Metropolitan Museum of Art Repatriates Two Khmer Sculptures to Cambodia

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has repatriated two sandstone Khmer sculptures to Cambodia: a 10th-century guardian deity (rākṣasa) from the Prasat Chen temple at Koh Ker and a 7th-century lintel featuring a kirtimukha dragon. The returns follow an investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg into the late dealer Doris Wiener and her daughter Nancy Wiener, who pleaded guilty to trafficking looted artifacts in 2021. The sculptures were seized by the DA's office this year and formally transferred to Cambodia alongside a third sculpture surrendered by a private collector. The Met has previously returned looted objects to Cambodia in 2013 and 2023, linked to investigations into trafficker Douglas Latchford.

ARTnews & Artforum Partner to Launch First Ever Art Week in New York

ARTnews and Artforum have announced the launch of New York's first dedicated Art Week, dubbed Art Week NYC, set to run from November 11 to November 14. The four-day event will feature public programming, neighborhood walking tours, artist talks, gallery openings, and a Midtown hub programmed by ARTnews and Art in America. Artforum will partner with galleries on neighborhood-themed openings and offer a day of public programming at the New Museum. The event aims to create a citywide celebration of art, distinct from existing art fairs like Frieze and the Armory Show.

For Jiajia Fei, Making it in the Art World Means ‘Mission Over Permission’

JiaJia Fei, a self-taught digital strategist, built her career by pioneering social media and digital initiatives at New York's Jewish Museum and the Guggenheim, eventually founding the first digital agency dedicated to the art world. She now consults for clients including Crystal Bridges Museum, Canyon, the Obama Presidential Center, and Independent Art Fair, embodying a shift from institutional employment to independent practice.

The bird brooch that defied the Nazis: Cartier’s diamond menagerie – in pictures

Cartier is bringing its exhibition of over 350 jewels, including gemstones the size of golf balls, to the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne as part of the gallery’s Winter Masterpieces series. The show, which had a sell-out run at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, traces how brothers Louis, Pierre, and Jacques Cartier transformed their grandfather’s small Parisian business into a global jewelry empire, with many pieces inspired by the natural world.

The Trade in Looted Antiquities Endures for One Reason: Demand

A 1997 looting operation at Cambodia's Koh Ker temple complex targeted three ancient statues, which were trafficked through Thailand to Western buyers. One statue was purchased by an American billionaire, another by a London dealer before disappearing into a private collection, and the third was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Two of the three have since been repatriated to Cambodia following investigations into the network of British dealer Douglas Latchford, who allegedly trafficked stolen Cambodian sculptures for decades, often sourced by men linked to the Khmer Rouge.

Liebe, scharf gestellt

The ninth edition of the Fototriennale in Hamburg, curated by Mark Sealy, opens across eleven institutions under the theme "Alliance. Infinity. Love." The exhibition explores alliances, love, and the future of photography, featuring works such as Arlene Gottfried's moving series "Midnight" (1984–2002) documenting a New York performer, Rotimi Fani-Kayode's surrealist photographs from the AIDS crisis, and Eikō Hosoe's experimental series "Killed by Roses" (1961/62) depicting Yukio Mishima. Sealy, director of Autograph in London, positions empathy as a political force, challenging the instrumentalization of art for social cohesion.

International organisations and Lebanese culture ministry issue warnings amidst Israeli capture of Beaufort Castle and strikes on Tyre

Icomos Lebanon, Unesco, and the Lebanese Ministry of Culture have issued urgent warnings after Israeli strikes damaged the ancient city of Tyre, a Unesco World Heritage Site, and Israeli forces captured Beaufort Castle, a 12th-century Crusader fortress. The strikes hit Tyre's entrance precinct, administrative buildings, and archaeological warehouses, while Beaufort Castle—captured by Israel on 31 May—has become a flashpoint, with the IDF claiming Hezbollah used it to launch missiles and Lebanese authorities disputing that assertion. Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh formally requested Unesco's intervention to prevent the castle's destruction, and both sites are under Enhanced Protection under the 1954 Hague Convention.

How the Pace Layoffs Went Down—And What Comes Next

Pace Gallery laid off roughly 50 employees and cut about 50 artists from its roster, as first reported by the New York Times just before a company-wide town hall on Thursday morning. CEO Marc Glimcher held a brief Zoom call instead of the usual in-person gathering, where he acknowledged that his own decisions—including rapid international expansion and rising costs—had led the gallery to this point. The cuts affected sales, communications, art resources, operations, and other departments almost evenly, leaving many staffers uncertain about their jobs and reluctant to speak publicly while severance arrangements were finalized.

