Art News. Vasari Codex

article news schedule May 14, 2025 visibility 12 link 14 artists

trump assassination monument statue oval office

A small statue depicting President Donald Trump raising his fist after a failed assassination attempt during a 2024 campaign rally has appeared on his Oval Office desk, drawing renewed attention. The sculpture, based on a photograph by Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci, was created by artist Stan Watts, who is fundraising for a nine-foot-tall version. Separately, documentary filmmaker Steven C. Barber installed a life-sized bronze monument of the same scene at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, created by George and Mark Lundeen of Lundeen Sculpture.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 13, 2025 visibility 16 link 5 artists

diller scofidio and renfro venice canal water coffee wins golden lion

Diller Scofidio and Renfro (DS+R) has won a Golden Lion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale for "Canal Café," a project that brews espresso using water filtered from the Venetian lagoon. The installation, part of the biennale's exhibition "Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective," uses a combination of biological filtration by salt-tolerant halophytes and artificial methods like reverse osmosis to purify the polluted canal water. Michelin-starred chef Davide Oldani selected the coffee blend, and the espresso is sold for €1.20. Originally conceived for the 2008 biennale but delayed due to permit issues, the project was realized with improved filtration technology and support from engineering firms Natural Systems Utilities and SODAI, as well as Webuild.

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article culture schedule May 9, 2025 visibility 14 link 5 artists

conclave hidden ritual

On May 8, 2025, white smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel signaling the election of Robert Prevost as Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff. Born in Chicago in 1955, Prevost has strong ties to Peru and was appointed Prefect for the Dicastery for Bishops by Pope Francis in 2023. The article explores the secretive process of the papal conclave, noting that 133 cardinals voted under Michelangelo's famed ceilings, and draws parallels to the 2024 film *Conclave* which some cardinals reportedly used for insight.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 8, 2025 visibility 18 link 16 artists, 3 galleries

spring break art show surprises 2025

New York's Spring Break Art Show has returned to its namesake season, opening alongside Frieze New York after abruptly canceling its Los Angeles edition due to January's devastating fires. Founded by artist duo Andrew Gori and Ambre Kelly, the fair is now held in a former book printing office on Varick Street, featuring offbeat emerging art and boundary-pushing installations. Roughly a third of the presentations were already planned under the theme "Paradise Lost and Found," but the accelerated timeline led to last-minute additions, with some artists joining just the night before. Standout works include Louis Sarowsky's carved stone food sculptures, Kate Rusek's zero-waste porcelain pieces molded from trash, and Colin J. Radcliffe's ceramic sculptures reimagining queer figures in classical iconography.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 8, 2025 visibility 15 link 5 artists

new taipei city art museum interview

The New Taipei City Art Museum (NTCAM) opened to the public last weekend with fireworks and light installations after nearly eight years of development. Located in Yingge District, about 30 minutes from Taipei, the publicly funded museum cost 3 billion NTD (approximately $93 million) and spans 38 acres. Designed by Taiwanese architect Kris Yao, the 11-story building houses eight exhibition halls, a 500-seat auditorium, a public plaza, and a park for public art. Inaugural director Lai Hsiang-ling outlined the museum's vision to serve local audiences and the arts community while fostering international and regional collaboration. The opening includes the inaugural exhibition featuring the local art collective Xindian Boys and their commission "Don't Worry, Baby," which addresses ecological change, global politics, and artificial intelligence.

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article culture schedule May 7, 2025 visibility 14 link 5 artists

takahashi mizuki textile art

In a recent edition of Artnet Pro's newsletter 'The Asia Pivot', the director of CHAT (Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile) in Hong Kong reflects on highlights from Art Basel Hong Kong, including textile-based works by Movana Chen, Huan Po-Chi, and Ade Darmawan. The article discusses the growing engagement of contemporary artists with traditional craft practices like weaving, embroidery, and dyeing, particularly during the pandemic, and notes the distinct lineage of fiber art in Asia compared to the West, where it emerged as a subgenre of Modernism in the 1960s.

