1. New Report Demonstrates Interest in, Strength of Online Sales Sector

Hiscox has released a report on the evolving art market, citing the growth of online art sales as an area of particualr interest.

The report found that the online art market has grown by 24% since 2014, reaching $3.27 billion last year. The finding suggests that the online art market may abide by a different demand cycle than offline sales, which saw a slow down in acquisitions last year. Indeed, 43% of young art collectors reported that they purchased artwork directly online; while this is a 3% dip from last year’s 46% figure, it demonstrates a sustained interest in online sales that — when compared to the fact that only 39% of galleries reported to have any e-commerce strategy in place — is not fully addressed by the art market’s supply side.

2. The Met Faces Millions in Budget Deficit

Amid rebranding, expanding, and dealing with lawsuits over its admissions policy, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art may have overreached….by a $10 million budget deficit to be exact.

Faced with the possibility of this debt ballooning to $40 million, the museum has announced a two-year plan to restructure its finances; the Met will freeze hiring and request voluntary buyouts from employees. If such measures cannot resolve the problem, the museum will be forced to lay off employees. Yet, although salaries account for 70% of the Met’s expenses, the museum’s president — David H. Wiess — assured the public that if layoffs were to take place, they would not be wide-reaching: “it’s not hundreds, it’s dozens.” However, it may be a particularly difficult time for the Met to deal with such financial woes, as it just opened its new Met Breuer location, which cost $600 to prepare and will cost $17 million annually to run.

3. Frieze Looks to Expand

Celebrity talent manager (and a bit of a celebrity himself) Ari Emanuel has taken an undisclosed stake in Frieze through his management company, WME-IMG.

The partnership between the LA-based agency and the London-based fair looks to expand both Frieze’s PR reach and the benefits offered to the fair’s clients. As stated in a press release on the collaboration, the companies, “will work together to expand the resources and expertise available to Frieze’s clients through events, media, and technology.” The deal is Frieze’s first outside investment and will also require that WME-IMG support the Frieze Tate Fund, which facilitates the Tate’s regular acquisition of pieces from the fair’s London edition.

4. US Bans Syrian Art, Artifacts

The US Senate has unanimously passed a bill banning the import of “any archaeological or ethnological material of Syria.”

The bill is both an attempt to weaken ISIS financially and a reaction to the influx in Syrian goods that have arrived in the US since the country’s civil war began. US Customs’ date reveals that the importation of Syrian antiques has risen five-fold since the war began, from $2.2 million in 2009 to $11 million in 2014. The country’s internal chaos has given looters more opportunity to steal from the country’s less guarded cultural and heritage sites. What’s worse, many fear that ISIS may be among the groups profiting from this illicit trade. This new bill aims to keep more of Syria’s culture within the country and counter ISIS’ attempt to profit off of it.

5. A Political Super PAC for Art

Now in the heat of the 2016 election cycle, we have heard plenty about political “super PACs.” But over the weekend, the New York Times profiled a super PAC of a different, more artistic kind.

The super PAC — For Freedoms — is collecting money and artwork from artists to provoke more profound political discussions in America. Video artist, activist and PAC co-founder, Eric Gottesman, explained that normally super PACS, which raise unlimited funds for politicians, “function to influence elections like advertising agencies.” Instead, he hoped that For Freedoms would “elevate and expand the dialogue that no longer exists in our sound-bite culture, its ‘gotcha’ tactics, or in its oversimplified conversations.” The PAC takes its name form Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1941 “Four Freedoms” speech, which advocated for protecting freedom of speech and worship.

Weekly post from ArtList, the online marketplace for private sales

1. David Hammons @ Mnuchin Gallery
March 15 — May 27

For five decades, David Hammons has addressed the injustices of American society with both wit and intelligent provocation. Through sculpture, installation, performance art and his signature body prints, he has highlighted racial issues and cultural stereotypes while addressing questions of personal identity and agency. Mnuchin Gallery’s new retrospective traces Hammons’ career back to its start in the late 1960s and includes never before seen photographs of key works and performances, sourced directly from the artist himself.

