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, March 18.
NEED-TO-READ
Russia Wants 75 Paintings Back From Seoul Early Amid War in Ukraine – As tensions between Russia and the world rise, the country is asking for the early return of artworks on view in the show “Kandinsky, Malevich & Russian Avant-Garde” at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul. The show is supposed to be on view until April 17; the news comes just after the Russian cultural ministry requested work back from two exhibitions in Milan. (The Korea Times)
London’s National Gallery Mounts a Vandalism Show – A show by Ali Cherri, the gallery’s artist in residence, explores the legacy of vandalism at the London museum. By plumbing the gallery’s vast archive, Cherri discovered that five paintings had been vandalized while on display over the years. (Guardian, Evening Standard)
You Can Buy a Piece of RBG’s Art Collection – A selection of artworks and other mementos owned by the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will hit the auction block next month at Potomack Company in Virginia. The objects—including a Picasso plate, a bronze sculpture by Glenna Goodacre, and a caricature of the justice by Eleanor Davis—will be sold to benefit the Washington National Opera, of which Ginsburg was an avid supporter. If the appetite for her library was any indication, the opera is going to make out very well. (Washingtonian)
Kaari Upson Will Have a Posthumous Venice Presentation – Kaari Upson, the inventive Los Angeles-based artist who died last year at 51 after a nine-year battle with cancer, left behind a surprising amount of new, never-before-seen work. (She created it during the pandemic when, for health reasons, she was alone in the studio.) A set of brightly colored resin portraits will debut in Cecilia Alemani’s central Venice Biennale exhibition next month, while another group of works will go on display at Sprüth Magers in Los Angeles on August 6. (New York Times)
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Frieze New York Releases Exhibitor List – Frieze New York will host 66 galleries when it returns for a second run at the Shed between May 19 and 22. Participants in this slimmed down version include Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Pace, Canada, and James Cohan. (ARTnews)
Met Gala Announces 2022 Co-Chairs – This year’s Met Gala will be hosted by Regina King, Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. The 2022 theme and exhibition is “In America: An Anthology of Fashion,” part two of the Met’s exploration of design in the U.S. (Vogue)
Artist Sues Grocery Store Chain That Used His Art in a Super Bowl Commercial – The Des Moines-based artist Chris Williams, also known as CAW, spotted his 28-foot-wide mural Maze (2018) in a Super Bowl ad for the Hy-Vee grocery chain. He is suing because the ad, which was narrated by Oprah Winfrey, used his art as a backdrop and did not give him credit. (The Art Newspaper)
FOR ARTS SAKE
Frank Gehry Unveils Design for $350 Million Art School – The starchitect has unveiled his design for a $350 million dance and music school in downtown Los Angeles. The new venue for the Colburn School is expected to be complete in 2025 and will include a 1,000-seat theater. (TAN)
A rendering of the Colburn School. Courtesy of Gehry Partners.
Rendering of concert hall at the Colburn School. Courtesy of Gehry Partners.