Video of Ai Wei Wei's Zodiac Heads from asiasociety.org

   I was having a look at the Asia Society website (here) and saw this little video. I've pinched it to put on here, so please have a look at their site by way of a thank you.

 

   If you want to see a bigger image of this, then copy and open the following code in a new window:

                        http://media.asiasociety.org/video/110516_zodiacheads.flv

   How I got this will probably be the subject of a future post titled something like 'How to pinch stuff off websites using Firefox and Adblock Plus'

Indian & Islamic Art at Auction Atrium, London June 3rd-9th

   Auction Atrium is an internet-based auction house located in Kensington High St, London, W8. All lots in an active auction are available for inspection in its showroom.

   The Indian & Islamic Art sale starting June 3rd has 215 lots.




 A Chandella Buff Sandstone Figure of a Divine beauty (surasundari), probably Khajuraho,
11th/12th century. 75cm. Estimate: £15,000-20,000.

   You can view the online catalogue here.

Poster auction at van Sabben, Hoorn, Holland June 4th

   van Sabben Poster Auctions in the Netherlands are staging the first of their twice-yearly sales on June 4th. 1026 lots, many with very affordable estimates (but probably not the one illustrated!).

Holland-America Line New Statendam - 80x105, 1929, on japan by A.M. Cassandre

Estimate: €7,500-12,500

   You can view the online catalogue here.

Bookstall is NOT on today May 28th

   After 11 months quietly minding my own business in Martello St on a Saturday, I've been stomped on by The Man. Hopefully I'll find a new location shortly. I plan to make books available on here in the meantime, so pop back and see what's on offer.

Photographs auction at Grisebach Berlin May 26th.

   Villa Grisebach in Berlin is staging a 190 lot auction of modern & contemporary photographs on May 26th.

   'Highlights include the famous Mainbocher Corset by Horst P. Horst (Est: €10,000-15,000) which counts among the masterworks of the history of photography, as well as George Hoyningen-Huene’s classical Divers, Paris (a print originally from the collection of Horst P. Horst) (Est: €8,000-12,000), Berenice Abbott’s New York at Night (Est: €7,000-9,000), André Kertész’s Melancholic Tulip (Est: €4,000-6,000), Andreas Feininger’s Empire State Building seen from New Jersey (Est: €3,000-4,000) or Leni Riefenstahl’s Glenn Morris (Diskuswerfer) (Est: €3,000-5,000).

   Especially rare are vintage prints by Helmar Lerski from two private collections, one is an extremely rare Selbstportrait (Est: €4,000-6,000), a Junger Bettler from the series Köpfe des Alltags (Est: €3,000-5,000) as well as partly hand-coloured works from Lerski’s early years in the U.S.A.

   More highlights of modern photography are René Burri’s Ché Guevara in an unusual large format (Est: €15,000-18,000), Erwin Blumenfeld’s Selbstportrait mit Maske (Est: €9,000-11,000), Arnold Newman’s portrait Jackson Pollock, Springs, Long Island (Est: €4,000-6,000) as well as works by David Bailey, Aenne Biermann, Mario Giacomelli, Germaine Krull, Michael Ruetz, Else Thalemann, Herbert Tobias and others.

   The contemporary section of the sale begins with Bernd and Hilla Becher’s nine-part work Fördertürme, Schuylkill County, PA, USA (Est: €20,000-30,000). Other top lots in this section include Valie Export’s Konfiguration mit schwarzer Hand (Est: €8,000-12,000), Peter Lindbergh’s Kristen McMenamy from the 1996 Pirelli calendar (Est: €12,000-14,000), Sarah Moon’s colour pigment print Jean-Paul Gaultier (Indépendant) (Est: €5,000-7,000) and Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Tri City Drive-In, San Bernardino (Est: €20,000-30,000) as well as works by Helmut Newton, Martin Parr, Bettina Rheims, Thomas Ruff, Thomas Struth, Miroslav Tichy, Wolfgang Tillmans, and others.'

 Horst P. Horst - The Mainbocher Corset

Later gelatin print. Estimate : €10,000-15,000

   You can view the online catalogue here.

Tanya Brett sculptures at Jonathan Cooper Gallery until May 28th

   Jonathan Cooper Park Walk Gallery, London, SW10, is staging Ice Souls, a new exhibition from sculptor Tanya Brett until May 28th. Focusing much-needed attention on the plight of the endangered polar bear and other Arctic animals as a result of global warming, the new exhibition will include fifteen ceramic sculptures, bronzes and drawings depicting polar bears, seals, arctic foxes, walruses and arctic hares.

   The exhibition is in support of Hauser Bears (here), a charitable organisation committed to the conservation of bears worldwide.

Swimming Bear - ceramic 54x67x19cm

Tanya Brett with one of her sculptures

   Details of the exhibition can be found here.

14 Ju Ming sculptures going under the hammer at Christie's HK May 28th-29th

  Christie's are to auction 14 Ju Ming Tai-Chi sculptures as part of the Chinese 20th Century Art sales in Hong Kong on May 28th & 29th. You may have seen one his sculptures in Old Park Lane, W1, next to the Metropolitan Hotel.

Ju Ming (b.1938) - Taichi Series - Sparring
  Edition of 6 - two bronze sculptures
left: 81x 61x120 cm. right:128x44x92 cm.
Executed in 1982.

