ArtPourri

Agreement Reached—After lengthy and complex discussions, an agreement regarding antiquities has been reached between the Italian Ministry of Culture and the J. Paul Getty Trust. The Getty will transfer 40 objects in its collection to Italy, including the Cult Statue of a Goddess, which will remain on display at the Getty Villa until 2010.

New Gallery/Education Center Open—The Metropolitan Museum, New York City, has inaugurated the Joyce and Robert Menschel Hall for Modern Photography. The Hall is designed specifically to accommodate large-scale photographs, and the inaugural installation is entitled Depth of Field:  Contemporary Photography at the Metropolitan.  In addition, following a three-year renovation and complete reconfiguration, the Ruth and Harold D. Uris Center for Education will reopen on Oct. 23 with an extraordinary range of new, high-tech features and the Museum’s first-ever art study room designed for teaching with original works of art.

Auction News – Christie’s “First Open – Post-War and Contemporary Art” sale totaled $12.2 million and surpassed the March sale substantially.  New records were set for several artists, including Louise Nevelson, Alice Neel, Louise Bourgeois and Norman Bluhm. – Sotheby’s “Contemporary Art Mid-Season” sale brought over $13 million, well above the high estimate.  Exceptional prices were received for works by Steven Parrino and Allen D’Arcangelo, and records were set for several artists.

New Directors Chosen—After a six-month international search, the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, has named Olga Viso its new director effective Jan. 2008.  Viso is currently director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.– Kevin Gover has been named director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian, effective Dec. 2.  A member of the Pawnee tribe, he is a professor of law at Arizona State U., an affiliate professor in its American Indian Studies Program and co-executive director of the university’s American Indian Policy Institute.

Architects Chosen—The Barnes Foundation has announced the selection of Tod Williams and Billie Tsien of New York to design its new facility on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Center City, Philadelphia.  The art education center will house the preeminent collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and early modern paintings.

Exhibitions:

Washington, DC – National Gallery of Art – States and Variations:  Prints by Jasper Johns focuses on the printmaker’s 1969 portfolio of 13 prints, 1^st Etchings, 2^nd State.  Included are 63 works dating from 1960 (the year he first undertook printmaking) through 1982.  Through Oct. 28.

Boston, MA – Museum of Fine Arts – Shy Boy, She Devil, and Isis:  The Art of Conceptual Craft, Selections from the Wornick Collection features 120 objects by 107 artists hailing from 20 countries.  These works document an era in which materials-based artists in clay, glass, metal, wood and fiber moved toward the creation of expressive sculptural forms that stand alone as objects of art, without a utilitarian purpose.  Through Jan. 6.

Pasadena, CA – Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, CA- A Centennial Celebration:  The Life of Norton Simon celebrates the 100^th anniversary of the birth of this renowned art collector, businessman and philanthropist.  In addition, there are special events and a newly acquired portrait of the founder by renowned artist Don Bachardy.  Through Feb. 11.

Editor’s Note:  October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  Please show your support and “think pink.”

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 17 No. 12 — October 2007