A 1964 painting by Pablo Picasso, 'Le peintre et son modèle,' sold for approximately $4.05 million at the VIP preview of Art Basel Hong Kong 2026. The sale, conducted by gallery BASTIAN, led a wave of early transactions across various price points and media as the fair opened its 13th edition.
German artist Kerstin Brätsch has opened a comprehensive solo exhibition titled "MƎTAATEM" at Kunstmuseum Bonn. The presentation features a vast array of works that document her experimental approach to painting, including her signature use of glass, marbling, and collaborative processes that challenge the traditional boundaries of the medium.
Artist Glenn Ligon opened a solo exhibition titled 'Late at night, early in the morning, at noon' at Hauser & Wirth's New York gallery. The show runs from January 15 to April 11, 2026, and features new and recent works by the acclaimed conceptual artist.
South African artist Cinga Samson is currently presenting a series of large-scale oil paintings in a solo exhibition titled "Ukuphuthelwa" at White Cube in New York. The works feature dreamlike, nocturnal tableaux characterized by deep pigments, spectral figures with all-white eyes, and symbolic animals that bridge the earthly and divine. The title, which translates from isiXhosa as "unable to sleep," frames sleeplessness as a state of heightened spiritual alertness rather than a medical condition.
The Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, has acquired Salvador Dalí's largest known work, the monumental 1939 ballet set 'Décor de théâtre pour Bacchanale,' for €254,400 at a Bonhams auction. The work, over 20 meters high and 30 meters wide, consists of thirteen panels painted by Dalí as a backdrop for the Surrealist ballet 'Bacchanale' choreographed by Léonide Massine for the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo.
"Ein alter Mann, dessen Ich-Sucht keine Grenzen kennt"
More than 30 current and former jury members of the Stiftung Kunstfonds have issued a formal protest against German Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer, accusing his office of political interference and intimidation. The controversy stems from reports that the ministry requested lists of all jury members across various art institutions and bypassed jury decisions to exclude specific recipients from awards based on intelligence service reports.
"Die zeitgenössische US-Kunst ist von Problemen krank"
Artist Josh Kline has sparked a heated debate with a scathing critique of the American art scene, particularly targeting New York City as an unsustainable hub driven by market logic and inequality. Kline argues that contemporary art is "sick with problems" and urges young artists to abandon the city, calling for a shift from institutional critique to a broader industry-wide analysis of class and power. Meanwhile, the German art world sees significant movement with the upcoming auction of Georg Kolbe’s "Tänzerinnen-Brunnen" following a Nazi-looted art settlement, and the Berlin State Museums announcing a phased reopening of the Pergamon Altar starting in 2027.
Die Wiederentdeckung der Alten Meisterinnen
The Museum of Fine Arts Ghent (MSK) has launched a major exhibition titled "Unforgettable: Women Artists from Amsterdam to Antwerp, 1600–1750," showcasing over 40 female Baroque artists who were once highly successful but later faded into obscurity. The show highlights figures like Michaelina Wautier, who defied gender norms by painting large-scale history scenes and male nudes, and Rachel Ruysch, whose floral still lifes commanded prices rivaling those of Rembrandt. These women were not merely exceptions but active participants in the art market, running workshops and securing royal patronage across the Low Countries.
Séries, documentaires, films… Tout l’art à voir sur les plateformes en ce moment
Beaux Arts Magazine has curated a comprehensive selection of art-focused films, documentaries, and series currently available on major streaming platforms like Netflix, Arte.tv, and France.tv. The selection highlights diverse narratives, including the investigative documentary regarding a rediscovered Gustav Klimt portrait of a Ghanaian prince, an AI-assisted exploration of Andy Warhol’s diaries, and the cinematic dramatization of Varian Fry’s efforts to rescue artists like Chagall and Duchamp from Nazi-occupied France.
Required Reading
Thousands marched in Buenos Aires on March 9 for a 24-hour women's strike, with one group staging a symbolic artwork by wrapping a continuous blindfold across their faces to protest patriarchal control. This followed a UN report urging Argentina's government to address gender-based violence. Separately, a *Guardian* investigation revealed UK museums hold over 260,000 human remains, many taken from former colonies, which MPs have condemned as a barbaric legacy of imperialism.
