The Studio Museum in Harlem will reopen in November 2025 after a major renovation and expansion designed by Adjaye Associates. The new building, located on West 125th Street, will feature increased gallery space, a sculpture garden, and improved public amenities. The reopening marks the culmination of a multi-year capital project that began during the museum's temporary closure.
Saatchi Yates gallery in London has opened an exhibition titled 'London Rules The World,' running until August 17, which celebrates the city's influence on the global art scene. The show features prominent artists such as Jenny Saville, Grayson Perry, Cecily Brown, Peter Doig, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, alongside ancillary events like afternoon tea at the Royal Academy of Arts, a Paula Rego studio tour, and a tea-towel collaboration with interior designer Nicky Haslam. The gallery is also launching a Friends scheme for £80 per month, which includes entry to gallery parties and a case of wine from their Tuscan vineyard.
The British Museum's exhibition "Hiroshige: Artist of the Open Road" (through September 7) showcases over 100 prints by the Japanese master Utagawa Hiroshige, including rare loans that highlight his influence on European avant-garde artists. A key display is Vincent van Gogh's own copy of Hiroshige's "The Plum Garden at Kameido" (1857), on loan from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, along with Van Gogh's squared-up tracing used for his painting. New research by British Museum senior scientist Capucine Korenberg reveals a short pencil line on the print that confirms Van Gogh used this exact copy as a guide for his tracing and subsequent painting.
Gallerist Hannah Traore offers advice on how to feel confident visiting commercial art galleries, addressing common anxieties like intimidation, unclear etiquette, and perceptions of elitism. The article follows a group of newcomers who visited galleries in New York and reported their experiences, which Traore then responds to with practical tips for making gallery visits more approachable and inclusive.
Hauser & Wirth has announced plans to open a new gallery in Palo Alto, California, in spring 2026. The location, a historic former post office at 201–225 Hamilton Avenue, will offer 2,600 square feet of exhibition space, a bookshop, and a program of talks and events. Designed by architect Luis Laplace, it will be the gallery's sixth U.S. outpost and its third in California, joining existing spaces in downtown Los Angeles and West Hollywood. The expansion comes as the broader art market faces contraction, but mega-galleries continue targeting wealthy collector hubs like Silicon Valley.
Hauser & Wirth, the Swiss mega-gallery, will open its first Northern California location this spring in downtown Palo Alto, inside a former post office at 201–225 Hamilton Ave. The move is widely seen as a bid to be closer to Silicon Valley clients, particularly billionaire philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, whose Emerson Collective offices are two blocks away. Powell Jobs, rumored to be one of Hauser & Wirth's top clients, shifted her business from Pace Gallery to Hauser & Wirth in 2022. The renovation is led by Paris-based architect Luis Laplace, who is also designing Powell Jobs' renovation of the San Francisco Art Institute. The gallery will be the third Hauser & Wirth in California, joining two Los Angeles locations.
The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York has opened "Amy Sherald: American Sublime," the largest exhibition of the artist's work and her first solo museum show in the city. Featuring over 40 paintings created between 2007 and 2024, the exhibition includes iconic portraits of Michelle Obama and Breonna Taylor, as well as works inspired by Alfred Eisenstaedt's famous photograph and filmmaker Wes Anderson. The show is organized chronologically, beginning with the rarely seen "Hangman" (2007), and includes "If You Surrendered to the Air, You Could Ride It" (2020), shown for the first time since its acquisition by the Whitney five years ago.
Amy Sherald has withdrawn her exhibition 'American Sublime' from the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, citing a 'culture of censorship' after the museum raised concerns about including her painting 'Trans Forming Liberty' (2024), a portrait of a trans woman posed like the Statue of Liberty. The show, slated to open in September, would have been the first solo exhibition of a Black female artist at the museum since it opened in 1968. Sherald stated that institutional fear shaped by political hostility toward trans lives influenced the museum's request to remove the work, and she decided to cancel the show to preserve the integrity of her vision.
