Art News. Vasari Codex

article news schedule Jan 21, 2026 visibility 25 link 8 artists, 2 galleries

52 walker david zwirner ebony haynes transition

52 Walker, the Tribeca kunsthalle-style space founded by Ebony L. Haynes under David Zwirner in 2021, has quietly transitioned from a standalone venue into a standard David Zwirner gallery space. The change followed Haynes's promotion to global head of curatorial projects last fall. The final exhibition at 52 Walker as a dedicated physical space was a presentation by Nicole Eisenman. Haynes will continue to curate under the 52W banner as a nomadic, project-based initiative across Zwirner's global locations, with the next show being an Isa Genzken exhibition titled 'Vacation' opening in March.

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article news schedule Jan 20, 2026 visibility 14 link 5 artists

michael jackson rarely art warhol museum monaco

Jermaine Jackson has announced plans to launch a touring museum dedicated to Michael Jackson's visual art, debuting in Monaco toward the end of 2026 as part of a biennial. The museum, described as a "Showseum," will open with a 120-work exhibition of Jackson's paintings, including collaborations with Andy Warhol and portraits of US presidents. The collection of 200 works, reportedly worth $1.6 billion, has been stored in a secure facility in Washington, D.C., and is not for sale.

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article culture schedule Jan 20, 2026 visibility 17 link 3 artists

hard choices can you hack contemporary art curator

Art-world consultants Chen & Lampert present a satirical quiz for contemporary art curators who came of age in the mid-2000s and now face the challenges of middle age—mortgages, school-age children, and dwindling energy for the nightlife that once fueled their careers. The quiz poses ten multiple-choice questions testing whether a curator can stay relevant without partying every night, touching on topics like referencing artists in talks, responding to young artists, and keeping up with art news and trends.

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article news schedule Jan 15, 2026 visibility 18 link 5 artists

centre pompidou grand palais space financial constraints

The Centre Pompidou has relinquished one of its two exhibition spaces at the Grand Palais in Paris, citing financial constraints faced by both institutions. The smaller space, known as Gallery 8, was being used for notable programming, including a planned photography exhibition for the bicentennial of the medium, which has now been canceled. The decision follows low attendance for shows like the Art Brut collection of filmmaker Bruno Decharme, and a reported €10 million shortfall at the Grand Palais in 2025, compounded by renovation cost overruns.

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article news schedule Jan 12, 2026 visibility 15 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

hauser and wirth russia sanctions trial

Hauser & Wirth and art shipping company Artay Rauchwerger Solomons face trial over charges of evading U.K. sanctions by allegedly making artist George Condo's 2021 work on paper, *Escape from Humanity*, available to a person connected with Russia in 2022. The U.K. Crown Prosecution Service brought the charge in November, and a judge has scheduled a 10-day trial for January 2028, with a hearing on May 5, 2026, for arraignment. Hauser & Wirth has stated it will plead not guilty, while the shipping firm, which went into voluntary liquidation in April 2024, did not respond to requests for comment.

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article policy schedule Jan 10, 2026 visibility 19 link 7 artists

south africa cancels gabrielle goliath gaza venice biennale

South Africa selected a work by artist Gabrielle Goliath for its Venice Biennale pavilion, then rescinded the decision on January 2, just eight days before the finalization deadline. The culture ministry, led by Minister Gayton McKenzie, objected to a section of Goliath's "Elegy" series that included words by Palestinian poet Hiba Abu Nada, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2023. The pavilion's selection committee publicly disagreed with the cancellation, calling it censorship and highlighting a history of mismanagement.

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article news schedule Jan 9, 2026 visibility 13 link 3 artists

rubens adam eve virginia prisons suit

An inmate in a Virginia prison has had the July/August issue of the Humanist magazine rejected by prison censors because it contains a reproduction of Peter Paul Rubens's painting of Adam and Eve, in which Eve's breasts are visible despite fig leaves covering the couple's genitals. Attorney Jeffrey E. Fogel filed a federal lawsuit on August 31 on behalf of the American Humanist Association, arguing that the rejection violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments and has caused financial harm to the publisher. The article in question, titled "Everything You Know about Sex is Wrong," aims to challenge binary gender concepts.

