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The Headlines
ROMANTIC GETAWAY. Former South Korean first lady Kim Keon Hee, a self-described “K-culture salesperson,” per Artnet News, was arrested Tuesday following a court-issued warrant. She’s accused of manipulating the stock price of Deutsch Motors between 2009 and 2012 and illegally interfering in the 2022 and 2024 election candidate nominations. Hee denies the allegations. Known for organizing exhibitions featuring artists such as Andy Warhol and Mark Rothko, she now joins her husband, former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol, in detention. Yeol was arrested after attempting to impose martial law in December. This marks the first time a former presidential couple in South Korea has been detained simultaneously.
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QUEER ART CANCELED. Curators say queer art is being censored in the US. NBC News reports that last month’s cancelation of Amy Sherald’s LGBTQ-inclusive Smithsonian show “American Sublime” marked the latest in a growing wave of LGBTQ-related art censorship at major museums in 2025. In February, Washington D.C.’s Art Museum of the Americas abruptly canceled “Nature’s Wild With Andil Gosine,” a group show inspired by Gosine’s book on Caribbean sexuality and activism. Critics noted the timing followed Trump administration directives to eliminate “anti-American” content from cultural institutions. Art historian Jonathan D. Katz has connected these events to long-standing tensions over sexuality in art, tracing them back to the Mapplethorpe controversy of the late 1980s.
The Digest
A 13-year drought may have played a hand in the collapse of ancient Maya civilization. Researchers collected climate data for the years 871 to 1021, a period of decline for Maya society, by analysing a stalagmite found in a Mexican cave. [The Art Newspaper]
Justin Sun, the crypto billionaire who bought Mauricio Catelan’s banana duct-taped to a wall, has filed a lawsuit against Bloomberg, claiming the publications plans to “recklessly and improperly disclose his highly confidential, sensitive, private, and proprietary financial information,” obtained to verify his assets for Bloomberg’s “Billionaires Index.” [Delaware Court filing]
Poland’s culture ministry and the country’s National Heritage body has named Daniel Muzyczuk as the next director of the Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź. Muzyczuk, who was appointed acting director in July 2024 after artist Andrzej Biernacki left the role, was unanimously recommended by a selection committee. [Artforum]
France reportedly demanded that its citizens be allowed to view the Bayeux Tapestry for free or at a discount when it goes on display at the British Museum next year. [The Telegraph]
The Kicker
TRAGIC DEATH OF DESIGNERS. Mario Paglino, 52, and Gianni Grossi, 54—renowned Italian designers celebrated for transforming Barbie dolls into unique, high-value art pieces—tragically died on July 27 in a car crash on the A4 Turin-Milan highway, reports Italian news agency ANSA. Their vehicle was struck by another car traveling the wrong way. Based in Novara, near Milan, the couple married in New York City in 2022 and collaborated closely in both life and work. Their custom-designed Barbie dolls, often sold for thousands of dollars—including one that raised over $15,000 at a charity auction—earned them widespread acclaim within the global Barbie collector community. This dedicated fanbase spans numerous online groups, some with over 100,000 members. “Fans either collect Barbies made by Mattel or seek out rare, one-of-a-kind creations by doll artists,” explained Kim Culmone, head of doll design at Mattel. Paglino and Grossi were beloved figures in this vibrant and passionate collector world.