Art News. Vasari Codex

person people schedule May 18, 2026 visibility 38 link 6 artists, 3 galleries

‘The story can be almost as important as the piece itself’: philanthropist Christian Levett on his approach to collecting

Philanthropist and collector Christian Levett, who opened the Mougins Museum of Classical Art in 2011 in southern France, closed that institution in 2023 and replaced it with Female Artists of the Mougins Museum, reflecting his growing focus on abstraction by women artists. Levett, a former investment manager, now owns around 1,700 works spanning antiquity to contemporary art, with significant holdings in post-war American art, African cutting-edge works, and the Zero movement. He recently bought Françoise Gilot's 1942 painting 'Geneviève Pensive' privately through Christie's and will speak at Tefaf Talks in New York on a panel titled 'Collecting with a Mission for Public Access.'

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person people schedule May 22, 2026 source 3 sources visibility 44 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

Wolfgang Tillmans wins 2026 Roswitha Haftmann Prize

Wolfgang Tillmans has been awarded the 2026 Roswitha Haftmann Prize, worth CHF 150,000. The German photographer, based between London and Berlin, rose to prominence in the 1990s with intimate portraits of the European club scene and LGBTQIA+ community. Over nearly four decades, his practice has expanded to include still life and landscape photography, while maintaining a focus on social critique and the materiality of images. He has also been active in democracy promotion, launching an anti-Brexit campaign in 2016, encouraging voting in German and European elections, and founding the Between Bridges foundation in 2017 to support arts, LGBTQIA+ rights, and anti-racism work. The award ceremony will take place on 17 September at the Kunsthaus Zürich.

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person people schedule Jun 3, 2026 visibility 39 link 4 artists, 2 galleries

New Freeman’s CEO, Rana Begum Joins Lehmann Maupin, and More: Industry Moves for June 3, 2026

This week's industry moves roundup from ARTnews includes several notable appointments and gallery changes. Makeda Best has been named Chief Curator of Photography at MoMA, coming from the Oakland Museum of California. Dawn Airey was appointed Chair of Arts Council England, the UK's primary public arts funding body. Artist Rana Begum has joined Lehmann Maupin, with her debut at Art Basel in June and a solo show in New York in September. Freeman's appointed Muys Snijders as CEO, an auction and art advisory veteran with over 25 years of experience. Additionally, Experimenter announced the tenth round of grantees for its Generator Cooperative Art Production Fund, and a work by a follower of Hieronymus Bosch sold for $537,000 at Sotheby's, more than ten times its high estimate.

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person people schedule May 28, 2026 visibility 48 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

Arthur Jafa’s Radical Theory of Readymade Art

Arthur Jafa, the acclaimed artist known for his video work and found-object art, is the subject of a new Art Angle podcast episode. The article details his rise from cinema to the art world, highlighted by his 2016 video 'Love Is the Message, the Message Is Death' and his 2019 Golden Lion win at the Venice Biennale. Currently, Jafa is featured in a two-person show with Richard Prince at the Prada Foundation in Venice, curated by Nancy Spector, and has curated 'Less Is Morbid' at the Museum of Modern Art. He is also a recipient of this year's Art Basel Award.

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person people schedule May 12, 2026 source 3 sources visibility 84 link 4 artists, 2 galleries

Gozo Yoshimasu Wins £200,000 Serpentine x FLAG Art Foundation Prize

Tokyo-based poet and artist Gozo Yoshimasu has won the inaugural Serpentine x FLAG Art Foundation Prize, receiving £200,000 (approximately $272,000) along with solo exhibitions at Serpentine Galleries in London in fall 2027 and at the FLAG Art Foundation in New York in spring 2028. Yoshimasu, 87, emerged from the avant-garde scene of 1960s Tokyo and is known for blending poetry with performance, photography, audio recordings, and moving image. His work has been featured in the Shanghai Biennale, the Bienal de São Paulo, and major surveys such as “Poet Slash Artist” at Factory International. The prize was selected by a jury including Serpentine artistic director Hans Ulrich Obrist, FLAG Foundation director Jonathan Rider, MoMA curator Michelle Kuo, Museum MACAN director Venus Lau, and artist Rirkrit Tiravanija.

