Art

Artist of Black Portraiture Leads Turner Prize Shortlist

Published

1 year ago

April 27, 2023

The nominees for the prestigious art award also include a sculptor, a humorous installation artist and a filmmaker whose work explored the impact of the pandemic.

Barbara Walker, a British artist who draws huge portraits of Black people onto gallery walls, and Jesse Darling, a sculptor whose works evoke fragile bodies, are among the artists nominated for this year’s Turner Prize, the prestigious British visual arts award.

The four-strong shortlist was announced on Thursday at a news conference at the Tate Britain art museum in London.

Walker, 58, is perhaps the highest-profile artist to be nominated, with works in the collections of Tate, the British Museum and the Yale Center for British Art.

She is nominated for “Burden of Proof,” which appeared last year at the Sharjah Biennial in the United Arab Emirates, and included charcoal portraits of people affected by Britain’s “Windrush scandal,” in which some long-term British residents, originally from the Caribbean, were misidentified as illegal immigrants and threatened with deportation. Walker drew these portraits directly onto the gallery walls, as well as onto copies of the paperwork that the British government demanded the residents produce.

In a 2020 interview with The New York Times, Walker, who did not go to art school until her late 20s and gradually built a career in middle age, said that her work could be about reclaiming visibility for people society ignores. “With visibility comes worth, and with worth comes humanity,” Walker said.

Darling, 41, was nominated for two recent solo exhibitions at British museums that included sculptures made using clay and metal mobility aids, bent so that they looked like they were crawling across the floor.

At Thursday’s news conference, Melanie Keen, the director of the Wellcome Collection and one of the Turner Prize judges, praised Darling’s “fragile and often precarious sculptures” evoking vulnerable bodies.

Founded in 1984, the Turner Prize is one of the art world’s major awards. Many of its past winners, who include Steve McQueen, Damien Hirst and Gilbert & George, have become global stars. Every year British art critics use the prize as an excuse to praise, bemoan or mock the state of contemporary art.

Last year, the prize went to Veronica Ryan, a sculptor whose work has been shown at the Whitney Biennial.

Alongside Walker and Darling, the other nominees are:

Ghislaine Leung, an installation artist nominated for “Fountains” at the Simian exhibition space in Copenhagen, Denmark. That show featured water pouring through the building’s ceiling and a baby monitor that visitors could use to observe the gallery’s staff at work. Helen Nisbet, the artistic director of the Art Night festival and one of this year’s judges, said at Thursday’s news conference that Leung, 42, impressed the jury “with her rethinking of the gallery space” and work filled with “warmth, humanity and humor.”
Rory Pilgrim, a multimedia artist and musician, nominated for “Rafts,” a film shown at London’s Serpentine Gallery that included residents of the city making art and music and reading poems about the coronavirus pandemic and climate change. The film received mixed reviews in Britain. Ben Luke, writing in The Evening Standard, said it was “often heartbreakingly beautiful,” while Eddy Frankel, writing in Time Out, called it “cold and stilted.”

The winner of this year’s prize will be announced on Dec. 5 in a ceremony at Towner Eastbourne, a museum in southern England. The winner will receive 25,000 pounds, about $31,000. An exhibition of the nominees’ work will run at the same museum from Sep. 28 through Apr. 14.

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Art

A misspelled memorial to the Brontë sisters gets its dots back at last

Published

3 weeks ago

September 26, 2024

Anne Joseph

LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.

More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.

The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.

They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.

“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”

It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.

Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”

Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.

“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.

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Art

Calvin Lucyshyn: Vancouver Island Art Dealer Faces Fraud Charges After Police Seize Millions in Artwork

Published

1 month ago

September 13, 2024

Harry Miller

In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.

Alleged Fraud Scheme

Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.

Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.

Massive Seizure of Artworks

In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.

Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.

Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed

In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.

Court Proceedings Ongoing

The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.

Impact on the Local Art Community

The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.

For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.

As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.

While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.

Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.

As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.