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article news schedule May 6, 2025 visibility 15 link 3 artists

water leaks from louvres roof and misses prized cimabue painting

A powerful hailstorm caused water to leak through the Louvre's roof into the Salle Rosa room, where the exhibition "A New Look at Cimabue: At the Origins of Italian Painting" is on view. The water narrowly missed Giovanni Cimabue's unprotected "Maestà" panel painting (circa 1280), but drips hit the base of Nicola Pisano's "Three Acolytes" (1264-67) on loan from Florence's Museo Nazionale del Bargello. Another near miss occurred near Duccio di Buoninsegna's "Madonna of the Franciscans" (1285-88), which was protected by glass. The museum closed the exhibition early for firefighter inspection, identified a damaged glass seal as the cause, and reopened the next morning after repairs.

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trending_up market schedule May 5, 2025 visibility 16 link 6 artists

national gallery mysterious altarpiece 20 million

London's National Gallery has acquired a mysterious altarpiece painted by an unknown artist around 1510, paying £16.4 million ($21.8 million) for the work titled *The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret*. The painting, arranged via a private sale by Sotheby's and funded by the American Friends of the National Gallery London, features unusual details including a uniquely expressive dragon beneath baby Jesus's feet, playful angels, and subtle symbolic references. The acquisition marks the museum's bicentennial and will go on public display on May 10 in the rehung Sainsbury Wing.

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article news schedule May 2, 2025 visibility 14 link 2 artists

trump inauguration donors major art patrons warren stephens

Major art collectors Warren Stephens, Ken Griffin, Paul Singer, and Charles and Helen Schwab were among the top individual donors to President Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration fundraising committee, according to data from the Federal Election Commission and Open Secrets. Stephens, a major donor to the Arkansas Museum of Fine Art, gave $4 million, the largest individual contribution, while Griffin, Singer, and the Schwabs each donated $1 million or more. The article also details additional political donations from these collectors, including Griffin's $100 million in conservative election spending, and notes that many large corporations like Amazon and BlackRock also contributed.

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article news schedule May 2, 2025 visibility 17 link 10 artists

just what happens to the sistine chapel during a papal conclave

The Sistine Chapel has closed to the public in preparation for the papal conclave beginning May 7, where cardinals will elect a successor to Pope Francis. The chapel, adorned with Michelangelo's frescoes including the ceiling (1508–1512) and *The Last Judgement* (1536–1541), has been the permanent seat of the conclave since 1878. Preparations include installing a chimney and stove for the smoke signals that announce voting results, as well as modern facilities like chemical toilets added after the 2013 conclave.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 2, 2025 visibility 16 link 3 artists

tefaf restores black book of hours

TEFAF has selected the Black Book of Hours, a rare 15th-century illuminated manuscript from the Hispanic Society Museum and Library in New York, as the recipient of its 2025 Museum Restoration Fund. The manuscript, one of only seven known black vellum books of hours, will be displayed at TEFAF New York at the Park Avenue Armory before undergoing conservation treatment by the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia. The work involves disbinding the 149-folio volume, high-resolution imaging, and addressing centuries of wear.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 1, 2025 visibility 13 link 6 artists

king charles royal tour art buckingham palace

An exhibition titled "The King's Tour Artists" will open at Buckingham Palace on July 10, showcasing over 70 works created by 42 artists who accompanied King Charles on international royal tours over the past four decades. The tradition began in 1985 when the then-Prince of Charles invited artist John Ward to join his tour of Italy, and has continued unbroken ever since, with artists capturing landscapes, figure studies, and historic moments such as the British handover of Hong Kong in 1997. Featured works include Richard Foster's depiction of Charles and Camilla on North Seymour Island in the Galápagos, and Susannah Fiennes's painting of sailors lowering the flag on HMY Britannia.

