Patrick Faigenbaum, winner of the Henri Cartier-Bresson Award

PARIS.- On June 10th, after meetings at Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris, the jury of the HCB Award 2013 has nominated the French photographer Patrick Faigenbaum as the winner, for his project “Kolkata”. He was nominated by Gilles Tiberghien, lecturer in aesthetics and art philosophy at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. Attributed by Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson every other year, the HCB Award is a prize of 35 000 euro to stimulate a photographer’s creativity by offering him the opportunity to carry out a project [...]

East German leading figure of the Socialist Realist style artist Willi Sitte dies

BERLIN (AFP).- Willi Sitte, the former Communist East Germany’s top artist and a leading figure of the Socialist Realist style, died Saturday, his gallery said. Sitte was also a long-serving, high-ranking official in the Communist regime of the state that was dissolved and reunited in 1990 with West Germany. His closeness to the East German state apparatus meant he remained a contentious figure in Germany after reunification. Sitte denied reports in 2001 that he had close links to the notorious Stasi secret [...]

Deborah Cullinan appointed Executive Director at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Yerba Buena Center for the Arts announced the appointment of Deborah M. Cullinan as Executive Director. Cullinan will begin her new role on September 15, 2013. Cullinan comes to YBCA after having served as the executive director at San Francisco’s Intersection for the Arts, the Bay Area’s pioneering arts and community development organization. During her tenure at Intersection, Cullinan took the organization from financial crisis and turned it into a thriving and vibrant institution with leading-edge programming. “Deborah is [...]

Artist Terry Ryu Kim named winner of the Catlin Art Prize 2013; Juno Calypso wins the Visitor Vote

LONDON.- The winner of the Catlin Art Prize 2013 has been announced as Terry Ryu Kim. Terry was awarded the £5,000 prize for her installation, Screening Solution I, II & III. The panel of judges –Turner Prize nominated Dexter Dalwood, gallerist and curator Ceri Hand, and collector Valeria Napoleone – also commended the other artists for producing a strong and committed selection of new works. Screening Solution I, II and III explores how the body is manipulated by architecture and technology. [...]

Austrian artist, convicted paedophile Otto Muehl dies

VIENNA (AFP).- Otto Muehl, one of Austria’s best-known and most provocative and controversial artists, who was jailed for paedophilia in 1991, has died aged 87, it was confirmed Monday. Muehl, who had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease and heart problems, “passed away peacefully among friends in Portugal” on Sunday, the head of the Muehl Archive, Daniele Roussel, told the Austria Press Agency. Muehl burst onto the scene in the 1960s as a co-founder of the Viennese Actionism movement with blood-splattered garbage sculptures [...]

Margaret Harrison wins 2013 Northern Art Prize

LEEDS.- Margaret Harrison (72) was announced the sixth winner of the Northern Art Prize at Leeds Art Gallery on Thursday 23 May 2013 in front of several hundred guests. She was presented with a cheque for £16,500 by Co-Editor of contemporary art magazine ‘Frieze’ and judge Jennifer Higgie with each of the remaining shortlisted artists Rosalind Nashashibi, Emily Speed and Joanne Tatham & Tom O’Sullivan awarded £1,500. The judges, comprising Tomma Abts, Turner Prize-winning painter; Margot Heller, Director of South London Gallery; Jennifer [...]

Galerie Jaeger Bucher in Paris announces the death of Swiss artist Michael Biberstein

PARIS.- Galerie Jaeger Bucher announce the death of its artist Michael Biberstein who passed away on Sunday 5th of May, victim of a cerebrovascular accident in his Alentejo house in Portugal. His relentless creation focused on landscape, not a real landscape but one found in the spirit, where a man’s quest for the meaning of his existence and his deeper self, placed us in front of a “Resonance of Silence” (title of his last exhibition at the gallery). The chromatic breathing of [...]

