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China’s Zhang Daqian tops 2011 art sales

China’s Zhang Daqian tops 2011 art sales

The late Chinese artist Zhang Daqian was the best-selling artist at auction in 2011 while Spanish great Pablo Picasso dropped out of the top three.

Chinese artists dominate the top end of the art market. Zhang’s compatriot Qi Bashi was the second top seller and six Chinese artists in all were in the top ten, while Chinese art accounts for 40 percent of sales by value.

According to founder of Artprice, China which has held the top spot in art auctions since 2010, took two of its star artists to the head of the annual table in 2011. The third place in the Artprice table was taken by American pop art master Andy Warhol, knocking Picasso who died in 1973 and has been the bestseller in 13 of the past 14 years back into fourth place.

Zhang, who lived between 1899 and 1983, was not only top in sales but he had the best annual haul of any artist ever with 1,371 pieces going for a total of $554 million. Qi, who lived between 1864 and 1957, came in behind, netting art investors $510 million and Warhol hit $325 million.

Santa Fe’s Spanish Market: An Art Hub

Santa Fe's Spanish Market

If you got a chance to go to Spain, then while walking through the Plaza in Santa Fe in the season of July Spanish market you will be amongst some lucky ones. The initial greeting of the people there is warm enough to make you feel of the as you are amongst one of them. Small children greet you with a “Hi” filled with enthusiasm coming from an early age. The only shock came with the pleasant 80 degrees.

The very next thing that will capture your senses is the bird carvings. From the entire range the one that caught my attention was a specific one. One fact that will make you spell bound is the fact that all of these sculptures are made by a ten year old and she has been carving since she was only three years of age.

The east coast is the place generally perceived as the heart of the nation in case of the traditional historic from its farm houses from the 1700s but the New Mexico was colonized by Spain in 1598. The rich historic perspective is being continued in part by such events as the Spanish Market which is a function of the Spanish Colonial Arts Society, founded in 1925 by writer Mary Austin and artist/writer Frank G. Applegate. Its purpose was to preserve and perpetuate the Hispano art forms that have been produced in New Mexico and Southern Colorado since Spanish Colonial times.

The Square in Santa Fe is all equipped with booths and teeming with visitors and locals. But the art fair inventory will be missing, instead of the inventory you will be able to find the religious iconography going to a different level of the Smithsonian collectability. There are over 200 local artists as well as continuous live music and art demonstrations. The youth exhibition is an important part of the festival including 100 outstanding emerging artists. The month of December witness the market returns with a fresh lineup of indoor excitement.

You will find Santos, images of saints, either bultos, carved sculptures painted or unpainted, and retablos, colorful wooden panels representing Christian iconography as the major work of art in there. All these forms are inspired by European culture. On the other hand the New Mexican art form has taken on a distinctive character of its own over the last couple centuries. The other major attractions there are hide paintings, tinwork, furniture, intricate silver jewelry, straw appliqué, pottery and other uniquely regional characterized art forms.

This event is like abliss for any serious art lover. While it is rare these days to find any affordable art in Santa Fe, this particular festival with its plethora of vendors is a time when you just might find a “deal.”

Walter Raes at London Design Festival

Design by Walter Raes

Walter Raes will be exhibiting his new installation, “DUN ROAMIN’ at Oratory House, adjacent to the V&A museum in the heart of London Design Festival this September. Raes was born in Belgium, and though he has lived and worked in London for more than twenty years, he is steeped in the Belgian surrealist tradition. Walter Raes is best known for transforming “trash’ into art, and a witty use of surprising materials. His “wearable art’, such as the Cassette Tape Boogie Dress, has been making headlines for some years. The DUN ROAMIN installation at London Design Festival 2011 is a meticulously worked vintage room, where every design piece has been transmogrified from household detritus.

Loch Ness, non-site by Gerard Byrne

Loch Ness, non site exhibition by Gerard Byrne at Galerie Nordenhake
Gerard Byrne is best known for using film, photography and installation to explore indicative moments in our recent history. In his films the casts re-enact conversations originally published in popular magazines from the 1960s to the 1980s while his installations often include photographic images of subjects that both suggest and resist historical placement. His work takes as its subject the representations of time we construct at given cultural moments, and the historical accumulation of those representations. The exhibition presents works drawn from 10 years of visits and research at Loch Ness. A book on Byrne’s Loch Ness project will be published later this year with Milton Keynes Gallery, UK.

