Art Industry News: Will Crashing Oil Prices Dash Saudi Arabia’s Dreams of Becoming a Culture Hub? + 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, May
29.

NEED-TO-READ

Bankrupt Paddle8 Is Selling Its Client List – The defunct
online auction house is selling its
intellectual property as part of ongoing
bankruptcy proceedings.
Offerings include its domain name, platform architecture,
social-media accounts, as well as its newsletter subscribers and
data—a testament to the fact that even when you’re out of money,
there is still value in who you know. “This is a truly unique
opportunity to acquire a turnkey art brand with a captive audience,
or any of its valuable individual brand assets,” a representative
of the consultancy group that is advising the auction house says.
“The customer list—chock full of prominent collectors from the art
and business worlds—would be a tremendous asset on its own.”
(Artfix Daily)

Will Hong Kong’s New Law Threaten Political Art?
– Experts fear that the
political climate in Hong Kong under Beijing’s new national
security law could make it impossible for artists to create the
radical works that have historically galvanized pro-democracy
protests. Earlier this week, 1,500 arts and cultural workers
signed a petition
describing the “incalculable” damage the law could do to Hong
Kong’s free speech and role as a cultural hub. Under the law,
passed yesterday, works like the now-famous Lady Liberty sculpture,
depicting a female protester who was shot in the eye by
authorities, might become a thing of the past. (CNN)

Falling Oil Prices May Hamper Saudi Arabia’s Cultural
Ambitions – As oil prices tumble amid the global
shutdown, some are questioning the future of Saudi Arabia’s
elaborate cultural programs, which include festivals in the desert
and a multibillion-dollar
development of archaeological sites. While the official line is
that all plans are proceeding on schedule, some sources suggest
that the Ministry of Culture is postponing programs and intends to
shift its focus, at least for the medium term, from generating
international tourism to catering to domestic audiences. (The Art
Newspaper)

Developers Are
Commissioning Custom Art to Sell Real Estate – Real
estate agents are commissioning original artwork to make their
property listings more attractive to high-end clients. Instead of
hunting for the perfect piece to style the home, agents have
started paying artists to create new works tailored to the existing
décor in luxury homes. “Custom art can be a great tool to attract
buyers as it adds to the allure of originality and exclusivity,”
one agent tells the WSJ, adding that “original pieces
stand out in a crowded sea of sameness.” (Wall Street
Journal)

ART MARKET

Sotheby’s Holds a Silent Auction Series – The auction house mounted a $45 million silent
auction series directed by its Asia chairman, Nicholas Chow,
including lots by Yoshitomo Nara, Yayoi Kusama, and Zao Wou-Ki. The
hybrid format between a private sale and live auction, which took
place over the course of two days out of Sotheby’s Hong Kong
headquarters, could mark the beginning of a new brand
of sale for the house. (Art Market
Monitor)

Lévy Gorvy Appoints a Senior Director in Italy –
Elena Bonanno Di Linguaglossa has
been appointed senior director for Italy at Lévy Gorvy, where she
will work in Milan to develop relationships with the region’s
artists, collectors, and institutions. The director has 20 years
experience in the field, with particular expertise in 20th-century
Italian and American art. (Press release)

Artnet Auctions’ Postwar and Contemporary Sale Hits a New
High – The sale, which closed
on Thursday, achieved a total of $1.7 million, 129 percent more
than the equivalent sale last year. As a sign of buyers’ increased
willingness to spend more online, the sale’s average transaction
value also increased 28 percent year over year, to $49,400. Top
lots include Tom Wesselmann’s Blue, which achieved $288,000, and Eddie
Martinez’s Clown
Amoeba, which sold for
$156,000. (Artnet Auctions)

Night Gallery Represents Tomashi Jackson – The New-York based artist, best known for
making layered textiles that were a breakout hit at the
most recent Whitney Biennial, is now represented by Night Gallery
in Los Angeles. Jackson will be included in the gallery’s 10-year
anniversary exhibition, titled “Majeure Force,” opening in
June. (Press release)

COMINGS & GOINGS

Momus Launches a Residency for New Art Writers
– If you are an aspiring
critic, editor, or publisher, you have through Sunday to apply for
the first Toronto
edition of the Momus Emerging Critics
Residencies, hosted by the
Ontario College of Art & Design and running from August 17 through
28. With a focus on the realities of digital-age writing, workshops
by Nora N. Khan, Casey Beal, and Momus publisher Sky Goodden, among
others, will teach the art of “pitching, editing, podcasting,
budgeting, collaborating, hustling, and getting published.”
(Momus)

Creative Capital’s CEO
Steps Down – Susan Delvalle will step down as the head of
the nonprofit, a position she has held since 2016, in September.
She will continue to serve in an advisory role for the remainder of
2020. A search for her replacement is already underway.
(Artforum)

The San Francisco
Chronicle’s Art Critic Steps Down – After five
years on the job, Charles Desmarais—a museum director turned
art critic—is calling it quits at the California newspaper. “I
can’t bear spending precious time in a holding pattern, waiting for
art to come back on public view,” he said. (Twitter)

FOR ART’S SAKE

The UAE Turns Lockdown
Art Into Murals – Art Painting Lab, a studio in Dubai, is
asking artists to share their lockdown art on social media. The
studio plans to turn the submissions into a series of public murals
across the United Arab Emirates. As of May 28, 600 artworks have
been submitted. (New York Observer)

Mark Seliger Auctions
Off 25 Portraits for COVID-19 Relief – The celebrity
photographer is teaming up with Christie’s and RAD (Red Carpet
Advocacy) to sell his star-studded photographs to raise money for
COVID-19 relief organizations. Notable portraits on offer include
shots of Jennifer Aniston,
Barack Obama, Kendrick Lamar, Lin-Manuel-Miranda, Oprah Winfrey,
Leonardo DiCaprio, and Billie Eilish. (Complex)

The post Art Industry News: Will Crashing Oil Prices Dash
Saudi Arabia’s Dreams of Becoming a Culture Hub? + Other
Stories appeared first on artnet News.