Disney-Britton

INDEPENDENT JOURNAL REVIEW By Tre Goins-Phillips FINDLEY, OH---An atheist activist group is demanding the city of Findlay, Ohio, remove a Bible-themed mural from a municipal building. But local officials are fighting back. The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a cease-and-desist letter to “Flag City, USA,” on Feb. 1, threatening to sue the city over the “unconstitutional” wall art that “conveys government support for religion.” The mural, painted in 2011 by a group of local artists to symbolize protection for the community, features a reference to Psalm 91, reading, “Under His wings shall you find refuge.” The FFRF took issue with the art then, too, but the group's case was ultimately shot down by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Fox News reported. [ More ]

ISLAMIC ART MAGAZINE Maïmouna Guerresi, Aisha ,2015, Lambda print, 200x125 cm / © Maïmouna Guerresi CAPE TOWN--- Officine dell’immagine participated at the Investec Cape Town Art Fair  (Feb. 16-18, 2018) with Maïmouna Guerresi solo show, which was curated by Silvia Cirelli. The resent solo show focused on the multicultural and spiritual variations by Maïmouna Guerresi , the renowned artist, whose works are already included in prestigious public collections worldwide, such as the Smithsonian Museum (Washington), LACMA Museum (Los Angeles), or M.I.A Minneapolis Institute of Art. The show was part of the new fair section SOLO, which seeks to more fully explore the artistic practices of emerging and established artists working locally and abroad through curated solo presentations. [ More ]

ARTDAILY A gilt copper alloy figure of Avalokiteshvara Sahasrabhujalokeshvara attributed by inscription to Sonam Gyaltsen (A. 15th Century) Central Tibet, Tsang Province, circa 1430. Estimate: $1,000,000-1,500,000. Photo: Bonhams. NEW YORK--- Bonhams New York will present six carefully curated auctions during their celebration of the 10th anniversary of Asia Week New York in March. Featuring outstanding works of Chinese Paintings and Works of Art, Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art, and Japanese and Korean Art from several notable private collections, the auctions are set to take place at the Madison Avenue galleries from March 19-21. Touring highlights from upcoming sales at Bonhams Hong Kong will also be on view, as well as a special non-selling exhibition of Japanese art. “This season Bonhams has once again partnered with Asia Week to present exceptional works of Asian Art. [ More ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Elisabetta Povoledo Religious vestments represent "the transcendent dimension, the dimension of the religious mystery," said Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, the Vatican's de factor culture minister. Credit Domenico Stinellis/Associated Press ROME---On Monday, the painting-lined gallery hosted royalty of a different sort, when some of fashion’s biggest names met with Vatican luminaries to preview the exhibit “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination,” which will open at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 10. The items lent by the Vatican feature exquisitely crafted clothing and accessories, with intricate patchworks of gold and silver thread embroidery, as well as bejeweled tiaras and miters. Cardinal Ravasi noted that the liturgical vestment “represents above all the transcendent dimension, the dimension of the religious mystery, and that’s why it is ornate, because that which is divine is considered splen...

BANGKOK POST By Nauvara Suksamran & King-Qua Lahong An inmate at Bang Kwang Central Prison prepares to give a Buddhist statue to his parents after he was trained to sculpt as a way of reforming his behaviour. BANGKOK---More Thai convicts are turning to religious artwork while behind bars to "cleanse" their minds but some find staring a Buddhist statue in the eye to day after day a daunting task given the guilt associated with past crimes. Six years ago, one convict killed a man in cold blood now he is attempting self-reform through a combination of art, religion and self-reflection. The convict is among 30 people to join a Buddhist-themed sculpture course at Band Kwang Central Prison launched by the Correction Department. It aims to help the inmates heal and reform, said department chief Narat Sawettanan. [ More ]

