World Art News at IrishArt.com

Alan Clement - Irish Contemporary Artist

2008-06-28T08:55:00.005+01:00

Much of Alan Clement’s unique visual language and subject matter derives from city and urban buildings. Clement's spaces are devoid of human life. They appear permanently deserted; totally abandoned in a post-human world. The decaying, linear structures and the severed pipe-like interconnections of the buildings seem fractured and deeply leeched by time. Door spaces are either completely open or resolutely closed. The bleak city and its infrastructures may still just be there - but humanity has gone. The visual beauty and compositional ambiguity of Clement’s paintings is powerfully evocative. With quiet harmonies, many of these deceptively simple paintings present as tranquil and balanced; others have greater emotional intensity of color with more fluid mark-making. The lyrical arrangement of the abstract architectural forms gives a ethereal, subliminal meaning to these spare yet complex compositions. Clement offers viewers a clear choice - make a direct, raw emotional response or dig deeper and interrogate his iconic images for hidden meanings suggested in all his paintings. His highly individualized and personal iconography radiates a visual, emotional and intellectual intensity. Like his architectural icons, these spare, lyrical paintings still cling tenaciously to physical reality - despite their abstract qualities. His affinity for the work of Hopper, Scully and more deeply for Richard Diebenkorn's Ocean Park series is revealed in Clement's championing of horizontal and vertical structural compositional elements and in his atmospheric veils of luminous colour". © Oleksa Szkocja 2008 Contact artist@alanclement.com

Picasso Museum Heist

2008-06-14T10:36:00.000+01:00

About noon, three armed men paid the entrance fee of £1.25 and immediately went to the second-floor art gallery where Picasso's were being exhibited. "This indicates to us that they probably received an order" for the specific art works, said Youssef Abou Chain, head of the police's organised crime unit in Sao Paulo, South America's largest city. The assailants overpowered three unarmed museum guards and grabbed the works. The robbery took just 10 minutes and the art museum was nearly empty at the time. The assailants took the pieces - frames and all - out of the museum in two bags. The institution has no metal detectors. In December, Picasso's Portrait Of Suzanne Bloch and a painting by influential Brazilian artist Candido Portinari were stolen from the Sao Paulo Museum of Art by three men who used a crowbar and car jack to force open one of the museum's steel doors. The framed paintings were found on January 8, covered in plastic and leaning against a wall in a house on the outskirts of the city. One of the suspects in that heist - a former TV chef - turned himself over to police in January, who already had two suspects in custody. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

U2 Art Might Fetch £5 million

2008-06-12T19:18:00.002+01:00

A painting by Jean-Michael Basquiat, which belongs to U2, will be auctioned in London next month. The piece of art, Untitled (Pecho/Oreja), which was completed in 1983, is expected to raise over £5 million. The art could challenge the current record for a Basquiat painting, which stands at £7.4 million. According to the BBC, the painting was originally spotted by the bands bassist Adam Clayton at an art gallery in New York and has hung in a the band's studio ever since. Speaking about the piece, Oliver Barker, of Sotheby's Contemporary Art department, said that “it seems especially appropriate that a work of art by Basquiat should end up in a music studio, since so much has been said about the relationship between his art and music." Basquiat, who was originally a graffiti artist, died from a drug overdose in 1988

Controversial Art Shows

2008-06-10T08:07:00.000+01:00

A controversial performance art exhibit titled "The Assassination of Hillary Clinton/The Assassination of Barack Obama" was shut down by police in Manhattan and the artist was interviewed by police and released without charge, reports Mark Crudele on ABC.com. The Boston-born performance artist Yazmany Arboleda set up his art exhibition at a vacant storefront and wrote THE ASSASSINATION OF HILLARY CLINTON/THE ASSASSINATION OF BARACK OBAMA in white stenciled letters on the front window. New York police officers and secret-service agents quickly shut down the exhibition. Arboleda was taken to the Midtown South police precinct for an interview. In other news, a Melbourne artist's exhibition of a series of nude photographs of eleven-year-old boys to protest against the censorship of photographer Bill Henson's work passed without incident tonight, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Victoria Larielle's works, taken in 2001, were displayed under the provocative title “I am not a pornographer nor a pedophile but an artist.” A police spokesman said a Melbourne detective had visited the art exhibition but no charges were expected. Last month, police had seized twenty Henson photographs of a naked adolescent girl and boy, as Artforum.com noted. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

