Art Industry News is a daily summary of the most important developments coming from the art world and the art market. Here’s what you need to know this Tuesday, August 16.
A MUST READ
Ryder Ripps Sues Yuga Labs – Artist Ryder Ripps has hit back at Yuga Labs, the parent company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, accusing its executives of trying to shut him down with a lawsuit after he “used his craft to call out a multi-billion dollar company built on racism and neo. – Whistle the Nazi dog.” Last month, Yuga Labs sued Ripps for allegedly infringing its trademark by creating a website to criticize the NFT series. (ARTnews)
Now we know who stole King Tut’s treasure – A previously unpublished letter written in 1934 by leading philologist Sir Alan Gardiner is the latest evidence to confirm the long-held theory that archaeologist Howard Carter, who discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, helped himself to the treasure. In the letter, Gardiner accused Carter of showing him an object that had been “undoubtedly stolen from the tomb”. (Guardian)
Johnny Depp is making a film about Modigliani – The fighting Pirates of the Caribbean The star will direct a biopic about the Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani. Co-produced with Al Pacino and Barry Navidi, the film is based on a play by Dennis McIntyre. “The saga of Mr. Modigliani’s life is one that I am extremely honored and truly humbled to bring to the screen. It was a life of great hardship but eventual triumph,” said Depp, who is returning to Hollywood after his earlier victory in a multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Stolen Picasso allegedly discovered during drug raid – A stolen Picasso painting estimated to be worth millions of dollars was discovered during a drug raid in the central province of Diyala, according to Iraqi authorities. Three suspects were arrested during the raid, but authorities did not release further information about the painting. (WHEN)
MOVERS & SHAKERS
MÇK workers plan mass strike – Unionized workers at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art have voted to go on strike this Friday, August 19, to protest “low wages.” The union is seeking a minimum wage of $18 an hour during the first year of its contract, with an increase to $20 by the end of 2024. The museum countered with $16 an hour and no promise of a future raise. (Hyperallergic)
Native American museums and peoples receive $2 million – A total of 20 American museums and nine Native American tribal grants have received a combined $2.1 million from the National Park Service to support the consultation, cataloging and repatriation of ancestral remains and cultural artifacts. (Newspaper Art)
NEH adds $31.5 million in grants – The third round of National Endowment for the Humanities grants will fund 226 projects across the U.S., including research for a book on the history of red hair, an analysis of clouds in landscapes by John Constable, and a permanent exhibit exploring 400 Years of Brooklyn History at the Brooklyn Children’s Museum. (New York Times)
Announcing the inaugural program for Gallery 125 Newbury – Project Tribeca’s new space, directed by Arne Glimcher, founder of Pace Gallery, will open to the public on September 30 with the exhibition “Wild Strawberries,” featuring work by a variety of artists including Lynda Benglis, Lucas Samaras and Zhang Loan. (Press release)
FOR the sake of art
Met returns statues to Nepal – Officials from the Metropolitan Museum of Art traveled to Nepal over the weekend to deliver a 13th-century wood. Temple Strut with a Salabhinka government along with the 10th century stone sculpture, Shiva in the Himalayan abode with the ascetics. The works, which were donated to the Met, are expected to be exhibited at the National Museum of
Nepal, Kathmandu. ,Press release)
Shiva in the Himalayan abode with the ascetics, stone sculpture of the 10th century. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Temple Strut with a Salabhinka, wood sculpture of the 13th century. Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Follow Artnet News on Facebook:
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