French Supreme Court Tears Up Lawsuit Aiming to Halt Bayeux Tapestry Loan to the British Museum

France's highest administrative court has rejected a legal challenge by heritage group Sites & Monuments that sought to block the loan of the 11th-century Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum. The court ruled that President Emmanuel Macron's decision to lend the artifact is an act of government inseparable from international diplomacy, and therefore not subject to judicial review. The ruling came two days after a French Culture Ministry report expressed confidence that the fragile tapestry, designated in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, would not be physically threatened by the move.

Chairman of US Commission of Fine Arts Attends ‘Russian Davos,’ Joins Roundtable With Russian Envoy Responsible for Venice Biennale Participation

Rodney Mims Cook Jr., chairman of the US Commission of Fine Arts, attended the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), known as the 'Russian Davos,' becoming the first US official to do so in nearly a decade. He participated in a roundtable titled 'Russia-USA: dialogue of cultures' moderated by Russian cultural envoy Mikhail Shvydkoy, who also coordinated Russia's participation in the 2024 Venice Biennale. Other attendees included actor Steven Seagal, State Hermitage Museum director Mikhail Piotrovsky, and Russian culture minister Olga Lyubimova, several of whom have been sanctioned by the EU for supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Cook praised Putin and conveyed greetings from President Trump, while Ukrainian drones struck targets near St. Petersburg as the forum opened.

Is the Mega-Gallery Model Collapsing?

Pace Gallery, a leading mega-gallery, announced it will cut its workforce from approximately 250 to 200 employees and drop as many as 50 of its roughly 135 represented artists. This restructuring signals a potential crisis in the mega-gallery model. Separately, Sotheby's will auction a "scandalous" Modigliani nude, estimated at $60 million, from the collection of billionaire Joe Lewis, while the Artnet Price Database reports that Asia's fine art auction market is undergoing a sharp recalibration, with regional price disparities at their widest in a decade.

The Basque Museum of Bilbao reopens its doors after 4 years of renovation

Le Musée Basque de Bilbao rouvre ses portes après 4 ans de travaux

The Basque Museum of Bilbao (Euskal Museoa) will reopen to the public on June 10 after four years of closure since October 2021. The museum underwent a major expansion and restructuring project costing over 20 million euros, funded by the Biscay Provincial Council and the Bilbao city council. The renovation added more than 6,000 square meters of exhibition space, acquired nearby buildings for conferences and educational workshops, and introduced an immersive architectural design by the Navarrese studio Vaíllo + Igaray, centered on the metaphor of a "living oak." New features include a gastronomic laboratory and a restoration workshop open to the public from September.

À BRUSK, une expo retrace l’âge d’or de Bruges au Moyen Âge

BRUSK, a newly inaugurated art center in the historic heart of Bruges, presents its summer exhibition "Vision large" (running until September 6, 2026). The show explores Bruges' pivotal role in the development of international trade and cultural networks from 900 to 1550, positioning the city as an early laboratory of globalization. Curated by British historian Peter Frankopan, author of *The Silk Roads*, the exhibition features 250 objects including illuminated manuscripts, precious artworks, and major loans such as Gentile Bellini's *Portrait of Mehmed II* (1480) from the National Gallery and the 1154 *Tabula Rogeriana* by Muhammad al-Idrisi.

At the Château Borély, how Marseille became a Mediterranean laboratory of Art Nouveau and Art Deco

Au château Borély, comment Marseille est devenue un laboratoire méditerranéen de l’Art nouveau et de l’Art déco

An exhibition titled "Art nouveau, Art déco : Marseille au cœur des styles" at the Château Borély in Marseille explores the city's overlooked role in the dissemination of Art Nouveau and Art Deco styles. Featuring nearly 300 works on loan from institutions including the Musée d'Orsay, the Musée de l'École de Nancy, and the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa, the show traces the stylistic transition from the organic curves of the Belle Époque to the geometric lines of the 1930s. Highlights include furniture by Émile Gallé, glassworks by René Lalique, and posters by David Dellepiane, illustrating how Marseille became a Mediterranean laboratory for these decorative movements.

At the foot of the Giza pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum unveils its thousand and one wonders

Au pied des pyramides de Gizeh, le Grand Egyptian Museum dévoile ses mille et une merveilles

After more than two decades of delays, financial turmoil, and political upheaval, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Cairo has finally opened its doors in November 2025. Designed by the Irish firm Heneghan Peng, the vast 800-meter-long, 40-meter-high structure sits at the foot of the Giza pyramids, its triangular motifs echoing the ancient monuments. Inside, the museum showcases thousands of artifacts from its collection of 130,000, including the towering 11-meter statue of Ramesses II and the complete treasure of Tutankhamun, displayed in a dramatic, chronologically arranged staircase designed by Atelier Brückner.

