seyni awa camara sculptor dead

Seyni Awa Camara, a Diola sculptor from Bignona, Senegal, known for her totemic clay sculptures of stacked human bodies, has died. Her work, steeped in spirituality and inspired by a ram's horn she called a 'genie,' gained international recognition after being discovered by anthropologist Michèle Odeyé-Finzi and introduced to Europe by gallerist André Magnin. Despite her global following—including fans like Pharrell Williams and Louise Bourgeois—Camara remained largely unknown in her home country, relying on foreign buyers to sustain her practice.

Valie Export, Groundbreaking Feminist Artist Who Questioned the Nature of Art, Dies at 85

Valie Export, the pioneering Austrian feminist artist known for challenging the conventions of art and cinema through body-centered, tactile works, died on May 14 at age 85, three days before her birthday. Her death was confirmed by Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery, which represents her. Over six decades, Export created influential works such as "TAP and TOUCH CINEMA" (1968) and "Action Pants: Genital Panic" (1968), using her own body to question gender norms and the nature of film. Born Waltraud Lehner in Linz, she reinvented herself as VALIE EXPORT in 1967, a name symbolizing her exportation of personal ideas. She was associated with the Viennese Actionists but developed her own expanded cinema practice, producing works like "Abstract Film No. 1" (1967–68) that redefined the medium.

Georg Baselitz, German artist who turned figurative painting on its head, has died, aged 88

Georg Baselitz, the influential German painter and sculptor, died on 30 April at age 88. Born Hans-Georg Kern in 1938 in Deutschbaselitz, he grew up amid the ruins of Nazi Germany and later adopted his surname from his birthplace. Expelled from the East Berlin Academy for "sociopolitical immaturity," he moved to West Berlin, where he rejected both gestural abstraction and Expressionism. His first solo exhibition in 1963 was shut down for obscenity. In 1969 he pioneered his signature inverted paintings, turning subjects upside down to sever image from representation. He also created large carved sculptures using axes and chainsaws. His later series, from 2014 onward, are considered his most astonishing work, culminating in a sustained focus on his wife, artist Elke Kretzschmar.

arnulf rainer dead

Arnulf Rainer, the Austrian artist known for his relentless experimentation and his signature "overpaintings" (Übermalungen), died on December 18 at age 96 at his home in Austria. His death was confirmed by his gallery, Thaddaeus Ropac. Over seven decades, Rainer produced abstract works tied to the Art Informel movement, layering dense pigment over existing images—first his own, then works by artists like Emilio Vedova. He also created "blind drawings" and overpainted photographic self-portraits in series such as "Face Farces" and "Body Poses." His career included major exhibitions at Documenta, the Venice Biennale, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Centre Pompidou, and he taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna from 1981 to 1995.

VALIE EXPORT, pioneering artist who centred the female body, 1940–2026

VALIE EXPORT, the pioneering Austrian feminist artist known for her provocative performances centered on the female body, has died at age 85. Born in Linz in 1940, she adopted the name VALIE EXPORT in 1967 and quickly rose to prominence with iconic actions such as *TAP and TOUCH Cinema* (1968) and *Action Pants: Genital Panic* (1968), which challenged passive representations of women. Her work spanned photography, film, and expanded cinema, and she participated in major international exhibitions including documenta 6 and 12, and the Venice Biennale, where she and Maria Lassnig became the first women to represent Austria in 1980.

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Author of Uncategorizable Abstractions, Dies at 84

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, an activist, educator, and artist known for her monumental lampblack paintings that expanded the possibilities of abstraction, died on May 10 in Mérida, Mexico, at age 84. Despite a six-decade career, she was long considered an "artist's artist" before gaining international acclaim in recent years, with major exhibitions at Mnuchin Gallery, Marianne Boesky Gallery, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and inclusion in the 2024 Whitney Biennial and the 2025 group show "Paris Noir" at the Centre Pompidou.

VALIE EXPORT, Icon of Feminist Art, Dead at 85

VALIE EXPORT, the radical Austrian performance artist, filmmaker, and sculptor widely regarded as the most significant feminist artist of the postwar era, died in Vienna on May 14, just three days before her 85th birthday. Her death was confirmed by Thaddaeus Ropac gallery, which represents her. Known for provocative works such as *Tapp und Tastkino* (1968), in which she invited passersby to touch her bare breasts through a miniature theater, EXPORT faced hate mail, death threats, and indecency charges but remained undeterred in her mission to challenge patriarchal norms through the female body and sexual agency.