BLOUIN.ARTINFO A Thangka Depicting an Early Buddhist Master Tibet. Circa 1200 or 13th Century. Size 36 1/2 by 28 1/2 in. (93 by 72 cm). Estimate: $ 800,000 - $ 1,200,000 (Courtesy: Sotheby's) NEW YORK---Top lots of the sale: (a) A Thangka Depicting an Early Buddhist Master Tibet. Circa 1200 or 13th Century. Size 36 1/2 by 28 1/2 in. (93 by 72 cm). Estimate: $ 800,000 - $ 1,200,000; (b) A Thangka Depicting Ekavira Vajrabhairava Tibet. Circa 15th Century. Size 38 1/4 by 28 1/2 in. (97 by 72.5 cm). Estimate: $ 700,000 - $ 900,000; and (c) A Thangka Depicting Guhyasamaja Tibet. Circa 15th Century. Size 41 1/4 by 35 1/2 in. (105 by 90 cm). Estimate: $ 700,000 - $ 900,000. For details, visit: http://www.sothebys.com/en.html [ More ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By  Gregory & Ernest Disney-Britton "Sacred Poem XI," 7.5 × 8 × 1.5 in. 24 karat gold leaf, gampi tissue, thread, paper: pages from Parish Psalmody dated 1844. Private Collection Carole P. Kunstadt creates exquisite objects from the pages of the Book of Psalms. The final product is sewn, woven, or layered together with great care. This year, as we proceed to read all 66 books of the Bible, we can hardly wait until we get to Psalms. We are now in Leviticus, a book filled with blood, dead priests, desperation, and rules like, God does not want people with disabilities near him ( Lev. 21:21 ). We’ll get through it though because Psalms, the book of inspiration is coming. As an artist, Kunstadt’s careful reconstructions of the sacred text demonstrate the awe and respect that she has for the Book of Psalms. Learn more about Carole P. Kunstadt’s “Sacred Poems” at ARTS Vol. 29, No. 1 .

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Andrew R. Chow Adolf Wölfli’s “Bangali Firework,” which will be at Outsider Art Fair Basel. Credit: Courtesy of Andrew Edlin Gallery The Outsider Art Fair has long prided itself for operating on the art world’s fringes. But in June, it will venture right to the center, opening up a satellite fair during Art Basel in Switzerland. At the Hotel Pullman, a block away from Art Basel’s nerve center at the Messeplatz, about 25 dealers will showcase works from self-taught artists who operated outside of conventional institutions, and sometimes dealt with psychoses. Outsider Art Fair Basel will run June 13-17, a day longer than Art Basel itself. While the works will come from around the world, Mr. Edlin hopes to tap into the history of Art Brut in the region. [ More ]

THE KATHMANDU POST BySanyukta Shrestha A rare Ayurvedic painting from Kathmandu has become a top attraction at a British Museum Tracking down Nepali artefacts peppered around museums in Europe and beyond can be a treasure hunt of sorts. But what makes The Ayurvedic Man so special? To start with, illustrations of scientific study are quite rare in Sanskrit manuscripts. Besides a very few of them, like the 11th century Rasendramangala which merely has diagrams of alchemical apparatus, others have not been discovered till date. Secondly, most other human body representations in South Asian traditional paintings are either guided by the early Vedic philosophy of Vishwaroop (The Universal Form), or that of the Tantric chakras or kundalini. In contrast, this particular piece illustrates a purely Ayurvedic concept of human anatomy through pen and watercolour.  [ More ]

ARTS 2018 Alpha Omega Prize Finalist:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XQ5S8WL Carole has taken an 1844 Psalm book used in the churches for religious purposes, sliced it into a series of thin strips which are then rejoined, reconnected on her sewing machine. Carole P. Kunstadt creates exquisite, tactile works, most often from religious materials such as the Bible and related texts. In this issue , we are featuring her Sacred Poem Series, which she made out of the physical material of the book Parish Psalmody, A Collection of Psalms and Hymns for Public Worship, which was published in 1844 and 1849. Kunstadt re-presents the psalmody in stunning, poignant ways. Kunstadt has shown her work widely in many galleries and museums, including the Museum of Biblical Art, The Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, and Minnesota Center for Book Arts. [ More ]

