ArtList’s 5 Art World Updates: Koons Faces Legal Action & Whitney to Open New Gallery Space To Public

1. Metropolitan Museum of Art & Korean Government Enter Collaborative Relationship

New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and the government of the Republic of Korea have entered into a “long-term corporative relationship,” that will allow for more exposure and awareness of Korean art within the museum’s programming.

As part of the agreement, the Korean government donated $1 million (more than KRW 1,500,000,000) to the Museum to fund a series of initiatives over a three-year period, through 2018. Part of the donation has been allocated toward improving the Met’s Arts of Korea Gallery as well as providing for more “collaborative scholarship.” The Met’s director and CEO, Thomas P. Campbell, commented on the collaboration: “The new initiatives made possible by their generous gift of funding will enable us to expand our programming of exhibitions, gallery installations, and publications, and to undertake important new research.”

2. Jeff Koons Accused of Copyright Infringement

While imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, copying may land you in court. Just ask Jeff Koons — against whom a copyright infringement lawsuit has been filed by photographer Mitchel Gray.

While Koons’ oeuvre often re-contextualizes or re-appropriates cultural images, Gray alleges that Koons not only used his commercial photo for a 1986 work without his permission but also left the photo completely unaltered. Koons’ resulting piece, I Could Go For Something Gordon’s, part of his “Luxury and Degradation” series, sold for $2.04 million in 2008. Gray is hoping to capture a portion of the profit for a work he feels he actually created.

3. Whitney Museum Outlines Program for Yet Unopened Floor

Already a little over 6 months into its new downtown Manhattan location, the Whitney Museum of American Art still has some surprises in store ….In February it will launch a new program opening the museum’s 5th floor gallery as the largest column-free gallery of any museum in New York.

The floor’s programing will focus on quick turnovers, with artists such as Adrea Fraser, Lucy Dodd, Michael Heizer, Cecil Taylor and Steve McQueen presenting their work for weeks or even days at a time. Whitney’s deputy director for programs and chief curator, Scott Rothkopf, said in a statement: “To celebrate the end of our inaugural year downtown, we wanted to reveal this space for the first time in its entirety and give artists the opportunity to respond to the site with new projects or to display work from the collection that we couldn’t have previously shown.”

4. Basketball Star Looks to Connect Worlds of Art & Sport

When he’s not filling his role of power forward for the Miami Heat, basketball player Amar’e Stoudemire is immersing himself in the art world. And he thinks the it could benefit from getting more athletes involved.

Already having built a formidable personal collection of his own — including such artists as Basquiat, Retna and Rob Pruitt — Stoudemire is looking to formalize a group of artist and advisers with whom he can launch a website platform to connect emerging artists with the athlete collectors that can buy their work; the website would wear the same name as Stoudemire’s personal collection: the Melech (Hebrew for King) Collection. Having already been a leading figure in recent collaborations between the fashion and athletic domains, Stoudemire thinks that emerging artists specifically could benefit from a client database both with the money to support new talents and the desire to stay on trend. Stoudemire explained: “So many players ask me how to get involved. Just like purchasing a car, a home, the latest Lanvin sneakers, players want to buy art. I plan to guide them and ease them into being participants in the art world at any budget.”

5. Western Art Sees Increased Interest from Chinese Market

While Chinese art gains increasing attention in Western market sales, occidental artists are similarly being integrated into Chinese art markets. Chinese daily newspaper Nunfang Daily reported a recent increase in the amount of European art for sale by local auction houses, specifically focusing on European masters.

Wang Yefu, executive director of Holly’s Auctions — which recently offered China’s first sale of works on paper from European masters — explained to the periodical that the move offers their clients more flexibility in both buying and later selling artworks: “Internationalization can widen art dealer’s choices. For example, if he bought a Rodin sculpture, later he can trade it on the international auction market in New York, France or London.” The trend is understandable, given China’s increasing integration into the international art market. However, it nonetheless has the potential to change how and where art sales are focused.