Italy agrees to loan Leonardos to the Louvre

Our daily round-up of news from the art world

Italy agrees to loan Leonardos to the Louvre | The culture ministries of France and Italy have confirmed that loans from four Italian museums to the Louvre’s major exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci this autumn, which had previously seemed in jeopardy, will go ahead as previously planned. Last November, Lucia Borgonzoni, the undersecretary to Italian culture minister Alberto Bonisoli, cast doubt on whether the loans would be made. The member of the nationalist League party had argued the exhibition would ‘leave Italy on the margins’ of the worldwide celebrations of Leonardo taking place this year, on the 500th anniversary of the artist’s death.

Arata Isozaki wins Pritzker Architecture Prize | The Japanese architect and urban designer Arata Isozaki has been awarded this year’s Pritzker Prize, architecture’s most prestigious individual accolade. Isozaki’s projects include the Museum of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing (2003–08), and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles (2015). The award comes with a prize of $100,000 – previous recipients include Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid, and Frank Gehry.

Zeitz MOCAA appoints Koyo Kouoh as executive director | The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, has named Koyo Kouoh as its new executive director and chief curator. Kouoh’s is the first permanent appointment to the position since Mark Coetzee, the inaugural director of the museum, resigned in May last year after an inquiry was launched into his professional conduct. Kouoh, who is currently an independent curator, will take up the role on 6 May.

Wim Pijbes named global chairman of vetting at TEFAF | Wim Pijbes, the director of the Stichting Droom en Daad in Rotterdam and former director of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (from 2008­–16), has been appointed to the new position of global chairman of vetting at TEFAF. Pijbes will take over from Henk van Os in charge of vetting for TEFAF’s flagship fair in Maastricht, and will also oversee vetting procedures for the foundation’s two New York fairs.

Lauren Halsey wins Frieze Art Award 2019 | Los Angeles-based artist Lauren Halsey has been named the winner of the Frieze Art Award 2019. The award comes with a prize of $25,000, and Halsey will also create a new artwork to be shown at Frieze New York in May.