Artistic Hearsay

Hong Kong - Christie's held its Asian Contemporary Art Evening Sale tonight in Hong Kong, recording solid results with 98% sold by value and 89% sold by lot. Two contemporary Indian works were featured in this sale together with other top-tier Asian counterparts - TV Santhosh's 'Hundred Square Feet of Curses' (Lot 504, sold for HK$740,000/US$95,238) and Jitish Kallat's 'Universal Recipient 1' (Lot 505, sold for HK$860,000/US$110,682). More contemporary Indian works will be presented tomorrow as Christie's continues its Asian Contemporary Art Day Sale in Hong Kong.Hong Kong - Christie's held its Asian Contemporary Art Evening Sale tonight in Hong Kong, recording solid results with 98% sold by value and 89% sold by lot. Two contemporary Indian works were featured in this sale together with other top-tier Asian counterparts - TV Santhosh's 'Hundred Square Feet of Curses' (Lot 504, sold for HK$740,000/US$95,238) and Jitish Kallat's 'Universal Recipient 1' (Lot 505, sold for HK$860,000/US$110,682). More contemporary Indian works will be presented tomorrow as Christie's continues its Asian Contemporary Art Day Sale in Hong Kong.

Dr. Hugo Weihe, International Director Asian Art and International Specialist Head, Indian & Southeast Asian Art at Christie's, commented, "The Indian works at tonight's Hong Kong Asian Contemporary Art Evening Sale were presented alongside other premier works from the rest of Asia. With strong demand from international bidders, the lots were eventually sold to non-Indian buyers, indicating the growing international allure of contemporary Indian art across all continents. We look forward to tomorrow's Day Sales which will feature other exceptional Indian works profiled with other Asian art."

Successful artists know that marketing goes far beyond postcard mailings to galleries. Great marketing puts your artwork in front of customers who would like to purchase it and keeps them coming back for more. And that requires forming relationships. Here's Ashok Art Gallery, the people you need to know and how to make connections that will lead to sales.Include an "artist pack" (information about Artist and hisr art) with every painting they sell. Invite collectors to all of their important shows. Hosts collectors-only open house or party. Invite collectors to a special preview the night before their exhibitions. Send handwritten thank-you notes after they come to one of their shows.we believe in using the technology of the future to help you access the treasures of the past.We are looking on developing in the very near future, a fully online art auction facility enabling you to place bids from the comfort of your own desk.We are committed to create a definitive exciting, 24 hr online , all year round, International art and antique fair.
International Art Gallery operating from New Delhi, India, hosts more than 200 artists from 17 different countries. Art gallery, gallery, fantasy art, landscape art, nude, abstract art, fine art, wall art, art, artwork, painting, oil painting, landscape painting, Acrylic painting, indian art, indian artists, contemporary artists, art news, indian art market, indian art news, buy art.Last year we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations. Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India. We have also participated at Art Expo India 2008 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi.

In a move that will benefit students, art historians, and casual viewers alike, Spain's Prado Museum has teamed up with Google Earth for a project that allows people to view the gallery's main works of art from their computers--and even zoom in on details not immediately discernible to the human eye.

The initiative, announced Jan. 13, is said to be the first of its kind involving an art museum. It involves 14 of the Prado's choicest paintings, including Diego Velazquez's "Las Meninas," Francisco de Goya's "Third of May," Peter Paul Rubens' "The Three Graces," and Hieronymus Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights."

"There is no better way to pay tribute to the great masters of the history of art than to universalize knowledge of their works using optimum conditions," said Prado director Miguel Zugaza.

Google Spain director Javier Rodriguez Zapatero said the images now available on the internet were 1,400 times clearer than what would be rendered with a 10-megapixel camera.

"With Google Earth technology, it is possible to enjoy these magnificent works in a way never previously possible--obtaining details impossible to appreciate through [even] firsthand observation," he said during a news conference at the museum.

Google Earth is a free service provided by the internet search engine company that uses satellite technology to reproduce maps and finely detailed images of places throughout the world, from people’s houses in American cities to beaches or forests in Africa.

The Prado idea was the brainchild of Google worker Clara Rivera.

"There is nothing comparable to standing before any of these paintings, but this offers a complementary view," Rivera said.

"Normally you have to stand a good distance away from these works, but this offers you the chance to see details that you could only see from a big ladder placed right beside them."

With the click of a mouse, she showed examples including that of a minuscule wasp on the petal of a flower just above the head of the women in the Rubens work. Another gave a microscopic glance of a teardrop in Roger van der Weyden's "Descent from the Cross."

The project involved 8,200 photographs taken between May and July last year, which were then combined with Google Earth's zoom-in technology.

