Johnson Lowe Gallery Opening Reception - Enco... | 09/26/2025 7:00 PM | CL

Johnson Lowe Gallery in Atlanta is opening two exhibitions on September 26, 2025: a solo show of works by the late American artist Todd Murphy (1962–2022) titled "Voyager," and a group exhibition called "Encounters" featuring artists including Ben Steele, Chip Moody, Daniel Byrd, Jamele Wright Sr., Judy Pfaff, and Sam Gilliam. "Voyager" explores Murphy’s engagement with nature as a sacred, animate force, while "Encounters" presents film, photography, sculpture, and painting that challenge passive viewing and demand active presence.

10 Art Shows to See in the Bay Area This Fall

The article presents a curated guide to 10 art exhibitions opening in the Bay Area this fall, highlighting shows by artists such as Mike Henderson, Julio César Morales, Auudi Dorsey, and Jim Melchert. It covers venues ranging from Haines Gallery and Gallery Wendi Norris to the Manetti Shrem Museum and di Rosa SF, with works addressing Black Oakland history, immigration, segregation-era Black leisure, and conceptual ceramic art.

5 Standout Shows to See at Small Galleries This September

This article highlights five standout exhibitions at small and rising galleries for September 2025. Featured shows include Ali Tahayori's "Archive of Longing" at THIS IS NO FANTASY in Melbourne, where family photographs are transformed into fragile glass sculptures exploring memory; Michael Batty's "Ladders and Tone Poems" at Mark Moore Fine Art, an online exhibition of abstract, geometrically arranged paintings; and "William S. Burroughs: REDUX 1995–2025" at Robert Berman Gallery in Santa Monica, a survey of the Beat writer's gestural abstract paintings and mixed-media works.

CSUN Art Exhibits to Focus on Los Angeles, Place and People

California State University, Northridge's Art Galleries presents two new exhibitions exploring Los Angeles, place, and people. The Main Gallery hosts "The Journey is the Destination: Recording Los Angeles," featuring photography, mixed-media, site-specific installations, and sculptures by artists including Marisela Norte, Debra Scacco, Fía Benitez, Aaron Douglas Estrada, Vincent Enrique Hernandez, Erick Medel, and Pamela Smith Hudson. Curated by Holly Jerger, the show challenges colonial mapping conventions and highlights gentrification, environmental depletion, and stereotypes affecting historically neglected parts of the city. In the West Gallery, "The Warmth of the Sun: A Recent Survey of Tierra Del Sol Artists" runs through October 15, the first of a three-part series spotlighting local San Fernando Valley art organizations, with subsequent exhibitions featuring Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural and 11:11 Projects.

Timely rediscoveries await at Independent 20th Century

The fourth edition of Independent 20th Century fair takes place at Casa Cipriani from September 4-7, featuring 31 exhibitors and works by around 40 overlooked 20th-century artists. Highlights include solo presentations of visionaries like Gertrude Greene, Jacci Den Hartog, and Judy Pfaff, alongside lesser-known works by icons such as Pablo Picasso and Edvard Munch. New exhibitors like Mariposa Gallery (devoted to queer icon Peter Berlin) and established names like Gmurzynska (showcasing Dan Basen) join the fair, which emphasizes self-taught artists and politically poignant themes.

Rediscovering Bilgé, the Quiet Master of American Minimalism

Turkish-American artist Bilgé (Bilgé Civelekoğlu Friedlaender), a largely overlooked figure in American Minimalism, is the subject of a new institutional exhibition in New York titled “Torn Time: Bilgé” at the Institute for Arab and Islamic Art (IAIA). The show, curated by IAIA Founding Director Mohammed Rashid Al-Thanion and on view through October, highlights works from the two decades following her 1972 deep-sea dive in the Bahamas, which sparked a period of prodigious creation using delicate paper interventions. Bilgé studied at the Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts and NYU, exhibited at Betty Parsons Gallery and Kornblee Gallery in 1974, and was included in the Smithsonian’s “Paper as Medium” (1978), the International Istanbul Biennial (1989), and the International Biennial of Paper Art (1992). The exhibition draws from her estate, represented by Sapar Contemporary.

