Art News. Vasari Codex

person people schedule Sep 29, 2025 visibility 14 link 1 artist

msn warsaw director joanna mytkowska interview

Joanna Mytkowska, director of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (MSN Warsaw) since 2007, discusses the museum's first year in its new building designed by American architect Thomas Phifer. Located in Warsaw's Central Square near the Palace of Culture and Science, the white modernist structure opened last fall with performances and the collection exhibition "The Impermanent." Mytkowska reflects on the museum's controversial reception among local audiences, its role in Poland's political debates—including being mentioned during the recent presidential election campaign—and the institution's long-standing ambivalence toward artistic canons rooted in its close ties to Warsaw's progressive artistic community.

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person people schedule Aug 18, 2025 visibility 19 link 3 artists

documenta 16 artistic team naomi beckwith

Naomi Beckwith, deputy director and chief curator of the Guggenheim Museum, has announced her four-person artistic team for Documenta 16, set to open in Kassel, Germany, in June 2027. The team includes Carla Acevedo-Yates, Romi Crawford, Mayra A. Rodríguez Castro, and Xiaoyu Weng, who will collaborate on the exhibition, publication, and programming for the quinquennial.

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gavel restitution schedule Jul 21, 2025 visibility 11 link 1 artist

antonio solario stolen painting returned

A British woman, Barbara de Dozsa, has voluntarily returned a stolen Renaissance painting by Antonio Solario to the Civic Museum of Belluno in Italy, more than 50 years after it was stolen in a 1973 heist. The work, a Madonna and Child, was purchased by her late ex-husband, Baron de Dozsa, shortly after the theft and later inherited by her. Although UK law allowed her to keep it legally, she was persuaded by art recovery specialist Christopher Marinello to return it on moral grounds, citing the painting's status on the Interpol database and the museum's role as a guardian of cultural heritage.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 13, 2026 visibility 14 link 11 artists, 3 galleries

How Does an Art Fair Stand Apart? TEFAF NY Has an Answer.

TEFAF New York returns to the Park Avenue Armory from May 15-19, featuring 88 dealers and galleries from 14 countries across four continents. The fair distinguishes itself from competitors like Frieze, NADA, and Independent by offering an unusually broad range of works—from Modernist paintings and contemporary sculpture to ancient artifacts, fine jewelry, and design. Notable exhibitors include Gagosian showing Kathleen Ryan’s bejeweled fruit sculptures, Thaddaeus Ropac presenting newcomer Eva Helene Pade, and Belgian dealer David Lévy pairing Keith Haring with Willem de Kooning. Design is a particular highlight this year, with galleries such as Sarah Myerscough, Gomide&Co, and Modernity Stockholm showcasing everything from Shaker-inspired chairs to Brazilian modernist furniture and Scandinavian classics.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jan 14, 2026 visibility 23 link 38 artists

art abortion warsaw artists feminism

Art critic and writer Jarrett Earnest travels to Warsaw for the opening of "The Woman Question 1550–2025," a major survey of women artists curated by Alison M. Gingeras at the Museum of Modern Art (MSN Warsaw). The exhibition features nearly 200 works spanning from Renaissance to contemporary art, including pieces by Artemisia Gentileschi, Frida Kahlo, Lisa Yuskavage, and many Eastern European artists. Earnest reflects on the enduring theme of the female nude and the political context of Poland, where far-right policies have restricted women's rights.

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rate_review review schedule May 28, 2025 visibility 12 link 6 artists, 3 galleries

david rimanelli willem de kooning cosey fanni tutti

Art critic David Rimanelli reviews Willem de Kooning's exhibition "Endless Painting" at Gagosian's 555 West 24th Street location, curated by Cecilia Alemani, running through June 24, 2025. The show spans de Kooning's career from 1944 to his final phase, though notably omits his black-and-white oil-and-enamel paintings from the late 1940s. Rimanelli expresses ambivalence, finding the show dreary and pointless despite the high caliber of individual works, and critiques the press release's focus on fragmented body parts. Separately, Johanna Fateman reviews Cosey Fanni Tutti's exhibition at Maxwell Graham, highlighting her controversial 1970s series "Magazine Actions" (1972–80), on view through June 28, 2025.

