Founded in 2011, Tutela specializes in quantitative art market analyses, intelligent algorithms, and high-frequency price indices, and has valued works worth a total of more than $2 billion since its creation. The firm has focused on tracking and quantifying the movement of artworks in order to develop price indices and predictive modeling. Bocart will continue to work on Tutela for Artnet. The news of Artnet’s acquisition comes shortly after Sotheby’s announcement that it has purchased the Mei Moses Art Indices, indicating the hot competition which exists among companies that are trying to apply big data to art. Read the full story on The Art Newspaper.
Jeff Koons is donating a sculpture to Paris in remembrance of those who lost their lives in the recent terror attacks that took place in France. One of Koon’s largest works, the 34-foot-high sculpture was inspired by the Statue of Liberty. Currently under construction in Germany, the sculpture will feature a human hand clutching a “bouquet of tulips” rendered in Koons’ signature, stainless steel balloon-toy style, but it is still awaiting funds to cover its production costs. Funds must still be raised if the production of the sculpture — the cost of which is estimated at €3.5 million —is to be completed, The commemorative sculpture will be permanently installed next year in the plaza in front of the Museum of Modern Art and the Palais de Tokyo. The New York Times has more.
The Institute of Contemporary Art Miami has announced it will open its new permanent home in Miami’s Design District on December 1, 2017. The 37,500 square-foot building, which spans three floors, was designed by the Madrid-based architecture firm Aranguren + Gallegos. It more than doubles the museum’s current exhibition space and features an impressive 15,000-square-foot sculpture garden. The new space will open with an exhibition of one hundred postwar and contemporary artworks entitled “The Everywhere Show,” featuring, among others, artists Bruce Nauman, Carolee Schneemann and Andrea Zittel. More via Artforum.
The representing artists for the Nordic Pavilion at the 2017 Venice Biennale have been announced. The exhibition, titled “Mirrored,” will be curated by Mats Stjernstedt and will feature works by Siri Aurdal, Nina Canell, Charlotte Johannesson, Jumana Manna, Pasi “Sleeping” Myllymäki and Mika Taanila who will collectively represent Norway, Sweden, and Finland. In Stjernstedt ‘s words, “the artists in ‘Mirrored’ present a mapping of connections that override the national and regional boundaries, and instead track a more multi-faceted view of how artistic practice may connect.” Find more details on Artforum.
Ahead of its 20th Century Week sales in May 2017, auction house Christie’s has announced that two works — a Lichtenstein and a Picasso from Mrs. Sydell Miller’s collection — will be auctioned off, with proceedings going towards the Cleveland Clinic Heart & Vascular Institute, which named Miller Distinguished Fellow in 2012. The works, Pablo Picasso’s Femme assise dans un fauteuil (1917-1920) and Roy Lichtenstein’s Expressionist Head (1980), are estimated at $15-25 million and $2.5-3.5 million, respectively. More on Christie’s official website.
Sotheby’s has joined the fray in a long-running dispute over a painting by Leonardo da Vinci between Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev and Swiss businessman Yves Bouvier, who operates the biggest network of art storage facilities around the world. The painting, titled Christ as Salvator Mundi, was sold to a company controlled by Bouvier in 2013 for $80 million by a consortium of dealers. Bouvier flipped the painting to Rybolovlev for $127.5 million. According to Sotheby’s, the dealers’ group is now threatening to sue the auction house for the difference, claiming they were shortchanged on the sale. Sotheby’s have preemptively requested a federal judge for an order clearing it of any wrongdoing. More information on Bloomberg.
New York's Armory Show has announced the exhibitor list for its 2017 edition — running from March 2 through 5 — and the first to be organized under the direction of Ben Genocchio. Among the 207 participating galleries — 71 of which firstcomers — the surprises are many: David Zwirner Gallery, (New York, London) Goodman Gallery (Johannesburg, Cape Town) and Alison Jacques Gallery (London) will notably be absent. Conversely, big names such as Jeffrey Deitch (New York), Dominique Lévy (New York, London, Geneva), Pace Gallery (New York, London, Beijing, Hong Kong, Paris, Palo Alto) and White Cube (London, Hong Kong) are returning to the fair after having been absent in 2016. More information is available via ARTnews.
