martin beck environments art

Martin Beck has created a new body of artwork inspired by the *Environments* series of LPs, which debuted in 1969 and featured long-duration nature sounds and aural abstractions. The works are on view at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut, through October 5, and include wall works, video, and an exhibition design that explores how the records were marketed as lifestyle accessories and productivity aids. Beck first encountered the series through a friend's lecture at Columbia University and became fascinated by its blend of utopian vision and commercial hype.

is spains sistine chapel of romanesque art at risk

The Spanish Supreme Court has ordered the return of the Sijena Murals, 12th-century Romanesque frescoes known as the "Sistine Chapel of Romanesque Art," from the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) in Barcelona to their original monastery in Huesca, Aragon, by June 25. However, the MNAC is resisting the move, arguing that transporting the fragile, fire-damaged murals poses a "real risk of irreparable damage." The museum has requested more information about the destination and conditions at the Sijena monastery, and has suggested a longer timeline for the return of particularly delicate sections, while the Sijena City Council has proposed installing the works elsewhere if necessary.

art basel paris 2025 exhibitor list

Art Basel Paris has announced the 203 galleries participating in its 2025 edition, set to take place at the Grand Palais from October 24–26, with VIP previews on October 22–23. The fair is divided into three sections: the main Galeries section with 177 dealers, Emergence featuring 16 solo booths for emerging artists, and Premise with nine presentations from 10 galleries challenging the art historical canon. Notable blue-chip participants include Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Pace Gallery, David Zwirner, and top Parisian galleries such as Balice Hertling, Galerie Chantal Crousel, and Mennour. The fair will also bring back its Oh La La! Initiative and public art exhibition in the Jardin des Tuileries.

op ed museums gender and pay

The article examines how gender pay disparities and the fear of a "pink-collar" profession persist in the art museum world, triggered by comments from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg about "masculine energy" in the workplace. It recounts a 2020 forum where National Gallery of Art director Kaywin Feldman expressed concern that art museums becoming predominantly female could lower salaries, a remark initially seen as sexist but later contextualized by the author's investigation into the origins of such fears. The author traces the concept to a 2016 New York Times article citing research on how female-dominated fields see pay drops, and explores how even progressive leaders like Feldman can inadvertently perpetuate gender bias.

Archibald prize 2026: Richard Lewer’s portrait of artist Iluwanti Ken wins $100,000

Richard Lewer has won the 2026 Archibald Prize, Australia's most prestigious portraiture award, for his portrait of Pitjantjatjara elder, traditional healer, and senior artist Iluwanti Ken. The $100,000 prize was announced at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, with the judging panel selecting the work unanimously from 59 finalists. Lewer, a six-time Archibald finalist, painted Ken life-size against a yellow ochre background, capturing her quiet authority and role as a working artist. The Wynne Prize for landscape painting was also awarded to Gaypalani Waṉambi for *The Waṉambi tree*.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 to Lenny Henry: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead

The Guardian's weekly entertainment guide highlights two major art exhibitions opening in May 2025: 'Aleksandra Kasuba' at Tate St Ives (2 May to 4 October) and 'Zurbarán' at the National Gallery, London (2 May to 23 August). The Kasuba show is the first UK presentation of the Lithuanian American artist's proto-immersive 'spatial environments,' featuring early paintings, mosaics, and installations focused on utopian social harmony. The Zurbarán exhibition presents a blockbuster survey of the 17th-century Spanish Baroque master, known for his intense religious subjects and dramatic chiaroscuro.

