Vasari Art Codex

article culture schedule Jul 24, 2025 visibility 6 link 7 artists, 3 galleries

pee wee herman 2346054

Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian best known for his character Pee-wee Herman, died at age 70 on June 30, leaving behind a legacy that extends far beyond children's television. The article explores how the design of "Pee-wee's Playhouse" (1986–1990) was a groundbreaking aesthetic achievement, created by a team of downtown New York artists—production designers Gary Panter, Ric Heitzman, and Wayne White—who approached the set as an evolving art installation. Their work blended postmodernism, Memphis Group influences, psychedelia, and thrift-store aesthetics into a joyful, childlike environment that became a cultural touchstone.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jul 23, 2025 visibility 3 link 3 artists, 1 gallery

eames house restored reopened 2670603

The Eames House, designed by Charles and Ray Eames in the late 1940s in Los Angeles's Pacific Palisades, has reopened after a six-month closure due to smoke damage from the January 2025 wildfires. The property was saved from destruction partly because hundreds of surrounding trees were removed in 2024. The restoration has expanded visitor access, opening the studio for the first time, which will host exhibitions on the house's evolution and contemporary design influences. The first exhibition may focus on community rebuilding after the fires.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jul 23, 2025 visibility 8 link 10 artists, 4 galleries

art market mugrabi nahmad kenny schachter 2669458

Kenny Schachter critiques the art market's doomsaying media narrative, coining the acronym Salsa (Scribes Always Love Sensational Apocalypse) to describe clickbait-driven hype. He contrasts current market anxieties with past downturns, notably the 1991-1996 recession when the market evaporated, citing a 1991 Roberta Smith article. Schachter observes that the Nahmads and Mugrabis, once feuding families, now invest together, and he recounts his experience at Phillips during his "Hoarder 6" exhibition, where young collectors showed genuine interest. He argues that the market, though wounded, remains healthy and calls for a less transactional, more patient approach to selling art.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jul 17, 2025 visibility 3 link 10 artists, 2 galleries

top auction results june 2025 2665014

The summer 2025 auction season concluded with total sales of $85.7 million, a significant drop from $105 million the previous year. The top lot, François-Xavier Lalanne's *Grand Rhinocrétaire II* (2003), sold for $16.42 million at Sotheby’s New York, far below last June’s $29 million top price. Other notable results include Tamara de Lempicka’s *La Belle Rafaëla* (1927) at $10.18 million, two Jean-Michel Basquiat works, and a strong showing by Jacek Malczewski’s *Reality* (1908) at Desa Unicum in Warsaw.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Jul 4, 2025 visibility 10 link 8 artists, 2 galleries

re air the rise of the red chip art world 2660367

Artnet News re-airs an episode on "red chip art," a phenomenon characterized by Cybertrucks, crypto wallets, and artists like KAWS, MSCHF, and Daniel Arsham. The episode is prompted by actor Adrien Brody's solo exhibition "Made in America" at Eden Gallery in New York, featuring mixed-media paintings of Marilyn Monroe, Basquiat-inspired motifs, and interactive elements like audience chewing gum on the wall. Brody's show exemplifies the red chip art world's blend of celebrity, commerce, and spectacle.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jul 3, 2025 visibility 5 link 4 artists, 2 galleries

marisa adesman magic anat ebgi 2662697

Marisa Adesman, a rising artist based in Chicago, is presenting her solo exhibition “Under the Rose” at Anat Ebgi in New York, featuring six new paintings that blend trompe l’oeil and surrealism to create nocturnal interior scenes of magic, eroticism, and domestic disobedience. The show follows her Los Angeles debut “Forklore” in 2021 and her first museum exhibition at KMAC Contemporary Art Museum in 2023, where her painting sold for $90,000 at Art Basel Miami.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jul 3, 2025 visibility 4 link 3 artists, 1 gallery

