News
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07/26/2011
Portland Institute of Contemporary Art appoints Angela Mattox Artistic Director.
from ARTFORUM: "The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art in Oregon today appointed Angela Mattox, former curator of performing arts at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, artistic director, effective September 1. “We are happy to welcome Angela to PICA and to Portland. She is a respected peer with a stellar reputation in the field and among artists,” said Victoria Frey, PICA’s executive director. In her eight years at YBCA, Mattox emphasized the Center’s performing arts program, placing an international emphasis on experimental practice, cross-cultural exchange, and interdisciplinary work."
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07/26/2011
Gilbert 'Magu' Lujan, a pioneer of the Chicano art movement that took root in the social and cultural upheavals of the 1960s and '70s, died at 70.
from the Los Angeles Times: "Gilbert “Magú” Luján, a painter, muralist and sculptor whose whimsical, slyly humorous artworks, which frequently evoked a rollicking, mythical view of Mexican American life, graced museum walls, the Hollywood & Vine subway station and other public places, died Sunday...Magú, as he was universally known, was among the first U.S. artists of Mexican descent to establish an international career. The Pomona resident had been battling cancer for several years, according to a number of friends and colleagues who confirmed the news of his death."
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07/25/2011
A new Mougins Museum of Classical Art to be founded in the French town where Picasso lived out his last dozen years.
from the Guardian: The Mougins Museum of Classical Art opens in a town "where the likes of Picabia, Cocteau, Man Ray and Leger used to visit." The museum houses the private collection of investment manager Christian Levett, and will include art spanning from ancient times, to Picasso, to Damien Hirst.
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07/22/2011
Building work on an ambitious Frank Gehry-designed cultural centre in Arles will be delayed for at least six months following concerns over its effect on the French city’s heritage.
from The Art Newspaper: "[Arles' heritage] includes archaeological sites and views immortalized in paintings by artists such as Van Gogh and Gauguin. Work on “Luma/Parc des Ateliers” was expected to start in June but the project is now being revised after two out of five building permit applications were rejected by the French National Commission for Historical Sites and Monuments. The complex, which is to include exhibition spaces, a study archive, workshops, and a library, has two striking towers clad in aluminum foam, a materia that resembles Swiss cheese, as its centerpiece. But plans submitted gave the heritage commission cause for concern. The commission ruled that Gehry's towers would obscure the view of the bell tower of the medieval Church of Saint Honoratus in the Alyscamps and that their foundations would disturb the underground Roman-Gallo Sarcophagi."
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07/21/2011
Connie Wolf, the director of the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, to become director of the Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford.
from the Stanford University News Center: "Connie Wolf, director and CEO of San Francisco's Contemporary Jewish Museum, was a galvanizing force in bringing a national profile to a little-known institution. Now she'll have a chance to bring the same record of drive and innovation to the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford when she becomes the new director on Jan. 1, 2012. She follows Thomas K. Seligman, who became the center's first full-time director in 1991. Seligman, who will continue research and teaching at Stanford, called Wolf "a terrific choice" and said he "is very pleased she will be taking Cantor to its next chapter."
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07/21/2011
Zahi Hawass has been reappointed as Egypt's antiquities minister — after having been replaced on Sunday.
from ARTINFO: "Last spring he also survived a firing and re-hiring, despite his ties to ousted president Hosni Mubarak. This time, however, he may only last as long as it takes to find an acceptable replacement. Hawass said that prime minister Essam Sharaf had asked him to continue in his post as antiquities minister. On Sunday, Abdel Fattah El-Banna was appointed as his replacement but was forced to resign the next day after antiquities staff said he lacked the proper credentials."
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07/21/2011
The attempted sale of a stolen painting believed to be a Modigliani supplied a vital clue in the arrest of the last major Yugoslav war crimes fugitive.
from Reuters: "Desperate for cash after years on the run, Goran Hadzic tried to sell a stolen painting believed to be a Modigliani and supplied the vital clue for capturing the last major Yugoslav war crimes fugitive. Serbia's president announced the arrest of Hadzic, a Croatian Serb wartime leader indicted for crimes against humanity during the 1991-95 Croatian war, on Wednesday...There is also a fair chance that the painting, which was apparently exhibited in Belgrade in the mid-2000s, was a fake, said a law enforcement agent who had investigated stolen art works."
