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Chevron Admits It Destroyed The Public Art Work Erected Near Its Bay Area Refinery

"'The wood was placed in our wood bin weeks ago when it was taken down. It has been processed with other wood since then,' (said a) spokesperson. … The piece, entitled Fencelines – A Collective Monument to Resilience, comprised hundreds of wooden slats that community members in Richmond had painted." - ARTnews

What Paris Can Teach London About Architecture

Some Brits might bristle, but Paris's building height restriction lessons are real. "Skyscrapers are like air travel: they used to be as glamorous as the jet set, but now they’re in a Ryanair phase – generic, dull and predictable, a default option for unimaginative property companies." - The Observer (UK)

Britain’s Royal Academy Takes Public Submissions For The Summer Exhibition

"Entries are capped at 16,500 and competition is fierce - this year, more than 11,000 people submitted work but less than 10% were successful." - BBC

Belgium’s Africa Museum Is Finally Rethinking Its Relationship To The Congo

For good reason. "The museum traces its origins back to when King Leopold II set up the International Exposition of 1897. As part of that, 267 Congolese men, women and children were taken by force to Belgium and exhibited to the public ... on the site where the museum stands." - BBC

One Question Etched Into A Mirror Gets A Whole Exhibition Booted In Portugal

"'How many enslaved people is a psychiatric hospital worth?' This question, etched into a mirror and displayed in the panopticon of a psychiatric hospital in Porto, Portugal, prompted the administration" to close the whole exhibition down on opening day. - Hyperallergic

The Hannah Gadsby Influenced Picasso Show Was Meant To Drive Debate

So if you're posting in outrage or joy or sadness or with complicated feelings that need many minutes of discussion to express, you're doing what the Brooklyn Museum hoped you'd do. - The New York Times

Figuring Out What Komar And Melamid Were (And Weren’t) Really Up To

Ben Davis: "For me, getting an overview of the twists and turns of the Komar & Melamid corpus here … is something like a moment of zooming out from a maze, seeing it from above, and realizing suddenly that there is no way out." - Artnet

The Strange Sepia Beauty Of Photographs Of The Smoke-Filled Skies

Philip Kennicott: "They are accidentally beautiful, rather like an 80-degree day in January is accidentally pleasurable. To some, they may suggest the science-fiction scenography of a dystopian film; to others, they render the present moment visually akin to Eugène Atget's 19th-century France — haunting, sepulchral, yet oddly beautiful." - MSN (The Washington Post)

National Gallery Of Canada Appoints A New Director

Jean-François Bélisle, currently director of the Musée d’art de Joliette in Quebec, "arrives in Ottawa during a troubled period where a strategic plan to make the institution more accessible to diverse audiences and to emphasize Indigenous knowledge has created controversy and disruption." - The Globe and Mail (Canada)

The “New Michelangelo”: This Italian Sculptor Has A 21st-Century Take On The Art Of Shaping Bodies In White Marble

The 36-year-old artist known as Jago says he uses the same techniques his Renaissance forbears did. He's so highly regarded for his ability to capture human featured and emotions in stone that he already has his own museum in Naples. - The Guardian

Quiet Tragedy: Sale Of The Whitney Breuer Building To Sotheby’s

There is an important difference between a building that is “open to the public” and a public building, and that distinction may explain the palpable sadness among art lovers on social media after news of the sale broke. - Washington Post

Measuring “Wellbeing” After Visiting A Museum

According to the final technical report, more than 95% of participants reported some benefits to their well-being after visiting a museum and 85% indicated positive effects in all four areas. - The Art Newspaper

Italian Court Rules Against Magazine For Using Image Of Michelangelo’s David Without Permission

An Italian court has ruled in favor of Florence’s Gallerie dell’Accademia in its lawsuit against the publishing house Edizioni Conde Nast, which used an image of Michelangelo’s David without permission. - Artnet

The Job Of A Museum Director Has Changed Enormously

In addition to knowing art history and being a good administrator and fundraiser, a museum director these days may have to address diversifying her curators, identifying and returning looted artworks, workers who are unionizing for the first time, and scrutiny of board members' wealth. - The New York Times

A Big, Multicolored Outdoor Artwork Near San Francisco Bay Has Vanished

"A colorful collection of wooden slats woven into a fence along the Richmond Parkway near the Chevron refinery, titled 'Fencelines: A Collective Monument to Resilience,' 'has been completely disappeared,' the sponsors announced in a statement." - MSN (San Francisco Chronicle)

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