The artwork, which depicts a posh young schoolboy spray-painting the phrase “Ghetto 4 Life” while a butler holds a tray of spray cans, was removed from the Melrose building at 651 Elton Avenue as part of the structure’s demolition to make space for a charter school.

The relocation of the mural, part of Banksy’s “Better Out Than In” residency in New York in October 2013, has stirred strong emotions among Bronx locals, with many lamenting the loss of a piece considered a source of community pride.

“Everybody was crying around here. This is art,” Steve Jacob told The New York Post. “The gentleman made it for us, the community. I’ve lived all my life in the Bronx, and this was made for the Bronx people. And now someone’s taken it away from us.”

Despite the efforts of the building’s owner, David Damaghi, to keep the mural within New York City, including offers to local schools and institutions like MoMA, it was ultimately decided to relocate it to 800 Union Avenue in Bridgeport, Connecticut, which the New York Daily News identified as owned by Kiumarz Geula of Pillar Property Management.

In a 2015 interview with The Guardian, Banksy said he didn’t think much about when his tags and murals are removed, “but for the art form as a whole it’s unhealthy. When you paint illegally you have so much to contend with—cameras, cops, Neighborhood Watch, drunk people throwing bottles at your head—so adding “predatory art speculators” to the mix just makes things even harder.”

A representative of Fine Art Shippers, who were hired to transport the work, told ARTnews the move to Bridgeport is temporary. “It is uncertain whether it will be sold or moved again in the future.”

Despite Banksy tagging buildings across the globe, some of which lead to million dollar sales of buildings and the removal of the murals, his true identity remains a mystery. A recently unearthed BBC interview from 2003 identified him as an artist named Robert Banks, however, there are other theories.

The recent absence of Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, from the public eye following a reported abdominal surgery has led to a deluge of conspiracy theories. On February 27, X user @LMAsaysno posted “not a single banksy since kate middleton disappeared. coincidence?”

During Kamm’s tenure, the fair saw both significant hardship and successes, including relocation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the introduction of two digital formats, and a marked increase in the range of exhibitors.

The restructuring began last year when Reto Nussbaum took on the role of commercial director for fair management in October. Nussbaum will now serve as co-director of the fair. Following Kamm’s departure due to what was described in a press release as “following a longer period of illness to pursue other goals,” Peter Bläuer, cofounder and former director of the fair, will step in as interim artistic director for the upcoming 2024 edition. 

Meanwhile, the fair has begun searching for a new artistic director.

Founded in 1996, Liste is known for bringing a generally younger group of galleries than what’s seen at Art Basel. The fair is smaller, too, with dozens of enterprises participating compared to the nearly 300 that typically show at Art Basel, but it remains closely watched and widely seen.

Field is aiming to help open the art world to aspirants—plebeian and patrician alike—by matching businesses with people who have the most suitable skills. The company’s founders, Ines de Seroux and Megan O’Dell, come with serious art world bona fides, having spent a combined three decades at Gagosian, Pace, Sotheby’s, Phillips, and elsewhere.  

“The size and visibility of the art world has grown exponentially over the past decade, and art businesses, institutions and other non-profits have been racing to professionalize their operations,” de Seroux recently told ARTnews. That visibility (and cultural cachet) has led to rising interest in art world careers among people who may not have the connections or history necessary to navigate spaces as insular as galleries or institutions. 

“There is a need in the art market for a different approach. Ines and I understand first-hand the demands and nuances of different roles and what traits and skills are needed for candidates to be successful in each position,” Megan O’Dell told ARTnews.

Ready those CVs, everyone.

The move reflects an effort to broaden the reach of art beyond traditional galleries and into the digital realm. Laura Simhon, eBay’s art and collectibles manager in France, said in a press release that the partnership served as an “opportunity to open the doors of an internationally renowned gallery to as many people as possible! Democratizing access to fine objects and helping our users to find hidden gems is an essential part of our mission.”

Gallery founder Emmanuel Perrotin said working with eBay would not only raise the Perrotin Store’s visibility but also help make art more accessible. “I grew up in a family that couldn’t afford to buy art, but my parents had such an appreciation of culture that when we went to museums we always found something to buy in the shop. Our house was full of posters,” he said in the release. “This idea has stayed with me throughout the development of the gallery.”  

