1 September | LA talent agency to open exhibition space

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United Talent Agency, who launched a fine art division in 2015 with the help of art lawyer Joshua Roth, have announced plans to open an exhibition space.

The 4,500-square-foot space will open on September 17th in Los Angeles. Despite representing artists including Ai Weiwei, Rashid Johnson and Judy Chicago, the exhibition space will not function like a traditional commercial gallery. The New York Times has more.

The National Gallery (London) are looking to raise £30 million in order to keep a Pontormo portrait in the UK. Its previous owner, an English aristocrat, payed inheritance tax on the painting before selling it to an overseas buyer. Seeing as the tax has already been payed on the work, it is unlikely that the museum will be able to acquire the painting at a reduced price. The National Gallery hopes however that tax administration will refund the owner, which would allow the museum to keep the painting for £12 million. In the meanwhile, the export license for the work has been deferred. Read more on The Art Newspaper.

The now merged company Auctionata | Paddle8 have announced that Thomas Hesse will take over as CEO, replacing Alexander Zacke, founder of the start-up Auctionata. Hesse has over 20 years experience directing various media businesses. Zacke will stay with the company, serving as Chief Marketplace Officer. Via artnet News.

The Bass Museum of Art in Miami has had its reopening date pushed back to Spring 2017 rather than this December following construction delays. The museum’s opening was supposed to coincide with the 2016 edition of Art Basel Miami Beach and was due to feature inaugural shows by artists Ugo Rondinone, Mika Rottenberg, and Pascale Marthine Tayou. When the museum’s renovations are finished there will be four new galleries, constructed at a cost of $12 million. More via Art Forum.