2009.03.24

International News Digest

Cattelan Wins Rome’s Quadriennale Prize; American Dealers Present at Havana Biennial; Ono at United Nations; Giving Peace Another Chance at Lennon and Ono’s Amsterdam Hotel Room; Das Kapital—The Musical.

CATTELAN WINS ROME’S QUADRIENNALE PRIZE

Maurizio Cattelan has been awarded the Quadriennale di Roma prize, according to various Austrian, German, and Italian press agencies. The prize recognizes the entire oeuvre of the forty-eight-year-old Italian artist. The presentation of the prize will take place this week inside Rome’s Museo MAXXI during a “study day” dedicated to Cattelan’s works. The goal is to create “a lively discourse between the artist, his oeuvre, and art students from the Roman universities,” according to the three jury members. This year marks the fifteenth edition of the

2009.03.16

International News Digest

Christo Downsizing; Pierre Bergé Removes Ysl Portraits From Andy Warhol Exhibition; Serra’s Touchstone?

CHRISTO DOWNSIZING?

Christo—famed for large-scale public art projects, from wrapping the German Reichstag in Berlin to erecting Gates throughout New York’s Central Park—is turning his attention to a surprisingly small-scale project. Der Standard reports that the artist has been invited by Vienna’s Museum für Angewandte Kunst and the Austrian Postal Service to create a new postage stamp. The stamp will be presented April 15 at Contemporary Art Tower in Vienna. No word if the stamp will be wrapped up for the unveiling.

PIERRE BERGÉ REMOVES YSL PORTRAITS FROM ANDY WARHOL EXHIBITION

Pierre

2009.03.09

International News Digest

The Saga Continues: Chinese Bronze Bidder Has One Month to Pay; Hou Hanru for Lyon Biennale; Prize For Rehberger; New Theories of The Origin of the World; Van Gogh’s Ear; The War of the Museum Worlds?

THE SAGA CONTINUES: CHINESE BRONZE BIDDER HAS ONE MONTH TO PAY

Agence France-Presse and Le Monde deliver an update on the fate of the two Chinese bronzes, which were not quite sold at Christie’s Yves Saint Laurent / Pierre Bergé auction at the Grand Palais in Paris. The successful Chinese bidder, collector and auction house owner Cai Mingchao, initially refused to pay for the works. His press conference, shared with a rep from the National Heritage Fund of China, suggested that Cai and the semigovernmental agency had worked together to sabotage the auction. According to Le Monde’s Harry Bellet,

2009.03.02

International News Digest

Chinese-Bronze Buyer Refuses to Pay Christie's; Christie's Sale Sabotaged?Bergé Vows to Keep Chinese Bronzes in Case of a Nontransaction; Fire at the Ministry of Culture in Paris; Center Pompidou and Culture Ministry Dispute Over Palais de Toyko

CHINESE-BRONZE BUYER REFUSES TO PAY CHRISTIE’S

There has been yet another dramatic turn of events in the controversy surrounding the sale of two Chinese bronzes at the Christie’s auction of the Yves Saint Laurent/Pierre Bergé collection in Paris last week. As Agence France-Presse reports, the buyer of the pillaged bronzes has identified himself—and has refused to pay his winning bids of approximately twenty million dollars on each piece. Cai Mingchao—a Chinese collector and an adviser to the National Heritage Fund of China—likened his bid to a “patriotic” act. “I believe that any Chinese person

2009.02.26

International News Digest

News from Christie’s Yves Saint Laurent/Pierre Bergé Sale at the Grand Palais in Paris

CHINA CONDEMNS CHRISTIE’S—AND PROMISES CONSEQUENCES

China has condemned what it calls the “illegal” sale of two Chinese bronzes at Christie’s auction of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé’s private collection at Paris’s Grand Palais—and has promised that Christie’s will suffer consequences. As Agence France-Presse reports, the Chinese State Administration of Cultural Heritage condemns the sale of cultural goods that have been exported illegally from the country. The two bronzes—depicting a rabbit head and rat head—were pillaged in 1860 when French and British soldiers sacked the Summer Palace

