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 this Wednesday, April 24.
NEED-TO-READ
What Will Art Look Like in 20 Years? – By 2040, art might not look like art (unless it’s a painting), but it will look like everything else, curators predict. There will be artist-activists leading political upheaval; there will be new artistic mediums and art spaces, including ones in outer space. And there will be strong art markets in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Or at least, that’s what the experts who spoke to the BBC hope will happen. For a look even further into the future, check out our own account of what art will look like in 100 years. (BBC)
The High Line Unveils Designs for Contemporary Monuments – The High Line Network’s “New Monuments for New Cities”—a national public art project that asks to artists to “imagine a monument for today, for your city, for your community”—is making its debut in Houston. The initiative features proposals by 25 artists from the Texan city, including Regina Agu, Jamal Cyrus, and the collective Sin Huellas. Their inspiration ranges from hidden histories to environmental justice, immigration, and activism. The project will travel to Austin, Chicago, Toronto, and New York. (ARTnews)
The Louvre Wants to Buy the Rothschilds’ Rembrandt – The Louvre has 30 months to raise millions of euros to buy Rembrandt’s The Standard Bearer (1636). France’s culture minister announced that the painting has been classified as a “national treasure,” so an export bar is now in place. The Paris museum has right of first refusal to acquire, for an unknown sum, the full-scale portrait that has belonged to the French branch of the Rothschild family for more than 180 years. (The Art Newspaper)
The Sri Lankan Government Vows to Rebuild Bombed Shrine – The Church of St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, which was badly damaged in one of the fatal bomb attacks during Easter, will be rebuilt with the help of the Sri Lankan government. Crowdfunding campaigns have also launched to offer individuals the chance to support the congregation targeted by Islamic extremists. The Knights of Columbus, a US Catholic fraternal organization, has pledged $100,000. (TAN)
ART MARKET
Sotheby’s Will Offer Edward Hopper’s Ode to Shakespeare – Edward Hopper’s Shakespeare at Dusk (1935), which features the playwright’s statue in Central Park, is heading to auction at Sotheby’s American art sale in New York on May 2`. The painting carries a $7 million to $10 million estimate. (TAN)
Alexander Gray Adds Teresa Burga to Its Roster – The veteran conceptual artist, who gained attention late in life, has nabbed her first New York gallery in Alexander Gray Associates. The 84-year-old artist, who is based in Lima, Peru, will continue to be represented by Galerie Barbara Thumm in Berlin. (ARTnews)
COMINGS & GOINGS
Dia Will Conserve Nancy Holt’s Sun Tunnels – The New York-based Dia Art Foundation will address the cracking and erosion of Nancy Holt’s Sun Tunnels, which the foundation acquired in 2018. The damage to the mid-1970s work of land art, which is installed permanently in Utah’s Great Basin Desert, will be addressed in a 10-day conservation project. (ARTnews)
The Nelson-Atkins Museum’s Great Donor Has Died – The philanthropist Henry Wollman Bloch has died at age 96. The co-founder of tax advisory service H&R Block, he was a generous donor to Kansas City’s Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, among many other arts organizations. Most recently, he donated 29 Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and other works of art to the museum. (Press release)
FOR ART’S SAKE
Taschen’s Leonardo Book “Dissects” Salvator Mundi – Taschen’s updated book about Leonardo da Vinci’s life and work includes a catalogue raisonné of the Renaissance master’s surviving and lost paintings. Co-authors Frank Zöllner and Johannes Nathan “dissect” arguments for and against Salvator Mundi as a signature work. (Art Daily)
Sculptor Turns Steve Jobs and Other Tech Titans Into Classical Heroes – Chilean artist Sebastian Errazuriz has created busts and statues of Silicon Valley titans. His show, called “The Beginning of the End,” features Elon Musk as a wounded angel, Jeff Bezos on horseback carrying a spear, and Sergey Brin wearing Google Glass and emperor’s robes. It runs May 1 through May 24 at the Elizabeth Collective in New York City. (CultofMac)
Artist Unveils Climate Change Warning Signs – A new project at Somerset House in London by artist Justin Brice Guariglia has brought together difficult-to-ignore international perspectives on the world’s growing environmental crisis. On large LED solar-powered highway signs, Guariglia projects the words of important poets, philosophers, thinkers, and activists who are addressing climate change and global warming. (Instagram)