THE GAZETTE By David Van Biema The Museum of the Bible's main entrance, featuring the Gutenberg Gates, in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 1, 2017. RNS photo by Adelle M. Banks WASHINGTON, DC---In an empty case on the fourth floor of the Museum of the Bible, a label explains: “The loaned articles intended for display here are still in transit.” The display, at the beginning of the “History of the Bible” gallery, symbolizes perfectly how the principles guiding the development of the museum, which opened in November just off the Washington Mall, have lagged behind its headlong physical growth. The promised loans are replacements for materials yanked from the exhibit because of what a museum official calls “guilt by association” with thousands of cuneiform tablets that the Green family, the museum’s founders and its main funders, was forced to return last July, along with a payment of $3 million. [ More ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Saira Khan Installation view of “The Third Muslim” at the SOMArts Cultural Center in San Francisco, which Mr. Bhutto helped organize. “Cloak,” above, is by Jamil Hellu. Credit Jason Henry for The New York Times SAN FRANCISCO---The video, posted on the internet last summer, wasn’t supposed to be the coming-out story of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto . It opens with the voice of a man wryly narrating a fictional encounter in which he is asked to leave an airplane for “speaking Arabian.” The words “Queer Muslim Proud” appear on the screen, followed by an introduction to the subject, in neon letters. Mr. Bhutto is a visual and performance artist who lives in San Francisco, and the video about him was created by filmmakers as part of “ The Turmeric Project ,” a series highlighting L.G.B.T.Q. South Asians living in America. Much of his work, including a recent show at the city’s SOMArts Cultural Center , explores the intersection of Islam, sexuality and masculinity. [ More ...

ARTNET NEWS By Brian Boucher Keith Haring's Untitled (1982). NEW YORK---A legal fight between Sotheby’s and a dealer over a Keith Haring painting will get its day in court. [Last] Thursday, a New York Supreme Court judge dismissed the auction house’s request for a summary judgment against Anatole Shagalov, who the house claims ponied up a record-breaking bid for the work but then failed to pay up. The decision clears the way for a trial. Shagalov, based in Great Neck, New York, was the winning bidder on a 10-foot-square Keith Haring painting on a plastic tarp that was offered at Sotheby’s major Modern and contemporary art sale in May 2017. The price, with fees, was $6.5 million dollars—an auction record for the artist—on a presale estimate of $4 million–$6 million. [ More ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Roberta Smith “The Virgin and Child,” by a German or Southern Netherlandish Master, circa 1480. Credit Luhring Augustine NEW YORK---Sam Fogg, the respected London dealer, has regularly staged exhibitions of medieval art in New York for around a decade, but never before in Chelsea. Unsurprisingly, this year’s show begins with the thrill of simply walking into it, forsaking the neighborhood’s contemporary-art babble for the otherworldly hush imposed by nearly 30 expressions of faith in painting, sculpture and whatnot from the Middle Ages. Among many other standouts, a triptych centering on an elaborately ensconced Virgin and Child (1490-1500) reflects the influence of van Eyck’s infinite realism and his banishment of the Gothic gold that is so gloriously evident elsewhere in the show, especially in “Saint Michael Vanquishing the Devil,” an altarpiece panel made in Aragon around 1470. [ More ] Luhring Augustine : " Of Earth and Heaven: Art from the Middl...

