Plus, the battle over Hiroshi Sugimoto's plans for the Hirshhorn, and Russia blocks access to the website DeviantArt.
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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 Friday, August 6.
Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Embattled Vision for the Hirshhorn – Artist Hiroshi Sugimoto’s proposals to revamp the Hirshhorn’s sculpture garden are not going over well. Sugimoto says his original vision has been altered by both Washington D.C.’s fine arts commission and public feedback that pushed against any big changes to the original Brutalist garden. The artist says he won’t compromise on his idea for stacked stone dividing walls inspired by medieval Japan, which he sees as fundamental to his concept, even if it means losing the job. “Do you ask Picasso, ‘I don’t like this blue color. Let’s make it red’?” he said. (New York Times)
Russia Blocks DeviantArt – Russia has restricted access to the online art community DeviantArt after it failed to remove “prohibited content.” The state communications regulator says it blocked the site after it ignored 145 requests submitted (since 2019) to remove unlawful content, including “child pornography, pro-drug, and pro-Nazi content.” (Reuters)
Outrage as SFMOMA Cuts Programming – Artists and culture professionals in San Francisco are lambasting SFMOMA after the institution announced it would cut its online arts magazine, film program, podcast, and offsite commercial gallery. They say the programs are the most diverse and accessible the museum has to offer, and that cutting them flies in the face of the diversity, equity, and inclusion work it has been doing for the past year and a half. Attendees of a recent public board meeting decried the move, which will also see seven workers lose their jobs, as “shameful” and an “insult to art.” More than 2,700 people have signed a petition opposing the cuts, and locals plan to protest at the museum. (LA Times)
Statue of a Native American Woman Is Stolen in Missouri – A bronze sculpture of a Native American woman has gone missing from a park in Kansas City, Missouri. The work, which is valued at $80,000, depicts one of the city’s founders bartering with two members of the Osage people. Local police suspect that thieves hope to sell the statue for its metal value (a couple thousand bucks) to a salvage yard, as these thefts are common in the area. (The Art Newspaper)
Turner Prize Exhibition Announces Opening Date – The 2021 Turner Prize exhibition will open at Coventry’s Herbert Art Gallery and Museum on September 29. The shortlisted artists—all collectives this year—are: Array Collective, Black Obsidian Sound System, Cooking Sections, Gentle/Radical, and Project Art Works. The winner will be announced on December 1. (Press release)
The Met Commissions a New Print Portfolio – The Met has commissioned a new print portfolio to mark its 150th anniversary. Limited-edition prints by 12 artists, from Vija Celmins to Kerry James Marshall to Ed Ruscha, will be included in the project, co-published with Sharon Coplan Hurowitz. (Press release)
Pace Gallery Signs Jules de Balincourt – Pace gallery now represents the painter Jules de Balincourt, who will have his first solo exhibition with the gallery in Hong Kong next March. He will continue to work with Victoria Miro and Thaddaeus Ropac. (Press release)
Mr. Doodle Proposes With… A Doodle – The unlikely street art auction sensation Mr. Doodle is tying the knot with “Mrs. Doodle” after six years together. In true Doodle style, he popped the question with a doodle, and will be releasing a special “Pop Heart” print collection to mark the occasion later this month. (Instagram)
