The National Gallery’s new director, Gabriele Finaldi, is interviewed in the Art Newspaper this week, where he discusses his vision for the institution in relation to other British institutions.  “As time moves on, 1900 seems increasingly remote and less related to how we think about periods of history and art history,” he says.  “In artistic terms, nothing very special happens in 1900, but the 1880s and 90s are a remarkably fertile period that push forward new modes of expression, with Cubism very soon afterwards. It is slightly frustrating to reach 1900 and then not go on.”  (more…)

Germany has announced at least another year of funding for research into the provenance of artwork from the Cornelius Gurlitt trove.  “We all had higher expectations than we could meet, and that is because this is a singular case,”says culture minister Monika Grütters. “It is so extraordinary that there is no pattern to follow.” (more…)

Phyllida Barlow has been selected to represent Britain at the 2017 Venice Biennale.  “It’s a massive honor,” she said. “Having been that thing called a minor British artist for most of my working life, I’m now getting things beyond my wildest dreams.” (more…)

Wim Pijbes, director general of the Rijksmuseum, will leave the museum to head the private Museum Voorlinden, the Art Newspaper reports.  Pijbes took over at the museum in 2008, guiding the ongoing renovations and improvements to the institution to a highly lauded reopening in 2013.   (more…)

The Dia Foundation has added two new board members this week, as it continues to work towards rebuilding a strong presence in downtown Manhattan.  The new members are James Murdoch, chief executive at 21st Century Fox and son of Rupert Murdoch, alongside Jane Skinner Goodell, the former television reporter and anchor, the wife of N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell. (more…)

Christie’s is filing a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Jose Mugrabi, after the dealer and collector missed a $13 million payment on a Basquiat work he bought at auction last year.  The lawsuit, including fees and interest on the payment, will top $37 million.  “We repeatedly attempted to resolve this matter with Mr. Mugrabi,” said a company spokesperson.  “Unfortunately, our efforts failed, and Christie’s felt it had no other alternative but to litigate.” (more…)

Vanity Fair reports on the increasingly heated conflicts over the estate of Melva Bucksbaum, the late vice chairwoman of the Whitney Museum, whose will is currently being challenged by her husband, Raymond Learsy.  Learsy claims he is entitled to half of Bucksbaum’s fortune, leading to fierce clashes with her children. (more…)

Aby Rosen has partnered with Jeff Koons and Groundswell, a New York community mural organization, to present a youth artists initiative at his SoHo project, 11 Howard.  The towering mural piece was created during after-school art programs led by Misha Tyutyunik.  “This is a very creative team of young artists, and it’s rare to see a group with such a unified vision. I’ve enjoyed working with the artists during the conception of their idea,” Koons said. (more…)

Gerhard Richter has harshly criticized a move to close the Museum Morsbroich in Leverkusen, Germany, and to sell its collection.  “A public art collection is not a financial investment that can be plundered depending on the cash situation,” he says.  “It is a piece of art history and represents the cultural memory of its trustees.” (more…)

The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation has announced plans to allow the public fair use access to images the artist’s works.  “In keeping with Rauschenberg’s legacy, the Foundation is always looking to identify challenges and then provide solutions,” says Christy MacLear, CEO of the Rauschenberg Foundation. “Traditional notions of copyright and attempts to control images have proven incompatible with the nature of the digital age. (more…)

Anish Kapoor is drawing controversy this week, after the artist was granted exclusive artist rights to the Vantablack pigment, a paint that absorbs over 99% of light.  “I’ve never heard of an artist monopolizing a material,” says another artist, Christian Furr. “We should be able to use it. It isn’t right that it belongs to one man.” (more…)

The Met’s new website launch is profiled in Fast Company this week, noting its approach towards the digital landscape of modernity.  “People ask me: What is your biggest competition?,” says Sree Sreenivasan, the Met’s chief digital officer. “Is it MoMA? Guggenheim? Our competition is Netflix. Candy Crush. It’s life in 2016.” (more…)

