Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige win the Prix Marcel Duchamp
The Lebanon-based artist duo was awarded France’s most prestigious art prizes for their project Discordances/ Unconformities. Joreige and Hadjithomas follow in the footsteps of 2016 laureate, Kader Attia.
The artists will receive €35,000 from the Association pour la Diffusion Internationale de l’Art Français (ADIAF), as well as €30,000 for the creation of a new work. Through sculpture, poetry, drawing and video, the work of “Hadjithomas and Joreige embodies a complex history where a difficult past and a harrowing present are intertwined”, in the words of Bernard Blistène, director of the jury and of Paris’ National Museum of Modern Art.
Until January 8, works by the Lebanese duo will be on show at the Centre Pompidou alongside those of fellow finalists Maja Bajevic, Charlotte Moth and Vittorio Santoro.
Palimpsestes (2017) de Joana Hadjithomas et Khalil Joreige, présenté dans l’exposition « Prix Marcel Duchamp 2017 », Centre Pompidou, Paris 2017 © Audrey Laurans.
Stedelijk Museum director resigns amidst controversies
Weeks after allegations of conflict of interests surfaced in the Dutch media, Beatrix Ruf has announced that she is resigning from her role as director of Amsterdam’s Stedelijk Museum.
Ruf, who was also running an art advisory service while serving as the museum’s director, was accused of a lack of transparency in negotiations with major donors. In addition, Dutch media have reported that both in her role at the Stedelijk Museum and in her previous position at Kunsthalle Zurich, Ruf has privileged exhibitions featuring works by artists whose galleries Ruf works with. In a statement, Ruf has said that her resignation is “in the interest of the museum, considering the speculations in the media in recent weeks, which may have an impact on the reputation of the museum.” More via artnet news.
Beatrix Ruf
A new space for art, design and fashion in Milan
Carhartt WIP and Slam Jam have announced the opening of Spazio Maiocchi, a new space in a 1,000 square-meter building in Milan’s Porta Venezia, which will feature both exhibition spaces and artist studios, offered by art media company KALEIDOSCOPE and Plusdesign gallery.
On October 11, KALEIDOSCOPE presented two exhibitions dedicated to artists Darja Bajagić (b. 1990) and Harumi Yamaguchi (b. 1954) respectively. For its part, Plusdesign has put together the show “Rug Trip I”, featuring commissioned works by artists Barry McGee, Todd James, Susan Kare, Anton Bruhin, Antwan Horfee and Matt Damhave.
© Spazio Maiocchi
Phillips opens a new office in Antwerp
The auction house, the only real competitor to Christie’s and Sotheby’s, has announced it is expanding to Northern Europe, with the opening of a new office in Antwerp. In addition, Marianne Hoet, formerly Director and Head of Post-War & Contemporary Art in Northern Europe at Christie's, will join Phillips, where she will serve as Senior Specialist in 20th Century & Contemporary Art, and Deputy Chairman, Europe.
