Rare ‘Ocean Dream’ Diamond Sells for Record $17.3 Million at Christie’s

A rare 5.5-carat blue-green diamond known as the 'Ocean Dream' sold for $17.3 million at Christie’s Geneva jewelry sale, setting a record for a fancy vivid blue-green diamond at auction. The sale far exceeded its presale estimate of $9 million to $13 million after a 20-minute bidding battle. In other auction news, Sotheby’s New York sold over $433 million worth of art in its contemporary art sales, including 11 pieces from the Robert Mnuchin collection. Meanwhile, London’s Wellcome Collection agreed to return around 2,000 sacred Jain manuscripts to the Jain religious community under a new restitution framework, acknowledging they were acquired unethically. Several art fairs were announced, including Zero 10 curated by Trevor Paglen at Art Basel in Switzerland, CAN Art Fair Ibiza’s fifth edition, and Art-o-rama’s 20th edition in Marseille. Notable gallery news includes the bankruptcy and closure of French gallery Air de Paris after 36 years, and Carine Karam becoming director of Opera Gallery’s New York outpost. Hong Kong’s M+ and Paris’s Centre Pompidou announced a multi-year strategic alliance, and New York’s Frick Collection entered a three-year partnership with Louis Vuitton.

Pace Gallery Takes Representation of Brâncuși Estate Ahead of $100 M. Sculpture Coming to Auction

Pace Gallery has taken global representation of Constantin Brâncuși's estate, announced hours before a $100 million Brâncuși sculpture, Danaïde (1913), goes to auction at Christie's. The sculpture comes from the collection of S. I. Newhouse and is among the most expensive works in New York's marquee sales. The announcement coincides with a major retrospective of the artist, organized by the Centre Pompidou, currently at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin and heading to the Museum of Modern Art in New York later this year.

Pace Gallery Lands Brancusi Estate on Eve of Potential $100 Million Sale

Pace Gallery has secured global representation of the Constantin Brancusi Estate, announcing plans for a London exhibition this fall curated by art historian Jérôme Neutres. The news coincides with the auction of Brancusi's 1917 sculpture *Danaïde* at Christie's New York, estimated at $100 million, from the collection of late media mogul S.I. Newhouse. The estate was previously represented by Kasmin gallery, which closed last year. Pace's CEO Marc Glimcher emphasized the gallery's investment in modernist expertise and its ambition to become a market center for Brancusi works.

How Christie’s Recruited Nicole Kidman to Sell S.I. Newhouse’s $100 Million Brancusi

Christie's has released a promotional video featuring actress Nicole Kidman to advertise the upcoming auction of Constantin Brancusi's bronze sculpture *Danaïde* (1913), estimated at $100 million. The sculpture comes from the collection of the late media mogul S.I. Newhouse, who purchased it for $18.2 million in 2002. The nearly two-minute film, shot at Christie's Rockefeller Center headquarters, shows Kidman interacting with the work and was conceived by former Sotheby's auctioneer and Newhouse estate advisor Tobias Meyer. The sale is scheduled for May 18 in New York.

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.

Here’s How Stars at the 2026 Met Gala Nodded to Art History

The 2026 Met Gala, themed "Fashion Is Art," saw celebrities and fashion figures wearing outfits directly inspired by or referencing iconic artworks and art historical movements. Notable nods included Chloe Malle in a gown referencing Frederic Leighton's *Flaming June*, Lauren Sánchez Bezos in a Schiaparelli dress echoing John Singer Sargent's *Madame X*, and Hunter Schafer channeling Gustav Klimt's portrait *Mäda Primavesi*. Other attendees like Anne Hathaway, Hailey Bieber, and Karan Johar also drew from specific paintings, sculptures, and poems, while stylist Law Roach wore a hand-painted piece by Gabonese artist Naïla Opiangah.

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.

A Smaller Art Brussels Represents a Shift in the Fair Ecosystem Toward a ‘Quality-First’ Approach

Art Brussels, now in its 42nd edition (April 23–26), has downsized from 164 to 138 participating galleries, a 15% reduction that allows the fair to fit entirely within one hall of Brussels Expo. Director Nele Verhaeren openly acknowledged the shift, framing it as a deliberate move toward a 'quality-first' approach that prioritizes visitor experience over sheer scale. The fair introduces a new section called Horizons, curated by Devrim Bayar of the upcoming Kanal-Pompidou museum, featuring seven large-scale works in the freed-up space. Dealers like Xavier Hufkens and Nadja Vilenne support the strategy, noting that galleries must now carefully choose which fairs to attend amid rising costs and geopolitical tensions.

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.

