2008.05.12

Schafhausen to Curate German Pavilion; Changes in Droit de Suite Laws; Criticism of Architects in China; Picasso Museum Considers Lower Numbers

Nicolaus Schafhausen Chosen to Curate the German Pavilion at the 2009 Venice Biennale; Changes to Droite de Suite Laws in France Incite Protest; Ko Colijn Criticizes Western Architects Working with China; Picasso Museum in Barcelona Weighs Reasons to Reduce Visitors

SCHAFHAUSEN TO CURATE GERMAN PAVILION AGAIN

The Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that Nicolaus Schafhausen has again been chosen to curate the German pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Schafhausen, who directs Rotterdam's Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, selected Isa Genzken for the pavilion at the last edition of the Biennale. No word on the current favorites for 2009.

ARTISTS PROTEST CHANGES TO DROIT DE SUITE

More than five hundred French artists—including Daniel Buren and Christo—are protesting changes to the droit de suite laws, artists' equivalent of authors' copyright laws. As Le

2008.05.07

Art Forum Berlin Changes Directors; Trouble for Ara Pacis Museum?; The Fate of Ile Seguin; Serra at "Monumenta"; Hofmann Dies at 102

Two New Directors at Art Forum Berlin; Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno Intends to Demolish Ara Pacis Museum; What Is the Fate of Ile Seguin After Pinault?; Richard Serra Unveils Work for "Monumenta" at Paris's Grand Palais; Albert Hofmann, Inventor of LSD, Dies at 102

BERLIN FAIR FACES DIRECTOR CRISIS

After the surprise resignation of Cay Sophie Rabinowitz from Art Basel, the next fair to face a shift in directorship is Art Forum Berlin (no relation to Artforum). According to a report from the German magazine Monopol and a press release from Art Forum, the fair's current artistic director, Sabrina van der Ley, will be replaced next year by two directors, Eva-Maria Häusler and Peter Vetsch. Until last year, Häusler was the show manager of Art Basel, while Vetsch was communications manager for both Art Basel and its sister fair in the US, Art Basel Miami

2008.04.30

Beijing Needs Photoshop, Says Sarah Morris; Photo Exhibition in Paris Sparks Controversy; Critic Defends Schneider's Deathbed Installation; Alleged Suicide of Russian Expat Artist Raises New Questions

BEIJING NEEDS PHOTOSHOP, SAYS SARAH MORRIS

Sarah Morris is making another film, but the subject in front of the camera seems to be coming out more than a little blurry. In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Morris spoke about her experiences making a new film about the Olympic Games in Beijing. The problem is not the camera focus but rather the pollution. Says Morris, "If you want to get a clear picture of the 'bird's nest'—the main stadium designed by Herzog and de Meuron—then you have to use Photoshop, for example, because of the air pollution." No word on whether Photoshop

2008.04.21

Berlin's New Art Fair; Cologne Eclipsed by Berlin?; Pagé Wins Art Cologne Prize; Schneider Seeks Someone to Die for Art

Michael Neff, Current Director of Berlin Gallery Weekend, is Inaugurating a New Fair Called "Art Berlin Contemporary" this September in Berlin; Critics Speak Up on the Topic of Berlin's Cultural Ascendance; Fondation Louis-Vuitton Director Suzanne Pagé Awarded Prize at Art Cologne; Artist Gregor Schneider Searching for Someone Willing to Die in a Performance

A TALE OF TWO ART FAIRS?

