In July 2017, the National Gallery, London acquired a recently discovered, rare self-portrait by the most celebrated female artist of the Italian Baroque – Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1654 or later). Yesterday (19 December 2018) Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria, an oil painting from about 1615–17, went on public display in Central Hall of the National Gallery. This follows five months of conservation treatment; the restoration process – in a first for the Gallery – was documented through a regular series of short films shared on social media via #NGArtemisia. While unveiling the newest addition to the national collection, the National Gallery also revealed some exciting plans for her future. From March 2019, Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria will undertake a pop-up tour of unusual and unexpected venues (not all of them galleries or museums) across the UK. Her ‘grand tour’ will start at Glasgow
Tuesday, December 18, 2018 – 14:15Arts Catalyst and The Otolith Collective are launching Undisciplinary, a new residency supporting three UK-based artists, curators and cultural practitioners.
At a time when the cracks and fault lines of contemporary neoliberal society are becoming more visible, how can we, as cultural producers, address notions of power, access and equity? And how can these macropolitics shape the micropolitics of the field we inhabit – the visual arts? Emerging artists, artist collectives, curators, cultural practitioners and writers whose research focuses on critical issues in global perspectives of the 21st century are invited to apply. We are particularly interested in hearing from practitioners whose research addresses the politics of ecology, gender and race, contemporary activist struggles and from those engaged with rethinking genres of the human in relation to the Black radical tradition. Piloting from April 2019, this month-long residency will provide learning, networking and mentoring opportunities as well as a critical framework for challenging existing structures that underlie artistic and cultural production. The three residents will have the opportunity to• Shape both individually and collectively the Undisciplinary programme together with Arts Catalyst and The Otolith Collective, while directly informing its design and delivery• Participate in and nurture a supportive network of artists, curators and organisations• Receive 1:1 mentoring and support around specific projects and/or their broad practice• Access Arts Catalyst and The Otolith Collective’s network of artists, curators, institutions, academic and scientists• Present and share elements of their individual and/or collective inquiry process by co-curating a resource room at Arts Catalyst in April 2019• Be supported in testing out different forms of presentation including writing, broadcasting, public programme, performance A number of partner organisations will be involved to provide further opportunities for residency participants. There is no expected exhibition at the end of the residency rather, a desire to develop a platform for the research through seminars, screenings, podcasts, a reading room etc. A dedicated research space will be available at Arts Catalyst throughout April 2019. We encourage the three residents to be active in the space during this period. HOW TO APPLYApplicants should be UK-based and have been out of formal education for at least one year. We welcome in particular applications from artists and curators from BAME backgrounds. In order to apply please send us an expression of interest including / explaining:• A summary of your research proposal, (250 words max)• A full research proposal, including how you think this residency could help you expand your practice (700 words max)• How you plan to approach your research, (400 words max)• CV (2 pages max)• Supporting material, dependent on your practice; 10 images maximum, 3 video clips (max length of all clips – 5 min), writings / text Deadline: Sunday 3 February at 11.59pmThe application should be sent in the form of one single PDF to opportunities@artscatalyst.org. Successful applicants will be notified by 15 February. Costs and finance:Successful applicants will receive £1000, which breaks down as bursary fee of £600 and £400 for research, such as visiting mentors, inviting speakers Arts Catalyst is a contemporary art organisation focused on transdisciplinary art and inquiry. It commissions and produces projects, artworks and exhibitions that connect with other fields of knowledge, expanding artistic practice into domains associated with science and specialist research. Arts Catalyst has commissioned more than 160 artists’ projects, including major new works by Tomás Saraceno, Aleksandra Mir, Ashok Sukumaran, Otolith Group, and Critical Art Ensemble. Arts Catalyst’s Centre in King’s Cross, London, is a hub for the organisation’s work, nationally and internationally, providing a space for developing new projects and co-inquiries connecting local interests with wider planetary issues. The Otolith Collective expands on the work of The Otolith Group, which was founded in 2002 by Anjalika Sagar and Kodwo Eshunin. It is a curatorial public platform through which exhibition-making, artists’ writing, workshops, publication, and teaching are aimed at developing close readings of images and sounds in contemporary society. Approaching curation as an artistic practice of building intergenerational and cross-cultural platforms, the collective has been influential in critically introducing particular works of artists such as Chris Marker, Harun Farocki, Anand Patwardhan, Etel Adnan, Black Audio Film Collective, Sue Clayton, Mani Kaul, Peter Watkins, and Chimurenga in the UK, US, Europe, and Lebanon.
More than 85 well-preserved dinosaur footprints – made by at least seven different species – have been uncovered in East Sussex, representing the most diverse and detailed collection of these trace fossils from the Cretaceous Period found in the UK to date. The footprints were identified by University of Cambridge researchers between 2014 and 2018, following periods of coastal erosion along the cliffs near Hastings. Many of the footprints – which range in size from less than 2 cm to over 60 cm across – are so well-preserved that fine detail of skin, scales and claws is easily visible. The footprints date from the Lower Cretaceous epoch, between 145 and 100 million years ago, with prints from herbivores including from the iguanodontian family, an ankylosaur, an unknown species of stegosaur, possible examples from the sauropod group (which included Diplodocus and Brontosaurus), as well as meat-eating theropods. The results are reported in the journal Palaeogeography
The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza presents the results of the restoration and technical study of one of the most iconic works in its collection, Caravaggio’s Saint Catherine of Alexandria, carried out with the collaboration of Asisa. Having undergone treatment in the Museum’s workshop, the painting is on view in room 11 in a display designed by the Restoration Department. The show includes X-ray images and infrared reflectograms which illustrate the most interesting aspects of the work performed, explain the methods used, and attest to the excellent quality of the painting. It also features a video of the entire restoration process, the most significant discoveries, and interesting details of the painting. With this exhibition the Museum, aware of the interest aroused by restoration work, sets out to familiarise visitors with the working methods used by restorers, who are essential to deciding on the most appr
On 6 March 2019, Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction will be led by David Hockney’s intimate yet monumentally-scaled 1969 portrait of Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott, from the collection of Barney A. Ebsworth (estimate in excess of £30 million). Standing among Hockney’s most celebrated works, Henry Geldzahler and Christopher Scott will mark a fitting conclusion to the collection of Barney A. Ebsworth, which has thus far achieved a running total of $323,508,250. The painting will be unveiled and on view in New York from 8 to 12 February before going on view in London from 2 to 6 March 2019. The Post-War and Contemporary Art Evening Auction is a key part of 20th Century at Christie’s, a season of sales taking place in London from 22 February to 7 March 2019. Marc Porter, Chairman, Christie’s Americas, remarked: “It is an honour to present Hockney’s double portrait of Henr