Art News. Vasari Codex

article news schedule Dec 17, 2025 visibility 41 link 16 artists, 6 galleries

5 rising artists defined 2025

Artnet News published a roundup of five rising artist profiles that defined 2025, highlighting interviews with Alexandra Metcalf and Chase Hall. Metcalf, a British-American artist, blends 1960s psychedelia, 2000s pop music, and Victorian literature in her multimedia works, and debuted at Art Basel with London's Ginny on Frederick. Chase Hall, a painter who uses hot coffee on cotton, explores race and fatherhood, with a solo exhibition "Momma's Baby, Daddy's Maybe" at Galerie Eva Presenhuber in Vienna.

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article news schedule Jun 3, 2025 visibility 28 link 18 artists, 9 galleries

paint drippings art industry news jun 2

This week's art industry roundup covers major personnel shifts, fair announcements, and institutional news. Phillips named Robert Manley chairman for Modern and contemporary art and Miety Heiden chairman for private sales after the departures of Cheyenne Westphal and Jean-Paul Engelen. Art Basel Paris announced 203 galleries for its October fair at the Grand Palais, while Kiaf Seoul will host 176 exhibitors in September. Tony Karman is stepping down as director of Expo Chicago after 14 years. Pace Gallery added Friedrich Kunath, Galerie Nordenhake signed Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, and Sylvia Kouvali now represents Luigi Zuccheri. Ariel Pittman is launching a new Los Angeles gallery, Official Welcome. The Louvre will return 258 works from Adèle de Rothschild's bequest to the Fondation des Artistes. President Trump dismissed Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet over DEI support, though his authority is questioned. The Centre Pompidou announced a new $240 million outpost in Brazil. The Art Institute of Chicago confirmed director James Rondeau will return after a flight incident. The Pérez Art Museum Miami appointed Karen H. Bechtel as board president. Frieze and Deutsche Bank detailed their 2025 Emerging Curators Fellowship. A rare Gustav Klimt portrait of an African prince was offered for €15 million.

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article news schedule Feb 16, 2026 source 2 sources visibility 40 link 31 artists, 12 galleries

paint drippings art industry news feb 16

This week's art industry news covers significant developments across fairs, auctions, galleries, and museums. Frieze New York announces its 15th edition with a strong Latin American gallery presence, while the India Art Fair reports robust sales, including works by Atul Dodiya and N.S. Harsha fetching up to $600,000. Sotheby's will offer a major Francis Bacon self-portrait from the collection of Joe Lewis, and Christie's is set to sell three masterpieces from Agnes Gund's collection, estimated at over $123 million. Gallery news includes Federica Beretta's return to Opera Gallery and David Zwirner's new representation of painter Louis Fratino.

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article news schedule Dec 15, 2025 visibility 22 link 32 artists, 3 galleries

paint drippings art industry news dec 15

This week's art industry roundup covers major auction results, gallery representation changes, museum leadership shifts, and a high-profile art theft. François-Xavier Lalanne's *Hippopotame Bar* sold for $31.4 million at Sotheby's Breuer headquarters, setting a record for both the artist and design works. A Tiffany Magnolia floor lamp also set a new auction record at Sotheby's, fetching $4.4 million. Meanwhile, a New Jersey auction house quietly sold over $100,000 of Jeffrey Epstein's belongings, including artworks, without disclosing his ownership. In the gallery world, several artists changed representation, and former Clearing director John Utterson joined Thaddaeus Ropac. Museum news includes the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art repatriating three Khmer-era sculptures to Cambodia, Maria Balshaw stepping down as Tate director, MoMA PS1 offering free admission starting January 1, and the Rijksmuseum planning a new branch in Eindhoven. Additionally, eight rare Matisse prints and five works by Candido Portinari were stolen from São Paulo's Mário de Andrade Library.

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article news schedule Jun 17, 2025 visibility 25 link 33 artists, 7 galleries

paint drippings art industry news jun 16

This week's art industry roundup covers major developments across art fairs, auction houses, and galleries. Ahead of Art Basel in Basel, Artnet's Editor-in-Chief Naomi Rea investigates how the trade lost control of the pricing narrative amid a market breakdown. The Armory Show announces its 2025 edition with over 230 galleries and new curated sections, while Frieze will open a gallery space in Seoul. Sotheby's London will auction Pauline Karpidas's collection estimated at over $81 million, and a rare Rodin marble sold for $1.2 million. Caroline Lang steps down as chair of Sotheby's in Switzerland after four decades. Gallerist Kamel Mennour donates 180 works to Paris's Musée d'Art Moderne, and Marian Goodman Gallery now represents the estate of Ana Mendieta.

