Category: visual

“Radical art group Voina won a major art prize founded by the Russian culture ministry for painting a giant penis on a bridge in the northwestern city of Saint Petersburg, organisers said Friday. Voina won the prize for best work of visual art at the annual Innovation awards.”

“Art schools are the lifeblood of Britain’s arts scene, training painters, sculptors and conceptual artists, many of whom, like Damien Hirst (who studied at Leeds College of Art, and London’s Goldsmiths) and Tracey Emin (Maidstone Art College and the Royal College of Art), go on to have major international reputations.”

“Thieves stole around 1,000 relics from museums and archeological sites across Egypt since protests against the government broke out in January, Egypt’s minister for antiquities Zahi Hawass said Sunday in a newspaper interview.”

“In terms of public sculpture, we live in strange times. We no longer know what such statues ought to represent, having largely abandoned the old idea that they ought to be images in stone or metal of well-known public figures. Nor are we sure any more where to put the stuff.”

“Anyone walking through central London, where outstanding examples from the last three centuries abound, could be forgiven for thinking we’re world leaders in the field. Yet in recent years, we seem to have lost the manual. How else can you explain the rogues’ gallery of spavined mannequins that litters our streets and squares?”

“In the last year, two privately sponsored modern art museums have opened here, both on Vasilyevsky Island about a 20-minute walk from each other. That may not be close enough for the kind of buzz that rises from the densely packed gallery districts of New York, London or Moscow, but it is helping to turn Russia’s second-largest city and former imperial capital into a contemporary art contender.”

“During the 28-year tenure of Peter C. Marzio, who died unexpectedly of cancer in December, the museum’s yearly attendance increased to roughly two million from 300,000; its operating budget climbed to $52 million from $5 million, and its endowment reached $1 billion.”

“A self-made luxury goods magnate, Francois Pinault is internationally acclaimed for his cutting-edge art collection, consisting of 2,000 works, many acquired directly from artists such as Damien Hirst and Jeff Koons. But in France he has never shaken off a reputation as something of a wide-boy who made his wealth through takeovers of ailing companies, aided by political friendships.”

“The Sharjah Biennial, a sprawling art event in the United Arab Emirates that began in 1993 and is now in the midst of its 10th iteration, has been celebrated as a pioneer in bringing ambitious contemporary art to the Middle East.” But the ruler of Sharjah has had the director of the fair’s parent organization dismissed over a controversial piece of public sculpture.