Ceramist Maddy Inez, daughter of artist Alison Saar and granddaughter of assemblage pioneer Betye Saar, creates hand-built biomorphic ceramic sculptures inspired by mysticism and ancestral knowledge. Her works have recently grown in scale, reflecting a deepening exploration of hidden stories tied to ancestral plants.
The National Gallery of Canada and the Sobey Art Foundation have announced the six finalists for the 2026 Sobey Art Award, Canada's most prestigious contemporary visual arts prize. The shortlisted artists are Melaw Nakehk'o (Circumpolar region), Samuel Roy-Bois (Pacific), Audie Murray (Prairies), Lotus L. Kang (Ontario), Caroline Monnet (Quebec), and Shane Perley-Dutcher (Atlantic). Their practices range from land-based pedagogy and architectural sculpture to ancestral materiality and metal basketry.
Alexandre Gabriel, a partner at São Paulo gallery Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, opens his home in the Praça da República neighborhood to reveal his personal art collection, which includes works by friends and a Robert Mapplethorpe photograph of Peter Berlin (1976). Gabriel describes how his collection began with gifts from artist friends he met while interning at a film production company in 1996, including Ivens Machado, Luiz Zerbini, Barrão, and Ernesto Neto, and emphasizes that his collection is strictly personal, guided by love and memory rather than market trends.
Dallas Contemporary has appointed John McBride as Interim Director and Jeremy Strick as Strategic Advisor. McBride, formerly Deputy Director of the Nasher Sculpture Center, will oversee daily operations, programming, and financial stewardship during a multiyear planning period. Strick, former Director of the Nasher and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, will advise on mission, governance, and curatorial programming. The appointments follow recent leadership turnover, including the departure of Executive Director Lucia Simek in December 2025.
The Sobey Art Award has announced its six finalists for 2024: Melaw Nakehk'o, Samuel Roy-Bois, Audie Murray, Lotus L. Kang, Caroline Monnet, and Shane Perley-Dutcher. Nakehk'o, a Yellowknife-based textile artist and co-founder of the collective Dene Nahjo, is noted for reviving traditional moosehide tanning. The winner receives $100,000, while each remaining finalist gets $25,000. The award is presented by the Sobey Art Foundation and the National Gallery of Canada, with the winner announced on November 14.
Marcos López, a photographer and artist known for his pop and deeply Latin American aesthetic, discusses his evolving practice in an interview with Time Out. Born in Santa Fe and based in Buenos Aires for four decades, López reflects on his career marked by saturated colors, kitsch, humor, and critique, transforming everyday scenes into exaggerated, baroque images. He is set to serve as the guest artist of honor at the Arte Pequeño Formato fair in June, a venue that emphasizes accessible works up to 50 x 50 centimeters.
Atlanta's High Museum of Art has named Spelman College professor Cheryl Finley the winner of its 2026 David C. Driskell Prize. Finley will receive an unrestricted $50,000 cash award and be honored at a gala on September 19 at the High Museum. The prize, named after the renowned African American artist and scholar David C. Driskell, has been awarded annually since 2005 to recognize outstanding contributions to African American art. Finley is the Walton Endowed professor in the department of art and visual culture at Spelman and has directed the Atlanta University Center Art History + Curatorial Studies Collective since 2019, building a pipeline for emerging Black arts professionals.