A SUMMARY OF THE MOST EXCITING ART NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE
While we focus on Indian art, we can’t obviously function in a vacuum. It’s a small world and everything is connected, especially on the web. So, let’s train our spotlight across the world map to see what’s going on — from art trends to socio-political issues to everything that affects the great aesthetic global consciousness. Or, let’s just travel the world and have some fun!
‘Black is Beautiful’ movement’s photographer Kwame Brathwaite dies at 85
Courtesy- CNN
Kwame Brathwaite, a photographer and activist whose stylish images forced many to see Black beauty anew, inspiring generations of artists who came after him, died at 85. His son, Kwame Brathwaite, Jr., shared news of Brathwaite’s death on social media on Sunday. While Brathwaite’s work has only recently attained mainstream recognition in the form of museum retrospectives and monographs, his photography has acted for many decades as a guiding force to many. It has appeared in publications and on album covers, and has been credited with ushering in new forms of representation, particularly for Black women. “His images, carefully calibrated to reflect a moment precisely, made black beautiful for those who lived in the 1960s, and continue to do so for a generation today who might only now be discovering his work,” the historian Tanisha C. Ford wrote in Aperture in 2017. Details on CNN.
Philadelphia Museum May Hold an Unattributed Vermeer
According to one scholar, the Philadelphia Museum of Art may have in its collection a true Vermeer painting that has long gone unattributed to the Dutch master. At a recent symposium, Arie Wallert averred that the late 17th-century painting Lady with a Guitar is “a painting by Vermeer.” This contradicts the museum’s own information about the work, which clearly states that the work is a copy of another similar painting from ca. 1672 that’s held by the Kenwood House in London. The Kenwood painting also features a female sitter strumming an instrument. Save for one noticeable alteration (that of the woman’s hairstyle), this painting’s composition and subject matter look nearly identical to those in the Philadelphia Museum one. Read more on The Art Newspaper.
$1.2 M on offer by an artist to get back his stolen laptop filled with art
COurtesy- Artnet News
James Penfold, an artist who works under the name Penny, returned home from a brief vacation to find that his laptop and hard drive, which contain hundreds of artworks by him, had been stolen from his home in East London. “My work wasn’t properly backed up to the cloud and I have lost so much work I can barely dare to imagine,” said Penfold in an Instagram post. “I’m feeling absolutely devastated.” Penfold, who works with finely cut stencils, often makes computer composites to plan out his intricate collages. When his computer was stolen, many of his works in progress were lost, including plans and completed works that were supposed to be exhibited in upcoming, self-funded shows in London. There was also an unreleased generative NFT project and a commissioned portrait of Batman. Details on Artnet News.