FROM SÃO PAULO TO NEW YORK: THE MUSEUM OF ERRANCY OF ÉDOUARD GLISSANT

DE SÃO PAULO A NUEVA YORK: EL MUSEO DE LA ERRANCIA DE ÉDOUARD GLISSANT

The exhibition "La tierra, el fuego, el agua y los vientos: Por un Museo de la Errancia con Édouard Glissant" has traveled from the Instituto Tomie Ohtake in São Paulo to the Center for Art, Research and Alliances (CARA) in New York, marking its first U.S. presentation. Curated by Manuela Moscoso with Marian Chudnovsky, and building on prior work by Ana Roman and Paulo Miyada, the show engages with the philosophy of Martinican poet and philosopher Édouard Glissant, particularly his concepts of errantry, Relation, opacity, and the Tout-Monde. It centers on Glissant's unrealized idea of a museum as a fluid, porous space that resists colonial frameworks and fixed origins, featuring works by artists such as Melvin Edwards, Gerardo Chávez, and Eduardo Zamora.

A Struggle Between Artist and Machine

Ein Ringen zwischen Künstler und Maschine

Mario Klingemann, a pioneer of AI art, presents "Conflict of Interest," a pop-up exhibition at Sleek Art Space in Berlin during Gallery Weekend. Curated by Anika Meier and produced in collaboration with Art on Tezos, the show features works that challenge the flood of AI-generated imagery. Klingemann displays mundane landscape photographs from private slides, a series called "Weapons of Mass Distraction" where he disrupts an AI algorithm's image generation, and a haunting 2020 video in which AI-generated faces morph to music. The exhibition makes visible the struggle between human control and machine logic.

Where are the Louvre Jewels?

Wo sind die Louvre-Juwelen?

Six months after a high-profile heist at the Louvre, investigators remain in pursuit of stolen jewelry valued at approximately €88 million. While four suspects are currently in custody, the bulk of the Second Empire-era treasures remains missing, leading to fears that the pieces may have been dismantled or melted down. The investigation has shifted focus toward how the thieves obtained a sensitive 2018 security audit that detailed vulnerabilities in the museum's defenses.

US Returns 337 Looted Objects to Italy in Repatriation Effort

The United States officially returned 337 looted antiquities to Italy at a ceremony held at La Marmora barracks in Rome. Of these, 221 objects were repatriated through the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, while the remaining 116 were recovered on April 10, 2026, via joint efforts by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the District Attorney’s Office, and Christie’s New York auction house. The objects span from the Villanovan era (900–700 BCE) to the Hellenistic period (323–31 BCE) and include a 1st-century CE marble head of Alexander the Great, a bronze sculpture from Herculaneum, and two Egyptian basalt sculptures.

Meloni takes control of Italian museums

Meloni reprend en main les musées italiens

Italy’s culture ministry under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has appointed 14 new directors for so-called “second-tier” museums, reinforcing a shift away from the international “super-director” model introduced by the 2014 Franceschini reform. All appointees are Italian except for French director Axel Hémery, who was reappointed at the Pinacoteca di Siena due to his strong performance. The move follows the earlier ousting of foreign directors at top-tier museums, with only two foreign-born directors—Eike Schmidt and Gabriel Zuchtriegel—remaining, both of whom hold Italian citizenship.

Jule Korneffel Finds Meaning at the End of Light

Artist Jule Korneffel's solo exhibition 'In Search of Lost Light' is on view at Spencer Brownstone Gallery through May 2. The show features seven paintings from 2023 to the present, including a site-specific wall work, that explore themes of fading light, memory, and melancholia through a nuanced palette of grays and blues.

The Bennett Prize Opens Fifth Call for Entries

The Bennett Prize has launched its fifth call for entries, inviting women figurative realist painters to compete for a newly increased grand prize of $75,000. The award, established by collectors Steven Alan Bennett and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt, includes a two-year stipend and a traveling solo exhibition that debuts at the Muskegon Museum of Art. Applications are open through September 19, 2026, with a jury featuring prominent figures like curator Miranda Lash and artist Julie Heffernan.

DHS Appropriates Japanese Artist’s Work in Racist X Post

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) used a painting by Japanese artist Hiroshi Nagai in a social media post without his permission. The agency cropped his 2017 untitled beach scene and overlaid it with the text "America After 100 Million Deportations," accompanied by a caption about national peace. Nagai, 78, expressed being "at a loss" and disappointed that a government agency would use his work to promote a political message he does not endorse.

