Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Data recently released by Nonfungible.com shows that the average price of NFT plummeted from about US$4,000 in mid-February to about US$1,400 last week, a drop of nearly 70%. This has once again triggered a discussion on whether NFT is a hype or a huge long-term opportunity.
Although auction houses have launched NFT products one after another, many artists are quite unfamiliar with this concept. Whether it is David Hockney who bluntly stated that he does not understand NFT, or Takashi Murakami who has suspended NFT products, when NFT goes hand in hand with topics such as "shoe speculation" and "bear speculation", the market still needs more time to test.
01
Zhang Zongxian auctions collections and establishes art foundation
In China's art auction industry, the No. 1 auction number always belongs to only one person - Zhang Zongxian. On April 14, Christie's auction announced that Zhang Zongxian auctioned a rare Ming Xuande blue and white Kuilong jar when he was 95 years old. The proceeds from the auction were used to establish the Zhang Zongxian Chinese Art Foundation.
’s 70-year relationship with the auction house has also made the forever “first brother” in the auction industry extremely recognizable: ’s fashionable and gorgeous suit, eye-catching top hat, and pair of sunglasses will make no auctioneer look at him before he takes a seat. Start the auction...
"Retirement is not in my plan." Zhang Zongxian, who is in his late twenties, made it clear that he will never stop collecting art and will work until the last day. Even the epidemic has not stopped him from traveling to various places to participate in auctions. "Keep flying, keep buying" has always been his motto, and he enjoys the warm applause when he walks out of the auction room after each successful bid.
"I am Zhang Zongxian, Number one! I will always collect art, be a monk for a day and hit the clock, until the end... As long as it is something I like, it is indeed worth collecting. If I can afford it, I must get it. .Even if I am 150 years old now, I still want to get it." Zhang Zongxian said.
Ming Xuande blue and white Kui dragon pattern jar with double circle and six characters in regular script
Height 18.3 cm Estimation on request
Among the many museums, Zhang Zongxian’s favorite place is the David David Chinese Art Foundation in the UK. He said that it is very important to him. It had a huge influence and can be said to be the most important source of knowledge in his life. Now, he will finally have his own foundation. Proceeds from the sale of the Ming and Xuande blue and white Kui dragon jars that will be unveiled at Christie's "Important Chinese Porcelain and Works of Art" on May 28 will be donated to the soon-to-be-established Zhang Zongxian Chinese Art Foundation to promote Chinese art education and Develop . This jar was auctioned in London in 1988. Zhang Zongxian bought it for 30,000 pounds and keeps it to this day.
02
The United Nations reported that museums around the world are still very fragile
html On April 13, UNESCO released a report on the status of 104,000 museums around the world during the COVID-19 epidemic . The report is based on data from an online survey conducted in March, which proves that museums around the world are still very vulnerable one year after the outbreak. Thereport pointed out that museums were closed for an average of 155 days in 2020, and many museums have had to close again since the beginning of 2021. This has caused the number of museum visitors to drop by an average of 70% compared with 2019, and revenue has decreased by 40% to 60%. At the same time, public funding has been drastically reduced, affecting nearly half of the museums participating in the survey, with cuts as high as 40% in some cases.
The once bustling Louvre was empty.
The report believes that the long-term closure and the resulting sharp decline in the number of visitors and income have had an impact on the entire museum industry, and this situation is particularly worrying. Many museums have resorted to layoffs to deal with the crisis. Obviously, this method is not that effective. The report makes relevant recommendations, in particular urging the implementation of large-scale digitization policies to compile collection inventories and measures to support relevant education, training and research.
03
Archaeologists discover the "Lost City of Gold"
Agence France-Presse reported on the 9th that archaeologists discovered the remains of an ancient city in the desert outside Luxor, Egypt , and said this is the oldest city in Egypt so far. The "largest" ancient city ruins discovered can be traced back to the golden age of the Pharaohs 3,000 years ago..
