Artnews

Brent Sikkema’s husband hired a killer to assassinate him in Brazil Courtesy Sikkema Jenkins & Co. To receive Morning Links in your inbox every weekday, sign up for our Breakfast with ARTnews newsletter. The Headlines MURDER-FOR-HIRE CHARGE IN SIKKEMA CASE. Daniel Sikkema has been charged with hiring someone to kill his husband, New York dealer Brent Sikkema, reports Alex Greenberger for ARTnews. Brent Sikkema …

Daniel Sikkema Charged for Hiring His Husband’s Killer, Trump’s Stronghold on Culture to Have ‘Disastrous Effects’? Jeff Koons’ Muse Writes a Book: Morning Links for February 12, 2025 Read More »

Alberto Giacommetti, Le Nez, 1947. Sotheby’s In the latest blue-chip art world lawsuit, Hong Kong–based cryptocurrency mogul Justin Sun is suing billionaire collector David Geffen for the return of an Alberto Giacometti sculpture, Le Nez, claiming it was sold out from under him by a rogue art adviser in an elaborate scheme of forged signatures and …

Crypto Tycoon Sues David Geffen over Alleged Art Fraud Involving $78 M. Giacometti Read More »

The entrance to the Akademie der Künste building. dpa/picture alliance via Getty I American artist and curator Fareed Armaly has declined Germany’s Käthe Kollwitz Prize, citing the censorship controversies within the country’s cultural institutions. The annual €12,000 award, given out by the Academy of Arts in Berlin, established in 1992, recognizes established artists for key …

Fareed Armaly Rejects Käthe Kollwitz Prize Citing Censorship in Germany Read More »

Ai Weiwei uploaded several videos to Instagram on February 10, 2025. Photo Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was recently barred from entering Switzerland after he was unable to produce a visitor’s visa. According to an Instagram post by Ai, he spent the evening of February 10 on a bench at the Zurich …

Artist Ai Weiwei Denied Entry to Switzerland Due to Lack of Visa Read More »

An art installation at Hotel Reforma, one of the Mexico City venues owned by Proyectos Públicos. Courtesy of Proyectos Públicos Proyectos Públicos, an organization that restores historic buildings in Mexico City, launched a new arts initiative called Trayectos this week, headed by the opening of the group exhibition “Misrepresented: Landscapes” featuring eight Mexican artists that …

Mexico City’s Proyectos Públicos Opens up Historic Homes for New Public Art Program Read More »

El Greco, Saint Sebastian, ca. 1610–14. Courtesy Christie’s El Greco’s Saint Sebastian (ca. 1610–14) has been pulled from auction at Christie’s after intervention from the Romanian government, which has claimed the work as being “unequivocally the property of the Romanian state.” The painting was estimated to be worth between $7 million and $9 million, and was expected …

Christie’s Sale of El Greco Painting Blocked by Romanian Government Read More »

Phillips UK location, 2024. In Pictures via Getty Images Phillips auction house has appointed Bernd Runge, a former publisher at Condé Nast and Interview Magazine, as its new COO. Runge, who previously served as Phillips’s CEO from 2009 to 2013, returns as the house undergoes a significant shift in its leadership. According to public filings …

Phillips Hires Back Former CEO, This Time as COO, as Financial Losses Compound Read More »

Hamishi Farah, Untitled, 2025. Photo Stefan Korte/Courtesy the artist; Maxwell Graham, New York; and Arcadia Missa, London Artist Hamishi Farah said on Wednesday that a painting of Joe Chialo, Berlin’s controversial culture senator, never made it on view in Berlin because it was “deemed inappropriate” by the art festival that planned to show it. The …

Painting of Controversial Berlin Politician Was ‘Deemed Inappropriate’ by German Festival, Artist Says Read More »

Titian: Ecce Homo, ca. 1570–75. Courtesy the Pittas Collection Below the surface of an oil painting by Italian Renaissance master Titian, experts have identified a previously unknown work by the artist using scientific analysis, the Andreas Pittas Art Characterization Laboratories at the Cyprus Institute (APAC) announced in a press release for an exhibition of the …

Famed Titian Painting Reveals Hidden Portrait Read More »

Documenta 15. Photo Swen Pförtner/dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images Earlier this week, Documenta released a new code of conduct aimed at remedying the ongoing fallout from an antisemitism controversy that created upheaval during its 2022 edition. Ahead of its 2027 edition, to be curated by Naomi Beckwith, the famed German art exhibition said in its …

Documenta Adopts Divisive Antisemitism Definition in New Code of Conduct Read More »