George Osborne Cancels £6bn Vodafone Tax Bill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is the axe wielding Chancellor of the Exchequer in the pocket of this multinational tax evading Company? 
We think that everyone should boycott Vodafone until they set a good example by paying their taxes like everyone else. It is this sort of disgraceful, wide-boy behaviour that successive Governments have turned a   blind eye to. Companies like Vodafone have put us in the predicament that we are currently witnessing. This has directly led to savage cuts to the arts, while Vodaphone gets off without paying most, if any of the back taxes owed to the country. The allegation about Vodafone’s taxes dates back to this summer, when the company settled a long-standing tax dispute with HMRC over its takeover of the German engineering group Mannesmann for €180bn in 2000. Vodafone was ordered to pay HMRC £1.25bn in the settlement – a considerably lower figure than the £2.2bn the company had expected to pay... Read Full Article

Latest London Art Reviews

London Art Exhibition Reviews ArtLyst

Following on from the 'Frieze Week' there are plenty of big shows to see: both Tates , the Whitechapel, the National Gallery, the Hayward, Cezanne's card players at the Courtald, James Turrell's immersion experience at Gagosian (now wholly booked-out, however) and excellent shows at Victoria Miro and Parasol Unit. Then the expansions of Hauser & Wirth, Sadie Coles and Modern Art have been well-publicised, as has as good a White Cube double as I can recall: Christian Marclay in the west, Mark Bradford in the east. All well and good, but there's also plenty more so much so that I've allowed myself a bumper fourteen picks - beginning with lots of wood, as coincidence would have it, even though there's none at the Carpenter's Workshop.  Read More...
Paul Carey-Kent

Photo Miami Cancelled For 2010

One of the most popular art shows during Art Basel Miami has been canceled this year a month shy of their press preview on November 30 . Photo Miami 2010, which was due to take place in the first week of December, has been canceled the organizer's press representatives have announced. Read Full Article

20th Winter Fine Art & Antiques Fair - Olympia

The 2010 Fair runs from 15th – 21st November. Attracting over 22,000 visitors. The Fair comprises 140 exhibitors from
across the UK in an elegant setting. It also features
in the annual, pre-Christmas, social calendar.
Previous attendees of the Winter Fair have
included Bono, Claudia Schiffer, Jemima Khan,
Jools Holland, Jasper Conran, Bryan Ferry,
Nicky Haslam, Sir Bob Geldof, Jeremy Irons,
Kay Saatchi and Sir Peter Blake.
Supported by the country’s two most important trade associations, the British Antique
Dealers’ Association (BADA) and The Association of Art & Antiques Dealers
(LAPADA), every exhibitor has been approved by a panel of experts which include
some of the UK’s top dealers. The Fair is also a participator in National Antiques
Week 2010. Read More

Is A Warhol ‘Soup Can’ worth 30-50 million?

Bid Here

In the 48 years since it was executed Big Campbell's Soup Can with Can Opener (Vegetable) has only had three private owners. The New York collectors, Burton and Emily Tremaine bought the painting directly from Warhol’s Factory in 1962 and sold it, in the late 1970s to Ted Ashley, the former chairman of Warner Brothers. In 1986, Christie’s sold it to British Art dealer, James Mayer for a paltry $264,000. It was than sold on to its present owner, Cruise line and property Venture Capitalist, Barney Ebsworth. The painting is now being offered at Christie’s New York on 10 November for a price on application estimate of 30-50 million dollars. The proceeds will go to building a church in the Seattle area.

Is this a ridiculous price tag for a transitional work by an artist who died in 1987? If so it is not a one off, there is currently a ‘Bull Market’ eager to purchase important works of post war contemporary art.  Let us not forget Sothebys over hyped “Walking Man” sculpture by Giacometti’s which sold for a record $104.3 million last February, to a collector most likely unaware that there were six other casts of the figure produced. If ‘Big Campbell Soup Can actually reaches its reserve. It will join other Warhol’s such as ‘Car Crash Green’ which sold for $71.7 million in 2007 and Tom Ford’s so called, ‘Warhol in A Fright Wig,’ a ghastly late canvas which realized $32.5 million.  Read More

Save The Hotel Chelsea From Donald Trump

First it was CBGB'S now the Hotel Chelsea, an underground landmark in Manhattan where Dylan Thomas, William S. Burroughs, Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol ,Eugene O’Neill and Sid Vicious once lived has been put on the market for an undisclosed sum. It has been owned and operated by the same family for 65 years. “It is time to let a new owner, with perhaps some new innovative ideas and resources, to re-energize and revitalize the Chelsea,” Paul Brounstein, a shareholder and board member, said in a statement today. The property is 12-stories high and has 125 hotel rooms. Of note is a two- bedroom, two-bathroom suite where movie star Marilyn Monroe lived with playwright Arthur Miller. There are also 101 residential units in all. Many of the past Chelsea lodgers lived in the building for decades and some have paid their rent with original artwork. Read full story....

