Displaying items by tag: art nouveau

On June 3, Piasa will offer for sale an important collection of works by Gustave Serrurier-Bovy (1858-1910) that will showcase the influence that his creations have had on 20th-century design.

Serrurier was one of Belgium's leading Art Nouveau designers, working as an architect, designer, and industrialist. His interest in industrial aesthetics make him an important precursor of the Modern Design movement. His most important historical pieces — some of which are for sale at the upcoming auction — are part of the MET collection in New York, in the Musée d’Orsay Art Deco section in Paris, and in the Brussel and Liège Museum in Belgium.

On Wednesday, January 7, 2015, Christie’s announced that Ambra Medda will be the new Global Creative Director of the auction house’s 20/21 Design Department. Based in London, the department is dedicated to furniture, lighting, ceramics, and sculpture from the Art Nouveau, Arts & Crafts, Art Deco, Modernist, and Contemporary movements. The auction house holds 20/21 Design sales twice annually in New York (June and December), Paris (May and November), and London (April and October).

Medda, an accomplished curator, co-founded Design Miami alongside developer Craig Robbins in 2005 and served as the fair’s director for five years. With annual shows in Basel, Switzerland, and Miami, Design Miami has emerged as one of the world’s leading celebrations of design culture and commerce.

Christie’s announces the sale of two Italian private collections, the first from the Rome apartment of Principessa Ismene Chigi Della Rovere and the second from the palazzo of a Noble Genoese Family. Comprising over 225 lots this diverse sale offers collectors and decorators a wonderful insight into 20th century Italian style and glamour, presenting a rich and varied selection of Old Master pictures and decorative objects from around the world, which range from 18th century Italian and French furniture and Art Nouveau glass, to Chinese and Japanese works of art. Estimates range from £500 to £25,000 and the pre-sale viewing will be at Christie’s 85 Old Brompton Road from January 31 to February 3. The auction will be held on February 4, 2015 at Christie’s South Kensington and provides an opportunity to acquire exceptional antiques and works of art from two noble Italian families.

Firefighters in Scotland were able to salvage most of the Glasgow School of Art from a fire last week, except for its iconic library located at the top of the building, said Duncan McKenzie, a press officer for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service on Monday. The cause of the fire, which began on Friday and was extinguished a day later, remained unknown, he said.

“Ninety percent of the structure remains viable and firefighters recovered around 70 percent of the items inside,” Mr. McKenzie said.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has announced plans for a major renovation of its Lila Acheson Wallace Wing. Completed in 1987, the Wing houses the museum’s Modern and contemporary collection, which includes works by the circle of early American modernists around Alfred Stieglitz, including Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, Georgia O'Keeffe, and John Marin; large-scale paintings by Abstract Expressionists, such as Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, and Mark Rothko; and modern design, from Josef Hoffmann and members of the Wiener Werkstätte to Art Nouveau jewelry by René Lalique.

The Met, which is the largest art museum in the United States, is in the midst of re-evaluating its layout, and addressing the Lila Acheson Wallace Wing’s shortcomings is a top priority. As it stands, the Wing does not allow for a chronological presentation of the museum’s collection, creating a disjointed visitor experience. To remedy the issue, The Met plans to rebuild the Wing, potentially from scratch. Enhanced exhibition space will also allow the museum to better display its Modern and contemporary art holdings, which got a considerable upgrade last spring when philanthropist and cosmetics mogul Leonard A. Lauder donated 79 Cubist paintings, drawings, and sculptures.

Roy Lichtenstein (1923–1997), a key figure in the 1960s Pop Art movement, is best known for his bright, comic book-esque images. The Tate Modern hopes to shed light on Lichtenstein’s less iconic works with a retrospective that will be opening February 21, 2013 in London.

Lichtenstein: Retrospective will feature 125 paintings, sculptures, and rarely seem drawings from the artist’s career that spanned more than fifty years. Organized by Tate Modern and the Art Institute of Chicago, the Tate’s is the largest Lichtenstein show since the Guggenheim’s 1993 retrospective when the artist was still alive.

Works on view will include Lichtenstein masterpieces such as Look Mickey (1961), Whaam! (1963), and Drowning Girl (1963). The Tate’s inclusion of Lichtenstein’s early and late works will offer patrons a glimpse of the artist’s entire oeuvre. Visitors might be surprised by Lichtenstein’s early abstract expressionist paintings or his later foray into art nouveau-inspired sculptures, Chinese landscapes, and female nudes. For an artist who is associated with a very particular style, Lichtenstein led a surprisingly wide and varied career.