The 2019 Aichi Triennale in Japan has reopened a controversial part of its presentation; “After ‘Freedom of Expression?’” which explored a history of censorship of artworks in the country. The closure was the result of works delving into the history of ianfu, or comfort women, who were forced into sexual slavery during World War II by the Imperial Japanese Army. (more…)

The Desert X Art Biennial will open an edition in Saudi Arabia, leading to a number of board members leaving the organization. “Our mission has always been to create a platform for conversations around art and to welcome a multiplicity of voices,”Desert X founder and board President Susan Davis said in defense of the position. “Ultimately, it’s a way to have direct communication — artists to artists, artists to individuals, artists to the bigger audiences.” (more…)

A group of some artists and writers have signed a “Letter of Concern” to Swiss Institute, asking it to respond to pending domestic violence charges against exhibiting artist Tobias Madison.  “While a verdict has not yet been reached in court,” the letter reads, “we take these accusations seriously, and we believe a conversation about them must take place. How should we, as a community, address these kinds of troubling claims? We defer to you. Ignoring them is not the answer.” (more…)

A 17th-century portrait of a Spanish royal family member has been confirmed as a piece by Anthony van Dyck, after online debate on the site Art UK pushed for a reconsideration of the work’s origins. “This Van Dyck discovery is an especially important one and unequivocally proves the value of this innovative use of digital technology to share and grow knowledge,” says Andrew Ellis, Art UK’s director. (more…)

The New York Times has a piece on the late Robert Indiana’s proposed museum in his Maine home, and discussions on how the artist’s nonprofit will manage the property. “We haven’t hit that sweet spot yet,” says Larry Sterrs of Maine nonprofit management. “We’ve heard most about what people don’t want to see.” (more…)

Francis Naumann Fine Art will close its 57th Streetspace in March 2020. “My reason for closing is primarily financial,” he says. “Over the years, I’ve learned there are fewer and fewer collectors of 20th century art, most preferring to buy cutting-edge contemporary art (and at far higher prices). Moreover, people are attracted by big-name artists or they buy the work of minor artists from big-name galleries.” (more…)

David Breslin and Adrienne Edwards will curate the 2021 Whitney Biennial, the museum has announced.  The pair are both in-house curators and have worked on a number of shows for the museum in the past few years. (more…)

Antony Gormley is preparing a new batch of stentorian sculptures off on the coast of Brittany, a comment on the British nation’s current Brexit efforts. “I am very excited about this,” he says. “After all, how do you understand yourself other than by your relations with your nearest neighbors?” (more…)

New York dealer Phillip A. Bruno has donated a trove of works to the Hunterian Art Gallery, Scotland’s oldest public museum in Glasgow. “I am so looking forward to seeing my gifts on a Scottish wall,” Bruno says. (more…)

Yoshitomo Nara’s Knife Behind Back (2000) has smashed the artist’s auction record in Hong Kong this week, selling for 195.7 million HKD, or about $24.9 million, and placing the artist among the highest priced living artists. (more…)

Louvre head Jean-Luc Martinez sits down with Art Newspaper this week, discussing the ambitious reshuffling of the museum collection as the institution completes a vast new storage and conservation space in Liévin, 200km north of the city of Paris. “We must completely revise our conception of the collections,” he says.  (more…)

Jacolby Satterwhite has an interview in Art News this week, as the artist prepares to open an ambitious new show at Pioneer Works, and a release of a full-length album. “I was raised on listening to deep house records that my mother liked,” the artist says. “What I love about making music is that it feels very similar to painting or 3-D animation where you have a bunch of tracks and a palette and you have to find a way to consolidate them to build a harmonious vision. It’s the same thing I do when I make a painting or an animation.” (more…)

Eike Schmidt, the director of Florence’s Uffizi Gallery, has caused an uproar after ducking out of a new job post at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna just weeks before he was expected to start.  “Florence is too close to my heart,” he said. (more…)

Another work attributed to Leonardo Da Vinci is drawing controversy as it heads to the auction block, and commands strong condemnations from scholars. “Sometimes a work is so ridiculous and impossible that a scholar like me feels authorized to speak,” says Francesco Caglioti, an art history professor at the prestigious Scuola Normale Superiore. “This thing has nothing, nothing, nothing to do with Leonardo. I can’t imagine it was done before the late 19th century. It looks like a revivalistic work by the hand of somebody who tried to imagine a Renaissance horse and rider.” (more…)

A piece in the NYT this week looks at the challenges to museum boards mounted by protests and activists in recent months, and how these actions are shaking up the world of the wealthy.  “We need to define trusteeship beyond people of financial wealth,” says Darren Walker, president of the Ford Foundation, which supports and advises nonprofits. “Expand the number of board members and bring in people with other assets besides money that the museum needs. What’s interesting to me is the lack of energy, focus and creativity to figure this out.” (more…)

The Rubin Museum is restructuring, cutting its staff by 25% and increasing the number of days the museum is closed during the week. “These new initiatives will allow the Rubin to better serve our audiences in New York City and around the globe and will ensure our financial health as we continue to share the richness of Himalayan art and ideas,” says board president Robert Baylis. “While hard choices accompanied these changes, the board is confident in the direction of the Rubin.” (more…)

Artist KAWS has come under fire in China after a 2002 work depicting Chairman Mao in his trademark style was put up for sale at Sotheby’s Hong Kong. “I would never create an artwork that tries to offend any individual person, group, or country,” the artist wrote on Instagram. “I have always worked with popular imagery, just as I did in 2001 when the artwork was created. The [Mao] artwork was not politically motivated then, and should not be used politically now.” (more…)

Artist Walid Raad will receive the Aachen Art Prize, despite initial reports that the city would not recognize him due to his support of the BDS Movement.  Initial statements attempted to paint the artist as an anti-Semite for his opposition to the Israeli state’s treatment of Palestine, but the Ludwig Forum for International Art in the city ultimately rejected these claims, and awarded the artist regardless. (more…)

Superstar curator Germano Celant will curate an exhibition of work by KAWS at the Garage Gallery in Doha, Qatar, Art News reports.  “If there are art world gatekeepers intent on excluding [KAWS], it should be clear by now that they are fighting a losing battle,” says Art in America’s September William S. Smith. (more…)

Longtime Getty Foundation director Deborah Marrow has died, Art News reports. “No one has contributed more to the life and mission of the Getty than Deborah, and we will miss her deeply,” says James Cuno, the president and CEO of the Getty Trust. “She brought clarity, vision, and selfless dedication to her work, and made loyal professional friends around the world.” (more…)

Christie’s will lead its November 13th Sale in New York with Ed Ruscha’s Hurting the Word Radio #2, which carries a presale estimate of $30 to $40 million, and which could shift the artist towards market leadership. (more…)

A Delhi judge has ordered Facebook and Google to remove posts related to allegations of sexual harassment against artist Subodh Gupta, Art News reports. Judge Rajiv Sahai Endlaw called the posts “defamatory,” and ruled they “cannot be permitted to be made in public domain.” (more…)

The Art Newspaper has a piece this week on the most exhibited artists in the history of London this millennium, with Lucian Freud topping the list with ten shows, followed by David Hockney with eight.  While Freud is “considered one of the greatest figurative painters of the 20th century,” according to curator Andrea Tarsia, “his first institutional solo exhibition only happened when he was in his 50s.” (more…)

A piece in the NYT this week charts the opening of Frieze London, and its place among the changing face of a Britain that may soon crash out of the E.U. “No one really knows anything about the implications,” says Frieze director Victoria Siddall,  “but London is very strong. It would take a lot to change that.” (more…)