Reuters: Arts

Artists paint New York shops boarded up after looting to raise hope

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 13:07:22 -0400

Boarded-up shops, a depressing sight for New Yorkers after looters infiltrated anti-racism marches in the city's trendiest neighborhoods, are being transformed into canvases of hope with paintbrushes wielded by a small army of artists.

Filmmaker Ava DuVernay aims to hold police accountable through art

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 12:02:02 -0400

Filmmaker Ava DuVernay is urging writers, dancers, poets and other artists to help make the names of abusive police officers as well known as their victims.

Grief over virus deaths sets Hungarian artist on darker course

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 08:51:19 -0400

Hungarian artist Jozsef Szurcsik lost four of his friends in a matter of weeks to COVID-19 and the tremendous pain and grief he feels has transformed his art.

Ukrainian lawmaker says he has Gutenberg Bible fragment in his private collection

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 07:11:24 -0400

A wealthy Ukrainian politician has made public a manuscript in his private collection that he says is a fragment of the Gutenberg Bible, the world's first substantial printed book, although researchers said it would need to be authenticated.

Brussels adds George Floyd memorial to large mural collection

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 06:17:28 -0400

Brussels added to its large collection of murals on Thursday with a newly commissioned work in memory of African-American George Floyd, whose killing by police has sparked global protests against racism and police violence.

Van Gogh-Gauguin letter describing brothel visits sells for 210,000 euros

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 10:05:46 -0400

A letter written by Vincent van Gogh and fellow artist Paul Gauguin describing visits to brothels and discussing the future of art has been sold at auction for 210,600 euros ($237,700).

May flowers: Where the U.S. retail blooms are and are not

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 06:26:16 -0400

No denying May's $73 billion rebound in U.S. retail sales was an eye-popper and is the latest fodder to fuel the red-hot "V" vs "U" debate about what kind of recovery to expect from the COVID-19 recession.

Anti-racism protest signs, murals destined for U.S. Smithsonian

Sun, 14 Jun 2020 19:58:28 -0400

Days into nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd, demonstrators began to fill a tall fence in front of the White House with posters, flowers, paintings and photos in honor of black men, women and children who have lost their lives at the hands of police.

Artists around the world pay tribute to George Floyd

Fri, 12 Jun 2020 18:07:53 -0400

Protests against racism triggered by the death of African American George Floyd have inspired art around the world, from murals in Syria and Pakistan to graffiti in Nairobi.

U.S. ruling over ancient bronze horse a 'huge victory' for Greece: minister

Fri, 12 Jun 2020 14:46:42 -0400

Greece’s culture minister has hailed a U.S. court ruling over a disputed ancient horse figurine as a major victory that may help Athens and others fighting to reclaim antiquities.

Vietnam schoolgirl creates art from the chaos of the coronavirus

Fri, 12 Jun 2020 13:29:44 -0400

Stuck at home with school suspended, Nguyen Doi Chung Anh made the most of a lockdown in Vietnam by using art to demonstrate tragedy, resilience and chaos in the world's battle against the coronavirus.

British Airways turns to Damien Hirst in its hour of need

Thu, 11 Jun 2020 15:00:32 -0400

British Airways will sell at least 10 works of art that normally hang in its executive lounges, a source said, turning to pieces by famous artists like Damien Hirst to raise millions of pounds to help it through the coronavirus pandemic.

Afghan artists paint mural on blast wall in tribute to George Floyd

Thu, 11 Jun 2020 14:42:34 -0400

A group of artists climbed ladders up one of the many blast walls snaking through the Afghan capital Kabul this week to paint a mural of George Floyd in solidarity with the anti-racism protests kindled by his death in police custody.

Coronavirus poses existential threat to some of world's museums: UNESCO

Thu, 11 Jun 2020 14:26:49 -0400

The coronavirus lockdowns have hit the world's museums very hard and more than 10 percent may never reopen while others will have to put new projects on hold, the United Nations' cultural body UNESCO said.

Banksy mural stolen from Bataclan theater found in Italian farmhouse

Thu, 11 Jun 2020 12:03:14 -0400

A mural by secretive British street artist Banksy stolen from the Bataclan theater in Paris, where Islamist gunmen killed 90 people in 2015, has been found in a farmhouse in central Italy, police said on Thursday.

Tiny 13,500-year-old bird statuette shows origins of Chinese art

Wed, 10 Jun 2020 14:02:45 -0400

A tiny statuette of a bird carved from burnt bone about 13,500 years ago reveals the origins of Chinese art, embodying a style different from prehistoric three-dimensional artwork by people in other parts of the world, researchers said on Wednesday.

Locals savor Monet's gardens without the crowds

Wed, 10 Jun 2020 12:39:08 -0400

Claude Monet's gardens, the inspiration for his famous "Water Lilies" paintings, reopened to the public on Monday in Giverny, Normandy, as France emerges from three months of lockdown.

New museum to honour late Swedish DJ Avicii in Sweden

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 15:59:25 -0400

A museum in memory of the late electronic dance DJ Avicii will open in his birthplace Stockholm as part of a new digital culture centre next year, its founders announced on Tuesday.

Artist Banksy has new take on toppled statue of English slave trader

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 15:15:45 -0400

The toppling of a statue of a 17th century slave trader in the English port city of Bristol was hailed by some as a long-overdue reckoning with Britain's imperalist past and denounced by others as a criminal act.

'Black Lives Matter' giant yellow mural painted on street near White House

Fri, 05 Jun 2020 15:46:06 -0400

A massive "Black Lives Matter" mural was painted in yellow letters on a street near the White House on Friday, ahead of expected large demonstrations on Saturday to protest racism and police brutality in the United States.