How Two New Art Exhibitions Are Spotlighting Black Queer History

Two new art exhibitions are spotlighting Black queer history amid escalating government censorship and threats to federal arts funding. "In the Life: Black Queerness—Looking Back, Moving Forward" at the Carr Center in Detroit traces 80 years of Black queer culture, opening with LeRoy Foster's 1945 self-portrait and featuring works by Zanele Muholi, April Bey, and Pamela Sneed. Co-curated by Patrick Burton and Wayne Northcross, the show is produced by Mighty Real/Queer Detroit and will be part of the Detroit Queer Biennial in June 2026. A second exhibition, "The Gay Harlem Renaissance," runs from October 10 through March at the New York Historical Museum in Manhattan, curated by Allison Robinson, highlighting queer contributions to the Harlem Renaissance through artifacts like rent party tickets and works by Malvin Gray Johnson.

Gustave Caillebotte: Painting His World

The Art Institute of Chicago presents 'Gustave Caillebotte: Painting His World,' a major exhibition running from June 29 to October 5, 2025, featuring over 120 works including paintings, works on paper, photographs, and ephemera. The show explores the personal interests and relationships that shaped the Impressionist artist, highlighting his focus on family, friends, sportsmen, and workers, as well as his unique depictions of nude men. It includes iconic pieces like 'Paris Street; Rainy Day' and 'Floor Scrapers,' alongside lesser-known works such as the Musée d'Orsay's recent acquisition 'Boating Party' and the Louvre Abu Dhabi's 'The Bezique Game,' many from private collections rarely seen by American audiences.

Letter calls on Judy Chicago and Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolakonnikova to cancel Tel Aviv exhibition

More than 50 artists and cultural figures, many based in Israel, have signed a letter urging American artist Judy Chicago and Pussy Riot co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova to cancel their collaborative exhibition "What if women ruled the world?" at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. The show, which opened last week, features a digital quilt responding to the titular question. The letter, seen by The Art Newspaper, argues that holding the exhibition in Israel makes the artists "complicit" in what the signatories describe as genocide in Gaza, citing a recent UN commission finding. Tolokonnikova stated she is not involved in the ongoing project, while Chicago declined to comment. The museum defended the exhibition as a space for reflection and dialogue, not an endorsement of any political position.

Van Gogh Museum claims it could be ‘forced to close’ amid funding feud with Dutch state

Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum has publicly warned it could be forced to close unless the Dutch government increases its annual subsidy from €8.5m to €11m to fund essential renovations. Director Emilie Gordenker announced the museum cannot guarantee the safety of its collection, visitors, and staff without the additional funding for climate control, elevators, fire safety, security, and sustainability upgrades. The museum has filed a legal complaint against the state, arguing it is in breach of a 1962 agreement that committed the government to fund the museum's construction and maintenance in exchange for the Van Gogh family's collection. The case is set to be heard on 19 February 2026.

London’s Tate Modern will stay open later on Fridays and Saturdays

Tate Modern in London will extend its opening hours on Fridays and Saturdays to 9pm starting September 26, following record attendance by young visitors at its Tate Lates events in 2025. The museum reported that 76,000 people visited over its 25th birthday weekend in May, with 70 percent under 35, prompting the decision to offer later access to free collections and paid exhibitions.

Phillips Sues Wealthy Scion for Failure to Come Through on Pollock Purchase

Phillips auction house has filed a lawsuit against film producer David Mimran, alleging he failed to pay $14.5 million for a Jackson Pollock painting after serving as a third-party guarantor. The untitled ca. 1948 white-on-black drip painting, which had appeared in a 1998 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, received no bids at a November auction in New York, leaving Mimran legally obligated to purchase it. Mimran missed two payment deadlines and later claimed he could not meet a third, prompting Phillips to file a complaint with the Supreme Court of New York.

New world record for Canaletto as view of Venice sells for £31.9m

A Canaletto painting, *Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day* (circa 1732), sold for £27.5 million (£31.9 million with fees) at Christie’s in London on July 1, setting a new auction record for the artist. The work, once owned by Britain’s first prime minister Robert Walpole, exceeded its $20 million estimate and was purchased by an anonymous phone bidder. The sale drew five bidders from Asia, Europe, and North America, and the painting was backed by a third-party guarantor.

