Shepard Fairey Projection Mirror: ICE Paid Agitator Screenprint Contemporary Art Obey Giant , 2026

Street artist Shepard Fairey has released a new limited-edition screenprint titled "Projection Mirror: ICE Paid Agitator" as part of his "FUCK ICE" series. The artwork features inflammatory rhetoric previously used by the Trump administration, redirected toward U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to highlight what the artist describes as the agency's pervasive brutality and dehumanizing attacks on immigrants. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of these prints will benefit the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA).

South Africa pavilion will be empty at 2026 Venice Biennale, culture ministry says

South Africa will not host a national pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale following a legal battle between the country’s Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC) and artist Gabrielle Goliath. The conflict began when Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie labeled Goliath’s planned project, which addressed violence in Gaza, as "highly divisive" and cancelled the exhibition after she refused to alter the content. A South African high court recently dismissed Goliath’s urgent application to overturn the cancellation, leading the government to abandon its participation in the prestigious international event entirely.

New biography offers well-crafted story of Louise Bourgeois’s rich life

Marie-Laure Bernadac’s new biography, 'Knife-Woman: The Life of Louise Bourgeois', provides a comprehensive look at the French-American artist’s prolific career and traumatic upbringing. The book explores how Bourgeois transformed childhood wounds—specifically her father’s infidelity and psychological cruelty—into a radical body of work spanning sculpture, installation, and textiles. From her early encouragement by Fernand Léger to her late-career fame with the 'Maman' spider sculptures, the biography traces her evolution from a painter to a boundary-defying sculptor who utilized materials ranging from latex to marble.

Parrish Art Museum Opens 'Regeneration' Exhibition

The Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, New York, will open the exhibition 'Regeneration: Long Island’s History of Ecological Art and Care' on February 22, 2026. The show, part of the museum's yearlong 'PARRISH USA250' series, features works by eleven artists with ties to Long Island, including Sara Siestreem, Michelle Stuart, and Maya Lin, and will run through June 14.

M.F. Husain in Qatar: bridging Asia and the Arab world

The article examines the life and legacy of Indian modernist painter M.F. Husain, focusing on his final years as a citizen of Qatar. It details his rise as a leading figure of the Progressive Artists' Group, his embodiment of a secular, post-independence Indian identity through his art, and the controversy that forced him into exile after 1996 due to accusations of blasphemy for depicting Hindu deities. He ultimately accepted Qatari citizenship in 2010 and died in London in 2011.

UK museum directors join prime minister on diplomatic mission to China

A delegation of senior UK museum directors, including Tim Reeve of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Doug Gurr of the Natural History Museum, Keith Merrin of North East Museums, Sara Wajid of Birmingham Museums Trust, and Laura Pye of National Museums Liverpool, accompanied Prime Minister Keir Starmer on a three-day diplomatic and trade mission to China. The trip aimed to strengthen bilateral relations, with the museum leaders highlighting existing partnerships and exploring new opportunities for cultural exchange and commercial collaboration in the Chinese market.

The road to ‘Fridamania’: how Frida Kahlo became a global phenomenon

A major exhibition titled "Frida: The Making of an Icon" opens at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, tracing how Frida Kahlo evolved from a little-known artist in Diego Rivera's shadow into a global phenomenon and brand. Curated by Mari Carmen Ramírez, the show examines Kahlo's posthumous rise to fame from the 1970s through influential biographies, Chicano and feminist reinterpretations, and her complex relationship with race, ethnicity, gender, and politics. It features 35 Kahlo works including "The Broken Column" (1944), alongside pieces by 80 artists influenced by her, and explores "Fridamania" through 200 objects. The exhibition will travel to Tate Modern in London this summer.

And God Created Artists: Brigitte Bardot caught on canvas

Brigitte Bardot, the iconic French actress and animal rights activist, has died at age 91. The article highlights her enduring influence as an artists' muse, noting that a 1963 painting of Bardot by Gerald Laing sold for £902,500 at Christie's in 2014, and that Andy Warhol created a series of screenprints of her in 1974. Other artists who portrayed Bardot include Kees van Dongen and Peter Engels, while Pablo Picasso is said to have met her but never painted her.

