BOTERO MARBLES IN PARIS Fernando Botero is now doing it in marble -- in pink, Carrera white and black marble from Belgium, in fact. The world-famous Colombian artist is having his first ever exhibition devoted to marble sculptures at Galerie Hopkins-Custot, 2 avenue Matignon in Paris, Mar. 24-June 5, 2004. The Botero marbles, which are unique and on a relatively small scale, are also slated to go on view at the Hopkins-Custot booth at the forthcoming Pavillion des Antiquaires et des Beaux-Arts, Mar. 27-Apr. 4. The exhibition at avenue Matignon also features Botero's monumental bronze, Woman on a Horse, previously on view in Venice in front of the Accademia on the Grand Canal, as well as a selection of recent large charcoal drawings done on white canvas.
THE ART OF COLLECTING AT THE ARMORY SHOW
The much-anticipated Armory Show 2004, which opens Mar 12-15, 2004, at Piers 90 and 92 on the Hudson River, has a set of four panels on collecting lined up, organized in conjunction with ARCO, the Madrid art fair. Dubbed "The Art of Collecting Art," the hour-long panels are all open to the public, and take place at 10:30 a.m. on each of the fair's four days in the VIP lounge on Pier 90.
"Starting a Collection," Mar. 12, is moderated by New York critic Rhonda Lieberman and features collectors Mickey Cartin and Don and Mera Rubell along with artist, collector and Christie's art specialist Cary Leibowitz and Norton Collection curator Anne Ellegood.
"The Focused Collection," Mar. 13, is moderated by Peter Doroshenko, director of the S.M.A.K. Museum of Contemporary Art in Ghent, and includes collectors Mimi Dusselier, Stavros Merjos and Juan Redon.
"The Art of Collecting Art," Mar. 14, is moderated by New Museum curator Dan Cameron and features dealer Jeffrey Deitch, former museum director David A. Ross and Dia Art Foundation curator Lynne Cooke.
"Curating for Today's Museums," Mar. 15, is moderated by Brooklyn Museum director Arnold Lehman and includes Paul Ha, director of the Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis; Thelma Golden, deputy director at the Studio Museum; Robert Fitzpatrick, director of the Chicago MCA; and Museum of Modern Art director Glenn Lowry.
BURLESQUE FUNDRAISER FROM CREATIVE TIME
Those crazy kids over at Creative Time, who specialize in organizing art shows in far-out places like the Brooklyn Bridge Anchorage or the Spectacolor lightboard in Times Square, is now taking to the stage -- the burlesque stage. Specifically, Creative Time's Burlesque Bash, a one-night gala benefit featuring pole-dancing and "burlesque teases," is scheduled for Mar. 18, 2004, at the Show Nightclub at 135 West 41st Street in Manhattan. Performance diva Karen Finley has signed on as emcee; the bill includes pole-dancing performances by artists Lisa Kirk and Vanessa Walters, samba dances by Andrea Fraser, songs by Mother Inc. (featuring Yvonne Force Villareal & Sandra Hamburg), and burlesque by Miss Dirty Martini, the World Famous BOB, the Wau-Wau Sisters, Julie Atlas Muz, James "Tigger" Ferguson and others. Tickets start at $175; for more info, see www.creativetime.org.
POSE NUDE WITH POZ
New York artist Spencer Tunick, who has gained an international reputation for his large-scale photographs of massive numbers of people posing together in the nude in public places, has a new project for Poz magazine. In celebration of its 10th birthday, the magazine is inviting HIV-positive people to pose for a Tunick photograph to be used for the cover of the anniversary issue. "The installation is intended to celebrate our survival, combat AIDS stigma, challenge AIDS complacency, encourage disclosure and send a clear message to friends and enemies alike that we are more empowered than ever," writes Poz editor Walter Armstrong. "We are especially interested in encouraging the participation of a broad cross-section of people with HIV, including women, people of color, people over 50 and people whose bodies have been visibly affected by HIV or HIV-related drugs." The event is scheduled for Mar. 13, 2004, at a location in the West Village; to register to pose, email poznude@poz.com.
