Art Industry News: Even Female Living-Statue Artists Make Less Money Than Their Male Counterparts + Other Stories

Plus, Hong Kong passes a new film censorship law and Sotheby's is selling two of Joséphine Bonaparte's tiaras.

A living statue in Pecherskyi Landscape Park in Kiev. (Photo: Evgen Kotenko/ Ukrinform/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

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, October 29.

NEED-TO-READ

Hong Kong Passes New Film Censorship Law – In another blow to artistic freedom in Hong Kong, the city passed a strict film censorship law on Wednesday that allows authorities to ban films from any era perceived as a threat to national security. The law also includes larger fines for those who are found to be violating the rules. (Artforum)

Putin’s Art Censorship Is on the Rise, Too – While it is not Xi Jinping’s China, Russia also greatly controls artistic freedoms. There is some room for dissent, but experts say the latitude is getting slimmer by the day. “Writers, directors, painters, and sculptors are moving into exile, and the ones who stay are vetted by a special ‘public council’ at the Ministry of Culture,” writes Anna Nemtsova. (The Atlantic)

Living Statue Actor Says Female Statues Make Less Money – It’s no secret that most women—artists or otherwise—make less money than their male counterparts. But it turns out the pay gap even translates to… living statues. Chicago-based actor Maggie Karlin revealed that they make more money on the street when dressed as a man than as a woman. (The essay is from last month, but we missed it, so maybe you did too.) “I’ve had my friends test this out too, but whenever I dress as a woman I seem to earn less,” Karlin writes. (Business Insider)

Sotheby’s to Offer Joséphine Bonaparte’s Tiaras – Two tiaras thought to have once belonged to French Empress Joséphine Bonaparte, wife of Napoleon, are hitting the block at Sotheby’s London on December 7. The two pieces, available individually, have been in a private collection for 150 years and carry a combined estimate of between £300,000 and £500,000 ($412,814 and $688,023). (Press release)

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Independent New York Has New Dates at an Old Locale – The New York art fair will return to its pre-pandemic location at Spring Studios with new dates: May 5–8, 2022. The fair has appointed former TEFAF managing director Sofie Scheerlinck as interim chief operating officer. (Press release)

Marianne Boesky Announces a Pop Up in Geneva – The New York gallery is heading to Switzerland with a pop-up show that will run for two weeks between November 10 and 27 in collaboration with Simon Studer Art in Geneva. It will present work by artists including the Haas Brothers, Donald Moffett, and Frank Stella. (Press release)

David Kordansky Now Reps Shara Hughes – David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles has added the rising-star painter Shara Hughes to its roster. Hughes will continue to work Galerie Eva Presenhuber in Zürich and Pilar Corrias in London, but has parted ways with her longtime New York dealer Rachel Uffner. (Press release)

Peter Doroshenko Is Out at Dallas Contemporary – After 11 years, Doroshenko will leave his post as executive director of the museum in May 2022 when his contract expires. The news comes six months after the museum received a storm of complaints for firing an employee who had asked the institution to make a public statement on anti-Asian crime and the Atlanta spa shootings of March 16. (Artforum)

FOR ART’S SAKE

Vivienne Westwood Visits the Uffizi Galleries – The punk fashion legend was getting inspiration from the Old Masters this week in Florence. Apparently, she loved the works of Andrea del Sarto, Rosso Fiorentino, Pontormo, Veronese, Raphael, and Michelangelo—paying special attention to their colors and frames. (Press release)

Vivienne Westwood and Eike Schmidt. Courtesy Uffizi.

Vivienne Westwood and Eike Schmidt. Courtesy Uffizi.


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