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07/20/2011
Applications for the 2011 William H. Johnson Prize are now available online with an August 15, 2011 due date for all applications.
From the William H. Johnson Foundation: "The 2011 William H. Johnson Prize is 25,000 USD and the winner will be announced later in the year. The William H. Johnson Foundation for the Arts is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that seeks to encourage African American artists early in their careers through its annual award, The William H. Johnson Prize. Early career African American artists who work in painting, photography, sculpture, printmaking, installation and/or new genre are eligible to apply."
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07/19/2011
Southern Exposure is now accepting applications for Round V of the Alternative Exposure Grants Program.
from Alternative Exposure: "With major support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Alternative Exposure offers direct support to Bay Area based unincorporated groups, burgeoning art and gathering spaces, publications, websites, collectives, events, and projects that fall outside the traditional frameworks of support. In the four years since launching Alternative Exposure, SoEx has awarded $220,000 in direct funds to 69 Bay Area projects.The deadline for the 2011 Round V of Alternative Exposure is Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at 6 pm."
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07/18/2011
A 17th-century painting by Nicolas Poussin was vandalized at the National Gallery in London after a 57-year-old man reportedly sprayed it with red paint.
from the Guardian: "'The Adoration of the Golden Calf', completed by the French classicist in 1634, along with a smaller painting on the adjacent wall in the Poussin Room, was attacked at around 5pm. Witnesses reported seeing a man spraying the paintings with a canister as security guards rushed over before detaining him in the room and contacting police. Five officers later came to arrest the man, who is thought to be French."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jul/17/poussin-attack-national-gallery
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07/18/2011
Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s antiquities minister, who has been under fire for his ties to the Mubarak regime, will lose his job in a cabinet reshuffle intended to appease the protesters in Tahrir Square.
from the New York Times: "The full details of the cabinet changes have not yet been confirmed. Mr. Hawass’s pending departure was reported by an Egyptian newspaper, Youm7, and Mr. Hawass confirmed the report’s accuracy. Youm7 quoted him as saying that protesters outside his office tried to beat him as he left on Sunday."
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07/15/2011
Banksy pink gorilla graffiti was mistakenly whitewashed over in Bristol.
from the BBC: "The gorilla in a pink mask on the wall of the ex-North Bristol Social Club, in Eastville, had been a familiar landmark in the area for more than 10 years. But the building has recently been turned into a Muslim cultural centre. New owner Saeed Ahmed assumed it was a regular piece of graffiti and had it painted over. 'I thought it was worthless,' he said. He added: 'I didn't know it was valuable and that's why I painted over it. I really am sorry if people are upset.' Mr Ahmed said he was willing to explore options to see if the whitewash can be removed and the painting restored."
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07/14/2011
Alleged Picasso thief had $500,000 worth of stolen artwork in his apartment, including another Picasso.
from the Huffington Post: "Police in Hoboken, N.J., raided the home of Mark Lugo this week after receiving information from San Francisco authorities. Officers found a Picasso drawing worth $350,000 that had been reported stolen from a New York hotel, among other pieces. Lugo is being held in a San Francisco jail in the July 5 theft of a 1965 Picasso drawing called "Tete de Femme" from the Weinstein Gallery."
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07/14/2011
Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has accepted a visiting teaching post at the Berlin University of the Arts.
from Reuters: "[The university] did not know when [Ai] could leave China to take up the position...University President Martin Rennert called Ai's response a 'positive signal' he would be able to assume his post soon. The university made its offer to the artist in April, shortly after he was stopped from boarding a flight to Hong Kong from Beijing and detained by border police...Ai, who has ties to the German capital, said in March before his arrest that he planned to open a studio in Berlin as his European base."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/13/us-aiweiwei-idUSTRE76C47020110713
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07/13/2011
Cultural funding in the Netherlands to be slashed by one quarter; performing arts are worst hit.
from The Art Newspaper: The Dutch government "intends to cut the arts budget by €200m—25% of current expenditure—as of 1 January 2013. Overall, the government is looking for reductions in public spending of only 16%: to compound the misery for art organisations, the government is also increasing the value added tax (VAT) on tickets for concerts and performances from 6% to 19% in July. The rise does not apply to several other forms of entertainment, including cinema tickets, zoos or sporting events. Despite a wave of protests, the government remains unwilling to compromise. A demonstration, the March for Civilisation, took place on 26 and 27 June, before a parliamentary debate on the cuts to the culture budget."