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person people schedule May 14, 2026 visibility 26 link 10 artists, 1 gallery

Art Movements: Michelle Millar Fisher Heads to Cooper Hewitt

Michelle Millar Fisher, formerly curator of Contemporary Decorative Arts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, has been appointed chief curator at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in Manhattan. She succeeds Matilda McQuaid, who is retiring after 24 years. Separately, the Getty Foundation awarded $1.8 million in grants to eight institutions through its Black Visual Arts Archive initiative, supporting the processing of historical records related to Black art. Other notable appointments include Jamie Blosser as curator of the Loeb Fellowship at Harvard Graduate School of Design, Graham C. Boettcher as director and CEO of the Norman Rockwell Museum, and Susan Fisher Sterling's retirement from the National Museum of Women in Arts. Artist Nora Turato also unveiled a humorous billboard near the High Line reading 'GIVE US MOM!!!'.

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person people schedule Jun 8, 2026 visibility 12 link 12 artists

Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter Talks About Making Music for Art Projects and Robot Life as Performance

Thomas Bangalter, one half of the iconic French electronic duo Daft Punk, has been expanding his creative practice into visual art and performance since the group's dissolution in 2021. He has composed music for ballets, collaborated with artist JR and choreographer Damien Jalet on the project Chiroptera, and released a new album, Mirage, made for a ballet with visual artist Kohei Nawa. Bangalter also contributed a sound work to JR's public art installation La Caverne du Pont Neuf in Paris, and will present an installation at Art Basel in Switzerland. He recently played a surprise DJ set at the closing of Centre Pompidou for renovations.

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person people schedule May 13, 2026 visibility 33 link 12 artists, 1 gallery

'Trusting that first reaction is important': Nacho Polo and Robert Onuska on the process of collecting

Nacho Polo and Robert Onuska, co-founders of the design gallery Studiotwentyseven, discuss their art collection in an interview with The Art Newspaper. Housed in their Tribeca apartment, the collection spans painting, sculpture, and photography with an emphasis on materiality and sculptural form. They recount their first acquisition—Ron Gorchov's *Autolykos* (2019)—and their most recent purchase, Alex Katz's *Nine Women 5* (2009). The couple also shares their instinctive buying process, a regret over missing a Nick Cave sculpture, and their anticipation for the Jean and Terry de Gunzburg collection at Sotheby's this spring.

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person people schedule May 19, 2026 visibility 18 link 3 artists, 1 gallery

Edgar Calel Honored with $75,000 Sam Gilliam Award

The Dia Art Foundation and the Sam Gilliam Foundation have announced Edgar Calel as the winner of the 2026 Sam Gilliam Award. The Guatemala-based artist and poet, born in 1987 in Chi Xot (San Juan Comalapa), will receive $75,000 and participate in a public program at a Dia location this fall. Calel, of Maya Kaqchikel heritage, works across painting, drawing, sculpture, and performance, and is known for monumental installations reflecting Mayan cosmovision and themes of ownership and stewardship. He was selected by a panel including Dia curators Jordan Carter and Matilde Guidelli-Guidi, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Annie Gawlak, Shanay Jhaveri, and Clara Kim.

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person people schedule May 20, 2026 source 5 sources visibility 20 link 3 artists

Art Basel Qatar Taps Former Mathaf Director Wassan Al-Khudhairi to Shape 2027 Fair

Art Basel has appointed Iraqi curator Wassan Al-Khudhairi as artistic director for the 2027 edition of Art Basel Qatar, succeeding Egyptian artist Wael Shawky who shaped the inaugural edition. The fair will take place January 28–30, 2027, with preview days on January 26–27, at Doha Design District and M7 in Msheireb Downtown Doha. Al-Khudhairi, former founding director of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, brings deep ties to Qatar and international curatorial experience from biennials including Gwangju and the Asian Art Biennial.

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person people schedule May 14, 2026 visibility 34 link 15 artists, 1 gallery

'I get strong gut reactions': Jonathan Travis on what he collects and why

Jonathan Travis, a realtor and art collector who has helped drive the migration of New York galleries to Tribeca, discusses his collecting habits in an interview with The Art Newspaper. Travis, a partner at Redwood Property Group, has found Tribeca homes for around 40 galleries and co-founded the Wolf Hill artist residency in Chappaqua, New York, with Ethan Rafii. He shares details about his first purchase (a Nicole Eisenman painting), his most recent acquisition (a Masanori Tomita painting), and his strong gut reactions when buying art in person. He also mentions works in his collection by artists such as Sasha Gordon, Jenna Gribbon, and Arcmanoro Niles, and expresses excitement for the Salvador Dalí show at Di Donna and the May auctions.

