The article introduces *Art of Luxury*, a biannual magazine published by *The Art Newspaper* that examines the intersection of high-end fashion, jewelry, travel, and lifestyle with the visual arts. It covers how luxury brands engage with artists, the art market, and museums and heritage institutions.
La notte dei record di Christie’s a New York. Ecco com’è andata la mega asta d’arte da più di un miliardo di dollari
On May 18, 2026, Christie’s in New York held a landmark evening auction that surpassed $1.1 billion in total sales, driven by two sessions: Masterpieces: The Private Collection of S.I. Newhouse and a sale of 20th-century art. The Newhouse collection alone brought in $631 million, making it the second most valuable collection ever sold at auction, behind Paul Allen’s $1.7 billion sale in 2022. Record prices were set for Jackson Pollock’s Number 7A, 1948, which sold for $181.2 million, and Constantin Brancusi’s Danaïde (1913), which fetched $107.6 million, a record for a sculpture at auction. Other artists achieving strong results included Mark Rothko, Joan Miró, and Alice Neel.
New York City is hosting a packed week of art fairs in May 2025, including Frieze at The Shed, Independent Art Fair at Pier 36, TEFAF New York at the Park Avenue Armory, and NADA New York at the Starrett-Lehigh Building. The fairs feature hundreds of international galleries, with Frieze emphasizing Central and South American exhibitors, Independent exploring a dystopian theme, TEFAF offering antiquities and fine art, and NADA celebrating its 12th edition with 121 galleries. The article also notes recent major exhibitions at the New Museum, Whitney Biennial, MoMA PS1, The Met, and MoMA, and includes a guide to Upstate New York art destinations.
On May 8, thousands marched through Venice and more than two dozen national pavilions were partially or fully shuttered during a 24-hour strike organized by the Art Not Genocide Alliance and local activist groups. The strike, which included Palestinian flags draped over artworks, marks the first cultural strike in the Venice Biennale's 131-year history. Italian police beat back protesters as Editor-in-Chief Hakim Bishara reported from the scene. Separately, a nesting seagull near the Polish pavilion became an unexpected star, and the LA Art Book Fair opened with a focus on archival materials.
Cultural workers, labor unions, and grassroots groups are planning a strike at the Venice Biennale on Friday, May 8, organized by the Art Not Genocide Alliance and others. The action, described as the first organized strike within the Biennale, aims to protest Israel's inclusion in the event, with participants withholding their labor and calling to "shut down the genocide pavilion." The article also covers other art news, including exhibitions in Los Angeles, a profile of nonagenarian artist Mohammad Omer Khalil, and memes about the Met Gala.
The American Arts Conservancy, a new nonprofit with MAGA-aligned leadership, is fundraising for Alma Allen's 2026 US Pavilion at the Venice Biennale through a "Donate" button on its website, having received no institutional financial support. Meanwhile, a sculpture by Pedro Reyes at the newly unveiled LACMA building has sparked controversy for recalling a 2021 commission rejected by Mexico City after Indigenous and feminist protests, and the experimental LA nonprofit The Box has closed after 19 years.
Artist Tom Burckhardt discusses his creative process and upbringing in a studio interview, highlighting his upcoming work and the influence of his New York School lineage. The son of artists Yvonne Jacquette and Rudy Burckhardt, he explores the concept of "mouthfeel" in painting—a textural quality that parallels culinary experiences—while utilizing humor and skepticism to challenge artistic pretension.
This regional update highlights a diverse array of developments, ranging from the seasonal art circuit in Upstate New York to significant human rights actions. Lebanese artist Ali Cherri, a former Venice Biennale Silver Lion winner, has filed a formal war crimes complaint against Israel following a strike in Beirut that killed his parents. Simultaneously, a new report reveals systemic staffing crises within POC-led arts organizations in the Northeast, where over a third of institutions operate without a single full-time employee.
Amy Sherald attended the 2025 Met Gala dressed as the subject of her own award-winning painting, *Miss Everything (Unsuppressed Deliverance)* (2014). The work, which won the Outwin Boochever Prize at the National Portrait Gallery and appeared on a *New Yorker* cover, depicts a young girl holding an oversized teacup. Sherald collaborated with designer Thom Browne to recreate the painting's look, including a red fascinator, as part of the gala's theme “Fashion Is Art,” which also aligns with the Costume Institute's exhibition “Costume Art.” Sherald served on the gala's committee alongside artists Anna Weyant and Tschabalala Self.
The Peabody Essex Museum has launched "Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone," the first-ever retrospective dedicated to the 19th-century sculptor who was the first Black and Indigenous American artist to achieve international fame. Curated by Shawnya L. Harris and Jeffrey Richmond-Moll, the exhibition is the culmination of seven years of research and detective work to locate surviving marble sculptures and archival fragments. The show tracks her journey from her early life as "Wildfire" to her education at Oberlin College and her eventual professional success in Boston and Rome.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has acquired a recently rediscovered Renaissance painting, 'Madonna and Child with Saint John the Evangelist,' by Rosso Fiorentino. The work, believed lost for centuries, was identified after conservation removed layers of overpaint, revealing the figure of Saint John. The Met has already placed the painting on view in its European painting galleries.
