timo kappeller joins pace gallery senior director 1234770176

Timo Kappeller has joined Pace Gallery as a senior director in New York, focusing on sales and artist relationships, starting January 20. He arrives from The Campus, a collaborative exhibition space in upstate New York, and previously held senior roles at Hauser & Wirth and Andrew Kreps, with early career experience at Documenta and KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin. His hiring follows several high-profile departures from Pace, including senior vice president Jessie Washburne-Harris to White Cube and artist Yoshitomo Nara to David Zwirner.

rosemarie trockel curious weird spruth magers gladstone 1234751042

Rosemarie Trockel, the elusive German artist known for her wildly varied and conceptually challenging work, is the subject of a rare profile in ARTnews. The article traces her emergence from the 1980s Cologne art scene, where she became notorious for refusing interviews and producing art that defies easy categorization—spanning knitting machines, video, sculpture, and drawing. A key photograph from her teenage years, showing her in a room plastered with celebrity cutouts, is presented as a rare origin story, though its authenticity is left ambiguous. The piece highlights her declared constants of "woman, inconsistency, reaction to fashionable trends" and her insistence that art should remain a process of discovery rather than a vehicle for fixed meaning.

macarthur genius grants garrett bradley gala porras kim 1234756063

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced its 2025 class of 22 MacArthur Fellows, each receiving an $800,000 no-strings-attached grant. Among the winners are several visual artists: Garrett Bradley, known for her Oscar-nominated documentary *Time* (2020) and works centering Black resistance; Gala Porras-Kim, whose practice questions how art institutions convey or conceal information about objects; Tuan Andrew Nguyen, whose films and installations explore trauma and colonization; and Jeremy Frey, a seventh-generation Passamaquoddy basket maker whose midcareer survey is on view at the Bruce Museum. Photographers Matt Black and Tonika Lewis Johnson also received fellowships, along with archaeologist Kristina Douglass and non-artists such as novelist Tommy Orange and astrophysicist Kareem El-Badry.

walter robinsons legacy is celebrated with honorary doctorate new scholarship 2730182

Hundreds gathered on a cold Monday night in New York at Phillips auction house and the Metropolitan Club to celebrate the life and legacy of Walter Robinson, the beloved art-world figure who died in February 2025. The event, organized by the New York Academy of Art as part of its annual “Take Home a Nude” fundraiser, featured silent and live auctions, a posthumous honorary doctorate awarded to Robinson, and the announcement of the Walter Robinson Scholarship funded by auction proceeds. The evening raised over $800,000, with works by students and acclaimed artists like Richard Prince and Kiki Smith on offer, and Robinson’s painting *Blood on the Sun* (2018) selling for $35,000.

rauschenberg centennial award senga nengudi david thomson 1234777484

The Robert Rauschenberg Foundation has announced the recipients of its Rauschenberg Centennial Awards, granting $100,000 in unrestricted funds to five creators across four disciplines. The winners include Senga Nengudi for art, David Thomson for performance, Chandra McCormick and Keith Calhoun for photography, and Patricia Spears Jones for writing. Established to commemorate the late artist’s 100th birthday in 2025, the awards recognize alumni of the foundation’s Captiva Residency program who demonstrate artistic excellence and community impact.

curator xiaowen zhu interview 2660839

Xiaowen Zhu, director of Esea Contemporary in Manchester, discusses her journey and the evolving representation of Asian artists in the global art world. Born in Shanghai, Zhu reflects on her formative encounter with Ai Weiwei's *Fairytale* at Documenta 12 in 2007, which shaped her understanding of diaspora and belonging. She now leads the UK's only non-profit art center dedicated to East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) artists, and serves on the British Council’s Arts and Creative Economy Advisory Group.

Interview with Kelly Wall

The article is an interview with artist Kelly Wall, conducted by Olivia Gauthier, published in the February 2026 issue of Contemporary Art Review LA. It appears within a broader issue exploring themes like scent in art, tarot, and social urgencies in contemporary practice.

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The U.S. Department of Justice has released approximately 3 million additional files related to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, sparking a new wave of resignations and investigations across the global art world. The documents detail extensive connections between Epstein and high-profile figures, including museum leaders, major collectors, and artists. While inclusion in the files does not prove criminal wrongdoing, the public pressure following these revelations has forced several prominent individuals to step down from influential institutional roles.

Photographer Zanele Muholi is named the 2026 Hasselblad Award laureate.

South African visual activist Zanele Muholi has won the prestigious 2026 Hasselblad Award, one of the highest honors in photography. The award, which includes a cash prize and a major exhibition at the Hasselblad Foundation in Gothenburg, Sweden, recognizes Muholi's decades-long dedication to documenting and celebrating Black LGBTQIA+ communities in South Africa and beyond. Their powerful portraits and self-portraits challenge historical erasure and create a profound visual archive of resistance and existence.

