— McQueen Pulls Out of Hugo Boss Prize: Steve McQueen, whose “12 Years a Slave” won last night’s Best Picture Oscar, has withdrawn his name for consideration from the Guggenheim Museum’s Hugo Boss Prize due to the demands of promoting the film. McQueen, who won the Turner Prize in 1999, has not publicly commented on the withdraw. “Mr. McQueen will be unable to fulfill the requirements of the selection process,” read a posting on the Guggenheim Museum’s website. [TAN]
— US Renews Art Import Deal With China: The US and China have renewed a landmark trade agreement that will restrict the import of a large portion of Chinese antiquities to the US for the next five years. While this deal is an attempt at curbing the smuggling of looted objects, many in the art world are saying it has hurt US institutions. This has created “an uneven playing field in which US museums, collectors and dealers are harmed and China’s elite-run, monopoly businesses thrive,” said art lawyer Kate Fitz Gibbon. [TAN]
— How the Corcoran Merger Happened: The Washington Post gives a detailed account of the events leading up to the Corcoran Gallery of Art’s recent merger with the National Gallery of Art and George Washington University. The University of Maryland, which the Corcoran was previously in a partnership with, knew little about the oncoming deal with GWU and the National Gallery. “I was highly impressed and very much looking forward to the outcome that Maryland was going to have with the Corcoran,” said Maryland Delegate Jon S. Cardin. “I was incredibly surprised when just a few weeks later” the rival agreement was announced. “I am tremendously disappointed.” [WP]
— Frieze Meets With Teamsters: After criticism that Frieze New York used non-union labor to build its Randall’s Island tent, representatives from the fair sat down with local union leaders to discuss their labor practices. [TAN]
— D.C.’s Lady Directors: Here’s a look at the 13 women who are at the helms of Washington, D.C.’s cultural institutions, including the National Portrait Gallery, the Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Phillips Collection. [WP]
— Is a Bubble About to Burst?: “But how can a market crash when the people now driving its growth are seemingly rich enough to be impervious to the fluctuations of the wider economy?” — Scott Reyburn contemplates trophy art and speculates on the potential burst of an art world bubble. [NYT]
— Police have arrested Louis Lassalle for allegedly stealing three paintings from Brooklyn’s Cotton Candy Machine Art Gallery. [NY1]
— Protest has erupted at Kennesaw State University’s new museum after officials pulled a piece about race from the museum’s first show. [CBS]
— Avant-garde filmmaker Alain Resnais has died at age 91. [The Guardian]
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Review: Molly Zuckerman-Hartung at Corbett vs. Dempsey
Review: Pablo Bronstein at REDCAT
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