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, May 22.
NEED-TO-READ
UK Appoints Culture Minister for Renewal – The UK government has created a new position for a culture commissioner to help restart the sector after the lockdown. It has appointed Neil Mendoza as Commissioner for Cultural Recovery and Renewal, who will serve as an independent voice advising the government on how to support the arts. Mendoza previously reported to the government with recommendations on England’s museum sector in 2017. (The Art Newspaper)
Cecilia Alemani on the Delayed Venice Biennale – The artistic director of the next Venice Biennale says that she is “relieved” that the exhibition was pushed to 2022. Organizing an international art show during a pandemic is tough work, especially when you can’t do in-person studio visits and travel is restricted. Although it is unclear what the world will look like when the exhibition finally opens in two years, Alemani says she wants the show to “absorb the anxiety of the moment,” but is “not interested in being remembered for doing ‘the coronavirus biennial.'” (ARTnews)
Anthony Hopkins on His Artistic Lockdown Life – The actor Anthony Hopkins is also an artist, and in a new interview, he opens up about his work from his home in Malibu while under lockdown. Hopkins had an artistic streak from a young age and considered becoming a commercial artist, but gave up because he was “not a good student.” It was only in recent years, with the encouragement of his partner Stella, that he took up the brush again. A fan of L.S. Lowry, Francis Bacon, and Lucien Freud, Hopkins dabbles in different styles, and says he is freed up by the notion that he can “just paint badly.” (ARTnews)
How the Art World Is Reopening – As museums and galleries around the world grapple with the challenges of reopening, the new reality could accelerate industry shifts that were already underway. “Crowd control has been a serious problem in the world’s top museums for years: perhaps in future a visit to the Louvre or the British Museum or the Uffizi won’t be a touristic given, but more like going to the theater—seeing the Mona Lisa could be like getting a ticket for Hamilton,” writes FT arts editor Jan Dalley. (Financial Times)
ART MARKET
Adam Lindemann Sues Aby Rosen – The New York gallerist Adam Lindemann is suing the real estate magnate Aby Rosen to escape the lease on his Manhattan gallery, Venus Over Manhattan. The lawsuit cites a “frustration of purpose” given that business is impossible to conduct while New York is on lockdown. Lindemann is withholding rent and asking for his $365,000 security deposit back. At the same time, the dealer is also looking to offload his $65 million Montauk estate, which once belonged to Andy Warhol. (The Art Newspaper)
Phillips Nabs a Joan Mitchell for July Sale – A Joan Mitchell painting estimated at $9.5 million to $12.5 million will be a centerpiece of Phillips’s delayed 20th century evening sale on July 2. Noël (1961–62), a tangle of green and cream paint, has been in the same private collection since 1995 and has never before come to auction. (ARTnews)
Ron Mueck Joins Ropac – As devoted readers of Wet Paint already know, the hyper-realist sculptor Ron Mueck left the mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth. Now, we know where he’s ended up. The artist is joining the roster of Thaddaeus Ropac and will have a solo exhibition in the gallery’s London space in October. (ARTnews)
COMINGS & GOINGS
Terrie Sultan Steps Down at the Parrish – The director of the Parrish Museum in the Hamptons will step down at the end of June after 12 years at the helm. She oversaw the museum’s move from Southampton Village to its current Herzog & de Meuron-designed headquarters in Water Mill in 2012. Chris Siefert, the Parrish’s deputy director, will take on the role of interim director. (East Hampton Star)
Pollock-Krasner Foundation Announces Grants – The Pollock-Krasner Foundation has awarded $2.8 million to 121 artists and nonprofit organizations, including Alejandra Alarcon, Julie Beaufils, Tomasz Klimczyk, Cătălina Nistor, and Prudence Whittlesey. (Artforum)
Artist Emma Amos Has Died – The figurative painter whose art confronted racism and privilege has died of Alzheimer’s disease at age 83. Amos began to gain broader recognition in the later stages of her career through exhibitions such as “We Wanted a Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965–85.” She also played an important role as the only woman in the short-lived but widely influential group of black artists known as Spiral in the 1960s. According to her gallery Ryan Lee, she was one of the masked members of the Guerrilla Girls. (ARTnews)
FOR ART’S SAKE
How Bruce Nauman Met Susan Rothenberg – The New Yorker‘s art critic Peter Schjeldahl takes pride in having introduced Bruce Nauman to the New York painter’s work during her show at the now-closed Willard Gallery in 1981. “It was fun to watch his stony skepticism of painting crack a little,” the critic recalls. The two artists met soon after—and married in 1989. (New Yorker)
Pompeii Is Reopening on May 26 – The reopening of the Italian archeological site begins on May 26 with a two-phased approach. First, visitors will be able to make time-slotted visits to walk the outside streets of the ancient city as well as enter a few of the more spacious homes. Then, on June 9, more of the city will open up, including the Piazza amphitheater and the Domus, which will have single-direction visitor flow. Temperature checks and masks are required to enter the park. (Press release)
Palestra Grande in Pompeii. Photo: Pier Paolo Metelli. Courtesy Pompeii Archeological Park.