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 Thursday, September 2.

NEED-TO-READ

Kanye Went Museum-Hopping in Berlin – Riding high off the release of his latest studio album, Donda, Kanye West was spotted taking a museum tour of Berlin yesterday. He was photographed wearing a KW hoodie as he toured the KW Institute for Contemporary Art, and also paid visits to the Pergamon Museum, Julia Stoschek Collection, Boros Collection, and an exhibition at the nightclub Berghain. (The Art Newspaper, Page Six)

Sacklers Settle Opioid Claims – A judge has approved Purdue Pharma’s wide-ranging bankruptcy settlement, which will require members of the art-patron Sackler family, who own the company, to relinquish $4.5 billion over nine years to fund addiction treatment and prevention programs in the U.S. The judge regretted that the “bitter” agreement hardly touches the family’s actual wealth, and the terms will mostly absolve its members of liability for the company’s role in the crisis. Several states have said they will appeal the ruling. (New York Times)

Gladstone Expands to Seoul – Gladstone Gallery has become the latest high-end art dealership to put down roots in Seoul. The gallery, which already operates in New York, Brussels, and Los Angeles, will open its new space in the tony Gangnam district. HeeJin Park, formerly of Kukje Gallery, will lead the outpost. Ahead of the arrival of Frieze in 2022, the Korean city has drawn a number of blue-chip international dealers, including König Galerie and Thaddaeus Ropac. (ARTnews)

Gagosian Has Some Thoughts on the Tiffany Blue Fiasco – We are gleeful to report that Larry Gagosian has been drawn out on Alexandre Arnault’s claim that the robin’s egg blue Basquiat painting recently included in a Tiffany ad campaign must have been an “homage” to the brand. Gagosian, who represented Basquiat at the time the painting was made, admitted that Arnault’s suggestion was a bit of a stretch. While the dealer said the artist probably knew about Tiffany Blue because he “liked to shop,” it was more likely he chose the “evocative” shade because he “just liked it.” (NYT)

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Halston Archives Head to Phillips – Phillips will sell art, photographs, and sketches from the collection of fashion designer Roy Halston Frowick (most recently played by Ewan McGregor in a Netflix miniseries) through its Gallery One platform from September 9–16. The more than than 44 works are being offered by Halston’s niece Lesley Frowick, who is the founder of the Halston Archives. The proceeds will benefit a fashion scholarship initiative. (Press release)

David Zwirner to Rep Steven Shearer – Canadian artist Steven Shearer, whose idiosyncratic paintings are embedded with references to art history, has signed with David Zwirner and will have his first show at the gallery in New York in 2023. Eva Presenhuber will continue to represent Shearer in partnership with Zwirner. (Press release)

Dresden Prosecutor Brings Charges in Green Vault Heist – Dresden’s public prosecutor has brought charges of serious gang theft and arson against six Germans between the ages of 22 and 27. They stand accused of breaking into Dresden’s historic Green Vault in 2019 and stealing precious jewels worth at least €113.8 million (yeah, that’s around $135 million). (Press release)

London Dealers Launch Art Rental Project – The founders of London’s Sunday Painter gallery have launched a new online business called Gertrude (after the 20th century art patron Gertrude Stein). Beginning September 27, subscribers can pay £50 ($69) a month to rent artworks worth up to £12,000 ($16,545) by the likes of Nicholas Pope, Cynthia Daignault, and Sara Naim for three months at a time. (Financial Times)

FOR ART’S SAKE

D.C. Installation Commemorates Jamal Khashoggi – The Freedom Initiative, a human rights organization, erected a temporary installation on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in tribute to the murdered Saudi journalist. The sculpture—installed for the day of August 31, the birthday of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman—depicted a fountain pen bleeding red over a page inscribed with the names of more than 140 prisoners of conscience in Saudi Arabia. In a fictional message from the late journalist, it was signed: “Dear Clown Prince, thousands of your victims wish you a damned birthday.” (Hyperallergic)

 

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