The New York Times has a piece on recent museum projects in Los Angeles, many of which are based around the renovation of previously abandoned or disused spaces. “When you find something this beautiful, you want to preserve and restore it,” said Maurice Marciano, founder of the Marciano Art foundation. (more…)
UK Culture minister Matt Hancock has vocally opposed providing centralized government funding for the arts. “The worst thing that we can do is to incentivize local authorities to reduce further their arts funding by saying that we will replace it with central government money,” he says. “To solve one problem, that at the moment is only in some local authority areas, we would incentivise other local authorities to do the wrong thing.” (more…)
The Art Newspaper profiles Mass MOCA’s major new expansion project, set to open next week, and its focus on long-running projects and monumental installations. “What would you do if you had the opportunity to have not just a one-night stand, but a deep commitment that would go on for ten, 15, 25 years?” says Joseph Thompson, the museum director. (more…)
Hauser & Wirth is using its newly renovated rooftop space at its 22nd Street location to host a summer film series, focused around presenting “a vibrant collection of cinematic works that illustrate the many ways in which the moving image provides a rich source of inspiration for visual artists.” Matthew Day Jackson will take on the curatorial role for the first edition of the event, held June 7th. (more…)
Josh Smith has “parted ways” with Luhring Augustine, Art News reports, after several years working together. The gallery has also added Sanya Kantarovsky to its roster of artists. (more…)
Françoise Nyssen has been named France’s new Culture Minister, formerly of the country’s famed Actes Sud publishing house. “I hope she’ll have the means to create a visionary cultural policy that gives a social link in a divided and bruised country,” says artist Laurent Grasso. “Artists are rarely consulted [on policy]; I hope that she will receive some of us for a discussion.” (more…)
The New York Times looks at the appeal of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work, and the factors that have contributed to his work achieving such high prices in past years. “As the market was accelerating, you had distinguished connoisseurs of modern art who had no hesitation about putting Basquiat beside Picasso,” says Jeffrey Deitch. “Already he was in a different league than almost any other contemporary artist.” (more…)
The Hirshhorn has smashed attendance figures with its recently closed Yayoi Kusama Infinity Rooms exhibition, notching a total of 475,000 visitors to the museum over the last several months. The figure is the highest-recorded spring attendance number since the museum opened, and double its average attendance.
Abby Bangser, who was named artistic director of Frieze Art Fairs for the Americas and Asia in 2015, is moving to a new post at the Dia Art Foundaion, Art News reports. The new post will aid in strategic partnerships and outreach, alongside managing far-reaching works like Walter de Maria’s The Lightning Field in New Mexico, among other projects. “As Dia evolves, the need for strategic planning and focused partnerships becomes even more critical to support our mission,” Dia’s director, Jessica Morgan, says. (more…)
An article in the WSJ this week notes the increased willingness for sellers to put trophy works on the auction block this week, as signs of a recovering market hint at strong outings this week in New York. “The market isn’t frothy, but it’s strong and sensible,” said Robert Manley, Phillips’ world-wide co-head of 20th century and contemporary art. (more…)
As MoMA prepares to open the landmark Robert Rauschenberg retrospective this month, the NYT has a lengthy profile piece on the artist, charting his early development as an artist, and his relentlessly inventive drive, including pilfering his friends’ objects to make some of his iconic combines. “The next time I saw it was at the Leo Castelli Gallery,” artist Dorothea Rockburne recalls of finding her own quilt in Rauschenberg’s work Bed. “My first thought was: Son of a bitch! We were close friends.” (more…)
Chilean architectural practice Elemental has won the contract to redesign a former flour mill in Qatar into a massive art exhibition space. The space is anticipated to be around 80,000 sq. meters in size, considerably larger than the Tate Modern, and will play on the original structure’s layout and design. “The [Elemental] team added to the strict geometry of retained silos a looser grouping of new silos that will act as cooling chimneys circulating air through the site that extends spectacularly on three sides into Doha Bay,” the project statement says. (more…)
