In the Instagram post, Chan, seen sipping from a mug that matches the statue’s color, playfully commented, “The more of me the better?” The statue’s design, with its flowing silver garment, looks like a mashup of ancient Roman Sculpture and the T-1000 from Terminator 2. According to Zuckerberg, the inspiration came from the former: he captioned the photo “bringing back the Roman tradition of making sculptures of your wife.”

The sculpture features a reflective silver robe wrapped around a blueish green figure that brings to mind a photoshop-smooth version of the weathered and oxidized copper of the Statue of Liberty in New York. The statue’s striking color and size led to a flurry of online comparisons to characters from “Avatar” and jokes about Zuckerberg being the ultimate “wife guy.”

Zuckerberg and Chan met in 2003 while both were students at Harvard. They have been married since 2012 and share three daughters.

Arsham has worked across sculpture, architecture, drawing and film to explore his concept of “fictional archaeology” He most recently opened the exhibition “Phases” at Fotografiska New York earlier this year and he has long been represented by Perrotin. Last month, Arsham was accused of violating national labor laws by employees of his studio, according to a complaint filed with the National Labor Relations Board.

The Dallas Museum of Art jointly acquired All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins in 2017 with the Rachofsky Collection, which is also based in Dallas. Like other entries in the series, viewers are invited to step inside a small mirrored room filled with Kusama’s whimsical, often polka-dotted sculptures, in this case, her signature yellow and black pumpkins. The effect is a kaleidoscopic sea of sculptures stretching into oblivion—very selfie-friendly. 

All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins is “key to understanding [Kusama’s] practice,” Gavin Delahunty, a contemporary-art curator at the museum, said in a statement in 2017.

Due to its popularity, the installation comes with a recommendation of one to four visitors at a time, though that didn’t prevent property damage during its stint at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. In a headline-grabbing 2017 incident, a visitor tripped on one of the hand-painted acrylic gourds, shattering it in the process, while trying to take a photo. The Washington Post reported at the time that the museum instructed for no security to be in the narrow room with visitors, who are allowed 30 seconds inside of viewing. 

A Hirshhorn spokesperson told the Post that the cost of replacing a pumpkin was “negligible,” and the site-specific nature of the installation allows for seemingly endless reconfigurations, all of which are executed in consultation with Kusama.

The 95-year-old Japanese artist is one of the most profitable contemporary artists of today. She grossed $80.9 million at auction last year, beating out David Hockney for the spot of top-selling contemporary artist of 2023 (her most expensive piece sold was the painting A Flower (2014), which fetched nearly $10 million at Christie’s Hong Kong). 

Museums are similarly shelling out to add a Kusama to their collection. In June, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art announced that it had acquired the “Infinity Room” Dreaming of Earth’s Sphericity, I Would Offer My Love (2023). The installation, consisting of large transparent acrylic dots suspended like a constellation, will remain on view through January of 2025.

As of this June, SFMOMA reported that its Kusama show, “Infinite Love,” had been seen by 170,000 people.

Located in the city’s Royal Palace, the Grünes Gewölbe, or Green Vault, was started as a dedicated effort for storing precious metals, art, and artifacts collected by Saxon elector August the Strong, who later become king of Poland from 1723 and 1729.

Five members of a criminal gang broke into the Green Vault in a nighttime heist in November 2019. They were sentenced to six years in prison for stealing the trove of 18th-century jewelry last year.

The group, known as the Remmo Clan, a family crime network operating in Germany, smashed the glass in the display cases using an axe, pocketed 21 pieces of jewelry, and fled within five minutes. The looted Saxon royal artifacts contain more than 4,300 diamonds and is collectively valued at €114 million (about $125 million). The thieves were ultimately sentenced on charges of armed robbery, aggravated arson, and grievous bodily harm.

The Green Vault announced the public reopening of the gems and other relics with an exhibition restored to “almost all its glory”, with the majority of the jewels having been recovered.

“The jewels are presented exactly as they were returned to the [Dresden State Art Collections] — with damage that is barely visible, although in need of restoration,” Marion Ackermann, director general of the Dresden State Art Collections, said in a statement.

Following the heist, the regional court allowed the recovered artifacts to be returned to the museum for display.

“In 2019, criminal clans from Berlin took possession of our cultural heritage,” Saxony Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer said in German in a post on X. “But we fought for our treasure!”

Though the breast star of the Polish Order of the White Eagle decorated in diamonds and a diamond-covered sword were recovered by German law enforcement authorities in late 2022, a large breast bow of Queen Amalie Auguste, made of 611 small diamonds, silver and gold, and an epaulet that includes the so-called Saxon White diamond, is still among the items missing.

An international commission of experts is expected to convene on how to restore the recovered jewels.

