New Vision for Art Gallery of NSW - Introducing Sydney_Modern

In a major announcement Dr Michael Brand (Director of AGNSW) and Steven Lowy AM (Board of Trustees) have unveilled their strategic vision and masterplan to transform the Art Gallery of NSW into an art museum for the 21st century.



The AGNSW is soon to be incorperated into an ambitious new building

Major Announcement for Sydney. Introducing Sydney_Modern

During the announcement Dr Brand clearly defined the Gallery's purpose as being     "dedicated to serving the widest possible audience as a centre of excellence for the collection, preservation, interpretation and display of Australian and international art, and a forum for scholarship, art education and the exchange of ideas."

See the full announcement by Stephen Lowy and Dr Michael Brand by clicking on this video of announcement link.

A competition will be designed to attract an architect to interpret the Trustees' vision for an internationally recognisable building to significantly enhance the current gallery and to take advantage of the site which is perched high above Sydney harbour and the Royal Botanic Gardens. The expansion provides an opportunity to complement Sydney's existing architectural icons of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge with another internationally recognised architectural drawcard.



AW (Tony) Scott discusses Cezanne's "Bords de la Marne" at the AGNSW

 According to the AGNSW a major part of the plans is to double the size of the Gallery (the biggest physical expansion in its history) with a renewed  focus on serving a truly global audience. This significant expansion will allow for more spaces to display the richness of the collections including new art forms, it will allow it to better present major international and national exhibitions. Watch the announcement. 

Sothebys and Christies Increase Buyer's Premium

It has just been announced that Sotheby’s auction house  plans to increase its buyer’s premium significantly.

As of 15 March, 2013 Sotheby’s will charge 25% on the first $100,000/£50,000 of sale price, 20% on the portion of hammer price over $100,000/£50,000 up to and including $2m/£1m; and 12% on any remaining amount above $2m/£1m.

In addition to this Christies also recently announced an increase in their buyers premium. They have traditionally charged 25% on the first $50,000; 20% on the amount from $50,001 to $1 million, and 12% on the rest. However, as of March 11, 2013 Christies will charge 25% on the first $75,000; 20% on the next $75,001 to $1.5 million and 12% on the rest.

Australian artist and art consultant AW (Tony) Scott

While some sections of the art buying public are not happy with these increases there's nothing to prevent these two powerhouses of high-end art from making such commercial decisions. The fact that they both announced similar increases within such a short space of time has some pundits crying foul... and who said the economy was tight?

Watch This - A Fresh Look at Art Museums

The Museum of Art & History at the McPherson Center in Santa Cruz California (the “MAH”) is undergoing a transformation. There's not a lot to be said here that isn't said in the video - I urge everyone in the arts community to watch this short video by Nina Simon of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History. It's something I just wanted to share.

Nina has a vision for the Museum to become a thriving, central gathering place where local residents and visitors have the opportunity to experience art, history, ideas, and culture. She would like to see engaged members and visitors who are increasingly passionate and knowledgeable about contemporary art and local history that celebrate their diverse community.

In the broader sense this vision is not only revolutionary, it's exciting, but as Nina puts explains "It’s only as good as our ability to deliver on it". AW (Tony) Scott

2013 Venice Biennale - Enciclopedic Palace

The theme of the 55th International Venice Biennale (June 1st until November 24th with previews by invitation only from the 29th to 31st of May) has been announced.

Venice Biennale curator Massimiliano Gioni

The Encyclopedic Palace, chosen by this year's curator Massimiliano Gioni whose idea is to evoke the self-taught Italo-American artist Marino Auriti who "on November 16, 1955 filed a design with the US Patent Office depicting his Palazzo Enciclopedico (The Encyclopedic Palace), an imaginary museum that was meant to house all worldly knowledge."

As usual the main Pavilions are at Giardini and Arsenale with additional exhibitions located at various venues throughout the city.



AW (Tony) Scott in Venice for the Biennale

Gioni's big break in international contemporary art came in 2003 when he was invited to be the artistic director at the Trussardi Foundation, which had decided to abandon its permanent home at the Palazzo Marina alla Scala in favor of becoming a floating foundation. “I was presented with the challenge of working without an exhibition space and with a migratory institution that only exists when we find a new space.”

