Arts news

• Bare Confession

  15-10-2016 18:14 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A Confession ScreenBare Confession
  My Lord has given me a little bitof this world, a little bitI do not have. The little bitHe gives me is sufficient for me and ican’t be thankful enough for it.The bit of this world thati haven’t goti can’t care less for that.I am completely aware of my worthlessnessand completely satisfied in it.I have been accepting itsince the day I decidedto drop my degree,since the day she decidedI wasn’t worth her time,since the day I stopped appea
  
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• Open Letter Demanding More Curatorial Independence at AGO After Non-Acquisition of Nan Godin Work Collects 500 Signatures

  04-02-2026 12:37 via artnews.com
  Since news broke last month that Toronto’s Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) decided against acquiring a new work by Nan Goldin, the fallout has been fierce. The decision, prompted by trustee Judy Schulich, who reportedly branded the Jewish American photographer “antisemitic,” has led to calls for her resignation. It’s also renewed scrutiny of how wealthy donors influence museum governance.Schulich, a major AGO benefactor and executive with the Schulich Foundation, one of Cana
  
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• SVA Chair David A. Ross Resigns After Epstein Files Reveal Ties: ‘I’m Still Proud to Call You a Friend’ 

  03-02-2026 22:20 via artnews.com
  David A. Ross, a writer and curator who led museums nationwide, resigned on Tuesday from his position as chair of the MFA art practice program at New York’s School of Visual Arts (SVA), a post he had held since 2009, after ARTnews revealed that he makes a number of appearances in the newly released tranche of documents from the Justice Department as part of the ongoing publication of information related to late sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019. The cor
  
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• Epstein Files Reveal Friendship with SVA Chair David A. Ross: ‘I’m Still Proud to Call You a Friend’ 

  03-02-2026 22:20 via artnews.com
  David A. Ross, a writer and curator who led museums nationwide and has since 2009 been the chair of the MFA art practice program at New York’s School of Visual Arts (SVA), makes a number of appearances in the newly released tranche of documents from the Justice Department as part of the ongoing publication of information related to late sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019. The correspondence reveals what was apparently a close friendship, and one message
  
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• Scholar Argues Portrait of Albrecht Dürer’s Father in National Gallery Is Authentic

  03-02-2026 22:04 via artnews.com
  In a new catalogue raisonné, scholar Christof Metzger argues that The Painter’s Father (1497), a painting in the collection of London’s National Gallery, is in fact an authentic work by Albrecht Dürer.The Painter’s Father, gifted to King Charles I of England in 1636, has long been thought to be a copy made decades after Dürer’s death in 1528, based on a lost original. But in the new publication Albrecht Dürer: The Complete Paintings, Metzger—a
  
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• Jewish Heirs File Suit in French Court Regarding Met’s Ownership of Pissarro Painting

  03-02-2026 21:11 via artnews.com
  A painting by Camille Pissarro in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is under renewed scrutiny over the circumstances of its sale by its former owner, the department store magnate and art collector Max Julius Braunthal.As reported by the New York Times, seven of Braunthal’s heirs have filed suit in a French court, alleging that the painting, Haystacks, Morning, Eragny (1899), was sold under duress in 1941. The Met maintains that Braunthal received fair market value for the wo
  
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• 6 Books We’re Looking Forward to in Febraury

  03-02-2026 20:19 via artnews.com
  It’s probably for the best that this month’s most exciting art books favor the past, with the present as abysmal as it is. Curl up with a copy and escape to another century; if yesterday’s groundhog was correct, we have 6 more weeks of a winter marked by record-breaking weird weather across the globes
  
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• Art Basel Qatar Opens with Slow Sales and Plenty of Promise

  03-02-2026 20:09 via artnews.com
  Art Basel’s first edition in Doha opened this week with a noticeably different rhythm from the fair’s established outposts in Basel, Paris, Hong Kong, or Miami Beach. The Qatari fair’s format focused on fewer galleries, solo presentations, and a layout that encourages visitors to move slowly. The change was significant and widely praised on the floor by dealers and visitors. Disparate booths were suddenly in conversation with each other yet there was room for both the art, and
  
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• Hirshhorn Museum and Art Bridges Team Up to Lend American Artworks to Museums Throughout the US

  03-02-2026 19:57 via artnews.com
  The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., has announced a new, large-scale partnership with the Art Bridges Foundation. The initiative, called 50 for 50, will bring key artworks by American artists from the Hirshhorn’s collection to smaller museums throughout the US’s 50 states and Puerto Rico. The loans will be long-term, lasting three to five years, and will typically include several artworks chosen by each participating museum that will complement their existi
  
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• Hammer Museum Names Chief Curator and Launches Chief of Learning, Engagement, and Research Role

  03-02-2026 19:00 via artnews.com
  The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles announced two senior leadership appointments today: Michael Wellen will be chief curator, and Regan Pro will be chief of learning, engagement, and research, a newly created role. Wellen begins at the museum on April 6, while Pro will start on March 2.The chief curatorship at the Hammer, which oversees the museum’s contemporary art exhibitions and collection, publications, and registrar and preparator teams, has been vacant since 2023, when Connie Butler dep
  