Artists Gala Porras-Kim, Jeremy Frey and Tuan Andrew Nguyen among winners of 2025 MacArthur ‘genius grants'

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced its 2025 cohort of MacArthur Fellows, awarding 27 recipients—including visual artists Gala Porras-Kim, Jeremy Frey, Matt Black, Garrett Bradley, Tonika Lewis Johnson, and Tuan Andrew Nguyen—with $800,000 each over five years. The artists span conceptual institutional critique, Indigenous basketry, documentary photography, film, and social practice, with several currently holding major solo exhibitions or biennial features.

Jeamin Cha wins Hermès Foundation Missulsang

Jeamin Cha wins Hermès Foundation Missulsang

Korean media artist Jeamin Cha has been awarded the 21st Missulsang prize by the Hermès Foundation. She will receive KRW 30 million and production support for a solo exhibition at Atelier Hermès in Seoul, opening in May 2027.

zanele muholi wins 2026 hasselblad award 1234775981

Zanele Muholi has been named the winner of the 2026 Hasselblad Award, widely considered the world’s most prestigious photography prize. The South African photographer and "visual activist" will receive approximately $218,000, a solo exhibition at the Hasselblad Center in Gothenburg opening in October 2026, and a dedicated publication. Muholi’s work is celebrated for its monumental grayscale portraiture that documents and honors the Black LGBTQIA+ community, challenging historical omissions and systemic oppression.

marilyn minter wins anderson ranch international artist award 1234773675

Marilyn Minter has been named the 28th recipient of the International Artist Award by the Anderson Ranch Arts Center. The artist, celebrated for her feminist works that merge painting and photography, will be honored during the center's annual Ranch Week in July. The selection highlights Minter's meticulous technical process and her long-standing commitment to art education as a faculty member at the School of Visual Arts.

epstein files reveal museum director david a ross 1234772018

David A. Ross, a prominent museum director and chair of the MFA Art Practice program at New York's School of Visual Arts, resigned after ARTnews revealed his numerous appearances in the newly released Jeffrey Epstein files. The documents, released by the Justice Department, show correspondence between Ross and Epstein dating back to 1995, including emails where Ross offered support to Epstein after his 2008 arrest and discussed a controversial exhibition concept proposed by Epstein.

ronald lauder jeffrey epstein files 1234772151

Ronald Lauder, the billionaire art collector and heir to the Estée Lauder fortune, is named over 900 times in the recently released Jeffrey Epstein court documents. The emails reveal his assistants frequently scheduling meetings and calls with Epstein in 2017, though the substance of their discussions remains largely unclear. One email suggests Epstein sought to review Lauder's tax returns and will, while another indicates Epstein attempted to arrange a dinner involving filmmaker Woody Allen.

collectors steve tisch jean pigozzi jeffrey epstein files 1234771700

Newly released documents from the Department of Justice, part of the Jeffrey Epstein case, contain email exchanges from 2013 that reference prominent art collectors Steve Tisch and Jean Pigozzi. The emails show Epstein facilitating introductions between Tisch and multiple women, with discussions about their backgrounds and travel arrangements. Tisch has stated the association was brief and expressed regret.

A Brush With... Lorna Simpson—podcast

Artist Lorna Simpson joins the 'A Brush With...' podcast to discuss the vast array of cultural influences that have shaped her conceptual practice. From her early photo-text works to her recent large-scale paintings, Simpson details how she subverts conventional framing of identity and navigates the boundaries between reality, fiction, and historical archives. She highlights the specific impact of figures such as David Hammons, Francisco de Zurbarán, and filmmaker Chantal Akerman on her evolving visual language.

I think I didn't understand many artists

"Ich glaube, ich habe viele Künstler nicht verstanden"

Adrian Searle, the long-standing chief art critic for The Guardian, is stepping down after three decades at the publication and nearly 50 years in art criticism. In a reflective interview, Searle discusses his transition from a practicing painter and educator to a critic, noting that his early interactions with students like Peter Doig and Isaac Julien helped him realize his true strength lay in writing rather than art-making. He recounts his experiences navigating the British art scene, from the decline of Greenbergian abstraction to his encounters with formidable figures like Richard Serra.

WALTER OTERO A TROPICAL GALLERIST IN AMERICA S ECOSYSTEM

A new book titled "Walter Otero: un galerista tropical" is being published this March. It features an interview by curator Omar-Pascual Castillo with Puerto Rican gallerist Walter Otero, chronicling his journey from personal assistant to painter Arnaldo Roche Rabell to founding his influential San Juan gallery, Walter Otero Contemporary Art (WOCA). The book details the gallery's history, its roster of artists, and Otero's adaptation to the digital age and crises like Hurricane Maria.

documenta 16 artistic team naomi beckwith 1234749529

Naomi Beckwith, deputy director and chief curator of the Guggenheim Museum, has announced her four-person artistic team for Documenta 16, set to open in Kassel, Germany, in June 2027. The team includes Carla Acevedo-Yates, Romi Crawford, Mayra A. Rodríguez Castro, and Xiaoyu Weng, who will collaborate on the exhibition, publication, and programming for the quinquennial.