Perrotin opened in Paris in 1990 and has since added locations from New York to Shanghai. Perrotin Store opened in Paris in 2011, primarily as a bookshop. Soon prints, editions, accessories, and apparel became available and additional stores opened in New York, Seoul, Tokyo, and Shanghai.

Like the Perrotin Store’s own website, where a magnet featuring Jean-Michel Othoniel’s Gold Lotus (produced by Réunion de musées nationaux Grand Palais) goes for $5 plus shipping, the eBay store seems aimed at shoppers in every tax bracket.

Of the 97 items listed, among the least expensive items is the second printing of the Barry McGee fanzine Fuzz Gathering, which costs €18 (about $19.50). An Elmgreen & Dragset sculpture made of waxed synthetic plaster, stainless steel, and plexiglass, Untitled (After the Lovers) (produced by Perrotin, 2023), runs €6,000 (about $6,500).

Cameron took on the role of executive director of the CMA in February 2020, less than a year after the death of former the museum’s former leader, Barbara Hunt McLanahan, in June 2019. Prior to joining the museum, Cameron helped start the Bruce High Quality Foundation artists’ collective and served as president of its art school, BHQFU. He has also exhibited his paintings produced solo.

According to the court documents, during the pandemic, Cameron was instrumental in securing financial assistance, including applying for grants and loans from the Nonprofit Finance Fund, organizing a fundraising campaign that brought in $125,000, and renegotiating the CMA’s lease, which allegedly saved the organization $250,000. 

According to the lawsuit, Cameron’s tenure ended November 17, 2023, when he was terminated by the museum’s leadership. His departure from the museum had not previously been reported in the press.

The termination was allegedly attributed to budgetary concerns and performance issues raised by Allison Russo, who became president of the CMA board of directors in 2023. This triggered a series of negotiations regarding Cameron’s severance package.

Per the court documents, Russo’s budgetary concerns were raised despite the board of directors unanimously approving Cameron’s proposed budget for the 2024 fiscal year.

Initially, the CMA proposed a severance payment of $12,147.69, which Cameron rejected. Then, he hired counsel to negotiate for a higher settlement. After subsequent negotiations, an agreement was reached for a severance payout of $19,658.18.

Yet the lawsuit alleges that the CMA later reneged on this agreement, citing a dispute with a leasing company over payment obligations, and ultimately refused to honor the agreed-upon amount.

The lawsuit seeks damages for breach of contract, payment for accrued unused paid time off, and attorney’s fees. When asked about the lawsuit, a spokesperson for the museum told ARTnews: “We cannot comment at this time as the matter is still developing.”

Located within the former Del Mar Theater on Pico Boulevard, just past La Brea Avenue, Perrotin’s new space is a testament to the city’s rich architectural heritage. Inside the gleaming, blue-painted historic building, several key elements of the theater have been meticulously preserved, including its ticket booth, glass poster boxes, and the theater hall, which have been adapted as unique sites for exhibiting work. From the restored neon sign to the iconic marquee, the gallery’s design pays homage to Los Angeles’ storied past while embracing its vibrant present.

Prior to officially committing to opening a permanent space in the city, the gallery has presented successful pop-up exhibitions in the space, including installations in 2023 by Jesper Just and Barry McGee. The gallery’s founder Emmanuel Perrotin told ARTnews that “although we knew we had to undertake some renovations, we were eager to get into the space right away. So by the time of the pop-up, we had in fact already decided to invest in a permanent presence in Los Angeles.” 

The gallery’s inaugural exhibition, dedicated to Izumi Kato, highlights the Tokyo-based artist’s blend of timeless figures and primal forms. His enigmatic creations seem to reflect a spiritual kinship with LA’s diverse landscape of ancient tar pits and modern skyscrapers.

Kato’s figurative subjects, with their protruding round eyes and unsmiling mouths, exude a stoic tenderness that belies their initial appearance of menace. Drawing inspiration from ancient petroglyphs and contemporary culture, Kato’s artworks evoke a sense of mystery and invites viewers to contemplate the intersection of past and present, nature and technology.

