Stephen Friedman Gallery
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The Headlines
JUDITH LAUAND,the Brazilian painter of alluring, inventive, and precise geometric abstractions,has died at 100,ArtReviewreports. A figurative artist at the start of her career, Lauand came to abstraction in the 1950s, after meeting members of the nation’s Concretism movement while working as a guard at the 1954Bienal de São Paulo.She had admired their work in an earlier exhibition, they invited her into the fold, and she became the lone female member of the pivotalGrupo Ruptura, which promoted Brazilian Concrete art throughout the decade. Lauand is currently the subject of a retrospective at theMuseu de Arte de São Paulo(MASP), where she also had a 2011 survey.
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Judith Lauand, Pioneering Brazilian Concretist, Dies at 100
A NEW DAY.Good news forArt Basel Hong Kong, and all who celebrate: Hong Kong said today that it isdropping its coronavirus restrictionsfor incoming travelers who test negative (and loosening other rules), theWashington Postreports. The changes go into effect Wednesday. Under the so-called “0+3” system, in-bound travels have beenbarred from some types of venues, including bars and museums, until they tested negative after three days. Basel’s Hong Kong fair is scheduled to open its VIP preview on March 21 with some 171 exhibitors, a32-percent jumpfrom this year’s figure,ARTnewsreported. That edition, and 2021’s, occurred amid strict quarantine rules that led some foreign dealers to stay home and operate so-called “ghost booths,” staffed by locals.
The Digest
SingerMargareth Menezeshas been tapped to be culture minister of Brazil by incoming presidentLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who vowed during his campaignto restore the nation’s culture ministry, which was axed by its current president,Jair Bolsonaro.[The Art Newspaper]
ArtistDaniel Brush, a creator of jaw-droppingly intricate sculptures and jewelry, has died at the age of 75. Brush never employed a dealer, but his works were collected by admiring patrons who bought them “from warm hand to warm hand,” he once said.[The Washington Post]
Is the paintingRembrandt in a Red Beret, which depicts the Dutch master in fine attire, an actualRembrandt? Opinions vary! But this much appears to be certain about the canvas, which is now owned by a private collector: It has had an almost unbelievably wild ride though history.[The New York Times]
Elisabeth Sherman, who has been at theWhitney Museumsince 2010, has joined theInternational Center of Photographyas senior curator and director of exhibitions and collections. At the Whitney, she organized shows byZoe Leonard,Bunny Rogers, and others, and co-curated the recentDawoud Beyretrospective.[Press Release/ICP]
After 14 months of negotiations, unionized workers atMASS MoCAapproved their first contract. “We’re proud of having secured a strong agreement that we can build on,” the union said in a statement. This summer, employeesstaged in a one-day strikeduring the bargaining process.[WAMCandThe Berkshire Eagle]
A rare (edition of one)Grand Seikowatch with a titanium case sold for $478,800—a record for the brand—at auction atPhillipsin New York, a result that “suggests high-end collectors are willing to pay up for timepieces even if they aren’t Swiss made,”Andy Hoffmanwrites.[Bloomberg]
The Kicker
RIP.WriterJamie Brisickhasa tender and moving profilein theNew York Timesof artistAshley Bickerton, whodied last monthin Bali, Indonesia, where he had moved almost three decades ago from New York. When Brisick visited Bickerton there, the artist read a manifesto that he wrote some years ago, which goes in part: “Choose your material carefully. Avoid too many art fairs. And travel, limit your footprint and disappear.” On that last point, of course, Bickerton was not exactly unsuccessful. His wily, raucous, and elegant art about consumerism, environmental degradation, and so much more has been looking increasingly prescient—and winning new admirers—in recent years.[NYT]
