It is the great Mark Rothko leading Sotheby's first auctions in New York

È il grande Mark Rothko a guidare le prime aste di Sotheby’s a New York

Sotheby's kicked off New York's art and auction week with two major sales on May 14, 2026, led by the highly anticipated Robert Mnuchin: Collector at Heart Evening Auction. The top lot was Mark Rothko's "Brown and Blacks in Reds" (1957), which sold for $85.8 million, the second-highest price ever for the artist at auction. The Mnuchin auction achieved a "white glove" sale, selling all 11 lots for a total of $166.3 million, followed by The Now & Contemporary Evening Auction which brought in $266.8 million. Combined, Sotheby's generated $433.1 million, a 133% increase over its May 2025 session. The sales reflect a strong return of high-value trophy lots to the secondary market, driven by the dispersal of prominent collectors' estates.

Art Busan Is Building a More Sustainable Art Market

Art Busan, celebrating its 15th anniversary, will be held from May 21 to 24, 2026, at BEXCO in Busan, South Korea, bringing together over 110 galleries from 18 countries. The fair introduces two new integrated segments: DEFINE, which expands the fair to include collectible design, furniture, and craft, and LIGHTHAUS, which transforms gallery booths into curated spatial experiences to encourage deeper engagement. These initiatives aim to move beyond purely transactional sales and speculative momentum.

Maracas in hand, my toddler wanders freely through a gallery of priceless ceramics

A parent describes bringing their toddler to a "family-friendly drop-in" session at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, where children are allowed to roam freely among priceless ceramics and other artworks. The session is child-led and loosely structured, with activities like coloring, building blocks, and musical instruments placed directly in the galleries rather than in a separate cordoned-off area.

Mary Frank Creates Her Own Pantheon

Mary Frank, an artist in her early 90s known for mythologically rooted sculpture and works on paper, is the subject of a focused exhibition at Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects in New York. Curated by Steven Harvey, the show presents 11 sculptures in wood, bronze, and ceramic from 1958 to 1985, alongside five works on paper, including a monotype and an oil-on-paper piece. Frank’s work, influenced by her study with Martha Graham, centers on self-sustaining female figures that embody agency, tenderness, and survival, often rendered in ceramic slabs or carved wood.

Remembering James Hayward, LA’s Adored Cowboy Painter

Abstract painter James Hayward, known for his monochromatic oil and wax impasto works, died last week at age 82. A legendary figure in the LA art scene, Hayward was equally celebrated for his magnetic personality, ribald humor, and storytelling. He rose to prominence in 1977 when included in the group show "Less is More" at Sidney Janis Gallery in New York, and was admired by art-world giants such as Dave Hickey, Chris Burden, Nancy Rubins, Ed Moses, and Mike Kelley. Hayward also taught at colleges across the country, including a guest seminar at the University of Southern California, and was a longtime supporter of the LA contemporary art magazine Artillery.

Dartmouth Students Turn to Moldy Beef Jerky Installation in Renewed Bid to Remove Leon Black’s Name from Arts Center

Art students at Dartmouth College installed a provocative piece titled "Something Rotten" in the Black Family Visual Arts Center, consisting of 20 moldy beef sticks arranged into a smiley face over the dedication wall honoring billionaire financier Leon Black and his family. The work, created by students Erik Siegel, Angeles Juarez-Ruiz, and Roan Wade, was removed one week after the exhibition "Storage Room" opened on April 14. The piece references Black's documented friendship and business dealings with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with the wall label quoting an Epstein email mentioning "jerky." The installation is part of a broader student and alumni campaign to remove Black's name from the arts center, which was funded by a $48 million gift from Black and his wife Debra.

These Are the Winners of the 2026 Guggenheim Fellowship

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has announced its 2026 fellowship recipients, naming 223 individuals across 55 disciplines. The cohort includes 76 professionals from the visual arts, photography, and fine arts research sectors, featuring notable figures such as Sheida Soleimani, American Artist, Kenneth Tam, and Sonya Clark. This year's selection process was notably competitive, drawing 5,000 applicants—a significant increase from previous years.

Steve DiBenedetto’s Cosmic Sense of the Absurd

Artist Steve DiBenedetto presents a new body of work in his solo exhibition, "Spiral Architect," at Derek Eller Gallery. The show features 17 paintings ranging from large-scale canvases to intimate works, all characterized by a restless movement between abstraction and figuration. DiBenedetto utilizes a process-heavy technique of adding, scraping, and reworking oil paint to create dense, visionary landscapes filled with octopi, cellular forms, and Rube Goldberg-esque machinery.