'Collectors Choice' - Irish Art Exhibition

2008-06-04T07:14:00.002+01:00

As a result of approaches to a number of Irish art collectors, a few were persuaded to offer works for sale by this innovative gallery. Some of the Irish art collectors own dozens of individual artist's works and were happy to see some of them move on to new collector's homes; others simply wanted to release resources to purchase new artists. Whatever the reasons, the result is a feast of work by some the best established talent in Irish Art and some of the most sought after emerging artists on the Irish art scene. The 36 works shown in 'Collectors Choice' date from the 1960's to the present day and range through most media from pencil to oils. The artists - some with multiple works are - Basil Blackshaw, JB Vallely, Markey Robinson, Jane Swanston, George Campbell, William Crozier, Colin Middleton, Tom Carr, Noel Murphy, Geoffrey Key, Jonny McEwen, Colmghall Casey, Alan Thompson, David Johnston, Ian Gordon, Lesley Rainey, Rosie McGurran, Ted Roocroft, Paul Donaghy and Gary Devon. Unmissable - from 11th June - 11th July SqSpace Gallery, 34 Shaftesbury Square, Belfast

Govt Opens Art Vault

2008-05-07T08:33:00.001+01:00

The public are to be given the chance to view an art collection that they own but can only rarely see, which includes art works by artists such as Andy Warhol, Thomas Gainsborough, LS Lowry, and Lucian Freud. For one afternoon only, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is opening the doors to a vault that holds the Government Art Collection. Pieces are usually only exhibited in government buildings and embassies, but on Saturday, May 17, free tours are being offered of a small selection from the 15,000-strong art collection at a storage facility in London. Its origin dates from 1898, when the Office of Works was made responsible for the art displayed in government buildings across the world. Those wishing to see the art collection must book a place by emailing gac@culture.gov.uk or calling 020 7580 9120. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Monet Art Sets Record

2008-05-07T08:32:00.000+01:00

The auction price for Claude Monet set a new record Tuesday as an early work by the French impressionist artist was sold for more than $41 million dollars, media reported. "Le Pont du chemin de fer a Argenteuil" -- a painting of a bridge with two trains passing over the Seine while pleasure boats float below -- was sold at a Christie's sale for 41,481,000 dollars, said Rik Pike, a spokesman for the art auction house. "It is the quintessential early Monet. We will not see another one this good for a long while, I don't suppose, unless this one lures a few out," Christie's honorary chairman and the evening's auctioneer, Christopher Burge, said. The previous record for a Monet painting was 36.5 million dollars for his 1904 "Nympheas," which was sold last year. Christie's said the buyer wanted to remain anonymous. The sellers were reportedly the Nahmad family, dealers with art galleries in New York and London. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Quatar Buys Art

2008-05-03T22:13:00.001+01:00

The rulers of Qatar have paid tens of millions of pounds for art works by two of Britain’s best-known modern artists. The al-Thani family, who are trying to build up their art collections in the Gulf state, have bought Francis Bacon’s Study from Portrait of Pope Innocent X for £26m and a Damien Hirst sculpture for just under £10m. The purchases by the al-Thanis, detailed on the website of The Art Newspaper, also included a work by the American artist Mark Rothko for £36m. Qatar is planning a network of museums and galleries. It is being advised by the British Museum and Lord Rothschild, the financier and art expert. Several Gulf states are aiming to build new museums, both to help them compete for western tourists and to promote a more outward-looking image. Plans include branches of the Louvre and the Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi. The Qatar family, led by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, has been buying art for several years, but specialised in Islamic or older European art works. The change to buying the likes of Bacon and Rothko is “really exciting”, said John Martin, director of the Dubai-based Gulf Art Fair. “These are, frankly, dream pieces,” he added. “You need to buy the highest order from the top artists if you want international museums.” (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Sued For "Trash" Art

