The remains of Paul Gauguin’s father, Clovis, have been discovered in a remote site in Chile.  Gauguin’s father was a political refugee who fled France and died during his voyage to Lima, but the burial site of his body had previously been considered a mystery.  His identity was confirmed by a DNA match with Marcel Tai Gauguin, a descendent of the painter.  “The scientific evidence is conclusive in showing that the bones are indeed those of Clovis, matching the DNA sample taken from Marcel,” says art historian Caroline Boyle-Turner.  “Strontium isotope studies also convincingly point to Paul Gauguin as the owner of the teeth found buried in the well in the Marquesas.” (more…)

The New York Times reflects on the 1966 Florence Flood, which occurred fifty years ago this month, as Giorgio Vasari’s five-panel masterpiece, Last Supper, goes back on public view.  The work had been submerged during the flood for over 12 hours, and the restoration of the piece has been ongoing since the floods.  Now, the piece goes back on view at the Cenacolo.  “It was like bringing back alive a painting that had literally died,” says Marco Ciatti, director of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure, where parts of the restoration took place. (more…)

Tommy Hilfiger is featured in Bloomberg this week, as the designer reflects on his passion for buying and selling contemporary art.  “I like to buy and sell all the time,” he says. “I’m very interested in knowing who’s who, and what something is worth, and whether or not it would have a resale value.  I never want to buy something and just leave it in storage.” (more…)

Artist Pat Steir is profiled in the Financial Times this week, as the artist prepares to open an expansive series of works from across her career at Dominique Lévy in London.  “It doesn’t look like a survey show though,” she says. “They cover three decades but they speak to one another, whether black-and-white or color.” (more…)

Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Mother and Child (2016), courtesy of Victoria Miro

Currently on view at Victoria Miro, Portals is Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s first solo show in Britain. Drawing upon religious art, traditional modes of academic portrait painting, personal anecdotes, history, and cross-cultural exchange, her new series of large-scale paintings examine generalisations about African diaspora and notions of cultural identity. Born in Nigeria, Akunyili Crosby moved to the United States at the age of sixteen, and currently resides in Los Angeles. She is in many ways culturally tied to her homeland, a place she uses as a source of great inspiration, but her work is largely grounded in Western art history. With a keen interest in the ways society categorises individuals and cultures as a whole, she is aware of the groups she falls into. She has been noted by others, and in many ways identifies, as an African American woman, as a Nigerian woman, as an American woman, as a wife, and as an artist; she exists as an individual who inhabits many spheres, residing in a realm of constant flux and transformation.

Njideka Akunyili Crosby, “The Beautyful Ones,” Series #5 (2016), courtesy of Victoria Miro

Her multi-layered and highly complex paintings are a way for her to contribute to this new crop of people, the new cultural identity of a body in transition— an immigrant occupying two identities, two distinct cultures. Her compositions are usually figurative, and are always very layered, both literally in terms of collage techniques and metaphorically by making reference to a long line of pictorial symbolism. The series Portals is an invitation for the viewer into her life, where she creates interior scenes or as she calls them ‘wormholes,’ by which the viewer can examine individual identities that exist in scenes of everyday life. She renders her family and friends while they eat, drink, and watch television, simple activities that act as points of departure and arrival for examining the ebbs and flows of cross-cultural identity. The windows, screens, doors, and televisions act as points of entry for crossing the threshold into a new cultural realm. The ethos of her practice is to uncover nuances in time, space, and values that exist in different societies and regions.

Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Ike Ya (2016), courtesy of Victoria Miro

In the work Ike Ya (2016) she captures an affectionate moment between a couple. However, alongside the tenderness of the embrace there is also a sense of pacifying another’s behaviour. Like most of her other portraits, the viewer doesn’t meet the gaze of the subject, rather examining the work from a slightly voyeuristic perspective. Additionally she and her husband are often the models for her paintings, so in many ways this image addresses her anxieties about marrying a white American man, someone who is rooted in another culture. As in many of her other works, her loaded symbolic iconography becomes clear only upon closer inspection. At first glance the painting portrays a relatively westernised couple in their home, however there are key objects that are indicative of an attention to Nigerian pop culture and politics. Using an acetone transfer technique the artist lays a second wave of imagery that layers her Nigerian self with her American self. Offsetting the couple are Nollywood film posters, Nigerian celebrities, and ‘Bring Back our Girls’ slogans, in reference to the 2014 kidnapping of Nigerian schoolgirls by Boko Haram. Additionally the artists grandmother’s storm lantern is included in the scene, an item that is present throughout her oeuvre, such as in Grandmother’s Parlour (2016).

Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Grandmother’s Parlour (2016), courtesy of Victoria Miro

Truly a master storyteller Akunyili Crosby”s work operates in an ‘in-between’ realm, examining different zones of identity and normalcy. In Super Blue Omo (2016), the title refers both to a well-known brand of washing powder that was advertised in Nigeria in the 1980s, and that Akunyili Crosby would have been familiar with as a child, as well as an emotional state of ‘blueness.’ The advertisement for the cleaning product is playing on the television, while the lone female figure stares off into the distance. Sitting on a couch with a tea set for two, this image of coolness draws connections between commodity goods and psychological states.

Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Super Blue Omo (2016), courtesy of Victoria Miro

The objects in Akunyili Crosby’s works hold equal symbolic weight as the sitters, sometimes acting as stand-ins for particularly loaded visual icons. The Twain Shall Meet (2015) alludes to traditional still lives in the art historical canon. The image depicts an interior scene with a table owned by her grandmother centrally placed. Atop the table are framed images of her family members, as well as the recurring motif of her grandmother’s kerosene lamp which makes reference to rural areas of Nigeria where electricity is unreliable or nonexistent. There are also tea containers and images of the Virgin Mary, making a commentary on the history of British colonial rule.

Njideka Akunyili Crosby, The Twain Shall Meet (2015), courtesy of Victoria Miro

The collaged elements and attention to texture plays into notions of dual identity, and counteract generalisations made about African culture and the diasporic experience.  Akunyili Crosby explains that ‘the layers of herself change over time, as she moves farther out into the world.’  Her patchwork of iconography allows her to create multi-faceted individuals. Speaking to both urban and rural life, she depicts the many identities that exist in a single person. It is hard to categorise her figures into a simple box, because the specific idea of a character doesn’t exist. Her vibrant works portray the contemporary experience of postcolonial self, of an individual who inhabits a liminal space.

-S. Ozer

Related Links:

Exhibition Page [Victoria Miro]

Bortolami Gallery is moving to TriBeCa when its lease is up in April, Art News reports.  “I’m pretty happy to be going away from Chelsea,”Stefania Bortolami says. “This whole block is going to be torn down to become condos—it’s insane. Not only here, but every block. They’re tearing down, tearing down. It’s changing very, very rapidly.” (more…)

An article in the Art Newspaper by museums consultant David Gordon outlines the challenges facing the Tate after Nicholas Serota leaves, suggesting that the museums under its flag may consider separate directors to manage the institutions.  “Tate is an organization with Serota firmly at the helm, run as one entity united under one logo carrying out one vision,” Gordon writes.  “As so often happens when the founding genius goes, the organization needs to be redesigned so that “mere mortals” can continue to run it. Outstanding museum directors need time (as Serota has shown), but to attract the best people who will really stay, each Tate needs directors who are really in charge.” (more…)

Helsinki has proposed its funding plan for the Guggenheim outpost in its city, with additional funding provided by the Guggenheim Helsinki Supporting Foundation.  “Our goal was to find a feasible plan that would not place the full financial burden of the museum construction on the city of Helsinki and would keep the city of Helsinki’s responsibility for financing the same as it was with government involvement,” says deputy mayor Ritva Viljanen. (more…)

Bloomberg notes Christie’s attempts to bolster its fall sales with buyers from China, as the auction house takes $250 million of Western art to the east.  “We are taking the material to the strongest market at the moment,” says Brett Gorvy. (more…)

More tensions have arisen in Boyle Heights, after several galleries were defaced with graffiti this week.  “We are asking the galleries to leave,” says Elizabeth Blaney, an activist with Union de Vecinos. “Yes, that is a demand from community members to leave because they are having a negative impact on this neighborhood.” (more…)

The New York Times studies the current landscape for giving to museums and institutions, and the stipulations collectors often make on the donation of their works.  “This is the Old World model of giving, where collectors want everything they’ve collected to stay together,” says Catherine L. Futter, the museum’s director of curatorial affairs. (more…)

The lawsuit against David Zwirner over delays in the delivery of a Jeff Koons work has been allowed to proceed, after a judge dismissed several counts of fraud related to the case.  “This is a victory for art purchasers and a landmark decision in that it is the first one to rule on an important law that is designed to keep New York’s art market clean and safe for buyers of sculptures and other editioned work,” says John Cahill, plaintiff Fabrizio Moretti’s lawyer.  (more…)

Carol Bove and artist duo Austin (Teresa Hubbard and Alexander Birchler) have been tapped to show at the Swiss Pavilion next year in Venice.  The show, titled “Women of Venice,” will address the legacy of Alberto Giacometti.   (more…)