UK light artist Bruce Munro in Longwood Gardens

Longwood Gardens presents light artist Bruce Munro

Longwood Gardens, one of the world’s great display gardens, has commissioned UK light artist Bruce Munro to present a debut, garden-wide exhibition, LIGHT!, in the summer of 2012. This is Munro’s first garden installation in the US and will showcase never-before-seen views of Longwood at night.
LIGHT! will feature seven large-scale outdoor installations, two installations within Longwood’s grand 4-acre Conservatory, and a small collection of illuminated sculptures in Longwood’s historic Music Room. Longwood Gardens is thrilled to host Bruce Munro’s first large-scale exhibition in the U.S.,” said Paul Redman, Director. “His imaginative works will enchant and amaze our guests with their beauty and ingenuity,” said Redman, “but also inspire them to see and experience gardens in a whole new way.” “What also appealed to us about Bruce’s work is its focus on low-energy output and a sensitivity to the landscape,” said Redman.

Pilane – contemporary art in an ancient cultural landscape

Sculpture in Pilane
Contemporary art in an old cultural landscape – Sculpture in Pilane is a great experience for everyone, young and old alike. Pilane is one of the most beautifully located historic sites in Sweden with about 90 judgment circles, standing stones and stone circles dating from the Iron Age. The ancient remains are surrounded by a landscape that traces back to the Stone Age. In Pilane sheep graze freely as they have done for thousands of years and from mountain tops, you have a great view of the sea and the beautiful archipelago north. Sculpture in Pilane is an annual exhibition of contemporary sculpture by some of the world’s top artists. Participating artists are 2011 Erwin Wurm (Austria), Eva Rothschild (Ireland), Tony Cragg (UK), Keith Edmier (USA), Lori Hersberger (Switzerland) and from Sweden: Klara Krista Promise, Eric Langert, Kent Karlsson, Nils, Peter Tillbergand Leo Pettersson.

Armed Robbers In Old Masters Art Theft

picasso theft Armed Robbers In Old Masters Art Theft

Paintings by some of the world’s most famous artists have been stolen by an armed gang from a museum in Zurich.

Four oil paintings worth more than 112,000,000 Euros by Cezanne, Degas, van Gogh and Monet were taken in the weekend robbery from the E.G. Buehrle museum.

Cezanne’s The Boy in the Red Vest (1890), Degas’ Viscount Lepic and His Daughters (1871), Monet’s Poppies Near Vetheuil (1880) and Van Gogh’s Blossoming Chestnut Branches (1890) were taken.

The E.G. Buehrle museum contains one of the finest collections of 19th and 20th Century European art. The FBI estimates the market for stolen art at ‚£3bn annually and Interpol has about 30,000 pieces of stolen art in its database.

Authentic japanese samurai armor online

toraba+samurai Authentic japanese samurai armor onlineToraba.com has opened up its website, offering a range of authentic Japanese samurai armor. The items are all original period pieces, mostly from private collections.

Currently on offer are full armor sets (Gusoku), helmets (Kabuto), facial armor and full body sets as well as a variety of other armor-related items.

Gold Mickey Mouse statue

Gold+Mickey+Mouse Gold Mickey Mouse statueWalt Disney Studio Home Entertainment and jeweler Ginza Tanaka have made this gold Mickey Mouse statue as part of a campaign to promote the Blu-ray DVD release of “National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets.”

The 12-cm-tall, 1-kg statue, which is valued at 3.23 million yen ($31,000) will be displayed in Tanaka’s Ginza store through April 29, and then tour Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sendai.

Combined Gold Toothpick, Earwax Spoon

gold+toothpick Combined Gold Toothpick, Earwax Spoon May Fetch $100,000

A Blue Water Ventures salvage diver recovered the artifact Sunday, May 18, about 40 miles west of Key West during a search for remains of the Spanish galleon Santa Margarita that shipwrecked in a 1622 hurricane. According to archaeologists, the 3-inch-long grooming tool is more than 385 years old and was probably worn on a gold chain. Estimated value could exceed $100,000.

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