hepworth wakefields director simon wallis to become royal academys new secretary and chief executive in september 1234744637

Simon Wallis, director of the Hepworth Wakefield, has been appointed as the new secretary and chief executive of London’s Royal Academy of Arts (RA), starting in September. He replaces Axel Rüger, who left in October to lead the Frick Collection in New York. Wallis brings extensive experience from previous roles at Chisenhale Gallery, the ICA, Tate Liverpool, and Kettle’s Yard. His appointment comes as the RA undergoes restructuring, having cut 15% of its workforce in April to ensure future sustainability.

heft gallery opens in new york city ai art 1234741940

Adam Heft Berninger has opened Heft, a new gallery on Manhattan's Lower East Side, dedicated to artists who work with systems-based practices such as generative code, machine learning, and scanners. Berninger, who previously worked with MoMA and the Public Art Fund and ran the curatorial platform Tender, emphasizes that the gallery is not an "AI art" gallery but a contemporary art space where technology serves as a tool for artistic methodology rather than a defining label. He argues that misconceptions about AI art can only be overcome through in-person viewing, and that the scarcity of galleries focused on this kind of work globally—countable on two hands—presents an opportunity.

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The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation have announced an $800,000 fund to support 80 visual arts programs at small and mid-sized organizations across the United States. Each recipient, previously funded through the National Endowment for the Arts' Challenge America initiative, will receive $10,000 to advance projects stalled after the Trump administration suspended that federal program. The announcement comes amid broader cuts to federal arts funding, including the departure of all 10 NEA grant directors and the termination of grants for organizations like n+1, SculptureCenter, Queer Art, and A.I.R. Gallery, which received notices citing misalignment with the administration's priorities.

The Big Review | Venice Biennale 2026: In Minor Keys ★★★½

The Venice Biennale 2026, titled "In Minor Keys," was curated posthumously following the death of artistic director Koyo Kouoh in May 2025. A team of five curators and advisors—Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, Marie Hélène Pereira, Rasha Salti, Siddhartha Mitter, and Rory Tsapayi—executed her vision across the Giardini and Arsenale venues. The exhibition features 110 artists, with a strong emphasis on new commissions, and is structured around themes of procession, resistance, and joy. Key works include Big Chief Demond Melancon's "Amistad Takeover" (2026), Nick Cave's "Amalgam (Origin)" (2025), and Otobong Nkanga's rewilded columns at the Central Pavilion.

Pittsburgh’s burgeoning gallery community readies for its moment in art world spotlight

Pittsburgh's commercial gallery scene is experiencing a resurgence as the Carnegie International, the country's longest-running recurring exhibition, prepares to open its largest edition yet with 61 artists. Since the pandemic, several young gallerists with experience in New York and Los Angeles have opened spaces in the city, including Romance gallery (2023) by former Whitney curator Margaret Kross, and april april gallery (2024) relocated from Brooklyn by Patrick Bova and Lucas Regazzi. Longer-established galleries like Concept, Zynka, and James Gallery have welcomed these newcomers, with local figures such as collector Evan Mirapaul noting that Pittsburgh's robust arts ecosystem—including museums, universities, and nonprofits—has long lacked a strong commercial gallery presence.

Dingo-related work at Sydney Biennale takes on new resonance following backpacker death

A new installation by artist Cannupa Hanska Luger at the 2026 Biennale of Sydney features seven ceramic dingo skulls with whistles that create a howling sound. The work, titled "Volume III White Bay Power Station," was created before the artist learned of the death of a Canadian backpacker, Piper James, on K'gari (Fraser Island), a ruling for which found she drowned after a dingo attack.

Alma Allen Flops in Venice

Hyperallergic reports on the 2026 Venice Biennale, with Editor-in-Chief Hakim Bishara criticizing the U.S. pavilion's exhibition of Alma Allen's work as a disappointing departure from the previous editions' profound explorations of Indigenous life and Black sovereignty. Editor-at-Large Hrag Vartanian offers a positive review of the main exhibition "In Minor Keys," while Greta Rainbow covers a poetry procession honoring the late artistic director Koyo Kouoh. Additional stories include a review of the film "The Christophers" about an artist and forger, and news of workers at the American Folk Art Museum picketing for higher wages.

