Art Industry News: Louvre Staff and Pension Protesters Blocked the Entrance to the Museum, Forcing It to Close to Visitors + Other Stories

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 Tuesday, March 28.

NEED-TO-READ

The Man Designing TriBeCa’s Gallery Boom – Markus Dochantschi is behind many of the galleries flocking to and scaling up in New York’s TriBeCa district. His design firm, studioMDA, is known for soft white lighting and its move away from the strictures of the white cube. He has designed new or revamped spaces from Nino Mier, Alexander Gray and Associates, Phillips, and Luhring Augustine in the area. (New York Times)

South Korea Names Venice Biennale Artist & Curators – The Arts Council Korea appointed Jacob Fabricius and Lee Sun-hee, director and curator of Danish art center Kunsthal Aarhus, as the artistic directors for the Korean Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024. The duo plan to exhibit the work of Koo Jeong-a, under the theme “Korean Scent Journey,” creating an immersive environment using scents and temperatures. (Korea Herald)

Protesters Block Louvre Entrance Amid Ongoing Protests – Protestors in the French capital blocked the museum entrance yesterday amid ongoing talks and demonstrations over Macron’s controversial proposal to raise the national retirement age from 62 to 64. According to , Louvre staff were among the protestors. One visitor who was not able to enter the museum despite having a ticket sympathized, but added “we all would like to go and see , but never mind.” (Independent)

Museum Seating, Ranked – Art critic Caroline A. Miranda sat down at museums around L.A. and rated the seating arrangements. The Getty Museum did best overall, for their “soft yet supportive backrests.” Los Angeles County Museum of Art got an F for its small wooden black stools. (L.A. Times)

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Guggenheim Hires Curator of Art and Tech – The New York City-based museum has hired Noam Segal to be the inaugural curator for art and technology, a position which exists within the museum’s five-year partnership for the LG Guggenheim Art and Technology Initiative. Before joining the institution, Segal served as the director of research in the Masters program at the School of Visual Arts. (The Art Newspaper) 

Gucci Is Teaming Up with Yuga Labs – The fashion house is teaming up with the company behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection for a multi-year partnership to bring luxe fashion to the metaverse. In a tweet, Gucci encouraged fans to “Stay tuned as a new narrative takes shape, blurring the boundaries between the physical and digital.” (Business of Fashion)

Lyon Contemporary Art Biennale Names Curator – Alexia Fabre will curate the forthcoming Lyon Contemporary Art Biennale, slated to take place starting in September 2024. Fabre currently serves as the director of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. (Press release)

FOR ART’S SAKE

Sylvester Stallone Says He’s Going to Start Painting Again – The 76-year-old actor told fans that it’s “about time to start painting again.” Posting some pictures of his art on Instagram, Stallone added: “What is wonderful about painting, it’s similar to writing a short screenplay, but instead of words, you use strokes and colors to tell your story.” () (Instagram)