— 30 Rock Gets a Flower-Clad Koons: Timed to coincide with the Jeff Koons Whitney retrospective opening on June 27, a giant sculpture by the artist is set to debut at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in the same spot where his 43-foot-tall “Puppy” stood 14 years ago. The 150-ton, 35-foot-high “Split-Rocker” sculpture will also be a flowering work covered in petunias, begonias, impatiens, geraniums, and marigolds, among others. “We couldn’t do any topiary at the Whitney, because there wasn’t any space,” Koons said. [NYT]
— Molesworth Heads to MOCA: LA MOCA is steadily rebuilding its staff with the appointment of Helen Molesworth as its new chief curator. Molesworth, who has been at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston since 2010, is expected to start September 1. “I love the way she talks about art, thinks about art, writes about art,” said museum director Philippe Vergne. “She has an incredible connection with artists and audiences and patrons. She brings an incredible integrity and high level of scholarship and a passion for living artists. And she has a great sense of humor.” [LAT]
— DIA Deals With Second Appraisal: Detroit city officials have informed bankruptcy judge Steven Rhodes that a second appraisal of the works in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts has begun. This new appraisal was spurred by claims that the Christie’s-generated estimate of $454 million to $867 million was too low. Some experts have valued the collection at $2 billion. [NYT]
— Bourgeois House to Open Next Year: The 15-foot-wide Chelsea townhouse where Louise Bourgeois lived for the last 50 years of her life is slated to reopen as a research center, gallery, and sculpture garden that the public will be able to tour next year. [WSJ]
— Street Art Museum Planned for London Underground: The group behind the “Stealing Banksy” auction that was cancelled at the last minute has announced new plans to open a street art museum in an abandoned London Underground station. [TAN]
—Meet LA’s Premier Art Lawyer: Joshua Roth is the newly appointed chair of MOCA’s Director’s Council and a legal advisor to Mark Grotjahn, Sterling Ruby, and Andrea Rosen, among others. [WSJ]
— An upcoming show at the Dallas Museum of Art will look into the life of Ida O’Keeffe, the long overshadowed sister of Georgia. [NYT]
— An interactive folding sculpture by Lygia Clark, whose retrospective just opened at MoMA, went for $1.2 million at Sotheby’s. [TAN]
— Brook Hodge, currently of the Hammer Museum, is set to be the next deputy director of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. [LAT]
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