Ai Weiwei. Redline, 2016. Via Instagram.
Lots of art news to get through this week! Perhaps the biggest story concerns Ai Weiwei. Last week the directors of the first Yinchuan Biennale rescinded their offer to exhibit his work due to his “political insensitivity.”
The decision came after Ai created a new work for the Biennale entitled Redline—inspired by a red scribble drawn by the show’s organizers to mark where Ai could place his art at the event. A playful comment on censorship, the work itself is being censored. “Art is used merely as a decoration for political agendas in certain societies,” the artist wrote on Instagram. “China is trying to develop into a modern society without freedom of speech.”
Also this week:
- Sarah Sze was selected to design a public artwork for Portland’s Congress Square.
- Kara Walker collaborated on a music video for Santigold’s track Banshee.
- Andrea Zittel’s Wagon Stations have been getting a lot of press as summer vacationers look to get closer to nature. Sleeping pods are available for weekly sessions at $100.
- The New Museum announced Raymond Pettibon’s first major New York museum survey, coming February 2017.
- And Pedro Reyes is joining MIT’s School of Architecture and Planning as a guest lecturer this fall.
Events & exhibitions
NYC
- Jessica Stockholder’s new solo exhibition opened this week at Mitchell Innes-Nash. On view till October 1st. [Read a review in ARTINFO.]
USA
- KENT, CT—A new exhibition focusing on the photography that came after the Civil Rights movement just opened at James Barron Art. Fifty Years After: Gordon Parks, Carrie Mae Weems, Mickalene Thomas, LaToya Ruby Frazier continues through October 16th. [Read a review in The Creator’s Project.]
- WEST HAVEN, CT—A new exhibition of work by Yinka Shonibare MBE opens this Thursday, September 1st at the Yale Center for British Art.
- ATLANTA, GA | September 3rd, 9th, and 26th—Theaster Gates giving a series of three lectures on art, activism and social justice at Emory University.
- SANTA BARBARA, CA—Women Sculptors, a new exhibition at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art features work by Kiki Smith and Louise Bourgeois. On view through October 1st.
Around the world
- COPENHAGEN—A new solo exhibition of work by Bruce Nauman is on view at Copenhagen Contemporary through December 22nd.
- BASEL—This Friday, September 2nd, an exhibition by Erin Shirreff entitled Halves and Wholes opens at Kunsthalle Basel.
- READING, UK—Work by Ai Weiwei, Nan Goldin and Wolfgang Tillmans are all included in a new exhibition installed inside the prison where Oscar Wilde was held for two years. Inside—Artists and Writers in Reading Prison will be on view September 4th through October 30th. [Read a review in Artnet.]
It’s impossible to include all the incredible exhibitions and art events happening this week in a single post. If there’s something you feel should have been included in today’s roundup, leave a comment below!
