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 Tuesday, May 16. 

NEED-TO-READ 

Matthew Barney Returns to New York – The artist and ex-high school quarterback is scrutinizing the violence and spectacle of American football in “Secondary,” a new exhibition in Long Island City now open until June 25. The five-channel film installation takes as its starting point the infamous incident in 1978 when Jack Tatum delivered an open field hit on Darryl Stingley, leaving the New England Patriots receiver a paraplegic. (New York Times)   

Bisa Butler Takes on Quilted Portraits – The textile artist has opened a solo show “The World is Yours” at Jeffrey Deitch’s New York gallery (running until June 30) presenting a new series of colorful quilts based on celebratory photographs of both everyday and famous Black figures from recent history, including those by Janette Beckman, Gordon Parks and Jamel Shabazz. The idea was inspired by the uplifting lyrics of rapper Nas. (NYT)

Santa Fe Museum Reopens After Successful Fundraising Bid – Despite suddenly closing last month, a fundraising campaign has raised enough money so that the Center for Contemporary Art Santa Fe was able to resume programming at its Cinema center. The organization will be helmed by former board chair Paul Barnes, a retired documentary editor who will curate a series of film screenings and events along with critic David N. Meyer and No Name Cinema founder Justin Clifford Rhody. (Hyperallergic)

Indian Government Denies Repatriation Claim Report – The country has disputed a report by the Daily Telegraph claiming that it is planning to make a major appeal appeal to the U.K. for the return of artifacts taken during colonial rule. Sources quoted in the Indian press say the report was a “significant overstatement” and “unfortunately misleading.” Instead, India is taking a more targeted approach and is seeking the return of several specific items. (The Art Newspaper)

MOVERS & SHAKERS 

Sprüth Magers Now Rep Martine Syms – The announcement comes ahead of the American artist’s first solo show at the gallery’s Los Angeles location, “Loser Back Home,” which feature new works across photography, film, painting and sculpture. Syms, who made headlines last year for her satirical film The African Desperate, and who is currently a 2023 Guggenheim Fellow, will continue to be represented by Sadie Coles HQ in London and Bridget Donahue in New York. (Press release)

French PR Launches Online Art Platform – The publicist and art collector Maurice Lévy has announced the launch of YourArt, a YouTube inspired website offering works for sale via 3D-rendered digital displays and artist interviews. The ambitious project is funded by friends, including Sotheby’s owner Patrick Drahi. (Le Monde)

Shanghai Biennale Names Curator – Artist Anton Vidokle will serve as the chief curator for the upcoming Shanghai Biennale, which opens its 14th edition from November 9 to March 31, 2024. The show will “reflect on how artists have advanced our understanding of the relationship between life on earth and the cosmos that nourishes and conditions it.” (ArtReview)

FOR ARTS SAKE 

Ai WeiWei’s Fly to Stay Put in Cornwall – The monumental sculpture from the artist’s Roots series (2019) has been installed in the Rainforest Biome at the Eden Project in Cornwall, England, having previously been part of the center’s “Super Natural” exhibition since September 2022. Weighing close to 1.5 tonnes and incorporating the root of an endangered Pequi Vinagreiro tree from Brazil, the work has been nestled in among South American fauna despite being many miles from its natural habitat. The work “provokes questions around the human and planetary cost of deforestation and fragmentation of the rainforests,” said Eden’s arts curator Misha Curson. (Press release)

Ai Weiwei, Fly (2019) is now on display in the iconic Rainforest Biome at the Eden Project. Photo: Callum Leak, courtesy of the artist and Eden Project.

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