vapid art world novel dimes square zoe dubno happiness love

Zoe Dubno's novel *Happiness & Love* is a satire of the art world, heavily borrowing from Thomas Bernhard's 1984 novel *Woodcutters*. The book follows an unnamed narrator who relentlessly criticizes the vapid, social-climbing denizens of the downtown New York scene, using the word "stupid" over twenty times. The narrator laments the art world's obsession with wealth and clout over meaning and beauty, but her own hypocrisy and lack of self-awareness are evident. The novel has received superficial coverage from outlets like *New York Magazine*, focusing on the author's lifestyle rather than the book's content.

fed reserve interest rate cuts art market loans

The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points, the first reduction since December, bringing rates to their lowest level since late 2022. Art finance experts Anita Heriot of the Fine Art Group and Joshua Greenberg of Bank of America Private Bank told ARTnews that while the cut is unlikely to create new art buyers, it could stimulate art lending and borrowing against collections, as lower rates reduce the cost of carrying debt. The move signals a potential trend of further rate declines, which may encourage collectors to reengage with the market, especially amid softening art prices.

institute of museum and library services shutdown stopped in federal court

A federal court issued a temporary restraining order blocking the Trump Administration's dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The order came in response to a lawsuit filed by the American Library Association (ALA) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), who sought to prevent the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from laying off nearly all of IMLS's 75-person staff. The layoffs were scheduled to take effect on May 4, 2025, following an executive order by President Trump that deemed IMLS "unnecessary."

ELENA DAMIANI, XIMENA GARRIDO-LECCA AND ISHMAEL RANDALL-WEEKS: SIGNAL AND STRATA

ELENA DAMIANI, XIMENA GARRIDO-LECCA E ISHMAEL RANDALL-WEEKS: SIGNAL AND STRATA

An exhibition titled 'Signal and Strata' featuring Peruvian artists Elena Damiani, Ximena Garrido-Lecca, and Ishmael Randall-Weeks was presented at the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts from February 5 to April 5, 2026. The show, examined in an accompanying essay by curator Madeline Murphy Turner, focuses on how the artists use materials like travertine, copper, and concrete to interrogate narratives of modernity, resource extraction, and the climate crisis.

literature ann rower lee and elaine autofiction

Ann Rower's novel "Lee & Elaine," originally published in 2002 by Serpent's Tail, is being reissued next month by Semiotext(e). The autofictional work follows a narrator—a lightly fictionalized version of Rower—who, after learning of the death of her friend, artist Hannah Wilke, becomes obsessed with the graves of Lee Krasner and Elaine de Kooning at Green River Cemetery. The narrator imagines these two women, known primarily as wives of famous male painters, as secret lovers or comrades, and attempts to write a joint biography that doubles as a journey of self-discovery.

food mina stone artists favorite food

CULTURED's food editor Mina Stone asked over two dozen artists to name their essential foods, from comfort dishes to simple staples. Responses range from Aya Brown's rice (rooted in her Black American and Japanese heritage) to Rob Pruitt's Caesar salad, Kaws's cheese, and Armando Nin's Dominican breakfast Mangú, with many artists citing coffee, eggs, and nostalgic family meals.

quil lemons provincetown exhibition

Quil Lemons has organized a group exhibition titled "American Faggot Party" at Twenty Summers, a nonprofit arts space in a former schoolhouse in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The show, on view through September 28, features works by Lemons alongside peers and elders including Ryan McGinley, Ocean Vuong, and the late Felix Gonzalez-Torres. It reimagines James Montgomery Flagg's iconic wartime poster as a call to arms for queer community, blending protest, tenderness, and celebration. Contributing artists such as Diego Villarreal Vagujhelyi, Myles Loftin, and Slava Mogutin describe their works as intimate rallying cries for visibility and endurance.

Patrick Mukabi: Inside the life and legacy of artist who nurtured a movement

Legendary Kenyan painter Patrick Mukabi, known as Panye, has died at age 56 after an illness. Born in Nairobi in 1969, he studied graphic design at the Technical University of Kenya before dedicating himself to fine art. His bold, colorful works were displayed at venues like Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Java House outlets, and in over 20 countries. He developed the Cover Girls series celebrating curvy women and worked at major art spaces including the Nairobi National Museum, Kuona Artists Collective, GoDown Arts Centre, and the Railway Museum. At Dust Depo Studio, he mentored many young artists, teaching them both technique and the business of art. His protégé Jimmy Kitheka recalls Mukabi's warmth and discipline, and how the studio became a creative hub. Even during his illness, the art community rallied to support him through benefit exhibitions like the Patrick Mukabi Medical Fund Benefit Art Exhibition in April 2026 and a solo show at Banana Hill Art Gallery.

