The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) has announced that it will acquire only artwork by female-identifying artists for its permanent collection in 2020. This new policy will help correct the gender imbalance at the institution—only 4% of the BMA’s collection is by women artists.
The commitment runs parallel to a series of upcoming exhibits at the museum celebrating female-identifying artists. One of those artists is Mickalene Thomas, who will open Mickalene Thomas: A Moment’s Pleasure, at the BMA on Sunday. The immersive two-story installation transforms the museum’s east lobby into a living room for Baltimore reflective of Thomas’s signature aesthetic. The artist has also included works by artists with ties to Baltimore in the exhibition.
Front-Page Femmes
Artnet interviews legendary gallerist and artist Suzanne Jackson ahead of her first New York solo show.
A Frida Kahlo painting of an unknown “lady in white” sold for $5.8 million at Christie’s Latin American art sale; it is the second-highest price ever achieved for the artist at auction.
Singer-songwriter and artist Solange recently debuted a new interdisciplinary performance, Bridge-s, at the Getty Center.
NPR profiles 19, a new musical about women’s suffrage set to premiere at NMWA on November 25 for a three-night run.
Artnet interviews Shirin Neshat about the artists who inspire her most, including Frida Kahlo and Cindy Sherman.
The New Yorker profiles Alicia Rodriguez Alvisa’s “You Are There, Are you there?, There You Are,” her new self-portrait series that doubles the artist through composite image.
An upcoming exhibition at Beijing’s UCCA Center for Contemporary Art by Chinese American artist Hung Liu was canceled after local authorities declined to issue necessary import permits; Liu’s work contains strong social and historical themes.
Anonymous Was a Woman, an organization that supports the careers of women artists over 40, announced the 2019 grantees.
Artnet interviews sculptor Andra Ursuţa, who transforms throwaway horror movie props into eerie totems.
Sculptor and Washington Color School patron Helen Stern died at age 89.
Author Susan Choi won the National Book Award for her novel Trust Exercise.
NPR profiles Rose McAdoo—a pastry chef who uses cakes to make scientific ideas (literally) digestible.
Hyperallergic profiles Sylvia Fein, one of the last living Surrealist painters, on her 100th birthday.
The New York Times interviews Waad al-Kateab, director of the documentary For Sama, on her life as a refugee in England.
Cecilia Vicuña won the 2019 Premio Velázquez de Artes Plásticas, Spain’s most prestigious art award.
Marina Abramovic’s The Life will be the first mixed-reality artwork auctioned by Christie’s.
Shows We Want to See
Dora Maar is now open at the Tate Modern. The Guardian reviews the comprehensive retrospective, calling it a “meticulously mapped-out reappraisal of Maar’s long and restlessly inventive creative journey.”
Haegue Yang: In the Cone of Uncertainty is on view at The Bass in Miami. The exhibition includes multisensory installations, light sculptures, and a commissioned piece that explores Miami Beach’s relationship to the climate crisis.