A forthcoming talk at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas between the directors of New York’s Museum of Modern Art and St Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum may be the first step in the easing of relations between US and Russian Museums, which have long been on either side of a loan freeze. “The idea for this public conversation emerged from ongoing conversations with my American colleagues, since all of us share a frustration about the lack of art exchange with some of our Russian colleagues,” says MoMA’s Glenn Lowry. (more…)

Skarstedt Gallery is opening a new New York space this March at 19 East 64th Street, a 25,000-square-foot townhouse space formerly owned by dealer David Wildenstein. It will open with a show of “classic works by the artists with whom Skarstedt has been working for over 20 years,” according to the gallery. (more…)

The Dutch prime minister has stated that he will not intervene in the Dutch royal family’s controversial decision to sell a chalk drawing by Peter Paul Rubens at Sotheby’s.  The decision is being appealed by the nation’s liberal D66 party. “They could determine whether any Dutch museums might be interested in buying these works of art before they are auctioned off abroad. Then the Dutch public could still have a chance to enjoy these drawings. If the works go abroad, we will not see them again,” says party member Salima Belhaj. (more…)

The Andy Warhol Foundation has given the Pérez Art Museum Miami a $100,000 grant to assist in the presentation of a solo show of the work of Teresita Fernández this fall.  “In addition to being one of the most dynamic artists working today,” director Franklin Sirmans said in a statement, “Teresita’s work has been integral to the development of Miami’s art scene and has played a significant role in the exhibition history of our museum.” (more…)

Painter Jock McFadyen will be the co-ordinator of this year’s Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts (RA), Art Newspaper reports. “The focus this year will be on artwork in all media which responds to the contemporary world,” he said in a statement.  “I hope to welcome back many of the artists who have been exhibiting at the Royal Academy over the past few years and look forward to presenting new artists in the exhibition.”   (more…)

A French court has found the Russian performance artist Pyotr Pavlensky guilty of setting fire to the facade of a state bank building in 2017, carrying a three-year sentence with two years suspended, that saw him released for time served. “The Bank de France at the site of the Bastille is a precedent of monstrous mockery of the political history of France,” Pavlensky says. “From this it follows that either the court should restore justice and rule to remove the Bank of France in place of the Bastille, drop all charges against me and recognize political art as permitted on the territory of France.” (more…)

European art dealers Renos Xippas and Albert Baronian are teaming up to open a new gallery in Brussels, Art News reports. “Renos and I have been friends for over 30 years, we have collaborated on many artistic projects and we represent several artists in common,” Baronian said in a statement. “We share the same values and the same vision of running an art gallery. We believe in the power of friendship, collaboration and vision, and want to encourage new interactions, new partnerships and new ways of thinking.” (more…)

New York’s Creative Capital has announced the recipients of its 2019 awards, funding 50 projects by 58 artists with grants up to $50,000 as well as career development resources. “The 2019 class of Creative Capital Awardees is a window into some of the most innovative, exciting, and powerful work being undertaken today,” says Suzy Delvalle, Creative Capital’s executive director and president. “We cannot wait to see how these projects develop, and how this incredible community of artists grows together and evolves.” (more…)

Federal prosecutors have recommended a prison sentence of up to three years for dealer Mary Boone over her tax evasion chargers, saying she deliberately defrauded the government with false tax returns that had her withholding up to $3 million. “Boone was the sole architect and beneficiary of this tax fraud scheme and, contrary to her assertions now, engaged in it out of pure greed — to line her own pockets by cheating the system,” the prosecutors wrote. (more…)

Kanye West has reportedly donated $10 million to James Turrell’s Roden Crater project, the Wall Street Journal reports. West said he wanted the project to be “experienced and enjoyed for eternity.” (more…)

Pace Gallery will represent Lynda Benglis, Art News reports. “She experiments, innovates, and stretches the limits of materials—often challenging how they’ve previously been used or understood,” says Marc Glimcher, Pace’s president and CEO. “And these innovations didn’t stop in the ’60s and ’70s, she’s continued to push materials further throughout her career; recently with her fountain works, she has even found a way to create form with water, an inherently formless material.”