1-54 makes the most of its new home in New York

The 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair is holding its 11th New York edition at the Halo in the Financial District through May 11. Founder Touria El Glaoui notes a market shift toward more accessible pieces and prices amid the turbulent US economy. Of 30 participating dealers, ten are US-based, including first-time participant Gallery Article 15 from Washington, DC, which specializes in Congolese contemporary art. Other US galleries like Yossi Milo from Chelsea and Knowhere Art Gallery from Martha’s Vineyard are showing works by artists such as Samuel Fosso, Ibrahim Said, Sanlé Sory, Adana Tillman, and Maria-Lana Queen, with prices ranging from $500 to $36,000.

Masure Gallery Brings a Focused Lens to Local Fine Art Photography in Fort Worth

Masure Gallery of Photography has opened in Fort Worth, Texas, as the city's only gallery dedicated exclusively to fine art photography. Founded through a partnership between gallery manager Simone Fischer and the co-owners of Fort Worth Camera, Jeff and CJ Masure, the space transforms a former event room into a white-walled exhibition venue with gallery-quality lighting. The gallery launched with "RED – A Bold Photography Exhibition," selected from nearly 200 open-call submissions requiring the color red, and now represents six local photographers: Walt Burns, Brooks Burris, Caroline Hanson, Chris Ireland, Felix Schilling, and K.P. Wilska. The first solo show, "Modern Exposure" by Walt Burns, opens June 4.

DePaul student creates micro-art gallery inside locker

DePaul University senior Christa Baclia-an has created a micro-art gallery inside a rented commuter locker (No. 121) in the Schmitt Academic Center, called “Locker Room.” The project rotates exhibitions every two weeks and is open to students and passersby. It was launched in response to the planned closure of the DePaul Art Museum (DPAM) due to budget cuts, and features work from both DePaul students and international artists, such as London-based Lee Tzur. The initiative is part of a growing DIY art scene on campus, with students curating shows and fostering community engagement in unconventional spaces.

Jury for Venice Biennale's art prize resigns after refusing to recognise Israeli, Russian artists

The international jury of the 61st Venice Biennale art exhibition resigned just over a week before the May 9 prize ceremony, after announcing they would not consider artists from countries whose leaders face International Criminal Court charges—an apparent reference to Russia and Israel. The jury included president Solange Farkas, Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi. In response, the Biennale established two Visitors’ Lions to be awarded by ticket-holder vote, postponed the awards to November 22, and reaffirmed that all national participations remain eligible, effectively reinstating Russian and Israeli artists.

Taiwanese Indigenous artist stripped of national prize after sexual assault conviction

Taiwan has revoked the National Award for Arts from Indigenous artist Sakuliu Pavavaljung after his sexual assault conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court. The Ministry of Culture and the National Culture and Arts Foundation announced the withdrawal on 17 April 2025, and Pavavaljung must return the NT$1 million prize. The conviction stems from a February 2021 incident involving a woman under his artistic mentorship; he was sentenced to four years and six months in prison. Allegations first surfaced in December 2021 via social media, prompting further accusations. Pavavaljung had previously been dropped from representing Taiwan at the Venice Biennale and suspended from Documenta 15.

JoEllen Brydon explores her late mother’s work as an advice columnist in Art Gallery of Peterborough exhibition

The Art Gallery of Peterborough is set to host "Elizabeth Thompson Advises," a multimedia exhibition by Cavan-based artist JoEllen Brydon running from April to June 2026. The show centers on the work of Brydon’s late mother, Jean Armstrong Brydon, who wrote a progressive advice column for The Globe and Mail under the pseudonym Elizabeth Thompson between 1966 and 1978. The exhibition integrates original letters and columns with JoEllen’s bold paintings, audio recordings, and short films to bring these mid-century narratives to life.

‘The art gallery became a form of protest’: Students in Curatorial Practices prepare for the art world beyond Emerson

Students at Emerson College recently completed a comprehensive curatorial project titled "Gather," an exhibition that served as the capstone for their Curatorial Practices course. Tasked with managing every facet of the show—from registrarial duties and marketing to the physical installation of artworks—the students juried a regional open call that resulted in a final selection of 14 artists. The project was designed to provide a holistic understanding of the industry, moving beyond the siloed experience of traditional museum internships to prepare students for a volatile professional landscape.