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person people schedule May 11, 2026 visibility 23 link 10 artists, 4 galleries

Eva Helene Pade Paints the Thin Line Between Ecstasy and Violence

Danish painter Eva Helene Pade, born in 1997, has been working in a borrowed London studio while her Paris home undergoes renovations. Three of her new monumental paintings—Jagt (Hunt), Nærmere (Closer), and Opstand (Surge)—will debut with Thaddaeus Ropac at TEFAF New York this week. Known for tempestuous, large-scale nocturnal scenes filled with writhing naked female bodies, Pade draws on influences from Edvard Munch, James Ensor, and Gustav Klimt, though she now works more intuitively. She signed with Thaddaeus Ropac in 2024 as the gallery's youngest represented artist and was featured in Artnet's Intelligence Report 'Zero to Hero' list for a major spike in search interest.

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person people schedule Jun 4, 2026 source 4 sources visibility 15 link 15 artists

Miami Beach’s Bass Museum of Art hires Philippe Vergne as artistic director and chief curator

The Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach has appointed Philippe Vergne as its inaugural artistic director and chief curator. Vergne joins from the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in Porto, where he led the institution's expansion with the Álvaro Siza Wing, inaugurated in 2024. He succeeds former chief curator James Voorhies and will work alongside executive director Silvia Karman Cubiñá. The new role was created organically to leverage Vergne's extensive experience with artist commissions and project oversight, including past curatorial work such as co-organizing the 2006 Whitney Biennial and solo exhibitions of artists like Kara Walker, Yves Klein, and Mike Kelley.

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person people schedule Jun 9, 2026 link 8 artists

Sandra Jackson-Dumont Wants Museums to Survive. Things Have to Change

Sandra Jackson-Dumont, director and CEO of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, discusses her career and vision for transforming museums in an interview for Artnet News's series on women shaping the art industry. She reflects on her roles at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, emphasizing the need for internal institutional change to address structural inequities around gender, race, pay, and professional growth.

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person people schedule May 14, 2026 visibility 35 link 18 artists, 3 galleries

Secretive LA art dealer Larry Gagosian to be subject of 'juicy' unauthorized doc

An unauthorized documentary about mega-gallerist Larry Gagosian is in the works, directed by Barry Avrich, who previously helmed the Netflix hit "Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art." Titled "Shadow Man: Inside The Secret World of Larry Gagosian," the film promises to feature former employees and artists sharing insider stories about Gagosian's empire. Avrich has a track record of documentaries on high-profile figures, including Lew Wasserman and Harvey Weinstein.

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person people schedule May 19, 2026 source 2 sources visibility 19 link 5 artists

Edgar Calel wins 2026 Sam Gilliam Award

Edgar Calel, a Maya Kaqchikel artist from Chi Xot, Guatemala, has been awarded the 2026 Sam Gilliam Award, as announced by the Dia Art Foundation and the Sam Gilliam Foundation. The prize includes $75,000 and a public programme at a Dia Foundation location this autumn. Calel’s multidisciplinary practice—spanning drawing, sculpture, installation, and performance—centers on ancestral knowledge, Indigenous experience, and the legacies of colonialism. He was selected by a jury of curators and foundation leaders, including Jessica Morgan, director of the Dia Art Foundation.

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person people schedule Jun 8, 2026 visibility 4 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

Through Sculpture, Kiah Celeste Finds Elegance in the Everyday

Kiah Celeste, a New York native who trained as a photographer at SUNY Purchase, abandoned photography after graduation and turned to sculpture, drawing inspiration from her experience as an art handler at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Her practice involves "foraging" for discarded materials—such as a marble tub, old CDs, acrylic skylight domes, and bowling balls—which she transforms into works like *Balance Bath* (2019), *Ouroboros* (2025), and the "Dream of Pearl" (2023) series. Celeste has shown in two-person exhibitions at Document Gallery in Chicago and Swivel Gallery in New York, and her sculptures explore tension between abstraction and recognizable objects, Minimalism and Pop, and her own intersecting identities as Black and Jewish, feminine and androgynous.

