SHANGHAI ART MUSEUM PRESENTS "SALVADOR DALI IN SHANGHAI"

THE STRATTON FOUNDATION AND THE DALI UNIVERSE PRESENT AN EXCITING HISTORIC EXHIBITION DEDICATED TO THE RENOWNED ARTIST AND MASTER OF SURREALISM, SALVADOR DALI. THE EXHIBITION "SALVADOR DALI IN SHANGHAI" IS A RARE COLLECTION OF ARTWORKS THAT WILL DELIGHT AND SURPRISE. OPENING 31.JULY AND ON VIEW TILL 14.AUGUST AT THE SHANGHAI ART MUSEUM. THE EXHIBITION "SALVADOR DALI IN SHANGHAI" COMMEMORATES THE 20th ANNIVERSARY OF DALI'S DEATH AND DISPLAYS THE ARTIST IN ALL HIS GLORY. CURATOR OF THE EXHIBITION AND PRESIDENT OF THE STRATTON FOUNDATION, BENJAMIN LEVI IS AN AVID COLLECTOR AND EXPERT OF DALI'S WORK. A PERSONAL FRIEND OF THE ARTIST, LEVI HAS ASSEMBLED THE COLLECTION OVER THE PAST 40 YEARS, CAREFULLY SELECTING EACH ARTWORK IN ORDER TO BRING VARIOUS ASPECTS OF DALI'S LIFEWORK TO THE PUBLIC EYE. AS AN ARTIST, DALI NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION, HE WILL ALWAYS AROUSE INTEREST, SPECULATION, DISCUSSION AND MOST OF ALL, PLEASURE. AN EXHIBITION OF EPIC PROPORTIONS, THE VISITOR WILL TAKE AN UNFORGETTABLE TOUR OF OVER 350 ARTWORKS.
THIS IS THE ONLY COLLECTION OF ITS KIND IN THE WORLD, FEATURING THE MOST IMPORTANT AND LARGEST GROUPING OF BRONZE SCULPTURES, SUCH AS THE 'SPACE ELEPHANT' AND THE 'BUSTE DE FEMME RETROSPECTIF'. THE SHOW ALSO DISPLAYS A STAGGERING NUMBER OF RARE GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATING THE GREAT THEMES OF LITERATURE, SUCH AS THE 'DIVINE COMEDY' AND 'HAMLET'. BEAUTIFUL SHIMMERING GLASS SCULPTURES, DALI INSPIRED FURNITURE, PAINTINGS, COLLAGES OF THE MYSTICAL 'TAROT' AND THE MAE WEST'S LIPS REMIND THE VIEWER THAT DALI WAS A MULTI-FACETED ARTIST WHO EXPLORED A WIDE RANGE OF THEMES AND MATERIALS. ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EXHIBITION IS DALI'S VAST AND MESMERIZING ORIGINAL OIL PAINTING 'SPELLBOUND' WHICH WAS CREATED FOR THE SET OF ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S 1945 HOLLYWOOD MOVIE. THIS IS A RARE AND UNIQUE OCCASION FOR THE PEOPLE IN SHANGHAI AND VISITORS TO VIEW AN ENTHRALLING COLLECTION WHICH OFFERS THE GENERAL PUBLIC A SURREAL EXPERIENCE BEYOND THEIR WILDEST IMAGINATION.

DALI MUSEUM ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR NEW HURRICANE SAFE BUILDING

