Hans Holbein Painted the Human

A new book, 'Holbein: Renaissance Master' by Elizabeth Goldring, published by Yale University Press and the Paul Mellon Centre, offers a comprehensive scholarly examination of the 16th-century German painter Hans Holbein the Younger. The review focuses on Holbein's masterful portraiture, particularly his depictions of opposing Tudor-era figures like Sir Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell, which are highlighted as embodying the era's complex political and religious tensions through their visual presentation at the Frick Collection in New York.

How did a 16th-century European basin end up as a sacred object in West Africa?

The Aya Kese, a massive 16th-century northern European brass basin, is currently on display at the British Museum while its complex history remains under scrutiny. Looted by British officer Robert Baden-Powell in 1896 from the Asante kingdom’s royal mausoleum in present-day Ghana, the object was long sensationalized by colonial accounts as a vessel for human sacrifice. Recent scholarship and historical records from Asante King Prempeh I contest these claims, asserting the basin’s sacred role as a spiritual repository for the souls of the Asante people.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani to Skip Met Gala, Sources Say

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his wife Rama Duwaji will reportedly skip the 2025 Met Gala, breaking a long-standing tradition of mayoral attendance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s premier fundraiser. Sources suggest the decision stems from a conflict between Mamdani’s socialist political platform and the event's association with billionaire sponsors, specifically Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez-Bezos.

How I Shop with Michelle Ogundehin: ‘We grownups have enough stuff already’

Michelle Ogundehin, the former editor-in-chief of Elle Decoration and current head judge on BBC’s Interior Design Masters, shares her personal shopping philosophy and favorite sources for design and art supplies. The interview highlights her preference for tactile, high-quality essentials over mass consumerism, citing her love for artist-grade watercolor paper from L. Cornelissen & Son, vintage tapestries from Larusi, and curated items from Japan House London.

A View From the Easel

Artist Katya Granova discusses her creative practice within her studio at the Spinnerei, a massive former yarn factory in Leipzig, Germany. Granova details her daily routine, which is dictated by natural light and a soundtrack of rock and metal music, and explains how the industrial scale of the space allows her to create large-format works that blend painting with physical movement akin to dance.

Portland Museum of Art Buys New Building For $14 M., Freeing Up Space For Exhibitions

The Portland Museum of Art (PMA) has finalized a $14 million acquisition of a downtown building and two adjacent parking lots from MaineHealth. Located on Free Street next to the museum's current campus, the facility will house administrative offices, allowing the museum to convert existing office space into new public galleries.

Jack Kerouac’s Fabled ‘On the Road’ Scroll Sells for Record-Smashing $12.1 Million

Jack Kerouac's original 120-foot scroll manuscript for 'On the Road' sold for $12.1 million at Christie's, setting a record for a literary manuscript. The scroll, part of the late Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay's collection, was purchased by country singer-songwriter Zach Bryan, who plans to create a Jack Kerouac Center in Lowell, Massachusetts.

sudan national museum 60 percent looted

Officials from the National Museum of Sudan have revealed that over 60% of the institution's holdings were looted during the country's ongoing civil war. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) occupied the Khartoum-based museum for nearly a year, during which time ancient gold, jewelry, and approximately 8,000 pieces from exhibition halls were stolen. Satellite imagery confirmed trucks transporting artifacts away from the site, and several other regional museums, including the Sultan Ali Dinar Museum, have been reported as completely destroyed.

getty pst art 2030 los angeles pacific rim

The Getty Foundation has announced that the 2030 edition of its PST ART initiative will focus on the cultural and historical exchanges between Los Angeles and the Pacific Rim. Led by inaugural creative director Justine Ludwig, the fourth iteration of the massive regional collaboration aims to explore transpacific influences ranging from colonial-era Chinese porcelain to the contemporary global impact of Korean pop culture.

louvre counterfeit ticket scheme fraud inevitable

French authorities have dismantled a massive decade-long ticket fraud scheme involving the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles, resulting in the arrest of nine individuals, including two museum employees. The scam, which allegedly involved Chinese tour guides bribing staff to reuse tickets for multiple groups, is estimated to have cost the institutions millions of euros. Investigators have already seized nearly €1.5 million in various currencies and bank accounts as part of an ongoing judicial probe into organized fraud and money laundering.

university of north texas victor quinonez exhibition censorship

The University of North Texas (UNT) abruptly canceled and removed artist Victor "Marka27" Quiñonez's traveling solo exhibition "Ni de Aquí, Ni de Alla" from its CVAD Gallery, locking the gallery doors and drawing blinds over the windows. The university terminated the loan agreement with Boston University Art Galleries, which originated the show, and scrubbed all mentions of the exhibition from its website and social media without providing a reason to the artist.

centre pompidou jersey city museum canceled

Plans for a Centre Pompidou satellite museum in Jersey City have been officially canceled. The project, first announced in 2021, would have been the Paris museum's only North American outpost, but faced years of political opposition and funding disputes, culminating in the newly elected mayor declaring the project dead.

