Here’s what made a mark around the industry since late last year…

Art Fairs

– The Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) has appointed Mary Ryan, founder of Mary Ryan Gallery and co-founder of Ryan Lee Gallery, as chair of The Art Show committee. Ryan assumes the three-year appointment ahead of the 36th edition of the fair, which will return to New York’s Park Avenue Armory for a slightly earlier run in 2024, from October 30 to November 2. (Press release)

– London’s Eye of the Collector fair has shifted location and dates for its fourth edition. This year’s event will run June 26-29 in the Garrison Chapel, a deconsecrated church run by the King’s Foundation on London’s Chelsea Barracks site. (Press release)

– Nicky Dessources succeeds Jill Bokor as the executive director of Salon Art + Design. (Press release)

Auction Houses

– Following the departure of Stephen Brooks, Phillips has restrutured its leadership with the creation of a CEO’s office, which will be helmed by executive chairman and chief executive officer Edward Dolman. Amanda Lo Iacono will assume the newly created role of deputy chief executive officer. Previously the global managing director for the 20th Century & Contemporary Art department, Lo Iacono was also the lead on the 2023 launch of the auction house’s digital Dropshop platform. Cheyenne Westphal remains in her role as global chairwoman. (Press release)

– Christie’s will offer David Hockney’s California (1965) as a highlight of the 20th / 21st Century: London Evening Sale on March 7. Estimated at around £16 million ($20 million), the painting stands among Hockney’s first great swimming pool paintings and has been unseen in public for more than 40 years, having been held in the same European private collection since 1968. (Press release)

Galleries

– Gary Waterston, formerly of Gagosian, joins Pace as executive vice president of sales and operations, based in London. (Press release)

– Lisson now represents photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto and sculptor Elaine Cameron-Weir, Nikita Gale has joined Emalin, Hollis Taggart has taken on the estates of the married abstractionists Charles Seliger and Ruth Lewin, Pace now represents the estate of Paul Thek, Elsa Rensaahas joined James Fuentes, and Galerie Fabian Lang has announced representation of Xiao Guo Hui. (Press releases)

– The Lagos-based Rele Gallery will open its third location in London’s Mayfair district on February 22 with Allesandra Olivi as the director of the outpost. (Press release)

– Hauser & Wirth’s new street-level space in Hong Kong, created by Selldorf Architects, opened this week at 8 Queen’s Road Central. (Press release)

Institutions

– Marie-Anne McQuay has been appointed curator of the Liverpool Biennial, the 13th edition of which will take place June 7 to September 14, 2025. (Press release)

– The 18th Istanbul Biennial has been postponed until 2025, and Iwona Blazwick has stepped down as the exhibition’s curator, following a wave of intense backlash against Blazwick’s surprise appointment in August. (Artnet News)

– New York’s Whitney Museum has announced the 69 artists and 2 collectives that will participate in this year’s Whitney Biennial, opening March 20. Artists include Isaac Julien, Mavis Pusey, Mary Kelly, Harmony Hammond, Edward Owens, Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Pippa Garner, Rose B. Simpson, Cannupa Hanska Luger, and Maja Ruznic, among others. (Artnet News)

Legal News

– Former Artgenève director Thomas Hug is facing charges of forgery, fraud, and mismanagement following allegations that, since 2015, he has taken 1 million CHF ($1.15 million) from the Fondation Pour Les Arts Visuels, which organizes the Swiss fair. Hug allegedly used the unauthorized funding to acquire artworks, but it is not yet known whether these were intended for himself or a third party. News of the investigation broke just before the 12th edition of the fair kicked off on January 25. (Artnet News)

– Egon Schiele’s Portrait of a Man (1917) and Girl With Black Hair (1911), both looted by the Nazis during World War II, have been returned to descendents of the original owners, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin J. Bragg. The latter work was voluntarily handed over by Oberlin College’s Allen Museum to prosecutors in Manhattan. The other was seized by Bragg’s office in September 2023 from the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. (Artnet News)

– John Bonafede is suing New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) for failing to address multiple assaults during the course of Marina Abramović’s 2010 “The Artist is Present” exhibition. The performer claims to have been assaulted on seven different occasions while participating in a restaging of Imponderabilia (1977). (Artnet News)

Paint Drippings is excerpted from The Back Room, our lively recap funneling only the week’s must-know intel into a nimble read you’ll actually enjoy. Artnet News Pro members get exclusive access—subscribe now to receive this in your inbox every Friday.