Ai Weiwei and the Art of Keeping Your Mouth Shut

Dissident artist Ai Weiwei explores the corrosive nature of state control and self-restraint in his new book, "On Censorship" (2026). Drawing from a lifetime of persecution—including his father’s exile to a labor camp, his own 81-day detention in 2011, and recent digital erasure by Chinese AI—Ai argues that censorship fundamentally strips individuals of their humanity. He highlights how the mechanism of silencing has evolved from overt state violence in the East to a more insidious culture of self-censorship in the West, exemplified by the cancellation of his own 2023 exhibition at Lisson Gallery following comments on the conflict in Gaza.

David Novros’s Portable Murals

David Novros’s latest exhibition at Paula Cooper Gallery showcases his "portable murals," intricate multi-paneled paintings that challenge the traditional concept of art as a mere object on a wall. Utilizing oil and murano on canvas, Novros assembles monochromatic, L-shaped, and horizontal panels with precise intervals that incorporate the gallery wall into the composition. These works are designed to be experienced kinesthetically, responding to shifting natural light and the viewer's physical movement through the space.

Beacons in a Grim World

Two concurrent solo exhibitions at Alexander Berggruen Gallery feature the work of artists Kevin McNamee-Tweed and Tajh Rust. McNamee-Tweed presents enigmatic, tenderly absurd ceramic scenes, while Rust debuts in New York with figurative paintings that explore perception and Black identity through portraits of leisure and experimental silvered glass works.

Can Raising Children Make You a Better Artist? Four Artist Mothers Weigh In.

Four artist mothers—Hope Atherton, Jessi Reaves, Sam Moyer, and Sarah Morris—share candid reflections on how raising children has shaped their art practices. They discuss fractured time, heightened decisiveness, evolving rituals like bedtime reading, and the guilt and power that accompany balancing motherhood with studio work. Atherton describes a new sense of urgency and efficiency, while Reaves and others offer personal anecdotes about the interplay between caregiving and creativity.

parties bvlgari chateau marmont

Bvlgari and CULTURED magazine co-hosted a launch party for Bvlgari's new Icons Minaudière collection at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. The event, held in Penthouse 64, brought together a mix of Hollywood actors, visual artists, art dealers, and fashion insiders, with guests including Camila Mendes, Lauren Halsey, Emma Webster, and dealers Shaun Regen and Hannah Hoffman. Attendees enjoyed cocktails, dinner, and a rare pink moon sighting, and left with a co-developed mini-magazine.

art where artists hang out nyc

Cultured magazine surveyed 30 New York-based artists to find out where they hang out in 2026, as affordable and easy gathering places have become scarce. The responses range from iconic spots like the Rose Reading Room at the New York Public Library and the Metropolitan Museum of Art to more offbeat locales such as a karaoke bar on Bowery, a Cantonese noodle house in Chinatown, and a church hosting vogue sessions. Artists including Coco Klockner, Jamian Juliano-Villani, Tiffany Sia, Amanda Ba, Lucy Bull, and others share their personal favorites, highlighting a diverse mix of libraries, restaurants, bars, and community spaces.

art fashion camille henrot collina strada interview

Camille Henrot and Hillary Taymour, wearing Collina Strada, are featured in a Cultured magazine interview marking the reopening of the New Museum on March 21, 2026, after a 60,000-square-foot expansion by OMA. The conversation is part of a series pairing three artists from the inaugural exhibition "New Humans: Memories of the Future" with three downtown fashion designers. Henrot discusses her New York origin story, her film *In the Veins* premiering in the show, and her upcoming play *Commedia dell’Arte* at the Aspen Art Museum’s AIR Festival, while Taymour recounts moving from Los Angeles to New York in 2010 to pursue fashion design.

art fashion ivana basic claire sullivan interview

Cultured magazine pairs three artists with three independent fashion designers to mark the reopening of the New Museum on March 21, 2026, following a 60,000-square-foot expansion by OMA. In this installment, Serbian sculptor Ivana Bašić, whose work *Blossoming Being #2* appears in the inaugural exhibition “New Humans: Memories of the Future,” meets designer Claire Sullivan of Miss Claire Sullivan. Their conversation covers their New York origin stories, the city’s affordability crisis, and the challenges of making a creative life in the city.