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trending_up market schedule Jan 27, 2026 visibility 23 link 16 artists, 1 gallery

The Art Market Enters 2026 With Renewed Confidence and a Sharper K-Shape Divide

ArtTactic's Global Art Market Outlook 2026 report reveals renewed confidence in the art market, with 51% of participants expecting growth and 42% anticipating stability. Strong sales in London, Paris, and Miami Beach, along with multi-billion-dollar November auction results, have buoyed sentiment. The recovery is uneven but meaningful, driven by selective demand for established names: Impressionist art rose 80.4%, Modern art 19.4%, and Old Masters 68.7%. The K-shaped divide is sharpening, with robust performance at the top end (above $1 million) and accessible tiers (below $50,000), while the middle market remains sluggish. Top performers include Klimt, Picasso, Rothko, and Calder, while ultracontemporary artists like Nicolas Party and Matthew Wong have seen significant declines.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 8, 2025 visibility 21 link 11 artists, 3 galleries

A dreamscape in violet: Zao Wou-Ki’s "27.01.83" sells for US$2.3m at China Guardian Hong Kong

China Guardian Hong Kong's 2025 Autumn Auctions achieved approximately HK$70 million (US$8.9 million) in its Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Art Sale on 8 October. The top lot was Zao Wou-Ki's abstract canvas *27.01.83* (1983), which sold for HK$17.7 million (US$2.3 million), more than doubling its low estimate. The second-highest result was Li Chen's bronze sculpture *Dragon-Riding Buddha* (2001), which fetched nearly HK$11.15 million (US$1.4 million). The sale recorded an 85% sell-through rate across 99 lots.

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trending_up market schedule May 19, 2025 visibility 15 link 3 artists, 1 gallery

Top Phillips rainmakers Cheyenne Westphal and Jean-Paul Engelen to leave auction house

Two top executives at Phillips auction house, global chairwoman Cheyenne Westphal and president of the Americas Jean-Paul Engelen, are stepping down. Westphal, who joined Phillips from Sotheby's in 2016 and has been called the most powerful woman in contemporary art, plans to start her own business working directly with private collectors and artists. Engelen is moving to Acquavella Galleries in New York. Their departures follow the resignation of executive chairman Ed Dolman in December and deputy CEO Amanda Lo Iacono at the end of last year, marking a significant leadership exodus.

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article culture schedule May 13, 2026 visibility 11 link 4 artists

A woman with a bull costume exuding masculine energy: Marisol Mendez’s best photograph

Marisol Mendez, a Bolivian photographer based in Paris, describes the creation of her striking 2019 photograph featuring Marta Salinas, a theatre actor, holding a bull costume in a field. The image is part of Mendez's series "Madre," which explores womanhood and challenges traditional feminine depictions in Bolivia. Mendez explains that the bull costume, inspired by the Bolivian dance waka tokori, symbolizes masculinity, and the photograph aims to portray a woman comfortable with her masculine energy. The work was inspired by a dream and executed with the help of Mendez's mother, who scouted the location. Mendez is the winner of this year's Saltzman-Leibovitz prize, and her work is featured at Photo London.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 30, 2026 visibility 27 link 12 artists

Klimt, Modigliani, and Freud Lead $200M Lewis Collection at Sotheby’s London

Sotheby’s London will auction a collection of 50 masterpieces from billionaire Joe Lewis and his daughter Vivienne in June 2025, expected to exceed $200 million. Highlights include Gustav Klimt’s 1902 portrait of Gertha Felsőványi (estimate £20–30 million), Lucian Freud’s never-auctioned *Woman in a Grey Sweater* (1988), and Amedeo Modigliani’s *Homme à la Pipe* (1918), making its auction debut after 45 years unseen. The sale follows a successful March auction of School of London works from the same collection, which brought $47.7 million.

