COURTESY THE ARTIST AND GORDON ROBICHAUX
Friday, September 13, 2019
Artadia Names 2019 San Francisco Awardees
The New York–based nonprofit Artadia has awarded $10,000 in unrestricted funds to Bay Area–based artists Mike Henderson and Angela Hennessy as part of its eleventh awards cycle in San Francisco. Henderson’s paintings examine changing political landscapes, and Hennessy, an associate professor at at the California College of the Arts, works in sculpture, installation, and performance to explore beliefs about death. The two awardees were selected from a pool of five finalists by a jury of curators, artists, and other arts professionals.
Gordon Robichaux Adds Three Artists to Roster
The New York–based gallery Gordon Robichaux now represents Jenni Crain, Miles Huston, and Matt Paweski. Crain, an artist and curator working in New York, recently organized an exhibition of photographer Tee Corinne’s work at MBnb in New York. She has exhibited her own work at Octagon in Milan, 321 Gallery in Brooklyn, and elsewhere. Huston, who creates paintings, works on paper, and installations, has exhibited at Reyes Projects in Detroit and Night Gallery in Los Angeles, among other spaces. Los Angeles–based sculptor Matt Paweski was included in the recent “City Prince/sses” at the Palais De Tokyo in Paris.
Thursday, September 12, 2019
MOCA LA Unveils Outdoor Installation by Larry Bell
The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles has added a specially commissioned installation by artist Larry Bell to its Sculpture Plaza on Grand Avenue. The work, titled Bill and Coo at MOCA’s Nest, is the seventh piece by Bell to enter the institution’s permanent collection, and was donated by Carol Appel, who sits on the museum’s board. A similar version of the artwork appeared in the 2017 Whitney Biennial, co-curated by Mia Locks, who is now senior curator and head of new initiatives at MOCA.
Lynne Siefert Wins 2019 Betty Bowen Award
The Betty Bowen Award, which is awarded by the Seattle Art Museum, has named filmmaker Lynne Siefert as this year’s recipient. Siefert’s films have been shown at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and the San Diego Underground Film Festival, among others, and her work is set to be shown in an upcoming survey at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. The annual prize comes with $15,000 in unrestricted funds, and Siefert, who is a Seattle native, will also receive as solo exhibition at the Seattle Art Museum next spring.
Fralin Museum of Art Vows to Mount Exhibitions Spotlighting Underrepresented Artists
Inspired by recent data revealing a lack of diversity in museum programming across the United States, the Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville will dedicate at least half of its future exhibitions to historically underrepresented artists. This goal is outlined in the institution’s 2020–2025 strategic plan. One of its upcoming exhibitions that is part of this initiative is “The Inside World: Contemporary Aboriginal Australian Memorial Poles,” which opens next January. The Fralin has also implemented this commitment to the work of diverse artists with its recent acquisitions, which include work by Zanele Muholi and Martine Gutierrez, among others. Matthew McLendon, the museum’s director, said in a statement, “If we truly believe that museums should be welcoming to all, then we must ensure that our art and artists reflect that.”
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Abu Dhabi Art Names Guest Curators and Commissioned Artists for 11th Edition
The modern and contemporary art fair Abu Dhabi Art, which is set to run from November 20 to 23 at the city’s Manarat Al Saadiyat center, will feature commissioned works by Leandro Erlich and Oliver Beer. Argentine artist Erlich is best known for his large-scale installations, some of which have previously been shown at the Venice Biennale, the Whitney Biennial, and the Istanbul Biennial, among other art exhibitions. Beer, a British artist who works in sculpture, sound, installation, and film, recently created the first sound installation commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, titled Vessel Orchestra. The fair has also announced that Paolo Colombo will curate its “Gateway” program focused on connections between contemporary art and archaeological findings. Omar Kholeif will organize the fair’s “Focus” section,
Marc Chagall’s Letters and Self-Portrait Head to Auction
The New York–based auction house Guernsey’s will offer up for sale a collection of eight letters sent by Marc Chagall, as well as one of the artist’s self-portraits, rendered in watercolor, pen, and ink. The missives were written by Chagall to members of the relief organization American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee who helped Chagall immigrate to the United States in 1941. The sale will take place on September 19 at the Fifth Avenue Synagogue in New York.
