{"id":2113415,"date":"2026-08-26T12:52:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T09:52:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2113415"},"modified":"2026-08-26T12:52:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T09:52:41","slug":"artist-gao-zhen-receives-three-year-prison-sentence-and-more-art-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2113415","title":{"rendered":"Artist Gao Zhen Receives Three-Year Prison Sentence and More Art News"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Art-Museum-01.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n

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To receive\u00a0Morning Links\u00a0in your inbox every weekday,\u00a0sign\u00a0up\u00a0for our\u00a0<\/em>Breakfast with ARTnews\u00a0newsletter<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tGood Morning!\t<\/h2>\n
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  • An employee from Ireland\u2019s National Museum has been charged with possession of Semtex.\u00a0<\/li>\n
  • Chinese artist Gao Zhen has been sentenced to up to three years in prison for \u201cslandering China\u2019s heroes.\u201d<\/li>\n
  • The Venice Film Festival has defended the inclusion of Russian-born filmmaker Ilya Khrzhanovskiy\u2019s\u00a0Dau<\/em>\u00a0despite Ukraine\u2019s \u201cprofound concern.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n

    The Headlines\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    TICK, TICK, TICK<\/strong>. An employee at Ireland\u2019s\u00a0National Museum<\/strong>\u00a0who has been charged with possession of 394 grams of military-grade\u00a0Semtex<\/strong>\u00a0has been granted \u20ac40,000 ($46,680) bail, the\u00a0Irish Times\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>reported. Simon O\u2019Donovan, 44, from Dublin, faces an explosive-possession charge following a\u00a0Garda Special Detective Unit\u00a0<\/strong>operation in July. The court heard that O\u2019Donovan was allegedly a member of\u00a0Saoradh<\/strong>, a dissident republican political organization, and that garda\u00ed were concerned he could support New IRA activities. Garda\u00ed allege O\u2019Donovan removed the explosive from Collins Barracks, the National Museum\u2019s Decorative Arts & History site, before handing it to co-accused Isobella Perrie Sullivan, who was later stopped. The court heard the device, timer, switch, and detonator could have caused catastrophic damage. O\u2019Donovan must comply with strict bail conditions and is due back in court on October 5.<\/p>\n

    GAO \u2018SLANDERS\u2019 MAO<\/strong>. Chinese artist\u00a0Gao Zhen<\/strong>, known for satirical sculptures depicting\u00a0Mao Zedong<\/strong>, has been sentenced to up to three years in prison for allegedly \u201cslandering China\u2019s heroes,\u201d rights groups say. The\u00a0BBC<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0reported that the 70-year-old was arrested in August 2024 while visiting China, after moving to the US in 2022. His works, including sculptures mocking Mao, were seized by authorities. Gao was convicted under a 2018 law banning defamation of historical Communist figures, despite some works having been created years earlier. Amnesty International called the sentence an assault on artistic freedom, while the UN raised concerns over retroactive prosecution. Gao plans to appeal.<\/p>\n

    The Digest<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    \n\tThe\u00a0Venice Film Festival<\/strong>\u00a0has defended the inclusion of Russian-born filmmaker\u00a0Ilya Khrzhanovskiy<\/strong>\u2019s\u00a0Dau<\/em>\u00a0despite Ukraine\u2019s \u201cprofound concern.\u201d [Ocula]<\/p>\n

    The Times\u2019\u00a0<\/em>suggested that the loan of the\u00a0Bayeux Tapestry<\/strong>\u00a0to the\u00a0British Museum<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Tate<\/strong>\u2019s blockbuster\u00a0Monet<\/strong>\u00a0exhibition could signal a new golden age for blockbuster museum shows. [The Times]<\/p>\n

    \n\tAustralia\u2019s\u00a0National Gallery<\/strong>\u00a0will loan its prized\u00a0Jackson Pollock\u00a0<\/strong>masterpiece\u00a0Blue Poles<\/em>\u00a0to a gallery in Western Australia. [ABC News]<\/p>\n

    \n\tA former Scottish pub transformed into an art gallery and caf\u00e9 has sparked concern among neighbors after applying for a new alcohol lisence. [Edinburgh News]<\/p>\n

    The Kicker<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    STATE OF THE ART.<\/strong>\u00a0Britain\u2019s stately homes are increasingly turning to contemporary art to attract new visitors and generate income,\u00a0The Art Newspaper<\/em> wrote. Historic properties including Claydon, Houghton Hall, Wolterton, and Mount Stuart are hosting exhibitions by artists such as\u00a0Tracey Emin<\/strong>,\u00a0Phyllida Barlow<\/strong>, and\u00a0Lynn Chadwick<\/strong>. At Claydon, a National Trust property,\u00a0White Cube\u00a0<\/strong>has installed 47 works by 24 artists across the house and grounds. The trend comes as stately homes face mounting financial pressures, with Historic Houses estimating a \u00a32 billion ($2.73 billion) repair backlog. Organizers say contemporary art can reinvigorate historic spaces while giving artists new settings to engage with the UK\u2019s architectural and cultural heritage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/art-news\/news\/morning-links-august-26-2026-1234795783\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Art-Museum-01.jpg?w=1024″] To receive\u00a0Morning Links\u00a0in your inbox every weekday,\u00a0sign\u00a0up\u00a0for our\u00a0Breakfast with ARTnews\u00a0newsletter. Good Morning! An employee from Ireland\u2019s National Museum has been charged with possession of Semtex.\u00a0 Chinese artist Gao Zhen has been sentenced to up to three years in prison for \u201cslandering China\u2019s heroes.\u201d The Venice Film Festival has defended the inclusion of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,226],"class_list":["post-2113415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-artnews-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2113415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2113415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2113415\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2113415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2113415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2113415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}