7 New Art Books to Step Into Spring

Artnet News has curated a selection of seven significant new art book releases for the spring season, highlighting diverse subjects from historical archives to contemporary memoirs. Featured titles include a deep dive into Frida Kahlo’s private sanctuary, 'Casa Roja,' authored by her descendants; a curatorial history of Hong Kong’s avant-garde art scene by Oscar Ho Hing-kay; and a vibrant exploration of color in contemporary art featuring works by Yayoi Kusama and Tomás Saraceno.

8 artists poised to break out in 2026

Artnet News asked four curators and four art advisors from around the world to each select one artist they believe is poised to break out in 2026. The article profiles the first two of eight artists: Indonesian artist Bagus Pandega, known for kinetic plant-based installations, who has had solo shows at Kunsthalle Basel and Swiss Institute New York; and Max Hooper Schneider, a Los Angeles-based artist creating aquarium-like works blending organic and artificial materials, recently exhibited at 125 Newbury gallery in New York.

the art world in 2025

Artnet News staff reflects on the most impactful stories of 2025, covering a wide range of topics from institutional shifts and devastating wildfires to market sensations and conceptual art. Key pieces include Ben Davis's analysis of the art world's 'post-woke' turn, Sarah Cascone's report on Los Angeles artists losing homes in the Eaton Fire, Katya Kazakina's tale of a David Hockney painting yielding a 7,000 percent return at Christie's, Andrew Russeth's coverage of Richard Prince's seven-hour deposition video, Kate Brown's profile of Friedrich Kunath, and Annie Armstrong's introduction of the 'red-chip' art market driven by hype and crypto.

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.

Why did Van Gogh sign his paintings as ‘Vincent’?

Art historian Julia Engelmayer has published a study titled 'Simply ‘Vincent’: An Overview of Van Gogh’s Signed Paintings' on the Van Gogh Museum's website, analyzing why and how Vincent van Gogh signed his works. The research reveals that only 133 of his 840 surviving paintings bear a signature (16%), an unusually low proportion for a 19th-century artist. Van Gogh signed with only his first name due to strained family relations and the difficulty non-Dutch speakers had pronouncing his surname. The study also highlights his predominant use of red signatures (on 75 works), angled signatures on over half of his signed pieces, and a distinctive horseshoe-shaped 'V' used during his Arles period.

Revealed: the amazing frame once created for Van Gogh’s Sunflowers

A long-lost, custom-designed Art Deco frame for Vincent van Gogh's painting "Three Sunflowers" has been identified through archival research. The frame, which featured a dark lacquer finish, randomly placed gold circles, and angled outer edges, was commissioned by the Parisian couturier and collector Jacques Doucet shortly after he acquired the painting in 1912. Its existence was pieced together from a 1930s interior photograph, a 1967 family snapshot, and a frame sold at Sotheby's in 1989, allowing for a digital reconstruction of the complete artwork.

times esther kim varet campaign wet paint

Lower Manhattan is getting a new nonprofit art space called Times (styled in lowercase), founded by Summer Guthery and Francesca Sonara. Located on the fourth floor of 151 Lafayette Street above the Museum of Chinese in America, the 3,000-square-foot venue will operate for only three years. Its inaugural exhibition, featuring Danish artist Nina Beier, opens February 21 with a display of melting Cornetto ice cream cones. The space will officially open February 12 with a performance by Latvian choreographer Jana Jacuka. Guthery, previously founding artistic director of Canal Projects, and Sonara, former director of communications at Minnesota Street Project, met as graduate students at Bard College's Center for Curatorial Studies.