The institution, which houses 14 of Mark Rothko’s Seagram Mural paintings in Houston, Texas, found itself in the Category 1 (down from Category 5) storm’s warpath. Three of the murals were damaged, along with parts of the chapel’s ceiling and several of its walls.

Beryl killed 64 people in late June and early July. The Houston area accounted for almost half of the death toll.

“The chapel’s continued stewardship of this beloved cultural and sacred site, renowned for its Mark Rothko panels, remains our highest priority, and the closure will ensure the necessary repairs and restoration can be made as effectively and completely as required,” the chapel’s chief executive director, David Leslie, said in a statement. “Our focus now is on the restoration of the building and panels, and on continuing our mission of both contemplation and action at the intersection of art, spirituality, and human rights.”

It’s not yet known how much the repairs will cost the Rothko Chapel, nor when it will reopen.

The Art Newspaper reported that Beryl is estimated to have caused “between $28 billion and $32 billion in damage in the United States alone, with insurers in the Houston area expected to pay out between $2.5 billion and $3.5 billion in claims because of the storm.”

Houston collectors Dominique and John de Menil built the chapel as a space for contemplation. It opened in 1971 and operates as a non-profit entity.

From October 3 through 6, the inaugural Atlanta Art Fair will host international galleries and local enterprises at the historic event space Pullman Yards. The new fair is helmed by AMP director Kelly Freeman, with Nato Thompson tapped as artistic director. 

The full exhibitor list will be shared closer to October, but organizers have said the spread will offer “a unique microcosm of the American South”, with strong representation by regional outfits, as well as public programming and large-scale projects organized by Thompson.

Some 60 exhibitors showcasing artworks by over 100 artists are slated to appear so far. Among the Atlanta exhibitors are Alan Avery Art Company, Day & Night Projects, Dunwoody Gallery, Fay Gold Gallery, Gallery Anderson Smith, Hawkins Headquarters, Jackson Fine Art, Johnson Lowe Gallery, Marcia Wood Gallery, Maune Contemporary, The Object Space, Poem 88, Sandler Hudson Gallery, Spalding Nix Fine Art, and Whitespace. 

Participants from elsewhere in the American South include House of Friends (Savannah, Georgia), Scott Miller Projects (Birmingham, Alabama); Fotovat Atelier (Fort Lauderdale, Florida); Lucky Fish Gallery (Greensboro, North Carolina ); Urevbu Contemporary (Memphis, Tennessee); and Mitochondria Gallery (Houston, Texas). Also set to appear are Luis De Jesus and Residency Art Gallery from Los Angeles, Aspen’s Casterline|Goodman Gallery, New York’s M. David & Co. and Spanierman Modern, as well as international galleries Gallery Tableau (Seoul, South Korea); Galeria Baobab (Bogotá, Colombia); Makasiini Contemporary (Turku, Finland); Spence Gallery (Ontario, Canada); and Stoney Road Press (Dublin, Ireland). 

Atlanta Art Fair—the first of its stature in the city—is the latest endeavor of Art Market Productions (AMP) and Intersect Art and Design, the latter of which was involved in an advisory role. AMP currently organizes three art fairs: the Seattle Art Fair, the San Francisco Art Fair, Art on Paper in New York (The company is also a division of a21, a marketing agency). Intersect Art and Design currently organizes two art fairs: Intersect Aspen (formerly Art Aspen) and Intersect Palm Springs (formerly Art Palm Springs).

“There is so much happening in Atlanta from a cultural perspective,” Freeman said in a statement. “We have been watching as Atlanta’s art scene has grown from strength to strength and recognize the need for the city’s art market to have a centralized meeting point. Our priority is to engage the local community and really listen to what it needs to help support its expansion.”

THE HEADLINES

ANIMAL HARM? I think we can finally put the Banksy vandalizing London story with animal portraits story to bed. It looks like he’s given up on the series, capping it off with a gorilla helping to facilitate the great escape from London Zoo. His identity may remain a mystery, but ITV recently dipped into its archives and found an old report from 2003 on the graffiti artist that 1) almost reveals his identity and 2) confirms his love (or hate) of animals. In it, Banksy – who is wearing a makeshift disguise of a baseball cap and T-shirt pulled over his face – says in a thick Bristolian drawl, “I’m disguised because you can’t really be a graffiti writer and go public, the two things don’t quite go together.” The story follows Banksy painting a load of live farm animals for an exhibition and the anticipation builds agonizingly as the RSPCA (the British equivalent of the ASPCA) inspector arrives to check if the artist has used animal-friendly paint. Has he or hasn’t he…. Watch to find out

GET A GRIPPA. London’s National Gallery has splashed out more than $2.5 million on a painting by Dutch, Victorian-era artist Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1833-1912). The artwork, called After the Audience (1879) centers on Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, who was the son-in law of Emperor Augustus Caesar and the patron of significant Roman buildings including the Pantheon and the Basilica of Neptune. It was painted to catch the eye of industrialist William Armstrong, who was a fan of another work by Alma-Tadema titled An Audience with Agrippa (1875), which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1876. However, Armstrong’s interest wasn’t piqued, which is his loss given After the Audience is now widely considered to be one of the artist’s masterpieces, “noted for its scale and complexity of composition,” according to The Art Newspaper. It is the first work by Alma-Tadema to be acquired by the National Gallery, and its inclusion in the museum’s collection is part of its ongoing 200th anniversary celebrations.