In Performance Series, Artists Tackle the Nature of Images, and Reality, in the Face of AI

At Giorno Poetry Systems (GPS) in New York, a three-day program titled “Exert: The Physics of Metaphysics” featured performances and readings by artists including Mark Leckey, Hari Kunzru, and Gideon Jacobs. The works explored how emerging technologies like AI, VR, and AR are reshaping perceptions of reality and simulation, with Kunzru reading from a novel-in-progress about a man navigating a world where simulation encroaches on everyday life, and Jacobs presenting a performance lecture blending theater, essay, and AI-generated video.

protests new york new school cuts staffing programs

New York's The New School is offering voluntary retirement and severance programs to a large group of faculty and staff as part of a radical restructuring to address a $48 million deficit. The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) reported that 40 percent of full-time faculty, about 169 staffers, received the offers, calling it the largest attempted firing of faculty currently taking place in the nation. The school is also eliminating over thirty programs, primarily in social sciences and humanities, and plans to combine several schools into a two-college structure, including Parsons School of Design. The school faces declining enrollment and has been warned by the Department of Education over campus protests related to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

documentary pretty dirty marilyn minter art

A new documentary titled "Pretty Dirty: The Life and Times of Marilyn Minter" premiered at the DOC NYC film festival at IFC Center, chronicling the artist's four-decade career and personal struggles. Directed by Jennifer Ash Rudick and Amanda Benchley, the film follows Minter's journey from a dysfunctional upbringing in the South—with an emotionally abusive mother and her own battles with addiction—to her eventual rise as a major figure in contemporary art. It highlights her gritty, provocative enamel-on-metal paintings, her commercial work for Tom Ford and Zara, and her cultural impact through projects like Madonna's 2009 tour and the TV show Gossip Girl. The documentary features interviews with celebrities such as Lizzo, Jane Fonda, and Miley Cyrus, as well as art-world peers like Laurie Simmons and Jeff Koons.

sylvester stallones palm beach house has works by warhol condo botero and many other contemporary art stars

Sylvester Stallone and Jennifer Flavin's Palm Beach home, featured in a Veranda profile, showcases their extensive contemporary art collection. The house includes works by Andy Warhol, George Condo, Damien Hirst, Bridget Riley, Fernando Botero, Rashid Johnson, Sterling Ruby, and LeRoy Neiman, among others. Stallone, who began collecting at age 16, treats the home as a constantly rotating gallery, with a long hallway kept blank for changing displays and a dining room anchored by a Hirst mosaic and Condo abstract. The collection is integrated into daily life, with art hanging in the screening room, entry, and even near the gym.

barbara hepworth takes top lot at londons british art sales

London's auction houses held seven sales of Modern British art this week, achieving £22.3 million (including buyer's premium) against a presale estimate range of £21.3 million to £31.7 million. A total of 547 of 705 lots sold, a 77.6% sell-through rate. Bonhams struggled, with half its top lots unsold, including a Henry Moore bronze estimated at £1–2 million, but Pyms gallery and art adviser Wentworth Beaumont bought key works below estimate. Sotheby's raised £6.4 million, led by Edward Burra's *Striptease, Harlem* (1934) at £842,500, and a Paul Nash watercolor tripled its estimate to £212,500. Christie's achieved the highest total at £12 million, topped by Barbara Hepworth's *Figure (Sunion)* (1960), bought by Pyms gallery for over £800,000.

jen deluna blurred paintings bite dogs pinup

Artist Jen DeLuna creates blurred paintings based on vintage found photographs, primarily of 1970s pin-up girls and aggressive dogs. Working at PLOP residency in East London, she uses a large brush to blur wet paint, creating a hazy, memory-like effect. Her works include portraits like *Rallying Sigh* (2024) and canine pieces like *Hounding* (2024), which she hangs together to create a dialogue between femininity and animal aggression.

quantel paintbox digital art exhibition and documentary

An exhibition titled “How Quantel’s Paintbox Changed Our World” at the Phoenix Cinema and Arts Centre in Leicester, U.K., showcases 20 long-lost digital artworks made with the Quantel Paintbox, a pioneering 1980s computer graphics machine. The works, created by artists including David Hockney, Keith Haring, Larry Rivers, and Jennifer Bartlett, were tracked down by graffiti artist and photographer Adrian Wilson, an early Paintbox user. The exhibition is organized by the Computer Arts Society and marks the first public display of these pieces.

christies riggio modern art new york evening auctions 2025

Christie’s spring marquee auctions in New York brought in a combined $489 million with fees across two evening sales: the Leonard & Louise Riggio: Collected Works sale and the 20th Century sale. The Riggio collection, featuring 39 works heavy on Surrealism, modernism, and Minimalism, achieved $272 million with buyer’s premium, led by Piet Mondrian’s Composition With Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue (1922) at $47.56 million and René Magritte’s L’empire des lumières (1949) at $34.9 million. The 20th Century sale included major canvases by Monet, Rothko, and Warhol, but the hammer total of $409 million fell below the $446 million pre-sale low estimate, indicating the auction house did not meet expectations.