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.

paint drippings art industry news apr 28

This week's art industry roundup covers major developments across art fairs, auction houses, galleries, and museums. At Expo Chicago, emerging artist Auudi Dorsey sold her painting *Rumble* (2025) for $14,000 on opening day at Palo Gallery, while the fair featured 170 exhibitors including 20 from South Korea amid tariff concerns. Vienna Contemporary appointed Abaseh Mirvali as artistic advisor for 2025-2026. Sotheby's was selected by Barbara Gladstone's estate trustees to sell her collection, starting with a May 15 single-owner sale of 12 works estimated at over $12 million. Nine artworks from the Anne and Sid Bass collection head to Christie's New York, and Sotheby's secured a $70 million Alberto Giacometti sculpture for its May 13 evening sale. Philipp Kaiser departed Marian Goodman Gallery after six years. Customs backlogs from President Trump's import policy changes are causing shipping headaches, with DHL halting business-to-consumer shipments over $800 to the U.S. Air de Paris withdrew from Art Basel. Mexico City gallery OMR hired Agustina Ferreyra as director. Angelica Jopling is expanding her London gallery Incubator to New York. Alexander Gray Associates now represents Donald Moffett. In museums, the National Endowment for the Humanities, following DOGE staff cuts, is offering grants up to $600,000 for statues for Trump's National Garden of American Heroes. CCS Bard appointed Lauren Cornell as artistic director and Mariano Lopez Seoane as graduate program director. The New York Academy of Art named Paul R. Provost president. The Artists' Legacy Foundation appointed Daisy Murray Holman executive director. The Speed Art Museum named Diallo Simon-Ponte assistant curator. The Garage Museum of Contemporary Art in Moscow appointed Daria Kotova director. The Nasher Sculpture Center named Carlos Basualdo director. The Cultural Infrastructure Index reported a 17% drop in completed cultural projects in 2024.

could bangkok be the next miami

Thailand is emerging as a major contemporary art destination, with a wave of new institutions, fairs, and tax incentives drawing international attention. The government-initiated Thailand Biennale opens in Phuket, while the third and final edition of the Ghost biennial just concluded in Bangkok. Collector Marisa Chearavanont recently opened Bangkok Kunsthalle and Kai Yao Art Forest, and Purat “Chang” Osathanugrah is launching Dib Bangkok, billed as the country’s first international contemporary art museum, on December 21. New York dealer Harper Levine plans to open a Bangkok outpost of his Harper’s gallery in spring, and Seoul-based Artue is planning a scaled-up art fair called Art Bangkok International for next year. In August, the Thai government approved tax deductions for purchasing artworks by national artists and higher tax breaks for artists.

Rare Medieval Seal Rediscovered After 40-Year Disappearance

A rare 11th-century wax seal belonging to the Anglo-Saxon king Edward the Confessor has been rediscovered in France’s National Archives after being missing for over 40 years. The artifact, known as the Saint-Denis seal, was not stolen but rather misplaced due to a clerical error during a conservation transfer decades ago. It was identified by doctoral student Guilhem Dorandeu, who noticed the misfiled item while conducting research.

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.

The Art World Is a Joke

Hyperallergic's April newsletter features a roundup of the best April Fools' jokes from the art world this year, compiled by staff writer Rhea Nayyar. The issue also highlights critic Aruna D'Souza's meditation on the work of abstract painter Kamrooz Aram, who is having a prominent year with appearances from Mumbai Art Week to the Whitney Biennial.

new york gallery open studio

A pair of New York dealers, Rachel Carle Cohen of Shelter Gallery and David Fierman of Fierman, are launching Open Studio, a downtown gallery on Henry Street in the Lower East Side devoted entirely to artists with disabilities. The gallery will feature work from progressive art studios—supportive environments that began with Creative Growth in 1974—and opens July 10 with a solo show of John Tursi, an artist from the Living Museum at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center. A complementary group show, “Introducing Open Studio: New Art by Artists with Disabilities,” will run at Fierman’s gallery around the corner, featuring artists including Montrel Beverly, Chantel Donwell, Taneya Lovelace, and William Scott.

