British Museum head Hartwig Fischer is facing criticism after saying that the removal of the Parthenon marbles from Greece in the 19th century could be interpreted as “a creative act.” The full quote reads: “We should appreciate this opportunity. You could, of course, be saddened by the fact that the original environment has disappeared. When you move a cultural heritage to a museum, you move it outside. However, this shifting is also a creative act.” (more…)

Wang Guangle, Duo Color (Installation View), via Pace

Currently on view at Pace Gallery’s New York location, Chinese artist Wang Guangle has installed a body of new paintings marking a continuation of the artist’s nuanced approach towards painterly minimalism and gestural abstraction.  Titled Duo Color, the show invites a reconsideration of Wang’s work in the investigation of time and space, bound by the movement of the brush and the application of paint to canvas.   (more…)

Former Sotheby’s auctioneer Jeremy Cooper has donated 1,000 artist postcards he has collected over the years to the British Museum.  “The more I looked, the more I discovered that it’s a field of unrecognized historical significance – it just seemed completely neglected,” Cooper says. “These postcards were made by artists as individual expressions, not just the reproduction of a work of art, which is what most postcards are.” (more…)

The Smithsonian Institution is planning on reopening this Tuesday, following the conclusion of the government shutdown.  The closure has affected a number of runtimes for shows either soon to open or close.   (more…)

The newest iteration of the Desert X art festival has announced its artist list, with curator Neville Wakefield reprising the show with works by Pia Camil, Jenny Holzer and more. (more…)

A daring heist at Moscow’s New Tretyakov Gallery saw a thief walk out of the gallery with a painting after removing it in broad daylight, The Guardian reports. The man, apprehended hours later, removed a painting Arkhip Kuindzhi from the wall and walked out, mistaken by many for a museum employee. (more…)

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McArthur Binion, Hand:Work (2018), via Lehmann Maupin

Currently on view at Lehmann Maupin, painter McArthur Binion is currently presenting a new series of works, Hand:Work, a selection of pieces that mark an important point in the artist’s career, as both an evolution of and departure from his most well-known body of work, the DNA Series.  On view through March, the show sees Binion’s work elaborating on repeated graphical motifs and minimalist arrangements. (more…)

Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato, Sem título (1993). All images via David Zwirner.

Now through February 9, David Zwirner is presenting work by the Brazilian-born painter Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato, making the the first time Lorenzato’s work is being shown in the United Kingdom, and the first solo show by the artist outside of Brazil. One of the foremost painters of his generation, Lorenzato developed a body of work that centers on subjects he encountered in his hometown of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, where the Brazilian Concrete Art movement emerged in the 1950s. These include land- and townscapes, favelas, and individuals he met in his daily travels. (more…)

Artist Melissa McGill will set a a navy of about 50 traditional Italian vela al terzo sailboats on the Venice this summer, all colored blood red.   “It’s not a competitive regatta,” she says. “It’s more of a presentation. Basically, we are presenting these regattas as a way to bring together all these local boat owners with these beautiful traditional boats.” (more…)

HBO Films has acquired artist Rashid Johnson’s first directorial effort, an adaptation of  Native Son in advance of the film’s premiere at Sundance, Variety reports. The cast includes Ashton Sanders, Margaret Qualley, Nick Robinson, KiKi Layne, Elizabeth Marvel, David Alan Grier, and Bill Camp.  (more…)

The National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts will reopen Monday, as a crucial season for grantmaking begins in D.C.  “I want to underscore that since they are being taken off furlough, [employees] will receive all of their salary and benefits,” says NEH Chairman Jon Parrish Peede. (more…)

An open letter in USA Today from David J. Skorton, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, has called for an end to the government shutdown, noting that the closures cost the institution $1 million a week.  “Most important from a humanitarian perspective is the effect of loss of salary on our more than 4,000 furloughed employees,” he says.  “It is reassuring and appreciated that the president and Congress have agreed to supply back pay once the government fully reopens. But to many of our employees, particularly those with more modest salaries, the loss of each paycheck causes direct and significant harm.”

