Robert Indiana’s Former Home May Become a Museum, and Other News

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A new agreement could allow Robert Indiana’s Maine residence to become a museum.

The artist known for his iconic LOVE series died one day before a New York–based copyright holder reached a settlement with his estate and foundation. Details of the agreement were not released, but all claims by the Morgan Art Foundation’s lawsuit that accused Indiana and his caretaker of violating a licensing agreement are fully resolved, according to a letter that was filed on Wednesday in federal court in New York City. The foundation intends to transform his island home into a museum once litigation draws to a close. 

Wilhelmina Cole Holladay, founder of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, has died.

A still life by Clara Peeters first ignited the imagination of Wilhelmina Cole Holladay, who passed away on March 6 at age 98. She proceeded to research the painting and found that it was totally omitted from art history textbooks. She soon realized the near-total absence of women from museums and literature, and was inspired to track down works by overlooked women artists from around the world. Her collection became the heart of the permanent collection at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, which she and her husband, Wallace, founded in Washington, D.C., in 1987. Today, the museum stands as the world’s only institution dedicated solely to women artists.

Alvar Aalto’s Silo will become a research center that promotes architectural preservation. 

The Silo, a cathedral-like concrete structure located near the Arctic Circle in Oulu, Finland, might be one of Alvar Aalto’s more overlooked achievements, but it’ll soon become a major boon for adaptive reuse. Skene Catling de la Peña and the Factum Foundation will soon transform the silo into a research facility that promotes architectural preservation and reuse. Initial projects will include “visualizing the electromagnetic energy of the aurora borealis, rethinking the use of cellulose and lignum, monitoring marine pollution, and recording climate change’s impact on the environment.” 

After a rough patch, the Paris Biennale will be replaced by a new arts and antiques fair.

The Paris Biennale was once one of the world’s most prestigious art fairs, but the French union of antique dealers that organize the fair have decided to permanently end the event after a period of confusion, scandal, and strife. Further details are forthcoming, but initial reports suggest that the Syndicate National des Antiquaires plans to set up a new event that gathers antique dealers, jewelers, watchmakers, and other craftspeople at the end of November and early December.

Barry Sternlicht’s sustainably focused Treehouse Hotel concept is coming to Miami. 

Following the debut of the brand’s flagship property in London, the first U.S. outpost will open in Brickell in 2023. Housed inside the 62-floor 1 Southside Park development and designed by Rockwell Group and SHoP Architects, Treehouse Brickell will have a strong sustainability focus like its sister brand, 1 Hotels, including rainwater harvesting and reuse, low-carbon energy materials, electric-car-recharging stations.

Following delays, the luxury air travel startup Aero raises $20 million in Series A funding. 

After delaying its launch this past summer due to the coronavirus pandemic, Aero has raised $20 million in Series A funding just after launching its first flight from L.A. to Aspen. At the heart of the concept, a hybrid of private aviation and first-class commercial, is an elevated design ethos led by a team with design backgrounds in industrial, aviation, product, and interiors. Some of the standout features include a sleek matte black color palette, hand-stitched Italian leather seats, a custom Bongiovi Acoustic Lab sound system, and dynamic lighting technology for in-flight chromotherapy. Next up: a return to Europe, where the company first tested flights between Mykonos and Ibiza. 

The Helsinki Biennial is setting a sustainable standard for in-person art events worldwide. 

It’s true: art biennials are carbon catastrophes. The director of the inaugural Helsinki Biennial, Maija Tanninen-Mattila, is setting out to change the course of the Biennial Foundation’s directory of more than 270 cities that host a biannual art events with a sustainable alternative that will serve as an example of future biennials to come. Taking responsibility for climate change, the fair takes place on the island of Vallisaari, spanning just 20 percent of the land with artworks placed along pre-existing paths to ensure heritage and biodiversity are not compromised.

Today’s attractive distractions:

Even Lindsay Lohan has jumped on the burgeoning non-fungible tokens train.

Masayoshi Matsumoto creates hyper-realistic animals using only balloons.

This disgusting video shows how to clean AirPods from excessive earwax.

The desolate Antarctica has been littered with abandoned “ghost stations.”