Category: visual

“I’m going to wipe them out. Just put that in a nice way.”

“One of the most famous paintings on the Berlin Wall, depicting Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev kissing his East German counterpart Erich Honecker, has been destroyed by the authorities. The artist is fuming, but he says he will paint a new image.”

“Berlin – home to an estimated 600 galleries – which has boomed like no other city as an art capital in recent years, is now feeling the pinch. Galleries are closing every month, international conglomerates are shutting down their local branches and many others are downsizing or laying off employees. Profits are reportedly down by a third.”

“While conflicts over authenticity involving Warhols and Pollocks have become public in recent years, it is rare for disputes to arise within an organization charged with protecting an artist’s legacy.”

“The show is expected to attract large numbers of Cuban artists who have spent years working in isolation, with little real contact with what is going on across the straits of Florida.”

“China sits atop a gold mine of contemporary art that few people have ever seen, either inside or outside the country. The art falls roughly into two categories: a celebration of the individual over the collective experience, and the adaptation of traditional methods and forms into entirely new objects.”

“While reports of Dubai in the western press sometimes depict a ghost town, the glitzy, well-attended opening night defied this caricature. Nevertheless, the tiny emirate is not immune to the recession, particularly given its dependence on real estate and its exposure to debt.”

“A noted Upper East Side art dealer has been indicted on charges he stole $88 million from investors and collectors who consigned artwork to him and said they were cheated out of the sale proceeds or never saw the pieces again, according to a person briefed on the case. The dealer, Lawrence B. Salander, and his business, the Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, were charged by a grand jury with 100 counts including grand larceny, falsifying business records, scheming to defraud, forgery and perjury….”

“A secondary school teacher has been interviewed in connection with the hanging of two paintings of Taoiseach Brian Cowen in two art galleries in Dublin. The 34-year-old man was questioned by detectives at Pearse Street Garda Station for two hours yesterday afternoon. He was released without the charge and a file is being sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.”

“As the 2009 Turner jury – on which I’m serving – gears up for the shortlisting meeting in just under a month, it’s time to put away childish things. … Still, it is a shame that some artists can’t be included, or anyway are unlikely to be, just because they don’t exist within the framework of art as we know it. So here is my alternative Turner shortlist of things that are sort of Turner-worthy without being eligible …”