Pedro Friedeberg, the Mexico-based artist and designer famed for his iconic Mano Silla (Hand Chair) created in 1962, has died at age 90. A key figure in 20th-century Mexican art, his singular work blended intricate, fantastical architecture with ornament and irony, creating a unique visual universe that defied easy categorization within movements like Surrealism or geometric abstraction.
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s monumental 1983 painting, 'Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown)', is set to headline Sotheby’s marquee contemporary evening auction this May with an estimate of $45 million. The seven-foot canvas was created during the artist's pivotal year in Los Angeles and features his signature blend of text and symbols, including wry commentaries on the institutionalization and commercial value of art. The work previously sold at Christie’s in 2013 for $14.5 million.
Gagosian has secured special permission from Art Basel Paris to exhibit a rediscovered Old Master painting by Peter Paul Rubens, titled "The Virgin and Christ Child, with Saints Elizabeth and John the Baptist" (c. 1611–14), at a fair that typically restricts its main sector to works created between 1900 and 2025. The painting, last sold at Sotheby’s New York in 2020 for just over $7 million, will be shown alongside modern and contemporary works by artists such as John Currin, Jenny Saville, and Pablo Picasso. The exception was granted by Art Basel’s management and Selection Committee due to the work's exceptional quality and its resonance with the gallery's booth.
This photo essay from The Guardian presents 20 images capturing global events from the past week, including a protest by Femen and Pussy Riot activists against Russia's participation at the Venice Biennale art show, Israeli strikes in Gaza, the hantavirus outbreak, and Emma Chamberlain at the Met Gala. Other images document the war in Ukraine, with scenes of Russian military rehearsals in Moscow, damaged monuments, and drone strike aftermath, as well as a political protest in Nashville where Democratic state representative Justin J Pearson was removed from the house gallery during a redistricting protest.
A new exhibition at the Frick Collection in New York has assembled 25 portraits by the 18th-century British painter Thomas Gainsborough. The show focuses on his depictions of the era's elite, showcasing the powdered wigs, lavish fabrics, and social stature of his sitters.
The Saatchi Gallery in London is hosting 'Textile Art Redefined,' a group exhibition featuring 15 artists who push the boundaries of fiber and fabric. Curated by Helen Adams, the show includes diverse works ranging from Ian Berry’s immersive installations made of recycled denim to Kenny Nguyen’s undulating silk wall pieces and Anne von Freyburg’s textile reinterpretations of Rococo paintings. The exhibition coincides with the release of Adams' new book, 'Textile Fine Art,' which explores the medium's evolution from functional craft to a celebrated pillar of contemporary art.
This profile explores the Upper West Side residence of Crystal McCrary McGuire and Raymond J. McGuire, a power couple deeply embedded in New York City’s cultural and financial sectors. Their home serves as a private gallery for a significant collection of African American art, featuring masterworks by Norman Lewis, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Elizabeth Catlett, and Romare Bearden. The couple’s shared passion for collecting began independently, sparked by their formative years studying in France, and has since evolved into a joint mission to preserve and live alongside Black artistic heritage.
Artist Sarah Rosalena has completed a monumental 27-foot tapestry titled "Threading the Boundless: Omnidirectional Terrain" (2025), commissioned for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s (LACMA) new David Geffen Galleries. The work utilizes an industrial-scale jacquard-rapier loom to weave complex patterns that distort NASA satellite imagery of Earth and Mars. By blending her Wixárika maternal weaving traditions with computational craft, Rosalena transforms scientific data into a tactile, atmospheric landscape that challenges traditional methods of planetary mapping.
A collection of 18 previously unseen photographs by legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick will make its public debut at the Photography Show in New York. Discovered by the Duncan Miller Gallery within a larger archive purchase, these images date back to 1945 when a teenage Kubrick worked as a staff photographer for Look magazine. The series captures candid, late-night scenes within the New York City subway system, utilizing a concealed shutter release to document commuters in their most natural states.
A coalition of Los Angeles’s leading art institutions, including the Getty, LACMA, MOCA, and the Hammer Museum, has officially pledged to adopt the Bizot Green Protocol. This collective commitment, which also includes the gallery Hauser & Wirth, establishes climate-minded guidelines for museum operations such as widening temperature and humidity parameters for galleries and reducing air travel for loans. The move was largely catalyzed by the devastating impact of recent wildfires on the region's cultural infrastructure.
