The Art Newspaper reports that the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is planning a show next year devoted to pop star David Bowie. It would be great if the V&A could take this opportunity to get Mr. Bowie’s King of the Goblins costume from Jim Henson’s 1986 film Labrynth, and show it, along Read More
Jake and Dinos Chapman, the British sibling art duo who have made a name for themselves creating offensive artwork have done it again. For their contribution to the Grundy Art Gallery’s exhibition “Doug Fishbone and Friends: Adventureland Golf,” they created a statue of Adolf Hitler as a golf ornament that raises its arm in salute when a ball goes through it. Read More
On November 2, a show of early portraits by Frank Auerbach will be exhibited in a special loan show at London’s Offer Waterman Gallery. The show comprises the years 1954-1978, a time in the artist’s career that includes his first solo show at Beaux Arts Gallery in 1956 and his joining of Marlborough Gallery in 1965. Read More
First we hear that L.A. MOCA has an upcoming show on the history of disco and its impact on art, ”Fire in the Disco,” which at one point was rumored to have been canceled. Not only is that show a go, but the Victoria and Albert Museum in London also has some disco fare on tap. The exhibition “Hollywood Costume,” set to open in October, will explore the role of costume in storytelling and offer a very rare treat—the white polyester three-piece suit worn by John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. What you might not know is that the suit kind of went MIA in 1995, until it was recently rediscovered. Read More
The Olympic Games, with the massive influx of people it has brought to London this summer, has produced only mixed results for the city’s arts organizations, according to The Guardian. At the British Museum, visitor numbers are down 25 percent, but the National Theatre has reported nearly full houses every night. Read More
Over strong tea and scones with clotted cream at the London hotel in Midtown, we learned that Brian Allen, the director of studies at the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, is retiring after 20 years in that position and 36 years on staff at the PMC. Mr. Allen will be succeeded by Mark Hallet whose role will begin on Oct. 1, 2012. Read More
Though we couldn’t hear it, a round of applause was apparently heard in the salesroom when Daphne Guinness’s metallic mini dress by the late designer Alexander McQueen sold at the Christie’s auction for $123,709, according to the house’s Twitter feed. It was a new world record price for McQueen at auction. The auction for the Daphne Guinness Collection brought in a total of $744,285 with 88 percent of lots sold. Read More
Browsing the Twitterverse this morning, we stumbled upon an image of a painting by Vinny Reunov to be included in the upcoming Phillips de Pury contemporary art day sale, and lo and behold, it features an image of the one and only Simon de Pury in a smart gray suit behind a podium with his arm up as if in the throes of a heated auction battle. Read More
Pablo Picasso’s Femme Assise sold for $13,427,747, topping Christie’s Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale in London, which brought in a total of $145.5 million. Eighty percent of the lots sold. The sale also broke two artist records along the way. Read More
The Shard, architect Renzo Piano’s new London building, which has reached its full height the city’s skyline, according to The Guardian, has been accruing the ire of Londoners ever since the design was first spawned 11 years ago. Among the complaints are that it’s too tall, disruptive of historic views and a waste of energy. But to others, it’s a breath of 21st-century air. Read More