Estimate: HK$2,500,000-3,500,000. 

   You can read Ju Ming's wiki entry here where you'll also find other links as well. You can look at the catalogue of the auctions here and here.

Clerkenwell Design Week in London May 24th-26th

   London’s premier celebration of design returns following its hugely successful 2010 inauguration. The three-day festival brings together a varied and vibrant programme of events spanning debates, discussions, presentations, exhibitions, installations, street parties and workshops all in the name of celebrating and embracing design.

   Showcasing the latest product and furniture design innovations from over 50 British and international manufacturers, CDW crucially offers the unrivalled opportunity to see many world launches of new furniture and interior accessories. For many companies it’s also the first opportunity to see products that were launched at the Milan furniture fair in April.

   New to this years event is The House of Detention venue – a subterranean Victorian prison hidden in the heart of Clerkenwell. Not usually open to the public, this unique space will house site-specific installations and innovative product displays for the duration of CDW.

   Once again, CDW will take up ‘residency’ at the Farmiloe Building on St John Street, housing a pop-up design exhibition, featuring cutting edge displays and installations from an array of international designers and organisations from across London and further afield.

   You can register online to gain free entry to the exhibitions and obtain full details of what's on offer here.

Chinese efforts to preserve underwater archaeological wreck sites

   I picked up a copy of the European weekly edition of China Daily (here) and there's an article on the Chinese Goverment's efforts to salvage the wrecks of the Ming Dynasty merchant vessel Nan'ao No. 1 discovered in 2007 in the South China Sea, and also the Song Dynasty Nanhai No. 1 lifted entire from the seabed also in 2007.

   You can read the article here.

Simon Norfolk + John Burke photo exhibition at Tate Modern until July 10

   Burke & Norfolk: Photographs From The War In Afghanistan at Tate Modern until July 10th. Details here.

   In October 2010, Simon Norfolk began a series of new photographs in Afghanistan, which takes its cue from the work of nineteenth-century British photographer John Burke. Norfolk’s photographs reimagine or respond to Burke’s Afghan war scenes in the context of the contemporary conflict. Conceived as a collaborative project with Burke across time, this new body of work is presented alongside Burke’s original portfolios. John Burke, took sepia-toned documentary photographs of the second Anglo-Afghan war, from 1878 to 1880 (the first having taken place in 1839-1842).

   You can see more of the photographs on Simon Norfolk's website here.

Bookstall is on today May 14th

There might be a shower around 1 o'clock but hopefully we'll get most of the day. I've loads of stuff this week, so come on down.

The early bird gets the worm

Since I didn't do the stall last week, the competition will carry over to tomorrow.

   The first person who comes to my stall on Saturday (if it's fine) and utters the phrase

'Ancelotti, that's yer lotti'

        will win either two auction catalogues from past auctions or one catalogue from a forthcoming sale.

Marjorie Strider exhibition at Albemarle Gallery, London until May 28th

From the website:

   'Overlooked until relatively recently, Women Pop Artists are currently experiencing a well-deserved renaissance. Marjorie Strider is one of the most important women artists of this movement whose work is now being looked at again.

   She participated in the highly acclaimed touring exhibition, Seductive Subversion: Women Pop Artists 1958-1968 from January 2010 to April 2011, which received rave reviews. The exhibition was organised by the Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, University of the Arts, Philadelphia and curated by its exhibitions director Sid Sachs. A hardback book of the same title accompanied the exhibition published by Abbeville Press, New York.

   Exhibiting throughout May at Albemarle Gallery, Strider brings a new vibrant body of work to a London audience for the first time in her artistic career. The themes of feminine beauty and the girly pin-up, male obsessions and the objectification of women are playfully juxtaposed in her recent work. Her exquisite use and understanding of colour and composition, occasionally veering towards abstraction, firmly sets her among her Pop Art male counterparts, Roy Lichtenstein, Tom Wesselmann and Andy Warhol.'

In the Swim, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 60"x80"

   You can find details of the exhibition and look at the catalogue online here.

13 Assassins trailer + photos + more

   13 Assassins is the latest Japanese samurai epic to hit our cinema screens.

   Takashi Miike, the director responsible for such uncompromising and unforgettable movies as Audition and Ichi The Killer indelibly stamps his trademark style on the Samurai genre with the ultra-violent, all-action, blood-spattered epic, 13 Assassins.
 
   One of the most prolific, wildly unpredictable and controversial directors in cinema, here Miike reinvents himself once more “in top, slash-tastic form” (Variety), throwing in several obvious nods to the works of Akira Kurosawa and enough grotesquery to satisfy his loyal legions of fans, with a movie that has been described as a “handsomely mounted samurai adventure” (Cinematical) that is “too damn magnificent to ignore” (Twitch).

   Miike’s remake of Eichi Kudo’s classic 1963 samurai period action-drama Jusan-nin No Shikaku boasts a heavyweight cast featuring some of the biggest names in contemporary Japanese cinema, including Koji Yakusho (Babel; Memoirs Of A Geisha), Takayuki Yamada (252: Sign Of Life), Yusuke Iseya (Sukiyaki Western Django; Memories Of Matsuko; Casshern), Mikijiro Hira (Goemon) and Hiroki Matsukata (Tajomaru: Avenging Blade; Ichi).

