~theguardian-world | Bookmarks (13)

Woman Begging With Two Children, by an unknown artist, shows what appears to be a denim skirt in 17th-century ItalyThe origin of the world’s most enduringly popular fabric is in ­dispute, as a new exhibition spotlights a claim that firmly links denim with 17th-­century Italy and takes its history back 200 years.Blue denim, that all-American ­symbol of informality and a life lived on the open...

Climbable sculpture in Hudson Yards in Manhattan closed in 2021 after four people died by suicideThe Vessel, the huge climbable centerpiece of New York’s upmarket Hudson Yards development that saw a number of suicides, is set to reopen later this year with new safety features, according to developers.The 150ft sculpture, designed by Thomas Heatherwick and built at a cost of $260m, was closed three...

Technician, who hung his own picture in an exhibition about art world glitches, has been sacked and given a three-year banThe first picture that greeted visitors to the first-floor exhibition space in Munich’s Pinakothek der Moderne gallery on 23 February may not have immediately grabbed their attention.The 60cm by 120cm artwork was a retro-looking photograph of a family of four, with the background and...

Le Violon d’Ingres print produced under artist’s supervision was among friend’s collection auctioned in ParisIt is one of the most recognisable images of the surrealist movement: a black and white photograph by Man Ray of Kiki de Montparnasse with f-shaped sound holes painted on her back representing a violin.Le Violon d’Ingres, which was produced in 1924 and signed by the US artist, set a...

Alex Lidagovsky was forced to leave Ukraine with his family when his studio was bombed during the Russian invasionA Ukrainian sculptor who fled to the UK when his studio was destroyed has been accepted into the Royal Society of British Artists.Alex Lidagovsky was forced to leave Kyiv with his wife, Dasha Nepochatova, and 16-year-old stepdaughter after the Russian invasion began on 24 February 2022....

London mayor’s office hopes works for Trafalgar Square will continue tradition of fostering debate over artA bronze sculpture paying homage to a woman of colour; and a hollow, lifesized person on a horse cast in a slime-green resin will be the next two artworks installed on Trafalgar Square’s fourth plinth.The works by Tschabalala Self and Andra Ursuța were selected from a shortlist which included...

Keith Piper says engaging with offensive and traumatic imagery can be important in keeping a clear sense of historyAn artist commissioned to respond to a mural in Tate Britain that has been sealed off from the public since 2020 because of its depictions of black and Chinese people, says viewing traumatic and racist images is crucial for us to truly grapple with our history.Keith...

From the Tate Britain to New York’s Met, some of the world’s mightiest galleries have signed up for my audio guides, which shift the spotlight onto female artists like Rosa Bonheur – who required a permit to wear trousers‘Do women have to be naked to get into the Met Museum?” asked a 1989 artwork by the Guerrilla Girls, the all-female-identifying activist artist collective. A...

Public encouraged to comment on seven artists’ proposals for ephemeral pedestal in Trafalgar SquareA sweet potato island; a hollow, lifesized person on a horse cast in slime-green resin; and a golden bronze sculpture of a woman whose features have been amalgamated are among the shortlisted ideas for the next fourth plinth commission in Trafalgar Square.Organisers of the contemporary art installation announced on Monday seven...

Price says the number of exhibitions focused on black artists has ‘set a new standard’ for representation in the UKThe British art world can no longer ignore or marginalise black artists, according to the sculptor Thomas J Price, who believes black British culture is finally being absorbed into the mainstream.Price said the large number of exhibitions featuring black British artists – such as Entangled...

Abstract painter hopes to inspire young people with fine art after government cuts made it the ‘preserve of the elite’Sir Frank Bowling, one of Britain’s most celebrated abstract painters, is selling prints of his work to help fund art supplies for 100 primary schools in England as part of a project that he hopes will be a “gamechanger” in art education by making state...

Julian Spalding says work by artists such as David Hockney could hang alongside old masters in bicentenary yearThe former director of three of Britain’s most important museums has called for the National Gallery to lift its longstanding cut-off date of about 1900 for its collection because it suggests “painting died then as a great art form”.Julian Spalding, who has headed public collections in Sheffield,...

Vittorio Sgarbi, who denies allegations over painting, cites separate antitrust investigation in resignationAn Italian art critic who was recently placed under investigation over allegations that a 17th-century painting in his possession was stolen from a castle more than a decade ago has resigned as a junior culture minister.“I am resigning with immediate effect as undersecretary of the government and will inform [the prime minister,...