Modern Painters

Martha Tedeschi,formerly of the ArtInstitute of Chicago,takes on the directorshipat the Harvard ArtMuseums this July.Her appointment comesas a coda to the insti-tution’s 2014 Renzo Pianoremodel, which reorga-nized the university’sthree art museums andvastly increased itsgallery space. Tedeschi’sgoal is to facilitate inter-disciplinary alliances,bolstered by the revamp’s``````new conservation labsand study centers.“Through collaborationswith other institutionson campus, we have thepotential to be nearlyencyclopedic,” she says.“I want to give facultyand students a singleobject to consider throughWKHOHQVRIWKHLUÀHOGIt could become amicrocosm of scholarship,providing a glimpseinto the minds at workCLOCKWISE FROM TOP: K11 ART FOUNDATION; PSSST; ROSE LINCOLNhere.” —JULIA PURCELLA NEW FACEFOR HARVARDINSOUTSMarthaTedeschi``````BLOUINARTINFO.COM JUNE/JULY 2016 MODERN PAINTERS 39CLOSE-UPThe seven University of Southern California art students who droppedout in protest over funding and personnel changes at the Roski Schoolof Art and Design last spring will have a thesis show after all whenQHZ/RV$QJHOHVDUWVQRQSURÀW Pssst presents the work of the entirenongraduating class in “MFA no MFA Statement,” June 2 through July 17.́7KHVHDUWLVWVZDQWHGDVSDFHWRH[KLELWWKHLUÀQDOVKRZVμVD\VJules Gimbrone, a cofounder of Pssst. “It was a natural part of ourHWKRVDVDQHZRUJDQL]DWLRQWRVXSSRUWDUWLVWVDQGVSHFLÀFDOO\WKRVHinterested in taking risks outside an institution that isn’t really dealingwith things appropriately.” Artist and former Roski professor A.L.Steiner, who was denied a contract renewal during the student exodus,is on the advisory board of Pssst, which opened in a 5,000-square-footperformance, residency, and exhibition space in Boyle Heights in May.The student show coincides with a programming series onexperimental education at Pssst, “Summer School: Learn Not to Know,”through August 14. “We’re not attempting to replace the highereducation model. I just think we’re trying to open up a dialogue aroundpedagogical practices,” says cofounder Barnett Cohen, who, withGimbrone, graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in 2014.“The only answer I have for being an artist in America at this momentis to promote community and support each other,” Gimbrone says,“because, otherwise, no one else is doing it.” —RACHEL CORBETTWHO NEEDS AN MFA?Adrian Cheng``````Pssst foundersBarnett Cohen andJules Gimbrone``````A term like art mall might seem hostile onits face—critical shorthand for the grimallegiance between museum and market,a critique of stultifying institutionalarchitectures, or both. For AdrianCheng, the Hong Kong–born heirto a $9 billion real estate fortune,the notion of an art mall is cul-ture—and acculturation—by othermeans, a “brand” that animateshis K11 Art Malls, located in HongKong and Shanghai, and K11Art Foundation. He spoke to MostafaHeddaya about the evolution ofthe multifarious concept.There are a number of K11projects in progress, includingnew art malls throughout Asia,but also a Kunsthalle in Beijing,and a group show of Chineseartists at the Chi K11 museum inShanghai. How has K11 changedsince its inception?K11 started in 2008, and it’s abrand, so it’s not really a shoppingPDOO:HEULQJFXOWXUHDQGLQÀOWUDWHLWinto a space. We curate space as whatwe call museum-retail space; it’s amuseum space but we add a lot of retailcomponents to it. So, for example, inShanghai we have this building whereI have my art club on top, and thenWKH.RIÀFHDQGWKHQWKLVPXVHXPretail concept and the Chi K11 artmuseum underneath. The entire``````building is a vertical creative hub, wherewe incubate communities, do a lot ofaudience grooming.“Incubating communities” and“audience grooming.” Whatdo they mean?Let’s go back to the ideaof China. China doesn’t have anyart education in public schools,there’s no access to art. Peopledon’t understand what creativitymeans. With the foundation,we try to incubate Chinese artists,Chinese curators; we want to build anew art ecosystem in China, especiallyfor the millennial and emerging gen-eration. How do you do that? Peopledon’t have a habit of going to galleriesand museums, so I merged the artsscene with commerce, because peoplego to shopping malls. In order to grooman audience, to educate about art, youQHHGKLJKWUDIÀFDQGDFFHVVLELOLW\What is the relationship betweenthe commercial, retail side of K11and the foundation?The K11 Art Foundation is a bridgethat cross-pollinates. We think ofit as creating an ecosystem for Chinesecontemporary art, and for the youngaudience. The mall itself couldEHLQGHSHQGHQWEXWLQÀOWUDWHGLQWRa museum space it supports fundingand makes it sustainable for thefoundation to grow.