Everything you need to know about Gaudí, the architect of the Sagrada Família who died a hundred years ago

Tout savoir sur Gaudí, l’architecte de la Sagrada Família disparu il y a cent ans

Beaux Arts Magazine marks the centenary of Antoni Gaudí's death in 2026 with a curated selection of articles about the Catalan modernist architect. The Sagrada Família, his most famous work and Spain's most visited monument, is finally nearing completion after 144 years of construction. The tower of Christ will be inaugurated on June 10, 2026, in the presence of Pope Leo XIV. The magazine also highlights Gaudí's other iconic creations, such as Casa Batlló, and his organic, dreamlike architectural style. A special evening on Arte will feature the documentary "Sagrada Família. Le rêve…" and the Musée d'Orsay is presenting an exhibition exploring the genesis of Gaudí's work within the context of early 1900s Catalonia.

Opening for East End Arts’ “Detour VII”

East End Arts Council (EEAC) opens its annual summer exhibition “Detour VII” on June 13, 2026, running through August 22 at two galleries in Riverhead, New York. The show is curated by Kevin Teare and Mary Boochever, and features two distinct components: the main “Detour VII” exhibition showcasing a variety of nationally and internationally recognized artists working in diverse mediums, and a special curated section titled “Open For The Stones” at the Andy Tarshis Fine Art Gallery, which explores the historical and symbiotic relationship between visual art and music. The latter includes works by over 40 artists, many with musical backgrounds, and is dedicated to the late musician and artist Bobby Whitlock.

“I Shot Andy Warhol” Upends the Myth of the Great Man

Mary Harron's 1996 film "I Shot Andy Warhol," now restored in 4K for its 30th anniversary, dramatizes the life of Valerie Solanas, the radical feminist author of the "SCUM Manifesto" who attempted to murder Pop art icon Andy Warhol in 1968. Starring Lili Taylor as Solanas and Jared Harris as Warhol, the film explores the intersecting worlds of Warhol's Factory and Solanas's desperate quest for fame and recognition, portraying both figures as deeply flawed and misunderstood individuals caught in a rapidly changing society.

10 Memorable Quotes from David Hockney

10 denkwürdige Zitate von David Hockney

David Hockney, the renowned British painter, has died at the age of 88. The article compiles ten memorable quotes from his career, drawn from interviews with Monopol, The Guardian, Die Zeit, and The Independent. In these quotes, Hockney offers sharp opinions on fellow artists like Gerhard Richter and Jeff Koons, reflects on smoking, cannabis, photography, and the environment, and shares philosophical insights about surface, depth, and the enduring nature of painting.

A Prized Lucien Freud Nude, Estimated at $47 M., is Poised to Break Records at Sotheby’s

A Lucian Freud nude portrait, *Sleeping by the Lion Carpet*, is expected to fetch between £25 million and £35 million ($33.4 million to $46.8 million) at Sotheby’s London on June 24. The painting depicts Sue Tilley, a model and frequent Freud muse who posed for the artist in the 1990s. Tilley expressed surprise at the market frenzy, recalling her sessions with Freud as “very pleasant.” The work is the final and most ambitious of Freud’s four monumental portraits of Tilley, and the last from the series to appear at auction since a 2015 sale set a record for a living artist.

‘I’m carrying rage like a blood-filled egg’: the best of Glasgow International – review

Glasgow International 2024 opens with a powerful show dedicated to David Wojnarowicz, featuring his paintings, photographs, and video works inside a decaying Georgian terrace house. Other standout works include Renèe Helèna Browne's film 'Flat' about rural survival in Donegal, Tanoa Sasraku's sculptural installation 'Tropical Hardware' exploring masculinity and war, and film installations by Rehana Zaman and Naeem Mohaiemen addressing labor conditions and historical violence. The festival unfolds against a backdrop of Glasgow's infrastructural decay, with landmarks like the Charles Rennie Mackintosh School of Art and the Centre for Contemporary Art closed or damaged.

Here is the Artist List for the 16th Gwangju Biennial

The 16th Gwangju Biennial, scheduled for September 5 to November 15, 2026, in South Korea, has announced its artist list featuring over 40 artists and groups. Curated by Singaporean artist and filmmaker Ho Tzu Nyen, the biennial is titled "You Must Change Your Life," a line from Rainer Maria Rilke's sonnet "Archaic Torso of Apollo." Ho, who represented Singapore at the 2011 Venice Biennale and organized the 2019 Asian Art Biennial, is working with assistant curators Che Kyongfa, Park Gahee, Brian Kuan Wood, Lee Yein, and Koyuri Sato.