The Wall Street Journal is reducing space for the arts, culture and New York news in the wake of declining ad sales, the newspaper announced.  “All newspapers face structural challenges and we must move to create a print edition that can stand on a sound financial footing for the foreseeable future while our digital horizons continue to expand,” editor Gerard Baker said in a memo to the company. (more…)

Donald Trump features heavily on the new cover for New York Magazine, a stark image by artist Barbara Kruger labeled only with the word “Loser.”  “The issue analyzes many aspects of Trump’s extraordinary candidacy, and an important point is spelled out in the headline we appended to the bottom corner: Trump has already changed America, not much for the better,” writes Lauren Starke of the image.  “Which adds a fourth meaning: in that sense we are all losers too.” (more…)

Tony Cragg (Installation View) all images courtesy of Lisson Gallery

Spanning both London venues, Tony Cragg’s fourteenth exhibition with Lisson Gallery features a new series of sculptural works that continue and further develop his pursuit of manifesting dynamic energy within the gallery space in conjunction with his keen interest in texture and materiality.  Cragg’s practice begins with simple, yet loaded elements of gestural line, signifying the presence of the artist’s hand in the work, often evolving into morphed, distended form that play on ideas of perception and subjective realities. Cragg works towards uncovering the unseen, both in terms of untapped energy and the unseen rules of the universe, metaphysical manifestations of connectivity and action, layering forms and lines to reshape visions of the contemporary world. (more…)

Artforum has created a video this week examining the current landscape of politically-centered art, as a group of artists including Marilyn Minter, Hans Haacke, and Nadia Ayari, among others, discuss the practice and necessity of politically-oriented work.  “If I am deeply aware of my humanity, then I must be deeply aware of yours,” Carrie Mae Weems says.  “That’s the social contract that exists between us.” (more…)

The Atlantic writes on the growing impact and financial clout of University art museums, as schools focus resources to growing their collections and holdings, alongside their infrastructural capacities.  “I love the idea of art escaping the museum and muddling the line between what we expect to be inside (art) and what we expect to be outside (life),” says Lisa Fischman, the director of Wellesley’s Davis Museum of Art. (more…)

The Louvre’s new storage facilities in the northern French city of Liévin will host works salvaged from war-torn regions in Syria and Iraq.  “In Abu Dhabi the international community will decide to protect, to promote and even to finance the restoration of a certain number of works,” president François Hollande said in a statement.  “And we are going to suggest that the Liévin conservation site is where such works can be protected.” (more…)

Former Culture Minister Ed Vaizey spoke out this week on the art world’s staunchly left-leaning approach to politics, and the limitations that it puts on the arts’ ability to reach broader audiences or expose alternative viewpoints.  “As a Remainer [myself], there is no pro-Brexit play attacking unaccountable Brussels bureaucrats building a European superstate,” he says.  “There’s no play exposing the corruption and abuse in a country like Venezuela – why not?” (more…)

The Art Newspaper reviews the recent $100 million fundraising success of Buffalo’s Albright-Knox Gallery, one which achieved its goal before the campaign had been officially launched.  “Our objective was to launch the campaign in September of this year,” director Janne Sirén says. “We never came to a point of launch because by the time the silent phase of the summer ended, we had reached our target and beyond.” (more…)

Neo Rauch, Der Störfall (2016), via David Zwirner

Marking his first solo exhibition in the UK, painter Neo Rauch has brought a series of new compositions to David Zwirner, marking a new entry in the artist’s unique explorations of figuration, Central European art history, and the shifting surrealist language that mixes epochs and styles over the range of his practice.  Rendered in his signature  palette of subdued oils on canvas, the works continue Rauch’s exploration of the past as an open framework for interpretation and juxtaposition.

Neo Rauch, Rondo (Installation View), via David Zwirner

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The Art Newspaper looks at each American presidential candidate, and their respective positions on the arts.  Hillary Clinton’s campaign pointed to the Senator’s Americans for the Arts National Arts Award for Arts Advocacy as one point of evidence, while little information could be found on Donald Trump’s public support for the arts.  “I believe that the arts and culture are important in their own right, but they’re also important drivers for economic growth, tourism and attracting young people,” Clinton said during a recent defense of the National Endowment for the Arts.   (more…)

New York firm Architecture Research Office has been tapped for a renovation of the Rothko Chapel in Houston, including a new reflecting pool outside the building, and a skylight in the space.  “For more than forty years, the Chapel has been a deeply moving experience of personal contemplation that furthers the Chapel’s mission of social action,” Stephen Cassell, partner at Architecture Research Office, said. “We feel enormous responsibility toward its future.” (more…)