Justin Timberlake’s Viral Mugshot Is Now a Work of Art
An artist duo in the Hamptons has immortalized Justin Timberlake’s moment of shame, turning the pop singer’s recent mugshot into an Andy Warhol-style portrait. “It’s flying off the shelves,” Robert Lohman told me. A painter and interior designer who normally specializes in ethereal paintings of clouds and skies, he collaborated with a friend, photographer Mary […]
Did LACMA Show ‘Fake’ Korean Paintings? Experts Say Yes
At least four works by artists from South Korea shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) may be fakes, according to leading experts. The works in question include Park Soo-keun’s Waikiki (early 1960s) and Three Women and a Child (1961) and Lee Jung-seob’s A Bull and a Child and Crawling Children. The […]
Marciano Art Foundation Names Hanneke Skerath Director, Years After Suddenly Closing Amid Union Drive
Los Angeles’s Marciano Art Foundation has named independent curator Hanneke Skerath as its new director, nearly five years after abruptly shutting its doors. The move came following layoffs of at least 60 staffers that took place as front-of-house staff were attempting to unionize. The private museum had opened a mere three years before and had […]
A New Show Explores Designer Kenzo Takada’s Fashion and Art
At the end of 1964, a 25-year-old man from Japan stood on the deck of a massive ocean liner. The winter was cold, and he was holding a one-way ticket. He had traveled from Tokyo through Hong Kong, Saigon, and Mumbai, with his final destination being Paris. Finally, in early 1965, he set foot on […]
Art Bites: Why Conservation of Velzquez’s ‘Las Meninas’ Caused a Nationwide Uproar
The 17th-century portrait Las Meninas (1656), or “The Maids of Honor,” is universally regarded as Diego Velázquez’s magnum opus, and perhaps the single greatest existing expression of classical Spanish art. Velázquez himself, King Philip IV’s court painter, is regarded as the leading artist of Spain’s 17th- and 18th-century Baroque style. He completed the painting just […]
Armenian Artist Blasts Hong Kong Exhibition of Her Inflatable Art
An Armenian artist who goes by the name Joann has blasted an exhibit of her inflatable art in Hong Kong, calling it “very ugly” and prompting a defense from the show’s organizers. Central Venue Management (CVM), the organizers of the exhibit at the Central Harbourfront, obtained authorization from Joann for her design concepts to be […]
6 Must-See Summer Shows on New York’s Gallery-Rich Upper East Side
There’s no better way to cool off while out and about in the summer months than to pop into one of the city’s hundreds of galleries—guaranteed air conditioning and new exhibitions are a match made in heaven. And while you might first think of Chelsea or Tribeca for gallery hopping, the Upper East Side maintains […]
A Marble God Is Found in an Ancient Roman Sewer
Archaeologists in Bulgaria have accidentally stumbled across a marble statue of the Greek god Hermes in what seems like the most unlikely of places: an sewer in the ancient city of Heraclea Sintica. It is rare to find such large sculptures intact, but thanks to its unusual hiding place, where it was kept under layers […]
Swiss Artist Ugo Rondinone Returns to His Roots in a Career Retrospective at Museum Luzern
Originally from Brunnen, Switzerland, multimedia artist Ugo Rondinone (b. 1964), who is represented by Galerie Eva Presenhuber, relocated abroad to New York City in the 1990s following acceptance into the International Studio Program at MoMA PS1. Despite making New York his home, Switzerland has remained a touchstone for the artist, and his newest solo exhibition […]
The Story Behind a Rare 19th-Century Portrait of a Person of Color Emerges
A beautiful yet unassuming 19th-century portrait of a mixed race woman believed to be Mary Ann Tritt Cassell went on view at the Baltimore Museum of Art late last month. It is making headlines for its unique place in the history not only of art, but of the nation. The work is likely one of […]