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article news schedule Jun 13, 2025 visibility 17 link 4 artists

maurizio cattelan golden toilet theft sentencing

Two men have been sentenced for stealing Maurizio Cattelan's 18-carat gold toilet, titled "America" (2016), during a 2019 raid at Blenheim Palace in England. James Sheen received a four-year prison sentence, and Michael Jones received a 27-month sentence; a third accomplice, Frederick Doe, was found guilty of conspiracy to convert criminal property. The 227-pound toilet was dismantled in a five-minute raid just two days after being publicly displayed at the palace, and despite being insured for $6 million, it has not been recovered.

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article news schedule May 19, 2025 visibility 13 link 3 artists

cattelan gold toilet theft businessman sentencing

A British businessman, Frederick Doe, has received a 21-month suspended sentence at Oxford Crown Court for his role in the 2019 theft of Maurizio Cattelan's solid-gold toilet artwork "America" (2016), valued at $6 million. The toilet was stolen from Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site and former home of Winston Churchill, where it was installed as part of a Cattelan exhibition. Doe acted as a middleman, convicted of conspiring to transfer criminal property after being recorded offering to sell the 227-pound, 18-karat-gold toilet. Two other men, Michael Jones and James Sheen, were found guilty of planning the theft and are due to be sentenced next month. The gold has never been recovered and is believed to have been broken up and sold.

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article news schedule Apr 6, 2026 visibility 36 link 10 artists, 1 gallery

Art and Springtime in Upstate NY

This regional update highlights a diverse array of developments, ranging from the seasonal art circuit in Upstate New York to significant human rights actions. Lebanese artist Ali Cherri, a former Venice Biennale Silver Lion winner, has filed a formal war crimes complaint against Israel following a strike in Beirut that killed his parents. Simultaneously, a new report reveals systemic staffing crises within POC-led arts organizations in the Northeast, where over a third of institutions operate without a single full-time employee.

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article news schedule Dec 8, 2025 visibility 15 link 11 artists

architecture houses lost los angeles fires

A week after wildfires erupted across Los Angeles, the city remains under critical threat as the Pacific Palisades, Eaton, Hollywood Hills, and San Fernando Valley fires have forced the evacuation of roughly 200,000 residents, destroyed about 12,000 buildings, and claimed at least 24 lives. Among the losses are culturally and architecturally significant structures, including the Bunny Museum in Altadena, the historic Will Rogers ranch, the Altadena Community Church (designed by Harry L. Pierce), the Andrew McNally House (a Queen Anne-style mansion by Frederick Roehrig), Richard Neutra's Benedict and Nancy Freedman House, and Gregory Ain's Park Planned Homes in Altadena. Adrian Scott Fine of the Los Angeles Conservancy described the destruction as "a mass erasure of heritage."

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article news schedule Jul 3, 2025 visibility 18 link 17 artists

Pennsylvania college moves to sell its entire art collection amid $20m budget shortfall

Albright College, a liberal arts institution in Reading, Pennsylvania, is selling its entire art collection of mostly works on paper to address a $20 million budget shortfall. The online-only sale, held on July 16 at Pook & Pook auction house, includes 524 lots featuring works by artists such as Karel Appel, Romare Bearden, Jasper Johns, Jacob Lawrence, and Bridget Riley. College administrators, including vice-president James Gaddy, describe the collection as "not core to our mission" and estimate the consigned pieces are worth $200,000, while the cost of maintaining the gallery and collection exceeds $500,000 annually. The sale is part of broader cost-cutting measures that have already included laying off 53 employees and selling non-contiguous properties.

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article news schedule Oct 27, 2025 visibility 16 link 3 artists

pepperdine weisman museum director resigns

Andrea Gyorody has resigned as director of Pepperdine University’s Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art after the university removed or obscured artworks deemed “political” from the exhibition *Hold My Hand in Yours*, which she curated. The administration turned off Elana Mann’s video *Call to Arms 2015–2025* and covered an “Abolish ICE” patch in a collaborative sculpture by the collective Art Made Between Opposite Sides (AMBOS). Gyorody’s departure, effective October 24, was described by the university as mutual, and the exhibition was shuttered six months early after artists withdrew their work in protest.

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article news schedule Apr 16, 2026 visibility 29 link 18 artists

Artists, clowns, runaways: a stay at the Chelsea Hotel – in pictures

Photographer Albert Scopin has released a new book through Kerber Verlag documenting his residency at New York’s iconic Chelsea Hotel between 1969 and 1971. The collection features rare, intimate portraits of the hotel's legendary inhabitants, including a young Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe before their rise to global fame, alongside long-time manager Stanley Bard and avant-garde figures like Vali Myers and Holly Woodlawn. Scopin’s lens captures the 'creative chaos' of the era, from the art-filled lobby to the eccentric private quarters of residents like composer George Kleinsinger.