Art Movements: New Museum Names Its First Artist Studio Residents

The New Museum has named Yun Choi, Alison Kuo, and Korakrit Arunanondchai as the first artists-in-residence for its new Artist Studio, a 730-square-foot space created by the museum's OMA-designed expansion. The residencies will run from spring 2025 through winter 2027, with each artist developing new work, onsite exhibitions, and public programs. Separately, Forge Project announced its 2026 fellows—six Indigenous artists including Jay Bellis, Heidi Brandow, and Tiare Ribeaux—who will each receive $25,000 and a three-week residency. In other news, the Robert Therrien Estate has left Gagosian for David Zwirner Gallery, Laurel Nakadate won the Maud Morgan Prize, and Frieze New York revealed a staff uniform designed by artist Reika Takebayashi.

Gagosian to Debut New Gallery With Duchamp’s “Readymades”

Gagosian has announced that the inaugural exhibition at its new ground-level space at 980 Madison Avenue will feature the iconic "readymades" of Marcel Duchamp. Opening April 25, the show will showcase a series of 14 authorized replicas created in 1964 by Duchamp and dealer Arturo Schwarz, including famous works like "Fountain" and "Bicycle Wheel." The exhibition is timed to run concurrently with a major Duchamp retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, the artist's first in the United States in over half a century.

The Paradoxical Delights of South America’s Biggest Art Fair

The 22nd edition of SP-Arte has opened at the Oscar Niemeyer Pavilion in São Paulo, featuring 180 exhibitors. As Latin America’s largest art fair, the event continues to serve as a critical bridge for 'South-South' artistic relationships, drawing international curators like the Met’s Brinda Kumar. Despite a slightly smaller footprint than previous years, the fair showcases a robust selection of Brazilian talent alongside international galleries navigating the country's complex market.

Researchers Identify Enslaved Boy in Joshua Reynolds Painting

Researchers in the U.K. have identified the enslaved boy depicted in Joshua Reynolds's 1748 painting of Royal Navy lieutenant Paul Henry Ourry. For centuries known only as "Jersey," the boy has been identified as George Walker, also called Boston Jersey, through baptismal and admiralty records. Walker was baptized at age 15 in Westminster in 1752, served on HMS Monmouth and HMS Deptford, and was discharged in 1753, after which his fate remains unknown. The research, a collaboration between the National Trust, the National Gallery in London, and Royal Museums Greenwich, also used scientific analysis to reveal Reynolds's original compositional intentions.

New Louvre Chief Christophe Leribault Reveals His Vision for the Museum Post-Heist

Christophe Leribault, the new director of the Louvre, has outlined his vision for the museum following a $100 million heist in October 2025. The Apollo Gallery, where the theft occurred, will reopen in July with a redesigned display that removes mineral cases to highlight its Romantic wall paintings, inspired by Versailles’s Hall of Mirrors. Empress Eugénie’s diamond-and-emerald crown, crushed by the thieves, is being restored and will become a new highlight. Security upgrades include window bars, 100 new cameras by 2026, a mobile police station, and a new security coordinator. The heist led to the resignation of former director Laurence des Cars in February.

Pioneering Modernist Fahrelnissa Zeid Returns to the Spotlight in London

The Turkish-Jordanian modernist Fahrelnissa Zeid is the subject of a new solo exhibition titled "Immersion" at Dirimart London, curated by art historian Adila Laïdi-Hanieh. This marks the artist's first gallery solo show in the United Kingdom this century, featuring several works from her estate that have never been publicly exhibited. The selection spans various periods of her career, highlighting her transition from monumental geometric abstractions to her late-career expressionist portraits.

Which City Will Be the Next Asian Art Hub? That’s the Wrong Question

The traditional quest to identify a single dominant Asian art hub is being challenged by the organic growth of decentralized scenes in cities like Bangkok and Hanoi. While Hong Kong and Seoul remain established centers, private initiatives and artist-led projects in Thailand and Vietnam are building resilient, hybrid ecosystems that prioritize long-term structural depth over immediate auction results. From the opening of Dib Bangkok to experimental exhibitions in Hanoi, these cities are transitioning from peripheral status to significant cultural players through a mix of private museums, biennials, and non-profit platforms.