Sotheby’s earnings call this week shows a substantial uptick for the auction house, posting an $11 million loss in a section of the calendar known for a particular degree of sluggishness. The auction house improved its figures by 49-percent in comparison with the same period last year. “I think the market is definitely strengthening,” Amy Cappellazzo said during the call. “We’re going to see and feel that next week.” (more…)
Loic Gouzer has been named Christie’s co-chairman of post-war and contemporary art in the Americas, alongside Alex Rotter, filling a position left open since Brett Gorvy left the company last year. “Two years ago I did this sale called Looking Forward to the Past,” Gouzer says. “Now I can say that I look forward to the future of working with Alex Rotter, who is extremely talented, but also one of my best friends.” (more…)
The Guardian has a profile on Phyllida Barlow this week, as the artist opens her exhibition at the British Pavilion of this year’s Venice Biennale. “To put it bluntly, I think the timing has been, for me, perfect,” Barlow says. “I’m ready for it and the work’s ready for it. It’s ready to fulfill all sorts of ambitions I want for the work. Not for myself – I’m not particularly interested in myself – but I’m interested in what the work can do … I can now be confident that things do go wrong but can also be retrieved.” (more…)
The Art Newspaper interprets Emmanuel Macron’s victory speech in front of I.M. Pei’s glass pyramid at the Louvre as a strong indication of the new president’s support for the arts in France, and his continued commitment to the country’s artists. “By speaking in front of the pyramid, our new president chose a just symbol, that of the marriage of history and culture today,” says artist Jean-Michel Othoniel. “He understood that this is where we can make a difference on an international level. In his speech, he spoke with a lot of humility and I think that’s the key to opening up towards the world. His youth is a strength to rejuvenate cultural institutions and above all young people who are seeking their singularity.” (more…)
Phyllida Barlow is profiled in the Telegraph this week, as the artist gears up to present her work in a solo exhibition at the British Pavilion. “I’m a thoughtless artist,’ she says. “Things happen without thinking. They happen through the process.” (more…)
Art News reports on artist Dawn Kasper’s ongoing residency inside the Venice Biennale, where the artist will be living for the next six months, hosting various events, jam sessions and projects. “It’s a gift to be able to be here, an honor, really,” she says. “And like, how do I plan for six months of studio time? I brought all these different clothes. I might learn Italian.” (more…)
NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration is re-evaluating the distribution of city funding for arts organizations, with discussions over pushing more funding away from major institutions and towards smaller organizations around the five boroughs. “There will be something that says there are parts of New York City that are under-resourced, and that’s going to be something we want to address,” says arts commissioner Tom Finkelpearl. “It’s also going to say that there is great recognition on the part of this administration of the value of major cultural institutions. These are very important, not just for tourism — which we do care about — but also to the spirit of the city.” (more…)
After two decades working together, artist Tracey Emin and Lehmann Maupin have parted ways. “[We] have mutually decided to part ways and end our working relationship,” gallery owner David Maupin says. “Tracey is an important part of the gallery’s history and we will always cherish our friendship and collaboration.” (more…)
Art dealer Jack Tilton, who spent much of his career working to help develop young artists, has passed away, the Art News reports. “More than anyone else he marched to the tune of his own drum,” says Janine Cirincione, a former director at his Upper East Side gallery. “And found humor in everything. And people loved him for that.” (more…)
The New York Times welcomes a series of photographs by Jack Shear, who lived with Ellsworth Kelly for over 30 years, and documented his studio shortly after the artist passed away in 2015. “At the end, his studio became like where he was living,” Mr. Shear says. “He was not only painting, but he was actually living in the studio. I mean, Ellsworth considered Spencertown — and probably the studio in Spencertown — the center of the world, the center of the universe. This is where he finally, toward the end of his life, really wanted to be.” (more…)
Curator Christine Macel is interviewed in the New York Times this week, as she prepares to open this year’s Venice Biennale. “To me, art is linked with all dimensions of life,” she says. “People think art will save the world. I don’t think art will save the world, but it’s saved a lot of lives.” (more…)