The exhibition features a comprehensive survey of Kato’s recent multidisciplinary work, showcasing paintings, drawings, and sculptures crafted from an array of materials including wood, stone, plastic, and fabric. At the heart of the exhibition stands a monumental fabric figure that hovers above the gallery space like a guardian spirit, while a plastic model kit offers viewers the opportunity to create their own miniature versions of Kato’s sculptures.

Born in 1969 in the Shimane Prefecture of Japan, Kato’s artistic practice is deeply intertwined with his upbringing amid the region’s rich cultural heritage and natural, mountainous landscapes.

Los Angeles, with its vibrant Japanese community and diverse cultural scene, serves as an ideal setting for Perrotin’s presentation of Kato’s work. “This is the first time I will have a solo exhibition in LA, and the first time is always very exciting,” Kato, who has mounted 13 solo shows with Perrotin since 2014, told ARTnews. “It’s a new place with a new audience, and I’m looking forward to seeing how people will react to my work.

Perrotin’s expansion to LA follows several international dealers who have set up shop in the city in recent years, including Lisson, Marian Goodman Gallery, and David Zwirner, a testament to the city’s growing status as a global hub for contemporary art. It also comes at a moment in which the gallery itself is undergoing a transformation. 

After opening in Paris in 1990, the gallery, has expanded at a clip since the 2010s, opening new spaces in Hong Kong (in 2012), New York (2013), Seoul (2016), Tokyo (2017), and Shanghai (2019). Earlier this year a collaboration between Perrotin the art dealers Tom-David Bastok and Dylan Lessel was called off. For two years the collaboration saw the three dealers go into business together with a focus on secondary market sales, and, under the Perrotin umbrella, adding another Paris space to his portfolio and expanding into the Middle East with an outpost in Dubai. (Those two spaces will now operate under the name Bastok Lessel.)

But more interesting, Perrotin made headlines late last year, when he sold a 60 percent stake in the gallery to Colony Investment Management. At the time Perrotin told Bloomberg that “The art market has experienced an enormous revolution in the past few years, but there’s still lots to come. We need to boost our activities throughout the world and conquer new geographies.” Details of the deal are still scarce, though Perrotin said that a clearer picture of the gallery’s new structure would come later this year.

Overseen by partner Alice Lung and senior directors Nadia Ng-Middleton and Jennifer King, Perrotin Los Angeles plans to embrace collaboration as a way to offer its artists new audiences to engage their work, while also tapping into the gallery’s current ties to the city. Its roster already includes multiple artists based on the West Coast, including Emma Webster, Claire Tabouret, Barry McGee, and Zach Harris. And with that in mind, Perrotin said he is interested in tapping the “energy in creative fields like music, film, and dance” in Los Angeles, which is also reflected in the gallery’s diverse program. That diversity, he said, “allows us to create synergies between the different worlds our artists inhabit, and their degrees of fame. These connections benefit everyone. Our role is to bring our artists visibility so that they too can achieve success on a long-term basis.”

The operator, Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel (SETE), announced that an agreement had been reached with unions to address grievances and establish ongoing monitoring of the company’s business model and investments. Despite the resolution, the strike resulted in significant financial setbacks, with revenue losses estimated between €1 and €2 million, or approximately $1.1 to $2.2 million, according to Le Figaro.

The second in three months, the strike underscored deep-seated concerns among employees regarding the tower’s management and long-term financial sustainability. Union representatives warned of a looming crisis, pointing to what they perceive as an overestimation of future ticket revenues and underestimation of maintenance costs.

Stéphane Dieu, a representative of the CGT union, criticized SETE in an interview with The Guardian for prioritizing short-term profitability over essential maintenance and repair needs, while Denis Vavassori, another CGT member and longtime employee of the attraction, described the tower’s current state as unprecedented in his 21-year tenure: I’ve never seen it in such a state,” he said. “The more time goes by, the bigger the repairs will need to be.”

Concerns about the tower’s deteriorating condition were exacerbated by reports of widespread rust and corrosion, prompting calls for urgent action to address structural integrity and warnings that delays in maintenance could lead to more extensive and costly future repairs.

