Rothschild heiress Bettina Burr and her family, holders of a sizable collection of artworks once looted by the Nazi’s during WWII,  have donated a sizable portion of her works to the MFA Boston.  “I always felt in the back of mind that the thing I would love the most would be if these pieces came here,” says Burr, currently vice president of the museum board of trustees. “I think my mother felt that it would be a homecoming for these pieces.” (more…)

Hedge Fund CEO Ken Griffin has gifted $10 million to the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, a donation that will help construct the museum’s new gallery wing which will now bear his name.  “Ken has been a consistent and generous supporter of the arts in our community,” says Director Madeleine Grynsztejn.  “We are extremely grateful for this important gift, as it will support our Vision Campaign and bring exciting, innovative exhibitions to diverse audiences in Chicago and beyond.” (more…)

The Los Angeles Times notes that an increasing number of Southern California arts orgs are targeting Chinese-American patrons in their fundraising and outreach campaigns.  “Within a decade from now, there’s no question in my mind there will be major donations to museums and other groups,” says Dominic Ng, chairman and chief executive of East West Bank.  “As Chinese Americans continue to prosper, they will naturally expand their involvement in the community,” he said. (more…)

The New York Times profiles gallerist Bridget Donahue’s new space at 99 Bowery, founded by the former Gavin Brown’s Enterprise director and focusing on a broad selection of artists, including “older, under-the-radar, and anti-establishment” artists.   (more…)

Norway’s Edvard Munch Museum is set to return its annual Edvard Munch prize, following a partnership with partnership with oil and gas corp Statoil.  The award carries a $66,000 purse, and an exhibition at the museum.  “It is very important not to focus too much on Europe and the US when looking for candidates,” says director Stein Olav Henrichsen, who is focusing internationally for both his panel of judges and potential recipients. (more…)

Photographer Donald Graham has sent a cease and desist letter to Richard Prince and Gagosian Gallery, after a work of his ended up in Prince’s recent show of Instagram appropriations.  Interestingly enough, the work itself was already used without license on user @rastajay92’s account, which is the image Prince apparently printed. (more…)

An article in Bloomberg this week looks at booms and busts in the art market as tastes change, and the real impacts speculation and economic strength has on artists’ careers.  “There’s even more speculative buying and more gamblers than ever,” says collector and dealer Adam Lindemann. “But they’re not going to want to buy the artists that busted. They’re going to want to buy the deals today. They want to move on.” (more…)

The Centre Pompidou has announced plans for a series of pop-up exhibitions taking place across the nation of France, with cities able to apply to host a four-year temporary exhibition space operated by the Paris museum.  “We will soon launch an open call for candidates,” says a museum spokesperson. (more…)

Following the success of its exhibition Matisse: The Cut-Outs, MoMA will return Henri Matisse’s full room installation The Swimming Pool to its permanent collection galleries, beginning in April.  “MoMA’s viewers will now be able to encounter this important work in the context of the museum’s collection,” says exhibition co-curator Karl Buchberg. (more…)

A Jeff Koons exhibition planned to open this year at the Louvre has been canceled after a reported “lack of funding,” according to Artforum.  The exhibition had been previously reported to consist of a number of the artist’s balloon animal sculptures. (more…)

Ryder Ripps, Heater (2014), via Art Observed

If there’s one thing that can be said about Ryder Ripps, it’s that the artist loves context.  Over the past few years, the artist has produced a number of timely and often razor-sharp critiques on the notions of authorship and production in the digital sphere, including his “WhoDat.Biz” troll of Kanye West, and his recent, controversial Ace Hotel performance piece, in which the artist hired a group of “sensual masseuses” to draw pictures for him to protest what he saw as an inequitable payment situation. (more…)

Harmony Korine, Fex Chex (2014), all images Courtesy Gagosian Gallery

Currently on view at Gagosian Beverly Hills is a group of new paintings by American film director, producer, screenwriter, author, and artist Harmony Korine. Although he is primarily working within the mediums of film and writing, Korine has recently begun publicly displaying his works, immense, swirling compositions composed in a variety of techniques and palettes.