From The Magic Faraway Tree to 5 Seconds of Summer: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead

The Guardian has published a comprehensive weekly entertainment guide covering cinema, gigs, art exhibitions, stage performances, and home entertainment options. The guide highlights new film releases like the adaptation of Enid Blyton's 'The Magic Faraway Tree' and the documentary 'Orwell: 2+2 = 5', major concerts from 5 Seconds of Summer, and art exhibitions featuring Estonian modernist Konrad Mägi and Scottish painter Joan Eardley.

thirteen perfect fugitives book geoffrey kelly interview

Geoffrey Kelly, the FBI’s lead investigator on the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum heist for over two decades, has released a new book titled 'Thirteen Perfect Fugitives'. Published ahead of the 36th anniversary of the 1990 theft, the book provides an insider’s perspective on the investigation into the world’s largest art heist, where 13 works valued at over $1 billion were stolen. Kelly, who retired in 2024, details the FBI's findings regarding the individuals involved and the ongoing, unsuccessful efforts to recover the missing masterpieces.

emily sargent

The article reveals that Emily Sargent (1857–1936), sister of famed portraitist John Singer Sargent, was a dedicated and original watercolorist whose extensive body of work remained hidden for decades. In 1998, a family member discovered a trunk containing 440 of her watercolors, and after nearly 25 years, the Sargent family has begun donating these works to major museums in the U.S. and U.K., including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (45 works), the Tate, London (29), the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (24), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (22), and the Brooklyn Museum (20).

New residency in upstate New York will give Indigenous artists access to neon fabrication studio

Lite Brite Neon Studio in Kingston, New York, has partnered with the Walker Youngbird Foundation to launch Native Neon, a residency program providing Indigenous artists with access to neon fabrication. The inaugural recipient is Sarah Rowe, an enrolled member of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and of Lakota descent, who receives $50,000, a $10,000 stipend, and a week-long residency to create an immersive neon environment. The studio, known for collaborations with artists like Glenn Ligon and Jeffrey Gibson, aims to lower the technical and financial barriers to working with neon.

The Met Teams Up with Band-Aid on Art-Themed Adhesive Bandages

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Band-Aid have reunited for a second collaboration, releasing a new set of art-themed adhesive bandages in 2026. The bandages feature details from three flower paintings in the Met's collection: Claude Monet's *Water Lilies* (1919), Vincent van Gogh's *Irises* (1890), and Odilon Redon's *Bouquet of Flowers* (ca. 1900–1905). The 50-count assortment includes small, medium, and large fabric bandages packed in a collectible tin, available exclusively at Target for $7.29. The 2025 Hokusai collection, which sold out quickly, is also back on sale at major retailers.

AI Model Reveals New Information About Authorship of 17th-Century El Greco Altarpiece

A team of scientists from Case Western Reserve University has developed a new AI model named PATCH that analyzes tiny sections of paintings to identify the number of artists involved in their creation. The model was applied to two works by El Greco, suggesting that 'The Baptism of Christ,' long thought to be a collaborative workshop piece, may have been painted primarily by the master himself.

Restored Victorian greenhouse links Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery to its living neighbours

Brooklyn’s historic Green-Wood Cemetery has unveiled the 'Green-House,' a $34m welcome and education center centered around a meticulously restored 1895 Victorian cast-iron greenhouse. Designed by Architecture Research Office (ARO), the facility includes classrooms, research archives, and dedicated gallery spaces. The project transforms a formerly dilapidated commercial florist shop into a modern gateway that connects the 478-acre National Historic Landmark to its surrounding urban neighborhood.

Masterpieces From London’s National Gallery, Now on Display at Home With LG Gallery+

The National Gallery in London has partnered with LG Electronics to make over 4,000 images from its collection available on the LG Gallery+ digital platform. Users can now display high-quality digital reproductions of masterpieces by artists like Monet, Gauguin, and Seurat on their LG OLED screens at home, using a curated, playlist-like interface called LG Gallery+ Shelves.

Michelangelo's Pietà Altarpiece for His Own Tomb Restored and Returned to Public View

altarpiece michelangelo made tomb brought back life conservators see pictures update masterpiece

The Opera del Duomo Museum in Florence has unveiled the newly restored Bandini Pietà, a monumental sculpture Michelangelo carved for his own tomb between 1547 and 1555. The two-year conservation project, funded by the Friends of Florence Foundation, removed centuries of accumulated dust, wax, and plaster residue from the 5,900-pound marble block, which the artist famously left unfinished after discovering flaws in the stone.

rembrandt authenticated rijksmuseum

Advanced imaging and material analysis have officially reattributed the 1633 painting "Vision of Zacharias in the Temple" to Rembrandt van Rijn. The work, which had been dismissed by scholars in the 1960s as the product of a collaborator, underwent a rigorous two-year study by the Rijksmuseum’s conservation department. Using macro-XRF scanning and dendrochronological analysis, researchers identified characteristic pentimenti and period-accurate materials that confirm it as a masterpiece from the artist's early Amsterdam period.

