The Atlantic challenges easy distinctions of “American Art” as globalization and increased international migration blur easy distinctions of nationality or singular cultural heritages.  “Place is very important to us, so an artist has to have a substantial connection to the American experience. We recognize that can manifest in different ways,”says Margaret Conrads, the director of curatorial affairs at Crystal Bridges. (more…)

The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art has opened its doors to Bloomberg, giving the publication a rare glimpse by Western media into its impressive collection of Western contemporary work.  “This is one of the great unseen collections of postwar European and American art in the world,” says Hirshhorn Director Melissa Chiu. “We haven’t seen these works in 40 years.” (more…)

An article by the BBC profiles the increased number of projects by contemporary artists taking place in culturally historical locales like Versailles, noting in particular Lawrence Weiner’s new installation at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.  “There is no clash between historical and contemporary,” Weiner says. “It is all contemporary. This was my home and Blenheim Palace is still living.” (more…)

The New York Times interviews collector and billionaire Liu Yiqian, the buyer of the Amedeo Modigliani that smashed records this past month to become one of the most expensive works sold at auction for $170 million.  “I was on the phone with a girl from Christie’s Hong Kong who was bidding on my behalf, and she kept dropping the phone because she was so nervous,” Mr. Liu he says. “I told her, ‘Why are you so nervous? I’m the one paying, and I’m not even nervous. Just buy it.’  ” (more…)

MoMA has announced that it will return a contested painting by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner to the heirs of the German art collector Max Fischer, following evidence that the work was t

MOCA Director Philippe Vergne sits down with Architectural Digest’s West Coast editor, Mayer Rus, reflecting on his vision for the museum, and his first time in Los Angeles.  “The driving! Chris Burden kept saying, ‘You can’t drive through the riot areas,’ but I’d get lost and be afraid that I was somewhere I was not supposed to be. Plus, I was going to meet these guys who were absolute legends to me. It was pure adrenaline the whole time.” (more…)

Representatives of the European Biennial Manifesta have announced that the 2018 edition of the event will be held in Palermo, Italy, on the island of Sicily.  “The City of Palermo was important for Manifesta’s selection board for its representation of two important themes that identify contemporary Europe: migration and climate changes and how these issues impact our cities,” the organizers said in a statement. (more…)

The BBC takes an inside look at a London performance held by The Belarus Free Theatre, a group of performers who are banned from performance in their home country.  “We thought that we needed to create a list of taboos in Belarus,” Nadia Kaliada, a troupe performer says. (more…)

The Institute of Contemporary Art Miami has broken ground on its permanent location, less than a year after opening in a temporary space in Miami’s design district.  The new space is set to open in 2017.  (more…)

Paris’s museums have reopened to the public following a two day closure in the wake of Friday’s terrorist attacks in the city.  “These attacks targeted places of entertainment, togetherness and leisure,” said Ministry of Culture head Fleur Pellerin. “I call on everyone to show unity and solidarity. It is the best response that the Republic, the Ministry of Culture and Communication and its agents can bring to those who threaten us.” (more…)

A group of Swiss students have designed a skeletal, wooden pavilion on Lake Zurich, which will act as a central part of the Manifesta 11 festival in the city of Zurich, and includes an open-air cinema and reflecting pool.  “The Pavillon of Reflections will offer a place for both encounters and education, a place for both passing the time with physical activity and with intellectual pursuits,” the group from ETH Zurich said. (more…)

The Museum of Modern Art will be on hand at Art Basel this year, selling a series of Andy Warhol-branded skate decks featuring the artist’s famous Campbell’s Soup Cans, and other selections from his catalog.  The MoMA Shop will be on view at the Delano from November 30 through December 6.  (more…)

A massive wall and ceiling painting commission by Tintoretto at the Scuola Grande di San Rocco in Venice has been restored using an LED lighting system, and a lengthy cleaning process, the Art Newspaper reports.  “The marbles are just as important as the Tintorettos [to the building’s overall decorative scheme],” says vicar Demetrio Sonaglioni. “[They] celebrated the importance of the buildings with fine carvings and paintings,” he adds.  (more…)

