November 2018 Art News

Today, like so many other historical works, Albrecht Dürer's "Self-Portrait" from 1500 is taken for granted as a masterpiece. That, however, was not always the case. This podcast episode explores the story behind Dürer's iconic "Self-Portrait."
World War I's wounded needed a sculptor, and one artist was able to make a huge difference.
Over 75 international galleries will be exhibiting fine art from over 2,000 artists throughout the five-day fair held at the Palm Beach County Convention Center which kicks off with a special Collector’s Private Preview by invitation only on January 16 at 6 to 10 pm.

Lehmann Maupin is pleased to announce Catherine Opie’s next exhibition with the gallery, The Modernist. The photography series and related film—Opie’s first—offer a distinct narrative arc as they follow a fictional artist character on an arsonist spree across Los Angeles, targeting the city’s iconic modernist buildings. The 21:44 minute photo-roman is comprised of 852 black-and-white photographs, and builds off the formal legacy of Chris Marker’s revolutionary La Jetée (1962).

Bonhams Fine Chinese Art Sale made over $5 million yesterday, part of their Asian Week Sales in London. The top sale was lot 153, a very rare, large Imperial underglaze blue and iron-red enamel ‘Nine Dragon’ Dish, of the Qianlong period (1736-1795). Estimated at $524,000-786,000, the Nine Dragon Dish sold for $703,490.
In a candid one-on-one conversation, Kara Walker and composer/musician Jason Moran discuss their collaboration for the Prospect.4 triennial in New Orleans, "Katastwóf Karavan" (2018). Installed at Algiers Point on the bank of the Mississippi River and activated daily across three days in February 2018, the work featured a thirty-two-note steam calliope performed by Moran and housed in a wagon developed by Walker.
The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) explores how science and art inspired each other in Dimensionism: Modern Art in the Age of Einstein, the first exhibition to highlight the untold story of the Dimensionist Manifesto. 
Abstract painter Etel Adnan catalogs the scarce paintings she encountered as a child, shares her memories of a formative trip to the Louvre, and explains her current fascination with tapestries as well as her recent urgency to create new work.

London – Kicking off London’s Russian Art Week, on November 26 Christie’s Important Russian Art auction will present 268 lots featuring important paintings that are fresh to the market and valuable works of art.

Works that we take for granted today as masterpieces, or as epitomes of the finest of fine art, could also have been considered ugly, of poor quality, or just bad when they were first made.