As a curfew continues in France, the government has announced a series of measures to support its struggling culture sector. “We are going to lose another month, a month and a half, maybe two. A private business that doesn’t have any money cannot afford this cost”, says Loïc Bonnet, the president of the private theaters association. (more…)
Artists Adam Pendleton and Amy Sherald have departed the board of the the Baltimore Museum of Art. “Adam Pendleton and Amy Sherald determined that they could not fully participate in board activities due to other commitments and have resigned. We are grateful for the time they invested and for the perspectives and ideas that they brought to the BMA,” a museum spokesperson said.
The New York Times asks just how long museums can survive being open at 25% capacity. “We want to be open, but we don’t want to push the envelope,” says Met president Daniel H. Weiss, “especially as, throughout the country, we’re seeing that the pandemic is on the rise precisely through the lack of adherence to social-distancing rules.” (more…)
Phillips will sell a $35 million David Hockney landscape this winter, the 1980 work Nichols Canyon. “Nichols Canyon is, without question, the most significant landscape by Hockney to ever appear at auction,” says Jean-Paul Engelen, Phillips’ deputy chairman and co-head of 20th century and contemporary art. (more…)
For the last two weeks, the Hammer Museum has quietly been putting up parts of its Made in LA Biennial, The LA Post reports. “We were waiting for more of the projects to be installed before we invited people to experience them,” Hammer Museum representative Nancy Lee said. (more…)
Barry Avrich’s documentary on the Knoedler Gallery forgeries, “Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art” will be adapted into a feature film by the director’s Melbar Entertainment Group. “The extraordinary story beautifully lends itself to a dramatic feature film and its characters are beyond priceless. I can only dream that Meryl Streep will want to play Ann Freedman,” Avrich says. (more…)
Project Reset, a New York program that allows perpetrators of nonviolent offenses to take art classes instead of taking a court date, is facing budget shortfalls, and may shut down. “Project Reset is one of the most valuable tools we have to address low-level offenses. When you can prevent someone who is arrested for a low-level offense from entering the criminal justice system—and instead offer them a meaningful intervention through art, therapy, and other forms of restorative justice—you spare them the consequences of a criminal conviction, help them recognise and change behaviours, and ideally prevent future arrests,” says DA Cyrus Vance. “Especially today, when criminal justice reform and jail reduction are priorities for New Yorkers, it would be a shame to end this critical program.” (more…)
Marian Goodman Gallery is planning to close its London gallery at the end of this year, striking an ominous note for the future of London’s art market. “The art world has undergone dramatic changes in recent years, and the current health crisis and Brexit have introduced even more uncertainty into the market, especially for galleries operating in London,” the dealer said. “The decision to close the London space was made together with the executive team as part of the gallery’s overarching programming and sales strategy to pursue a more nimble approach in London, while continuing our strong presence in New York and Paris, which has served as the hub for our European activity for more than 25 years.” (more…)
Deana Lawson has become the first photographer to win the Guggenheim Museum’s Hugo Boss Prize. “Her contribution to the medium and the larger cultural landscape is indelible,” says director Richard Armstrong. (more…)
Sondra Perry, Beatriz Santiago Muñoz, Martine Syms, and Zhou Tao have been nominated for Rolls-Royce’s art program, Muse, and its first-ever Moving-Image Dream Commission. The initiative “offers an opportunity for artists to have a space to develop their aesthetics and to be able to delve deeply into an area where they can have an autonomy to make a work which can resonate,” according to a statement. (more…)
The heirs of Piet Mondrian have filed suit against the Kunstmuseen Krefeld, alleging that the museum is holding works owed to them, valued at over $200 million. (more…)
Theaster Gates has a profile in The Guardian this week, as he opens his first solo show in New York at Gagosian. “What separates art from craft?” He says. “Who divides the highbrow from the commonplace, the seen from the unseen?” (more…)
A long-missing Jacob Lawrence painting has been located, reuniting it with its larger series, Struggle: From the History of the American People. “The painting has been hanging in my living room for 60 years untouched,” one of the painting’s owners said.” (more…)
Ronald Perelman is selling the iconic Giacometti sculpture Grande femme I in a sealed bid sale at Sotheby’s. “This is the bespoke sale for a very special work by one of the greatest 20th century artists, designed to both embrace the vast potential field of interest, but also to maintain the privacy that people desire,” Brooke Lampley, Sotheby’s vice chairman of global fine arts. (more…)
The Art Newspaper looks at the number of museums deaccessioning works, and the issues it could cause for the market. “Museum deaccessions come in two categories,” says Marc Porter, president of Christie’s Americas. “The first is the traditional paring of a collection, which has always existed—but now is used to diversify towards works by artists of color, women artists and living artists. The second is the use of the proceeds of such sales for collection maintenance, which is a reflection of these economic times. This is absolutely a change in the market.” (more…)
The New York Times charts the current situation for galleries in New York, as institutions and dealers brace for a possible surge of coronavirus cases. “The situation in New York is extremely fluid, and that could change our trajectory and our plans, but we are prepared for that,” says Andrew Fabricant, the chief operating officer of Gagosian. (more…)
Coventry will host the Turner Prize in 2021 as part of its “city of culture” year. “Hopefully, what we’re doing is creating a glimmer of hope for 2021 and showing that we can still do live events, we can still put on a great show in this new world that we’re living in,” says Chenine Bhathena, the creative director for Coventry’s city of culture year. (more…)
Sotheby’s has announced it will sell two works by Jean-Michel Basquiat from the estate of dealer Enrico Navarra at the auction house’s October 28th sale in New York. (more…)
David Kordansky’s efforts to diversify his gallery program and respond to injustice in the world gets a spotlight in the NYT this week. “He has been ambitious in trying to figure out ways for his gallery to better reflect the world that we live in, and the concerns many of us have about it,” says artist Rashid Johnson. “Racism, xenophobia, sexism, homophobia — the gallery is working with artists that attack and consider these issues in their projects.” (more…)
American universities’ move towards remote learning have caused uncertainty for college museums. “The last several months have been very complicated,” Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, former director of Spelman’s campus museum, “but we’ve relished the opportunity to be quiet and inward. We didn’t feel the impulse to get out in front of the Zoom superhighway.” (more…)
A sale of Impressionist and Modern works October 28th at Sotheby’s New York could see new records for works by Giorgio de Chirico and Man Ray, Art News reports. “Both masterpieces are the epitome of museum-quality painting and provide a unique glimpse into the profound early output of these two visionary artist,” said Lisa Dennison, Sotheby’s Americas chairman. (more…)
A piece in Art News this week notes the challenges and opportunities that arise when a collector’s sudden change in fortune results in a sell-off of works. The piece surveys a range of collectors who suddenly sold off their collections in the midst of panics or other issues. (more…)