2026 Venice Biennale pavilions: your go-to list [Updated]

ArtReview has compiled a running list of national pavilions for the 61st Venice Biennale, running from 9 May to 22 November 2026. The Biennale was set to be curated by Koyo Kouoh, who died on 10 May 2025. Recent announcements include Haitham Al Busafi representing Oman, Genti Korini representing Albania with a three-channel video installation titled 'A Place in The Sun (still)', and Matías Duville representing Argentina with an interactive salt-and-charcoal installation. The Australia Pavilion will feature artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino, who were initially dropped due to controversy over Sabsabi's 2007 film 'You' but later reinstated. Florentina Holzinger will represent Austria with a water-themed performance.

David Hockney : tout savoir sur la superstar de la peinture exposée à la galerie Lelong

Beaux Arts Magazine has published a comprehensive dossier on David Hockney, coinciding with his current exhibition at Galerie Lelong in Paris. The article presents a multi-episode series covering the British artist's career, from his iconic "Pool Paintings" like *A Bigger Splash* (1967) to his recent works created on iPad in Normandy. It highlights his ongoing exhibitions at multiple venues, including a major retrospective at the Centre Pompidou starting June 21, a dialogue with Matisse at the Musée Matisse in Nice, a show at the Van Gogh Museum, and a loan from Tate Britain to the Musée Granet in Aix-en-Provence. The piece also explores Hockney's fascination with Old Masters, his use of technology, and his enduring status as a pop art and hyperrealist superstar.

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.

Seoul’s new Centre Pompidou Hanwha museum opens next month—can it live up to expectations?

Seoul's new Centre Pompidou Hanwha museum will open to the public on June 4, 2025, marking the Pompidou's second Asian branch after its collaboration with Shanghai's West Bund Museum. The four-year partnership between the Hanwha Foundation of Culture and the Centre Pompidou will feature two exhibitions per year from the Pompidou collection, starting with "The Cubists: Inventing Modern Vision." The museum occupies 11,000 square meters over four floors of Hanwha Group's 63 Building, with one gallery dedicated to early 20th-century European art and another to global contemporary art with a Korean focus, curated in-house. The inaugural Korea Focus section includes local artists such as Kim Whanki and Yoo Youngkuk.

Who is Yto Barrada, France's representative at the Venice Biennale with a world-spanning work?

Qui est Yto Barrada, représentante de la France à la Biennale de Venise avec une œuvre-monde ?

Yto Barrada, the artist representing France at the 2026 Venice Biennale, has created a multidisciplinary installation titled "Saturne" for the French Pavilion. The work centers on textiles and natural dyeing, weaving together themes of postcolonial history, migration, craft transmission, and the symbolism of Saturn—from its astronomical mystery to its mythological role as the devourer of children. The installation features wool curtains, Aubusson tapestry, goat skins, wasp-nest sculptures, masks, muzzles, a color chart, and video, all housed in a renovated pavilion designed with the help of numerous artisans. Barrada, born in Paris in 1971 and raised in Tangier, founded the Cinémathèque de Tanger and later The Mothership, a research center focused on textiles and natural dyes. The exhibition is curated by Myriam Ben Salah.

10 Must-See Shows During the Venice Biennale 2026

The 2026 Venice Biennale is embroiled in multiple controversies, including the cancellation and reinstatement of Australia's representative artist Khaled Sabsabi, ongoing calls to bar Israel from participating, criticism over allowing Russia to participate, and mounting voices to exclude the U.S. in response to President Donald Trump's actions in Iran. Despite these disputes, the article highlights that many of the city's most exciting shows will take place away from the main Biennale venues.

The Essential Works of Rirkrit Tiravanija

ArtAsiaPacific profiles Rirkrit Tiravanija, a pioneering figure in relational aesthetics known for participatory works centered on communal dining and shared rituals. The article traces his career from his first solo exhibition "untitled 1990 (pad thai)" at Paula Allen Gallery in New York, where he cooked and served pad thai to visitors, to his current major retrospective "The House That Jack Built" at Pirelli HangarBicocca in Milan, running through July 26. Tiravanija, born in Buenos Aires in 1961 and raised across multiple countries, has received numerous accolades including the Hugo Boss Prize (2004) and a nomination in the Established Artist category at the 2026 Art Basel Awards. He is also preparing to present a tent-like structure at the Qatari pavilion for the 2026 Venice Biennale, featuring contributions by Sophia Al-Maria, Tarek Atoui, Alia Farid, and Fadi Kattan.

10 Ausstellungen, die Sie zum Gallery Weekend nicht verpassen sollten

The article highlights ten must-see exhibitions during Berlin's Gallery Weekend, curated by the editorial team of Monopol magazine. Featured shows include Jiyoon Chung's installation "Dead End" at Anton Janizewski, which explores perception and anxiety through subtle triggers; Giorgio Griffa's retrospective at Walter Storms Galerie, showcasing his poetic abstract paintings on un-stretched linen; Walid Raad's "Like a Rubber Rung on a Ladder" at Galerie Thomas Schulte, referencing the Lebanese Civil War with a crashed VW Beetle and graffiti; and Thomas Demand's exhibition at Sprüth Magers, where his photographs printed on copper plates reflect on current events like the Gaza war and climate change.

