Category: visual

“Despite the glut of works circulating worldwide, the 15-minutes-of-fame Pop artist has now become the second-highest-grossing artist after Pablo Picasso. Indeed, auction houses are discovering that the world’s art-collecting glitterati are happy to pay several million pounds for ‘original’ Warhols.”

“One of the most deadening trends in recent years has been the Great Chinese Art Swindle. For years now we’ve been hearing about the vibrancy of the art coming out of Beijing and Shanghai – and it’s all baloney. Time after time, I’ve gone to shows of this stuff only to find that it wasn’t worth taking the trouble to review, only to read a few months later about the record prices the very same works were fetching at auction.”

“Much of Rafael Moneo’s €152m (£100m) extension is underground; the classical, red-brick pavilion that announces the presence of the extension is the tip of the architectural iceberg. It’s a substantial construction, made of concrete, granite, marble, oak, cedar, steel and bronze – with glass only where it really matters.”

The major new expansion to the Seattle Art Museum is the result of a real estate deal with Washington Mutual Bank. “If SAM would sell a big chunk of its downtown block to WaMu, the bank would manage the development, become a paying tenant in part of the added space SAM would get, and provide construction loans for the $375 million project.”

Portland architect Brad Cloepfil has his hands around several high profile arts projects, including the new Seattle Art Museum. “I think as my work is evolving; there are moments of sensing the actual space as a thing. We have few opportunities in buildings to actually do that. That’s not a critique of any particular building or architecture, but those moments are rare when you say, God, this is really euphoric. It’s emotional.We all have those moments in our lives: That’s the place that feels like that.”

The Royal British Columbia Museum opened an exhibition of native Canadian artifacts this weekend. But tribal leaders who showed up to speak at the opening were not impressed. “These treasures were intended to be passed from generation to generation. The way they were taken was one of the biggest mistakes that was ever made, and has been repaid.”

“Within a decade, in a whirlwind of fundraising and construction, SAM has raised more than $200 million to fuel an intensive growth spurt that culminates with the dedication of its airy new downtown venue. The expanded building dramatically increases the museum’s space for exhibitions, education and community gathering.”

Robert Fitzpatrick is ending a decade leading Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art. When he began, the MCA had just moved into a new building. His thoughts on the building? “It’s housebroken. It’s like a shoe that was unbelievably rigid and made you stand perfectly straight but, oh, God, were you uncomfortable. We’ve learned to be comfortable in the building. We’ve made it more flexible. We’ve not been afraid to break down some walls to make the place a little bit more supple.”

New York’s Cooper-Hewitt Museum is pushing ahead with an expansion. “Yet even in the middle of progress, the Cooper-Hewitt, which collects and exhibits design objects, has drawn criticism for what some art-world figures view as tepid ambition and lackadaisical collecting. In an independent report commissioned by the Smithsonian and released last month, a committee of experts said it was worried about the museum.”

It took Lorenzo Ghiberti 27 years to make the iconic bronze doors for Florence’s Duomo. They are a Renaissance masterpiece. The doors have now undergone a restoration that took 25 years. And they’re making a one-time tour of the United States…