COURTESY RIJKSMUSEUM
News
James Tarmy and Katya Kazakina report that Sotheby’s is in talks with the government of Saudi Arabia to help commission large-scale artworks for a cultural center in Al-Ula. The auction house said that the discussions are in an “exploratory phase.” The reporters write that it “remains unclear how the fallout from the October murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi,” which has been tied to Saudi leader Mohammed Bin Salman by some reports, “will affect the project.” Sotheby’s said: “Like many organizations and individuals, we are extremely concerned about recent events and unreservedly condemn acts of violence against all persons.” [Bloomberg]
Following misconduct allegations against artist Subodh Gupta and Kochi-Muziris Biennale cofounder Riyas Komu, more than 270 artists and arts professionals have issued a statement regarding sexual harassment in the South Asian art world. [ARTnews]
The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will open in Los Angeles in 2019, and it has announced its inaugural exhibitions. The new museum’s programming and exhibitions will focus on filmmaking and the history of movies. [Hyperallergic]
The Talent
Ralf Beil, who was recently ousted as director of the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg in Germany, believes that an upcoming exhibition on fossil fuels may have played a part in his firing. [Artnet News]
The Times looks back on some of the most notable auction house departures of the year, including Loic Gouzer’s recent decision to leave his post as co-chairman of postwar and contemporary art at Christie’s. [The New York Times]
Acquisitions
The Tate Britain has acquired four watercolors depicting women working in cotton mills and potteries by suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst. Ann Gallagher, director of the British art collection at the Tate, said, “At a time when gender pay gaps and women’s rights at work remain urgent topical issues, these images remind us of the role art can play in inspiring social change.” [The Guardian]
Victoria Eugenia Henao, the onetime wife of Pablo Escobar, discussed how a Salvador Dalí painting they owned may have helped save her life. [The New York Times]
Exhibitions
Rosa Loy has a show at Kohn Gallery in Los Angeles. David Pagel writes of the artist’s paintings, “Each seems to spring from a particularly vivid reverie. Each could be a self-portrait.” [Los Angeles Times]
“Anthropocene” at the Art Gallery of Ontario features murals, documentary films, augmented reality installations, and photographs about how the environment has been impacted by pollution and climate change. [Hyperallergic]
Miscellaneous
Here’s a lamentation of Instagram-friendly pop-up museums titled “Fake Food Museums Are Our Greatest Monuments to the Brand Hellscape of 2018.” [Eater]
On a brighter note, the Field Museum in Chicago now has a gallery dedicated to the display of Sue the T. Rex, a 67-million-year-old dinosaur skeleton with an active Twitter account. [Atlas Obscura]