   The story:  In mid-19th Century Japan the era of the samurai is beginning to fade as the feudal nation begins to enjoy a rare period of peace. But the fragile calm is soon threatened by the bloody rise of Lord Naritsugu, the Shogun’s sadistic, psychopathic younger brother, whose position places him above the law and free to rape, mutilate and murder on a whim. Concerned that Naritsugu’s actions will eventually destroy the Shogunate, top Shogun official Sir Doi covertly calls on esteemed and noble samurai warrior Shinzaemon Shimada to assassinate the evil Lord before it is too late. Shinzaemon willingly agrees and immediately gathers together an elite group of samurai to assist him in the task, knowing that what they are about to embark upon may well prove to be a suicide mission.Following weeks of training and preparation, Shinzaemon and his men head off on a perilous journey through the mountains, hoping to ambush Lord Naritsugu and his entourage. However, on finally coming face to face with their target, the 13 samurai discover Naritsugu’s men hugely outnumber them. Disregarding the odds, the fearless assassins continue with their plan and initiate a bloody showdown that they cannot allow to end until Naritsugu lies dying.

   You can look on the film's official UK site for photos & trailers here.

   The film's official US site for photos & trailers is here.

Edouard Martinet exhibition at the Sladmore Gallery, London until June 10th

   Following on from his first exhibition two years ago the Sladmore Gallery is staging a second showing of Edouard Martinet's creations made from bits & pieces of 'found' mechanical items.

   He has continued with the largely insect theme with meticulous crafting of each work, from the tiniest screwed-in hair pin prawn feeler to the road lamp wings of the ladybird. All are underpinned with his sculptor's understanding of the correct form of each piece, the attitude and poise perfectly re-created in his unusual materials.

Wasp on Fruit - 12 ¼" x 9" x 13" (height x length x depth) 

eyes and head : old motorbike sunglasses, bells

antennae : arms of folding glasses

thorax: boot tips, bells from typewriters, bike bell,

wings : pencil holder, glass
legs: spoon handles, bike brakes, bike chain

abdomen : bike headlight, boot tips;    fruit : float

   Edouard Martinet was born in Le Mans, France in 1963 he studied art at ESAG, Paris and graduated in 1988. From 1988 to 1992 he lived and worked in Paris as a graphic designer, and in 1990 started sculpting and staging exhibitions. From 1992 to 1995 he lived in Charente before moving to his current location in Rennes where he teaches art at L'Institut des Arts Appliques.

   You can look at more of the works available here.

Conservation of Buddhist Treasures in Mustang documentary 54min

   Over at preciousteaching.org there is a documentary detailing efforts to conserve works of art in Mustang (moo-stahn), one of the last outposts of Tibetan culture. It is so isolated and protected that no Westerner set foot inside its borders for centuries. In the early 1990s, this untouched society set high in the Himalayas opened its borders for the first time, exposing an ancient world’s dazzling sacred relics long damaged by the elements and neglect.


   You can see the film here. There is loads more to see on the site so have a wander around.

Adam Styka painting to be sold at Sotheby's London May 18th

   I've another Adam Styka post elsewhere on here to which this one will be added after the sale. Is it the most expensive painting in the sale? No. I just like a lot of his works.

   Sotheby's in London are to sell a painting by Adam Styka as part of the 19th Century European Paintings sale on May 18th.

Porter near the island of Philae, oil on canvas 28¾"x36¼"

Estimate £25,000-£35,000

Asian Art at Woolley & Wallis Salisbury May 18th-19th

   Woolley and Wallis is the top provincial auction house for Asian Art in the UK (if you don't count someone else selling a Qianlong vase for £41million - still unpaid). It has announced a 2-day sale of asian art on May 18th & 19th.

   Part I contains 473 lots and can be viewed here.

   Part II contains 662 lots and can be viewed here.

A rare Chinese archaistic rhinoceros horn libation cup 16th / 17th century,

15.8cm long, 9.7cm high. Estimate: £30,000-50,000

Bookstall is NOT on today May 7th.

   The weather's a bit dodgy today. I'm going to give it a miss this week. Instead, I'm going to go to the Animal Art Fair in Fulham this weekend. It finishes tomorrow. Andrew.

Self-sufficiency courses at Hackney City Farm

   Low-Impact Living Initiative (LILI) is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to help people reduce their impact on the environment, improve their quality of life, gain new skills, live in a healthier and more satisfying way, have fun and save money.

  They offer courses throughout the country, some of which take place at Hackney City Farm. If you've ever had the notion to keep chickens, make your own essential oils, grow mushrooms or produce soap, then have a look at what is on offer - you never know what you may discover!

 

distilling oils from fresh mint on a course at Redfield

You can see the range of courses offered here.

Photographs auctions at Bloomsbury London & Rome May 18th & 20th

   Bloomsbury Auctions has announced two photograph auctions in London & Rome on May 18th & 20th respectively.

   London's sale features 226 lots and the later Rome auction has 175.

Berenice Abbott (1898-1991) Canyon: Broadway and Exchange Place, July 16, 1936 

Vintage gelatin silver print, signed in pencil with photographer's stamp verso, 10 x 8in

Estimate: £9000 – £12000

   You can view the catalogue and also download it (17MB) here.

   More photographs by Berenice Abbott can be seen over on the Commerce Graphics website here.

The early bird gets the worm.

   Shall we have a little competition?