Martin Bailey, a leading Van Gogh specialist, reveals that the distinctive rock formation known as Le Rocher des Deux Trous (The Rock of the Two Holes), which appears in two of Vincent van Gogh's paintings—The Olive Trees (June 1889) and Mountains at Saint-Rémy (July 1889)—is a real geological feature near the asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, not a figment of the artist's imagination. The two paintings, held by the Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, were recently displayed together at London's National Gallery exhibition Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers (14 September 2024–19 January 2025), offering a rare chance to compare them. Bailey traces the history of the formation, noting that an anonymous 17th-century artist also depicted it, and describes a walking route from the former asylum to the site.
Raúl de Nieves's first solo institutional show in New York City, titled "In Light of Innocence," has opened at Pioneer Works. The exhibition transforms the Main Hall into an immersive, cathedral-like environment featuring 50 faux stained glass panels, a monumental lightbox mural, and works that blend Catholic, Mexican folkloric, and tarot symbolism. The artist uses humble materials like paper, wood, glue, tape, and colored acetate to create kaleidoscopic, light-responsive installations that shift throughout the day.
The article explores the challenging process for artists to secure gallery representation, a crucial step for income, visibility, and legacy in the art market. It features insights from gallerists like Sadie Coles (Sadie Coles HQ, London) and Stefan Benchoam (Proyectos Ultravioleta, Guatemala City), who emphasize the importance of a unique artistic voice and innovative work over market trends. Curator Yasmil Raymond and artist Nuri Koerfer also contribute perspectives on alternative exhibition strategies and the value of personal connections.
The article provides a roundup of current and upcoming exhibitions at San Francisco museums and galleries in July 2025. Highlights include 'People Make This Place: SFAI Stories' opening July 26 at SFMOMA, 'Jess Young: Return' at 500 Capp Street, and 'Ferlinghetti for San Francisco' at the Legion of Honor. Shows closing soon include 'Yuan Goang-Ming: Everyday War' at the Asian Art Museum and 'Wayne Thiebaud: Art Comes from Art' at the Legion of Honor. The gallery scene is covered with mentions of Voss Gallery, Incline Gallery, and Hosfelt Gallery, along with ongoing exhibitions like 'Kunié Sugiura: Photopainting' and 'Ruth Asawa: Retrospective' at SFMOMA.
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The National Portrait Gallery in London is hosting a major exhibition of Jenny Saville's work, titled "Jenny Saville: The Anatomy of Painting," running from 20 June to 7 September 2025. The show brings together some of Saville's most monumental paintings, including works like "Hyphen" (1999) and "Reverse" (2002-03), drawn from private collections and courtesy of Gagosian. The article traces Saville's career from her early days as a committed child artist, through her studies at Glasgow School of Art and the University of Cincinnati, to her breakthrough when collector Charles Saatchi purchased her entire degree show in 1992, enabling her to create large-scale works for a solo exhibition.
A new wave of design galleries across the United States is redefining the traditional gallery model by prioritizing community, craft, and hospitality over sterile white-cube spaces. Galleries like Tiwa Gallery in Tribeca, Marta in Los Feliz, Blunk Space in Point Reyes Station, and Landdd in Portland are hosting opening-night dinners, sound baths, flower arranging, and workshops to create intimate, home-like environments. Curator Sonya Tamaddon, an alumna of LACMA and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, notes a shift away from formal hierarchies toward richer dialogue between designers, artists, and collectors, with hugging replacing air kissing.
Art Basel has announced details for its inaugural edition in Qatar, set to take place from February 5 to 7, 2026, at the M7 creative hub in Doha's Design District. Departing from the traditional booth model, the fair will introduce an open-format exhibition centered on the theme 'Becoming,' with solo presentations by galleries responding to a central curatorial framework. Egyptian-born artist Wael Shawky has been appointed Artistic Director for the first edition, working alongside Art Basel's Chief Artistic Officer Vincenzo de Bellis to shape the curatorial vision and guide gallery selection. The fair will span two key venues—M7 and the Doha Design District—as well as public sites in Msheireb, and plans include transforming Qatar Museum's Fire Station into a platform for educational programs.
British Pop artist Peter Phillips has died at age 86. Known for his collage-like, saturated compositions incorporating mechanical parts, comic books, and pin-up imagery, Phillips emerged from Birmingham's industrial landscape and studied at the Royal College of Art alongside peers like David Hockney and R.B. Kitaj. His work, such as *The Entertainment Machine* (1961) and the *Custom Painting* series, reflected his working-class upbringing and fascination with car manufacturing and commercial design.