De l’art de paraître
The Musée Cognacq-Jay in Paris is hosting an exhibition titled "Révéler le féminin," which explores the intersection of 18th-century fashion and portraiture. Curated in collaboration with the Palais Galliera and the Musée d’arts de Nantes, the show features works by prominent portraitists like Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun and Maurice Quentin de La Tour alongside rare period textiles. The exhibition examines how the rising bourgeoisie used clothing as a visual language of prestige and social standing during the Enlightenment.
Art Paris, un bilan meilleur que prévu
The 28th edition of Art Paris concluded with stronger-than-expected sales despite a sluggish start and a volatile global climate. Featuring 165 galleries, the fair solidified its position as a key regional event for French collectors, offering a price range typically between €10,000 and €40,000. While mega-galleries like Almine Rech participated with accessible works, the fair also welcomed newcomers like Esther Schipper and In Situ-Fabienne Leclerc, who reported positive results across various media including ceramics, photography, and painting.
Cluny approfondit le mythe de la licorne
The Musée de Cluny in Paris has opened a new exhibition, "Cluny approfondit le mythe de la licorne," which delves deeper into the symbolism of the unicorn. Building on a 2018 show, this iteration presents a more extensive and scholarly selection of artworks, including prestigious loans facilitated by a partnership with the Museum Barberini in Potsdam. The exhibition showcases the creature's diverse representations across cultures, from medieval tapestries to scientific illustrations.
Isa Genzken's monumental 16-meter-tall sculpture 'Vollmond' has been installed in front of Den Frie in Copenhagen for nearly a year. The venue is now hosting the exhibition 'World Receiver,' which gathers significant works from the German artist's career spanning several decades.
The Peabody Essex Museum is hosting "Said in Stone," the first-ever comprehensive retrospective dedicated to Edmonia Lewis, a pioneering 19th-century sculptor of Black and Ojibwe heritage. The exhibition assembles a significant body of her marble works, including the landmark sculpture "Forever Free" (1867), which is recognized as the first formal visual representation of emancipation by a Black American artist. The show traces her journey from her upbringing with her Ojibwe family and her traumatic years at Oberlin College to her eventual success as an expatriate artist in Rome.
Somalia's inaugural pavilion at the Venice Biennale has sparked significant backlash from the nation's domestic art community. Four major Somali art spaces and nine local artists issued a joint statement criticizing the pavilion for failing to include or consult artists currently living and working within Somalia. The controversy centers on the selection of three diaspora artists based in Europe and the appointment of a Venice-based co-curator, which critics argue ignores the cultural workers who have rebuilt the country's art scene under difficult conditions.
Archaeologists conducting salvage work for a new passenger train line between Querétaro and Mexico City have unearthed a 1,000-year-old Toltec stone altar. Located within the Tula Archaeological Monument Zone in Hidalgo, the three-level structure was found alongside four human skulls, long bones, a black ceramic bowl, and obsidian blades. Preliminary assessments by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) suggest the remains belong to individuals offered as ritual sacrifices.
The Portland Museum of Art (PMA) has finalized a $14 million acquisition of a downtown building and two adjacent parking lots from MaineHealth. Located on Free Street next to the museum's current campus, the facility will house administrative offices, allowing the museum to convert existing office space into new public galleries.
The Centre Pompidou Hanwha is scheduled to open in Seoul on June 4, coinciding with the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and South Korea. Housed in the iconic Tower 63 and designed by architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, the new institution is a partnership with the Hanwha Foundation of Culture. The agreement includes a four-year brand licensing deal and a schedule of eight monographic exhibitions drawn from the Pompidou’s permanent collection.
The U.S. Department of Justice has reached a settlement with the American Library Association and the AFSCME union, effectively halting President Donald Trump’s executive attempt to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Following a series of legal defeats where courts ruled that only Congress has the authority to eliminate federal agencies, the administration withdrew its appeal and reinstated previously terminated grants. However, the threat remains as the proposed 2027 federal budget once again seeks to zero out funding for the IMLS, the NEA, and the NEH.
