Angelica Villa, ARTnews Journalist Profile

Articles

Jeff Koons ‘Split-Rocker’ Sculpture Gifted to LACMA by Lynda and Stewart Resnick

3 days ago | artnews.com | Angelica Villa

Lynda and Stewart Resnick have donated a monumental Jeff Koons Split-Rocker sculpture to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), which will exhibit the 37-foot-tall work near a newly created group of galleries endowed by trustee David Geffen. Split-Rocker contains a metal skeleton and resembles the head of a children’s toy, with one half recalling rocking horse and the other a dinosaur. Planted in its surface are 50,000 flowers.
Spanish Supreme Court Orders Heirs to Return Cathedral Statues

1 week ago | artnews.com | Angelica Villa

Spain’s Supreme Court has ordered the heirs of former dictator Francisco Franco to return two religious statues to the city of Santiago, concluding a years-long legal dispute over their ownership. The two pieces, depicting biblical figures Isaac and Abraham, date back to the 12th century and were originally produced as decorative elements for the Portico of Glory, an entrance to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
UOVO Seeking to Build Second Large-Scale Brooklyn Facility

1 week ago | artnews.com | Angelica Villa

UOVO, a collector-founded art storage facility in the U.S., is seeking approval in New York to build a second location in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. The proposed seven-story, 240,000 sq. ft building would be located at 74 Bogart Street, currently a parking lot, and would expand the company’s footprint near its existing 150,000 sq. ft Bushwick facility, which the company opened before the pandemic in 2020.
On Art Basel’s 55th Anniversary, Dealers Recall the Good Old Days

1 week ago | artnews.com | Harrison Jacobs |Daniel Cassady |George Nelson |Angelica Villa

Back in 1970, when Art Basel was founded, there were just a handful of major fairs. Today, however, by some estimates, there are more than 300 art fairs. But even still, Art Basel remains the main fair for many of the dealers showing in Switzerland this week. David Fleiss, the cofounder of Paris’s Galerie 1900-2000, participated in the 1970 and 1971 editions of the fair, before taking a long hiatus until the ’90s. He’s been going ever since. “The fair is the fair for us.
Disney, Universal Sue AI Image Generator Midjourney for Copyright Violation

2 weeks ago | artnews.com | Angelica Villa

Two entertainment giants, Walt Disney Co. and NBC Universal, filed a joint copyright infringement lawsuit on Wednesday against Midjourney, a widely used AI image generator. The suit marks the first time major Hollywood studios have waded into the escalating conflict between legacy media and generative AI firms, whose use of open-source imagery on the internet to train their AI models has been heavily scrutinized.
Frieze to Launch New Seoul Exhibition Venue Ahead of September Fair

2 weeks ago | artnews.com | Angelica Villa

Frieze is expanding its footprint in Asia with the launch of Frieze House Seoul, a new exhibition space that will open alongside the fourth edition of Frieze Seoul in early September. The space, located in Yaksu-dong in central Seoul, will host exhibitions and events organized by leading galleries during the four-day fair, scheduled to take place from September 3 to September 6.
Donald Judd Historic District in Marfa Added to National Register

2 weeks ago | artnews.com | Angelica Villa

The Texas Historical Commission (THC), a group that oversees preserved sites in the state, announced that a series of buildings repurposed by minimalist artist Donald Judd and overseen by two artist foundations, has been added to a national register that gives protected status to long-standing cultural sites. The listing makes the artist’s compound in the West Texas town entitled to preservation efforts in the future.
Trust Overseeing Rivera and Kahlo Estates Accused of Mismanagement

2 weeks ago | artnews.com | Angelica Villa

A former director of museums devoted to Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in Mexico City has accused the trust that oversees those two institutions of years of mismanagement. In a statement to the Art Newspaper, which first reported news of Soto’s claims, the trust said the former director never officially reported concerns about the status of the collections during her tenure.
Closed SFAI Campus to Be Converted into Artist Residency Center

3 weeks ago | artnews.com | Angelica Villa

The campus of the former San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) will now play host to a privately funded nonprofit arts center, the California Academy of Studio Arts (CASA). A residency program there will bring in 30 emerging artists each year. Backed by philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, the center will bring in artists to further develop their studio practices, matriculating them through an unaccredited program after one year.
UK Museums Defend Corporate Funding Amid 'Relentless Negativity'

3 weeks ago | artnews.com | Angelica Villa

A group of officials overseeing major UK cultural institutions, including the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the National Gallery, have signed a public letter defending the use of funding from corporate sponsors, a practice that has been widely criticized by activist groups. Published in the Financial Times, the brief letter calls for an end to what it describes as “relentless negativity” surrounding private sector partnerships.