Spain has preempted two polychrome terracotta sculptures by Luisa Roldán, known as La Roldana, at an Abalarte auction on December 5, 2025. The works, *La Fuite en Égypte* and *L’Éducation de la Vierge*, each sold for €335,500 including fees. *La Fuite en Égypte* has been acquired by the Museo del Prado in Madrid, while *L’Éducation de la Vierge* has gone to the Museo Nacional de Escultura in Valladolid.
Deux nouveaux tableaux italiens pour la Collection Bemberg à Toulouse
The Collection Bemberg in Toulouse has acquired two new Italian paintings, including a still life by Bernardo Strozzi (1581-1644) purchased at the Maastricht art fair from Galerie Canesso. The work, a vibrant depiction of peonies and fruit, was previously sold at Sotheby's London in July 2013 and first published in 1985. The acquisition continues the museum's decade-long strategy of enriching its holdings with major works sourced from the art market, guided by its scientific council.
An open letter signed by art historians, curators, and researchers protests an upcoming auction at Stanley's Auction House in Zaventem, Belgium, scheduled for April 23, titled “Tributes to the Russian Avant-Garde & Constructivists.” The second sale is organized in cooperation with Drouot, a major French auction platform, and offers approximately one hundred works from the so-called Toporovsky collection, which has been linked to a scandal involving forged Russian modernist paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent. The alleged suppliers, Igor Toporovsky and Olga Toporovsky, face criminal charges including the sale of 171 forged works for about €20 million, with court proceedings beginning in May in Ghent. The signatories argue that the auction, with works priced around €300 each, is deeply troubling given the pending legal case and the undisclosed consignor identity.
Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli has launched an official inspection of the Russian Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale, just days before the exhibition opens. An inspector has been sent to Venice to review all documentation related to Russia's participation, focusing on potential irregularities such as visa issues for Russian artists and delegation members. The investigation follows the Biennale's international jury decision to exclude Russia and Israel from awards due to accusations of crimes against humanity. The Russian Pavilion will be open only during the pre-opening vernissage, after which it will close, with digital documentation displayed in its windows.
Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered the upper half of a 7-foot-tall statue of Ramses II at the site of Tell El-Faraoun in the eastern Nile Delta. Weighing over 5 tons, the fragment is believed to have originally been carved for a temple in the ancient capital of Per-Ramesses and was later relocated. The find was announced by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, with Hisham El-Leithy of the Supreme Council of Antiquities noting its importance for understanding how statues were moved and reused during the New Kingdom.
Work has begun on replacing the stained-glass windows at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, with scaffolding installed immediately after the work permit was posted. The project involves removing six ornamental windows created in 1864 by Alfred Gérente under Eugène Viollet-le-Duc and installing six new windows by artist Claire Tabouret and the master glassmakers Simon-Marq. The authorization, signed by the prefect, has sparked legal challenges from the heritage association Sites & Monuments, who argue the replacement is neither conservation nor restoration. The article details how the state's own authorization document inadvertently strengthens opponents' arguments by affirming that the entire cathedral, including Viollet-le-Duc's windows, is protected as a historic monument.
U.S. officials formally returned 337 looted antiquities, archival materials, and artworks to Italy during a ceremony at Rome’s La Marmora barracks. The objects, spanning from the Villanovan era (900–700 B.C.E.) through the Hellenistic period (323–31 B.C.E.), include Etruscan, Greek, Italic, and Egyptian artifacts. The repatriation was coordinated by Italy’s Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, and the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. Key items include a marble head of Alexander the Great, a bronze sculpture from Herculaneum, and Egyptian basalt sculptures. Some 221 objects were recovered via the Manhattan DA, while the remaining 116 were secured with help from Christie’s.
Newly leaked emails reveal that the Venice Biennale has been secretly coordinating with Russia since last summer to facilitate its return to the 2025 edition, despite ongoing international sanctions. The correspondence, published by Italian outlets Open and La Repubblica, shows Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, director Andrea Del Mercato, and Russian commissioner Anastasia Karneeva working together on visa issues, pavilion logistics, and a legal strategy to bypass E.U. sanctions prohibiting collaboration with state-backed Russian entities. Russia's pavilion will be open during preview days with performers activating the space, while footage will play for the public from a closed pavilion thereafter.
Russia will return to the 61st Venice Biennale with its national pavilion, but the exhibition will only be physically open to the press and select guests during the vernissage dates of May 5–8. From May 9 onward, the pavilion will remain closed to the public, with multimedia documentation of performances displayed on screens at the windows. The arrangement follows leaked emails among Biennale Foundation President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, General Director Andrea Del Mercato, and Russian Pavilion Commissioner Anastasia Karneeva, revealing efforts to comply with EU sanctions while still allowing Russia's participation after two consecutive absences since its invasion of Ukraine.
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.