This fall Berlin will be hosting not one but two art fairs. As the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung's Swantje Karich reports, the newest addition is called ABC—short for "Art Berlin Contemporary"—which will be held September 4-7, 2008, in a former post office at Gleisdreieck. One theme, fifty galleries, and 9000 square meters (96,875 square feet) of exhibition space are ABC's essential ingredients. The existing Art Forum Berlin fair—no relation to the magazine—recently pushed forward its date from late September to November, opening a window for what appears to be a new

所见所闻 DIARY 2008.04.14

幻影相随［柏林]

双年展是不是变得越来越大了呢？第五届柏林双年展已正式拉开帷幕了，名为“When Things Cast No Shadow”(“当一切没有影子的时候”)的展览实际上个月就已经开始了，开幕式在 Schinkel Pavilion举行，在那里，年轻的艺术家邀请他们的老师过来参加，展出他们的作品。双年展的策展人 Adam Szymczyk和Elena Filipovic并不满足仅仅在四个场馆置放传统装置，除了周一，他们还在每天晚上安排了不同的活动，他们将其称为“我的夜晚比你的白天更美丽”，这也是Andrzej Zulawski导演的1989年的一部电影名。另外，如果你自己去那里的话，你可以通过双年展的网站预定一个“blind date”,这样你就会遇到一个参加的策展人或艺术家。昼夜轮流，再加上一些blind date,双年展不仅仅规模扩大了，而且，简直有些超时了。

除了官方举办的活动外，还有一些附加的活动，从展览开幕式到派对，无所不包。真的很难做出选择，是接受 Texte zur Kunst杂志的邀请去 Cookies参加庆祝活动呢，还是接受来自Ömer Koc 和René Block 的邀请去看在 Tanas Berlin的、Kutlug Ataman的录象装置Küba 呢？要是晚上，既要参加 Johann König在 Ballhaus Mitte 的活动，又要参加

2008.04.08

Search on for Documenta 13 Director; More Controversy for Art Forum Berlin; New Museum for Milan; Haacke Awarded Damages for Lost Work

Commission Appointed to Select Director for Documenta 13; Catrin Lorch Discusses Differences between Berlin's Art Forum Fair and the Gallery Weekend; New Museum for Milan Set to Open in 2011; Munich Judge Awards Hans Haacke $18,050 in Damages for Lost Work

SEARCH UNDERWAY FOR NEXT DOCUMENTA HEAD

The search for the artistic director of Documenta 13 has officially begun. As Der Standard reports, a commission comprising nine curators and museum directors from around the world has been given the task of choosing the next director by 2010. (The next edition takes place in 2012.) Members of the commission include Kathy Halbreich (associate director at MoMA in New York), Paulo Herkenhoff (the former director of the Museu Nacional Belas Artes in Rio de Janeiro), Elizabeth Ann Macgregor (director of Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art), and Oscar Ho (

2008.04.01

Carla Bruni Takes On Culture; BMW Backs Out of Art Basel

CARLA TAKES ON CULTURE

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy—top model, pop singer, leftist sympathizer, and most recently wife of the president of the Republic of France—could turn out to be art's best ally in a government hostile to culture. According to Le Monde's Raphaëlle Bacqué, Bruni-Sarkozy played a key role in reversing her husband's plans to nominate his former aide Georges-Marc Benamou to head the Villa Médicis in Rome.

Benamou, Sarkozy's cultural adviser, had to be quickly removed from the presidential team after making a major error in press protocol, which allowed France Télévision to scoop the

2008.03.26

Spitzer Could Have Gone for Koons Instead; CAPC Bordeaux "Kiddie Porn" Case Dismissed; New Branch, New Director for Phillips de Pury

SPITZER COULD HAVE GONE FOR KOONS INSTEAD

What do artist Jeff Koons and prostitute Ashley Alexandra Dupré have in common? Both can be had for a hefty price through the Emperors Club. Citing a report on Artnet, Le Monde's Harry Bellet discovers that the escort service, which counted the former New York governor Eliot Spitzer among its clients, also offered contemporary artworks through its website. "Emperors Club was not satisfied with providing women to our financial elites but also took an interest in contemporary art," writes Bellet. "Their business, Emperors Publishing Media Group, owns a

2008.03.18

India Prohibits Importation of Meese Sculpture; Still No Director for Art Cologne; Koolhaas Lends Support to German "Great Pyramid" Project; French Mayor Bans Death

Customs Officials in India Turned Away a Sculpture by Artist Jonathan Meese; No Director Appointed Yet for Art Cologne; Rem Koolhaas Lends Support to Great Pyramid outside Dessau, Germany; Mayor of Pau, France, Bans Death