British figurative painter Jenny Saville has returned to the spotlight with a new auction record and a major retrospective. Her charcoal drawing *Mirror* (2011-12) sold for £2.11 million (US$2.7 million) at Sotheby’s London, setting a record for a work on paper by the artist. The sale coincides with *Jenny Saville: The Anatomy of Painting*, a retrospective at London’s National Portrait Gallery running through 7 September, which features 45 works tracing her evolution from early oil paintings to recent charcoals.
The Yorkshire Sculpture Park has opened "William Kentridge: The Power of Gravity," the first major survey of the South African artist's sculptural work outside his home country. The exhibition spans multiple decades and includes large-scale film installations, about three dozen sculptures, and four of his largest bronzes to date. It features pieces like the "Singer Trio" (2019) and works from his film series "Self-Portrait as a Coffee-Pot" (2023), with exhibition design by his long-term collaborator Sabine Theunissen.
Art on Location 2025 is an initiative that brings contemporary art installations to public spaces across multiple cities, transforming everyday environments into immersive artistic experiences. The program features site-specific works by emerging and established artists, aiming to make art accessible outside traditional gallery settings.
William Kentridge, the South African artist known for his multidisciplinary practice, has created a new film series titled "Self-Portrait as a Coffee-Pot" (2020–2024), comprising nine half-hour segments. The work, which features his signature blend of drawing, animation, performance, and music, is currently on view at Hauser & Wirth's 22nd Street gallery in New York under the exhibition "A Natural History of the Studio." The article explores Kentridge's improvisational process, where he starts without a plan and lets gestures and materials guide him, often interviewing himself in the film to dramatize the artist's dual nature and the act of creation.
The Baltimore Museum of Art has opened "Black Earth Rising," an exhibition organized by British curator and writer Ekow Eshun. The show brings together thirteen African diasporic, Latin American, and Indigenous artists—including Frank Bowling, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Yinka Shonibare, Wangechi Mutu, Alejandro Piñeiro Bello, Firelei Baez, and Tyler Mitchell—to explore the connections between race, colonialism, and the climate crisis. Eshun also authored an accompanying book that pivots environmental debates away from a Eurocentric viewpoint, emphasizing that the Global South bears the brunt of climate change despite being least responsible for it. The exhibition critiques the term "Anthropocene" and instead promotes the concept of the "Plantationocene," which traces environmental destruction back to 15th-century European colonization and the plantation system.
The Royal Academy of Arts in London is hosting "Kiefer/Van Gogh" (28 June–26 October), a focused exhibition pairing Anselm Kiefer's monumental multimedia works with Vincent van Gogh's paintings and drawings. The show, curated by Julien Domercq, features seven huge Kiefer pieces including the 8.4m-wide "The Starry Night" (2019) and a single sculpture, alongside 11 Van Gogh works—five on loan from the Van Gogh Museum. It previously ran at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, where it drew 340,000 visitors. The London iteration is smaller but includes different works, with a central room dedicated to Van Gogh's pieces spanning his career.
Art Basel returned to Basel for its 55th edition in June 2025, featuring 289 top international galleries from 42 countries and territories. The fair attracted 88,000 visitors, including collectors, curators, and representatives from over 250 museums and foundations. Highlights included Arturo Kameya's storytelling installation at GRIMM in the Statements section and Lothar Hempel's series of painted aluminum works at Anton Kern Gallery in the Kabinett sector, alongside large-scale installations in Unlimited and public projects in Parcours.
The Serpentine in London hosted its annual invitation-only Summer Party, a glitzy fundraising gala that drew a mix of art, fashion, tech, and showbiz figures. For the first time since 2000, a single artist co-hosted the event: Australian actor and humanitarian Cate Blanchett. The evening featured the Lego Group's bright orange Play Pavilion, a reimagined installation by Indian artist Subodh Gupta, and the Serpentine Pavilion designed by Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum. Notable attendees included sculptors Thomas J. Price and Antony Gormley, artists Grayson Perry, Es Devlin, and Yinka Shonibare, along with celebrities like Lily Allen, Beth Ditto, will.i.am, and Jessica Gunning. The event also highlighted Giuseppe Penone's exhibition 'Thoughts in the Roots' and was supported by partners including Bloomberg Philanthropies, Ruinart, Gagosian, and Google Arts & Culture.