Despite assurances from experts that the tower remains safe, recent reports have highlighted areas of concern, particularly regarding the ongoing repainting campaign. Delays in the project, compounded by the challenges of the pandemic and lead contamination in previous coatings, have raised questions about the effectiveness of maintenance efforts.

SETE expressed regret over the inconvenience caused to visitors and pledged full refunds for affected ticket holders. The company also emphasized its commitment to addressing the concerns raised by employees and ensuring the long-term viability of one of Paris’s most iconic landmarks.

The strike’s resolution coincides with ongoing discussions between SETE and Paris city hall regarding future investments and revenue-sharing arrangements. A proposed amendment to the contract between SETE and the city includes plans to increase entrance fees, allocate additional funds for maintenance work, and restore financial balance by 2025.

As the Eiffel Tower seeks to navigate the challenges posed by the strike and chart a path forward, stakeholders remain focused on preserving the tower’s cultural significance and ensuring its continued prominence on the Parisian skyline.

The lawsuit was initially filed in France by the ambassador, Craig Stapleton, against Seward in the Judicial Court of Paris, alleges Rodica Seward, president and chief executive of Tajan and an art collector. The suit claims that Rodica failed to fulfill her obligations under a handshake agreement to select and sell artworks on his behalf, with the two sharing the profits of the sales.

According to legal documents filed in 2022, Seward was entrusted in 2010 with procuring artworks for resale, all of which Stapleton paid for. She never sold the works, the suit claims, and subsequently refused to return the them or disclose their location.

The works were allegedly bought between 2011 and 2016, and were invoiced by Seward via Tajan or a British company called RBS Art Limited, of which she owns a 25 percent stake. The remaining 75 percent is held by a Samoan company called Rocks Capital Limited, owned by the wealth manager Charles de la Baume, who, according to the International Committee of Investigative Journalists, was listed in the Panama Papers and is reportedly under investigation for “aggravated money laundering.” In the 2022 filing, de la Baume is named director of Tajan. 

Since then, according to people familiar with case, Seward has returned 23 of the 32 paintings. An appraisal conducted for the remaining nine pieces, among which are works by Richard Aldrich, Katherine Bernhardt, and Farah Atassi, values them at more than $1 million. 

The crux of the disagreement lies in the terms of the agreement between Stapleton and Seward. While Stapleton claims that Seward was supposed to sell the artworks and share the profits, Seward contends that she incurred expenses related to storage, framing, and insurance for the artworks, and is now seeking reimbursement. The particulars of the case rest on the common art world practice of handshake deals and verbal agreements in lieu of contracts, which contain clearer, more defined terms. 

Last month saw Sotheby’s cleared of charges of aiding and abetting fraud in a lawsuit filed by the Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev. In that instance, both parties agreed that the fraud was in fact committed by Rybolovlev’s art advisor, Yves Bouvier, who made $1 billion dollars by purchasing works Rybolovlev was interested in before selling them to Russian collector at a steep markup. This was possible, testimony revealed, because Rybolovlev and Bouvier had no legally binding relationship, which allowed Bouvier to act as both adviser who was paid a percentage of acquisitions and as a dealer to the Russian billionaire.

David Fleissig of the law firm Dontzin Nagy & Flessig, who represents Stapleton, condemned Seward, and told ARTnews that her refusal to return the art was “outrageous.” He vowed to pursue the matter aggressively in court.

Rodica Seward, in a phone interview with ARTnews said that the lawsuit has nothing to do with her or Tajan auction house, and according to Seward’s attorney, Basile Ader of the French firm August Debouzy, Stapleton’s attack is poorly directed. He told ARTnews that Stapleton’s agreement was with RBS alone, not with Seward personally or Tajan, though he said that it was Seward’s “renowned” reputation that gave her access to the primary market works and Seward told ARTnews that she does advise the company. (According to the 2022 filing, RBS takes its name from Seward’s initials. Her full name is Rodica Balaban Seward.)

The nature of buying primary market works to later resell them involves patience, Ader told ARTnews through a translator: “You have to wait for the market to grow, for the artist to become a bit more famous.” During that waiting period the works have to be stored and insured, the cost of which was incurred by RBS.

“Mr. Stapleton didn’t want to wait for the right time to come to sell the works. If he wants them back he should reimburse the expenses RBS had to pay.”