alexis sablone inducted skateboarding hall of fame

Artist, designer, architect, and Olympian skateboarder Alexis Sablone has been inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame as part of its Class of 2026, announced on January 15. The 18 inductees were selected for shaping skateboarding culture and global impact, with the ceremony set for May 15 at Vans Headquarters in Costa Mesa, California. Sablone is known to the art world for skateboarding down the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum's spiral ramp in 2023 to promote her first sneaker design for Converse, and for creating skateable public art like 'Lady in the Square' in Sweden and 'Candy Courts' in New Jersey.

trump reappoints mary anne carter nea chair

The U.S. Senate has confirmed Mary Anne Carter as chair of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) by a 53–43 party-line vote, returning the same political operative to the post she held during Trump’s first term. Carter, who has no professional arts experience and previously worked for the Heritage Foundation (author of Project 2025), was nominated in May amid a tumultuous period when the Trump administration sought to defund the NEA, senior leaders left en masse, and hundreds of arts organizations had promised grants cut or delayed.

museum workers tate strike met union

Workers at two major museums, the Tate in the U.K. and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, are taking labor action to demand higher wages and job security. Over 150 Tate staff from the PCS Tate United union went on strike across four locations, with picketing at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, and Tate Liverpool, disrupting the opening of the exhibition "Turner and Constable: Rivals and Originals." Meanwhile, nearly 1,000 employees at the Met have petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for a union election, which would be one of the largest museum unions in the U.S.

medina triennial western new york

A new contemporary art triennial is set to launch in 2026 in Medina, a small village in Western New York with a population of about 6,000. The Medina Triennial will feature approximately 50 site-responsive works created by invited artists across indoor and outdoor locations, including former industrial buildings and spaces along the Erie Canal. The exhibition is co-directed by Kari Conte and Karin Laansoo, with associate curator Ekrem Serdar, and is conceived by the New York Power Authority and the New York State Canal Corporation to revitalize the canal and highlight its significance. A steering committee includes major regional institutions such as the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, the Burchfield Penney Art Center, the University at Buffalo, the Memorial Art Gallery, and the Corning Museum of Glass. The inaugural edition runs from June 6 to September 7, 2026, with a hub opening in September 2025 for public programs.

jerry gogosian winds down instagram hilde lynn helphenstein

Hilde Lynn Helphenstein, the creator of the popular Instagram account Jerry Gogosian, announced she is winding down the project after seven years. The account, known for its sharp and often acerbic commentary on the art market, amassed 151,000 followers since its launch in 2018. Helphenstein initially ran the account anonymously, revealing her identity in 2020, and used it to mock dealer Larry Gagosian, comment on auction records, and document her experiences at art fairs. The account also had real-world impact, including prompting Gagosian gallery to drop a director after Helphenstein urged people to come forward with sexual harassment allegations. Helphenstein, who previously ran her own gallery in Los Angeles, said she has 'grown out' of the project and is looking toward her next endeavor.

etruscan sarcophagus spouses restoration rome

The National Etruscan Museum in Rome is undertaking a public restoration of the Sarcophagus of the Spouses, a 6th-century B.C.E. Etruscan terracotta tomb that was discovered in Cerveteri in 1881 and reassembled from 400 fragments by the museum's founder, Felice Barnabei. The open restoration will begin with the couple's legs, using digital technologies, and aims to highlight the work of art professionals while creating a long-term conservation plan for the masterpiece.

vima art fair cyprus review recap

The inaugural VIMA contemporary art fair opened in Limassol, Cyprus, at a former SODAP winery industrial site. Co-founded by Lara Kotreleva, Edgar Gadzhiev, and Nadezhda Zinovskaya, the fair aims to spotlight Cypriot and Mediterranean art, featuring a curated outdoor exhibition titled 'The Posterity of the Sun' with 17 artists, including Valentinos Charalambous, Monia Ben Hamouda, and Adrian Pepe. Curator Ludovic Delalan emphasized the site's historical and natural context.

monumental relief last assyrian ruler unearthed nineveh

A team of German archaeologists from Heidelberg University has uncovered a monumental stone relief in the throne room of the North Palace of King Ashurbanipal at Nineveh, near Mosul, Iraq. The slab, measuring 5.5 meters long and 3 meters high and weighing 12 tons, depicts the last great Assyrian ruler alongside the deities Ashur and Ishtar, as well as a mythological fish genius. The discovery was announced by Professor Aaron Schmitt, who noted that no other known Assyrian palace reliefs feature major deities, making this find exceptional. The excavation is part of the Heidelberg Nineveh project, ongoing since 2018.

art new museum building new humans

The New Museum in New York has reopened after two years with a major expansion designed by OMA / Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas, doubling its size to 60,000 additional square feet. The inaugural exhibition, “New Humans: Memories of the Future,” curated by Massimiliano Gioni, features over 800 objects by more than 200 artists, scientists, and designers across three main floors. The show explores how concepts of the human have evolved in response to technological innovation over the past century, with thematic chapters such as “Reproductive Futures” and a site-specific sculpture by Klára Hosnedlová in the new Atrium Stair.