Arts Cuts In Osborne's Spending Review Unveiled

Osborne outlines cuts of up to 30% to the Arts

Latest News: George Osborne's statement this lunchtime was only a tip of the iceberg figure for the (DCMS) Department for Culture Media and Sport's budget. The details of cuts to the arts and museums are expected to emerge later, when the full report is released by Jeremy Hunt's office. We expect to uncover that although national museums will be  protected and remain independent from Government intervention, their budgeting will face real cuts of 15%. The prospect of admission charging for museums will not be allowed by Whitehall, if this 15% per cent cap is to be held. A hole in the institutional running costs remains and may lead to self imposed entry charging in the future. So where will the shortfall come from? The arts will be hit much harder in places behind the scenes. It is expected that areas such as administrative costs will need to be reduced by 41%. It is also expected that curatorial staff and expensive exhibitions will be off the menu for the foreseeable future. The entire annual arts budget for Museums is only about £450m per year, a 29% cut contributes little to stemming the tide of the National deficit, while these actions will cause untold harm to England's cultural landscape and to the economically important cultural industries. The government will be eager to emphasise that the arts and heritage will benefit by an extra £50m each per year because of the return of the lottery to its original good causes in 2012. Arts cuts on paper look more like 30% rather than the 15% mentioned in the speech and the announcement that museums will stay free is almost a loss leader to the actual real cuts involved. It was also announced that the New extensions to the Tate Modern and British Museums will go ahead as planned. The 29% cut to ACE  (Arts Council England) will be passed on to about 850 theaters and galleries. This withdrawal is going to create a gaping hole in funding leaving ACE on its own to be the executioner. The smaller regional centres will likely be the first to go, absorbing the biggest impact of the cuts, to be phased in over the next 4 years. it will be interesting to note how quickly the cuts take to come into effect.   More to follow….….Read Updates....

A Response To Proposed Arts Cuts

A Relaxed Culture Minister Jeremy Hunt
  

Culture Minister Jeremy Hunt in a relaxed moment

The state of advanced capitalism which we are in has no ethical limitations. Organisations, and more importantly the top-dogs awarding themselves obscene amounts of money and changing the systems for their own benefit, have operated in an unrestrained and totally morally derelict manner which is why we find ourselves in this economic and social crisis that we do. The Government has actively supported these systems and funded their corruption with tax payers money. When will these people be held accountable for the mess they have and continue to create?? Or more importantly, when will the masses stop being held accountable for the mess which is created by the people at the top of the very systems which are supposedly designed to serve them?? Where is our Trust in the Political parties, the voting systems, our Systems of Governance, the Banking systems and the energy companies amongst all the many others, whose profiteering relies on irresponsible amoral practices?? Society grows ever more volatile while this situation remains unresolved and becomes more entrenched. We should be working towards a society which recognises not only the individual but also the interdependence of individuals and organisations upon each other. Read Full Article...

Henry Moore Exhibition Art Gallery Ontario October 2010

An exhibition heralded as "the most important exhibition of Henry Moore's work for a generation" is coming to the Art Gallery of Ontario 23  October 2010. The Shape of Anxiety: Henry Moore in the 1930s is a dramatic reconsideration of one of the 20^th century's most revered artists. The exhibition will be on view from October 23 through February 6, 2011 in the AGO's Henry Moore Sculpture Centre.
Organized by Tate Britain in collaboration with the AGO, The Shape of Anxiety features 53 works, 37 of which have never before been seen in Canada, including 36 sculptures and 17 drawings. The works reveal a young artist troubled by the seismic cultural shifts of the early 20^th century, and rebellious against his teachers' traditional views of sculpture.  Read More Watch Video 
Photo © ArtLyst 2010

The Affordable Art Fair London October 2010

It's late October in London and the frantic Frieze Art fair week has finished. All of the multi-million pound international dealers have left to prepare for Art Basel Miami. So what is left to fill the gap? The Affordable Art Fair! Will Ramsay founded the fair in 1999 with the aim to make contemporary art accessible to everyone, and to show you don’t need to be an art expert or a millionaire to enjoy and buy art. Ten years on The Affordable Art Fair is a leading showcase for contemporary art. Since 1999, these fairs have sold over £100 million of art and had an audience of more than 650,000 visitors worldwide. In 1996 Will opened Will’s Art Warehouse in south west London to bridge the increasing interest in contemporary art and the London gallery scene. By concentrating on relatively unknown artists not carrying a premium for reputation, the gallery was able to offer works from £50 - £2,500 from a stable of over 150 artists. The response to Will’s Art Warehouse encouraged Will to take his approach to the next level, and in October 1999 he launched the first Affordable Art Fair in Battersea Park.  Read More Fair Details...

