Category: visual

A Spanish raid on what authorities claimed was an illegal collection of antiquities hidden away from public view has turned out to be an embarrassing mix-up. “What the police described as ‘an illegal archaeological museum’ of ‘clandestine’ objects was anything but hidden. A dusty sign reading ‘Museo’ points to the entrance to the exhibition space, which, it transpired, was open to visitors to the winery and was frequently toured by local school groups. Furthermore, the little museum at the Toro Albalá Winery was included in cultural circuits proposed by the Córdoba tourist office.”

There was a time that American embassies around the world were architecturally interesting. “Unfortunately, the general artistic quality of recently completed embassy compounds, as well as the two-dozen or so now in the pipeline, is not high. We’re looking at a new generation of embassies that resemble American office parks. The unsatisfying design and generally exurban settings reflect the government’s need to quickly replace a huge stock of functionally obsolete and insecure facilities.”

“The bullish Canadian art market showed no signs of slowing down as Sotheby’s Canada sold more than 160 lots worth almost $6-million at its spring auction in Toronto, setting records for least four Canadian painters in the process.”

Scotland’s new Parliament building is about to open. Finally. After its budget came in 800 percent over projections. “Why has it been so very costly? The intricate design by the late Enric Miralles, of Barcelona, commissioned in 1998 and realised by the joint Catalan-Scottish practice EMBT/RMJM, is one of richness and great complexity. It has a style very much of its own, neither in nor out of fashion.”

“In a small corner of the giant construction site that is China, something rather quaint is happening: modern skyscrapers are giving way to Georgian terraces, concrete squares are being discarded in favour of English village greens, and instead of the usual eight-lane superhighways there are winding cobbled lanes. That, at least, is the ambitiously low-rise plan for a giant new satellite-city near Shanghai that aims to recreate the most picturesque elements of a British town to lure homebuyers from China’s newly affluent middle class.”

Museum competition in Vienna has grown fierce in the past year. “Over the last year, the Albertina has emerged as the surprising victor, attracting an audience of one million in its first 12 months. It is now the country’s most successful gallery, pushing the Kunsthistorisches Museum into second place.” But some are questioning the Albertina’s aggressive tactics in growing…

Many collectors buy art and horde it away in storage. But more and more high-end contemporary art collectors are following the example of Charles Saatchi and putting their art on public display.

“German collector Friedrich Christian Flick (grandson of a Nazi-era arms-maker) has offered his collection of modern art to a Berlin museum. But Jewish groups in Germany say the exhibit is based on blood money and should be refused.”

The Art Gallery of Ontario has had a terrible year. But. “Suddenly following a year of one horror story after another, beginning with falling attendance and budget cuts, good news bulletins have been emerging from the Grange with startling regularity.”

“The Art Gallery of Ontario has released details of architect Frank Gehry’s modifications and refinements in his design for the gallery’s $195 million makeover.”