INDIA REFUSES MEESE SCULPTURE

A sculpture by Jonathan Meese has been turned away at the Indian border. As the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung's Swantje Karich reports, Indian customs officials at Mumbai airport took a "drastic" approach to Meese's bronze sculpture Don't Call Us, We'll Call You, 2007, which was en route to the gallery Mirchandani + Steinruecke for inclusion in the exhibition "General Sweetie." According to Karich, the dealers attempted to persuade the airport customs officials to let the work through by citing "traditional Indian erotic literature." Just as the shipment was

2008.03.11

Success—and a Theft—at TEFAF; Liechtenstein Suspends German Art Loans; Exhibition Focuses on Art "Branding"

The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) in Maastricht, the Netherlands, Began with Strong Sales and the Theft of a $1.84 Million Diamond Necklace; Royal House of Liechtenstein Suspends Loans of Art to German Museums in Protest of German Tax Investigations; New Exhibition at Freiburg's Museum für Neue Kunst Puts Wares with Artists' Names on Display

SOME SUCCESS—AND A THEFT—IN MAASTRICHT

The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) in Maastricht—perhaps the only fair to offer antique sculptures alongside contemporary video installations—got off to a successful start, despite a theft at the VIP preview. As Le Monde's Harry Bellet reports, the fair reaffirmed the art market's spectacular worldwide growth, with estimates of a 95 percent increase in sales between 2002 and 2006. Indeed, in 2006 at TEFAF, some €500 million ($767 million) changed hands between the collectors and dealers who come to the small Dutch town from around the world. Last year

2008.03.03

Protests Against French Cultural Budget Continue; Albanel to be Replaced?; Sarkozy Wants French Cuisine Added to UNESCO List; Delvoye to Sell Tattooed Man; Bari to Host Mediterranean-European Biennial

France's Cultural Sector Continues to Protest Latest Culture Budget; Libération Reports on the Potential Replacement of French Minister of Culture Christine Albanel; French President Nicolas Sarkozy Advocating for French Cuisine to be Added to UNESCO Heritage List; Belgian Artist Wim Delvoye Plans to Sell a Tattooed Man in an Upcoming Exhibition at De Pury & Luxembourg; Thirteenth Edition of the Mediterranean-European Biennial Will Take Place in Bari, Italy

PROTESTS AGAINST FRENCH CULTURAL BUDGET CONTINUE

Following last week's strike, the French cultural sector continues to protest the national ministry of culture. As Agence France-Presse reports, a coalition of unions published an open letter to president Nicolas Sarkozy in the daily Libération. The letter implores Sarkozy to "relaunch artistic and cultural policy" by increasing the 2008 budget of €2.93 billion ($4.46 billion)—a sum that must fund all of the country's public cultural institutions, from museums and libraries to theaters and monuments.

This year's budget, which even minister of

2008.02.25

Art Paris to Open in China; Decline of German Art Fairs; Protesters Strike French Ministry of Culture

Art Paris Announces Plans to Organize an Art Fair in Shenzhen, China, Next May; the Süddeutsche Zeitung Explores Possible Reasons for the Failures of Several German Art Fairs; Roughly 500 Employees at French Cultural Institutions Protest Potential Changes to the French Ministry of Culture

ART PARIS WILL EXPAND TO CHINA IN 2009

Art Paris has announced plans to organize a fair in China next year. As Der Standard's Olga Grimm-Weissert reports, the announcement arrives as the fair looks forward to celebrating its tenth edition this April 3–7 in Paris's Grand Palais. If all goes well, the new fair will take place in May 2009 in Shenzhen, a southern Chinese municipality just west of Hong Kong. Last fall, Art Paris founded a fair in Abu Dhabi that ran successfully November 23–27.