The entire jury of the Venice Biennale resigned just days before the 61st international art exhibition's opening on May 9, following a dispute over the decision to allow Russia to participate. The five-member panel, led by Solange Farkas and including Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi, had previously stated it would not award prizes to artists from countries whose leaders face charges of crimes against humanity, a move seen as targeting Russia and Israel. The Biennale responded by postponing the award ceremony to November 22 and announcing it would give two awards, including one that could go to any national participation, citing its founding principles of openness and rejection of censorship.
Hedwig Fijen, founding director of Manifesta, the European Nomadic Biennial, will step down on October 5. Emilia van Lynden and Catherine Nichols will succeed her as general director and artistic director respectively, as announced by the supervisory board of the International Foundation Manifesta. Fijen, who was commissioned by the Netherlands Office for Fine Arts in 1991 to develop a pan-European platform, has led Manifesta through editions in Palermo, Pristina, Barcelona, and the upcoming 2026 edition in the Ruhr region. Van Lynden has served as deputy director since 2019, while Nichols, a Berlin-based curator, contributed as creative mediator for the 2022 edition and artistic board member for 2026. The new leadership will begin with Manifesta 17 in Coimbra, Portugal, in 2028.
The Venice Biennale is facing allegations that it helped Russia circumvent EU sanctions by allowing the Russian pavilion to operate during preview days, when only arts professionals and press are present. Investigative website Open published emails between Biennale officials and Russian pavilion organizers, including requests for visa assistance for artists and staff. The commissioner, Anastasia Karneeva, is the daughter of a Rostec deputy CEO and runs a consultancy with the daughter of Russia's foreign minister. The Biennale denies any wrongdoing, stating it acted in compliance with international law. Russia has been absent from the Biennale since 2022 but retains a permanent pavilion in the Giardini.
Russia's pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale will be closed to the public for the duration of the exhibition, from May 9 to November 22, following escalating controversy over the country's participation. The group show, titled “The tree is rooted in the sky,” will only be open to press and industry insiders during the preview days (May 5–8). The move comes after the International Criminal Court accused Russia of crimes against humanity, leading the Biennale to bar Russia and Israel from competing for awards. Italian culture minister Alessandro Giuli has also boycotted the preview and opening ceremony in protest.
Sous pression, le jury de la 61e Biennale de Venise exclura les pavillons russe et israélien du palmarès
The 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys" and running from May 9 to November 22, 2026, has been embroiled in political controversy after organizers decided to reinstate the Russian pavilion, which had been excluded since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Under pressure from the European Commission, which threatened to suspend a €2 million grant, the jury announced it will exclude artists from the Russian and Israeli pavilions from winning prizes, citing that leaders Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu face International Criminal Court charges for crimes against humanity. The Russian pavilion will remain closed to the public but open for VIP press previews, while the Israeli pavilion stays open to the public. Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli has refused to attend the opening ceremony in protest.
Musician Jarvis Cocker, best known as the frontman of the band Pulp, and his wife Kim Sion, a creative consultant, will curate a group exhibition titled “The Hodge Podge” at The Hepworth Wakefield in the UK in 2027. The show will feature a diverse range of artworks across different eras and media, focusing on artists who challenge conventional definitions of art. This marks Cocker’s first curatorial project at a major institution.
The Fondazione Donnaregina per le arti contemporanee – museo Madre in Naples presents "Untitled (I love you)," the first retrospective in an Italian museum dedicated to American artist Uri Aran (born Jerusalem, 1977). Curated by museum director Eva Fabbris, the exhibition opens on Thursday, February 12, at 6 pm, with President Angela Tecce and the director in attendance.
Seven artists with roots in West Africa—Yacine Tilala Fall, Selly Raby Kane, Maguette Dieng, Ican Ramageli, Hamedine Kane, Eva Diallo, and Babacar Traoré Doli—have jointly created a multi-sensory total installation at Marres in Maastricht. Titled “Porous Grounds, Sacred Codes,” the exhibition incorporates sculpture, sound, textiles, and video, connecting Zikr chanting of mantras, daily life in the Medina, and the trees of the dry landscape.
Una mostra a Milano fa dialogare visionari paesaggi contemporanei con un acquerello del grande Turner. Recensione e intervista
The exhibition "Continuum" at Robilant+Voena in Milan marks the first solo show in the city for American artist Maria Kreyn. It presents a selection of her contemporary landscapes—charged with pathos, abstract geometries, and references to art history—alongside a rare watercolor by J.M.W. Turner, *The Splügen Pass* (1842–43). Kreyn’s seascapes, influenced by her background in mathematics and philosophy, feature turbulent waves, ovoid and parabolic forms, and a sense of latent tension, creating a visual dialogue with Turner’s Romantic vision of nature.
The international jury of the 61st Venice Biennale announced it would exclude from prize consideration countries whose leaders are charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, specifically targeting Russia and Israel. This prompted the Italian culture minister to send inspectors to the Biennale's offices, leading the jury to resign. The Biennale then replaced the Golden Lion with "Visitors' Lions" prizes voted by ticket-holders, immediately making Russia and Israel eligible again. The article traces this crisis to the Biennale's historical structure under Mussolini's 1930 Royal Decree, which established the national pavilion system as a diplomatic concession system designed to serve state power, and notes the recent acceptance of a €50 million donation from Qatar for a new permanent pavilion in the Giardini.
The Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery in Saskatchewan is hosting 'Unsilenced,' an interactive art exhibition that explores mental health through the work of five artists. The show features Peter Tucker, Ruth Cuthand, Derek Poe, Amy Snyder, and Richard Boulet, using mediums such as sculpture, ceramics, beadwork, and fibre art to address topics like anxiety, OCD, climate anxiety, and intergenerational trauma. Visitors can engage with installations, including a clay pot piece about eco-stress and a reflection room for deeper contemplation.
The iconic Rocky statue, a symbol of Philadelphia and the beloved film franchise, is now the subject of its own dedicated exhibition at a museum after years of tension between the city, the film's creators, and local institutions. The statue, originally created as a prop for the 1976 film 'Rocky' starring Sylvester Stallone, has had a complicated history, moving from the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps to the Spectrum arena and back, with debates over its artistic merit and placement.
The exhibition "RTRU* (*Raudive Technoculture Research Unit)" is on view at KAJE in Brooklyn from April 4 to May 17, 2026. Curated by the Riga Technoculture Research Unit (Zane Onckule and Elizaveta Shneyderman), the show features works by Ka Baird, Scott Benzel, Valdis Celms, Cal Fish, Jason Isolini, Voldemārs Matvejs, Karlīna Mežecka, Adriana Ramić, Konstantīns Raudive, and Ieva Rubeze. The press release and checklist are available, and images of the exhibition are provided courtesy of the artists and the gallery.
The Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul is hosting 'Inside Other Spaces: Environments by Women Artists, 1956-1976,' an exhibition that reconstructs immersive room-scale works by 11 women artists from underrepresented regions. Co-curated by Andrea Lissoni and Marina Pugliese, the show traces two decades of experimental environments made from light, sound, plastic, and foam, which anticipated installation and media art. The Seoul edition features a new version of Jung Kang-ja's 1967 work 'Muche-jeon (Incorporal Exhibition),' a smoke-filled chamber that evokes the tension of 1970s authoritarian Korea.
The Musée Fabre in Montpellier has acquired two 18th-century French paintings at auctions held by Artcurial in September 2025. The first is an "Allégorie de la Poésie" (1774) by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, purchased for €250,000 with support from the museum's corporate foundation and a special grant from the Fonds du patrimoine. The painting, which depicts the early struggles of the future portraitist, was previously owned by Henry and Catherine Robert and had been exhibited in a major retrospective at the Grand Palais a decade ago.
Alle Terme di Diocleziano di Roma spopola la mostra di un’artista cinese. Il curatore spiega perché
Chinese artist Wu Jian'an (born 1980, Beijing) is the subject of a major solo exhibition at the Baths of Diocletian in Rome, part of the Museo Nazionale Romano. Titled "Metamorphoses. L'arte che trasforma," the show explores connections between Chinese and Italian cultures, as well as broader Eastern and European traditions. Curated by Umberto Croppi, president of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma, the exhibition features works such as the monumental leather installation "The Heaven of Nine Levels" (2008–2009) and the series "The Eternal Cycle – Running Through the Seasons" (2024–2025), which combines intricate paper cutouts, silk, wax, and cotton thread. The artist, who represented China at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017, was inspired by the ancient Roman spaces, creating a dialogue between his contemporary pieces and the site's classical mosaics and architecture.
Third Space Art Foundation will present “1922 Revisited,” a live arts program curated by Dr. Janine A. Sytsma, from May 5–9, 2026 in Venice, Italy, during the preview week of the 61st Venice Biennale. The program brings together ten international artists to engage with the 1922 Venice Biennale exhibition of African sculpture through performances, a film screening, and a panel discussion, staged at venues including Hotel Monaco and the European Cultural Centre’s Marinaressa Gardens.
The Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art has opened "Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art," its first major exhibition dedicated to African LGBTQ+ artists. The show, which was abruptly postponed earlier, features works that celebrate queer life through themes of joy, family, and belonging, while also addressing the darkness and loss faced by LGBTQ+ communities globally.
This article announces the first comprehensive U.S. exhibition on Raphael, titled "Raphael: Sublime Poetry," which offers an immersive look at the artist's meteoric career through drawings, paintings, prints, and tapestries. It traces Raphael's journey from his birth in Urbino in 1483, through his training under his poet-painter father Giovanni Santi and later Pietro Perugino, to his rise as a peer to Leonardo and Michelangelo in Florence and his final decade as the favorite artist of the popes in Rome, where he was celebrated as the "prince of painters."
Twenty-seven students from South Pasadena High School have been selected to exhibit their work in the Autry Museum of the American West's "Visions of Humanity" student show, marking the largest number of SPHS students ever accepted into the exhibition. The display runs through May 31 at the Autry Museum in Griffith Park, featuring fourteen students in painting and drawing and thirteen in photography, taught by teachers Rouzanna Berberian and Aimee Levie-Hultman.