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trending_up market schedule May 1, 2025 visibility 14 link 9 artists

national gallery acquires curious altarpiece by unknown artist for 20 m

London's National Gallery has acquired a $20 million altarpiece, *The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret and Two Angels* (1500-10), by an unknown artist. The purchase, funded by the American Friends of the National Gallery of London and brokered by Sotheby's, was made from a private collection to celebrate the museum's bicentenary. The painting, first documented in 1602 in Ghent, Belgium, features iconographical oddities including a unique dragon and a bawdy scene, and is painted on Baltic oak, suggesting a Netherlandish origin despite French elements like the fleur-de-lis.

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article culture schedule May 1, 2025 visibility 12 link 9 artists

why is art history filled with miserable brides

The article examines the recurring theme of unhappy brides in 19th-century painting, focusing on works like Vasily Pukirev's *The Unequal Marriage* (1862) and Auguste Toulmouche's *The Reluctant Bride* (1866). It notes how these depictions of devastated brides and depressing nuptials have gone viral on social media, with 21st-century audiences—especially women—relating to the emotional tenor of the images despite the historical distance.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 1, 2025 visibility 16 link 5 artists

wes anderson london design museum highlights

The Design Museum in London will host the first institutional exhibition dedicated to filmmaker Wes Anderson, opening this fall. Titled "Wes Anderson: The Archives," the show features over 600 items from Anderson's personal archives, including costumes, props, paintings, sketches, and models from films such as *The Grand Budapest Hotel* (2014), *Moonrise Kingdom* (2012), *Fantastic Mr Fox* (2009), and *Isle of Dogs* (2018). Highlights include the original model of the Grand Budapest Hotel, the painting *Boy with Apple* by Michael Taylor, and costumes worn by actors like Gwyneth Paltrow and Tilda Swinton. The exhibition will also screen Anderson's first short film *Bottle Rocket* (1993) and trace his career chronologically.

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article culture schedule May 1, 2025 visibility 17 link 3 artists

dar kuen wu taiwan digital art

The article examines the rise of Taiwanese contemporary art on the international stage, focusing on its growing prominence in digital and technological art. It traces the evolution of digital art in Taiwan through three phases: video art in the 1990s with pioneers like Wang Jun-Jieh and Yuan Goang-Ming, digital media experimentation in the 2000s driven by the tech sector, and a recent phase of internationalization and interdisciplinary integration fueled by the semiconductor industry and government support. Key factors include Taiwan's hardware industry, cultural liberalization after the lifting of martial law in 1987, and sustained policy support from institutions like the National Culture and Arts Foundation (NCAF), the Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab (C-LAB), and the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA).

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article policy schedule Apr 30, 2025 visibility 14 link 1 artist

mellon foundation state arts councils emergency grants

The Mellon Foundation is providing $15 million in emergency grants to the Federation of State Humanities Councils, which will distribute the funds to all 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils across the U.S. This comes after the Trump administration revoked $65 million in grants promised by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), redirected to the National Garden of American Heroes. The administration also terminated over 1,000 NEH grants and placed about 80 percent of NEH staff on paid administrative leave following a visit from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Many state councils now face potential closure or severe program cuts.

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article policy schedule Apr 24, 2025 visibility 12 link 2 artists

metropolitan museum of art trump dei programs

Metropolitan Museum of Art director Max Hollein stated in an interview with French publication Le Quotidien de l'Art that the Trump administration's push to eliminate federal DEI programs will not affect the Met, as it is a private organization not subject to those executive orders. The interview, conducted during the Centre Pompidou's 'TransFORMS' exhibition dedicated to Hollein's father, architect Hans Hollein, also covered deaccessioning, repatriation, and the upcoming opening of the renovated Michael C. Rockefeller Wing.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 24, 2025 visibility 10 link 1 artist

