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The Headlines
INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE. The forthcoming Factory International arts center in Manchester, England, is now slated to cost £211 million (about $240 million), a £25 million (about $28.5 million) increase from the last estimate and some £100 million ($114 million) above the original plan, BBC News reports. Inflation is to blame for the spike, according to Manchester’s city council. Due to open next summer (four years behind schedule), the venue will sport a warehouse-style space for installations and a theater with 1,600 seats. In Doha, Qatar, the I.M. Pei–designed Museum of Islamic Art has reopened after an 18-month renovation, just in time for the World Cup, which runs therenext month, the AFP reports. Two-thirds of the exhibits have been freshly conceived. “Before it was only about the art, now it’s about culture,” its director, Julia Gonnella, told the outlet. “We really want to tell the stories behind the masterpieces.”
EVERYTHING’S COMING UP LOWRY. The mayor of Salford, England, is calling for an export ban on a 1953 L. S. Lowry painting of a soccer stadium that is headed to auction later this month with an £8 million ($9.09 million) estimate, BBC News reports. The official, Paul Dennett, has previously called on wealthy members of the soccer world to acquire the piece, which has been on loan to the Lowry Museum in Salford from the Professional Footballers’ Association , which is selling it. In other Lowry news, a collector recently discovered that a pile of drawings they purchased en masse decades ago and never properly examined contains three sketches by the artist, the Telegraph reports. They are now heading to auction for £20,000 ($22,700) apiece.
The Digest
It’s a British invasion! David Hockney is planning to present his latest iPad works—flower still lifes in editions of 50—in upcoming shows at five different galleries: LA Louver in Los Angeles, Galerie Lelong in Paris, Annely Juda Fine Art in London, Gray in Chicago, and Pace in New York. Each will have the same checklist. [The Art Newspaper]
The latest art-fashion collaboration at Paris Fashion Week saw artist Philippe Parreno creating a set with production designer James Chinlun for Nicolas Ghesquière’s Louis Vuitton show in the Louvre’s courtyard. Some of the label’s new clothes feature zippers that are said to be the largest ever made. [Vogue Runway and @LouisVuitton/Twitter]
No more statues of Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin stand in Finland. The final one was taken down in the city of Kotka, following criticism of its presence amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It was given to the city in 1979 as a sign of friendship from Tallinn, Estonia, which was then part of the Soviet Union. [The Associated Press]
Tate Modern opened a Cézanne show today, and artist luminaries like Bridget Riley, Luc Tuymans, Kerry James Marshall, and more shared their views on the modernist godhead. Tuymans: “I think Cézanne’s quest was for affirmation of his own eternity, driven by a monumental persistence.” [The Guardian]
The Dhaka Art Summit said that its 2023 edition, which will run at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy from February 3 to 11, will include work by 120 artists and architects, including Simon Fujiwara, Rana Begum, and Antony Gormley. [ArtDaily]
Last year, musician Erland Cooperburied in rural Scotland the only copy of a new album that he had recorded, and provided clues on his website for people to find it. A couple recently discovered it in a soggy state; Cooper plans to release the recording (damage and all) in 2024. [BBC News]
The Kicker
NOTHING IF NOT CRITICAL. Artist Aleksandra Mir and and former writer and curator Tim Griffin have done the service of compiling a book of the worst reviews that 150 artists say they ever received, and the Guardian has a lively story on the project. One great tidbit: veteran New York Times critic Roberta Smith is the author of 10 of the pieces. In an essay in the volume, Mir and Griffin recount a young dealer saying that his artists have never had a bad review. “Sorry,” they quip. “Maybe one day you will be relevant enough to get one!” [The Guardian]