China’s Dance Peacock

Yang Liping may not be a household name in the US, but she may be China’s most popular choreographer, with a sold-out run of her signature “Peacock Dance” sparking talk of a European/American tour. “The show is the latest coming-out party for Ms. Yang, who, though not well known outside of China, is known here as a stern but creative and independent force in Chinese dance.”

Collector Wins Suit Against Gallery For Not Selling Him Art

Jean-Pierre Lehmann has won a $1.7 million judgment against a New York gallery he said refused to sell him art. “Mr Lehmann lent $75,000 to the gallery in February 2001 with no interest and no due date, receiving in exchange the right of first choice and price discounts on future purchases. Mr Lehmann sued the gallery in March 2004, claiming it had violated his contract by selling about 40 paintings by the Ethiopian-born US artist Julie Mehretu to just about everybody but him.”

Critics: Conservators Ruined Gaudi Chapel

“Architects and conservators say the Spanish government has caused irreparable damage to the Catalan architect’s Güell crypt. They describe the cleaning of the building as “brutal” and say that it was carried out with abrasive materials abandoned years ago by the conservation industry. They also say that a staircase which provided access to the roof has been removed and they say that the restorers have placed a large stone plinth commemorating their restoration inside the chapel. This distracts visitors and disrupts the circulation within the chapel intended by Gaudí. The restorers also cut down an old pine tree near the building, which Gaudí had deliberately left standing and which he had incorporated in his design for the chapel.”