Frieze Art Fair has named Loring Randolph its new artistic director of the Americas. Randolph joins the fair after serving as a longtime partner at Casey Kaplan in New York. “I have participated for many years in Frieze Art Fairs as an exhibitor and my perspective in this regard offers some unique insights into my new role,” Randolph says. “Frieze is a progressive organization that is poised for growth, and I greatly look forward to working with my colleagues—the array of world-class galleries, curators, writers and collectors that partner with the Frieze fairs—to present an unparalleled experience at Frieze in the quality of gallery presentations by today’s most significant international artists.” (more…)

The New York Times has a piece on challenging works of contemporary art that decay and break apart, presenting unique challenges for collectors and conservators. ‘‘Contemporary art’s job is to wreck, to ruin what came before,’’ artist and director John Waters says of such demanding work. (more…)

Working to shore up defense of its Cultural Property Protection Law, Germany has created an internet database offering resources and information on recording, securing and reporting cultural artifacts. The site is part of an ongoing effort by Culture Minister Monika Grütters to ensure greater protection for artifacts moving from destabilized countries, and those circulating in Germany and the rest of Europe.  (more…)

Hauser & Wirth is opening a new exhibition space in Hong Kong, alongside offices in Shanghai and Beijing. “Our expansion into China marks the beginning of a new chapter for Hauser & Wirth,” gallery co-founder, Iwan Wirth says. “We have spent the past two years carefully researching the most appropriate ways to expand in these places, to become a fully present part of the art scene in China and engage meaningfully.” (more…)

As the Barbican opens its Basquiat retrospective this month, the New York Times looks back on the artist’s enduring love for music, and the inspiration his paintings took from records by Curtis Mayfield, David Bowie, and more. “The main thing for us was having big speakers and a blasting stereo. That was the only furniture I purchased myself,” says his former girlfriend, Alexis Adler of their time living together. “Music was playing all the time.” (more…)

Artist John Houck, whose hyper-dense photographs walk the line between photo and object, is now represented by Marianne Boesky. “John’s practice is such a beautiful combination of meticulous technique and creative play,” Marianne Boesky said in a statement. “His fluid movement between a variety of approaches and genres pushes the boundaries of understood artistic hierarchies and frameworks, and arouses a sense of boundless possibility.” (more…)

Despite budget woes and political controversies, this year’s edition of Documenta is being praised as a massive success, according to the New York Times, with officials in both Athens and Kassel expressing satisfaction with the public response to the event. “Documenta is one of the biggest strokes of cultural fortune for Hesse, Kassel and beyond,” says Hesse Culture Minister Boris Rhein. “It is our duty to ensure that it continues.” (more…)

Working to shore up defense of its Cultural Property Protection Law, Germany has created an internet database offering resources and information on recording, securing and reporting cultural artifacts. The site is part of an ongoing effort by Culture Minister Monika Grütters to ensure greater protection for artifacts moving from destabilized countries, and those circulating in Germany and the rest of Europe.  (more…)

Henry Tang Ying-yen has been appointed the board chairman of Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, putting him in charge of stewarding the ongoing expansion of the city’s cultural district. “Mr. Tang has this very unique experience of working in the government and in the private sector,” says Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive. “I have every confidence that under Henry’s leadership, the WKCDA project will be brought to new heights.” (more…)

Cape Town, South Africa’s Zeitz-Mocaa gallery, the largest contemporary art museum in Africa, will open its doors this Friday. “I think what is going to define all of this in the end is what is represented in the museum,” says Mark Coetzee, Zeitz-Mocaa’s executive director and chief curator. “It is going to win if the audience see themselves represented by their own artists.” (more…)

Philadelphia’s University of the Arts is merging with the Philadelphia Art Alliance, bringing together two major institutions supporting the city’s arts community. “We are thrilled that the Art Alliance will continue to be an active part of the future of Philadelphia’s cultural life as a result of this merger with the University of the Arts,” said Carole Shanis, chairperson and president emerita of the Art Alliance. “While, over the last 10 years, our focus has been on contemporary craft and design, we welcome the new resources and broader perspective that will come with this partnership.” (more…)

