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 this Thursday, August 24.

NEED-TO-READ

Christopher Knight on the Berkshire’s Deaccessioning – The art critic has lambasted the Berkshire Museum’s decision to sell some of its most treasured paintings, including a major Norman Rockwell, to fund future operations. “In trashing its own prospects, the Berkshire Museum jeopardizes every art museum in the United States,” Knight writes. (Los Angeles Times)

Sagrada Familia Targeted by Barcelona Terrorists – The terror cell that brought carnage to the Spanish city last week was planning a string of major attacks, including bombing Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece. (Telegraph)

Russian Director’s Arrest Raises Fears of Crackdown – The theater director Kirill Serebrennikov, whose productions criticize right-wing intolerance, has been placed under house arrest while he awaits trial on charges of defrauding the state out of 68 million rubles. The case has left the Russian art scene on edge. (The Art Newspaper)

MACBA Reopens After Seven Days Closed Due to Strike – As a result of pickets supporting last week’s strike by subcontracted workers for the company Serveis Educatius Ciut’art, the Barcelona contemporary art museum remained closed until yesterday, when it reopened its doors free of charge. (El País)

ART MARKET

IMG Is Helping Martial Artists—What About Visual Artists? – The talent agency, which owns an “undisclosed but substantial” stake in the Frieze art fairs, recently took over UFC and is coaching its fighters on how to brand themselves. Marion Maneker wonders: Why isn’t the company giving similar advice to Frieze’s visual artists? (Art Market Monitor)

Judge Asks Rybolovlev Tough Questions in Bouvier Case – The Monaco judge presiding over a July hearing in Dmitry Rybolovlev’s case against the so-called “freeport king” is not making things easy for the oligarch, digging into his business arrangements with other consultants and probing his involvement in Bouvier’s arrest. (Bilan)

Most Valuable British Car at Auction Sold by Sotheby’s – A $22.6 million 1956 Aston Martin DBR1/1 led Sotheby’s Monterey sale last weekend, becoming the most valuable British car ever to be sold at auction. The sale, which had an 88 percent sell-through rate, raked in $133 million. (Press release)

COMINGS & GOINGS

Curatorial Shuffle at the Moderna Museet – The Stockholm institution has announced that its exhibitions curator Jo Widoff will now be responsible for its international collection, while Lars Bang Larsen has been appointed adjunct curator. (Press release)

Ruba Katrib Appointed Curator at MoMA PS1 – Katrib, who has been curator at Long Island City’s SculptureCenter since 2012, will cross the street to join MoMA PS1 as its new curator of exhibitions and programs on October 15. (Press release)

Painter Masatoyo Kishi Dies at 93 – The Japanese abstract painter and sculptor has died at the age of 93 in California. His work mixes elements of traditional Japanese culture with Western abstraction. (Press release)

FOR ART’S SAKE

Spanish Town Desperately Wants Its Own Banksy – A Spanish beer brand is funding a campaign to get the street artist to participate in an urban arts festival in the town of Ferrol. The request for his presence has appeared on billboards across the UK and in a slew of advertisements in national newspapers. (Cerveza 1906)

Here’s the List for the Studio Museum’s Emerging Artist Show – The Studio Museum in Harlem has revealed the participating artists in its show “Fictions,” the fifth in its “F-series” exhibitions devoted to emerging talent. The show, which opens September 14, will include work by Krista Clark, Nikita Gale, and Texas Isaiah. (ARTnews)

LA Museums Go Free for PST – As part of PST: LA/LA, admission to more than 50 museums across SoCal—including the Hammer Museum, the California African American Museum, and LACMA—will be free on Sunday, September 17. (LAT)

First Look at Designs for the Berggruen Institute – Preliminary designs for the new headquarters of billionaire philanthropist and collector Nicholas Berggruen’s public policy think tank are here. The campus will be built by architects Herzog & de Meuron and set within a 477-acre plot designed by Michel Desvigne and Inessa Hansch. (LAT)

The Berggruen Institute campus in the Santa Monica Mountains. Image: Herzog & de Meuron. © Herzog & de Meuron

The Berggruen Institute campus in the Santa Monica Mountains. Image: Herzog & de Meuron. © Herzog & de Meuron

The Berggruen Institute campus in the Santa Monica Mountains. Image: Herzog & de Meuron. © Herzog & de Meuron