Friday, February 14
Berggruen Institute Names Inaugural Artists Fellows For New Program
The Berggruen Institute, a Los Angeles–based think tank, has named the inaugural artists fellows in its Transformations of the Human program (ToftH), which pairs philosophers and artists in research sites with a focus on artificial intelligence and biotechnology. The ten inaugural artist fellows are Nancy Baker Cahill, Ian Cheng, Stephanie Dinkins, Mara Eagle, Pierre Huyghe, Kahlil Joseph, Agnieszka Kurant, Rob Reynolds, Martine Syms, and Anicka Yi. ToftH founding director Tobias Rees said in a statement, “By placing artists in key research sites and fostering dialogue with technologists, we can help make artificial intelligence, biotech, and climate change into visible places of experimentation for the way we think about ourselves as human.”
Jac Leirner Is Now Represented by Esther Schipper
The Berlin-based gallery Esther Schipper has added Brazilian artist Jac Leirner to its roster. Leirner is best known for sculptures and large-scale installations she constructs from found materials such as airline tickets, empty cigarette packets, shopping bags. In 2019, Leirner was awarded with the Wolfgang Hahn Prize by the Museum Ludwig in Cologne.
France Returns Nazi-Looted Porcelain to Family
After discovering that 17 Sèvres porcelain pieces in its holdings were looted by the Nazis during World War II, the French state has restituted the objects to the heirs of Lucy Jonquet, who once owned them. During the war, the 18th-century pieces were held by the Jeu de Paume, and in 1951, the works entered the collection of the Musée National de Céramique in Sèvres. The research that led to the restitution of the works was done by the Musées Nationaux Récupération.
Thursday, February 13
Chitra Ganesh Picked for Leslie-Lohman Museum Window Commission
The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art in SoHo has selected Brooklyn-based artist Chitra Ganesh for its annual window installation, QUEERPOWER. For the commission, which will cover the museum’s 10 windows at the corner of Wooster and Grand streets, Ganesh will create a piece that draws on imagery she has created as a response to the South Asian fable, Sultana’s Dream, that will meld history with queer futurism. The work will be unveiled at the museum’s annual summer block party in June. Previously commissioned artists include the Silence=Death collective (in 2017), fierce pussy (2018), and Joan E. Biren (JEB, 2019). In an email to ARTnews, Leslie-Lohman executive director Gonzalo Casals said, “Gentrification, marginalization, and trans rights are all important issues we are committed to addressing through diverse artistic perspectives, and Chitra Ganesh’s work is necessary for our ambitious program.” —Maximilíano Durón
The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art in SoHo has selected Brooklyn-based artist Chitra Ganesh for its annual window installation, QUEERPOWER. For the commission, which will cover the museum’s 10 windows at the corner of Wooster and Grand streets, Ganesh will create a piece that draws on imagery she has created as a response to the South Asian fable, Sultana’s Dream, that will meld history with queer futurism. The work will be unveiled at the museum’s annual summer block party in June. Previously commissioned artists include the Silence=Death collective (in 2017), fierce pussy (2018), and Joan E. Biren (JEB, 2019). In an email to ARTnews, Leslie-Lohman executive director Gonzalo Casals said, “Gentrification, marginalization, and trans rights are all important issues we are committed to addressing through diverse artistic perspectives, and Chitra Ganesh’s work is necessary for our ambitious program.” —Maximilíano Durón
Perrotin Opens Ninth Gallery Worldwide
In spring 2020 Perrotin will open a new 750-square-foot space on Paris’s Avenue Matignon near the city’s Avenue des Champs- Élysées and the Grand Palais. It will be the ninth space worldwide for the gallery, which already has two galleries and a bookstore in the French capital, as well as locations in New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, and Shanghai.
In spring 2020 Perrotin will open a new 750-square-foot space on Paris’s Avenue Matignon near the city’s Avenue des Champs- Élysées and the Grand Palais. It will be the ninth space worldwide for the gallery, which already has two galleries and a bookstore in the French capital, as well as locations in New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, and Shanghai.
