The Headlines
VILLA VANDALIZED. Three masterpieces by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Matisse, and Paul Cézanne were stolen from the Magnani Rocca Foundation’s villa near Parma on the night of March 22, as first reported by the Italian broadcaster Rai on Sunday and later aggregated by Le Monde and the Agence France-Presse. Police said four masked burglars forced open a door to the building. In just a few minutes,they made off with Renoir’s Les Poissons (The Fish), from 1917); Matisse’s Odalisque sur la terrasse (Odalisque on the terrace), from 1922; and the Cézanne watercolor Tasse et plat de cerises (Cup and plate of cherries), from ca. 1890. An alarm reportedly dissuaded the thieves from nabbing a fourth painting, which they ultimately abandoned. The private museum houses one of Italy’s most important private art collections. Compiled by the art historian Luigi Magnani (1906–84), it includes works by Titian, Dürer, Rubens, Van Dyck, and Goya.
MOCK TRIAL. In China’s Hebei Province today, a secret trial of detained artist Gao Zhenwas scheduled to begin, according to the New York Times. Zhen, 69, faces up to three years in prison for sculptures made over 15 years ago; authorities claimed those works mocked Mao Zedong. China’s 2018 slander law forbids tarnishing the reputation of historical figures or questioning official narratives. The trial will be closed to the public. “The authorities may have already decided for the court what the outcome should be, and the trial is simply a politicized legal process, devoid of any fairness,” said the artist’s brother and regular artistic collaborator, Gao Qiang. Both had emigrated to the US, but Gao Zhen was arrested in 2024 while traveling to China to visit family with his wife and son, who are both barred from leaving.
The Digest
Israeli artist Amir Fattal closed his exhibition at König gallery in Mexico City early, after vandals spray-painted swastikas and Stars of David across the gallery. Fattal said that, in advance of the vandalism, he received “hundreds of hate messages and comments across many of my posts” on social media. [Artnet News]
On Friday, Jane Fonda and Joan Baez joined others in denouncing the current administration’s use of cultural censorship at an event held in front of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., called “Artists United for Our Freedom.” [The New York Times]
A model design of President Trump’s new, massive ballroom for the White House grounds is full of impracticalities, according to architects who say the project was ill-conceived and conducted without public review. [The New York Times]
France’s recently appointed minister of culture, Catherine Pégard, said that a controversial Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance plan would not be abandoned. However, she said, the plan needs amending, with a greater focus on museum security and safety. [Le Figaro]
Chanel’s traveling cultural program, La Galerie du 19M, is heading to Shanghai’s Museum of Art Pudong, where it will exhibit work by its network of specialist ateliers in dialogue with Chinese craft and a retrospective dedicated to the embroidery house Lesage. [WWD]
The Kicker
GWANGHWAMUN STYLE. For the first time, a large-scale art exhibition about LGBTQ culture has opened in South Korea, reports the South China Morning Post. Hosted by Art Sonje Centre in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square, the exhibition is titled “Spectrosynthesis Seoul,” and “signals a step towards acceptance” within the country’s traditional society, writes Chloe Loung. Featuring 74 artists and groups, the exhibit is the fourth in a series of shows led by the Sunpride Foundation, founded by collector Patrick Sun. This latest iteration highlights LGBTQ communities in Asia, as well as civil and political unrest, including recent cases of violence in Korean gay spaces. “I was coming here with some reservations,” Sun said. “People may think Korea is very conservative, and yes, that may be true in some ways, but there’s also a thriving gay scene, and I’m especially appreciative of all our young artists who are very brave and willing to step out to have their voice heard.”
