Ladji Diaby’s solo exhibition at Lafayette Anticipations, titled “Who’s Gonna Save the World?”, features furniture repurposed as vitrines for discarded objects. By collecting and displaying artifacts that have lost their original utility, Diaby creates a symbolic dialogue between himself and the anonymous former owners of these items, elevating mundane debris into the realm of high art.
Dana Garman Jacobsen and Jim Jacobsen purchased a 1970s West End house in Aspen, Colorado, after Dana felt an irresistible pull toward the property during a ski trip. The home, previously owned by Chicago philanthropist Joan Harris, features a post-and-beam structure reminiscent of their Richard Neutra house in Los Angeles, with a swimming pool integrated into the living space and architectural details that frame mountain views. The couple furnished the interiors with pieces from Dana's collection, including Børge Mogensen sofas and a Biedermeier chaise lounge, and crafted bed frames from a 150-year-old walnut tree.
An exhibition titled 'Drawings Against Genocide' by British artist Matthew Collings, scheduled to open at Delta House Gallery in Wandsworth, London, has been cancelled after complaints from UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) about antisemitic content. The show, planned for May 2026, included graphic drawings depicting Jews with horns, devouring babies, and denying Hamas's October 7 attacks, and had previously sparked outrage at a Margate gallery. Gallery owners Pineapple Corporation and Delta House Studios Ltd confirmed the cancellation after UKLFI warned of legal risks under the Public Order Act 1986.
A London gallery, Delta House Gallery in Wandsworth, canceled a traveling exhibition titled "Drawings Against Genocide" by British artist Matthew Collings after UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) intervened, citing antisemitic content. The show, scheduled for May 16-24, featured drawings with swastikas, comparisons of Israel to Nazi Germany, and depictions of Jewish figures with horns, among other imagery. Gallery owner Pineapple Corporation Chairman Tom Berglund confirmed the cancellation, stating the exhibition was arranged without owner consultation.
An exhibition of young Estonian artists has opened at the Art & Tonic gallery in Tallinn, showcasing 92 works selected from 269 submissions for the "Osta noort kunsti" ("Buy Young Art") spring auction. The auction, organized by gallery owner Reigo Kuivjõgi, features starting prices set by the artists themselves, ranging from €1 to €2,000, with past final prices reaching over €20,000. The exhibition runs free of charge from May 1 to May 14, with the live auction on May 15.
The Front, an artist-run cooperative gallery in Montpelier, Vermont, operates on an equal-ownership model with 23 member artists. Founded by Glen Coburn Hutcheson after a pop-up studio gallery evolved into a collective space, the gallery is cooperatively managed, with members sharing rent and responsibilities while hosting solo and bi-monthly group shows, critiques, and community events.
A drunk driver crashed into Open Gallery in Long Beach on February 24, 2024, destroying the space and forcing a year of renovations, financial strain, and displacement. Owners Liz Garibaldi and Artos Saucedo, who founded the gallery in 2019 as a live-work space for screen printers, have since reopened their gift shop and resumed programming, including the current photography exhibition "Physical Memory" curated by Matthew “NORDY” Nordman. However, the building owner now wants to sell, threatening the gallery's survival.
A new art gallery, Mark Jude Gallery, has opened in the historic Sears building in Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. The 5,000-square-foot space, plus a repurposed satellite gallery, occupies part of the 1.8-million-square-foot former Sears mail-order plant, which closed in 1992 and shut its store in 2021. The gallery features works by artists Megan Mueller, Antonio Kim, and Caterina Piccardo, and plans to host immersive exhibitions including performance art, experimental film, and interactive storytelling. Owner Mark Jude, a former executive chef at the Smithsonian Institution, moved the gallery from the Arts District to take advantage of lower rent and more space.
India Rose James, founder of Soho Revue, is launching Echo Soho, a boutique art fair exclusively for female-led galleries, during Frieze Week in London. The fair will run from 16 to 19 October at Artist’s House on Manette Street, featuring 12 exhibitors, a bar, a concept store, and events including workshops, performances, and a prize from Soho House. Confirmed participants include Pipeline, Gillian Jason Gallery, and Awita, with affordable booth prices starting at £850.
A federal judge in New York has approved a final settlement in a lawsuit between the two pseudonymous figures behind the record-breaking $69.3 million purchase of Beeple's NFT "Everydays: The First 5000 Days." The agreement legally prohibits Anand Venkateswaran (Twobadour) from claiming any involvement in the 2021 Christie's purchase, confirming that Vignesh Sundaresan (Metakovan) was the sole buyer. Venkateswaran must also pay an undisclosed sum, dissociate from related online profiles, and correct third-party biographical information.