Georg Baselitz, Lion of German Neo-Expressionism, Dead at 88

Georg Baselitz, the influential German Neo-Expressionist painter, printmaker, and sculptor, died on April 30 at age 88. His death was announced by Thaddaeus Ropac gallery, his longtime representative. Born Hans-Georg Kern in 1938 in Saxony, Baselitz was profoundly shaped by his childhood experience of war and the destruction of Nazi Germany. He was expelled from art school in East Berlin for "socio-political immaturity," moved to West Berlin, and adopted his pseudonym from his hometown. His first solo exhibition in 1963 was raided by police for obscenity, cementing his reputation as a provocateur. Known for his upside-down figures and fierce brushwork, he created series such as "Heroes" and "Fracture" that addressed trauma, violence, and the psychic toll of postwar life.

llyn foulkes obituary

American artist Llyn Foulkes has died at age 91, as confirmed by Kent Fine Art. Known for defying stylistic categorization, Foulkes was an early pioneer of Pop art, showing at Fergus Gallery in the mid-1960s ahead of Andy Warhol. He won the painting prize at the Paris Biennale in 1967 and represented the United States at the IX São Paulo Art Biennial that same year. His work incorporated collaged elements and explored themes of photography, Americana, and commercial pop culture. Foulkes was also a jazz musician, performing with R. Crumb and forming the Rubber Band, which appeared on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. He invented a one-man-band instrument called the Machine and participated in Documenta 13 in 2012, with a retrospective at the Hammer Museum in 2013.

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Painter and Civil Rights Luminary, Dies at 84

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, a painter, educator, and Civil Rights activist, died on May 10 at age 84 in Mérida, Mexico. Known for her monumental canvases and inventive “lampblack” works, she moved fluidly between abstraction and figuration, using layers of black pigment to assert Blackness and presence. Her career included studies at Howard University and Columbia University, activism with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and connections to the Black Arts Movement.

Georg Baselitz (1938-2026)

Georg Baselitz, born Hans-Georg Kern in 1938, has died at age 88. The German painter and sculptor, who changed his name in 1961, built a career on aesthetic dissent. Expelled from art school in East Berlin, he first gained notoriety with a 1963 exhibition at Galerie Werner and Katz in Berlin, where two works were seized for obscenity. His signature gesture—inverting his images, beginning with "Der Wald auf dem Kopf" in 1969—became his most recognizable trademark, shifting focus from subject to the act of painting itself. Baselitz also produced significant sculptures, often carved with a chainsaw and axe, and his work was the subject of major retrospectives at the Centre Pompidou (2021-2022) and the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris (2011-2012).

gunther uecker german artist died

German artist Günther Uecker, renowned for his spiritual approach to art and innovative use of nails as a sculptural material, died on Tuesday at age 95 in a Düsseldorf hospital. His family confirmed the death to German news agency dpa, though no cause was given. Uecker was a key member of the Zero Group, which sought to reset art to a "zero base," and his work ranged from nail-covered surfaces to pianos, chairs, and television sets. He also designed a prayer room for Berlin's Reichstag and participated in major exhibitions including Documenta 4 and the Venice Biennale.

The art world remembers Valie Export, Austrian pioneer of feminist performance art

VALIE EXPORT, the Austrian pioneer of feminist performance art, died on 14 May, three days before her 86th birthday. Her death was confirmed by her representative, Thaddaeus Ropac. Born Waltraud Lehner in Linz in 1940, she developed a radical artistic language centered on the female body, known for works such as *Tap and Touch Cinema* (1968–1971) and *Body Configurations* (1972–1976). Tributes have poured in from artists, writers, and institutions, including the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin and the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, where director Stella Rollig noted their ongoing collaboration on the exhibition *Feminist Futures Forever*.

The Great Lone Wolf of Art

Der große Einzelgänger der Kunst

Georg Baselitz, the German painter known for his radical, figurative works and iconic upside-down motifs, has died at age 88. Born Hans-Georg Kern in 1938 in Deutschbaselitz, Saxony, he fled East Germany for West Berlin in 1957 after being expelled from art school for "socio-political immaturity." Baselitz rose to international fame with his expressive, fractured depictions of the human figure, famously inverting his compositions starting with "Der Wald auf dem Kopf" (1969). He also worked as a stage and costume designer for operas by Harrison Birtwistle, György Ligeti, and Richard Wagner.

Death of Artist Fabien Verschaere

Disparition de l’artiste Fabien Verschaere

The French contemporary art world is mourning the sudden death of artist Fabien Verschaere at the age of 50. Represented by Galerie Brugier-Rigail since 2012, Verschaere was known for a prolific and singular body of work that blended childhood imagery, fairy tales, and pop culture icons like Mickey Mouse and Batman into a complex personal mythology. His career was marked by significant exhibitions at major institutions including the Palais de Tokyo, the Musée d’art contemporain de Lyon, and the Grand Palais.

Valie Export ist tot

Valie Export, the pioneering Austrian media and performance artist, has died at age 85 in Vienna. Born Waltraud Lehner in Linz in 1940, she adopted the name Valie Export in the late 1960s, derived from a cigarette brand, and became internationally known for provocative works such as "Tapp- und Tastkino" (1968) and "Aktionshose: Genitalpanik." Her practice critically examined gender roles, power structures, and the representation of the female body through film, video, photography, and performance. She participated in major exhibitions including Documenta, the Centre Pompidou, and the Museum of Modern Art, and represented Austria at the Venice Biennale in 1980 alongside Maria Lassnig. She also taught as a professor of media and performance art in Berlin and Cologne, and the VALIE EXPORT Center opened in Linz in 2017.

