Banking on Art

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Beleaguered Bank Still in the Art Business (Hong Kong, China)
Started in April 2005, Fortis Art Bank allows reputable galleries in Asia to display artworks in the private bank's offices in Hong Kong and Singapore. The paintings, sculptures, and installations provide décor for meeting rooms and, perhaps more important, go on view before the bank's wealthy clients. Exhibits change every quarter
ARTINFO - New York,NY,USA

Pieces that put wind in their sales (Art Market)
When the "biggest art deal of all time" went through last year, it seemed an astonishing coup. The heirs of the legendary art dealer Ileana Sonnabend, who died in 2007, sold some of her art collection privately for $600m. The deal was reported to have involved New York's mega-gallerist Gagosian, who brokered the $200m sale of about 10 Warhol paintings, including two of Elizabeth Taylor.
Financial Times - London,England,UK

HMO pioneer, FHP founder Robert Gumbiner dies (Obituary, US)
Gumbiner also was an avid collector of Latin American art. Using the millions he made from FHP, Gumbiner and a foundation bearing his name created the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach. Opened in 1996, it now houses about 1,000 pieces from 20 countries. Gumbiner also founded the Ethnic Art Institute of Micronesia in 1994 on the island of Yap to preserve and revitalize traditional arts.
San Francisco Chronicle - CA, USA

Lorenzo Rudolf Leaves ShContemporary; Colin Chinnery Steps In (Princeton, US)
James Steward will succeed Susan Taylor as director of the Princeton University Art Museum. A specialist in 18th- and 19th-century European art and culture, Steward was the director of the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) and a faculty member at the university since 1998. At UMMA, Steward organized and oversaw the planning, fund-raising, and construction of a $42 million expansion and restoration project.
ARTINFO - New York,NY,USA

Museum will turn into hot night spot for Art After Dark (Trends)
Opening museum doors for after-hours events is a trend that is gaining momentum across the country. The Guggenheim in New York hosts First Friday events with gallery tours, drinks and music. The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego's Thursday Night Thing, on the first Thursday of each month, features artist talks, live music and poetry readings.  "It transforms the museum into something fun and playful," Susalla said.
San Diego Union Tribune - San Diego,CA,USA

Art and Culture in Jordan and Dubai (California, US)
The Oakland Museum of California's Art Guild, in partnership with the tourism company Distant Horizons, is offering a new art-themed trip to Jordan and Dubai from March 10 to 22. New York Times - United States

Cultural Politics and Contemporary Art at The Ackland Art Museum (Chapel Hill, NC, US)
Assistant professor of Art History Cary Levine gives his students all the credit for the special collection installation Cultural Politics and Contemporary Art. "It's really their show," he says, and he isn't just being modest. The fourteen students in his fall class "Cultural Politics and Contemporary Art" selected every image included in the exhibition, laid out the installation, and wrote the accompanying catalogue.
Art Daily - Eastport,Maine,USA

Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis Presents Gedi Sibony: My Arms ... (St. Louis, MO, US)
The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis presents the first monographic museum exhibition with New York-based artist Gedi Sibony: My Arms Are Tied Behind My Other Arms. Along with a selection of the artist's recent pieces, including the carefully balanced Partly Me Manners (2008) and the multipart Probably Eight or Half of Each (2007), the exhibition features major new works in a site-specific installation for the Contemporary's Main Galleries.
Art Daily - Eastport,Maine,USA

An introduction to MUAC, Mexico's new modern art museum (Mexico City)
A modern monstrosity out of place amid a dated aesthetic, or a much-needed injection of fresh, voguish design? Whichever side you come down on, Mexico City's brand new temple to modern art is well worth a visit.  The Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporaneo (University Museum of Contemporary Art), also known by its initials MUAC, opened its misted-glass doors to the Mexican public at the end of November 2008.
Los Angeles Times - CA,USA

£125M National Art Collection to Tour the UK (London, UK)
British art dealer and philanthropist Anthony D'Offay, along with the Tate Modern, has announced a traveling exhibition of nearly all of the 725-piece contemporary collection that D'Offay donated to the Tate and National Galleries of Scotland last year, the Independent reports. D'Offay, who was lauded by Prime Minister Gordon Brown for his gift, donated the £125 million ($170.8 million) collection with the solitary condition that it be displayed to the public.
ARTINFO - New York,NY,USA

Accused art dealer cancels exhibition (Sydney, Australia)
His website claims he specialises in works by the likes of Tom Roberts, Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd, Norman Lindsay and D'Arcy W Doyle. In recent months, several members of the public have made complaints about the dealership, claiming they never received payment for the sale of their investments.
Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney,New South Wales,Australia