When Neiman Marcus filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection back in May, it became one of the first major retail casualties of the coronavirus pandemic. Rumors immediately started circulating that the embattled luxury retail giant, saddled with debt, would need to shutter its flashy outpost at Hudson Yards on the west side of Manhattan. Now in bankruptcy proceedings, the department store recently confirmed that it will vacate the premises a mere 16 months after moving in.

“We’re always assessing our store footprint to ensure it’s optimal to enhance revenues, overall profitability, and our integrated retail strategy,” said a spokesperson for Neiman Marcus. “These store closures will help ensure the continued long-term success of our business and underscores our unrelenting focus on providing unparalleled luxury experiences and engagement. A physical location in Hudson Yards is no longer an ideal space for us given the preponderance of restaurants and future office space in that mall.”

A spokesperson for Related, the developer of Hudson Yards, commented that the 188,000-square-foot storefront would be converted into “incredibly attractive office space with the largest floor plates available in New York City, a private ground-floor entrance, and 18-foot-high ceilings.” It’s a strange—though not entirely unexpected—pivot for the Shops at Hudson Yards, which was the latest in a string of high-end retail hubs (read: malls) that kept opening up around New York City within the past five or so years, defying expert predictions of the demise of traditional brick-and-mortar retail. No one could have predicted the coronavirus, however, which has sounded the death knell for retailers Brooks Brothers, Muji USA, and Pier 1 Imports, as well as the decades-in-the-making American Dream mega-mall across the Hudson River in New Jersey.

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When visitors descend upon the soaring Rapoport Atrium at Austin’s Blanton Museum of Art, they immediately encounter two monumental works that evoke cool waters and their curious inhabitants. Perhaps most striking is Thomas Glassford’s Siphonophora, a neo-botanical hanging sculpture that takes its name from the marine organisms that exist somewhere between plant and animal. Teresita Fernández’s Stacked Waters, an installation of 3,100 custom-cast light-reflective acrylic panels in cool aquamarine shades and whose name alludes to Donald Judd’s celebrated stack sculptures, blanket the walls to set an oceanic scene.

Although conceived separately by different artists, the two works resonate. Today, for the latest edition of the museum’s Curated Conversations series, the curators Carter E. Foster and Veronica Roberts will join educator Siobhán McCusker on Zoom for a deep dive into the significance of immersive installations, the artists who created them, and their role in the museum’s gallery teaching practice.

Since 1949, McIntosh has offered state-of-the-art audio products, with the renowned “McIntosh Blue” Watt Meters globally recognized as a symbol of quality audio. From Lyndon Johnson’s inauguration speech to Woodstock, McIntosh has not only witnessed history, it has shaped it.

Surface Says: MacIntosh is a legendary audio system maker with an impressive and influential heritage. With both design and engineering prowess, the brand continues to make refined, high-performance equipment with a distinctive aesthetic.

Fitness studios are moving classes outdoors to compensate for lost revenue.

Prada partners with Sotheby’s to auction off its Fall/Winter 2020 ephemera.

Drive-through strip clubs are keeping dancers and gig workers employed.

Emmanuelle Moureaux visualizes the next 100 years in 100 different colors.