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, July 9.

NEED-TO-READ

New London Event Aims to Make Performance Art Collectable – After a pandemic delay, a new platform called Performance Exchange is opening in London this weekend featuring artists Helen Cammock and Tim Etchells, among others, who are collaborating with 10 commercial spaces in the city. Goodman, Sadie Coles HQ, and Kate MacGarry are involved, and are hoping to help collectors better understand the appeal of performance art, which is often a hard sell. (The Art Newspaper)

Art and Sneakers Aren’t Always Good Investments – The FT is here for your Friday morning reality check. Despite all the hype, art, sneakers, and NFTs do not have any specific income stream to base their value on, which makes them, ultimately, risky investments. In the short term, the gamble may work out, but in the long term, there is no guarantee—despite statistics from companies like Masterworks saying that contemporary art prices rose significantly between 1995 and 2020. (Financial Times)

The Museum of Ice Cream Is Getting Sweeter – Social distancing has done little to dampen appetites for the Museum of Ice Cream, which has just announced plans to open new locations in Austin, Texas, and Singapore. The Austin location promises 12 installations including sprinkle pool-side cabanas. Both locations will open in August; tickets are available online now. (Instagram)

Italy Relaxes Its Old Master Export Laws – The European country is changing its export rules for Old Masters and antiquities worth less than €13,500 ($16,000). Works at this price or under no longer need an export license to leave the country. While some hope the new rule will bolster the art business, others remain skeptical it will have a significant impact considering the broader complexities and slow bureaucracy surrounding art and antiquities exports. (TAN)

ART MARKET

Sotheby’s Will Sell Christo’s Arc de Triomphe Preparatory Works – A Sotheby’s auction in Paris this September of 25 works by late artist Christo will benefit the artist’s foundation and help support his upcoming €14 million ($16 million) project in Paris, L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped. The sale includes samples of fabric that will be used to encase the monument, which marks the artist’s first major posthumous project. (TAN)

Art Basel Miami Will Open a Day Early – Art Basel Miami Beach is shifting its dates slightly, now running from Tuesday, November 30, until Saturday, December 4. The VIP preview is being extended over two days to ensure the safety of participants. (Press release)

COMINGS & GOINGS

Thomas J. Price Joins Hauser & Wirth – The artist is best known for his large-scale sculptures of Black figures, like his recent monument to a Black “everywoman,” that engage with the question of who gets memorialized in public statues. His first exhibition with the mega-gallery will be held at its Somerset location in October. (ARTnews)

Prix Pictet Shortlist Announced – Thirteen photographers from 11 countries have been shortlisted for the prestigious photography prize, including Americans Lisa Oppenheim and Sally Mann. The winner, who receives $108,000, will be announced on December 15. (Press release)

FOR ART’S SAKE

German Museum Repatriates Lakota Shirt – A leather shirt that once belonged to the important Lakota political leader Chief Daniel Hollow Horn Bear will be restituted from Frankfurt’s World Cultures Museum to his great-grandson and successor, Chief Duane Hollow Horn Bear in Rosebud, South Dakota. The object entered the museum’s collection in 1908. In 2019, Chief Duane Hollow Horn Bear visited the museum to view the shirt and request its repatriation. (Press release)

Zach Braff Commissioned a Painting of Florence Pugh as Black Widow – The Scrubs actor commissioned a portrait of his girlfriend, Florence Pugh, as her character in the Marvel film Black Widow, which hits theaters this week. Comic artist Phil Noto created the likeness of Pugh’s Yelena Belova, a Russian spy. Who needs elaborate marketing campaigns when you have a famous boyfriend who will commission a portrait of you and post it on Instagram? (People)

 

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