The Art Angle Round Up: A Buyer’s Market, Italy’s J.R.R. Tolkien Tiff, and the Blackest Black

This week, Ben Davis and Kate Brown are joined by art market reporter Eileen Kinsella.

From left: Sotheby's blockbuster sale in New York; Anish Kapoor's Vantablack artworks at Lisson Gallery; and the heroes of Lord of the Rings. Illustration: Artnet News.

Well, we made it to the end of the year (almost!), and we are back at the Art Angle with our monthly Round Up, where we bring together some of our esteemed reporters to talk about the big stories that are swirling in the air.

Joining host Ben Davis this week to chat are senior editor Kate Brown and senior market reporter Eileen Kinsella.

As always, there is a lot to talk about this month. First up, we’ll discuss the the state of the art market as evidenced by the recent art auctions in New York, ahead of the final crash of art fairs of the year taking place in Miami. We’ll also talk about the state of politics and culture in Italy, which interestingly enough, now involves a conversation about J.R.R. Tolkien, the beloved author of Lord of the Rings. Finally, we discuss artist Anish Kapoor and his Vantablack, ultra-black artworks, which are on view now at Lisson Gallery in New York.