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 28.
NEED-TO-READ
The Baby Boomer Wealth Transfer – While more collections belonging to a generation of baby boomer buyers heads to market, these lots face a market of bidders that has changed substantially. Boomer bidders are waning, down by 8 percent from last year. At the same time, younger buyers are less keen on the postwar tastes of their parents and more keen on new media, like video art, raising the question of whether the supply of Baby Boomer art collections will have a demand. (The Art Newspaper)
Ireland’s New Restitution Advisory – The nation is planning to form an expert committee to create guidelines for cultural institutions in handling items of unknown provenance, including those from the colonial era, that may lie in their collections. The committee will also advise the government on restitution and repatriation of heritage, following nations like Belgium and the Netherlands. (The Art Newspaper)
Samsung Heirs’ $10 Billion Inheritance Tax Bill – South Korea’s richest family is borrowing about $3 billion in order to deal with its ongoing bill of more than 12 trillion won ($9.2 billion) in inheritance tax which it faced upon the death of Lee Kun-hee, the patriarch and longtime head of Samsung Electronics Co.. The plan is to pay it in six installments over five years South Korea when faced with one of the steepest death taxes in the world, which can be as high as 60 percent. The family donated tens of thousands of works of art to state museums in 2021. (Bloomberg)
Spain’s New Royal Collections Gallery – Madrid is opening a major new museum called the Royal Collections Gallery this month, which will bring together the Spanish Crown’s treasures. More than 25 years in the making, and with a cost of nearly €173 million, the ambitious museum project will be an international showcase for the royal sites and 650 pieces of art from its collections, including works by Goya and Velázquez. (The Art Newspaper)
MOVERS & SHAKERS
New Director for Gallery Weekend Berlin – Antonia Ruder will take over as director of Gallery Weekend Berlin on November 1, 2023, succeeding Maike Cruse who has moved onto the head Art Basel’s Swiss fair. She joins from her role as head of communications at Schaubühne, a popular Berlin theater. (Press release)
Gainsborough’s House Director Steps Down – Mark Bills is stepping down from his role as the director at Gainsborough’s House (in Sudbury, England) in August. He helmed the institution for more than 10 years and steered a 10 million pound redevelopment. (Press release)
Claudette Johnson at the Courtauld – A major show of the work of one of the most significant figurative artists of her BLK Art Group will take place beginning September 29 at the London institution. (Press release)
FOR ART’S SAKE
Bridget Riley at the Morgan – “Bridget Riley Drawings: From the Artist’s Studio” is on view now through October 8 at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City. The exhibition features more than 75 works on paper from the English op-art painter’s long career. (Hyperallergic)