THE DIGEST

Swiss artist Christoph Büchel has turned a Venetian Palace into a pawnshop with his “compelling, obsessive, and sometimes hilarious” installation. Check it out. [The New York Times]

Toddler’s nightmares are made of this; someone auctioning off your teddy bear collection. The owner of Teddy Bears of Whitney, a shop in the UK city of Oxford, has one very special bear – Aloysius from the 1980s TV adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited. It’s expected to fetch around $40,000 at auction. [BBC]

To celebrate its 60th birthday – and the fact it’s now Europe’s longest-standing, independent foundation – the Fondation Marguerite et Aimé Maeght in southern France has put on a show of works by Henri Matisse and Pierre Bonnard. [The Art Newspaper]

More than 150 prominent cultural figures across Europe have signed an open letter slamming Slovakia’s nationalistic government for sacking the directors of the country’s National Theater and National Gallery (SNG). [e-flux]

THE KICKER

TICKET TO PARADISE. Another auction story for you. This time it’s not about a teddy bear but a silver fox, George Clooney. The actor is selling a few candlelit hours of his time in New York to the highest bidder for charity. The auction, managed by Charitybuzz and titled “A Good Evening with George Clooney” closes on August 20 and is witnessing a flurry of bidding. The starting bid was $10,000 and the price has risen to $31,000 at the time of writing. The charity hopes someone will be willing to fork out at least $60,000 for a dinner date with George… well, a dinner date with George and two dozen other guests. Make sure you read the small print before placing a bid. The proceeds will go towards causes including Waging Justice for Women. [The News]

The decorated floor covering depicts stylized dolphins and several species of fish. It was located in a home likely owned by a wealthy and powerful family, according to a press release by Vianova Archaeology & Heritage Services, one of the organizations involved in the excavation.

The home was later remodeled, likely in the 3rd or 4th century, which helped ensure the mosaic’s survival after the room was filled with building debris to raise up the home’s interior.

The mosaic was the first of such archeological treasures uncovered in 165 years at the Roman city of Wroxeter. Additional discoveries made by the archaeological team (some 30 people, 20 of which were students) in the unexplored area of Wroxeter during July and August included “a possible shrine or mausoleum, a monumental roadside civic building, and tantalizing hints of a nearby temple”.

The public building was located along one of the Roman city’s main streets facing the city’s forum-basilica (its marketplace and city hall). The building was 26 feet wide but at least 164 feet long. There were also “a number” of complete and broken pottery vessels found.

In addition to Vianova Archaeology & Heritage Services, the archaeological excavation involved the University of Birmingham and Albion Archaeology on behalf of the English Heritage Trust. It was directed by Vianova Archaeology’s Dr. Peter Guest, University of Birmingham archaeologist Dr. Roger White, and Albion Archaeology manager Mike Luke.

The news of the discovery was first reported by CNN.

The mural, created by the street artist Laika, featured Egonu, an Italian citizen and key figure in Italy’s historic gold medal win at the Paris Olympics, along with the words “stop racism.” Vandals spray-painted Egonu’s skin pink and erased the anti-racist message, sparking widespread condemnation from politicians and Egonu’s teammates.

The mural, titled Italianità, was Laika’s response to a controversial passage in a book by Roberto Vannacci, a far-right Italian delegation to the European parliament, who questioned Egonu’s representation of Italy based on her physical features. Vannacci reiterated his stance after Egonu’s standout performance in the Olympic final against the USA, during which she earned the title of top scorer.

The defacement of the mural was condemned across Italy’s political spectrum. Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani expressed solidarity with Egonu, calling the act “vulgar racism,” while Elly Schlein, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, reiterated the need for legal reforms to grant citizenship at birth to children born in Italy to foreign parents. Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, and Italian men’s volleyball player Simone Giannelli also denounced the vandalism, describing it as a “vile insult” and an act of “heartlessness.”

Egonu, who was born in Italy to Nigerian parents, has previously faced racial abuse. Following a loss to Brazil during the world championship semi-finals in 2022 she temporarily stepped away from the national team after she was barraged with racial abuse online.

In an interview with Al Jazeera she said the worst attack of the lot questioned whether or not she was truly Italian. “It was devastating,” Egonu said.