2008-04-26T07:07:00.000+01:00

The Art Newspaper reports that American artist Robert Rauschenberg has sued an artist in Florida, claiming violation of his rights under the US Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990. According to Rauschenberg, the defendant, Robert Francis Montgomery of Florida, who also paints under the name of Robert Fontaine, sold art works purportedly by Rauschenberg which Rauschenberg did not create, with certificates of authenticity. Rauschenberg alleges that this violated his rights to protect the attribution of his work. Montgomery says there was no violation of artists’ rights because Rauschenberg created the disputed art. His lawyer told The Art Newspaper that Montgomery found a group of “chromes,” or large negatives, in Rauschenberg’s trash in 1998. Although most of them were given away or discarded over the years, “a piece was sold”, Mr Freeman said. He disagrees that this diluted Rauschenberg’s name or prejudiced his reputation, saying: “Why does the lion want to eat the mouse?” Rauschenberg is seeking “to prevent the use of his name as being the author of any work of visual art which he did not create”, his court complaint says. He alleges damage to his image from the sales, which he says jeopardise the economic value of his legitimate art works, and damage his reputation. The suit seeks to enjoin Montgomery from doing anything likely to confuse or deceive others into believing that art not attributable to Rauschenberg came from him. He is also seeking the destruction of all items in Montgomery’s possession bearing Rauschenberg’s name or claiming to be his work, and all profits allegedly wrongly derived from using his name. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Christie's Irish Art Sale

2008-04-23T22:34:00.000+01:00

Works by some of Ireland’s most celebrated artists - including Le Brocquy, Lavery and Paul Henry - are on display in Dublin just weeks before going under the hammer. Sourced from private collections all over the world, almost 170 pieces will be auctioned at the annual Irish Art Sale at Christie’s in London on May 8. Bernard Williams, International Director of Irish Art at Christie’s, said this year’s annual auction offers an impressive selection of works representing 250 years of Irish art. But he said with local sales rooms now putting pressure on international auction houses, more rare works are being sourced worldwide. “Christie’s international leadership of the art market has once again seen us source works from around the world,” he said. “There is a significant number of market-fresh consignments from America, Canada and Australia which are in Ireland for the first time in many years.” Among the pieces on show in Dublin is Henry’s Showery Day on the Bog, which Mr Williams brought on a Greyhound bus and Amtrak passenger train from New Hampshire to New York, where a shortage of taxis then forced him to carry the painting on a rickshaw. Since Christie’s staged its first annual sale dedicated to Irish Art in 1996, world record prices have been paid at auction for a number of leading artists including George Barret, Gerard Dillon, JB Yeats, Henry, Lavery and Thomas Roberts. The sale is expected to realise in excess of €4.5m. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Small Art Galleries Best

2008-04-19T08:17:00.000+01:00

In Victorian times, Woking was known as a place for the "mad, the bad and the dead" because of its large cemetery, Zoroastrian burial ground, crematorium and asylums. The title was relevant until 1993, when a group of determined locals shook off the shadows of the past by helping to open its first art gallery and museum. Yesterday, that museum featured on the nation's largest art prize shortlist, which was dominated by small regional art galleries or exhibitions that have opened over the past year. The Lightbox Gallery and Museum in Woking, the Shetland Museum and Archive in Lerwick, and an anti-slavery exhibition at the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum in Bristol were all selected for the Art Fund prize, which recognises Britain's best new or renovated art galleries and shows in the past 12 months with an award, for the winner, of £100,000. All except the fourth shortlisted venue, the Wellcome Collection, which opened its doors in central London last year with the help of £30m from the Wellcome Trust, are small-scale venues or exhibitions that were up against some of the goliaths of the art world on the long list. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Titanic Art Show - Belfast

2008-04-17T10:31:00.002+01:00

A special solo Irish art exhibition from Bangor painter Jim McDonald opens tonight thursday 17th of April 5am-9pm at the SqSpace Gallery (http://www.SqSpace.com) 34 Shaftesbury Square, Belfast. McDonald has represented life in Belfast in a poignant way, focusing on street children, pub scenes and the camaraderie in the city's shipyards from the bygone era. A set of commemorative Royal Mail stamps showing McDonald's paintings of the Titanic and the Nomadic will also go on sale coinciding with the exhibition. The first-class stamps will be marking the 96th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic and will be the first in a series being rolled out every year until 2012, the centenary of the cruiser's tragic voyage. The exhibition will run until the 1st of May. Irish Art