work of the week marlow moss 2660844

Marlow Moss's painting *White, Black, Blue and Red* (1944) sold for £609,600 ($819,912) at Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Evening Auction in London, far exceeding its presale high estimate of £480,000. The work, backed by a guarantee, sparked a bidding war among seven bidders and set a new auction record for the British Constructivist artist. The previous record was set in 2022 at Christie’s London.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Jul 3, 2025 visibility 5 link 7 artists, 1 gallery

laocoon vatican michelangelo forgery 2620416

On January 14, 1506, Florentine architect Giuliano da Sangallo and Michelangelo Buonarroti witnessed the excavation of the Laocoön Group, a monumental ancient marble statue unearthed in a Roman vineyard. The sculpture, depicting the Trojan priest Laocoön and his sons battling serpents, was quickly acquired by Pope Julius II and installed in the Vatican, where it remains today at the Museo Pio-Clementino. However, art historian Lynn Catterson controversially proposed in 2005 that the statue is not an ancient artifact but a forgery created by Michelangelo himself, citing evidence such as a drawing of a torso resembling the statue's back, bank records of Michelangelo's marble purchases, and his history of producing forgeries like the lost Sleeping Cupid.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jul 2, 2025 visibility 8 link 12 artists, 2 galleries

rena bransten gallery 2661954

Rena Bransten Gallery in San Francisco is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a series of exhibitions highlighting key moments in its history. The second installment, "RBG at 50: Photo & Video," on view through August 23, 2025, features works by artists such as Dawoud Bey, Sophie Calle, Jim Campbell, and Vik Muniz. The show traces the gallery's expansion beyond its original focus on ceramics, which began in 1979 with a solo exhibition of photographer Judith Golden. Highlights include Sophie Calle's "La Robe de Mariee" (1989) and a photograph by Dawoud Bey documenting a performance by David Hammons.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

person people schedule Jul 2, 2025 visibility 4 link 4 artists, 3 galleries

chen fei bad taste interview 2657226

Chinese artist Chen Fei discusses his first institutional solo exhibition in Europe, “Grand Lobby,” at the Consortium Museum in Dijon, France. The show features large-scale still-life paintings that blend Flemish floral traditions with contemporary Chinese symbols like VOSS water bottles and IKEA price tags, using gold leaf and red lacquer to critique class aspiration and visual culture. Chen’s studio, located outside Beijing, is where he creates detail-rich canvases inspired by film storyboarding, aiming for a cinematic, narrative-driven reading experience.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Jun 30, 2025 visibility 3 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

bob dylan point blank book 2661190

Bob Dylan, at 84, is releasing a new book titled *Point Blank (Quick Studies)* in November 2025, published by Simon & Schuster. The volume collects about 100 drawings he created between 2021 and 2022, featuring portraits, still lifes, and landscapes in black-and-white. The works were originally the foundation for his current exhibition of the same name at Halcyon Gallery in London, on view through July 6. The book includes prose contributions from writers Lucy Sante and Eddie Gorodetsky.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jun 26, 2025 visibility 8 link 3 artists, 3 galleries

lempicka rafaela nude auction 2656453

Tamara de Lempicka's portrait of her lover, *La Belle Rafaëla* (1927), sold for £7.47 million ($10.05 million) at Sotheby's London Modern and Contemporary Evening Sale on June 24. The work, estimated at £6–9 million, hammered just above its low estimate to a buyer in the room. It had last appeared at auction in 1985, when it sold for $242,000, then a record for the artist. The painting depicts Rafaëla, a sex worker Lempicka encountered in Paris's Bois de Boulogne, who became her lover and muse.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jun 24, 2025 visibility 9 link 10 artists, 1 gallery

phillips modern and contemporary art by the numbers 2644759

Phillips held its marquee May auction in New York, achieving $52 million in total sales, down from $86.3 million the previous year. The top lot was a Jean-Michel Basquiat work owned by David Bowie, which sold for $6.59 million. Four lots were withdrawn before the sale, five failed to sell, and the sell-through rate was 77.5 percent. Despite a low-energy room, five artist records were set, including four for women artists: Ilana Savdie, Olga de Amaral, Kiki Kogelnik, and Grace Hartigan, and one for James Turrell.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Jun 23, 2025 visibility 8 link 8 artists, 9 galleries