The historic Hopton Hall Estate has opened a new gallery in Ashbourne, England, called the Hopton Hall Gallery. The gallery, housed in an 18th-century building that previously served as a butcher's, clockmaker's, and draper's shop, is the creation of estate owners Chris and Andi Harvey. Its inaugural exhibition, 'Brushed Light: Atmospheric Watercolours,' features works by local artists, and the gallery will host a rotating program of exhibitions and events through at least May 2027.
A federal judge has ordered an immediate halt to Donald Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom project, ruling that the administration cannot proceed without explicit congressional authorization. Despite the President's claims that the project is privately funded by "patriot donors," U.S. District Judge Richard Leon emphasized that the President is the "steward" rather than the owner of the White House, reinforcing long-standing statutes regarding construction on federal land.
Tad Smith, former CEO of Sotheby's and current chairman of the NFT project Doodles, has agreed to acquire most of the assets of the digital collectibles platform Candy Digital. Upon the deal's expected closure in the coming weeks, Smith will also assume the role of CEO, signaling a significant personal and financial bet on the future of the sector.
A federal judge in South Carolina awarded artist Todd Atkinson $158,400 in a copyright infringement case against artist Chan Shepherd and the building owner, Justin L. McFalls. Atkinson painted a mural of a train and water tank on a building in Clover, S.C., in 1982, and registered its copyright in 2023. After McFalls purchased the building, he hired Shepherd to paint a similar version over the original, removing Atkinson’s signature and adding Shepherd’s own. The court found violations of the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA), awarding $150,000 in statutory damages and $8,400 in actual damages.
ArtTactic's Global Art Market Outlook report indicates that the art market is entering 2026 with renewed optimism, with over half of participants expecting growth. Auction sales rose 11% year-on-year in 2025, driven by high-value trophy works and single-owner collections. Confidence is strongest at the top (works over $1 million) and bottom (under $50,000) of the market, while the mid-market remains squeezed. Modern and Post-War art lead the rebound, with painting dominating over NFTs and AI art. Geographically, the Middle East is the most bullish region, boosted by events like Art Basel Qatar, while the US and parts of Asia show improving sentiment, and Europe lags.
Bonhams ended 2025 with $970 million in global sales, one of its strongest recent performances, driven by growth across regions and categories including fine art, luxury goods, and collector cars. The year’s top lot was a 2020 Bugatti Divo that sold for $9 million. However, the results are overshadowed by a Financial Times report of a £213 million pre-tax loss in 2024, largely due to £153 million in impairment charges tied to a change in ownership—the house was sold by private-equity firm Epiris to Pemberton Asset Management in October 2025. Bonhams Hong Kong posted a record $104 million, UK sales rose 4.5% to $285 million, and digital sales accounted for 46% of total value.
Bonhams, the UK-based auction house, reported a nearly 90% surge in pre-tax losses to £213 million ($286.3 million) in 2024, alongside a 9% revenue decline to £176 million ($236.6 million), according to filings with Companies House. The losses were driven by £153 million in impairment charges due to reduced cash flow forecasts, reflecting a write-down on the investment value held by former owner Epiris. The house was sold to Pemberton Asset Management in October 2024, and subsequently saw a leadership overhaul, with Seth Johnson appointed CEO, Liese Thomas as CFO, and Jennifer Babington as COO, replacing Chabi Nouri and Céline Assimon.
Protesters stormed the campus of the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) in Benin City, Nigeria, on Sunday, just hours before its first preview events were set to begin. Demonstrators entered through a gate after being denied access, hurling insults at foreign guests and journalists. All preview events have been canceled and the public opening postponed. The museum attributed the unrest to disputes between previous and current state administrations, while local residents claimed anger over the perceived hijacking of a local initiative, with the Oba of Benin reportedly unhappy about the project.
Pemberton Asset Management, a European private credit manager backed by Legal & General, has acquired the auction house Bonhams from private equity firm Epiris for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition led to the departure of Bonhams's global CEO Chabi Nouri and chief commercial officer Céline Assimon, with a new senior leadership team appointed including Seth Johnson as CEO, Liese Thomas as CFO, and Jennifer Babington as COO. Bonhams chairman Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard will remain in his role, while Chris Ellerker and Mohit Agarwal from Pemberton join the board.
Argentine authorities believe they have recovered a Nazi-looted painting by Italian Baroque artist Giuseppe Ghislandi, which appeared in a real estate listing for a home in Mar del Plata. The home belongs to Patricia Kadgien, the daughter of a Nazi official, who initially faced accusations of obstructing the investigation but later turned over the painting to the Civil Court. The work was once owned by Jewish dealer Jacques Goudstikker, who fled Amsterdam during the Nazi rise and died shortly after; it is listed as missing in a registry of lost art.
