MIKE NELSON TO REPRESENT BRITAIN AT THE 2011 VENICE BIENNALE

CY TWOMBLY "THE CEILING" AT MUSEE DU LOUVRE, PARIS

A monumental ceiling by Cy Twombly for the Louvre opened March 25th in Paris. He is is the third contemporary artist invited to install a permanent work at the Louvre: a painted ceiling for the Salle des Bronzes. The permanent installation of 21st century works at the Louvre, the introduction of new elements in the décor and architecture of the palace, is the cornerstone of the museum's policy relating to contemporary art. This type of ambitious endeavor is in keeping with the history of the palace, which has served since its creation as an ideal architectural canvas for commissions of painted and sculpted decoration projects. Prior to Cy Twombly, the Louvre's commitment to living artists has resulted in invitations extended to Anselm Kiefer in 2007 and to François Morellet for an installation unveiled earlier in 2010, but these three artists also follow in the footsteps of a long line of predecessors including Le Brun, Delacroix, Ingres and, in the twentieth century, Georges Braque. Twombly's painting will be showcased on the ceiling of one of the Louvre's largest galleries, in one of the oldest sections of the museum. It is a work of monumental proportions, covering more than 400 square meters, its colossal size ably served by the painter's breathtaking and unprecedented vision. Twombly's two best-known trademarks are perhaps the incorporation of passionately scrawled words into his paintings and the energetic use of splashes or drips of vivid colors. In this work, Twombly leaves behind such romantic expressiveness. Here instead, the visitor discovers an immense blue sky, enlivened by the movements of spheres and punctuated by white insets inscribed with the names of the leading Greek sculptors active in the 4th century: Cephisodotus, Lysippus, Myron, Phidias, Polyclitus, Praxiteles and Scopas. Twombly's aim was to create a work perfectly in harmony with the architecture and purpose of the space, this huge rectangular gallery housing the Louvre's collection of Classical bronzes. Thus the round shapes can be interpreted as shields, planets, or coins, while the blue background evokes either the sky or the sea. Although certainly an American artist—Twombly was born in Lexington, Virginia in 1928—he is thoroughly Mediterranean in spirit and has lived in Italy since 1959, making frequent trips to Greece over the years. All of Twombly's work finds inspiration in mythology, in the poetry and heroic figures of Antiquity. The Ceiling is the artist's second commission in France, following the curtain conceived for the Paris National Opera's new flagship theater at the Bastille in 1989. In 2001, Twombly received the prestigious "Golden Lion" award at the Venice Biennale. Commemorating the artist's 80th birthday in 2008, the Tate Modern presented a major retrospective of his work, an exhibition that would travel to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome later that same year and in 2009.

Marina Abramović: The Artist Is Present

MOMA
March 14–May 31, 2010
Watch Marina Abramovic live on MoMA's webcam:
http://tinyurl.com/yztjeek

Marina Abramović. Portrait with Flowers. 2009. Black-and-white gelatin silver print; photo: Marco Anelli. © 2010 Marina Abramović.

This performance retrospective traces the prolific career of Marina Abramović (Yugoslav, b. 1946) with approximately fifty works spanning over four decades of her early interventions and sound pieces, video works, installations, photographs, solo performances, and collaborative performances made with Ulay (Uwe Laysiepen). In an endeavor to transmit the presence of the artist and make her historical performances accessible to a larger audience, the exhibition includes the first live re-performances of Abramović’s works by other people ever to be undertaken in a museum setting. In addition, a new, original work performed by Abramović will mark the longest duration of time that she has performed a single solo piece. All performances, one of which involves viewer participation, will take place throughout the entire duration of the exhibition, starting before the Museum opens each day and continuing until after it closes, to allow visitors to experience the timelessness of the works. A chronological installation of Abramović’s work will be included in The Joan and Preston Robert Tisch Gallery on the sixth floor of the Museum, revealing different modes of representing, documenting, and exhibiting her ephemeral, time-based, and media-based works. The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue that includes an audio recording of the artist’s voice guiding the reader through the publication.

