What We're Reading: 12/10/24

Which Artists Dominate U.S. Museums Right Now? We Crunch the Numbers

I looked at more than 200 museums, and counted which artists were on view any time during December (that includes a show like the Baltimore Museum’s “Illustrating Agency,” which closed December 1). The resulting list includes a little more than 3,400 artist names. Of these, only about 300 appear more than once—a tiny fraction. And of these, a very few repeat multiple times, giving a sense of which voices are most resonating with curators and institutions.

Via Artnet

Met Museum Unveils Design for New Modern Wing

The metaphor of weaving has informed Frida Escobedo’s design for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s long-awaited new wing for Modern and contemporary art, which was unveiled on Tuesday.

It is present in the architectural screen of limestone lattice that wraps the new wing’s exterior on the museum’s southwest corner, creating a diaphanous surface that will change as the sun moves through it during the day. It is present in the placement of windows, offering glimpses of the city and the park. And it is present in the way that the new wing will connect to the adjacent galleries, emphasizing the connectivity between different regions, disciplines and civilizations.

Via NYTimes

South Florida, which has been dubbed ‘Wall Street South’, lures—but does not mint—collectors

A paradox has emerged in South Florida’s art economy in the years following the Covid-19 lockdowns. On the one hand, the region’s upper income brackets have swelled from a massive influx of finance firms and their staff—so much so that Miami and West Palm Beach have worked to rebrand themselves as “Wall Street South”. On the other hand, after a two-year growth spurt, the pinnacle of South Florida’s art-market infrastructure has receded noticeably since 2023, even as economic indicators suggest the area has never offered a broader, richer base of potential buyers.

Via The Art Newspaper