As the art market continues to boom, the business of art lending is seeing an equally impressive bump, with early 2015 estimates by Skate’s noting that lending could top$10 billion in 2015, at least twice as much as its last survey in 2011, and may very well grow to $100 billion.  The statistics note a major impact from Sotheby’s, which recently spun off its finance wing and which claims it can lend up to £1.3bn against art. (more…)

London’s gallery scene, art districts and theatre have resulted in the British capital being named the most Googled cultural center in the world, the BBC reports.  “London is without a doubt the cultural capital of the world,” said Mayor Boris Johnson of the news. (more…)

The New Yorker has an article this week profiling the intertwined lives of artists Barry McGee, Margaret Kilgallen and Clare Rojas.  Rojas, an artist living in Philadelphia, originally met Kilgallen and McGee through mail correspondence, and became close friends with the married couple.  After Kilgallen died of cancer in 1999, Rojas found herself growing closer McGee as she helped to care for his young daughter, and eventually married him.  “I think most people would just completely head the opposite direction, like, ‘Good luck with this, Barry,’ ” McGee says. “But she walked straight in.”

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As a new wave of strikes start outside the National Gallery, the museum has been forced to close a substantial portion of its galleries.  The protests also come as Gabriele Finaldi prepares to take over for Sir Nicholas Penny as museum president. (more…)

A Picasso painting valued at €25 million was seized from a superyacht belonging to former Santander bank VP Jaime Botín this week, after the work left Spain, reportedly en route to Switzerland.  The work had been placed under export bar by the Spanish government, resulting in its seizure off the coast of Corsica.   (more…)

Commissioned works by Thomas Demand, Olafur Eliasson, Teresita Fernandez and Susan Philipsz, among others, will go on view at the October 9th opening of Grace Farms, a 75-acre public space in New Canaan that also features a new multi-use building design by the SANAA architecture firm in collaboration with OLIN.  “Collaborating with Grace Farms Foundation and SANAA on this project has been highly rewarding,” says Yuko Hasegawa, Chief Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo and Grace Farms’ Consultant for Art Installations. “The concept of Grace Farms is unique. I believe it will serve as a great example of how art, architecture, nature and meaningful programs can all come together to inspire people.”  (more…)

Chelsea Gallery Mixed Greens has announced that it will close at the end of the year, the second mid-size gallery in the neighborhood to announce its closure in the past weeks.  “Together, we look back on our history and take great pride in the work we have done with hundreds of exceptional artists,”the gallery said in a statement. (more…)

The Real Deal profiles the New York real estate world’s most active and avid art collectors, including Aby Rosen and Edward Minskoff, among others, who have become major players in the current market, and who have continued to vie for top works in recent years.  “Whatever the particular occupation may be, the collector becomes something of an addict,” says critic Judd Tully. (more…)

Poor working conditions and substandard pay persist at Abu Dhabi construction sites for the Louvre and Guggenheim, despite ongoing protests and investigations, the Art Newspaper reports.  The news comes from a new report by Gulf Labor, noting few improvements in the past year.        (more…)

Studio Museum head Thelma Golden has been appointed to the board of directors for the the Barack Obama Foundation in Chicago this week.  “I am very much looking forward to joining the Board of Directors, and working to make the Obama Presidential Center a hub for creative expression through the arts,” Golden said in a statement. “The South Side of Chicago has historically been the nexus of several important cultural movements for African-Americans, and I believe the new Center will help usher in a new era of community engagement for this extraordinary neighborhood.” (more…)

An article in Bloomberg this week notes the increasingly difficult challenges of turning a profit for smaller and less commercially-focused galleries, despite a booming art market, and points to writer/art adviser Magnus Resch’s book Management of Art Galleries for potential solutions.  “I could have just said, ‘The revenue numbers are terrible,’ but rather than being so negative I’m actually offering solutions,” Resch says. “It’s based on the analysis that I did.” (more…)

Artist Ai Weiwei has been granted his full 6-month visa by the UK Embassy, following an intervention by Home Secretary Theresa May.  “She has reviewed the case and has now instructed Home Office officials to issue a full six-month visa,” an embassy official said. “We have written to Mr Ai apologizing for the inconvenience caused.” (more…)

