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Billionaire retail magnate and prominent art collector Les Wexner provided a closed-door deposition to the House Oversight Committee regarding his past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. During the testimony, Wexner characterized himself as "naive, foolish, and gullible" for trusting the disgraced financier, whom he labeled a con man. While Wexner denied any knowledge of or involvement in Epstein’s criminal activities, Democratic lawmakers noted that the 88-year-old offered few new details and frequently cited a lack of memory regarding key events.

Los Angeles’s next generation of dealers forges new paths

Despite a wave of high-profile gallery closures and economic pressure from the shrinking entertainment industry, a new generation of Los Angeles art dealers is finding resilience through local community ties. While major outposts like Michael Werner and Sean Kelly have shuttered, local mainstays argue that the market is not failing but rather correcting itself against unrealistic expectations. Success in the current climate requires a physical presence and deep-rooted relationships that satellite galleries often struggle to maintain.

Tino Sehgal at Museo de Arte de Zapopan

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Renowned performance artist Tino Sehgal has launched a major self-titled exhibition at the Museo de Arte de Zapopan (MAZ) in Guadalajara, Mexico. The show’s centerpiece is 'Andador 20 de Noviembre,' a site-specific adaptation of his acclaimed 2012 work 'These Associations.' Staged on a historic pedestrian thoroughfare, the performance involves a 'hive mind' of participants who transition from slow-motion movements to jogging and engaging the public with intimate personal vignettes, creating an immersive experience that blurs the line between audience and performer.

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Takashi Murakami’s latest exhibition at Perrotin Los Angeles, titled “Hark Back to Ukiyo-e: Tracing Superflat to Japonisme’s Genesis,” marks a significant return to his academic roots in Nihonga (traditional Japanese painting). The show features 24 compositions, including four monumental canvases that took over three years to complete, blending Edo-period woodblock aesthetics with 19th-century Impressionism and contemporary Pokémon imagery. The artist describes this body of work as a reflection on the non-linear nature of time and the physical manifestation of memory.

Sophie Calle explores the stories we tell ourselves

The UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art is hosting "Overshare," the first major North American survey of French conceptual artist Sophie Calle. Organized by the Walker Art Center and curated by Henriette Huldisch, the exhibition spans five decades of Calle’s career, utilizing photography, text, and installation to explore the boundaries between public and private life. The show is organized into thematic sections—the Spy, the Protagonist, the End, and the Beginning—highlighting her voyeuristic projects and autobiographical narratives.

See What’s on View in NOLA This March

New Orleans is set to host several major art exhibitions this March, highlighting the city's diverse cultural landscape. Key openings include Alexis McGrigg’s "In the Beloved" at the Ogden Museum, which explores Blackness and spirituality through fluid abstraction, and an augmented reality exhibition on the American Revolution at The Historic New Orleans Collection. Additionally, the New Orleans Museum of Art will debut a significant collection of 18th-century French Sèvres porcelain.

Grove Gallery to host Women Painting Women Exhibition opening reception March 7

Grove Gallery in Evanston is set to host "Women Painting Women," an exhibition running from March 7 to April 25 that features figurative works by eighteen female artists. The collection focuses on the human form through the lens of individual selfhood, archetypal figures, and surrealism, specifically aiming to challenge the traditional male gaze in art.

Artist urges youngsters to showcase talent at new exhibition

Landscape artist and tutor Jacs Harris is launching a new children's art exhibition at The Sessions House in Spalding to encourage creative expression among local youth. The event features three age categories ranging from toddlers to teenagers, offering prizes for each group and providing a public platform for young creators to display their work.

Sarah Alruwayti on Riyadh's Shift from Vision to Execution

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Sarah Alruwayti, director of the Tuwaiq Sculpture Symposium, discusses the evolution of Riyadh Art’s public art initiatives under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. The symposium has grown from a local project into a global open-call forum, commissioning over 120 international sculptors to create permanent works using local materials like Saudi granite and reclaimed metal. The latest edition, themed "Traces of What Will Be," focuses on urban transformation and the historical context of Riyadh’s changing landscape.

