“Old Blue Truck” by Carol Hilleary will be among the pieces on display at the West Virginia Watercolor Society show at the Parkersburg Art Center where an opening reception will be held 1-3 p.m. Sunday.
(Photo Provided)

PARKERSBURG — The Parkersburg Art Center will celebrate the exhibit of the West Virginia Watercolor Society with an opening reception at 1-3 p.m. Sunday.

The show will be on display during regular hours through Dec. 22 and by appointment the week of Dec. 26-29.

The biennial exhibit at the Art Center brings together the works of the most talented watercolorists in West Virginia.

The theme of the show is “Anything Goes” as artists can use any painted surface and any soluble media.

“The idea is to have fun and get creative!” Debbie Lester, exhibits director at the Watercolor Society, said.

“Daybreak” by Kristen Colebank, the Best of Show, 2022 All Member Exhibit, at the West Virginia Watercolor Society exhibition, is among the work to be on display at the 2023 show opening Sunday at the Parkersburg Art Center.
(Photo Provided)

Watercolor is difficult, according to Abby Hayhurst, artistic director of the Parkersburg Art Center.

“I have nothing but admiration for the artists who produced the work that was accepted for this exhibit,” Hayhurst said.

“When you touch brush to paper, you have to be right the first time. Unlike oils or acrylics, you can’t scrape it off and hope for steadier hands tomorrow,” Hayhurst said. “Precise detail is hard to achieve when your paint wants to go for a stroll.”

Many of these pieces are for sale and several of the artists have made prints of their work that will be available for sale for the duration of the exhibit. A selection of greeting cards also will be available.

Items can be purchased at the reception desk. Original works will be available on Dec. 22 and prints and cards are cash and carry.

The West Virginia Watercolor Society was organized in 1984 to guide and inspire watercolor artists, highlight the broad scope of watercolor painting and promote high standards of the art in the state of West Virginia.

The society holds workshops, publishes a newsletter and hosts both juried and non-juried exhibitions. For more information, go to http://www.wvwatercolorsociety.org.

The opening reception is free for members of the Art Center, children under 12 and artists plus one guest. Otherwise, admission to the opening reception is $10.

Appetizers and beverages will be available.

Hours for the Art Center, 725 Market St., at the corner of Market and Eighth streets, are 10-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission to the exhibit is free from Nov. 21-Dec. 22 thanks to the sponsorship of WVU Medicine Camden Clark Medical Center.

For more information about the Art Center, go to its page Facebook, Instagram or www.parkersburgartcenter.org.

As the warmer months came to a close in İncesu, Keyseri, Turkey, archaeologists currently at work in a sprawling ancient complex announced that the Roman-era mosaics they uncovered—already recognized as the largest ever found in the region—just keep getting bigger.

İncesu sits atop the ancient town of Sadogora, or Sadacora, a late Roman and early Byzantine municipality, remnants of which were originally encountered in 2010. Initial excavations brought a series of beautiful mosaic floors to light, some bearing Latin and Greek inscriptions. Legal reasons prevented any further work until 2020, but when archaeologists resumed digging, it wasn’t long before they realized they were unearthing a site of epic proportions.

By the end of the 2021 season, ten rooms of what archaeologists are tentatively designating a 4th-century Roman villa of great significance, boasted more than 3,000 square feet of mosaic floors in excellent condition. This year, the excavation more than doubled its surface area, exposing 6,500 square feet of mosaics out of a total 43,000 square feet that has been excavated across the entire site.

Can Erpek, a professor of Byzantine art and archaeology at Nevsehir Haci Bektas Veli University, posits that the site may have been an imperial structure, perhaps belonging to rulers or administrators of the region. He says, “We are talking about a high-end residence spread over a very large area; a residence with 33 rooms, (and) we have not reached the limits of this residence. We foresee that the current residence will expand even further with our excavations that will continue next year.” (via The History Blog)

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A young greenfinch gets scolded, human legs propel a batfish forward, and a kangaroo shreds on an air guitar in this year’s Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards. Created in 2015, the annual contest (previously) is an effort to empathize with the wildlife around us while calling to attention the threats they face. With thousands of entries from around the world every year, the deluge of delightful images serves as a reminder that animals and humans have plenty in common, from idiosyncratic personas and comical clumsiness to the Earth we share.