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article news schedule Jan 9, 2026 visibility 17 link 4 artists

can you insure a national treasure bayeux tapestry loan sparks 1 1 billion debate

France's historic loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum has sparked controversy over the proposed £800 million ($1.1 billion) insurance cover, which critics argue is unsuitable for such a fragile, 950-year-old textile. Art historians and conservators have raised concerns that the U.K.'s Government Indemnity Scheme does not cover damage from preexisting conditions or inherent vice, and that no sum can adequately insure an irreplaceable heritage object. A French petition calling on President Emmanuel Macron to cancel the loan has garnered over 75,000 signatures, but the U.K. government has proceeded with plans, including a practice "dry run" using a facsimile and a custom crate designed to minimize vibrations.

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article policy schedule Jan 8, 2026 visibility 14 link 1 artist

cancelled nea grants for underserved audiences

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has updated its 2026 fiscal year grant guidelines, cancelling the Challenge America grants that targeted underserved communities and replacing them with a focus on projects celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States (America250). The changes, announced in response to executive orders by President Donald Trump, eliminate DEI-related funding and require applicants to have a five-year history of arts programming. Organizations that had applied for the $10,000 Challenge America grants must now resubmit under the broader Grants for Arts Projects category, with extended deadlines.

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article culture schedule Jan 7, 2026 visibility 18 link 6 artists

monas eyes book cover vermeer painting controversy

Thomas Schlesser's novel *Mona's Eyes* has been named Barnes & Noble's book of the year for 2025, but its cover has sparked controversy online. The cover features Johannes Vermeer's *The Girl with the Pearl Earring*, even though the story is about a girl named Mona who visits Paris museums with her grandfather, and the painting is not held in Paris—it resides at the Mauritshuis in The Hague. A viral Reddit thread on an art history subreddit accused the publisher of "ragebait," noting the mismatch between the cover image and the book's content. Schlesser, an art historian who teaches at the École Polytechnique and runs the Hartung Bergman Foundation, defended the choice, saying he wanted an iconic work symbolizing light and darkness rather than highlighting any of the 52 artworks featured in the story.

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article news schedule Jan 6, 2026 visibility 15 link 4 artists

louvre walkout targets new mona lisa gallery

Staff at the Louvre in Paris staged another walkout, closing the museum on Monday morning before a partial reopening at noon. The strike, backed by three unions with 350 staff members voting unanimously, protests the Louvre–Nouvelle Renaissance redevelopment plan launched by President Emmanuel Macron. The plan includes a dedicated gallery for the Mona Lisa, a new entrance, and a $778 million budget, which unions call unrealistic. The museum reopened with limited access to iconic works like the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory of Samothrace, while other galleries remained closed.

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trending_up market schedule Jan 5, 2026 visibility 11 link 2 artists

palazzo dario monet sale

Palazzo Dario, a historic Gothic palace on Venice's Grand Canal built in 1486 by diplomat Giovanni Dario, is now listed for sale through Christie's International Real Estate following a structural restoration. The 10,000-square-foot property features four levels, marble staircases, Murano chandeliers, and a Moorish fountain, with its asking price available upon request. The palace has changed hands through noble families, countesses, and financiers over centuries, and was famously painted by Claude Monet in 1908 and sketched by John Ruskin.

