1) Adrien Brody Attends Art Basel as an Artist

The Art Basel art fair took place in Germany over the weekend, and one notable attendee appears to have been Hollywood star Adrien Brody. While other celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio frequently attend the fair with the intent of purchasing for their collections, this time around Brody singled himself out by calling himself an artist. While Brody did indeed have artworks at displays in two other fairs this year, he did not have any work at Basel. Perhaps the movie star plans on following in the footsteps of fellow actor Shia LaBoeuf and breaking into the world of performance art. A representative of the Pace Gallery stated that Brody was simply a friend of the gallery.

2) David Hockney Says Painting is An Old Man's Art 

Here’s an article in which beloved British painter David Hockney provides a jumping-off point for a discussion on art and age. Is it true that an artist makes their best work once they’ve accumulated many decades of experience? Is painting really “an old man’s art?” While certainly the accumulation of practice that comes with age can help a person’s artwork in technical areas, there have been many examples of youthful brilliance throughout the history of art. At any rate, the idea of artists only getting better with time is a hopeful one.

3) Final Student in USC Roski MFA Drops Out

Last year, the MFA class at the USC Roski School of Art made headlines around the world when they collectively decided to drop out after drastic changes were made to the structure of the Master’s program. Amid the kerfuffle, one dedicated student decided to go ahead with her entry. That student, HaeAhn Kwon, dropped out of the program this week. In a letter to Provost Michael Quick, Kwon states that she had decided to enter the program because of her international study scholarship that would allow her to move to California from South Korea, and would pay for her lodging and tuition during her time of study. She states in the letter that the program was poorly thought out, and that the lack of a cohort class prevented her from participating in group critiques, a central part of the program. The school, in turn, has denied Kwon’s allegations, stating that she was given opportunities to remedy the situation but took advantage of few of them.  

4) German Collector Threatens to Stop Loans in Britain if Brexit Goes Through

With talks of Britain leaving the European Union in the vote for Brexit reaching a fever pitch, at least one German art collector has stated that in the event that Brexit is upheld, he will no longer be loaning artworks to British institutions. Collector Heiner Pietzsch says that he will instead offer his extensive collection for loans to Scotland. London art dealer James Mayor has stated that if the Brexit vote goes through it could have disastrous consequences for the art market, particularly with sales to the rest of Europe being subject to previously nonexistent import taxes.