Art News. Vasari Codex

museum exhibitions schedule Nov 17, 2025 visibility 12 link 7 artists

auguste rodin egyptian collection exhibition nyu isaw

A new exhibition titled “Rodin’s Egypt” opens November 19 at NYU’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World (ISAW), exploring how ancient Egyptian art influenced Auguste Rodin’s sculptures. Guest curated by Bénédicte Garnier of the Musée Rodin in Paris, the show features 65 objects, including Rodin’s rarely seen assemblages that combine his plaster casts with Egyptian antiquities from his personal collection of over 1,000 Egyptian items. This marks the first US exhibition of Rodin’s Egyptian holdings.

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article news schedule Nov 14, 2025 visibility 12 link 2 artists

judge approves purdue pharma settlement

A federal bankruptcy judge has approved a new settlement for Purdue Pharma, the pharmaceutical company behind OxyContin, resolving thousands of lawsuits related to its role in the opioid crisis. The deal, which replaces a 2021 settlement rejected by the Supreme Court, requires the Sackler family to contribute up to $7 billion and relinquish ownership of Purdue, while allowing individuals to sue family members directly.

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article news schedule Nov 14, 2025 visibility 13 link 4 artists

pioneer works choke hole performance

At Brooklyn's Pioneer Works, a drag queen professional wrestling event called Choke Hole, part of artist Raúl de Nieves's exhibition, was disrupted when audience member and performer Chiquitita stormed the stage. She objected to a skit that made light of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportations, shouting that 'ICE is not entertainment!' and hurling the microphone into a video screen. The performance, titled ARMAGEDDON, featured an alien queen plot involving nuclear codes and ICE, and Choke Hole later apologized, removing the segment from subsequent shows.

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article news schedule Nov 13, 2025 visibility 17 link 5 artists

tate staff vote strike inadequate pay

More than 150 unionized workers at Britain's Tate museums, represented by the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), will strike from November 26 to December 2 over what they call inadequate pay raises. The strike follows a vote where 98% of members supported action, with 88% turnout. Staff at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool, and Tate St. Ives were offered a 2-3% salary increase, which the union argues is below the government's Civil Service Pay Remit Guidance maximum of 3.25%. The action coincides with the opening of the major exhibition "Turner & Constable: Rivals & Originals" at Tate Britain on November 27.

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person people schedule Nov 11, 2025 visibility 17 link 9 artists

wadsworth atheneum president allison blais

The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut, has appointed Allison Blais as its new president and CEO, effective January 2026. Blais, currently executive vice president and chief strategy and operations officer at New York’s 9/11 Memorial & Museum, will succeed Jeffrey N. Brown, who held the role for five years. The announcement was made by board chair Duffield Ashmead IV MD, who praised Blais's experience with large-scale capital projects and stakeholder engagement. Blais, a Connecticut native, expressed her long familiarity with the Wadsworth and her enthusiasm for working with museum director Matthew Hargraves.

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article culture schedule Nov 10, 2025 visibility 16 link 4 artists

rosalia lux patti smith la yugular

Rosalía's fourth studio album, *LUX*, features a recording of Patti Smith from a 1976 interview on the closing track "La Yugular." The article describes Rosalía's admiration for Smith, recounting a meeting where Smith complimented her dress and discussed the song. Smith's influence is highlighted through her music, memoir *Just Kids*, and her artistic practice in photography and mixed media, including her first solo exhibition at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in 2011. Smith also recently released a new memoir, *Bread of Angels*.

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museum exhibitions schedule Oct 27, 2025 visibility 23 link 40 artists

biennale of sydney 2026 artist list

The Biennale of Sydney has announced the full artist list for its 2026 edition, titled 'Rememory,' which opens on March 14, 2026. The exhibition is curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, president and director of the Sharjah Art Foundation, marking her second major biennial after the Aichi Triennale. The show will feature over 60 artists and collectives, with a heightened focus on Indigenous art through a partnership with the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, facilitating 15 commissions by First Nations artists. Notable participants include Emily Jacir, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, and many others from diverse global backgrounds.