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article news schedule Oct 1, 2025 visibility 12 link 3 artists

tina turner statue tennessee bad public art

A 10-foot-tall statue of Tina Turner was unveiled in her hometown of Brownsville, Tennessee, on Saturday, September 29, 2025. Created by sculptor Fred Ajanogha, the work has sparked widespread online outrage for its distorted depiction of the late pop star, with critics comparing it to a caricature and noting its bizarre proportions, unnatural hair, and toothy grin. The statue has been condemned by both right-wing commentators and comedians like Kevin Fredericks, who likened it to other infamous public art failures.

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article news schedule Aug 19, 2025 visibility 15 link 4 artists

Israeli art spaces and workers join nationwide strike and protests, calling for hostage deal and end to war in Gaza

On 17 August, a nationwide strike and protests swept across Israel, with organizers estimating 2.5 million participants demanding a hostage deal and an end to the war in Gaza. Israeli art spaces and workers joined the action: the Tel Aviv Museum of Art closed operationally but opened its lobby to protesters and projected Michal Rovner's video work *Signaling (2024)* on its façade; the Israel Museum illuminated its Shrine of the Book in yellow; the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and Shenkar College also struck, while the Mishkan Museum of Art ceased activities in solidarity.

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article news schedule Aug 4, 2025 visibility 23 link 17 artists, 17 galleries

5 Artists on Our Radar in August 2025

Artsy Editorial's August 2025 edition of 'Artists on Our Radar' highlights five emerging visual artists: Jesse Akele, Ficus Interfaith (the duo of Ryan Bush and Raphael Martinez Cohen), and Shuling Guo. Akele's hazy figurative paintings explore fleeting place and memory, featured in WORKPLACE's group show 'Cold Enough for Snow.' Ficus Interfaith creates playful terrazzo sculptures blending fine art, design, and craft, with a solo exhibition 'Furniture Music' at P.P.O.W in New York. Shuling Guo produces transcendental works in color pencil and oil paint, alluding to her life experiences, with pieces at Hollis Taggart and Mindy Solomon Gallery.

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article news schedule Apr 7, 2026 visibility 31 link 8 artists, 1 gallery

Art museum paints a picture of despair

The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum in Gqeberha is facing a catastrophic institutional collapse due to years of municipal neglect and a 64% staff vacancy rate. A recent report reveals that the museum’s priceless collection—which includes works by George Pemba, Gladys Mgudlandlu, and LS Lowry—is being threatened by leaking roofs, spreading mold, and failing fire and security systems. While the galleries have been closed to the public for over a year, the facility currently lacks a qualified conservator to address the mounting damage to its historical and contemporary holdings.

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article news schedule Apr 17, 2026 visibility 16 link 8 artists

Museum of Contemporary Religious Art comes to a close after three decades

The Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA) at Saint Louis University is closing to the public on May 31, 2025, after more than three decades of operation. Its final exhibition, 'Liminal,' features works from 47 artists, many drawn from the museum's permanent collection. The closure, announced last year, is a result of university budget cuts.

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article news schedule Jan 2, 2026 visibility 9

audit irregularities baltimore lewis museum

An August 15 audit by the Maryland Department of Legislative Services uncovered serious financial irregularities at Baltimore’s Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture. The audit found corporate credit card charges without a clear business purpose, payments made to an employee’s PayPal account, a former employee pocketing parking fees, and a practice of pre-signing blank checks stored in an unsecured office. Though only $10,115 was unaccounted for between April 2021 and January 2025, the museum’s annual budget is $6.3 million, and it receives up to half its funding from taxpayers. The museum’s president Terri L. Freeman and board chairman Drew Hawkins have since destroyed all pre-signed checks and implemented 12 of 18 audit recommendations, with four more in progress. The employees involved are no longer at the museum, and findings were referred to the Maryland Attorney General.

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article news schedule Oct 10, 2025 visibility 14 link 7 artists

Pepperdine Administrators Shut Down Weisman Exhibition After Censoring Artwork

Pepperdine University administrators directed the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art to shut down a video installation by artist Elana Mann due to its political content, sparking a censorship controversy. After the censorship, over 20 artists in the exhibition "Hold My Hand in Yours" requested their works be removed in protest, leading the university to close the entire exhibition, which had been scheduled to run until March 29.

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article news schedule Oct 9, 2025 visibility 16 link 7 artists

California School Shutters Exhibition After Altering "Political" Art

Pepperdine University, a private Christian university in Malibu, abruptly closed the exhibition "Hold My Hand in Yours" at its Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art six months early, after at least a dozen artists requested to withdraw their works in protest. The school had removed or altered artworks it deemed "political," including Elana Mann's video "Call to Arms 2015-2025" (2025), which documented performances using megaphone-like sculptural instruments and included footage from a 2017 May Day March with chants supporting immigrants and racial justice. Another work by the group AMBOS, a collaborative sculpture featuring an embroidery reading "Save the Children" and "Abolish ICE," was altered by turning the fabric swatch to hide the text and removing a sign inviting visitor interaction. The school did not explain its decisions to the artists.

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