In my 2015 yearly round-up post, I crowed about a high point of my CultureGrrl career—the munificent Art Writers Grant awarded to my blog by Creative Capital | Warhol Foundation. In keeping with the general gloom surrounding 2016, I'll introduce this year's round-up by confessing a low point: The likely end to my freelance gig with the Wall Street Journal, where I've been a … [Read more...] about The Year in CultureGrrl, 2016 Edition
Archives for 2016
“Happy Holidays”: Nimble Bigelow Dances Through Crystal Bridges Museum
Rod is no clod. In one of the most engaging (but also slightly troubling) emailed holiday greetings I've seen this season, Bigelow, executive director and chief diversity and inclusion officer (a mouthful) of the Crystal Bridges Museum, Bentonville, gracefully trips the light fantastic through the otherwise visitor-free galleries. His footwork is pegged to the museum's current … [Read more...] about “Happy Holidays”: Nimble Bigelow Dances Through Crystal Bridges Museum
“Meditations on Mortality”: Illustrated Companion to My WSJ Review of Jasper Johns/Edvard Munch at VMFA
John Ravenal, curator of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond (and now executive director of the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA), set himself two prerequisites for undertaking the scholarly yet easy-to-love show---Jasper Johns and Edvard Munch: Love, Loss, and the Cycle of Life (to Feb. 20)---that I reviewed for the online version of today's Wall Street … [Read more...] about “Meditations on Mortality”: Illustrated Companion to My WSJ Review of Jasper Johns/Edvard Munch at VMFA
Mission Mishmash: Divided Loyalties in Sotheby’s Plan to Advise Artists, Their Estates & Foundations
Decades ago, before Christie's introduced the buyer's premium to New York, auction houses in the U.S. were clear on who they represented: Their client was the seller. Today's murky waters just got murkier with Sotheby's jaw-dropping announcement yesterday that it hopes to "provide planning services and manage projects for artists, artist estates and foundations." This … [Read more...] about Mission Mishmash: Divided Loyalties in Sotheby’s Plan to Advise Artists, Their Estates & Foundations
Brett’s Bet: What Gorvy’s Sudden Exit from Christie’s May Mean for the Art Market
One thing I know about Brett Gorvy, Christie's departing chairman of Post-War and Contemporary art, is that he's very smart---probably the savviest auction-house specialist I've ever encountered. So it's almost impossible not to interpret his decision to change course after 23 years, leaving the frenzied auction world for the sedate sanctum of an old-school gallery, as … [Read more...] about Brett’s Bet: What Gorvy’s Sudden Exit from Christie’s May Mean for the Art Market
Guggenheim Helsinki Sinks in a 53-32 Council Vote (with video) UPDATED TWICE
After a prolonged debate, ending in the wee hour of 12:03 a.m. Helsinki time, its City Council voted 53 to 32 to reject the Guggenheim's proposed Scandinavian outpost. Applause and cheers ensued. The meeting had been preceded by a demonstration in Senate Square by "a few dozen anti-Guggenheim protesters," according to a YLE News report. "Many argued that investments … [Read more...] about Guggenheim Helsinki Sinks in a 53-32 Council Vote (with video) UPDATED TWICE
The Cost of the Met Breuer (and other nuggets from Metropolitan Museum’s FY16 financials)
Back in April, the Metropolitan Museum's president, Daniel Weiss, declined to disclose to me the cost of renovating the Whitney Museum's Breuer building, now repurposed (at least temporarily) as the Met Breuer. Thanks to the Met's annual report for fiscal 2016 (now online), the truth can now be told: Some $10.43 million was spent in FY16 and $2.52 million in FY15 for the … [Read more...] about The Cost of the Met Breuer (and other nuggets from Metropolitan Museum’s FY16 financials)
Slam from “Ham”: Unpacking the (Lin-Manuel) Miranda Warning for Mike Pence (& for Trump)