"With the digital image we’re seeing the body of the paintings with almost scientific detail," Zugaza said. "What we don’t see is the soul. The soul will always only be seen by contemplating the original."

Rodriguez Zapatero said there were no immediate plans to extend the initiative to more of the Prado's paintings or to other museums. He said Google had footed the entire bill, but he declined to give any details of costs.

The images can be seen by going to Google, downloading the Google Earth software, then typing in "Prado Museum" in the search engine. Once the museum zooms into focus, click on the square with the name of the museum.

 

Their love for art is well known. But it was only last Friday that fashion designer duo Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna launched their dream project, Palette Art Gallery in New Delhi ; Golf Links. “Finally it's here,” said an excited Gandhi. “Art has been a passion for me – I've been collecting paintings for the last 10 years,” he says.

The exhibition, titled Red, on view till March 6, features young artists Anju Dodiya, Anjum Singh, Chintan Upadhyay, Ravi Kashi and Rekha Rodwittiya among others.“It's an atte-mpt to be serious about art. I feel Mumbai appreciates more of serious art than Delhi where it tends to be more on the decorative side,” points out Gandhi. The whole purpose behind the gallery is to promote young artists, he adds.

Lending moral support was the designer duo's fri-end, Ruheen Jaiswal, a good friend of Bollywood actor Fardeen Khan. An art lover, she said: “The two are good friends. Though I haven't bought any painting, Rohit has commissioned an artist to do one for me.”

Other good friends, who turned up to congratulate them included Vijay Arora, who's planning to showcase traditional chikankari work teamed with Chinese embroidery during the Indian Fashion Week, J J Valaya, Tarun Tahiliani, Nitin Bha-yana, Anupam Poddar, Ranna Gill, Satish Gujral, Jatin Das, Shamshad Husain and Manu Parekh. 

 

One of the most original and outstanding painters of contemporary India, Prokash Karmakar confirms in his works the rich inheritance of Indian art and the dynamic spirit of the modern age. Born in Calcutta in 1933 he has lived through wars, famine, communal riots, and partition, and his powerful brush has caught the anguished search of his age for meaning and direction in bold lines and rich colour. His magnificent distortions offer a profound insight into the hidden matrix of experience.

Prokash’s father Prohlad Karmakar, a pioneer of modern printing in India, died early leaving Prokash to fend for himself. Prokash had a hard life in his boyhood and youth – he found shelter in station platforms, city parks, brothels and pavements – and all this experience enriched his creative imagination. In spirit he remain a bohemian whose head is warms and generous but whose head in unbowed to any authority.

In 1968 Prokash get an Academy Award of a Fellowship which took him to Paris to study the Master Painters Creations and other great country of artistic activity in Europe. He gradually achieved in his style a rich and original aesthetic fusion from Eastern and Western art while retaining in every on his strokes the authentic stamp of his individuality. He has exhibited in innumerable solo and group shows. His paintings have been acquired for their collection by the Modern Art Gallery, New Delhi, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Calcutta, Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta, Allahavad Museum, Allahabad, U.P.,  Lalit Kala Akademi, Lucknow, U.P., Art Heritage of India, New Delhi, and by many governments and private collections throughout the world.

He is one of the most powerful artist in India. His landscapes are unparalleled. It has the true essence of India, and … at the same time very modern. His figures his lines, bold distortions are simply magnificent. He himself is now an Institution and many young contemporary painters are following his path.

The last few decades have seen a surge in the Indian art industry. Breaking free from the shackles of the ‘cottage industry’ tag, impressive sales figures have helped the art market in its runaway growth. With over a hundred A-list galleries in the metros alone, not to speak of smaller towns with their share of local artists catering to the local market, it is surprising that India has only produced a handful of professional curators. The last few decades have seen a surge in the Indian art industry. Breaking free from the shackles of the ‘cottage industry’ tag, impressive sales figures have helped the art market in its runaway growth. With over a hundred A-list galleries in the metros alone, not to speak of smaller towns with their share of local artists catering to the local market, it is surprising that India has only produced a handful of professional curators.

 

On his recent visit to India, Dr Robert Storr, Dean of the Yale School of Art, had emphasised the importance and need to develop a school for curators. “Curating is not just about putting a show together, it is a professional and powerful voice. In India, I see the growth in sales and the impressive price tags, but where are the curators?” asks the former curator in the Painting and Sculpture section of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

This is a big year for India; first, because it occupies a place of pride at several important art destinations across the world, and second, because it marks the coming of age of artist Krishnamachari Bose as a curator of international repute. Having curated the Indian Pavilion at ARCO, Madrid, in February, Bose is on to his next big achievement—a show within a show, curated by him at the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo, Norway.

