The U.S. Senate has passed a new initiative protecting works of art lent by foreign institutions from seizure, the Art Newspaper reports.  The legislation would end a years-long stand-off with Russia over fears of works being seized upon export.  The law “will make it possible to restore museum exchanges between the countries,” according to US Association of Art Museum Directors head Christine Anagnos. (more…)

The New York Times has phased out its Inside Art column, moving towards a more embedded and expansive body of coverage.  “In later years, especially as the Internet expanded our reach, globally, we chafed at the restrictions,” editor Barbara Graustark said. “We wanted more. And we wanted to reach more than our thousands of devoted art-world and industry followers.” (more…)

Arthur Jafa, Love is the Message, The Message is Death (2016), via Art Observed

Arthur Jafa’s current video installation, on view at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise in west Harlem, is at once joyous and tragic, celebratory and rebellious.  Bearing the title Love is the Message, the Message is Death, it makes reference not only to Philadelphia act MFSB’s classic disco tune “Love Is The Message,” but also to “Love is the Plan and the Plan is Death,” a short story by Alice Sheldon, better known by her pen name of James Tiptree Jr., or Raccoona Sheldon.  The work, played alongside Kanye West’s caustic and meditative “Ultralight Beam,” from his latest album, presents a fusion of images, music, and theory, ultimately presenting a striking vision of the black experience in the 21st Century. (more…)

Fabiola Alondra, head of 303 in Print and founder of East Village Gallery Fortnight Institute, is profiled in the New York Times this week, as she gives the newspaper a tour of her home in Brooklyn Heights, and discusses her interests in both art and books.  “I think that all artists should make publications, whether they are very cheap zines or more elaborate books,” she says. (more…)

Two Dutch Old Master paintings are set to return to the heirs of Max Stern, a Jewish art dealer forced to sell his collection to the Nazis during World War II.  “There has been a recurrence of these works being consigned by individuals in good faith,” says Clarence Epstein, the senior director of urban and cultural affairs at Concordia. “This solution means that they can get some relief despite having a problematic artwork.” (more…)

Julia Wachtel, Acceleration of Similarity (1983), via Art Observed

Revisiting Anne Livet’s original 1980’s exhibition Infotainment, Every Future has a Price: 30 Years after Infotainment at Elizabeth Dee opens a dialogue into the ongoing relevance of the themes and subjects first explored over thirty years ago.  The exhibition, which re-exhibits 11 of the works originally on view from the first show of predominantly East Village artists, dwells on social and philosophical interests that echo much of 1960’s Conceptualism, placing emphasis on the conveyance of ideas over aesthetic interests.

Every Future Has a Price (Installation View), via Art Observed

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The New York Times profiles ongoing efforts to locate missing works from the collection of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, including works by Picasso, van Gogh, and Degas.  “Even though it’s been 30 years, we are still facing challenges because of the Marcos family’s efforts to conceal and take hold of their ill-gotten wealth,” says Reynold S. Munsayac, chairman of the Presidential Commission for Good Government. (more…)

The New York Times reports on the recent discovery of a long-lost Leonardo Da Vinci, which appeared in a portfolio of drawings brought to the Tajan auction house by a retired doctor.  “My eyes jumped out of their sockets,” says Dr. Carmen Bambach, who was asked to confirm the work’s attribution.  “What we have here is an open-and-shut case. It’s an exciting discovery.” (more…)

The Art Newspaper profiles Empty Gallery, a new exhibition project in Hong Kong that shows work in a black space with little to no lighting.  “Hong Kong is so fast; the language of advertising is so strong and loud and intense. We’re amped up all the time,” founder Stephen Cheng says of his space, which he feels helps slow down the pace of his visitors. “It helps you give art a chance to communicate.” (more…)

Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, 1 hr. 33 mins/2 hrs. 22 mins (2016), via Art Observed

The fruit of a twenty-year collaboration, Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset’s “Changing Subjects” explores themes of existentialism and alienation through sculpture. On view at The FLAG Art Foundation, the exhibition features seemingly personal, routine scenarios. However, through both material and space, it removes these intimate moments from their context. The works as a whole therefore force the viewer to see the art from an altered perspective, demanding a deeper contemplation of commonplace human experiences.

