2001 in art explained

The year 2001 in art involves various significant events.

Events

• 1 January – A black monolith measuring approximately 9 feet tall appears in Seattle, Washington's Magnuson Park, placed by an anonymous artist in reference to the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.
• 4 June – Unveiling of Rachel Whiteread's Untitled Monument on the Fourth plinth, Trafalgar Square, London.
• 17 July – Inauguration of the Altamira cave replica created by Manuel Franquelo and Sven Nebel.
• 11 September
  • An estimated $100 million worth of art is destroyed in the 11 September attacks on New York City. Public artwork accounts for around $10 million of this figure, which includes works by Alexander Calder, Joan Miró and Roy Lichtenstein.
  • Fritz Koenig's Great Spherical Caryatid ("The Sphere") is the only surviving artwork following the September 11 attacks. It is repurposed as a memorial.^[1]
  • Several works of photojournalism become iconic for their portrayal of the events surrounding the September 11 attacks, including The Falling Man and Raising the Flag at Ground Zero.^[2]
• 27 September – Resale Rights Directive in the European Union provides a Droit de suite for artists.
• 1 October – The Ghibli Museum opens in Mitaka, Tokyo.
• 16 November – The Neue Galerie New York opens in Manhattan.

Undated

• A new wing in the Genia Schreiber University Art Gallery of the University of Tel Aviv, Israel, is dedicated to the memory of Michel Kikoine.
• The Leopold Museum opens in Vienna.
• The Pupils is created by Michaël Borremans in Belgium.
• They Could Still Serve is created by Ellen Gallagher in the United States.
• Traditional Chinese Studies Institute is created by Chen Danqing in China.

Exhibitions

• September 11 until November 11 - Caspar David Freidrich: Moonwatchers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.^[3]
• Max Beckmann retrospective at the Pompidou Centre, Paris

Awards

• Archibald Prize – Nicholas Harding for John Bell as King Lear
• Beck's Futures – Tim Stoner
• Schock Prize in Visual Arts – Giuseppe Penone
• Turner Prize – Martin Creed for Work No. 227: The lights going on and off (Tate)
• Venice Biennial
  • Lion d'Or Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement: Richard Serra (USA), Cy Twombly (USA)
  • Lion d'Or for Best Pavilion: Gregor Schneider (Germany)

Works

• Michaël Borremans – The Pupils
• Ingvar Cronhammar - Elia in Herning, Denmark
• Jeremy Deller – Battle of Orgreave
• Lucian Freud – Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II
• Tracy Harris – Funnel
• Michael Landy - Breakdown
• Daniel Richter – Tarifa
• Rigga - sculptures in Portland, Oregon jointly with artists
  • Ean Eldred - Echo Gate
  • James Harrison - Ghost Ship
  • Peter Nylen - Alluvial Wall
• Tamsie Ringler - Living Room (sculpture, Gresham, Oregon)
• Michael Stutz - Facing the Crowd
• Zeng Fanzhi – The Last Supper

Deaths

January to June

• 14 January - Fred Hughes, American art executive (Founder of the Warhol Foundation) (b. 1943)
• 30 January – O. Winston Link, American photographer. (b. 1914)
• 12 February – Kristina Söderbaum, Swedish-German film actress, producer and photographer (b. 1912)
• 17 February – Barry Burman, English painter and educator (b. 1943)
• 18 February – Balthus, French modern artist (b. 1908)^[4]
• 4 March
  • Jean René Bazaine, French painter, stained glass window designer and writer (b. 1904)
  • Fred Lasswell, American cartoonist (b. 1916)
• 1 June – Hank Ketcham, American cartoonist (b. 1920)
• 19 June – David Sylvester, English art critic and curator (b. 1924)
• 27 June – Tove Jansson, Swedish-Finnish novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author (b. 1914)^[5]

July to December

• 1 July – Hélène de Beauvoir, French painter (b. 1910)
• 4 July – Anne Yeats, Irish painter and stage designer (b. 1919)
• 11 July – Herman Brood, Dutch musician, painter and media personality (b. 1946)
• 28 August – Juan Muñoz, Spanish sculptor (b. 1953)
• 23 October
  • Josh Kirby, English commercial artist (b. 1928)
  • Daniel Wildenstein, French international art dealer and scholar (b. 1917)
• 3 November – Sir Ernst Gombrich, Austrian-born art historian (b. 1909)^[6]
• 19 November – Marcelle Ferron, Canadian painter and stained glass artist (b. 1924)
• 25 November – Harry Devlin, American painter and illustrator (b. 1918)
• December – Mercedes Matter, American painter (b. 1913)
• 29 December – György Kepes, Hungarian-born painter, designer, educator and art theorist (b. 1906)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Blackemore . Erin . The World Trade Center's Only Surviving Art Heads Home . 2022-12-08 . Smithsonian Magazine . en.
2. Web site: Almond . Kyle . 2021-09-10 . The 9/11 photos we will never forget . 2022-12-08 . CNN.
3. Web site: Caspar David Friedrich. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 7 May 2023.
4. Web site: Controversial Balthus died aged 92. February 19, 2001. Richard Eden. The Telegraph. April 5, 2021.
5. News: Tove Jansson: Life, Art, Words by Boel Westin – review. Prideaux. Sue. 2014-01-15. The Guardian. 18 November 2014.
6. News: Sir Ernst Gombrich OM . 6 November 2001 . 6 May 2012 . London . The Daily Telegraph.