Art Industry News is a daily digest of the most consequential developments coming out of the art world and art market. Here’s what you need to know on this Monday, May 15.

NEED-TO-READ

Cullen Murphy Chronicles His “Night at the Vatican” – The writer had his “wish” granted by the Vatican Museums which allowed him to wander through the galleries and explored the collection of more than 20,000 sculptures and paintings at night when the museums were closed to visitors. The crowd might be gone, but the art was full of life. (The Atlantic)

Pyotr Pavlensky Trial Date – The Russian artist faces up to two years in prison for publishing leaked sex videos of politician Benjamin Griveaux, who was once president Macron’s “right-hand man.” Pavlensky, who argued that he wanted to expose Griveaux’s “political hypocrisy,” will stand trial in Paris on June 28. (The Art Newspaper)

Artists Commissioned to Respond to Coronation – Nine artists including Cornelia Parker, Hew Locke, Dale Lewis, Joy Gerrard, Leslie Thompson, and Vanley Burke have been commissioned by the U.K.’s Government Art Collection to create works in response to the recent coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. New works will become part of the collection and support its public program. (Press release)

Art and Valuables Seized From Oligarch Yacht in Germany – A collection of art and objects with an estimated worth of several million euros found on superyacht Luna have been seized by the German authorities “on suspicion of violating the Foreign Trade and Payments Act.” The yacht belongs to the 67-year-old Russian oligarch Farkhad Akhmedov who has been on the E.U. sanctions list for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (Monopol)

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Ketterer Kunst Relocates – The German auction house has moved its representative office from Düsseldorf to Cologne. The Munich-headquartered house also has operations in Berlin and Hamburg. Sotheby’s opened an office in Cologne in 2021 in a bid to capture the expanding German market. (Frankfurter Allgemeine)

June Art Fair Announces Participating Galleries – A total of 19 galleries from ten countries will be participating in the upcoming edition of the young fair in Basel in Switzerland. Running concurrently with Art Basel, the fair showcases projects from June 12 to 18 in a concrete bunker-turned-gallery space redesigned by Herzeg and de Meuron. (Press release)

Association of Professional Art Advisors Names New President – Alex Glauber will be the new president of the APAA, taking the helm from Megan Fox Kelly, who served in the role since 2017. Glauber is an art advisor and curator who founded AWG Art Advisory, and was an assistance curator for the Lehman Brothers and Neuberger Berman art collections. (Press release)

AGNSW to Repatriate Carving to Nepal – Sydney’s Art Gallery of New South Wales will return the 800-year-old carved temple strut depicting a Hindu goddess looted from a 13th-century temple at a ceremony in Patan Museum in Kathmandu tomorrow (Tuesday). (ARTnews)

FOR ART’S SAKE

Vivienne Westwood’s Designs Go on View – “Revolutionary” designs by the late British artist are going on view at her eponymous brand’s flagship store in London during the city’s Craft Week. “She was the first one who did underwear as outerwear” said heritage manager Dolce Cioffi, “She revolutionized the way we perceive something that was repressive and that was made into a tool of female empowerment.” (Guardian)

Clothes Show Live, NEC, Birmingham, 6th December 1990. Tizer Bailey wearing Corset designed by Vivienne Westwood. (Photo by Andrew Fox/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)

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