BEST?

“Trading Places”… With Two Dan Ackroyds – It’s a small world after all. This week the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco announced its new director as none other than Thomas Campbell—meaning that the former Met director is replacing Max Hollein at FAMSF, who just replaced him to direct the New York institution.

A Preternatural Art Star – artnet News’s critic Ben Davis falls under the occult spell cast by Hilma af Klint’s futuristic phantasmagoria at the Guggenheim.

India Debuts a Really, Really Big Statue  – A new statue of a politician erected in India now has the distinction of being the world’s tallest, and it’s more than twice as big as Lady Liberty.

A 3,000-Year-Old Relief Fetches Millions – An ancient Assyrian stone relief tripled its pre-sale estimate at Christie’s antiquities auction this week, raking in a startling $31 million and setting a new record.

Artists Swing Left – Artists around the country are helping their communities mobilize for democracy ahead of next weeks midterm elections. From New York to LA, rallies, art shows, and neighborhood canvassing events have been coordinated with the help of creatives.

David Kordansky’s Expansion Plans – The art dealer is betting big on a westward shift as he expands the footprint of his gallery to take over an entire city block in Los Angeles. Kordansky represents artists as diverse as Sam Gilliam and Jonas Wood, whose works are particularly appropriate for a California lifestyle.

WORST?

Fake Exhibits Are Enraging Artists – Blockbuster art stars Takashi Murakami and Yayoi Kusama are up in arms over fake exhibitions that have been cropping up around China to feature forgeries of their works. Murakami and Kusama are two of the most popular international contemporary artists, and their lawyers are on a crusade to shut down the frauds.

Trump Appoints a Political Strategist to Lead the NEA – In yet another strange appointment from the White House, President Donald Trump has chosen a former Republican policy expert to take over the National Endowment for the Arts; since his election in 2016, Trump has proposed cutting the organization all together.

Kendrick Lamar May be in Trouble – Artist Lina Iris Viktor is suing Pulitzer Prize-winning hip-hop musician Kendrick Lamar for copyright infringement. Lamar’s music video for his hit single “All the Stars” features imagery that is almost identical to Viktor’s unique gold-and-black patterns.

Finnish Copying Couple Sentenced to Prison – Two art dealers who orchestrated an extensive ring of art forgeries were sentenced to prison terms and a $11 million fine in Helsinki. The married couple were responsible for hundreds of fake paintings by the likes of Fernand Léger, Henri Matisse, and Claude Monet.

The Price of Everything Is Cheap, Our Critic Finds – artnet News’s Tim Schneider reviewed the new art world documentary, and found a portrait lacking in any real substance.

Netflix Is Being Sued by Satanists – The new Netflix show The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is facing the threat of a lawsuit from a Satanic group that noticed the fictionalized baddie on the streaming show looks surprisingly similar to their own trademark statue.