Art news daily: 20 February

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Naiza Khan to represent Pakistan at Venice Biennale | Pakistan will participate at the Venice Biennale for the very first time, Art News reports. Represented by the multi-disciplinary London- and Karachi-based artist Naiza Khan, the inaugural Pakistan pavilion will feature her project Manora Field Notes. Curated by Zahra Khan, it will focus on the historic island of Manora, located off the coast of Karachi.

US investment firm sues artist Kristen Visbal | A Boston-based asset-management firm, State Street Global Advisors, is suing Delaware-based artist Kristen Visbal for trademark infringement and breach of contract, reports Artnet. The company has accused Visbal of making at least three unauthorised reproductions of her bronze statue Fearless Girl, which went viral as a symbol for gender diversity after being erected in New York’s Financial District in 2017.

National Gallery’s newly acquired Cranach goes on display | The National Gallery has announced that a recently acquired ‘moral’ painting by Renaissance master Lucas Cranach the Elder, Venus and Cupid (1529), is now on display near the artist’s painting of the same subject, thought to have been made a few years earlier. The mythological work depicts a nude Venus with her son Cupid, being stung by bees after stealing a honeycomb. The painting was gifted to the gallery last year by the Drue Heinz Charitable Trust.

The Met appoints new deputy director for digital | New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced Inka Drögemüller as deputy director for digital, education, publications, imaging and libraries, a newly created role at the institution. Drögemüller was previously managing director at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt. The Met has also announced the appointment of Sean Hemingway as curator of Greek and Roman art, and Sarah E. Lawrence as curator of European sculpture and decorative arts.