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article news schedule Apr 29, 2026 visibility 27 link 6 artists

Duo Who Sold Fake Warhol, Banksy Plead Guilty in $2M Fraud

A father and daughter from New Jersey, Erwin Bankowski and Karoline Bankowska, pleaded guilty in federal court on April 28 to running a counterfeit art scheme that sold fake works attributed to Andy Warhol, Banksy, Pablo Picasso, Richard Mayhew, and others. Between 2020 and 2025, they placed over 200 counterfeit pieces, many made by an artist in Poland, into galleries and auction houses across the U.S., defrauding buyers of at least $2 million. They fabricated provenance, forged gallery stamps and certificates of authenticity, and misrepresented Native American heritage works, violating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act. They face up to 20 years in prison, restitution of at least $1.9 million, and deportation after serving their sentences.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 27, 2026 visibility 14 link 2 artists

Newsmakers: Nalini Malani Lets the Walls Speak with a New Installation in Venice

Nalini Malani's latest installation, *Of Woman Born*, opens at the Magazzini del Sale in Venice during the Venice Biennale. Commissioned by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, the work projects hand-drawn animations onto the crumbling brick walls of a 15th-century salt warehouse, creating a cave-like environment where images flicker like ancient cave paintings. The installation draws on tens of thousands of drawings and incorporates mythology, literature, and sound, with a central focus on the myth of Orestes to explore themes of violence, displacement, and gender politics. Malani has also extended her recurring 'Skipping Girl' figure across Venice via posters and public signage to guide viewers to the exhibition.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 14, 2026 visibility 19 link 14 artists

Berlin exhibition focuses in on women photographers of the Bauhaus

The Museum für Fotografie in Berlin is hosting a major exhibition titled "New Woman, New Vision," featuring approximately 300 photographs by 29 women associated with the Bauhaus. The show aims to dismantle the persistent myth that female students at the influential German school were restricted to the weaving workshop. By showcasing works from figures like Lucia Moholy, Ise Gropius, and Marianne Brandt, the exhibition highlights how women were integral to the school’s photographic documentation and its development as a standalone artistic medium.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 13, 2026 visibility 47 link 18 artists

A Data Analysis of the 2026 Venice Biennale Signals a Shift to the Present

The 2026 Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys," marks a significant pivot from the historical revisionism of recent editions toward a focus on contemporary, mid-career artists. Posthumously realized based on the vision of the late Koyo Kouoh, the exhibition features 111 participants, including a notable inclusion of artist-led organizations from Africa. Data analysis reveals a balanced demographic split between the Global North and South, moving away from the retrospective focus of predecessors like Adriano Pedrosa and Cecilia Alemani to prioritize living artists and subtler, emotional themes.

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museum exhibitions schedule Mar 25, 2026 visibility 27 link 15 artists

venice biennale 2026 national pavilions

The 61st Venice Biennale is taking shape as national pavilions announce their participants and curatorial themes for the 2026 edition. Russia has confirmed its return to the Giardini with a multidisciplinary exhibition titled “The Tree is Rooted in the Sky,” following its 2022 withdrawal and the 2024 loan of its pavilion to Bolivia. The upcoming edition, themed “In Minor Keys,” will proceed under the vision of the late curator Koyo Kouoh, who passed away in 2025 after becoming the first African woman appointed to helm the prestigious event.

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trending_up market schedule Mar 6, 2026 visibility 15 link 3 artists

phillips modern contemporary sale london

Phillips’s Modern and contemporary evening sale in London concluded with a total of £13 million ($17.3 million), marking a 16 percent decline compared to the previous year's equivalent auction. The sale was led by Andy Warhol’s "Mao" and Vilhelm Hammershøi’s "Interior of Woman Placing Branches in Vase on Table," both of which fetched £1.6 million including fees. Despite the overall contraction in total sales, the auction saw a significant breakout for Danish painter Anna Ancher, whose work "Young Girl Reading a Letter" sold for £154,800, tripling its high estimate and setting a new auction record for the artist.