2009.02.16

International News Digest

Catherine David No Longer Curator for 2009 Lyon Biennial; Mixed Reports from ARCO; French Museums at Night?; Gallery Board Proposes Move to Berlin

CATHERINE DAVID LEAVES 2009 BIENNALE DE LYON

Catherine David will no longer be curating the 2009 Biennale de Lyon. As Agence France-Presse reports, the Lyon biennial made the announcement, stating that David and the biennial “have decided to put an end to their collaboration through mutual agreement.” No conflict was cited; according to the report, David, who is a curator for the Direction des Musées de France, could not fully assume the task at hand due to scheduling. Another project will be presented—and quickly. The tenth edition is due to open this September.

REPORTS FROM ARCO

There are

2009.02.09

International News Digest

Developments in Dubai and Abu Dhabi; Oscar Niemeyer Cancels Controversial Brasília Project; Demonstration in Support of Prague Library; Swedish Art Center Forced to Close; Racy Advertising at Vienna's Kunsthistorisches Museum

DUBAI AND ABU DHABI PLAN FOR THE CRISIS

How are Dubai and Abu Dhabi’s cultural projects weathering the economic crisis? To find out, Die Tageszeitung’s Henrike Thomsen went to a Berlin conference about the ambitious development, from a Louvre branch (designed by Jean Nouvel) to a maritime museum (designed by Tadao Ando). Dubai cultural director Michael Schindhelm announced some bad news. Both the Middle East Center for Modern Art and the theater center designed by Zaha Hadid have been affected by the crisis. In Abu Dhabi, cultural representative Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh insisted that there would

2009.02.03

International News Digest

ARCO Responds to Crisis; Pompidou Gets Ready for Palais de Tokyo; Boltanski at the Grand Palais in 2010; “La Force de l’Art” Returns; Saatchi: From YBAs to BoBs; Management Changes at Phillips de Pury; Christopher Frayling Steps Down; Monument to Shoe Thrower Dismantled

ARCO HIT BY CRISIS

The APA, via Der Standard, reports on the ARCO fair, which is slated to run February 11–16. In contrast to last year’s record edition—which saw attendance increase to two hundred thousand visitors and sales rise by 15 percent—the upcoming twenty-eighth edition is showing signs of slowing down amid the world financial crisis. According to Der Standard, 20 galleries from the 270 announced have canceled, including Lisson, the Mexican gallery OMR, the Argentinean gallery Ruth Benzacar, and longtime Spanish participant Oliva Arauna. The number of cancellations could have been

2009.01.27

International News Digest

François Pinault Heads to Moscow; Oleg Kulik Brings Oratorio to Paris; Sigmar Polke Makes Windows for a Zurich Church; Xavier Veilhan Takes on Versailles

PINAULT HEADS TO MOSCOW

François Pinault will be exhibiting selected works from his private collection in Moscow. As Agence France-Presse reports, the exhibition—titled “Un certain état du monde: Sélection de la collection de la Fondation François Pinault” (A Certain State of the World: Selections from the Collection of the François Pinault Foundation)—opens in March at Moscow’s Garage Center for Contemporary Culture. The art center was inaugurated last September by Daria “Dasha” Zhukova with the help of her partner Roman Abramovich. Works by thirty-two international artists—including Jeff

2009.01.20

International News Digest

US Secretary of Culture?; Sarkozy’s New Bid for French Culture; Chinese Lawyers File Suit Against Christie’s YSL Auction; Pinault’s Venice Inauguration; Putin Auctioned Off; Gazprom to the Rescue; Moroccan Artists Support Palestinians; Portishead Opens Gallery

US SECRETARY OF CULTURE?

Will President Obama name a national secretary of culture? If the musician and producer Quincy Jones has his way, that dream may become a reality. As Die Welt’s Uwe Schmitt reports, Jones—along with the group Americans for the Arts and sixteen other organizations—has been campaigning for the creation of a new position to represent the “arts and humanities.” Since November, over 100,000 people have have signed an online petition supporting the cause. According to Schmitt, Jones feels that people outside the US know more about American culture than Americans themselves.