On view at 45 East 78th Street, New York, NY.

You can find work from David Hammon for sale now on Artlist.

2. George Condo @ Spruth Magers
April 20 — June 11

George Condo’s new LA exhibit with Spruth Magers, Entrance to the Void, presents an introspective retrospective; Condo has condensed the disparate styles of his previous artistic periods into individual paintings. While the works demonstrate a shared, abstract unity in their compositions, they also speak to Condo’s artistic versatility. But perhaps it is most interesting to see the artist portray and interpret his own artistic history and growth.

On view at 5900 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA.

3. Brad Troemel @ Feuer / Mesler
April 3 — May 9

Brad Troemel likes it best when things are new. Constantly in search of novel ways to fabricate art, Troemel’s oeuvre and approach are engaging for both new and long-time fans of his work. His current show with Feuer/Mesler, New and Handmade By Me, gives him a platform to showcase his latest artistic explorations, which, in his own words, included learning how to: “Build my own vacuum forming machine,” “Ombre dye fabric,” “Bake gingerbread houses from scratch,” “Make handmade plantable paper,” and “Make chalk from Soylent.”

On view at 319 Grand Street, New York, NY.

1. Report on Museum Attendance in 2015

This week The Art Newspaper published its annual report on annual museum visits, with shows in Paris, New York and Taipei topping the list.

12,000 people per day visited Taipei’s National Palace Museum last year, making for a record setting year of Taiwanese museum visitation and placing the museum at the top of the list for the most attended museums in 2015. However, Paris’ Louvre remains the world’s most visited museum (despite attendance dipping to 8.6 million from 9.2 last year). Jeff Koons also set records in Paris, as his touring retrospective — organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art — became the most visited exhibit in Paris when it arrived at theCentre Pompidou. Meanwhile in New York, the Whitney also held the most attended show in its history with the inaugural exhibit of its permanent collection and the Metropolitan Museum of Art held the city’s most crowded show, China: Through the Looking Glass (6,581 visitors per day). However, the Museum of Modern Art continues to dominate the NYC art landscape, organizing 14 of the city’s 20 most attended shows.

2. Qatar Opens First Auction House

Yesterday, a month after Qatar’s first auction house — AlBahie — opened, it began its first ever sale, which focused on “Islamic and Oriental” art.

The sale is expected to bring in roughly $1 million overall, with individual pieces valued up to $180,000. Qatar’s royal Al-Thani family founded the house, years after publicly declaring their desire to have an international auction house in their country. The venture is directed by Canadian art historian, Corinne Lefebvre, who is assisted by Alexandra Bots, joining AlBahie from Christie’s Amsterdam. HE Sheikh Abdurrahman bin Hamad Al-Thani said in a statement that, “the goal behind opening this auction house was to contribute to the revival of Islamic culture and support authentic Arab and Islamic heritage.” Describing itself as “a first in Qatar and in the region,” the auction house hopes to lead the Middle Eastern market for “Antiques, Paintings, Watches and Clocks, Motor Cars, and Jewelry.”

3. Demand for Art Remains Strong in China, Setting New Auction Records

A recent Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong saw the highest sums ever paid for a painting and piece of jewelry at auction in Asia.

The painting in question was Peach Blossom Spring, a 1982 hanging scroll work from Zhang Daqian. After more than 100 bids within 50 minutes, the work finally sold to Shanghai’sLong Museum, a private museum founded by Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei — the same collecting couple that grabbed Modigliani’s Reclining Nude for a record-setting $170.4 million last year. Mere hours later, a 10.10-carat blue diamond from de Beers sold for HK$248.29 million ($32 million), the highest price ever paid for a piece of jewelry at auction in Asia. The historic sales come amid international concern regarding the durability and solidity of the Asian art market. However, as CEO of Sotheby’s Asia, Kevin Ching, commented on the sales: “It proves that the general economy isn’t a predictor of the art market.”

