October 24, 2014: The Musée Picasso Reopens This Weekend After Five Years, MoCA L.A. Sees New Growth, and a Frank Gehry Press Conference Gets Heated
Opening
In New York…Opening today is V.S. Gaitonde: “Painting as Process, Paint as Life” at the Guggenheim Museum, “Judith Scott—Bound and Unbound” at the Brooklyn Museum, “To Save and Project: The 12th MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation” and “100 Years in Post-Production: Resurrecting a Landmark of Black Film History” at MoMA, and “Joseph Montgomery: Doll Index” at Peter Blum Gallery. “Zarina: Descending Darkness” will have an opening reception this evening at Luhring Augustine before it officially opens tomorrow.
Closing
In New York… “Nick Lamia: Symmetry Breaking” closes today at Jason McCoy Gallery; “Monika Sosnowska: Tower” closes tomorrow at Hauser & Wirth.
In London… “Negativeless” closes at Michael Hoppen Gallery; “Nanda Vigo: Chronotops” closes at The Mayor Gallery.
Today’s Notable News
The New Museum has named Joseph Grima director of their IDEAS CITY festival, a series of conferences, workshops, projects, and exhibitions with a focus on the cultural life of cities around the world. Grima was previously the director of Storefront for Art and Architecture in NYC from 2007 to 2010, was appointed editor of Domus in 2011, and was co-curator of the inaugural Istanbul Design Biennial in 2012. Grima is set to serve as co-commissioner of the first US architecture biennial in Chicago next October.
The Museum of Contemporary Art in L.A. has added four new members to its board of trustees: artist Mark Bradford, public policy strategist Heather Podesta, entrepreneur and collector Cathy Vedovi, and banking executive and philanthropist Christopher Walker. The new additions mark successful growth for the museum, which was in financial distress back in 2008-9. (via The LA Times)
The Musée Picasso in Paris is reopening at long last this Sunday, after the controversial five-year renovation that saw the dismissal of former director Anne Baldassari by President Hollande. Despite the bad feelings that may remain, Baldassari will organize the museum’s first show, to remain on view for the next six months. (via The Art Newspaper)
A press conference held yesterday in Oviedo, Spain with Frank Gehry went a bit awry when a journalist opened by asking if Gehry’s architecture was simply about spectacle, to which the architect silently responded with his middle finger. He went on to state that “98% of everything that is built and designed today is pure shit.” Gehry was in Spain on the occasion of being awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize, conferred by King Felipe of Spain himself. (via The Guardian)
Anselm Kiefer’s installation, Die Erdzeitalter (Ages of the World) (2014), a precarious, looming stack of canvases, has been acquired by the Margulies Collection in Miami and will be shown next fall at the Warehouse. The work is currently at the Royal Academy of Arts, as part of their retrospective exhibitionof Kiefer’s work. (via ARTnews)
Best of Instagram
Via @vajiajia: “The most fabulous triple threat selfie moment ever at the @guggenheim with @allisonrodman @suewilliamson @jobpiston at #emptyguggenheim”
Good Reads
“Can A Vacation Really Make You More Creative?” (via Hyperallergic)
“Contrarian Stays True to His Cred: Hans Haacke Gets Establishment Nod of Approval” (via The New York Times)