Photography exhibition reveals life in India’s coal belt at London’s Gallery S O.

LONDON (REUTERS).- In a filthy pit, straining his body as he hacks ash from the ground, the image of a man captured in a black and white photograph represents the working conditions of many laborers in coal-rich northeast India. The picture is one of several being exhibited in London this month by photographer Srinivas Kuruganti, illustrating life in Jharkland state, where underground fires sparked by coal mining have raged for nearly a century and displaced communities. Kuruganti’s fascination with the impacts [...]

Hundreds of collectors descend on London for the annual contemporary art frenzy

LONDON (REUTERS).- Will Chinese buyers ride to the rescue? Will the super-rich decide painting and sculpture is a better investment than volatile stocks or risky debt? Those are the big questions on the art world’s lips as hundreds of galleries and collectors descend on London for the annual post-war and contemporary frenzy centered around the October 13-16 Frieze Art Fair in Regent’s Park. The annual event held in a giant marquee has quickly become a key date for anyone wanting to [...]

Tate Modern to power ahead with art in oil tanks

LONDON (REUTERS).- Derelict oil tanks and forgotten industrial spaces hidden in the bowels of the Tate Modern art museum in London will open to the public in summer 2012, providing a new area to “revolutionise” the museum’s work, directors said on Thursday. The opening of the enormous and atmospheric oil tanks in the former power station on the banks of the Thames will provide flexible, subterranean “lunar” spaces and form the foundation for a further expansion of the world’s most visited modern art [...]

China Overtakes Britain as the World’s Second Largest Art and Antiques Market

LONDON (REUTERS).- China overtook Britain as the world’s second largest art and antiques market last year, a new report showed, and British art officials voiced concern that an EU levy planned in 2012 would further undermine its position. “The Global Art Market in 2010: Crisis and Recovery” underlined what auction houses and consigners had seen throughout last year — a sharp rise in the number of wealthy Chinese buyers, and, with them, prices. The report, commissioned by the European Fine [...]

Mile-Long Floating Walkway Above the Thames to Open Up London’s Hidden Past

LONDON (REUTERS).- A mile-long floating walkway on London’s River Thames is being planned in the heart of the capital, allowing views of the city’s hidden alleys, wharves and landmarks dating back to medieval times. The pontoon, known as the “London River Park,” will connect Blackfriars Bridge, on the western edge of the ancient city, and the Tower of London in the east. Suspended a few feet above the water on the north bank, the walk will be interspersed with five [...]

Glasgow-Born Sound Artist Susan Philipsz Wins 2010 Turner Prize

LONDON (REUTERS).- Glasgow-born Susan Philipsz, the first artist working primarily in sound to be shortlisted for the Turner Prize, is the winner of Britain’s most prestigious art award when it is announced later Monday. Her “Lowlands” installation for the Turner Prize exhibition held each year at the Tate Britain gallery in London features only her voice singing old Scottish laments through a three-channel sound system. Glasgow-born artist Susan Philipsz (C) is escorted towards her work after hearing the announcement that [...]

Museums Escape the Worst in Spending Review at UK

LONDON (REUTERS).- Museums breathed a sigh of relief after escaping the worst of the government spending cuts announced on Wednesday, but reductions in funding for other sectors of the arts were significantly higher. Chancellor George Osborne said museums would face a 15 percent funding cut over the next four years, and, crucially to the sector, free admission to museums and galleries would be preserved. Planned extensions to the Tate Gallery and British Museum in London were also safe. “The outcome [...]

London Show Explores Skin as Human Body’s Frontier

LONDON (REUTERS).- “Visitors may find some images in this exhibition disturbing,” reads a sign at the entrance to the Wellcome Collection‘s latest exhibition: “Skin.” “Skin” tracks attitudes toward the human body’s largest organ since the 15th century from scientific, artistic and historical perspectives. The exhibition is divided into four parts: objects, marks, impressions, and after-life. There is also a Skin Lab, which looks at recent developments in skin science. A black and white photograph of a patient in a Parisian [...]

British Art Market Warns Against European Union Levy

LONDON (REUTERS).- British auction houses fear that an EU levy on works of art by the likes of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, due to be introduced in 2012, could undermine their position as world leaders in the field. The British government has a temporary exemption from the EU’s “droit de suite” levy on the re-sale price of works of art payable to the artist or the artist’s inheritors for 70 years after his or her death. Extending the artists’ [...]

Rival Auction Houses, Christie’s and Sotheby’s, Aim for New Heights in London

LONDON (REUTERS).- Rivals Christie’s and Sotheby’s are expecting to hold their biggest ever London sales later this month, reflecting growing confidence in the art market boom. Christie’s announced on Thursday it was offering a 1906 Monet water-lily painting worth an estimated 30 to 40 million pounds ($44-59 million), the same price as a Blue Period portrait by Pablo Picasso. The pair, plus 61 other works on offer, are expected to take the tally on June 23 to 164-231 million pounds, [...]

Four Nominees Announced to Compete for Britain’s Turner Prize

LONDON (REUTERS).- Berlin-based Susan Philipsz, whose artworks center around recordings of her voice singing folk songs in public spaces, is one of the four nominees for Britain’s top art award. The Turner Prize, awarded to British artists under the age of 50 for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation, is handed out annually and traditionally attracts popular debate about the nature and role of art. Philipsz, 44, was nominated for presentations of her work at the International Festival of Visual [...]

Christie’s Expects to Break Auction Records with Rembrandt and Raphael Sale Next Week

LONDON (REUTERS).- Christie’s is confident the recession is well and truly over in the world of fine art, with a record old masters sale in London next week that includes important works by Rembrandt, Raphael and Il Domenichino. The world’s largest auctioneer is calling its December 8 old masters and 19th century auction a “landmark,” and pre-sale estimates range from 45-63 million pounds ($75-105 million), its highest ever for such a sale. “This auction promises to be a landmark sale [...]

Russian Art Week Sales Expected to Reach $81 Million for Auction Houses in London

LONDON (REUTERS.- Auction houses are banking on a recovery at next week’s series of big Russian art sales in London, at which they expect to show that the market dominated by new money is through the worst of the recession. With most at stake are Sotheby’s and Russian specialist MacDougall’s, who together offer works worth between 27 and 39 million pounds ($45-64 million). Christie’s the world’s largest auction house, has pre-sale estimates of 6.5-9.3 million pounds. The figures are sharply [...]