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person people schedule Jan 5, 2026 visibility 18 link 1 artist

suzanne landau step down as director israel museum

Suzanne Landau, 80, will step down as director of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, having informed staff at the museum’s end-of-year party. She has served as director since September 2023, initially as acting director after Denis Weil resigned amid board disagreements. The museum’s search for a new CEO is in advanced stages, and Landau will assist during a transition period. Her tenure included the installation of Anselm Kiefer’s "Ages of the World" and a restructuring that saw Dganit Sanker-Lange appointed deputy director.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jan 3, 2026 visibility 20 link 12 artists

an indigenous takeover of the met asks who should be writing art history

An unsanctioned augmented reality exhibition titled “Encoded” has taken over the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, featuring works by 17 North American Indigenous artists. The exhibition, organized by the nonprofit media lab Amplifier and co-curated by Tracy Rector, overlays digital artworks onto iconic paintings and sculptures, including a piece by Josué Riva that replaces Thomas Sully’s portrait of Queen Victoria with a moving image of Acosia Red Elk (Umatilla, Cayuse & Nez Perce) delivering the message “Be a Good Ancestor.” The intervention launched on Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Columbus Day, October 13, 2025, and runs through December 13, without the Met’s permission.

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trending_up market schedule Jan 1, 2026 visibility 11 link 4 artists

re air why no one trusts art prices anymore

Artnet News revisits a podcast episode featuring editor-in-chief Naomi Rea, who examines the breakdown of traditional art pricing logic amid a cooling market. The episode explores how the rules that once governed art valuation have eroded, leaving dealers, advisors, and collectors struggling to navigate a market described as being in a "danger zone." Rea discusses how mega-galleries, emerging dealers, and advisors are quietly recalibrating their strategies as speculation dries up and confidence wanes.

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article policy schedule Dec 22, 2025 visibility 13 link 1 artist

smithsonian content review white house threatens funding

The Trump administration has threatened to withhold funding from the Smithsonian Institution, accusing it of failing to comply with a content review demanded by the White House. In an email obtained by the Washington Post, budget director Russell Vought and Domestic Policy Council director Vince Haley alleged that the Smithsonian had not turned over all requested documents and exhibition materials, citing a prior executive order in which President Trump claimed the institution promoted “corrosive ideology” by portraying the U.S. as inherently racist. Smithsonian secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III defended the network’s independence, stating it remains committed to sharing information but that a government shutdown had slowed efforts. The administration set a January 13 deadline for full compliance, specifically targeting programming for America’s 250th anniversary.

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museum exhibitions schedule Dec 22, 2025 visibility 23 link 14 artists

baku azerbaijan art week

The article recounts the author's experience attending Baku Art Weekend in Azerbaijan, a festival centered at the Zaha Hadid-designed Heydar Aliyev Centre. The event featured a major exhibition of Fernando Botero's work, "The Triumph of Form," alongside kinetic installations by Daniel Wurtzel and sculptures by Jorge Marín. The festival is shaped by Leyla Aliyeva, vice president of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and daughter of Azerbaijan's president, who aims to position Baku as a global cultural capital.

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article news schedule Dec 18, 2025 visibility 19 link 13 artists

top ukrainian art historian believes italian museum holds 14 fake russian and ukrainian modernist works

Konstantin Akinsha, a prominent curator and art historian of Russian and Ukrainian art, has identified 14 artworks in the collection of the Palazzo de Nordis museum in Cividale del Friuli, Italy, as likely forgeries. In a Substack post and interview with ARTnews, Akinsha scrutinized the De Martiis Collection, donated in 2015 by the late collector Giancarlo De Martiis, which includes works attributed to Russian and Ukrainian modernist painters. He points to suspicious provenances involving Jean Chauvelin, a disgraced French art dealer, and Boris Gribanov, a convicted forger. A specific still life attributed to Olga Rozanova (1915-17) is nearly identical to a 1999 painting by contemporary Russian artist Andrei Saratov, who confirmed he did not paint the museum's version. Elisabetta Gottardo, the municipal head of culture, acknowledged Akinsha's authority and pledged further investigation.

