British Museum Expands Contemporary Collection with Canan Tolon, on view at Parasol Unit

Tonight is the opening of the Turkish-born artist Canan Tolon's first major London show at Parasol Unit. Dividing her time between San Francisco and Istanbul, Tolon's work is based on and deals with space, time, gravity, and chance interactions between disparate materials. She had an early interest in the marks left by the processes of growth and transformation over time which led to her using unusual techniques such as applying coffee grounds, letting grass grow on a canvas, or allowing rust to occur naturally and mix with pigment in her paintings. This exhibition also coincides with the British Museum's recent acquisition of a set of Tolon's drawings, Futur imparfait, 1986–1999, a series of 33 ink-wash and crayon figurative drawings. Since 2009, the British Museum has an active acquisitions committee for Modern and Contemporary Art from the Middle East since 1980s, CaMMEA. This patrons group has joined forces with the Turkish SAHA Association that provides funding to projects and museum acquisitions which contribute to the presence and visibility of contemporary art from Turkey. There is a good educational program alongside the show as well with talks, poetry and concerts. Spanning over Tolon's career from the 1980s until present day, this show promises to be an interesting one to visit. It is on view until 16th of March 2014.

Tales from the London Old Master Sales: from 17,000 to 3.2 million!

Following the low energy at Christie's and Bonhams Old Master sales in London, there was more buzz and  excitement at Sotheby’s evening last night and the sale did quite well. Although some of our favourite works are reserved for the New York sales in January, there were still some works that we loved in the mix. Such as the delicate tiny "Lucretia" by Lucas Cranach the Elder which sold for just over £1million, and the Rogier van der Weyden of the Pieta - although by a follower, it is a strong work and it’s not like you can buy the original from the Musée Royaux des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. One of the highlights of the evening was the Portrait of a Gentleman by Sir Peter Paul Rubens, a very fine, Velazquez-like work by the master. This portrait was sold for £3.2million, well above its estimate £400,000-600,000.  What makes the story interesting is that this painting was purchased at Christie’s Paris in 2003 as Circle of Rubens for a mere € 17,000!! Christie’s must be upset for getting this one wrong, so is the owner who consigned it to them. This is where one clearly sees the importance of expertise and talent for spotting good quality paintings.

What Do Artists Do All Day? with Edmund de Waal

If you love the bestselling book, The Hare with Amber Eyes, and were curious about its author, Edmund de Waal, here is your chance to watch this celebrated ceramics artist at work! A Thousand Hours, the film directed by Camilla Robinson and produced by Alan Cristea Gallery, will be shown at 8.30pm, 6 November, on BBC4. This 30 minute film of Edmund de Waal at work was premiered at the British Film Institute and now reappears as part of the BBC series What Do Artists Do All Day? So far the series have featured Norman Ackroyd, Polly Morgan, Jack Vettriano, Cornelia Parker, and John Bryne, and will focus on Shani Rhys James on 13th of November.

Mike Kelley Screenings in London !

http://vimeo.com/77221402 It is officially November and time for the special Mike Kelley screenings in London!  Organized by Artangel and the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts, and coinciding with the major survey of Mike Kelley's work at MoMA PS1, the Mobile Homestead videos will be screened at independent cinemas across the city 2nd-18th November. Mobile Homestead was the final work made by the great American artist Mike Kelley before his untimely death in 2012. The project involved Kelley building an exact replica of his childhood home, a 1950s suburban house in the Detroit suburb of Westland, with a special detachable façade that could be mounted on a chassis and driven around like a conventional mobile home. Check out the full program and more information on Artangel website.