— UK Bars Export of Rembrandt Painting: The UK has placed Rembrandt’s portrait of Catrina Hooghsaet under a temporary export ban. For the past 250 years, the 17th-century painting has been on public display in the country, hanging in the National Trust property, as well as the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff and at the Ashmolean. But the private owner has sold it to a foreign buyer, and the masterpiece will leave the country unless a UK buyer matches the £35 million asking price. Culture minister Ed Vaizey said the restriction would keep a “fascinating glimpse into history” at home. “It’s important that paintings, especially one as famous as this, are available for our students to learn from,” he added. The masterpiece has won over many viewers because of the parrot pictured next to the wealthy Dutch sitter; this pet was named in the woman’s will rather than her husband. [Guardian, BBC, TAN]
— Alberto Burri’s Land Art Project Realized: After 30 years, Alberto Burri’s ambitious land art project, “Grande Cretto,” is finally complete and open to the public. The piece is a memorial for the Sicilian town of Gibellina, which fell to an earthquake in 1968. Burri’s piece covers the ruins in white concrete, with furrows along the lines of the original street plan. The artist, who died in 1993, ceased construction after four years, in 1989, and had completed 6,000 of the planned 8,000 square feet. To celebrate the piece’s full form, Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja and Italian artist Giancarlo Neri have collaborated on a supplementary light and sound installation titled “AUDIOGHOST 68,” consisting of portable radios placed within the piece. Meanwhile, Burri continues to have quite the moment: earlier last week, the artist’s work made a splash at Sotheby’s and Christie’s, as boosted by his ongoing Guggenheim retrospective. [TAN]
— UN May Send “Monuments Men” to Syria: In January, news circulated that the US was looking to re-up its Monuments Men program — and now, that plan may become an international reality, as 53 countries voting in favor of sending UN peacekeepers to protect world heritage sites on Friday. “The Monuments Men model is what’s needed,” said Dario Franceschini, Italy’s cultural heritage minister. He went on to equate “stopping the Nazis” with stopping “the destructive rampage of the terrorists,” calling for “blue helmets of culture” — a reference to the UN’s infamous headwear. Meanwhile, back in LA, the Getty has acquired a set of rare, 151-year-old photographs showing the now damaged Palmyra. [Telegraph, LAT]
— S.F. Fine Arts Museums Chief Scrutinized: As the San Francisco’s de Young Museum recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, a scuffle has erupted behind the scenes within the city’s Fine Arts Museums. It has come to light that the museum board president Dede Wilsey allegedly signed off on a $450,000 payment to a sick staffer without the board’s approval. The apparent misconduct has resulted in an investigation by both City Hall and the state attorney’s office. [SFChronicle]
— Gilbert & George, Plus One: The UK’s artist duo Gilbert & George will perform as a trio, adding Victoria, a transgender nurse, to the group for a performance at the Serpentine Gallery’s 10th annual “marathon,” which takes “transformation” as its theme. “When we heard transformation was the theme, we realized we had our transformation,” George said. “We’ve never worked with another person like this before. On Saturday we will be Gilbert and George and Victoria. This is the first time we’ve had another living sculpture with us.” [Independent]
— D.C.’s Renwick Gallery Prepares to Reopen: David Gleeson, senior exhibition designer at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, is overseeing the $30 million makeover of the Renwick Gallery, reopening next month. “We don’t want to impose ourselves,” Gleeson said of the renovation of the historic building near the White House. “A lot of what we do is sort of behind the scenes, unlike theatrical designs.” [WP]
— China’s UK ambassador Liu Xiaoming noted publicly that Ai Weiwei’s art is “not [his] taste” — which would be essentially harmless, had he not twisted the blade by calling Ai a “so-called artist” and suggesting his work is only popular because of the surrounding political controversy. [BBC]
— Such fun with public performance art in New York these days: French street artists Laurent Boijeot and Sébastien Renauld are living on the street for a month, slowly lugging a set of white pine furniture five blocks per day from 125th Street to the Financial District, while in Battery Park City’s Brookfield Place, 11 performers dressed all in white will stare at passersby and take notes, as part of a piece by Ernesto Pujol. (See? Fun!) [NYT, DNAinfo]
— Here’s a quick breakdown of the top 10 lots from last week’s evening sales in London, at Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips. [Bloomberg]
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