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Riken Yamamoto Awarded 2024 Pritzker Architecture Prize

Japanese architect and social activist Riken Yamamoto has been awarded architecture’s most prestigious honor, the Pritzker Prize. Born in Beijing before relocating to Yokohama at the end of World War II, the 78-year-old  stylistic modernist was an unlikely recipient, but the Pritzker has begun to lean away from a preference toward the avant garde. Yamamoto’s five-decade long career has consistently prioritized community interaction over commodified extravagance, while keeping the concepts of mutual aid and spontaneous encounter at the forefront of his design choices. “One of the things we need most in the future of cities is to create conditions through architecture that multiply the opportunities for people to come together and interact," said Pritzker Prize chair Alejando Aravena. "By carefully blurring the boundary between public and private, Yamamoto contributes positively beyond the brief to enable community.” 

French Art Dealer Guy Wildenstein Convicted of Tax Fraud

Guy Wildenstein, French billionaire and heir to Wildenstein & Co. in New York, has been found guilty of tax fraud and money laundering after a years-long legal battle over the obscuring of his inherited estate. With what The New York Times called a “maze of trusts and shell companies,” the family failed to report to tax authorities a collection of masterworks (thought to be worth billions) as well as multiple off-shore properties. The 78-year-old gallerist and race-horse breeder has been fined $1.8 million in addition to being sentenced to two years of house arrest. In what prosecutors have called “the longest and most sophisticated tax fraud” in the history of modern France, this marked the third time that Wildenstein faced the French court. He was acquitted of identical charges in 2017 before the ruling was overturned in 2021. Authorities have seized $3.7 million of the family's assets. 

Artist’s Hit The Runway at Paris Fashion Week

Canadian artist Ambera Wellmann who made an unexpected cameo in Mugler’s 2024 ready-to-wear collection (available via Vogue’s lookbook) at this year’s Paris Fashion Week. Mugler’s creative director Casey Cadwallader teamed up with Wellmann to feature sections of the figurative oil paintings as prints for dresses, footwear, and a pair of denim pants. Since her participation in the New Museum’s 2021 Triennial "Soft Water Hard Stone," Wellmann’s expansive Philip-Guston-meets-Pieter-Bruegel paintings have been gaining interest. Hauser & Wirth brought the artist on in December as one of the gallery’s “collective impact” participants, according to ARTnews. The initiative by the mega-gallery aims to bring artists onto their roster in collaboration with the smaller galleries who currently represent the artists, in Wellmann’s case, her New York gallery, Company. The partnership aims to increase visibility and discourage artists from leaving their original representatives for bigger institutions. Hauser & Wirth plans to stage a solo exhibition of Wellmann’s work later this year. 

Protocol on Nazi-Looted Art Is Redefined 

25 years after the Washington Conference Principles were established (this international agreement issued a series of non-binding principles to assist participating nations in resolving issues related to Nazi-confiscated art), a clarification of guidelines was put into being for the 44 countries participating in the original agreement. As per The New York Times, the new agreement entitled, “Best Practices for the Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art,” does away with some existing confusion over what constitutes “just and fair” solutions. One target concern was over museums requiring reparation claimants to prove artworks had been sold under duress. Up until now, Museums had frequently asked claimants to prove the alleged coercion, but that will no longer be pertinent for works obtained between the years 1933-1946. “It’s “now it’s up to the current holder to prove the exemption from this general rule,” said Swiss lawyer Olaf Ossmann, who helped draft the new ordinances. Another point of tension has been alleviated for German climates. The country’s government previously required both parties to agree in order to adjudicate, but the new specifications make it possible for those who do not have consent from an artworks’ current holder to submit property claims.