First museum exhibition by Simone Leigh shows the artist at the top of her game

A SUMMARY OF THE MOST EXCITING ART NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

While we focus on Indian art, we can’t obviously function in a vacuum. It’s a small world and everything is connected, especially on the web. So, let’s train our spotlight across the world map to see what’s going on — from art trends to socio-political issues to everything that affects the great aesthetic global consciousness. Or, let’s just travel the world and have some fun!

Expo Chicago gives prizes to Museums for purchasing artwork by unknown creators

The Expo Chicago art fair has revealed the four institutions set to acquire works being sold there via prizes, as well as the curators set to receive a fellowship through another, separate award. Through the Northern Trust Purchase Prize, the Seattle Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts St. Petersburg in Florida, and the Saint Louis Art Museum were able to purchase work out of the fair’s “Exposure” section, which is devoted to galleries that have been in business for 10 years or less. The Seattle Art Museum acquired Mohau Modisakeng’sPhahamong III, which had been brought to the fair by Martin Art Projects. The Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg is set to accession Claudia Peña Salinas’sAhua Can; similar works by her at Embajada’s booth qualified the showcase as one of the best at Expo Chicago, according to an ARTnews roundup. The Saint Louis Art Museum will get to add Wole Lagunju’sIrawo II, which is on view at Montague Contemporary’s booth. Read more on Art News.

First museum exhibition by Simone Leigh shows the artist at the top of her game

A grand golden lady guards the entrance to Simone Leigh’s widely anticipated first museum survey, now on view at the Institute of Contemporary Art Boston. The sculpture looks similar to many of her best-known creations. In it, a woman’s torso emerges from a bell-shaped raffia skirt. Her face is clean of emotion, and her eyes are missing, a statement that the following works are unbothered by scrutiny. In choices of material, mass, and form, Leigh gestures to a wealth of historical periods, locations, and artistic traditions that center Black female experiences. Some of her references are implicit; most are layered and oblique. Leigh liberated herself long ago from having toeducate the ignorant—an obligation surely familiar to most people of color. The sculptures here nod to the poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks, the nimba headdresses made by women of the Guinea coast, and South Carolina pottery, among much more. Details on Artsy.

Art collectors, Josh Harris and Mitchell Rales to purchase Washington Commanders

Josh Harris has reached an agreement in principle to acquire the Washington Commanders for $6 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Harris and Commanders owner Dan Snyder are hoping to execute a contract in the coming days, said the people, who were granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the transaction publicly. Harris declined to comment. A representative for the Commanders declined to comment. The deal between Snyder and the group led by Harris, the Philadelphia 76ers co-owner, would end one of the more tumultuous and controversial ownership tenures in modern U.S. sports. Details on Art News.