Art

Cross-Cultural Exchanges from Vietnam, Ethiopia, the Caribbean

Published

1 year ago

September 2, 2023

Solo shows also abound, from Charles Gaines to Harry Smith, while the women of Land Art and Fluxus keep rocking in major exhibitions.

Big, globe-leaping historical art shows are still scarce, post-pandemic. But the Metropolitan Museum of Art persists in doing them, and no one does big and global better. I have high expectations for “Africa and Byzantium” (Nov. 19-March 3, 2024), a roots-and-routes exhibition that promises to illuminate cultural exchanges made between medieval African kingdoms in Egypt, Nubia, and Ethiopia and the Byzantine Empire across the Mediterranean. There are sure to be surprises and beauties beyond compare.

Relatedly, I’ll be heading to Baltimore to catch “Ethiopia at the Crossroads” at the Walters Art Museum (Dec. 3-March 3), which has a superlative collection of Ethiopian religious art. When the Walters-organized exhibition “African Zion” appeared at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem in 1994 it blew me away. Three decades later, some of the same treasures will be supplemented by examples of outstanding work being made in Ethiopia today.

The Walters Art Museum

The fall will be rich in contemporary solo museum exhibitions. I’ve been waiting for someone to organize a survey of the photographer An-My Le, who was born in Vietnam and came to the United States as a refugee in 1975. Her subtle images of a world soaked in militarism (Vietnam War re-enactments staged on what were once Confederate battlefields) will be included in the Museum of Modern Art’s “An-My Lê: Between Two Rivers” (Nov. 5-March 16), the two rivers of the title being the Mekong and the Mississippi.

“Charles Gaines: 1992-2023” at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (Nov. 16-March 17) will pick up where an earlier Studio Museum in Harlem retrospective of this pioneering Conceptualist’s work left off. And his art — politically-charged, harmonically-infused — has become more varied and imaginative year by year into the present. (His monumental 2022-23 sculpture, “Moving Chains,” installed on Governors Island, Manhattan, was a stunner.)

Another protean, longstanding contemporary career in full flower will be documented in “MaríaMagdalena Campos-Pons: Behold” at Brooklyn Museum (Sept. 15-Jan. 14). Born in Cuba in 1959, and educated there before coming to the United States, Campos-Pons’s experimental interweaving of photography, painting and performance filters references to the island’s colonial past and the living tradition of Afro-Cuban Santeria through the prism of her own life.

María Magdalena Campos-Pons’s “Replenishing,” 2001, composition of seven Polaroid Polacolor Pro photographs.María Magdalena Campos-Pons

I look forward to “Michael Richards: Are You Down?” at the Bronx Museum of the Arts (Sept. 8-Jan. 7), a survey of a Brooklyn-born artist of Jamaican and Costa Rican descent who died at 38 when he was trapped in his studio high in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. He was a talent of tremendous promise and significant early accomplishment. His 1999 sculpture “Tar Baby vs. St. Sebastian,” a memorial to a Tuskegee airman — based on a cast of the artist’s body — pierced by small fighter planes, is a now-classic image of desire, death and transcendence.

We’ll enter fully into the mystic with “William Blake: Visionary,” a gathering of the otherworldly 19th-century artist’s paintings and prints of Heaven and Hell, and Earth in between, which will be winging its way into the Getty Center, Los Angeles from London (Oct. 17-Jan. 14).

And we’ll find a potent dose of homegrown uplift in “Fragments of a Faith Forgotten: The Art of Harry Smith” at the Whitney Museum of American Art (Oct. 4-January), a first institutional overview of the experimental filmmaker and music ethnologist (1923-1991), whose compilations of American folk music sparked a national craze in the 1950s and whose cosmologically charged films and collages anticipated psychedelic developments later in the ’60s.

I plan to be first in line for the opening of “Impossible Music” at the Miller Institute for Contemporary Art at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh (Sept. 30-Dec. 10), an exhibition of sound, video, drawing and performance designed to test the boundaries of “visual arts” as a descriptive category. In 2016 one of the show’s curators, Raven Chacon, made an audio recording of a silent vigil by women protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline near Standing Rock, N.D. Only the sounds of breathing, rustling bodies and the whir of surveillance helicopters are audible. Never has “silence” been more resounding. (Chacon went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in music last year.)

My 2023-24 go-to list includes other potentially horizon-expanding group shows, all historical. During the “global” moment a few decades back New York museums, large and small, regularly gave us valuable introductory samplings of unfamiliar (here, anyway) contemporary work from Asia. “Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s-1970s” at the Guggenheim Museum (Sept. 1-Jan. 7) is in the line of such shows and welcome in the present international spotlighting of Korean culture.

