ARTTalk-ArtPourri

Artists Selected – Eight-one artists have been chosen for the 2008 Whitney Biennial, which opens in New York City on March 6 and runs through June 1. For the first time the museum is collaborating with the Park Avenue Armory and Art Production Fund to provide the Biennial with a second venue in the Seventh Regiment Armory building—that will be the setting for a series of performances, temporary installations, events and other programs by Biennial artists from March 6-23. www.whitney.org.

Campaign Waged – The Dia Art Foundation, owner of Robert Smithson’s monumental Spiral Jetty on the Great Salt Lake in Utah, recently initiated a campaign to prevent oil drilling near this earthwork. Dia’s position is that drilling activity would disrupt the Jetty’s view shed and the area’s silent and isolated character and would degrade the natural environment of the lake. Email atickle@diaart.org.

Museum Debuts – The Broad Contemporary Art Museum, the centerpiece of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Transformation, has opened as part of an ambitious program of expansion and renovation. Designed by Renzo Piano, the new three-story museum includes 60,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space and is one of the largest column-free art spaces in the U.S. designed specifically for the display of contemporary art

Masterpieces Stolen – Masked, armed robbers recently stole four masterpieces from a museum in Zurich, Switzerland: Degas’ Count Lepic and His Daughters; Cezanne’s Boy in a Red Vest; Monet’s Poppies Near Vetheuil; and Van Gogh’s Blossoming Chestnut Branches—all oil on canvas. Only four days before, thieves stole two Picasso paintings from a cultural center near Zurich. www.interpol.int.

Milestone – Renowned illustrator John Alvin has died at his home in Rhinebeck, NY, at the age of 59. Alvin created posters for movies such as “Blazing Saddles,” “Alien,” “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “Harry Potter” and the Star Wars Tenth Anniversary poster, as well as promotional artwork for Disney films such as “Beauty and the Beast” and “Pinocchio.”

“A picture can become for us a highway between a particular thing and a universal feeling.” –Lawren Harris

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