Pace Gallery appoints Jessie Washburne-Harris as its new Vice President

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!

Environmental Activists Threaten to Start Slashing Paintings If Action Is Not Taken to Stop Climate Change

Around 20 famous works of art, including ones by Vermeer, Klimt, and Munch, have come under attack this year from various anti-climate change organizations. Although they did not permanently harm the artwork, the protesters\’ actions to draw attention to their cause—throwing food at the paintings and sticking themselves to frames—have outraged the art world. Just Stop Oil members glued themselves to frames of Van Gogh and Munch paintings. Spokesman Alex De Koning says they may follow the example of suffragettes. In 1914, Mary Richardson slashed Velazquez\’s painting The Rokeby Venus with a meat cleaver.  \”Justice is an element of beauty as much as color and outline on canvas,\” Richardson said. Climate activists splashed paint on Van Gogh paintings and hurled mashed potatoes at Monet\’s Haystacks. The viral episodes have ignited debate over the effectiveness of protest tactics. 92 signatories from cultural institutions released an open letter denouncing the actions. Two activists in Belgium were sentenced to two months in prison for a protest next to Vermeer\’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. Read more on Art news.

Pace Gallery appoints Jessie Washburne-Harris as its new Vice President

Marc Glimcher, CEO and President of Pace Gallery, today announced the appointment of Jessie Washburne-Harris as Vice President. Jessie Washburne-Harris is a veteran of Marian Goodman Gallery, where she served as Executive Director for the past 8 years. She has also held roles at Petzel Gallery, Sotheby\’s, and Gagosian and will join Pace\’s global sales team later this month. Washburne-Harris will be based at the gallery\’s flagship New York location at 540 West 25th Street. She succeeds Marian Goodman, who has been at the helm since 2011 and is responsible for the gallery\’s exploration into the intersection of art and technology. In the past year, the gallery diversified its business model to deftly navigate the changing landscape under the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The gallery also announced plans to expand its presence in Europe with a new location in London to open in 2021.  Details on Artdaily.

A damaged Salvator Mundi copy by an unknown artist sells for €1m at Christie\’s

A damaged copy of the Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci has achieved €1m (with fees) at auction. Sold in an online Old Masters sale organised by Christie\’s Paris on 28 November, it represents a great price for a work by an unknown artist. The painting is said to belong to a family in southern France but comes without any record of a longer historical provenance. One of the highest-quality copies of Leonardo da Vinci\’s Mona Lisa has vanished since an auction sale in 1962. It could have been painted in Leonardo\’s workshop and was listed in the former collections of Richard Worsley and Victoria Alexandrina Hare and Charles Anderson-Pelham, the Earl and Countess Yarborough. These three copies might be inspired by an intermediate composition, as they show the blessing right arm in a position and with a sleeve cuff similar to a preparatory drawing of a drapery. Read more on The Art Newspaper.

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