Articles

Art detectives from the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office, Germany, have executed four arrest warrants against the alleged thieves of the Manching Gold Treasure under the direction of the Ingolstadt Public Prosecutor's Office.

The Roald Dahl Museum in England, founded by the widow of the children’s author, has acknowledged his racism was “undeniable and indelible.”

The recovery of this archaeological artifact, which is of great historical and cultural importance, is the result of the joint work done by both ministries and the INAH. The research and report done by INAH specialists and the legal arguments presented by Mexico’s representation in Germany led to the voluntary return of the carving, which was found in an antique store.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., announced the return of two antiquities collectively valued at $1.26 million to the people of Libya. The pieces, “Marble Face of a Ptolemaic Queen” and “Female Bust,” were looted from the ancient city of Cyrene and smuggled by convicted British art trafficker Robin Symes, who served as the front man for multiple smuggling networks selling looted antiquities to high-end European and American buyers.

Interest and research in generative AI models has accelerated in recent months with advancements in natural language processing that lets machines understand and express language, as well as systems that can generate images based on text input. Today, we’re showcasing CM3leon (pronounced like “chameleon”), a single foundation model that does both text-to-image and image-to-text generation.

The Roswitha Haftmann Prize 2023 is being awarded to the Brazilian artist Cildo Meireles (b. Rio de Janeiro, 1948). With a value of CHF 150,000, the Roswitha Haftmann Prize is Europe’s best-endowed art award and has been presented since 2001 by a jury chaired by the Director of the Kunsthaus Zürich.

Sri Lanka's cabinet of ministers has approved a proposal to appoint a committee to take steps for the repatriation for stolen Sri Lankan artifacts from various countries, a statement from the government information department said on Tuesday.

Presented by Fundación Paiz para la Educación y la Cultura and curated by Francine Birbragher-Rozencwaig and Juan Canela, the XXIII Paiz Art Biennial includes 131 artworks, by 30 artists and collectives from Guatemala and 12 other countries.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Tate St Ives, Their Majesties The King and Queen visited the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden. They were given a tour of Hepworth’s studio and garden, which is cared for by Tate St Ives, and were introduced to several people who have played important roles in Tate St Ives’s success over the past 30 years.

A former Birmingham, Michigan art dealer pleaded guilty to defrauding more than 10 customers who had entrusted her with the sale of their art of over $1.5 million, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper has today given the go-ahead to a twin-bore 3km tunnel and some 2km of massive approach cuttings to be gouged through the unique landscape of the Stonehenge World Heritage Site (WHS). The WHS was designated by UNESCO as of “outstanding universal value” to mankind for its remarkable remains of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages.

A suspected arson attack in Naples destroyed a work from Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto’s Venus of the Rags (1967–1974) series yesterday, Wednesday, July 12. The piece was unveiled two weeks ago in the city’s central Piazza Municipio as part of a city-wide initiative to bring art into public spaces. Italian police announced last night that they arrested a 32-year-old unhoused man in connection with the incident. The authorities identified the suspect through security footage and traced him to a soup kitchen.

Fast fashion giant Shein is again under fire as a group of independent designers sued the company for committing intellectual property theft and engaging in activities related to racketeering.

In view of the brutal Russian attack on Ukraine, a comprehensive biennial project in Kyiv long seemed deeply uncertain, if not impossible. But, with a cascade of openings – starting in Kyiv and Vienna in October 2023, finishing in Berlin in 2024 – the fifth Kyiv Biennial will take place.

A team of specialists and students led by UNC-Chapel Hill professor Jodi Magness has uncovered a spectacular mosaic panel in the late Roman (ca. 400 C.E.) synagogue at Huqoq, an ancient Jewish village in Israel’s Lower Galilee. The panel, which identifies the mosaic donors or artists, decorates the floor just inside the main entrance.

In 2024, the Zurich Art Prize, awarded annually by Museum Haus Konstruktiv and Zurich Insurance Company Ltd, goes to Olaf Holzapfel (b. 1967 in Dresden, lives and works in Berlin and Brandenburg). He is the 17th winner of the renowned award. Endowed with CHF 100,000, the prize consists of an CHF 80,000 budget for the production of a solo exhibition at Museum Haus Konstruktiv and CHF 20,000 in prize money.

An art collective has hacked into the controversial Bührle Collection exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zurich museum. It replaced written information accessible to visitors by QR code with critical comments about the provenance of the works on display.

Frieze has announced the acquisition of The Armory Show in New York and a signed agreement to acquire EXPO CHICAGO.

The Illinois State Museum has returned 37 wooden memorial statues, known as vigango, to the National Museums of Kenya for repatriation to Mijikenda communities. These statues are considered sacred cultural objects and are believed to carry the spirits of male elders who have passed away.

“Venus of the Rags,” one of the most famous works by Italian contemporary artist Michelangelo Pistoletto, has been destroyed by an overnight fire in Naples.