ATLANTA MAGAZINE By josh Green Grant Henry stands outside the pavilion at Sister Louisa’s Sanctuary. Photography by Josh Green ATLANTA---Rural Spaulding County isn’t the first place you’d expect to find a man who sometimes goes by “Sister Louisa,” and who has become synonymous with Edgewood Avenue nightlife while living in increasingly extravagant condos. In past lives, the 61-year-old grandfather was a church deacon, real estate agent, antiques dealer, popular bartender, and peddler of wacky religious art, before striking gold with his irreverent Old Fourth Ward bar Church (full name: Sister Louisa’s Church of the Living Room and Ping Pong Emporium ) seven years ago. It’s since spawned a retail offshoot, Church Murch, down the street and a sister bar in Athens. Now, (Grant) Henry feels summoned to this former Girls Scouts campground for his next venture: an adult retreat called Sister Louisa’s Sanctuary. [ More ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES Show Us Your Walls By Hilarie M. Sheets Bill and Susanne Pritchard with Roy Lichtenstein’s “Brushstroke Head III,” 1987, of painted and patinated bronze, left; Norman Bluhm’s “Untitled,” 1959, in the background; and Cy Twombly’s “Untitled (Gaeta),” 1988, right. Credit Max Burkhalter for The New York Times HOUSTON---Bill and Susanne Pritchard had long wanted to build a house from the ground up. In 2009, they hired the architect Allan Greenberg to design their dream home in Houston, where they were raising four children, and spent a week in New York scouting galleries for what might go on the walls. They both fell in love with Richard Pousette-Dart’ s 1960 abstract canvas “Blue Presence,” with dappled sedimentary layers of soft blue, green, white and sand-toned pigments. It now hangs in the dining room of their grand red brick Federal-style home showcasing Abstract Expressionist paintings by Hans Hofmann , Helen Frankenthaler , Jackson Pollock , Lee Krasner and ...

THE ART NEWSPAPER By Sophia Kishkovshy The controversial burning of the 30m Gothic-style structure built of twigs by the Russian artist Nikolay Polissky DMITRY SEREBRYAKOV/AFP/Getty Images RUSSIA---A 30m-tall Gothic structure built of branches and twigs, thought by many to resemble a cathedral, was set alight on Saturday (17 February) causing controversy in Russia. The burning took place at Nikola-Lenivets, a rural artists’ colony 200km south of Moscow, and was the culmination of pre-Lenten carnival festivities known as Maslenitsa. The event is often likened to the US Burning Man festival. Nikolay Polissky , a founder of Nikola-Lenivets whose monumental land art has turned the Kaluga region settlement into a hipster tourist draw, creates a different installation to burn at the carnival each year. [ More ]

YAHOO NEWS When Antiques Roadshow stopped in St. Louis, one lucky lady got the surprise of a lifetime when she found out how much her little Buddhist statue was worth. She’d bought the item for $100 at a garage sale nearly 20 years ago, but she didn’t know much about it. She was about to be enlightened. It turned out the statue is from the early part of the Ming dynasty, but its age isn’t what makes the piece so special. Despite missing an arm and a hand, the statue was appraised at $100,000 to $125,000 retail — and that was a conservative estimate. Needless to say, the woman who brought it in was at a loss for words. [ More ]

ARTNEWS By Ellsworth Kelly, Austin (2015). Interior view, facing south. ©Ellsworth Kelly Foundation. Photo courtesy of the Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin. BLANTON, TX--- Ellsworth Kelly died in 2015, but his final work was unveiled only this past weekend. It is also likely the most ambitious work the American artist ever made: a 2,700-square-foot building loosely modeled after a Romanesque church on the grounds of the Blanton Museum in Austin, Texas. “This is a game changer for this city and for Ellsworth Kelly, to have his most monumental work realized,” said Blanton director Simone Wicha. The museum raised $23 million for the project, which includes a $4 million endowment to conserve the work. The Blanton has been developing the project since 2012, but it has actually been in the works for decades. [ More ]