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article news schedule Dec 16, 2025 visibility 16 link 6 artists

louvre strike

On December 15, 2025, the Musée du Louvre in Paris was forced to close as approximately 400 of its 2,100 employees went on strike, picketing outside the museum's glass pyramids and turning away visitors. The strike follows a series of crises at the institution, including a $102 million jewel heist in broad daylight two months prior, a flooding incident from a burst water pipe in November, and ongoing concerns about deteriorating facilities, long lines, and substandard restrooms and dining areas. Workers are demanding higher wages and better conditions, with three trade unions—CGT, SUD, and CFDT—warning in an open letter that staff feel like "the last bastion before collapse."

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article news schedule Dec 16, 2025 visibility 11 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

cai guo qiang arcteryx fireworks tibet

Artist Cai Guo-Qiang sparked a major controversy on Chinese social media after staging a fireworks display titled "Rising Dragon" in the Himalayas near Shigatse, Tibet, on September 19, 2025. The event, co-organized with outdoor brand Arc'teryx, drew dozens of art insiders and influencers but was quickly condemned by netizens, environmental scientists, and activists for threatening the fragile Tibetan plateau ecosystem and showing cultural insensitivity toward sacred Buddhist mountains. Both Cai and Arc'teryx issued apologies, and state media outlets like CCTV and Xinhua condemned the performance, leading to an investigation by local authorities.

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article culture schedule Dec 11, 2025 visibility 15 link 5 artists

simon de pury photos art

The author recounts a visit to the Prado in Madrid, where his attempt to photograph a portrait by Alonso Sánchez Coello was blocked by a guard enforcing a strict no-photography policy. This experience leads him to reflect on the evolution of museum mementos, from postcards—which he used to buy and even had his children select as a curatorial exercise—to the role of social media in sharing art. He recalls his time as curator of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, where postcard sales were a key revenue and popularity gauge, and notes that Instagram now serves as a virtual window into exhibitions and art fairs like Art Basel Miami.

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article news schedule Dec 10, 2025 visibility 19 link 6 artists

matisse prints stolen library exhibition sao paulo brazil

On December 7, two armed thieves stole eight prints by Henri Matisse and at least five engravings by Brazilian modernist painter Cândido Portinari from the Mário de Andrade Library in São Paulo. The works were part of the exhibition “From Book to Museum,” organized in collaboration with the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art, which was scheduled to close that day. Police have arrested one suspect, and some artworks were reportedly abandoned nearby.

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article news schedule Dec 9, 2025 visibility 11 link 5 artists

louvre leak strike

A water pipe burst at the Musée du Louvre in Paris on November 26, damaging 300 to 400 archival documents related to Egyptian history in the Mollien Pavilion. The leak, which also posed a fire risk due to a nearby electrical cabinet, was followed by a smaller leak days later. Employees, represented by a coalition of unions including CGT, CFDT, and Sud, have voted unanimously to begin a rolling strike next Monday, demanding urgent renovations and the hiring of 200 new staff to restore the workforce to 2014 levels. The Louvre's director Laurence des Cars had previously warned that the museum's buildings were in "poor condition" and "no longer water tight," and a major renovation was announced, but pipe repairs were not scheduled until September 2026.

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article news schedule Dec 8, 2025 visibility 15 link 11 artists

architecture houses lost los angeles fires

A week after wildfires erupted across Los Angeles, the city remains under critical threat as the Pacific Palisades, Eaton, Hollywood Hills, and San Fernando Valley fires have forced the evacuation of roughly 200,000 residents, destroyed about 12,000 buildings, and claimed at least 24 lives. Among the losses are culturally and architecturally significant structures, including the Bunny Museum in Altadena, the historic Will Rogers ranch, the Altadena Community Church (designed by Harry L. Pierce), the Andrew McNally House (a Queen Anne-style mansion by Frederick Roehrig), Richard Neutra's Benedict and Nancy Freedman House, and Gregory Ain's Park Planned Homes in Altadena. Adrian Scott Fine of the Los Angeles Conservancy described the destruction as "a mass erasure of heritage."