Georg Baselitz, grande figure de l’art allemand, est mort à l’âge de 88 ans : retour sur sa vie et son œuvre

Georg Baselitz, one of Germany's most significant post-war artists, has died at age 88. Born Hans-Georg Kern in 1938, he grew up in Nazi-era Saxony and later rejected his father's ideology, fleeing to West Berlin in 1957. Known for his provocative, expressionist works and signature upside-down paintings, Baselitz challenged artistic conventions with brutalist techniques—attacking wood with chainsaws and axes—and created scandalous pieces like "Die große Nacht im Eimer" (1962–1963), which was banned from exhibition. His career included major retrospectives at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (2011) and Centre Pompidou (2021), and commissions for the Reichstag.

Death of Christine Ruiz-Picasso

Décès de Christine Ruiz-Picasso

Christine Ruiz-Picasso, the daughter-in-law of Pablo Picasso and a pivotal figure in preserving his artistic legacy, has passed away. As the widow of Paul Picasso, the artist's eldest son, she played a foundational role in the management of the Picasso estate and was instrumental in the creation of major institutions dedicated to his work.

jean widmer dead designer centre pompidou

Jean Widmer, the influential French-Swiss graphic designer who created the iconic visual identity for the Centre Pompidou, has died at age 96. Widmer is best known for distilling the complex, high-tech architecture of Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers into a minimalist logo of black lines and a zig-zagging diagonal, a design that has remained unchanged since the museum's opening in 1977. Beyond the Pompidou, his career spanned fashion art direction at Le Jardin des Modes and the creation of France's standardized highway signage system.

mohamed hamidi moroccan modernist painter obituary

Moroccan modernist painter Mohamed Hamidi has died at the age of 84, as announced by the Barjeel Art Foundation in Sharjah. Born in Casablanca in 1941, Hamidi studied at the School of Fine Arts of Casablanca and later at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris. A founding father of Moroccan modern art, he returned to Morocco in 1967 and taught at the Casablanca School, helping to democratize its curriculum. He participated in the landmark 1969 exhibition “Manifesto” in Marrakech and founded the Moroccan Association of Plastic Arts in 1972. His abstract, erotic paintings incorporated traditional Maghreb motifs and geometric shapes.

The artist Fabien Verschaere, creator of joyful shambles, has passed away at age 50

L’artiste Fabien Verschaere, auteur de joyeux capharnaüms, s’est éteint à l’âge de 50 ans

The French contemporary artist Fabien Verschaere has passed away suddenly at the age of 50. Known for his dense, colorful, and highly personal visual language, Verschaere was scheduled to receive the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres distinction just days after his death. His work, which drew heavily from childhood imagery and his own experiences with chronic illness, created a bridge between dreams and nightmares through a cast of recurring characters like ghosts, superheroes, and hybrid creatures.

È morto Paolo Masi. La lunga ricerca dell’artista fiorentino sulla trasformazione dei materiali poveri

Paolo Masi, the Florentine artist known for his lifelong exploration of poor materials and their transformation, died in Florence on Wednesday, May 6, just days before his 93rd birthday. His career spanned from informal experiments in the 1950s through a rigorous investigation of materials in the 1960s, including his first solo show at the Strozzina in 1960. He joined the aesthetic research group Centro F/Uno alongside Baldi, Lecci, and Nannucci, and later co-founded the collective spaces Zona (1974) and Base (1998) with Mario Mariotti and Maurizio Nannucci. Masi participated in the Venice Biennale (1978) and the Rome Quadriennale (1986), and his works are held by major museums and foundations internationally. His later years saw significant retrospectives at the Museo MAGA in Gallarate (2018) and at Le Murate in Florence (2018), as well as a 2023 solo show at Florence's Galleria Frittelli, which remembered him as an extraordinary artist and dear friend.

Robert Wilson, experimental playwright, director and artist, has died, aged 83

Robert Wilson, the visionary experimental playwright, director, and visual artist known for his highly stylized theatrical productions, has died at age 83. He passed away at his home in Water Mill, New York, on July 31 following a brief acute illness, according to a statement from the Watermill Center, the arts organization he founded. Wilson's most famous works include the silent opera *Deafman Glance* (1970) and the epic collaboration with composer Philip Glass, *Einstein on the Beach* (1976). He was also a prolific visual artist, creating drawings, sculptures, and video portraits, including a series featuring Lady Gaga, Pope.L, and Isabella Rossellini, and his work was exhibited at institutions such as SFMoMA, the Centre Pompidou, and the Louvre.

Dóra Maurer, ‘towering figure’ of the Hungarian art scene, has died aged 88

Dóra Maurer, a seminal figure in Hungarian conceptual and abstract art, has died at the age of 88. A versatile artist whose career spanned printmaking, photography, filmmaking, and painting, Maurer was celebrated for her rigorous exploration of movement, time, and mathematical systems. Her death was confirmed by the Széchenyi Academy of Literature and Arts, where she had served as president since 2017.