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article news schedule Jan 26, 2026 visibility 13 link 1 artist

ai generated egon schiele twitter

An AI-generated image falsely attributed to Austrian Expressionist Egon Schiele has gone viral on X, posted by the account @lovedropx. The image, which mimics Schiele's style and borrows the title of a real 1917 watercolor, has garnered hundreds of thousands of views. Art-world readers quickly pointed out anachronisms—such as the model's modern makeup, hair, and nails—and the image's six-fingered hand, as well as its lack of Schiele's characteristic provocativeness. This is not an isolated incident; Art Detective flagged similar AI fakes on Facebook in December, warning that undisclosed AI-generated images are becoming common.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jan 2, 2026 visibility 11 link 5 artists

edita schubert profusion museum susch

Croatian artist Edita Schubert (1947–2001), a contemporary of Marina Abramović, is the subject of a major retrospective at Muzeum Susch in Switzerland. Titled "Edita Schubert: Profusion," the exhibition is the first comprehensive survey of her work outside Croatia, spanning twelve galleries and covering her evolution from early anatomical realism to abstraction, collage, sculpture, and performance. Curated by historian David Crowley, the show draws its name from a description by critic Ješa Denegri, who called Schubert a pioneer of Yugoslav art and her practice a "profusion." The exhibition highlights Schubert's conceptual rigor and her engagement with the human body, influenced by her work as a draftswoman at the University of Zagreb's Institute of Anatomy.

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article news schedule Dec 23, 2025 visibility 19 link 3 artists

christmas identical new banksy murals london housing crisis

Banksy has unveiled two identical murals in London, one near Tottenham Court Road Tube station and another in Queen's Mews, Bayswater. The artwork depicts two children lying on their backs, one pointing skyward, and was confirmed via the artist's Instagram. The piece appears during the Christmas season, but its placement near the landmark Centre Point skyscraper—a symbol of London's housing crisis—suggests a critique of homelessness and unaffordable housing.

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article culture schedule Dec 19, 2025 visibility 13 link 11 artists

art bites courbet painting jeanne duval baudelaire

Gustave Courbet's 1855 masterpiece *The Artist's Studio* originally included a portrait of Jeanne Duval, the mixed-race actress and courtesan who was the muse and longtime lover of poet Charles Baudelaire. After a falling out, Baudelaire asked Courbet to remove her from the painting. Courbet painted over her figure with watercolor rather than oil, and over the past 170 years, the image of Duval has gradually reappeared as a pentimento—a ghostly trace of the erased figure.

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article news schedule Dec 19, 2025 visibility 19 link 10 artists

vienna museum exhibition religious controversy

Conservative religious groups in Austria have launched a campaign against the exhibition “You Shall Make For Yourself An Image” at Vienna’s Künstlerhaus contemporary art museum, which explores Christian iconography from critical, feminist, and queer perspectives. The backlash, including an online petition and a “prayer of atonement” protest outside the museum, has been linked to a prior attack on another religious-themed exhibition at a Jesuit Church in Vienna. The show features over 30 artists, including Martin Kippenberger, Andres Serrano, and Marina Abramović, and has drawn particular ire for works like Kippenberger’s crucified frog and Anouk Lamm Anouk’s depiction of the Virgin Mary as a transgender woman.

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article culture schedule Nov 25, 2025 visibility 18 link 7 artists

frida kahlo auction record op ed

Frida Kahlo's 1940 painting *El Sueño (La Cama)* sold for $54.7 million at Sotheby's New York, setting a new auction record for the most expensive work by a woman artist, surpassing Georgia O'Keeffe's *Jimson Weed, White Flower No. 1* ($44.4 million in 2014). The sale sparked widespread commentary, with many framing it as a milestone for gender equity in the art market, while others noted the persistent gap between this price and those achieved by male artists like Leonardo da Vinci ($450.3 million) and Gustav Klimt ($236.4 million).

