NEW YORK: A debt-ridden onetime aide to Imelda Marcos wrongly sold a hidden treasure: a $32 million Monet painting the former Philippine first lady had acquired and her country wants back, prosecutors said Wednesday as the ex-assistant’s conspiracy trial opened.
In a New York courtroom, Vilma Bautista is facing charges that invoke the tangled history of Philippine officials’ efforts to reclaim items from Marcos and her late husband, former President Ferdinand Marcos.
Bautista is accused of scheming to sell the artwork — part of the French Impressionist’s famed “Water Lilies” series — and trying to peddle other valuable paintings that prosecutors say she had no right to sell. The artwork vanished amid Ferdinand Marcos’ 1986 ouster, ended up in Bautista’s hands and is part of a multibillion-dollar roster of property the Philippines claims the Marcoses acquired with the nation’s cash, prosecutors said.
But for all the art-world intricacies and Philippine politics, “at bottom, this case is really quite simple — it’s about greed and fraud,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Garrett Lynch told jurors in an opening statement.
The defense said Bautista believed that Imelda Marcos rightfully owned the paintings and that Bautista had authority to sell them for her. Bautista is just an intermediary who got caught up in a decades-long dispute between a nation and its former leader, attorney Susan Hoffinger said.
“That battle doesn’t belong here” in a Manhattan criminal courtroom, Hoffinger said in her opening.
After ruling the Philippines with an iron fist for two decades, Ferdinand Marcos was forced by a “people power” revolt into exile in Hawaii. He died three years later.
Philippine officials say Marcos and his associates looted the country’s treasury to amass between $5 billion and $10 billion. The nation’s Presidential Commission on Good Government has seized a number of companies, bank accounts and other assets suspected of being part of that wealth. The Marcoses denied their wealth was ill-gotten.
With a massive collection of shoes, Imelda Marcos became a symbol of excess. But she has emerged relatively unscathed from hundreds of legal cases against her and her late husband, and she is now a congresswoman in the Philippines.
She’s not expected to testify at Bautista’s trial.
Bautista was a foreign service officer assigned to the Philippine Mission to the United Nations and later served as Imelda Marcos’ New York-based personal secretary.
By 2009, Bautista was deep in debt. She began looking to sell four paintings the Marcoses had acquired during the presidency — including Monet’s 1899 “Le Bassin aux Nymphease,” also known as “Japanese Footbridge Over the Water-Lily Pond at Giverny,” prosecutors said.
Bautista ultimately sold the water lily painting for $32 million to a Swiss buyer, Lynch said. Some proceeds went to Bautista’s relatives and associates and to debts; $15 million stayed in her bank accounts, while Imelda Marcos knew nothing of the sale, the prosecutor said.
Bautista had a 1991 “certificate of authority” from Marcos to sell the painting and receive the proceeds, the defense emphasized; prosecutors question its legitimacy. At the time, the work was not on the Philippines’ list of allegedly missing paintings, though the government now seeks its return.
Bautista’s lawyer said the aide sold the painting for Marcos but never had a chance to give her the money.
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AP writer David Thurber contributed to this story from Bangkok.
Ex-Marcos aide on trial in NYC case of Monet work
Ex-Marcos aide on trial in NYC case of Monet work
Johnny Depp appears at UK premiere of Saudi-backed film ‘Jeanne du Barry’
DUBAI: US actor Johnny Depp said he felt “strangely, oddly, perversely lucky” to have been offered the role of French King Louis XV at the UK premiere of his new film “Jeanne du Barry.”
Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival Foundation provided post-production support for the period drama, marking the first time the foundation co-produced a French movie.
Depp was accompanied by the film’s co-star and director Maïwenn on stage at the Curzon theater in Mayfair, where the duo briefly introduced the film.
