The week in art news: Turner Prize announces shortlist, Venice Biennale opens to mixed reviews, HBO acquires story of Inigo Philbrick and more…

Turner Prize announces 2024 shortlist: Pio Abad, Claudette Johnson, Jasleen Kaur and Delaine Le Bas are all in the running for what’s arguably the UK’s most important art award. The ceremony will be held in 2025 at the Tate Britain – the original home of the prize. It’s a particularly important year, as it’s the 40th anniversary of the award.

The Venice Biennale opened last week with mixed weather and mixed reviews. Artnet’s Ben Davis’ first impression; “it’s just fine.” E-Flux’s Ben Eastham criticised the handholding curation; “No space will be left for misunderstanding or its correlate, interpretation.” Artreview’s J.J. Charlesworth wrote that “It’s ethically good that everyone is represented, but what is there otherwise to say about the art?” Writing for Apollo, Hettie Judah said “No artist is permitted release from the particulars of their identity.” While The Art Newspaper staff pulled no punches with their roundup of the worst art of the fair.

The winners of the two Golden Lions, the top awards of the Venice Biennale, have been announced. The prize for the national pavilion was given to First Nations artist Archie Moore, representing Australia, and the prize for the curated exhibition was given to Mataaho Collective, made up of four female Māori artists (Bridget Reweti, Erena Baker, Sarah Hudson and Terri Te Tau).

US TV network HBO has acquired the rights to All That Glitters, the book by Orlando Whitfield that details the rise and fall of his friend Inigo Philbrick; the up-and-coming London art dealer who in 2021 was jailed in the US for committing $86M wire fraud. All That Glitters recalls Whitfield and Philbrick’s meeting in 2007 as Goldsmiths students, their brief time as business partners, and Philbrick’s eventual arrest in 2020 at his Vanuatu hideout.

Speaking of dodgy deals… a Connecticut man has been sentenced to 14 months in jail for forging 145 paintings by the pop artist Peter Max. Nicholas P. Hatch added touches of paint and forged signatures over posters of Max’s work, before selling them to more than 40 unsuspecting victims. The scam netted him $248,600, which he has been ordered to repay to his victims.

The National Gallery has acquired its first painting by the Impressionist Eva Gonzalès. La Psyché shows a woman dressing in front of a full-length mirror. Gonzalès might not be a big name these days, but she was a famous student of Edouard Manet and often compared to him. It’s a good move by the gallery, which doesn’t have much of a reputation when it comes to female representation: Gonzalès will be only the 20th female artist in the entire collection.

Next door, the National Portrait Gallery has announced the shortlist for its annual painting award: Isabella Watling, Antony Williams and Catherine Chambers are in the running for the £35,000 prize. Their work, alongside that of 47 longlisted artists, will go on show between 11th July and 27th October in the Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award 2024…

…don’t recognise that award? That’s because it used to be called the BP Portrait Award, with the cash prize provided by the global oil corp. The gallery dumped BP in 2022, following criticism and an oil-soaked nude protest. However, the rebrand hasn’t totally fixed things; the new sponsor, law firm Herbert Smith Freehills, has an oil and gas team which has represented, among numerous clients… BP.

Vivienne Westwood’s personal wardrobe up for auction. This summer, more than 200 pieces of the late fashion designer’s own collection will go on sale at Christie’s. The proceeds will be donated to The Vivienne Foundation, Amnesty International and Médecins Sans Frontières. Can’t make the sale? See the free exhibition at Christie’s from 14th-24th June.

Defence lawyers quit Brent Sikkema murder case. The defendant, Alejandro Triana Prevez, admitted to stabbing gallerist Sikkema at his home in Rio de Janiero and accused Sikkema’s former husband Daniel Carrera of ordering his murder. Prevez’s lawyers have now quit the case following suspicions that Prevez was still in contact with Carrera.