Georg Baselitz review – a final, furious, chaotic reckoning with death

The article reviews Georg Baselitz's final body of work, created shortly before his death at age 88. Painted from a wheeled office chair due to physical frailty, the works depict falling bodies, upside-down nudes, and frantic insectile forms, grappling with mortality. The exhibition includes golden canvases that canonize Baselitz and his wife Elke, alongside recurring eagle motifs from his youth in postwar Germany.

There Is No Real Normal State

"Es gibt keinen wirklichen Normalzustand"

Neurologe Mario de la Piedra Walter hat ein Buch über das kreative Gehirn geschrieben, in dem er retrospektiv Künstler wie Vincent van Gogh, Wassily Kandinsky, Frida Kahlo und Virginia Woolf untersucht. Er analysiert, wie neurologische Erkrankungen und Wahrnehmungsstörungen – etwa Synästhesie oder Epilepsie – die Werke dieser Künstler beeinflusst haben könnten, und stützt sich dabei auf Symptombeschreibungen in deren Werken und Biografien.

Colen Lumley obituary

Colen Lumley, an architect, critic, and painter who helped shape postwar Cambridge architecture, has died at age 93. He was a partner to modernist architect Sir Leslie Martin, contributing to projects such as the Faculty of Music building at Cambridge University, the Museum of Modern Art Oxford, and the Gulbenkian Foundation gallery in Lisbon. After his architectural career, he devoted himself to painting, exhibiting through Cambridge Open Studios.

Jean-Marc Bustamante ouvre son fonds à Arles

French artist Jean-Marc Bustamante (born 1952) will inaugurate the Fonds Bustamante in Arles on July 9, 2026. The foundation, dedicated to contemporary art, is housed in the former Sainte-Croix church, renovated by architect Charles Zana. Its opening coincides with the Rencontres d'Arles festival and features the inaugural exhibition "Bustamante en miroirs." The facade will display an enameled lava frieze by Bustamante and a monumental sculpture by Cristina Iglesias. The project is overseen by a supervisory board and scientific committee, joining Arles' major institutions such as LUMA Arles, Lee Ufan Arles, and the Fondation Vincent Van Gogh.

In Basel, the Antike Fair Makes Ancient Art Dialogue with Art Basel's Contemporary

À Bâle, la foire Antike fait dialoguer l’art ancien avec le contemporain d’Art Basel

For the first time, the Antike antiquities fair in Basel will take place during Art Basel in June 2026, moving from its usual November slot. The fair, which traditionally focused on Mediterranean antiquities (Roman, Greek, Etruscan, Egyptian), is expanding to include classical African, Oceanic, and Asian art. Dealers like Antonia Eberwein and Robert R. Bigler are showcasing rare pieces, including an Egyptian pyramidion and a painted Tau-Tau head from Indonesia, aiming to bridge ancient and contemporary art.

À Pantin, les artistes de Poush investissent le plus grand cimetière d’Europe

An exhibition titled "Demeure" has been installed in the Pantin cemetery, the largest cemetery in Europe, located between Aubervilliers and Pantin, France. Curated by Patrice Chazottes and Inès Massonie, the show features works by about twenty artists, including Andy Warhol, Gaëlle Choisne, Bianca Bondi, Laurent Grasso, and others, many of whom are residents of the Poush artist studio complex in Aubervilliers. The artworks are scattered along a one-kilometer path among 145,000 graves, with pieces ranging from Laurent Grasso's neon lights to Thibault Lucas's sculptures made from cemetery materials, and are free to visit from May 30 to November 15, 2026.

JR Conjures a Mountainous Illusion Out of the Pont Neuf in Paris

JR, the French street artist known for large-scale photographic interventions, has created a new illusion on the Pont Neuf in Paris, transforming the historic bridge into a mountainous landscape. The work, which uses trompe-l'oeil techniques, is a direct response to Christo's 1985 wrapping of the same bridge, offering a contemporary reinterpretation of public art and perception.

Duane Michals, Artist of Wit and Courage

Photography critic Arthur Lubow reflects on his long-running conversations with Duane Michals, the influential American photographer known for his witty, philosophical, and often metaphysical approach to image-making. The article highlights Michals's courage in challenging conventional photography through narrative sequences, text-image combinations, and his distinctive personal style.