4. Ex-Director of Pompidou Pleads Guilty To Misuse of Funds

Agnès Saal, former managing director of the Centre Pompidou in Paris, has pleaded guilty to misuse of public funds.

Last April, Le Figaro revealed that Saal had spent €40,000 ($45,000) on taxis during a 10 month period while director of France’s National Audiovisual Institute (INA). It then came to light that she had spent an additional €38,000 ($43,000) between January 2013 and April 2014, while director at the Pompidou. She resigned 48 hours after the report’s publishing and was barred from working in civil service for 18 months. Saal will face two hearings in April but by pleading guilty she avoids a public trial. In her defense, Saal has claimed that she did not know there was a limit on the number of taxis she could take; however, as €6,700 ($7,639) of the €40,000 spent was used by her son and marked as an “emergency,” many critics see Saal’s defense as indicative of corruption in French civil service and would like to see her answer for her actions on trial.

5. An Increase in Calls for British Art Institutions to Drop BP Sponsorship

Just weeks after BP announced that it would no longer be funding the Tate art gallery, the British public is placing mounting pressure on its other cultural institutions to sever ties with the petroleum company as well.

This weekend, The Guardian published a letter signed by over 100 prominent figures, calling on the British Museum to cease accepting funds from BP. The British Museum is receiving particular attention because it recently announced a five-year sponsorship deal with BP worth £10 million ($14 million), coinciding with the arrival of its new director, Hartwig Fischer. However, activists are making similar demands of the National Portrait Gallery and the Royal Opera House. BP blamed its inability to continue to fund Tate on a “challenging business environment,” pointing to low gas prices and recent layoffs. However, activists believe that public criticism and a rising awareness of climate change were at work instead and hope to provoke similar responses from the UK’s other art institutions.

Weekly post from ArtList, the online marketplace for private sales

1. Dana Powell @ Still House Group
March 25 — April 15

Dana Powell places the quotidian at the center of her new residency with the Still House Group. Her exhibition, Life Paintings, suggests that it may be the most banal elements of everyday life that define our experience. She represents Life with fruit on a table, a brown paper bag or a small, meek-looking potted plant. She elevates the mundane and invites viewers to see themselves and their own lives in her work, hoping that we will — as the press release suggests — “Feel completely at peace, completely safe, completely relaxed…Arrive at the beach, at home. Become aware of the room you are in.”

On view at 481 Van Brunt St, Brooklyn, NY.

2. Stan Douglas @ David Zwirner
March 31 — April 30

Stan Douglas has taken over two of David Zwirner’s 19th street galleries for the US premier of his film The Secret Agent and a corresponding survey of photographic works. Agent explores themes of politics, security and terrorism and, despite its setting of 19th century London, remains eerily relevant to contemporary issues. The film is complimented by an exhibit of Douglas’ photographs; the show spans Douglas’ career — from his earliest pieces to his most recent, large-scale images — to examine his consistent engagement with ideas of documentation, place and history. Taken together, the shows do a remarkable job of illustrating Douglas’ skill and versatility as an artist.

On view at 519 & 525 West 19th Street, New York, NY.

3. Daan van Golden @ Greene Naftali Gallery
March 4 — April 16

Daan van Golden’s work is rare. The artist does not work that often (he stopped making art altogether for almost a decade in the 1960’s), and when he does, his art often stays within Holland. Therefore, his current show with Greene Naftali Gallery, So art colours life, is definitely a treat. The show sourced artwork directly from the artist’s studio and has managed to gather an expansive survey of the artist’s development and oeuvre. From expressionist abstraction to decorative composition to observational commentary, the exhibit depicts van Golden’s growth as an artist in a rare display of his work.

On view at 508 West 26th Street, New York, NY.