   The first person who comes to my stall on Saturday (if it's fine) and utters the phrase

'Ancelotti, that's yer lotti'

        will win either two auction catalogues from past auctions or one catalogue from a forthcoming sale.

Auction Atrium African & Oceanic Art internet sale until May 9th

   Auction Atrium is an internet-based auction house located in Kensington High St, London, W8. All lots in an active auction are available for inspection in their showroom.

   The African & Oceanic Art sale currently live has 137 lots.

A Pair of Ogbomoso Ibeji Figures

standing on a circular base with hands resting on the thighs, with pendulous breasts, the enlarged head with typical scarifications, and a high conical coiffure;
eyes inlaid with aluminum nails, fine aged brown patina. Height: 22 cm. Condition: Good. Estimate: £ 1000-1500.

   You can view the online catalogue here.

Photographs auction at Phillips de Pury London May 19th + downloadable catalogue

   Phillips de Pury  has announced the auction of its latest Photographs sale in London May 19th. 188 lots.

Peter Lindbergh - Linda Evangelista, Harper's Bazaar US, 1992

Baryte print, printed later and flush-mounted. 100x80cm. One from an edition of 7. 

Estimate: £22,000-28,000

    You can look at the catalogue and even download it here. The download is 39.7 MB so it may take a while if you have a slow connection speed.

Past exhibition of rock carvings of Dazu at National Museum of Wales

The steep hillsides of the Dazu world heritage site near Chongqing, China contain an exceptional series of rock carvings dating from the 9th -13th century.

   The carvings comprise some 50,000 figures in total. They are remarkable for their aesthetic quality, rich diversity of subject matter, both secular and religious, and the light that they shed on everyday life in China during this period.

   The exhibition provided a unique opportunity to see some of these sculptures, which had never before been seen outside China.

   From Steep Hillsides: Ancient Rock Carvings from Dazu, China contained superb examples that have become detached from their original setting, along with accurate replicas of some of the most important sculptures still in situ and dramatic large-scale images to give some idea of what it is like to visit these spectacular places.

   Whilst the rock carvings have now returned to China there are links to photos and other stuff here.

Maori-carved 30-bore carbine + 2 clubs at Wallis & Wallis May 5th

   Wallis and Wallis Auctions in Lewes, Sussex, England will be offering to the highest bidders 3 Maori-related items in its Conoisseur Collectors sale on May 5th.

   First up is Lot 158: A rare and most unusual Maori-carved 30-bore Calisher & Terry breech loading rifled percussion carbine, 38" overall, barrel 21" engraved on the breech “Terry’s patent 30 Bore” and along the barrel “Calisher & Terry, Makers to HM War Department”, and with folding ladder rearsight; the lock engraved “Calisher & Terry, London”; the walnut fullstock profusely carved overall with intricate Maori decoration; steel mounts, the trigger guard numbered 6334; with front sight swivel only and original steel cleaning rod. Good Working Order and Condition, the metalwork with dark patina overall (butt trap lid missing).

Note: The British and Colonial troops fought the Maoris in 1846-47 with further service in 1860-66. The official weapon used was the Calisher & Terry carbine. This carbine was probably captured and decorated by a Maori. Estimate: £3000.

    Lot 159: A 19th century Maori greenstone club patu, or mere pounamu, of paddle form, radial grooved grip with hole for suspension cord, 12" overall, with photostat details and information from the Museum of New Zealand, Wellington. Estimate: £3000.

 

   Lot 160: A Maori hardwood paddle club wahaika, carved overall with traditional banded pattern, a Tiki with paua shell eyes, on the inner edge, stylized head with paua shell eyes to grip, 15½" overall. Good Condition. Estimate: £3000.

 

   The details of the auction can be found here.

Modernist Posters at Swann Galleries, New York May 5th

From the press release:
   'On May 5th, Swann Galleries will conduct their annual spring auction of Modernist Posters. The sale features rare avant-garde images from the U.S., Europe and Asia that appeal to fans of cutting-edge design.

   There is a rare exhibition poster by Dutch architect and designer Hendrikus T. Wijdeveld for a Frank Lloyd Wright exhibition held in Amsterdam, 1931.

   Art Deco classics include Jean Dupas, Bal des Etudiants, 1927, in a rare large format. The image appealed to Andy Warhol, who at one time owned a version of the poster.

   A 1935 poster by an unknown artist for the film Peach Blossom Dream, starring Chinese movie star Pearl Ing.

   David Shubow, Moments with Genius, circa 1936 is a classic WPA-era image.

   Edward McKnight Kauffer's Power / The Nerve Centre of London's Underground, 1931, is among the scarce British rail posters in the sale.

Otto Baumberger (1889-1961). Riunione Aviatoria. 1937. 49x35 inches

Estimate: US$5000-7500

   You can view the online catalogue of 208 lots here.

San Francisco Vintage Posters auction May 7th

   Poster Connection is staging its bi-annual San Francisco poster auction on May 7th. 395 lots covering Advertising, Art, Military/Propaganda and Travel/Sports.

Ilmari Sysimetsä (1912-1955) Olympische Spiele Helsinki Finnland Lithograph 1952

39.3x24.4 in. Estimate: US$1400.

   You can view the online catalogue here.

Artist Monographs on artnet

    The link in a previous post to the oil paintings of Richard Estes was an opportunity to have a browse around the vast online resource that is artnet.
 

