Category: visual

“Does anyone, with the possible exception of bankers, want a symbol of how London is “powering its way out of the global recession”? As is now customary, with the mayor in charge of London’s aesthetics, I don’t believe we were ever asked.”

“Is there an art style of the Arab spring? No. Rather, there is a commitment to communicate using any means necessary.”

“Public art, as it is practised in modern Britain, demands a very different set of skills from the ones that give the world great art. The public artist must be able to negotiate with businesses, councils and arts bodies, to explain an idea and to supervise it through complex practical processes. Big art needs big planning.”

Sotheby’s auction sales for the first six months of the year reached $2.91 billion (£1.8 billion), a 35 per cent increase on last year, nearing its first six months record $2.95 billion in 2008. Christie’s auction sales figures are not yet available, but are thought to be close.

“For the first time in years, it seemed to be heading in a new direction this week as Christie’s opened the round of sales on Tuesday evening.”

“Guests staying at The Cullen, The Blackman or the The Olsen (all in Melbourne) don’t just receive an education but also the exhilarating experience of getting up close and personal with some of the best original artwork that Adam Cullen, Charles Blackman and John Olsen have produced.”

“The bust is on display in the Kimbell’s galleries with the permanent collection. Lee says the photograph of “Isabella” being transported out of the salt mine may be included on the label with the information that at one time she was intended for the Führer museum.”

The Barnes “has surpassed the $200 million fund-raising target for construction of its new facility on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. The foundation, which has struggled financially in its longtime location in Merion, also reported that it has seen rapid growth in museum membership – from 400 members two years ago to over 10,000 now.”

“The British Museum is celebrating another record-breaking year – the most popular cultural attraction in the UK for the fourth year running, with visitor numbers up by 5% to 5.8 million – and is having to clean the kisses of its admirers off display cases every morning.”

“As Greece grapples with its ongoing debt crisis, a major cultural project there is moving forward. Today, Renzo Piano presented his final designs for the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center, a privately funded project slated to rise on the Saronikos Kolpos waterfront in southern Athens.”