Category: visual

“In 2015, Italy unveiled a series of reforms that had the potential to transform the country’s storied museums. For the first time, foreign museum directors took the helm at major institutions across the country and all national museum directors were granted more independence than they had had in the past. Now, however, those measures have been rolled back.” – Artnet

Guardian arts editor Alex Needham started a Twitter tempest with this: “Dear curators, in the same way that I don’t get a byline when I commission and edit a piece, chances are you won’t get mentioned in the Guardian when we cover one of your shows. That’s just how it is.” Naomi Rea explains why Needham has gotten so much pushback. – Artnet

The latest withdrawal at the Shed highlights the increasing tension surrounding institutions accepting support from trustees whose sources of income are controversial. – artnet

“Unfortunately the simple reality is that the organization was never set up with sufficient funds to properly care for the collection and the physical plant long-term much less offer meaningful contributions to our community.” – Artforum

What did it mean to be the daughter of two people who profoundly shaped the look of the 20th century – and today? “My father stepped into my beige-carpeted room and said, ‘These old places sure do have a lot of molding.’ I commented, ‘It’s kind of sweet, isn’t it?’ He turned pale. ‘If you like molding, you are a fool and a failure.‘ The profound disappointment in his voice made the charge sting even more.” – Los Angeles Times

Simon Starling, a Scottish artist who lives and works in Copenhagen: “I have occasionally made shows where I try to connect to two venues in a single exhibition, and I guess, because of what’s happening in Britain with Brexit, it seemed like an irresistible moment to make an exhibition about a divided painting.” (And car.) – The Observer (UK)

Ceramics clubs with annual membership programs are popping up all over. Why? Aside from literally not being able to touch a phone while you’re working with clay, “pottery … challenges our post-industrial ideas about art, where we outsource all creativity and handiwork to a few specialists.” – The Guardian (UK)

One gimmick in particular stood out: A pair of works presented turned away from the audience, and sold as one lot, without any idea of what they looked like. “They are going to be two of the most gorgeous works of art that anyone has ever seen,” Borotescu promised the audience. “Once you turn it around, if it’s something you don’t like, you don’t have to keep it.” – artnet

The 376-foot sculpture was commissioned by Johnson, then London’s Mayor, for the 2012 Olympics, and he had hoped that it would become London’s answer to the Eiffel Tower (7 million annual visitors) or the Statue of Liberty (over 4 million). But Orbit never even cracked the 200,000-visitor mark — not even after it was bailed out by tycoon Lakshmi Mittal (which is why it’s now named ArcelorMittal Orbit) and Johnson had Carsten Höller add a sliding tube for which admission is now £17.50 ($21). (Maybe that’s why visitorship is down more than 20% from its peak.) Total debt on the contraption is now £13 million ($15.7 million). – Artnet

At the Madhavendra Palace, just outside Jaipur, “floral murals, elaborate arches, patterned columns, dark paneled doors, and stone-lined courtyards serve as maximal backdrops for sculptures — many of them site-specific — that simultaneously respond to the environment and introduce challenging new ideas into the space. Beauty and contemporary politics collide in room after room; visits to the palace become opulent treasure hunts.” – Artsy