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The Paris-born collector and billionaire Nicolas Berggruen says he is moving ahead with plans for his ambitious Berggruen Institute building, designed by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron, that will rise on a plot of land in the Santa Monica Mountains, close to the Getty Center. He says, however, that no date has been set for the ground-breaking of the new venue, which will act as a base for the institute. — The Art Newspaper
The Los Angeles-based Berggruen Institute first unveiled the master plan for its "Scholars' Campus," designed by Herzog & de Meuron in collaboration with Michel Desvigne Paysagiste and Inessa Hansch Architecte as well as executive architect Gensler, in August 2017. Image © Herzog & de... View full entry
On Saturday, the Seattle Asian Art Museum will reopen after a two-year, $56 million restoration and renovation, unveiling new and modern spaces to share its extensive collection. The building is one of three associated with the Seattle Art Museum, and except for some minor additions, has not had a major renovation since its construction in 1933. — The New York Times
Aerial view of the museum in Seattle's Volunteer Park. Photo: © Tim Griffith Seattle-based firm LMN Architects, in collaboration with landscape architect Walker Macy, was in charge of the $56 million, 24-month-long renovation and expansion which includes a new glass-enclosed park lobby, a new... View full entry
Decades old and once taught by famous Yale professors like Vincent Scully, “Introduction to Art History: Renaissance to the Present” was once touted to be one of Yale College’s quintessential classes. But [its cancellation] is the latest response to student uneasiness over an idealized Western “canon” — a product of an overwhelmingly white, straight, European and male cadre of artists. — Yale Daily News
Margaret Hedeman and Matt Kristoffersen, writing in The Yale Daily News, shed light on a recent decision by the Yale University Art History Department to retool and refocus its foundational survey course with the aim of lessening the class's "singular focus in Western art." The move comes as... View full entry
With the new year already in full swing, it's time to take a look at some of the upcoming high-profile museum projects and anticipated expansions of major cultural institutions that are scheduled to open, or re-open, in 2020. The Art Newspaper has published an insightful overview of... View full entry
A group of architects at NAC Architecture in Chinatown LA have come together to raise money for the students at Castelar Elementary School located just a few blocks from their office. “We are a community-focused practice, and we love the community we’re in. So a chance to help our... View full entry
Alexico Group, the development firm behind Tribeca’s 60-storey “Jenga Tower”, a Herzog & de Meuron-designed residential high-rise at 56 Leonard Street, announced that it will start installing a public sculpture by Anish Kapoor commissioned specifically for the building in the second week of November. — The Art Newspaper
Kapoor's shiny 56 Leonard bladder — resembling a smaller, squashed version of his Chicago "The Bean" landmark — made quite a splash in early renderings for the Jenga-like Manhattan condo tower in 2008, but overcoming various fabrication obstacles has not been easy and thus pushed... View full entry
What would a picture of architecture, devoid of people, automobiles, animals, and all of the other urban seasonings we experience each day look like? 'Edge of the West Village' 'Hudson on My Mind' In his exhibition New York Unseen, on view at ClampArt through mid-November, the... View full entry
A Berlin-based artist who put up billboards advertising fake real estate projects in protest against runaway property development received more than 200 calls from would-be investors who didn’t get the joke. [...]
At a distance, the adverts look plausible but closer inspection of the images visualising what the new properties would look like reveals odd details.
— The Guardian
Treptown Visions, billboard in public space, Treptow, Berlin, 2019 by Dorothea Nold. Image: Dorothea Nold/aussenwelt "Citizens are not being asked for their permission when investors make such drastic changes in their city, that’s why I thought it is okay to put them without permission up to... View full entry
Not only did they care deeply for the works, but in many cases they cared deeply for the artists themselves, like Jean Dubuffet and Barnett Newman. Both Eileen and I.M. Pei had incredibly creative minds and, unsurprisingly, they surrounded themselves with friends of equal talent and intellect. — Architectural Digest
I.M. Pei, and his wife, Eileen's collection of art will go to auction at Christie's starting in Paris in September, followed by Hong Kong and Los Angeles in October, and then New York in November. The auctions will feature artwork by Barnett Newman, Zao Wou-ki, Jean Dubuffet, Henry Moore, and many... View full entry
The International Council of Museums (ICOM) will vote on a new definition of museums in September. The proposed change includes language about “social justice, global equality and planetary wellbeing.” Critics say the text is too political for most museums to employ. — Hyperallergic
After almost 50 years of consensus, the definition of the museum as "a nonprofit institution” that “acquires, conserves, researches, communicates, and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study, and enjoyment," is being... View full entry
Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting has been moved to a new room in the Louvre while its usual home is renovated. That’s causing some commotion for visitors. — The New York Times
This year, as the Salle des États, where the Mona Lisa painting has hung since 2005, is being renovated, a debate over how to address the growing number of tourists visiting the famous painting has come to a fore in Paris. The exhibition hall, according to The New York Times, is being... View full entry
The Brooklyn Academy of Music plans to add four new works of public art to its downtown campus, and has commissioned site-specific installations from three Brooklyn-based artists. — The New York Times
The Brooklyn based venue has enlisted renowned artists Teresita Fernandez, Hank Willis Thomas, and Leo Villareal, to create site-focused installations "as a part of BAM's Robert W. Wilson Public Art Initiative." The initiative was made possible back in 2015 when a $3.5 million gift was received... View full entry
That’s exactly what Avril Corroon, an art student at Goldsmiths, has done for her final project. Taking samples from the most cursed fungal growths she could find in rented accommodation around London, Avril made a selection of artisanal cheeses that look good enough to eat. Except, they’re not; they’re stinky reminders of just how terrible rented accommodation can be in one of the richest cities in the world. — VICE
Art student, Avril Corroon has decided to take an unfortunate situation and make a statement through art. "The idea is to juxtapose precarious living standards with that of wealth, gentrification and thinking about where money is invested and where it is disinvested, and how often products are all... View full entry
Architect Carlo Ratti's design studio has utilized drone technology to produce a crowdsourced work of art in Turin, Italy. Measuring in at 46 x 39 feet, the project was developed as part of UFO-Urban Flying Opera, a participatory technology and art project funded by Compagnia di San Paolo. Created... View full entry
It may seem like an ordinary scene: Children and adults playing on pink seesaws, carelessly laughing and chatting with each other
But this is a playground unlike any other. These custom-built seesaws have been placed on both sides of a slatted steel border fence that separates the United States and Mexico.
— CNN
The binational Teetertotter Wall intervention, connecting Sunland Park, New Mexico with Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, is the brainchild of Ronald Rael, a professor of architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, and Virginia San Fratello, an associate professor of design at San... View full entry
