Tim Marlow Moves to Design Museum, Desert X Board Resigns Over Saudi Partnership, Matthew Wong Dies at 35

Tim Marlow will leave his position as artistic director at the Royal Academy of Arts in London to become the director of the Design Museum, starting in January 2020. He has been curating exhibitions at White Cube since 2003. Meanwhile, three board members from Desert X—Ed Ruscha, Yael Lipschutz, and Tristan Milanovich—have stepped down in protest against a partnership with Saudi Arabia for a sculpture biennial in Al-Ula next year, amid ongoing concerns about cultural ties to the kingdom after journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder. Additionally, Canadian painter Matthew Wong, known for his impressionistic work, sadly took his life at 35. His solo exhibition opens at Karma in New York on November 8. An exhibition in Shanghai showcasing young feminist artists was suddenly canceled due to sensitivities around China's National Day. Lastly, Bertille Bak from Paris won the third Mario Merz Prize, beating out nominees like Mircea Cantor and David Maljković, and she will hold a solo exhibition at Fondazione Merz in Turin in 2020.