THE GUARDIAN By Harriet Sherwood A young boy undergoes circumcision. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo Iceland is poised to become the first European country to outlaw male circumcision amid signs that the ritual common to both Judaism and Islam may be a new battleground over religious freedom. A bill currently before the Icelandic parliament proposes a penalty of up to six years in prison for anyone carrying out a circumcision other than for medical reasons. Critics say the move, which has sparked alarm among religious leaders across Europe, would make life for Jews and Muslims in Iceland unsustainable. One in three men globally is thought to be circumcised, the vast majority for religious or cultural reasons. Many Jews and Muslims fear the issue of circumcision could become a proxy for antisemitism and Islamophobia, pointing to similar tensions over religious dress and the ritual slaughter of animals for meat. [ More ]

ARTDAILY This file photo taken on September 10, 2016 shows Chinese tourists on the roof of the Jokhang Temple in the regional capital Lhasa. JOHANNES EISELE / AFP. BEIJING---Streets around Lhasa's fire-hit Jokhang temple, one of the most sacred sites for Tibetan Buddhism, were reopened to pilgrims Sunday after a blaze broke out the night before, Chinese state media said, but the extent of damage remained unclear. The official Xinhua news agency said the fire had erupted Saturday evening in part of the more than 1,300-year-old Jokhang temple, but was soon put out. Images posted on social media of the blaze showed the eaved roof of a section of the building lit with roaring yellow flames and emitting a haze of smoke. Jokhang temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which lies at the heart of old Lhasa. [ More ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By  Gregory & Ernest Disney-Britton William H. Johnson, "John Brown Legend," ca. 1945, oil on board, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.1145 Black History Month 2018 will long be remembered: the Obama portraits painted by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald; the release of "Black Panther" movie; and also because of a new exhibition of works by William Henry Johnson (1901 – 1970) in Wash., D.C. Born in the Deep South, William Henry Johnson is best known for his colorful, neo-folk depictions of African American life exemplified in his “ John Brown Legend ,” “ Lamentation ,” and “ Jesus and the Three Mary’s .” During Johnson's career, he explored realism, impressionism, expressionism, and, finally, his powerful folk style. Don't miss William Henry Johnson in “Outliers and American Vanguard Art” at the National Gallery of Art through May 2018 .

THE NEW YORK TIMES Show Us Your Walls By Hilarie M. Sheets Merele Williams-Adkins in her family’s home in Clinton Hill, with work by her husband, Terry Adkins, behind her, and a piece by Glenn Ligon, lower left. Credit Cole Wilson for The New York Times NEW YORK---Merele Williams, a lawyer by training, was sick of dating doctors and lawyers. She set her sights on meeting an artist, and at a party in 1991, she did. That night he proposed, and nine months later they were married. They lived, with their two children, in a Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, brownstone surrounded by Mr. Adkins’s work and filled with collections of African art, musical instruments and pieces by his peers. Long admired within New York circles of African-American artists and curators like Thelma Golden and Kellie Jones, Mr. Adkins died from cardiomyopathy in 2014 at the age of 60. A survey of his sculpture — often refined hybrids of found objects that were used as props in his musical performances — is on view thr...

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS Nicolò Boldrini after Titian, Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata, c. 1530, woodcut, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund WASHINGTON, DC—One of the most innovative Italian books of the early baroque period, the Descrizione del Sacro Monte della Vernia, published in 1612, illustrates the experiences of Saint Francis and the buildings of the Franciscan community at La Verna. Drawing from the Gallery's rich holdings of works with Franciscan imagery, " Heavenly Earth: Images of Saint Francis at La Verna " contextualizes this publication alongside some 30 traditional representations from the late 15th through the mid-18th century. Heavenly Earth will be on view on the ground floor of the West Building from February 25 through July 8, 2018. On view in the exhibition will be two first-edition copies of the Descrizione del Sacro Monte della Vernia, acquired by the Gallery in 2012 and 2013. [ More ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Robin Pogrebin Feb. 12, 2018 From left, Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery; Kehinde Wiley; President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama; Amy Sherald; David Skorton, secretary of the Smithsonian. Mr. Obama said Mr. Wiley tried posing him “with partridges and scepters and thrones,” even “mounting me on horses.” “I had to explain that I’ve got enough political problems without you making me look like Napoleon,” Mr. Obama added. Credit Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times WASHINGTON — For 50 years, the official paintings of the nation’s former leaders at the National Portrait Gallery have been composed of white presidents painted by white artists. But when the curtains fell from two official portraits Monday morning, they revealed the first black president and first lady, Barack and Michelle Obama, painted, for the first time in the gallery’s history, by black artists, Amy Sherald and Kehinde Wiley . By choosing two black artists, Ms. Sheral...

