ArtsJournal: Arts, Culture, Ideas

VISUAL

Spain Is Roiled By Another Questionable Restoration Of Art In A Historic Church

This case isn’t as egregious as “Beast Jesus,” but it has happened to a far more prominent artwork: a statue, known as “la Macarena,” of the Blessed Virgin which has been an object of affection and veneration in Seville for centuries. - The New York Times

Why Are So Many New York Galleries Closing?

“It’s a mystery how things can be this difficult for an industry that works on such large margins—up to 50 percent for most galleries, for inventory that they don’t have to buy, invest in or manufacture." - The Observer

Beloved Iron Sculptures In Chicago’s Grant Park May Be Relocated

“The sculpture Agora — a striking work composed of 106 nine-foot-tall iron human figures — has been a fixture on the southern edge of grant park for nearly 20 years. But the artwork might have to take a hike next August.” - Chicago Sun-Times

Is Art Nouveau Ready For A Comeback In The Age Of AI?

More than a century on, as artificial intelligence offers a fresh tech challenge to humanity, a timely spot of revisionism appears to be taking place. Last month, in Paris, it emerged that a museum is finally to be dedicated to one of art nouveau’s most deserving and neglected exponents. - The Guardian

Why Did The Whitney Suddenly Cancel Its Independent Study Program?

As democratic values in the United States erode at an accelerated pace, acts of silencing and erasure at artistic and academic institutions — think of Columbia University, the Noguchi Museum, or Paramount — will continue to occur, but they cannot go unchallenged. - Hyperallergic

How The Twin Cities Deal With Art, And Artists, Rejected From The State Fair

Two galleries vie to show the rejected artists’ work, of course. “People loved coming and supporting it and having another opportunity, obviously, to show their work, too.” - MPR

The Vision On Offer From The Impressionists

"We learn, after all, that beauty is transient, that fading is only a matter of time.” - The New York Times

In Bangkok, An Art Center Censors Its Exhibition Because Of ‘Pressure’ From China

The exhibit is on state violence and resistance, and “some of the censored works reference China’s treatment of Uyghurs and other primarily Muslim ethnic groups.” - Hyperallergic

Australia’s Prestigious First Nations Art Prize Goes To An Artist Who’s Buzzy

Sketched on discarded road signs, “the artwork’s surface depicts hundreds of stringybark blossoms and thousands of bees, referencing the songline of Wuyal, the honey hunter – an important ancestor for the Marrakulu clan.” - The Guardian (UK)

The Woman Who Perfected Flower Painting Was Once More Famous Than Vermeer

“Over the course of her nearly 70-year career, Ruysch shunned radical innovation and experimentation, and opted for the subtlest of variations on a theme. No grand gestures or avant-garde maneuvers. Just refinement, focus, and perfection. Flowers and fruit.” - The Atlantic

A Paris Show Traces Gaza’s Cultural History

“The exhibition, Saved Treasures of Gaza, at Paris’s Institut du Monde Arabe brings what curators called a sense of ‘urgency’ to explain the rich history of a place that has been a crossroads of cultures since Neolithic times.” - The Guardian (UK)

Archaeologists In Peru Uncover 3,000-Year-Old 3-D Polychrome Mural

“Spanning 13-by-5 feet, the polychrome mural, … with a three-dimensional design, indicating a sophistication and artistry that is without precedent for pre-Inca cultures in the region, … was discovered at Huaca Yolanda, a site 500 miles north of the capital, Lima.” - Artnet

How Spirituality Went From Uncool To Trendy In The Art World

The turn we are witnessing is wide-ranging, encompassing everything from an interest in esoteric rituals and the occult to the amplification of Indigenous, non-Western, and precolonial spiritual practices. - ARTnews

Manhattan DA’s Office Repatriates More Looted Antiquities

The objects came from investigations into several convicted traffickers and were returned to Italy, Hungary, and Spain. - ARTnews

State Museum Of Pennsylvania Closes Native American Exhibit And Will Return All Items To Tribes

“(The action is) part of the museum’s compliance with a federal law mandating the repatriation of Native American human remains and cultural items held by federal agencies and institutions that receive federal funding.” - PennLive

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