10 art restorations in 2025

In 2025, a series of major art restorations unveiled transformative discoveries in masterpieces by Caravaggio, Raphael, and Artemisia Gentileschi, among others. Caravaggio's final work, *The Martyrdom of St. Ursula* (1610), owned by Intesa Sanpaolo, was cleaned ahead of Rome's "Caravaggio 2025" exhibition, revealing hidden faces and a soldier's helmet previously only visible by x-ray. At the Vatican Museums, a decade-long restoration of the Raphael Rooms concluded with the revelation that two allegorical figures in the Hall of Constantine were painted by Raphael himself, not just his assistants, rewriting art history. Meanwhile, Artemisia Gentileschi's *Hercules and Omphale* (ca. 1635–37), damaged in the Beirut explosion, underwent emergency conservation by the Getty.

artnews awards 2025 jury

The second annual ARTnews Awards have announced their 2025 winners, selected by a jury of five esteemed US-based curators: Ryan N. Dennis (Co-Director & Chief Curator, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston), Anne Ellegood (Executive Director, Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles), Rosario Güiraldes (Curator of Visual Arts, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis), Ruba Katrib (Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, MoMA PS1, New York), and Victoria Sung (Phyllis C. Wattis Senior Curator, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive). These jurors reviewed exhibitions held between August 2024 and July 2025, meeting twice alongside two ARTnews senior editors to nominate and select winners across six categories.

flag art foundation serpentine galleries artist prize

The FLAG Art Foundation, based in New York, has pledged £1 million ($1.3 million) to London's Serpentine Galleries to establish a new biennial artist prize. Named the Serpentine x FLAG Art Foundation Prize, it will award £200,000 ($265,000) to an international artist who has been exhibiting for fewer than ten years, along with an exhibition at both institutions and a catalog. The first winner will be selected in 2026, with exhibitions at Serpentine in 2027 and FLAG in 2028. The prize is funded by collector Glenn Fuhrman's foundation and is the largest contemporary art prize in the UK.

mississippi museum of art frank lloyd wright home

The Mississippi Museum of Art (MMA) has acquired the Frank Lloyd Wright–designed property Fountainhead in Jackson, Mississippi, following approval from the Jackson Planning and Zoning Board and City Council. Originally designed in 1948 and completed in 1954 for oil speculator J. Willis Hughes, the 3,558-square-foot Usonian home was later restored by architect Robert Parker Adams and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. The museum plans to open the home for public tours, with bus transportation from its main campus, and to establish community partnerships.

rembrandt masterpiece undergoes conservation at germanys stadel museum

The Städel Museum in Frankfurt, Germany, is undertaking a major conservation treatment of Rembrandt van Rijn's monumental painting *The Blinding of Samson* (1636). The project, expected to last three to four years, will address signs of aging and previous restorations, remove non-original paint, and create a historically accurate frame. The conservation follows a 2021 research seminar and technical studies published in the journal *ArtMatters*, which revealed previously unknown underdrawing techniques and adjustments to the artist's color palette and composition.

hidden vermeer self portrait maid asleep

New research by the Metropolitan Museum of Art suggests that Johannes Vermeer may have hidden a self-portrait beneath his painting *A Maid Asleep* (1656–57). Using scientific analysis, the Met's team discovered an overpainted figure in the background—a man painting with his left hand, likely a reflection in a framed mirror. The image is too obscured to reveal facial features. The theory, first proposed by the Met in 2023, is bolstered by a comparison to Nicolaes Maes's *The Naughty Drummer* (1655), which similarly depicts an artist reflected in a mirror. The Met argues Vermeer likely knew Maes's work.