BEST?
South for the Winter – Mega-galleries Pace and Acquavella, plus the auction house Sotheby’s, are all setting up shop in sunny Palm Beach, as art sellers increasingly court wealthy collectors in resort towns.
Gone to the Dogs – From Kehinde Wiley to Amy Sherald, artist’s dogs are almost as popular on Instagram as their talented owners. See some of our favorite accounts dedicated to artists’ furry friends.
Revisiting Hirst’s Firsts – Former Young British Artist Damien Hirst is curating a show filled with the highlights that ignited his own irreverent career.
JR Takes London – The Saatchi Gallery in London will be staging the largest-ever solo exhibition of the French street artist JR’s work this fall.
Paul Giamatti Is an Artist – The actor’s long penchant for drawing was rekindled during quarantine, and his work is featured in the Drawing Center’s new show (the jury’s out on wether it could fetch Billions…).
Zwirner Adds a Gallery – The mega-dealer David Zwirner has tapped Ebony L. Haynes to open a new ‘kunsthalle’-style exhibition space with an all-Black staff.
Medical Bills Make Big Bucks – The art collective MSCHF debuted a new project that turned three Americans’ medical bills into paintings, which they sold to cover $73,000 in debt.
Boafo’s Wild Ride – Dive into the market machinations behind rising star Amoako Boafo in a wild tale that originally appeared in the fall edition of Artnet’s Intelligence Report.
The Rise of ‘Glitch Feminism’ – Curator Legacy Russell talked about her new book, Glitch Feminism: A Manifesto, and why she uses “AFK” instead of “IRL.”
What’s Behind Mona Lisa’s Smile? – New research using a super high-tech camera revealed a preparatory drawing hidden underneath Leonardo’s famously cryptic smiling figure.
WORST?
More Guff for Canceled Guston Show – The art world is up in arms over the decision to postpone a Philip Guston traveling exhibition for several years, with more than 100 artists and intellectuals signing an open letter criticizing the move.
Blade of Grass Cuts Staff – The social justice arts organization A Blade of Grass cut its entire staff and is restructuring its mission after suffering an economic blow from the lockdown.
Hopper Works Turn Out to Be Copies – A graduate student’s analysis finds that Edward Hopper’s early works were copies of other artists, calling into question the value of some Hopper works on the market.
MCH Needs Money – Reeling from an empty art fair calendar, Art Basel’s parent company MCH is looking to shore up its finances with creative new revenue sources.