In celebration of International Women’s Day this year’s competition at Walker Street Gallery in Dandenong, asked artists to create works interpreting the theme of 'She who discovers'. Works exhibited are in a wide range of medium. 2009 promises to be a creatively diverse and exciting exhibition and runs from March 2 through March 26, 2009. Winners will receive exhibitions at sponsoring galleries, Darebin Arts & Entertainment Centre and Frankston Arts Centre. Trisha Lambi has been selected as a finalist in the competition. Lambi has been a Premiere Portfolio Artist at absolutearts.com since 2001.

more....http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2009/03/02/35426.html

The world's largest painting, Panorama Mesdag, is to be digitised and made available for viewing on the internet. The cylindrical painting, housed in a purpose-built museum in The Hague, measures 120 metres by 14 metres. It is to be photographed in detail at high resolution. The museum says the photos will provide unprecedented possibilities for study and restoration.

Panorama Mesdag was painted in 1881 by Hendrik Willem Mesdag and his wife Sientje over a period of four months. It shows a 360-degree view from the sand dunes of The Hague's seaside resort, Scheveningen. Vincent van Gogh apparently said of the painting, "Panorama Mesdag has only one flaw, and that is that it has no flaws

China has reversed its decision to lend Asia Society nearly 100 objects from Chinese museums for an exhibition that focuses on revolutionary Chinese art from the 1950s through the ’70s, scheduled to open on Sept. 5 in Manhattan, the society’s president said.

Manny Farber, a painter whose spiky, impassioned film criticism waged war against sacred cows like Manny Farber, a painter whose spiky, impassioned film criticism waged war against sacred cows like

Orson Welles and elevated American genre-movie directors like Howard Hawks and Sam Fuller to the Hollywood pantheon, died on Monday at his home in Leucadia, Calif. He was 91.

The contemporary asian art fair in Singapore 2008 from October 10,2008 to 13, 2008.

http://www.artsingapore.net/about_as.html

New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) For Indians unfamiliar with the fraternity of artists in Pakistan, master modernist Jamil Naqsh can be best described as Pakistan’s M.F. Husain - a man who lives by his art and on his own terms. India-born Naqsh, Pakistan’s leading modern artist, who leads a reclusive life in London, will host his first-ever solo show in the capital Sep 15 at the Alliance Francaise - exhibiting a cache of 40 paintings.New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) For Indians unfamiliar with the fraternity of artists in Pakistan, master modernist Jamil Naqsh can be best described as Pakistan’s M.F. Husain - a man who lives by his art and on his own terms. India-born Naqsh, Pakistan’s leading modern artist, who leads a reclusive life in London, will host his first-ever solo show in the capital Sep 15 at the Alliance Francaise - exhibiting a cache of 40 paintings.

http://indianartnews01.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html

Richard Wilson has been described as Britain’s most prominent installation artist. He is perhaps best known as the man who sold Charles Saatchi a thousand gallons of used sump oil, and, having represented Britain at the Sydney, Sao Paulo and Venice Biennales and made major museum shows and public works in countries such as Mexico, USA, Italy, Japan and Croatia, his international reputation precedes him. This year Wilson gave us Turning The Place Over, an astounding architectural intervention for Liverpool's year as European City of Culture 2008.
Richard Wilson has twice been nominated for the Turner Prize and was awarded the DAAD Fellowship in Berlin 1992/93. In 2006 Wilson was made a Royal Academician.

Rise Up International is sponsoring a Painting Party
Event being held on Friday, August 1, at the Poet
House Art in Bend. Twenty local artists will be
painting during the August Art Walk, so that people
can watch all of the artists 'in action'. This is a
free event! We will be painting two canvases, each 6'
by 18', in an individual and collaborative like manner
from 5pm-9pm. These canvases will be the focal center
point for the Art for India Fundraiser that is to be
held Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008.

The goal for the Art for India Fundraiser is to raise
money, resources and awareness specifically for Rise
Up's schools and orphanage in India .

To read more about our project visit:
http://riseupindia.wordpress.com/art-for-india-fundraiser/

Artist Abani Sen, one of the earliest modern masters, was more popular as teacher, than as an artist. The money he made teaching art took care of his vocation and family.

That was the era when India was battling to shake off the British, the troubled years between 1930 and 1947 when several artists, known as the “progressive group”, were struggling to come into their own.

There is a renewed demand for Indian art in both the domestic and global market, a trend that has proved to be a windfall for artists.

Das' horses are difficult to come by and cost more than Rs.10 million now. People are willing to spend on art both as an investment and for the love of the medium. This hikes the demand of Indian art and artists all over the globe.

The New South Wales police force has decided not to prosecute the Roslyn Oxley9 gallery in Sydney or the artist Bill Henson for an exhibition of works that was shut down by the police.

