Friday, October 16
Thomas Dane Gallery Now Represents Amie Siegel
Amie Siegel, whose practice spans film, video, performance, painting, photography, and sound, has joined Thomas Dane Gallery in London, which will present a solo exhibition of her work next year. The artist’s work often examines the complexities and nuances of image-making, and she has previously shown work at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, South London Gallery, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the 12th Gwangju Biennial in 2018, the 2008 Whitney Biennial, and other venues. In 2021, she will participate in the 34th Bienal de São Paulo and exhibit new works at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh and ArkDes in Stockholm.
Thursday, October 15
Blum & Poe Now Represents March Avery
March Avery, who is best known for her contemplative paintings of interiors, friends and family members, and landscapes, has joined the roster of Blum & Poe, which maintains gallery spaces in Los Angeles, New York, and Tokyo. The artist, whose father is the late painter Milton Avery, will have a solo exhibition at Blum & Poe in Los Angeles, scheduled to open next month. Avery’s work can be found in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Newark Museum in New Jersey, and other institutions.
MOCA Toronto Fulfills $25 M. Capital Campaign
The Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto has received a $5.7 million contribution from its landlord, Castlepoint Auto Building, Inc., completing its $25 million capital campaign that began in 2017. The funds will support improvements and operations in the museum’s home in the Automotive Building at 158 Sterling Road. “This contribution provides much-needed momentum for our ongoing fundraising to ensure operational sustainability,” MOCA executive director and CEO Kathleen Bartels said in a statement.
Galerie Chantal Crousel Adds Mimosa Echard to its Roster
Galerie Chantal Crousel in Paris now represents French artist Mimosa Echard, who is best known for her compositions and assemblages that fuse consumer items with organic matter (like algae, yeast, and lichen) to explore the relationship between humans and the environment. Her artwork is held in the collections of several Paris-based organizations, including CNAP Centre national des arts plastiques. the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, Foundation Louis Vuitton, and Fondation d’entreprise Galeries Lafayette. A selection of her work is now on display in an online viewing room [link] presented by the gallery.
Wednesday, October 14
Yale Center for British Art Appoints Deputy Director and Chief Curator
Martina Droth, who has most recently served as deputy director of research, exhibitions, and publications, and curator of sculpture at the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, Connecticut, has been named deputy director and chief curator of the institution. Droth’s curatorial credits include “Sculpture Victorious: Art in an Age of Invention 1837–1901,” which was presented at the Center and Tate Britain in 2014 and 2015, respectively, and “Things of Beauty Growing: British Studio Pottery,” presented at the Center and the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England, in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Droth, who joined the Yale Center for British Art in 2009, succeeds Scott Wilcox in the post.
Socrates Sculpture Park Executive Director to Depart
John Hatfield, executive director of the Socrates Sculpture Park in New York, has announced plans to step down after nine years at the helm. He will maintain his position until a successor is selected by a newly formed transition committee, with a selection anticipated for mid-2021. “We will miss John’s leadership,” Stuart Suna, the president of the Queens sculpture park’s board, said in a statement.
Eric Firestone Gallery Now Represents Futura 2000
Eric Firestone Gallery in New York has added American graffiti artist Futura 2000 to its roster. Futura, born Leonard McGurr, rose to prominence in the early 1980s, showing work alongside Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Kenny Scharf. He is best known for his abstract street art, which contrasted with the text-based and figurative work of his peers. The gallery will open a solo exhibition of new work by the artist on October 22.
Tuesday, October 13
Getty Acquires 39 Dutch Golden Age Drawings and Mondrian
The Getty in Los Angeles has acquired 39 17th-century Dutch drawings, including pieces by Rembrandt van Rijn, Jacob Ruisdael, and Gerrit van Honthorst. Represented in the group are rare landscapes, seascapes, figure and nature studies, and portraits. Highlights include the portrait Young Man Leaning on a Stick (ca. 1629) by Rembrandt, the nature study Metamorphosis of a Small Emperor Moth on a Damson Plum (ca. 1679) by Maria Sibylla Merian, and Adriaen van de Velde’s The House with a Little Tower Seen from the Northeast (about 1660). Getty director Timothy Potts said in a statement, “This major acquisition dramatically enhances our Dutch drawings collection, increasing it by a third, and placing it among the most important museum holdings in the United States.” The acquisition also includes Piet Mondrian’s watercolor Landscape near Arnhem (1900-01).
Julie Tolentino Wins Queer|Art Sustained Achievement Award
Performance artist and dancer Julie Tolentino has won the Queer|Art|Prize for sustained achievement, an annual award that comes with $10,000. Tolentino has presented work at the New Museum and the Kitchen in New York, Commonwealth & Council in Los Angeles, and other venues around the world, and she is the founder of the Clit Club, a nightclub that operated in New York from 1990 to 2002. She was also a founding member of ACT UP New York’s House of Color Video Collective and has collaborated with Stanley Love, Catherine Opie, Madonna, and more.
Art Fund Museum of the Year Announces 2020 Winners
The recipients of the U.K.’s Art Fund Museum of the Year awards, which come with £40,000 (about $52,000) each, have been named. The winners are South London Gallery, Aberdeen Art Gallery in Scotland, Gairloch Museum in Scotland, Science Museum in London, and Towner Eastbourne in England. The panel that selected this year’s winners included Jago Cooper, curator of the Americas at the British Museum; Dame Liz Forgan, trustee at the Art Fund; artist Ryan Gander; Melanie Keen, director of the Wellcome Collection in London; and Jenny Waldman, director of the Art Fund.
Monday, October 12
National Galleries of Scotland Cuts Ties with Anthony d’Offay
After Tate cut ties with embattled former dealer Anthony d’Offay in September, the National Galleries of Scotland has followed suit. According to an Art Newspaper report, the Edinburgh-based museum has halted its partnership with d’Offay, who was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women in 2018. Works on loan to the museum from d’Offay’s collection will be returned. D’Offay was formerly a trustee of the Artist Rooms Foundation, which displays works in solo presentations at Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland.
After Tate cut ties with embattled former dealer Anthony d’Offay in September, the National Galleries of Scotland has followed suit. According to an Art Newspaper report, the Edinburgh-based museum has halted its partnership with d’Offay, who was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women in 2018. Works on loan to the museum from d’Offay’s collection will be returned. D’Offay was formerly a trustee of the Artist Rooms Foundation, which displays works in solo presentations at Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland.
Saudi Arabia Launches First Residency program
The Saudi Ministry of Culture has announced the launch of Art Residency | Al Balad, a residency program that will host international and Saudi artists, curators, and writers in Al Balad, the historic district of the city of Jeddah. Nineteen participants from 13 countries will join 23 Saudi artists and writers from five regions of Saudi Arabia for the three-week inaugural program, which will be virtual through 2020 to accommodate the coronavirus pandemic. The on-site program will commence in Jeddah in 2021.
Queensland Art Gallery Receives $35 M. Bequest
The Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) in Australia has been given a $35 million bequest from the late philanthropist and gallerist Win Schubert AO, who died in 2017. The funds, which represent the largest single cash gift in the institution’s history, will support acquisitions for the collection.
Pinakothek der Moderne Acquires Five Works by Hans Hofmann
The Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich has added five works created by Hans Hofmann between 1944 and 1966 to its collection. The paintings by the artist, who was a pioneer in the Fauvist and Expressionist movements, will be displayed alongside works by Henri Manguin and John Chamberlain.