art nicole saikalis bay london milan beirut patron

Nicole Saikalis Bay, an architect and patron, divides her time between Milan, London, Beirut, and Paris, where she has built a triple-pronged artist support network: the Saikalis Bay Foundation, a Milan exhibition space called Circolo, and the nonprofit WeAre Projects. Her collection began as a private impulse to live with art, focusing on modern Italian masters like Enrico Castellani and Fausto Melotti, and has expanded to contemporary artists such as William Kentridge, Nari Ward, and Tacita Dean. This month, Circolo presents work by ten rising artists of Lebanese heritage, reflecting her commitment to supporting artists from regions in need.

art lauren halsey los angeles park

Lauren Halsey, an artist known for immersive architectural projects rooted in South Central Los Angeles, is expanding her civic engagement with a new sculpture park titled "sister dreamer," opening in March in collaboration with the nonprofit LAND. The article, presented as a studio visit, details her creative process, influences, and upcoming projects, including a limited-edition cycling jersey with Rapha and the Miami Design District to raise funds for cancer research. It also highlights her recent exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Venice Biennale, and the Serpentine Galleries.

design carlos soto theater costume design 2

Carlos Soto, a set and costume designer known for his emotionally charged and essentialist approach to theater, is profiled in a feature that traces his career from a childhood encounter with Robert Wilson to collaborations with Solange, Marina Abramović, and Philip Glass. Soto discusses his recent production of Robin Hood at Zurich's Schauspielhaus, where he fused Japanese Noh theater masks with animal memes to create costumes that blur the line between human and beast. The article highlights his uncompromising vision, his early apprenticeship under Frida Parmeggiani at the Met, and his decision to drop out of Pratt Institute to pursue hands-on learning.

art nicole eisenman 52 walker politics

Nicole Eisenman's solo exhibition "STY" is on view at 52 Walker in New York through January 10, 2026. The show features recent paintings including "The Auction" (2025) and "Archangel (The Visitors)" (2024), which blend styles from realism to post-Cubist caricature. Curated by Ebony L. Haynes, the gallery is transformed into a single room lined with Homasote board, creating an intimate studio-like atmosphere that includes reference ephemera from Eisenman's Brooklyn studio, such as a printout of Martin Kippenberger's 1984 abstraction.

anastasia samoylova casa tua breakfast with

Anastasia Samoylova, an artist who works in photography and painting, is presenting her rarely shown "Breakfasts With" series at Casa Tua Aspen this summer. The series, begun in 2015 after she received her green card, combines breakfast food with photo books by notable creatives, creating still-life "conversations" that serve as daily creative prompts. The exhibition follows her dual show with Walker Evans at the Met, which showcased two differing visions of Florida. In an interview, Samoylova discusses how the series developed from a meditative morning ritual into a practice that helped her ground herself after leaving a tenured teaching position, and how intuitive pairings—like a cut mango with Barbara Kasten's work—emerged from spontaneity rather than conceptual planning.

art cool summer activities new york museum guide

Cultured's guide to summer art activities in New York highlights five museum exhibitions, each paired with the gallery's air-conditioned temperature setting. Featured shows include Temitayo Ogunbiyi's first institutional solo at the Noguchi Museum, MoMA's "Woven Histories" exploring textile art, Saya Woolfalk's "Empathetic Universe" at the Museum of Arts and Design, Ben Shahn's "On Nonconformity" at the Jewish Museum, and "Vermeer's Love Letters" at the newly renovated Frick Collection.

gabrielle chanel la pausa restoration peter marino

Cultured reports on the meticulous restoration of La Pausa, the Mediterranean villa built by Gabrielle Chanel in 1928, led by architect Peter Marino. After Chanel sold the property in 1953 to American collectors who later donated it to the Dallas Museum of Art, the house of Chanel reacquired it in 2015. Over the following decade, Marino worked with Chanel’s heritage team, including Hélène Fulgence, to restore the villa to its original state using archival images, blueprints, and original furnishings sourced at auction. The villa, perched in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, will now serve as a creative retreat for artists and writers.

heading to basel swiss collector suzanne syz has a priceless list of fair dos and donts

Swiss collector Suzanne Syz, a longtime attendee of Art Basel since its early days as a "mammoth indoor flea market," shares her insights and advice for navigating the fair. In an interview with Cultured, Syz discusses her collection, which includes works by Barbara Kruger, Julian Schnabel, Olivier Mosset, and Peter Fischli, and offers tips such as skipping long lines, focusing on the Statements section for emerging artists, and trusting gut instincts over spreadsheets. She also highlights the distinct Swiss art scene, praising institutions like Kunsthalle Zürich and MAMCO, and schools like HEAD and ECAL.

