Friday, September 24
Mint Museum Receives Two $1 M. Gifts to Support Craft Acquisitions
The Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina, has received two $1 million gifts from the Little Rock–based Windgate Foundation that will be used to grow the institution’s collection of works by living craft artists. One of the gifts will be used to establish an acquisition endowment, while the other will be directed toward operating expenses for the craft and design collection. “Craft is central to the identity of the Mint, one of a few art museums in the country with permanent collection galleries devoted to the ongoing presentation of local, national, and global craft,” Annie Carlano, senior curator of craft, design & fashion at the museum, said in a statement.
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Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale Reveals Participating Artists for First Edition
The inaugural Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale, the first contemporary art biennial to be held in Saudi Arabia, has announced a batch of participating artists for its 2021 edition. The exhibition, titled “Feeling the Stones,” is slated to take place December 11 through March 11 at the Jax district of Diriyah, outside of the capital city Riyadh. Curated by Philip Tinari, director and chief executive of UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing, the event will be comprised of six sections examining themes such as memory, cultural transmission, social engagement, and the Anthropocene, with works from some 70 regional and international artists. Saudi artists including Zahrah Alghamdi, Muhannad Shono, Ayman Zedani, Lulwah Al-Homoud, and Dana Awartani will exhibit artwork alongside artists such as Xu Bing, John Gerrard, Simon Denny, and Lawrence Lek. The full artist list is forthcoming.
Morgan Presents Gallery Opens on New York’s Lower East Side
New York’s Lower East side has a new gallery: Morgan Presents, which will bring together pairs of artists for two-person shows. Located at 155 Suffolk Street, the gallery is run by Morgan Aguiar-Lucander. Its first exhibition is “Color/Code,” featuring paintings by Sam Jablon and Odili Donald Odita. That show opened on Thursday evening.
Thursday, September 23
Shortlist Revealed for 2021 Edition of $100,000 Future Generation Art Prize
The Pinchuk Art Centre in Kyiv, Ukraine, has named the 21 artists shortlisted for this year’s Future Generation Art Prize, a biennial award that honors an emerging artist. Among the nominees this year are Rindon Johnson, whose recent SculptureCenter show focused on the relationship between objects and our conceptions of reality; Mire Lee, whose sculptures of science-fictional beings are now the subject of a show at the Schinkel Pavillon in Berlin; and Frida Orupabo, whose works about the circulation of images of Black and female bodies are now on view at the Kunsthall Trondheim in Norway and the Museu Afro Brazil in São Paulo. The winner, who will be named in December, is set to receive $100,000, while five artists are expected to get $20,000 special awards. A full list of the nominees is available here.
Denver Art Museum Appoints Two New Curators to Asian Art Department
The Denver Art Museum has appointed two curators to its Asian art department. Hyonjeong “HJ” Kim Han will lead the department as the new Joseph de Heer Curator of Asian Art beginning September 30. Han was the department head and associate curator of Korean Art at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. Einor Keinan Cervone was appointed as associate curator of Asian art at the Denver Art Museum earlier this month. Previously, she served as a curatorial fellow in the department of Chinese and Korean art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Angelica Daneo, chief curator at the Denver Art Museum, said in a statement, “With the appointments of Han and Cervone the Denver Art Museum’s Asian Art Department is able to provide a more diversified expertise inside the organization.”
Wednesday, September 22
König Galerie Adds Refik Anadol to its Roster
König Galerie, which has spaces in Berlin, London, and Seoul, now represents media artist Refik Anadol. The Los Angeles–based artist transforms data and machine intelligence into architecture, performance, and immersive installations. The results of his ongoing research project Machine Hallucinations will open at the gallery this November. For the show, a data sculpture will be projected on the facade of the gallery, while AI data paintings and sculptures will be exhibited in its interior. Anadol’s work has been exhibited at venues worldwide including the State Hermitage Museum in Moscow, Fotografiska in Stockholm, and Istanbul Modern.
Hewlett Foundation Gives $17 M. to Bay Area Arts Organizations
The Hewlett Foundation will award $17 million to Bay Area arts organizations as part of its Adaptation Grant program. Thirty-four organizations were chosen to receive grants ranging from $300,00 to $975,00. Among the awarded organizations are the Intertribal Friendship House, a cultural and social services hub for Bay Area Native Americans; Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana, a Chicanx and Latinx arts space; and the Performing Arts Workshop, an arts education center for youths. “The pandemic is just the latest crisis to rock arts organizations in the Bay area, already one of the most challenging places to be an artist,” said Emiko Ono, director of Hewlett’s performing arts program. “To thrive, and not just survive, arts groups need room to experiment and adapt to changing economic, technological, and cultural conditions.”