The ArcelorMittal Orbit, Anish Kapoor’s sculpture at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, will soon have its own Carsten Höller slide, after Kapoor invited the German artist to collaborate.  “I am thrilled that my tallest slide so far will cling onto Anish Kapoor’s The Orbit, taking an existing artwork as its site,” Höller says. “A slide is a sculptural work with a pragmatic aspect; a device for experiencing an emotional state that is a unique condition somewhere between delight and madness.” (more…)

The Financial Times notes the benefits of major corporations and financial institutions from collecting art, including benefits to the galleries and artists selling work.  “The important thing is that companies run a collection professionally,” says Loa Haagen Pictet, who chairs the International Association of Corporate Collections of Contemporary Art.  “They manage it, show it, and have a proper database inventory and conduct activities directed at the public.” (more…)

In addition to its Chelsea flagship and a satellite in Shanghai, James Cohan Gallery is opening its third location in the Lower East Side at the ground floor space of 291 Grand Street. “After being in business for 16 years, our roster of artist continues to grow and we want the opportunity for them to exhibit sooner than later”, explained Mr.Cohan. Works of Scottish artist, Katie Paterson, will be the first exhibition at the new location in February, followed by the Propeller Group in spring.

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Wallspace, the Chelsea Gallery that launched the career of Walead Beshty and has shown artists including Mark Grotjahn, N. Dash and Jay Defeo, is closing on August 7th.  “It has been our immense privilege to nourish a roster of artists who have inspired us, challenged us and enriched our lives in immeasurable ways,” the gallery said in a statement.  “We are better people for knowing you and we thank you for working with us to make Wallspace the special place it has been.” (more…)

The Seattle Art Fair, bankrolled by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, opens today, with an impressive list of major blue-chip galleries in attendance.  “I’ve been going to the Venice Biennale for at least a decade and always enjoy the stimulation of seeing the work of new and up-and-coming artists,” says Allen. “In 2013 I started thinking, ‘what’s keeping us from doing this in Seattle?’” (more…)

While Ai Weiwei’s passport has been returned to him, the artist has reportedly been limited in how long he can travel in Britain in the coming months.  While he had planned a six-month stay, the British Embassy had reduced his stay to only 20 days, citing an unreported conviction in Chinese court.  “The decision is a denial of Ai Weiwei’s rights as an ordinary citizen, and a stand to take the position of those who caused sufferings for human rights defenders,” the artist said in a statement on his Instagram. (more…)

In an unexpected turn, Art News and Art in America have announced a merger that sees Peter Brant taking controlling interest in the pair of companies.  “The idea is to make artnews.com the single domain for the company when it comes to any digital editorial content — news coverage or information,” says ArtNews CEO Izabela Depczyk. “That means content from Art in America will be housed on the website as well… all the archival content [from all magazines], back issues, subscriptions, anything and everything will be housed on artnews.com.” (more…)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has recorded at least 6.3 million visitors in the past year, the most in the 40 it has been recording attendance statistics.  The figures are attributed to the museum’s new seven day operating hours and a number of popular exhibitions. (more…)

Artists in Oakland and the Bay Area at large are outraged after the Building Industry Association of the Bay Area filed a lawsuit against the city for requiring all new building projects to include plans for public art on the premises.  “Developers owe it to the city and residents to enrich the landscape and culture of the urban space,” says Emma Spertus, artist and founder of the Oakland studio building and residency program Real Time and Space. (more…)

Katherine Bernhardt has completed a commissioned mural for Venus Over Los Angeles, covering the outside of the gallery in her signature cartoonish drawings of food and cigarettes.  The mural is on view through August 9th. (more…)

The New York City government has pledged $10 million towards Spaceworks, a city-based non-profit aiming to convert public spaces into affordable studio space for artists and community art sites.  The sites will be located in The Bronx.  “It’s a borough that is clearly under-resourced in terms of creative space,” says executive director Paul Parkhill. He is also hiring a full-time community organiser based in the area “to make sure there is a grassroots conversation early on, so people know what is happening.” (more…)

Following a number of walkouts and week-long protests, the staff at London’s National Gallery has announced its first full strike this August.  “Our members in the National Gallery have been engaged in a heroic struggle to defend the functions of a national institution,” PCS General Secretary Mark Serwotka said in a statement. “They have taken 52 days strike action so far and are prepared to take more. Accordingly, we have served the employer with notice today of more sustained action in August.” (more…)