This is an ancient city with a history of more than 3,000 years
The "curved" walls are still well preserved
Some mud brick walls are as high as 2.7 meters
Photo courtesy: ZAHI HAWASS
"The Egyptian team led by Dr. Zahi Hawass discovered this A city submerged in sand." The excavation team said in a statement on the 9th: "This city has a history of 3,000 years and can be traced back to the reign of Amenhotep III, Pharaoh Tutankhamun and his successors. It was still in use during the Zhe'ai period." This discovery may be "the second most important archaeological discovery since Tutankhamun's tomb."
The former owner of the "City of Gold"
with his wife and three daughters
Photography: UNIVERSAL HISTORY ARCHIVE/GETTY
Archaeologists have discovered the carcasses of two unusual cattle
The nature and purpose of the buried animals are being studied
Photo provided: ZAHI HAWASS
The team began excavation work in September 2020, The site is about 500 kilometers south of Cairo, Between the temples of Ramses III and Amenhotep III near Luxor, A number of jewels were unearthed, as well as painted pottery vessels, scarab amulets and mud bricks bearing the seal of Amenhotep III.
The statement said: "To the team's great surprise, within weeks, mud-brick formations began to appear in all directions. What they unearthed was the remains of a well-preserved metropolis with nearly intact walls and rooms. It is filled with tools for daily life. ”
04
The National Palace Museum in Taipei holds a special exhibition of "Pursue Shoppers"
Realistic genre paintings in the Song Dynasty became popular, and the Peddlers Paintings are the highlights, and Li Song's "Peddlers Paintings" are even more popular. Famous. From April 13th to July 14th, the special exhibition "Paintings - Pictures of Salesmen" was on display at the National Palace Museum in Taipei. It included the national treasure Song Li Song's "The City's Infantry Play" and the important antiquities "Taiping" by Ding Guanpeng of the Qing Dynasty. Spring Market Picture".
Song Dynasty Li Song's "Shidan Baby Play"
The four surviving copies of "Picture of a Merchant" painted by Li Song are stored in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York , the Cleveland Museum and the Palace Museum in Beijing (the first three are round fans, and the latter one is on silk) Colored hand scroll) , apart from his works, Li Song did not leave much information to the world. Perhaps because he suffered from human suffering when he was young, his paintings are always full of concern for worldly suffering and the faint warmth of life.
"Salesman Picture" depicts a scene in which a salesman carrying heavy groceries came to the countryside, and women and children rushed to tell each other and circled around the salesman. In the Taipei book, four children were anxiously tugging at a woman's clothes, playing with each other and pointing at the things on the salesman's rack, and one child even couldn't wait to climb onto the shelf . Interestingly, the nursing baby in the woman's arms actually extended a small hand to the seller, vividly showing her interest in the product.
Qing Dynasty Ding Guanpeng's "Picture of Taiping Spring Market" (part)
Ding Guanpeng entered the court service during the Yongzheng period. This painting depicts the lively scene of the New Year market, including many vendors hawking along the street.. Some of them sell food, and some sell toys, which can be said to be the representative of the Qing Dynasty's salesmen.
05
Long Museum releases 2021 exhibition plan
html On April 14, Long Museum (West Bund) released its 2021 exhibition plan. Following the successful holding of Yin Chaoyang’s solo exhibition "The Vast History", the main exhibition hall will also successively launch He Duoling, There are solo exhibitions of Mary Koth, George Condo and Chiharu Shiota, including the first solo exhibitions of internationally renowned artists in China.
He Duoling's solo exhibition "Grass·Color" will open on April 25. Curated by Zhu Zhu, brings together more than 70 important works (sets) of He Duoling from the 1980s to the present and various documents, aiming to present the artist. The unique context and staged changes in a long span of time . The image of grass runs throughout his more than forty years of creation, and also provides us with a clue to understand the rich hues he painted.
06
A "Close" Look at Guo Bingxin
On April 11, Guo Bingxin's solo exhibition "Close" was launched at Shenzhen Meicheng Space. The exhibition is curated by the well-known curator Monica Demadet and displays Guo Bingxin’s latest creations from 2020 to 2021.