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Maria Magdalena Ludewig the cocurator and director of Germany’s Wiesbaden Biennale, has died after a fatal injury in the Canary Islands, Artforum reports. “She has . . . pushed us beyond borders and has always been the good spirit of all her artists,” says Uwe Eric Laufenberg, director of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden. “It has left traces in all of us that are indelible.” (more…)

The New York Times has a piece on the divorce between mega-collectors David and Libbie Mugrabi, and the ripples it has left across the art world.   “We were a team,” Ms. Mugrabi says. “We were partners at home and in business, with kids, everything. So whatever is the right thing, if that’s a little amount or a big amount, that’s what I want.” (more…)

Germany will launch a 100th anniversary celebration of the founding of the Bauhaus this year, featuring museum openings, exhibitions and parties across the country, Art Newspaper reports.  (more…)

The Prix Marcel Duchamp, the annual French award that carries a €35,000 purse, has revealed its shortlist for 2019, with a winner to be announced at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in October.  Nominees include Eric Baudelaire, Katinka Bock, Marguerite Humeau, and Ida Tursic & Wilfried Mille. (more…)

New Museum staff is making efforts to unionize, making the move public after several months of planning and deliberation. “Forming a union will enable us, as well as future New Museum employees, to effectively advocate for changes in staff conditions that will make the New Museum a stronger and more sustainable institution,” the group said in a statement. “We believe in the New Museum and its mission; we want it to succeed. But we also recognize a need for critical changes at this moment in the museum’s growth.” (more…)

Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac has appointed Kyu Jin Hwang as its associate director for Asia, part of gallery plans to more aggressively target Asian collectors.  “I am absolutely delighted to join Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, whose team I had the pleasure of working with in my previous roles, having been drawn to the outstanding artists represented by the gallery,” Hwang said in a statement. (more…)

The Joan Mitchell Foundation has announced its 2019 artist residencies in New Orleans, where each participant will receive a private studio space as well as access to programming at the center. “We look forward to engaging with our artists-in-residence and to seeing the exciting and unexpected ways the space and time can impact their work,” says Foundation CEO Christa Blatchford.  (more…)

The Andy Warhol Foundation will give $100,000 to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian for a traveling Oscar Howe retrospective, ending an eight-year funding ban originally installed after the Smithsonian removed a David Wojnarowicz work from a show in 2010.  “We believe that the ban has had its intended effect of promoting freedom of artistic expression at the national level,” says Foundation head Joel Wachs. “The Smithsonian has also demonstrated a strong track record of highlighting underrepresented artists over the past eight years, which aligns well with the foundation’s core values. While Wojnarowicz and Howe were very different artists working in different circumstances, both fiercely advocated for the visibility and inclusion of marginalized perspectives in contemporary art discourse.” (more…)

London’s National Gallery will send Van Gogh’s Sunflowers and 60 other paintings on a tour of two Japanese Museums next year in celebration of the Tokyo Olympics. “By sharing the treasures from our world-leading museums and galleries, we can promote the very best of Britain to the globe,” says Jeremy Wright, the UK’s Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. (more…)

Kehinde Wiley is profiled in The Guardian this week, as he reflects on his recent work and the impact of his creative project. “The great heroic, often white, male hero dominates the picture plane and becomes larger than life, historic and significant,” he says. “That great historic storytelling of myth-making or propaganda is something we inherit as artists. I wanted to be able to weaponize and translate it into a means of celebrating female presence.” (more…)

The Met achieved record attendance last year, up 5% to 7.36 million visitors, despite challenges the museum faced over its new admission policy.  “Surprisingly, when we made this change, New Yorkers recognized that the Met needed to shore up its revenues to stay healthy, and they increased the amount of money they contribute on each visit,” said Daniel Weiss, chief executive of the museum. (more…)

New York’s anticipated exhibition and performance space The Shed finally has an opening date: April 5th. “We wanted this to be a building that could bring parity across pretty much all art forms,” says Alex Poots, the Shed’s artistic director and chief executive. (more…)

The art dealer Anatole Shagalov is suing New York’s Paul Kasmin Gallery for $8.5 million in damages over the sale of Frank Stella’s La Scienza della Fiacca, of which Shagalov alleges the gallery claimed partial ownership. “The lawsuit will allege that when Paul Kasmin Gallery falsely claimed to own an interest in Shagalov’s painting, it knowingly defamed Shagalov, it negatively impacted the value of the painting itself by baselessly casting doubt on its title, and it interfered with Shagalov’s contractual relations with a key lender,” the dealer’s lawyers said in a statement.  (more…)