Nahmad Collection @ Kunsthaus Zürich (w/ PHOTOS)
The Nahmad family, based in Monaco, has been collecting masterpieces of art from Impressionism to Surrealism & later for two generations. Kunsthaus Zürich is the first museum which has ever organized an exhibition of paintings based on this iconic collection including works by Mattise, Modigliani and Kandinsky. The museum cites two major reasons for organizing Miro Monet Mattise: The Nahmad Collection: first, the selection of works on display reveals preferences (for particular periods & artists) and Continue …
Rob Reiner to Direct George Clooney in Stage Reading of (Proposition) “8″
When thinking about theatre, in or out of Hollywood, heartthrob George Clooney’s name does not appear anywhere on one’s list of considerations. However, the director of the Ides of March and the star of The Descendants will appear in a one night (only) reading of the play “8” at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre (in Los Angeles) on March 3, 2012. Written by Oscar-winning screenwriter of Milk Dustin Lance Black, “8″ is a response to the federal trial Continue …
Queen Elizabeth (Taylor) & La Pérégrina Pearl (VIDEO)
Also see, The Other Jewels in Elizabeth Taylor’s Life As reported by The Artnewspaper, one of the most outstanding objects sold at the Christie’s auction of the late Elizabeth Taylor jewelry collection was La Pérégrina, a pearl that once belonged to Mary I of England. The piece was presented to her by Philip II of Spain at the time of their marriage, in 1554. The pearl, having returned to Spain after Mary’s death, was given to Queen Continue …
The Other Jewels in Elizabeth Taylor’s Life
Last night, the sale of Elizabeth Taylor’s collection of jewels at Christie’s brought in $116 million. The auction house’s estimate for 80 objects in the Taylor collection had been valued at $20 million. Needless to say that leading up to the event, much ado had been made about the late British-born American actress’ life. During the 10-day exhibition held at Christie’s New York, some 25,000 visitors had paid $30 to view the objects that are going Continue …
Cocktail Culture @ Norton Museum of Art
West Palm Beach, FL - Norton Museum in West Palm Beach is hosting a multi-disciplinary exhibition that explores the social rituals of the cocktail hour through the lens of fashion and design. The show features more than 150 objects, including attire, accessories, ads, decorative arts, illustrations, photography and more from the 1920s to the present. The objects are draw from the collections of the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Newark Continue …
Bennett’s Lady Gaga Goes on Auction
Tony Bennett’s portrait of Lady Gaga is on sale on eBay Celebrity for $5,000. The nude portrait was executed during an Annie Leibovitz shoot for Vanity Fair. The proceeds of the sale will benefit both singers’ foundations: Bennett’s Exploring the Arts and Gaga’s Born This Way. Bennett and Gaga recorded the 1937 Hart and Rodgers classic The Lady is a Tramp, early in the fall (2011).
Chanel’s Fantastic(al) Paris-Bombay Show
PARIS – During the last few seasons, Chanel has found inspiration in the aesthetic histories of such ancient Eastern cultures as the Byzantine Empire and China. This year, Karl Lagerfeld has brought a variation of Indian-inspired fashion to the hundred year old Parisian house’s table. That is by literally staging a feast fit for a Maharajah & a Maharani’s wedding. The show took on a special resonance since it was staged at the historic Grand Continue …
Wim Wenders’ PINA wins Best Documentary @ European Film Awards (VIDEO)
Last night, German filmmaker Wim Wenders’ PINA won the Best Documentary at the European Film Awards. Conceived as the first 3D dance documentary on the late choreographer Pina Bausch (1940-2009), PINA Dance Dance Otherwise We Are Lost premiered Out of Competition at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival. The film, written and directed by Wenders, will represent Germany at the 84th Academy Awards, early in 2012. Both artists (Bausch & Wenders) are natives of Düsseldorf. Other Continue …
The First Actresses & Original PinUps @ NPG London
LONDON – The National Portrait Gallery in London celebrates its 155th birthday today. Among the institutions perpetually seductive exhibitions is The First Actresses – Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddon. Of course, the show is not about the first theatre actresses – an art form whose textual heritage dates back to …well, at least two and a half millenia. However, the exhibition is focused on a highly celebrated group of British theatre stars whose fame have lasted Continue …
Recession? What Recession? @ PAN Amsterdam
AMSTERDAM – The 25th anniversary of PAN Amsterdam was a resounding success. Even before reviewing the fair organizers’ official statistics - 51,595 visitors and successful sales across various fields -, my visit to Rai Park on a Friday morning was proof enough that the (same) organizers of TEFAF Maastricht have, once again, done what they do best: organize and manage a most aesthetically inspired and efficiently run art event. Focused primarily on Dutch art, antiques and Continue …