“I feel very lucky to have been [offered the role] – strangely, oddly, perversely lucky,” he said on stage in London, according to Variety. “Because when Maïwenn and I first actually met and talked about the notion of me doing the film and playing Louis XV, the King of France — see that’s when instantly what happens in your brain is you instantly go back to Kentucky, where, like, everything is fried. So you realise that you’ve come from the bellybutton of nowhere and suddenly you end up playing the King of France.”
Egyptian film ‘East of Noon’ heads to Cannes
DUBAI: Egyptian director Hala Elkoussy’s film “East of Noon” has been selected for screening at the Cannes Film Festival Directors’ Fortnight, selected by artistic director Julien Rejl as part of an international line-up of 21 films, putting the spotlight on global directors and their stories.
Rejl revealed the line-up at a press conference in Paris on Tuesday for the Cannes parallel section run by French directors’ guild the SRF.
Elkoussy’s “East of Noon” is one of eight films directed or co-directed by women among the 21 films selected this year.
Saudi Arabia’s Wadi AlFann opens Venice Art Biennale presence with book launch
DUBAI: Wadi AlFann, Saudi Arabia’s major new cultural destination for art, design and performance, is presenting a showcase titled “Journeys in Land Art, Towards Wadi AlFann, AlUla” during the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia.
The showcase spotlights the first five artists commissioned for Wadi AlFann: Manal Al-Dowayan, Agnes Denes, Michael Heizer, Ahmed Mater and James Turrell.
On April 19, Wadi AlFann Publications is also launching books by Al-Dowayan and US artist Mark Dion titled “Oasis of Stories” and “The Desert Field Guide.”
The duo will host a panel discussion to delve into their books, exploring how participation is fundamental to their practice as well as delivering insights on the desert.
Meanwhile, a series of renders, drawings, maquettes and interviews, including drawings gathered by Al-Dowayan — the artist representing Saudi Arabia at La Biennale di Venezia 2024 — through her participatory workshops with communities across AlUla, are being displayed at the event in Venice.
A series of studies by Mater revealing the artist’s plans for his Wadi AlFann commission titled “Ashab Al-Lal” are also on display.
The installation, inspired by the scientific and philosophical thinkers of the Islamic Golden Age, aims to explore the mythic space between subjective imagination and objective reality.
Nora Al-Dabal, executive director of arts and creative industries at the Royal Commission for AlUla, said in a statement: “We are delighted to introduce Wadi AlFann to Venice, during the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, through the Wadi AlFann showcase.”
She added: “It provides a glimpse at the journey toward AlUla’s new global destination for land art. Visionary arts initiatives like Wadi AlFann play a crucial role in AlUla’s development strategy, and we cannot wait for you to see it in person.”
Guided tours will be available at the biennale from April 18-20 and from April 25-27.
Wadi AlFann will bring compelling artwork from around the world to AlUla, the desert region of northwest Saudi Arabia steeped in thousands of years of natural, historical and cultural heritage.
Young Saudi artist finds beauty in the ordinary
- Dana Almasoud’s works are inspired by historical Middle Eastern and European art aesthetics
RIYADH: When picking up a pencil or paintbrush to create an artwork, self-taught Saudi artist Dana Almasoud channels her inner child.
“As soon as a child picks up a pencil, they attempt to draw or capture a sense of what they see through their eyes on paper. The majority of them stop at some point in their childhood, for whatever reason,” Almasoud told Arab News.
“Fortunately, I was one of the few who never did. I had the luxury of a supportive mother who always looked forward to my next scribble.”
While pursuing her undergraduate studies in finance, as a freelance artist Almasoud explores a variety of styles, from fine art to surrealism and fantasy inspired by everyday scenes.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Much of Dana Almasoud’s work is inspired by Islamic historical art, characterized by its symbolism and emphasis on the beauty of spirituality.
• One of her first works inspired by Saudi culture was a commission from a man who wanted a portrait in the orientalist style.
• The artist says her work is an attempt to fill the void that excess simplicity and minimalism has created in recent years.
“The warm morning sun, the singing of the birds, the stoplights and the people. I am surrounded by life and I do my best to pour what I see into my work. What makes us human is how we make things from nothing,” she said.