Gustave Caillebotte: Painting His World

The Art Institute of Chicago announces "Gustave Caillebotte: Painting His World," a major exhibition running from June 29 to October 5, 2025. Featuring over 120 works—including paintings, drawings, photographs, and documents—the show offers a fresh perspective on the Impressionist artist, highlighting his intimate focus on family, friends, sportsmen, and neighborhood life, in contrast to his peers. Key loans include the Musée d'Orsay's recent acquisition "Boating Party" and the Louvre Abu Dhabi's "The Bezique Game," alongside the Art Institute's own "Paris Street; Rainy Day." The exhibition is organized collaboratively by the Art Institute of Chicago, the Musée d'Orsay, and the J. Paul Getty Museum.

Inside Denver’s Cookie Factory Turned Art Gallery

A former fortune cookie factory in Denver's Baker neighborhood has been transformed into a nonprofit art space called the Cookie Factory, opening this weekend. The 5,000-square-foot venue, founded by philanthropist and real estate developer Amanda J. Precourt, features a gallery, sculpture garden, and video-screening rooms. The inaugural exhibition, 'Nothing Without Nature,' presents site-specific works by Colorado-based artist Sam Falls, created using natural materials and processes. The space is free to the public and will also host fundraising events, performances, and community meetings.

Artist’s Choice: Arthur Jafa—Less Is Morbid

Arthur Jafa has curated a new exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) as part of the museum's ongoing Artist's Choice series. Titled "Less Is Morbid," the show runs through July 5 and features over 80 objects selected from MoMA's collection. Jafa, an artist and filmmaker known for his emotionally charged collages and installations, brings together works by figures such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Cy Twombly, Lygia Clark, Roy DeCarava, Piet Mondrian, and Lutisha Pettway. The exhibition challenges binary oppositions like minimalist/maximalist and sparse/dense, and critiques the historical hierarchies that have governed art institutions.

Hiroshige: Artist of the Open Road review – ‘I could look forever at these passing moments in cosmic colours’

The British Museum presents a rapturous exhibition of Utagawa Hiroshige's prints, showcasing the early 19th-century Japanese artist's vivid, Technicolor depictions of fleeting moments in Edo (now Tokyo). The show highlights his innovative use of rain, snow, and everyday scenes, such as pleasure boats, cherry blossoms, and temporary riverside restaurants, and includes a final section on his global influence, though critics find this epilogue rushed.

Court Decision Ends Dispute Over Who Actually Bought Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days for $69.3 M.

A federal judge in New York has approved a final settlement in a lawsuit between the two pseudonymous figures behind the record-breaking $69.3 million purchase of Beeple's NFT "Everydays: The First 5000 Days." The agreement legally prohibits Anand Venkateswaran (Twobadour) from claiming any involvement in the 2021 Christie's purchase, confirming that Vignesh Sundaresan (Metakovan) was the sole buyer. Venkateswaran must also pay an undisclosed sum, dissociate from related online profiles, and correct third-party biographical information.

Major Corporate Sponsor Withdraws from Sydney Biennale, Citing Alleged Hate Speech

A major corporate sponsor, PwC, has withdrawn from the 25th Sydney Biennale following a police complaint alleging antisemitic hate speech by a participating DJ. The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies filed the complaint against US electronic music producer Zubeyda Muzeyyen (DJ Haram) over comments made during the opening night party, which the Board claims incited hatred against Jewish Australians.

‘The extremely happy part of the crowd’: Hungarian arts figures hope for change after 16 years of Orbán rule

The 16-year tenure of Viktor Orbán has come to an end following a landslide victory for Péter Magyar’s Tisza Party in the 2026 Hungarian parliamentary election. The shift in power has sparked widespread celebration among Hungary’s progressive art community, which has long felt stifled by Orbán’s nationalist and socially conservative agenda. Figures from major Budapest galleries and the contemporary art scene report a profound sense of relief, signaling a potential departure from the "illiberal democracy" that dominated the country for nearly two decades.

inside the kitchen spring gala party

The Kitchen, a storied avant-garde arts institution in New York, held its Spring Gala at City Winery on Pier 57 despite rainy weather. The evening featured performances by A.I.M by Kyle Abraham dancer Alysia Johnson and musician serpentwithfeet, with actor and choreographer Angela Trimbur serving as MC. Chief Curator and Executive Director Legacy Russell opened the night with a spirited speech, and honorees included dance legend Lucinda Childs, philanthropists Jamie Singer Soros and Robert Soros, and artist-filmmaker Wu Tsang, who recalled first performing at The Kitchen 20 years ago.