The Art Review Power 100 Published Today

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Art Review Power 100 Published Today

1. Larry Gagosian
2. Hans Ulrich Obrist
3. Iwan Wirth
4. David Zwirner
5. Glenn D. Lowry
6. Bice Curiger
7. Sir Nicholas Serota
8. Eli Broad
9. RoseLee Goldberg
10. François Pinault

See the other 90 Here

Arts Cuts For Quangos Announced

A hit list of at least 200 taxpayer-funded bodies will be axed in a "bonfire of the quangos" later today. Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude will announce the shake-up as “a victory for accountability”. The Arts are by no means immune to this savagery, Four bodies including the Film Industry Training Board is expected to be privatised. It is also possible that mergers will result in a new heritage body taking in the current English Heritage, the National Memorial Fund and the National Lottery Fund. The National Museums and Galleries service, a publicly funded body, which offers the public free admission to some of the country’s best-known cultural venues, is under threat and likely to be scrapped by the Government. To see the full list of Arts cuts, follow link.  Read Full Story

Tracey Emin In wheelchair Frieze 2010

ArtLyst Exclusive Photo

Why is Tracey Emin in a wheelchair? I was at The Frieze Art Fair opening tonight. Much too much to drink and far too much talking, to the point of coughing and a very horse voice. Lots of art to report...leave that till tomorrow when I sober up a bit. But shock horror I saw delectable Tracey Emin being pushed around in a St Margaret's Hospital Wheelchair,by a man who looked like he needed more assistance then the Artist. Tracey is always well turned out. Her image is nearly faultless. What is going on....I'm sure one of the tabloids will have the full story but ...this is not the ArtLyst way...Just hope she is well and continues to create.. Get Well Soon! Photo © ArtLyst 2010 Read More

Bob & Roberta Smith With Mark Titchner Save The Arts

Artist Patrick Brill better known as Bob and Roberta Smith has created a new work for the ‘Save The Arts Campaign. It is supported by over 100 leading British artists against the government’s proposed funding cuts of the arts, which will be announced on the 20^th of October. The work shows a sign on an art gallery door with the following text: ART GALLERY CLOSED –SUNDAY-MONDAY-TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY- THURSDAY - ADMISSION £17.50Brill lives and works in London. And is known for artwork that utilizes text often playing on art, politics, and popular culture using materials such as reclaimed wood. Painted with brightly coloured lettering. Other related works by artist Mark Titchner are also unveiled today across two UK cities as part of the campaign.  Read Full Story...

Banksy Does The Simpsons Doh!

 

Graffiti artist Banksy (AKA Robert Banks) has created the opening sequence for the American cartoon The Simpsons.

 The episode, called ‘MoneyBart’, was aired on TV in the US on Sunday night and will be shown in the UK later this month. Producers approached Banksy to design one of the "couch gags" that open each episode, but Banksy claims his elaborate plans led to delays, wrangles with broadcast standards and a threatened walk-out by the animation department.The show begins with the usual scenes showing the Simpsons on their sofa, but there are also Banksy tags scrawled across the fictional town of Springfield.

 Bart is shown writing "I must not write all over the walls" across the walls of his classroom.

 The controversial intro then shows dozens of sweatshop workers in a filthy warehouse painting cartoon scenes and making Simpsons merchandise. See Video & Read More....

Frieze Art Fair 2010: Sculpture Park Preview

I visited the Frieze Art Fair today and saw some of the the works  being installed in its Sculpture Park.The Sculpture Park offers a rare opportunity to see a significant group of international work that is addressed on a public scale. Presented in the wonderful setting of the English Gardens of Regent’s Park the Sculpture Park is located a short walk to the east of the entrance to the fair. Entry to the Sculpture Park is free to the public and is an opportunity for all to see work by some of the most interesting artists working today.  Read More....

Vanitas - The Transience of Earthly Pleasures Exhibition

ArtLyst Featured    Event

The Age of the Marvellous exhibition, which attracted over 4,000 visitors during Frieze Art Fair last October was in ArtLyst's top ten exhibitions of 2009. Now All Visual Arts (AVA) has announced its upcoming fall show Vanitas: The Transience of Earthly Pleasures. Conceived and curated by Joe La Placa and Mark Sanders of AVA, the exhibition is a contemporary update on the four hundred year old theme of the Vanitas first developed in Holland and Northern Europe in the mid to late 17th century. The exhibition will take place in the sumptuous setting of the former Sierra Leone Embassy on 33 Great Portland Street during this year’s Frieze Art Fair from October the 11th until the 17th. See Video Tour Here
See Listing
Read More

