October 27 | The unorthodox Anne Imhof to represent Germany for Venice Biennale 2017

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The ifa institute, which has coordinated Germany’s pavilion at the Venice Biennale since 1971, announced today that Anne Imhof will represent her country at the 2017 edition of the event.

The pavilion will be curated by Susanne Pfeffer, the director of the Fridericianum museum in Kassel, marking her second presentation at the Venice Biennale. Imhof, who is represented by Galerie Buchholz and Isabella Bortolozzi, received the Nationalgalerie Prize for Young Art in 2015. Imhof is known for her durational nighttime performances which transfigure the gallery space. The third and final iteration of Imhof’s current project, a multi-part opera entitled Angst, is taking place in Montreal as part of the Montreal Biennale. More info via artnet News.

 

The Museum of Modern Art in New York announced yesterday that it has acquired the original set of 176 emoji for its permanent collection. First designed by Shigetaka Kurita for pagers made by the Japanese mobile provider NTT DoCoMo and released in 1999, it was not until 2011, when Apple integrated its first emoji set for the iPhone, that emoji become the Western phenomenon it is today. The first emoji were 176 simplistic line drawings, a far cry from the wide range of slick symbols that exist now. The emoji set was acquired through a licensing agreement with DoCoMo that allows MoMA to display the images in a range of forms. Starting in December, the emoji will be on show in the museum lobby, in a display that incorporates 2-D graphics and animations. The New York Times has the full story.

 

London’s Tate announced yesterday that Michael Wellen, currently assistant curator of Latin American and Latino art at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, has been appointed curator of international art at the gallery. Wellen will focus on increasing the representation of Latin American art in the Tate’s collection and its exhibition program at Tate Modern. Wellen has co-curated a number of exhibitions at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston including “Antonio Berni: Juanito and Ramona,” 2013–2014, and “Contingent Beauty: Contemporary Art from Latin America,” 2015–2016. He will take up his new post at Tate in December. Artforum has more.

 

Donald A. Moore has been elected chair of the council of the Institute of Contemporary Art in London. Moore is chair of Morgan Stanley Group Europe, and also sits on the international council of Tate and the photography acquisition committee of Tate Modern. After joining the ICA council in 2011, he became deputy chair in 2015, and now succeeds Alison Myners who led the institution for six years and instituted a number of important changes. Of the appointment, Myners said, “Donald’s wide experience across the cultural and business worlds will be invaluable to the ambitious plans we hold for the ICA.” Further details on Artforum.