ei arakawa nash japan 2026 venice biennale pavilion

Ei Arakawa-Nash, a Los Angeles–based performance artist, has been selected to represent Japan at the 2026 Venice Biennale, as announced by the Japan Foundation. He will create a new installation for the Japan Pavilion that explores his perspective as a queer parent of newborn twins, aiming to “dissect nationalism and patriarchy.” Arakawa-Nash, who gave up his Japanese nationality a few years ago, draws on post-war avant-garde movements like Gutai and Tokyo Fluxus, and his recent works include a large-scale participatory performance at Tate Modern's Turbine Hall in 2021.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 23, 2025 visibility 18 link 9 artists

rachel ruysch toledo museum

The Toledo Museum of Art has opened "Rachel Ruysch: Nature Into Art," the first monographic exhibition dedicated to the 17th-century Dutch still-life painter Rachel Ruysch. Curated by Robert Schindler, the show brings together dozens of her paintings from public and private collections across Europe and America, including her only known work on paper, alongside manuscripts and works by contemporary women botanical artists. The exhibition originated at the Alte Pinakothek Munich and will travel to the Museum of Fine Arts Boston later this year.

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article news schedule Apr 21, 2025 visibility 14 link 1 artist

climate protestors pardoned raphael sistine madonna dresden

Two climate activists from the German group Letzte Generation (Last Generation) have received pardons after being convicted for gluing their hands to the frame of Raphael's *Sistine Madonna* at the Dresden Old Masters Picture Gallery in August 2022. The protest left superglue residue on the frame, causing €2,300 in property damage. The activists initially faced fines of €1,500 each, later reduced to €600 by the Dresden District Court, and ultimately halved to €300 on appeal after the court considered their ongoing restitution efforts as a mitigating factor. They have since paid over €2,000 in damages to the Dresden State Art Collections and agreed to a separate settlement of €5,500 with the Free State of Saxony.

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article culture schedule May 20, 2026 visibility 7 link 18 artists

A Culture Lover’s Guide to Northwest Arkansas, a Land of Contradictions

This travel guide explores the cultural landscape of Northwest Arkansas, focusing on the upcoming 114,000-square-foot expansion of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, set to open June 6, 2026. The author recounts a road trip from Little Rock to the Ozarks, visiting the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts (with its new Studio Gang-designed building), dining at Coursey's Smoked Meats, and encountering a white supremacist billboard in Harrison, while also highlighting Thorncrown Chapel by E. Fay Jones as a transcendent architectural stop.

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article culture schedule Apr 21, 2026 visibility 21 link 6 artists

literature salman rushdie laurie anderson the satanic verses

Salman Rushdie and Laurie Anderson, two legendary New York-based artists, engage in an intimate conversation published by Cultured magazine. Rushdie discusses his recent appearance at the Sundance Film Festival for the documentary "Knife," which adapts his memoir about surviving a 2022 stabbing attack, and his travels to literary festivals in New Orleans and Tucson. Anderson shares anecdotes about her own touring show "Republic of Love" with the band Sexmob, and the pair trade lighthearted observations about movie theaters, desert landscapes, and aliens.

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person people schedule Apr 16, 2026 visibility 26 link 28 artists

literature hans ulrich obrist curator book

Hans Ulrich Obrist, the prolific Swiss curator and artistic director of Serpentine Galleries, discusses his lifelong passion for books in a new interview timed to the U.S. release of his memoir "Life in Progress." Obrist reveals his daily ritual of buying a book, which has amassed an archive of over 40,000 volumes housed at LUMA Arles, and shares current reading recommendations including Kenneth O. Stanley's "Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned." He also reflects on the serendipitous origins of his Instagram Post-it note project, inspired by philosopher Umberto Eco and artist-poet Etel Adnan.