A gallery showcasing the 2023 finalists is available on the competition’s website, where there is still time to vote for the People’s Choice Award.

Photo © Danielle Goonan

Photo © Jason Moore

Photo © Dakota Vaccaro

Photo © Jacques Poulard

Photo © Wendy Kaveney

Photo © Thomas Vijayan

Photo © Otter Kwek

Photo © Adrian Slazok

Photo © Delphine Casimir

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UTICA, N.Y. — Over 15 artists will be showcasing their artwork in two gallery spaces during the second-annual Art Expo, hosted by 4 Elements Studio.

The expo, a two-day art market and sale, aims to provide holiday shoppers with the opportunity to “buy local, buy original [and] support your community artists,” organizers for the event stated. 

It takes place at 4 Elements Studio located in the RCIL/Dorothy Smith building at 1607 Genesee St.

The dates for the expo are Nov. 24 and 25, running from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The art sale features work from 17 artists in a variety of styles and mediums.

Price points will also vary depending on the artist and the specific artwork.

“The local artists included in the art sale are Nicholas Bonacci, 4 Elements Bead by Bead program; Nicholas Bonacci, 4 Elements Studio Bead by Bead; Kathy Donovan, Luciann Gould, George Henderickson, Dana Kelsey, Victor Lenuzza, Jim Lloyd, David Mentos, Betty Murtagh, Sun Myint, RC Oster, Vartan Poghosian, Marc Anthony-Polozzi, Tim Rand, Steven Specht and Tony Thompson,” a release for the event states. 

For more on 4 Elements Studio, click here.  

Anna Maria College is the only college in Central Massachusetts that offers Art Therapy. Our Art Therapy program empowers students to take their creative talent and go out into the world and help others. 

Now more than ever, populations of individuals are suffering from daily stress or more serious mental health issues and Anna Maria is here to make sure that therapeutic arts are one way that these individuals can express themselves, form connections, and build their self-esteem. This is best exemplified by Anna Maria College’s partnership with South High in Worcester.  

As part of their Foundations course, Anna Maria Art Therapy students are given the opportunity to work hands-on with Transition Students from South High. Students from the Transition Department have intellectual disabilities or complex needs. The goal of the Transition Department is to support them as they age out of high school and move into adult resources and programs.  

Created in 2018 with help from AMC faculty member Kim King Cormier who also works at South High in the Special Education program, the partnership offers learning opportunities for both Anna Maria and South High. For six weeks, South High Transition students are transported to Miriam Hall on campus and meet with Anna Maria art therapy students in the Foundations course. Each week the art therapy students lead groups and demonstrate art techniques. Not only do the South High students get the opportunity to express themselves and communicate through art, but they also learn vocational art skills which enable them to make items that they can sell such as coasters, postcards, and other creative yet functional items.  

Each school benefits from the partnership. The South High Transition students are able to experience a college learning atmosphere, which is often the first time they have been on a college campus. They are also empowered to express themselves and even learn skills through vocational art which could help them financially. Meanwhile, Anna Maria art therapy students are able to see the impact that art therapy has first-hand. Rather than just learning from a book, the 6-week partnership gives Anna Maria students the ability to make a difference and connect with a population that needs more compassion and is often overlooked.  

Hands-on experience is one of the hallmark features of Anna Maria’s Art Therapy program, according to Special Lecturer in Art Therapy, Julie Hurley. During their time at Anna Maria College, students will work with a wide variety of populations from schools and hospital settings to nursing homes, and community nonprofits. This experiential learning allows Anna Maria students to find the career path which calls to them the most.  

“Our art therapy students are competitive in the job market because they have a strong clinical background combined with actual hands-on experience in different environments,” Hurley explained, “Partnerships like our South High program show our students the positive impact that creativity and compassion can have in the community.” 

Learn more about Anna Maria’s Art Therapy degree at: https://annamaria.edu/academics/undergraduate-studies/art-therapy/

Sotheby’s modern art sale on Monday evening saw extensive bidding and strong prices for works by artists such as Claude Monet and Mark Rothko, but in the end, the New York auction revealed a mixed picture of collector appetite as it achieved US$190.4 million, or US$223.3 million, with fees. 

