Artist Gary Simmons is heading to Hauser & Wirth, finding a new home with the mega-gallery as his longtime representative, Metro Pictures, closes shop. “Over the past 30 years, Gary has achieved an incredibly rare alchemy of feeling with his paintings, installations, sound works, and sculptures,” says Marc Payot, president of Hauser & Wirth. “Simultaneously depicting and erasing—a process that in itself suggests the strange, willful impermanence of American culture—he’s created a powerful artistic language to express the personal and collective experience of Black Americans.”

The Serpentine Galleries have removed the Sackler name from its North Galleries. “We recently introduced new way-finding terminology to help visitors distinguish between the two galleries. These terms will appear on the website and on all marketing materials,” a spokesperson said. (more…)

The Louvre has put its full collection online, allowing users around the world to browse and view works easily from a digital database. (more…)

After weeks of behind the scenes discussions and rumors, Leon Black will step down from his chair at MoMA. Black will leave the position on June 30th. Black has come under fire in the past months over his close ties to Jeffrey Epstein before the financier’s death. (more…)

A piece in the New York Times this week reports on the return of the Gwangju Biennale, one of the first art world events to reopen as the pandemic continues. “It’s been a long journey,” says curator Defne Ayas. (more…)

Sotheby’s will have a 1982 Basquiat as a centerpiece of its May 12th auction in New York, estimated to sell for $35 million–$50 million. “In Versus Medici, Basquiat melds the political and art historical as he consciously stages a reckoning with the Westernized ideal of visual culture and was intent on mastering and commandeering the accepted ‘rules’ of art history in order to break them,” says Grégoire Billault, Sotheby’s New York head of contemporary art. (more…)

Artist Santiago Sierra is once again causing controversy after announcing plans to immerse a British flag in blood donated by indigenous peoples from former colonies. “The blood will be combined in an aluminum bucket in which the British flag will be immersed,” Sierra said. “The use of the British flag is not about any specific people, but rather seeks to reflect on the material on which states and empires are built. The use of First Peoples’ blood from different populations, and its indiscriminate mixing, has impact within the act itself—all blood is equally red and has the same consistency, regardless of the race or culture of the person supplying it.” (more…)

Gerhard Richter has permanently loaned 100 works to the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, a to-be-completed museum complex in the city. “I am delighted the paintings are coming to Berlin,” Richter said in a statement. (more…)

The French government will return a Gustav Klimt landscape stolen from its original owner by the Nazis in 1938. “It is in recent years that the true origin of the painting has been established,” says French culture minister, Roselyne Bachelot. (more…)

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Painter Pat Lipsky has won a ruling against her gallery, with a New York Court ruling that artists’ work cannot be distorted in online reproductions. “This ruling should help artists to protect their legacies and reputations, particularly in this pandemic-induced time of virtual art exhibitions and fairs,” Lipsky counsel William Charron of Pryor Cashman says. (more…)

Marina Abramovic will launch a “digital manifestation” of The Abramovic Method  on WeTransfer, making the work “available to everyone, all day, every day, reaching 70 million people worldwide.”  (more…)

Dutch Museums are pushing ahead on a €4.5m plan to build a practical guide advising on colonial collections and repatriation. “We will examine the diverse routes that objects took to enter museums—were they sold under duress or looted in times of war, traded or exchanged or given as gifts, and if so, was this in a colonial context?” says Wayne Modest, the director of content at the National Museum of World Cultures. “We will also look at how to jointly decide on the future of an object and whether there are various modes of return that are possible. And, finally, this is about reconciliation—how do modes of return or restitution help us to reconcile with the past?” (more…)

A piece in the New York Times this week catalogs a series of outside investigations and complaints at the Detroit Institute of Arts, particularly around a “lack of facility with race-related issues.” “The Board wants anyone with concerns, new or lingering, to come forward, and be heard,” the museum said in a statement.  (more…)

Financier Leon Black is currently in discussions with the trustees of MoMa regarding his future with the museum and ties to Jeffrey Epstein. “I would love to show at MoMA but you have to stick to your ethics,” says Nan Goldin. “How can MoMA stand by Leon Black?” (more…)

Six artists and one collective have pulled their work from a show at Chicago’s MCA over complaints about access, equity and labor.“I was very disappointed to learn how employees were being treated and did not want to lend my work to a show whose sponsoring institution was operating in contradiction to the show’s very premise,” said the artist Folayemi Wilson. (more…)

A piece in Art Newspaper details the recent trend towards creative agencies representing artists in pursuit of large-scale commissions and other projects. “We focus exclusively on building and actioning a bespoke strategy for each artist that we work with,” says Rebecca Davies of Southern & Partners. (more…)

The staff at Mass MOCA is pushing to unionize. “We don’t have specifics yet, but some of the things that have come up already are better pay, better COVID safety precautions [and] benefits like paid family leave and more flexible working situations,” says Amanda Tobin, the museum’s associate director of education. (more…)

The Paris Biennale is permanently discontinued, Art Newspaper reports. Once considered among the world’s most prestigious fairs, the event has folded to pursue new projects. (more…)

Following the announced closure of Metro Pictures, Cindy Sherman will head to Hauser & Wirth, Art News reports. “Cindy is already established in the history of modern and contemporary American art, thanks in no small measure to the extraordinary work of Janelle Reiring and Helene Winer of Metro Pictures, her gallery since the early 1980s. We are excited to build upon their achievements and to introduce the artist’s work to ever-broader audiences and new generations worldwide,” says Marc Payot. (more…)

Ai Weiwei has moved to Portugal, and is currently planning a large-scale sculptural tribute to Mikhail Gorbachev. “To this day we don’t see anyone like Gorbachev in China,” he says. “But if China doesn’t have political reform like what Gorbachev initiated, there will be no good result of China’s economic development.” (more…)

Metro Pictures will close by year’s end, the gallery has announced, ending its run as a major player in New York’s art market. “We have decided to announce this difficult decision far in advance of our closing in order to give the artists we represent and our staff time to pursue other options and to allow us to participate in their transitions,” the gallery said in a statement. (more…)

LaToya Ruby Frazier has a piece in the NYT this week, showcasing new work and talking about her critical approach towards American culture. “I am showing these dark things about America because I love my country and countrymen,” she says. “When you love somebody, you tell them the truth. Even if it hurts.” (more…)

MoMA has covered up the name of late architect Philip Johnson on wall signs amid allegations of his fascist views. “To move forward with the exhibition thoughtfully, honoring the communities that the artists and their works represent, we feel it’s appropriate to respect the exhibition design suggestion and cover the signage with Johnson’s name outside the Architecture and Design galleries on an interim basis,” a MoMA spokesperson said. “To confront this matter, the Museum currently has underway a rigorous research initiative to explore in full the allegations against Johnson and gather all available information. This work is ongoing.” (more…)