The Guardian has published a special series this week, titled “TheSeven Ages of an Artist,” interviewing a set of artists including Laure Prouvost, Richard Deacon, Rachel Whiteread, and others, as they reflect on the different stages of their career, considered from their varying vantage points in age and experience.  “I’m lucky my work started to be supported in my 30s – it is hard to be picked up really young, because you have not tried enough and have not got lost enough,” Prouvost says. (more…)

In an effort to cut costs, Artforum is reporting that Sotheby’s has offered a series of buy-outs for employees, offering what CEO Tad Smith calls “an attractive economic opportunity to volunteer to resign, should they wish to do so,” while acknowledging that he “certainly understands that announcing a cost reduction program right after two weeks of dazzling sales may be unexpected.” (more…)

CNBC takes a brief look at the underground arts scene in Singapore, where artists have been developing a fertile community off the beaten path of the city-state’s art scene.  “The scene has grown and diversified while maintaining its spirit of mutual respect and collaboration. It’s exciting times for art and music lovers in Singapore,” says Sideshow Collective member Tom Kelly. (more…)

A recent report by Citi has noted an impressive rate of growth for the art market in the past 15 years, when sales totaled about $3 billion.  “Since then, global auction turnover has grown at an average annual compound rate of 13%, reaching $16.1 billion in 2014,” says JPMorgan Asset Management’s Benjamin Mandel.  “Not bad considering that the period was punctuated by the deepest global recession in almost a century.” (more…)

CNN looks at the crop of collectors and investors driving prices up in the market, as fine art becomes one of the most popular categories for the wealthy to put their money.  “No matter what’s happening in the economy you’re always going to have art sales,” says Lamar Villere, portfolio manager at Villere & Co. (more…)

An article in The Guardian explores the recent lawsuit filed against Marina Abramovic by her former partner and collaborator Ulay, who claims she has not paid him for the proceeds of their collaborative work over the past several decades, nor has she credited him in writing for their shared pieces.  “The points I’m asking of her are: every six months, a statement on sales and my royalties. And I’m asking for absolute proper mentioning of my name,” he says. “She has deliberately misinterpreted things, or left my name out.” (more…)

The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art is preparing a massive exhibition of Western works from the past century, showing off a collection valued at $3 billion that has remained largely unseen in country since the 1979 revolution.  “There’s been kind of a myth about this collection,” says Germano Celant who organized the show with Iranian curator, architect, and filmmaker Faryar Javaherian. “Everybody was talking, and it disappeared after 1978 or 1979. There was a lot of work that I had only seen in pictures. It was this kind of secret, underground situation, where the work is so precious but has been in storage for so long.” (more…)

Graffiti artist NECKFACE has announced a new online store for periodic releases of one-off artworks and merchandise, launched today.  The works are produced from a series of thrift-store sourced objects and clothing the artist purchased while traveling the West Coast.   (more…)

The New York Times profiles editor, curator, writer and downtown mainstay Glenn O’Brien, as he takes up his new position as top editor for Maxim, charting out his vision for the magazine, and his memories of New York during the 1970’s and 80’s, including time spent with Jean-Michel Basquiat.  “He would drop in, and I always had a big stack of paper by my typewriter,” he says. “He would just make drawings and give them to me.”

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The New York Post reports on the story of Tracey Hejailan-Amon, who recently filed a lawsuit against estranged husband Maurice Alain Amon, claiming that her husband removed a $25 million collection of artworks from their home shortly before beginning divorce proceedings, including pieces by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol.  “These illegal and unlawful removals of the works of art is and was a strategic predicate for the service of a divorce action by Amon,” Hejailan claims. (more…)

Sotheby’s announcement that its quarterly loss narrowed 35 per cent in the third quarter has resulted in a 6.1% drop in share value as the auction house prepares its Contemporary Evening sale tonight.  “The buyers are getting more discerning,” says CEO Tad Smith.  “That is emblematic of a market that is solid. It creates buyers that are discerning, quality-oriented, but careful.”  (more…)