Collaborating with the Clodagh Design team, mosaic artist Michael Curry has created a 200 sq. ft. glowing wall in the lobby of the newly opened Tishman Speyer’s property, Jackson Park LIC, a stylish luxury apartment building in Long Island City. Unique materials, in a variety of gauges, form a textured, backlit wall that interacts with its environment and transforms throughout the day.
Putting a modern spin on the ancient art of mosaics, our client, Michael Curry creates one of a kind glass wall sculptures for design teams, commercial settings, and private homes. He has devised innovative, three dimensional techniques to accentuate the dramatic interaction between glass and light.
With his studio located in midtown Manhattan, the majority of Michael’s work is focused in the greater New York City area, including works on permanent display in the Empire State Building. His pieces are also installed throughout New Jersey, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Washington DC, Miami, Houston, Buenos Aires, and Hamilton, Bermuda. Works on public display include the lobby of Miami’s East Hotel, the JW Marriott Marquis, and the lobby of the Luxe City Center Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.
A member of the Society of American Mosaic Artists (SAMA), Michael has been a featured artist in Architectural Digest and Glass Craftsman. In his New York City studio, Michael continues to explore the fascinating world of mosaics. To read more about him, learn about his works, and explore beautiful images of his work, visit his website.
Congratulations on your recent installation Michael!
After a legal battle spanning over a decade, the fate of the Persepolis Collection at the University of Chicago has been determined. In a unanimous decision, the United States Supreme Court affirmed a decision by the federal appeals court in Chicago, ruling in favor of Iran. In an opinion written by Justice Sotomayor, the court writes that the plaintiffs cannot collect on a judgment against Iran by transferring ownership of antiquities.
This judgment stems from a case in which victims of a terror attack in Israel sued Iran and received a $71.5 million judgment against the Middle Eastern nation. Iran did not pay the judgment, and so the plaintiffs attempted to seize assets located in the US under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). The items they attempted to seize include the Persepolis Collection, a collection of 30,000 thousand clay tablets, many with Elamite inscriptions, loaned from Iran to the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute in 1937. The rare and historically priceless artifacts were excavated by the university’s archeologists in the 1930s in the ancient city of Persepolis. The finds were then given as a long-term loan to the Oriental Institute for cataloging, researching, and translating.
The victims argued that the objects could be seized under the FSIA (the same law used to restitute Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, known as “The Woman in Gold,” to Maria Altmann). The FSIA grants immunity to foreign states, except for nations (like Iran) designated as state sponsors of terrorism. In addition, the FSIA also exempts certain foreign-owned property in commercial use in the US. In this case, the lower court found that the FSIA exemptions cover property used by the foreign state, but do not include property used by a third party, like the university.
In finding that an exception to the FSIA does not apply, the victims will be unable to seize these objects. A representative from the University of Chicago, Marielle Sainvilus, stated, “The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago is committed to preserving and protecting a collection of Persian artifacts on loan from the Iranian government, which are among the region’s most important historical documents…These ancient artifacts, along with the Oriental Institute’s own Persian collection, have unique historical and cultural value. Today’s ruling reaffirms the University’s continuing efforts to preserve and protect this cultural heritage.”
In 2006, the then-director of the Oriental Institute Gil Stein described his disbelief, “It’s a bizarre, almost surreal kind of thing… You’d have to imagine how we would feel if we loaned the Liberty Bell to Russia and a Russian court put it up for auction,” Stein said.
The significance of objects from Persepolis cannot be understated. Persepolis is considered by UNESCO to have “outstanding universal value.” UNESCO describes Persepolis as “magnificent ruins…among the world’s greatest archaeological sites… among the archaeological sites which have no equivalent and which bear unique witness to a most ancient civilization.”
Our founder, Leila A. Amineddoleh had a great time briefly discussing artists’ rights and graffiti art with Jon Bristow, anchor at KCBS Radio. They discussed the significance of the recent ruling in favor of graffiti artists in the “5Pointz case” (Cohen v. G&M Realty L.P.). In that matter, a group of graffiti artists received millions of dollars in damages after a land owner whitewashed their work. It was decided in favor of the artists after it was determined that the graffiti art rose to the level of “recognized stature.” This is the first time that graffiti art has received protection under the Visual Artists’ Rights Act. For more information, read Leila’s editorial for the Conversation. You can also listen to her brief radio interview here:
This upcoming weekend our founder, Leila Amineddoleh, will be speaking at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Her discussion will be led during a members only “book talk” event for Cynthia Saltzman’s book Old World, New Masters. The talk is part of a series held in conjunction with Old Masters Now: Celebrating the Johnson Collection, an exhibition highlighting works from the astonishing trove of European art gifted to the city of Philadelphia by famed attorney John G. Johnson.
Leila’s sold-out event will delve the the fascinating history of art collecting, and the way in which valuable art and heritage items moved from Europe to the US during the late 19th century and early 20th century. The exodus of works leaving Europe and purchased by wealthy Americans formed the basis of some of the greatest museums and art institutions in the United States, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum, and the Frick Collection.
For those who haven’t seen the Johnson Collection, visit before it closes on February 19. The show not only examines beautiful works in the museum’s collection, but offers insights into the life of John G. Johnson (an influential and talented litigator), presents information on the authentication of art, and even provides information about art conservation.
The new year is off to a great start with another international repatriation. Later this month, fragments of a mummy will be returned to the Arab Republic of Egypt. The skull and two dismembered hands were taken from Egypt in the 1920s in violation of the nation’s antiquities laws. Leila Amineddoleh served as the cultural heritage law expert for the government.
Collaborating with the Clodagh Design team, mosaic artist Michael Curry has created a 200 sq. ft. glowing wall in the lobby of the newly opened Tishman Speyer’s property, Jackson Park LIC, a stylish luxury apartment building in Long Island City. Unique materials, in a variety of gauges, form a textured, backlit wall that interacts with its environment and transforms throughout the day.
The new year is off to a great start with another international repatriation. Later this month, fragments of a mummy will be returned to the Arab Republic of Egypt. The skull and two dismembered hands were taken from Egypt in the 1920s in violation of the nation’s antiquities laws. Leila Amineddoleh served as the cultural heritage law expert for the government.