In Conversation with Swiss-German Dealer Bennet Vertes
Salis & Vertes is one of Europe’s most prestigious modern and contemporary art galleries. Founded in 1994, its exhibition spaces in Zurich and Salzburg showcase some of the most iconic, museum-quality works of art spanning the past 150 years. Earlier this year, Bennet Vertes founded Vertes Modern in the heart of Zurich with a fresh program of art to appeal to younger collectors. I met the younger Vertes at the start of Autumn, in Zurich… – MuseumViews – Continue …
Hotel Ambassade’s Iconic CoBrA Art & Book Collections
During my last visit to Amsterdam, earlier this year, a friend had suggested that I stay at Hotel Ambassade in the heart of the Dutch capital. Founded in 1953, the hotel is located on Herengracht, the first of the three major Canals that were created circa late 16th century. What I found particularly distinctive about Ambassade was its impressive collection of works from the European avant-garde movement, CoBrA art. Adapting its name from the Continue …
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation. Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous Continue …
Your name: Jeroen Evertz (1973) Born: Trintelen (NL) Lives in: Maastricht (NL) Artist’s statement – ‘I like to remember things my way, not necessarily the way they happened’ – Fred Madison Because of often contradictory interests, it is hard to decide what is real and who decides what is real nowadays: advertisements, politics, technology, nature or we? I would like to add my works to this list. As a research to the simultaneous existence of Continue …
German filmmaker Wim Wenders is considering a 3D documentary on architecture. Following the recent success of PINA - the first 3D dance documentary on the late choreographer Pina Bausch (1940-2009) – Wenders revealed his next project in a recent interview with the Documentary Channel, “I have always wanted to do a film about architecture, and I have a lot of architect friends. But that is another subject I never really knew how to approach with film. I realized through PINA Continue …
Surreal, funny and provocative, Jerry Uelsmann‘s photographs are icons of American photo history. His most famous technique — seamlessly fabricating photographs from unrelated negatives to create imaginary scenes — cemented his standing as a leading light of non-literal photography. A new exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum combines Uelsmann’s most celebrated works with many never-before-seen pieces for his first retrospective in 40 years. PEM is one of the most prominent museums on the East Coast Continue …
The Portugese Synagogue in Amsterdam will be officially reopened today in the presence of Queen Beatrix. The Esnoga, dating from 1675, has been extensively restored in the past two years. The synagogue is still in use and its interior is still as it was in 1675. Restoration became a necessity when the foundations appeared to be in such a bad state that the annexes around the synagogue became endangered. The restoration also gave the opportunity Continue …
In 2012, Germany’s most famous film studio will celebrate its 100th year in existence. Studio Babelsberg is the largest film studio complex in the world. The Studio’s first production was Danish director Urban Gad’s Der Totentanz (The Dance of the Dead), in 1912, starring Asta Nielsen. Studio Babelsberg has served as a (filming) stage for some of the most critically acclaimed movies in the history of cinema, including: Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (The Last Laugh, 1924), Fritz Lang (Metropolis, Continue …
*Wishing You & Your Families A Very Merry Christmas* - Gendarmenmarkt is undoubtedly one of Berlin’s most historically significant squares. It is home to the Konzerthaus (c. 1818-), the French and German Cathedrals (c. 1701-) as well as a statue of the great German poet and playwright Friedrich von Schiller ( 1759-1805). Tragically, most of the square and its building were savagely damaged or even destroyed in great parts, during World War II. Since undergoing Continue …
Director of the Russian Ark is in negotiations with the Louvre Museum to create a film in the style of his 2002 masterpiece. Last Thursday, Alekzandre Sokurov‘s producer Andrei Sigle stated that the French museum has approached the director to make a movie like the one filmed at the Hermitage. Winner of Visions Award at the 2002 Toronto Film Festival, Sukorov’s film involved “2000 Actors. 300 years of Russian History. 33 Rooms at the Continue …
Here is yet another reason to schedule a visit to the Austrian Film Archives. One of Europe’s formost institutions of its kind, the Archive is holding a retrospective of films by the classic comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. Celebrated for their edgy, slapstick and even at time physically violent humour, the Anglo-British duo defied traditional (or often any kind of) narrative while creating an entertainment style that was copied by numerous other comedic acts. The Austrian Continue …