The final total, before fees, reached above the low estimate for the sale of US$179 million. But the estimated result—which also is before fees—didn’t account for the withdrawal of seven lots ahead of the auction that altogether could have brought in another US$19.3 million. Two final two works in the 33-lot auction didn’t find buyers.

The auction took place less than an hour after Sotheby’s sold a 1962 Ferrari 330 LM / 250 GTO, chassis 3765 for US$51.7 million, with fees, which the auction house said marks the highest value for a Ferrari at a public auction. The price—below a US$60 million estimate—was also the second highest price for a car at auction, Sotheby’s said. 

The previous auction record for a Ferrari was US$48.4 million set in 2018 at Sotheby, while the highest price for any car was US$143 million, set for a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé at RM Sotheby’s last year. 

The highest price of the modern art sale was US$26.8 million, or about US$30.8 million with fees, for Monet’s Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, temps couvert, 1891, which was won by a collector on the phone with Wendy Lin, Sotheby’s chairman in Asia, after about a minute. Peupliers is one of 24 paintings the artist created of a grouping of poplars planted on the banks of the Epte river about two kilometers from his home in Giverny, according to Sotheby’s. The result was just below a low estimate of US$30 million. 

Another work by Monet generated far more interest. Le Moulin de Limetz (The Mill at Limetz), 1888, sold for US$22 million, or US$25.6 million with fees, after more than seven minutes of volleying. The winning bidder was on the phone with Simon Shaw, Sotheby’s vice chairman of fine art.

The painting, which was estimated to sell for between US$12 million and US$18 million, had been owned by the descendants of influential Chicago collectors, Bertha and Potter Palmer and was in the family for more than 130 years. It had been guaranteed with an irrevocable bid, ensuring it would sell. 

The same collector on the phone with Shaw won another round of bidding soon after for Camille Pissarro’s Le Louvre, matin, printemps, 1902, with the price of US$3.4 million, nearly US$4.2 million with fees, more than double a high estimate. 

A Rothko work-on-paper in blue-and-green tones from 1968 also generated significant interest. The painting sold to a buyer in the saleroom for double a high estimate at US$20.5 million, US$25.6 million with fees, after more than five minutes of bidding. Proceeds from the sale, an auction record for a Rothko work-on-paper, will benefit the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Memphis, Tenn. 

Another intense bidding round was sparked by Marc Chagall’s Au-dessus de la ville, 1924, before it sold to a collector in Asia on the phone with Jen Hua, Sotheby’s deputy chairman for the region for US$13.3 million, or US$15.6 million with fees, a result within estimates.

According to Sotheby’s, Asian collectors bought more than 20% of art in the sale by value, including Monet’s poplars, the Chagall, and Paul Klee’s Fenster im garten, which sold just under the low end of an estimate range for US$580,000, or US$736,600 with fees. 

A featured lot of the evening,
Pablo Picasso’s
Compotier et guitare, 1932, which was guaranteed by a third party, generated far fewer sparks, although it still sold for US$21 million, nearly US$23.5 million with fees. The painting, with what Sotheby’s described as coded references to his muse Marie-Thérèse Walter, was expected to realize in the region of US$25 million. Compotier et guitare was last sold at auction in 2000 at Sotheby’s to a Swiss collector for US$9.9 million; the current seller bought the painting for an undisclosed price in 2004.  

Another Picasso, an early analytical cubist work from 1909 titled Buste de femme, which was also guaranteed by a third party, sold for US$12 million, or $13.6 million with fees, below a US$18 million low estimate. 

Last week, Sotheby’s sold Picasso’s Femme à la montre from the Emily Fisher Landau collection for US$139.4 million, the second-highest auction price for a work by the artist. 

The auction marked the first of three evening sales at Sotheby’s this week in New York, following the Fisher Landau evening auction that realized US$406 million last Wednesday. The auction house holds its ultra-contemporary “The Now” and its contemporary sales on Wednesday evening. 

Austin-based gallery Sebastian Foster just announced its 2023 Fall Print Set, marking the 11th anniversary of the collection since it launched in 2012. The new release features 30 works by well-established illustrators, printmakers, and painters from across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Japan, and Europe. Half of the artists have worked with the gallery for years, while the other half are guests who joined just for this collection.

