Artelligence for January 22, 2018

Wendell Castle Dies at 85:Just after his retrospective closed at the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, NY, Wendell Castle succumbed to Leukemia. His studio—where 10 people are fabricating furniture and sculpture to Castle’s specifications—has a two year backlog of work to meet. …

Rybolovlev Is Making a Profit on His Palm Beach Real Estate Deal with Trump: The Real Deal says Dmitry Rybolovlev has made $71m already from the Palm Beach property he bought from Donald Trump for $95m a decade ago. Rybolovlev originally paid nearly twice what Trump bought the property for in a quick flip that has raised a number of suspicions since Trump became president. According to The Real Deal, Rybolovlev demolished the house, divided the property into three lots, two of which yielded the aforementioned $71.3m, and just listed the final lot for $42m. If that sale goes through at asking price, Rybolovlev will generate a solid 30%+ return over ten years. Combined with his massive gain on the Leonardo da Vinci painting, Rybolovlev is looking like a contrarian investor. …

Jack Whitten Dies at 78: Hauser + Wirth reported the death of artist Jack Whitten. Marc Payot issued this statement:

• “He was a remarkable man—an artist of endless inventiveness, originality, and honesty, as well as a wonderful friend. His intelligence, compassion, and love for life have influenced all of us who knew and worked with him. Our hearts are with Jack’s family at this time.” …

Michael O’Hare’s Policy Proposal Meets Truculence from Art Critics: O’Hare’s Democracy essay has already drawn a response from the San Francisco Chronicle’s art critic, Charles Desmarais. You can judge for yourself whether Desmarais is persuasive but let us point out that if an art critic like Christopher Knight is going to “dispute the premise that pop culture measures of success, e.g. attendance figures, are relevant to art museum significance,” then we need another measure of museum’s ability to meet its mission.