Deputy Director of Programs at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Chicago, Smith will oversee the Gallery’s ambitious exhibition program and collection growth, while providing senior leadership in the development of presentation strategies and production of scholarly research. She also will establish international partnerships to galvanize the AGO’s profile and produce [...]

Exploding Sound and Noise (London-Brighton, 1959-69 at Flat Time House

LONDON.- Flat Time House hosts a new exhibition of artworks, archive, movies and sound curated by Tony Herrington (Editor-in-Chief & Publisher, The Wire) and David Toop (musician, curator, long-time collaborator of John Latham). For a period in the 1960s there was a great creative synergy in the UK between the visual arts, experimental film, free jazz, psychedelic rock, and the energetic poetry scene that formed the UK’s so-called Underground. BLOW UP will present a visual and aural map of those [...]

New York City Steps Up with $44M for Delayed WTC Arts Center

NEW YORK, NY (AP).- New York City has stepped into the long-delayed planning for a performing arts center at ground zero with over $40 million to help build its below-ground foundation. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s board approved a deal Tuesday that would have the city pay it back for the construction at the World Trade Center site. Authority spokesman Steve Coleman says some work on the foundation and shared infrastructure is in progress, but other [...]

National Academy Museum & School of Fine Arts to Renovate Galleries

NEW YORK, NY.- The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts today announced plans to renovate its exhibition galleries and create a new visitor center and a School studio gallery. The renovations will modernize the existing galleries, provide visitors with more meaningful and educational experiences, and institute a new, dynamic environment for student and faculty review, discussion and exhibition. The renovated galleries will for the first time in over 100 years provide space dedicated to the semi-permanent exhibition of [...]

Eleven-Year-Old Helps Birds In Oil Spill With Art

New York. – One little girl’s love of art, and concern for birds affected by the gulf oil spill, has translated into more than $100,000 raised to help clean-up efforts. Olivia Bouler’s interest in drawing started with one class, and she’s been hooked on birds since she read a book about them at age four. She loves to go bird watching, and she came up with the idea to combine two of her favorite things for a good cause. Olivia [...]

City and h’ART of BC Board Announce Plans to Protect Sculptures

Binghamton, New York.- City officials and the h’ART of BC Board this morning announced plans to protect the 22 sculptures recently installed around downtown Binghamton in honor of the late Johnny Hart, author of the “B.C.” cartoon strip. “The recent vandalizing of these sculptures has been very disappointing, but we won’t let the acts of a few ruin what should be a very positive experience for our entire community,” said Mayor Matt Ryan. “Since working closely over the last several [...]

Audrey’s Society Whirl: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Showcases 300 Masterworks by Pablo Picasso

New York.- On Wednesday, May 19, 2010, over 500 guests attended a special viewing of Picasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art hosted by the Museum’s director Thomas P. Campbell, president Emily K. Rafferty and The Met’s Multicultural Audience Development Initiative (MADI) under the direction of Donna Williams, chief audience development officer. The rare exhibition runs from April 27 through August 15, 2010 and is made possible by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation.  The viewing was followed by [...]

ARTISSIMA 17: International Fair of Contemporary Art in Turin

Turin, Italy.- Artissima 17, the International Fair of Contemporary Art in Turin, will be held from Friday 5 to Sunday 7 November 2010 under the artistic direction of Francesco Manacorda. This event, the first to be directed by Manacorda, will be introducing a host of new features. First of all, it will be held in spectacular new premises: the Oval, a pavilion of unique architectural design, which was built for the 2006 Turin Olympic Winter Games. Located in the Lingotto [...]

Incredible Wooden Sculptures

Gehard Demetz creates amazing wooden sculptures for everyone to enjoy. The artist assembles each sculpture individually by combining wooden elements to create incredible works of art.