News

February 11, 2020 at 3:14pm

MoMA Acquires Fifty-Six Works by Photographer Gordon Parks

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York has purchased fifty-six works by American photographer Gordon Parks. The photographs are part of the groundbreaking series “The Atmosphere of Crime,” 1957, which the artist produced for a photo-essay for Life magazine—Parks became the first African American staff photographer at the publication in 1948.
Shot using available light, the photos—images of crime scenes, police precincts, hospitals, and morgues—address issues of race relations, poverty, urban life, and the criminal justice system. A selection of the works will go on view in

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February 11, 2020 at 1:22pm

Rothko Chapel in Houston to Reopen in June

The Rothko Chapel—the interfaith sanctuary in Houston, Texas, where art, spiritual contemplation, and social justice meet—has announced that it will reopen following a $30 million restoration in June. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the chapel, which was commissioned by John and Dominique de Menil, houses fourteen monumental canvases by Mark Rothko. Since its dedication in 1971, it has served as a spiritual gathering place for people from across the globe.
Led by the New York–based firm Architecture Research Office, the renovation project expanded the chapel’s campus

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February 11, 2020 at 11:24am

César García-Alvarez Appointed Cocurator of 2021 Desert X

Mexican-born, Los Angeles–based curator César García-Alvarez has been named cocurator of the third edition of Desert X, which is slated to run in the Coachella Valley from February 6 to April 11, 2021. Helmed by executive director Jenny Gil, Desert X was founded in 2017 to activate desert regions through the commissioning of site-specific works by contemporary artists.
“The Coachella Valley is a vibrant and complex locale of layered histories forged by a multitude of communities,” said García-Alvarez. “I look forward to spending time in the region working closely with artists, local residents,

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February 11, 2020 at 10:21am

Trump’s Proposed $4.8 Trillion Budget Defunds the NEA and NEH

President Donald Trump’s $4.8 trillion budget for the 2021 fiscal year, which was released on Monday, contains few surprises. The Trump administration once again proposed drastic cuts to domestic spending, such as funds for student loan assistance, affordable housing, and health care, and increases spending for the military and border enforcements. The document, titled “A Budget for America’s Future,” also details the elimination of agencies with “no proper federal role,” including the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the Corporation

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February 11, 2020 at 10:06am

Rosa Barba Wins $50,000 Calder Prize

The Calder Foundation has awarded its biennial Calder Prize to Berlin-based artist Rosa Barba. In addition to receiving $50,000, Barba will have one of her works placed in a major public collection. She is the eighth artist to receive the Calder Prize. Previous laureates include Tara Donovan, Rachel Harrison, Jill Magid, Haroon Mirza, and Tomás Saraceno.
Born in Agrigento, Italy, in 1972, Barba often merges film, sculpture, installation, live performance, sound, and text to create fully immersive works. Much of her output takes the form of films, experimental documentaries, and fictional narratives

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February 10, 2020 at 5:55pm

Volta New York Announces 2020 Exhibitors, Peter Blum Gallery Now Represents Erik Lindman, and More

Volta officially announced that it’s returning to New York this year—Volta was forced to cancel its 2019 event after the Armory Show took over its venue following the discovery of structural problems at Pier 92. The fair is under new management—it was bought by Ramsay Fairs in October and recently appointed Kamiar Maleki director—and has a new location, Metropolitan West. Its next edition will feature fifty-four galleries from thirty-five cities and five continents and will run from March 4 to March 8. Exhibitors include Gallery Bastejs (Riga), Cohju Contemporary Art (Kyoto),

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February 10, 2020 at 1:18pm

Director of Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Resigns

Caroline Baumann, the director of the Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, in New York, has stepped down from her post. The New York Times reports that she quietly exited the institution on Friday. While the museum has not commented on the reason for her departure, it said that “Baumann has been a passionate voice for design, and much has been accomplished during her tenure.” John Davis, the Smithsonian’s provost, will serve as interim director until the institution appoints a successor.
Prior to taking over the helm of the museum in 2013, Baumann served in various other roles at the

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February 10, 2020 at 12:40pm

Carrie Mae Weems, Spike Lee, Among Mentors Chosen for Rolex’s Visual Arts Initiative

The Rolex Arts Initiative, a program launched by the luxury watch manufacturer in 2002, named the mentors and protégés selected for its 2020 cycle at a ceremony that was held at Cape Town’s Baxter Theater Center on Saturday. Since its inception, the initiative has paired fifty-four established artists with up-and-coming creatives from around the globe.
Filmmaker Spike Lee, whose feature film BlacKkKlansman was a best picture nominee at the ninety-first Academy Awards, will work with Kyle Bell; director Phyllida Lloyd, who is widely known for her work in theater and opera, with collaborate with

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February 10, 2020 at 10:46am

Counterspace to Design London’s Twentieth Serpentine Pavilion

The South African architectural firm Counterspace has been selected to design the 2020 Serpentine Pavilion. The Johannesburg-based practice, which is run by three women, Sumayya Vally, Sarah de Villiers, and Amina Kaskar—the youngest architects ever to be commissioned for the project—drew inspiration from London’s migrant communities for its proposal. Now in its twentieth year, the pavilion will be installed in Kensington Gardens and will be on view from June 11 to October 11, 2020.
Known for using innovative and traditional building techniques, Counterspace will use both low-tech and

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February 10, 2020 at 8:52am

Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Will Open in December

During the Ninety-Second Academy Awards ceremony held on Sunday night—which made history when Parasite became the first non-English-language film to win its top honor of best picture—actor Tom Hanks announced that the much-anticipated Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will open on December 14, 2020.
Hanks, who was also nominated for his role as Mr. Rogers in director Marielle Heller’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, serves as a museum trustee and cochair of its campaign. Located on Los Angeles’s museum mile, the Renzo Piano–designed institution, which has been nine years in the

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February 10, 2020 at 8:05am

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Present Agnes Gund with Inaugural Leadership Award

Art collector, civic leader, and philanthropist Agnes Gund has been named the inaugural recipient of the Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Woman of Leadership Award. The new accolade recognizes women who have “exercised a positive and notable influence on society” and served as “exceptional role model[s] in both principles and practice,” and will be bestowed annually by the Dwight D. Opperman Foundation. Ginsburg, an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, will present Gund with the award at a ceremony at the Library of Congress on February 14.
“It would be hard to imagine a person

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February 10, 2020 at 7:50am

Donation Agreement Between Spain and Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Falls Apart

Cuban collector and philanthropist Ella Fontanals-Cisneros, who amassed one of the largest private collections of Latin American art in the world, has called off her plans to gift some four hundred artworks to the Spanish state. The arts patron cited a breakdown in the negotiations with government officials as the reason why she couldn’t move forward with the donation.
Fontanals-Cisneros—a Spanish passport–holder who has residences in Madrid; Mérida, Mexico; and the United States, where most of her more than 3,500-work collection is stored—says she received a letter from Minister of

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