News From Around the Art World: February 18, 2020
Crystal Bridges Made Arkansas a Hub for American Art. Can a New Offshoot Make It a Destination for Contemporary Work, Too?
The effects Crystal Bridges has had on the region are more than clear. And later this month, the museum is going one step further. It’s opening a satellite contemporary art center, the Momentary, which, by all accounts, is expected to further solidify the impact art has had on this town that once counted the Walmart Museum as one of its biggest cultural attractions.
By Melissa Smith, Artnet
Barack And Michelle Obama’s Official Portraits Are Coming To Art Institute Of Chicago
The official presidential portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama are coming to the Art Institute of Chicago.
The portraits, by artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, were created toward the end of President Barack Obama’s term and received widespread attention. They’ve been on display in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, but they’ll tour five cities in the United States starting next year.
Via Kelly Bauer, Block Club Chicago
Instagram residencies: the artists moving into museums' digital spare rooms
Armed with an Instagram account, an artist can almost sidestep the real-life art world entirely: you can show your art on Instagram, sell it—even make it—all from the comfort of your armchair. Last month, the Musée d’Orsay (@museeorsay) in Paris announced its first “Instagram artist-in-residence”, reminding us of another vital part of an artist’s life that has entered the digital realm.
By Aimee Dawson, The Art Newspaper
Jeff Koons’s Ex-Wife and Muse Ilona Staller, aka Cicciolina, Is Returning to Politics to Take on Italy’s Populist Insurgents
The former politician, adult-film star, and Jeff Koons’s ex-wife and muse, Ilona Staller, has promised to stand in the next elections in Italy. She will be campaigning against the country’s populist government and its plan to slash pensions.
The 68-year-old retiree, who featured in several of Koons’s most explicit photographs, paintings, and sculptures for his “Made in Heaven” series, is better known to many as “La Cicciolina.” She gained the nickname, meaning “little fleshy one,” during her career as a porn star in the 1980s.
By Naomi Rea, Artnet