Maurizio Cattelan’s America (2016), a solid gold toilet originally created for the Guggenheim Museum in New York, was ‘stolen’ on Saturday morning from Blenheim Palace, the British country house currently hosting a retrospective of the Italian artist’s work. ArtReview has deployed scare quotes because, inevitably, there is speculation that the theft is an orchestrated stunt by an artist known for playing games with his audience. The artist has denied this, as has Blenheim Palace, and a man has been arrested in connection with the incident. Is it a joke? Is it a commentary on the artworld’s excess and the unequal distribution of wealth in the west? Has someone just burgled a toilet? ArtReview is on the edge of its seat.
In other news, the Swedish curator Fatima Hellberg has been appointed as the new director of Bonner Kunstverein. Hellberg joins from Künstlerhaus Stuttgart, where she has served as artistic director since 2015. She replaces Michelle Cotton, now at the Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean in Luxembourg.
To keep up to date on the whereabouts of Maurizio Cattelan’s gold toilet, as well as the latest appointments, open calls, awards, scandals and the rest, keep following our rolling news…
