CONTENTS April 2010
EDITORIAL
Revelatory encounters
While specialisation within the arts is undoubtedly crucial, there is much to be gained from shared artistic dialogues.
CONTEMPORARY ART
Art in Ballard's shadow
Recent and upcoming shows explore J.G. Ballard's influence on the visual arts, and an exhibition on art and magic proves unsettling.
ARCHITECTURE
Save these houses
A new report highlights the threats to one of Europe's least-known legacies of historic buidlings: the country houses of Silesia.
Market Review
February saw headline-making records in London raise market spirits and a strong hammer price fetched for a Qianlong vase.
Market Preview
A masterpiece in Vienna, decorative arts and Islamic militaria all promise to thrill in the coming month.
Leighton House
Frederic Lord Leighton’s house in London reopens this month following an extensive restoration. Charlotte Gere looks at the history of the Victorian painter’s home and collection.
Sacred Spaces
In January, the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art opened in Charlotte, North Carolina. Jörg Zutter visited its architect, Mario Botta, at home in Lugano, to talk about the way this bold building embodies his ideals.
A Modern Dialogue
The artistic relationship between Klee and Picasso was one of influence and rejection, as an exhibition at the Zentrum Paul Klee, Bern, reveals. As its curator, Christine Hopfengart, argues, re-examining Klee’s work in this context provides fresh insights to Klee’s oeuvre.
The Evolution of the Kunstmuseum Basel
The Kunstmuseum Basel, the world’s first public museum, began with the city’s purchase of a private collection in 1661. Bernhard Mendes Bürghi tells the story of the museum’s evolution and introduces a selection of highlights among recent acquisitions.
Berenson’s Michelangelo
One of the major challenges facing Bernard Berenson was distinguishing drawings by Michelangelo from those of his associates, notably Sebastiano del Piombo. In the second instalment of a two-part article, Carmen C. Bambach analyses his successes – and failures.
Global Collecting
Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller belongs to an impressive collecting dynasty and has made tribal art his passion and focus for over 50 years. Susan Moore talks to the Swiss collector and museum founder about his acquisitive gene. Photography by Trevor Leighton
Writing to Theo
Following the publication of Van Gogh’s collected correspondence, this show of the artist’s letters reveals much about his artistic development, writes Timothy J. Standring.
Politics goes Pop
Marco Livingstone applauds an exhibition that reveals the humanist views in the politically-charged work of Richard Hamilton.
Ringing the Changes
Jonathan Lopez welcomes an exhibition that explores the legacy of France’s historical revivalism in the 19th century.
Landscape of the Mind
This thoughtful exhibition successfully explores the enigma of Paul Nash’s imagery, writes Peyton Skipwith.
Swiss Crayons
Robert Oresko applauds a comprehensive account of the overlooked 18th-century artist, Jean Étienne Liotard.