Our Weekly Update is here to bring you our favorite links from the past week: art and design news you might have missed, must-see stories, and the best new contests and calls for entry.
Want to own a supermarket that’s actually an art piece?
Art Net reports on Sotheby’s plan to auction off a fully-stocked supermarket: “Next month, Sotheby’s Hong Kong will attempt to sell the first concept for a work of art at auction, offering Xuzhen Supermarket at its contemporary art evening sale on September 30. The piece, by Chinese artist Xu Zhen, appears at first glance to be a fully stocked grocery store, but all of the goods for sale are empty. The installation, which features a working cash register, is continually restocked, satirizing both the emptiness of mass consumption and the arbitrary nature of the international art market.”
Art on the blockchain
The future has arrived. A look inside the world of blockchain-based art and collectibles, via Engadget: “Digital Art Chain is a DeviantArt-alike that allows amateur creators to sell their digital works, which is, actually, a pretty exciting breakthrough for artists who see their works copied endlessly across Google Images and Pinterest with no value returned to them. CryptoArte is mostly ugly, bitmap-looking computer-generated artworks. HiPrecious is a clever and interesting series of animated trading cards. It bills itself as “high-end crypto collectibles, luxuriously made in Paris.” Cards include Bruce Lee, Tesla, something called Zombie Cat, the World Trade Center and the Hawksbill Sea Turtle.”
“This is simply the best Chinese painting you could possibly get”
A rare 11th century scroll from a Chinese artist likened to Da Vinci is set to go on auction, where it’s expected to break records. Bloomberg reports: “Estimated in excess of HK$400 million ($51 million), the work is only one of two known scrolls produced by Song dynasty artist Su Shi, and the first to ever appear at auction, Christie’s said. The other resides in the National Palace Museum in Taiwan.”
Rebuilding the Berlin Wall, for art
Freize reports that Russian filmmaker Ilya Khrzhanovsky, in a project involving Marina Abramović and Massive Attack, plans to rebuild the Berlin Wall: “Organizers say that if they are granted the final go-ahead from local authorities, they will install 900 concrete slabs in the city’s central Unter den Linden boulevard to create the immersive environment. Complete with its own entrance ‘visas’, the time-capsule installation will open on 12 October, and then be symbolically torn down on 9 November–marking the anniversary of the Wall’s fall in 1989.”
Call for entry: Places and Faces
Photo Place Gallery, located in Vermont, is seeking submissions for an upcoming gallery show themed around travel. Photography submitted should aim to show the unique characteristics of a particular location. The deadline is September 10.
Call for entry: National Sculpture Society Grant
If you’re an American artist creating sculpture work, this could be your chance to win a $5000 grant. Submissions are due October 1.
Call for entry: Praxis Photographic Arts Center
Located in Minnesota, the Praxis Photographic Arts Center is seeking submissions of portrait photography for an upcoming exhibition. Submissions are due October 6.
Cover image: Xu Zhen, Xuzhen Supermarket. Photo courtesy of Sadie Coles HQ Gallery and Art Net.
Have a tip or call for entry to share? Did you write an article or publish a project that you think we’d like? Let us know.
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