NEW ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN CURATOR FOR GUGGENHEIM; LAYOFFS AT HIRST STUDIO
Yesterday, Richard Armstrong, director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Museum, announced the appointment of David van der Leer as the Guggenheim’s new assistant curator of architecture and design. In making the announcement, Armstrong spoke of van der Leer’s unique combination of skills: “David’s work with renowned architectural firms, coupled with a master’s degree in urban and architectural theory and impressive publishing and lecturing experience, make him an ideal candidate for the Guggenheim as it joins forces with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to organize ‘Frank Lloyd Wright: From Within Outward,’ our anniversary exhibition set to open in May 2009.” Van der Leer’s initial focus will also be on other architecture-related programming for the Guggenheim’s fiftieth anniversary, which begins in 2009. Prior to joining the Guggenheim, van der Leer was publications and exhibitions manager for Steven Holl Architects, where he developed several exhibitions and initiated and produced numerous publications. A frequent lecturer and contributor to such prestigious architectural publications as Domus, Azure, Mark, Pin-Up, and the Architect’s Newspaper, van der Leer previously worked for architect Rem Koolhaas at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture and for 010 Publishers, both in Rotterdam. He earned his MA in urban and architectural theory at the Department of Art and Cultural Sciences at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam.
In other news, Damien Hirst might have sold more than two hundred million dollars in art at a two-day auction in London this year, but even the blockbuster artist is not immune to the effects of the ailing economy. The Guardian reported that, last Thursday, up to seventeen of the twenty-two people who make the pills for Hirst’s drug-cabinet series were told their contracts were not being renewed, according to two sources close to Science Ltd., Hirst’s main art-producing company. Another three who make his butterfly paintings were also told they were “surplus to requirements.” Jude Tyrrell, a director of Science, confirmed jobs were going, but wouldn’t disclose how many: “We have to be mindful of the current economic climate and how this may affect us in the future.” In July, Hirst said that he would stop making the spin and butterfly paintings, plus the medicine cabinets—a decision that was welcomed by many in the art world who worried about overproduction of these series. But a source close to Science said that if the job losses were preplanned, as indicated by Tyrrell’s statement, the staff seemed unprepared for it on Thursday: “It was unexpected, especially after Hirst made a killing from the Sotheby’s sale. The workers who will not have their contracts renewed can work their notice period into December, but I’m not sure how many will stay. They will need to find jobs quickly.”
