Alleged fakes halt exhibit at National Museum of Slovenia; German art collection to display Indian art gems

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!

 

Alleged forgeries lead to show cancellation at National Museum of Slovenia  

An exhibition in Slovenia claiming to feature works by iconic artists like Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh and Henri Matisse was abruptly cancelled days ago over fears some works were forged. This also prompted a police probe on Friday last week. The National Museum of Slovenia planned to officially open the show on Wednesday this week, entitled “Travels”, featuring 160 paintings owned by the little-known Boljkovac family. But hours before the planned opening, museum director Pavel Car said the show was cancelled after several art experts warned that, having seen the exhibition catalogue, they believed the works were most likely fakes. Read on to know more at The Guardian. 

 

German gallerist’s collection to auction art of KK Hebbar, Ambadas Khobragade  

Sotheby’s London has launched an online auction of over 80 works from the personal collection of Ute Rettberg, the trailblazing German gallerist who played an important role in the expansion of the Indian art market abroad. \’The Surya Collection: Property from Mrs. Ute Rettberg\’ comprises paintings, drawings, prints and sculpture that Rettberg has surrounded herself with for almost 50 years. The sale offers works by significant figures in the field of modern Indian art whom Rettberg also regarded as friends, with pieces by K.K Hebbar and Ambadas Khobragade – regarded as a true pioneer of colour and form – among the highlights. From mezzoprints to wallhangings and Neo Tantric art, the selection of works offered in this extraordinary single owner sale form a time capsule of a unique period in modern Indian art. The Economic Times elaborates. 

 

RIP: Days after opening art museum, Austrian billionaire Heidi Horten is no more 

Days after she opened a private museum in Vienna featuring her nearly billion-dollar art collection, Austrian billionaire Heidi Horten died Sunday at the age of 81, the Heidi Horton Collection said in a statement. Horten opened her own museum showcasing her private art collection earlier this month, which has more than 16,000 square feet of exhibition space and is devoted to emerging and mid-career artists, many of whom are Austrian. She had become an overnight sensation in the art collecting world in 1996, when she spent up to $22 million on art in a single Sotheby’s auction, acquiring pieces from Francis Bacon, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Klee and others. Forbes has all the details.