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 this Tuesday, September 26.

NEED-TO-READ

Who Were Basquiat’s Musical Muses? – The landmark Basquiat show at the Barbican in London explores the artist’s relationship to music as both a source of inspiration and subject. He owned more than 3,000 albums ranging from jazz and bebop to disco, soul, and classical, and paid homage to many of the greats in his work. (Independent)

The Trump Administration May Destroy the Antiquities Act – A leaked memo from the secretary of the interior urging Trump to relax conservation protections for public land may have been part of a broader effort to build activist momentum against the Antiquities Act of 1906, which gives the president authority to create national monuments. (Pacific Standard)

Dmitry Rybolovlev Is Persona Non Grata in Monaco – Text messages surrendered as part of an ongoing legal battle illustrated overwhelming links between the oligarch, policemen, and high-ranking magistrates and politicians in Monaco. The scandal has resulted in the arrest of Prince Albert’s right-hand man, Philippe Narmino. The billionaire collector, meanwhile, is no longer welcome at the palace; he recently left the country for a holiday in Los Angeles. (Journal de Dimanche)

Monnaie de Paris Reopens With New Name – The museum relaunches after six years of renovations, taking the name of its location, 11 Conti – Monnaie de Paris. Admission to the institution—which houses a heritage collection alongside artisanal workshops and changing contemporary exhibitions—is free of charge. (Press release)

ART MARKET

Met Curator Launches New York Branch of Colnaghi – Ending a nearly 30-year tenure at the Met, Carlos A. Picón, an expert on ancient art, is joining the Old Master dealer Colnaghi to lead the gallery’s first stateside branch in New York. (The Art Newspaper)

Spring/Break Announces Theme for 2018 Edition – The beloved New York fair, due to run from March 6 to March 12, will invite exhibitors to respond to the theme “Stranger Comes to Town.” Curators are invited to present proposals that “consider foreignness,” “the scale of migration,” and “otherness.” Around 100 will be selected. (ARTnews) 

Christie’s Shanghai Sales Up, But No Match for HK – Christie’s Shanghai sale totaled nearly $15 million, a 35 percent uptick from last year’s fall auction, despite the fact that the top lot, a 1979 Chagall, failed to sell. Due to the high taxes imposed on foreign consignors, the results still pale in comparison to Christie’s Hong Kong sale last fall, which netted $307 million. (SCMP)

COMINGS & GOINGS

Frieze Appoints New Artistic Director – Loring Randolph, a former partner at Casey Kaplan gallery in New York, has been appointed Artistic Director (Americas). She begins her new role in mid-October and will focus primarily on Frieze New York. (Press release)

Dance Advocate Marian Horosko Dies – The ballet dancer, who would go on to become an advocate for and a historian of dance as an art form, died on September 11 at age 92. Horosko wrote books on Martha Graham and May O’Donnell and was an editor and writer at Dance Magazine for many years. (New York Times)

Center for Contemporary Art Tel Aviv Gets New Director – Nicola Trezzi, the former head of the MFA program at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem and sometimes artnet News contributor, will take up his new post in early 2018. (Press release)

FOR ART’S SAKE 

Art Comes to Boston’s Fenway Neighborhood – A new permanent public sculpture by the Brazilian artist Alexandre da Cunha was unveiled at Pierce Boston tower yesterday. The site-specific installation Plaza (Arcade) is made of three concrete discs with apertures looking out onto the Charles River. (Press release)

A Hip-Hop Museum Comes to the Bronx – The Universal Hip-Hop Museum will open in the birthplace of the genre, at a long-vacant site along the Harlem River. With Ice-T on the board of directors, LL Cool J as an honorary member of the advisory team, and Kurtis Blow as the chair, the well-connected museum is scheduled to open in five years. (High Snobiety)

NYFA Expands Immigrant Artist Mentorship Program – With a two-year grant from the Ford Foundation, the New York-based mentorship program, which connects artists who have immigrated to the US with experts and networks, will be replicated in Detroit, Newark, Oakland, and San Antonio. (Press release)​

FROM OUR PARTNERS

JEFF ELROD
Simon Lee, London
September 8 – October 21

An abstract painter who has involved digital tools for two decades in the making of his spare but exuberant canvases, Jeff Elrod works in the space between the grand tradition of his medium and the vitally new. In his show at Simon Lee in London, the artist is showcasing fresh works—which he often makes in his Marfa, TX, studio—including a series of “Echo Paintings” inspired by Brion Gysin and William S. Burroughs’ famous Dream Machine.

Jeff Elrod’s Odessa, 2017. Courtesy of Simon Lee.

Jeff Elrod’s Time Piece, 2017. Courtesy of Simon Lee.

Jeff Elrod’s The Doppelganger, 2017. Courtesy of Simon Lee.