Ulysses Jenkins (1946–2026), A Black Radical Imagination

The article is a personal tribute by curator Erin Christovale to the late artist Ulysses Jenkins (1946–2026), chronicling their decade-long friendship and collaboration. Christovale recounts how she first encountered Jenkins's video work at the William Grant Still Arts Center in Los Angeles, and how a conversation with Otolith Group's Kodwo Eshun led to her curating Jenkins's work. She describes key moments including Jenkins's video "Planet X" (2006) about Hurricane Katrina, his 1979 work "Two-Zone Transfer" featuring Kerry James Marshall in blackface masks, and the 2021 retrospective "Ulysses Jenkins: Without Your Interpretation" co-curated with Meg Onli at the Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, which later traveled to the Hammer Museum and Julia Stoschek Foundation.

Who Do Chicago’s Art Fairs Serve?

Expo Chicago and its satellite fairs serve as a complex barometer for the Midwestern arts ecosystem, highlighting both the successes of local representation and the tensions of institutional growth. While galleries like Andrew Rafacz and Corbett vs. Dempsey demonstrate viable career paths for Chicago-based artists like Melissa Leandro and Gabrielle Garland, the fair's shifting structure reveals a narrowing field for smaller nonprofits.

Tanka Fonta wins 2026 Wi Di Mimba Wi Prize

Cameroon-born artist and polymath Tanka Fonta has been named the recipient of the 2026 Wi Di Mimba Wi Prize. Awarded by SAVVY Contemporary and the AKB Stiftung, the prize includes a €30,000 grant, production funds for a new commission, and dedicated curatorial support. Fonta, whose multidisciplinary practice spans visual art, composition, and philosophy, was selected from a shortlist of five Germany-based artists by a jury of prominent curators and academics.

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 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.

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.

Sotheby’s Posts $433 Million Haul, as Trophy Lots Continue to Carry the Market

Sotheby's May 2025 evening auctions in New York generated $433.1 million, a 132.7% increase over the same sales last spring, despite offering fewer lots. The evening featured an 11-lot sale from the collection of the late banker-turned-dealer Robert Mnuchin, which alone brought in $166.3 million, led by Mark Rothko's "Brown and Blacks in Reds" (1957) selling for $85.8 million. The main contemporary art auction, including "The Now" sale, totaled $266.8 million, with over 80% of lots guaranteed. Four works went unsold and one was withdrawn, yielding a 91% sell-through rate.

andy warhol foundation arts writers grants 2025

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts has announced its 2025 Arts Writers Grant recipients, awarding a total of $1.04 million to 31 writers. The grants, ranging from $15,000 to $50,000, are distributed across four categories: Articles, Books, Short-Form Writing, and a newly introduced Translation category with a $30,000 purse for translating books on contemporary visual art into English. Recipients include past and current contributors to ARTnews and Art in America, such as Glenn Adamson, Jeremy Lybarger, Zoé Samudzi, and Catherine G. Wagley.

us mashal auction basquiat picasso diane arbus 1mdb scandal

The US Marshals Service is auctioning four artworks by Pablo Picasso, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Diane Arbus that were surrendered to the US Department of Justice in connection with the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal. The online-only auction, run by Gaston and Sheehan auction house in Texas, began on July 16 and closes on September 4, with no buyer's premium. The works include Basquiat's *Self Portrait* (1982) and *Red Man One* (1982), Picasso's *Tête de taureau et broc* (1939), and Arbus's *Child with a Toy Hand Grenade* (1962). The pieces were linked to fugitive financier Jho Low and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who surrendered them after they were located in Switzerland.

