Irish Art Tax Shock

Ireland is going to review its tax policy that allows artists to not pay any taxes.
There is public anger that artists have been using relief schemes to legitimately avoid paying any tax on their earnings. The tax free scheme for writers, artists and musicians was introduced more than 30 years ago. The scheme - unique to Ireland - was intended to show how the country valued artistic and creative talent, as well as being of practical help to struggling artists.
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Irish Art

Kiss for Charity

The original paintings of Alex Ross - which appeared in the opening title sequence to SpiderMan 2 - are being auctioned on eBay. These one of a kind artworks will be listed exclusively on eBay with all proceeds donated to charity.

The starting bid for the upside-down kiss painting is $9000.

Martin Gale Retrospective

The 60 painting Martin Gale retrospective at the Ulster Museum and Art Gallery, Belfast is all about rural Ireland. These tense, expectant, hyper-realism images are not idyllic picture postcard Irish images. Their surreal quality stems largely from the isolation of his figures in the landscape and the uncertainty surrounding their activities.

The art critic Aidan Dunne: "The mystery of a single moment that contains a bewildering wealth of impressions. The mystery of an action caught out of context and left undefined and ambiguous." Ends 6th of March 2005.
Irish Art

German Art Island

Museum Island in Berlin is a symbol of the reunification of Germany and is expected to a world-class museum rivaling the British Museum and the Louvre.
The Museum Island project will be completed in 2015 at an estimated cost of 1 billion euros. The museums - connected by underground passages - will present a magnificent collection embracing 6,000 years of Western civilization, from ancient Egypt, western Asia, Greece and Rome to modern European paintings and sculptures.
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Irish Art

Kiddy Art

Critics describe the Marla Olmstead paintings as "laden with emotion". They rave about how she makes colors interact with such intensity. Her pieces have already sold for as much as $15,000 - and she has sold nearly three dozen to date.
For now, though, 4 year old Marla from Binghamton NY is more interested in making friends and playing with her little brother Zane. This shy little blonde has shot past loose-leaf paper on the refrigerator to giant canvases hanging in art galleries, studios and homes.
"We honestly didn't think it was beyond anything any other 3-year-old would do." her mother Laura said.
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Irish Art