10 exhibitions you can still see after Berlin's Gallery Weekend

10 Ausstellungen, die Sie auch nach dem Gallery Weekend in Berlin sehen können

The Monopol editorial team highlights ten standout exhibitions from Berlin's Gallery Weekend, including Jiyoon Chung's installation "Dead End" at Anton Janizewski, which uses subtle triggers to explore perception and anxiety; Giorgio Griffa's retrospective at Walter Storms Galerie, featuring his poetic abstract paintings on raw linen; Walid Raad's narrative-driven show at Galerie Thomas Schulte, referencing the Lebanese civil war with a crashed VW Beetle and bomb graffiti; and Thomas Demand's new works at Sprüth Magers, printed on copper plates to create a shimmering aura. The article provides a curated tour of these shows, many of which remain open after the weekend.

Eyecatchers and Discoveries

Eyecatcher und Entdeckungen

The 42nd edition of Art Brussels has scaled down to 138 exhibitors from 165 in 2025, responding to a sluggish contemporary art market and economic uncertainty. The fair introduces a new section called 'Horizonte,' curated by Devrim Bayar of Kanal Centre Pompidou, featuring six large-scale installations including Pao Hui Kao's delicate paper-and-lacquer refuge and Oswald Oberhuber's €380,000 panoramic painting 'Paradiesgarten.' Galleries are now consolidated into one hall, with fewer blue-chip participants but a continued focus on living artists (95% of the 500 shown). Notable presentations include Xavier Hufkens' solo show of Cassi Namoda, Krinziger's works by Marina Abramović and Monica Bonvicini, and Richard Saltoun's historical mix of Fernand Khnopff, Everlyn Nicodemus, and Suzanne Van Damme.

Heir of Goya and Abstract Expressionism, the painting of Roger-Edgar Gillet finally rediscovered in an unprecedented retrospective

Héritière de Goya et de l’expressionnisme abstrait, la peinture de Roger-Edgar Gillet enfin redécouverte dans une rétrospective inédite

A major retrospective at the Musée Estrine in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence finally brings long-overdue recognition to French painter Roger-Edgar Gillet (1924–2004), an artist who emerged from the post-war abstraction scene of the Nouvelle École de Paris but later forged a singular figurative style blending Goya, Delacroix, and Northern grotesque traditions. The exhibition follows two important donations—to the Centre Pompidou in 2017 and the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes in 2022—that helped revive institutional interest in Gillet, whose work had been marginalized since the 1960s.

At the Centre Pompidou-Metz, 100 Works to Understand the Double Face of François Morellet

Au Centre Pompidou-Metz, 100 œuvres pour comprendre le double visage de François Morellet

The Centre Pompidou-Metz presents a centenary retrospective of French artist François Morellet (1926–2016), featuring 100 works that explore the dual nature of his practice. Curator Michel Gauthier has divided the exhibition into two mirrored halves—one dedicated to reason and geometric rigor ("the Mondrian side"), the other to disorder and irrationality ("the Picabia side")—reflecting Morellet's own description of himself as the "monstrous son of Mondrian and Picabia." The show traces his evolution from early figurative works and self-taught experiments to his embrace of concrete art, Islamic decorative systems, and systematic absurdity.

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).

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.

Memory, Migration, Materiality: 12 Artists to Watch During Alserkal Art Month

Alserkal Art Month (April 18–May 18, 2026) in Dubai features a district-wide initiative of exhibitions and events, anchored by the group show "Déjà Vu" at Concrete, Alserkal Avenue (April 25–May 8). Curated by Kevin Jones, Nada Raza, and Zaina Zaarour, the exhibition brings together over 50 artists from 20 UAE-based galleries, centering on themes of memory, displacement, and cultural inheritance. The article profiles 12 standout artists, including Shahpour Pouyan and Juma Al Haj, whose works translate these tensions into materially inventive and conceptually rigorous practices.

Ed Ruscha | Billy (1968) | Art & Prints

Ed Ruscha's 1968 exhibition catalogue 'Billy', designed for a show of works by his friend Billy Al Bengston, is being offered for sale. The catalogue features a flocked sandpaper cover, satin ribbon bookmark, and machine screw and hex nut binding, and was published by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for an exhibition that traveled to the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Vancouver Art Gallery. The work is listed on an art marketplace platform with a price of €62,600, and the listing includes details about its condition, provenance, and the artist's broader career.

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*.

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.

LACMA’s David Geffen Galleries offers a seductive art-viewing experience

The article discusses the newly opened David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), describing the viewing experience as seductive. The galleries are a major component of LACMA's ongoing transformation, designed by architect Peter Zumthor.

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.