Louvre’s €666m plans for new entrance ‘financially unsound’—and security should come first—auditor says

A report from the Cour des comptes, France's state auditing body, has deemed the Louvre's €666 million plan for a new entrance and subterranean complex around the Mona Lisa as "financially unsound." The report, released on November 6 by chairman Pierre Moscovici, criticizes the museum's management under director Laurence des Cars, highlighting severe delays in security upgrades—only 4% of an €83 million infrastructure budget has been spent since 2018. The audit follows an audacious heist of French crown jewels on October 19, which the report says was enabled by inadequate security. It urges the Louvre to prioritize a €450 million infrastructure plan over the grand renovation project, which has already seen a 45% cost overrun from its initial €450 million estimate.

Frustrated by Chicago's Jewish institutions, anti-Zionist artists are forming their own Jewish cultural center

Anti-Zionist Jewish artists in Chicago, led by Gabriel Chalfin-Piney-González, founded the Jewish Museum of Chicago in 2023 as a decentralized cultural center without a permanent physical space. The initiative emerged from frustration with the lack of a Jewish museum in the city and a desire to create a welcoming community for anti-Zionist Jews, especially galvanized by the war in Gaza. The museum has since hosted over a dozen exhibitions and events, including a Liberation Seder and an artists collective, and is planning a brick-and-mortar space.

Why these Confederate monuments from Richmond are headed to California

Several Confederate monuments removed from Richmond, Virginia, including the Vindicatrix sculpture from the Jefferson Davis Monument and the Matthew Fontaine Maury sculpture and globe, are being loaned to a national temporary art exhibition in Los Angeles. The Valentine and the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia are sending these artifacts, along with granite slabs from various monument bases, to be part of a show running from October to May that reimagines their place in history. More than 15 monuments from across the U.S. will be featured, and the museums have gathered over 6,000 survey responses from the community to guide future decisions.

This is BC: Renowned artists open Enderby gallery

Renowned artists have opened a new gallery in Enderby, British Columbia, as reported in a segment titled 'This is BC' by Global News. The video feature, published on June 10, 2025, highlights the establishment of this gallery by well-known visual artists in the small community of Enderby, located in the North Okanagan region. The artists are bringing their expertise and creative works to a local venue, aiming to enrich the area's cultural landscape.

Artists accuse Whitney Museum of censorship for cancelling pro-Palestine performance

The Whitney Museum of American Art has been accused of censorship by artists Fadl Fakhouri, Noel Maghathe, and Fargo Tbakhi after canceling their performance titled *No Aesthetics Outside my Freedom: Mourning, Militancy and Performance*, scheduled for May 14 as part of the exhibition *A Grammar of Attention*. The museum cited the work's "exclusionary and inflammatory" content, referencing a prior iteration where Tbakhi called for those who believe in Israel or America to leave the audience and valorized specific acts of violence. The artists argue the cancellation is an act of anti-Palestinian censorship, while the museum claims the decision was necessary to uphold its policies. In response, Sara Nadal-Melsió, associate director of the Whitney Independent Study Program (ISP), canceled a related critical studies symposium, and the ISP cohort alleged the museum surveilled and intervened in their work.

Making Rent: New York’s New Apartment Galleries and Artist-Run Spaces

A wave of new artist-run and apartment galleries is emerging in New York's outer boroughs, driven by artists and organizers seizing unconventional, often temporary, spaces. These include the Gallery in Crown Heights, a massive group show staged in a vacant office loft secured with a two-month free lease, and the more established Iowa Projects, which presents solo exhibitions in a domestic setting.

Exploring the magical colors of Matisse

The Times Art Museum has launched a major retrospective of Henri Matisse’s printmaking, featuring 100 works that span his career from early line drawings to his iconic late-period cut-outs. Titled "Bathe in Color — A Journey of Lines, Body and Dreams," the exhibition includes significant collaborations with Paris-based workshops Mourlot Studios and Atelier Auval, highlighted by the vibrant composition La Gerbe.

'100 Candleholders' by Blunk Space is an exhibition to ignite creativity

Blunk Space gallery in Point Reyes Station, California, is presenting '100 Candleholders', an exhibition running from 17 January to 28 March 2026. The show features 100 artists and designers from around the world—including Max Lamb, Bethan Laura Wood, Ido Yoshimoto, and Jonathan Cross—each invited to create a candleholder inspired by the late sculptor JB Blunk, his work, or his self-built home and studio, Blunk House. This is the second installment in the '100' series, following '100 Hooks' in 2023-24, and takes its cue from Blunk's own 1981 exhibition '100 Plates Plus', which explored the artistic potential of everyday objects.