Art Basel Miami Beach Diary: love on the brain for Randy Andy, A$AP Rocky and a steamy Art Gaysel party

The article reports on events surrounding Art Basel Miami Beach 2025, including the inaugural Art Basel Awards ceremony at the New World Center, where artists Nairy Baghramian and Cecilia Vicuña were honored. It also covers the Satellite Art Show featuring Andy Warhol's blow-up doll 'Randy Andy' on public display for the first time, pop star Rihanna supporting partner A$AP Rocky at the Ray-Ban Clubhouse launch, the tenth anniversary of the queer satellite fair Art Gaysel at Hôtel Gaythering, and artist Marc Hundley's affordable T-shirt project at Canada gallery.

In 1960s New York, three single mothers bought a house together and turned it into a thriving live/work space

A new documentary film, *Artists in Residence*, premiered on November 14 at the DOC NYC film festival, telling the story of three single mothers—painters Lois Dodd and Eleanor Magid and the late sculptor Louise Kruger—who bought a former factory in New York's East Village in 1968. Denied a mortgage because single women could not apply for credit until 1974, they secured a loan from their landlord and transformed the building into a live/work space where they raised their children and pursued their art. The film, produced by Katie Jacobs, explores how each woman prioritized her creative practice while contributing to the city's cultural fabric.

Star drawing from world’s largest private Rembrandt collection could bring $15m at auction

Billionaire entrepreneur Thomas S. Kaplan and his wife Daphne Recanati Kaplan are selling Rembrandt's drawing *Young Lion Resting* (circa 1638-42) from their Leiden Collection, one of the world's largest private holdings of 17th-century Dutch art. Sotheby's announced on November 3 that the work will be auctioned during its Old Masters sales in New York on February 4, 2026, with a pre-sale estimate of $15 million to $20 million. Proceeds from the sale will benefit Panthera, a wild-cat conservation organization co-founded by Kaplan and philanthropist Jonathan Ayers, marking the 20th anniversary of the organization's founding.

Comment | Fifty years on, John Berger’s writing is still relevant—and troublingly prescient

The article reflects on the enduring relevance of John Berger, the influential art critic and writer best known for his 1972 series and book "Ways of Seeing." It highlights two current cultural events that underscore his legacy: a new edition of his 1975 book "A Seventh Man," which examines migrant labor in Europe through text and photographs by Jean Mohr, and a dance-theatre collaboration between Nederlands Dans Theater and Complicité titled "Figures in Extinction," which draws on Berger's writings about humanity's relationship with nature and the economy of the dead.

THE SMOKING SECTION: GOTHAM CHELSEA UNVEILS FIRST ASHTRAY ART EXHIBITION FEATURING COMMISSIONED WORKS BY PREMIER ARTISTS

Gotham, the world's first cannabis concept store, has unveiled 'The Smoking Section,' its first commissioned art exhibition at Gotham Gallery in Chelsea, New York. Running from November 6, 2025, to January 5, 2026, the show features over 45 artists and designers—including Ridykeulous (Nicole Eisenman and A.L. Steiner), Daniel Gordon, Mika Tajima, Deborah Czeresko, and Peter Shire—who each created original ashtrays that range from functional to conceptual. Curated by Rachel Berks, Gotham's VP of Product Development & Partnerships, the exhibition explores the ashtray as both a ritual object and cultural symbol, linking cannabis culture to contemporary art.

Chef Daniel Humm Is the Latest Star to Leave Their Mark on Sotheby’s Contemporary Curated Auction Series

Chef Daniel Humm, the renowned culinary figure behind Eleven Madison Park, has guest-curated Sotheby's Contemporary Curated auction series, selecting artworks with the same rhythmic and intentional approach he uses in menu creation. In an interview with CULTURED, Humm describes how a transformative encounter with Claude Monet's Water Lilies at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris inspired his curatorial philosophy, emphasizing stillness, contemplation, and dialogue between works. His selections include pieces by Roni Horn, Alex Katz, Keith Haring, Sarah Crowner, and Jean Dubuffet, reflecting personal friendships and a desire to create an immersive, sensory experience akin to a multi-course meal.

Man Ray’s Mysteries, in Glorious Bloom at the Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is opening a major exhibition titled "Man Ray: When Objects Dream" on September 14, 2025, featuring 64 rayographs and about 100 other works by the artist from his most productive period in the late 1910s and 1920s. Curators Stephanie D'Alessandro and Stephen C. Pinson aim to separate fact from the artist's own mythology, while the exhibition's centerpiece is "Le Violon d'Ingres" (1924), the most expensive photograph ever sold at auction, purchased by museum trustee John Pritzker for $12.4 million at Christie's in 2022. The show also includes a previously unannounced promised gift of 188 artworks by Man Ray and his Dada and Surrealist cohort from Pritzker.