MORE MOMA ON TOUR -- TOKYO NEXT
The Museum of Modern Art has successfully toured parts of its treasured permanent collection to Berlin ("Das MoMA in Berlin" at the Neue Nationalgalerie, Feb. 20-Sept. 19, 2004) and the New York barrio ("MoMA at El Museo: Latin American and Caribbean Art from the Collection of the Museum of Modern Art" at El Museo del Barrio, Mar. 5-July 25, 2004) -- but it's not done yet. Next up is "Modern Means: Continuity and Change in Art, 1880 to the Present" at the new Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, Apr. 28-Aug. 1, 2004. The exhibition includes an amazing 300 items, ranging from painting and sculpture to design.
The survey has been assembled by MoMA curators Deborah Wye and Wendy Weitman in cooperation with Mori Art Museum director David Elliott and curator Kim Sunhee, and unconventionally organizes the exhibition into four sections: "Primal" (1880-1920), "Reductive" (1920-50), "Commonplace" (1950-70) and "Mutable" (1970 till today). Now, if only MoMA would open up a bit and reveal the rental fees it takes home for these loans, we could all have the complete picture of the economics of modern museology to go along with our thorough view of the museum's holdings.
HOUSING EXPO FOR CHICAGO ARTISTS
The first-ever Chicago Artists Space and Housing Expo, with over 50 exhibitors, free workshops and seminars targeted specifically to the space needs of artists, opens at the Chicago Cultural Center on Apr. 10, 2004. "Whether they want to buy a home, develop an arts building or open a storefront studio, theater or gallery, we invite artists to take advantage of the knowledge and expertise that will be available under one roof," said Lois Weisberg, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, which is co-organizing the event with the city's housing department. Admission is free; for details, call (312) 747-8529.
TIFFANY FOUNDATION GRANTS
The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation has announced $600,000 in $20,000 fellowships to 30 artists in its 2003 biennial competition, which makes awards to artists whose work shows promise but who have not received widespread critical or commercial recognition. The recipients are Ginny Bishton, Mark Bradford, Bettina Brning, Namu Cho, Cat Chow, Adam Cohen, Steve DiBenedetto, Joy Episalla, Kota Ezawa, Omer Fast, Beverly Fishman, Phil Frost, Andrea Gill, Charlie Griffin, Scott Grodesky, Hilary Harkness, Valerie Hegarty, Benjamin Jones, Beverly McIver, Darrel Morris, Joshua Mosley, Karyn Olivier, Andrew Raftery, Clare Rojas, Marcos Rosales, Alexander Ross, Dana Schutz, Kyle Staver, Catherine Sullivan and Brian Tolle.
The jury for the awards was artist William Bailey, L.A. MOCA curator Connie Butler, artist Carroll Dunham, Cranbrook Academy director Gerhardt Knodel, artist Kerry James Marshall, Craft Museum director emeritus Paul J. Smith and artist Cindy Sherman. For more info, see www.louiscomforttiffanyfoundation.org.
FRIENDS OF PHOTOGRAPHY DISSOLVED
The Friends of Photography, founded in 1967 by Ansel Adams, Brett Weston, Nancy and Beaumont Newhall and others, has been dissolved as a nonprofit corporation, according to a report by Kenneth Baker in the San Francisco Chronicle. The organization's library has been transferred to the San Francisco Art Institute, while its education programming is being taken over by the Oakland Museum. The 138-work "Ansel Adams Legacy" collection of photographs has been acquired by Tom and Lynn Meredith of Austin, Tex., who say they plan to keep the collection intact and circulate it to public museums. The Friends' original mission, to popularize photography as a fine art form, has largely been accomplished, writes Baker.
REBUS WORKS OPENS IN RALEIGH
Add another artist-run gallery to your rolodex: Rebus Works at 301-2 Kinsey Street, Raleigh, N.C. 27603. A 27-foot-long exhibition space in the North Carolina capital's former 1910 Honeycutt Grocery building, Rebus Works is currently exhibiting works by Lump Lipshitz (gallery director of Raleigh's other avant-garde art space, Lump Gallery/Projects); other artists exhibiting at the space are IlaSahai Prouty, Lesley Patterson, David Connell, Tonya Ortega and Greg Fidler. For more info, see www.rebusworks.net.
HOUDON'S VOLTAIRE AT LACMA
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has unveiled its newest acquisition, a rare life-size plaster sculpture of Jean-Antoine Houdon's large Seated Voltaire monument, a gift of the Ahmanson Foundation. Marble versions of the 1780 plaster are at the Comdie Franaise in Paris and the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. LACMA's plaster, the only example in the U.S., is on view in the museum's Ahmanson Building.
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