The Nordic Choice hotel chain, in a statement against sex trafficking and exploitation, has begun replacing the pornographic channels on its PayTV system with contemporary art.  Led by owner Peter Stordalen, the hotel has included video works on each TV, including Sam Taylor-Wood’s Still Life from 2001.  “Art is important to me, but hotel art has always had a bad reputation – cheap paintings that match the sofas and so on,” said Stordalen. “I wanted to redefine hotel art to be something unique.” (more…)

After several months of deliberation, Berlin officials have announced a new plan for a $174 million museum to house the city’s extensive 20th century art collection.  Located in Potsdamer Platz, the new museum will boast an area of about 9,900 square meters (106,563 square feet), and could open as soon as 2022 if work starts immediately.  It now falls to the German government to approve these plans.  “With a new building, the Nationalgalerie collection could at last be exhibited permanently on a big scale.” German Culture Minister Bernd Neumann said in a statement. (more…)

Harlem’s Studio Museum has announced its 2013-2014 artists in residence.  The museum selected sculptor Kevin Beasley, chalk artist and conceptualist Bethany Collins and installation artist Abigail Deville. Each artist will receive $20,000 as part of their fellowship, an additional $1,000 for art materials, and studio space on the museum’s third floor for a full 12 months, culminating in a group show at the end of their stay. (more…)

The Michigan county of Oakland, one of three that approved property tax increases to help bankroll the Detroit Institute of the Arts operating budget last year, has unanimously approved a resolution stating that any attempt to sell works from the DIA Collection to benefit the city’s creditors would “terminate any obligation” of the county to continue support.  Oakland, along with Wayne and Macomb counties, is projected to contribute $250 million to the museum over 10years, and stated that it “continues to believe that the museum and its collections are important, irreplaceable and indivisible parts of the cultural fiber of the state and region.” (more…)

The Denver Art Museum has received a donation of 50 paintings and sculptures from the collection of Henry Roath, a former Denver lawyer and banker.  The donation, which includes works by Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran, Frederic Remington and Ernest L. Blumenschein, is helping to bolster the Denver institution’s already impressive collection of Western Art.  “As my finances got better, my collection got better.” Roath said, but “it seemed that artwork of that quality should be seen by people other than just its owners.” (more…)

Announced this week, the Getty Museum has launched the beginnings of the Open Content Program, a fully catalogued library of over 4,600 hi-resolution images from its personal collection, allowing site visitors to use, modify and publish these images in any capacity.  “Artists, students, teachers, writers, and countless others rely on artwork images to learn, tell stories, exchange ideas, and feed their own creativity. In its discussion of open content, the most recent Horizon Report, Museum Edition stated that ‘it is now the mark—and social responsibility—of world-class institutions to develop and share free cultural and educational resources.’ I agree wholeheartedly.”  Said J. Paul Getty trust President James Cuno on the Museum’s blog. (more…)

The Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas has announced that it will soon welcome its one millionth visitor since opening in 2011.  Founded by Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton, the museum has exceeded all visitor estimates, seeing annual attendance well over 500,000 annually.  “Reaching one million visitors just 21 months after our opening is a huge milestone for us,” said Executive Director Rod Bigelow. “From the day we opened our doors, our goal has been to welcome visitors to experience the power of art and the beauty of nature, and we’re thankful to have been able to create these connections with such a vast audience.”  (more…)

The suspects currently on trial for the theft of seven paintings from a Rotterdam Museum have pledged to return five of the works if their trial is moved from Romania to the Netherlands, the BBC reports.  Including works by Monet and Picasso, the total value of the works has been estimated at €18 million, and were feared destroyed by the mother of one of the thieves.  “It is more likely the paintings are intact. My client says they can be handed over to the Dutch authorities. In exchange, they want to go on trial in the Netherlands.”  Said lawyer Maria Varsii. (more…)

Guggenheim Director Richard Armstrong and his colleagues have returned to the Finnish city of Helsinki, in an attempt to revive talks over the possibility of a Guggenheim Museum there.  Meeting with Finnish officials, the group of representatives are seeking what would be the Museum’s northernmost outpost in continental Europe.  “Topics that were mentioned during our discussion were the exclusion of the Helsinki Art Museum from the proposal, the possible sites, and funding,” says Helsinki Mayor Jussi Pajunen.  (more…)

The Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo in Rome has announced critic and curator Hou Hanrou as its new artistitc director.  The Chinese-born Hanrou will take up the position in September, assuming responsibility for the museum’s diverse blend of programming during a time when the museum is struggling to keep its head above water in a difficult European economy. (more…)

Hilma af Klint, The Swan, No. 17, Group IX/SUW, The SUW/UW Series (1915), courtesy Hamburger Bahnhof

The first-ever retrospective of the pioneering Swedish abstract artist Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) is currently on view at Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof museum. The exhibition includes 200 of Klint’s most revered abstract works, as well as several lesser-known paintings and works on paper, some of which have never been publicly displayed.

