Art Industry News: Philadelphia Museum of Art Is Now Accused of Shielding a Staffer Who Actually Beat Up Subordinates + Other Stories

Art Industry News is a daily digest of the most
consequential developments coming out of the art world and art
market. Here’s what you need to know on this Friday, February
21.

NEED-TO-READ

The Replicas That Duped Prince Charles – Vanity Fair unspools the saga of James Stunt, the fast-talking
businessman who loaned 17 works from his prize collection to
Prince Charles’s
charity for display at a historic house. The only
problem: evidence suggests the works were actually copies made by
forger Tony Tetro. In the wake
of the hubbub, both Prince Charles and the Queen were reportedly
embarrassed and upset. The Prince’s Foundation had insured the
replicas of Picasso,
Dalí, Monet, and Chagall for £104 million without consulting
outside experts or the curator of the Royal Collection. Malcolm
Rogers, former director of Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, was also
taken in by Stunt and helped to facilitate the loans. For his part,
Stunt maintains the works are genuine. (Vanity
Fair)

A Deep Dive Into LACMA’s Debt – The Los Angeles
County Museum of Art is
preparing to tear down four old buildings to make way for
its new Peter
Zumthor-designed home.
But can the museum afford a project with a price tag that has now
risen to a stunning $750 million? LACMA’s director, Michael Govan,
says that the initiative will not leave the museum drowning in
debt, as its critics claim. The Los Angeles Times
crunches the numbers, showing that LACMA’s debt will be large—far
larger than most of its peers—but not mission-critical, if
the project doesn’t go over budget. Govan insists the math adds up. “I have the
county. I have an oversight committee,” he said. “We wouldn’t be
allowed to go forward if the building wasn’t on
budget.” (Los Angeles
Times)

Philadelphia Museum of Art Under Fire for Abusive
Manager – The Philadelphia Museum of Art was in the
hot seat earlier this year for its employment of Joshua
Helmer, a former manager who went on to be accused of sexual
harassment by multiple employees. Now, it is under fire for another
allegedly abusive employee: retail director James Cincotta.
Staffers reported that Cincotta slapped, punched, pinched, shoved,
grabbed, and verbally berated workers, reports the
Philadelphia Inquirer, citing interviews
with 14 current and former staff members. After Cincotta
allegedly slapped one 20-year-old retail worker on the back of the
head, she quit that day; he remained at the museum for two more
years. A museum spokesperson confirmed Cincotta left the museum in
2018 and said it had hired a firm to perform a “cultural
assessment” of the museum and suggest changes to improve its work
environment. (Philadelphia
Inquirer)

Star Artist Cao Fei Is Denied a UK Visa – The travel restrictions imposed as a result of
the novel coronavirus outbreak are having broad ripple
effects. Chinese artist Cao
Fei has been refused a
UK visa to enter the country to attend the opening of her solo show
at London’s Serpentine Galleries. Cao would be arriving from
Singapore, where she has been living, but would be unable to return
to her country of origin because Singapore has banned Chinese
citizens from entering in an effort to limit the spread of
coronavirus. She would
instead be forced to return to Beijing without her young
family. The artist is
now appealing the decision. (Times)

ART MARKET

Collector Sues Princeton for Backing Out of an Art Deal
– The collector Vincent Fay is suing Princeton University after the school’s art
museum backed out of an agreement to purchase 17 works from his
collection for nearly $1 million. The university, which had already
paid $475,000 towards the unnamed artworks, raised concerns about
the provenance, authenticity, and value of pieces when it withheld
final payment. Fay says Princeton has provided no evidence that
would justify reneging on the deal. (New York
Post)

KAWS Opens Up About His Collection – Artist Brian Donnelly, better known as KAWS,
gives the New York Times a tour of his fast-growing art
collection. The recently appointed board member of the American
Museum of Folk Art has a particular interest in self-taught
artists, triggered by the institution’s collection of Henry Darger
works. Veteran artist Helen
Rae’s “amazing” drawings recently caught his eye at the
Outsider Art Fair. (NYT)

Aria Dean Joins Greene Naftali – The sharp-eyed artist, curator, and critic Aria
Dean will be represented by New York’s Greene Naftali Gallery,
where she will have a solo show next spring. Dean’s work will also
be included in the Hammer Museum’s upcoming “Made in LA”
biennial. (Press release)

COMINGS & GOINGS

Met Reveals New
Contemporary Art Commissions – The Metropolitan
Museum of Art has chosen the Mexican artist Héctor Zamora for its
annual roof garden commission. His terra cotta brick
sculpture, Lattice Detour, will be on view from
April 21 through October 25. Meanwhile, in September, Carol Bove
will debut new sculptures in the Met’s facade niches through March
2021. (NYT)

Estonia Will Move Into
Venice’s Dutch Pavilion – It’s musical chairs at the
Venice Biennale. The typically nomadic Estonian Pavilion will take
over the Dutch pavilion’s central location in the Giardini for the
2021 exhibition. The Netherlands is moving out of the historic
garden to show off-site. (Press release)

Curator Ingrid Schaffner
Joins Chinati – The acclaimed curator behind the 2018
Carnegie International has been named the new curator of the
Chinati Foundation, which oversees more than 100 works by Donald
Judd and other Minimalists in the small Texas town of Marfa.
(ARTnews)

FOR ART’S SAKE

Banksy Is Glad His Art
Has Been Vandalized – Bansky’s Valentine’s Day mural,
which depicted a girl with a slingshot hitting a burst of red
flowers, showed up in his
hometown last week—but was vandalized just days later with the
words “BCC W**KERS,” presumably in reference to the Bristol City
Council. Banksy, for one, isn’t bothered. He took to Instagram to
post preparatory sketches of the work and wrote, “I’m kind of glad
the piece in Barton Hill got vandalized. The initial sketch was a
lot better…” (Independent)

Rick Owens Visits Heizer’s City in Style
– Designer Rick Owens and wife Michèle Lamy went to see
artist Michael Heizer’s monumental land art piece-in-progress,
City, in the Nevada desert, on a bus tour as part of a
collaboration with Moncler. “It’s spooky and it’s eccentric and
it’s extreme and it’s heroic and it’s kind of an underground
thing—and I just couldn’t resist,” Owens said. “I mean, I jumped at
the chance.” (Vogue)

Picasso Takes Over Piccadilly Circus – For one
night only, Picasso starred on the massive screens in London’s
Piccadilly Circus. The collaboration between the Royal Academy of
Arts and ad company Ocean Outdoor saw films and still images of the
artist and his work up in lights, giving a spectacular boost to the
exhibition “Picasso and Paper” on view at the RA down the street.
(Instagram)

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Now Accused of Shielding a Staffer Who Actually Beat Up
Subordinates + Other Stories appeared first on artnet
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