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person people schedule Mar 17, 2026 visibility 24 link 20 artists

art mcc chicago madeleine grynsztejn director

Madeleine Grynsztejn, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA) since 2008, has announced she will step down at the end of 2025 after 18 years in the role. During her tenure, she oversaw an $82 million renovation, record attendance, major exhibitions including Kerry James Marshall's first museum retrospective and a Takashi Murakami show, and initiatives for gender parity in the collection. She also tripled the museum's endowment and nearly doubled its operating budget through donor engagement.

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article culture schedule Feb 12, 2026 visibility 20 link 12 artists

art dasha zhukova ray real estate

Dasha Zhukova, the former fashion designer, magazine publisher, and museum founder, has launched a new real estate development company called Ray. Its first project, Ray Harlem, is a 21-story residential building on Fifth Avenue in Harlem, built in collaboration with the National Black Theatre (NBT). The development replaces NBT's original building and integrates a 27,000-square-foot theater as its centerpiece, with 222 apartments above, a quarter of which were offered through an affordable housing lottery. The building features site-specific commissioned artworks by emerging Black artists such as Jurell Cayetano, Freddy Carrasco, Nikko Washington, and Ellon Gibbs, and was designed by Frida Escobedo Studio with Handel Architects.

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article culture schedule Jan 15, 2026 visibility 26 link 23 artists

art dead artists museum exhibitions politics

CULTURED reports that in 2025, nearly 50 percent of solo exhibitions at New York museums featuring modern and contemporary art focused on deceased artists, more than double the 18 percent share in 2019. Major institutions like MoMA, the Broad, ICA Miami, and the Whitney have programmed posthumous shows for figures such as Wifredo Lam, Helen Frankenthaler, Ruth Asawa, Robert Therrien, Joyce Pensato, Richard Hunt, and Roy Lichtenstein. The article traces this trend to a confluence of factors: ongoing scholarly revisionism, a cultural swing toward equity during the Biden administration, and the long lead times for museum exhibitions that have landed in a more polarized political climate under Trump II.

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person people schedule Dec 2, 2025 visibility 19 link 9 artists, 2 galleries

art lauren quin young artist

Pace Gallery announced representation of Los Angeles-based painter Lauren Quin in August 2024, following a solo show of her manic, neon-tinged abstractions at its downtown offshoot 125 Newbury. Quin, age 33, is slated for a solo exhibition at Pace's Los Angeles outpost opening in January. In an interview, she discusses her creative process, the struggle behind works like "Cub Cross," and her dream of building a sauna gallery in her backyard.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 24, 2025 visibility 26 link 13 artists

art auction new york record breaking

Gustav Klimt's *Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer* (1914-16) sold for $236.4 million at Sotheby's on November 18, becoming the second-most expensive painting ever sold at auction and the most expensive work ever sold by the house. The sale was part of New York's marquee November auctions, which generated over $2 billion in a single week—more than 50 percent above last year's total—driven by high-profile estates including that of cosmetics heir Leonard A. Lauder. Other notable sales included Mark Rothko's *No. 31 (Yellow Stripe)* for $62.2 million at Christie's, Marc Chagall's *Le songe du Roi David* for $26.5 million, and Frida Kahlo's *El sueño (La cama)* for $55 million, setting a new record for the artist and the highest sum for a work by a female artist at auction. Phillips also sold a juvenile Triceratops skeleton named CERA for $5.4 million.

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article culture schedule Nov 5, 2025 visibility 23 link 21 artists

art film tina kukielski art21 documentary

Art21, the nonprofit documentary platform behind the PBS series *Art in the Twenty-First Century*, is celebrating its 25th anniversary and the 12th season of its Peabody Award-winning series. In an interview with *CULTURED*, Executive Director and Chief Curator Tina Kukielski discusses how the organization has evolved from its early days in 2001 to embrace digital platforms like YouTube and TikTok, producing over 575 films featuring more than 300 artists. The organization also offers educational programming through Art21 Educators and makes its archive freely available to a global audience of five million.

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