May You Live in Interesting Times — The IFPDA Print Fair Asks, Do Bad Times Really Inspire Great Art?

The 2026 IFPDA Print Fair, featuring over 80 exhibitors at New York's Park Avenue Armory, explores the provocative theme of whether societal crises and 'bad times' inspire great art. The fair presents a historical survey of printmaking as a medium for dissent and therapy, showcasing works from Francisco Goya's anti-war etchings to Kara Walker's critiques of racial injustice, German Expressionist responses to post-WWI turmoil, and contemporary pieces addressing ongoing conflicts.

Dyani White Hawk: LISTEN at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University

Dyani White Hawk's eight-channel video installation "LISTEN" (2020–ongoing) is on view at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. The work features Indigenous women speaking in their native languages on their tribal homelands, with no subtitles or explanatory text, encouraging viewers to physically move closer to each screen to hear and engage with the speakers' voices and surrounding environments.

Li Yi-Fan “Screen Melancholy” at Palazzo delle Prigioni, Venice

The Taipei Fine Arts Museum of Taiwan is presenting a collateral event titled "Screen Melancholy" by Taiwanese artist Li Yi-Fan at the 61st Venice Biennale. The exhibition will take place at the Palazzo delle Prigioni from May 9 to November 22, 2026, featuring a new work by the artist.

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.

parties art artwalk sheree hovsepian auction gala

The Artwalk NY gala and auction raised over $8 million on Tuesday, November 19, 2025, to support the Coalition for the Homeless. Presented by Max Mara, the event at the Grill and the Pool in the Seagram Building featured a live auction of artist-designed plates from the Artist Plate Project, along with works by Sheree Hovsepian and Ed Ruscha. Honorees included artist Sheree Hovsepian and Artist Plate Project Founder Michelle Hellman, with remarks from Coalition Executive Director Dave Giffen and a DJ set by AKU. The evening drew a crowd of artists, collectors, and philanthropists, including Rashid Johnson, Joel Mesler, Thelma Golden, and Don Lemon.

design amalia ulman home

Artist Amalia Ulman shares a personal inventory of 44 objects from her home, ranging from a pigeon-shaped oven mitt and a 1920s Austrian bronze cat figurine to a telephone-shaped lamp bought from a subway vendor and a graphite portrait of her late dog Holga. The list includes quirky functional items like a cane that turns into a stool, a wooden chair that transforms into a ladder, and sentimental keepsakes such as a red pompom from Holga's casket and a bag of gravel from the dog park. The objects reflect her daily life, travels, and memories, blending humor with melancholy.

"Etwas zaghaft, etwas ängstlich, etwas sicher"

The article surveys recent art-world commentary, focusing on a critical review of the Turner Prize shortlist in The Guardian, where Eddy Frankel calls the selection "timid, anxious, safe" and laments a self-perpetuating, elitist system. It also covers a Hyperallergic essay by Lisa Siraganian questioning whether artworks can possess personhood, sparked by Pierre Huyghe's Venice exhibition. Additionally, it reports on controversy at the Venice Biennale, where the jury preemptively excluded countries whose leaders are sought by the International Criminal Court—namely Russia and Israel—drawing sharp criticism from Die Welt's Marcus Woeller. A podcast interview with US sculptor Alma Allen, selected for the US Pavilion, rounds out the coverage.

Stories in Copper and Vinyl

Geschichten in Kupfer und Vinyl

The UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing is hosting "Hundreds and Thousands," the first institutional retrospective of the late American conceptual artist Rutherford Chang. The exhibition showcases Chang’s career-long obsession with collecting and cataloging mass-produced objects, most notably featuring his collection of over 3,700 first-pressings of the Beatles’ "White Album." Other significant works include a 31-kilogram copper cube created from 10,000 pre-1982 pennies and a digital archive of over 2,000 of the artist's own Game Boy Tetris sessions.