Hilma af Klint, Buddha’s Standpoint in the Earthly Life, No. 3a, (1920), courtesy Hamburger Bahnhof

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The ongoing debate between the Museum Tower and the Nasher Sculpture Center has taken a new turn, with the owners of the 42-story residential building reportedly using fake social media accounts to sway public opinion.  The fake social media accounts are just the latest exchange in this heated debate, particularly given the tower’s imposition on the atmosphere and lighting of the museum.  Several works have shown increased damage due to the light from the tower’s reflective surface, and the museum’s public gardens have also suffered.  “For almost two years…we have watched with growing concern as Museum Tower threatens our neighborhood, spreading misinformation rather than working earnestly toward solving the problems it has created.”  Dallas Museum of Art director Maxwell Anderson and Catherine Cuellar, executive director of the Dallas Arts District Foundation, said in an op-ed published last month. (more…)

Performance art pioneer Marina Abramovic has taken to crowd-sourced fundraising site Kickstarter in order to help finance the construction of the Marina Ambramovic Institute in Hudson, New York.  The project goal of $600,000 will look to alive a portion of the final construction cost of $20 million, and has already raised over $26,000.  Prizes available in exchange for donation include a webcam chat session with the artist, a special video game version of the Institute by artist Pippin Barr, or a ride in a brainwave controlled go-kart.   (more…)

Maurice and Paul Marciano, known as the co-founders of Guess Jeans, have purchased the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, with the intent of turning the space into a museum for their contemporary art collection.  The property was purchased by the Maurice and Paul Marciano Art Foundation, for the price of $8 million. “We have been looking for a home for the collection,” said William F. Payne, a spokesman for the foundation. “It’s a legacy project for the family.” (more…)

MOCA Director Jeffrey Deitch has officially announced his resignation, leaving the museum three years into his five year contract.  The museum has already formed a search party to locate his replacement, but Deitch will remain on board until a new director is found, helping to smoothen the transition, as well as to aid in the completion of MOCA’s ambitious $100 million endowment fundraising campaign, expected to conclude this fall.  “As colleagues, friends and great admirers of Jeffrey Deitch’s talent, we respect his decision and thank him for his tremendous dedication,” said MOCA Board co-chair David Johnson. “His efforts have helped to solidify MOCA’s financial stability while changing the way Angelenos, and those around the world, engage with contemporary art.” (more…)

In an effort to increase attendance and community engagement, the recently opened Maxxi Museum (National Museum for the Art of the 21st Century) in Rome is branching out, hosting lectures and classes on a variety of subjects in design, art, fashion, and music. “We need the public to animate this space,” said Giovanna Melandri, president of the foundation that runs the Museum. (more…)

Berggruen Museum head Olivier Berggruen is featured in the Wall Street Journal this week, after the reopening of his institution after a two year renovation.  Focusing on both 20th century masters like Picasso, Matisse, Paul Cézanne and Paul Klee, the museum also focuses on evolution of the art market itself, and consists of 165 works sold by Olivier’s father Heinz to the city of Berlin in 2000 for around $100 million. “He thought of paintings and works of art as illustrations for stories,” says Olivier of his father. (more…)

Jeffrey Deitch, via LA Weekly

MOCA Director Jeffrey Deitch may step down from his position at the Los Angeles institution, the LA Weekly reports.  Sources close to the museum have released information that Deitch will announce his departure on Wednesday, and that he is currently shopping for apartments in New York City. (more…)

The Russian government has refused to reunite the collections Ivan Morozov and Sergei Shchukin, which has stood as a point of contention between the Pushkin Museum in Moscow and the State Hermitage in St. Petersburg over the past months. Both institutions currently own parts of the collection, which was divided in half after Stalin shuttered the Museum of New Western Art in 1948.  Former director of the Pushkin Museum Irina Antonova spoke out on the decision last week on Moscow television, stating a hope that the works would be reunited.  “I believe that in the end common sense must triumph,” she said. “We will have a state that will understand what it is to have the kind of museum that we don’t have in Moscow, a top museum of world art in the capital.” (more…)

Detroit’s bankruptcy filing this week has once again placed the future of the Detroit Institute of Arts collection in question, with creditors sizing up the museum’s collection of works by Caravaggio, van Gogh and more.  Despite arguments for the preservation of the collection, emergency manager Kevyn D. Orr’s spokesman, Bill Nowling claims:  “We cannot negotiate in good faith with our creditors by taking assets off the table. And all of our creditors have asked about the worth of the D.I.A. And we’ve told them that they’re welcome to find out.” (more…)

A number of U.S. Museums are exploring new approaches to exhibiting works while in storage, the LA Times reports.  Museums like LACMA and the Broad Museum have attempted to place larger portions of their collections in “visible storage,” where interested visitors can view them.  “There is this public assumption that museums are hoarding objects in dark rooms, and by the way that isn’t totally wrong,” says LACMA Director Michael Govan. “What we’re saying is that those objects are worthy for viewing and studying if not always for exhibitions. So you’re not contemplating a masterpiece, but maybe you’ll find value in comparing and contrasting different examples of vases.”

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Dinner view, all photos by Anna Mikaela Ekstrand for Art Observed unless otherwise noted

The Parrish Art Museum held their annual Midsummer Party this past Saturday, an essential event in the Hamptons social calendar, welcoming benefactors and guests to the museum’s newly completed home.

Guests inside the 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 Jibaozhai museum in the northern Chinese region of Hebei has been shut down after authorities determined that nearly all of the works in its collection were fake.  Counterfeiting has been a major issue for China in the past, and government agencies are working to crack down on these violations.  “Jibaozhai has no qualification to be a museum as its collections are fake and it hasn’t reported to my department for approval,” says an official from the Hebei cultural heritage bureau. (more…)