The appraisal that valued the nine works, Ader said, proved that each piece increased significantly in value. “If, like Mr. Stapleton says, the agreement was to split the profit of the works, the fair market appraisal shows that the works have increased in value. It would only be fair that he gives half the profit to RBS even if he doesn’t sell the works.”

The main difficulty, Ader said, was that there was no original contract. That said, he is trying to settle the case, a deal to which Stapleton is not amenable.

A person familiar with the proceedings told ARTnews that Seward’s attempt to charge Stapleton insurance and storage fees “laughable” considering that Stapleton has been asking that the works be sold since 2017.

Both parties are scheduled to present their arguments before the French court with the next appearance scheduled for March 7. 

Jil Weinstock, executive director of Baxter St, told ARTnews that the “support from the Mellon Foundation is truly a game-changer for Baxter St. It will enable us to enhance our programming, deepen our community relationships, and continue our mission of fostering creativity and inclusivity in lens-based arts.”

The grant, distributed over three years, is designed to support capacity building and staff retention efforts at Baxter St. It will allow the organization to implement a one-time staff adjustment in salaries and hire a community outreach coordinator to strengthen ties with diverse communities in Chinatown, where the organization is based, and with lens-based artists more broadly.

“We’re thrilled to have this opportunity to expand our impact and engage with a broader audience,” Weinstock said. “With increased staffing and resources, we’ll be able to double our exhibition program and create a dynamic community space at our Project Space.”

The Project Space at Baxter St serves as a site for exhibitions, workshops, and community gatherings. With the Mellon Foundation’s support, Baxter St plans to offer more opportunities for emerging artists, foster dialogues on contemporary social issues, and collaborate with community members and other nonprofit art organizations on events and exhibitions in their Project Space.

In addition to expanding its programming, Baxter St intends to celebrate its 140th anniversary and its 10th anniversary at its current location with a series of community-engaged events, including a free-admission block party on May 11. These initiatives, Weinstock said, will honor Baxter St’s rich legacy and pave the way for its continued growth and impact in the years to come.

“Our relocation to Baxter St ten years ago marked not only a change in location, but a transformative moment,” the organization’s president, Michi Jigarjian, told ARTnews. “The legacy we’ve built since then is a testament to the resilience and vision of our community. The generous support of the Mellon Foundation grant will be instrumental in shaping our legacy, allowing us to amplify diverse voices and perspectives.”

Represented by the gallery in Europe and Asia in collaboration with Canada Gallery in the US, Snyder’s work will now have an expanded international reach. Her inaugural solo exhibition with Thaddaeus Ropac is scheduled for November 2024 at the gallery’s London location.

Snyder’s paintings are currently featured in two prominent exhibitions: “Painterly Gestures” at Tate Modern, London, and “Making Their Mark” at the Shah Garg Foundation in New York. Her works are held in major institutional collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Tate Modern in London, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

“Joan Snyder’s important contribution to the field of American abstraction from the 1970s onwards is distinguished by her intuition for fearless mark making and composition,” Ropac told ARTnews in an email. “Her practice over the course of nearly six decades has remained steadfast to a deeply felt truth.”

Snyder’s contribution to American abstraction has been significant, as she consciously worked against the male-dominated conventions of Minimalism, Abstract Expressionism, and Color Field painting. Her paintings often incorporate personal motifs such as roses, totems, and abstracted figures, challenging the boundaries of traditional painting techniques.

Organized into three main groups of work—Strokes, Symphonies, and Fields—Snyder’s oeuvre explores various themes and formal approaches. The Strokes feature brightly colored bars dancing across canvases, while the Symphonies evoke the influence of music in her artmaking. The Field paintings, inspired by rural landscapes, reflect Snyder’s personal and mythical narratives, utilizing an allover treatment of the canvas to express ideas of renewal and transformation.

Last year at Christie’s 20th Century Evening Sale, Snyder’s 1973 picture The Stripper nearly quadrupled its high estimate of $120,000 to sell for $478,800, a record for the artist at auction. The following day, that success was repeated in the Post-War & Contemporary Art Day Sale, where her large canvas, Celebration (1979), sold for $239,400 against a high estimate of $50,000. (Both prices include fees.)