South Korean Student Thought Museum Wanted Him To Eat The $120,000 Taped Banana + Other Stories

Art Industry News is a daily summary of the most important developments in the art world and the art market. Here’s what you need to know on Monday, June 26.

NEED TO READ

Barbican embroiled in Fracas censorship – London-based Resolve Collective is withdrawing its presentation at the UK capital’s arts center following what it reads as “an act of anti-Palestinian censorship”. A member of Barbican staff told speakers scheduled for a conference on June 15 to ‘avoid talking at length about Free Palestine…to further protect the public’, according to a screenshot of the shared text message. by Resolve Collective. The exhibition was scheduled to run until July 16, but the exhibit is expected to be taken down today, leaving the gallery empty. (The arts journal)

Mire Lee gets the profile treatment – The 34-year-old South Korean rising star who featured in the Busan Biennial and the Venice Biennale commissions solo real estate at the New Museum in New York. Opening June 29, “Black Sun” will feature the artist’s unique new machine sculptures that look like organs. “It almost looks like an organism’s digestive system…something you don’t really want to see,” said Cecilia Alemani, artistic director of the 2022 Venice Biennale. And that’s exactly what the artist wants to achieve. “I like that it’s a little nasty,” she said. (New York Times)

A student thought he was supposed to eat Cattelan’s banana – Noh Hyun-soo, the South Korean student who ate the $120,000 banana glued to the wall (Actor) at the Maurizio Cattelan retrospective at the Leeum Museum in Seoul in April, said no one tried to stop him from eating the piece. “I think they put it on display for someone to end up eating,” he wrote. Noh also confessed that eating that famous banana wasn’t the first weird thing he’s done in the years, and he plans to pursue art after graduating in religious studies and aesthetics. (Guardian)

The British Museum apologizes to the translator – “China’s Hidden Centurywas an “unintentional human error”. The museum also offered to pay Wang as compensation. The earlier Vancouver writer criticized the London institution on Twitter for not asking her permission. (Museum Journal)

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

UK refused to loan Fragile Vermeer to Netherlands – Freedom of Information request reveals English Heritage, which operates Kenwood House in London, refused to loan Vermeer’s work The guitar player at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam for recently concluded blockbuster, claiming that the 1672 painting kept at Kenwood was too fragile to travel. (Guardian)

The Gwangju Biennale announces the theme for the next edition – “Pansori – a 21st century soundscape” will be the title and theme of the 15th Gwangju Biennale, which will be curated by Nicolas Bourriaud, artistic director of the edition which will take place in September 2024. “Pansori”, which literally means “the sound of public space”, is taken from a 17th century South Korean musical form accompanying shamanic rituals. THE 14th edition in progress of the biennial is on view until July 9. (Press release)

Nalini Malani wins the Kyoto Prize – Presented by the Inamori Foundation in Japan, the acclaimed video artist, along with reproductive biologist Ryuzo Yanagimachi and mathematician and physicist Elliot H. Lieb, are among three honorees this year. The award annually honors outstanding individuals in the fields of advanced technology, basic sciences, arts and philosophy. Each will receive 100 million yen ($706,000) and a gold medal. (art forum)

FOR ART

Damien Hirst sells art to raise funds for Uganda – All proceeds from the sale of three works—The toddler cloud (2016), Eshara (2019), and Decahydronaphthalene (2019) – at the upcoming Phillips London auction on Friday June 30, will go to the Ruwenzori Foundation in Uganda. (Press release)