“In March, 49 people were put on trial charged with organised theft, conspiracy to commit a crime and handling stolen goods. … Their scam was rumbled following an anonymous tipoff, which led to a police operation that recovered thousands of paintings, sculptures and other objects stolen from auctioneers Hôtel Drouot.”
Category: visual
Cities Don’t Have Gates Anymore. But What If They Did?
In a time of urbanization, refugee and “arrival cities,“ as well as metropolitan regions with multiple urban centers, could a city provide an entry differentiating itself from its barrios, suburbs and exurbs? If so, what form would this entry take, or would it have any form at all?
What Uncertainty? This Year’s ARTnews List Of Top 100 Art Collectors
“Some market observers were saying that collectors had recently gotten “cautious,” and that the air was thinner than usual for artworks priced in excess of $10 million. But one thing was for sure: the stalwarts—those collectors on our list—were there, their checkbooks at the ready and their keen eyes out for quality.”
LA’s Visual Art Scene Is Booming. But Can It Last?
“The gallery scene here has expanded before—notably in the 1990s—but this time the expansion has an internationalist, big-money feel… The question—posed frequently by gallerists, artists, and journalists—is whether this growth can support itself in a city long known for its scarcity of serious collectors.”
Why More Longtime Museum Curators Are Leaving For Auction Houses
“As the director of the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh for the past five years, Eric Shiner worked to expose the broadest possible public to the Pop artist’s work. Now, instead of showing Warhols, he is selling them.”
The Latest Found Material For Artists? Old Departure Boards From Train Stations
“These boards, most remarkable for the flapping, clacking sound they make as their split-flap cards flip to reveal new information, are often called Solari boards, after the Italian company that invented them. … Even as the old boards retire from transit hubs, they can still be found in unlikely places, as artists, designers and tinkerers save them, or make their own versions.”
How Do You Design A New School Building For The Site Of One Of The Worst School Shootings In American History?
The challenge of designing a new building for Sandy Hook Elementary School fell to Svigals + Partners; the result seems almost cheery.
Syrian Architect Develops Plan For Rebuilding Country’s War-Ravaged Cities (In One Of Which She Is Trapped)
“Did Syria’s urban architecture help fuel the civil war that has shattered the country and claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people? This is the provocative theory proposed by Marwa al-Sabouni, a young architect from Homs who spent two years confined to her apartment with her husband and two children as the city’s historic heart was reduced to rubble.”
Scotland Must Stem The Tide Of Barbarians At Its (Beautifully Built) Gates
“It would take a few volumes to explain the chicanery and sheer, unadulterated vandalism.”
Despite The Passage Of Brexit, London Is Still The Place For Art Dealers
“It will be expensive and complicated … But London is London. The museums are here. The auction houses are here. The best galleries in the world are here. I do not see another city taking London’s place. Madrid? Los Angeles? I just don’t see it.”