Category: visual

A New Zealand family contends it has a painting by Gauguin that the artist gave to one of their ancestors. Gauguin experts doubt the claim so the family is having four hairs embedded in the canvas tested for DNA to prove their case. – Wired

He’s one of the world’s most celebrated architects, but so far he hasn’t had much built to show for it. Now Rem Koolhaas’s buildings are starting to pop up everywhere and he’s at the forefront of what has become “arguably the most exciting branch of culture.” – New York Times Magazine

At a cost of $360 million, Beijing’s Grand National Opera House, now under construction, figured to be controversial. Its bubble shape and the fact it wasn’t designed by a Chinese architect makes for a triple whammy. But the real battle here is for the soul of the capital – protests erupt as old Beijing is cleared away to make room for the new. – Washington Post

“After a quarter of a century in which high-rise architecture was completely off the agenda, we have embarked on an unprecedented bout of skyscraper building. Cities determined to make their mark have decided that a crop of new towers, preferably as exhibitionistic as possible, is the way to get noticed. In urban-renewal projects, a conspicuous high rise is now regarded as one of the most effective ways to make the middle of nowhere feel like somewhere.” – The Observer (UK)

Architect Norman Foster got his “gherkin” tower approved by the City of London last week. “Foster is a tough cookie; some of his competitors might go as far as to say he is ruthless. None doubts his genius as a designer.” – The Independent (UK)

After years of indifference about its architectural past, Los Angeles is looking backwards. But how to preserve and protect? And what? “In the end, a city should be a repository of memory but not a graveyard for buildings. As Los Angeles grapples with what to preserve and how to preserve it, it must also preserve the openness of spirit that created the great architectural experiment that runs from Gill to Gehry.” – Los Angeles Times

Twelve years ago David Childs designed a vast new project for New York’s Columbus Circle. But the version he redesigned which is now being built differs substantially. “There is more than one way to interpret this difference: public opinion could be changing; Mr. Childs could be changing his aesthetic; or the difference could mean less than meets the eye.” – New York Times

Tate Modern has been harshly criticized by the director of another London museum for relying on insider jargon, failing to coherently contextualize its work, and explaining very little in fact about modern art. “I went to Tate Modern as someone who knows very little about modern art but is keen to learn. I left in exactly the same state. Why doesn’t Tate Modern try to help its visitors learn techniques for assessing a piece of modern art instead of plonking the art in a gallery and hoping for the best?” – The Independent (UK)

The Art Gallery of Windsor in southern Ontario made a deal with the provincial casino. In return for renting the museum’s old space, the casino paid $8 million in rent and built the museum a new $20 million home. Now the city council, eyeing the museum’s good fortune, wants to discontinue the museum’s annual $500,000 city support. – CBC

A rare collection of old master paintings, French furniture, silver, and sculptures from the collection of diamond merchant Julius Wernher (former governor of the South African conglomerate De Beers) sold at Christie’s in London Wednesday night for $30.4 million, twice its $15 million estimate. – New York Times