Maurizio Cattelan Opens Up About Sin, Silence, and Stealing: ‘I’m Guilty Too’

Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan directed the Renaissance Society’s annual benefit gala, titled "The Silent Party!", held at the Chicago Athletic Club during the week of Expo Chicago. The event subverted traditional gala expectations by requiring guests to remain silent for two hours, communicating only via handwritten notes while navigating a labyrinth of performances. The evening featured contributions from artists including Jacob Ryan Renolds, Davide Balula, and Isabelle Frances McGuire, culminating in a dinner that raised approximately $600,000 for the non-profit institution.

from artemisia gentileschi in paris to yoshitomo naras u k debut 9 must see european museum shows in 2025 2578017

Artnet News highlights nine must-see European museum exhibitions opening in 2025, spanning from Amsterdam to Zurich. Featured shows include Noah Davis's first U.K. museum survey at the Barbican in London, a dual Anselm Kiefer exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum and Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, Tracey Emin's first major Italian retrospective at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, and a dedicated Artemisia Gentileschi show at Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris. Other notable exhibitions cover Marlene Dumas, Yayoi Kusama, and Yoshitomo Nara, among others.

5 Under-Recognized Artists Getting Their Due in New York This Season

The article highlights five under-recognized artists whose exhibitions are on view in New York this season, focusing on Domenico Gnoli at Lévy Gorvy Dayan and Raquel Rabinovich at Hutchinson Modern and Contemporary. Gnoli, an Italian painter who died in 1970, is known for his pallid, claustrophobic depictions of everyday subjects, while Rabinovich, who died at 102 in January 2026, created somber minimalist paintings exploring silence and withholding. The piece notes that New York galleries often use the pre-fair period to showcase less prominent artists of great promise.

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Thaddaeus Ropac, a major European blue-chip gallery, opened its seventh location in Milan in January 2025, occupying a prime palazzo previously home to Massimo de Carlo and Peres Projects. The inaugural exhibition pairs Georg Baselitz and Lucio Fontana in a show titled "L’aurore viene." The move has reignited debate about whether Milan is finally poised to become a contemporary art capital, despite past false starts and the city's stronger identity as a fashion and design hub.

Megamurals, Guerrilla Girls and something rotten in the Oval Office – the week in art

The Guardian's weekly art roundup highlights several exhibitions, including Wilhelm Sasnal's politically charged paintings at Sadie Coles HQ in London, a Joan Eardley retrospective in Edinburgh, and a Guerrilla Girls show in East Sussex. It also reports on Art UK's digitization of over 6,700 UK murals, the theft of Impressionist paintings from an Italian museum, and the discovery of a stolen ancient gold helmet.

Advocates Try to Save Brutalist Fountain in San Francisco, José Aparicio Painting Returns to Prado Museum: Morning Links for April 30, 2026

This ARTnews Morning Links roundup covers multiple art-world stories from April 30, 2026. A new Banksy sculpture appeared in London's Waterloo Place, depicting a suited man marching off a plinth with a flag covering his face, though Banksy had not confirmed the work. Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli ordered inspectors to the Venice Biennale headquarters amid intensifying scrutiny over Russia's participation, following internal emails suggesting sanctions were circumvented. Obituaries note the deaths of German 'total artist' Timm Ulrichs at 86 and Japanese sculptor Shigeo Toya at 78. A José Aparicio painting, 'The Year of the Famine in Madrid' (1818), returned to the Prado Museum after 150 years. In San Francisco, a group called Friends of the Plaza filed an appeal to block dismantling of the Vaillancourt Fountain. A feature in Cultured Magazine explores Bucharest's ambitions as a global arts hub through the Romanian Art Dealers fair.

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Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan has launched a global hotline inviting the public to confess their sins to mark the 21st anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II. The project, which may coincide with April Fools' Day, culminates in a livestreamed event on April 23 where Cattelan intends to perform a secular act of absolution. Other major developments include a federal judge halting construction on a controversial White House ballroom and the death of British illustrator Glen Baxter at age 82.