ONE OF THE LARGEST COLLECTIONS OF SALVADOR DALI WORKS OUTSIDE OF HIS NATIVE SPAIN IS BEING MOVED TO A MORE SECURE LOCATION, A HURRICANE-PROOF, CEMENT AND GLASS BUILDING LOCATED JUST A FEW BLOCKS AWAY FROM ITS ORIGINAL LOCATION IN ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA. THE COLLECTION OF 2,140 PIECES, INCLUDING 96 PAINTINGS BY THE "ENFANT TERRIBLE" OF SURREALISM, AS WELL AS NUMEROUS ETCHINGS AND DRAWINGS, WILL BE RELOCATED IN A NEW, $35 MILLION STRUCTURE THAT WILL HAVE A STURDIER STRUCTURE AND BE LESS EXPOSED TO THE COASTAL ELEMENTS. THE MOST UNIQUE ASPECT OF THE NEW SALVADOR DALI MUSEUM WILL BE ITS 18 INCH THICK WALLS, CAPABLE OF RESISTING THE IMPACT OF A CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE, PACKING WINDS UP TO 165 MILES PER HOUR. ITS STRUCTURE AND INTERIOR DESIGN EVOKE ELEMENTS THAT ARE VERY CHARACTERISTIC OF DALI (1904-1989), SUCH AS "THE RATIONAL AND THE APOLLONIAN ALONGSIDE THE IRRATIONAL, DIONYSIAN AND FANTASTICAL", THE MUSEUM'S DIRECTOR, DR CHARLES HENRI HINE SAID IN A RECENT INTERVIEW. HE SAID DALI'S WORK WILL FINALLY HAVE THE HOME IT DESERVES IN THE NEW MUSEUM, WHICH IF PLANS PROCEED ACCORDING TO SCHEDULE, WILL BE INAUGURATED ON 11.JUNE.2011. ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ATTRIBUTES OF THE ST PETERSBURG COLLECTION IS THAT IT GIVES A SENSE, LIKE NO OTHER, OF DALI'S 'SUCCESSIVE PERIODS" AND ALLOWS HIS FERVENT ADMIRERS TO APPRECIATE HIM BOTH AS A "CLASSIC, ALMOST IMPRESSIONIST" YOUNG ARTIST AND AS A SURREALIST PAINTER AND THE CREATOR OF 'NUCLEAR MYSTICISM", THE DIRECTOR SAID. REFERRING TO A THEORY OF ART DEVELOPED BY DALI THAT COMBINED RELIGION, MATH, SCIENCE AND CATALAN CULTURE IN AN ATTEMPT TO REVIVE CLASSICAL VALUES AND TECHNIQUE.
THE CURRENT MUSEUM DRAWS CLOSE TO 200,000 VISITORS A YEAR AND GENERATES $60 MILLION FOR THE LOCAL ECONOMY, AND THOSE NUMBERS COULD DOUBLE ONCE THE NEW BUILDING IS INAUGURATED. THE NEW, THREE STORY BUILDING WILL COVER AN AREA OF MORE THAN 64,500 SQUARE FEET, WITH DALI'S WORK EXHIBITED ON THE THIRD FLOOR, AND WILL INCLUDE A CAFETERIA, A THEATER, A BOOKSTORE AND A SCULPTURE GARDEN.

S.T. DUPONT CREATES $79,000 GOLD LIGHTER

ONE OF THE OLDEST AND MOST VENERABLE PARISIAN LUXURY GOODS MAKERS S.T. DUPONT HAS RECENTLY CREATED THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE LIGHTER, WITH AN ESTIMATED PRICE OF $79,000. THE EXQUISITE LIGNE 2 CHAMPAGNE LIGHTER IS PART OF THE FIRMS PRESTIGE COLLECTION AND IS MADE OF SOLID 18 CARAT WHITE GOLD EMBELLISHED WITH 468 BRILLIANT CUT DIAMONDS. ALSO AVAILABLE IS A MATCHING FOUNTAIN PEN ALSO OF SOLID 18 CARAT WHITE GOLD WITH RHODIUM FINISHED TRIMS AND 502 BRILLIANT CUT DIAMONDS FOR $74,000. S.T. DUPONT HAS ALWAYS BEEN HELD IN HIGH REGARD BY CONNOISSEURS, BUT HAS GAINED RECENT ACCLAIM WHEN SEVERAL OF ITS PIECES WERE USED BY DANIEL CRAIG AS JAMES BOND IN CASINO ROYALE.
S.T. DUPONT WaS FOUNDED IN PARIS IN 1872 BY SIMON TISSOT DUPONT; HIS SON ANDRE DUPONT, WHO HAD EXPERTISE BOTH IN LEATHER GOODS AND AS A GOLDSMITH, INVENTED THE FIRST POCKET LIGHTER IN 1941 FOR THE TRAVELING CASE OF A MAHARAJAH. AT THE TIME DUPONT'S ULTRA-LUXURIOUS TRAVEL CASES WERE ITS MAIN LINE; IN 1947 THEY MADE ONE IN LAVENDER BLUE LEATHER FOR HRH PRINCESS ELIZABETH OF YORK, THE FUTURE QUEEN OF ENGLAND. IN 1952 DUPONT PATENTED THE ADJUSTABLE GAS LIGHTER UPON WHICH THE PRESENT MODEL IS BASED AND CREATED A SPECIAL MODEL FOR THE DUKE OF WINDSOR, WHICH WAS REISSUED IN 2006.