el greco paint drippings art industry news jun 20 2659116

This week's art industry roundup covers a range of developments: a new wave of younger, deliberate collectors is reshaping the art market, as reported from Art Basel; the Independent art fair will relocate to Pier 36 in New York in 2026; Riga Contemporary, a new fair, launches in Latvia; and the inaugural Arrival art fair took place in North Adams, Massachusetts. In auctions, seven never-before-seen Picasso ceramic plates sold in Geneva for nearly double their estimate, while a Giacometti sculpture made the top 10 sales list. Galleries news includes Nara Roesler now representing Asuka Anastasia Ogawa, a new gallery called Open Studio opening in New York, and Andrew Edlin Gallery relocating. In museums, a government watchdog found the Trump Administration broke the law by withholding funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and UC Irvine and the Orange County Museum of Art plan to merge. A legal battle over an El Greco painting withdrawn from Christie's auction is advancing, with the owner revealed as Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jun 20, 2025 visibility 5 link 9 artists, 7 galleries

basel on a budget labubu georg baselitz art basel 2025 2656288

Artnet News highlights affordable artworks available at Art Basel 2025, countering the fair's reputation for multimillion-dollar sales. Featured works include John Tremblay's 'Gold sounds' (2025) from the New Paintings series at Ecart's booth, priced at €2,500, and Kasing Lung's limited edition Labubu doll sold at the Art Basel Shop for CHF 200, which sold out rapidly to VIPs and the public. Also noted is Solomon Garçon's 'Bobby (4)' (2025), priced around $3,500, presented by 243 Luz at the Liste fair.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 20, 2025 visibility 5 link 19 artists, 1 gallery

lucia painted her own myth 2657810

The article profiles Lucia Wilcox, a nearly forgotten Surrealist painter born in 1899 who lived an extraordinary life—raised in Beirut, partying with Surrealists in Paris, fleeing to New York in 1938, and becoming a doyenne among expatriate artists in the Hamptons. She painted joyful, mythical women and was shown by major dealers Sidney Janis and Leo Castelli, but after her death in 1974 she faded into obscurity. Now, a tightly curated exhibition titled "Lucia Wilcox: LUCIA" at Berry Campbell in New York (through June 28) reintroduces her work, focusing on over 20 paintings from the 1940s, including the vibrant "Untitled (Jungle)" (1944).

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jun 18, 2025 visibility 3 link 3 artists, 3 galleries

cracking chinese art market 2656679

Mario Cristiani, co-founder of Galleria Continua, reflects on the gallery's 20-year journey in Beijing, describing how a meeting with three friends united by admiration for artist Chen Zhen led to opening a space in China. He recounts the vibrant early 2000s art scene, the transformative impact of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and the gallery's initial five years without sales, emphasizing that success in China required credibility, consistency, and genuine cultural integration rather than commercial exploitation.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 18, 2025 visibility 9 link 6 artists, 3 galleries

galerie eva presenhuber franz west 2657381

Galerie Eva Presenhuber in Zurich has opened "Franz West, Die Frühen Werke / Early Works," the gallery's twelfth exhibition dedicated to the late Austrian artist Franz West (1947–2012). The show surveys West's output from 1975 to 1990, highlighting his early sculptures, drawings, collages, and his signature interactive "Passstücke" (Adaptives)—pieces designed to be moved, worn, or played with by viewers. The exhibition runs through October 3, 2025.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 17, 2025 visibility 8 link 33 artists, 12 galleries

