COURTESY THE ARTIST; PAULA COOPER, NEW YORK; THOMAS DANE GALLERY, LONDON; AND GALERIA GISELA CAPITAIN, COLOGNE
Department of Messy Museum Shows
Kelley Walker’s show at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, which includes images of black men and women smeared with toothpaste and other materials, has been met with calls for a boycott. Three of CAM’s staff members have written an open letter to the museum, urging it to issue a formal apology for showing the controversial works, and Walker has also responded. [Hyperallergic]
Ken Johnson reviews Kai Althoff’s Museum of Modern Art show, calling it “a spectacular example of . . . a conflicted creative sensibility” set in a “an unfortunately messy and confusing installation.” [The New York Times]
An Art-World Sleep No More
Tonight, Ryan McNamara will stage “Back to School,” a participatory installation in which all of MoMA PS1 will be set up like a school of sorts, with acting lessons in some classrooms and songwriting ones in others. Guests are instructed to “come as you were.” [The New York Times]
Market
After several delays, the trial over alleged tax fraud involve Guy Wildenstein has begun in Paris. [ABC News]
In his first interview since leaving Sotheby’s after a shareholder revolt in 2014, Bill Ruprecht explained why he is returning to the art world as chairman of the advisory board for the online auction venture Invaluable. [The Wall Street Journal]
The Shanghai Biennale
With the Shanghai Biennale opening on November 11, Raqs Media Collective discussed its work curating it. “We see the curatorial premise—’Why Not Ask Again’—as both a bid and as a query,” one member said. [The Art Newspaper]
Interviews
Gina Beavers: “I feel like the idea of innovation as an end in itself is sort of dying or maybe had to die in terms of art making.” [GNYP]
Paulina Olowska gets profiled, shedding light on her surprisingly optimistic paintings that take their cues from fashion ads and the political situation of her home country, Poland. [The New York Times]
Extras
A look at Wade Guyton’s exhibition at Le Consortium in Dijon, France. [Contemporary Art Daily]