Professional Gambler and Collector David Walsh is interviewed in the Financial Times this week, discussing his recently founded Mona Art Museum in Tasmania, and his vision for its collection and expansion.  “I’ve got four or five works by James Turrell which will go in the new wing along with a few Jean Tinguely pieces. I like kinetic stuff, I like weirdness,” he says. “The budget for the new extension is about $8m, the art will cost another $2m to $3m.” (more…)

Sarah Ortmeyer, Sankt Petersburg Paradox (2014)

Among the decision-making factors in set expanse of time, risk plays a crucial part.  Simply described as the potential of losing an owned value upon a taken action, the risk element occupies a noticeable part in economic, social and political dynamics, aside from striking as a noteworthy reality to consider for individuals in the daily routine. The St. Petersburg Paradox, a group show on view at Swiss Institute through August 17th, observes this broad topic through a determined perspective, suggesting an alternative reading based on the reflection of risk elements in artworks.

The St. Petersbug Paradox (Installation View) (more…)

The sentencing for art dealer Helly Nahmad is scheduled for this Wednesday in Manhattan, with prosecutors pushing for a one year to 18 month prison sentence, while Nahmad’s defense attorney’s have proposed a program for bringing homeless youth in the Bronx to the Metropolitan Museum.  “I do not have a great education in other subjects,”  Nahmad said in a letter to Judge Jesse M. Furman. “But I really do know a lot about art, and I think I could really teach young people in a good way and hopefully introduce them to a world they might otherwise never visit.” (more…)

Manhattan dealer Helly Nahmad has plead guilty to operating an illegal gambling ring, the Daily News reports.  Arrested earlier this year in a massive sting operation that nabbed 33 suspects, Nahmad’s plea deal is anticipated to include a fine of around $6.4 million, as well as a potential 12 to 18 months behind bars.  “It started as a hobby,” he said in court. “Unfortunately, it became a business. But it was never my main business.” (more…)

Cell Phone records released in the money laundering and illegal gambling case against Helly Nahmad have put his family’s art dealing business in the public spotlight, particularly one conversation:  “Sometimes a bank needs a justification for a wire, right?” Mr. Nahmad said in a government account of a 2012 conversation. “We can just say, Oh, you are buying a painting. If they need justification, you know what I mean? You just be like, Oh yeah, I bought a, you know, Picasso drawing or something.” (more…)

One by one, the indicted suspects in a case involving money laundering and illegal gambling, among them art dealer Helly Nahmad, plead not guilty in court on Friday.  Underlining the size and complexity of the case, over 30 were indicted as part of two separate but connected gambling and money laundering rings.  Mr. Nahmad is charged with helping to bankroll the operation.  “We do not believe that Mr. Nahmad has knowingly violated the law.” Said Nahmad’s lawyer, Benjamin Brafman. “We anticipate that he will be fully exonerated.” (more…)