Art Industry News: Miley Cyrus Just Had a Henri Matisse Nude Tattooed on Her Body + 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 Wednesday, March
4.

NEED-TO-READ

Los Angeles Museums Respond to Coronavirus Threat –
Arts institutions in Los Angeles
are responding to the spread of the coronavirus on the West Coast.
The Getty Trust has told its staff to cancel all planned travel
to Italy, China, and
South Korea, and has formed a special coronavirus task force to
keep visitors and employees closely informed of developments. The
Museum of Contemporary Art is also convening daily meetings of its
own task force, and is communicating with other LA
institutions. (LA Times)

Cuban Artist Arrested After Protesting Censorship –
Cuban authorities arrested the
artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara on March 1 as he was on his way
to a protest against the censorship of a scene from a 2018 film,
which aired on national television, depicting a gay couple
kissing. The artist, who is
accused of property damage, will have a summary trial in 10 days.
The San Isidro Movement, the activist group that was formed in
opposition to the government’s censorship of the
arts, says the charges
are fabricated. (The Art Newspaper)

Experts Reconstruct an Ancient Egyptian Painting –
A team of Egyptologists have
digitally reconstructed a painting of a leopard’s face from a
fragment on a 2,000-year-old sarcophagus. The big cat likely served
as a guardian that would guide the deceased to the land of the
dead, although it was rare for these types of images to be painted
onto coffins. (Smithsonian)

ART
MARKET

Casey Kaplan Is Expanding in New York – Twenty-five years after opening his first
New York location, art dealer Casey Kaplan is expanding into a
next-door space to add 6,500 square feet to his gallery. “I am a
big believer in focusing, and I can focus by not being in London
and Paris and Milan and Los Angeles,” he said. “I can do my job
well when I’m paying attention to what I need to pay attention to
here.” The expansion opens in September with a solo show
by Kevin Beasley. (ARTnews)

Art Cologne Will Go Ahead… – The organizers of Art Cologne, which is slated
to take place from April 23 to 26, have published a letter on their
website stating that “preparations for our upcoming events
in Cologne are continuing.” Organizers say they will “evaluate the
recommendations of the responsible authorities” and monitor the
situation closely. (Art
Cologne)

… but a French Art Fair Has Been Postponed – Meanwhile, Lille’s contemporary art fair,
Lille Art Up!, which was due to open this week, joins the swelling
ranks of art fairs that are being postponed due to the
disease. Some 40,000
visitors were expected to attend the event over three days, but the
French government has banned gatherings of more than 5,000 people.
The fair will now run from June 25 through 28. (Journal des Arts)

Art Fairs Are Pinching Smaller Dealers – A columnist for the Wall Street
Journal is calling attention to the tremendous pressures
that art fairs put on small and mid-sized galleries. With booth and
application fees, the costs of shipping and art handling, and the
expenses associated with travel and hotels, “it’s never been more
difficult to keep a small or midsize gallery
alive.” (Wall Street Journal)

COMINGS &
GOINGS

Two Female Architects
Win the 2020 Pritzker Prize – The Dublin-based architects
Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara have won the prestigious
architecture prize. The pair have worked together as Grafton
Architects for 40 years, designing postmodern buildings focused on
“human experience” above all else. (New York Times)

A Carmen Herrera Mural
Is Coming to Harlem – An abstract painting by
Carmen Herrera will find its way to Upper Manhattan this May. The
students of Publicolor, a youth program, will recreate her
work as a large outdoor mural for the Manhattan East School for
Arts and Academics, a middle school in East
Harlem. (New York Times)

Swann Appoints a New
Head of Modern and Post-War Art – The auction
house has named Harold Porcher to the position as it plans two
additional auctions of Modern and Post-war art with works by
artists including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Zao Wou
Ki. (Press release)

FOR ART’S
SAKE

Folkestone Triennial
Artist List Released – Curators
for the fifth Creative Folkestone Triennial, set to run
from September 5 through November 8, have selected 20 artists for
the show, including Gilbert & George, who will contribute
billboards and posters around town. (Press
release)

A Giant Sweater by Erwin Wurm Now Hangs in a Medieval
Church – At St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, which dates
to 1147, an oversized pink sweater by the Austrian artist is,
apparently, a call for more warmth and humanity. The artist, known
for his comical pickle sculptures, installed the work for Lent.
(Monopol)

Miley Cyrus Just Got a Matisse Tattoo
– Miley Cyrus, who is apparently a big fan of the
revered French modernist Henri Matisse, just had a drawing by the
artist inked onto her arm. Cyrus, a tattoo aficionado, was inspired
after reading a book of Leonard Cohen poems that had been
illustrated by the painter, and had the tattoo done by artist Nico
Bassill. (Yahoo!)

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Matisse Nude Tattooed on Her Body + Other Stories appeared
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