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Meg Molloy, founder of the Working Arts Club, discusses the systemic barriers facing working-class professionals in the art world. Launched last year, the independent network provides social and professional support for arts workers from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, a demographic often excluded by the industry's reliance on unpaid internships, low entry-level salaries, and expensive urban hubs like London.

Louvre Robbery: Security Overhaul and Investigation Update

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The Louvre Museum has announced a massive €80 million ($92 million) security overhaul following a brazen daytime heist on October 19, where thieves stole imperial jewels valued at €88 million. The investigation revealed significant institutional failures, including outdated software and weak passwords like "Louvre," allowing local thieves to enter via a movers' lift and escape on scooters in under seven minutes. While four suspects from the Paris suburbs have been charged, the majority of the stolen items remain unrecovered.

10 Power Players in Paris

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The inaugural edition of Paris+ by Art Basel has opened in Paris, marking a significant shift in the city's art fair landscape. The article profiles ten key figures instrumental in shaping the French art market, including fair director Clément Delépine, dealer and committee president Marion Papillon, and institutional leaders like Suzanne Pagé of the Fondation Louis Vuitton and Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel of Lafayette Anticipations.

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British photographer Martin Parr, known for his highly saturated and often humorous snapshots of everyday life, died on December 6 at age 74 after a four-year battle with cancer. Parr's work, from his early black-and-white images of rural Yorkshire to his iconic color series like "The Last Resort" (1982–85) and "The Cost of Living" (1987-89), captured British eccentricities and social pretensions with a sharp, affectionate eye. He was a full member of Magnum Photos and his images, including those of mass tourism and consumerism, have been widely exhibited and collected.

louvre closes offices gallery structural concerns 2714627

The Louvre has temporarily closed employee offices and the Campana Gallery in the southern Sully wing due to structural concerns identified in a November 14 building assessment report, which warned of fragile floor beams. The closure affects 65 staff members and a nine-room gallery of ancient Greek ceramics. The museum has launched an investigation and plans repairs, following a year of challenges including a staff walkout in June and a dramatic theft of imperial jewels from the Gallery of Apollo in October.

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Artnet Auctions' Premier Prints and Multiples: Summer Edition sale, open for bidding through April 3, 2025, features iconic works on paper by artists such as Jonas Wood and Lynda Benglis. The article highlights the collaborative process between artists and printers, with firsthand accounts from Emmett Walsh of Ollin Editions and a publisher who worked with Lynda Benglis on a tapestry based on her painting *Rajesh in Rajasthan* (2012–2016). Walsh describes producing Wood's 112-color silkscreen *Kitchen Interior* (2022) over 20 months, while the other publisher recounts a three-year search for weavers to create Benglis's detailed rug.

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The article reveals that Emily Sargent (1857–1936), sister of famed portraitist John Singer Sargent, was a dedicated and original watercolorist whose extensive body of work remained hidden for decades. In 1998, a family member discovered a trunk containing 440 of her watercolors, and after nearly 25 years, the Sargent family has begun donating these works to major museums in the U.S. and U.K., including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (45 works), the Tate, London (29), the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (24), the Metropolitan Museum of Art (22), and the Brooklyn Museum (20).

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A new art fair called Arrival made its debut at the Tourists hotel in North Adams, Massachusetts, featuring 36 exhibitors and attracting curators, collectors, and artists from across the country. The fair, which closed June 15, offered an intimate format with world-class art, deep conversation, and a relaxed atmosphere that included swimming between sales, set against the backdrop of cultural attractions like Mass MOCA, the Clark Art Institute, and the Williams College Museum of Art.

behind the scenes at chicagos art week with gallerist daisy sanchez 2651202

Chicago's annual art week unfolded with gallerist Daisy Sanchez documenting the scene for Artnet News's 'Wet Paint in the Wild' column. Sanchez, who recently co-opened Hans Goodrich gallery with Peter Anastos, attended the Renaissance Society's annual benefit, EXPO Chicago, and after-parties. The week featured artists including Joanne Greenbaum, Leah Ke Yi Zhang, B. Ingrid Olsen, and Isabelle Frances McGuire, with appearances by curators Myriam Ben Salah, Karsten Lund, and Giampaolo Bianconi, among others.