Irish Art Auction - Dublin

2008-04-17T10:28:00.001+01:00

Important Irish art auction of le Brocquy, Lavery, Leech, Yeats, Keating, Dillon, Campbell, O’Neill, Middleton, Hennessy, Blackshaw, Scully, Teskey and many others. Catalogue at http://www.whytes.com. Visit Whytes at 38 Molesworth Street, Dublin to view on 18&19th April 12-5pm and 20-22 April 10-5pm. Auction on Mon 28 April at 6pm at RDS, Ballsbridge. Irish Art

Munch Art May Fetch $28m

2008-04-16T05:22:00.002+01:00

Bloomberg's Scott Reyburn reports that a painting by Edvard Munch is expected to fetch a record $24 million to $28 million at Sotheby's May 7 auction of Impressionist and modern art in New York. The 1902 canvas "Girls on a Bridge" has been offered for sale by the U.K. businessman Graham Kirkham, founder of DFS Furniture Plc retail chain, said London art dealer Alan Hobart of Pyms Gallery in a telephone interview. Over the years Hobart has bought a variety of works for Kirkham, including works by George Grosz, Monet, Bacon and Old Masters such as Orazio Gentileschi. The Munch work had been acquired for what was then a record $7.7 million with fees at Sotheby's New York in November 1996, according to the saleroom result tracker Artnet. The sale of "Girls on a Bridge" didn't signify that Kirkham would be curtailing his art collecting, Hobart said. "No question," he said. "We'll still be buying." According to Artnet, the auction record for Munch is the £6.2m with fees paid for the 1904-1908 painting "Summer Day" at Sotheby's London in February 2006. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Global Art Prices

2008-04-15T13:54:00.000+01:00

Artprice reports that the art market was bound to be affected by the turbulence seen in international stock markets this first quarter. As the impact of the subprime crisis rippled out through financial systems and the international economy, seven years of soaring gains in the price of artworks were brought to an abrupt halt. For the first time since the twin towers attack of 11 September 2001, the art market has been showing signs of a fall. According to the International Monetary fund, the financial crisis will cost close to USD 1 trillion. The IMF goes on to explain in its latest Global Financial Stability Report that the crisis has now spread beyond the US subprime market and, specifically, is now impacting the leading markets for office and residential property, consumer credit and corporate debt. In this environment, nobody doubts that the Fine Art auction market, too, is starting to reflect the gathering gloom felt by investors the world over. In the first quarter of 2008, international art prices were 7.5% below those recorded in the last quarter of 2007. That said, because of the incredible 18% rise in 2007, this still left prices at 1 April 2008, 13% above those seen 12 months previously. As prices have fallen, so we have also seen an 18% reduction in the number of sales at auction compared to 2007. But tight supply has kept bought-in ratios relatively steady, at close to 35% in the first three months of the year. By taking a prudent line, setting realistic reserve and estimated prices, sellers and auction houses have been able to find buyers for 65% of lots on the stands.  With the steep decline in the dollar, Europe felt the full force of the slump, and prices were down by 9% over the quarter. Art prices in the euro zone have slipped back to their year-ago levels, wiping out in three months a whole year of euphoric gains in 2007. The uptrend in volumes on the European art market, meanwhile, looks to have stopped dead in its tracks.  In the USA, the Fed has been trying to stave off recession by one drastic rate cut after another, taking its Funds rate down from 5.25% in September 2007 to 2.25% by March this year. The impact of the financial crisis on the US art market may not become apparent for another month, when we see what happens at Christie’s and Sotheby’s prestigious Contemporary Art sales, scheduled for 13 and 14 May in New York. The weakening greenback and galloping inflation could actually give a short-term boost to auctions bid in dollars. To join ArtPrice go to http://www.IrishArt.com and look for the ArtPrice logo at the bottom of the Home Page. Key in any artist to check prices and join. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Banksy's CCTV Art

