After a period of controversy, the Istanbul Biennial, one of the world’s top recurring art exhibitions, will completely redo its forthcoming edition, delaying its opening date by a year and bringing on a new curator to mount it.

On Friday, the Art Newspaper reported that Iwona Blazwick will no longer serve as the curator of the next Istanbul Biennial. That exhibition was initially expected to open this year. It will now open in 2025—a move that the biennial said would allow for time to rethink the show.

Blazwick, the chair of the Royal Commission for AlUla’s Public Art Expert Panel in Saudi Arabia, had been the subject of scrutiny because she was also formerly a member of the Istanbul Biennial’s advisory committee.

The Art Newspaper had previously reported that despite that committee having recommended Defne Ayas to curate this edition of the biennial, Blazwick was selected instead. The foundation that manages the biennial, the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV), had reportedly not gone with Ayas because of her 2015 Turkish Pavilion for the Venice Biennale, devoted to the artist Sarkis. Her catalogue for the show had initially mentioned the Armenian genocide, which the Turkish government denies having happened; the book was subsequently taken out of circulation.

Around the time of the Art Newspaper report, Blazwick and three other members resigned from the committee. Afterward, a period of tumult followed at the biennial: artists said they would no longer participate in the show, the IKSV announced that it was going to overhaul the curatorial selection process, and the foundation’s longtime director, Bige Örer, resigned, only to be replaced earlier this year by Kevser Güler.

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The Headlines

INVESTIGATION NARROWS: A suspect was arrested by Brazilian police in connection to the death of the prominent New York dealer Brent Sikkema this week. Local TV Globo reported police detained a 30-year-old Cuban man named Alegandro Triana Trevez, who was in possession of $3,000 and a gold chain allegedly stolen from Sikkema. Trevez also appears to be seen on security footage entering Sikkema’s apartment on Sunday. Meanwhile, local media quoted unnamed sources who discussed a child-custody conflict between Sikkema and his Cuban husband. Sikkema, 75, was found dead Monday with 18 stab wounds in his Rio de Janeiro apartment. He founded Sikkema Jenkins & Co. in 1991. The gallery announced a memorial service will be held in his honor.

LOYAL TILL THE END: The courtroom saga continues between Accent Delight International, owned by Russian billionaire, Dmitry Ryboloviev, and Sotheby’s. Yesterday, the auction house’s head of private sales, Samuel Valette, was back on stand, questioned by the lawyer representing Sotheby’s, who attempted to undermine Ryboloviev’s accusation that the auction house aided the Swiss art dealer, Yves Bouvier, in overcharging him some $1 billion. ARTnews Senior Reporter Daniel Cassady said the testimony unfolded more like a conversation than an inquisition, aiming to show Valette’s principal, contracted client was Bouvier, not Rybolovlev. Pursuing Rybolovlev further, at that time, “would be like stabbing my client [Bouvier] in the back,” said Valette, though he hoped to business with Rybolovlev in future. Meanwhile, Bouvier, the elephant in the room, who is not a party to the current trial, released a statement insisting on his innocence. “Following the debates made in the New York courtroom, and the media coverage they have caused, is like a surreal charade in which people argue over a fraud that was proven to have never happened,” Bouvier said.

The Digest

Sotheby’s head of private sales Samuel Valette was back on the witness stand Thursday in the civil suit brought by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, in which he accuses the auction house of helping bleed him of $1 billion dollars by providing Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier with bloated estimates for blue-chip works. This time, however, it was Sotheby’s attorney Marcus Asner’s turn to question.

Among the more interesting things one notices during the hours spent watching lawyers question witnesses is how two people vibe. On Wednesday, when Valette was questioned by Rybolovlev’s counsel, Daniel Kornstein, the exchange quickly turned antagonistic. Of course, if would be. They are on opposing teams. Valette says he and Sotheby’s are innocent of the accusations brought against them. 

In Asner’s hands, Thursday’s testimony was a conversation, not an inquisition. During his questioning by Kornstein, Valette often seemed frustrated by the judge’s direction to keep his answers short. On Thursday, he was relaxed, as Asner prompted him to explain the details, like a contract between Sotheby’s and Bouvier’s company Blancaflor Investments, as well as multiple emails between Valette and his colleagues and superiors at the auction house.

Asner’s goal was untying, or at least loosening, the knots that Kornstein was trying to bind Valette down with the day before. This strategy involved walking Valette through many of the same questions Kornstein asked, but worded slightly differently or in a different tone. 

“During the time you spent with Mr. Rybolovlev did you ever tell him that you were his Key Client Manager?” Kornstein asked Valette on Wednesday, referring to an internal term Sotheby’s uses to designate specialists who are assigned to cultivate and manage specific collectors, regardless of whether the collector is aware or if Sotheby’s has ever done business with them.

8 min read

The Peter McQuitty Bursary, a research bursary awarded by the Museum of Oxford to fund local heritage projects led by young people in Oxford, has chosen to award local historian Dan Poole with funding for the research and creation of a biography of Charlie Hutchison. Due for completion in early 2024, this biography will contain original research based on newly recorded oral interviews with Charlie’s surviving family, alongside newly uncovered archival documents and photographs.

In this article, Dan Poole answers some questions about the Peter McQuitty Bursary and the direction of his research.

Who was Charlie Hutchison?

Charles William Duncan Hutchison (1918-1993), born on the outskirts of Oxford in the small historic village of Eynsham, grew up to become a life-long anti-fascist and trade unionist. He is most notable for being the only known Black-British person to fight in the Spanish Civil War. Having probably lied about his age when travelling to Spain, he was among the youngest foreign volunteers, one of the longest-serving, and one of the first to arrive from Britain. After narrowly surviving a bloody defeat which wiped out many of his fellow volunteers, he switched from fighter to ambulance driver, saving countless lives during the war. Come the start of the Second World War, Charlie joined the British military and was present at the Dunkirk Evacuation, the Italian Campaign, the North Africa Campaign, the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran, and the liberation of Belsen concentration camp. Having barely survived his ten-year crusade against fascism and having witnessed the very worst of humanity, Charlie laid down his weapons to begin a new life. He raised a large family and lived a long and quiet life in South England, only occasionally returning to politics in support of peace campaigns and trade unions.

Born into poverty and having spent years of his childhood in an orphanage, Charlie’s early experiences of racism and poverty inspired his life-long support for trade unions and anti-fascism. When asked why he had risked everything to fight fascists, Charlie summarised his life into two sentences:

October 20, 2023 – February 18, 2024

October 6, 2023 – March 31, 2024

November 17, 2023 – January 20, 2024

February 12, 2023 – January 21, 2024

November 10, 2023 – January 27, 2024

November 17, 2023 – January 27, 2024

December 2, 2023 – January 13, 2024

November 18, 2023 – January 19, 2024

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November 16, 2023 – January 20, 2024

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