food pati hertling performance space

Pati Hertling, a former restitution lawyer turned art-world fixture, has spent over two decades blending cooking with collaboration in her artistic practice. Since 2023, she has co-led Performance Space in New York's East Village alongside Taja Cheek and Ana Beatriz Sepúlveda, where she serves meals like steaks or grilled salmon to accompany gatherings. Hertling first gained prominence through her "Evas Arche und der Feminist" art salons in Berlin and New York, which offered soup and bread alongside visual art and live performances, creating a communal atmosphere that transformed attendees from bystanders into participants.

2026 Spring Arts Preview: The top visual art exhibitions we’re excited about this season

The article previews the spring 2026 visual arts season in San Diego County, highlighting a diverse range of exhibitions and events. It announces the return of Art Gallery Month, a collaborative effort involving 11 local galleries aimed at boosting the visibility of the commercial gallery ecosystem and encouraging local art collecting. Key exhibitions featured include Ruben Ulises Rodriguez Montoya's first California solo museum show, 'In the Garden of Earthly Delights: I Bend to Paradise,' at the Institute of Contemporary Art, San Diego, and the La Jolla Historical Society's 'Space Maker,' which explores the intersection of art and architecture. The preview also notes Richard Allen Morris's work at R.B. Stevenson Gallery and lists numerous participating commercial galleries.

May 2026 Exhibitions

Several galleries and a museum in Columbus's Short North arts district are opening new exhibitions for May 2026. Highlights include a women's group show at Sean Christopher Gallery Ohio, environmental abstract paintings by Annette Poitau at Marcia Evans Gallery, a spring-themed solo exhibition by Amy Adams at Sharon Weiss Gallery, and a salon exhibition at 24 Lincoln St. Gallery & Art Studios. The Columbus Museum of Art at the Pizzuti is presenting the first U.S. museum survey of Bahamian conceptual artist Tavares Strachan, featuring his 'Encyclopedia of Invisibility'.

An Analog Tether

A new wave of gallery exhibitions is championing analog physicality and personal intimacy as a direct counter-response to the rise of AI-generated imagery. Artists like Ben Wolf Noam and Joseph Geagan are utilizing traditional mediums such as charcoal, lithography, and oil paint to capture spontaneous, sentimental moments of human connection, from family dinners to portraits of friends. These works emphasize the "hospitable mess" of real life, prioritizing the recognizable faces and tangible textures that AI often flattens.

Actor Sharon Stone is up for the Women in Art Prize

Actor Sharon Stone, known for her role in *Basic Instinct*, has been nominated for the Women in Art Prize, now in its eighth year. The non-profit award exclusively honors women artists, and Stone began painting intensely during the Covid-19 lockdowns, holding her first solo gallery show at Allouche Gallery in Los Angeles in 2023. Other finalists among the 25 competing for 22 awards include painter Bianca Raffaella, who is registered blind, and Jenny Lewis, whose work addresses menopause. The prize also features the Paula Rego Painting Prize, created with the artist's estate to honor her influence on women in the arts. Winners will be announced at a ceremony at the British Library on 17 September, hosted by historian Amanda Foreman, with an exhibition at York Street Gallery in London from 16-24 September.

Dulwich Picture Gallery reveals opening date for redevelopment

Dulwich Picture Gallery in south-east London has announced a celebratory weekend on 6-7 September to mark the completion of its Open Art redevelopment project, the gallery's first major revamp in over 20 years. The project transforms three acres of green space, including an expanded Sculpture Garden, a new ArtPlay Pavilion for under-eights designed by HoLD Collective, and the Lovington Sculpture Meadow by landscape artist Kim Wilkie. The redevelopment, led by architects Carmody Groarke, also restores elements of Sir John Soane's original 1811 building and adds a new entrance, café, and school lunch area. The £5m project, funded by trusts, foundations, and a public campaign, still needs £20,000 to reach its target.