   The artnet Price Database Fine Art and Design is an illustrated online database of 4 million fine art and design auction results covering more than 188,000 international artists and designers. The artnet Price Database is a subscription-based service that allows users to search auction results dating back to 1985.

   The artnet Monographs library has been developed in close collaboration with artists, estates and galleries to provide comprehensive artist information. This body of Modern and Contemporary artists’ sites brings insight into the depth and scope of extraordinary artists oeuvres, and it serves as a research tool for students, faculty, museum curators, researchers, dealers and collectors.

   artnet Monographs present a growing body of artists’ online works. Unlike published print monographs and catalogues raisonnés, these are living catalogues, which will be constantly updated as artists create new works and estates release additional information. artnet offers these catalogues free to the public as an educational resource. Simply click on an individual artist's image to begin, and check back to browse new catalogues.


   There are sections covering Mixed Media, Paintings, Photography, Sculpture and 19th Century/Modern.

   You can access the Monographs here. 

Japanese domestic living exhibition at the Geffrye Museum, London until Aug 29th

From the press release:

   In the West, the Japanese house has reached iconic status in its architecture, decoration and style. However, is this neat, carefully constructed version of Japanese life in fact a myth? This special exhibition aims to question the widespread stereotype of the minimal Japanese house, characterised by large empty spaces devoid of people and things. It goes behind the doors of contemporary urban homes to find out how private domestic lives are lived in Japan today, examining a variety of aspects of the home – from decoration, display, furniture and the tatami mat, to eating, sleeping, ‘gifting’, cleaning, hygiene, and worship.

   The exhibition recreates the layout of a standard urban apartment. Visitors will travel through an entrance hall, a ‘western style’ room, tatami room, bathroom, and, finally, to the LDK – ‘living-dining-kitchen’ – area, the largest communal space inside the home. Each of these rooms will be filled with a selection of the everyday possessions with which inhabitants might surround themselves. We hope that through an active engagement with these day-to-day spaces and objects, visitors may not only experience a degree of what it feels like to be at home in contemporary Japan, but also to encounter another culture on an empathetic level instead of gazing at and imagining its exotic nature from a distance.

    Full detail of the exhibition as well as a series of lectures on May 14th can be found here.

Street Photography at the Museum of London until Sept 4th

From the website:
 
   This major new exhibition at the Museum of London showcases an extraordinary collection of London street photography with over 200 candid images of everyday life in the street. From sepia-toned scenes of horse-drawn cabs taken on bulky tripod-mounted cameras to 21st century Londoners digitally ‘caught on film’, explore how street photography has evolved from 1860 to the present day. Examine the relationship between photographers, London’s streets and the people who live on them, and reflect on the place of photography on London’s streets today as anti-terrorism and privacy laws grow ever tighter.

   Full details of the exhibition can be found here.

Festival of Asian Literature, London May 10th-26th

 

   The open night kicks off with: A Tibetan Journey - Colin Thubron – To a Mountain in Tibet in conversation with Erica Wagner from The Times.

   'Acclaimed as one of the greatest living travel writers, Thubron follows the pilgrimage route through Tibet to Mount Kailas, the most sacred of the world’s mountains. He talks with villagers and monks and tells the stories of exiles and of eccentric explorers from the West.   A haunting and beautiful travel book, it is also a very personal journey, undertaken shortly after the death of his mother, and interwoven with his own reflections on love, grief and solitude.'

Tickets £ 15 /£12
Asia House Friends £ 10

   Full details of the festival and of other Asia House events can be found in the links below.

   www.festivalofasianliterature.com

   www.asiahouse.org

Bookstall is on today April 30th.

   Looks like another good day, lots of new stuff on the stall this week. The sale continues - all the auction catalogues are £2.00 each or less, except Forthcoming Auctions which are 'as priced'. I've a few cigar boxes this week but only a couple of wine boxes, so you'd better be quick!

Richard Estes painting in Christie's Post-War & Contemporary Art sale May 12th

   A 2007 painting from the Antarctica series will go under the hammer at Christie's New York on May 12th. Antarctica VI was one of eleven paintings that were exhibited at the Marlborough Gallery in 2008.

   From the Lot Notes:
    'Richard Estes' cinematic portrayal of Antarctica in Antarctica VI is one of the largest and grandest of the Antarctica series. Antarctica VI introduces Estes as an extremely accomplished painter of landscape, in this instance Estes' focus is on a desolate and transient antarctic ice-shelf, ever shifting in form while adrift at sea. The subject of this painting is most curious as it appears to deviate quite strongly from the work that we are used to seeing by the artist, compressed city scapes shattered by impossibly complex mirror, glass and enamel reflections.
    Antarctica VI is incredibly effective in its well-considered format and composition. Estes places the viewer in his shoes, in the moment, as an explorer recording a remote and hostile environment with a handheld camera. We can deduce that the camera is being held out at arm's length to best capture the landscape yet still including a sliver of the passenger boat at far right so as to keep us grounded and in "the moment", not one of complete transcendence, he gets us close but ultimately holds back from the idealised pastiche of 19th century landscape painting.

   The painting is estimated at US$450,000-550,000.

   You can see all the paintings from the Antarctica series as well as dozens of other ones by Richard Estes here.
 

Edward Wrangham Coll of Japanese Art II at Bonhams London May 10th

From the Press Release:
    Following the success of Part 1 of the Edward Wrangham Collection in November 2010, which realised over £2 million and included a world record price for an inro sold at auction, Bonhams has announced the second sale of the collection that will take place at Bonhams, New Bond Street on 10th May.