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museum exhibitions schedule Oct 24, 2025 visibility 17 link 6 artists

oliver jeffers praise shadows

Artist and children's book illustrator Oliver Jeffers held a dip performance two days before the opening of his solo show at Praise Shadows gallery in Boston, where he destroyed a portrait of Japanese artist and cancer survivor Yuri Shimojo by submerging it in enamel paint. The invite-only audience watched in silence as the image disappeared, a ritual Jeffers describes as both a death and a birth, exploring themes of memory, loss, and hidden variables. His exhibition also features his "Disaster Paintings," which treat serious subjects like climate change and violence with absurdist humor.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 22, 2025 visibility 16 link 4 artists

joel shapiro ellen phelan lennox hill home sale 4 75 million

The Manhattan duplex of the late sculptor Joel Shapiro and his wife, painter Ellen Phelan, has been listed for $4.75 million. Located in a 1907 Lenox Hill building on East 67th Street, the home was purchased in the early 2000s and renovated with beveled glass doors, brass hardware, and a sculptural staircase. The listing is held by Eileen Angelo and Max Collins of Sotheby’s International Realty. The couple also owned a lakeside estate in Westport, New York, called Kenjockety, which is also on the market, reduced from $5.49 million to $4.8 million.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 17, 2025 visibility 15 link 6 artists

gene hackman bonhams auction

Bonhams will auction works from the collection of late actor Gene Hackman this November, spanning three sales—one live and two online. The live sale, titled “Gene Hackman: A Life in Art, Part I,” takes place November 19 in New York and features highlights such as Milton Avery’s 1957 painting *Figure on the Jetty* (estimate $500,000–$700,000) and Richard Diebenkorn’s 1986 color etching *Green* (estimate $300,000–$500,000). Online sales include two of Hackman’s Golden Globes, a still life painting by the actor himself, and additional lots of annotated books, scripts, and cinematic memorabilia. Hackman, who died in February, was a major arts patron in Santa Fe, a painter, and a board member of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.

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article culture schedule Oct 15, 2025 visibility 14 link 6 artists

art heist that inspired the mastermind

Kelly Reichardt's new film *The Mastermind*, starring Josh O'Connor, depicts a low-stakes art heist at the fictional Framingham Museum of Art, inspired by a real 1972 theft at the Worcester Art Museum in Massachusetts. In the actual heist, two robbers stole four paintings by Rembrandt, Picasso, and Gauguin, worth about $7.72 million today, and shot an unarmed guard. The film, set in the early '70s, draws on details like two schoolgirls who witnessed the crime, but Reichardt deliberately makes the cinematic version less thrilling than the real event.

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article news schedule Oct 13, 2025 visibility 15 link 1 artist

climate activists deface christopher columbus painting on day marking his arrival to americas

Two activists from the climate group Futuro Vegetal were arrested on October 12 after throwing biodegradable red paint on José Garnelo's 1892 painting *First Tribute to Christopher Columbus* at the Naval Museum in Madrid. The protest occurred on Spain's National Day, which commemorates Columbus's arrival in the Americas. The activists unfurled a banner reading “October 12, nothing to celebrate. Ecosocial justice” and were charged with crimes against cultural heritage. Separately, about 20 activists from Marea Palestina staged a sit-in around Picasso's *Guernica* at the Reina Sofía Museum, demanding an end to “the genocide against the Palestinian people,” temporarily closing the gallery.

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article policy schedule Oct 2, 2025 visibility 12 link 2 artists

saudi arabia deutsche bank ink cultural partnership

Saudi Arabia announced over 5 billion Saudi riyals ($1.3 billion) in new cultural funds and agreements at the first Cultural Investment Conference in Riyadh, held under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Key initiatives include a partnership with Deutsche Bank for training and cultural exchanges, and the immediate establishment of the Riyadh University of Arts, set to open in 2026 with courses in film, performing arts, and theater. The Ministry of Culture also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Royal Commission for AlUla to boost cultural infrastructure in the AlUla oasis.

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museum exhibitions schedule Sep 23, 2025 visibility 22 link 7 artists

turner prize reactions 2025 mohammed sami

The Turner Prize 2025 exhibition has opened at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Bradford, England, featuring four nominated artists: Mohammed Sami, Nnena Kalu, Rene Matić, and Zadie Xa. Critics have largely rallied behind Sami, a Baghdad-born, London-based painter whose large-scale works obliquely address war and memory, with several reviewers calling him a shoo-in for the award. The only major dissenter is Adrian Searle of the Guardian, who favors Kalu's sculptural works made from tape, fabric, and cable ties. The show has received mixed to positive reviews, with some critics noting the shortlist's focus on identity and diversity.

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person people schedule Sep 17, 2025 visibility 16 link 4 artists

jennifer packer and marie watt win 250000 heinz award

American artists Jennifer Packer and Marie Watt have been named winners of this year's Heinz Awards for the Arts, each receiving an unrestricted cash prize of $250,000. The awards, now in their 30th year, are distributed by the Pittsburgh-based Heinz Family Foundation and honor six recipients annually across three categories: arts, the economy, and the environment. Packer, based in New York, is known for her jewel-toned paintings that explore Black figuration and abstraction, while Watt, a citizen of the Seneca Nation, works with printmaking, textiles, and sculpture to examine Indigenous traditions and community memory, notably through her "Blanket Stories" series.