A total of 11 cars are expected to hit the block, spanning different events later this year and next year in 2025. Though none of the classic cars have a direct connection to the Brickyard, as it is known, they are considered among some of the most desirable in the world.

Among the trove of historic cars is a 1954 Mercedes-Benz worth up to $70 million. The W196 Streamliner “Monza” was driven by Argentine race car driver Juan Manuel Fangio and British motorsports driver Stirling Moss in Buenos Aires in the ’50s. Moss subsequently drove the vehicle in the 1955 Italian Grand Prix in Monza, where he hit the fastest lap and earned one point in the World Drivers’ Championship that year.

Another car to be included is the 1964 Ferrari 250 LM, chassis no. 5893, which was piloted by American motorsports driver Masten Gregory and German-born racing driver Jochen Rindt in the 1065 running of the 24 Hours of LE Mans.

The list also includes a 1966 Ford GT40 Mark II, chassis no. P/1032, a 1057 Chevrolet Corvette SS Project XP64, a 1906 Mercedes Brookland “Semmering Hill Climb”, a 1991 Benetton B191 Formula 1 Car, a 1907 Itala, a 1911 Laurin & Klement Racer The Sprit of America, a 1911 Mercedes 22/40 Touring, and a 1929 Bugatti Type 35C.

The auction, according to Sotheby’s, will benefit the care of its Indianapolis 500 and Speedway artifacts collection, which is “one of the most impressive collections of automotive history in the world”, with further details of the sale slated to be announced “in the coming weeks.”

THE HEADLINES

JUMPING SHIP? Smack bang in the middle of the Bronx Museum’s very expensive renovation project, its executive director has decided to leave. Klaudio Rodriguez, who has led the museum since 2020, is moving to Florida to take charge of the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in St. Petersburg. He was instrumental in getting the $33 million expansion and facelift off the ground so his departure may come as a surprise to some. “It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with the staff and board of the Bronx Museum over the past seven years,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “I am leaving the museum in great hands and with a great team.” Shirley Solomon, the museum’s deputy director, and its chief advancement officer, Yvonne Garcia, will serve as interim co-leaders until the next director is signed up. Rodriguez will take the MFA reigns from Anne-Marie Russell, who quit on March 1. Her departure was announced in November 2023, just over 12 months after she first joined the museum as interim director. He short tenure came right after controversy linked to an exhibition of Greek antiquities at the MFA, many of which were revealed to have suspect provenance documentation. 

DAVID AND GOLIATH. A lawsuit filed by a cohort of artists against Midjourney, Stability AI, and other companies dabbling in AI has been green-lighted by a judge, despite some claims being dismissed. The artists claim that the popular AI services broke copyright law by training on a dataset that included their work and, in some cases, their users can directly reproduce copies of their work. Last year, a judge allowed a direct copyright infringement complaint against Stability, which operates the Stable Diffusion AI image generator. However, he binned a load of other claims and asked the artists’ lawyers to add more detail to them. In the most recent, though, the revised cases have convinced the judge to approve another claim of induced copyright infringement against Stability. Who will win, artist or AI corps?

THE DIGEST

How do you choose which museums to visit in Paris? A safe bet is to ask the director of Art Basel Paris, Clément Deléphine. He’s in the know. [FT]

A museum in Tel Aviv is hiding its most valuable works in the basement as Israel fears the wrath of Iran. Paintings by Pablo Picasso and Gustav Klimt are among the works being secured underground by the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in case Tehran fires missiles at the Israeli city as regional tensions flare. [The Times of Israel]

Find out how one of Japan’s most revered contemporary artists, Yoshitomo Nara, and others are subverting the country’s cute “kawaii” aesthetic to question the world we live in. [BBC]

A solitary gold coin may fetch more than $1 million at auction as an ancient coin hoard goes under the hammer after a century of secrecy. [Business Insider].

THE KICKER

ONE FELL SCOOP. The Museum of Ice Cream in Manhattan is being sued by a man who injured himself in the sprinkle pool. Described by The Art Newspaper as “the millennial-pink, dessert-themed ‘experium’ that promises to help visitors ‘reimagine the way [they] experience ice cream,’” the museum looks like it’s made for Instagram. Jeremy Schorr was visiting the joint with his daughter in 2023 when he suffered “severe and permanent personal injuries,” according to the lawsuit. He claims the museum “failed to warn… visitors that it is unsafe to jump or plunge into the sprinkle pool, while encouraging them to do so through its advertising, marketing and promotional materials.” Schorr, who is represented by the Staten Island-based personal injury firm Perrone, also argues that there weren’t enough sprinkles in the pool. We’ve all been there, when the ice cream man is a little tight with the hundreds and thousands. [Artnet News]