ArtPourri

New Installation – Roxy Paine’s Graft, a stainless steel tree-like sculpture or “Dendroid,” was recently installed in the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.  The piece presents two fictive but distinct species of trees joined to the same trunk, one gnarled and twisting and the other smooth and rhythmic. www.nga.gov/collection/paineinfo.htm.

Grants Announced – The Creative Capital/Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant Program has announced the recipients of its 2009 grant cycle.  The program aims to strengthen the field as a whole and to ensure that critical writing remains a valued mode of engaging the visual arts.  A total of $710,000 has been awarded to 26 individual writers in five categories:  articles, blogs, books, new and alternative media and short-form writing.  Visit www.artswriters.org.

Auction News – Christie’s London auction of Old Masters and 19^th Century Art realized $112.4 million, the highest ever total for an auction of Old Masters.  A drawing by Raphael set a world record price for any work on paper sold at auction and a Rembrandt portrait set a world record price for the artist at auction.  Christie’s New York Important American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture sale achieved a total of $32.3 million.  Two new world auction records were set for American artists Guy Pene du Bois and John Joseph Boyle, and a second highest price was achieved by Andrew Wyeth’s Above the Narrows at $6.9 million.  At Sotheby’s London Old Master & British Paintings sale, $30.9 million was realized.  Self Portrait by Sir Anthony van Dyck set a new auction record for the artist by a considerable margin.

Biennial Artists Named — Fifty-five artists have been selected for 2010, the Whitney Biennial, which will take over the Museum from Feb. 25 through May 30.  Established and emerging artists from all over the country are included.  Visit http://www.whitney.org/Exhibitions/2010Biennial to view the list of artists.

New Director for Miami – The Miami Art Museum has named John Wetenhall as Interim Director.  He officially starts on Jan. 4 and will oversee the day-to-day operations of the museum and planning for its new Museum Park home.  Wetenhall previously served for eight years as executive director of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, FL.

NEA News — NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman has announced the first round of NEA FY2010 grants, which are the first grants awarded under his leadership.  The Arts Endowment will distribute a total $26,968,500 to support 1,207 projects nationwide through the categories Access to Artistic Excellence, Creative Writing Fellowships in Prose, and Challenge America:  Reaching Every Community Fast Track.  Also of note, the Indiana Arts Commission is the recipient of the 2009 National Accessibility Leadership Award/Grant for their outstanding accessibility work.  http://www.nea.gov/grants/recent/10grants/10AAE.php?CAT=Access&DIS=Artists%20Communities

Stamp News – The U.S. Postal Service will honor 100 years of the U.S. scouting movement.  The Celebrate Scouting stamp, which will be sold in the summer of 2010, coincides with the Boy Scouts of America’s 100^th anniversary.  The design, created by illustrator Craig Frazier of Mill Valley, CA, depicts the spirit and outdoor adventure of scouting through a backpacking scout and a large silhouette of a scout surveying the landscape.

Choose a Winner – Don’t forget to cast a vote for your favorite artwork in Strathmore Artist Papers’ “How Do You See Green” Illustration Contest.  Vote at www.strathmoreartist.com until January 31, 2010.

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 20 No. 3 — January 2010