Speaking about the “sanctuary” she has created in her room, she said: “It took me years of collecting, arranging and a lot of dedication to get it to how it is now.”
Much of Almasoud’s work is inspired by Islamic historical art, characterized by its symbolism and emphasis on the beauty of spirituality.
“In order for me to create things that resemble life, it only makes sense to use colors that already exist in nature,” she said.
“I take a lot of inspiration from historical art, both from Europe and the Middle East, since the pigments they used were extracted from natural sources and were perfectly saturated.”
She enjoys experimenting with new mediums, but drawing with a pencil is her preferred choice.
“I also do enjoy the occasional challenge of an ink brush, because once it sets its bristles on paper, you cannot go back. When it comes to painting with color (watercolors, acrylics, oils), I still consider myself in the process of learning,” she said.
The warm morning sun, the singing of the birds, the stoplights and the people. I am surrounded by life and I do my best to pour what I see into my work.
Dana Almasoud, Saudi artist
“I also experiment with pyrography, doll making, embroidery, linoleum block printing and, soon, murals.”
Almasoud said one of her first works inspired by Saudi culture was a commission from a man who wanted to look like an orientalist.
Her most recent painting is of a man selling ramsi tomatoes, the seasonal heirloom fruits with green “shoulders” that are prevalent in Qatif.
“These tomatoes are known for a special flavor and a lot of farmers from various lands tried to grow it themselves, but to no avail. For some reason, these tomatoes only taste special when they grow on that specific piece of land,” Almasoud said.
She said she had been told her work had “a layer of fog, where the edges are never harsh,” which reflects the high levels of humidity in the Eastern Province where she lives.
“I can see the Arabian Gulf from the window of my room. You can imagine the high rates of humidity, which is where I think that layer came from,” she said.
“I will always wonder how this translated into what I draw, but regardless, I do love it.”
Almasoud said her art was an attempt to fill the void that excess simplicity and minimalism has created in recent years.
“My art is an attempt to inspire people back to see the beauty in complexity and the intricacy of the small things in life.”
Speaking about the importance of art in the modern world, she said: “With the increase in the pace of the world, art has become even more important. It gives people and their minds something to hang on to, for them to not lose themselves and their identities in a busy world.”
For more information about the artist visit @esotericdana on Instagram.
Israeli artist shuts Venice Biennale exhibit until ‘ceasefire agreement happens’
DUBAI: Israeli artist Ruth Patir has shut down her national pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale, saying that she will only reopen it when a “ceasefire agreement happens” between Israel and Hamas.
Patir said in a statement on Instagram: “I feel that the time for art is lost and I need to believe it will return. We (Tamar, Mira and I) have become the news, not the art. And so, if I am given such a remarkable stage, I want to make it count.
“I have therefore decided that the pavilion will only open when the release of hostages and ceasefire agreement happens,” she added. “This has been our decision and we stand by it. I am an artist and educator, I firmly object to cultural boycott, but since I feel there are answers, and I can only do what I can with the space I have, I prefer to raise my voice with those I stand with in their scream, ceasefire now, bring the people back from captivity. We can’t take it anymore.”
In February, thousands of people, including artists, curators and museum directors, signed an online appeal calling for Israel to be excluded from this year’s art fair and accusing the country of “genocide” in Gaza.
“Any official representation of Israel on the international cultural stage is an endorsement of its policies and of the genocide in Gaza,” said the online statement by the Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) collective.
ANGA said the Venice Biennale had previously banned South Africa over its apartheid policy of white minority rule and excluded Russia after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Italian Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said the appeal was an “unacceptable, as well as shameful ... diktat of those who believe they are the custodians of truth, and with arrogance and hatred, think they can threaten freedom of thought and creative expression.”
Dubbed the “Olympics of the art world,” the Biennale is one of the main events in the international arts calendar. This year’s edition, “Foreigners Everywhere,” is due to host pavilions from 90 countries between April 20 and Nov. 24.