    Considered one of Europe's most important and comprehensive private collections of Japanese Gentleman's accessories, it was formed by the late environmentalist, mountaineer, scholar and collector Edward Wrangham OBE. 

   An extremely rare early 20th century, roiro lacquer four-case inro by Shirayama Shosai (1853-1923) is one of the top lots in the sale and is estimated to sell for £20,000 – 30,000. Finely lacquered in gold, the inro depicts a full-length portrait of the Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro IX, a contemporary of the artist.

   Ichikawa Danjuro was one of the most famous and successful Kabuki actors during the late 19th century Meiji Period in Japan, and is widely credited with ensuring that the traditional art form remained vibrant as Japan struggled with Westernisation. Represented in a Shibaraku role, one of the most popular pieces in the Kabuki repertoire, he is showing off a fan, with the large square sleeves of the extravagant costume continuing on the reverse. Works by Shirayama Shosai, one the most important lacquer artists of the time, are very rare and highly sought after.

    Further highlights include a stunning roiro lacquer five-case inro by the renowned lacquer artist Shibata Zeshin (1807-1891), also of the Meiji Period. Decorated in gold, silver and black, with a finch perched on a finely detailed cherry branch, with a mosquito; the exquisite inro is estimated to sell for £20,000-25,000. A lacquer four-case inro by Shibata Zeshin is also estimated to sell for £20,000-25,000.

    In addition to the exquisite collection of ino, netsuke and sword fittings, the Edward Wrangam Collection also includes works of art. A woven writing box, in gold and silver lacquer, by Mochizuki Hanzan in the 18th century, depicts the fable of Rosei. The figure of Rosei is reclining on a bench, beside the terrace of a pavilion framed by rocks and trees, holding a fan over his face as he dreams. The box is estimated to sell for£15,000-20,000.

   The online catalogue can be seen here.

Bonhams New York Photographs sale May 10th

From the press release:

   Bonhams will present 170 lots of stunning photography from famed artists Hiroshi Sugimoto, Edward Weston, Richard Misrach, Ansel Adams, Irving Penn, Helmut Newton and Garry Winogrand amongst others during its Fine Photographs auction in New York.

The auction features several notable highlights, among them are two highly anticipated Hiroshi Sugimoto's Colors of Shadow prints (est. $30,000-50,000). They are a prime example of the artist's initial experimentation with pigment printing, used to illustrate bare geometric interior spaces, and they are the first of their type to be offered at auction.

Also, new to the auction market is Edward Weston's abstract silver gelatin print, Model for Mould (est. $10,000-15,000). This print is an anomaly when compared to the other images of the same period, such as desert-scapes and nudes.

O. Winston Link (American, 1914-2000) Hot Shot Eastbound, Iager, West Virginia, 1957
Gelatin silver print, printed 1992, 15 1/2 x 19 3/8in

Estimate: US$8,000-12,000

    You can view the online catalogue here.

Tribal Art Sale at Bonhams New York May 12th

   Bonhams New York is set to offer 225 lots of ethnographica in its sale of African, Oceanic and Pre-Columbian Art on May 12th.

   Included in the sale is Lot 2058: 'a Maori whalebone club, length 15in, wahaika, cut from the pan bone of a sperm whale and extremely thin and balanced, carved with a full-figure tiki on the handle and abstract tiki face on the butt end; varied and aged patina with natural pitting, the surface with scratches indicative of being made by chipping and sawing with stone tools.' Estimate: US$4,000-6,000, (€2,800-4,200).

 The full online catalogue can be seen here.

African Tribal Art sale at Dorotheum Vienna May 3rd

   The 152 items on offer can lay claim to a famous provenance, namely the private collection of Austria's most prominent collector Prof. Rudolf Leopold (1925-2010). Leopold was primarily known as a collector of Schiele and Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) art. What is less widely known is that since the early 1960s he had been collecting tribal art with an emphasis on objects from native African culture. The collector's legendary keen eye for exceptional quality manifests itself in this section of the Leopold collection, which is largely unknown to the general public. Following the collector's death the family has decided to reduce the extensive and significant estate to its essential core of 19th and 20th century Austrian paintings. Consequently, the "unknown" Leopold collection is now coming up for auction at the Dorotheum including masks, ancestral figures, musical instruments, decorative art, and cult and ceremonial pieces.

   One of the highlights of the auction is the Ngil Fang helmet mask of Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon (estimate: €20,000-40,000). Another mask originates from Guro, Ivory Coast. The finely finished headdress is bound by four amulet-purses into a characteristic tall plait (€ 6,000 - 10,000).

   From Mbala/Suku in the Democratic Republic of Congo there is a rare male figure hewn from wood dyed with powdered redwood. Such sculptures were kept by chiefs in their houses to confirm and underline their authority. A shiny, dark brown patina adorns the 84cm high, Janus-faced half-length figure from Bambara, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso (€15,000-20,000).

   The Nigerian Yoruba people exhibit the anthropological anomaly of having an unusually high incidence of twins. If one of the twins died, sculptors would create a surrogate figure from wood, which was treated exactly like a living child and would be swaddled, fed, washed and so on. This auction includes one such twin figure.

