London Gains World’s Largest Collection of Photography & A Rise in Joint Gallery Representation of Artists
Just the 5 art world updates you should know this week.
1. London Museum Gains World’s Largest Photo Collection
A recent transfer of artifacts from the UK’s National Media Museum (NMM) in Bradford to the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London has reunited an collection once held by the South Kensington Museum and turned V&A into the largest institutional holder of photography in the world.
The exchange added 400,000 objects, included the world’s first negative, daguerrotypes and roughly 8,000 camera models, to V&A’s existing collection of 500,000 photographs. V&A’s senior curator of photographs, Martin Barnes, reacted to the announcement, saying: “Having worked in national museums nearly my whole working life, it is really heartening to see national museums working together to look at where the collections are best placed…The quality is astounding. I’m sort of beside myself with excitement.” The transfer will allow the NMM to shift it focus toward science and technology exhibitions, a change aiming to rebrand and generate more interest in the museum after it came dangerously close to closing in 2013.
2. Harlem Gains Traction as New York’s Next Gallery Neighborhood
For decades, Chelsea has reigned as New York’s go-to neighborhood for gallery shows and art sales. However, amid rising real estate prices, it seems America’s biggest art market may need a backup. And Elizabeth Dee Gallery is looking to Harlem.
After 15 years in West Chelsea, the gallery has announced that it will be moving uptown to a two-story building on Fifth Avenue between 125th and 126th streets. Elizabeth Dee will open their new 12,000 square-foot space (previously home to the Studio Museum in Harlem) in the spring, and plans to accompany the launch with a program of educational initiatives for neighborhood children and art performances. The gallery’s founder, Elizabeth Dee, told the New York Times that while she was debating relocating to SoHo or the Upper East Side, she finally settled on Harlem for its inspiring diversity: “The neighborhoods are so economically diverse and racially diverse, and they make you start to think about your audience in a different way.” Dee will join Gavin Brown’s enterprise, which relocated tp 461 West 126th Street last year.
3. Italy Reforms Cultural Institutions, to Create 10 New Sites
Italy’s cultural heritage minister, Dario Franceschini, announced reforms this week to streamline the bureaucracy of the country’s cultural institutions.
The plan would create a national department of architecture, fine arts and landscape to unify regional, administrative functions. But most notably, it would also include the creation of ten new, independent museums and archeological sites. The new institutions, some of which would be merged with existing museums or landmarks, would allow Italy to more comprehensively represent its cultural heritage. Among the site to be added is the city of Herculaneum, Pompeii’s smaller sister-city that was also buried beneath the explosion of Vesuvius. The directors of the new institutions will be selected through an international application process (reminiscent of the controversial proceedings that led to the appointment of 20 new directors of Italian art institutions last year).
4. Starbucks: Coffee Chain and Art Dealer?
New York’s gallery-ridden neighborhood of Chelsea is facing some more competition these days, and from a source they probably didn’t expect: Starbucks.
Yes, in the coffee chain’s Chelsea location you can now pick up panting or drawing with your morning latte. Starbucks began the program in collaboration with online gallery Uprise Art in late November, featuring an exhibition of works from young US artist Robert Otto Epstein that will close later this month. The pieces range from $1,000-$3,000 and proceeds from any sales will go to the nonprofit Free Arts NYC, which aims to provide art education. While a spokeswoman declined to indicate if such exhibitions or art sales will continue in the future, she did verify that the company would continue to commission “emerging artists to make site-specific works — mostly murals — or to help us build a catalogue of works for customers to enjoy and discover through display in our cafes around the world”.
5. The Rise of Joint Gallery Representation
Some recommended reading for this week: ArtNews’ feature delving into the growing art world trend of joint gallery representation. While it has long been best practice for an artist to have different gallery representation in different regions, the article identifies the growing trend of having multiple gallery representatives even in the same city.
Though definitely growing, the new practice is still largely reserved for very established artists; the Frank Stellas, Jeff Koons and Carol Boves who have cultivated enough demand to warrant a larger marketplace and can still benefit from standing out among multiple gallery rosters. Ricky Manne, the partner at Marianne Boesky Gallery responsible for Frank Stella explained why the increased competition works: “With Frank, there are so many other contexts. With us, he’s with Dean Levin and Julia Dault. With Dominique [Lévy], it’s Yves Klein. With Sprüth Magers, it’s Cyprien Gaillard and Barbara Kruger and Ed Ruscha. It’s three totally different conversations.” However, the report posits that the trend most centrally indicates the art sale’s move toward a more globalized, interconnected marketplace.
