Author: Matthew Westphal

There’s A Painted-Over Sol LeWitt In A Houston Dentist’s House

“The site-specific Wall Drawing #679 – a grid of blue squares segmented by red and yellow lines – had been commissioned by the late William F. Stern, a local architect and the home’s previous owner. It was executed on the roughly 30-by-10-foot wall in the early 1990s, and covered up years later when the house was sold.” Now the owner is uncovering it – problem is, she doesn’t legally own it. Artsy‘s Isaac Kaplan explains.

Jazz Vocalist Marlene VerPlanck, 84

“[She] a polished jazz vocalist who began her recording career in 1955, had a strong second career in the 1960s and ’70s as a prolific jingle singer, sang backup on Frank Sinatra’s Trilogy album, recorded solo albums throughout the ’80s and ’90s, and had a third career recently as she toured and performed to critical acclaim in the States and abroad.”

‘The Awl’ Is Shutting Down

The webzine founded by Choire Sicha, Alex Balk, and David Cho in 2009 was eclectic and quirky: “On any given day, The Awl might play host to a story about colloidal silver, a guide to killing possums before they kill your chickens, or a novella-length examination of the TV show Adventure Time; there might be Q&As with salesmen of high-end vacuum cleaners, or a dive into McDonald’s marketing of its McRib sandwich.” As it and its sister site The Hairpin close due to insufficient ad revenue, former contributor Bijan Stephen pays tribute.

Anshel Brusilow, Former Conductor Of Dallas Symphony, Dead At 89

“[He] served as music director and executive director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in the early 1970s, and subsequently headed orchestra programs at the University of North Texas and Southern Methodist University.” Earlier in his career, he was concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy and assistant concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell.

Museum Show Full Of Fake Kandinsky And Malevich Paintings, Argue Experts

The Museum of Fine Arts in the Belgian city of Ghent is hosting an exhibition of 20th-century Russian avant-garde works – attributed to Popova, Rodchenko, Goncharova, Malevich, Kandinsky, and others – from the private foundation of a Russian businessman and collector. A group of scholars and professionals argue in an open letter that these works “have no exhibition history, have never before been reproduced in serious scholarly publications, and have no traceable sales records.”