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person people schedule Dec 8, 2025 visibility 19 link 7 artists

wafaa bilal artnews awards 2025 established artist

Wafaa Bilal has been named the recipient of the 2025 ARTnews Award for Established Artist, recognizing his survey exhibition “Wafaa Bilal: Indulge Me” at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (February 1–October 19, 2025). The show is the first major retrospective for the Iraqi American artist, featuring works that put his body at risk, including the iconic performance *Domestic Tension* (2007), in which remote participants fired a paintball gun at him over the internet, and *Virtual Jihadi* (2008), a modified video game that blurs the lines between aggressor and victim. Curated by Bana Kattan, the exhibition restages elements of Bilal’s original performance and presents his ongoing critique of U.S. involvement in the Middle East, particularly the Iraq War and the use of drone warfare.

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article news schedule Dec 5, 2025 visibility 16 link 5 artists

lucas museum of narrative art pilar tompkins rivas departs

Pilar Tompkins Rivas, chief curator and deputy director of curatorial and collections at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, has left her post, as first reported by the Los Angeles Times. Her departure is the latest in a series of leadership exits at the institution, which is set to open on September 22, 2026. The museum was founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, and Rivas was one of six women of color appointed to high-ranking roles in 2020 by then director and CEO Sandra Jackson-Dumont, who left in February. The museum laid off 15 employees in May, and CEO duties are now held on an interim basis by Jim Gianopulos, while Lucas himself oversees curatorial content.

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trending_up market schedule Dec 2, 2025 visibility 15 link 20 artists

okeeffe seurat phillips collection deaccession

The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. has deaccessioned eight major works by artists including Georges Seurat, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Anish Kapoor at Sotheby's fall sales. O'Keeffe's "Large Dark Red Leaves on White" (1927) sold for $7.9 million, a Seurat drawing fetched $4.9 million, while a painting by Arthur Dove fell short of expectations and a Kapoor sculpture failed to sell. The plan, devised by director Jonathan Binstock, aims to fund future contemporary art commissions and collection care, but has sparked an 18-month dispute between museum leadership and the Phillips family descendants over the interpretation of founder Duncan Phillips's legacy.

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article culture schedule Dec 2, 2025 visibility 15 link 9 artists

roman sculpture

This article explores the rediscovery of Roman sculpture during the Renaissance and its profound influence on artists like Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci. It details how Roman sculptors, inspired by Greek methods after the conquest of Greece in 146 B.C.E., created highly realistic works that served both artistic and political purposes, glorifying emperors and reinforcing imperial power. The piece highlights six iconic Roman sculptures—including the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, the Colossus of Constantine, Trajan's Column, and the Augustus of Prima Porta—describing their historical context, artistic features, and enduring legacy.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 27, 2025 visibility 16 link 5 artists

roni horn mca denver

The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver has organized the first exhibition dedicated to conceptual artist Roni Horn's long-standing engagement with water. Titled "Roni Horn: Water, Water on the Wall, You're the Fairest of Them All," the show spans sculpture, photography, drawing, and bookmaking, exploring water's mutability, ecological resonance, and paradoxical purity. Horn, who has received a Ford Foundation grant, Guggenheim Fellowship, and three NEA fellowships, has shown at major institutions including the Menil Collection, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum, and Tate Modern, and is represented by Hauser and Wirth.

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article culture schedule Nov 25, 2025 visibility 15 link 9 artists

secrets of the metropolitan museum

The article reveals little-known secrets about the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including that its first home was not on Fifth Avenue but at 681 Fifth Avenue, and later the Douglas Mansion, before moving to its current location in 1879. It also notes that the museum's original red-brick facade is barely visible today, hidden within the Robert Lehman Wing, and that its first director, Luigi Palma di Cesnola, controversially mixed and matched parts of ancient sculptures to create composite works, while also misrepresenting their provenance.

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