From Cindy Sherman’s Epic Instagram to Jeff Koons’s ‘Poisoned Chalice’: The Best and Worst of the Art World This Week

See what you missed.

One of Cindy Sherman's many faces, screenshot via Instagram.

BEST

Cindy Sherman, never one to stick with one look for long, has made her Instagram public. And it is epic.

Curator Anne Ellegood penned an op-ed for artnet News about the Jimmie Durham show she debuted at the Hammer Museum and offers a thoughtful response to the critics of the controversial artist.

There is life after closing an art gallery: artnet News spoke to art dealers who have exited the white cube for greener pastures.

artnet News’s editor-in-chief, Andrew Goldstein, sat down with former Metropolitan Museum director Philippe de Montebello to discuss his plans for the Hispanic Society, how the Met can regain its glory, and his new post as a director at Acquavella Gallery.

A fake Rothko painting that was part of the infamous Knoedler Gallery scandal is starring in a show at the Winterthur Museum, “Treasures on Trial.” The work was lent to the museum by the lawyer who represented Ann Freedman and the Knoedler Gallery.

In a show of solidarity, artists including Kara Walker, Marina Abramovic, Ed Ruscha, Jack Whitten, and Cindy Sherman are praising the ICA Boston’s decision to go forth with the Dana Schutz retrospective currently on view.

Rainer Ganahl, Sad in "Cultural Programme," from Kai Matsumiya Gallery, at the Surf Lodge. Courtesy of Rainer Ganahl.

Rainer Ganahl’s Sad! in “Cultural Programme,” from Kai Matsumiya Gallery, at the Surf Lodge. The flag was mysteriously absent from the Tinder-sponsored event later in the week. Courtesy of Rainer Ganahl.

WORST

In Mallorca, a disgruntled employee tried to hold a (supposed) Basquiat canvas hostage, seeking to recoup lost wages from her art-collector employer.

Is Skulptur Projekte Münster cursed? A bevy of thefts and art attacks continue to plague the prestigious event, which brings together world-class sculptors every 10 years.

Robert M. Rubin, the former president of the Centre Pompidou Foundation, called Jeff Koons’s gift to Paris, a sculpture titled Bouquet of Tulips, a “poisoned chalice.”

Conflict antiquities, indeed. The Metropolitan Museum turned over an ancient Greek vase believed to be looted from a tomb in Italy after the DA issued a warrant for its seizure; later in the week, the museum surrendered an ancient marble sculpture to the Manhattan DA after questions of its provenance arose.

What happens when commercial interests, a swipe-oriented dating app, and political art collide? A Tinderbox in the Hamptons.

Sotheby’s reported lackluster auction sales, although private dealings increased for the first half of 2017.

 


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