The global art market saw a 4% growth in 2025 according to the latest Art Basel and UBS Art Market Report, yet the industry remains on edge. Despite the headline increase, the report reveals a sharp decline in the average number of buyers per gallery—reaching its lowest level since 2021—and rising operational costs for shipping and logistics. Protectionist trade policies and geopolitical instability, particularly escalating conflicts in the Middle East affecting oil prices, continue to strain the contemporary sector.
The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) has tabled the reaccreditation decision for the Louisiana State Museum (LSM) system until June 2027. While the system’s ten sites remain accredited during this period, the delay indicates that the AAM requires the institution to address specific concerns regarding its governance and operational structure. The LSM, which oversees significant cultural assets like the New Orleans Jazz Museum and the Louisiana Civil Rights Museum, has recently navigated a period marked by lawsuits, public controversy, and unfavorable audits.
The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London has launched a dedicated digital hub to document the provenance of its collection, specifically addressing objects acquired through violence, coercion, or looting. The initiative includes detailed research on controversial items such as the Maqdala material from Ethiopia, Asante Regalia from Ghana, and imperial Chinese jade. This transparency effort coincides with International Provenance Research Day and aims to provide public accountability regarding the museum's colonial-era acquisitions.
Clémentine Bruno’s artistic practice explores the tension between presence and absence, treating the canvas as a site of temporal layers rather than a flat surface for representation. Her work emphasizes the preparatory stages of painting—the laying of gesso and the construction of supports—allowing images to emerge reluctantly through processes of sanding, veiling, and partial erasure. Recent exhibitions, such as "Educational Complex" at Tonus and "Vision of Fading" at Mendes Wood DM, highlight her interest in how institutional structures and memory maps dictate what is retained and what is forgotten.
Anzia Yezierska, a Polish-Jewish immigrant who arrived in New York in 1890, defied traditional gender expectations to become a leading literary voice of the 1920s. Dubbed the 'Queen of the Ghetto,' she documented the raw struggles of immigrant women on the Lower East Side using a unique 'immigrant English' style that captured Yiddish idioms. After escaping a restrictive marriage and pursuing an education at Columbia University, she channeled her personal frustrations into stories of poverty, ambition, and the psychological toll of assimilation.
The Frist Art Museum in Nashville has announced the upcoming exhibition "Anila Quayyum Agha: Interwoven," scheduled to run from May 22 through August 30, 2026. This career-spanning survey features two decades of the Pakistani American artist's work, including her signature immersive light installations, drawings, and sculptures. The exhibition highlights major pieces such as "All the Flowers Are for Me (Red)" and the poignant installation "A Flood of Tears (Gathering Storms)," which reflects on the catastrophic 2010 Pakistan floods.
Prominent figures in Black British music, including Goldie, Estelle, and Dennis Bovell, reflect on iconic photographs and visual artifacts that define the history of their genre. The article highlights specific works such as Eddie Otchere’s portrait of drum and bass pioneers Kemistry and Storm, Janette Beckman’s photography of Slick Rick, and Adrian Boot’s documentation of the Race Today offices in Brixton.
Conceptual artist Ann Hamilton has debuted a new series of large-scale scanner photography installations at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Moving from her signature immersive environments to high-resolution digital captures, Hamilton utilizes a flatbed scanner to document the tactile qualities of various objects and figures, enlarging them to billboard proportions to emphasize the intimacy of touch.
Thomas Zipp gestorben
The Berlin-based artist Thomas Zipp has died. His gallery, Barbara Thumm, announced the news on Saturday. Zipp, born in 1966, was a professor of painting and multimedia at the Berlin University of the Arts and was considered one of the most significant figures in German contemporary art since the 1990s. His work was shown internationally at venues including the Venice Biennale and museums in New York, London, and Zurich.
The American Library Association (ALA) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) have reached a settlement with the Trump administration to restore the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The agreement follows a year-long legal battle sparked by an executive order that placed the agency's entire staff on administrative leave and attempted to dismantle the federal body. The settlement ensures the IMLS can resume awarding grants, conducting research, and operating programs while reversing previous staff terminations and grant cancellations.