Friday, May 22
Michael Rosenfeld Gallery Acquires Estate of Bob Thompson
Michael Rosenfeld Gallery in New York has finalized its acquisition of the estate of artist Bob Thompson, who is known for his vibrant figurative paintings. Since it began representing the artist in 1996, the gallery has presented four solo exhibition’s of work by Thompson, who played a pivotal role in the art scene of Provincetown, Massachusetts, in the 1950s and 1960s until his death in Rome in 1966 at age 28. A solo presentation titled “Bob Thomphson: This House is Mine” is scheduled to open at the Colby College Museum of Art in 2021 and will then travel to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago. In a statement, dealer Michael Rosenfeld said, “Bob is one of the great 20th-century painters; he has been and will always be at the core of the gallery’s program. Acquiring his estate is a great honor and responsibility; I am confident that I can continue to further his reputation and legacy with research, scholarship, and exhibitions.”
Shanghai Biennale Announces Curatorial Team, Theme for Upcoming Edition
The 13th edition of the Shanghai Biennale, which is scheduled to run at the Power Station of Art from November 10, 2020 to July 18, 2021, has named architect and writer Andrés Jaque as its chief curator. To assist him, Jaque has hired You Mi, Marina Otero Verzier, and Lucia Pietroiusti to serve as curators for the exhibition, and Filipa Ramos will be its head of research and publications. For the upcoming edition, Jaque has titled the show “水体 Bodies of Water.” Unlike previous editions, the biennial will take place over 9 months, with the actual exhibition not opening until April 10, 2021. The November 10 date refers to a five-day summit that will take place at the Power Station for contributors to show their work—that presentation will also appear online. Between the summit and the exhibition, the biennial will maintain a project space at the museum and create online and offline content ahead of the opening.
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Adds 88 Works to Collection
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia has acquired 88 works for its collection of American art. Among the additions are five paintings by Purvis Young, a 1997 mixed-media work by Liliana Porter, 12 photographs from the series “An Indian from India-Portfolio” by Annu Palakunnathu Matthew, General Idea’s Great AIDS (Ultramarine Blue), from 1990/2019, and a lithograph by Jonathan Lyndon Chase.
Singapore’s Art SG Fair Postpones Dates Until 2021
The inaugural edition of the Singapore fair, Art SG, has been postponed for the second time. It will now run November 5–7, 2021, at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre. The fair was originally scheduled to take place in November 2019, but organizers pushed the opening date to October 2020 to accommodate requests from exhibitors for more time to prepare. The second delay is related to the coronavirus pandemic. Around 70 international galleries, in addition to local presenters, are expected to participate in the first edition, which is led by director Shuyin Yang and co-founder Magnus Renfrew.
Thursday, May 21
Longtime Parrish Art Museum Director to Depart
Terrie Sultan will step down as director of the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, New York, this June. During her 12-year tenure, Sultan oversaw the unveiling of the museum’s new facility, designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron. She also spearheaded landmark solo exhibitions of artists including Thomas Joshua Cooper and Jean-Luc Mylayne, in addition to thematic shows such as “Damaged Romanticism: A Mirror of Modern Emotion” (2009) and “Unfinished Business: Paintings from the 1970s” (2016), which toured institutions nationwide.
Wednesday, May 20
Etel Adnan Wins 2020 Griffin International Poetry Prize
Etel Adnan, a celebrated Lebanese-American poet, critic, and painter, has been awarded the 2020 Griffin International Poetry Prize for her 2019 poetry collection Time, translated from the original French by poet Sarah Riggs. In a statement, the prize’s jury said “If Adnan is correct and ‘writing comes from a dialogue/ with time’ then this is a conversation the world should be leaning into, listening to a writer who has earned every right to be listened to.” Alongside her poetry, Adnan is also known for her vibrant, abstract landscapes and tapestries, which were featured in the 2014 Whitney Biennial. Her artworks are held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the British Museum in London, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, among others.