Jake and Dinos Chapman have opened a pop-up store, titled “Fucking Hell,” in the heart of Amsterdam’s Red Light District.  The store contains a number of interesting art works and projects.  In one corner, a visitor can buy an original drawing by Jake Chapman, tattooed on their skin.   (more…)

John Baldessari is interviewed in the New York Times this week, as the artist opens his new show at Sprüth Magers in LA, and reflects on his career.  “I was going to be an art historian once,” he says. “That was early on, in the early ’70s, when I thought being an artist wasn’t very dignified. I thought being an art historian, I could be called Dr. Baldessari, and that would be better.” (more…)

Bonhams has laid off eight employees in its Hong Kong offices, including deputy chairman Magnus Renfrew.  The decision was cited as part of a “restructuring,” with Renfrew noting that he was “surprised and disappointed” by his layoff. (more…)

The Art Market Monitor reports on Sotheby’s 2015 earnings report today, noting relatively flat gains countered by strong increases in the company’s internal finances.  Marion Maneker also notes that the company’s stock price continues to benefit from the ongoing buyback program. (more…)

Maya Widmaier-Picasso has been ordered to pay legal fees of 25,000 euros, about $28,000, in her case with representatives of the Qatari royal family.  The court also rejected a plea to void a seizure order for the bust at the center of the ongoing cases over her father’s sculpture. (more…)

Performa has announced a new Board of Directors, including artists Rashid Johnson as Vice Chair and Shirin Neshat as a newly appointed Director.  “My first experience with Performa was during the Performa 13 Biennial, when I worked with Performa to restage LeRoi Jones and Amiri Baraka’s 1964 play Dutchman in the 10th Street Russian-Turkish Bath House. I was impressed by Performa’s artist-first approach and their hands on involvement in helping realize my vision,” Johnson said.  “I look forward to helping continue the great legacy Performa has earned and helping it to grow as a resource for artists and a vehicle for producing and showcasing innovative performance-based works.”  (more…)

The 9th Berlin Biennale has announced its locations for this summer, including the Akademie der Künste, the European School of Management and Technology, the Feuerle Collection, the Blue-Star sightseeing boat by Reederei Riedel, and KW Institute for Contemporary Art.  The Biennale will be curated by DIS, and focuses on “the virtual as the real, nations as brands, people as data, culture as capital, wellness as politics, and happiness as GDP.” (more…)

Paris’s FIAC satellite Officielle has been placed on hold by organizers Reed Exhibitions, following complaints over low sales figures and a difficult location at last year’s event.  “We were not unhappy with our sales at the 2015 edition, we sold rather well and cleared a small profit. But it’s true that we did not feel like we were [in the majority],” says Gallerist Bernard Ceysson.   (more…)

Continuing its efforts in Silicon Valley, Pace Gallery has left its temporary space in favor of a more permanent outpost in downtown Palo Alto.  “It was time to fish or cut bait,” says President Marc Glimcher. “You can’t do a pop-up forever.”  (more…)

The Public Catalogue Foundation has been renamed Art UK, and is launching an initiative to digitize the full collection of works in the British public collections.  The project continues the organization’s already completed efforts at digitizing the nation’s oil paintings, a 10 year, £6 million venture. (more…)

The University of Oklahoma has agreed to return a Pissarro painting, La Bergère, that was looted by Nazis from collector Raoul Meyer.  The work will go to Meyer’s daughter Léone, who has agreed to show the painting on a rotating basis in Oklahoma and France.  “Léone Meyer has agreed that, rather than getting the painting back for her own living room, to continue the public display of the painting for the public,” her lawyer said.

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The Tate Modern is planning a landmark retrospective for David Hockney in 2017, one of the largest exhibitions the museum has ever opened.  “We’ve shaped the show and made a selection and then he’s made suggestions and we’ve shifted the emphasis a bit and there are some works he’s asked us to think about,” says co-curator Chris Stephens. (more…)