Monday, October 25
LACMA Receives Major Gift of Korean Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has received a gift of 100 works of Asian art from local patron Dr. Chester Chang and his son Dr. Cameron C. Chang. The collection is comprised of 95 Korean artworks, among them paintings, calligraphy, sculptures, ceramics, and furniture. Also part of the gift are several Chinese, Japanese, and Tibetan artworks dating from the Three Kingdoms Period (220–280) to the mid-20th century. Among the highlights of the gift are a rare folding screen depicting Neo-Confucian diagrams relating to cosmology and Confucian social structures, landscape paintings from the Joseon dynasty, and Korean ceramic vessels from the 7th century. This is the second gift of artwork from the Chang family, following the donation of 50 works of Korean art between 2003 and 2007.
Rencontres de Bamako Delays 2021 Biennial by a Year
The Rencontres de Bamako biennial, a recurring showcase for African photography in Mali, has delayed this year’s edition by almost a year. “The health and wellbeing of our artists, team and visitors is an absolute priority for the biennale and informs this tough, but necessary decision,” the biennial wrote in a statement. Initially expected to open in November, the forthcoming edition of Rencontres de Bamako will now start on October 20, 2022, and run through December 20, 2022.
Simon Castets to Depart Swiss Institute as Director
With his second four-year contract coming to a close, Simon Castets will leave New York’s Swiss Institute as its director. He has led the art space since 2013 and will now become its executive chair. “Working alongside the artists included in our program, from exhibitions, to residencies, to live events, to education workshops, has been a privilege,” he said in a statement. A committee that includes Drawing Center director Laura Hoptman, Kunsthalle Basel president Martin Hatebur, and Swiss Institute trustees—among them artist Latifa Echakhch and publisher Michael Ringier—will lead a search for a new director.
French Ministry Names Artists Selected for Villa Albertine Residency
The French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs has revealed the artists selected for the inaugural cycle of a new residency program Villa Albertine. Headquartered in New York, the residencies span cities across the U.S., including Chicago to Houston to Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles. The 80 international artists and creatives selected for the program proposed projects that examine the American landscape; 40 French partnering cultural institutions are lined up to eventually exhibit them. Among the first group of residents is (LA)HORDE, a three-artist collective working in New York City and Los Angeles. Art historian Anne Lafont’s project will focus on two American historical figures, Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable and Marie Laveau, and French multidisciplinary artist Nicolas Floc’h will develop a photographic project centered around the Mississippi River. A full list of residents can be found here.