2009.01.14

International News Digest

Chanel Drops Mobile Art Project; Luxury Labels React to Economy; Good News for French Museums; Report from Spain

CHANEL DROPS MOBILE ART PROJECT

The French design house Chanel is rethinking its role as a contemporary art sponsor. As Le Monde’s Emmanuelle Lequeux reports, Chanel has decided to stop its Mobile Art project. Designed by Zaha Hadid, Mobile Art is a shell-shaped structure that was designed to house twenty artworks by as many artists—from Daniel Buren to Wim Delvoye—who all paid homage to the famous 2.55 Chanel handbag. Unveiled in Hong Kong in March, Mobile Art traveled to Central Park in New York last fall and was due to pass through London and Moscow before landing in Paris in 2010. But as

2009.01.08

International News Digest

The Bush Aesthetic: Images as Actions; Bonami’s “Italics” as Art Historical Revisionism?; Santiago Sierra’s Death Clock

THE BUSH AESTHETIC: IMAGES AS ACTIONS

The Frankfurter Rundschau’s Arno Widmann spoke with art historian Horst Bredekamp about the power of images and politics. For Bredekamp, President Bush attempted to reunite images with reality. Where Clinton was a master at staging photo opportunities for the press, Bush dislikes the media and attempted to cleanse images of all traces of showmanship by relinking them to actions.

“The politics of the image under George Bush is very complex and very difficult to analyze,” Bredekamp told the newspaper. “It was, if I observed correctly, at first an attempt

2008.12.30

International News Digest

Koons’s Trials in Versailles; Louvre as Film Set; Nudity at Chinese Heritage Sites

SUN KING DESCENDANT LOSES CASE AGAINST KOONS EXHIBITION AT VERSAILLES; THREATENS TO TAKE CASE TO HIGHER COURT

The descendant of King Louis XIV who attempted to close the Jeff Koons exhibition at the Palace of Versailles has lost his court case. As Agence France-Presse reports, a judge from the administrative court of Versailles rejected the complaint filed by Charles-Emmanuel de Bourbon-Parme. De Bourbon-Parme claimed that the exhibition, which integrates Koons’s sculptures into the castle and its gardens, constituted a profanation of the work of his forefather and undermined fundamental human

2008.12.24

International News Digest

Sun King Descendant Condemns Koons Exhibition at Versailles; Vienna Secession Names New Director and Members of Board; New Posts for Beyer, Fleck, and Ackermann; Picasso: Night and Day; Isabelle Graw on Art Markets, Booms, and Crashes

SUN KING DESCENDANT ATTEMPTS TO STOP KOONS EXHIBITION AT VERSAILLES

A descendant of King Louis XIV is attempting to close down the Jeff Koons exhibition at the palace of Versailles, just outside Paris. As the Süddeutsche Zeitung reports, Charles-Emmanuel de Bourbon-Parme, a scion of the Sun King, claims that the exhibition—which integrates Koons’s colorful sculptures into the castle and its gardens—is a “profanization” of the work of his royal forefather. Citing Koons’s former marriage to Italian porn star–cum-politician Cicciolina, de Bourbon-Parme likens the exhibition to “an advertisement

2008.12.17

International News Digest

Award for Tacita Dean; Paris Art Schools’ Models to Strike; Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev Discusses Her Influences; Paul Virilio on the Omnipolis; Jonas Mekas on the Filmer v. YouTube

TACITA DEAN WINS SCHWITTER PRIZE

The Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that the British artist Tacita Dean has been awarded the Kurt Schwitter Prize for 2009 by Sparkassenstiftung, a bank foundation in Lower Saxony. With an award of over thirty-four thousand dollars, the prize will be given to Dean during the opening of her upcoming exhibition at Hanover’s Sprengel Museum at the end of next year.