A small protest of fewer than 50 demonstrators, organized by the Catalan National Assembly and joined by former Catalan president Laura Borràs and ANC president Lluís Llach, gathered outside the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) on Monday morning as Aragonese technicians arrived to inspect a set of contested 13th-century Romanesque murals. The murals, originally from the Sijena Monastery, were ordered returned by Spain’s Supreme Court after more than a decade of litigation, concluding that the original religious order never lawfully transferred ownership after the works were removed in 1936 following a fire during the Spanish Civil War. The inspection team, led by restorer Natalia Martínez de Pisón, began with less fragile sections using photogrammetry to assess transport viability, while MNAC officials warn that moving the more delicate frescoes could cause irreversible damage and plan to formally contest the execution order on conservation grounds.
Spain's Supreme Court has ruled that 13th-century Romanesque murals removed from the Sijena Monastery during the Spanish Civil War must be returned to their original home in Aragon. The artworks have been housed at the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) since 1936, after a fire gutted the monastery's chapter house. The ruling dismisses previous agreements that Catalan authorities claimed legitimized their custody, finding that the Sijena religious order never ceded ownership. The decision caps over a decade of legal battles and jurisdictional disputes between Aragon and Catalonia.
UNESCO has granted World Heritage status to Murujuga, an ancient Aboriginal rock art site in Western Australia's Pilbara region, despite concerns about its vulnerability to emissions from nearby gas and fertilizer plants. The site contains over 1 million petroglyphs, including the oldest known depiction of a human face, dating back up to 50,000 years. Indigenous groups campaigned for two decades for protection, and the Australian government nominated the site in 2023. However, the Karratha Gas Plant, operated by Woodside Energy, sits on the nominated land, and ICOMOS had warned that emissions pose a risk to the rock art. The UNESCO designation was unanimous, but an amendment was added requiring Australia to continue monitoring industrial impact.
A new European Union regulation, Regulation (EU) 2019/880, will take effect on June 28, requiring thorough provenance documentation for cultural objects over 200 years old (or 250 for archaeological items) imported into the EU. Importers must provide material evidence proving lawful acquisition from the country of origin, including the object's origin, export date, and chain of ownership, or face potential seizure. The rule builds on a 2019 anti-trafficking law and has sparked concern among EU-based dealers, who warn it could stifle the market for antiquities and non-European art.
Plans to extend the US-Mexico border wall through Val Verde County, Texas, threaten to damage or destroy hundreds of prehistoric rock art murals in the Lower Pecos region. Archaeologists and local landowners warn that construction vibrations could destabilize the rock surfaces housing these ancient paintings, some of which are over 5,700 years old and span up to 100 feet in length.
The Merchant's House Museum in New York discovered a hidden passageway within a set of drawers, used to conceal people escaping slavery via the Underground Railroad. The find, linked to the home's original abolitionist owner Joseph Brewster, has significantly increased public interest in the historic site.
Artnet News has launched a new four-part podcast mini-series titled "How to Get Ahead in the Art World," produced in partnership with Art Market Mentors. Hosted by editor-in-chief Naomi Rea and produced by Sonia Manalili, the series features insights from top art-world insiders including Cat Manson (former Christie's leader turned career coach), Loïc Gouzer (former Christie's rainmaker and founder of Fair Warning), and Brooke Lampley (senior roles at Sotheby's and Gagosian). Each episode covers a key career lesson: taking ownership of your career, trusting your instincts, leading with passion, and embracing a layoff as a reset.
During Berlin Art Week, a group of artists from the Alliance of Endangered Studio Spaces (AbBA) staged a protest at Alexanderplatz on September 16, calling on the Berlin Senate to repurpose abandoned properties for artistic and cultural use. The demonstration highlighted that five studio cooperatives housing about 150 artists were shut down by private owners in 2014 and 2015, with many more studios threatened by foreclosure due to rising rents and gentrification.
Researchers have confirmed the identity of the Spanish galleon San José, which sank off the coast of Colombia in 1708 carrying billions of dollars in gold, silver, and gems. Using high-resolution photographs and digital models from remotely operated vehicle surveys, they identified hand-struck coins (cobs) minted in Lima in 1707, along with Chinese porcelain and cannon inscriptions, as key evidence. The findings were published in the journal Antiquity on June 10.
A new housing development in Seattle called Corvidae Co-op offers an affordable, communal living model. The 10-unit complex in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, designed by Allied8 and funded via a Frolic Community model, sells homes for less than half the city's median price, with units starting at $180,000. Residents, ranging from children to retirees, share kitchens, decks, laundry, and a guest unit.