April Kim Tonin Named Head of Frick Collection’s Education Department
The Frick Collection in New York has named April Kim Tonin as the head of its education department. Tonin was formerly the deputy director of the education department at New York’s Museum of Arts and Design. At the Frick, she will focus on the museum’s public programming, as well as the institution’s partnerships with other museums and libraries. Ian Wardropper, director of the Frick, said in a statement, “With the growth of our institution, the vision for educational engagement does not stop there; with that in mind, we are thrilled to welcome April Kim Tonin to our staff. An impressive leader in the field, she will fortify and refresh programming at a moment marked by new possibilities.”
Tuesday, September 21
Czech Museums Receive 2,000 Works by Josef Koudelka
Magnum photographer Josef Koudelka and his foundation have gifted more than 2,000 works to four Czech museums: the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, the National Gallery Prague, the National Museum in Prague, and the Moravian Gallery in Brno. Koudelka, who was born in Boskovice, Czechia, is known for his black-and-white pictures taken across Europe, in particular his photographs of displaced communities and the Roma people. His gift to the four institutions is being billed as the most expansive cultural donation to Czech museums in more than four decades. “I wanted there to be one place in this world, if somebody wants to see my pictures, they can come and see the best examples of my pictures,” Koudelka said in a statement. “When I considered where this place should be, I thought it must be the country where I was born.”
Baloise Art Prize Goes to Hana Miletić, Cameron Clayborn
Artists Hana Miletić and Cameron Clayborn are the winners of this year’s Baloise Art Prize, which is given to artists with work on view at Art Basel in Switzerland. Miletić, whose work was brought to the fair by LambdaLambdaLambda gallery, of Prishtina, Kosovo, is known for her woven works based on photographs. Clayborn, whose work is being shown at Art Basel by New York’s Simone Subal Gallery, makes sculptures focused on vulnerability. Miletić and Clayborn are each taking home CHF 30,000 ($32,500), and their work will be acquired by the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin and MUDAM in Luxembourg.
Nancy Rubins Receives Artists’ Legacy Foundation 2021 Artist Award
The Oakland-based Artists’ Legacy Foundation given sculptor Nancy Rubins its 2021 Artist Award, which carries an unrestricted cash prize of $25,000. Over the course of four decades, Rubins has constructed abstract monumental works from industrial and found objects, many of which are installed at institutions throughout the world, including the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo and the Université Paris Diderot, in Paris. Jury member Mary Ceruti, executive director of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, said in a statement that Rubins ”brings an expansive and experimental approach to monumental sculptures that inspire wonder while also being genuinely grounded in our lived experience and material world.”
Monday, September 20
Nominees Named for 2021 Prix Marcel Duchamp
The Prix Marcel Duchamp, France’s top art prize, has revealed the nominees for its 2021 award. Up for the €35,000 ($41,000) purse are four artists: Julian Charrière, whose sculptural installations examine humanity’s ephemerality; Isabelle Cornaro, whose sculptures explore how found objects communicate meaning; Julien Creuzet, whose sculptures allude to his experience as a member of the Caribbean diaspora living in Paris; and Lili Reynaud-Dewar, whose performances, videos, and photographs allude to how one’s identity is formed. Their work will go on view at the Centre Pompidou in Paris next month, with a winner set to be named on October 8.
John Booth to Chair National Gallery’s Board
The National Gallery in London has picked venture capital investor John Booth to chair its board. A trustee at the Tate museum network, Booth has been on the board of the National Gallery since earlier this year, and is also currently chair of the Prince’s Trust. He becomes board chair as the museum prepares to celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2024, and he is expected to retain the role through 2025. In a statement, National Gallery director Gabriele Finaldi said that Booth “brings a wealth of experience and skill to enable us to realize them for the benefit of the public.”
New York’s Josée Bienvenu Closes Chelsea Space, Announces New Partnership
Josée Bienvenu Gallery will close its space in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, and its eponymous dealer will launch a new enterprise, Bienvenu Steinberg & Partner. The new gallery, which is also being overseen by Michael Steinberg, the founder of Eminence Grise Editions, is located at 35 Walker Street in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood. Its inaugural exhibition, “Hand in Hand,” will open on September 23 and will feature works by contemporary artists including Ana Mendieta, John Ahearn, Bruce Nauman, Ebony Patterson, Liliana Porter, Sara VanDerBeek, and many more.