Chazen Museum of Art at UW–Madison Receives Major Grant
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded the University of Wisconsin–Madison and its affiliated Chazen Museum of Art a $500,000 grant to support plans to digitize the museum’s archives. UW–Madison has pledged an additional $317,000 toward the three-year project, which when completed will allow faculty and students online access to the museum’s holdings.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded the University of Wisconsin–Madison and its affiliated Chazen Museum of Art a $500,000 grant to support plans to digitize the museum’s archives. UW–Madison has pledged an additional $317,000 toward the three-year project, which when completed will allow faculty and students online access to the museum’s holdings.
Dallas Museum Appoints New Assistant Curator
Vivian Crockett has been named assistant curator of contemporary art at the Dallas Museum of Art in Texas. She will begin in her post on March 9. Crockett specializes in art of the African and Latinx diasporas and the Americas, and she currently works as a teaching fellow at the Whitney Museum in New York. She has also served as a research fellow at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where she helped organize the 2018 exhibition “Judson Dance Theater: The Work Is Never Done.” She also contributed an essay, “Untitled (for those who are not named),” to the recent publication Queer Holdings: A Survey of the Leslie-Lohman Museum Collection.
Vivian Crockett has been named assistant curator of contemporary art at the Dallas Museum of Art in Texas. She will begin in her post on March 9. Crockett specializes in art of the African and Latinx diasporas and the Americas, and she currently works as a teaching fellow at the Whitney Museum in New York. She has also served as a research fellow at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where she helped organize the 2018 exhibition “Judson Dance Theater: The Work Is Never Done.” She also contributed an essay, “Untitled (for those who are not named),” to the recent publication Queer Holdings: A Survey of the Leslie-Lohman Museum Collection.
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac Appoints New Director
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, which has spaces in London, Paris, and Salzburg, has named Tom Hunt as a director based at its the London gallery. Hunt most recently worked at the international advisory firm Murphy & Partners and the mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth. In his new role, Hunt will work on both primary and secondary market sales, curate exhibitions, and serve as an artist liaison.
Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, which has spaces in London, Paris, and Salzburg, has named Tom Hunt as a director based at its the London gallery. Hunt most recently worked at the international advisory firm Murphy & Partners and the mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth. In his new role, Hunt will work on both primary and secondary market sales, curate exhibitions, and serve as an artist liaison.
Wednesday, February 12
TEFAF New York Names Exhibitors for 2020 Edition
The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) has revealed the 91 exhibitors for its fourth spring presentation in New York, which runs from May 8 to 11 at the Park Avenue Armory. Participants will include Acquavella Galleries, David Zwirner, Galerie Gmurzynska, Gladstone Gallery, Hauser & Wirth, Lisson Gallery, Massimo De Carlo, Mnuchin Gallery, White Cube, and more. The full exhibitor list can be found here.
Prospect New Orleans Appoints Two New Board Members
Prospect New Orleans, which will open its Prospect.5 triennial on October 24, has added New Orleans–based artist Dawn DeDeaux and Arthur Lewis, creative director of UTA Fine Arts and UTA Artist Space in Los Angeles, to its board. A retrospective of DeDeaux’s work will open at the New Orleans Museum of Art in October 2020, and Lewis also sits on the board of the Hammer Museum and serves as an adviser to the New Orleans African American Museum and the Studio Museum in Harlem.
Mariane Ibrahim Now Represents Peter Uka
Mariane Ibrahim Gallery in Chicago has added painter Peter Uka to its roster. Uka’s highly detailed, figurative works focus on the Nigeria-born artist’s memories and notions of home. The gallery will offer Uka’s work at the Arco Madrid art fair later this month and will stage a solo show of his work in spring 2021.