A brush with… Mary Kelly—podcast

This podcast episode features an in-depth conversation with pioneering conceptual and feminist artist Mary Kelly, now 84 and based in Los Angeles. She reflects on her groundbreaking works such as *Post-Partum Document* (1973-77) and *Interim* (1984-89), her move to Beirut in the 1960s, the influence of May 1968, and her lifelong commitment to non-figurative art after encountering Franz Kline's work at age 15. The episode also covers her current exhibition *We don't want to set the world on fire* at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery in London, running until January 2026.

racquel chevremont interview and just like that 1234747299

Racquel Chevremont, a curator and collector who recently appeared on the Real Housewives of New York, was brought in by the producers of the Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That… to build the art collection for the character Lisa Todd Wexley. Chevremont selected works by Black artists including Carrie Mae Weems, Deborah Roberts, Barkley Hendricks, Gordon Parks, Mickalene Thomas, Derrick Adams, and Alma Thomas to adorn the Wexley family home, carefully choosing each piece to reflect the character's identity as a successful Black documentarian and mother. In an interview with ARTnews, Chevremont explains how she researched the character's background to curate a collection that feels authentic, and describes the process of licensing images for reproduction on set rather than borrowing original works.

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Alexandra Metcalf, a rising artist based in Berlin, is gaining attention for her multidisciplinary work that blends Victorian and psychedelic aesthetics with the dark history of women's psychiatric facilities. Her upcoming Art Basel debut with London's Ginny on Frederick features an installation titled "Assembly," consisting of four reclaimed grandfather clocks transformed into psychologically charged dioramas, which has been nominated for the Baloise Art Prize 2025. Metcalf also recently opened a solo exhibition "Gaaaaaaasp" at The Perimeter in London, an immersive installation evoking a 1960s doctor's waiting room and surgical theater, further exploring themes of madness, gendered labor, and Freudian psychology.

Art Collector and ‘Galerie’ Magazine Founder Lisa Fayne Cohen Fawned Over Jeffrey Epstein in Emails: ‘There Is No One Else Like You’

Newly released documents from the Justice Department's Epstein files reveal that New York art collector and Galerie magazine founder Lisa Fayne Cohen and her husband, real estate developer Jimmy Cohen, were in close contact with financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2015 and 2016. The emails show Cohen seeking Epstein's advice and arranging to photograph his Paris apartment for her magazine, which later featured the residence anonymously in its second issue.

Market Maker

Amrita Jhaveri, a Brown University alumna, has transitioned from a pioneering role at Christie’s to becoming a central figure in the global promotion of South Asian art. After launching Christie’s Mumbai office in the 1990s—a time when modern Indian masterpieces sold for a fraction of their current multi-million dollar values—she co-founded Jhaveri Contemporary with her sister Priya. The gallery has gained international prestige by placing works by overlooked, female, and queer South Asian artists into the permanent collections of major institutions like the Tate Modern, the Met, and MoMA.

Profile | Pierre Rosenberg, the former Louvre president, on his long-awaited four-volume Poussin catalogue—and forthcoming museum

Pierre Rosenberg, the 89-year-old honorary president-director of the Louvre, is set to release a definitive four-volume catalogue raisonné of the works of Nicolas Poussin. This monumental publication, weighing eight kilograms, represents over sixty years of scholarship and aims to provide a comprehensive update to the field, addressing previous research by figures such as Anthony Blunt and Louis Marin.

K11 founder Adrian Cheng on Hong Kong’s art scene, the future of collecting and the creative potential of AI

Adrian Cheng, founder of the K11 property business and a prominent figure in Hong Kong's art scene, discusses his two-decade role in shaping the city's cultural landscape. He founded K11 in 2008 to integrate museum-quality art with retail, developed the Victoria Dockside district and K11 MUSEA, and established the K11 Art Foundation and K11 Craft & Guild Foundation. Cheng has launched new ventures including K11 by AC and the ALMAD Group, and his foundations have partnered with major institutions like the Palais de Tokyo, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Serpentine Galleries. He also initiated a regular salon series focused on art and technology, held during events like Frieze Seoul and Asia Now.

A brush with… Catherine Opie—podcast

The article is a transcript or description of a podcast episode featuring an interview with photographer Catherine Opie. She discusses her artistic journey, influences, and the themes central to her work, including identity, community, and representation within LGBTQ+ communities and American society. The podcast also promotes her upcoming 2026 exhibitions at the National Portrait Gallery in London and the Fridericianum in Kassel.

David A. Ross resigns from New York's School of Visual Arts over friendship with Jeffrey Epstein

David A. Ross, chair of the Master of Fine Arts in art practice department at New York's School of Visual Arts (SVA), resigned from his position following the release of documents revealing his long-standing friendly correspondence with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The emails, dating from 2009 to 2016, show Ross praising Epstein's ideas for controversial exhibitions and offering him personal sympathy, even after Epstein's 2008 criminal conviction.

A ruined building, five Ghanaians and an elegant horse: Ron Timehin’s best photograph

Photographer Ron Timehin discusses a standout image from his documentary project in Labadi, Accra, featuring five local community members and a horse against a ruined farm building. The project, commissioned by My Runway Group, aims to move away from traditional documentary tropes by portraying West African communities in a collaborative, dignified, and elegant manner.