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The Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, South Carolina, is unveiling newly reconfigured collection galleries to cap its 75th anniversary and culminate a yearlong renovation. The museum will reopen its collection galleries following a gala on January 16, presenting a newly conceived display across 20 galleries. The reinstalled galleries draw from the museum’s American, Asian, European, and modern and contemporary holdings, including Italian Renaissance works from the Kress Collection, an Asian gallery anchored by Chinese art from the Tang dynasty, and thematic galleries focused on landscape, still life, and art and architecture. The renovation, which began in January 2025, included new lighting and ceilings, reinforced walls, and conservation work on pieces by Sam Gilliam, Teiji Takai, and Benjamin Wilson.

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Tracey Emin, the renowned British artist and former YBA, is the subject of a major new exhibition titled "Sex and Solitude" at the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, Italy—the first comprehensive show of her work in the country. Curated by the museum's director general Arturo Galansino, the exhibition features some 60 works spanning 30 years, including paintings, drawings, film, photography, embroidery, sculptures, and neon installations. Emin created a new neon piece for the facade, and many works are being shown in Italy for the first time. In a video interview, she emphasized the show is not a retrospective but a living, present-focused exploration of her themes of sexuality, love, trauma, and solitude.

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Four major paintings by Claude Monet, Paul Signac, Edgar Degas, and Fernand Léger will be offered at Sotheby's Modern and Contemporary evening sale in London on March 4. The works have a combined high estimate of £24 million, led by Monet's rare Italian Riviera scene 'Maison de Jardinier' (1884) with an £8.5 million high estimate.

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The 2026 Winter Olympics are set to begin in Milan, Italy, with an opening ceremony featuring Mariah Carey at San Siro Stadium. While most events take place across northern Italy, the article provides a guide to Milan's top museums and galleries for art-loving visitors during the three-week games. Highlights include exhibitions at Fondazione Prada (with works by Mona Hatoum and Hito Steyerl), Pirelli HangarBicocca (Nan Goldin's "This Will Not End Well" and Benni Bosetto's "Rebecca"), Pinacoteca di Brera (Italian masterpieces plus Giorgio Armani garments), and Museo del Novecento (sports-themed posters by Armando Testa). Several commercial galleries also feature solo shows by artists such as Emily Sunblad, Claudia Losi, and Jonathan Lyndon Chase.

Elsa Schiaparelli Gets Her UK Museum Debut at the V&A, in a Show Featuring Dalí, Man Ray, and Picasso

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is presenting the first UK exhibition dedicated to Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli. Titled 'Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art,' the show features over 400 objects, including 100 ensembles, and traces her work from the 1920s to the present under current creative director Daniel Roseberry. It highlights her collaborations with major 20th-century artists.

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The article profiles Bona de Mandiargues, an overlooked Italian Surrealist artist whose work is finally gaining international recognition. Her major debut occurred at the 2024 Venice Biennale, and her first U.K. solo show is now on view at Alison Jacques gallery in London through June 28. The exhibition focuses on her mature period (1975–1995), featuring dark, erotic, and occult-inspired collages and assemblages that challenge gender norms.

Old Masters Records: Gentileschi, Michelangelo, Rembrandt

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Old Masters Week in New York saw a resurgence in the sector, highlighted by the Italian Ministry of Culture's $14.9 million private acquisition of a rare two-sided panel by Antonello da Messina from Sotheby’s. The week featured high-profile sales at both Sotheby’s and Christie’s, resulting in new auction records for major figures including Artemisia Gentileschi and Michelangelo, as well as a record price for a Rembrandt drawing. The success was attributed to a high level of museum participation and more realistic pricing strategies compared to previous seasons.

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The Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogota (MAMBO) has fired its artistic director, Italian curator Eugenio Viola, who held the position since 2019. Viola stated his dismissal followed his decision to raise concerns with the board about deteriorating working conditions, while the museum called the move part of a "comprehensive review." Separately, German sculptor Henrike Naumann, who was set to represent Germany at the upcoming Venice Biennale, has died at age 41 after a short, serious illness.

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Restorer Bruno Valentinetti admitted to painting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's face onto an angel fresco at the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Rome, sparking backlash from lawmakers who called it "covert propaganda." The Vatican ordered the image removed, and Valentinetti complied, erasing his homage. Experts are now studying photographs of the original angel to guide a new restoration. Separately, President Trump announced plans to install a repaired statue of Christopher Columbus on the White House grounds, and an open letter with 500 signatories demanded curatorial independence at the Art Gallery of Ontario after it declined to acquire a Nan Goldin work.

