Donna Summer Paintings Are Hot Stuff, Chelsea Gallery Tower Wars With Condos, and More Must-Read Art News

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by ARTINFO

Published: May 30, 2012

— The Donna Summer Art Boom: The Jack Gallery in Las Vegas wasted no time jacking up the prices for the late Disco Queen's lithographs, which are now selling for almost twice their original price of $550. The gallery, which is currently planning a memorial exhibition for Summer, says demand has been high since her untimely death earlier this month. The most popular work? "Winter Melody," an image of blue-mascaraed eyes and a blue mouth floating in space, named for the singer's 1976 single. [TMZ, Jack Gallery]

— Chelsea Condos and Galleries in Light-Based Feud: The owners of two Chelsea condo developments — +art and Chelsea Muse, both on 27th Street — are suing the company that manages an adjacent gallery building, alleging that it is deliberately blasting them with powerful spotlights in retaliation for not being able to use the condo buildings as free storage space. The suit seeks $4 million in compensation and punitive damages form Pinetree, which owns the Landmark Arts Building (home to some 30 galleries), plus a court order preventing future use of "intensely bright floodlights." [TRD]

— Gugg Won't Give Up on Helsinki: Although the city board rejected a proposal to build a Guggenheim museum earlier this month, Helsinki's mayor Jussi Pajunen and Guggenheim Foundation director Richard Armstrong remain convinced the expensive project has legs. "A successful city has to be a city of culture," said Pajunen. Locals don't seem to agree: Graffiti reading "Fuck the Guggenheim" has spread across the city. [FT]

— A New Museum for China: The Yellow River Arts Center, a $279-million art space in Yinchuan, will open in 2014 and is the latest in a string of aggressive museum projects in China. The planned museum will show Qing period paintings alongside commissioned work by international contemporary artists. [FT]

— China's Museum Boom Bolsters Real Estate: The latest feature on the flood of new museums opening in China (see above item) to showcase emerging collectors' wares — 395 new institutions last year, by one count — enumerates the well-rehearsed set of reasons for the trend, from the country's desire to establish its cultural might to its nouveau riche showing off the fruits of their auction-hopping. The article does, however, add another motivating factor: The new institutions serve as highbrow anchors for shopping mall and condo projects. Katie Hunt writes that "museums are prized by property developers eager to give their shopping malls and residential developments a high-brow gloss." [BBC]

— William Kentridge Becomes a Mentor: The South African artist and animator has selected Colombia's Mateo López as his protégé for the 2012-2013 Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative. The program allows accomplished creatives in various fields to select young talents to collaborate with and advise for one year. [Press Release]

— Change to Aussie Law Could Deter Super-Collectors: A revision to Australia's superannuation laws is having a devastating impact on all but the top echelon of the domestic art market — sales have dropped 20 percent since the law was revised. One collector — who observers suspect will be the first of many — Bill Nuttall, is selling his 100-piece collection of Aboriginal art rather than face the costs of complying with the new law. [ABC News]

— François Pinault Goes to the Movies: The billionaire French art collector will mount an exhibition of film and video works at the Palazzo Grassi in conjunction with this summer's Venice Architecture Biennale. The show will feature work by 25 artists including Mircea Cantor, Shirin Neshat, and Bruce Nauman, all taken from Pinault's collection. [TAN]

— Philly Already Feeling the Barnes Effect: Less than two weeks after the Barnes Foundation's reopening in Center City Philadelphia, an annual survey of the city's cultural organizations suggests that its arts institutions are recovering from the recession and donation drought that had limited exhibitions and programing since 2007. "This recovery is a testament both to how organizations have restructured and how Philadelphians have placed a high value on culture in their communities," said Tom Kaiden, president of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.

— World-Class Collection Lands in South Dakota: Art conservator and collector Neil Cockerline — formerly of Minneapolis's Midwest Art Conservation Center — has elected to donate his 500-piece collection to the South Dakota Art Museum in Brookings, bestowing on the small regional museum a treasure trove including works by Warhol, Rauschenberg, Motherwell, Matisse, Jim Dine, and Robert Indiana that will go on view next year. "I chose to donate this collection to the South Dakota Art Museum," Cockerline said, "because [...] they have a reputation of professionalism and a commitment to preservation.” [Kekoland]