Category: visual

More than 5,000 visual artists from around the world are based here, according to statistics compiled by city authorities. Despite high-profile closures, there are still more than 300 galleries, and before Covid-19 restrictions, there were public art talks nearly every night. The postponed Berlin Biennial is going forward on Sept. 5, and Gallery Weekend, an event in which about 50 local galleries court international collectors, has moved to mid-September from its usual springtime slot. Many art world insiders blame Berlin’s policymakers, however, for failing to develop a solid institutional infrastructure for contemporary art, including securing real estate for its display. – The New York Times

Nathalie Bondil was ousted on 13 July by the museum’s board of directors, which cited “disturbing” reports from staff members about a “toxic” workplace atmosphere. The dismissal followed an investigation into the employee allegations that the board commissioned from a consulting firm. – The Art Newspaper

“Tate has announced 313 redundancies across its commercial enterprises, which include staff who work in publishing and in gallery shops, cafes and restaurants in London, Liverpool and St Ives. … The figure – almost half of the 640 workforce – is bigger than the 200 redundancies which had previously been speculated on.” – The Guardian

In reality, museums merely reflect the massive inequalities in society at large. After the pandemic, museums may represent an even greater concentration of wealth in fewer hands. The American Alliance of Museums has repeatedly warned that roughly a third of museums may never reopen. Almost half of those that will reopen expect to do so with reduced staff. A study of the arts and culture sector of New York City suggests that the revenue of smaller institutions has been disproportionately affected by the lockdown. – Hyperallergic

History of Medicine in California, a 1938 ten-panel fresco by Bernard Zakheim, is in a building at UCal-San Francisco that the school is going to tear down and replace. UCSF gave Zakheim’s family 90 days this summer to find a way to get the 2,000-pound paintings removed (at Zakheim expense) or they would be destroyed. Then a young scholar discovered that one fresco features Biddy Mason, a formerly enslaved woman who became an admired nurse, midwife, and philanthropist — and a cause was born. – The New York Times

“In Goethe’s 1810 treatise on color he wrote, ‘red-yellow gives an impression of warmth and gladness.’ He added that ‘the feelings they excite are quick, lively, aspiring.’ His idea that visual attributes, like color and form, cause universal responses in viewers has influenced art theory ever since. But a study published earlier this year in the PLOS ONE journal contested the idea that everyone experiences the same emotions when viewing abstractions.” – ARTnews

The Virtual Online Museum of Art (VOMA) …, curated by London-based art dealer Lee Cavaliere, will feature masterpieces on loan from international institutions such as Musée d’Orsay, Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. … Additionally, VOMA will present commissioned artworks by international contemporary artists as part of its newly-launched Digital Firsts Commission Programme.” – Yahoo! (AFP)

Attendance is expected to be between 1,500 and 1,700 visitors per day, or about half of what’s normal, said Jessica Sharpe, the museum’s chief of membership and visitor operations. – Philadelphia Inquirer

When he died in 1917, Rodin left his estate to the museum, including the original plaster molds of more than 100 sculptures. “Rodin gave the economical system so that the museum could live,” museum communications director Clémence Goldberger explains. The museum still uses these molds to recast new bronze sculptures and sell them — and with a projected loss of 3 million euros this year, the molds have never proved more valuable. – NPR

“The argument for reopening our cultural institutions has been made with force: art sustains us, say the museum executives over the morning airwaves. But when I enter the exhibition, the first thing I wish is that, in the quest for sufficient sustenance, I’d brought a bottle of water—the mask dehydrates you quickly.” – Prospect