This episode of 'A brush with...' features artist Hew Locke, who discusses his career and artistic practice. Born in Edinburgh in 1959 to artists Donald and Leila Locke, he moved to Guyana as a child and returned to the UK to study art in 1980. Over three decades, Locke has created sculptures, installations, photographs, drawings, and textiles exploring nationhood, culture, and power, often using found objects and cardboard. He reflects on influences including his parents, a tutorial with Paula Rego, and Hans Haacke's 1993 Venice Biennale pavilion, and discusses his upcoming exhibitions: 'Gilt' at Compton Verney (2025-2027), 'Passages' at the Yale Center for British Art (2025-2026), 'Armada' at Newlyn Art Gallery, and 'Cargoes' at King Edward Memorial Park.
The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) has acquired 210 photographs by Ukrainian American photographer Peter Hujar (1934-87) from the Hujar Archive. The acquisition coincides with the gallery’s photography department preparing for its 25th anniversary exhibition, Collective Visions: Celebrating 25 Years of Photography, opening November 7, which will feature around 80 works chosen by the local community. The exhibition uses a unique chain-selection process where local artists, collectors, donors, community leaders, and scholars pick works in sequence, each inspired by the previous choice.
This article from Mission Local provides a roundup of current and upcoming exhibitions at San Francisco museums and galleries in June 2025. Highlights include the reopening of 500 Capp Street with "Mildred Howard Collaborating with the Muses Part 2" and a forthcoming show celebrating the 50th anniversary of Ant Farm's "Media Burn." At the de Young Museum, Henri Matisse's "Jazz Unbound" closes July 6, Isaac Julien's first U.S. retrospective runs until July 13, and Paul McCartney's photography exhibition has been extended to October. SFMOMA's "Around Group f.64" closes July 13, and the Asian Art Museum features "Yuan Goang-Ming: Everyday War" through August 4. The piece also notes Ashley Voss's local gallery guide and a Q&A with Isaac Julien.
The article highlights nine must-see museum exhibitions across the United States for summer 2025, offering escapes from heat and virtual travel through art. Featured shows include "Lisa Yuskavage: Drawings" at the Morgan Library and Museum (June 27, 2025–January 4, 2026), the first comprehensive museum presentation of her drawings; "Gustave Caillebotte: Painting His World" at the Art Institute of Chicago (June 29–October 5, 2025), featuring over 120 works including the recent Musée d'Orsay acquisition *Boating Party*; and "Anicka Yi" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (June 29–September 7, 2025), showcasing the bio-tech artist's imaginative works on karmic debt.
In early 1945, during the Dutch 'Hunger Winter' at the end of World War II, Vincent van Gogh's nephew, Vincent Willem van Gogh, exchanged two of the artist's drawings for 35 packets of butter and some bacon. The swap was arranged with the help of artist Charley Toorop and involved the cheese business Visser Kaas in Heiloo. One of the drawings, *Head of a Peasant Woman, left profile* (December 1884–May 1885), is now being offered at Sotheby's on 25 June with an estimate of £400,000–£600,000, suggesting the pair would be worth around £1 million today. The nephew's family was suffering from starvation and tragedy, including the execution of his eldest son by German forces.
Art Basel 2025 in Basel, Switzerland, saw K-pop star RM (of BTS) visit the fair's Unlimited section, drawing screaming fans and highlighting his role as an art collector. Other notable moments included Friedrich Kunath's romantic portrait of Liam Gallagher (priced at $135,000) on view with Pace gallery, Italian collector Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo announcing a dual-site exhibition in Turin for her foundation's 30th anniversary, and Fondation Beyeler drawing luminaries like Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev and Don and Mera Rubell to Jordan Wolfson's VR experience 'Little Room'. The fair also introduced a bespoke fragrance called 'Racing Anticipation' in collaboration with Givaudan, though some staff reported allergic reactions.