NEW YORK TIMES By Roberta Smith William H. Johnson’s “John Brown Legend,” circa 1945, makes the abolitionist its central image and shows him coming down from a cross and being greeted by a mother and her child. This rarely exhibited work is part of “Outliers and American Vanguard Art,” at the National Gallery. CreditSmithsonian American Art Museum, via National Gallery WASHINGTON — Anyone interested in American modernism should see “Outliers and American Vanguard Art” at the National Gallery of Art . Flaws and all, this groundbreaking adventure highlights outstanding, sometimes rarely-seen artworks; revives neglected histories; and reframes the contributions of self-taught artists to this country’s rich visual culture. Limiting its scope to American art, it tries to map the intersections of taught and untaught over the last century, examining not only the place of self-taught art now but how it got here. It is extensive: about 280 artworks by 84 artists — and Ms. Cooke has organi...

THE BATTALION By Taylor Fennell The Salaam exhibit is open from Jan. 19 to March 3, 2018 COLLEGE STATION, TX---The MSC Visual Arts Committee (VAC) has teamed up with the Muslim Students Association (MSA) to educate the Bryan-College Station community about Islam through art. The two organizations have assembled an art exhibit, “Salaam,” which opened on Jan. 18 in the MSC Reynolds Gallery and will be on display until March 3. The exhibit features artwork provided by A&M students and the Islamic Arts Society of Houston. According to Sibba Al-Kahtani, vice president of MSA, “Salaam” is a word that means peace. Muslims use the word to greet each other. She said peace is what Islam is really about. Al-Kahtani said she wants people to realize there is a Muslim community at Texas A&M and challenge preconceptions they may have about the religion. [ More ]

WOFFORD NEWS Selected works from Robicsek collection to be shown through April 7 SPARTANBURG, SC–The arrival of the Spanish to the Americas from the 15th century through the 19th century introduced Spanish beliefs and traditions to the regions, creating a new artistic tradition that evolved with the convergence of cultures. This influence can be seen through selected works on exhibit at Wofford College, on loan from the collection of Dr. Francis and Mrs. Lilly Robicsek of Charlotte, N.C. The exhibition, “Spanish Colonial and Religious Art,” in the Richardson Family Art Museum in the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts, “offers a unique opportunity to appreciate paintings, sculptures and silver pieces from three centuries (c. 1600-1800) of colonial Americas,” says Dr. Youmi Efurd, curator of the art museum. [ More ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Declan Walsh Friday prayers at the mosque of the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies in Doha. Credit Tomas Munita for The New York Times DOHA, Qatar — For the emir of Qatar, there has been little that money can’t buy. A lifelong sports fanatic, he later bought a French soccer team, Paris Saint-Germain, which last summer paid $263 million for a Brazilian striker — the highest transfer fee in the history of the game. Now at age 37, the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, has run into a problem that money alone cannot solve. Since June, tiny Qatar has been the target of a punishing air and sea boycott led by its largest neighbors, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Qatar’s foes accuse it of financing terrorism, cozying up to Iran and harboring fugitive dissidents. They detest Al Jazeera, Qatar’s rambunctious and highly influential satellite network.

