Category: visual

Pinault currently operates two other museums in Venice—the Palazzo Grassi and the Punta della Dogana, both of which were also designed by Ando. Pinault is known for putting on must-see shows by artists with marquee names, such as Damien Hirst, Albert Oehlen, and Sigmar Polke, and his museum in Paris is set to become one of the most closely watched in a city rich with contemporary art spaces. – ARTnews

Although the Saudi exhibition signals growing international interest in Desert X, three of 14 members on the organization’s board of directors resigned over the decision to work with a government responsible for human rights abuses and the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The three are artist Ed Ruscha, art historian and curator Yael Lipschutz and philanthropist and former fashion stylist Tristan Milanovich. – Los Angeles Times

“In court filings, John H. McFadden — scion of one of the founding families behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art — denied claims that he stole a bronze cast of one of … Brancusi’s most famous works from Stuart Pivar, a prolific Manhattan art buyer and onetime friend of Andy Warhol. Instead, McFadden maintained, Pivar agreed to sell the work, which the collector valued at $100 million, for a pittance because he needed quick cash and could not attract another buyer, due in part to his longtime friendship with Epstein.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer

Phil Kennicott: “MoMA is billing these changes to the display of the art as the most significant aspect of the expansion. Not only is the museum growing, it is changing its relationship to the art, no longer insisting on a single grand narrative, no longer teaching, but simply opening itself up to exploration and discovery.” – Washington Post

“For all its intelligence and skill and its obvious desire to make the place feel friendlier, the expansion seems to me not to have solved the problem of the Modern’s ambience. … You may feel like you’re entering an Apple store. Everything is crisp and coolly engineered.” – The New York Times

The Louvre attracts 10.2 million people a year with about 80 per cent believed to come just to see the Mona Lisa. In July, officials had to restrict access for three days because of the chaos caused by the queues. – The Telegraph (UK)

“[A] stream of stories, boasts and false leads has kept the police busy for years and has led to just two conclusions: the painting was stolen by the mafia, and it was then destroyed. … In 2017, however, the case was re-opened by the anti-mafia commission, … [and] the situation raises a number of questions that have never been answered by earlier investigations.” – The Art Newspaper

“By giving these paintings the endorsement of a professional exhibition, in the nation’s capital, with the imprimatur of a major arts center and by extension the federal government (which supports the center’s budget), the art has been put into a different context, where it does not belong.” – Washington Post