Future Fair Is a Big Artist Party

Future Fair, held at Chelsea Industrial in New York from May 13–16, 2026, brought together 69 exhibitors from nine countries. Unlike traditional art fairs with segmented booths, the fair emphasized interconnectedness and interpersonal connection, featuring artist-run booths and family-led presentations. Notable participants included Nanor Hakimian showing her brother Garo's paintings, Olivia Janna Genereaux exhibiting with her son Hans Silas Jovine, and artists Cloe Galasso, John Vitale, and Miles Ingrassia. The fair also highlighted its profit-sharing model, dedicating 15% of proceeds plus exhibitor donations to subsidize emerging galleries.

“Boycott the Bezos Met Gala” Posters Emerge Across NYC

Activists have launched a wheatpasting campaign across New York City calling for a boycott of the 2026 Met Gala. The protest targets the event's lead sponsors and honorary co-chairs, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez, highlighting Amazon's alleged exploitation of warehouse labor and its technological support for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The posters, designed by the activist group Everyone Hates Elon, feature provocative imagery such as urine-filled water bottles and tear gas canisters to symbolize the human cost of Amazon's business practices.

The AfD Rehearses the Seizure of Power

Die AfD probt die Machtergreifung

The article reports that in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the far-right party AfD could achieve an absolute majority in the upcoming September election—a first in postwar German history. The state government has preemptively introduced a cultural funding law to protect the arts. The AfD's platform includes a "new patriotic cultural policy" under the slogan "#deutschdenken," which explicitly targets the Bauhaus and modernist art as symbols of an "identity disorder" they promise to "heal."

Cultural Institutions Warn Against AfD's Cultural Policy Plans

Kulturinstitutionen warnen vor AfD-Plänen zur Kulturpolitik

Nearly 30 cultural institutions in Saxony-Anhalt, including the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation and the Saxony-Anhalt Museum Association, have issued a joint warning against the AfD party's new government program. The political platform proposes a "patriotic cultural policy" that would prioritize funding for art contributing to "German identity" while criticizing the state's focus on modernism and the Bauhaus as a "sign of identity disorder." The institutions argue these plans threaten artistic freedom, pluralism, and the democratic culture of remembrance regarding Germany's Nazi past.

Two Shows, One Desert: “Desert Rinpa” & “Wander” at EPMA

Two concurrent exhibitions at the El Paso Museum of Art explore the Southwestern desert through distinct artistic lenses. "Desert Rinpa" presents Mitsumasa Overstreet's large-scale panels that blend Chihuahuan Desert flora with the classical Japanese Rinpa tradition, using techniques like tarashikomi and metallic leaf to evoke desert light. Upstairs, "Suzi Davidoff: Wander" features nearly 100 works from 1991 to the present, including drawings, prints, and installations made with natural materials like dirt, clay, and charcoal gathered from wildfire sites, emphasizing the physical presence of the desert itself.

Mumbai Gallery Weekend looks beyond the city's historic art district

The 14th edition of Mumbai Gallery Weekend (MGW) is underway, running until January 12, and for the first time appoints co-leads from galleries outside the city's historic art district of Colaba and Fort. Ayesha Parikh of Art and Charlie (Bandra) and Sanjana Shah of Tao Art Gallery (Worli) helm the event, reflecting the geographic expansion of Mumbai's art scene into western suburbs and financial districts. The weekend features ambitious exhibitions, including a solo show of terracotta works by Chippa Sudhakar at Tao and a group show curated by Zeenat Nagree at Art & Charlie. MGW, co-founded in 2012 by Shireen Gandhy and other South Mumbai galleries, has grown from nine to 33 participating galleries, and now includes the Midtown Arts Collective, which represents galleries from Worli, Lower Parel, and Bandra.

Art Basel Miami Beach Diary: a pettable bronze piece, an un-buttoned up party and tarot in a grotto

At Art Basel Miami Beach, the art collective MSCHF invites fairgoers to touch their bronze sculpture *Touch Me Sculpture One More Time* (2024) on Perrotin’s stand, featuring a counter that tracks each pat. The Institute of Contemporary Art Miami hosted a VIP opening night with figures like director Alex Gartenfeld and artist Andreas Schulze, while the Thom Browne club stood out in matching attire. Other highlights include kinetic sculptures by Breakfast (Andrew Zolty) at 1 Hotel South Beach, a tarot-reading grotto by Julie Schenkelberg at Nada fair, and Robbie Williams’s furniture debut with Moooi at Design Miami.

Amid government intervention, Slovak artists and curators call for EU law to protect freedoms

On 25 August, the Slovak National Gallery (SNG) removed a large permanent installation by artist Denisa Lehocká, allegedly without her permission and in violation of contract terms. The removal, which Lehocká calls a "gross violation," occurred amid a broader crisis at the institution, which has seen multiple directors fired and mass employee resignations under the country's populist government. The incident is part of a pattern of government intervention in the arts, including the firing of museum directors by Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová, who has targeted "progressive art." In response, Slovak artists and organizations like Otvorená Kultúra! have issued the Bratislava Declaration for Artistic Freedom, calling on the EU to adopt a European Artistic Freedom Act to protect creative expression.