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 25, 2025 visibility 20 link 16 artists

julia stoschek foundation los angeles show

The Julia Stoschek Foundation, one of the world's largest collections of video art, will present its first major U.S. exhibition at the Variety Arts Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Titled "What a Wonderful World: An Audiovisual Poem" and curated by Udo Kittelmann, the show opens February 6, 2026, pairing contemporary video works by artists such as Marina Abramović, Dara Birnbaum, Cyprien Gaillard, Arthur Jafa, Jesper Just, and Lu Yang with historic films by Luis Buñuel, Walt Disney, Alice Guy-Blaché, Winsor McCay, and Georges Méliès. The exhibition spans 120 years of filmmaking and will occupy a historic 1920s Venetian-style landmark that once housed L.A.'s first women's clubhouse and a vaudeville theater.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 17, 2025 visibility 16 link 5 artists

liebermann resituted gurlitt auction

Max Liebermann's painting *Two Riders on a Beach* (1901), recently restituted to the Rosenburg family from the Cornelius Gurlitt hoard, will be auctioned at Sotheby's in London on June 24, with an estimated price of up to £500,000 ($850,000). The work is one of the first two artworks returned from the trove discovered in Gurlitt's Munich apartment in 2012; the other, Henri Matisse's *Woman with a Fan* (1932), was also handed back to the Rosenburg family last week.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 28, 2025 visibility 12 link 6 artists

pablo picasso dora maar portrait sells 37 million

A previously little-known Pablo Picasso portrait of Dora Maar, titled *Bust of a Woman with a Flowered Hat (Dora Maar)* (1943), sold for $37 million at Lucien Paris auction house on October 24, 2025—nearly four times its $9.5 million estimate. The painting had been owned by the same family since 1944 and was shown publicly for the first time in 80 years at Hôtel Drouot before the sale. Auctioneer Christophe Lucien called it the highest auction price for any artwork in France this year.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 28, 2025 visibility 14 link 7 artists

sothebys records highest ever totals in france for surrealist and modern sales during art basel paris week

Sotheby's Paris achieved record-breaking totals for surrealist and modern art auctions during Art Basel Paris week, with combined sales of €89.7 million ($104 million) across its Surrealism and Its Legacy and Modernités sales—a 50 percent increase over the same event last year. The top lot was Amedeo Modigliani's *Elvire en buste* (1918-1919), which sold for €27 million ($31.3 million), the highest auction price for a painting by the Italian artist in France and the most valuable work ever sold by Sotheby's Paris. Other highlights included Modigliani's *Raymond* (1915) at €10.6 million, René Magritte's *La Magie Noire* (1934) at €10.7 million, and a complete set of Pablo Picasso's *Séries 347* etchings, which set a French auction record for any print by the artist.

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article news schedule Sep 23, 2025 visibility 11 link 3 artists

simone leigh on making art under full time fascism

Simone Leigh has announced a fall 2027 exhibition at the Royal Academy in London, featuring a series of new monumental sculptures. In an interview with the Guardian, she criticized the United States under the Trump administration, describing it as "full-on fascism" and reflecting on the kind of art produced under such conditions. She also condemned Columbia University's compliance with anti-woke policies, comparing it to the McCarthy era, and noted that artists of color have faced delayed or canceled commissions due to anti-DEI measures. The exhibition is curated by Tarini Malik, who organized the British Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale.

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trending_up market schedule Sep 22, 2025 visibility 17 link 11 artists

frida kahlo auction record broken sothebys el sueno la cama

Sotheby's announced the consignment of Frida Kahlo's 1940 self-portrait *El sueño (La cama)*, estimated at $40–60 million, for a November 2025 single-owner sale titled "Exquisite Corpus." The work is expected to break Kahlo's auction record of $34.9 million set in 2021 and potentially surpass the $44.4 million record for a woman artist held by Georgia O'Keeffe. The painting depicts Kahlo lying on a floating bed with a skeleton above, created during a turbulent period following Leon Trotsky's assassination and her divorce from Diego Rivera.

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trending_up market schedule Sep 22, 2025 visibility 13 link 6 artists

unknown pablo picasso painting dora maar for sale

A Pablo Picasso painting of Dora Maar, titled *Bust of a Woman in a Flowery Hat (Dora Maar)*, has been consigned to the Paris auction house Lucien Paris after not being seen publicly for 80 years. Painted in 1943 and last exhibited in 1944, the work was inherited by the anonymous seller from a grandparent. It is currently on view at Hôtel Drouot and will be auctioned on October 24 with an estimate of approximately $9.5 million. Photographic evidence of the painting appears in 1944 photos by Brassaï of Picasso’s studio.

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