“Among the hundreds of objects already found: a fourth-century coin stamped with the face of the Emperor Constantine, and shards of medieval pottery painted on the inside with marks no expert has yet deciphered — like a modern Da Vinci Code.” - AP
“Philippe Vergne, the former director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and the Dia Art Foundation in New York, has been named to the newly created position of Artistic Director and Chief Curator and will work alongside Executive Director Silvia Karman Cubiña … as her ‘thought partner’.” - The Miami Herald (MSN)
“The whole art gallery art system became too big, too commercial, too impersonal and too corporate,” Marc Glimcher, the chief executive, said in an interview this week. - The New York Times
Triumphal arches are thuggish. They’re the architectural equivalent of a domestic abuser standing, arms crossed, legs athwart, in front of the bedroom door. I prefer the democratic, American tradition of modest, respectful, open-air monuments. - The Atlantic
The complex case revolves around a 2004 transaction, in which Monet’s great-nephew agreed to relinquish a rare Monet painting depicting the artist’s father, Adolphe, to the internationally renowned Wildenstein gallery, in exchange for several paintings of lesser value. - ARTnews
More than 100 artists are threatening legal action against the Venice Biennale Foundation for ignoring their demands that the foundation withdraw their names from consideration for the “Visitors’ Lion” awards at the current edition over the inclusion of national pavilions by Israel and Russia. - ARTnews
After two dry runs with facsimiles, France’s culture ministry is confident that the fragile 900-year-old textile will be fine. They’ve developed an ingenious container contraption to absorb all shocks on the roads, and the date and details of the transport are a closely-guarded secret. - BBC (Yahoo!)
“Isabel Abascal and Alessandro Arienzo (of Mexico City’s Lanza Atelier) have gone back to basics and produced one of the most literal Serpentine pavilions in years, featuring an actual serpentine, expressed as a wavy wall of rust-coloured brick.” - The Guardian
Anacostia, since renamed the Anacostia Community Museum, was the first federally funded museum focused on Black history, as well as the first federally funded community museum; it is still the only Smithsonian to archive and document daily life in the nation’s capital. - The Atlantic
Much of the public debate around the arch has centered on how it would affect other nearby memorials, particularly the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. - Washington Post
This component of a long-running plan for the site adds two galleries and 114,00 square feet (10,590 square metres) of space for a recent major gift and the subsequent reinterpretation of its collection. The museum's footprint has expanded by half since its opening in 2011. - Dezeen
The 17,000-square-foot mural, one of artist Robert Wyland’s popular “Whaling Wall” series, had been on view in downtown Dallas since 1999. Wyland is suing international soccer's governing body and the building’s owners for $25 million under the federal Visual Artist Rights Act, saying the mural was covered without his knowledge or consent. - AP
Last December, thieves stole 13 prints, including eight by Matisse, from the Biblioteca Mario de Andrade in São Paulo. Two suspects accused of the robbery itself were identified soon afterward; police have now named the alleged ringleader, who is currently in prison on other charges and has a considerable criminal history. - ArtReview
In fact, the missing glands on the bovine in this 19th-century floor mosaic had been gouged out by excessive tourist traffic some time ago, and the restorers (and the landlord) declined to replace them. Here’s why. - Smithsonian Magazine
The theft of the fruit from the jokester artist’s piece Comedian happened this past Saturday at the Pompidou Center’s outpost in Metz, France; the duct tape was left behind. No suspect has yet been identified, and museum staff promptly replaced the banana. - ARTnews
