We will have a review for you shortly and my in depth piece on Bruce Guenther will post on Saturday (the 20th is his last day and many of the most crucial aspects have not been discussed). Till then here are some links:

The uncontested works (?) from the Gurlitt trove will go to the Bern Kunstmuseum. It is a fact, museums walk an incredibly fine line between ennobling culture and the messy way that sausage gets made but the Gurlitt acquisition is perhaps the most tainted situation to come to light in the 21st century to date. Yes, it looks like Bern is being very cautious, but still... this promises to take another 50-100 years to sort out.

Look, art fairs are not Ikea for millionaires. There are a lot of class warfare tinged sentiments out there at the moment but I think we need to separate the discussion of high priced masterworks from relatively unproven contemporary art and the living artists that create it. In general, many of the names you see bandied about right now wont be around in 5-10 years. That "other" work that already has been certified great is still great, despite the very impressive price tags. The worst case scenarios are when these great works leave the public view all together. They both have cultural value worth discussing beyond monetary value. That is what museums are for.

Eric Fischl on art fairs.

Michael Graves visited Portland last week and Brian Libby recounts the momentous event. Overall, I'm in complete agreement... we should renovate the building, which is of immense historical and cultural significance. Partially this is because the city as a client/patron failed perhaps more than Graves did as an architect. Pictures, as Randy Gragg recently suggested are simply not enough and Portland should double down on the Portland building. Anyone who knows anything about the siting of sculpture would understand how the building very much stages Portlandia as well (and no it is not as important as the building) Overall it is a deft design moment we need to protect).

Ken Johnson discusses humor in art and its ubiquity as of late. It reminds me that comedy has certain technical aspects to it and what a lot of these artists lack is the way comedians hone their act. They seem content to be mildly humorous. Real comedy is more jarring.