Claws for celebration: Canada’s first cat museum launching with Montreal pop-up exhibition

Canada's first cat museum, Le Miaousée, is launching with a pop-up exhibition in Montreal's Little Italy district from September 12-28, 2025. Founded by cultural entrepreneur Aqeela Nahani, the museum aims to celebrate the bond between cats and humans while supporting rescue cat charities. The debut show, titled 'Miaoutréal: The History of Montreal’s Cats,' will feature archival photographs dating back to the 1860s, cat-themed events, contemporary art by local artists including Sylvain Amblard, Andréanne Lupien, and Linda Luttinger, and a tribute to animal rescue organizations such as the Montreal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. A permanent museum is planned for 2026, which will include rotating exhibits, a cat lounge for adoptable cats, and a boutique.

Football meets art in new Aviva Studios exhibition

Manchester International Festival (MIF) has opened a new exhibition titled 'Football City, Art United' at Aviva Studios, exploring the intersection of football and contemporary art. Co-curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Juan Mata, and Josh Willdigg, the show features 11 works pairing artists like Paul Pfeiffer, Philippe Parreno, Ryan Gander, and Rose Wylie with football figures including Eric Cantona, Edgar Davids, Ella Toone, and Lotte Wubben-Moy. Highlights include a sound installation recreating the stadium tunnel experience, a spotlight piece on celebrity isolation, and a documentary on sexism in women's football.

football city, art united transforms manchester's aviva studios into a pitch for creativity

Manchester International Festival 2025 presents "Football City, Art United" at Aviva Studios, a group exhibition co-curated by former footballer Juan Mata, curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, and Josh Willdigg. The show pairs eleven international footballers with artists across media—including Ryan Gander with Eric Cantona, Keiken with Ella Toone, and Suzanne Lacy with Vivianne Miedema and Ali Riley—to explore intersections of sport and contemporary art. Works range from a holographic tribute to Diego Maradona by Jill Mulleady to an interactive installation by Stefano Boeri Architetti with Sandro Mazzola. The exhibition runs through August 24, 2025.

The tale of a French psychiatric asylum that harboured Second World War resistance fighters—and where patients became artists

An exhibition catalogue from the American Folk Art Museum's 2024 show traces the story of Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole, a French psychiatric asylum that sheltered Spanish Republican refugees and resistance fighters during World War II. Under Catalan psychiatrist Francesc Tosquelles, patients were encouraged to create art from found objects, producing works that later influenced Jean Dubuffet's concept of Art Brut. The asylum became a haven where hierarchies between doctors and patients were leveled, and patients bartered their creations for food during wartime austerity.

An UES carriage home from a celebrity architect opens up for a public art show

Art dealer and collector Adam Lindemann is presenting a free public exhibition titled "Urhobo + Abstraction" in his East 77th Street carriage house on Manhattan's Upper East Side. The show features five life-size 19th- and early-20th-century sculptures carved by the Urhobo people of southern Nigeria, paired with works by contemporary artists of African descent including El Anatsui, Alma Thomas, and Jack Whitten. The carriage house is the first Manhattan building designed by Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye, whose renovation was completed in the late 2000s. The exhibition runs through June 13, open Mondays through Thursdays, and the sculptures are not for sale.

Illustrative Artist: Anthony Bartley’s Journey From Science into the Gallery

Anthony Bartley, a 27-year-old artist from Chicago's South Side, is presenting twenty acrylic paintings from 2023 to the present in his solo exhibition “Words I’ve Never Said: A Community Healing and Art Exhibition” in Hyde Park. The show explores themes of love, grief, and mental health, doubling as a creative space for community engagement. Bartley’s journey began with childhood interests in anime, Pokémon cards, and video games like Kingdom Hearts and Halo Reach, later influenced by his mother Jeanette, a dean at Triton College, who exposed him to science. He initially majored in molecular biology at Washington University in St. Louis before turning to art as a form of journaling, developing a style he calls “illustrative painting” that blends pop art and street art elements.

Vincent Valdez and KB Brookins picked for ACLU Texas's artist-in-residence programme

The ACLU of Texas has selected Austin-based writer and artist KB Brookins and San Antonio-born painter Vincent Valdez as its artists-in-residence for 2026. Chosen from nearly 200 applicants, each will receive $30,000 to create works addressing criminal law reform, immigrants' rights, and equality for LGBTQIA+ individuals. Valdez will focus on portraits of local community leaders for his New Americans series and produce 'Know Your Rights' poster packets, while Brookins will tackle the pretrial carceral system through community organizing and workshops.