parties lacma art film gala photos

The 14th LACMA Art+Film Gala took place this weekend, co-chaired by LACMA trustee Eva Chow and actor Leonardo DiCaprio. The event honored artist Mary Corse and filmmaker Ryan Coogler for their contributions to art and cinema, and raised a record $6.5 million to support LACMA's mission and film initiatives. The gala was held beneath Chris Burden's Urban Light and Michael Heizer's Levitated Mass, with dinner by chef David Shim of COTE, and featured a performance by Doja Cat introduced by SZA. Attendees included a constellation of Hollywood stars, models, musicians, and designers.

art burning man dustin yellin

Artist and Pioneer Works founder Dustin Yellin discusses his annual tradition of attending Burning Man in the Nevada desert with journalist Sophia Cohen. Yellin, who first attended the festival in 2012 despite initial skepticism, describes the transformative experience of biking through the Playa with its lights and large-scale artworks. After this year's Burning Man, he will return to New York to complete *The Politics of Eternity*, a 10,000-pound sculpture debuting at the Armory Show.

anderson ranch gala arts center 2025 gala titus kaphar

Anderson Ranch Arts Center held its 2025 gala on July 10 in Snowmass Village, honoring artist Titus Kaphar with the International Artist Award. The evening featured a seated dinner, a gala auction with works donated by galleries including Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, White Cube, and Marianne Boesky Gallery, and drew a crowd of collectors, artists, patrons, and cultural figures such as Peter Waanders, Sarah Harrelson, Jessica Silverman, and Kristina Newman-Scott.

Venice in Crisis Mode

Venedig im Krisenmodus

The 61st Venice Biennale has opened under extraordinary circumstances, marked by political protests, a jury resignation, and canceled awards. The Biennale's jury resigned en masse after announcing they would exclude Israeli and Russian contributions from their decisions, leading to the cancellation of the Golden Lion awards and a crisis over the international competition's legitimacy. A newly introduced audience prize also faced boycotts from artists in solidarity. Protests, closed pavilions, and pro-Palestinian actions dominated the preview days, with artists pasting protest posters directly onto their works, reflecting heightened tensions.

Plymouth museum and art gallery The Box in 'record-breaking year'

The Box, Plymouth’s flagship museum and art gallery, has announced a record-breaking performance for 2025, surpassing its annual visitor target by 18%. Since opening in 2020, the institution reached a milestone of 1.1 million total visitors, driven largely by the massive success of the 'Beryl Cook: Pride and Joy' exhibition. The show attracted 52,000 visitors in just its first nine weeks, with nearly half of those attendees traveling from outside the local region.

Drones, Uncle Sam, and Grand Master Rafael: 10 Must See Exhibits This Spring

New York City’s museum landscape is entering a major spring season characterized by high-profile retrospectives, institutional reopenings, and the 82nd Whitney Biennial. Key highlights include a massive Raphael survey at the Metropolitan Museum of Art featuring over 200 works, the reopening of the expanded New Museum with a tech-focused exhibition on the future of humanity, and a major survey of sculptor Carol Bove at the Guggenheim. The season also features thematic shows exploring American folk art, Dutch Golden Age masterpieces, and the relationship between Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

The Centre Pompidou Expands to South Korea

Le Centre Pompidou s’exporte en Corée du Sud

The Centre Pompidou has opened a new satellite institution, the Centre Pompidou Hanwha, in Seoul, South Korea. The 11,000-square-meter venue, located in the 63 Tower and designed by the Wilmotte et Associés agency, is a partnership with the Hanwha Foundation of Culture and coincides with the 140th anniversary of Franco-Korean diplomatic relations. The opening was highlighted by a recent site visit from French President Emmanuel Macron and Centre Pompidou president Laurent Le Bon.

LACMA inaugurates its new building

Le Lacma inaugure son nouveau bâtiment

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has inaugurated its new David Geffen Galleries building, a massive horizontal structure spanning Wilshire Boulevard. Designed by architect Peter Zumthor, the $720 million project features 32,000 square meters of exhibition space across 90 non-hierarchical galleries, a free public park level, and a radical departure from traditional museum departmental organization.

LILIA CARRILLO IN NEW YORK THE MEXICAN PAINTER WHO WAS AHEAD OF HER TIME

Americas Society in New York has opened "Lilia Carrillo: Ruptures and Premonitions," curated by Tobias Ostrander. The exhibition presents 24 paintings by Mexican artist Lilia Carrillo (1930–1974), created between 1961 and 1974, alongside archival materials. It introduces Carrillo to New York audiences as a key figure of the Generación de la Ruptura, a postwar movement that broke with Mexican muralism in favor of abstraction. The show highlights her experimental techniques—carving and scraping paint, embedding fabric and paper—and her engagement with mortality, Surrealism, and political turmoil, including the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre.