Fundraising Campaign Reaches £20,000 To Keep Art Center

"Local and international artists are donating their work to a charity art auction in support of Save the Forest Campaign. The event is at the AXO Gallery in Leith between 13 and 15 May. AXO owner Sarah Wilson said: "By bidding in this auction, ..." [Read Full Article]

Published By: The Guardian
On: 04/06/11
Website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/



Looking for original art? Visit Artistically Connected today!

Sid Vicious' Art To Hit The Auction Block

"These pictures were all done when he was at art college, aged 15 or 16, and were probably part of his course work. "They are watercolours or sketches, and show a completely different side of the Sid Vicious people think of now. ..." [Read Full Article]
Published By: Contactmusic.com
On: 04/06/11
Website: http://www.contactmusic.com/

 

Looking for original art? Visit Artistically Connected today!

16th Century Portfolio Sets Islamic Art Auction Record

"The sale price, which includes buyer's premium, eclipsed the previous Islamic art auction record set at rival auction house Christie's last year, when a 17th century Kirman "vase" carpet from Persia fetched 6.2 million pounds. ..." [Read Full Article]

Published By: Los Angeles Times
On: 04/06/11
Website: http://www.latimes.com/

 

Looking for original art? Visit Artistically Connected today!

Rec Room Treasures: Special Hand-Me-Down Paintings

"The two 15-by-24-inch paintings, their varnish yellowed and crusted with dirt, are scheduled to be auctioned off May 15 at the Clarke Auction Gallery in Larchmont. While Mr. Maddox said Cropseys of that size have sold in a bustling art market for ..." [Read full Article]

Published By: New York Times
On: 04/05/11
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/

 

Looking for original art? Visit Artistically Connected today!

Artprice: the 2010 Art Market Annual Report - China Winner of the Past Decade

"Over the last 10 years, China jumped from ninth place to first place in 2010, becoming the world's largest auction marketplace for Fine Art and overtaking the United States and the UK, the grand masters of the market since the 1950s. ..." [Read Full Article]

Published By: PR Newswire
On: 04/05/11
Website: http://www.prnewswire.com/

 

Looking for original art? Visit Artistically Connected today!

The Art of Bubbles: How Sotheby's Predicts the World Economy

"In fact, tracking auction records and auction house stock is one of the best ways to smell out a simmering economic crisis. "As one of the world's leading art auction houses, Sotheby's has been a beneficiary of booms in the art market," he writes in ... [Read Full Article]
Published By: The Atlantic
On: 04/05/11
Website: http://www.theatlantic.com/

 

Looking for original art? Visit Artistically Connected today!

$10 Million Painting Boosts Chinese Contemporary Market

"In a $54.8 million sale of contemporary Chinese art from the collection of Belgian collector Baron Guy Ullens, a packed auction room bid ferociously for 106 works acquired over decades by the now retired tycoon. The star lot was Zhang's early 1988 work ..." [Read Full Article]

Published By: Reuters
On: 04/05/11
Website: http://www.reuters.com/

 

Looking for original art? Visit Artistically Connected today!

Auction Houses In Duel Under The Sun

"Eighteen million dollars (£11.2 million) of art and jewellery goes up for auction in Dubai this month as Bonhams and Christie's go head to head in a duel under the sun. By Colin Gleadell 12:09PM BST 05 Apr 2011 But the strategies and contents of the ..." [Read Full Article]

Published By: Telegraph.co.uk
On: 04/05/11
Website: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

 

Looking for original art? Visit Artistically Connected today!

Ai Weiwei's Public Art Project In Manhattan To Proceed As Planned

"The installation of Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads, a 12-piece sculpture to be installed at the Pulitzer Fountain near the Plaza Hotel and Central Park, 'will go forward even if Mr. Ai, who was detained by Chinese authorities on Sunday, is unable to be present.'" [Read Full Article]

Published By: New York Times
On: 04/05/11
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/

 

Looking for original art? Visit Artistically Connected today!

Triptych Sets Chinese Art Record

"A three-panel oil painting by artist Zhang Xiaogang has sold for 79m Hong Kong dollars (£6.3m) - a record auction price for Chinese contemporary art. The 1988 work, Forever Lasting Love, shows half-naked figures in an arid landscape surrounded by ..." [Read Full Article]

Published By: BBC News
On: 04/04/11
Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/

 

Looking for original art? Visit Artistically Connected today!

The Larry Gagosian Empire

"As the contemporary art market rebounds from the recession, Mr. Gagosian's art empire is exploding. In the last few years, he has opened new galleries in London, Paris, Rome, Geneva, Athens and Hong Kong, expanding his global art network to 11 galleries world-wide--the largest blue-chip franchise ever attempted in the industry." [Read Full Article]

Published By: Kelly Crow, Wall Street Journal
On: 04/01/11
Website:http://online.wsj.com/

 

Looking for original art? Visit Artistically Connected Today!

LA Museum Attendance Lags

"Only two Southern California institutions, the Getty Center and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, made the top-100 list in the Art Newspaper's international survey of museum attendance. With 1,205,685 visitors last year, the Getty came in 33rd, behind not just the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York with more than 5 million but also San Francisco's De Young Museum with 2 million and the Art Institute of Chicago at 1.6 million." [Read Full Article]

Published By: LA Times
On: 03/30/11
Website: http://www.latimes.com/

 

Looking for original art? Visit Artistically Connected Today!

The 2010 List: The World's Most-Attended Museum Shows

"The survey of 2010 exhibitions is more international than ever, featuring for the first time figures from several Brazilian and Korean venues. Japanese museums retain the top spots in the exhibition survey." [Read Full Article]

Published By: The Art Newspaper
On: 03/30/11
Website: http://www.theartnewspaper.com/

 

Looking for original art? Visit Artistically Connected Today!

Popular Open Air Fine Arts Festival Returns to Little Italy April 30, May 1

"Mission Federal ArtWalk has partnered with organizations including the Little Italy Association, the City of San Diego, the County of San Diego, CCDC, San Diego Museum of Art, and the San Diego Visual Arts Network to create a spectacular event that ..." [Read Full Article]

Published By: Mission Valley News
On: 04/01/11
Website: http://www.missionvalleynews.com/

 

Looking for original art? Visit Artistically Connected Today!

"Through the Garden Gate" Art show opening this week at Museo Gallery in Langley

"Museo Gallery on First Street in Langley this Saturday night, April 2nd, from 5-7 pm for the opening party of this spring's not-to-be-missed art show for gardeners. Owner Sandra Jarvis has assembled a collection of art pieces both practical and ..." [Read Full Article]
Published By: Valerie Easton, Plant Talk
On: 03/30/11
Website: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/

 

Looking for original art? Visit Artistically Connected today!

The Art and Music Worlds, Compared

"A few months ago, Alex Ross, The New Yorker's music critic, lamented the way that audiences have embraced modern art, but spurned modern music. People flock to museums to see challenging modern visual art, like Mark Rothko or Jackson Pollack -- so why ..." [Read Full Article]

Published By: Boston Globe
On: 03/28/11
Website: http://www.boston.com/

Looking for original art? Visit Artistically Connected Today!

Denver Museum's Controversial Plan To Sell Art To Build Museum

If Denver follows through with its recently announced plan to sell four of the 825 paintings destined for its new Clyfford Still Museum, the art world will be watching.

And perhaps questioning the ethics of the move.

The sale could net $25 million for the museum and generate considerable attention among dealers and museums because the late abstract-expressionist's works so rarely come on the market.

But there's a catch. While the sale does not technically violate guidelines established by the American Association of Museums and Association of Art Museum Directors for the sale or "deaccessioning" of artworks, it might not follow them in spirit.

Ethics rules insist that proceeds from the sale of holdings go

The Clyfford Still Museum will house 94 percent of the artist's output, including this 1940 self-portrait, PH-382, oil on canvas. (Clyfford Still Estate )

directly into acquiring other ones. Art museums can't use the money to pay salaries or cover utilities — or to beef up an endowment, as the Still Museum plans to do."Officially, they're not doing anything wrong. But obviously, it is problematic," said Janet Marstine, former director of Seton Hall University's Institute of Museum Ethics.

Still Museum director Dean Sobel believes the established guidelines do not apply in this case. The technicality: The privately funded museum, which is set to open late next year, has not yet officially taken possession of the pieces. They were bequeathed to the city of Denver when Still's widow, Patricia, died in 2005.

The museum petitioned a Maryland county court on Nov. 3 to permit the estate of Patricia Still, which has yet to be distributed, to release the four works early — before the formal transfer of ownership occurs.

"It's not deaccessioning by any stretch," Sobel said. But Marstine, now on the faculty of Britain's University of Leicester, calls the early release of the pieces a "loophole."

The ethics rules are intended to ensure that museum leaders do not sell artworks to balance budgets during crises — that pieces in the public trust are properly cared for.

Because museums are public institutions, Marstine said, a key issue is transparency. Decisions about what works are to be sold from collections — and why and how — need to be made in the open.

To that end, she said, the Still Museum's up-front announcement of this sale to the press this month helps to mitigate the ethical fallout from it.

For its part, the museum believes the good outweighs any bad. The money would create a major endowment that would assure the museum's long-term financial viability. It would cover not only exhibition costs and general expenses but also publications, research and symposia that would ensure it a key place in American art scholarship.

"I'm very excited about this," Sobel said, "because, if we're successful, it would be the capstone that would allow this institution to be all that it could be."

Still he insists, "Once we own those paintings as an art museum, we would not do this. It's a simple as that."

But nothing is simple about the arrangement between the city and the Still estate.

In 2004, Patricia Still gave her husband's holdings — 2,000 of his coveted paintings and drawings — to Denver in exchange for the city promising to build a museum dedicated solely to him.

There were also strict accompanying restrictions. Still's will and the donation agreement forbid such amenities as a museum restaurant or auditorium, and they do not allow the sale or loan of any works or the display of anything by another artist.

When Still's widow died a year later, the museum received an additional bequest of 400 works from her collection plus the artist's archives. The four paintings on the block would come from that holding.