Sung Neung Kyung’s “An Upside-Down Map of the World,” 1974.Sung Neung Kyung, via Seoul Museum of Art

Revising history is one of the mandates driving two shows. “Out of Bounds: Japanese Women Artists in Fluxus” at Japan Society (Oct. 13-Jan. 21) will be the first exhibition to consider the contribution made by women to the New York-based international avant-garde Fluxus movement of the 1960s. Shigeko Kubota (1937-2015), Yoko Ono, Takako Saito and Mieko Shiomi are the marquee players. And “Groundswell: Women of Land Art” at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas (Sept. 23-Jan. 7), featuring a dozen women — Alice Aycock, Beverly Buchanan, Agnes Denes and Maren Hassinger head the roll-call — will critically rewrite longstanding textbook versions of another movement of that era — this one once dominated by big-boys, and big-footing.

Speaking of history and how it gets told, Brazil’s São Paulo Museum of Art, or MASP, will open the latest in its series of remarkable omnibus “Historias” exhibitions this fall (Oct. 20-Feb. 25). Past editions have tackled histories of sexuality, feminism, childhood and the Afro-Atlantic world. (A version of its “Afro-Atlantic Histories,” very different from the MASP original, has been traveling the United States.) The latest entry, “Indigenous Histories,” will approach its theme through the eyes of Indigenous curators and artists from Oceania, South America, North America and Europe. The subject is vast and loose, the project politically tricky, but potentially fascinating.

“A Long Arc: Photography and the American South Since 1845” is coming to the High Museum, Atlanta (Sept. 15-Jan. 14). As a Boston teenager in the 1960s, I took an impromptu Greyhound bus trip through the South, which permanently changed and shaped my view of America and its history. I have a sense that this exhibition of images dating from the Civil War to the civil rights era, to the present, will offer a similarly eye-widening journey through American time.

Charles Moore, “Martin Luther King Jr. Arrested, Montgomery, Alabama,” 1958, gelatin silver print.Estate of Charles Moore, via High Museum of Art, Atlanta

And one last revisionist entry, this one recently opened and long-running. We often look to New York City, and the presence of the Young Lords in its East Harlem barrio, as the main stage for Latino, and specifically Puerto Rican, activism during the civil rights years. But, in fact, the Young Lords, who modeled themselves on the Black Panthers, formed in 1968 in Chicago. “Entre Horizontes: Art and Activism Between Chicago and Puerto Rico” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (through May 5, 2024) tells that origin story, introduces us to artists we should know, and draws a clear horizon line between Lake Michigan and the Caribbean.

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Art

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

Published

9 hours 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.

Art

Ukrainian sells art in Essex while stuck in a warzone – BBC.com

Published

2 weeks ago

September 2, 2024

Harry Miller

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Ukrainian sells art in Essex while stuck in a warzone BBC.com

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Art

Somerset House Fire: Courtauld Gallery Reopens, Rest of Landmark Closed

Published

4 weeks ago

August 18, 2024

Harry Miller

The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House has reopened its doors to the public after a fire swept through the historic building in central London. While the gallery has resumed operations, the rest of the iconic site remains closed “until further notice.”

On Saturday, approximately 125 firefighters were called to the scene to battle the blaze, which sent smoke billowing across the city. Fortunately, the fire occurred in a part of the building not housing valuable artworks, and no injuries were reported. Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Despite the disruption, art lovers queued outside the gallery before it reopened at 10:00 BST on Sunday. One visitor expressed his relief, saying, “I was sad to see the fire, but I’m relieved the art is safe.”

The Clark family, visiting London from Washington state, USA, had a unique perspective on the incident. While sightseeing on the London Eye, they watched as firefighters tackled the flames. Paul Clark, accompanied by his wife Jiorgia and their four children, shared their concern for the safety of the artwork inside Somerset House. “It was sad to see,” Mr. Clark told the BBC. As a fan of Vincent Van Gogh, he was particularly relieved to learn that the painter’s famous Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear had not been affected by the fire.

Blaze in the West Wing

The fire broke out around midday on Saturday in the west wing of Somerset House, a section of the building primarily used for offices and storage. Jonathan Reekie, director of Somerset House Trust, assured the public that “no valuable artefacts or artworks” were located in that part of the building. By Sunday, fire engines were still stationed outside as investigations into the fire’s origin continued.

About Somerset House

Located on the Strand in central London, Somerset House is a prominent arts venue with a rich history dating back to the Georgian era. Built on the site of a former Tudor palace, the complex is known for its iconic courtyard and is home to the Courtauld Gallery. The gallery houses a prestigious collection from the Samuel Courtauld Trust, showcasing masterpieces from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. Among the notable works are pieces by impressionist legends such as Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, and Vincent Van Gogh.

Somerset House regularly hosts cultural exhibitions and public events, including its popular winter ice skating sessions in the courtyard. However, for now, the venue remains partially closed as authorities ensure the safety of the site following the fire.

Art lovers and the Somerset House community can take solace in knowing that the invaluable collection remains unharmed, and the Courtauld Gallery continues to welcome visitors, offering a reprieve amid the disruption.

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