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person people schedule May 11, 2026 visibility 28 link 27 artists, 6 galleries

DOZIE KANU’S FIRST FORAY INTO MASS-PRODUCTION

Artist Dozie Kanu has debuted his first mass-production collaboration with Knoll, a line of leather-tasseled tables launched in 2026 during Milan's Salone del Mobile, shortly after the opening of his solo exhibition at Fondazione ICA Milano. The Texas-born, Portugal-based artist, who first appeared in PIN–UP magazine in 2018 as an emerging design wunderkind, has since expanded his practice beyond collectible design into art, exhibition-making, film, and music. His recent projects include a documentary short screened at South by Southwest, a two-person exhibition with László Moholy-Nagy at Meyer Voggenreiter's project space piece*unique in Cologne, and a solo show at ICA Milano that dialogues with Marc Camille Chaimowicz and Jean Cocteau, featuring works alongside selections from the Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation collection.

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person people schedule Jun 9, 2026 link 103 artists, 10 galleries

The Dealers: Rajiv Menon Connects Cultures

This article from Contemporary Art Review LA profiles dealer Rajiv Menon, focusing on his role in connecting cultures through art. The piece, part of the magazine's regular 'The Dealers' series, includes photos and text by Claire Preston and appears in Issue 44 (May 2026), alongside other features on contemporary archives, censorship, and reviews of exhibitions in Los Angeles and beyond.

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person people schedule Jun 4, 2026 visibility 13 link 4 artists

Serial Museum Leader Philippe Vergne Named Artistic Director of the Bass in Miami Beach

The Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach has appointed Philippe Vergne, a seasoned French curator and museum leader, to the newly created role of artistic director and chief curator, effective October. Vergne, who has led institutions including the Musée d’Art Contemporain in Marseille, the Walker Art Center, the Dia Art Foundation, the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, and most recently the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in Porto, will organize exhibitions and contribute to the museum's $20.1 million expansion designed by Johnston Marklee. The position was developed over six months of discussions between Vergne, executive director Silvia Cubiña, and the board.

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person people schedule May 27, 2026 visibility 22 link 6 artists

$50,000 Driskell Prize Goes to Cheryl Finley of Spelman College

Cheryl Finley, the director of visual arts and culture at Spelman College and head of the Atlanta University Center Art History + Curatorial Studies Collective, has been awarded the 2025 David C. Driskell Prize by Atlanta’s High Museum of Art. The prize, established in 2005, includes $50,000 and honors figures who have made significant contributions to African American art and art history. Past recipients include Alison Saar, Naomi Beckwith, Amy Sherald, Mark Bradford, and Rashid Johnson. Finley has led the AUC Art Collective since 2019, co-organized the “Black Portraiture[s]” academic convening since 2013, and authored books such as Committed to Memory: The Art of the Slave Ship Icon.

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person people schedule May 26, 2026 visibility 20 link 10 artists

Finalists for the Sobey Art Award, Canada’s top contemporary art prize, revealed

Six artists from across Canada have been shortlisted for the 2026 Sobey Art Award, the nation's top contemporary art prize. The finalists are Melaw Nakehk'o (Circumpolar), Samuel Roy-Bois (Pacific), Audie Murray (Prairies), Lotus L. Kang (Ontario), Caroline Monnet (Québec), and Shane Perley-Dutcher (Atlantic). Each finalist receives C$25,000 ($18,000), with a grand prize of C$100,000 ($72,000) to be announced at a ceremony in Ottawa on 14 November. An exhibition of their works will be held at the National Gallery of Canada later this year, and the 24 longlisted artists not among the finalists will each receive C$10,000 ($7,200).

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person people schedule Jun 3, 2026 visibility 11 link 3 artists

Makeda Best to Lead MoMA’s Photography Department

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York has appointed Makeda Best as its new Joel and Anne Ehrenkranz Chief Curator of Photography, effective September. Best comes from the Oakland Museum of California, where she served as deputy director of curatorial affairs. She succeeds Clément Chéroux, who left in 2022, and takes over from acting chief curator Roxana Marcoci. Best previously held roles at the Harvard Art Museums, including curator of photography and interim head of the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art, where she led the ReFrame reinstallation initiative. She holds a Ph.D. from Harvard and an MFA from CalArts.

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person people schedule May 27, 2026 visibility 22 link 5 artists

Cheryl Finley Wins 2026 David C. Driskell Prize

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.

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person people schedule May 27, 2026 visibility 14 link 6 artists, 1 gallery

Harmony Hammond Wrote the Book on Lesbian Art 20 Years Ago. Here’s What Comes Next.