MUSEO THYSSEN-BORNEMISZA PRESENTS LES LARMES D'EROS

THE MUSEO THYSSEN-BORNEMISZA, MADRID, WILL BE PRESENTING A STUNNING NEW EXHIBITION, 'TEARS OF EROS', BEGINNING 3.NOVEMBER.2209 AND RUNING THROUGH TO 31.JANUARY.2010. THE CLOSE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SEXUAL DESIRE AND THE DEATH INSTINCT -EROS AND THANATOS - IN THE VISUAL ARTS IS THE SUBJECT OF THIS EXHIBITION, WHOSE TITLE IS ALSO TAKEN FROM THAT OD GEORGES BATAILLE'S BOOK: LES LARMES D'EROS. THE EXHIBITION ALSO INCORPORATES SOME OF BATAILLE'S IDEAS ON EROTICISM: THE NEED FOR BEAUTY, TEMTATION AS PROHIBITION AND TRANSGRESSION, AND THE PARALLELS BETWEEN THE EROTIC AND THE RELIGIOUS SACRIFICE. THE EXHIBITION FOCUSES PRIMARILY ON 19th CENTURY EUROPEAN PAINTING AND SCULPTURE, INCLUDING THE WORKS OF CANOVA, INGRES, DELACROIX, MILLAIS, MOEAU AND RODIN, BUT ALSO LOOKS BACK TO EARLIER PERIODS, IN PARTICULAR THE BAROQUE WITH RUBENS AND BERNINI. IN ADDITION IT LOOKS AT LATER WORKS, FOR EXAMPLE, THE PRESENCE OF 19th CENTURY EROTIC THEMES IN SURREALISM AND ITS WAKE. FIGURES AND EPISODES DERIVED FROM CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY AND FROM JUDEO-CHRISTIAN TRADITION MAKE UP THIS SURVEY, WHICH IS ORGANIZED INTO TWO PRINCIPLE SECTIONS: 'FROM TEMPTATION TO SACRIFICE, WHICH LOOKS AT THE PRESENCE OF DEATH IN EROTIC PASSION THROUGH THEMES SUCH AS THE BIRTH OF VENUS, EVE AND THE SERPENT, THE TEMPTATIONS OF SAINT ANTHONY, AND THE KISS. A SECOND SECTION ENTITLED 'THE ETERNAL SLEEP', ANALYZES THE SUBJECT OF DEATH AND DYING TRANSFORMED INTO A TRANCE SIMILAR TO AMOROUS ECSTASY, PRESENT IN THEMES SUCH AS APOLLO AND HYACINTH, VENUS AND ADONIS, MARY MAGDALEN AND THE SKULL, AND THE "BEAUTIFUL SUICIDE VICTIMS", CLEOPATRA AND OPHELIA.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.museothyssen.org