   The Janus-faced ancestral pair from Luba/Hemba in the Democratic Republic of Congo consists of a male and a female head: a magical substance was stored in the space between the heads (€4,000-7,000).

   The online catalogue can be found here.

Photographs auction at Heritage NY on May 2nd

From the press release:

   'Irving Penn, Edward Weston, Ansel Adams and Annie Leibovitz originals highlight the photography sale at Heritage Auctions, New York on May 2nd.

   Irving Penn’s Harlequin Dress, Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn, 1950, a Platinum-Palladium print from 1979, an acknowledged masterpiece from one of the greatest fashion photographers to ever pick up a camera, is expected to bring over $150,000. This legendary image is accompanied by four more Penn images in the auction, including Penn’s Woman in Dior Hat with Martini (Lisa Fonssagrives- Penn), 1952, a Gelatin Silver print, estimated at over $30,000.
   Half a dozen photographs from early 20^th Century master photographer Edward Weston are included in the auction, including a vintage gelatin silver print of Weston’s Pepper (No. 14), 1929 (estimate: $50,000+) and his elegant and understated Nude, 1936 (estimate: $5,000+), a gelatin silver printed later by Weston’s son, Cole.
   Continuing the great American photography from the top names of the early 20^th Century, Heritage will be offering 12 images from the lens of America’s greatest naturalist photographer, Ansel Adams, led by his impressive Moon and Half Dome, 1960, a gelatin silver print from c. 1970, estimated at over $25,000.

    Few modern American photographers are more influential, collectible and highly revered than Annie Leibovitz, and the May 2 Heritage event will not disappoint collectors with five examples of Leibovitz’s work making an appearance in the auction, led by a print of what is likely her most famous photo, John and Yoko, New York, December 8, 1980, estimated at over $20,000. “This famous image was taken on the morning of Dec. 8, 1980 at The Dakota, tragically the same day Lennon was shot,” said Ed Jaster of Heritage Auctions. “Beyond being Leibovitz’s most famous image, it’s easily the most recognizable, and likely the greatest, rock and roll magazine cover image ever, appearing as it did as the cover to the January 1981 Rolling Stone issue dedicated to Lennon. Few images have ever so clearly conveyed both its subject and its meaning to broader public than this iconic photo.”

   Helmut Newton was one of the great fashion photographers of all time and his work continues to be in demand at auction, as evidenced by the four examples in this auction, including a vintage gelatin silver print of his Roselyne at Arcangues, 1975, estimated at over $35,000.'

   Further details of the 190 lots and the online catalogue can be found  here.

Yohji Yamamoto photo shoots exhibition until May 14th

   Yohji’s Women - 'As part of the 30-year celebration of iconic Japanese fashion designer, Yohji Yamamoto, The Wapping Project Bankside will show seven photographers who first found their individual voices as part of the thrilling burst of creativity engendered by Yamamoto’s presence in Europe.'

   The seven photographers featured are: Nick Knight, Peter Lindbergh, Craig McDean, Sarah Moon, Paolo Roversi, Max Vadukul, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.

    Full details of the exhibition can be found here.

Vintage posters at Christie's Sth Kensington May 12th + Russian Posters website

   205 vintage travel and advertising posters will be offered at Christie's South Kensington on May 12th from Britain, Europe & Russia. Among them is a poster by the Stenberg Brothers similar to one that made £15,000 in November's sale.

 

THEATRE KAMERNY DE MOSCOU Estimate: £7,000-9,000 

   You can look at the online catalogue here.


   There's a Russian Posters website that may also be of interest which you can trawl around to find other Stenberg Brothers posters such as this one, as well as hundreds of others:

 The Battleship Potyemkin

   You can find the list of poster artists here.

Treasures of Afghanistan at the British Museum until July 3rd

   Afghanistan - Crossroads of the Ancient World exhibition at the British Museum, Gt Russell St, London, displays over 200 stunning objects ranging from Hellenistic Greek sculptures, enamelled Roman glass and polished stone tableware brought from Egypt, and delicate inlaid gold personal ornaments worn by the nomadic elite. Together they showcase the trading and cultural connections of Afghanistan and how it benefited from being on an important crossroads of the ancient world.

   In addition to the exhibition of objects loaned by the National Museum of Afghanistan, twenty fragments of intricately carved and coloured ivory inlays will be going on public display for the first time since the outbreak of war in Afghanistan in 1979. The ivories from the ancient city of Begram were stolen during the looting of the National Museum of Afghanistan between 1992 and 1994 but were recently identified and salvaged abroad and are now being returned to Afghanistan. They represent about 10% of those looted. These beautiful pieces are among Afghanistan’s most famous collections. They date from the 1st century AD and are the centrepiece of a section highlighting current projects to safeguard and promote cultural heritage in Afghanistan.

Indian ivory furniture support from Begram, 1st century AD

   Also to be returned to Kabul after the exhibition will be a four foot high stone Buddha dating to the 2nd or 3rd Century AD depicting the miracle of Shravasti stolen around 1990.

   The full article with opening times and prices can be seen here.

Cyclepedia - Bicycle Design book

   Cyclepedia - A Tour of Iconic Bicycle Designs. Edited by Michael Embacher. Foreword by Paul Smith. Published by Thames & Hudson. Released March 2011.  224 pages. 457 colour illustrations. £19.95.

   Cyclepedia is a superbly-photographed celebration of the best bicycles designed over the past 90 years.

