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 Wednesday, June 23.
NEED-TO-READ
Banksy Brings His Trademark Fight Down Under – The world-famous artist is trying to trademark his work in Australia to stop of it from being merchandised and copied. He is using the same tactic that failed just last week in the E.U.—applying to register two of his images as trademarks. If accepted this time around, it would enable the artist to stop the use of the images on goods like posters and clothing. (Sydney Morning Herald)
Tim Berners-Lee Defends NFT Sale – The computer scientist is responding to critics who say his plan to sell an NFT representing the original source code to the web is antithetical to the spirit of a free and open internet. (The source code is on sale at Sotheby’s through June 26 with a starting bid of $1,000.) “I’m not selling the web—you won’t have to start paying money to follow links,” Berners-Lee said. “I’m selling a picture that I made, with a Python program that I wrote myself, of what the source code would look like if it was stuck on the wall and signed by me.” If you still have lingering questions about what an NFT is, that should clear it right up! (Guardian)
What’s Behind the Pompidou Outpost in Jersey City? – More details have emerged about the unlikely alliance between the Parisian museum and Jersey City, which hopes to lure wealthy New Yorkers with luxury amenities and cultural offerings. The Pompidou will grant the city its expertise and access to its 120,000 artworks, while the city will shoulder the outpost’s renovation costs of upwards of $40 million, in addition to another $6 million in annual running costs. The city’s mayor said his administration is also interested in purchasing the adjoining lot next to the Pompidou site, which would roughly double its size. Not everyone is pleased: “How can we… bring more financial debt to the table for a museum?” asked city councilman Rolando Navarro. (Curbed)
Saint Louis Art Museum Names Next Director – Min Jung Kim will take the helm of the Saint Louis Art Museum later this summer, succeeding Brent R. Benjamin, who is retiring. Min Jung spent more than a decade at the Guggenheim, served as deputy director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, and most recently worked as CEO of New Britain Museum of American Art. She will be the first woman to lead the institution. (Press release)
ART MARKET
Frieze Reveals Details of Its New London Space — The new initiative, located at No. 9 Cork Street in Mayfair, launches October 7 with exhibition spaces for visiting galleries. First up is James Cohan of New York, showing Christopher Myers; then L.A.’s Commonwealth and Council with a group show; and finally Guatemala’s Proyectos Ultravioleta with mother-daughter duo Elisabeth Wild and Vivian Suter. (Press release)
Regen Projects Expands Staff – Bryan Barcena and Stephanie Dudzinski are joining the L.A. gallery as directors. Barcena was an assistant curator and manager of publications at the city’s Museum of Contemporary Art; Dudzinski previously worked at Gagosian and Sadie Coles. (The Art Newspaper)
COMINGS & GOINGS
Callicoon Fine Arts to Close – The gallery Callicoon Fine Arts, which gave important U.S. exhibitions to artists including Etel Adnan and Harry Dodge, will shutter on July 17 after 12 years. Founded above a pizza shop in the tiny town of Callicoon, New York, by Photios Giovanis, it eventually landed in a large space on Delancey Street. (Artforum)
The Barbican’s Managing Director Steps Down – Sir Nicholas Kenyon, who has served as managing director of the Barbican in London for 14 years, will step down in September 2021 to pursue music criticism and research. Kenyon’s departure comes as the Barbican is under fire from current and former employees for allegedly fostering an “inherently racist” work culture. (Press release)
FOR ART’S SAKE
UNESCO Warns Venice and Ashur Are at Risk – It’s not only Stonehenge that could be listed as an “endangered” site by UNESCO. The heritage organization also reported that the city of Venice, and the capital of Ashur in Iraq may earn the designation as well. Final decisions will be made at the 45th annual conference in 2022. (ARTnews)
Alan Turing Celebrated in GCHQ Artwork – A rainbow artwork depicting Alan Turing has been installed at the heart of GCHQ, the U.K. intelligence agency, to honor the wartime hero. The famed mathematician, who is often seen as the inventor of computer science, is the first LGBTQ+ person to feature on a U.K. banknote. (Evening Standard)