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• Hammer Museum Names Chief Curator and Launches Chief Learning, Engagement, and Research Role

  03-02-2026 19:00 via artnews.com
  The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles announced two senior leadership appointments today: Michael Wellen will be chief curator, and Regan Pro will be chief of learning, engagement, and research, a newly created role. Wellen begins at the museum on April 6, while Pro will start on March 2.The chief curatorship at the Hammer, which oversees the museum’s contemporary art exhibitions and collection, publications, and registrar and preparator teams, has been vacant since 2023, when Connie Butler dep
  
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• Former French Culture Minister Jack Lang and His Daughter Caroline Lang Appear in the Epstein Files

  03-02-2026 18:21 via artnews.com
  Former French culture minister Jack Lang and his daughter, film producer Caroline Lang, are the latest art world figures revealed to have had ties with Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. Correspondence between Epstein and the Langs appears in the documents published Friday by the US Department of Justice, and Caroline Lang has resigned from her position as a general delegate with the Syndicat des Producteurs Indépendants, a union of independent media prod
  
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• Jeff Koons Says He ‘Did Not Have a Relationship’ with Jeffrey Epstein After Appearing in Files

  03-02-2026 18:00 via artnews.com
  After correspondence between Jeff Koons and Jeffrey Epstein’s representatives emerged last month via a newly released set of files, the artist distanced himself from the convicted sex offender.Among those files is an email from Koons to Epstein’s assistant, confirming his presence at a dinner held at Epstein’s house, as ARTnews previously reported. Other documents in the newly released files show that Epstein sought a visit to Koons’s studio with filmmaker Woody Allen and
  
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• ‘Pain is a violent lover’: Daisy Lafarge on the paintings she made when floored with agony

  03-02-2026 16:54
  Suffering from a connective tissue disorder and enduring endless calls to try and get benefits, the poet and novelist turned to painting – resulting in work that could change perceptions of disabled peopleDaisy Lafarge was lying on the floor in excruciating pain when she started her latest paintings. A severe injury, coupled with a sudden worsening of her health, had left her unable to sit upright, while brain fog and fatigue made reading and writing impossible. So the award-winning noveli
  
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• Curator Ekow Eshun Picked to Organize Next SITE Santa Fe International

  03-02-2026 16:00 via artnews.com
  SITE Santa Fe has appointed independent curator Ekow Eshun as the organizer of the next SITE Santa Fe International. The exhibition’s 13th edition is scheduled to open in summer 2027.London-based Eshun, a former director of the Institute of Contemporary Art London, has recently drawn acclaim for organizing a number of high-profile exhibitions in the UK. In 2022, he curated “In the Black Fantastic” at the Hayward Gallery in London, which included 11 artists from the African dias
  
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• M HKA Will Remain a Museum After All, Flemish Culture Minister Says

  03-02-2026 15:53 via artnews.com
  The government of Belgium’s Flanders region has backpedaled on its plan to close down the M HKA in Antwerp and convert it into a new cultural center, temporarily ending a months-long controversy over what would become of one of Europe’s most beloved contemporary art museums.As part of a new plan for the institution that Flemish culture minister Caroline Gennez dubbed “M HKA 2.0,” the museum’s collection will now remain in Antwerp, meaning that the holdings will no l
  
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• British Museum Faces Backlash After Using AI-Generated Images of Woman Looking at Exhibits

  03-02-2026 13:41 via artnews.com
  Several archaeologists have slated the British Museum after it shared images containing AI-generated content on its Instagram and Facebook accounts. The posts, which quickly drew backlash online after being posted on January 27, were removed later the same day.The images show what appears to be the same young woman in various outfits gazing thoughtfully at objects inside the museum. The caption read, “Taking time to take a closer look is always worthwhile,” alongside the hashtag #You
  
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• UK’s National Trust, International Donors Raise $3.5 M. to Keep Dorset’s Ancient Cerne Giant Monument Standing Proud

  03-02-2026 11:04 via artnews.com
  A fundraising appeal to protect one of Britain’s most enigmatic ancient monuments, the Cerne Giant, has drawn international support, underscoring the global fascination with the site.The 180-foot chalk figure carved into a hillside in the county of Dorset is a domineering presence, largely thanks to its erect appendage.  On Tuesday, the National Trust announced it had reached the target of £2.53 million (about $3.5 million) to purchase the land surrounding the monument, after do
  
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• International Donors Dig Deep to Keep Dorset’s Ancient Cerne Giant Monument Standing Proud

  03-02-2026 11:04 via artnews.com
  A fundraising appeal to protect one of Britain’s most enigmatic ancient monuments, the Cerne Giant, has drawn international support, underscoring the global fascination with the site.The 180-foot chalk figure carved into a hillside in the county of Dorset is a domineering presence, largely thanks to its erect appendage.  On Tuesday, the National Trust announced it had reached its target to purchase surrounding land near the giant, after donations from more than 20 countries, including
  
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• Artist Sarah Sze: ‘A work of art is finished when everything teeters’