On 22 May, police seized nearly 30 works by Henson just before his solo exhibition was about to open to the public. The show included photographs of naked adolescents which some people considered offensive. Catherine Burn of Central Metropolitan said: “The Police did receive complaints,” and thus were obliged to investigate.

A spokesman for the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery confirmed that the police seized 12 photographs from the walls, and took a further 17 works from a storeroom. The gallery said that all the works were returned on Tuesday 10 June. Though the gallery was closed pending the investigation (during which time it showed at Art Basel), it reopened when police announced no charges were to be made. The Bill Henson exhibition was reopened to collectors by appointment and ended on 21 June.

In 1969 the Los Angeles County Museum of Art purchased its first major art collection, one that was described in contemporary newspapers as the greatest of its kind in the Western world. The purchase consisted of 345 South Asian and Himalayan sculptures, paintings, and decorative objects. Its acclaim rested upon the impeccable quality of the artworks, which had been selected by the renowned art dealer Nasli Heeramaneck for his private collection.

The twenty-nine paintings in this installation, which range in date from the mid-sixteenth through the early nineteenth century, were produced in the Hindu kingdoms of northern India and the Himalayan foothills. They include some of the best Rajput and Pahari paintings in the Heeramaneck collection and highlight the keen aesthetic sensibilities of a discerning collector.

The price curve of Indian art is shooting north in the global market because of “increased consciousness” about it, say experts. This has been brought about by greater visibility of art and artists from the country and easy access to relevant information about Indian art from the internet, they say.

On June 11, a painting by F.N. Souza, an Indian artist who spent the better part of his life in New York, sold for $2.5 million, while an untitled painting by Tyeb Mehta (Figure in a Rickshaw) fetched 982,050 pounds setting new price records at the Christie’s auction in London.

Five of contemporary artist Subodh Gupta’s works were also sold in the same auction at record prices for 121,250 pounds while his “Magic Wands” and “Cotton Wicks” were sold for 169,250 pounds and 15,000 pounds respectively.

All these and many more such instances prove that the world is becoming a die-heart fan of Indian artists.

Bombay born UK based sculptor Anish Kapoor was the only Asian artist in the top 10 prices achieved at Sotheby’s Contemporary Day Sale at Bond Street London on July 2 2008.

Kapoor’s untitled black belgian granite work achieved a price of US$960,575. Born in 1954 and educated at the Chelsea School of Art and Design, Kapoor emerged in the 1980’s as one of a number of British sculptors working in a new style.

The theme of the exhibition is RED. A wide range of inspired artwork will be on view
and for sale focusing on the use of recycled materials.

“ReCreation Studio” is an eclectic group of artists/designers established in 2006.
Recycling materials, manipulating fabric and sharing inspiration is at the heart of the ReCreation Studio.

Enigma Gallery One in Bebington, Wirral, specialises in selling fine art and providing a professional picture framing service. It is open from 7July to 19 July 2008 at 10am – 5pm, Monday to Saturday with free parking at the front and off Kingsway. Further details are available from www.enigmagalleryone.co.uk or by telephoning 0151 609 1010.

New Delhi, Dec.22 (ANI): The India International Center (IIC) in the national capital suspended an art exhibition of artist M.Hussain after reportedly receiving threats from right wing groups.

The exhibition began on Tuesday under heavy security. The prestigious hub of liberal political and artistic discourse in the capital is yet to decide on continuing the show.

The exhibition features 20-odd prints from his Mughal India series. It is the first large-scale show of Husain’s works after almost 19 years.
Hussain is currently in self-exile in Dubai after protests in India over his bold depiction of Hindu goddesses.

After an era of struggle, Tyeb Mehta, an Indian artist from Mumbai, saw one of his paintings break the records for contemporary Indian work, at Christie's, New York.

Tyeb Mehta's paintings fetch the highest prices of any living Indian artist: recent pick, "Mahisasura," a 1997 rendering of the buffalo-demon of Hindu mythology, brought $1.58 million at Christie's in New York, the first time a contemporary Indian painting had crossed the million-dollar mark.

While the Osian Film Festival get highlighted next weekend, groove your mind. Opt masterpeices of Indian and Asianart from the Osian's Archieve and Library collection will be on display. Look out for artefacts from many cultures in countless styles and mediums. Timmings for the exhibition are from 10am-7pm.

 

Gallery KH is showcasing a unique Photo Fusion by Robert Berlin and M. Ellen Cocose. The Photo Fusion opens at the night of the 13th Annual Vision Event, Friday July 18 and closes on August 31, 2008.

“Wonderlust” is staging the State Art Collection which traits Indian, Australian and International artwork. This exhibition is a synchronization of painting, sculpture, photography, paper work, craft and projections.