Serpentine Galleries appoints Frieze Los Angeles's Bettina Korek as CEO

American arts administrator Bettina Korek has been appointed CEO of London's Serpentine Galleries following Yana Peel's resignation earlier this year.

Korek, who is currently executive director of Frieze Los Angeles, will move to the UK capital to take up the position in March 2020.

She succeeds Peel, who resigned in June after three years in the job, citing "toxic personal attacks" relating to her involvement with an Israeli cybertech firm.

Korek to lead anniversary events

As incoming CEO, Korek will work alongside the gallery's creative director, Hans Ulrich Obrist, to lead a programme of events that celebrate the Serpentine's 50th anniversary next year.

"This is the only opportunity that could inspire me to leave Los Angeles," said Korek.

"Some of the most compelling qualities of LA as a city are embodied by the Serpentine as an institution: intrepid innovation, fluidity across disciplines, an irrepressible preoccupation with the future," she continued.

"I am thrilled to begin this endeavour and to continue to cultivate creative and philanthropic synergy between London, the US and the rest of the world."

Korek founded ForYourArt initiative

Korek has more than 15 years experience in the arts. Prior to her role as the inaugural executive director of Frieze Los Angeles, which launched in February this year, she founded and ran the ForYourArt initiative.

Founded in 2006, ForYourArt helps artists get their projects off the ground, and provides a weekly briefing on local events and exhibitions in Los Angeles. Its stated mission is to "expand art's place in everyday life".

Korek studied at Princeton University and began her career working at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She served on the Los Angeles County Arts Commission for eight years, and was its president from 2016 to 2017.

"Bettina Korek has a visionary understanding of art and its contexts and an incredible track record in supporting artists and their communities," said Obrist.

"I have come to appreciate her strategic acumen first-hand through frequent projects undertaken together in Los Angeles, where she has been a singular force in evolving a culture of civic engagement and patronage."

Serpentine has been operating without CEO

Obrist and chief operating and financial officer Monica Varriale have together been filling the interim role of CEO since Peel's resignation.

Peel resigned on the day that this year's Serpentine Pavilion by Junya Ishigami was unveiled, following  criticism of Israeli cybertech firm NSO Group Technologies by human rights group Amnesty International.

NSO Group Technologies is largely owned by Novalpina Capital Group – a private equity firm founded by Peel's husband and of which she was an indirect owner.

Peel warned that the attacks made against her risked eroding private philanthropic support of the arts, which she said would be "a great loss to everybody".

The Serpentine Galleries said in a statement at the time that it accepted Peel's resignation "with a mixture of gratitude and regret" and went on to praise her "immeasurable contribution" to the art world.

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Studio Rick Joy designs concrete apartment complex in Mexico City's Polanco neighbourhood

Long windows are embedded into the board-marked concrete walls of this residential building in Mexico City's upscale Polanco area, designed by American architecture firm Studio Rick Joy.

The Tuscon firm designed the five-storey structure, also called Polanco, in collaboration with local studio FRB Arquitectos Asociados.

Made from reinforced cast-in-place concrete, it comprises a pair of two-storey apartment units stacked one on top of the another.

Horizontal markings from timber boards are imprinted across the concrete – an effect known as board-marked concrete – while three differently sized windows puncture its exterior.

Polanco features three atriums within its concrete shell that are planted with vines and lush vegetation to make the most of the lightwells.

"They add greenery and softness to the exposed concrete structure – ensure that daylight reaches the lower levels of the block," said Studio Rick Joy.

Covered outdoor patios are also integrated within the building, and have dense plantings and concrete surrounds.

Polanco takes its name from the neighbourhood in Mexico City where it is located, and joins a number of other contemporary apartment units that have been built on Tennyson street in the past few years.

Other projects nearby are the award-winning Pujol restaurant, a Tierra Garat coffee shop and a showroom for local studio Esrawe led by Mexican designer Hector Esrawe.

A penthouse dwelling spans the top two storeys of Polanco and is complete with a terrace that overlooks the tree-lined neighbourhood. The patio is outfitted with built-in seating arranged around a firepit, as well as a shallow pool.

A sliding glass door provides access to a living room and dining area, while a window offers glimpses into one of the building's courtyards.

Also on the top floor of the penthouse is a kitchen, bedroom and two bathrooms.

Downstairs are two bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms – one also contains a walk-in closet. A den also has a window offering views into another of the building's hollow spaces.

The two units are accessed via a steel-plated staircase with a brass handrail.

On the ground floor is a garage.

A double-height outdoor patio connects the inner access of the building with the street, as well as the second apartment unit on the first storey.

Board-marked concrete walls and custom steel-frame windows form the decor inside, with oak wood used on doors, floors, cabinets and ceilings to add a warm touch.

"The apartment uses a restrained material palette informed by local building traditions to produce a sense of deep warmth and experiential softness," said the studio.

Concrete coffered ceilings feature in some room, while suspended wood ceilings are used in others.

Furniture and textiles are in cream, wood and black tones for a cohesive style, and large golden artworks reflect the light inside.

Studio Rick Joy is based in Tuscon, Arizona and was founded in 1993 by American architect Rick Joy.

In addition to this building, it has also designed a waterfront holiday home in the Caribbean and a New England dwelling with a massive slate roof.

Photography is by Joe Fletcher.

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Project credits:

Lead architect: Studio Rick Joy
Local architect: FRB Arquitectos Asociados
Landscape and garden design: Entorno Taller de Paisaje
Lighting design: CLL Concept Lighting Lab LLC
Builder: P&G (Rodolfo Padilla and Gilberto Gomez)
Structural engineer: Rodolfo Padilla
Mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer: IESH Instalaciones
Security: Jorge Walls

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Illustrator Mike Hughes creates pizza-scented wrapping paper for Papa John’s Xmas campaign

Illustrator Mike Hughes has created a series of pizza-scented wrapping papers and a limited-edition pizza box as part of the Papa John’s seasonal campaign. The aromatic papers will be sold by the restaurant chain online to raise money for its charity partner, national homelessness charity Crisis.

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‘The Bird & the Whale’ Tells a Short and Sweet Tale Using Paint-on-Glass Animation

An animated short film written and directed by Carol Freeman uses an old-fashioned technique called paint-on-glass to form each luminescent frame. At seven minutes long, The Bird & the Whale is comprised of 4,300 paintings created by a small team of female artists in Dublin, Ireland. The animated film tells the story of a young whale, struggling to find its voice, who finds a caged bird that is the sole survivor of a shipwreck. The Bird & the Whale has been lauded at festivals worldwide, including the Silver Screen Award for Best Animated Film at Cannes’ Young Director Awards. Freeman, who majored in animation at the National Film School of Ireland, also co-founded Paper Panther Productions. Watch the making-of inpthe video below and follow Paper Panther on Instagram.

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Pentagram rebrands human rights organisation Witness to highlight people power

Launched to coincide with World Human Rights Day, Pentagram partner Harry Pearce has created a new identity for the charity that uses reportage photography from its courageous global network.

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