ICA Miami Adds Seven Trustees to Board
The Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami has added seven new members to its board of trustees. The additions include Miami-based collector and philanthropist Daniel Berkowitz; collector Michele Beyer; Suzi Cordish, a member of the Smithsonian national board and trustee of the Arthur M. Sackler and Freer Gallery of Art; Andi Potamkin, director of business development at Potamkin Fleet Solutions; collector, entrepreneur, and investor Andre Sakhai; Roz Stuzin, co-founder of the online boutique Namely Newborns; and real estate developer Alex Witkoff.
Tuesday, February 11
Museum of Modern Art Adds Gordon Parks Photos to Collection
The Museum of Modern Art in New York has acquired 56 photos—including 55 color prints and one gelatin silver print—from Gordon Parks’s 1957 series “The Atmosphere of Crime.” The series accompanied articles in Life magazine about crime in the United States, and the images will go on view at MoMA in May 2020. The works, which were captured in police precincts, hospitals, prisons, and other locations, examine notions of criminality in America.
The Bass Reveals New Acquisitions, Exhibitions
The Bass in Miami Beach has added to its collection works by Lara Favaretto, Jim Hodges, Adrián Villar Rojas, and Haegue Yang, which will go on view alongside John Akomfrah’s six-channel video installation Purple in spring 2020. The institution also announced that it will present the first joint museum show for artists Rafael Domenech and Ernesto Oroza in May.
Desert X 2021 Names Curator
César García-Alvarez has been tapped to co-curate the 2021 edition of Desert X, which is slated to open next February 6 and continue through April 11 in Coachella Valley, California. García-Alvarez is the founder and current executive and artistic director of The Mistake Room, a nonprofit contemporary art space in Los Angeles. García-Alvarez has also served as associate director of the Culver City nonprofit LAXART as well as a curator of the Hammer Museum’s 2012 inaugural “Made in L.A.” biennial.
NADA Reveals Exhibitors for New York Gallery Open 2020
The New Art Dealers Alliance has named the participants in the second edition of its New York Gallery Open, a series of events established by the organization last year after canceling its New York fair. Running from March 5 to 8, New York Gallery Open will bring together over 60 local galleries, nonprofits, and alternative spaces, including 56 Henry, Mitchell Algus Gallery, Canada, Foxy Production, Martos Gallery, Pioneer Works, Printed Matter, Sargent’s Daughters, and Van Doren Waxter. The full list of exhibitors can be found here.
Monday, February 10
Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Sets Opening Date
At last night’s Academy Awards, Tom Hanks announced that the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles will open its doors on December 14, 2020. The institution, which is dedicated to the history and future of filmmaking, will occupy a Renzo Piano–designed building adjoining a historic landmark on the city’s Miracle Mile.
Rothko Chapel to Reopen June 2020
The Rothko Chapel, a nondenominational spiritual site in Houston erected in 1971 by art patrons John and Dominique de Menil, will reopen in June 2020 following a renovation. The space, which draws more than 100,000 visitors annually, has been closed since March 2019 to accommodate the first phase of “Opening Spaces,” a $30 million restoration and campus expansion that includes a new lighting system in the chapel’s ceiling designed to protect the 14 large-scale Rothko paintings from Houston’s intense daylight.
TEFAF Appoints Interim Managing Director
Sofie Scheerlinck has been named the interim managing director of the European Fine Arts Foundation, effective April 1. Scheerlinck has served as managing director of TEFAF New York since March 2018. In her new role, she will divide her time between New York and Amsterdam while developing TEFAF’s global integration strategy.
Städelschule Academy of Fine Art Names New Leadership
Yasmil Raymond has been appointed the rector of the Städelschule Academy of Fine Art in Frankfurt, Germany, and director of Portikus, an exhibition hall affiliated with the art school. She succeeds Philippe Pirotte, who will step down as director at the end of March. Currently, Raymond serves as an associate curator in the painting and sculpture department at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Prior to joining MoMA, she held curatorial positions at the Dia Art Foundation in New York and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.