Harmony Hammond, the 82-year-old artist and writer, is preparing for her seventh solo exhibition with Alexander Gray Associates, titled "Rust Never Sleeps," opening June 5 in the gallery's new Tribeca space. A new volume dedicated to her writings, *Still Dangerous! The Harmony Hammond Reader*, will be published this fall by Duke University Press. In an interview, Hammond discusses her ongoing textile-based abstraction practice, her frustration with being pigeonholed to the 1970s, and the recent surge of interest in textile art as seen in exhibitions like "Woven Histories" and "Unravel."

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person people schedule Jun 3, 2026 visibility 10 link 5 artists, 2 galleries

The Sun Is Shining on Saif Azzuz

Saif Azzuz, a Bay Area-based artist of Libyan and Yurok descent, is experiencing a surge in his career with multiple exhibitions and projects across the globe. His first solo museum show at the Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston, a second solo exhibition at Anthony Meier Fine Arts in Mill Valley, and a temporary outdoor sculpture commission at Storm King Art Center are among his recent achievements. He also has an installation at the Oakland Museum of California, which recently acquired the work, and his first monograph has been published by Sming Sming Books. Azzuz's practice connects Indigenous land practices in California, the Hudson Valley, and beyond, incorporating foraged plant matter and ancestral knowledge.

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person people schedule May 18, 2026 visibility 18 link 9 artists, 2 galleries

Felix Art Fair Founder Mills Morán Steps Back From Gallery Duties

Mills Morán, cofounder of the Los Angeles gallery Morán Morán, is stepping away from its day-to-day operations to focus on Felix Art Fair, the fair he cofounded with his brother Al Morán and collector Dean Valentine in 2018. The fair, held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel alongside Frieze Los Angeles, has staged eight editions. Morán announced the decision in a statement shared with artists and colleagues, citing personal recalibration after nearly two decades in the art world and a desire to be more present for loved ones.

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person people schedule May 13, 2026 visibility 22 link 11 artists, 7 galleries

Coco Fusco and Jeffrey Gibson’s Public Lectures, Free Admission at MCA Denver, and More: Industry Moves for May 13, 2026

This week's art industry moves include Coco Fusco and Jeffrey Gibson being named speakers for Johns Hopkins University's Sam Gilliam Lecture Series, with free talks scheduled in Washington, D.C. Other notable developments: MCA Denver received a $1 million gift from the Precourt Foundation for free youth admission through 2031; Xavier Hufkens now represents painter Richard Aldrich; Galatea will represent the estate of Brazilian self-taught painter Grauben do Monte Lima; Green Art Gallery added Sharjah-based artist Fatma Al Ali; Chris Sharp Gallery now represents sculptor Richard Rezac; and the Oakland Museum of California received a ceramics gift and $1 million endowment from the Brian and Edith Heath Foundation. Additionally, a Banksy painting from the "Crude Oils" series is estimated at $18 million for an upcoming Fair Warning auction at Tiffany & Co.

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person people schedule May 22, 2026 visibility 18 link 5 artists, 1 gallery

When Beauty Appears: Lee Mingwei Interviewed by Rhana Devenport

Taiwanese American artist Lee Mingwei presents his largest non-museum exhibition to date, "Lorsque La Beauté Paraît (When Beauty Appears)," at Perrotin in Paris. The show brings together seven invitational projects, including works like *The Mending Project* (2009–) and *The Moving Garden* (2009–). In an interview with Australian curator Rhana Devenport, Lee discusses the political dimensions of beauty, the restorative power of gift-giving, and the courage required for small acts of kindness among strangers. The exhibition is curated by Thierry Raspail, co-founder of the Lyon Biennale and director of the Lyon Museum of Contemporary Art.

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person people schedule May 19, 2026 visibility 23 link 11 artists, 1 gallery

You Can’t Drive It; You Can Only Look At It: A Conversation with Heidi Vaughan

Houston gallerist, secondary market art broker, and fine art appraiser Heidi Vaughan discusses her gallery Heidi Vaughan Fine Art (HVFA), the recent opening of McKay Otto's show 'GOLD,' and her multifaceted role in the art world. Vaughan represents established Houston artists like McKay Otto and Thedra Cullar-Ledford, as well as emerging painter Afi Lane, and offers services ranging from valuation and authentication to collection management and liquidation. She also hosts a radio show, 'The Houston Hour,' on 90.1 KPFT HD2, and is a prominent advocate for the arts in Houston.

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