ARTDAILY Orazio Gentileschi (1563-1639), The Crowning of Thorns. Oil on canvas, 52cm x 41cm (20 x 16 in.). NEW YORK, NY.- Colnaghi will show a rediscovered and previously unpublished painting by Orazio Gentileschi (1563-1639) at a spring exhibition in their newly-opened townhouse space in New York’s Upper East Side. Taking place from 27 January to 3 February 2018 as part of Master Drawings New York 2018, the exhibition will also include a selection of works by notable artists including Pedro de Mena (1628-1688) and Luca Giordano (1634-1705). In addition, and following the arrival of Carlos A. Picón as Director of the new gallery in New York, the exhibition will also showcase a fine group of antiquities. The Crowning of Thorns by Orazio Gentileschi (1563-1639) is an important rediscovery which has been in a private collection for at least several generations, hidden from the view of art historians and unpublished to date. [ More ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By  Gregory & Ernest Disney-Britton "Jacob Wrestling the Angel" (2007), pencil on paper We are still enjoying perfect days in Key West, Florida, reading a book at the pool; dinner on the beach; and taking long walks on sunny days that are between 70 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit. However, we know that you are interested in art, so today we're spotlighting one of our favorites, British artist  Michael Cook . This week, we introduced him as our INSPIRE ME!  Artist for February 2018 , and after you'd have the time to explore his work, you'll agree that his work should be in your collection too. Cook sees his work as fitting into "the British Romantic and Visionary traditions," and you can see the influence of Neo-Romantics such as William Blake. Learn more about collecting Michael Cook's visionary works at:  hallowed-art.co.uk .

ARTDAILY “Saint Benedict of Palermo,” 1770–80, attributed to Juan Pascual de Mena, coniferous wood, pigment, gold. Museum purchase. DETROIT, MICH.- The Detroit Institute of Arts opened a gallery dedicated to some of the museum’s newest acquisitions while also providing the public with a look at the art acquisition process. The gallery, called “Out of the Crate: New Gifts & Purchases,” opened Jan. 12. A selection of recent purchases and gifts chosen by DIA Director Salvador Salort-Pons are on view for approximately six months, after which they will be replaced with newer acquisitions. “The DIA has one of the most significant art collections in the United States, and one way we maintain this quality is by acquiring new artworks every year,” said Salort-Pons. “Thanks to generous donors, the DIA has been able to establish funds designated for art acquisitions only, with which we are able to strengthen our collection. [ More ]

ARTDAILY A Thangka Depicting Rinchen Zangpo. Tibet, circa 1200, 93 x 72 cm. Estimate $1.5/2 million. Courtesy Sotheby’s. NEW YORK, NY.- Sotheby’s will present The Richard R. & Magdalena Ernst Collection of Himalayan Art. An unrivalled compilation of painting and sculpture, the collection of art from the Himalayas, ranging from the 12th through the 18th centuries, is one of the most significant to come to auction. With highlights now on view in a special exhibition at Sotheby's Zurich office, the full collection will be unveiled in the auction house's New York headquarters on 15 March, ahead of the dedicated auction on 22 March at 10am. Richard R. and Magdalena Ernst noted: “From the moment we laid eyes on the thangka of four Arhats in Kathmandu, we knew that Tibetan Art would form the heart of our collection.[ More ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Ernest Disney-Britton "My father’s strong atheism that made me think hard about faith, religion, God, and my own religious feelings" ~ MICHAEL COOK "Jacob Wrestling the Angel" (2007), pencil on paper It's hard to believe, but it was only last year when we posted our first article about Michael Cook , but we've been fans of this British artist for years. We've listed him on our roster of favorite contemporary artists, and we follow his daily journeys on Twitter . We invited him to be the INSPIRE ME! Artist because his work is poetic, rich and filled with visionary intensity. We invited him to be the February 2018 Artist of the Month because his works, such as "Jacob Wrestling the Angel" are moving inspirations for the upcoming season on Lent (beginning February 14th this year). Last year, he opened The Manger Gallery , but Michael Cook also offers works through his website, hallowed-art.co.uk .