Panayiotis Vassilakis (Takis) (1925–2019)

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Panayiotis Vassilakis (Takis) (1925–2019) | The Greek sculptor and painter Panayiotis Vassilakis, best known as Takis, has died aged 93. Takis was self-taught and made his first Signals sculptures after moving to Paris in the 1950s. These early explorations into energy, forces and magnetic fields had movable elements and Takis eventually became a leading figure of the Kinetic art movement, receiving international acclaim during the 1960s. He is currently the subject of a retrospective at Tate Modern in London which will travel to Barcelona later this year.

Nancy Reddin Kienholz (1943–2019) | The American photographer and artist Nancy Reddin Kienholz has died at the age of 75. Kienholz worked in collaboration with her husband Edward Kienholz to produce sculptural installations that addressed themes of gender and race. The pair, who met in 1972 and were both self-taught, produced works under the single name Kienholz after Edward argued that works initially attributed only to him should be credited to both partners. After Edward’s death in 1994, Nancy continued to produce photography and assemblage works while overseeing exhibitions of the pair’s work.

Recommended reading | In the Los Angeles Times, Deborah Vankin asks the experts about what it means for a museum to acquire performance art. David Freedlander profiles Forensic Architecture for the Daily Beast following their ‘Triple Chaser’ video installation at this year’s Whitney Biennial. Artist Richard Prince and gallerist Lisa Spellman (who were once married) take a look back at the origins of Spellman’s 303 Gallery, which is currently celebrating its 35th anniversary, for New York Magazine.