This set features 30 works all published as relatively small editions, hand-signed and numbered by the artists. Encompassing an eclectic array of mediums and themes, the collection showcases work from artists previously featured on Colossal, including Graham Franciose’s dreamlike watercolor works, Diana Sudyka’s fanciful storybook scenes, and Grant Haffner’s vibrant, flat landscapes bisected by his signature utility poles.

Now online-only, Sebastian Foster focuses on original works and prints, publishing over 1,000 editions since opening in the late 2000s. Whether you’re looking for the next piece to add to your collection or for meaningful holiday gifts, head to the gallery’s site to shop the Fall Print Set today.

Daneil Freaker

Diana Sudyka

Elena Burykina

Fabian Lavater

Matthew Gagnon

Mia Bergeron

Michael McGrath

Daniel Ellison

Susan Abbott

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We’ve started to think about finding the perfect gifts for our loved ones and bet you have, too, which is why we’re sharing the first part of our Colossal Year in Review series a little bit early. Below, you’ll find our staff’s favorite art books published this year, from artist monographs, surveys, and historical reflections to prove that art really does make the world a better place.

The titles below are on our shortlist, so head to Bookshop to check out what else made the cut.

Book of Earth: A Guide to Ochre, Pigment, and Raw Color

Heidi Gustafson of the Early Futures Ochre Archive takes us on a journey through rare pigments and their landscapes in a celebration of the unique qualities of earthen materials. Each chapter is dedicated to an aspect of her massive collection, which contains more than 600 samples. Captivating and insightful, the volume elucidates the world of natural color, challenging our perceptions of terrain and the inanimate world, and includes practical advice and techniques for creating your own pigments.

Simone Leigh

The first monograph of the pioneering artist’s work, Simone Leigh encompasses two decades of Leigh’s sculptures, videos, and installations, all of which center on Black women and the aesthetics of Africa and the African diaspora. The book also coincides with the artists’s first major museum survey, which is currently on tour across the U.S., and contains writings by some of today’s most brilliant thinkers.

An Indigenous Present

Works by more than 60 artists comprise this monumental survey, which renders solid a new paradigm of representation and visibility of Native North American art. The nearly 450-page book is filled with bold full-color images that explore myriad practices focused on contemporary art, music, filmmaking, choreography, architecture, writing, photography, design, and more.

Groundswell: Women of Land Art 

This groundbreaking volume is corrective and celebratory as it highlights the women artists who changed the genre. Spanning 256 pages, Groundswell encompasses works by renowned artists like Ana Mendieta, Nancy Holt, and Agnes Dean, who used untraditional and organic materials in their practices and gravitated toward the earth itself as a site for their works.

Seth, On Walls

French artist Julien Malland, a.k.a. Seth Globepainter, takes us on a journey through a decade of his resilient and youthful subjects, many of which are enveloped by color and playful optical illusions. The monograph features many of the artist’s most impactful murals and emphasizes how imagination could be the key to solving many of the world’s ills.

Luna Luna: The Art Amusement Park

Opened in 1987, Luna Luna was the first-ever art amusement park, and it was brimming with rides and kiosks designed by some of the most recognizable names in 20th-century art history like David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein, and Salvador Dalí. This re-issue contains information about and photos of the public spectacle, along with cover drawings commissioned by the artists.

Birds of the World: The Art of Elizabeth Gould 

Elizabeth Gould is known for her vibrant illustrations of birds that paired with her husband’s ornithological studies and was overlooked for her contributions during her lifetime. A corrective book that recognizes Gould for her immense talent, Birds of the World is a celebration of the artist’s legacy and contains 220 vivid renderings depicting myriad species, from a speckled vulturine guineafowl and chromatic crimson rosella to a slender-beaked glossy ibis.

Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us

We intuitively know that art affects us, but how exactly? Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross dive into the connection between art and health in this illuminating book that details a range of positive outcomes, from museum visits aiding people suffering from dementia to playing music to build cognitive skills. It’s an essential read for anyone interested in the real-world impact of art.

Shop all of the Best Art Books of 2023 on Bookshop.

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