Art Industry News: Italy’s new right-wing culture minister publicly berates the Uffizi for closing a public holiday + More stories

Art Industry News is a daily summary of the most important developments in the art world and the art market. Here’s what you need to know this Friday, November 4.
NEED TO READ
Alex Katz Show Gets A Pan – The 95 year old artist show at the Guggenheim, his second New York retrospective in nearly 30 years, “may well be this season’s biggest disappointment,” writes Alex Greenberger. The reviewer was particularly disappointed with the artist’s “banal” late work: “Katz’s practice has clearly evolved over the years, but not in the way you would hope.” (ART news)
Croatia moves towards restitution of Holocaust art – After nearly a decade of dragging its heels, the Croatian government is taking steps to return works of art looted during the Holocaust to the heirs of Jews whose collections were seized during the Ustaše regime. (New York Times)
Jousts of the Offices with the Minister of Culture for the closing of the holidays – The newly appointed Italian Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano has harshly criticized the Uffizi Gallery in Florence for closing its doors on Monday, a public holiday in Italy. “It does not escape your intelligence that a closure of this kind […] represents an attack on the image of the Uffizi Galleries and the entire system of national museums,” he said. (ART news)
The British Museum plans to renovate the crumbling Parthenon Gallery of Marbles The museum plans to prioritize renovating the dilapidated Parthenon marbles gallery in the middle increasing calls return historical treasures to Athens. The revamp is part of the £1billion Rosetta Project, the most expensive museum revamp in British history. (The arts journal)
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
DA Bragg renders 7th century antiquity in Cambodia – US authorities have returned the Standing Sandstone Vishnu, a 7th-century sculpture, to Cambodia. According to the Manhattan prosecutor, the sandstone work was looted from a temple under the direction of art dealer Doris Wiener, who smuggled it into Manhattan in 1995 and sold it to a private collector. (ART news)
Rafael Mason elected to Frick Collection Council – Mason is an operating partner at Bain Capital and previously worked at American Express, where he helped bring the art of Kehinde Wiley and Julie Mehretu to platinum credit cards in support of the Studio Museum in Harlem’s Artist-in-Residence Program. (Press release)
American Medal of Art Winners Announced Archives – Curator Lowery Stokes Sims received the Lawrence A. Fleischman Award for Scientific Excellence, while magazine editor Peter Brant and artist Ursula von Rydingsvard received the Archives of American Art medal at the Archives’ annual gala . (Smithsonian)
Phillips adds two specialists to its Asia operation – The auction house has appointed former David Zwirner Hong Kong director Lihua Tung as its new senior specialist and senior director of 20th century and contemporary art. Yvonne Fong, formerly Senior Manager at Simon Lee in Hong Kong, has joined the team as Senior Specialist and Senior Manager. (Press release)
FOR THE ARTS
The Climate Change Museum is coming to New York – The traveling museum – which seeks to use art to galvanize the public to take action on climate change – has opened its first pop-up to raise funds for a permanent home. Featuring a mural by David Opdyke, the Soho Gallery is open until December 22. (TANNING)
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