A UK tax judgement this week has challenged the taxation of art works in the country, allowing Portrait of Omai by Sir Joshua Reynolds to be taxed as a “wasting asset,” thereby avoiding capital gains tax.  The painting had hung in North Yorkshire’s Castle Howard for over two hundred years, and was recently sold by owned Simon Howard, who claims the work contributed to the appeal of the castle for tourists.  “The case could give vendors savings of 28 per cent on the sale of works of art that fulfil the same criteria,” said art agent Robert Holden. (more…)

The recently opened David Bowie Is… exhibition at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum is smashing all attendance records for the museum, early reports say.  Chronicling the creative life of rock star David Bowie, more than 42,000 advance tickets had already been sold when the exhibition opened last week, and merchandise from the show is already off to a booming first week of sales.   (more…)

Pablo Picasso’s much-loved painting, Child with Dove (1901), is likely to leave the UK for good this year.  The work recently changed hands, and the anonymous new owner is free to take the work abroad once its current loan ends in May.  “With arts cuts the way they are, it’s going to be increasingly difficult. (The Picasso) is, of course, a catastrophic loss. (But) it’s about being realistic: work is going to leave.”  Said Alan Yentob, creative director at the BBC. (more…)

Juergen Teller, Installation View, via The ICA

Juergen Teller leads a life that is far from the norm in fine art. Despite his ubiquitous gallery shows and openings, Teller also embraces the commercial world of photography; touring with rock stars and shooting celebrities around the globe. Regardless, the photographer has always been regarded as the ‘antithesis’ of what should constitute conventional Haute Couture photography.  In order to illustrate the artists distinctive and breathtaking style, the ICA in London is currently presenting a retrospective covering the broad expanse of Teller’s career, along with recent works that steer away from the limelight of his previous glossy campaigns and focus on more subdued topics such as portraiture of his family and friends.

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In an effort to encourage visitors to enter the Milton Keynes Gallery in Milton Keynes, England; artist Tomas Georgeson has hidden a blank check for £8,000 somewhere inside.  While Georgeson stands by the check as art, he also considers it an investment in the gallery and its visitors.  “It almost doesn’t matter what happens, it’s the fact that it’s there. If somebody chooses to spend it on mortgage payments, then those mortgage payments would become art, which is quite miraculous to me.”  He says. (more…)

Richard Deacon, Four by Four (2012), via Marian Goodman

Marian Goodman is currently presenting a selection of new works by Welsh sculptor Richard Deacon, documenting the artist’s ongoing interest in form and surface through a variety of both hung and freestanding sculptures.  Composed of both wood and metal works, Deacon’s pieces on view explore the implications of texture on the form and presentation of the work, and the dissonances in volume and presence that result. (more…)

Continuing its recent policy to hold the Turner Prize presentation ceremony outside of London on alternate years, the Tate Britain has announced that the 2015 awards ceremony will be held for the first time in Glasgow, Scotland at the Tramway Arts Centre.  This will be the fourth time that the Turner Prize will be awarded outside of London, and could in fact be the first Turner Prize awarded outside of the UK, pending the results of the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum.

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Ilfracombe, North Devon could soon be featuring a bronze Damien Hirst statue on its pier, after county council members approved the potential addition. Hirst offered a 20-year loan of the bronze work, entitled Verity, to the small town. If the executive council approves the move, the town is expected to receive the piece in October.

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