Tate Britain head Penelope Curtis is under attack this week by critic Waldemar Januszczak, who has called for the museum director to step down or be replaced, citing low attendance and a series of allegedly poor exhibition plans.  “I first noticed what an appalling exhibition-maker she was when she co-curated the Modern British Sculpture show at the Royal Academy in 2011,” Januszczak wrote. “It was, quite simply, one of the worst exhibitions I have ever seen. Subsequent shows at Tate Britain have continued the trend.” (more…)

A woman who openly criticized painter Eric Fischl at the Art Southampton art fair this past weekend later received a call from the artist himself, apparently incensed that she did not care for his work.  Isabel Barnard-Biderman, a former gallery owner, had left her phone number in hopes of getting a signed copy of Fischl’s book, Bad Boy, and instead received a call from the artist. “I went home and the phone rings and it’s Eric saying, ‘What do you mean you don’t like my paintings?’ ”Bernard-Biderman said. “I don’t really know him. He said, ‘Maybe when you come back you’re going to like them.’”  (more…)