— The Whitney Prepares for a Koons-athon: The now-infamous Jeff Koons retrospective at the Whitney Museum draws to a close in just a few weeks, but with attendance numbers still unflagging despite extended hours on Mondays and Fridays, the museum has decided to offer one last major push: a 36-hour stint on the exhibition’s final days, from 11 am on October 18 to 11 pm on October 19. Because, as ARTnews’s M.H. Miller points out, “life as we know it collapses around us” as this exhibition prepares its end. Meanwhile, Christie’s is ready to assume the Koonsian mantle by displaying his “Balloon Monkey (Orange)” at its 20 Rockefeller Plaza entrance for six weeks, before its (likely record-fetching) sale on November 12. [NYT, ARTnews, ArtDaily]
— The Prado Keeps its Bosch: Despite news in August that José Rodríguez-Spiteri Palazuelo, president of Spain’s National Heritage office, wanted four of the Prado’s prominent Renaissance paintings for the forthcoming Royal Collections museum, José Ignacio Wert, Spain’s minister of education, culture, and sport, has confirmed that the museum will keep all of its holdings. Among the paintings were Tintoretto’s “The Foot Washing” and Hieronymus Bosch’s “The Garden of Earthly Delights.” Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy also issued a statement of support, via a spokesperson, who noted that legal papers are being drawn to make the Prado’s ownership official. [TAN]
— Deitch Talks NYC Plans: The Times has a Jeffrey Deitch profile that reveals, among other things, that he has only been psychoanalyzed once, he plans to organize “super-exciting shows” in the city, and one of those will be a show of ballet costumes and set designs at Mana Contemporary in Jersey. [NYT]
— Skate’s Releases Its Art Fairs Report: “Visitor numbers for fairs are significantly lower than those for nonmarket (and longer-lasting) art extravaganzas like biennials and are incomparable with figures for major museums.” [ARTnews]
— Contemporary Art in the Desert: Turns out Qataris might not be the biggest fans of Damien Hirst’s 14 giant bronze fetus sculptures. [Bloomberg]
— “New New Berlin and N(ev)ada Art Fair”: Here’s a report from William Powhida and Jade Townsend’s satirical art fair project in Galveston, Texas. [Hyperallergic]
— Watch a clip of Oxygen’s new show, “Street Art Throwdown,” which turns artful graffiti into a competition. [US Magazine]
— A new show at the Charles M. Schulz Museum examines how the Peanuts comics dealt with such weighty issues as feminism and nuclear war. [Time]
— In rock ’n’ roll news, tongue-in-cheek punk fanzine “Henry & Glenn Forever & Ever” — which imagines a romance between the lead singers of Black Flag and The Misfits — gets a gallery show, while Pink Floyd’s controversial “comeback” album chooses a teenager for its cover artist. [LAist, Ultimate Classic Rock]
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