Khaled Sabsabi—who had his Australia Pavilion cancelled and reinstated—will also exhibit in main Venice Biennale show

Khaled Sabsabi has achieved a historic milestone as the first Australian artist to be selected for both a national pavilion and the Venice Biennale’s main international exhibition. After a tumultuous period in which his appointment to the Australia Pavilion was cancelled and then reinstated following political controversy, Sabsabi will now present his work 'conference of one’s self' in the Giardini alongside a separate contribution to the central show. Both projects are deeply rooted in Tasawwuf (Sufism) and themes of spiritual enlightenment and communal unity.

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University of North Texas (UNT) Dean Karen Hutzel revealed in leaked transcripts that the cancellation of artist Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez’s exhibition was an "institutional directive" driven by political pressure. The show, titled “Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá,” featured art critical of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and was abruptly shut down shortly after opening. Hutzel warned faculty that the university is "vulnerable" to retaliation from Texas state officials who have previously targeted academic programs and funding at other state institutions over ideological disagreements.

Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles acquires Kara Walker sculpture made from dissected Confederate monument

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Los Angeles has acquired "Unmanned Drone" (2023), a significant bronze sculpture by Kara Walker. The work was created by dissecting and reassembling a decommissioned 1921 monument of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson, which was removed from Charlottesville, Virginia, following the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally. The acquisition was announced alongside more than 150 other new additions to the museum's permanent collection, including major works by Cynthia Daignault and Paul Pfeiffer.

On View Now at MAG: New Picasso Exhibition

The Memorial Art Gallery (MAG) in Rochester has launched a series of new installations, headlined by the exhibition "Picasso and the Progressive Proof: Linocuts from a Private Collection." This show provides an intimate look at Pablo Picasso’s late-career printmaking innovations, specifically focusing on the evolution of three major linocuts through their various proofs. Additionally, the museum has debuted Rashid Johnson’s 2019 film "The Hikers" and several new contemporary acquisitions, including works by Donald Moffett and Hugo McCloud, while its major Impressionism survey enters its final days.

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The New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) has announced the exhibitor list for its 12th New York edition, featuring over 110 galleries from around the globe. Scheduled for May 13–17, 2026, the fair returns to the Starrett-Lehigh Building in West Chelsea, showcasing a mix of 45 NADA members and 51 first-time participants. Highlights include the TD Bank Curated Spotlight, which will be organized by Anthony Elms, the artistic director of the Mattress Factory.

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The inaugural edition of Art Basel Qatar launched with a unique booth-less format, prioritizing single-artist presentations and regional connections over the typical high-speed frenzy of European fairs. While the pace of transactions was more measured, significant sales were reported, including a $250,000 video installation by Kutlug Ataman sold by Niru Ratnam to an institution and multiple works by regional stars like Ahmed Mater and Ali Cherri. High-value blue-chip items, including a $42 million Picasso, remained tucked away in private viewing rooms to accommodate the region's preference for discretionary collecting.

12 must-see exhibitions in and around Los Angeles during Frieze

Los Angeles is hosting a series of major exhibitions to coincide with the Frieze Los Angeles art fair, highlighting both historical activism and contemporary social critiques. Key shows include Judith F. Baca’s exploration of her iconic 'Great Wall of Los Angeles' mural at Jeffrey Deitch, a massive survey of time-based media from the Julia Stoschek Foundation at the Variety Arts Theater, and a collaborative project between MOCA and The Brick titled 'Monuments' that recontextualizes removed Confederate statues through the lens of contemporary Black artists.

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President Donald Trump has initiated a controversial overhaul of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., renaming it the 'Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts' and appointing himself chairman. Following the dismissal of long-time president Deborah Rutter and the installation of a board led by Richard Grenell, the institution has pivoted toward conservative programming, leading to a 93% to 57% drop in ticket sales and high-profile boycotts from artists like Philip Glass. The center is now slated for a two-year closure starting after July 4 for major renovations, a move that has sparked alarm among preservationists and political figures.

Guest column | At the nation’s galleries, celebrations of selfhood, joy and renewal

Major American art institutions are undergoing a significant shift in perspective, prioritizing themes of diversity, selfhood, and renewal in their programming. This evolution is evidenced by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s total re-evaluation of its permanent collection display in anticipation of its new building, alongside a wave of exhibitions featuring contemporary voices like Derrick Adams and Nick Cave, and retrospectives for historical figures such as Edmonia Lewis and Isamu Noguchi.