Category: visual

According to a new study by artnet and the China Association of Auctioneers (CAA). Incidences of non-payment rose seven percent in 2016, and the number of overseas auction houses offering Chinese art and antiquities fell for the first time in seven years.

Gilbert Vahé began work at Giverny when the restoration of the gardens first began in 1977, and (except for a five-year temporary retirement that ended this January) he’s been there ever since, “work[ing] to maintain the original aesthetic – a certain profile of color and light – that corresponds to Monet’s vision.”

“On Thursday, the International Criminal Court ruled that former rebel Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi, the man convicted of ordering the attack on the ancient landmarks in Timbuktu, was required to pay ‘individual, collective and symbolic’ reparations of up to $3.2 million (2.7 million euros). Al-Mahdi was jailed last September for nine years by the Hague-based court after he pleaded guilty to ‘intentionally’ directing attacks on nine historic Timbuktu mausoleums and its Sidi Yahia mosque.” He is the first person to be convicted of cultural war crimes by the ICC.

“Michael Bonesteel, an adjunct professor specialising in outsider art and comics, … resigned this year after two Title IX complaints were filed by transgender students” and he was consequently stripped of some courses and required to revise his syllabus for another and have it approved. Since then, reports Jori Finkel, the School of the AIC has been receiving some serious pushback over alleged censorship.

“The Banality shows spurred five lawsuits, some decades after the original exhibit. One is pending today, almost 30 years after the show, while another settled out of court. Koons lost the remaining three, with courts finding him liable for copyright infringement and rejecting his fair use defense: that he was parodying the source material. But importantly for the art world, … [those judgments] have helped to define when artists can and cannot use the work of others for their own pieces, making a lasting impact on copyright law.” Jessica Meiselman recounts the history.

Kara Walker, in the artist’s statement for her newest show: “I am tired, tired of standing up, being counted, tired of ‘having a voice,’ or worse, ‘being a role model,’ Tired, true, of being a featured member of my racial group and/or my gender niche.”

“The ancient house was likely undergoing a remodel when, on Jan. 18, 749, the massive earthquake struck Jerash, located in what is now Jordan … Before the earthquake, artisans were putting together mosaics for the floors of the house, but they abandoned their artwork after the natural disaster struck. This abandonment turned the house into a time capsule, allowing modern-day archaeologists a chance to see how artisans from the Umayyad – the early Islamic period – assembled these decorative mosaics.”

Minutes from a Tate board of trustees meeting held in July 2015 show that Herzog & de Meuron was asked not to take its full percentage fee for extra work on the 10-storey project as the brick-clad scheme ballooned in costs from £215 million in 2012 to £260 million on completion in 2016.

Scotland Yard looks set to close its Art and Antiques Unit, according to a former head. Its three detectives have been reassigned to help the Metropolitan Police’s investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire, in west London, which killed more than 80 people on 14 June.

The five-story building in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district was actually completed in 2014, with installation going on since. The museum, which opens October 1, will have rotating exhibits changing twice a year, a separate floor for the Infinity Rooms, and a library/archive; timed tickets will cost ¥1,000 (just over $9.00).