A former employee of sculptor Dale Chihuly has been accused of stealing over $3 million in works from the artist’s Tacoma, Washington warehouse.  The accused assistant, Christopher Kaul, had been dealing with drug addiction, and began stealing works after leaving rehab.  “We’ve seen this story before — an employee is hooked on drugs and steals from his boss,” said Prosecutor Mark Lindquist. “The twist here is the boss is a world famous artist.” (more…)

Sam Durant, Proposal for White and Indian Dead Monument Transpositions, Washington D.C. (2005), via LACMA

After its entry to LACMA’s permanent collection in 2013, Sam Durant’s Proposal for White and Indian Dead Monument Transpositions, Washington D.C. is on view for the first time at its permanent home.  Durant has always been strongly tied to the historical and social dynamics in America, and the artist’s ongoing work with the flux of history and spatial politics perhaps reached an apex with this installation. (more…)

Sotheby’s has unveiled a new plan to appeal to collectors and institutions on the West Coast, announcing a new plan that will bring $200 million worth of art on a tour of California, Oregon and Washington.  The tour of events will include an exhibition of Jasper Johns’s 1983 work Flag, which is a highlight of the auction house’s November sale in New York, estimated to sell for $15 to $20 million.  “Our focus is on the next generation of collectors, the new buyers who will become futures sellers,” says Sotheby’s West Coast head Andrea Fiuczynski. (more…)

The Wall Street Journal recaps the early days of the trial surrounding the potential dismantling of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and the outcome of the hearings last week in Washington, D.C.  Despite ample testimony and comment on the state of the museum and its board, the newspaper notes that no one on hand made any statement regarding the future of the art in the museum collection.  This point is significant when considering the museum’s mandate, as any attempt to break up the Corcoran collection would fly in the face of its founder’s request for “the perpetual establishment and maintenance of a Public Gallery and Museum.” (more…)

Judge Robert D. Okun of the District of Columbia Superior Court has allowed the lawsuit filed by a group of students and faculty against the Corcoran Gallery to move forward, a move which may delay the absorption of the institution by George Washington University and the National Gallery of Art.  “Today’s decision is a meaningful step for transparency and inclusiveness ”says lawyer Andrew S. Tulumello. (more…)

A lawsuit seeking to block the takeover of the Corcoran Gallery of Art has been filed in D.C., brought forth by a group of museum donors, students, and faculty, saying the takeover would go against the institution’s 1869 deed.  The suit also complains that the institution suffered from “self-dealing, conflicts of interest, hiring unqualified management and profligate spending on consultants whose advice was ultimately ignored.” (more…)

The Hirshhorn has announced that Australian-born, veteran director of the Asia Society Museum, Melissa Chiu, will take the helm as the Museum’s new director, bringing a strong background in video and new media art to the post.  “I am very excited,” Chiu said. “It’s an amazing institution.” (more…)

The recently announced dissolution of the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, DC is looking to take longer than anticipated, NPR reports.  Concerns over the architecture of the space and any intended changes or repairs will require an extensive review process, and the logistics of George Washington University taking over the Corcoran’s art school while the National Gallery of Art takes over the collection.  “The minute you start touching that building, which is to get the infrastructure of that building straightened out, there will be major ADA problems, Americans with Disabilities Act problems,” says former Corcoran director David Levy, “because that building was built at a time when nobody thought about those things.” (more…)

Camille Henrot, Grosse Fatigue (2013), via Sophie Kitching for Art Observed

Camille Henrot’s Grosse Fatigue seeks an experience akin to the slow trawls of internet message boards, Wikipedia pages, and Google searches that mark the contemporary search for information, a compartmentalized seeking after discrete bits of data.  Running from image to image, many culled from the archives of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., Henrot’s project offers a condensed experience of information overload, cramming the story of the earth’s creation into 13 minutes.

Camille Henrot, Grosse Fatigue (2013), via Sophie Kitching for Art Observed (more…)

The historic Franklin School building in Downtown Washington, D.C. will be converted into a modern art museum, called The Institute for Contemporary Expression.  The building will house exhibitions, performances and sculpture, and was pushed forward by collector Dani Levinas.  “With the completion of this selection process we are now a step closer to revitalizing Franklin School and giving it a new life,”  said deputy mayor for planning and economic development Victor Hoskins. (more…)

A major legal battle over the estate of copper heiress Huguette Clark has reached a settlement, with the Corcoran Gallery of Art receiving a large share of Clark’s fortune, including $10 million in cash, half the proceeds from the sale of Monet’s Water Lillies, and a seat on the board of a new national arts foundation.  “We’re going to be very guarded with these funds,” said Corcoran President Peggy Loar. “This will help our operating situation, but very carefully.” (more…)

Peter Coffin, Untitled (Dog), 2012. Courtesy Hirshhorn Museum.

Now through October 6, the work of Peter Coffin is on view throughout the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC. Here and There presents this collection of work through an installation that demands the viewer engage in the play of a hunt, or the happenstance of casual encounter.  Photography, sculpture, video installation and lithography are a few of Coffin’s mediums  scattered through both the museum and its online site.  A checklist that serves as a guide to the exhibition can be found on the museum’s website.

Peter Coffin, Untitled (Design for Colby Poster Company) (2008),  Courtesy Hirshhorn Museum. (more…)

The Washington Post has published an extensive look at the failure of the Hirshhorn “bubble” project, which saw the departure of several museum board members, and a readdress of the museum’s core mission.  Slated to cost between $12.5 million and $15.5 million, the bubble would have also operated at a loss of $2.8 million annually, which added to the increasingly poor morale around the project.  The museum is currently in recovery mode, with sponsors, donors and staff taking a moment to gather themselves.  “We’ve hit a rough patch, but they say they want it to succeed and move on,” Smithsonian Undersecretary Richard Kurin says. (more…)

The Hirshhorn Museum’s proposed “Seasonal Inflatable Sculpture Project,” informally referred to as “the Bubble,” has been officially decided against, after years of debate and wrangling over its installation on the museum’s property on the National Mall.  The news comes shortly after Hirshhorn director Richard Koshalek announced his decision to resign after a split vote on the Bubble several weeks ago.  “If the board were more together and if we were seeing more results of that, then we might have made a different decision,” Smithsonian Undersecretary Richard Kurin said. “Because it’s divided, it makes it hard to move forward.” (more…)

The National Gallery in Washington, DC has announced a renovation to its East Building that will add 12,260 square feet of exhibition space, as well as a rooftop sculpture garden.  The new spaces will host a selection of modern art from the Gallery’s collection, including a room potentially dedicated to Mark Rothko.  “This gift to the nation by these generous donors will enable us to exhibit more art from our ever-growing modern collection in spaces that will be at once spacious, airy and contemplative.”  said director Earl A. Powell. (more…)

Barbara Kruger – Belief + Doubt (2012), Hirshorn Museum

Descending the stairs into the basement of the Hirshorn Museum in Washington, DC, visitors are greeted with a towering series of sharp, incisive phrases: “Belief + Doubt = Sanity,” “Forget Every Thing,” “Plenty Should Be Enough,” all spelled out on the walls and floors in red, black, and white.  These are the words of media artist and provocateur Barbara Kruger, who rose to prominence with her sharp critiques of consumer culture.

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‬The Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC has applied for a visa to allow artist Ai Weiwei to attend the opening of his exhibition. “The museum…is “optimistic” that the artist, although still at odds with the authorities, will be allowed to make the trip.”

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