Friday, January 15
LACMA Reveals Partnership with Four Southern California Art Institutions
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has announced “Local Access,” a new partnership that will bring selections from its collection to four other local art institutions: the Lancaster Museum of Art and History; the Riverside Art Museum; the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College; and California State University, Northridge, Art Galleries. Supported by a $2 million grant from the Art Bridges + Terra Foundation Initiative, the “Local Access” program will continue through 2024.
Thursday, January 14
Pace Gallery Now Represents Marina Perez Simão
São Paulo–based artist Marina Perez Simão, whose paintings of Brazil’s landscape toe the line between abstraction and figuration, has joined Pace Gallery. Pace worked with Mendes Wood DM, which represents the artist in São Paulo, in summer 2020 to present Simão’s work alongside pieces by Sonia Gomes at its East Hampton space. In April, Pace will open a solo exhibition of new paintings by Simão at its New York gallery.
Rockefeller Center and Art Production Fund Reveal Lineup for Art in Focus 2021
Rockefeller Center and the Art Production Fund in New York have revealed the artists who will participate in the 2021 edition of its “Art in Focus” public art program, which situates site-specific works throughout the Rockefeller Center campus. The program kick offs in January with installations by Hiba Schahbaz, and throughout the year it will include exhibitions exploring notions of home and community by Sanford Biggers, Hilary Pecis, Maurice Harris, and Lisa Congdon.
Wednesday, January 13
ICI Partners with Marian Goodman Gallery to Launch Research Initiatives Honoring Okwui Enwezor
The New York–based arts organization Independent Curators International will partner with Marian Goodman Gallery, which has locations in New York, Paris, and London, to establish research opportunities for BIPOC curators. The venture was conceived by one of the gallery’s artists, filmmaker Steve McQueen, to honor the legacy of the late curator Okwui Enwezor, who died in 2019. The initiative will develop a curatorial intensive in Africa and two curatorial research fellowships each year for the next three years. The fellowships are open to U.S.-based curators who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a person of color, as well as curators of African descent based anywhere in the world. In a statement, McQueen said, “Okwui was always thinking about the future, always thinking ahead in order to create a healthier environment for all, no matter what the challenges were or what he, as a pioneer, came up against. This initiative is very much in his spirit, championing innovators in a field that he reinvented.”
Andy Warhol Foundation Grants Given to 51 Organizations
The Andy Warhol Foundation gave $3.9 million to 51 organizations as part of its Fall 2020 grants program. Among those who received funds were the Mophradat in Brussels, LAXART in Los Angeles, the Luminary in St. Louis, BlackStar in Philadelphia, and W.A.G.E. in Brooklyn. Select institutions also received funding for upcoming exhibitions, including the Fine Arts Museum San Francisco for a forthcoming Judy Chicago retrospective and the Pérez Art Museum Miami for a Gary Simmons survey. The full list of grant recipients can be found here.
Tuesday, January 12
Israel Museum Awards 2020 Shpilman International Prize for Excellence in Photography
The Israel Museum in Jerusalem has named Sara Cwynar as the recipient of the 2020 Shpilman International Prize for Excellence in Photography, which comes with $40,000. The funds will support the artist’s research, production, and post-production of a multi-platform video and photography project. Penelope Umbrico and Lebohang Kganye received honorable mentions. Cwynar is the sixth winner of the prize, which was established in 2010 and has previously been awarded to Michal Heiman, John Jacob, Servet Kocyigit, Lisa Oppenheim, and Alison Rossiterd.
Playwrights Horizons Launches Series of Public Art Installations
Playwrights Horizons, a theater in Midtown Manhattan that has remained shuttered throughout the pandemic, will display rotating installations of public works on its facade beginning this month. The series kicks off with the debut of a new work by street artist Jilly Ballistic and will continue with pieces by Ken Gonzales-Day, Dread
Scott, and others. Each installation will be on view for six weeks.
Hollis Taggart Now Represents Artists Suchitra Mattai and Alexandros Vasmoulakis
New York gallery Hollis Taggart has added artists Suchitra Mattai and Alexandros Vasmoulakis to its roster. Mattai’s practice explores themes of colonialism and familial histories through collage, drawing, video and sculpture. Her work was exhibited at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and in the 2019 Sharjah Biennial. Vasmoulakis works in painting, wallpapering, collage, and installation, incorporating elements of Abstract Expressionism, Cubism, and street art. He has had solo exhibitions at The Breeder Gallery in Athens.
Gypsum Gallery Now Represents Hend Samir
Gypsum Gallery in Cairo has added Hend Samir to its roster. The Egyptian artist’s figurative paintings meld familial scenes with media imagery, exploring themes of desire, adventure, and the mundanity of urban life. Past exhibitions of her work include solo shows at Medrar Gallery and Gallery Misr.
Monday, January 11
Roberts Projects Now Represents Brenna Youngblood
Los Angeles’s Roberts Projects gallery now represents Brenna Youngblood, whose work in multiple mediums focuses on the relationship between life and art. Her work, which often takes the form of photo-based canvases and assemblages, pays homage to a host of art-historical sources, from Jasper Johns to Noah Purifoy, and alludes to Black history. Her first exhibition with the gallery will be held in March.
New School Receives $5.5 million Mellon Grant
The New School in New York has received two grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation intended to “advance demographic and intellectual diversity and politically engaged art, scholarship and public engagement” at the institution. Totaling $5.5 million, the grants mark the largest Mellon Foundation gift to the New School. A portion of the sum will go to establishing the Mellon Initiative for Inclusive Faculty Excellence, a project that will increase the diversity of staff in the humanities and social sciences departments. Additionally, the Vera List Center for Art and Politics received $500,000 to further projects dedicated to politically engaged art practices, public engagement, and scholarship.
NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale Names New Curator
The NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale has appointed Ariella Wolens as its first Bryant-Taylor Curator. Wolens joins the museum from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Museum of Art in Georgia, where she served as assistant curator. While at SCAD, Wolens curated exhibitions devoted to artists including Charlie Billingham, Sanford Biggers, and Christina Forrer. She also oversaw the exhibition “Embers of Freedom: Frederick Douglass and his Legacy,” a presentation of objects from the abolitionist’s family’s archive. Wolens will begin in her new position on January 19.