As Desert X AlUla prepares to open, the NYT profiles the festival and the fraught politics behind its operation, as Saudi Arabia faces continued criticism and looks to open its culture to the West.  “Engaging people to people, being able to start that dialogue, was something we were brave enough to take on, and I do think brave is the word,” says Desert X head Susan Davis. (more…)

Mat Collishaw becomes the latest artist to depart Blain Southern Gallery, as announced on his Instagram today.  No comment was offered on his reason for departure. (more…)

Sonia Boyce has been tapped to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale, making her the first black woman to show for Britain at the event. “There is this question about nations and nationality and that is how [the biennale] was set up; to promote the so-called best of what was happening any given country or nation,” she says. “I don’t know if it is anachronistic but I still think it is important in the time we are in to think about what nation means.” (more…)

Artist Adam Pendleton is readying a new work, Who is Queen? for the atrium of MoMA this summer “It’s looking at blackness as an open-ended idea, not just related to race but in relationship to politics, to art, specifically to the avant-garde,” he says. (more…)

Uniqlo is launching a new series honoring the works of Japanese artists, among them Keiichi Tanaami and Hajime Sorayama. The works will include a range of images from each artist’s oeuvre.  (more…)

Edvard Munch’s Scream is fading, and scientists in Norway and New York are working to unravel the issue with the painting, the NYT reports. “There tends to be an interest in the bigger-name artists, for obvious reasons,” says Dr. Nicholas Eastaugh, founder and chief scientist at Art Analysis & Research. “But actually these are problems that will affect all artists of that period if they are using these materials.”  (more…)

Museum workers at the British Museum have issued a statement in support of climate activists BP or Not BP after the group staged a weeklong protest at the museum over its sponsorship from British Petroleum.  “The climate crisis is here, and urgent, widespread action is needed to minimize the devastation being wreaked on peoples’ lives,” it reads. (more…)

The Rothko Chapel in Houston is set to reopen to the public in June of 2020.  The institution announced its new dates this month, preparing to unveil its restoration work and enhanced security systems. (more…)

Bonhams’s CEO Matthew Girling is out after 32 years, Art Newspaper reports. “I am proud to have led a management team that successfully attracted new investors into the business,” he says in a statement. “Compared to the company I first joined, Bonhams has changed beyond recognition, becoming an international forward-thinking art auction business.”  (more…)

Susanne Vielmetter has an interview in Art Newspaper this week, as she talks about her experiences selling in Los Angeles, and her early years in the city  “There was no difference between pop culture and high art, it was very uncatholic,” she says. “I had my hierarchies very firmly in place and all of that was thrown right out the window when I got here.” (more…)

A report in the New York Times this week notes the contentious history of a 17th-century work attributed to Eustache Le Sueur, held in The Met’s collection but recently discovered as potentially looted by the Nazis by Jewish art dealer, Siegfried Aram.  “This is important new information that is worthy of a detailed investigation, which we will begin immediately,” the museum said in a statement. “The Met has a long history of working with claimants to research and find a just and fair solution in cases of art wrongfully appropriated during the Nazi era.” (more…)

Johannesburg, South Africa’s Counterspace architectural studio has been tapped as the next commission for the Serpentine Pavilion, featuring a range of united elements signifying the various neighborhoods and parts of London. “The pavilion is itself conceived as an event – the coming together of a variety of forms from across London over the course of the pavilion’s sojourn,” says Counterspace member Sumayya Vally. (more…)

The NYT has a piece on the healthy state of artist-run galleries in Los Angeles.“A lot of galleries will say they show new or emerging artists,” says Smart Objects founder Chadwick Gibson, “but if you go back you’ll find that they showed at three artist-run spaces first.” (more…)

Critic Avelina Lésper is facing criticsm after shattering a glass portion of a piece by Gabriel Rico at Zona Maco this weekend, reportedly after she placed a can of Coca-Cola on the sculpture. “Although it seems to have been accidental and is irrelevant as to how it happened, the action of Ms. Lésper of getting too close to the work of art to put a can of soda on it and take a picture to make a criticism, had undoubtedly caused the destruction, and is above all, a huge lack of professionalism and respect,” says exhibiting gallery Galeria OMR. (more…)

Caroline Baumann has abruptly resigned from her position as director of the Cooper Hewitt, the NYT reports, stepping down on Friday. “Baumann has been a passionate voice for design,” the museum said in a statement, “and much has been accomplished during her tenure.” (more…)

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will award the first eponymous Woman of Leadership Award to collector and activist Agnes Gund. “To be compared to Justice Ginsburg is so extraordinary and an overwhelming honor,” Gund said in a statement. “I have worked most of my life to ensure that access to art should be a right, not a privilege because it can open minds and inspire dreams.” (more…)

Collector Ella Fontanals-Cisneros has called off a donation of 400 works from her massive collection to the Spanish state after a series of confrontations with minister of culture and sports, José Guirao. “What I perceived was a refusal to continue with the project,” she says. “It surprised me coming from a person like José Guirao, with knowledge in fine arts.” (more…)

Frieze LA’s Projects section gets a profile in the FT this week, showcasing its focus on engaging large-scale works. “You can present works that typically would not fit within a gallery booth or within the confines of a tent,” says curator Rita Gonzalez. (more…)

The Volta Art Fair is relaunching this year after a year off in 2019, Art News reports. “It truly is an exhilarating time,” says Kamiar Maleki, the art fair’s new director. “We have focused the exhibitor list on a strong and diverse 50-plus galleries and have loosened up the solo-project mandate to offer participants greater liberty to stage their presentations as they would do so at their home galleries.” (more…)

Art Eric Doeringer will be selling a miniature bootleg version of a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting in the collection of the Broad Museum at the Felix art fair this week, asking for $1,000.  The work is part of a series of bootlegs drawn from the museum collection. (more…)

Jeff Koons via Almine Rech

Opening for its second year in the Californian sprawl of Los Angeles, the Frieze Art Fair returns for a second year under the sunny skies of the Golden State.  Taking its place once again at Paramount Studios, the fair has quickly planted its flag as a major part of the early weeks of the annual fair calendar, and has become the flagship fair in the run up to the Armory Show in New York next month.  (more…)

Julie Curtiss has joined White Cube, and will show with the gallery alongside her NYC gallery Anton Kern.  Curtiss has seen her star on the rise in recent years after strong auction performances and a well-received solo show in New York. (more…)

The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art has postponed a number of shows at cornoavirus fears continue to mount. “UCCA would like to thank all the artists, journalists, friends of the institution, and other stakeholders who have had to reschedule travel plans and visits to our museums due to this unexpected situation,” a museum statement reads. “We hope to see you soon, and thank you for your understanding and additional support during this trying time. UCCA sends its care and concern to those affected by the virus, and expresses our sincere gratitude to the medical staff and emergency response teams selflessly working to ensure public health.” (more…)

 
Ai Weiwei at Lisson Gallery, all photos via Anfisa Vrubel for Art Observed

Zona Maco has opened the doors for its 17th year this week, celebrating the milestone event today with the first day of its VIP preview yesterday at the Centro Banamex.  Offering a look at the stature of the fair in relation to the burgeoning artistic community in Mexico City in relation to the art and artists flying in from around the globe, the fair’s dynamic program included conferences with international guests, a section with specialized publications and editorials, and the widest program of parallel activities with exhibitions at the most outstanding galleries and museums in the country. (more…)