PARIS ART SCHOOLS’ MODELS TO STRIKE

Sitting around in the nude has taken on a political meaning in Paris. As Le Monde’s Clarisse Fabre reports, artist models left studios around the city to go on strike

2008.12.12

International News Digest

Hermitage Reports Missing Works; ABMB in the European News; Getty Images Ordered to Pay Photographer; Auction for UN; Rau Collection to Benefit UN; Iconic Fischli & Weiss Film Sold to Private Collection

MISSING WORKS FROM HERMITAGE

“Hundreds” of artworks are missing from the permanent collection of the Hermitage museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, according to the museum’s director Michail Piotrovski. Citing a report from the APA and the Associated Press, Der Standard reports that Piotrovski cannot provide a complete list of the works, but the director notes that many have been missing since World War II. An investigative survey completed by the order of the Russian government recently showed that more than fifty thousand objects are missing from museums across the Russian Federation. Former

2008.12.02

International News Digest

Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev to Head Next Documenta?; Goya in the Kitchen; Fabricated Prouvé?

CAROLYN CHRISTOV-BAKARGIEV TO HEAD NEXT DOCUMENTA?

Rumors are circulating that Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev will be named the artistic director of the next Documenta. Der Standard, citing a report in the Kassel newspaper Hessischen/Niedersächsische Allgemeine, states that the selection committee has come to an agreement about the American curator and writer. The 2012 director for Documenta 13 will be officially announced this week in Kassel. According to a report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the competition included Lisette Lagnado, Catherine de Zegher, Massimiliano Gioni, Viktor

2008.11.25

International News Digest

A New Round in the Russian Battle of Culture Versus the Church; Whither Art Basel Miami Beach?; Günter Brus Withdraws Art in Protest; New Contemporary Art Center for Shanghai; Davos of Culture

A NEW ROUND IN THE RUSSIAN BATTLE OF CULTURE VERSUS THE CHURCH

The Russian Orthodox Church has entered a new conflict with the realm of culture. As the Süddeutsche Zeitung’s Sonja Zekri reports, the conflict centers on three icons by Andrei Rublev in the Tretjakov Gallery. The church would like to show the icons for the upcoming Pentecost at the Sergijev Possad monastery just outside Moscow. Yet museum officials at the Tretjakov Gallery have refused the request; conservationists fear that the trip and the exhibition will be "deadly" for the fragile paintings. The Moscow Patriarchate has not

2008.11.17

International News Digest

Discounts for Museum Ludwig’s “Friends”; Auction Catalogues as Artworks?; Rheims Charged with Plagarism; Austrian Museums Ask for Financial Aid; Photographers Protest at Paris Photo

DISCOUNTS FOR MUSEUM LUDWIG’S “FRIENDS”

Friends of Cologne’s Museum Ludwig got a token gift for their fidelity at the recent opening of “Gerhard Richter—Abstrakte Bilder” (Gerhard Richter—Abstract Paintings). As the Süddeutsche Zeitung reports, the museum offered members of its Society for Modern Art abstract monotype prints by Richter for the bargain-basement price of ninety-five hundred dollars. Demand was greater than supply among the friends. More than seventy collectors are waiting for the thirty-eight dated and signed prints. At the opening of the exhibition at Munich’s Haus der Kunst

2008.11.14

International News Digest

Udo Kittelmann Discusses Plans for Berlin Museums; Art Cologne Shrinks; Museion Denounces Former Director; Graffiti Attacks at the 28th São Paulo Biennial

KITTELMANN’S PLANS FOR BERLIN

Udo Kittelmann—the former director of Frankfurt’s Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK)—has just taken up his new position as director of Berlin’s state museums, which include the Neue Nationalgalerie and Hamburger Bahnhof. In an interview with Die Tageszeitung’s Hortense Pisano, Kittelmann begins by defending his decision to host a Takashi Murakami retrospective at the MMK. “As the director of an art institution, I don’t want to have to ignore such artistic productions, just because they are criticized for being commercially successful,” Kittelmann told the newspaper.

Jennifer Allen