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museum exhibitions schedule Sep 10, 2025 visibility 17 link 5 artists

patrizia sandretto re rebaudengo new museum commissions

Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, a top European art collector and founder of a Turin-based foundation, is partnering with New York's New Museum for a series of commissions. The first commission will be realized by Italian artist Diego Marcon, known for his uncanny videos, with his work titled 'Krapfen'—a musical dance film blending American animation and Italian opera. The New Museum, currently undergoing a renovation and expansion with a seven-story annex, is set to reopen this fall. 'Krapfen' was also co-commissioned by Chicago's Renaissance Society, Paris's Lafayette Anticipations, and the Vega Foundation, run by Canadian collector Elisa Nuyten, and will debut at the Renaissance Society before its New Museum run.

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article policy schedule Aug 21, 2025 visibility 20 link 9 artists

trump slavery museums smithsonian comments meaning

President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social criticizing the Smithsonian and museums nationwide, claiming they focus excessively on negative aspects of U.S. history such as slavery. He described these institutions as the last remaining segment of 'WOKE' culture. The article counters his remarks by highlighting the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), which presents both the horrors of slavery and themes of survival, liberation, and perseverance through objects like Harriet Tubman's handkerchief and artworks by Jacob Lawrence and Alison Saar. It also references the 2022 exhibition 'Afro-Atlantic Histories' at the National Gallery of Art, which balanced depictions of violence with messages of freedom and resilience.

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article culture schedule Aug 6, 2025 visibility 17 link 11 artists

the right influential art historian victoria coates project esther

The article profiles Victoria Coates, an art historian and former Trump administration official, who is leading 'Project Esther,' a conservative initiative aimed at taking over US higher education and targeting progressive organizations. Named after the biblical queen, the project accuses critics of Israel of anti-Semitism and seeks to dismantle what it describes as a 'terrorist support network.' Coates, who previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor and worked on Rumsfeld's memoirs, has a long history of attacking academia from within, including as an anonymous blogger behind 'Elephants in Academia.'

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museum exhibitions schedule Aug 5, 2025 visibility 15 link 10 artists

studio museum in harlem opening date new building november

The Studio Museum in Harlem will open its new building on Saturday, November 15, with a Community Day celebration, after being closed since 2018. Designed by Adjaye Associates, the 82,000-square-foot, seven-story structure features 14,000 square feet of exhibition space, expanded studios for its Artist-in-Residence program, and dedicated education areas. The reopening includes four exhibitions, two site-specific commissions, and reinstallations of iconic works, including a survey of Tom Lloyd, the subject of the museum's first exhibition in 1968. The museum has also updated its hours and admission policies, offering free entry on Sundays.

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rate_review review schedule Aug 1, 2025 visibility 16 link 8 artists, 2 galleries

stan douglas bard museum survey review

Stan Douglas's survey at Bard College's Hessel Museum of Art features a new video installation titled "Birth of a Nation" (2025), which reworks a racist sequence from D.W. Griffith's 1915 film of the same name. The installation presents the original footage alongside four new videos from different character perspectives, shot in black and white without sound, and ends with a blue screen left bare to suggest the mutability of historical images. The survey also includes earlier works like "Hors-Champs" (1992), which critiques televisual representation through a staged free jazz performance.

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article news schedule Jul 25, 2025 visibility 18 link 4 artists

top art collector david geffen sued by estranged husband for breach of contract

Entertainment mogul and top art collector David Geffen was sued on Tuesday by his estranged husband, model Donovan Michaels, for alleged breach of contract. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, claims Geffen promised Michaels lifelong financial support but cut him off after initiating divorce proceedings. The 33-page complaint describes their relationship as exploitative, comparing it to the plot of "Trading Places." Separately, Geffen is also entangled in a legal dispute with crypto billionaire Justin Sun over an Alberto Giacometti sculpture allegedly stolen and traded as part of a fraud scheme.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jul 25, 2025 visibility 17 link 7 artists

consuelo kanaga brooklyn museum

The Brooklyn Museum has opened "Consuelo Kanaga: Catch the Spirit," a major solo exhibition dedicated to the pioneering American photographer Consuelo Kanaga (1894–1978). The show features nearly 200 works drawn from the museum's extensive collection of 2,000 negatives and 340 prints, gifted by Kanaga's third husband, artist Wallace Putnam. Kanaga, one of the nation's first women photojournalists, is celebrated for her socially conscious images capturing labor activists, the poor, and African Americans under Jim Crow laws, as well as cityscapes, portraits, and still lifes. The exhibition is organized with Madrid's Fundación MAPFRE and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and curated by Drew Sawyer, formerly of the Brooklyn Museum and now at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

