Art Movements
This week in art news: a fire at Brazil's Museum of the Portuguese Language left one dead, the family of art dealer Daniel Wildenstein braced for a trial over $600M in tax fraud and money laundering, and archivists preserved artworks left in the streets of Paris after last month's terror attacks.
Art Movements is a weekly collection of news, developments, and stirrings in the art world.
Firefighter Ronaldo Pereira Da Cruz died while responding to a major fire at the Museum of the Portuguese Language in São Paulo, Brazil.
Several members of the Wildenstein family and their financial advisers will go on trial on charges of tax fraud and money laundering in Paris next month. The French government has calculated that the estate of art dealer Daniel Wildenstein (1917–2001) owes around $600 million in taxes.
Archivists working for the City of Paris have been preserving letters, notes, and ephemera left on the city’s streets in the wake of the November 13 terrorist attacks.
Dorette Carter, the former director and curator of the Art Gallery of Northumberland, was found guilty of fraud and forgery.
Japansese architect Kengo Kuma was chosen to design the 2020 Olympic stadium following the scrapping of Zaha Hadid’s proposal.
Mary Beard, David Olusoga, and Simon Schama will present Civilisations, a ten-part BBC series examining the the art of Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Africa, from prehistoric times to the present day. The show is a follow-up to Kenneth Clark’s groundbreaking series Civilisation (1969).
The Panhellenic Union of Antiquities Guards decided to continue its strikes in protest over a prospective new salary system. As a result, Greek museums and archaeological sites will remain closed on weekends and public holidays.
Students inspired by the Rhodes Must Fall movement successfully persuaded Oxford University’s Oriel College to remove a plaque dedicated to British imperialist and businessman Cecil Rhodes. The student group is looking to have a statue of Rhodes removed from the façade of the college’s Grade II-listed building.
Sindika Dokolo recovered three works stolen from the Dundo Museum in northeast Angola. The Congolese businessman did not disclose how much he paid for the works, which were created by the Chokwe people during the 19th century.
Seven architectural firms were shortlisted to design the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago: David Adjaye, Renzo Piano, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, John Ronan Architects, ShoP Architects, and Snohetta.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston signed a memorandum of understanding with Tufts University. The agreement transfers the operational responsibility for the School of the Museum of Fine Arts to Tufts.
Staten Island’s St. George Library Center is currently hosting a display of books, music, and movies made by and about the Wu-Tang Clan, dubbed the #Wuseum.
Transactions
The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden acquired Ragnar Kjartansson’s “S.S. Hangover” (2013–14), Hito Steyerl’s “How Not to Be Seen: A Fucking Didactic Educational .MOV File” (2013), and Mary Weatherford’s “Engine” (2014).
Kenneth C. Griffin, the founder and chief executive of Citadel, donated $40 million to the Museum of Modern Art.
Fourteen American artworks were finally delivered to Iran almost 40 years after they were purchased by the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. The works were blocked for export following the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
Sweden’s Nationalmuseum will loan 76 works to the Morgan Library and Museum while it is closed for renovation.
The Vancouver Art Gallery acquired new works by Sonny Assu, Geoffrey Farmer, and Colleen Heslin.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia acquired “Square Cloud Compound” (2010), an installation by Mikala Dwyer.
Transitions
3Arts, ArtBridge, Handwerker Gallery, Locust Projects, Southern Exposure, and The Lab became W.A.G.E. Certified.
Max Delany was appointed director of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art.
Adrian Lahoud was appointed dean of the School of Architecture at the Royal College of Art.
Jonathan Canning was appointed curator of the Hyde Collection.
Inti Guerrero was appointed adjunct curator of Latin American art at the Tate.
Houston’s Harris Gallery permanently closed.
The new $112 million building for UC Berkeley’s Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive will open on January 31, 2016.
Sprüth Magers will open a new space in Los Angeles on February 23, 2016.
Pearl Lam Galleries appointed Joseph Ng to the position of managing director for Asia.
Accolades
The Joan Mitchell Foundation announced the recipients of its 2015 Painters and Sculptors Grant Program.
Planned Parenthood will present Marilyn Minter with its Women of Valor award on April 11, 2016. Minter’s nonprofit organization Choice Works — a collaboration with Planned Parenthood’s New York City branches and Planned Parenthood Federation of America — recently reopened.
Nicole Miller was awarded the 2015 Johnson Prize.
Obituaries
Count Andrew Ciechanowiecki (1924–2015), Polish aristocrat and gallerist.
Charles F. Harris (1934–2015), editor and publisher.
Alain Jouffroy (1928–2015), art critic and poet.
Robert Kobayashi (1925–2015), artist.
Kurt Masur (1927–2015), conductor.
George Ortman (1926–2015), artist.
Kenneth Partridge (1926–2015), interior designer.
Betty Jean Thiebaud (1929–2015), filmmaker. Wife of Wayne Thiebaud.
Yoram Tsafrir (1938–2015), archaeologist and academic.
Jean-Luc Vilmouth (1952–2015), sculptor and filmmaker.
