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 Monday, February 26.
NEED-TO-READ
What’s the Next Step for #MeToo in the Art World? – The Guardian asks artists, curators, and others about what kind of long-term effect the #metoo movement might have on the arts. Several suggested that professional organizations like the Association of Art Museum Directors and the American Alliance of Museums should create formal guidelines for workplace conduct. (Guardian)
A Stolen Degas Resurfaces on a Bus – Police discovered the 1877 painting Les Choristes (The Chorus Singers) by Edgar Degas during a random search on a bus outside of Paris on February 16. The Impressionist painting had been stolen from a museum in Marseilles nine years ago. The work, which was later deemed authentic by the Musée d’Orsay, showed no signs of damage. (New York Times)
Banksy Artwork Defaced in Bristol – Well Hung Lover, Banksy’s oldest and most famous work, was defaced by vandals over the weekend. They wrote profanities underneath it and signed it with their own graffiti tags. The work has been on view in Bristol since 2006. (Metro)
Millionaire and Tate in Standoff Over Painting – The Irish tycoon John Magnier has been locked in a long-running dispute with the Tate over Sir Joshua Reynolds’s painting of Omai, Britain’s first black celebrity. Magnier is now lending the 1776 work, which has an export-bar, to Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, upsetting those who think the Tate should have been able to buy it back in 2003. (Guardian)
ART MARKET
The Outsider Art Fair Is Coming to Basel – The fair dedicated to the work of self-taught artists is expanding to Basel this year. From June 13 to 17, it will set up shop inside Hotel Pullman, one block away from Art Basel’s hub at the Messeplatz, to host 25 international art dealers. (NYT)
Experimenter to Launch New Space – The Indian gallery is opening its second location in Kolkata this week. The inaugural exhibition, which runs February 28 to April 7, will feature the work of artists including Ayesha Sultana, Moyra Davey, and Samson Young. (Art Review)
Marc Foxx Gallery Closes – After 23 years of presenting trendy art, Los Angeles gallery Marc Foxx has closed its doors on Wilshire Boulevard. Its final show of work by Makiko Kudo and Hiroshi Sugito closed in mid-December. Last June, another LA stalwart in the same complex, ACME Gallery, also closed. (ARTnews)
Sales at ARCOmadrid Are Brisk Amid Controversy – Works by Jesús Rafael Soto and Rosa Barba—not to mention the censored installation by Santiago Sierra—were snapped up at ARCOmadrid. By the fair’s second day, Miami collector Jorge M. Pérez had already bought more than 20 works. The fair announced it will have a special focus on Peru in 2019. (The Art Newspaper, artnet News)
COMINGS & GOINGS
No Memorial for Ikea Founder in Hometown – The rural Swedish town where the recently deceased founder of Ikea was born has decided not to erect a statue in his honor. Ingvar Kamprad, who died this January, was against such a memorial. Alternative proposals to honor his memory are under consideration. (The Local)
Art Jameel Artists Announced – Kuwaiti artists Alia Farid and Aseel AlYacoub have jointly won the inaugural artist commission for the Jameel Arts Center in Dubai. Together they will create a site-specific community botanical garden installation featuring artificial hybrid trees. (Press release)
Crystal Bridges Hires New Assistant Curator – Jennifer Padgett has been named assistant curator at the Bentonville, Arkansas, museum. She previously held a research assistant position at Crystal Bridges. (Press release)
War Photographer Max Desfor Has Died – The Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Max Desfor has died at age 104. The American photojournalist was praised for his coverage of the Korean War, where he captured images of refugees scrambling over the girders of a bombed bridge to flee a Communist advance. (NYT)
FOR ART’S SAKE
Hong Kong Gets a New Sculpture Park – Overseen by a local arts nonprofit, the Harbour Arts Sculpture Park opened in the city’s port last Thursday, featuring work by 19 artists including Antony Gormley, Tracey Emin, Jenny Holzer, Hank Willis Thomas, and Yayoi Kusama. (AFP)
Eric Fischl Is Giving Away Posters of Trump as a Clown – The American artist is giving away free posters that depict President Trump as a clown in conjunction with his latest exhibition, which opens this Thursday, March 1, at Skarstedt Gallery in London. (Press release)
Controversial Painting of Erdogan Sparks Battle – A caricature of the Turkish president with a banana lodged between his butt cheeks by artist Thomas Baumgaertel caused a stir at a German art fair in Karlsruhe. After complaints, dealer Michael Oess removed the work—but he failed to consult the artist about the decision, prompting Baumgaertel to sever ties with the gallery. (South China Morning Post)
Dorothy Iannone Statues of Liberty Grace New York’s High Line – Next month, Iannone will christen her first public artwork, a mural depicting three “Statues of Liberty,” each shedding a tear. The artwork is accompanied by the last line of Emma Lazarus’s poem written for the real thing: “I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” (ARTnews)