londons art scene saturation point 2654203

London Gallery Weekend (LGW) returned for its fifth edition from June 6 to 8, 2025, drawing art enthusiasts across 126 participating spaces despite dark clouds and drizzle. The event showcased cutting-edge performances, digital experiments, and bold textile art, but faced challenges as several trendy younger galleries—including Union Pacific, Guts Gallery, The Sunday Painter, and Xxijra Hii—chose not to participate this year. The weekend also overlapped with the debut London edition of South by Southwest (SXSW), a tech and arts conference that brought 20,505 pass-holders from 77 countries, including King Charles III, and featured visual art offerings such as LDN LAB curated by Alex Poots. While SXSW included works by Andy Warhol and Beeple, coordination between the two events was minimal, though a hastily planned SXSW VIP gallery tour occurred before LGW officially began.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jun 17, 2025 visibility 3 link 1 artist, 2 galleries

sothebys picasso ceramics 313160

Sotheby's London held a 'white glove' sale of 126 one-of-a-kind ceramics by Pablo Picasso, all from the collection of his granddaughter Marina Picasso. The auction achieved a 100% sell-through rate, generating £12.3 million ($19.4 million), with the top lot—a painted goat-shaped vase titled *Cabri* (circa 1947)—selling for £485,000, nearly quadrupling its estimate.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jun 17, 2025 visibility 7 link 15 artists, 4 galleries

big questions art basel 2656782

Art Basel, the flagship art fair, returns to Basel, Switzerland from June 17 to 22 amid a period of market contraction and geopolitical instability. The article explores key questions surrounding the fair, including whether the proliferation of new Art Basel editions in Paris and Doha is diluting interest in the original Swiss event. Gallerists and collectors weigh in, noting that while Paris is rising in importance, Basel retains unmatched prestige and draws a genuinely engaged international audience. The piece also highlights the fair's new "Premiere" section, which spotlights mid-career and established artists, featuring London gallery Edel Assanti's debut presentation of American artist Lonnie Holley.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Jun 12, 2025 visibility 4 link 5 artists, 1 gallery

jeffrey deitchs coney art walls exploits artists real estate ploy 307680

Jeffrey Deitch, former dealer and ex-director of MOCA LA, has partnered with property developer Thor Equities to create "Coney Art Walls," a summertime display of street art murals on concrete slabs in Coney Island, New York. Located on a vacant lot at 1320 Bowery Street owned by Thor Equities, the project features works by over a dozen artists including Lady Pink, Daze, Lee Quiñones, Swoon, and Mister Cartoon, and shares space with Smorgasburg, a food and drink pop-up village. The article criticizes the venture as a real estate marketing ploy rather than a genuine art exhibition.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 12, 2025 visibility 7 link 8 artists, 1 gallery

coney art walls deitch 302591

Jeffrey Deitch, the New York dealer and former director of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, is co-curating a new street art project called "Coney Art Walls" in Brooklyn with real-estate developer Joseph Sitt of Thor Equities. The project features murals by prominent graffiti and street artists including Crash, Daze, Lady Pink, How & Nosm, Lee Quinones, Futura, Kenny Scharf, Miss Van, Swoon, and Icy Signs, and will accompany a Smorgasburg Coney Island pop-up with 12 food vendors. Photos show the artists hard at work as the project rapidly takes shape.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Jun 12, 2025 visibility 9 link 8 artists, 1 gallery

jeffrey deitch sunk low hee280s curating douchebag property developers coney island 293267

Jeffrey Deitch is co-curating a street art exhibition in Coney Island this summer with Joseph Sitt, head of real estate developer Thor Equities. The show features artists including Crash, Lee Quinones, Futura, Kenny Scharf, Miss Van, Lady Pink, Swoon, and Icy Signs, and will debut alongside Smorgasburg Coney Island with 12 food vendors and live music. Deitch previously organized the controversial 2011 exhibition "Art in the Streets" at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, which drew large crowds but faced criticism for prioritizing entertainment over scholarship, and included the censorship of a mural by Blu.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 12, 2025 visibility 5 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