Top 10 Frieze Week Art Events

This is the ArtLyst top 10 list of events and exhibitions in and around London during Frieze week . The corridor is jam packed with exciting things to experience and see before the phenomenon finishes on the 17 October. Frieze costs around £30 but most other events are actually Free! See top 10 events list here

Ai Weiwei New Unilever Sculpture Tate Modern

 Chinese Artist, Ai Weiwei reveals his latest work “Sunflower Seeds,” a project which has taken two years to complete and contains over one hundred million handcrafted porcelain seeds.The project is loaded with thoughts and associations. From a distance, it looks like a beach of gray shingle, or a Zen garden. Ai Weiwei is  China most famous living artist. At 53, Ai Weiwei is an increasingly prominent figure in the international art world. His work is a mixture of the outrageousness familiar in recent Western art merged with a sense of traditional Chinese techniques. After the death of Chairman Mao in 1976, his family returned to Beijing, where Weiwei studied at the Film Academy. In his third year, his then girlfriend got permission to study in America and he decided to go west. He stayed in the US for 12 years, encountering Duchamp, Dada, Surrealism, and conceptual art – all of which had a strong influence on his later work. Read More:

Jerry Hall Portrait By Lucien Freud Goes Under The Hammer

The Former partner of Mick Jagger, Model Jerry Hall will auction part of her art collection at Sotheby’s next week.The sale includes a portrait by Lucian Freud expected to fetch up to £1.2 million. The painting ‘Eight Months Gone’ shows Ms Hall, nude and eight months pregnant. Other works under the hammer are by Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, and Francesco Clemente. Read More..

Was Le Corbusier A Fascist?

Letters published in a 2008 biography of the seminal 20^th century modern master, Architect and Painter suggest that the radical urban planner was a Nazi sympathizer whose Fascist thinking went above and beyond previously documented perceptions. In one letter written shortly after Hitler conquered France and much of Western Europe, the Swiss-born architect expresses clear enthusiasm for his intervention. In a letter written to his Mother Corbusier wrote, "If he is serious in his declarations, Hitler can crown his life with a magnificent work: the remaking of Europe." This is not entirely surprising in light that Le Corbusier aligned himself with the French far-right in the 1930s and accepted a post as a city planner for the Vichy regime that ruled France and collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II.

Read More....

Visitors To UK Museums Break All Records

A record number of visitors crossed the threshold of the UK’s national museums this summer, once again reinforcing the need to keep admissions to galleries in the UK free. The new survey shows that, 5.7 million people visited UK national museums in August 2010 representing an increase of 11% from August 2009. Read More....

Tate's Serota Lambasts Osborne and Hunt

Tate Modern Director Sir Nicholas Serota announced in an interview today that Museums in the UK could not weather cuts of 25% - 30%  and that they would have to close for at least two days per week and drastically cut opening hours. In a rare out pouring, he also pointed out that it would be particularly difficult to sustain the current level of service if the Coalition insists on bringing in the cuts all at once, rather than gradually phasing in the measures. Read More...

Turner Prize 2010 Video Tour

Love it or Loathe it the Turner prize is always controversial.This year is well rounded but a bit on the dull side .Watch the video and make up your own mind.

 Watch Video Here


ArtLyst has been to the Turner Prize exhibition at Tate Britain and here is the result. A virtual tour through the four shortlisted Artist's rooms.
Shortlisted Artists: Dexter Dalwood - Angela de la Cruz - Susan Philipsz and The Otolith Group.
The Jury : Isabel Carlos, Director, José de Azeredo Perdigão Modern Art Centre (CAMJAP), Lisbon Philip Hensher, Writer, critic and journalis Andrew Nairne, Executive Director, Arts Strategy, Arts Council England, London and Polly Staple, Director, Chisenhale Gallery, London.The jury is chaired by Penelope Curtis, Director, Tate Britain

Cornelia Parker Save The Arts Photomontage

Turner Prize nominated Artist Cornelia Parker has produced a Photo-montage for the 'Save The Arts' campaign. It shows The Angel Of The North sculpture by Antony Gormley with one of its wings clipped, to symbolize the 25% cuts proposed by the Government. More than 100 top Artistes have joined the campaign including most of the Turner prize winners.   Read More....

British Museum Cut Opening Hours From January

In order to cope with government budget cuts, late-night opening to the permanent collection at London’s ‘Favourite Museum’ will be stopped on Thursday and restricted to one evening a week on Friday. British Museum Staff recruitment will be reduced as a result and savings made.The refreshments for internal meetings has also been halted immediately and staff are being asked for money-saving ideas, according to a memo leaked to the Public and Commercial Services Union.  Read More.....