The French fair's expansion and success has cast a shadow over its Parisian rival, the older Foire

2008.02.19

Huber Excluded from Art Basel and ShContemporary; Caixa-Forum Opens in Madrid; Le Monde Critiques ARCO

Geneva-Based Gallerist Pierre Huber Has Been Excluded from Participation in This Year's Art Basel and ShContemporary Art Fairs; the Herzog & de Meuron–designed Caixa-Forum Opens in Madrid; Le Monde's Harry Bellet Writes Critically of the New Gallery Lineup at Madrid's ARCO Fair

HUBER EXCLUDED FROM BASEL AND SHANGHAI FAIRS

The Geneva-based gallerist Pierre Huber will not be allowed to participate in Art Basel in June or Shanghai's ShContemporary art fair in September. Citing a report in Le Journal des Arts, Le Monde's Harry Bellet reports that Huber himself—"one of the most reputable and controversial gallerists"—also confirmed the news.

Huber's troubles began in the United States in February 2007, when he sold seventy-four pieces—5 percent of his collection—at an auction at Christie's in New York. But the artworks under the hammer were originally destined for a

2008.02.12

Pijbes to Head Rijksmuseum; Compain Named Manager at Paris Photo; Performance at ARCO; Art Forum Berlin Dates Changed; Art Rotterdam Sees Rise in Popularity; Dercon Reports from China

Wim Pijbes Named Director of Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum; Paris Photo Names Jean-Daniel Compain Fair Manager; This Year's ARCO Program Features Performance; Art Forum Berlin Changes Dates; the Ninth Edition of Art Rotterdam Shows Signs of Success; Haus der Kunst Director Chris Dercon Files a Report on China's Evolving Art Scene

WIM PIJBES TO HEAD RIJKSMUSEUM

Wim Pijbes has been named the director of Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum. As the Süddeutsche Zeitung reports, Pijbes takes over from Ronald de Leeuw on July 1. Pijbes is currently an art-history professor at Groningen University and has been director of Kunsthal Rotterdam since 2000. De Leeuw, who is leaving the museum world, welcomed the appointment.

NEW FAIR MANAGER FOR PARIS PHOTO

Jean-Daniel Compain has been named the new fair manager of Paris Photo, the world's first fair dedicated exclusively to the medium of photography. As Agence France-Presse reports, Compain

2008.02.06

French Debate Impact of Deaccessioning; Hoet at MARTa; Kiefer Works Recovered; Artists Protest in Athens

Report Released on Potential Impact of Deaccessioning of French Museums; Musée d'Orsay Director Guy Cogeval Speaks Out Against Deacquisitioning of Works; MARTa Artistic Director Jan Hoet Expresses Interest in Staying at Museum; Twenty-two Anselm Kiefer Sculptures Recovered in "Very Bad Condition"; Greek Artists Protest Poor Management of Public Spending

FRENCH MUSEUMS TO SELL OFF WORKS?

Will France make a move toward deaccessioning? As Le Monde's Emmanuel de Roux reports, Jacques Rigaud—the former director of the French radio station RTL—has been assigned to evaluate the possibility of selling off works from the permanent collections of French national museums. The idea first arose in the 2006 report "The Immaterial Economy," which suggested that national museums classify their permanent collections into two main categories: works that are inalienable and works in storage that could be loaned or sold.

Inspired by the 2006 report, in August,

2008.01.29

World's Largest Sculpture Garden at Ile Seguin; A Week in the Life of Hans Ulrich Obrist; Berlin's Embarrassing Museum Budget; Art and the Market

WORLD'S LARGEST SCULPTURE GARDEN AT ILE SEGUIN

Ile Seguin may soon be home to the world's largest outdoor sculpture park. As Der Standard and APA report, the announcement was made by Georges-Marc Benamou, the cultural advisor to French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Ile Seguin—formerly the site of a Renault car factory—was where François Pinault had planned to build his private museum before heading off to Venice.

