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Artscope Magazine | March/April 2019

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Artscope Online

ARE WE NEARING THE FINAL CHAPTER IN DA VINCI’S ‘SALVATOR MUNDI’ STORY?

// Artscope Online, Featured, News, Visual Arts

by Nancy Nesvet

No one knows the whereabouts of the most expensive painting ever sold, but it won’t be the first time the painting has disappeared and resurfaced. Let’s recount the history and mystery of this Dan Brown-like saga: “Salvator Mundi”, painted by Leonardo da Vinci, was commissioned by Louis XII of France in 1506. It took da Vinci seven years to complete the painting, making late 1512 the year of its arrival in England. It was brought to England by Henrietta Maria upon her marriage to Charles I in 1625. She kept it at the Queen’s House in Greenwich until it was sold to John Stone, a mason in 1651 when, following Charles I’s execution in 1649, it was returned to his inheritor, James II of England in 1660. It then went to his mistress, Catherine, Duchess of Dorchester whose illegitimate daughter’s illegitimate son, Sir Charles Sheffield, 1st baronet, auctioned it in 1763. It disappeared from … [Read more...] about ARE WE NEARING THE FINAL CHAPTER IN DA VINCI’S ‘SALVATOR MUNDI’ STORY?

Re-stitching Pieces of the Past: Howardena Pindell’s ‘What Remains to be Seen’ at the Rose

// Artscope Online, Current Exhibits, Exhibits, Featured, Visual Arts

by Olivia MacDonald

Art is an extension of oneself, a release that travels from the mind, through the arm and out the fingertips to pour onto the canvas. After a car crash in 1979 that left New York-based artist, Howardena Pindell, with a dented skull and short-term memory loss, she began to explore her own body and identity, as well as the politically-charged environment that rejected, denied and broke her in the past, just because of her skin color. Art was a way to mend the wounds, both within and outside of herself, a way to heal. It was a way to embrace her blackness, her femininity and her capabilities. Pindell’s exhibition at Brandeis University’s Rose Art Museum, “What Remains to be Seen,” showcases much more than just what remains, but holds entire stories deep in the threads and paint of each piece. Her 1988 work, “Autobiography: Air (CS560),” incorporates the many parts and layers that … [Read more...] about Re-stitching Pieces of the Past: Howardena Pindell’s ‘What Remains to be Seen’ at the Rose

Kristina Goransson, “Depletion,” 2019, felted and indigo dyed wool, 36” x 28” x 7”, 2019.

TAKING FORM: FIBERS & FABRIC AT GALATEA FINE ART

// Artscope Online, Exhibits, Visual Arts

by Isabel Barbi

In collaboration with The Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts, Galatea Fine Art is currently presenting the works of internationally established artists who teach at the school. Jodi Colella, Merill Comeau and Kristina Goransson show their pieces in the “Taking Form: Fibers & Fabric” exhibition. All of the work on display employs fabric, fibers and textiles in an inimitable manner. Each artist brings an entirely different aspect to the intimate space through their variant works, while showing their dedication to craftsmanship. From creating and dying wool fabric from scratch; quilting with various textiles; and sculpting with taxidermy, toys and fabric, the dedication and passion for uncommon material is clear throughout the exhibition. The Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts, located in Boston, Massachusetts, partners with Galatea twice a year, once in the Fall and once … [Read more...] about TAKING FORM: FIBERS & FABRIC AT GALATEA FINE ART

Mary Boone

COMMENTARY/NATIONAL NEWS: MARY BOONE GALLERY CLOSING; OWNER SENTENCED

// Artscope Online, Featured, News

by Nancy Nesvet

New York, NY - Mary Boone’s two New York galleries will close in April, due to the January 18 sentencing of Ms. Boone to 30 months in prison and 180 hours of subsequent community service, the shortest prison term recommended by the prosecution. The date for her incarceration was postponed until May 15. As she has repaid the Internal Revenue Service more than six million dollars in fines and restitution, no additional penalties were imposed. Her conviction of two counts of tax fraud specifically named misrepresenting purchases and falsifying transactions, with Manhattan district attorney Geoffrey Berman saying that her “personal tax returns were more a work of impressionism than realism.” She used part of the gallery’s unreported income to fund her son’s education. Jerry Saltz, Ai Wei Wei, Julian Schnabel, Jeffrey Deitch and Jack Shainman were among the 100 letter writers vouching for her … [Read more...] about COMMENTARY/NATIONAL NEWS: MARY BOONE GALLERY CLOSING; OWNER SENTENCED

Residence of the Irish Ambassador to the US, Washington, D.C.

A VISIT TO THE EMBASSY OF IRELAND AND THE RESIDENCE OF THE IRISH AMBASSADOR, WASHINGTON, D.C.

// Artscope Online, Featured, News, Visual Arts

by Nancy Nesvet

Washington, D.C. - The government shutdown of United States government institutions, including museums, during the end of last year and start of 2019, encouraged me to find the best art then available for free, public viewing in Washington, D.C. Ministerial visits at the Irish embassy prevented me from seeing the collection during February, but Ms. Siobhan Miley kindly arranged a visit in early March. It was worth the wait. The Embassy of Ireland’s site was purchased by Henrietta Halliday in 1906, with the mansion built by architect William Penn Cresson between 1908 and 1909. The semi-detached limestone building at 2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Sheridan Circle, was purchased by the government of Ireland in 1949. From my first visit at Passport DC, an annual tour, open to the public, of EU embassies during a May weekend, and other … [Read more...] about A VISIT TO THE EMBASSY OF IRELAND AND THE RESIDENCE OF THE IRISH AMBASSADOR, WASHINGTON, D.C.

Julia Galloway, “The Endangered Species Project: New England,” 2019, view of exhibit with urns on stands and walls, at Gallery 224, Allston, Massachusetts.

Vessels of Change: Julia Galloway’s Endangered Species Project at Gallery 224

// Artscope Online, Current Exhibits, Exhibits, Featured, Visual Arts

by Olivia MacDonald

Allston, MA - We are constantly plugged into our cellphones, computers, and tablets, watching the world through a screen and living our busy lives that we may become disconnected with nature. We may forget that we are a part of it and just as vulnerable as birds, moths, fish and turtles endangered by habitat loss from urbanization, overfishing or pollution, side effects of an industrial world. Within Julia Galloway’s new exhibition, “The Endangered Species Project: New England,” at Harvard University’s Gallery 224, nature confronts visitors. Through 305 handmade porcelain urns on tables and shelved on the walls, Galloway’s art creates a space of reflection and memorialization of endangered and extinct species of each state in New England. They are brought together and individually remembered on vessels traditionally used to hold cremated ashes. As a Bostonian, now living and teaching … [Read more...] about Vessels of Change: Julia Galloway’s Endangered Species Project at Gallery 224