Edwina Sandys, “Christa,” photo by Hiroko Masuike, The New York Times.
- Applications for the Knight Cities Challenge open next week. If you have a project to make your block, neighborhood, or city a better place, apply for some serious Knight Foundation funding. [Knight Cities]
- “I have no beef with hip painting, but that kind of art does not need my help. I would rather champion art and artists whose voices are less mainstream and obvious. The best art represents belief systems; humanist values that people have been addressing and debating for centuries.” In an artnet profile, Cristin Tierney discusses her transition from art advisor to gallerist, weathering ups and downs of the market, art fairs, and more. She relies less on retail sales—her brick-and-mortar space in Chelsea might show unsalable installations or video—and more on expert knowledge of the secondary market and relationships with collectors. [artnet News]
- This video from Nowness documents the final house architect Luis Barragán came out of retirement to design. The Mexico City residence has been faithfully maintained and loved by the owners since the 1970s. It’s so, so beautiful. [Curbed]
- In other “house envy” news, Dr. Jean-Laurent Casanova commissioned a rooftop garden in Chelsea inspired by the French Alps. [New York Magazine]
- AFC’s friend and occasional contributor Molly (Rhinestones) Ryan is taking artist Lucia Del Sanchez to task on social media, alleging artist Harrison Curley‘s queer imagery was “Mapplethroped” out of a show at Chinatown Soup on account of his work being “too shocking.” [Facebook] UPDATE: A reader has informed us that Del Sanchez was not the curator of the exhibition, and that the exhibition in question was organized by Emily Sussman. If anyone wants to explain this confusing conflict, please feel free to do so in the comments.
- Total Proof: The Gala Committee, 1995-1997 is on view at Red Bull Studios through November. The exhibition comprises the subversive artwork that made its way onto the set of campy 1990s television show Melrose Place. This looks so, so good. [The Daily Beast]
- In 1984, Edwina Sandys displayed “Crista” in the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. The sculpture depicts Jesus as a topless woman being crucified. In the 1980s, this led to a maelstrom of hate mail and complaints, so when she was forced to remove the piece, she strapped it to the roof of a red sports car and drove off. Now, she’s been invited to display “Christa” again, and it’s likely not going to be nearly as controversial. [The New York Times]