2008-04-15T02:31:00.002+01:00

The Daily Mail reports that Banksy pulled off an audacious stunt to produce what is believed to be his biggest art work yet in central London. The secretive graffiti artist managed to erect three storeys of scaffolding behind a security fence despite being watched by a CCTV camera. Then, during darkness and hidden behind a sheet of polythene, he painted this comment on 'Big Brother' society. 'One nation under CCTV': CCTV failed to catch Banksy. Yesterday the scaffolding gang returned to remove all evidence - again without the camera operator stopping them. The work, above a Post Office yard in Newman Street near Oxford Circus, shows a small boy, watched by a security guard, painting the words: 'One nation under CCTV.' Andrew Newman, 35, a businessman from Dulwich, who works locally, said: 'It was only on Sunday morning that the Post Offices guys realised what had happened.' (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

George Michael's Art Collection

2008-04-14T08:33:00.000+01:00

George Michael and his partner Kenny Goss are displaying their contemporary art collection across the water in a US art gallery. The Goss-Michael Foundation's exhibition, in the couple's art gallery in Dallas, Texas, is currently showcasing their collection of edgy, contemporary British art at their sleek gallery in Dallas' hip uptown area - just north of the skyscrapers that define the city's distinctive skyline. Goss says, "We want to expose the Dallas art community to work that they've quite potentially never seen if they weren't able to travel, these works that in some ways may be a little controversial for one thing, a little strong. "But let's face it, art a lot of times is about sex, love, death, loss." Native Texan Goss, who has been with the singer for 12 years, says the art gallery enables the pair to share a portion of Britain's art scene with a US audience: "It works great for us. We live in Britain almost all the time. We have a house here."So we collect amazing art in Britain, bring it to Dallas and everybody gets to see it. It keeps us busy in both places."(For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

William Crozier

2008-04-12T06:51:00.005+01:00

William Crozier - one of the most influential painters in Irish art today - has his first solo exhibition in N. Ireland at the Mullan Gallery on Belfast's Lisburn Road. Seven new oils feature with works on paper and prints. Crozier’s art is instantly recognizable. His paintings, drawings and prints create a visual language which captures the absolute essence and look of the subject in hand. Landscape, still life and the intense experience of familiar things form part of what Crozier is about. However, fundamental to his work is the process of composition through the masterly use of light, structure and vibrancy of colour. The show marks the publication of the first major study of Crozier’s work - giving new insights into the history of figurative painting in Britain. It provides a detailed survey of his wide-ranging work over the last 50 years, placing it within broader European traditions as well as relating it to Scottish, English and Irish art. The book will be available for sale at Mullan's gallery. This is a must-see show which runs from thursday 17th of April to 5th of May and can be seen at Mullan Gallery

Freud Art Might Fetch £18m

2008-04-12T06:38:00.003+01:00

The Daily Mail reports that a painting of a naked JobCentre manager by Lucian Freud is expected to become the most expensive picture by a living artist ever sold when it goes under the hammer in New York next month. The 85-year-old artist's huge canvas is predicted to make up to £18million for its owner, a European art collector, at a Christie's sale on 13 May. The auction house is putting the 1m x 2m picture on show at its King Street offices today, Monday and Tuesday, the first time it has been seen in public in Britain. Today, the woman in the picture, 51-year-old Sue Tilley, who works in a West End JobCentre, told how it was almost never painted. The first time the artist met her, in a Soho nightclub 20 years ago, he criticised her lipstick. “He said it had too many blue tones. "The next time we met was over lunch at the River Café and I wore a different lipstick,” she said. She knew she was effectively being interviewed for the role of artist's muse and was briefed on how to behave by their mutual friend, performance artist Leigh Bowery. I went to Lucian's house in Holland Park. "I like a bit of excitement but I was still mortified when I got there and he told me to take my clothes off. "For the first picture I had to lie on the floorboards in a most uncomfortable position. “I was in agony and I thought about giving up. But we work hard in my family so I stuck it for the whole nine months. “For the picture on the sofa I only had three days off in two years. Every weekend he expected me to be there and I couldn't go on holiday because I couldn't get a tan,” she said. She was astonished by the estimate Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, 1995, has attracted. “I'm beside myself. Wait till I tell my mum,” she said. “If I had the money I'd buy it myself because it's my favourite.” She added: “I might go to the art exhibition. I'm sure no one would recognise me.” (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Rotting Cow Art

