Art

Art Industry News: Why the Wild Success of the Van Gogh Experience Has Traditional Museum Directors Sweating Bullets + Other Stories – artnet News

Published

3 years ago

December 14, 2021

Art Industry News is a daily digest of the most consequential developments coming out of the art world and art market. Here’s what you need to know this Tuesday, December 14.

NEED-TO-READ

Cleaners Protest at the Guggenheim Bilbao – Custodial staff at the Guggenheim Bilbao protested their €5 ($5.65)-per-hour salaries in a poignant performance organized with artist Lorenzo Bussi, who works under the name Art Builders Group. Twelve cleaners formed a spaced-out line in front of the museum entrance and asked the public passing through one question: “Is everyone’s work equally important?” The hour-and-15-minute performance was intended to stress the importance of their invisible labor. (Hyperallergic)

Rashid Johnson Shows How to Use Art Stardom for Good – ARTnews looks at the impact and circle surrounding the artist Rashid Johnson, who for years has worked as “an insider from the outside and an outsider on the inside” to support artists and institutions in the New York art world. Despite questions about the relevance of the museum format in 2021, Johnson is committed to improving the old system. “I think if we’re not active in changing the discourse and dialogue and language around those spaces, we’re doing everyone a disservice,” he said. (ARTnews)

The Success of the Van Gogh Experience Is Making Museums Nervous – As the popularity of the Van Gogh Experience and its ilk shows no sign of waning, museums are still struggling to attract audiences. While the Met director Max Hollein notes that “these multisensory experiences are not art,” some audiences in Columbus, Ohio, feel differently. They showed up at the city’s museum hoping for “Immersive Van Gogh,” but got a Van Gogh show instead. “It was awkward,” said the Columbus Museum’s director Nannette Maciejunes. (Wall Street Journal)

Gallery Must Pay €17,000 for Damaging Koons Sculpture – A German court has ordered a Dusseldorf gallery to pay €17,000 ($19,211) after it damaged a “Balloon Venus” sculpture by Jeff Koons. The owner had consigned the work to the gallery in 2017 but it was scratched in transit from Taunus to Düsseldorf. (Monopol)

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Armory Show Focuses on Latinx Art – The Armory Show has hired three curators specializing in Latin American and Latinx art for its 2022 edition in an effort to bring “a unified focus to the fair’s curatorial sections for the first time.” Carla Acevedo-Yates of the MCA Chicago will curate Focus, Tate curator Tobias Ostrander will curate Platform, and MFA Houston curator Mari Carmen Ramírez will chair the fair’s curatorial leadership summit. (Press release)

MoMA Launches Scholar-in-Residence Program – New York’s Museum of Modern Art is teaming up with the Ford Foundation on a scholars-in-residence program beginning September 2022. Academics whose work offers new perspectives on art history will work at the museum for one year each over a three-year period. Each will receive a $185,000 stipend. The museum is currently accepting nominations on its website. (ARTnews)

Science Museum Vaccination Center Runs Out of Appointments – As London accelerates its booster vaccine program in an effort to control the spread of the Omicron variant, people face long queues at the city’s vaccination centers including the Science Museum, where appointments for the next five days have run out even before it reopens tomorrow. The museum, which is where Prince William and Kate Middleton got their jabs, will be accepting walk-ins, but long wait times are expected. (Evening Standard)

FOR ART’S SAKE

Chinese Collector Makes Art Figurines – If you’re looking for a legitimately cool holiday present that will be totally unintelligible to your nieces and nephews, we have you covered. The Shanghai-based art collector Chong Zhou has been releasing limited-edition art figurines in collaboration with contemporary artists. The first was with Zeng Fanzhi; the latest is based on the art of Wang Xingwei. The “Miss & Mister” figures are produced by Chong’s ArTy ReTro brand. (Instagram)

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A misspelled memorial to the Brontë sisters gets its dots back at last

Published

4 weeks ago

September 26, 2024

Anne Joseph

LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.

More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.

The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.

They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.

“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”

It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.

Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”

Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.

“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.

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Calvin Lucyshyn: Vancouver Island Art Dealer Faces Fraud Charges After Police Seize Millions in Artwork

Published

1 month ago

September 13, 2024

Harry Miller

In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.

Alleged Fraud Scheme

Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.

Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.

Massive Seizure of Artworks

In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.

Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.

Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed

In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.

Court Proceedings Ongoing

The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.

Impact on the Local Art Community

The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.

For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.

As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.

While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.

Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.

As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.