BEST

Hiding in Plain Sight – A gardener found
a Gustav Klimt painting stolen more than 20 years ago
from a gallery in Italy—hiding behind the ivy-covered walls of
the very same building.

A Very Banksy Holiday – To highlight the
plight of the homeless in Britain, the elusive street artist
unveiled a new mural of a reindeer-drawn sleigh in
Birmingham along with footage of a man sleeping just it,
as if he were about to be carried into the sky.

An Appeeling Acquisition – Two of
the buyers of
Cattelan’s Comedian spoke out about their prize, defending its
art-historical value and saying they hope to donate it to a museum
one day.

Bouvier Gets the All-Clear in Monaco
– Amid a years-long, ongoing dispute between
billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev and his former art dealer Yves
Bouvier, a Monaco judge threw out Rybolovlev’s criminal
case against Bouvier for misrepresenting the price of
artworks.

Hauser & Wirth Nabs a Star – The
32-year-old Avery Singer has signed with mega-gallery Hauser &
Wirth after parting with Gavin Brown earlier this year,
cementing her status as a market force and putting an end to
prolonged speculation about where she would land.

Armory Show Shuffle – The New York fair
is changing its structure after last
year’s location struggle, with new sections and a variety of new
gallery additions for 2020.

WORST

A Feminist Icon, Remembered – The artist
May Stevens died at age 95 at her home in Santa
Fe and will be remembered for her large-scale works and activism
against oppression.

All’s Not Fair – The art world really is as tricky as you think, with women,
people of color, and those without financial backing all finding it
structurally difficult to break through.

Art Berlin Cancelled – The
prominent German art fair has been axed after its
parent company Koelnmesse determined there was not enough financial
support to satisfy its needs.

Sotheby’s Shakeups – Uncertainty at
Sotheby’s continues following a string of layoffs. In yet another
abrupt turn since Patrick Drahi took the auction house
private, Amy Cappellazzo is now the head of an expanded
global fine arts division.

Rotten Bananas – Miami’s janitors staged a
“platanito protest” calling attention to the fact
that while they are underpaid and undervalued, Cattelan’s
fêted fruit earns international attention
and six figures.

Boris Johnson’s Broken Promise – The
prime minister, who won a resounding win at the
polls this week, has reneged on his promise to fund a memorial
to the victims of slavery, declining to provide public funding for
the project.

The post From Banksy’s Holiday-Themed Mural to a Banana
Protest: The Best and Worst of the Art World This Week appeared
first on artnet News.