Artnet News profiles five ultra-contemporary artists working in China today, highlighting their practices amid shifting cultural narratives, economic pressures, and technological change. Featured artists include Xia Yu, known for tempera paintings of everyday life, and Ye Linghan, who creates monumental "data portraits" from smartphone screenshots. The article details their backgrounds, notable exhibitions, market prices, and upcoming projects, emphasizing their growing appeal to collectors and curators.
DEL AMOR QUE MUEVE EL SOL Y LAS OTRAS ESTRELLAS. ENTREVISTA A AMALIA CROSS
The Museo de la Solidaridad Salvador Allende (MSSA) in Santiago has inaugurated a major collection-based exhibition titled "Del amor que mueve el sol y las otras estrellas," curated by art historian Amalia Cross. The show revisits the museum's unique history—from its origins during Salvador Allende’s presidency and the international "Operation Truth" to its period of exile following the 1973 coup and its eventual return to Chile. Featuring works by global icons such as Alexander Calder, Lygia Clark, and Yoko Ono, the exhibition emphasizes movement and collective action across various mediums including sculpture, video, and installation.
Emma Fineman, a visual artist based in London, is presenting her first solo show at Alexander Berggruen gallery in New York, on view through June 24. The exhibition features 18 paintings that explore her queer identity and self-acceptance, drawing from Christian mythology and the Book of Genesis to celebrate female desire. In a conversation with her sister Chloe Fineman, a cast member on SNL, the two discuss their creative processes, the overlap between comedy and painting, and how they support each other through artistic blocks.
Congolese choreographer Faustin Linyekula is staging "The Galeazze Project," a performance commissioned by the Venice-based nonprofit Scuola Piccola Zattere (SPZ) in the 16th-century Galeazze shipyard complex, which has been inaccessible since World War II and never open to the public. The performance, a collateral event of the 2026 Venice Biennale, brings up to 500 people into the 32,291-square-foot open-air ruin for two nights, featuring local students, musicians from the Venetian label Cosmogram, and trumpeter Heru Shabaka-Ra, with a soundtrack composed collaboratively.
Cultured's spring gallery guide for New York highlights a curated selection of exhibitions across the city, with standout shows including Carol Bove's sculptural installation at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Joan Semmel's retrospective at the Jewish Museum, Jessi Reaves's furniture-based works at the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the group show "Afterlives: Contemporary Art in the Byzantine Crypt" at the Metropolitan Museum. The guide also notes exhibitions by Paul Chan, Nicola Tyson, Doron Langberg, and Yuval Pudik that are closing soon, and extends coverage to shows in Philadelphia and Warsaw.
Michael Govan, director of LACMA, discusses the opening of the new $720 million David Geffen Galleries on April 19, designed by architect Peter Zumthor. The 110,000-square-foot space features concrete walls, natural light, and spans Wilshire Boulevard, replacing traditional white-cube galleries with a fluid, non-chronological layout organized around bodies of water. Govan, who has led the museum for two decades, describes the project as a once-in-a-century opportunity to rethink the encyclopedic museum model.
Cultured magazine has published a guide to the best off-site gallery shows during Frieze Los Angeles 2026, organized by neighborhood. The article highlights six exhibitions: Rodney McMillian's "Some lives in the sunshine" at Vielmetter, Emma McIntyre's "Aragonite and conchiolin" at Château Shatto, Cayetano Ferrer's "Object Prosthetics" at Commonwealth and Council, Vicky Colombet's "Eutierria" at Fernberger, Kye Christensen-Knowles's "ALL & ALL" at Gaylord Fine Arts, and Christina Quarles's "The Ground Glows Back" at Hauser & Wirth. Each entry includes details on dates, key artworks, and curatorial context.
This week's What's On column highlights must-see gallery shows in New York City, including Simone Fattal's bronze and ceramic works at Greene Naftali and kaufmann repetto, Sol Lewitt's early works at Paula Cooper, Charles Atlas's portraits at Luhring Augustine, John Akomfrah's eight-channel installation at Lisson, and Brenda Goodman's new exhibition at Sikkema Malloy Jenkins. On the Upper East Side, the Metropolitan Museum of Art presents Helene Schjerfbeck's self-portraits in "Seeing Silence," the Jewish Museum features Joan Semmel's radical nudes, and White Cube hosts Marguerite Humeau's cave-inspired show "scintille."
Cultured magazine has published a preview of must-see museum shows for 2026, highlighting exhibitions across the United States. Featured shows include a survey of the late Los Angeles artist Noah Davis at the Philadelphia Art Museum, the first solo New York institutional exhibition in over 35 years for Pat Oleszko at SculptureCenter, a Carol Bove survey at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Biennial 2026, a comprehensive Raphael exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a Lucas Samaras photography show at the Art Institute of Chicago, a Ming Smith exhibition at the Portland Museum of Art, and a Bruce Conner film showcase at the Marciano Art Foundation.