Jen Graves looking at Maria Lassnig’s “You and Me”, 2008, in Venice.
- MCH Group, the company that owns Art Basel has acquired a 25.1 % stake in Art Düsseldorf. Marco Fazzone the managing director of design and regional art fairs at MCH is talking “synergies” with other regional fairs—whatever that means. It’s not like buying a stake in the fair will suddenly change the landscape of the business. Synergy is the type of word pulled out when there’s nothing to say. [The Art Newspaper]
- Kelly Crow reports that the art market’s slump got worse in 2016. Thankfully, we have President Donald Trump to turn all that around. [The Wall Street Journal]
- Twitter shares tumble as growth slows to 1%. I love the medium, but if it goes tits up and Trump can’t use it anymore, I’d gladly give it up. For the greater good, you know? [Bloomberg]
- Opera Winfrey sold a Gustav Klimt from her collection for $150 million. She bought it for $87.9 million in 2006 at Christie’s in New York. [Bloomberg]
- Is rent finally stabilizing in New York? According to Curbed, the median rent in Manhattan has been on decline for the last six months. Good. [Curbed]
- Lots of snow in New York today. Here’s how to get around. [Gothamist]
- As a runner, I am genuinely fascinated by this dance that includes a dancer on a treadmill for the entire performance. 60 minutes of running is no big deal for any distance runner, but 60 minutes at a tempo pace or more seems really intense. [Hyperallergic]
- Jen Graves has resigned from her post as art critic at Seattle’s The Stranger. She has no plans as of yet for what she will do next. “It’s important to note that there should be other options for those of us who do critical work, and instead there seems to be a real, somewhat unfounded misunderstanding and disregard for what we bring to a city,” Graves told ARTnews. [ARTnews]