2008-04-11T06:30:00.000+01:00

The Telegraph reports that Damien Hirst's controversial art work of a cow preserved in formaldehyde has caused a headache for staff at a Tokyo art museum because of Japan's strict import ban on British beef. Hirst's Mother and Child, Divided, consisting of a cow and a calf each sliced in half, is part of a retrospective of Britain's controversial Turner Art Prize at The Mori Arts Museum. Due to Japan's ban on British beef after the mad cow disease outbreak, the museums' representatives had to convince customs officials that the cow was indeed art, and not dinner. "I think my staff explained that it's not for eating," Fumio Nanjo, Director of the Mori Art Museum, said. However, once the cow had cleared customs, the problems didn't end there. The orginal cow and calf - which won the 1995 Turner art prize - had started to rot, so the museum has had to replace them with a new and improved version that is usually displayed at the Astrup Fearnly Museum in Oslo. "The original cow was decaying very fast. This is the second version," Nanjo said. Furthermore, for their trip to Japan, the carcasses had to be taken out of their original formaldehyde solution, and will be re-pickled for the Tokyo exhibition. Fearing that formaldehyde fumes could poison staff as the liquid is poured into the cow's glass case, the museum has pledged to install a ventilation system. This will involve major construction work, including drilling a new shaft through the ceiling. It isn't the first time Hirst's penchant for picked animals have caused a stir. In 2006, Hirst had to replace his pickled shark, titled "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living", with a new one after the original had begun to rot. Nanjo however, seemed unperturbed by the bureaucratic hic-cups. "This is a major work for the art show. So we cannot give up," he said. History in the Making: A Retrospective of the Turner Prize, at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo's Roppongi neighbourhood, will run from April 25 to July 13. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Saatchi's New Art

2008-04-10T16:18:00.001+01:00

More than 20 years after he unleashed the first wave of Young British Artists on an unsuspecting public, Charles Saatchi is to present a new art exhibition of work by the next generation of YBAs. New Britannia is due to open in summer 2009 at Saatchi's new London art gallery, and will feature works by more than 42 artists, many of them from Saatchi's own collection. One of the earliest collectors of artists such as Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst, Saatchi has a keen eye for new UK talent, and lent 110 of his works for the infamous 1997 art show Sensation at the Royal Academy of Arts. Among the works on display in New Britannia will be miniature animal sculptures by Tessa Farmer, sketches in black ink by Scotland's Donald Urquhart, paintings by Toby Ziegler, and Happiness, an installation by Barry Reigate. Saatchi's previous gallery, in London's County Hall, closed in 2005. The opening of his new premises in Chelsea, originally expected earlier this year, is now planned for the summer. Its 70,000 sq ft will make it the largest independent contemporary art space in the capital. The gallery will house the permanent installation 20:50, Richard Wilson's pool of recycled engine oil; there will also be a series of temporary displays. As well as New Britannia, these will include exhibitions of art from India and China, according to the gallery's Annabel Fallon. "Our inaugural exhibition will be The Revolution Continues: New Art from China," Fallon says. "We expect to follow this exhibition with our sculpture show The Shape of Things to Come and other exhibitions, such as New Britannia." (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Titanic Art In Belfast

2008-04-08T23:54:00.003+01:00

A special solo Irish art exhibition from Bangor painter Jim McDonald will be hosted by the SqSpace Gallery (http://www.SqSpace.com) from April 17th to May 3rd. McDonald has represented life in Belfast in a poignant way, focusing on street children, pub scenes and the camaraderie in the city's shipyards from the bygone era. Oil paintings by the artist will be the centrepiece of the exhibition, but visitors will also be able to enjoy sketches and art prints. A set of commemorative Royal Mail stamps showing McDonald's paintings of the Titanic and the Nomadic will also go on sale in April coinciding with the exhibition. The first-class stamps will be marking the 96th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic and will be the first in a series being rolled out every year until 2012, the centenary of the cruiser's tragic voyage. Howard Nelson, chairman of the Titanic Heritage Trust which has produced the stamps in conjunction with Royal Mail, told the Belfast Telegraph: "We will be using different artists for each set of stamps, but we rather liked Jim McDonald's interpretations." (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Banksy's £2m For Art Wall

