From Andy Warhol’s Super Bowl Burger to Steven Spielberg’s Stonehenge Snafu: The Best and Worst of the Art World This Week

Catch up on this week's news—fast.

Burger King's #EatLikeAndy Billboard. Photo courtesy of Jodi Terwilliger.

BEST?

Warhol Meets Whopper – Andy Warhol ended up as the MVP of the Superbowl, thanks to an experimental film made in 1982 repurposed for Burger King.

Budi Tek’s Master Plan – The art collector who founded Yuz Museum in Shanghai spoke to artnet News’s Andrew Goldstein about his landmark collaboration with LACMA, and the race against his cancer diagnosis to transform the cultural landscape of China forever.

Christie’s Flush for 2018 – The auction house reported revenue for 2018 at a staggering $7 billion, thanks to high-value estimates and increased online sales.

MoMA’s Major Makeover – New York’s modern art museum is in the midst of a huge construction renovation and collection re-vamp, made possible in part by a record-setting $200 million donation from the David Rockefeller Estate.

Jeff Koons in the UK – The brash American artist is having a mini-retrospective at Oxford University’s Ashmolean Museum, where his pop-inflected philosophy is a big hit.

Dan Gilroy Analyzes the Art World – The director of Velvet Buzzsaw tells artnet News about his inspiration, and how Netflix could serve as model of a more democratic art market.

Frida Fever at the Brooklyn Museum – The Brooklyn Museum’s new blockbuster exhibition gives viewers a glimpse into the life of Frida Kahlo with displays of her clothing, accessories, paintings, photographs, and more.

Attention (Art) Lovers – artnet News compiled a list of art-related activities for friends and lovers to enjoy for Valentines Day, or whenever the mood strikes.

Survey Says – A new study analyzed which cities have the highest number of art-related businesses per capita. New York City did not make the list.

WORST?

Speilberg Versus Stonehenge – The filmmaker is planning to shoot scenes for an upcoming World War I flick near the prehistoric site, but experts are concerned for the safety of the archaeological monument.

No One Wants to #EatLikeAndy – Maybe Andy’s not the Super Bowl MVP after all: The now infamous Superbowl ad for Burger King starring Andy Warhol has been drawing ire from all corners of the Internet.

Vancouver Gallery Workers on Strike – An ongoing wage dispute has prompted the employees of Vancouver Art Gallery to go on strike, making it the most recent in a string of museums forced to reckon with fair pay and working conditions.

Forgery Firestorm Envelops Italian Politician – Former culture minister Vittorio Sgarbi is under investigation for participating in a forgery ring that was passing off fake works by the late artist Gino De Dominicis.

A Grande Rip-Off – A Russian painter is claiming Ariana Grande’s hit music video for God Is a Woman features imagery stolen from his artwork.

Jenny Holzer’s Project Scrapped – The artist’s commission for Desert X was cancelled due to a bout of pneumonia afflicting bighorn sheep in the area who may have been at risk with throngs of visitors flocking to the site.


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