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In a landslide vote, the employees of the New Museum have voted to unionize. “We have a union—that’s the big news,” says Dana Kopel, a senior editor and publications coordinator. “From here, we go into negotiations.” (more…)

MOMA has received nine projects from Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, including 23 pieces related to projects overseen by the firm between 1994 and 2018.  “For more than three decades, Herzog & de Meuron’s practice has been a singular and defining voice in the discourse of contemporary architecture,” says Martino Stierli, MoMA’s chief curator of architecture and design. “Thanks to the generosity of the office and the Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Kabinett, we will be able to include these key works of contemporary architectural production in our changing collection displays.” (more…)

The Getty Trust has named artists Ed Ruscha and Lorna Simpson among this year’s recipients of its J. Paul Getty Medal, recognizing significant contributions to the arts.  “We are honored to present the medal this year to three leaders who have helped transform and deepen our understanding and appreciation of the visual arts and the humanities,” Maria Hummer-Tuttle, chair of the J. Paul Getty board of trustees, said. (more…)

Dana Schutz, The Visible World (2018), via Petzel Gallery

Marking her third solo exhibition with Petzel Gallery, artist Dana Schutz returns to New York this month with “Imagine Me and You,” a solo show of new paintings and sculptures. Diving deeper into her kinetic, often bizarre juxtapositions and alterations of physical space, Schutz’s work in the show marks a continuation and elaboration of her aesthetic practice. (more…)

Camden, New Jersey will be the next recipient of a $1 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies for a public artwork examining the city’s issues with illegal dumping sites. “Illegal dumping is unsightly, unlawful, and costs the city over $4 million annually,” says mayor Mayor, Francisco Moran. “This winning project provides a unique way to bring together residents and artists to address this issue with creativity and create a brighter future for Camden.” (more…)

The Singapore Biennale has revealed the title for its show, “Every Step in the Right Direction,” and named Patrick Flores as head of the curatorial team. “What is the responsibility of the artwork, its making, and its experience in the prospects of future action?” Flores and his team ask in a statement. “As we believe, every effort to change the world for the better matters. The Singapore Biennale 2019 puts its faith squarely in the potential of art and its understanding to rework the world.” (more…)

Artist Miroslaw Balka gets a profile in The Guardian this week, discussing his current show at White Cube, and its relation to current political situations in the US and Europe. “We used to think demolishing walls was a sign of progress. Now everywhere we are building them up again. So I wanted to say we have been here before,” he says. “It’s a gesture of warning, in a way.”  (more…)

The art activist group W.A.G.E., which advocates for artists to be compensated for their labor, has published an open letter calling for artists participating in the 2019 Whitney Biennnial to “demand to be paid for the content they provide and withhold that content until the demands of Whitney staff are met.”  The letter addresses current protests within the museum over Whitney vice chair Warren B. Kanders and his ownership of Safariland, a defense company producing tear gas canisters used against asylum seekers along the U.S.-Mexico border.  (more…)

The Park Avenue Armory and Studio Museum will partner for the “Culture in a Changing America” symposium, bringing together artists, activists, scholars, and others across disciplines on February 17th.  “Showcasing an impressive range of leaders from the social and artistic spectrum, this series presents opportunities to address some of the most pressing issues of our time,” Park Avenue Armory president Rebecca Robertson said in a statement. (more…)

Expo Chicago has tapped Jacob Fabricius, current artistic director of the Kunsthal Aarhus, as the curator of its 2019 “In/Situ” section. “I have been visiting and collaborating with Chicago’s incredible art institutions since the late 1990s, drawing from the diversity, architecture and history of the city,” he said in a statement. “Chicago has inspired my work a great deal, and Expo Chicago’s immersive ‘In/Situ’ program provides the perfect framework for my exploration into pressing issues of sustainability and political systems.”

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Jonas Mekas in 1964, via NYT

Film-maker Jonas Mekas, a figure who loomed large in the New York cinematic landscape, and an artist widely considered the godfather of underground cinema, has died at the age of 96.  A founder of both the famed Film Culture magazine and the still operating Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan, his energetic engagement with all aspects of filmmaking helped to nurture the careers of filmmakers like John Waters and Jim Jarmusch, among others.  “Jonas passed away quietly and peacefully early this morning,” the Film Archives wrote online. “He was at home with family. He will be greatly missed but his light shines on.” (more…)