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Archive for the 'News' Category

Nicole Eisenman Sculpture to be Installed in Boston

Tuesday, April 9th, 2019

A version of Nicole Eisenman’s Founttain will be installed in Boston’s Fens, Art News reports, following the work’s popularity during its previous install at Skulptur Projekte Munster.  “I’m happy to know the fountain will be situated in a place where people are likely to hang out and enjoy some leisure time,” Eisenman said in a statement. “I look forward to seeing kids climbing on the sculptures and this piece integrating into the fabric of life in the Fens.” (more…)

LACMA Wins Unanimous Approval for Building Project

Tuesday, April 9th, 2019

LACMA won unanimous approval Tuesday from the county Board of Supervisors for its $650-million design. “This is a milestone moment, this is the big green light to go forward,” museum Director Michael Govan said.

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Whitney Museum Has Added 300 Works to Collection Over Last Six Months

Tuesday, April 9th, 2019

The Whitney Museum of American Art  has acquired 300 artworks over the past six months, including work by Barbara Hammer, Simone Leigh, and Ed Clark, many of whom enter the collection for the first time. “We’re thrilled that many of our recent acquisitions, particularly by artists new to the collection, arose through our reenergized emerging artist program,” says Scott Rothkopf, the senior deputy director and chief curator of the Whitney. “This continues our historical commitment to acquiring works by contemporary artists directly from our groundbreaking exhibitions and allows us to extend our dialogue with these artists as stewards of their work.” (more…)

Michael Govan Defends LACMA Plans in LA Times

Monday, April 8th, 2019

LACMA Director Michael Govan is in the LA Times this week, defending his decision to embraced reduced exhibition space in the museum’s expansion.  “We were aware that this building project would be not as big as the current space it was replacing because that was a jumbled mess of galleries,” he says. “We were trying to replace the space; it was a replacement project. We already added on 100,000 square feet between [the recent permanent additions] BCAM and the Resnick Pavilion, so we’ve already grown pretty dramatically. What’s happening in this whole conversation is that no one’s seeing the big picture of the 20-year plan.” (more…)

Yinka Shonibare Work Acquired by The Tate

Monday, April 8th, 2019

Yinka Shonibare’s piece The British Library has been acquired by Tate, a work that features thousands of batik-bound books celebrating the diversity of the British population.  Shonibare praised the acquisition and the museum’s commitment to “tackle some of the most pressing issues of our time. The British Library is an exploration of the diversity of British identity through a conceptually poetic lens. I look forward to the public engagement with the work.” (more…)

The Tate and National Galleries of Scotland Renew Ties with Anthony d’Offay After Sexual Harrassment Allegations

Monday, April 8th, 2019

Trustees at The Tate and National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) have renewed links with dealer Anthony d’Offay after accusations of sexual harassment.  “Over a year ago we were made aware of allegations against Anthony d’Offay,” a spokesperson said. “The trustees of Tate and National Galleries of Scotland took appropriate time to consider these, remaining in discussion with the Artist Rooms Foundation. No formal investigation ensued and trustees have since resumed contact with Mr D’Offay, and informed relevant stakeholders accordingly.” (more…)

Marfa Invitational Spotlighted in Art News

Monday, April 8th, 2019

Art News has a piece on the newly opened Marfa Invitational, a fair in the sleepy Texas arts enclave.  “When you’re in Marfa, it’s really this kind of immersive experience where you have time to look at the works,” says artist and organizer Michael Phelan. “What I wanted to create with the fair is a similar model.” (more…)

Public Art Fund to Show Felix-Gonzalez Torres Work to Commemorate Stonewall Rebellion

Monday, April 8th, 2019

For the entire month of June, the Public Art Fund will exhibit artist Félix González-Torres’s first billboard, commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. “While the work has been installed in many locations around the world, there is not a time I go by that corner that I don’t imagine the billboard being there,” says Andrea Rosen, the president of the artist’s foundation.  (more…)

Julian Schnabel Interviewed in The Guardian

Friday, April 5th, 2019

Artist Julian Schnabel gives a frank interview in The Guardian this week, as the artist promotes his new directorial effort dedicated to the life of Van Gogh.  “Do you need to know that Caravaggio killed a guy at a tennis match to appreciate his paintings,” he asks at on point. “Have you ever seen a Caravaggio painting? Did it speak to you?  Does knowing he killed someone at a tennis match change what you think about it?” Not really. “Exactly!” he says, triumphantly. (more…)

Artists Stage Alternative Event to Havana Biennial

Friday, April 5th, 2019

Cuban artist­-activists will present alternative event during the run of the official Havana Biennial, protesting the recently passed Decree 349, which requires artists to receive approval from the Cuban government before their projects are presented. “It’s evident that Decree 349 is oppressive,” says organizer Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara. (more…)

Academics Publish Open Letter Calling for Ouster of Whitney’s Board Vice-Chair Warren Kanders

Friday, April 5th, 2019

A group of academics and theorists have demanded that the Whitney Museum remove Warren B. Kanders from his position as vice chairman of its board, part of an ongoing campaign against Kanders and his ownership of a defense manufacturing company. “The stakes of the demand to remove Kanders are high and extend far beyond the art world,” the letter reads. “Alongside universities, cultural institutions like the Whitney are among the few spaces in public life today that claim to be devoted to ideals of education, creativity, and dissent beyond the dictates of the market.” (more…)

