SGFARA

Nour Mobarak’s Polyphonic Opera Dissects the Power and Limits of the Human Voice

Installation view of Nour Mobarak’s “Dafne Phono”, 2024, at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Courtesy the Museum of Modern Art, New York A well-known story from Ovid’s first-century narrative poem Metamorphoses goes something like this: after the sun god Apollo kills the snake-dragon Python, the god of love Cupid seeks revenge on Apollo …

Nour Mobarak’s Polyphonic Opera Dissects the Power and Limits of the Human Voice Read More »

Christie’s is Suing an Italian Real Estate Investor for Allegedly Refusing to Pay $28 M. for Chardin Painting

The painting at the center of the legal battle – ‘Cut Melon.’ COURTESY CHRISTIE’S Christie’s has filed a lawsuit in Paris against Italian real estate investor Nanni Bassani Antivari, who the house asserts is refusing to pay for a work purchased at Christie’s France in June. In legal filings obtained by the Art Newspaper, Christie’s …

Christie’s is Suing an Italian Real Estate Investor for Allegedly Refusing to Pay $28 M. for Chardin Painting Read More »

Lorraine O’Grady, Conceptual Artist Who Advocated for Black Women’s Perspectives, Dies at 90

Lorraine O’Grady. Photo Marc Dimov/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images Lorraine O’Grady, an artist who bravely used her conceptual pieces and performance art to critique systems of power, incisively underlining the ways that class, race, and gender influence one another, died at her home in New York on Friday. Her death was announced by a trust …

Lorraine O’Grady, Conceptual Artist Who Advocated for Black Women’s Perspectives, Dies at 90 Read More »

Christie’s Totals $5.7 B. in 2024, Down from Last Year’s $6.2 B. Amid ‘Challenging Environment’

‘Challenging’: Guillaume Cerutti, Christie’s CEO, gave his end-of-year presser on Tuesday. AFP via Getty Images Christmas is almost here, which means Christie’s CEO Guillaume Cerutti did his best to bring festive cheer by crunching the auction house’s 2024’s numbers during his end-of-year press conference Tuesday. Cerutti said the house’s projected sales for this year total …

Christie’s Totals $5.7 B. in 2024, Down from Last Year’s $6.2 B. Amid ‘Challenging Environment’ Read More »

UK Considers Granting Artists ‘Right to Personality’ Amid Rise of Generative AI

OpenAI officially launched the AI video generation model Sora in Suqian, Jiangsu, China, on December 10. Photo Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images The UK government is considering an upgrade of its “right to personality” law that could gain artists new safeguards against generative artificial intelligence models capable of mimicking their styles. Per the Financial Times, the …

UK Considers Granting Artists ‘Right to Personality’ Amid Rise of Generative AI Read More »

London’s Groucho Club to Reopen Following Alleged Rape on its Premises

A rape is being investigated at the Groucho Club on Dean Street in Soho. In Pictures via Getty Images London’s Groucho Club will reopen in January following an allegation of rape on its premises. The members-only had its license temporarily suspended last month amid a police investigation into the claim. Artfarm, a hospitality company set …

London’s Groucho Club to Reopen Following Alleged Rape on its Premises Read More »

Phillips Chairman and Deputy CEO Step Down Amid Leadership Reshuffle

Phillips CEO Martin Wilson. Courtesy Phillips. Phillips has named Martin Wilson as the house’s new chief executive officer amid another leadership shuffle, succeeding Ed Dolman, who held the dual position of CEO and executive chairman over the last year, and is now departing from the house after ten years. Wilson previously served as Phillips’ chief …

Phillips Chairman and Deputy CEO Step Down Amid Leadership Reshuffle Read More »

Samantha Box’s Still Life Collages Look at How the Caribbean Is Exported to Its Diaspora

Samantha Box. Photo Farrah Skeiky After 12 years of photographing queer youth in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, photographer Samantha Box came to the realization around 2018 that this sort of documentation was not work that appealed to her any longer.  “I don’t believe in documentary photography anymore,” she told ARTnews during a visit to …

Samantha Box’s Still Life Collages Look at How the Caribbean Is Exported to Its Diaspora Read More »

Niki de Saint Phalle Biopic Is a Convincing Portrait of an Artist in Transformation

Still from Niki, 2024. Courtesy Wild Bunch In 1952, Niki de Saint Phalle moved from the United States to France with her husband Harry Mathews and her infant daughter. Dark childhood memories, including ones involving her incestuous father, started to resurface, moving her to commit herself to a mental institution, where she received electroshock treatment. …

Niki de Saint Phalle Biopic Is a Convincing Portrait of an Artist in Transformation Read More »