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, July 10.
NEED-TO-READ
Can Cryptocurrency Help Regulate the Art Market? – While blockchain software and cryptocurrencies are more often associated with the dark web and illicit transactions, some argue that the technology can put an end to nebulous provenance. (The Financial Times)
What Antony Caro Means for Rasheed Araeen – Artist and thinker Rasheed Araeen, who is participating in both documenta 14 and the Venice Biennale this year, discusses what makes Caro’s work historically significant, and how it had influenced his own art making. (ArtAsiaPacific)
Thomas Campbell Says He Left the Met Because Everything Was Going So Great – Having ended his tenure on June 30, the former Met director expertly refutes any questions on the biggest controversies leading up to his resignation, from the budget deficit to rumors of improper relationship with a staffer. So why did he leave? Basically, he says, because the timing was right, with the museum in “a very strong place” with “a very strong leader” in the new president and CEO Daniel Weiss. (The Art Newspaper)
Diane Arbus’s Other Preoccupation: Sex – Literary Critic Parul Sehgal on the new Diane Arbus biography Portrait of a Photographer, wherein the controversial photographer’s seedy, scary so-called “sexual adventures” are laid bare. (Bookforum)
ART MARKET
Who’s In at 1:54 in London – The art fair for contemporary African art 1:54 announced the exhibitor list for its October edition in London, with 11 newcomers among the 41 exhibitors. (ARTNews)
Sotheby’s to Auction Charles Darwin Materials – A private collection focused on Darwin’s writings will go on sale in London tomorrow, with items on offer including a ballad lampooning his theory of evolution, and an admission ticket to Darwin’s funeral. (Press release)
COMINGS & GOINGS
documenta Artist Lala Rukh Has Died – The Pakistani activist and artist died on Friday, July 7 in Lahore. Her work is included in this year’s documenta in Athens and Kassel, which Artforum described as one of the “most striking projects” in the show. (Artforum)
Dallas’s AURORA Biennial Announces Curators – AURORA, which is a biennial of art, light, and sound, has named Dooeun Choi, Justine Ludwig, and Nadim Samman as the 2018 curators. The organization also announced a move from to Dallas City Hall as the program expands. (Glasstire.com)
Hammer Museum Will Honor Ava DuVernay and Hilton Als – The Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay and Pulitzer Prize-winning New Yorker theater critic Hilton Als will be the honorees for the Hammer Museum Gala, which is slated to take place on October 14. (LA Times)
PULSE Miami Beach Welcomes Back Returning Curators – The art fair has announced the return of Jasmine Wahi and Rebecca Pauline Jampol as curators of PLAY at Miami Beach 2017. This year, the two have selected “POWER” as their curatorial theme. (Press release)
FOR ART’S SAKE
documenta 14 Horses Reach Kassel – After three months and a distance of 3,000 kilometers, “The Athens–Kassel Ride: The Transit of Hermes” riders reached the end of their trek, arriving at Fredrichplatz in Kassel yesterday at 2:00 p.m. The project was conceived by artist Ross Birrell. (Press release)
Police Destroy Public Art Installation, Mistaking It for Weed – French police tore up a plot of land they mistook for a cannabis farm that was actually a work for the Lyon Architecture Biennial. The work, called Waiting Area, was comprised of barley, hemp, and flax artists had planted for an “agricultural ecosystem.” (The Independent)
Perez Art Museum Miami to Restore George Segal Sculpture – The museum was awarded an art conservation grant from Bank of America to restore a 1987 sculpture by Segal, titled Abraham’s Farewell to Ishmael. This is the second year PAMM received the grant, which is used specifically for care of the sculpture. (Press release)
Marcel Duchamp’s Urinal Is Turned Into Miniature Golf – To mark the centenary of the artist’s infamous Fountain, the Philadelphia Museum of Art has opened a Duchamp exhibition featuring a miniature-golf version of the urinal by artist Richard Gabriele. (aworkstation.com)
Miniature golfers play with Richard Gabriele’s Duchamp-inspired work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Image courtesy aworkstation.com
Miniature golfers play with Richard Gabriele’s Duchamp-inspired work at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Image courtesy aworkstation.com