Mayor of London rejects Foster + Partners’ ‘Tulip’ skyscraper

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Foster + Partners’ Tulip skyscraper refused planning permission | The Mayor of London has turned down an application for a tower in the City of London, designed by Foster + Partners, reports the Evening Standard. Planners for the Greater London Assembly (GLA) had already found it to breach current guidelines and the mayor called in the decision for review after it had been approved by the City of London.  A spokesman for the Mayor described the proposed design as being of insufficient quality for such a prominent site and damaging to the London skyline.

Chairmen of Paris Biennale vetting committee resign | Last Thursday, Bernard Castaing of the National Company of Experts (CNE) and Michel Maket Syndicat Fançais of Professional Experts in Works of Art and Collectibles (SFEP)—the two chairman of the Paris Biennale’s vetting committee – resigned over the inclusion of exhibitors currently under criminal investigation in the art fair. Maket will, however, remain on the vetting committee itself.

Tate acquires archive of surrealist painter Ithell Colquhoun | Tate has acquired a collection of more than 5,000 sketches, drawings, and artworks by British surrealist artist Ithell Colquhoun (1906–88) . An interest in magic and the occult—a focus that caused tension with other artists—are central to her work, but she has been largely overlooked in histories of surrealism. ‘She had very few solo exhibitions […] that’s why this collection is so amazing,’ said Adrian Glew, a Tate archivist. ‘It is going to be a re-evaluation of her whole career because there is so much in the collection.’

Recommended reading | On The Paris Review Daily, Dorothy Iannone’s cookbook blends recipes with diaristic musings. (‘Never cry while you cook,’ she writes.)