Art Industry News: The Ghent Altarpiece Restorers Say the Internet’s Obsession With Their Work Is ‘Absolutely Stupid’ + 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 Tuesday, January
28.

NEED-TO-READ

The Smithsonian Adopts a Less Ambitious Collaboration With
the V&A – The Washington,
DC institution has rolled back plans to operate a
permanent gallery space inside the V&A’s planned new museum
in East London. Instead, the Smithsonian has announced it will
co-curate a gallery within V&A East for two years after the
museum opens in 2023. The gallery will draw on both institutions’
collections of art and design, science, and the humanities to
“explore the impact of human life on the world around us.”
(Press
release, The Art
Newspaper)

Philadelphia Museum Launches Hotline for Harassment
Complaints – Facing blowback following a recent expose on
the allegedly abusive
behavior of a former staffer, the
Philadelphia Museum of Art has
set up an anonymous hotline for employees to report incidents of
sexual harassment or discrimination. The initiative is part of a
new system to improve workplace conditions after allegations
surfaced about a former employee, Joshua Helmer, who went on to
lead the Erie Art Museum. The museum is also offering staff members
on-site counseling sessions and anti-harassment training.
(Philadelphia
Inquirer)

The Ghent Altarpiece Is More Than the Lamb – After the “alarmingly humanoid” face of Van
Eyck’s mystic lamb was revealed by the restoration of the Ghent
Altarpiece, it went viral online, and memes abounded
comparing its visage to the pouty face of Derek
Zoolander. Now that the
interior panels of the altarpiece have finally gone on view at the
city’s Bavo Cathedral, the restoration team is frustrated. After
years spent painstakingly removing overpainting from 70 percent of
the altarpiece, they have had their work endlessly mocked online,
with people framing it as another “Beast
Jesus.” But Van Eyck “is
not the first one who painted the lamb in that way,” conservator
Hélène Dubois says, adding that the wide frontal eyes are meant to
identify it as the Lamb of God. “A lot of misunderstandings have
been propagated by absolutely stupid tweets taken completely out of
context.” (New York
Times)

Switzerland Chooses Its Artist for the Venice
Biennale – The Switzerland-based French-Moroccan
artist Latifa Echakhch has been chosen to represent her home
country at the 2021 Venice Biennale. The artist, who was selected
unanimously by the jury, has recruited curator Francesco Stocchi
and percussionist Alexandre Babel to join her in creating the
exhibition. Together, “they intend to offer visitors of the
Biennale a rhythm-based experience with visual, acoustic, and
spatial effects,” a press statement explains. (Press
release)

ART MARKET

New Money-Laundering Regulations Spark Confusion –
Dealers are scrambling after
new anti-money
laundering regulations sneaked into effect in the UK
earlier this month, requiring
galleries to conduct identity checks and report transactions over
€10,000. Due to a lack of government guidance, some midsize dealers
at the London Art Fair opted to drop the prices of certain works
below the threshold to avoid the hassle of having to comply with
the new regulations. (The Art
Newspaper)

Peter Brant Is Going Big on Warhol – The Brant Foundation in New York’s East Village
is gearing up for a major exhibition of work by Andy Warhol likely
slated for next year. Peter Brant is one of the world’s leading
Warhol collectors, and became friends with the artist after
collecting his work for years. Brant went on to
purchase Interview, the magazine the artist
founded. (He eventually ceased operations and
restarted the magazine after declaring bankruptcy).
(Architectural
Digest)

Monica King Contemporary Now Represents Jason Stopa –
The Brooklyn-based writer and
painter has joined the stable of Monica King’s eponymous gallery,
following his curatorial turn for the exhibition “New Skin,” which
closed at the gallery on January 25. Stopa’s own work combines
thick layers of pastel overlaid with sharp architectural
arrangements. (Press
release)

COMINGS & GOINGS

The Venice Biennale Gets
a New President – The Italian film producer Roberto
Cicutto will become the new president of the Venice Biennale, the
parent organization of events including the Venice Film Festival,
the Venice Architecture Biennale, and, of course, the eponymous art
exhibition. He succeeds Paolo Baratta, who has led the organization
since 2008. (Monopol)

South African
Photographer Santu Mofokeng Has Died – The celebrated
anti-apartheid photographer has died after years of
illness. Mofokeng captured the daily lives of black South
Africans under the segregationist
regime. (ARTnews)

Remembering Jason Polan, a Draughtsman of New
York – The beloved and prolific artist, who drew every work of
art in the Museum of Modern Art’s collection and sought to draw
every person in New York, has died at 37 from cancer. He was also
known for the Taco Bell Drawing Club, a loose group of artists who
would meet at a New York Taco Bell to draw together.
(NYT)

FOR ART’S SAKE

Marina Abramović Is
Going on (Virtual) Tour – Abramović’s mixed-reality
performance The Life is going on tour as part
of a partnership between Microsoft and Christie’s auction
house. The work, which debuted at London’s
Serpentine Galleries last year, allows visitors wearing a
Microsoft HoloLens 2 headset to share space with a virtual version
of the artist for 19 minutes. It will be on view from February 10
to 15 in Los Angeles with limited appointments. In October 2020,
one of three editions of The Life will be offered for sale
at Christie’s. (Observer)

How the Zeitz Museum’s
Director Is Shoring Up Africa’s Art Scene – Koyo Kouoh has
some big challenges and opportunities ahead of her as the new
executive director and chief curator of the Zeitz Museum of
Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town. The institution houses the
collection of former Puma CEO Jochen Zeitz and has organized
impressive shows like a recent one dedicated to William Kentridge’s
drawing practice. But some have complained that the staff lack
experience and that the museum fostered minimal discussion and new
scholarship. (ARTnews)

Duchess Kate Middleton
Takes Portraits of Holocaust Survivors
– The
Royal Duchess of Cambridge worked with the Royal Photographic
Society, the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, and Jewish News
on a poignant project that depicts two Holocaust survivors and
their grandkids. The portraits, done in the style of Vermeer, will
be featured in an exhibition that will open later this
year. (Vogue)

The post Art Industry News: The Ghent Altarpiece Restorers
Say the Internet’s Obsession With Their Work Is ‘Absolutely Stupid’
+ Other Stories appeared first on artnet News.