galleria continua shilpa gupta 2655173

Mumbai-based artist Shilpa Gupta (b. 1976) presents a solo exhibition at Galleria Continua in San Gimignano, on view through September 7, 2025. The show features a range of works from her career, including the large-scale embroidered piece *Untitled (Rectangles on flags of the world)* (2021–25), the monumental sculpture *Truth* (2025), and *100 Hand-drawn Maps of Italy* (2007–2023). Through video, installation, performance, and sculpture, Gupta explores themes of censorship, migration, borders, control, and resilience, engaging viewers with multisensory works that question societal norms.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jun 11, 2025 visibility 4 link 9 artists, 1 gallery

barbara gladstones 12 million chelsea townhouse is for sale 2655218

The Chelsea townhouse of legendary art dealer Barbara Gladstone has been listed for sale at just under $12 million. The Greek Revival row house on West 22nd Street, which Gladstone purchased for $6.3 million in 2011, was extensively renovated by architect Annabelle Selldorf, who also designed Gladstone's two Chelsea galleries. The five-bedroom, five-bathroom property features a curving skylit staircase and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a garden. The listing is held by Compass agent Scott Hustis.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 2 link 4 artists, 3 galleries

frida kahlo art missing at casa azul allegations 2654311

Hilda Trujillo Soto, the former longtime director of the Museo Frida Kahlo (Casa Azul), has alleged that numerous artworks by Frida Kahlo are missing from the museum's collection and may have been sold at auction in the U.S. to private collectors. In a blog post, she accused the Casa Azul board of ignoring evidence of missing art uncovered during her 18-year tenure, and claimed that the sale or transfer of works from the Diego Rivera inventory would violate both the artist's bequest to the people of Mexico and Mexican law. Several missing works, including the painting *Peoples' Congress for Peace* (1952), which sold for $2.66 million at Sotheby's in 2020, appear to have passed through Mary-Anne Martin Fine Art in New York.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 5, 2025 visibility 6 link 7 artists, 4 galleries

barbara hepworth stringed sculptures piano nobile 2607574

London's Piano Nobile gallery has opened "Barbara Hepworth: Strings," the first exhibition dedicated to the British sculptor's use of string in her work. The show explores how Hepworth (1903–1975) incorporated string into sculptures, paintings, and drawings from 1939 onward, including pieces never before exhibited in the U.K. Highlights include the rediscovered "Theme on Electronics (Orpheus)," 1956, commissioned by Mullard and long thought lost, and "Pierced Hemisphere (Telstar)," 1963, making its U.K. debut. Curated by Michael Regan, the exhibition draws on Hepworth's letters and archival material to illuminate her innovative approach to tension, space, and light.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 4, 2025 visibility 6 link 10 artists, 2 galleries

silvia heyden charles moffett 2651187

Swiss-born textile artist Silvia Heyden (1927–2015) devoted over half a century to weaving nearly 800 innovative tapestries, despite early discouragement from pursuing violin-making due to her gender. A new exhibition, “Improvisational Nature: The Weavings and Drawings of Silvia Heyden,” at Charles Moffett gallery in New York (through June 7) marks her first solo show in the city and her first U.S. exhibition of tapestries and drawings since 1972. The show, organized with her family, highlights her improvisational, music-inspired approach to the loom, which she likened to playing a violin.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule May 29, 2025 visibility 5 link 7 artists, 5 galleries

3 key insights from the art business conference new york 2649146

The sixth edition of the Art Business Conference took place in Midtown Manhattan on May 22, drawing over 200 art professionals including gallery staff, auction-house specialists, and lawyers. Chaired by former Artnet executive editor Julia Halperin and founded by Louise Hamlin, the event featured keynotes and panels addressing the state of the art market, legal challenges, and the impact of tariffs. Christie’s CEO Bonnie Brennan reported a $700 million haul from recent auctions, noting a thin top end but strong activity for female Surrealists and Simone Leigh sculptures. Advisors Megan Fox Kelly and Alex Glauber described the market as 'recalibrating' rather than in crisis, with buyers showing increased selectivity.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original