   This unique selection of exemplary bicycles includes classic racing bikes that been in events such as the Tour de France, high-tech machines that use the latest in material science and aerodynamics, eccentric bikes designed for purposes such as cycling on ice, and rarities coveted by serious collector.

Treasures of Macedon at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford until Aug 29th

   In the first major archaeological exhibition in the new temporary exhibition galleries, the Ashmolean Museum will showcase over five hundred treasures made of gold, silver and bronze, recently found in the royal burial tombs and the palace of Aegae, the ancient capital of Macedon.

    These extraordinary new discoveries are on display for the first time outside Greece. They re-write the history of early Greece and tell the story of the royal court and the kings and queens who governed Macedon, from the descendents of Heracles to the ruling dynasty of Alexander the Great.

 It is said that this exhibition is the most important Greek cultural event in many years. From the astounding finds made by the late Professor Manolis Andronikos in the 1970s to the recent discoveries of the past twenty years, this is groundbreaking work that tells the story of life in the ancient kingdom of Macedon, northern Greece.

    See the full details of the exhibition at the Ashmolean's website here.

Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art at Sotheby's London May 11th

   Offering over 340 lots, one of the highlights is the rare and impressive Qianlong doucai five piece altar garniture (lot 230) Estimate: £800,000-1,200,000. The set was once owned by Lord Kitchener and was previously sold in these rooms, 17th December 1980.

   Further notable items include an Imperial Jiaqing Khotan jade 'dragon' seal (lot 151) from a private European collector, Estimate: £1,000,000-1,500,000 and a large and finely painted lime green-ground famille-rose 'three rams' vase of the Daoguang Period (lot 283), inscribed with the Shende Tang zhi mark, Est £300,000-500,000.

   The sale also features a strong offering of rhinoceros horn carvings, including an outstanding selection from a private German collection. The most notable piece from this group is a magnificently carved and inscribed libation cup with a scene from the famous Romance of the West Chamber, with figures depicted in a rocky landscape (lot18), Estimate: £300,000-500,000. 

 An extremely important and rare 'guanyo' hu-shaped vase

Southern Song Dynasty, 12th Century Estimate: £2,500,000-3,000,000

Steve McCurry photographs

   I was looking at an online exhibition of Edward Minoff's paintings at Cavalier Galleries and came across the page for Steve McCurry. I'm sure you're familiar with this image:

   This is the famous photo used on the cover of National Geographic in 1984 of an Afghan girl in Peshewar, Pakistan. There are loads more of his photos on view and you can see them here.

f22 - new free photography magazine

   'f22 Magazine is available through selected galleries, libraries, art schools, museums and other art venues across the UK.

   Totally free, f22 is not a dull review magazine - it will be about people worth serious consideration; places that are hot and happening; and projects that will interest photographers. Combined with State Magazine, f22 reports the fusion of art + photography like no other with a truly international perspective.'

 

    The website www.f22magazine.com goes live in May.


   I've got copies on the stall. Just pick one up. Hopefully I'll have the new issue in due course.

Robert Wallis photo exhibition at SOAS in Russell Sq until June 25th

   Robert Wallis’s work on the effect of India’s economic boom on Adivasi (tribal) groups in Jharkand State will be exhibited at the Brunei Gallery at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies until June 25th 2011.

   The state of Jharkhand is home to one of the largest Adivasi populations in India. It is also the location of an estimated 40% of the country's deposits of coal, iron ore, uranium and other minerals considered essential for India's industrial and energy needs. Unfortunately for Jharkhand's Adivasis, the mineral wealth lies beneath the land that they have farmed and hunted on for millennia but for which they do not hold title deeds.

   As the original inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent, Adivasis have ancient land rights protected by law. But 'in the national interest' they are being forced to leave their ancestral lands to make way for new mines, steel mills and hydroelectric projects, with little or no compensation.

   You can see the full story on the Panos Pictures website here.

   Panos Pictures is a photojournalism website specialising in global social issues. Tim Hetherington, the journalist killed in Libya this week, was one of its photographers. You can see his work here.

   Details on opening times of the Brunei Gallery can be found here.

Honen Shonin Exhibition at Kyoto National Museum until May 8th

   Honen (1133-1212), the founder of the Pure Land Sect, Jodo Shu, taught the nenbutsu, or chanting the Name of Amitabha Buddha, Namu Amida Butsu, for the salvation of all people in the late Heian period (794-1185). This exhibition commemorates 800 years since the passing of this Buddhist master by presenting his life and teachings through various cultural objects.

   Images from the exhibition can be seen here. Also, on the General Information page there is a list of temples in Kyoto which you can google.

Asian Art Week at Christie's London May 10th-13th

From the press release:
   Christie’s London Asian Art Week will run from 10-13 May 2011 with many highlights offered from important private collections such as The Martin Månsson Collection, Part II of the Kendall Collection and Prints from The Illing Collection. The sales include: Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on May 10th at King Street; Interiors - a two day sale featuring one day dedicated to affordable Asian Art - on May 10th & 11th at South Kensington; Japanese Art & Design on May 11th at South Kensington and Chinese Ceramics, Works of Art and Textiles on May 13th at South Kensington.

A MAGNIFICENT RARE PARCEL-GILT SILVER LOBED BOWL AND COVER
TANG DYNASTY (618-907)  Estimate: £400,000-600,000

The full press release can be found here