2008-04-07T20:23:00.000+01:00

Famed graffiti artist Banksy has been offered a cool £2m to paint one of the walls of George Michael's North London pile. According to a report in the Daily Mirror, Michael wants the Bristol-based street artist to deface a huge wall in his Hampstead mansion to go along with two of Banksy's canvasses he's already splashed out on. However, Banksy has some strict guidelines Michael will need to follow if he hopes to employ the services of the UK's most reclusive artist. An unnamed source tells the newspaper, "George is a huge fan of Banksy's work and asked his representative if he would reveal himself to the singer. He also asked if Banksy would paint one wall in his house for £2million. Apparently, Banksy has insisted on remaining undercover and will only go ahead if George goes out for the duration.rt The pair are in discussions over how to organise things." (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Artist Commits Suicide

2008-04-01T07:43:00.001+01:00

Angus Fairhurst, one of the group of "Young British Artists" who stormed the international art scene in the 1990s, has died, a spokeswoman said today. He was 41. Erica Bolton said Fairhurst committed suicide Saturday during a walk in a remote part of Scotland. Born in 1966 in Penbury, southern England, Fairhurst studied at London’s Goldsmiths College in the 1980s, where his contemporaries included Damien Hirst, Gary Hume and Sarah Lucas. They and their work — first exhibited in the 1988 art exhibition "Freeze" — were central to the group of provocative and playful young artists. Patronage by art collector Charles Saatchi and intense media attention brought riches and fame to several of the group, notably Hirst and Tracey Emin. Fairhurst had a lower profile, but his paintings, sculptures and installations were exhibited around the world. His work was included in the 2000 "Apocalypse" exhibition at the Royal Academy. In 2004, Fairhurst, Lucas and Hirst collaborated on the "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" art show at Tate Britain. Fairhurst’s last show was at London’s Sadie Coles gallery last month. Fairhurst "made some of the most engaging, witty and perceptive works of his generation and was an enormously influential friend of other British artists who came to prominence in the early ’90s," said Tate director Nicholas Serota. "We shall all miss him greatly." Hirst said Fairhurst was "a great artist and a great friend." "He always supported me, in fair weather and foul, he shone like the moon and as an artist he had just the right amount of slightly round the bend," Hirst said. "I loved him." (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art

Art Finds In Strange Places

2008-03-31T11:04:00.001+01:00

The Daily Mail reports that as art by Picasso go, it might be considered a steal. The chance to own one of the great painter's works has come up - with a guide price of just £100,000. The seven and a half inch by four and three quarter inch watercolour shows the artist naked in bed with one of his many girlfriends. It is being sold by an anonymous private art collector, to the delight of the auctioneer who was called to value the painting along with works by two other well known artists. It is considered rare in the art world for works by artists of such repute to be sold by regional auction house instead of the famous companies of London and New York. But Duke's auction house in Dorchester, Dorset, is to sell the small watercolour by Picasso entitled "Etreinte" as well as equine paintings by the British artists George Stubbs and Sir Alfred Munnings. The sexually-charged Picasso piece depicts the artist and his lover in bed and was probably painted in 1901 or 1902 when the artist was in his early 20s. In 1969 the Spanish master was shown the painting and confirmed its authenticity on the reverse of the picture. He also recalled dedicating the cover of the sketchbook from which it came "Pour Louise". Louise Lenoir, known as Odette, is thought to have been Picasso's first girlfriend in Paris. The same auctioneer was responsible for finding art worth millions in the terraced house of the late spinster and art collector Jean Preston. At her home in Oxford they found a 19th century watercolour by the English painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti in the kitchen, and an oil painting by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, which was kept in the living room. Treasures already taken from the house include a rare edition of the works of Geoffrey Chaucer found under a cardigan in a wardrobe. It was later sold for £74,000. And hanging behind the door in the spare bedroom were two lost 15th century Fra Angelico paintings worth an astonishing £1.7million. Next month's auction by Duke's will include the work by Stubbs (1724-1806) which is thought to have been painted for John Thane, 10th Earl of Westmorland, who was Lord Privy Seal (1798-1806). The oil by Sir Alfred Munnings (1878-1959) is entitled "The Irish Grey Mare" and it retains the original giltwood frame by Townshends of Norwich. (For full source and full article click the Headline). Irish Art