Art Industry News: Why Is It So Hard to Come Up With a Good Name for a Paris Art Fair? + Other Stories

NEED TO READ

Is in Trouble  – The just-announced BBC Four TV show , which would see comedian Jimmy Carr potentially destroying artworks by “problematic” public figures, is facing backlash. The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust says that the stunt of burning a painting by Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler is “making Hitler a topic of light entertainment.” Other critics questioned the validity of destroying cultural artifacts at all. (Guardian)

New Philadelphia Museum Boss Acknowledges Strike – As it prepares to open a new Matisse show, PMA director Sasha Suda addressed the strike of museum workers that now stretches into its 17th day. “I can only hope the coming days will bring us together,” she said. “I think there’s a really exciting road that lies ahead and for our purposes that road begins with Matisse.” Picketers carrying signs with slogans like “Hey Sasha, Stop Hiding” and “NO Contract NO Matisse,” were skeptical: “We’ve never met her,” said curator Amanda Bock. “They could settle this today if they wanted to.” (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Stolen Manuscripts From Afghanistan Appear at Auction — Historians from the Qatar-based Himaya project have worked with international authorities to stop nearly a dozen stolen manuscripts from being auctioned in Paris, London, Amsterdam, and Iran. (The Art Newspaper)

New Paris Fair Is Already Looking for a New Name – The fact that Art Basel’s new Paris edition will be called Paris + is a subject of much bemusement among observers—but it’s not the only event with identity issues. The five-year-old Fine Arts Paris fair has merged with the Biennale des Antiquaires to create a new fair called “Fine Arts Paris & La Biennale.” No one likes the name. “We are reflecting on that,” says Louis de Bayser, the third-generation Parisian art dealer behind the merger. “I think we will rename it, but it’s not easy to find the right one.” (Financial Times)

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Agnes Gund Foundation Is Selling Work to Support Reproductive Rights — Roy Lichtenstein’s Mirror #5 will be sold at Christie’s upcoming 20th century evening sale on November 17 in New York. The 1970 painting is expected to fetch $3.5 million to $5.5 million. (TAN)

LACMA’s Zumthor Building Halfway Done – The forthcoming David Geffen Galleries, designed by architect Peter Zumthor at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, are halfway finished. The museum also announced that its $750-million fundraising campaign has reached $700 million, which includes $125 million in taxpayer money.  (L.A. Times)

Winner of Riba Stirling Prize Announced – Magdalene College Cambridge’s “exquisitely detailed” library won the Riba Stirling Prize for architecture. The building, designed by Níall McLaughlin Architects, was erected as part of the 700-year-old college. (BBC)

Children’s Museum Names Director – Dava Schub was appointed the new chief executive and director of the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, succeeding Aileen Hefferren. Schub is currently the head of the Edlavitch Jewish Community Center of Washington, D.C. (New York Times)

FOR ARTS SAKE

Major Botticelli Show Heads to Minneapolis — An exhibition featuring 45 works by Sandro Botticelli on loan from the suffixing Galleries in Florence will open on October 15 (tomorrow) at the Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minnesota, the most comprehensive Botticelli show in the U.S. (TAN)

 

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