Art Basel parent company MCH Group cancels Masterpiece fair in London

A SUMMARY OF THE MOST EXCITING ART NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

While we focus on Indian art, we can’t obviously function in a vacuum. It’s a small world and everything is connected, especially on the web. So, let’s train our spotlight across the world map to see what’s going on — from art trends to socio-political issues to everything that affects the great aesthetic global consciousness. Or, let’s just travel the world and have some fun!

Phil Collins’s collection of Alamo Artifacts heads to Texas museum

Nearly a decade ago, Phil Collins, lead singer of Genesis and the man responsible for theTarzansoundtrack, agreed to donate his collection of artifacts related to the Battle of the Alamo toTexas. The state promised to build a museum at Alamo Plaza in San Antonio, but now that the museum is close to completion, some have questioned whether certain objects in the collection are real. In recent years, the authenticity of the objects that supposedly came out of the Battle of the Alamo have come under increasing scrutiny. InForget the Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth, Bryan Burrough, Chris Tomlinson, and Jason Stanford focus on the market for these objects and the potentially shady dealings done to provide collectors with artifacts related to the battle. In an interview with theArt Newspaper, the Alamo’s senior curator, Ernesto Rodriguez, seemed to acknowledge that including items of suspect authenticity is an important part of telling the story of why the public became so fascinated by the battle. Read more on Art News.

Art Basel parent company MCH Group cancels Masterpiece fair in London

The forthcoming edition of the London art and antiques fair Masterpiece, which was planned for 28 June to 5 July, has been cancelled by its owners, the Swiss events company MCH Group, which also runs Art Basel. “Escalating costs and a decline in the number of international exhibitors mean that the event is not commercially viable this year,” an MCH spokesperson says in a statement toThe Art Newspaper. The company is now “considering future options for the Masterpiece brand” and says it will share further information in due course. Masterpiece launched its first edition in 2010, and is typically held annually during June and July at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea. It forms a key cultural moment of the London summer season along with other social events attracting high net worth individuals, such as the Royal Ascot horse races, the Wimbledon tennis tournament and the Chelsea Flower Show. Objects on sale range from contemporary art to Old Masters and antiques, jewellery, design and motor cars. Read more on UK Daily.

Roman-era mausoleum uncovered in France

The remains of an ancient Gallo-Roman funerary monument—possibly a mausoleum—was uncovered by archaeologists in Chemin des Buis, just to the south-east of the ancient town of Néris-les-Bains (or, in Latin, Aquae Nerii), in France, the French National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP)announced Monday. During an initial diagnosis, the INRAP team found a fragment of modillion cornice and the corner of a small building. The fragment would have been an engaged pilaster decorated with interlocking leaves on top of a Corinthian capital decorated with a figurine. To the pilaster’s left is either a helmeted male bust or a breast plate in bas-relief. A number of small ceramics dating to the 1st and 2nd centuries CE were also identified. A set of Gallo-Roman buildings delineated by a road and sections of pipes were uncovered during the excavation. The buildings would have been carefully constructed in tiles bound with lime mortar. The northwest section of this area contains a large pit. Details on Art News.