Tschabalala Self Now Represented by Galerie Eva Presenhuber
Artist Tschabalala Self, who is known for her visually striking prints and paintings featuring women with exaggerated bodily forms, is now represented by Galerie Eva Presenhuber, which has spaces in Zurich and New York. Self will have her first show with the gallery at its New York location in the Lower East Side in May 2020, several months after her largest institutional to date opens at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston.
Cameron Shaw Heads to California African American Museum
The California African American Museum (CAAM) in Los Angeles has named Cameron Shaw as its new deputy director and chief curator. Shaw, a curator, writer, and editor, was most recently served as the executive director of Pelican Bomb, a New Orleans–based arts nonprofit that mounted exhibitions and published editorial content. (The organization ended regular operations in November 2018.) As part of Prospect.4, New Orleans’s triennial, she co-organized the group exhibition “Queer Tropics. Her writings have appeared in the New York Times, Art in America, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and other publications. Shaw starts at CAAM on September 12. “CAAM presents a powerful platform to build new scholarship and public experiences around the contributions of African Americans to the cultural life of this city, state, country, and the world,” Shaw, who grew up in South Los Angeles, said in a statement. “More than forty years after its founding, there remains an inarguable need to create inclusive, accessible, and dynamic spaces where all people can see black lives and experiences valued and reflected.”
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
RISD Adds New
The Rhode Island School of Design has named six new trustees to its board: Gabrielle Bullock, Norman Chan, Michael Rock and William Schweizer, and artists Shepard Fairey and Shahzia Sikander. They have each been elected for three-year terms, ending in May 2022.
Monday, September 9, 2019
Kemper Art Museum to Re-Open After Renovations Later This Month
This fall, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum in Missouri will undergo a major expansion and renovation, as part of two new capital projects on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis, where the museum is located. The renovations will increase space dedicated to public exhibitions by nearly 50 percent, and the museum will open with a show by Ai Weiwei, Ai Weiwei: Bare Life which will remain on view through January 5. The newly renovated Kemper Art Museum, which is designed by the Philadelphia-based architecture firm KieranTimberlake, will open on September 28.
A $5 Million Gift, Courtesy the Cohens
The Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut, has received a gift of $5 million in support of its expansion and renovation campaign, which is set to double the size of the current museum to span 70,000 square feet. The donation comes from the charitable foundation of ARTnews Top 200 collectors Steven and Alexandra Cohen, who previously gave the Bruce $100,000 in 2014. The donation will fund the campaign’s plan for a new education wing, which will include new classrooms and quadruple its current size. The education wing, to be named in honor of the Cohens, will have its own to accommodate the over 200 students the museum receives each day.
Ugo Rondinone and Sotheby’s Join Forces for Benefit Auction
Artist Ugo Rondinone and Sotheby’s have organized an auction to support bladder cancer treatment research. Proceeds from the sale, which is part of Sotheby’s Contemporary Curated auction on September 26 in New York, will go to Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Work by 14 artists, including Rondinone, Sarah Lucas, Carroll Dunham, John Giorno, Pat Steir, and Franz West, will be on offer at the auction. Rondinone, who was diagnosed with high-grade bladder cancer in 2017, said in a statement, “Like most people, I had never heard of it or known someone diagnosed with bladder cancer. Despite the high incidence rate, treatment of Bladder Cancer has not changed much over the past 25 years.”
Knight Foundation Invests Over $2 Million in St. Paul–Based Arts Organizations and Initiatives
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation will give $2.15 million to the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, to support its art scene, with new investments in the downtown area including $1.5 million to the Minnesota Museum of American Art, $200,000 to the Saint Paul Downtown Alliance, $100,000 to the St. Paul Public Library, and $50,000 to St. Paul’s “Tech for All” initiative. Additionally, $200,000 will go to Creative Enterprise Zone to support its annual Chroma Zone Mural & Art Festival, and $100,000 to the Minnesota Opera. In a statement, Knight Foundation program director Jai Winston said, “It’s a time of transformation in St. Paul, as our city claims its place as a lively, engaging urban hub. Building on palpable local momentum, these investments aim to inspire new energy and interest in downtown and beyond, making the city a more attractive place to live, work, play and stay.”