  03-02-2026 11:04
  Renowned mixed media artist discusses her new exhibition and how it speaks to her personal experience and a wider concept of technologyWith just 13 pieces – 11 art objects and two video installations – artist Sarah Sze’s new showcase at Gagosian Beverly Hills packs a punch into a relatively pared-back show. The paintings themselves are substantial – as large as 8ft by 16ft – and their intricacy compels lengthy gazes. Furthermore, the artist has impeccably arranged t
  
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• Monsoons, mould … and a million visitors: welcome to Kerala’s ‘people’s biennale’

  03-02-2026 06:00
  Work by almost 70 artists – including Marina Abramović – has made an art fair in Kochi one of the hottest tickets in south Asia. This sixth instalment uses farmers’ fields and patched-up buildings to take visitors ‘back to nature’Say someone brings you a bouquet of flowers. You get a vase and one by one intuitively place each stem inside, allowing an arrangement to unfold on its own. It was on this level, as lead curator Nikhil Chopra suggests, that the Kochi-M
  
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• Jeffrey Epstein’s Art World Connections: A Guide

  02-02-2026 23:11 via artnews.com
  Convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died by apparent suicide in 2019 while in jail facing additional charges related to alleged sex trafficking in New York and Florida, cultivated an expansive network of powerful and influential contacts in a wide array of fields—art very much among them. In addition to his dealings in the worlds of finance, science, and technology, the reputed billionaire engaged with art institutions, collectors, and cultural enterprises now reckoning with their
  
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• Portrait of Anne Boleyn Was Meant to Rebut Rumors That She Was a Witch, Historians Say

  02-02-2026 23:05 via artnews.com
  A portrait of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s ill-fated second wife, is now thought to be an attempt to rehabilitate her image after her death. Using infrared reflectography, historians and curators have uncovered evidence that the work was at least partially created to dispel rumors that Boleyn was a witch with six fingers.In the painting, which hangs in Hever Castle in England, both of Boleyn’s hands, each with the usual number of digits, are visible. But the new infrared scans reveal th
  
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• Two Paris Museums Get More Than a Dozen Works by Christo and Jeanne-Claude

  02-02-2026 22:51 via artnews.com
  The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation, the organization that stewards the legacy of the iconic artist duo who wrapped large structures in fabric, has donated 14 artworks to two museums in Paris.The artists’ ties to the city are well documented. In 2021, a year after Christo’s death at 84, the artists’ 1962 plan to wrap the Arc de Triomphe in 25,000 square meters of metallic blue polypropylene fabric and red rope was finally realized after almost 60 years. Christo and Je
  
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• Sotheby’s Second Sale in Saudi Arabia Tops $19.6 M., Sets Record for Saudi Artist

  02-02-2026 21:51 via artnews.com
  Just under a year ago, Sotheby’s made its biggest foray in the Gulf yet with its first-ever auction in Saudi Arabia. That sale, titled “Origins” and featuring 117 lots spanning art and luxury objects, brought in $17.3 million with fees—squarely within its $14 million–$20 million presale estimate. It wasn’t a spectacular result, but also wasn’t a disaster.Over the weekend, the house staged its second such sale, titled “Origins II,” to far stro
  
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• A Rare Greek Funerary Sculpture, Priced North of $600,000, Heads to TEFAF

  02-02-2026 21:41 via artnews.com
  Most young women in ancient Greece were married early in their teenage years, and they were expected to produce children as a matter of public interest. So the death of a young woman of marriagable age was seen as a loss not only to her loved ones, but also to society. A rare ancient Greek artwork headed to the TEFAF art fair memorializes the loss of one such young woman. On offer from London gallery David Aaron, Stele of Medeia, from the Attic region, dates to 375-350 BCE. The piece is tagged a
  
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• Palestinians Decry Israel’s Plan to Seize West Bank Archaeological Site: ‘A Violation of Our History’

  02-02-2026 21:36 via artnews.com
  Israeli authorities have announced plans to seize a sprawling archaeological site overlooking the Palestinian town of Sebastia in the West Bank, sparking outrage among the roughly 3,500 Palestinians who depend on tourism to the site and nearby olive groves for their livelihoods.Residents of Sebastia have denounced the planned seizure as a pretext for expanding illegal Jewish settlements and as a means of erasing Palestinian identity through the appropriation of heritage sites, the Guardian repor
  
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• Surprise! “Melania” Did Great Box Office Its Opening Weekend

  02-02-2026 20:55 via bbc.com
  It was expected to generate in the region of $5m (£3.7m) in its first weekend, but its actual takings are “a huge start for a documentary”, Variety said, and “no one saw that coming”, according to the Hollywood Reporter. – BBC
  
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• So You Can Make An Audience Cry. Not Necessarily Good.

  02-02-2026 20:15 via theconversation.com
  Is the direct representation of emotion to provoke emotion in fact a turn-off? – The Conversation
  
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• People Fear That Reading Is Dying. Don’t Believe It

  02-02-2026 19:44 via persuasion.community
  All serious intellectual work happens on the page, and we shouldn’t pretend otherwise. If you want to contribute to the world of ideas, if you want to entertain and manipulate complex thoughts, you have to read and write. – Persuasion
  
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