According to Sobel, the caveats tied to the Still estate apply to his widow's bequest as well. But there is a key distinction: While Still intended his collection to always remain intact, Patricia Still donated or sold 13 of the works in her possession after her husband's death in 1980.

"We feel that precedent makes this appropriate," Sobel said of the planned sale.

Avoiding a free-for-all

One thing does seem clear, however. The paintings will be hot commodities at auction.

"They are few and far between," said Vivian Bullaudy, director of the Hollis Taggart Galleries in New York. "And you know the feeding frenzy that occurs when a particular collection is up for sale with works that haven't been seen or even handled in awhile."

But the Still Museum wants to avoid a free-for-all. Following the abstract-expressionist's practice of keeping tight control of the sales of his paintings, the works would be sold as a group to other museums.

Sobel chose a quartet of complementary paintings that provide examples from each of the three main periods in Still's career, including two of the artist's prime post-World War II abstractions.

Marstine applauds this approach. She said it is an important ethical consideration, because it would maintain public access to the works.

Bullaudy believes that there will be art museums with both the desire and financial means to purchase the four paintings.

"Right now, it's a little bit more difficult for some, with the expansion programs that they have going on, but material is becoming very difficult to find of a stellar nature," she said.

Kyle MacMillan: 303-954-1675 or kmacmillan@denverpost.com

---

 

A breakdown of Denver's proposed Clyfford Still paintings sale

Q: What pieces are being sold?

A: Because Still did not title many of his paintings, the proposed works for sale are known only by their inventory numbers. For the record they are: PH-351 (1940), 41 by 37 1/2 inches; PH-584 (1947), 69 1/2 by 59 inches; PH-89 (1949), 93 by 79 inches; and PH-1033 (1976), 93 1/2 by 83 inches.

Q: Will the loss of these paintings affect the quality of the Still Museum's offerings?

A: Still Museum director Dean Sobel said the works are similar to many other works in the museum's pending collection and will have no substantive effect on its future displays.

Q: When would the sale take place?

A: That depends on the court's schedule in Maryland, but the museum is not expecting to hear anything for two to six months.

Q: Will the sale be controversial?

A: That depends on whom you ask. According to Sobel, the answer is no. "I find it responsible and strategic and consistent with how Mrs. Still used this body of work," he said. But museum ethicist Janet Marstine suspects that concerns over a potential controversy around the sale led to the museum's decision to be proactive about discussing its plans with the press. "They are obviously trying to create some kind of transparency, so they can seem to be relatively above board about this," she said.

Q: What if no museum comes forward to purchase the four works?

A: No decision has been made as to what would be done in that scenario, but Sobel did not rule out the possibility that they could be sold on the open market.

Q: Should the public be concerned that there will be future sales of the art, especially if the museum runs into financial difficulties down the road?

A: On that issue, the public has Sobel's word. "It's absolutely clear in the agreement (with both Still estates) that once it comes to the city — remember that it's not there yet — that we can't do that," Sobel said. "And to the extent you believe what I say or what the board says, we wouldn't do it."

Q: The museum has secured more than $26 million toward its building during a tough economic time. Why is the sale necessary, given the success the museum has already had with fundraising?

A: Sobel believes the museum needs a major operations endowment to ensure its long-term viability. But finding money for endowments is typically more challenging than that for capital projects, and there is no guarantee that it could raise $25 million from donors. The sale offers a kind of shortcut, albeit a potentially controversial one.

Q: Why not sell a fifth painting and cover the remaining $2.7 million that the museum needs to cover its building's cost?

A: When the the city of Denver agreed to accept the Still estate in 2004, Sobel said, it pledged that it would raise the necessary funds to construct a building to house it.

This article is from: Denver museum's plan to sell four Clyfford Still paintings has art world watching - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_16588672?source=rss#ixzz15NtAlax4

Art Show: Nashville, TN

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption]

 

Bringing together the likes of Michael McBride, Juliana Ericson and James Threalkill is the Artlightenment art exhibit happening this weekend in Nashville, TN.  “Artlightenment uplifts the artist and in doing so, uplifts the culture,” says show organizer Robyn Morshead.

There will be workshops throughout the weekend by prominent artists Michael McBride and Pomm Hepner on creating a successful art career, promoting yourself as an artist and empowering yourself and your creative ability.

The artists will be available for a meet and greet on Saturday, Nov 14th from 6pm-10pm where complimentary light refreshments and wine will be served.

The Artlightenment exhibit is free, open to the public and for all ages. The workshops are for all artists attending the show as well as visiting artists, musicians, actors, people in the creative fields, or any person wanting to improve their career or start a new one.

The Artlightenment artist showcase is the creation of Nashville artist Robyn Morshead.  The event takes place annually in the Historic Fall School building at 1130 8th Avenue South, itself an awarded piece of historic art after being restored in 2009 by the Church of Scientology.  The show runs Saturday, Nov 13, 2010 12pm-10pm and Sunday, Nov 14 12pm-7pm.  For more information, visit www.artlightenment.com