Documenta CEO Annette Kulenkampff’s contracted term is cut short

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Documenta CEO Annette Kulenkampff’s contracted term is cut short | Annette Kulenkampff, CEO of the parent company responsible for the quinquennial art exhibition Documenta, will depart from her role this summer, a year before the end of her contract, it was announced by the city of Kassel yesterday. The news comes shortly after the completion of an independent audit into the 14th edition of the exhibition, which took place in Kassel and Athens this year, and which resulted in a much-publicised financial deficit of around €5.4m. According to the city’s statement, over the next seven months before her early departure on 1 June 2018, Kulenkampff will contribute to the creation of ‘important structural conditions for a successful Documenta 15’ and support the search for an artistic director for the 2022 exhibition.

Art Basel and Adidas reach settlement over trademark infringement | In May this year, Art Basel and its parent company MCH sued Adidas over the unauthorised use of the Swiss art fair’s name and logo on a pair of limited edition trainers, which the sportswear manufacturer distributed for free at Art Basel Miami Beach last year. Now, however, the two organisations have reached an out-of-court settlement, it was confirmed this week. While the terms of the agreement remain private, Adidas has released a statement acknowledging that it ‘did not obtain a license to use the Art Basel mark for these shoes’ and that it ‘regrets these actions’.

Jens Hoffmann departs as co-artistic director of Cleveland triennial | FRONT International, Cleveland’s triennial art exhibition scheduled to launch in summer 2018, has announced the departure, effective immediately, of Jens Hoffmann as co-artistic director of its first edition. No reason was given for the exit of the high-profile curator, who currently holds positions at the Jewish Museum in New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Detroit, the 2019 Honolulu Biennial, and the 3rd People’s Biennial for the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art in 2019, among others. Hoffmann’s former co-director Michelle Grabner will continue as solo artistic director for FRONT International’s inaugural show, ‘An American City’.

Record visitor numbers for 57th edition of Venice Biennale | In other biennial, triennial, and quinquennial news, the Associated Press reports that the 57th edition of the Venice Biennale, which ended last Sunday, was attended by a record number of visitors. Over 615,000 individuals visited the exhibition, titled ‘Viva Arte Viva’, over the past six months, over a fifth more than the 500,000 visits recorded by the last edition in 2015.