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The Headlines
ART AND THE LAW. As the M+ museum in Hong Kong greeted its first visitors over the past few days (ARTnews has a report), and faced questions about its curatorial independence amid Beijing’s crackdown on speech, there were developments in two other stories involving China and art. First, the Danish artist Jens Galschioet has asked for safe passage to deinstall from the grounds of the University of Hong Kong a towering sculpture he made that commemorates the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, the Associated Press reports. The school has called for the removal of the 26-foot-tall piece, which is called Pillar of Shame. Galschioet said he fears being prosecuted under the city’s national security law. Meanwhile, a show by the Chinese Australian artist Badiucao, has opened in Brescia, Italy, over the objections of China, the New York Times reports. Badiucao’s work is often critical of the Chinese government, whose embassy in Rome sent a letter with what the Associated Press termed “veiled economic threats.” The curator of the show at the Museum of Santa Giulia, Elettra Stamboulis, told the AP, “Of course we are always a little worried, not so much for the artist’s safety, but because we know there are more creepy ways to silence dissident artists.”
Related Articles
ARTIST ACTION. It has been a huge few days for stories about artists. Let’s dive in. The wily Agnieszka Kurant got the profile treatment in T: The New York Times Style Magazine. Five artists, including Aria Dean and Calla Henkel, named people, places, and things that deserve a second chance, for Frieze . A new documentary about the pioneering Black photographer Gordon Parks features some who have followed in his footsteps: Devin Allen, LaToya Ruby Frazier, and Jamel Shabazz; the Los Angeles Times spoke with them. Nick Relph chatted with the New York Times about his new book of New York construction posters. Last but not least, another new book, from Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum, sports recipes from Ai Weiwei, Ryan Gander, and many more, per the South China Morning Post. In its preface, MAM director writes “that there are many artists who are good at cooking. Some even have the culinary skills of a professional chef.”
The Digest
The union that represents some 200 workers at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston voted to hold a one-day strike this coming Wednesday amid what it says are stalled contract talks. The MFA said that the union had not responded to its latest proposal and that it would remain open during the work action. [The Boston Globe via The Associated Press]
The display of a giant KAWS balloon in Singapore has been halted after a nonprofit that had reportedly been in talks to present it filed suit against the exhibition’s organizers, AllRightsReserved, arguing that they had violated the group’s intellectual-property rights. ARR called the claims “groundless”; the artist, who has not been sued, termed them “baseless.” [The Straits Times]
Two students at the University of Kansas in Lawrence have been charged with allegedly stealing part of a public art display by artist Hock E Aye Vi Edgar Heap of Birds at the school’s Spencer Museum of Art. The work was recovered and has been reinstalled. [Lawrence Journal-World via The Associated Press]
While the forthcoming Seoul museum devoted to the art donated to South Korean institutions by the family of late Samsung leader Lee Kun-hee is not scheduled to open until 2027, an exhibition of some of the material will be held next year in the capital city and then travel to 10 cities around the country. [The Korea Herald]
Artists Oscar Santillán, Sky Hopinka, and others are in the midst of a highly unusual commission that asks them to take as a jumping-off point a remote Maine island that the artists Robert Smithson and Nancy Holt purchased more than half a century ago. [T: The New York Times Style Magazine]
Miami art dealer Nina Johnson’s home features works by Judy Chicago, Nicola L., Rochelle Feinstein, and many more, plus a ceiling mural by Jim Drain. Johnson enjoys entertaining there. “It’s a way to show people that artwork is actually livable,” she said. [Architectural Digest]
The Kicker
THE MAN IN BLACK TALKS TECH. The leather-loving architect Peter Marino has been staying busy during the pandemic, completing a number of luxury retail spaces. He also a book out, Peter Marino: The Architecture of Chanel, and he talked about his process with Robb Report. One big takeaway: He is not a big fan of computers. “Computers actually aesthetically interfere with one’s ideas,” he said. “They have their own visual look that’s commercial and dull.” [Robb Report]