Art Industry News: François Pinault and Bernard Arnault Pony Up Their $300 Million Pledges to Restore Notre-Dame + Other Stories

by admin

Sep 26, 2019

artnet

Art Industry News is a daily digest of the most
consequential developments coming out of the art world and art
market. Here’s what you need to know on this Thursday, September
26.

NEED-TO-READ

Marina Abramović Gets a Warm
Welcome Home – The artist was
finally present again in her hometown of Belgrade, Serbia, after
not having shown there for around 50 years. Ahead
of the opening of her
landmark exhibition “The Cleaner” on Saturday
at the city’s Museum of
Contemporary Art,
the performance artist was on the
cover of every local newspaper. The museum’s permanent collection
has been put in storage to make room for the final chapter of her
touring retrospective, which presents 120 works from the 1960s to
the present, including several of her career-making performances.
“Marina’s show will change everything,” says the museum’s acting
director Slobodan Nakarada, describing the ripple effect the survey
will have on the Serbian art scene. (New York Times)

Could Private Museums Insulate the
Art Market From a Recession? – Georgina Adam surveys the art market’s
prospects for the months and years ahead as global economic crises
threaten the trade. In the first six months of 2019, auction sales
at the leading houses declined overall by 20.3 percent. But the top
of the market may be bouyed by the rising number of privately
funded museums and foundations, which need art to fill them. “The
art market might shrink a little,” Adam reasons, “but it is
unlikely to collapse any time soon.” (The Art Newspaper)

French Billionaires Finally Make
Good on Notre-Dame Pledges – The French business tycoon behind LVMH has
formalized his €200 million ($218
million) pledge to help
rebuild Notre Dame, which he made in the aftermath of the
devastating fire in April. Meanwhile, fellow luxury-goods tycoon
François Pinault is due to sign a deal with the Catholic charity
next week to finalize its donation of €100 million. The two
billionaires will spread their donations out over several years and
participate on a committee to monitor the restoration. So far, the
church has received €380 million ($415 million) of the nearly €850
million ($930 million) promised in the aftermath of the blaze.
Donations have come in from 46,000 individuals, 60 companies, and
29 French and foreign public authorities. (Les Journal Arts, The Art
Newspaper)

Are Art Fairs in Trouble?
– The Financial Times diagnoses a
number of challenges facing art fairs today, including rising fairtigue, the
hefty cost of relentless international travel, and growing concerns
about the environmental impact of such large-scale events.
Galleries are also taking more control of their schedules today,
either by shifting to offer more works online or by doubling down
at home with increasingly museum-like spaces. In the end, says
Gagosian’s Sam Orlofsky, “art fairs are the biggest threat to art
fairs.” (Financial
Times)

ART MARKET

Phillips Will Sell the Collection
of Florence Knoll Bassett – This fall, Phillips is offering 50 works from
the collection of pioneering designer Florence Knoll Bassett, who
died at the age of 101 this year and is credited with helping
establish interior design as a profession. The lots provide a
glimpse into her personal life and reveal the modernist decoration
of her two houses in New York and Florida. Her collection includes
work by Rufino Tamayo and Morris Louis. (NYT)

NADA Miami Releases Exhibitor List
– There will be 135
international exhibitors at the NADA Miami fair in December. New
participants include the London nonprofit Gasworks and Galería
Alegría of Madrid, while New York’s Rachel Uffner Gallery and
Tokyo’s Misako & Rosen are among the returning galleries. James
Fuentes and Sargent’s Daughters, among a few other NADA regulars,
are noticeably absent from this year’s edition. NADA Miami runs
from December 5 to 8 at Ice Palace Studios. (ARTnews)

David Zwirner Hires Skarstedt Director
– The gallery has named Brady Doty, who previously
served as a partner at the London- and New York-based gallery
Skarstedt, as its new senior director. She will focus on the
secondary market and operate out of the gallery’s Upper East Side
location beginning January 1. Doty, a specialist in art from the
1980s, also previously worked at Gagosian. (ARTnews)

COMINGS & GOINGS

Royal Academy President Steps Down – The artist Christopher Le Brun will step down
as president of the Royal Academy of Arts in London after eight
years at the helm. During his tenure, he has overseen numerous
blockbuster exhibitions, a diversification of its membership,
and the modernization of
the RA’s historic home, which was completed just in time to
mark the artist-run institution’s 250th anniversary.
(Press
release)

The National Gallery of Art
Announces New Hires – The
National Gallery in Washington, DC has made four new appointments.
Betsy Wieseman is leaving the Cleveland Museum of Art to become
NGA’s head of northern European paintings; Shelley Langdale has
been named head of Modern prints and drawings; Brooks Rich is the
new associate curator of Old Master prints; and Aaron Wile is now
associate curator of French paintings. (Press release)

Joan Mitchell Foundation Grants
Awarded – The late artist’s
foundation has announced the 25 recipients of its 2019 painters and
sculptors grants. The artists include Lauren Halsey, Baseera Khan,
Daniel Lind-Ramos, Kate Newby, and Young Min Moon. As part of the
grant, they earn $25,000 and the ability to apply for a
residency at the Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans,
(Artforum)

MIT List Center Names New Curators
– The visual arts center in
Cambridge, Massachusetts has appointed Christopher Ketcham as
associate curator of public art and the permanent collection. Selby
Nimrod has been promoted to assistant curator for
exhibitions. (Artforum)

FOR ART’S SAKE

New Art and Climate Fund Forms
– The collector and philanthropist Francesca
Thyssen-Bornemisza’s TBA21-Academy has launched a new initiative:
the Ocean Academy Fund. The fund will raise money for ocean-related
research and outreach led by both scientists and artists.
TBA21-Academy director Markus Reymann announced the initiative
alongside the artist Olafur Eliasson, who was named the first UN
climate change goodwill ambassador this week. (ARTnews)

See Feminist Artist Linder
Sterling’s Saucy Merch – The
artist Linder Sterling has launched a characteristically raunchy
line of tableware at the
artist-led Studio Voltaire’s pop-up store in Mayfair. In addition
to Sterling’s naughty dinner plates, napkins, and tablecloths, the
shop offers limited-edition blankets by Camille Henrot, Laure
Provost, Michael Craig-Martin, and Nicolas Party, among other
in-demand artists. Various art-world luminaries are sharing
shopkeeping duties at the House of Voltaire, the profits of which
will support the artists’ studio complex in South London.
(Wallpaper, Instagram)

"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);">