Art Outlook: 17 July

Some of the stories and discussions we’ve spotted online this week:

Royal Academy cancels Russian contemporary art show

The UK-Russia Year of Culture suffered another setback recently, when the RA cancelled a planned exhibition of work by the Russian art group AES+F due to lack of funding. It’s not the first show to be dropped: the Ekaterina Cultural Foundation in Moscow cancelled its YBA exhibition after a major sponsor pulled out last month.

Sotheby’s teams up with eBay

Sotheby’s has made its bid to capture the digital market by pairing up with the online marketplace eBay to live stream auctions. The announcement comes not long after Phillips and Tumblr announced the results for their auction of digital art.

RIBA Stirling Prize 2014 shortlist announced

London’s Shard and Olympic swimming pool, Liverpool’s Everyman Theatre and Birmingham’s Central Library are among the buildings shortlisted for this year’s Stirling Prize.

Imperial War Museum reopens in London

With a new atrium designed by Norman Foster, the IWM London reopens to the public on Saturday. We spoke to Diane Lees about the project in the July/August issue of Apollo.

Conceptual artist On Kawara has died at the age of 81

The mysterious Japanese artist, who refused interviews and photo shoots, is best known for his ‘date pictures’, a series of thousands of paintings, each depicting the single date of their making.

Hauser & Wirth opens a new gallery in Somerset

The glamorous mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth has opened its latest and most unusual outpost in an old farmhouse in Somerset…

Damien Hirst demands the destruction of one of his paintings

Another ongoing dispute highlighting the perils of site-specific art… The owners of a house in Fulham have tried to sell a Damien Hirst wall-painting from their property, only to discover that it’s not the object but the certificate of authenticity that counts. Hirst, who painted the work for a previous occupant, wants it removed and destroyed.