Chuck Welch, “Ray Johnson Nothing Soup” (2017), can sculpture, 18 x 3 1/2 x 14 (photo by Chuck Welch)
Art Movements is a weekly collection of news, developments, and stirrings in the art world. Subscribe to receive these posts as a weekly newsletter.
The State Department announced that the US will withdraw from UNESCO on December 31, 2018, citing “mounting arrears, […] the need for fundamental reform in the organization, and continuing anti-Israel bias.”
“Salvator Mundi” (c. 1490-1519) the only work attributed to Leonardo da Vinci that remains in private hands, is to be sold at Christie’s on November 15. The painting is estimated to fetch $100 million.
Marina Abramović abandoned plans to open the Marina Abramović Institute (MAI). The artist stated that she is unable to raise the purported $31 million required to convert a space in upstate New York during a talk at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery last week. A highly publicized Kickstarter campaign raised over $661,000 for the project, which is described on its official website as a site to “serve as the legacy of Marina Abramović,” explore performance, and “encourage collaboration between the arts, science, and the humanities.” According to Abramović, the Kickstarter funds were used to pay architect Rem Koolhaas for a preliminary design of the space.
A number of Puerto Rican arts organizations — including the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, and Beta-Local — are pooling their resources and offering free public programs to support those impacted by Hurricane Maria.
The Crackerjack Art Of Chuck Welch Networks The FeMail XX Conspiracy opened at the Christine Price Gallery at Castleton University, Vermont. The exhibition is a collaboration between artists Chuck Welch (aka the Crackerjack Kid) and Tara Verheide (aka Sinclair Scripa), and includes mail art solicited in response to the topics of “Women as Scientific Artists” and “Networked Art as a Global Conspiracy.”
Harland Miller, “Who Cares Wins” (2017), silkscreen print, hand finished with pencil and oil paint, 58 1/2 x 48 inches (courtesy Sotheby’s)
Art for Grenfell, a charity auction for those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, will be held at Sotheby’s on October 16. The sale includes works by Phyllida Barlow, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Tacita Dean, Isaac Julien, Harland Miller, and Rachel Whiteread.
Philippe Méaille will withdraw his loan of over 500 artworks to the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) due to “the political instability in Catalonia.”
Tristram Hunt, the director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, called for the complete pedestrianisation of London’s Exhibition Road. A 47-year-old mini-cab driver ploughed into pedestrians outside the Natural History Museum last Saturday, injuring 11 people and sparking fears of a terrorist incident.
Both UK and non-UK citizens and organizations have until December 29 to respond to a public consultation regarding a proposed ban on UK sales of ivory. The 12 week consultation was announced by environment secretary Michael Gove.
D. Neal Bremer, the former COO of the Grand Rapids Art Museum, filed a whistleblower protection lawsuit against the museum after alleging widespread misuse of donor-restricted funds.
Semiotext(e) cancelled an event with arts organization 356 Mission in Los Angeles after the anti-gentrification group Defend Boyle Heights vowed to disrupt it.
Italian culture minister, Dario Franceschini, confirmed plans to introduce a fee — thought to be around €3 (~$3.50) — for entry to the Pantheon in Rome.
New Architecture Writers, a free program for BAME (black, Asian, and minority ethnic) young people aspiring to work in architecture and design journalism, was launched in London.
Dale Chihuly‘s “Rose Crystal Tower,” a 31-foot tall sculpture composed of composed of Polyvitro crystals and steel, was unveiled in Union Square Park, New York.
Transactions
David Hockney, “15 Canvas Study of the Grand Canyon” (1998), oil on canvas, 66 1/2 x 65 1/2 inches (courtesy Sotheby’s)
David Hockney’s “15 Canvas Study of the Grand Canyon” (1998) was sold at Sotheby’s evening sale of contemporary art for $7,949,576, the second highest price paid for the artist at auction. The same sale saw records set for Josef Albers, Thierry De Cordier, and Alex Da Corte.
The Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art acquired the 1975 to 2015 records of Artists Talk on Art (ATOA). The archive includes recordings of just under 1,000 panel discussions and screenings held in New York City.
The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing has been sold to a group of investors led by Lunar Capital, a private equity group in Shanghai.
The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture received a $250,000 gift from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation.
Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo and Susan and Matthew Weatherbie committed to donating their collections of 17th-century Dutch and Flemish art to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston — the largest donation of European art in the museum’s history.
A double-sided sketch by Alberto Giacometti sold for £130,000 (~$172,000) at Cheffins auction house. The work was recovered from the estate of the late antiques dealer Eila Grahame earlier this year [via email announcement].
The Frans Hals Museum acquired Jan Porcellis’s “Ships in a Storm” (c. 1618/22).
Jan Porcellis, “Ships in a Storm” (c. 1618/22), oil on panel (courtesy Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem)
Transitions
The International Center of Photography is to relocate to Essex Crossing a year after it moved into a $23.5 million exhibition space on the Bowery.
The New Museum selected Rem Koolhaas and Shohei Shigematsu to design an expansion using an adjacent property at 231 Bowery.
Ludwig Spaenle, the Bavarian Minister of Culture, announced the appointment of Stefan Gros as commercial managing director of the Haus der Kunst in Munich. Gros is co-direct the museum with Okwui Enwezor in a bid to deal with the institution’s financial deficit.
Tim Whalen was elected chair of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s board of trustees.
Jorrit Britschgi was appointed executive director of the Rubin Museum of Art.
Alistair Hudson was appointed director of the Manchester Art Gallery and the Whitworth.
Julian Cox was appointed chief curator and deputy director of the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Rita S. Craig was appointed chief financial officer at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.
Jessica Kreps was made a partner at Lehmann Maupin gallery.
The family of S.I. Newhouse Jr. appointed Tobias Meyer to advise them on the family’s art collection.
Laurie Anderson, television producer Laura Michalchyshyn, and writer Tanya Selvaratnam, launched The Federation, an organization committed to combatting xenophobia and the threatened closing of physical borders.
Tate St Ives opened its new £20 million (~$26.5 million) extension.
White Columns will relocate to 91 Horatio Street next spring.
Proxyco, a new gallery with a focus on emerging and mid-career artists from Latin America, will open 168 Suffolk Street on the Lower East Side next month.
Mary Weatherford is now represented by Gagosian gallery.
Landon Metz is now represented by Sean Kelly Gallery.
Accolades
Trevor Paglen, “Code Names of the Surveillance State” (2014), video (courtesy Altman Siegel Gallery)
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced its 2017 MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant winners. The recipients include Dawoud Bey, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Taylor Mac, and Trevor Paglen.
ArtPrize 9 announced its award winners. The Public Vote Grand Prize was awarded to Richard Schlatter for his work “A. Lincoln,” a portrait of the US president composed of over 24,ooo pennies. Seitu Jones received the Juried Grand Prize for “The Heartside Community Meal,” an installation in which 250 neighbors dined together at a 300-foot table.
Isa Genzken received the 2017 Goslarer Kaiserring award.
Kader Attia was awarded the 2017 Joan Miró Prize.
The Bessies announced the recipients of the 2017 New York Dance and Performance Awards.
Queer|Art announced the eleven Fellows accepted for its 2017–2018 Queer|Art|Mentorship program.
Obituaries
The London Eye (via Wikipedia)
Holly Block (1958–2017), executive director of the Bronx Museum of the Arts.
Nora Johnson (1933–2017), novelist and memoirist. Best known for The World of Henry Orient (1958).
Hervé Léger (1957–2017), fashion designer.
David Marks (1952–2017), architect. Best known as the designer of the London Eye.
Ralphie May (1972–2017), comedian.
Bunny Sigler (1941–2017), singer, songwriter, and producer.
Jim Walrod (1961–2017), design consultant and expert in mid-century design.
Anne Wiazemsky (1947–2017), novelist and New Wave actress. Wife of Jean-Luc Godard.
