Visual Arts News from the Vancouver Art Gallery Library, May 6, 2010

Vancouver

Vancouver Art Gallery replacement pitched

“I do think they make a compelling case for needing a new facility,” Councillor Helen Deal said. “There’s a wide range of public opinion on that, but they’ve certainly made the case very well that they do need a new building.” Georgia Straight, May 6, 2010

Haida artist Robert Davidson earns Audain Prize

“The $30,000 Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts will be presented to Robert Davidson on May 12 at the Vancouver Art Gallery.” Georgia Straight, May 6, 2010

Playful painting machines meet peeing bears in Richard Jackson's Collected Works

“The first Canadian exhibition of his art and also his first major solo show in North America since 1988, Richard Jackson: Collected Works spans four decades and includes paintings, sculpture, neon, and drawings.” Georgia Straight, May 6, 2010

Edmonton

Art leaps Out of the Shadows

"Art has really been a stepping-stone for me into other facets of life and opportunities," said Heidi Polier-Reed.” Edmonton Journal, May 5, 2010

Ottawa

Monet canvas donated to National Gallery

“A Claude Monet painting depicting dramatic rock formations on the coast of Normandy has joined the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Canada.  Montreal arts patron, collector and philanthropist Marjorie Bronfman has given Rock Needle seen through the Porte d'Aval to the Ottawa gallery.”  CBC News, May 6, 2010

Los Angeles

If the Picasso Was Out of Reach, Maybe Its Former Home Will Do

“Picasso’s “Nu au Plateau de Sculpteur” sold for a record-breaking $106.5 millions, but the home of the art patrons who owned it is still available, for $24.95 million.” New York Times, May 6, 2010

New York

Another Auction, Another Trophy

“The record-breaking sale of a Picasso at Christie’s seemed a bit ho-hum.” New York Times, May 6, 2010

Racing To Be The Biggest Spender On A Middling Picasso

"Let's imagine, for a minute, that this picture truly was a great cultural landmark. Would Tuesday night's record deserve celebration, even then? What would a Martian anthropologist make of a society that produces a roomful of bidders with such vast reserves of surplus cash that they can drop more than $100 million on a fancy picture -- while millions of their fellow citizens have their homes repossessed?" Washington Post, May 6, 2010  

London

Nicholas Serota Explains Tate Modern's Need To Expand

"The museum of the 21st century should be based on encounters with the unfamiliar and on exchange and debate rather than only on an idea of the perfect muse.... It has to have some anchors or fixed points for orientation and stability, but it also has to be a dynamic space for ideas, conversations and debate about new and historic art within a global context." The Art Newspaper, May 6, 2010

Did Christie's Sell A $150M Da Vinci For $20,000?

"Christie's is facing a bitter compensation claim after a drawing it sold for £11,400 as a 19th-century German picture was claimed to be a 15th-century Leonardo da Vinci worth £100m." The Guardian (UK), May 5, 2010

Shanghai

The Letdown That Is Britain's Shanghai Expo Pavilion

"After queuing for up to five hours in the blazing heat, all expectant Chinese visitors have discovered inside the prickly pavilion is ... well, nothing. No enticing British exhibits, no music, no welcome drinks and snacks, not even a film, much less a presentation showing the best of British design and innovation, or all the zillions of things the British buy from the Chinese." The Guardian (UK), May 5, 2010

International

Through Fund, Artists Are Investing In Their Future

"APT is an art investment fund with a twist--the artists contribute the works themselves, and the trust is structured to provide future income for the artists. Now in its seventh year, it has a global portfolio of 1,100 artists and a collection of more than 4,500 works, which it values at $45m." The Art Newspaper, May 6, 2010