Articles

Every now and then an arts publication will release a top 10 ranking of some form: 10 best booths at an art fair, 10 best paintings at an art fair, 10 best museums, and so on. All of these lists are extremely subjective. They will vary widely according to who is writing them. You can only achieve an objective ranking by using pure data as your listing criteria. Artdependence reached out to Christies and Sothebys to gather information on the most expensive auction lots from September 2016 to June 2017. We used the data to create a list, ranking the top 10 most valuable pieces of art according to pure market value.

“It is a priceless part of Europe’s modernist cultural and artistic legacy. We are doing our best not to let it be devalued or disrespected, but we need help.” Ian Hunter. Sometimes, as an arts journalist, you read something in the newspapers that fascinates you and compels you to find out more. The Guardian article “Kurt Schwitters’ Merz Barn under threat from property developers" by Hannah Ellis-Petersen was one of those articles for me. How is it possible that Schwitters’ Merz Bern, such an important piece of art history, could be under threat?

If you are not particularly interested in contemporary Asian art the term "Dansaekhwa" (a.k.a Korean Monochrome Paintings or Korean Abstract Paintings) may have well gone under your radar. The popularity (and sales) of Dansaekhwa artist have enjoyed remarkable success in the past few years and in 2016 South Korea became the 10th largest art auction market in the world.

Christie's The Old Master & British Drawings & Watercolours Sale will be highlighted by three important works by Joseph Mallord William Turner.

A new permanent commission for Tottenham Court Road station in London to open 3 July 2017.

The highlight of CHRISTIE’S IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN ART EVENING SALE - Max Beckmann, Hölle der Vögel (Birds’ Hell) sold for a world record price of £36,005,000

Minimalism is about to have one it’s biggest revivals to date. The Frankfurt Museum of Modern Art (MMK) is presenting a major exhibition of minimalist art from the 60s and 70s. Featuring the work of more than 50 international artists, the show is the first of its kind and features the recreation of two historical installations, both originally seen at the Heiner Friedrich gallery in Munich, 1968. Artdependence caught up with Mario Kramer who is curating the show.

Barely appreciated in his own time, positively lionised in ours, Vincent van Gogh led a life as familiar to us as that of any artist in history.

Adam D. Weinberg, the Alice Pratt Brown Director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, had announced that an anonymous donor has promised two major prewar American paintings to the Museum's permanent collection: Edward Hopper's 1932 painting City Roofs and Childe Hassam’s Allied Flags, April 1917, also known as Allied Flags, Union League Club (1917).

The 57th edition of Biennale, titled VIVA ARTE VIVA and curated by Christine Macel, chief curator at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, opened its doors to the public on the 13th of May. The first Biennale took place in 1895; it was an initiative of the Venetian mayor Riccardo Selvatico. Today, it is one of the most important events in the art world internationally.

Art21 officially kicks off a summer of programming with Summer of Shorts, which will feature ten new films over the course of ten consecutive weeks.

Flora Mayo was Alberto Giacometti’s first great love. The two met while studying art in Paris. He became a world-famous artist; she fell into oblivion.

As an art magazine, we want to do more than just review the latest exhibitions and news stories. Following the horrific attacks in London and Manchester we want to turn our attention to the beauty and culture on offer in the capital, so we’ve decided to list some of the exhibitions that make it well worth a trip to the city.

The egg has always held particular symbolic significance, partly because it is a visual shorthand for new life and un-hatched potential. The egg brings hope and purity. It is a symbol of fertility and the circle of life. In some Asian cultures the egg is seen as a symbol of luck and wealth.

Following the recent revelation that Jeff Koons had used the work of a Ukrainian artist for the basis of his widely acclaimed inflatable sculpture at the Rockefeller Centre, Artdependence can reveal that a second piece of derivative work has been uncovered amongst Koons’ Antiquities series.

Recently, the saying "There is nothing new under the sun" has acquired unexpected relevance in contemporary art. The scandal associated with the sculpture "Seated ballerina" by Jeff Koons caused unprecedented resonance among both fierce opponents and devoted fans of the work of the famous American artist. The statue was erected near the Rockefeller Center in New York and was exposed as being a close copy of the porcelain figurine of "Ballerina Lenochka" by the Ukrainian porcelain sculptor Oksana Zhnikrup (1931-1993). Artdependence Magazine met with the grandson of Oksana Zhnikrup, Maxim Lozovoy, who told us about his grandmother, what she was like according to family stories, about her fate and creative activity, about the sensation around Koons’ statue, and his own views on what’s the scandal.

Pablo Picasso’s Femme Écrivant (Marie-Thérèse) Will Be a Leading Highlight of Christie’s Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale 27 June 2017

The upcoming Sotheby’s France Contemporary Art sale will pay tribute to the Parisian masters of abstraction.

The ‘largest volcano and earthquake exhibition in Europe’ is due to open June 1st in Hvolsvöllur in South Iceland. LAVA is dedicated to the country’s volcanic landscape and will explore the geographic makeup of the local area through a series of interactive exhibits and educational activities.

Yesterday late at night Artdependence received the following response from Lauran Rothstein from Jeff Koons LLC: «We are aware of Oksana Zhnikrup’s work and have a license to use it for Mr. Koons’s work».