Polygon Gallery exhibition features 'one of the most important artists working in Canada'

The Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver has launched "Photolithics," a major exhibition by Secwépemc and Scottish-settler artist Tania Willard. The show features a decade of Willard’s work, including monumental recreations of historical postcards on sandpaper and photographs viewed through ulexite crystals. The exhibition utilizes innovative installation techniques, such as a traditional kekuli structure, to recontextualize archival imagery and explore the intersection of geological time and Indigenous history.

ronnie wood rolling stones prints 50th year 2716249

Ronnie Wood, guitarist for the Rolling Stones, has released a new series of artworks titled "Paint It Black" to mark his 50th anniversary with the band. The paintings, which depict Wood and his bandmates Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and the late Charlie Watts, went on view at Redhouse Gallery in Harrogate, U.K. Signed, personalized prints are available in limited editions of 100, priced at £1,250 each. The release coincides with a reissue of the album "Black and Blue" (1976), Wood's first as an official band member.

ian jones dead tali lennox boyfriend 324415

Authorities confirmed that a body recovered from the Hudson River near Poughkeepsie is that of 32-year-old Ian Jones, the boyfriend of artist and model Tali Lennox. Jones went missing after their kayak overturned; Lennox was rescued by a passing boat after 20 minutes in the water. The cause of death was drowning, and neither was wearing a life vest. Jones was a photographer and model who appeared on the cover of L'Officiel Hommes and walked in the Berluti runway show. Lennox, daughter of Annie Lennox and Uri Fruchtmann, posted a tribute on Instagram calling Jones her "soul mate" and "partner in crime & creativity." The couple had collaborated on a portrait series called "Street Kids," featuring homeless youth from the East Village, and Lennox had her first solo show at Catherine Ahnell Gallery in Soho this past spring.

Space: the ultimate wardrobe challenge – in pictures

Thames and Hudson has released Space Journal: The Art and Science of Cosmic Exploration, a new visual compendium curated by BBC presenter Dallas Campbell. The book chronicles humanity’s aesthetic and technical obsession with the cosmos, featuring a diverse array of archival imagery ranging from 17th-century illustrations and 1930s rocket experiments to high-fidelity spacesuit replicas and mid-century astronomical art.

Free and Queer: Black Californian Roots of Gay Liberation

The California African American Museum has launched 'Free and Queer: Black Californian Roots of Gay Liberation,' an exhibition dedicated to the often-overlooked history of Black LGBTQ resistance and culture in California. Curated by Susan D. Anderson in collaboration with ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, the show utilizes a vast array of archival materials, photographs, and film to trace a lineage of activism and artistic expression that predates the Stonewall riots. It specifically highlights how Black queer Californians navigated McCarthy-era repression, the civil rights movement, and the AIDS crisis.

Artist in Focus: Louis Pohl Koseda. Constructing the City as Memory.

British artist Louis Pohl Koseda is gaining attention for his intricate works that blend drawing, painting, and architectural theory to explore the city as a psychological structure. His practice, which he terms 'metafictionism,' utilizes fine-line drawing to create layered compositions where figures navigate unstable, theatrical urban environments. Influenced by his upbringing in an East London Hare Krishna community, Koseda’s work focuses on how belief systems and social fabrics are mapped onto the physical and imagined spaces of the city.

Charles Bronson Art Auction

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A collection of 500 artworks by Charles Bronson, one of the United Kingdom’s most notorious prisoners, is scheduled for auction at David Duggleby Auctioneers on March 11. The works, created using crayon, ink, and pencil on prison documents, will be sold as a single lot. The collection explores themes of isolation and endurance, reflecting Bronson’s decades of incarceration and solitary confinement.

bob ross painting breaks record at john oliver public media benefit auction 1234763941

John Oliver’s benefit auction for public broadcasting set a new market record for a Bob Ross painting. On Monday, Ross’s *Cabin at Sunset*, painted for a 1986 episode of PBS’s *The Joy of Painting*, sold for roughly $1,044,000. Oliver revealed the sale on the 2025 finale of *Last Week Tonight With John Oliver*, having persuaded the Bob Ross estate to auction the work. The lot received 35 bids. The auction was part of “John Oliver’s Junk,” an online sale of 65 items that netted nearly $1.54 million for the Public Media Bridge Fund, which supports local public broadcasters after the Trump administration eliminated $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.