For the 61st Venice Biennale, a quest for beauty despite a troubled world

Pour la 61e Biennale de Venise, une quête de beauté malgré un monde troublé

Koyo Kouoh, the Swiss-Cameroonian curator who was set to become the first African woman to direct the Venice Biennale, died suddenly on May 10, 2025, at age 57, just weeks before the opening of the 61st edition she had conceived. Titled "In Minor Keys," the exhibition at the Giardini and Arsenale will proceed posthumously based on her detailed directives, featuring 111 artists including Laurie Anderson, Wangechi Mutu, and Kader Attia, with a focus on beauty, resilience, and radical emotional connection amid global turmoil.

Animals Wander through Neighborhood Streets at Twilight in Nicholas Moegly’s Illustrations

Artist Nicholas Moegly creates illustrations and oil paintings depicting quiet American neighborhoods at twilight, where animals like deer and foxes wander through empty streets and yards. His work evokes a dreamy, timeless realism, drawing comparisons to photographer Todd Hido and illustrator Chris Van Allsburg.

An Art Historian’s Riotous Novel Melds Medieval Art with Monica Lewinsky

Julia Langbein's new novel *Dear Monica Lewinsky*, published by Doubleday, follows translator Jean Dornan as she revisits a traumatic relationship with a professor from her youth, set against the backdrop of the 1998 Monica Lewinsky scandal. The story interweaves medieval art, particularly the 13th-century *Golden Legend*, with Lewinsky's public shaming, as Jean prays to Lewinsky for guidance and is visited by a haloed version of her. Langbein, an art historian with a PhD from the University of Chicago, draws on her expertise to explore themes of humiliation, self-estrangement, and collective experience.

The Bennett Prize Just Raised Its Award to $75,000. These Artists Think You Should Apply.

The Bennett Prize, a biennial award dedicated to women figurative realist painters, has increased its grand prize from $50,000 to $75,000 for its fifth cycle. Founded by collectors Steven Alan Bennett and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt, the prize aims to bridge the gender gap in the art world by providing substantial financial support and institutional recognition. The current call for entries is open to artists who have not yet reached a specific commercial price ceiling, culminating in a 2027 exhibition at the Muskegon Museum of Art.

michelangelo sculpture reattributed rome 1234775993

A marble bust of Jesus Christ located in Rome’s Basilica of Sant’Agnese fuori le mura has been reattributed to Michelangelo. Independent researcher Valentina Salerno, a member of the Vatican committee for Michelangelo’s 500th anniversary, used archival records and inventories to trace the sculpture back to the Renaissance master, reversing a 19th-century dismissal of its origins. Simultaneously, a private owner in Belgium is claiming a recently acquired Pietà painting is also a work by Michelangelo, supported by carbon dating and stylistic analysis from art historian Michel Draguet.

hurricane melissa hits jamaica cultural institutions 1234759380

Hurricane Melissa has devastated Jamaica and Haiti, causing deadly floods and landslides before moving on to Cuba. The storm forced the closure of major cultural institutions in Kingston, including the National Gallery of Jamaica (closed since October 24) and the Bob Marley Museum, which announced it would remain shut until further notice. The National Gallery offered artists advice on protecting their work, such as removing art from walls, storing it above ground, and anchoring outdoor sculptures. At least 30 deaths have been reported across the region, with Jamaica declared a disaster area.

park avenue armory 50 pianos 11000 strings 1234755137

The Park Avenue Armory in New York is hosting the North American premiere of *11,000 Strings*, an orchestral piece by composer Georg Friedrich Haas featuring 50 black pianos arranged in a ring. The performances began last night and run through October 7, with the 55,000-square-foot Drill Hall providing a dramatic setting for the microtonally tuned pianos and a 25-member ensemble from Klangforum Wien. The piece explores texture and tone over melody, evoking composers like Ligeti, Penderecki, and Stockhausen.

italian politicians protest return of altarpiece slovenia 1234751577

A 16th-century altarpiece by Vittore Carpaccio, *Madonna and Child Enthroned with Six Saints* (1518), has been returned to the Slovenian town of Piran, where it was originally commissioned for the Church of St. Francis of Assisi. The painting was removed in 1940 and placed in Padua for safekeeping during World War II, remaining in the Basilica of Sant’Antonio for decades. Following pressure from Franciscan friars in Padua, the work was quietly transferred back to Piran on September 4, days before Italian President Sergio Mattarella’s state visit to Slovenia. Slovenian Culture Minister Asta Vrečko hailed the return as the result of long-standing efforts.