Red Carpet Reception proves new home’s a winner for Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale | NONPROFIT REGISTER

The 34th Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale held its Red Carpet Reception on Thursday night, drawing over 1,000 guests to its new venue on the second floor of The Legacy, the recently completed $100 million headquarters of the National Western Stock Show. The 2026 show features 93 participating artists and 354 works, including wildlife, landscape, sculpture, and plastics, with a sales goal exceeding $1 million to benefit the National Western Scholarship Trust. Featured artist Logan Maxwell Hagege of Ojai, California, presents works such as "Springtime in the Rockies" ($85,000) and "Indigo Stripes" ($18,500), while his piece "Hopeless Dreamer" was purchased for the Stock Show's Permanent Collection.

New City of West Hollywood ‘Moving Image Media Art’ Exhibition Series Artworks Debut October 1

The City of West Hollywood has announced the debut of the next exhibitions in its Moving Image Media Art (MIMA) program, featuring artworks by Isabel Beavers, Diana Thater, Maya Kell-Abrams and Adam Agostino, Sara Silkin, Nina McNeely, and Noper. Starting October 1, 2025, through January 31, 2026, these works will be displayed at the top of every hour on various digital billboards along Sunset Boulevard, with specific locations and schedules for each piece.

Torggler Celebrates African American Artists And Their Stories

The Mary M. Torggler Fine Arts Center in Virginia will present two new exhibitions this fall: "Gateways: African American Art from the Key Collection" and "Transcendence" featuring works by Norfolk artist Luisa Adelfio. "Gateways" showcases ninety works from the collection of Eric Key, a Smithfield native who began collecting African American art in the 1990s as a means of exploring his identity and supporting Black artists, including pieces by Henry Ossawa Tanner, Jacob Lawrence, and Elizabeth Catlett. "Transcendence" presents Adelfio's paintings, drawings, and sculptures from the last five years, blending Classical architecture, Renaissance panel painting, and Surrealism, with a series titled "Corona Chronicles" that juxtaposes domestic objects with pandemic-era headlines.

Capture the Senses: Attraction and Horror in Early Modern Art // Haggerty

The Haggerty Museum at Marquette University will present 'Capture the Senses: Attraction and Horror in Early Modern Art' from August 22 to December 20, 2025. The exhibition draws from the museum's own collection to explore how Early Modern artists combined aesthetic pleasure with terrifying subject matter, featuring works by Albrecht Dürer, Ferdinand Bol, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, and Francesco Solimena. Curated by Kirk Nickel, the show examines themes such as the end times, human sacrifice, imperial decay, and fate, using paintings, prints, and sculpture from Europe and the Americas between the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution.

How Third-Party Guarantees Are Quietly (But Significantly) Rewriting the Rules of the Art Auction

The article reports that the New York Spring Marquee auctions in May 2025 generated $1.27 billion, an 8% decline from $1.38 billion in May 2024, followed by a 26% drop in London June auctions to £98 million. In response to this volatile market, auction houses like Christie’s and Sotheby’s are increasingly relying on third-party guarantees (or irrevocable bids), where a buyer agrees in advance to purchase a lot at a set price if no higher bid emerges. Data from Pi-eX Ltd shows that third-party guarantee coverage surged from near zero in 2021 to a record 73% in May 2025, with the Leonard & Louise Riggio collection being 99% backed by such guarantees.

Shrewsbury Arts Trail: Open Exhibition Wows at SM&AG

The Shrewsbury Arts Trail Open Exhibition has opened at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery, showcasing 144 works selected from 347 submissions by 148 local and regional artists. Organizers Phil Langstaff, Jessica Richards, and Pat Wilcox curated the show without a specific theme to encourage creative freedom. The exhibition also includes works by internationally recognized artists such as Halima Cassell MBE, Ian Rayer-Smith, Laura Ford, James Tapscott, Jacob Chandler, Picasso, and Andy Warhol in a separate 'Inspirational Exhibition.' The Open Exhibition continues at The Parade Shops with an additional 48 works on display.

‘A dialogue about rationality and irrationality’: Ai Weiwei to present new installation in Ukraine

Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei will unveil a major new commission in Kyiv, Ukraine, this autumn. The installation, titled "Three Perfectly Proportioned Spheres and Camouflage Uniforms Painted White," is a site-specific response to global armed conflicts, housed in Pavilion 13, a renovated Soviet-era exposition hall. The work features three large spheres covered in camouflage uniforms painted white, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's illustrations, and incorporates patterns based on rescued cats. The project is commissioned by RIBBON International and supported by the Pavilion of Culture.