FORD'S THEATRE REOPENS TO THE PUBLIC

THE FORD'S THEATRE SOCIETY AND THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THAT THE FORD'S THEATRE MUSEUM, HAS BEEN REOPENED TO THE PUBLIC. LOCATED BELOW THE NEWLY RESTORED FORD'S THEATRE, THE MUSEUM USES 21st CENTURY TECHNOLOGY TO TRANSPORT VISITORS TO 19th CENTURY WASHINGTON. THE MUSEUM'S REMARKABLE COLLECTION OF HISTORIC ARTIFACTS ARE SUPPLEMENTED WITH A VARIETY OF NARRATIVE DEVICES -- ENVIRONMENTAL RECREATIONS, VIDEOS, AND THREE DIMENSIONAL FIGURES, BRINGING TO LIGHT ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S PRESIDENCY AND LIFE IN WASHINGTON DC. THE NEW EXHIBITS INSIDE THE MUSEUM SHOWCASE LINCOLN'S ARRIVAL IN WASHINGTON DC, BY TRAIN, THE ASSEMBLY OF LINCOLN'S PRESIDENTIAL CABINET, LIFE IN THE LINCOLN WHITE HOUSE, CIVIL WAR MILESTONES AND GENERALS, VIDEO FEATURES DEMONSTRATING LINCOLN'S ROLE AS EMANCIPATOR AND ORATOR AND THREE DIMENSIONAL FIGURES OF THE ASSASSINATION CONSPIRATORS. THE MUSEUM ALSO IS HOME TO A HOST OF VALUABLE ARTIFACTS INCLUDING POLITICAL CAMPAIGN PARAPHERNALIA, A FORD'S THEATRE PLAYBILL, THE CLOTHING AND BOOTS WORN BY ABRAHAM LINCOLN THE NIGHT OF HIS ASSASSINATION, THE DERINGER PISTOL USED BY JOHN WILKES BOOTH AND OTHER WEAPONS AND PERSONAL ITEMS BELONGING TO THE ASSASSINATION CONSPIRATORS.
IN AUGUST 2007, THE 144 YEAR OLD THEATRE, WHERE PRESIDENT LINCOLN WAS ASSASSINATED IN APRIL 1865, AND MUSEUM WERE CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC AND WORK BEGAN ON RENOVATIONS, RESTORATION AND PRESERVATION OF THE HISTORIC BUILDING. IN FEBRUARY 2009, THE RESTORED AND RENOVATED THEATRE REOPENED, WHICH GETS AN ESTIMATED 1 MILLION VISITORS EACH YEAR NOT, BUT THE MUSEUM WAS CLOSED UNTIL RECENTLY.

DOM PERIGNON VINTAGE 1995 WHITE GOLD JEROBOAM

DOM PERIGNON VINTAGE 1995 WHITE GOLD JEROBOAM WAS OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED IN MAY 2008 FOR $17,000, AND NOW IS CONSIDERED THE MOST EXPENSIVE CHAMPAGNE JEROBOAM WITH PRICES APPROACHING $40,000 IN SOME MARKETS. A JEROBOAM IS A 3 LITER BOTTLE, WHICH HOLDS THE SAME AMOUNT AS FOUR REGULAR BOTTLES AND IS NAMED AFTER A BIBLICAL KING. THE BOTTLE COMES SHEATHED IN WHITE GOLD WHICH IS LASER ENGRAVED WITH THE DOM PERIGNON LABEL AND IS LIMITED TO ONLY A HUNDRED BOTTLES OF THIS SPECIFIC VINTAGE, WITH ONLY A FEW BOTTLES AVAILABLE IN CERTAIN COUNTRIES.

GRAFF SUPERSTAR DIAMOND LADY'S WATCH

THERE ARE DIAMOND WATCHES AND THEN THERE ARE DIAMOND WATCHES, THE NEW GRAFF SUPERSTAR IS BEYOND A DIAMOND WATCH IT IS A WORK OF STUNNING ART. THE GRAFF SUPERSTAR DIAMOND LADY'S WATCH IS INSPIRED BY ONE OF GRAFF'S TRADEMARK BRILLIANT CUT DIAMONDS. THE CASE AND BRACELET IS DONE IN 18 CARAT WHITE GOLD WHILE A STUNNING COLLECTION OF 176 DIAMONDS SET WITHIN THE CASE AND ANOTHER 94 DIAMONDS MAKE UP THE BRACELET, IN ALL THERE IS OVER 59 CARATS OF GRAFF QUALITY DIAMONDS. THE DIAMONDS ARE TRILLIANT AND TRAPEZE CUTS WHICH GIVES THE TIMEPIECE A CLEAN MODERN LOOK AND ANGULAR SHAPE THAT LENDS TO ITS 'TOTAL DIAMOND WATCH' STYLE. A TRAPEZE CUT EMERALD SET IN THE FACE IS THE ONLY NON-DIAMOND ON THE WATCH AND SERVES AS THE 12 O'CLOCK MARKER. THE GRAFF SUPERSTAR IS A ONE OF A KIND WATCH THAT ONLY THE JEWELRY HOUSE OF LAURENCE GRAFF COULD CREATE. WE HERE AT ARIA LOOK FORWARD TO MORE STUNNING CREATIONS.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.graffdiamonds.com