Tuesday, May 19
Pollock-Krasner Foundation Awards $2.8 M. in Grants
The New York–based Pollock-Krasner Foundation awarded $2.8 million to 121 artists and nonprofit organizations during its 2019–2020 grants cycle. Grantees include artists Alejandra Alarcon, Tahir Carl Karmali, and Tomasz Klimczyk, along with organizations such as Artadia in New York, Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and Charlotte Street Foundation in Kansas City, Missouri. Additionally, the foundation’s Lee Krasner Award recognizing a lifetime of artistic achievement was given to Shimon Attie, Squeak Carnwath, Blane De St. Croix, Laddie John Dill, and Chris Drury.
Rothko Chapel to Reopen September 2020
The Rothko Chapel, a non-denominational spiritual site in Houston erected in 1971 by John and Dominique de Menil and filled with works by the famed Abstract Expressionist, will reopen in September. The chapel, which draws over 100,000 visitors annually, has been closed since March 2019 as part of a $30 million restoration and campus expansion that includes a new lighting system designed to preserve its 14 large-scale Rothko paintings. The Chapel’s public reopening was postponed from June to September to allow for a public celebration, which is still tentative because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Xavier Hufkens Opens New Brussels Space
Xavier Hufkens will inaugurate a new exhibition space in Brussels at 44 Rue Van Eyck. Its inaugural exhibition will be a solo show of new assemblages by Sterling Ruby, which will be on view from June 18 through August 1. The new space is the gallery’s third location in the city and is designed by Belgian architect Bernard Dubois.
Kadist Appoints Two New Directors
Kadist, an arts nonprofit organization (with locations in Paris and SF) dedicated to exhibiting the work of artists represented in its collection and supporting artistic endeavors through residencies, has appointed Catalina Lonzano as director of Latin America programs and Ruijun Shen as director of China programs. Lonzano is a curator and writer based in Mexico City who specializes in the investigation of enduring colonial narratives. Some of Lonzano’s recent curatorial projects include the exhibitions “A Natural History of Ruins” at Pivô in São Paulo (opening 2021) and “Winning by Losing” at CentroCentro in Madrid in 2019. Shen is an artist and curator whose paintings and installations have been included in Shenzhen’s 8th International Ink Art Biennale and the 6th Guangzhou Triennial, among other shows. Her curatorial projects include “Polit-Sheer-Form!” at New York’s Queens Museum in 2014 and a Pipilotti Rist show for the Guangdong Times Museum in 2013.
Monday, May 18
Sharjah Art Foundation Awards Grants to 10 Artists
The Sharjah Art Foundation has given its biannual Production Programme grants to 10 artists, distributing a total of $200,000 to fund the creation of new works. The 2020 grantees are Jumana Emil Abboud, Mohamed Abdelkarim, Noor Abuarafeh, Basma al-Sharif, Abdessamad El Montassir, Köken Ergun, Pak Khawateen Painting Club, Moad Musbahi, Philip Rizk, and Subversive Film.
Miami Beach Creates Emergency Arts Fund
The city of Miami Beach has established a relief fund for local cultural organizations experiencing significant financial losses as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Institutions with annual organizational budgets under $750,000 can receive up to $50,000 in aid, those with budgets between $750,000 and $3.5 million can get up to $75,000, and budgets at or above $3.5 million may receive up to $100,000. “Our cultural institutions make up the unique fabric of Miami Beach,” Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said in a statement. “These grants will provide a lifeline to our city’s arts and culture community during these unprecedented times.” Applications for grants are open until May 29.
Galerie Lelong & Co. Now Represents Juan Uslé in New York
Galerie Lelong & Co., which has represented Juan Uslé in Paris since 2011, has added the artist to its roster in New York. Uslé, who is known for his undulating abstractions on canvas and paper, will show recent works in the gallery’s online viewing room through June 18. The artist’s piece can be found in the collections of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Museo Guggenheim in Bilbao, Tate Modern in London, and other international institutions.