The lack of space was a challenge, drawing him to the idea of creating temporary installations throughout Milan and spreading contemporary art across the city. Massiliano installed Swiss artist Urs Fischer’s House of Bread at the Instituto dei Ciechi which had never before been opened to the public for a contemporary art exhibition, and presented Martin Creed’s I Like Things in the Palazzo dell’Arengario in Piazza del Duomo in Milan. He even installed Creed’s iconic neon sign reading Everything is Going to Be Alright on its façade.

Gioni has plenty of experience in the field of major arts events. His work at Trussardi led to other international jobs like co-curating Manifesta 5 in San Sebastian (2004) and the Berlin Biennial (2006).

While working in Berlin he quoted his co-curator, Maurizio Cattelan as saying, “curating a biennial is like pointing a gun at your head and smiling at the same time, and waiting for someone else to come and pull the trigger…”

The official Press Conference to launch the 2013 Venice Biennale will be in Rome on 13th March.

Australians Well Represented in Singapore



Singapore's Marina Bay precinct

The 2013 Singapore Art Week in late January was bigger and better than any previous year. As well as a large number of exhibition openings in art institutions, private galleries, and art centers such as Gillman Barracks, The Singapore Art Museum presented the President’s Young Talents show, featuring Singapore’s most promising artists under the age of 35, and the much anticipated Collectors Show: Weight of History. To top all this off there was the International Art Fair - Art Stage Singapore. 

Twice as many Australian galleries were represented this year with appearances by Sydneysiders - Gallery Barry Keldoulis, Brenda May Gallery, Chalk Horse, Gallery Ecosse (Exeter NSW), James Dorahy Project Space, and Sullivan+Strumpf. Melbourne galleries also participated with Utopian Slumps, Dianne Tanzer Gallery, Anna Pappas Gallery and Mossenson Galleries (Melbourne and Perth) all making their presence felt.


 Director of Art Stage Singapore, Lorenzo Rudolf, maintains Australian galleries have in the past tended to focus on European art fairs, however... "By providing Australian galleries with a dedicated platform we hope to increase their participation and profile in the Asian markets" he said. 

 

Marina Bay Sands, venue for Singapore Art Stage 2013







Turner Paintings to visit National Gallery of Australia

I just heard the major touring exhibition of JMW Turner paintings from the Tate Britain currently showing at the Art Gallery of South Australia in Adelaide (closes May 19th) is set to show at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra from June 1st to September 8th.

This is great news for Australian fans of the most important landscape artist of the Romantic era because usually you would have to go to London to see such a vast collection from the Turner Bequest. The exhibition comprises around 100 oils and watercolours selected by Ian Warrell, a well respected Turner expert.

Turner's influence cannot be underestimated. Even the French Impressionists Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro studied his work when they lived in London during the Franco-Prussian War and were known to remark on the expressionistic style of his vast and haunting landscapes.

Naturally I'll be reviewing the show in a later blog.  AW (Tony) Scott

Photographs (Top) The Turner Room in London's Tate Britain (Bottom) The Tate Britain houses the Turner Bequest, the largest collection of Turners in the world.

Hidden Treasure at National Gallery in Prague

I was recently visiting the National Gallery in Prague when it occurred to me that this gallery is a hidden treasure of art in Europe.

While almost everyone is familiar with the art treasures on display at the Louvre, or the Tate in London, or other notable museums of art in Europe, few people I speak to are aware of the depth of the collection held at Prague's National Gallery.

Pablo Picasso's Seated Nude 1906.

During its two-hundred year history, the National Gallery in Prague has expanded and improved its core collection into five specialised sections - Old Masters, 19th Century Art, Modern & Contemporary Art, Prints & Drawings, and Oriental Art.

When you realize the collections include works by Masters such as El Greco, Veronese, Albrecht Durer, Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Rembrandt, Tiepolo, and Delacroix you start to understand the depth of the collection.

When you also see works displayed by Gustave Courbet, Camille Pissarro, Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Paul Cezanne, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Auguste Rodin, Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Edvard Munch, Pablo Picasso, Andre' Derain, Georges Braque, Frantisek Kupka, Pierre Bonnard, Oskar Kokoschka, Joan Miro' - it just goes on and on.

Gustav Klimt's Virgin 1913

Needless to say I highly recommend a visit to the National Gallery in Prague. I believe it to be a very under-rated art destinations in Europe.
AW (Tony) Scott www.awtonyscott.com