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Kader Attia is accusing a pair of French rappers of plagiarism for using imagery similar to a 2007 work of his in their music video.  “As artists, we have to defend ourselves against unauthorized commercial uses of our artworks,” he says. “We are constantly plagiarized by the music industry, or in advertisement, or fashion.” (more…)

The Denver Art Museum has received a $25 million gift, which will go towards renovating the institution’s building.  “The North Building is considered one of the most significant objects in the museum’s collection, and our family is honored to support the much-needed rehabilitation required to bring it into the 21st century,” says chairman J. Landis Martin, who donated the funds. (more…)

The Guardian performs some data analytics on the Turner Prize this week, charting how the award has moved towards closer gender parity in recent years.  Both the number of female winners and judges has increased in the past ten years, reaching almost even numbers of both men and women.   (more…)

The Art Newspaper forecasts the impacts Big Data is set to make on the art market, as major companies continue to acquire a series of databases and data analytics firms.  “We have developed an extensive customer relationship management program to take new buyers and make more offers to them,” says Sotheby’s Tad Smith. “If you underbid for a particular painting in an auction and you don’t get it, I would like for you to have an opportunity to buy something very similar within 24 hours.” (more…)

The New Museum has added Isolde Brielmaier, Victoria Mikhelson, and Michael Xufu Huang to its Board of Trustees, adding a trio of individuals with broad experience and perspective in the art world.   (more…)

The New York Times has a new feature this week, meeting with collectors to discuss their interests and focus in collecting.  Its first piece is with Miami-based collector Ella Fontanals-Cisneros, who begins by describing the first time she fell in love with an artwork.  “I couldn’t understand the feeling,” she says. “I was standing in front of the painting and my heart was beating very strong. I was connected to the energy of the piece.” (more…)

Carol Bove, Daphne and Apollo (2016), via Art Observed

Marking her first exhibition with David Zwirner in New York since joining the gallery, Carol Bove has brought a body of new works to the gallery’s 19th Street location, marking a continuation and expansion of her unique sculptural language refined through a series of references and touchstones pulled from the language of modern sculpture.   (more…)

Edoardo Paolozzi will be the subject of a major retrospective at Whitechapel Gallery next year, the Art Newspaper reports.  Paolozzi’s work and his ties to the Independent Group were instrumental in the development of British Pop Art, even as his “taste for European intellectualism, which is an ocean away from the celebrity sitters chosen by Andy Warhol,” set him apart from his American counterparts, according to a gallery spokesperson. (more…)

The U.S. Justice Department is targeting art works and other holdings for seizure in its case against Malaysian financier Jho Low, including some of the high-profile pieces purchased by the financier with money from the disputed 1MDB fund.  The billionaire’s holdings include works by Monet and Van Gogh. (more…)

Brett Gorvy is leaving Christies, the New York Times reports, and will join Dominique Lévy’s Gallery uptown under the new name Lévy Gorvy.  “At the age of 52, you have one more opportunity,” Gorvy says. “Even though I hate change, there’s a certain moment when you know in your heart that the time is right.”   (more…)

The Elmgreen and Dragset-curated 2017 Istanbul Biennial will center around the theme “A Good Neighbor,” Artforum reports.  The show was announced at a press conference and performance featuring 40 questioners inquiring as to what constitutes a good neighbor.  The show will notably feature a series of worldwide billboards devoted to the concept.  (more…)

The heirs of a Jewish Art Dealer are suing the Bavarian State Paintings Collection for the return of works by Max Beckmann, Paul Klee and Juan Gris, which they claim were sold under duress.  Mike Hulton, the great-nephew of Alfred Flechtheim, says authorities “refused to listen and to talk to us and that leaves us with no other option but to go to court here. It is past time for Bavaria to do the right thing.” (more…)

Leo Villareal has been selected for a £20 million project to illuminate the bridges of London, the second major bridge illumination project by the artist.  “Their scheme is beautiful, ambitious and realizable but always considerate to the environment, lighting levels and energy conservation,” says Hannah Rothschild, chair of London’s National Gallery. (more…)

Francis Alÿs has been tapped for the Iraqi Pavilion at the Venice Biennale next year, inspired by his time on the frontlines of the conflicts in Mosul.  “The main line of enquiry for his new work will be the role of the artist in war, whilst he will also examine themes of nomadism,” says a spokeswoman for the Ruya Foundation, which organized the exhibition.   (more…)