I've been off-blog too long---a combination of mainstream-media commitments and technological trauma (new computer). Let me start playing catch-up by addressing the latest arts/politics flashpoint: the "Hamilton" show vs. the Trump Show. I'll begin by coming out of my political closet: I disagree with almost everything the President-elect said to get himself elected, which … [Read more...] about Slam from “Ham”: Unpacking the (Lin-Manuel) Miranda Warning for Mike Pence (& for Trump)
Snowball’s Chance in Helsinki: Guggenheim Again Seeks Council Approval (plus Abu Dhabi update)
Will the Guggenheim Helsinki, proposed in 2011 and stalled ever since, finally get off the drawing board? On Monday, the Helsinki City Board voted 8-7 to revive this persistent project, which will be up for approval by the full 85-member City Council on Nov. 30. In May 2012, the City Board had voted 8-7 to stop it. The project was recently dealt another serious blow … [Read more...] about Snowball’s Chance in Helsinki: Guggenheim Again Seeks Council Approval (plus Abu Dhabi update)
Sotheby’s Puts a Good Face on an Ugly Loss During (Non-)Earnings Conference Call
Sotheby's officials usually try to find something to crow about in their quarterly conference calls with analysts. But it's hard to sound bullish in the face of a third-quarter net loss of $54.5 million, as compared to a $17.9-million loss for the same period a year ago. The third quarter, when relatively few auctions are scheduled, is traditionally weak for the auction … [Read more...] about Sotheby’s Puts a Good Face on an Ugly Loss During (Non-)Earnings Conference Call
“I’m Still Here” (despite buyouts): My Q&A with Keith Christiansen at the Met’s “Valentin de Boulogne”
By some strange curatorial telepathy, the Metropolitan Museum's justly acclaimed Valentin de Boulogne: Beyond Caravaggio (to Jan. 16) bears a title closely resembling that of a major show at another world-class museum: Less than a week after the Met's show opened, the National Gallery, London, unveiled Beyond Caravaggio, which, from its description, covers similar ground to the … [Read more...] about “I’m Still Here” (despite buyouts): My Q&A with Keith Christiansen at the Met’s “Valentin de Boulogne”
“Showtime” at the Met for Kerry James Marshall: All that Glitters…?
It's no wonder that Chicago artist Kerry James Marshall, a youthful 61, murmured, "Showtime," as he strode through the Met Breuer's press scrum yesterday, turned to the crowd that filled the lobby, and raised his arms triumphantly before making introductory remarks at his highly anticipated retrospective: There had been so much fervid media acclaim, in advance of the … [Read more...] about “Showtime” at the Met for Kerry James Marshall: All that Glitters…?
Reshuffling the Deck: An Illustrated Companion to My WSJ Piece on National Gallery Reinstallations
Although my Wall Street Journal piece, A Capital Overhaul at the National Gallery, on the reinvented and revitalized permanent collection displays, was generously granted three images by my editors, I think readers often crave a chance to see the other works discussed. You wish, artlings, is CultureGrrl's demand. Below are most of the works whose images didn't make it into the … [Read more...] about Reshuffling the Deck: An Illustrated Companion to My WSJ Piece on National Gallery Reinstallations
“Capital Overhaul”: My WSJ Review of National Gallery’s Reinvented East & Strengthened West
If you've been wondering why I've been AWOL from the blog, here's the answer: A Capital Overhaul at the National Gallery, my review in tomorrow's Wall Street Journal (online now). The reinstallations of the permanent collection---comprehensive in the renovated, expanded East Building (modern and contemporary art), far-reaching in the West Building (historic … [Read more...] about “Capital Overhaul”: My WSJ Review of National Gallery’s Reinvented East & Strengthened West
Ethereal & Otherworldly: Transported by Agnes Martin at the Guggenheim
The mesmerizing Agnes Martin survey, organized by the Tate Modern and now gracing the Guggenheim Museum's rotunda (to Jan. 11), enraptured me from the start: In the pocket gallery just off the first ramp is a perfectly lit, glowing array of "The Islands," 1979, a series of 12 panels owned by the Whitney Museum that can make you feel mesmerized and even a little woozy, if you … [Read more...] about Ethereal & Otherworldly: Transported by Agnes Martin at the Guggenheim