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Mamma Andersson, Behind the Curtain (Installation View)

Currently on view at David Zwirner is Behind the Curtain, a new body of work by one of the most recognized contemporary artists from Sweden, Mamma Andersson. The Stockholm-based artist has gained international acclaim in recent years with her solo shows in Aspen Museum of Art, Douglas Hyde Gallery in Dublin and a mid-career survey that travelled to Finland and UK after its Swedish premiere several years ago. (more…)

An article in The Art Newspaper this week examines the strategies and impacts of museum’s undertaking collection and implementation strategies for video games and computer programs, as well as utilizing game platforms and structures to encourage engagement.  “It’s an innovative way to get the public interested in collections, especially audiences that wouldn’t normally engage with them,” says Stella Wisdom, the British Library’s digital curator. “There’s a lot of potential for creative industries to work with cultural institutions and vice versa.  We’re just at the start of a journey.”  (more…)

MoMA has announced that it will remain open all weekend, offering late night, discounted admission for the last weekend of the popular Matisse Cut-Outs exhibition. The show closes on Tuesday. (more…)

An exhibition of work by Peter Doig has been announced at the Palazzetto Tito in Venice, coinciding with the opening the Biennale later this year.  The exhibition will feature a number of Doig’s large scale works, as well as several intimate pieces.   (more…)

Artist Mickalene Thomas is interviewed in the New York Magazine this week for the paper’s ongoing “21 Questions” segment, discussing her favorite New York sushi restaurants, her methods of working, and her nostalgia for the old Times Square.  “’It’s interesting because it was a really sort of crazy under-culture of different types of people walking around expressing themselves, and trying to make their dreams happen. Now you just don’t have that anymore.” (more…)

The 2015 Edition of Frieze New York will include a “Projects” section with works by Korakrit Arunanondchai, Pia Camil, Samara Golden, Aki Sasamoto and Allyson Vieira, the fair has announced.  The section is curated by Cecelia Alemani, and will include a series of massage chairs by Arunanondchai, and an intricate underground installation by Golden. (more…)

The recent decision of Marina Picasso, granddaughter of painter Pablo Picasso, to sell off her collection of her grandfather’s works has many market analysts worried about a “flooded” market, even though Picasso has been selling works one by one for some time.  “Instead of having a dealer show them, it’s been an open secret that there are works for sale and people have been asking other people if they would be interested,” says historian John Richardson. “I’ve been asked by odd people who tell me, ‘We are in on a great deal, and Marina is selling all her stuff.’ ” (more…)

Bloomberg takes a look at the current state of the Euro, and its effects on the series of auctions currently taking place in London, considering the ongoing economic crises from a variety of perspectives.  “The euro is just killing Europe, but it’s killing Italy more than anything else,” says dealer Otto Naumann says. “I haven’t seen any Italian collectors buying anything.” (more…)

Sturtevant, Duchamp Relâche (1967)

The Museum of Modern Art is hosting the first US exhibition focusing on the work of the late Sturtevant, one of the foremost artists to initiate conversations on commodification and appropriation of artworks, after the late artist was the subject of various solo shows in Europe. Born Elaine Horan in Ohio, Sturtevant always chose to remain discrete about her biography, so much that her year of birth is still a matter of discussion. (more…)

Berlinde de Bruyckere, 028 (2007), all images courtesy S.M.A.K and © Mirjam Devriendt

Currently on view at S.M.A.K. in Ghent, Belgium is the first mid-career presentation of the ouevre of Berlinde De Bruyckere (1964, Ghent) and the first solo exhibition of her work in Belgium since 2002. Entitled Sculptures & Drawings. 2000-2014, the exhibition is an interwoven series of associations of form and content, presented through the mediums of painting, drawing, and installation art.

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The New York Times takes a look at the collection of modern masterpieces soon to go on view at Paris’s Fondation Louis Vuitton.  The exhibition has been in the works for several years but was downplayed when the museum first opened its doors last year, and will feature a number of landmark works, including Edvard Munch’s The Scream on loan from Oslo, as well as Matisse’s The Dance, which has not been seen in Paris in 15 years.  “The foundation indeed aims to be contemporary,” artistic director Suzanne Pagé said. “But it doesn’t want to ignore the history of art, as it is seen in these major works of the 20th century, which continue to be a vital reference for artists today.” (more…)

Paramount Ranch 2, via Art Observed

Tucked away in the mountain ranges outside of Santa Monica, the Paramount Ranch is a relic of the Golden Age of the Hollywood studio system, a massive film set and town used to shoot Westerns.  It’s just this history that makes the landscape a fittingly Californian location to stage an art fair.  Now in its sophomore year, Paramount Ranch offers a unique take on the fair experience: galleries and artists are invited to participate, steering away from any formal application process, and the selection of works often leans towards the more imaginative and immediate.

Haciencda at Paramount Ranch 2, via Art Observed (more…)