The Headlines
ROUND TWO. A sculpture at the new David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is once again igniting controversy. Tlali (2026), a large stone work by Pedro Reyes, is similar to another piece by the artist from a 2021 project to replace a Christopher Columbus statue in Mexico City that ended up being canceled. In that instance, Reyes’s sculpture depicting an Indigenous woman was rejected because the artist is himself not Indigenous. A similar controversy is now facing LACMA. In an April 23 letter signed by nearly 80 people that was published by the site Cubo Blanco, LACMA is accused of a lack of “memory” for prominently displaying Tlali. A LACMA spokesperson told the Art Newspaper that the new work is “entirely different in purpose and meaning” from the 2021 work for Mexico City, thanks to “a new location, context, and opportunity for discussion.” Michael Govan, the museum’s director, also suggested the new sculpture may not be a female figure at all. “Poignant, androgynous, fragmentary, and mask-like, the work echoes ancient American fragments in our collection, particularly avian and jaguar motifs characterizing Olmec masks,” he wrote.
LOUVRE DIPLOMACY. In a lengthy interview with Le Monde, Louvre president Christophe Leribault revealed his plans for leading the Paris museum, which remains roiled by the October theft of its crown jewels, structural decay, and the ensuing departure of former president Laurence des Cars. Though Leribault said he is “not here to undo the work of my predecessors,” between those diplomatic lines, there are a few key points in which he clearly takes a different route. He told writer Roxana Azimi that contemporary art projects in the museum will “undoubtedly become more occasional” over the next few years, due to changed priorities. Leribault said he would reduce the amount of money spent on new acquisitions, which had come from ticket sales. Additionally, on May 13, a jury will select an architect who will design the Louvre-Nouvelle Renaissance renovation project, which was initiated by des Cars and is now in the process of being adjusted so that safety and security are more central.
The Digest
Yesterday, the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice opened what is billed as the last exhibition of new work by Georg Baselitz, whose final body of work appears to be a group of monumental figurative paintings with golden backgrounds. Before his death on April 30, he filmed a video address about this series, titled “Eroi d’Oro,” which he intended to be his last. [Artist Statement]
Labor unions, grassroots groups, and artists are planning a May 8 strike to “shut down” the Israel Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. [Hyperallergic]
The forthcoming Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles has revealed the details of its first exhibition devoted to the “Star Wars” films. [The Hollywood Reporter]
The remains of what is believed to be a medieval ship have been discovered in the Netherlands. [Medievalists]
The Kicker
NO GOING BACK. Meet Jaeyong Park, the envy-inducing writer from South Korea, who sees every single show at the Venice Biennale. In an interview with Artnet News, he explained how and why he has managed, over the last five years, to tick off every one of the endless plethora of main, collateral, and unofficial exhibitions in the lagoon city during the Biennale. A lot of planning and a solid two weeks in Venice are key, he said. It should be noted that Park, who doesn’t seem to be one for cutting corners, is also a novelist, as well as the co-organizer of Seoul’s West Village Comedy Club, the Seoul Reading Room and art archive, and the Curating School Seoul. “After years of rushed visits, I finally slowed down and realized just how different each show is in texture and tone. Pavilions you’d never expect end up being revelatory, and you only notice that if you see them all. Once I had that realization, there was no going back,” he said.