Bollywood Star Sonam Kapoor on the Women Who Shaped Her Eye for South Asian Art

Bollywood star Sonam Kapoor discusses her evolution as an art collector, shaped by the women in her family—her mother Sunita Kapoor and aunt Kavita Singh, a Mumbai-based interior designer and art curator. Kapoor began collecting instinctively, drawn to South Asian modernists like Amrita Sher-Gil and Manjit Bawa, but has recently shifted toward contemporary works and underrepresented artists, especially women and those outside major art hubs. She sources art from galleries such as Jhaveri Contemporary, Chemould Prescott, and Nature Morte, as well as auction houses including Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Saffronart. Kapoor was on the host committee for the Serpentine Summer Party in London, where she admired Arpita Singh’s first institutional solo show outside India.

Collections of two leading dealers, Barbara Gladstone and Daniella Luxembourg, hit the auction blocks in New York

Sotheby's will auction collections from two prominent dealers, Barbara Gladstone and Daniella Luxembourg, in New York on May 15. Gladstone's estate consigned 12 lots, including an Andy Warhol painting (est. $1m-$1.5m) and a Richard Prince work (est. $4m-$6m), following a competition between Christie's and Sotheby's. Luxembourg's collection of 15 post-war works, valued at over $30m, features pieces by Lucio Fontana, Salvatore Scarpitta, and Michelangelo Pistoletto, with Fontana's 'Fine di Dio' (1963) expected to lead at $12m-$18m.

In Washington, the Women's Museum will not see the light of day

À Washington, le Musée des femmes ne verra pas le jour

The U.S. House of Representatives has rejected a bill to establish the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., after a bipartisan consensus collapsed. The original bill, introduced by Republican Representative Nicole Malliotakis in February 2025, had over 230 co-sponsors and aimed to allocate a site opposite the National Museum of African American History and Culture. However, an amendment by Representative Mary Miller redefined the museum's mission as dedicated to "biological women," explicitly excluding transgender women, and removed references to diversity. The committee approved the amendment along party lines (7-4), leading to the bill's failure to secure the necessary votes.

Art Basel Miami Beach Diary: love on the brain for Randy Andy, A$AP Rocky and a steamy Art Gaysel party

The article reports on events surrounding Art Basel Miami Beach 2025, including the inaugural Art Basel Awards ceremony at the New World Center, where artists Nairy Baghramian and Cecilia Vicuña were honored. It also covers the Satellite Art Show featuring Andy Warhol's blow-up doll 'Randy Andy' on public display for the first time, pop star Rihanna supporting partner A$AP Rocky at the Ray-Ban Clubhouse launch, the tenth anniversary of the queer satellite fair Art Gaysel at Hôtel Gaythering, and artist Marc Hundley's affordable T-shirt project at Canada gallery.

parties raouls jennifer lawrence chloe sevigny 50th anniversary

A dinner and party at Raoul's, the iconic SoHo French bistro, celebrated its 50th anniversary in partnership with Moda Operandi. The event drew a crowd of regulars and celebrities including Chloë Sevigny, Jennifer Lawrence, Amy Sedaris, and Dave Gahan, who reflected on the restaurant's history as a haven for artists and its role in the neighborhood's transformation from a gritty gallery hub to a tourist destination. Karim Raoul, the founder's son, spoke about the restaurant's enduring family-run ethos.

sophia cohen party cultured frieze new york

Cultured magazine hosted a party at the Twenty Two in New York to celebrate Sophia Cohen's appointment as arts editor-at-large. Cohen, a former Gagosian associate director and founder of the consultancy Siren, will write a monthly column called "In the Know." The event, timed to Frieze New York, brought together figures including fashion designer Kim Shui, writer Nate Freeman, art advisors Ralph DeLuca and Sandy Heller, artist Rogan Gregory, critic Johanna Fateman, collector Lucas Hoffmann, and David Zwirner senior director Lucas Zwirner.

Jay Heikes, J. Parker Valentine at David Petersen Gallery

David Petersen Gallery in Minneapolis is presenting a two-person exhibition featuring artists Jay Heikes and J. Parker Valentine, titled "Salvador Dalí’s Birthday Party." The show runs from March 6 to April 26, 2026, and is documented with 40 installation images.