Gala Season! Shaggy and Jewel Hit the Whitney, Henry Taylor and Pharrell Toast Gordon Parks, and More Juicy Art-World Gossip

Artnet News' gossip column "Wet Paint" reports on the Whitney Museum's 2026 annual gala, a major fundraising event. The author describes the scene: donors and celebrities like Jewel, Neil Patrick Harris, and Nigel Barker mingled with artists Julie Mehretu (the honoree) and Glenn Ligon. Notably, the 56 artists in the current Whitney Biennial were not invited due to limited seating, a policy confirmed by the museum. The evening raised $6.3 million, with individual seats costing $7,500.

Elle Pérez Envisions New Residency Built on Family Legacy

Artist Elle Pérez is raising $100,000 to buy out relatives from a family home in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, that has been in their family since the 1920s, with the goal of transforming it into an artist residency called Casa Pérez. To fund the project, Pérez is selling a portfolio of chromogenic studio prints for $1,795 each, produced in collaboration with the cultural office Public Relations. The artist’s work, known for intimate portraits and scenes of underground music, has been featured in the Whitney Biennial and solo exhibitions at the Baltimore Museum of Art and Carnegie Museum of Art.

Kiev bombardé

The Journal des Arts issue of May 15, 2026, covers multiple art-world stories: the Venice Biennale opening amid controversy, France's final adoption of a law on restitution of colonial-era looted cultural property, the new V&A East museum targeting younger audiences, tensions in Giverny where Monet's legacy does not benefit all, and the structuring of the Nabis art market.

The Short Circuit of Art in Venice. The Tensions at the Biennale Are Not Just Geopolitics

Il cortocircuito dell’arte a Venezia. Le tensioni alla Biennale non sono solo geopolitica

The article analyzes the recent tensions and controversies surrounding the 2026 Venice Biennale, which began with President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco's announcement in March that Russia, Iran, Israel, Ukraine, and Belarus would all be allowed to participate, framing it as a foreign policy gesture. This sparked immediate polarization, leading to two open letters from half the invited artists and curators demanding the exclusion of Russia, Israel, and the United States; the resignation of the jury a week before the opening over a decision to exclude countries under ICC indictment; and a historic strike by workers on May 8 that shut down many pavilions, merging protests against genocide with those against precarious labor conditions.

Brazilian Police name alleged thief of Matisse works

Brazilian police have named Laéssio Rodrigues de Oliveira Silva as the alleged mastermind behind the December 2024 theft of thirteen artworks from the Biblioteca Mario de Andrade in São Paulo. The stolen works include eight prints by Henri Matisse from his book *Jazz* (1947) and five illustrations by Candido Portinari for *Menino de Engenho* (1959). Two suspects were initially identified, with one arrested, but police now allege Rodrigues de Oliveira Silva orchestrated the heist from prison, where he is already serving time for previous thefts of rare books and manuscripts from institutions including the National Library Foundation and the University of São Paulo. He is also suspected of ties to the PCC organized crime gang. Two alleged intermediaries and one of the two gunmen have been arrested, while the other gunman, Gabriel Pereira Rodrigues de Mello, remains at large, and the artworks have not been recovered.

Thomas J. Price and Tavares Strachan Make Shortlist for Billie Holiday Monument Designs

The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs has announced a shortlist of six finalists for a public monument honoring jazz singer Billie Holiday, to be installed outside the Jamaica Performing Arts Center in Queens. Among the top contenders are British sculptor Thomas J. Price and Bahamian conceptual artist Tavares Strachan, whose proposals include abstract bronze forms and a mirrored column, respectively. Other finalists are La Vaughn Belle, Nikesha Breeze, Nekisha Durrett, and Tanda Francis, all of whom consulted with Holiday scholars and family members to develop their designs.

Behind the Scenes of the Louvre Heist

Dans les coulisses du braquage du Louvre

On October 19, 2025, a forklift truck was used to gain access to the Louvre Museum in Paris, where two thieves stole heritage jewelry that has not yet been recovered. Crime journalist Patricia Tourancheau investigated the heist, publishing a book titled "Le Casse du Louvre. Dans les coulisses du musée mythique" (Édition du Seuil, 2026) that details the museum's security failures and profiles the expert burglars.

Open Letter in Support of the Artist Asel Kadyrkhanova

An open letter initiated by members of the Kazakhstani and international art community protests the removal of artist Asel Kadyrkhanova's work *Machine* (2013) from the Kazakhstan pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale. The mixed-media installation, which addresses Stalinist repression through a vintage typewriter, arrest warrants, and red threads, was dismantled on May 5, 2026, reportedly by order of Kazakhstan's Ministry of Culture and Information, just before the pavilion's opening. The artist and curator were allegedly pressured to alter the work beforehand, and the ministry initially cited restrictions from the Italian side, but the Italian Ministry of Defense denied involvement.

CalArts President Booed During Commencement Speech

California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) President Ravi S. Rajan was loudly booed by students during the school's commencement ceremony on May 15, as they held signs reading “Hold the Admin Accountable” and “Save Our Faculty & Staff.” The protest stemmed from ongoing financial turmoil at the esteemed art school, including a multi-million-dollar budget deficit, significant staff and faculty layoffs, and a decline in enrollment from 1,500 to roughly 1,200. Despite Rajan's attempts to redirect focus to the graduates, the booing persisted, and board chair Charmaine Jefferson unsuccessfully appealed for calm. The incident follows a broader crisis at CalArts, where over 75% of staff sought to unionize in 2024, and faculty held a “Chop from the Top” rally in March against proposed $5 million in cuts.

Sarah Rowe Will Light Up Native Neon Residency in Kingston, NY

A new residency program for Indigenous artists working with neon for the first time has been launched through a collaboration between the Walker Youngbird Foundation and Lite Brite Neon Studio in Kingston, New York. Sarah Rowe, a painter and installation artist from Omaha, Nebraska, was selected as the first recipient from over one hundred applicants. She plans to create a work inspired by the heyoka, a trickster figure from Lakota tradition, and will receive a $10,000 stipend plus fully funded fabrication, materials, studio time, and technical instruction valued at around $50,000. The resulting artwork will be publicly presented, and Rowe will retain full intellectual property rights and ownership.

L'Art en une semaine n° 1 - Mardi 26 mai 2026

La Tribune de l'Art has launched a new filmed podcast series titled "L'Art en une semaine n° 1 - Mardi 26 mai 2026." In this first episode, the hosts discuss the Pont-Neuf, the Louvre, Chambord, the Louvre-Lens, and the Société de l'histoire de l'art français. The podcast is being distributed for free on YouTube and Dailymotion, with plans to also host it on the ad-free platform Peertube, though technical issues have delayed that upload. The article provides links to the Société de l'histoire de l'art français website and to Cairn, where issues of La Revue de l'Art can be found.