Plus, an artist accuses the Met of copying his chandeliers and the Rauschenberg Foundation appoints an interim COO.
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, May 3.
Lessons From the Art for Tomorrow Conference – Environmental activists said at a panel in Rome that art attacks at museums in recent years as a form of protest have successfully drawn the public’s attention to the urgency of climate change. Museum leaders and art historians, however, argued that there was little connection between art and the subject of the project. While museums have stepped up their security measures to prevent art vandalism, museum directors have also questioned whether they can still fulfil their role as the custodian of the cultural heritage of humanity should these protests continue. (New York Times)
Rare Painting Goes on View After 100 Years – John Lavery’s Portrait of a Lady in Grey and Black (1901) will go on public display for the first time in a century since it was acquired by Nicol Paton Brown, a patron of the artist and the grandfather of the present owner. The work will be a part of the exhibition “History of the New” at the Fine Art Society’s galleries in London and Edinburgh in June and July. (Guardian)
Bulgari Diamond Worn by Priyanka Chopra Jonas Hits the Block – The sparkling 11.6-carat rare blue Bulgari Laguna Blu Diamond that Chopra Jonas donned at the 2023 Met Gala earlier and this week is hitting the auction block at Sotheby’s Geneva later this month. The gem is the largest and most expensive by Bulgari to be offered for sale, where it could fetch up to $25 million. (Yahoo)
Planning Begins for Grenfell Tower Memorial – Nearly six years after the deadly fire in London, planning has begun for the forthcoming Grenfell Tower Memorial at the site of the former housing site. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is currently using CCTV to collect data on traffic patterns near the location to help plan for visitors and construction. The disastrous blaze that killed 72 is the subject of Steve McQueen’s 24-minute film Grenfell, which premiered at the Serpentine in London on April 7. (Evening Standard)
Filmmaker Joel Coen Takes on Work of Lee Friedlander – The Oscar-winning filmmaker has curated a book and two exhibitions featuring a total of 70 photographs. The book titled Framed, a project that Coen began to work on during lockdown, forms the basis of the shows, which will run from May 6 through June 24 at the Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco, and May 13 to June 24 at Luhring Augustine in New York. (New York Times)
Herb Alpert Foundation Names Awardees – Visual artists American Artist and Park McArthur are among the class of 11 artists to be awarded the annual Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, recognizing creatives within dance, film, music, theater, and fine arts; who each recieve $75,000 in unrestricted funding. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Rauschenberg Foundation Appoints Interim COO – The foundation has named former Sotheby’s executive Karen Sutton as its interim chief operating officer. Michelle Coffey, co-founder and executive director of the Lambent Foundation, and Peter Kraus, chair and CEO of Aperture Investors as well as co-founder of the Kraus Family Foundation, have been elected to the foundation’s board of directors. Kathy Halbreich announced in January that she is stepping aside from her role as the foundation’s executive director this month. (Press release)
Artist Alleges Met Museum Chandeliers Rip-Off His Work – The artist Willie Cole is joining the chorus of art-world individuals claiming that the chandeliers made from plastic bottles at the Met Gala are rip-offs of his own installation work. Curator Ellen Hawley took to social media to criticize the institution which she said “seems like a blatant copy” of Cole’s work. (ARTnews) (Instagram)
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