ONE MAN'S OPINION

Peter Brant, Cyndi Lauper, Jeff Koons, Dakis Joannou at the New Museum opening.
Photo: Patrick McMullan

Last week, the New Museum opened its new show, "Skin Fruit: Selections from the Dakis Joannou Collection," curated by mega-art-star Jeff Koons. This show has prompted a huge amount of controversy and suspicion, from The New York Times to The Village Voice, and all the blogs in between. Some journalists feel safe sounding prudish, cautious and wary of shows that are fraught with art market implications. Like it or not, there is no arguing the fact that some of the best contemporary collections have always been in private hands, and in my view, it's high time the public gets to see them. It is interesting to look at all the bad press and the barrage of criticism the New Museum has received and to use these views to expose some of the prejudices, mistaken assumptions and hypocrisy prevalent in much of the art world today. Most museums in this country are sponsored by private donations, and most shows include some component of private giving. Curators who need funding for a show will naturally go to the lenders, and they are expected to contribute to the expenses. After all, their paintings are hanging on the wall and getting prime exposure; shouldn't they help foot the bill? In the Contemporary Art world, this situation is both magnified and multiplied. We have witnessed an art market that has radically changed and accelerated in the past 10 years. Most museums do not allocate a sufficient budget, nor are their curatorial committees equipped to keep up with new artists and new prices. Curators and acquisition committees tend to act slowly and with prudence. This means that they are by nature bureaucratic: They choose late and pay slow. Neither of these attributes endears them to dealers who need to get paid and install the next show, or to artists who want money and need to move on in their career. That's why much of the best contemporary art ends up in private hands. A great collection requires an entrepreneurial mind-set, a risk-taker with vision and enough money to act quickly and seize opportunities. Additional thunder has been drained from the museums, with the galleries increasingly doing many of the best shows in town. There have been a number of claims that the New Museum has abused certain cozy relationships between its curators, certain dealers and certain artists. The litmus test is whether the shows were good-not who is friends with whom. The contemporary art world is a small place, and it is inevitable that curators are closer to some dealer programs than others. Collectors also tend to favor some galleries over others, but why this should prohibit a trustee from exhibiting his collection to the public makes little sense. It goes back to an idealistic and unrealistic assumption that rich people should sit on museum boards simply to provide money. The truth is, in America, once you accept someone's money, you accept the strings attached, you accept that curators need to keep the board happy, and keep the money flowing for everyone's best interest. The New Museum has reportedly said that Dakis is not underwriting the show. This position is a type of public-relations apology to assuage the anticipated criticism of insider dealing and self-promotion. But why feel guilty here? If Saatchi had paid for the "Sensation" show back in 1997, would that have made it better or worse? And today, who cares? There is nothing the matter with Dakis' financial support; it is helping a museum that needs it. The New Museum's policy specifically prohibits trustees lending a work of art if they are planning to sell it. Most museums do not like to hang things that are obviously for sale, but realistically, there is no way of knowing whether a lender will sell in the future. How is the public harmed in any way? The core assumption is that an individual is personally benefiting from a sale made in an institution that serves the public good. But if you put jealousies and sour grapes aside, who is harmed here? As long as the public gets a great show, there is no foul. Everyone in the contemporary art world has an opinion, which is why we are energized and enlightened by the art of our time. Can New York generously welcome this exciting collection and Jeff Koons' idiosyncratic viewpoints? So far, despite the bad press, the show has been packed. The New Museum had the courage to accept today's art world as it is, and to put on the show we've wanted to see for years. We should congratulate and encourage them to do it again and hope that other museums will follow their lead. As an audience, we want to see the best works, the best collections and the best shows, and we're not concerned with archaic rules of propriety or the paralyzing implications of critics' forensic art appraisals.
Adam Lindemann
excerpted from The New York Observer

INDEPENDENT

Claire Fontaine 
Please God Make Tomorrow Better, 2008
Neon

INDEPENDENT, a hybrid model and temporary exhibition forum, comes to New York for Art Fair Week and will take place at the former X Initiative and former Dia Center for the Arts at 548 West 22nd Street,  March 4 – 7, 2010. Independent will be open to the public free of charge. INDEPENDENT was conceived by Elizabeth Dee, New York gallerist and founder of X Initiative, and gallerist Darren Flook, from Hotel, London. Part consortium, part collective, INDEPENDENT lies somewhere between a collective exhibition and a reexamination of the art fair model, reflecting the changing attitudes and growing challenges for artists, galleries, curators and collectors. INDEPENDENT will present an artist project by Claire Fontaine entitled Please God Make Tomorrow Better, 2008, a neon text work above the façade’s door which will be on view 24 hours a day during the run of the project.