The Broad Museum has added a group of new directors to its board, including former Met Director Thomas Campbell. “As the Broad celebrates its second anniversary, Edye and I are delighted to see the museum expand its board,” founder Eli Broad said in a statement. “The four new members reflect a wide variety of experience in industries including the arts, philanthropy, media, and business, and we look forward to applying their insights as the Broad looks to the future.” (more…)

Mexico City’s art world is assessing the damage after a massive earthquake struck the city yesterday, leaving over 200 dead and damage across the city. A group of museums have faced varied structural damage, with some institutions remaining closed to examine their grounds. (more…)

Florence Derieux has been named the director of exhibitions at Hauser & Wirth New York, leaving her position as curator of American art at the Centre Pompidou Foundation to join the international gallery. (more…)

Theaster Gates has won the $100K Nasher Prize for Sculpture, the Dallas News reports. “He’s an exceptional artist,” says Jeremy Strick, director of the Nasher Sculpture Center. “He’s an artist who, like the previous two laureates, continues to push the boundaries and the understanding of sculpture.” (more…)

Thomas Ruff gets a profile in the Financial Times this week, as the artist prepares his mid-career retrospective at the Whitechapel Gallery. “He’s got this huge thinking space — I find it quite thrilling,” says Iwona Blazwick, the director of the Whitechapel Gallery. “Really, there is very little photography going on there. But a lot of thinking, a lot of figuring out, and a lot of models, bits of this and that. It’s like he’s sitting there thinking about it all, shuffling it around and figuring how to absorb it into his own repertoire.”   (more…)

Documenta 14 has reported record attendance for this year’s edition, tallying 891,500 visitors over the course of its run. “Any demands for further growth spring from a dream of Documenta to be yet another cog in the tourist and cultural industry—a generic yet profitable spectacle,” the exhibition noted in a press release announcing the event’s attendance.  (more…)

Architect Barry Diller has scrapped plans for a floating island on the Hudson just a few feet from the doors of the Whitney, opening the door for new projects and proposals, including an installation by David Hammons. “David Hammons’s concept for a public art installation at the edge of Gansevoort Peninsula is something that we’re very excited about,” Whitney president Adam Weinberg says. “Our proposal is only in its earliest stages and for us it’s really important to start with our community board. (more…)

Richard Prince gets a profile in the New York Post, cataloguing his often controversial practice, and the impact it has left on the world of contemporary art. “For Richard, the lawsuits are also the artwork,” says his friend and fellow artist Harmony Korine. (more…)

Artists are teaming up to assist in the fallout from a massive 8.1 magnitude earthquake rocked the country and left 90 dead, as many cultural centers, museums and galleries send resources to help deal with the damage caused. “This is a good opportunity to invite all the cultural centers, all the spaces, museums, artists that want to come,” says artist Demian Flores. “Reconstruction in Juchitan is going to be a long road.” (more…)

The last of Francis Bacon’s Pope paintings will hit the auction block this fall at Christie’s in London, estimated to sell for over £60 million, the BBC reports. “It is a tragic premonition which unites Bacon’s two greatest muses, the Pope and George Dyer, for the first and only time,” Francis Outred, Christie’s head of post-war and contemporary art says of the work. (more…)

Marianne Boesky’s Aspen location gets a spotlight in Architectural Digest this month, an Annabelle Selldorf-designed exhibition space that has been a major project for Boesky since 2007. “If you don’t have unlimited funds to buy an existing turnkey dream space,” the gallerist says, “you have to get creative with whatever circumstances you’re given. Here, the location worked and more importantly the price was right.” (more…)

Stuart Shave’s Modern Art Gallery is set to open a second London location, the Art News reports. “For some time, I have been looking for a second space that would allow the gallery to program multiple shows at one time, to give scope to bring new artists into the gallery, as well as to work more spontaneously when the opportunity arises,” Shave says. (more…)

Documenta is facing an operating deficit of over $8 million, the Art Newspaper reports, with city and state governments taking on loans to keep the exhibition running. “Documenta is inextricably linked with Kassel,” Christian Geselle, the mayor of Kassel said. “We want Documenta to continue in Kassel as a world-ranking exhibition of contemporary art.” (more…)