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President Donald Trump has proposed eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and arts organizations across the U.S. are already feeling the impact. After a White House budget request in May that excluded the NEA, dozens of institutions received abrupt termination notices for their grant applications, with the NEA citing a shift in policy priorities to focus on projects reflecting the nation's artistic heritage as prioritized by the President. In protest, many senior NEA staff resigned or were asked to retire, leaving the agency in disarray. The cuts are part of broader federal efforts to defund cultural agencies, including the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, which has seen a 70-80 percent staff reduction and canceled over a thousand grants. Private foundations like the Mellon Foundation and the Helen Frankenthaler and Andy Warhol Foundations have launched emergency funding programs, but the consequences for artists, educators, and community organizations are immediate and destabilizing.

why leonora carringtons otherworldly sculptures are generating interest and controversy 2608664

Leonora Carrington, the British-born Surrealist artist, has seen a dramatic revival of interest in her work, with her paintings breaking auction records and her sculptures gaining new attention. However, a bitter dispute has emerged between supporters of her later bronzes and critics questioning their legitimacy, complicating her legacy. Carrington lived most of her life in Mexico and died in 2011 at age 94, but her reputation has soared posthumously, marked by a 2015 retrospective at Tate Liverpool, her influence on the 2022 Venice Biennale, and a current retrospective traveling from Palazzo Reale in Milan to Musée du Luxembourg in Paris. Her painting *Les Distractions de Dagobert* (1945) sold for $28.5 million at Sotheby’s New York in May 2024, setting a record for a British-born female artist, while her wooden sculpture *La Grande Dame (The Cat Woman)* (1951) fetched over $11.4 million in November 2024.

German artist Georg Baselitz dies aged 88

German artist Georg Baselitz has died at age 88, as confirmed by the Thaddaeus Ropac gallery. Known for his expressive paintings and sculptures, Baselitz rose to prominence in the 1960s after a scandal over sexually symbolic works led to a high-profile court case. He pioneered painting canvases upside down from 1969 onward, a technique he used to grapple with German history and collective guilt. His work spanned six decades and included notable sculptures, such as a wooden figure at the 1980 Venice Biennale that appeared to perform a Nazi salute, which he later clarified was inspired by an African artifact. Baselitz achieved international acclaim in the 1980s and became one of Germany's highest-priced living artists, alongside Gerhard Richter.

Wilhelm Sasnal review – his wild juxtapositions are almost obscene

Polish artist Wilhelm Sasnal's new exhibition at Sadie Coles HQ in London presents a disorienting array of paintings. The works juxtapose disparate and often disturbing images, including a grotesque depiction of the Oval Office, portraits of his family, album art for the industrial band Throbbing Gristle, and a forest scene linked to the Holocaust, creating a deliberate sense of fragmentation and broken connections.

almine rech closes london gallery 1234755425

Almine Rech is closing her London gallery in Mayfair after more than a decade, as reported by Melanie Gerlis in the Art Newspaper. The space, which opened in 2014 on Savile Row before moving to Grosvenor Hill, hosted exhibitions by artists including Javier Calleja, Chloe Wise, Jeff Koons, and Esther Mahlangu. Rech stated that London remains "important" to her and that she plans to open something in the city in the future, but offered no specifics. The London branch was put into liquidation, with Companies House filings indicating a £6.3 million deficit, though Rech said she owes no money to artists, workers, or suppliers and described the filing as a technical step to restructure a lease. Her gallery will continue operating its other eight locations across Paris, New York, Brussels, Shanghai, Monaco, and Gstaad.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s new David Geffen Galleries reframe 6,000 years of history

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is preparing to open its new $720m David Geffen Galleries, a massive undulating concrete structure designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor. Spanning Wilshire Boulevard, the new building adds 110,000 square feet of gallery space and 3.5 acres of public parkland, marking the completion of a two-decade capital project led by Director Michael Govan. The facility will house the museum’s permanent collection, which has been largely out of public view for seven years, and features innovative exhibition strategies such as hanging artworks directly onto concrete walls.

Tate Modern to Mount Its First Monet Show Ever

Tate Modern has announced its 2027 exhibition program, headlined by "Monet: Painting Time," the museum's first-ever solo exhibition dedicated to Claude Monet since it opened 26 years ago. The show, opening February 27, 2027, will feature rarely seen works from global lenders and new research, following an initial presentation at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris opening this September to mark the centenary of Monet's death.