The act of painting seems to be an impulse, putting Guo Bingxin in a state of involuntary attack. In Guo Bingxin's works, those eyes that observe us from all angles of the picture seem to be a personalized re-examination of Cubism. Those tightly closed lips never show a smile. First of all, they are unsmiling towards themselves. looks at itself ruthlessly, distorting its image in different ways, magnifying, elongating or overlapping it, as seen in fragments of a mirror that have been smashed and piled together. The artist makes frantic and repeated efforts to examine and re-understand himself through multiple perspectives.
07
fold fold fold fold
html On April 14, "fold fold fold fold" was held in Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen) TC101 SPACE. The exhibition is curated by Li Shengzhao. Artist Yi Lian was invited to participate in the 21st Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen) artist-in-residence project, which ultimately led to the formation of this exhibition, during which solo exhibitions, guided tours, lectures and workshops will be held.
Yi Lian’s creative forms include video, installation, photography, painting, etc. His works are often based on individual life experiences rather than purely abstract concepts or forms. 's early works focused on narratives in images, the creation of surreal scenes, and the capture of the sense of absurdity in personal experience; in recent years, his creations have centered around "his Using keywords such as "communicator" and "communication", artists are aware of the complexity, impossibility and multi-levels of "communication" with others, and try to obtain a path through art to connect, understand and experience them. The person (person/object/living body) also reaches and knows himself again.
This project aims to create an artistic atmosphere in the university and cultivate the aesthetic sentiments of students. Since 2016, professional artists of international standards from all over the world and in various art fields have been regularly selected and invited to the campus to engage in creation and communicate with classmates.
08
Special Exhibition of Important Palace Art Opens "The World of Hongli"
On April 23, "The World of Hongli - Qianlong Imperial Poetry Manuscripts, Lanting Pictures and Posters Kesi Volumes and Special Exhibition of Important Palace Art" will be held in Beijing Poly Art Museum opens.
This special exhibition takes as its axis the two major exhibits of "Qianlong's Imperial Poetry Manuscripts", the largest private collection, and the "King of Kessi" Qianlong's "Imperial Re-engraved Duanshi Orchid Pavilion Pictures and Papers on Kesi". , covers many categories such as seals, calligraphy, tapestry, porcelain, jade, study inkstones, religious instruments and craft furnishings. , more than 100 palace art treasures, comprehensively present the achievements of Qianlong's court art, and restore the "Hongli Dynasty" The imperial ideal of "the perfect old man", and uses this to analyze Qianlong's profound influence on the prosperous Qing Dynasty in the 18th century and subsequent generations.
09
"Splendid Beijing" and "Lucid Waters and Green Mountains" appeared on the same stage
html On April 3, the East and West Exhibitions of the National Center for the Performing Arts welcomed two major exhibitions that opened at the same time. were "Lucid Waters and Green Mountains - National Grand Theater" in the East Exhibition Hall. The Second Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary Green Landscape Works" and the "Splendid Beijing - Beijing-themed Painting Exhibition" in the west exhibition hall. The vigorous vitality contained in 's green landscape and the ever-changing ancient and new appearance of Beijing over the years bring the audience a more fulfilling artistic enjoyment in this spring season.
Splendid Beijing - Beijing-themed painting exhibition
Green Waters and Green Mountains - The Second Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary Green Landscape Works at the National Center for the Performing Arts
"Splendid Beijing" is the first painting-themed exhibition held in the West Exhibition Hall of the National Center for the Performing Arts. The changes in the functions of the exhibition hall will Bringing more visual art experience to the audience; "Green Waters and Green Mountains" is a visual art exhibition brand independently planned by the National Center for the Performing Arts. Since its launch in 2019, this series of exhibitions has been committed to showing the public the beauty of green landscape works and embodying It embodies the sustainable development concept of "harmony between man and nature".