Storm Thorgerson’s family announces that the Pink Floyd cover designer dies at age 69

LONDON (AFP).- British graphic designer Storm Thorgerson, best known for designing the iconic cover of Pink Floyd’s 1973 classic album “The Dark Side of the Moon”, has died aged 69, his family announced on Thursday. More recently, Thorgerson created the artwork for records released by Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro, British stadium band Muse and Australian dance-rock outfit Pendulum. He was a childhood friend of Pink Floyd’s founding members before becoming its design chief. His most famous creation featured a prism of glass [...]

Franco-Chinese abstract painter Zao Wou-Ki dies at home at the age of 93: Lawyers

PARIS (AFP).- Chinese-French abstract painter Zao Wou-Ki, a significant figure in 20th-century Chinese art, died Tuesday at his home in Switzerland aged 93, Marc Bonnant, a lawyer for his wife, told AFP. A lawyer for Zao’s son, who was in a legal battle with his step-mother to obtain power-of-attorney over the artist, confirmed the death and said Zao, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, had been hospitalised twice since the end of March. The Beijing-born Zao left China for Paris before the Communist [...]

Kate Haw named new Director of Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art

WASHINGTON, DC.- Kate Haw, currently vice president for development at the National Building Museum, has been named the director of theSmithsonian’s Archives of American Art, effective May 27. The Archives, founded in Detroit in 1954, became a part of the Smithsonian in 1970. Its mission is to collect, preserve and make available primary source material documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. Its holdings of 20 million original documents pertaining to art in America, including letters, diaries, [...]

New Director appointed to the Istanbul Design Biennial

ISTANBUL.- Özlem Yalım Özkaraoğlu, Director of the first Istanbul Design Biennial organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), is handing over her duties to Deniz Ova, Director of International Projects at İKSV. Özlem Yalım Özkaraoğlu who has been the Director of Istanbul Design Biennial since 2010, will continue to contribute to the biennial as consultant and a member of the Istanbul Design Biennial Advisory Board, while pursuing her own projects in the field of design. Deniz Ova, who has worked [...]

Bonhams appoint Laure Raibaut as Senior Specialist of Modern & Contemporary Art in Hong Kong

HONG KONG.- Bonhams announced the appointment of Laure Raibaut as Senior Specialist of the new Contemporary Art department in Hong Kong. Commenting on her appointment, Dessa Goddard, Director of Asian Art, North America, said: “We are delighted to have Laure as the anchor for our growing team of specialists in Asian contemporary art. Her seasoned experience in the private sector and her vivacious personality make her ideally suited to lead Bonhams expansion into this vibrant art market.” A French national, Laure Raibaut [...]

National Gallery of Australia pays tribute to pre-eminent Australian sculptor Bert Flugelman

CANBERRA.- The National Gallery of Australia last week paid tribute with great sadness to esteemed Australian sculptor, Bert Flugelman. As one of this country’s pre-eminent sculptors, Bert Flugelman’s art over the decades was shaped by his passion and determination; his steadfastness, courage and humour. ‘Bert Flugelman was a great Australian sculptor, teacher and inspirer of younger artists. We are lucky to have his largest major work in our Sculpture Garden and have also fortunately been able to update our collection of his [...]

Serpentine Gallery’s Nicola Lees appointed as new Curator for Frieze London 2013

LONDON.- Nicola Lees has today been announced as the new Curator of Frieze Foundation, responsible for the unique programme of artist commissions, which takes place annually at Frieze London. Lees will also take up a position on the judging panel of the Emdash Award 2013, giving an emerging international artist the opportunity to participate in the Frieze Projects programme. Amanda Sharp and Matthew Slotover, Co-Directors of Frieze commented: ‘Nicola’s understanding of the busy, complex fair environment and the role of Frieze Projects [...]

Terra Foundation CEO Elizabeth Glassman to Join Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Board

BENTONVILLE, AR.- Elizabeth Glassman, president and chief executive officer of the Terra Foundation for American Art, has recently been appointed to the board of directors of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Since joining the Terra Foundation in 2001, Glassman has led the organization in developing and launching its expanded grant program, which has since awarded approximately $45 million for some 450 exhibitions and scholarly programs in more than 30 countries. Glassman also oversees the Foundation’s renowned collection of American art, which [...]