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Italian fashion house Dolce & Gabbana announced that its exhibition “From the Heart to the Hands” will travel to the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, opening February 6, 2026, and running through June 14. Curated by fashion historian Florence Müller, the show features over 300 pieces from the brand’s archival and recent collections, including its Alta Moda, Alta Sartoria, and Alta Gioielleria lines, displayed in immersive rooms inspired by art, architecture, folklore, and the dolce vita. The exhibition also includes collaborations with visual artists such as Quayola, Alberto Maria Colombo, Obvious, Vittorio Bonapace, and Felice Limosani.

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Three paintings by John Singer Sargent from the collection of Carol and Terry Wall will be auctioned at Christie’s this fall, with a combined estimate of $12 million to $17 million. The works—Capri (1878), Corner of the Church of San Stae, Venice (1913), and Gondolier’s Siesta (1902-03)—depict Italian scenes and will be part of the 20th century evening sales in New York in November. The collection also includes works by Mary Cassatt, Childe Hassam, Frederick Frieseke, and William Merritt Chase, and will be previewed in Paris, London, and Taipei.

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Sotheby's Upper East Side headquarters at 1334 York Avenue faces financial uncertainty after its tenant, Weill Cornell Medicine, scaled back plans for a research center due to federal healthcare budget cuts. The National Institutes of Health funding freeze has reduced Weill Cornell's projected grants from over $300 million in 2024 to $130 million this year, leading to potential layoffs and halted construction. S&P Global estimates the building has lost nearly half its value since 2020, now worth $443 million, and has assigned Sotheby's a speculative B- credit rating amid declining global art sales. Separately, Italy's culture minister Alessandro Giuli demanded historian Ernesto Galli della Loggia resign from the Council of National Committees after he criticized the government's cultural policies, sparking a public feud. Art Basel Miami Beach announced 285 exhibitors for its 2025 edition, and a UK report showed only one percent of artworks with deferred export licenses were acquired by museums in 2024-25, a sharp decline from previous years.

America’s Finest Renaissance Tapestry Set for Major Restoration

The European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF) has awarded its €25,000 Museum Restoration Fund to the Minneapolis Institute of Art (MIA) for the conservation of *The Meeting of Dante and Virgil*, a mid-16th century Italian Renaissance tapestry. This is the first time TEFAF has funded a tapestry restoration since the initiative began in 2012. The wool and silk tapestry, made between 1547 and 1549 by the Florentine workshop of Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici and designed by Francesco Salviati, depicts the opening scene of Dante’s *The Divine Comedy*. It is the only early Medici tapestry held by a public collection outside Italy, standing 17 feet tall and eight feet wide. Due to structural weaknesses and light sensitivity, it has been largely in storage for 70 years. Conservation work by the Midwest Art Conservation Center will include wet cleaning, stabilization, and partial reweaving, along with a new display system. The tapestry is scheduled to return to public view at MIA on July 11.

The Big Review: Rothko in Florence ★★★★★

The Palazzo Strozzi in Florence has launched a major exhibition exploring the profound influence of the Italian Renaissance on Mark Rothko. Co-curated by the artist's son, Christopher Rothko, the show spans three historic locations: the Palazzo Strozzi, the Museo di San Marco, and the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana. By placing Rothko’s abstract canvases in direct dialogue with Fra Angelico’s frescoes and Michelangelo’s architecture, the exhibition highlights how the artist’s visits to Italy in the 1950s and 60s shaped his spatial thinking and spiritual intensity.

Never-Before-Seen Paintings Reveal Anthony Van Dyck’s Formative Italian Period

A major new exhibition at Genoa's Palazzo Ducale, "Van Dyck: The European. The Journey of a Genius from Antwerp to Genoa and London," presents a comprehensive survey of Anthony van Dyck's formative years in Italy. Featuring around 60 works, including loans from the Louvre, Prado, and National Gallery, the show reveals how his six-year Italian sojourn was a period of intense experimentation and emancipation from his master Rubens, leading to his signature theatrical portrait style.

