Geta Brătescu (1926–2018)

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Geta Brătescu (1926–2018) | The Romanian conceptual artist Geta Brătescu has died aged 92, according to DC News (in Romanian). Born in Ploiești in 1926, Brătescu studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bucharest until she was expelled in 1950 when the Communist party reviewed her parents’ decision to buy the pharmacy at which they both worked. She continued to draw and found work as an illustrator for children’s books before returning to university in 1969. There she was offered a studio space, around which much of her drawing, films and performance art revolved, often in a contemplation of selfhood. Even in old age Brătescu went to her Bucharest studio every day. She was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa in 2008 by the National University of the Arts, Bucharest. A solo exhibition at Tate Liverpool in 2015 was followed by a 2016 retrospective at the Hamburger Kunsthalle and a survey show at Camden Arts Centre in 2017 – the same year in which she represented Romania at the Venice Biennale.

Chinese art removed from Trump’s updated trade tariffs | On Monday, art and antiquities made in China were removed from a revised list of Chinese imported goods to the US that are to be subjected to a 10 per cent tariff from 24 September. The original list, which included both contemporary Chinese art and ‘antiques of an age exceeding 100 years’, was issued in July by the Office of the United States Trade Representative on behalf of president Trump. In response, the auction house Christie’s told The Art Newspaper, ‘tariffs on Chinese works of art, antiquities and collectibles could result in disproportionate harm to American collectors, cultural institutions and businesses’. The decision to revise the list came after a six-day public hearing in Washington, D.C. in August, with testimonies presented to the Section 301 Committee.

Dealer Jan Six has identified a second Rembrandt | Dealer of Dutch Old Masters, Jan Six, has announced the discovery of a new Rembrandt for the second time this year. The painting in question, Let the Children Come to Me, was misattributed to a ‘Netherlandish School’ by German auction house Lempertz in a 2014 sale, where Six bought the canvas for €1.5m. According to Six, the painting’s true identity became apparent when he noticed a portrait of the young Rembrandt in the background which was typical of the artist’s other works. Other experts have since backed up the claim, along with X-rays and MRI scans, and the painting will be exhibited in Leiden next year.

David Adjaye to build new art museum for Princeton University | A new art museum at Princeton University in New Jersey will be designed by the architect David Adjaye, who oversaw the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. Replacing an existing museum, the space will be enlarged to provide more space for the permanent collection, special exhibitions and offices for a hundred people.