We are excited to announce that our Italian artist, Eva Rorandelli, will be exhibiting her latest work at a solo show, “Post-Bodies”, at the Fondazione D’Ars in Milan, opening October 27th.  If you happen to be in Milan, we encourage you to attend.   It will be a great show.

“I believe that the artist and his art are only a part of the total human experience; the viewer in the world at large is the essential other part. I feel that a true work of art is like nothing else in the world. It is not essential to know how the artist thinks or how he believes he relates to his profession or his society. What he creates is his message. For me a work of art does not cry for comprehension, only for reaction at the level of art itself.” – Ansel Adams

Thanks to friend of Mondo, Dallas G., for emailing us this quote.

photo by George Steinmetz

Yesterday evening, I went for an exciting field trip to see a very important piece of earthwork… 

The first person to email, facebook, or tweet the name of this artist and the title of the work will win 2 tickets to the Utah Museum of Fine Art!

UPDATE: We have a winner! Congrats Laura D., the first person to name this artist – Robert Smithson! You win 2 tickets to the Utah Museum of Fine Art, where you will be able to view a couple of Robert’s works on paper in their collection.

Robert Smithson is the creator of the Spiral Jetty, completed in 1970. This massive land art installation measures 1,500 ft. long and 15 ft wide and is constructed with black basalt rocks. It lies on the edge of the Great Salt Lake in Utah.  Due to rising water levels, this land sculpture was completely submerged for nearly 3 decades, resurfacing in 2004 – but only for a year as the lake’s water level rose again. Right now it is completely exposed again, easy to view and explore.

Last night was my first visit to the Spiral Jetty.  It was late dusk by the time we arrived and the contrast of the black rock on the white crystalized salt flats was very dramatic.  If you are in the area, I highly recommend you visit this fantastic earthwork. Here are directions to the Spiral Jetty so you can take a self guided tour: DIRECTIONS  Part of the road is dirt and very bumpy and requires more of a SUV for safe passage.

For more information on the Spiral Jetty, visit the DIA Art Foundation’s site HERE

New York art dealer, Kate Ganz, had no idea what she had on her hands when she acquired “Young Girl in Profile in Renaissance Dress” at auction for $19,000 at Christies 12 years ago.  She sold the piece for about the same price just 2 years ago to a Swiss collector.  With a recent and very important discovery, the piece is now valued at $160 million.

Peter Silverman was the man with the eye. He knew right away there was something very distinct about the piece. He asked several experts and had tests run on the piece, using “multispectral” digital technology, that eventually uncovered within the pigment a partial hand print and fingerprint that matched that on file of none other than Leonardo da Vinci.  The piece is believed to have been painted in 1496.

“My one claim to fame in this whole thing is that I saved it from obscurity,” Silverman told CNN.  The portrait will be on display in Sweden this coming March in a show titled  “And There Was Light: The Masters of the Renaissance Seen in a New Light”.

To read the full article from CNN.com, click here

Special thanks to Livi, a friend of Mondo, for letting us know of this fascinating story.  If you hear about art in the news that other Mondo blog readers would enjoy, please email us at info@mondofineart.com

Leman Brothers will be taking their modern and contemporary art collection to auction, with the first batch of 238 lots hitting the block on Nov.1st through Freemans, “America’s oldest auction house”.

Among some of the artists whose original works will be available for sale: David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Rauschenberg.  Prints from Jim Dine, Louise Bourgeois, Claes Oldenburg, Wayne Thiebaud, Yaccov Agam, Alex Katz, Robert Motherwell, Louise Nevelson, Frank Stella, Robert Indiana, and Andy Warhol will also be up for sale.

As Leman Brothers sit in bankruptcy, their creditors hope to recover some of their losses through this auction, as well as two subsequent auctions on Dec.6th and Feb. 12, featuring other works from the collection.

To read more on this, you can view the article by William D. Cohan in last weeks CNNmoney/Fortune Magazine online HERE.

Thanks to all that made this such a memorable night!

Special thanks to Sterling Partners, who hosted us in their beautiful newly renovated space for the event.  Since we are an online gallery, our events/shows will vary with location.  To know when and where our events/shows are, please sign up on our Contact page (click here), and we will make sure you get the VIP invite every time. See you at the next event!