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Artnet News has published a preview of major museum exhibitions scheduled across the United States in 2026, highlighting five standout shows. These include "Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses" at the Cleveland Museum of Art, which examines the intersection of fashion and art from the Renaissance to today; "The One-Two Punch: 100 Years of Robert Colescott" at the Tacoma Art Museum, celebrating the centenary of the artist known for his provocative figurative paintings; "Containing Multitudes" at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, a photography exhibition marking America's 250th year; and "Frida: The Making of an Icon" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, focusing on Frida Kahlo's enduring legacy.

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The Morgan Library and Museum in New York will open "Caravaggio’s Boy with a Basket of Fruit in Focus" on January 16, centered on a landmark loan of Caravaggio's titular painting from the Galleria Borghese in Rome. The exhibition, organized through the Foundation for Italian Art and Culture (FIAC) led by Alain Elkann, features 13 artworks by artists who preceded and succeeded Caravaggio, curated by John Marciari to provide context on the artist's influences and legacy.

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Lorde's new single "Man of the Year" from her upcoming album *Virgin* (released June 27) features a music video that visually references Walter De Maria's *New York Earth Room* (1977), a minimalist installation of 280,000 pounds of soil filling a SoHo loft. The video shows Lorde stripping, taping her breasts, and rolling in dirt, while the song's lyrics explore her fluid gender identity. Lorde also cites Italian artist Lucio Fontana and includes an X-ray cover image by photographer Heji Shin.

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The Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao has completed a restoration of Pedro Berruguete's *The Annunciation* (1485–1490), a painting that once formed part of an altarpiece likely for a church in Palencia, Spain. The work, on a five-year loan from the Arburu collection, had suffered from cracks, dirt, and oxidized varnish over centuries. Two specialists—Elisa Mora Sánchez for the paint layer and Mayte Camino Martín for the gilding—cleaned, repaired, and re-gilded the panel, revealing Berruguete's blend of Italian Renaissance, Flemish, and Castilian Gothic influences.

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Estonian rapper and provocateur Tommy Cash sparked controversy at the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, with lyrics that parodied Italian stereotypes, leading Italy to call for his disqualification. Despite finishing third, the incident has drawn renewed global attention to Cash, who has long been a boundary-pushing figure in European art and music. Artnet News resurfaced a 2022 interview with Cash, born Tomas Tammemets in 1991, who describes himself as an artist working across music, fashion, and installation projects, blending post-Soviet visual language with high and low culture references.

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Seven artists—Tania Bruguera, Dora Garcia, Phil Collins, Siniša Mitrović, Alessandra Saviotti, and Gemma Medina—have withdrawn their work from the exhibition “1+1: The Relational Years” at MAXXI in Rome, scheduled to open this week. In an open letter published by Nero Editions, they accuse the museum of having “links to genocide in Palestine” through its acceptance of funding from and collaborations with Italian companies Eni and Leonardo s.p.a., which have ties to Israel's military and energy sectors. The exhibition, curated by Nicolas Bourriaud, surveys relational aesthetics and also includes works by Vanessa Beecroft, Maurizio Cattelan, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Pierre Huyghe, and Rirkrit Tiravanija. Five anti-Zionist activist groups have added their own statement supporting the boycott.

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A 14-foot-wide Yves Klein painting, *California (IKB 71)*, sold at Christie’s Paris for €18.4 million ($21.4 million), setting a new auction record for the artist in France. The work, the largest format Klein made in his signature International Klein Blue, was the cover lot of the house’s *Avant-garde(s) including Thinking Italian* sale and had been in the same New York collection since 2005. Christie’s recently uncovered that the painting stopped in New York en route from Paris to California, where it appeared in a show with dealer Leo Castelli.

south koreas art loving ex first lady arrested queer art in crisis beloved barbie designers killed in car crash morning links for august 14 2025 1234749363

Former South Korean first lady Kim Keon Hee was arrested on charges of stock price manipulation and election interference. Known for organizing exhibitions featuring artists like Andy Warhol and Mark Rothko, she joins her husband, former President Yoon Suk Yeol, in detention, marking the first time a former presidential couple in South Korea has been detained simultaneously. Separately, the article reports on the cancelation of queer art exhibitions at US museums, including Amy Sherald's Smithsonian show, amid Trump administration directives. It also covers the tragic death of Italian designers Mario Paglino and Gianni Grossi, celebrated for transforming Barbie dolls into high-value art pieces, who died in a car crash.