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07/13/2011
Kala is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2011 Fellowship awards.
This year's Fellowship winners represent a diverse group of artists working in combinations of photography, new media, painting, sculpture and mixed media print processes. These artists explore a variety of topical issues ranging from political, social and environmental issues to narratives of personal history and identity, and formal visual concerns involving representation, materials and process. This year's competition was juried by Renny Pritikin, writer, curator and Director of the Richard L. Nelson Gallery and the Fine Arts Collection at the University of California-Davis in collaboration with Kala's Directors. 2011 Kala Fellowship artists include: Michele Carlson, Randy Colosky, Alison OK Frost, Seth Koen, Vanessa Marsh, Sandra Ono, Francesca Pastine, Lauren Rice, and Gail Wight.
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07/12/2011
Despite previous accounts of a $200 million asking price, a recently authenticated Leonardo da Vinci painting is now said to be off the market.
from Art Info: "As was already announced at the end of June, Salvator Mundi will be shown as part of Leonardo da Vinci: Painter of the Court of Milan at the National Gallery starting November 9. Since the museum has strict rules about not exhibiting art that is for sale, the announcement that the work is off the market seems to be specifically intended to permit its inclusion in the upcoming show. 'There were some discussions with a museum concerning the possible acquisition of the painting, but it hasn't been offered for many months,' New York-based private dealer Robert Simon, a spokesperson for the consortium of dealers who own the painting — and reportedly himself one of the owners — told Bloomberg. 'I've assured the National Gallery that the painting isn't on the market and that there are no plans to sell it after the exhibition.' This statement ensures that the museum will be able to show the work, since the National Gallery has a strict policy forbidding the exhibition of works that are for sale."
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07/12/2011
J.D. Beltran, vice president of the San Francisco Arts Commission, was named the organization's interim cultural affairs director Monday after the director resigned last week.
from the San Francisco Chronicle: "Beltran, an artist who teaches at the San Francisco Art Institute and a commissioner since 2009, will take the helm as the commission searches for a permanent leader. The Arts Commission announced her appointment after an hour-long closed session during its monthly meeting. The former cultural affairs director, Luis Cancel, resigned following The Chronicle's report that Cancel was under fire from his bosses for his treatment of the staff and telecommuting from Rio de Janiero. Cancel's last day was Friday. He has said that he and his family planned to move back to New York."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?entry_id=92962#ixzz1RuAWXYiQ
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07/11/2011
The Kimbell Museum in Forth Worth has hired George T.M. Shackelford, chairman of the Art of Europe at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as senior deputy director.
from The Star-Telegram: "The institution [announced] Friday that George T.M. Shackelford, chairman of the Art of Europe at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, has been hired to be the museum's No. 2 man. Shackelford will assume the responsibilities of senior deputy director of the Kimbell in January. His delayed arrival is due to an enormous show that he is organizing for the Boston museum, "Degas and the Nude," which is scheduled to open in October. Shackelford, 56, is a highly regarded curator and scholar of 19th-century French art."
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07/11/2011
University of Texas sues Ryan O'Neal over Andy Warhol Farrah Fawcett art.
from The Telegraph: Ryan O'Neal, the actor, is being sued by the University of Texas over a $30million Andy Warhol portrait of his late partner Farrah Fawcett. Fawcett left all her art works to the university, where she studied, in a will following her death from cancer in 2009. There were two identical Warhol portraits, one of which the university has...Spokesman Arnold Robinson said: 'When Ryan introduced Andy to Farrah, Mr Warhol chose to complete two portraits of her, one for Ms Fawcett and one for Mr O'Neal. Mr O'Neal looks forward to being completely vindicated in the courts.'"