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article culture schedule Jul 24, 2025 visibility 9 link 4 artists

artful tom a memoir damn the originals

Thomas Hoving recounts his decision to pursue art history graduate school after military service, rejecting his father's demand that he join the family business and attend business school instead. He describes a cross-country road trip with his wife Nancy and their dog Whiskey, including a failed gambling attempt in Las Vegas and mechanical troubles in Missouri.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jul 22, 2025 visibility 15 link 6 artists

yvette mayorga times square arts magic grasshopper

Artist Yvette Mayorga will unveil her largest public artwork, "Magic Grasshopper," in New York's Times Square in October. The 30-foot sculpture features a pink Baroque carriage with gold-rimmed wheels, drawn by four carousel horses wearing Hello Kitty backpacks, and is covered in Mayorga's signature faux frosting piped from pastry bags. The work draws on the artist's Mexican-American heritage, incorporating references to low-rider culture, the royal carriage of the Second Mexican Empire, and the Nahuatl origin of the name Chapultepec, which means "hill of the grasshopper."

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rate_review review schedule Jul 17, 2025 visibility 12 link 9 artists

william holman hunt the awakening of conscience

The article analyzes William Holman Hunt's 1853 painting *The Awakening Conscience*, which depicts a woman in a Victorian parlor rising from the lap of a man, her gaze fixed on a sunlit garden glimpsed in a mirror. Hunt, a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood alongside John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, filled the work with dense symbolism—such as the woman's ringless left hand, a discarded glove, and sheet music by Edward Lear and Thomas Moore—to reveal that the scene is not a married couple but a mistress and her lover, trapped in a gilded cage.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 16, 2025 visibility 19 link 6 artists

crystal bridges tiffany stained glass window acquisition

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, has acquired a monumental stained-glass window by Tiffany Studios, titled *Mountain Landscape (Root Memorial Window)* (1917). Measuring approximately nine feet by seven feet, the window was commissioned by the fraternal organization Woodmen of the World as a memorial to its founder, Joseph Cullen Root. Its design is attributed to Agnes F. Northrop, a lead designer at Tiffany Studios for half a century. The window was originally installed in Omaha, Nebraska, moved to San Antonio, Texas in 1931 for a tuberculosis hospital chapel, and later stewarded by the Sunset Ridge Church of Christ. The acquisition, facilitated by stained-glass restorer Bryant J. Stanton, took about a year to finalize.

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gavel restitution schedule Jul 15, 2025 visibility 16 link 3 artists

art detective arthur brand netherlands national archives

Arthur Brand, a self-proclaimed art detective, recovered 25 documents stolen from the Netherlands National Archives in 2015. The trove includes items on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, such as a 1602 report of the Dutch East India Company’s first meeting, a 1700 report of a visit to Mughal India’s Emperor Aurangzeb, and a ship’s log by 17th-century admiral Michiel de Ruyter. Brand was contacted after a person clearing an attic found the box and showed it to a former history professor. Brand took possession on condition of returning the documents to the National Archives, which had been unaware the items were stolen.

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article news schedule Jul 10, 2025 visibility 11 link 1 artist

nan goldin israel gaza rencontres darles talk

Photographer Nan Goldin publicly addressed Israel’s war in Gaza during a talk at the Rencontres d’Arles photography festival in France. She appeared on stage with novelist Édouard Louis, who read a statement about the conflict. An audience member shouted at Goldin, who responded by citing civilian death tolls and questioning whose lives matter. Goldin also criticized the conflation of anti-Zionism with antisemitism, calling it a weapon to silence critics of Israeli government actions.

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article news schedule Jul 2, 2025 visibility 13 link 7 artists

bathroom stall performance space new york

Performance Space New York is auctioning naming rights to the stalls in its fourth-floor unisex restroom as a fundraising campaign. Artist Bailey Hikawa will create custom resin toilet seats and commemorative plaques for each stall, collaborating with donors to reflect their personal aesthetics. One stall remains available and will be auctioned online this summer. The campaign coincides with a sound installation by Kevin Beasley that transforms the restroom into an immersive acoustic environment. Senior director Pati Hertling produced a promotional video using AI tools, featuring a synthetic newscaster announcing the fundraiser.

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article news schedule Jul 2, 2025 visibility 18 link 4 artists

khaled sabsabi reinstated for venice biennale

Creative Australia has reinstated Lebanese-born artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino as the representatives for Australia's pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, following an independent review and months of public backlash. The pair were initially removed in February after a column in The Australian criticized Sabsabi's 2007 video installation "You," which includes manipulated footage of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, accusing the artist and curator of favoring boycotts of Israel. The abrupt removal prompted resignations from senior Creative Australia staff and board members, widespread condemnation from the art community, and an open letter from shortlisted pavilion candidates demanding reinstatement.

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