Pinta Panama Art Week 2026 Reaffirms the Country as a Hub for Regional Contemporary Art

PINTA PANAMA ART WEEK 2026 REAFFIRMS THE COUNTRY AS A HUB FOR REGIONAL CONTEMPORARY ART

The second edition of Pinta Panamá Art Week will be held from March 18-22, 2026, featuring works by Panamanian artists like Cisco Merel, Lulu Molinares, Arístides Ureña Ramos, and Isabel de Obaldía. Their projects, ranging from sculpture and textiles to immersive installations and studio visits, explore themes of memory, territory, and everyday life through the manipulation of materials and space.

Georg Baselitz ist tot

German artist Georg Baselitz has died at the age of 88. According to Galerie Thaddeus Ropac, he passed away peacefully on Thursday. Born Hans-Georg Bruno Kern in 1938 in Deutschbaselitz, Saxony, Baselitz fled East Germany in 1957 after political repression and academic conflicts. His first solo exhibition in West Berlin in 1963 was shut down due to scandal, and works were confiscated. He became internationally known in the late 1960s for his radical upside-down painting, a signature inversion that destabilized pictorial logic. He also created an extensive sculptural body of work. Key career milestones include representing Germany at the Venice Biennale in 1980 alongside Anselm Kiefer, multiple Documenta appearances, the Praemium Imperiale in 2004, and election to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 2019. Major late-career exhibitions included "Nackte Meister" at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna in 2023.

Uncertainty in the Art Market is Currently Extreme

"Im Moment ist die Verunsicherung auf dem Kunstmarkt extrem"

Prominent Cologne gallerist Gisela Capitain is celebrating her 40th anniversary amid a period of significant market volatility. In recent interviews, she reflects on her career—defined by long-term artist relationships like that with Martin Kippenberger—while critiquing the current state of the art world. She notes that buyers have become increasingly hesitant and deliberate, describing the current level of uncertainty in the art market as extreme and calling for reforms to institutions like Art Cologne.

Why Do the Women Have to Be Naked?

"Warum müssen die Frauen nackt sein?"

A series of cultural controversies highlight growing tensions between artistic freedom and political pressure. In Germany, cultural minister Wolfram Weimer faces criticism for opaque funding decisions and alleged interference in jury processes, with critics arguing this undermines artistic freedom and free speech. Simultaneously, the European Media Art Festival in Osnabrück defends filmmaker Basma al-Sharif against accusations of antisemitism, illustrating how cultural funding can become a test of political ideology.

Robert Filliou, artistes océaniens… Que nous réserve la prochaine édition de la Biennale de Lyon ?

The 18th edition of the Lyon Biennale, titled "Passer d’un rêve à l’autre" (Moving from One Dream to Another), will run from September 19 to December 13, 2026. Curated by Catherine Nichols, an Australian-born art historian and editor based in Berlin, the biennial will take place across ten venues in Lyon, including the Grandes Locos, macLyon, and for the first time the Musée des Tissus et des Arts décoratifs. More than half of the works will be new productions, and over half of the artists are women, with a substantial focus on Oceanian artists such as Timo Hogan, Jazz Money, and Kaylene Whiskey. The exhibition draws inspiration from Lyon's traboules (hidden passageways) and the writings of artist Robert Filliou, exploring themes of dreams, critical analysis, and a "poetic economy."

Inside the Studio of Abdelkader Benchamma, Cartographer of Invisible Worlds

Dans l’atelier d’Abdelkader Benchamma, cartographe des mondes invisibles

French-Moroccan artist Abdelkader Benchamma is preparing for his upcoming solo exhibition, "Signs and Wonders," at Galerie Templon in Paris. Working from his sun-drenched studio in Montpellier, Benchamma has transitioned from his signature black-and-white ink drawings to large-scale canvases that incorporate celestial blues and earthy mineral tones. The new body of work draws inspiration from 15th and 16th-century manuscripts, specifically the Kitab al-Bulhan and the Book of Miracles, creating a "giant book" of visual narratives that blur the lines between abstraction and figuration.