Art News & Articles

An Italian accountant whose son bought her a 100-euro ($110) raffle ticket as a Christmas present has won a Pablo Picasso oil painting valued at 1 million euros ($1.1m). Claudia Borgogno summed up her amazement in one word: "Incredible." "I have never won anything before," the 58-year-old told The Associated Press news agency from her home in Ventimiglia, northern Italy. She said she likes Picasso, and the prospect of being able to hang one of the 20th-century master's paintings on her wall was still sinking in. Her son, Lorenzo Naso, bought two tickets in December, sending one to his mother.   "It was maybe the best decision in my life," he told the AP. The ticket was picked out in an electronic draw at the auction house Christie's in Paris. Organisers valued the painting - Nature Morte or Still Life - as being worth 1 million euros. The billionaire art collector who provided it, David Nahmad, said the work is worth "at least two, three times...

Auction houses often sell off strange items. But sometimes, the offerings are downright batty. This week, an ornate kit for slaying vampires hit the block at an online sale mounted by Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire, England.   The Edwardian-era kit comes in a velvet, silk-lined box, with an interior lid adorned by a painting of Christ’s resurrection. Inside is everything you need to kill a caped creature of the undead: three crucifixes, some rosary beads, a Bible, a small pistol, a pocket knife with a silver blade, tooth-pulling pliers, and—inexplicably—a vile of shark teeth. “The task of killing a vampire was extremely serious, and historical accounts suggested the need for particular methods and tools,” the auction house’s founder, Charles Hanson, said in a statement. “Items of religious significance, such as crucifixes and Bibles, were said to repel these monsters, hence their strong presence in the kit we have found.”  At the completion of the four-day sale, the it...

Just days into the start of 2020, CityLab published an article analyzing which major American cities are the best, and the worst, for Black women residents. The report took into account a variety of metrics measuring “livability,” and the consensus was that Midwestern metropolises including Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Detroit were the among the most inhospitable in the nation. Despite the systemic sexism and racism reflected in the bleak findings, however, Black women artists within these same cities have been driving growth and change in their local art communities—often by rejecting conventional thinking about funding, institutions, and the market. In a recent piece for Artnet News, journalist Melissa Smith spoke to some of these trailblazing Black women artists about their histories, triumphs, and continuing challenges living and working in the Midwest. On this week’s episode, Smith joins Andrew Goldstein to discuss these issues, primarily through the lens of Pittsburgh-based artists...

Sundeep Rao admits, with a bit of restraint, that he has been in a good mindset the last four months. He is aware of how the pandemic has wreaked havoc worldwide -- hence the restraint -- but it has allowed him to pause and reflect on his life and career. “We usually get caught up in the conversations we have with ourselves and others,” he says, “We rarely stop and ask ourselves ‘why do we do what we do?’. The last few months allowed me to think about this.” his clarity of thought led him to his latest project. While several of his colleagues in stand-up comedy have been active on YouTube and other video streaming platforms, he’s started a  Spotify podcast . In Life Gone Wrong, Sundeep, who is partially blind, shares stories of people who have lived with disabilities, survived life threatening illnesses or faced other adversities. The Bengaluru-based creator discusses the podcast, trolling of comedians on social media and other topics with MetroPlus. Excerpts:- What prompted you to...

Prize:  A total cash fund of over $7,000 plus a month-long art residency in China, and a solo exhibition in London. Entry Fee:  £25 for one artwork, up to £45 for four artworks. Requirements:  Open to artists worldwide age 18 and over. Closing Date:  June 30, 2020 One of the most inclusive and diverse art competitions in the UK, the Sunny Art Prize offers unique exposure for both emerging and established artists. Winners will be granted an opportunity to have their work shown in an exhibition in London, and develop their work during a month-long residency in China. A £6,000 (approximately $7,600) total cash prize will be split between the first three winning artists. The art contest accepts entries in a diverse range of media including painting, drawing, sculpture, ceramic art, printmaking, installation art, mixed media, video art, and photography. To apply/enter this competition, click below link https://redirect.viglink.com/?format=go&jsonp=vglnk_15954474699021...

Prize:  $60,000 cash prize and $40,000 investment in winner’s art practice. Winners exhibited at the Venice Biennale. Entry Fee:  Free Requirements:  Open to artists worldwide between 18 and 35 years old. Closing Date:  May 2020 This major art prize is open to young artists working in any medium and provides a huge boost in getting an art career off the ground. Established by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in 2009, the prize has an international jury that selects a shortlist of 20 artists, who will have their work exhibited at a special display during the Venice Biennale. Entries open in February 2020. CLICK BELOW LINK TO APPLY/ENTER https://redirect.viglink.com/?format=go&jsonp=vglnk_159544725740716&key=035385aa205e0d504e148c27f8aa731f&libId=kcxrwgqv01013v6i000DAbztwkpx2&loc=https%3A%2F%2Fmymodernmet.com%2Fbest-art-contests%2F&v=1&out=https%3A%2F%2Ffuturegenerationartprize.org%2F&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&title=11%20of%20the%...

The National Arts Council (NAC) will assist more than 200 individuals and arts organisations after it approved R29.3m in funding. The NAC has also finalised its project funding allocations across all five of its programmes, bringing the total of South African artists or arts bodies funded this year to 209. This figure comprises 58 applications approved for arts platforms, showcases, exhibitions and festivals; 32 projects funded under social cohesion and nation-building; 47 projects funded under innovation, design and creation; 46 projects funded under capacity building; and 26 projects funded under strategic initiatives. Each of the five funding programmes was allocated between R5.6m and R5.9m, as part of the NAC’s mandate to ‘fund the arts for impact’. This year’s NAC project funding call was amended to enable South Africa’s artistic and creative community to formulate proposals to create art that incorporates digital innovation, as arts consumption habits change in the face of the pa...