Rendering of Art House at 660 Madison Avenue. Image courtesy Art House…
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TEFAF’s founders launch Art House, a flexible alternative to gallery space in New York.
A new hybrid exhibition space in New York is looking to bring a flexible solution for international galleries looking to exhibit in New York. Art House, launched by TEFAF founders Michael Plummer, Jeff Rabin, and Geoff Fox, will offer temporary exhibition spaces for galleries based in other cities and countries. It’ll kick off on November 4 with a 60-exhibitor show in the former Barneys flagship store on Madison Avenue reimagined by Kulapat Yantrasast of architecture firm wHY, who incorporated offices and salon-style viewing rooms that allow dealers to host year-round programming. Another multi-gallery event is planned for May 2022. “Dealers need a new toolkit to reach clients,” Rabin told ARTnews. “The online activity was not sufficient to make up for lost art fair and in-person activity at galleries.”
Eric Adams, Brooklyn Borough President, votes against two shadow-casting towers.
The development of a multi-storey residential complex in Crown Heights has gained controversy over casting vast shadow over the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Designed by Hill West Architects and bolstered by developers Continuum Company and Lincoln Equities, the 960 Franklin Avenue project would drastically reduce the park’s access to daylight. A vote from Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, however, may have the potential to change the tide. During a public advisory hearing, Adams voted against the proposal. The community board rejected the developers’ appeal to reduce the building by 17 stories, which would deduct the number of affordable housing units. The project is expected to break ground at a smaller scale with 550 units—a 60 percent reduction from its original 1500—with the chance that none will be “affordable.”
Courtesy of Samsung x Thom Browne…
Thom Browne partners with Samsung to launch Olympics-inspired smartphones.
The fashion designer Thom Browne is ditching his traditional slate grey for the launch of a new pearlescent Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3. Switching to a snow white color, Browne decorated his redesigned phones with red and blue stripes. He explains: “The past year and a half, I’ve been so inspired by sport and the Olympics.” Crafting a complete set, he compliments the foldable phones with smartwatch bands, earbuds, charging cases, and an “S Pen” stylus that mirrors the athletic aesthetic. The choice of a portable electronic device is an out-of-book project of the designer, yet it stays true to his touchstone of imbuing modern items with the comfortability of the past.
Instagram apologizes for wrongfully censoring a film poster by Pedro Almodóvar.
When it comes to nudity on social media, the rules fall into a grey area—something that Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar recently experienced when Instagram censored his poster for an upcoming film. Designer Javier Jaen drafted an advert for Almodóvar’s Madres Paralelas (Parallel Mothers) that resembled an eye producing a teardrop. Misconstrued as a nipple producing a drop of milk, Instagram initially banned the post but recanted its ban after a response to its removal went viral. Facebook, however, relaxed its policies on the poster as it was “clear artistic context.” “We initially removed several instances of this image for breaking our rules against nudity,” says a Facebook spokesperson. “We’ve therefore restored posts sharing the Almodóvar movie poster to Instagram, and we’re really sorry for any confusion caused.”
KAWS at Rockefeller Center. Photography by Diane Bondareff/AP Images for Tishman Speyer…
KAWS unveils an 18-foot sculpture of his signature characters at Rockefeller Center.
Starring his trademark cartoon characters, BFF and the Mickey Mouse–inspired Companion, KAWS’ massive Share sculpture conveys the desire for comfort during this moment in time. “Companion’s familiarity soothes just as we all feel the tug of BFF who is clutched somewhat wantonly,” is how the press release describes the work. The unveiling coincides with the run of “KAWS: WHAT PARTY,” a retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum that chronicles 25 years of the street artist’s graffiti drawings, paintings, sculptures, collectibles, furniture, and monumental installations.
An Ai Weiwei–designed house will host indigenous artists and activists upstate.
Named after the eponymous house in the Hudson Valley that serves as its central hub—the only Ai Weiwei-designed residence in the U.S.—the Forge Project initiative includes a fellowship program, rotating exhibitions of local and indigenous artworks, and a farming and ecological education program in partnership with Sky High Farms to combat food insecurity. The annual fellowship will award $25,000 to four indigenous residents, with its inaugural program welcoming architect and founder of studio:indigenous Chris T Cornelius, artist and filmmaker Sky Hopinka, ecologist and researcher Jasmine Neosh, and language preservation activist and Mohican language teacher Brock Schreiber.
Immersive Van Gogh…
Today’s attractive distractions:
Mike Richards and Mayim Bialik succeed Alex Trebek as the new hosts of Jeopardy!
These ubiquitous immersive Van Gogh experiences are about to get much trippier.
Stunning photography reveals a newly discovered species of blood-red jellyfish.
This German animal shelter is experimenting with Tinder to find pets happy homes.
