Category: visual

“The brainchild of the artist duo Allora & Calzadilla, it is a pipe organ with an ATM embedded in its belly that is computer-programmed to play a tune when a person puts in their PIN number. … Naturally it has become quite the hot spot, with lines forming outside the pavilion all day.”

“They call themselves space architects, and although their numbers are pretty thin … they have big plans. [They] aim to be at the forefront of the most ambitious colonization project in human history, shaping it around not just what people need to survive in hostile alien environments, but what will help them feel human when they get there.”

“Five curators at the National Gallery of Canada are losing their jobs as part of cost-cutting measures, but the museum’s CEO says it will be hiring again around the end of the year. … The National Gallery has two dozen curators in all, making these most recent layoffs significant.”

“Alexander Gorlizki is an up-and-coming artist, known for paintings that superimpose fanciful images over traditional Indian designs. … [He] lives in New York City. The paintings are done by seven artists who work for him in Jaipur, India.”

“Any artist, living, known or unknown, can pay to submit work to the exhibition, which often sees Royal Academicians – “members” of the RA, considered among the greatest in their profession – have work placed alongside that of unknowns, much to their apparent chagrin.”

Kapoor’s “Ascension” was to be one of the highlights of this year’s Venice Biennale. The work, a whisp of smoke ascending from the floor to a huge extractor fan set in the ceiling of the Basilica di San Giorgio, an ancient church set apart on its own island, emphasises the “immaterial becoming object”, according to the artist.

“Most artists know what these prizes are about. They’ve got very little to do with art and much more to do with the institution.”

“A review is nearing completion on whether the UK needs three separate government collections. Altogether the Government Art Collection (GAC), the British Council collection and the Arts Council collection own nearly 30,000 paintings, works on paper and sculptures.”

The plan for the latest version of his project titled Ascension “was to rig the historic Basilica di San Giorgio to create a column of smoke, or shaft of light, that appears to rise from a central well of his own design and ascend all the way to the vaulted ceiling. But by the time the piece opened last night for the crowds, it looked more like a wisp of steam escaping from a pot of pasta.”

“The Metropolitan Museum of Art said Tuesday that its Alexander McQueen show, which it recently extended by a week to accommodate the overflow crowds, will be opened during special viewing hours on Mondays, when the Met is usually closed, for patrons willing to buy $50 tickets.”