According to a report originally published in Libération, the park will cover 13 hectares (32.1 acres) and cost €200 million ($295.9 million). "It is an old dream of Nicolas Sarkozy

2008.01.21

Goodrow Out at Cologne; Haacke Work Missing; Repairs for Buren Columns; Berlin White Cube Delayed

Art Cologne Artistic Director Gérard Goodrow Relieved of Duties; Hans Haacke Installation Disappears Following 1991 Munich Exhibition; Daniel Buren's "Columns" Installation at the Palais Royal to be Renovated; Due to Construction Delays, Berlin's White Cube May Miss the Beginning of the Berlin Biennial

GOODROW TO GO

Gérard A. Goodrow has been relieved of his duties as artistic director of Art Cologne. As the Süddeutsche Zeitung's Stefan Koldehoff reports, the announcement is expected to be made official by January 22, when the gallerists meet for a summit with manager Oliver P. Kuhrt to discuss the future of the beleaguered fair. In the past year, a group of gallerists has grown more critical of Goodrow, as Art Cologne has steadily lost ground to younger fairs, primarily London's Frieze and Art Basel Miami Beach.

One of Goodrow's toughest critics, Cologne gallerist Christian Nagel,

2008.01.15

Kiefer Robbed; Attendance Drops at Swedish Museums; Dubai Plans New Lyon; Ai Weiwei Criticizes Olympics

Thieves Steal Works from Anselm Kiefer's Atelier; Attendance Drops at Swedish Museums Following Institution of Entrance Fees; Dubai Plans to Build a Version of Lyon, France; Ai Weiwei Speaks Out about 2008 Beijing Olympics

ANSELM KIEFER ROBBED

Anselm Kiefer was the target of some unwanted visitors last weekend. As Agence France-Presse reports, thieves entered his property at Barjac in Gard, France, and stole several works from one of his ateliers. The missing works include thirty sculptures as well as pieces that feature books with lead pages on top of boulders—works that were shown in Kiefer's exhibition at Paris's Grand Palais last spring. The thieves absconded with the works in a truck; no one has yet been caught.

FEWER VISITORS TO SWEDISH MUSEUMS

Swedish museums used to be free. But on January 1, 2007,

2008.01.08

Hirschhorn Ends Swiss Boycott; Cultural Policy in Hungary; Celebrating Fortieth Anniversary of '68; Sotheby's France Wants Market Reform

Thomas Hirschhorn Agrees to Exhibit Works Again in Native Switzerland; Critics Urge Changes in Hungary's Art Infrastructure; Die Welt Celebrates the Fortieth Anniversary of Landmark Events of 1968; Sotheby's Calls for Market Reform in France

THOMAS HIRSCHHORN ENDS SWISS BOYCOTT

Since 2003, Thomas Hirschhorn has barred exhibitions of his work in his native Switzerland—but that’s about to change. In December of that year, the artist published an open letter in Die Tageszeitung declaring that he would no longer exhibit his works in the country, due to the election of the controversial right-wing politician Christoph Blocher to the national parliament. As the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung's Jürg Altwegg reports, now that Blocher has been voted out of parliament, Hirschhorn has decided to end his four-year-long boycott.

Last December,

2007.12.31

Russia Agrees to Lend Paintings to UK; Art at Austrian Parliament; Buren Protests State of Art; Copyright for Pyramids?; Paris-Bangladesh Show Canceled

Russia Agrees to Lend Paintings to London's Royal Academy After UK Implements Law Protecting Works from Seizure; Austria's Parliament Building to Host Contemporary Art; Daniel Buren Protests the Condition of His Installation at Paris's Palais Royal; Egypt May Introduce a Form of Copyright on Pyramids and Other Ancient Sites; Exhibition of Bangladeshi Art in Paris Halted After Theft of Two Statues En Route

RUSSIA TO LEND WORKS

In a dramatic turnaround, it seems that Russia has now decided to lend paintings from four federal museums for an upcoming exhibition on Russian art at London's Royal Academy. As Agence France-Presse reports, the announcement comes after the British government implemented a new law to protect the artworks from possible seizure on the part of descendents of families from which the works were seized during the 1917 October Revolution. Instead of an official statement, the announcement was made by a top government official on Moscow's Echo radio. "We are sure that our cultural

Jennifer Allen