European Parliament Calls for Closure of EU Freeports

Thursday, April 4th, 2019

The European Parliament has called for EU freeports to be closed across the continent following a highly-critical report on tax evasion and money laundering this past week.  The report notes that freeports have become popular “for the storage of substitute assets, including art, precious stones, antiques, gold and wine collections–often on a permanent basis–and financed from unknown sources.” (more…)

Gagosian Now Represents Nathaniel Mary Quinn

Thursday, April 4th, 2019

Gagosian now represents artist Nathaniel Mary Quinn, Art News reports.  “It’s such a dream come true,” the artist says. “I mean, just having an art career—period—is a dream come true as far as I’m concerned.” (more…)

Berlin’s Jewish Museum No Longer Accepting Donations from Sackler Family

Thursday, April 4th, 2019

The Jewish Museum in Berlin, will no longer accept donations from the Sackler family, Art Newspaper reports, growing an increasingly large list of institutions not accepting funds from the institution.  “In 2002 we were not aware that OxyContin is subject to misuse,” a museum spokesperson says, referring to the last time the museum received funds from the Sacklers. “Returning the donation would also not be an option because we would have to use public funds to do that. We also feel that renaming would be an inappropriate attempt to disguise what happened. It would contradict the fact that we acted in good faith in 2002.” (more…)

Watercolors by WIlliam Blake Sold by Bookstore to Go On View at Tate

Thursday, April 4th, 2019

Watercolors by William Blake that were sold by a Glasgow bookshop for £50 each and resold at Sotheby’s for over $6m will be shown in a Tate exhibition this autumn, Art Newspaper reports. The watercolors had been thought lost for 165 years before being found in a portfolio at the shop.  (more…)

The Shed Set to Open in NYC

Thursday, April 4th, 2019

The Shed is set to open in New York, a $500-million arts center designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro with the Rockwell Group and focused around championing young and experimental artists. “There are many cultural institutions that are truly world-class in our town, but some of them tend to be about the past,” says Jonathan Tisch, the Shed’s vice chair. “The Shed is about, once again, the future.” (more…)

Lari Pittman Joins Lehmann Maupin

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019

Artist Lari Pittman is now represented by Lehmann Maupin, Art News reports. “Lari has developed a wholly unique mode of painting and mark-making that is in perfect company with artists in our program,” says David Maupin, one of the gallery’s founders. “Pittman’s embrace of pattern and design through a socio-political lens makes him stand out as a significant painter.” (more…)

Anish Kapoor Unveils Brexit Art Commission for The Guardian

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019

Anish Kapoor has created a special artwork for The Guardian commenting on Brexit, rendering a massive gash cutting through the British Isles. “We’ve allowed ourselves as a nation to enter a space of unknowing,” he says. “I can’t help but see it in terms of a depressive self.”  (more…)

Drawing Center Adds 4 Board Members

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019

The Drawing Center has added dealers Valentina Castellani and Almine Ruiz-Picasso, filmmaker and collector Harry Tappan Heher, and financier and collector Jean-Edouard van Praet d’Amerloo as board members.   “All four of our new board members are revered and active participants in the international art community, and bring their precious expertise to an already exceptional and dedicated board,” says executive director Laura Hoptman. (more…)

Damien Hirst’s ‘Demon with Bowl’ Goes Up in Vegas

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019

Damien Hirst’s Demon with Bowl from his show in Venice at the Palazzo Grassi has gone on view at the Palms Hotel in Vegas, alongside a $1M party package in the suite the artist designed for the hotel.  (more…)

Art in America Charts Challenges to Unionization

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019

Art in America has a piece this week on the recent trend towards unionization in the art world, and the challenges workers face when trying to unionize. “Nonprofits tend to argue that they have less money and that unionization will wreck them,” says Maida Rosenstein, the president of Local 2110. “You see this especially with social services, but elsewhere, too. A place like the New Museum might also argue that unions are crude outsiders who can’t understand their values.”

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Phillips to Sell 95 Works from Filterman Collection

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019

Phillips has announced that it will sell 95 works from the Fiterman collection at its various locations and sales over the next year.  The most valuable work in the group is a Roy LichtensteinHorse and Rider from 1976 that is estimated at $7-10m. (more…)

Christo to Wrap Arc de Triomphe

Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019

Christo has announced plans to install one of his famous wraps around Paris’s L’Arc de Triomphe. “Thirty-five years after Jeanne-Claude and I wrapped the Pont-Neuf, I am eager to work in Paris again to realize our project for the Arc de Triomphe,” he says.

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NADA to Open “NADA House” on Governor’s Island During Frieze Week

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2019

NADA will stage its own show on Governor’s Island during Frieze Week, opening NADA House as a 34-room exhibition in three houses on the island’s historic Colonels Row, including House 403, where it staged its first show on Governors Island, “Close Quarters,” last year. “We had such a good experience with the project we did there last summer, and we’re excited to be back for a longer run,” says executive director Heather Hubbs. “In the process of staging the project last year, we just learned so much about the island and its history. I thought that it could be something that artists would want to respond to.” (more…)