The Week in Art...After Nyne's Hot 9
1. X-ray of Degas portrait reveals mysterious hidden face (via Guardian)
A scanning technique uncovers a face beneath Edgar Degas’s Portrait of a Woman (1876) hidden for 140 years. The technique called x-ray fluorescence picked out the underlying elements of the pigments Degas used for the original composition.
2. Renowned artists including Tracey Emin create posters for Team GB at Rio 2016 (via ArtNet)
As the Olympic Games officially opens, eight leading British artists including Tracey Emin and David Shrigley, created limited edition prints for Team GB. Since 1912 prints and posters have been commissioned for each Olympic Games and this year the series of prints were made by Counter Editions.
3. The Metropolitan Museum of Art breaks attendance records (via ArtNet)
Despite a deficit of $10 million the Metropolitan Museum of Art broke attendance records with figures going up by 400,000 since last year. The deficit has led to several cutbacks and rumours of further layoffs continue; yet despite these reports the museum has had its best ever attendance.
4. French artist JR unveils new series of installations in Rio (via StreetArtNews)
As the Olympic Games officially opened this week in Rio De Janeiro, artist JR unveiled a series of giant athlete installations. The pieces include a representation of Sudanese athlete Mohamed Younes Idriss and an installation in the Barra neighbourhood showing a diver leaping into an adjacent area of the ocean.
5. London’s Tate Britain gives Turner galleries a revamp (via The Guardian)
After returning from a world tour the Tate Britain marked the return of works by JMW Turner, rehanging the galleries devoted to the popular painter. The return of the works spurred the Tate to rehang the eight rooms of the Clore gallery that house Turner’s work in the UK.
6. Sotheby’s announce launch of Museum network (via artdaily)
Sotheby’s announced the launch an online platform to discover video content created by and about the world’s leading museums. The digital hub, Sotheby’s Museum Network, will be featured on Sothebys.com and include institutions such as the Tate and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
7. Stolen Albrecht Duerer Engraving Returned (via Artlyst)
The engraving titled ‘Mary crowned by an angel’ dating back to 1520 was returned to the Staatsgalerie Art Museum in Stuttgart. After disappearing in the Second World War, the engraving was discovered in a French flea market.
8. Brighton’s i360 tower branded ‘eyesore’ by residents (via The Telegraph)
The new i360 vertical prier that opened this week is said to offer stunning 360-degree views of Sussex. However, the tower that stands at 161m high has sparked criticism from residents, with some stating the tower ‘ruins the sea views’.
9. Garage Museum in Moscow expanding to St. Petersburg (via Art News)
After moving into the newly designed Rem Koolhaas building, Russia's Garage Museum of Contemporary Art is set to exhibit programming on St. Petersburg’s New Holland Island. As part of the museum’s off sight expansions, New Holland Island will be transformed into a hub for contemporary art.
