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The Headlines
IN MEMORIAM. Born in Germany in 1936, the Spanish gallerist and collector, Helga de Alvear, has died at the age of 88, reports ArtReview. Her eponymous gallery in Madrid has represented artists such as Angela de la Cruz, Elmgreen & Dragset, Thomas Demand, and Isaac Julien, and she was a leading force behind the Madrid art fair ARCO. She also donated her collection of some 3,000 artworks to the city of Cáceres, where they are housed in the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Helga de Alvear. In a statement, the museum’s director said that thanks to her generosity, the institution “can continue working to fulfill her dream: to transform people’s lives through art. Helga de Alvear has a place of her own in the history of contemporary art.”
Related Articles
MEXICO ART WEEK CALLING. Mexico City’s Art Week has begun, amid the dramatic backdrop of an incipient trade war, sparked by US President Donald Trump, as ARTnews’ Harrison Jacobs reports. The last-minute postponement of Trump’s 25 percent tariff on Mexico has put the brakes on serious drama for now as the art world descends on the country’s Zona Maco art fair. In the meantime, several art publications are reporting on must-see shows in Mexico City’s galleries and institutions, from the Observer’s gallery guide, to The Art Newspaper’s selection, including major institutions.
The Digest
The British Council may sell some works from its prestigious art collection to offset debts of nearly $244 million. The UK’s international organization for cultural relations owns about 9,000 British artworks, including pieces by Lucian Freud, David Hockney, Tomma Abts, and John Akomfrah. [The Art Newspaper]
Yves Saint Laurent’sdrawings of nudes from his personal collection with partner Pierrer Bergée were snatched up at Sotheby’s in Paris for a total of 444,560 euros, with all lots sold, and some going for nearly six times their high estimate. [Le Figaro]
Starting April 1, Helga Huskamp will helm the Hamburger Kunsthalle, one of Germany’s largest modern and contemporary art museums. She succeeds after Norbert Kölle. [Le Journal des Arts]
For Saudi Arabia’s second Islamic Arts Biennale edition in Jeddah, writer Lisa-Marie Berndt walks readers through some of the 500 works on view but keeps her eye on “subtle cracks in the state-controlled” narrative, and the Saudi kingdom’s ambitions as a “new global cultural player.” [Monopol Magazine]
A new museum in Prague’s Baroque Savarin Palace will be dedicated to Art Nouveau painter Alfons Mucha, and is set to open February 24. The Czech painter, graphic artist, and designer lived from 1860 to 1939, and became famous for his embellished posters of actress Sarah Bernhardt. [France 24 and AFP]
The Kicker
DECORATIVE BEAUTY CAN BE TERRIFYING. Feminist artist Faith Wilding (born in 1943), who was part of the famous 1970’s Womanhouse group, has a 50-year survey of her work up at Anat Ebgi gallery in New York until March 1. Emily Watlington writes about it for Art in America. The show features works ranging from Raped Dress [Battle Dresses], (1993-94), “to more decorative pieces inspiring viewers to appreciate natural marvels.” As the artist explains, in the 70’s her “work was connecting what was happening to nature with what’s happening to women.” Plus, speaking of her inspiration from illuminated manuscripts and their plant motifs, she delivers this nugget: “I don’t apologize for decoration anymore.” Wilding goes further, concluding with a powerful statement, which she nonetheless refrains from fully explaining, but which leaves us plenty to contemplate: “In my drawings, I want people to notice and admire things that they don’t ordinarily, like a leaf. Leaves can be so amazing up close. That’s why I made them big in works like Leaf Series (1976-78). My work is all about nature and beauty and putting those two together. I always say that I use beauty as a terrorist tactic.”
