A new exhibition titled "Artists’ Jewelry: From Cubism to Pop, the Diane Venet Collection" has opened at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida. It features over 150 pieces of artist-designed jewelry from the personal collection of Diane Venet, including works by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Alexander Calder, and Yoko Ono, displayed alongside about sixty companion works from the museum's permanent collection.
Art students at Dartmouth College installed a provocative piece titled "Something Rotten" in the Black Family Visual Arts Center, consisting of 20 moldy beef sticks arranged into a smiley face over the dedication wall honoring billionaire financier Leon Black and his family. The work, created by students Erik Siegel, Angeles Juarez-Ruiz, and Roan Wade, was removed one week after the exhibition "Storage Room" opened on April 14. The piece references Black's documented friendship and business dealings with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with the wall label quoting an Epstein email mentioning "jerky." The installation is part of a broader student and alumni campaign to remove Black's name from the arts center, which was funded by a $48 million gift from Black and his wife Debra.
Pilar Crespi, a Miami-based philanthropist and former fashion executive, discusses her art collection and Miami recommendations in an interview with The Art Newspaper. She recounts buying her first artwork—an oil painting by Tano Festa—while living in Rome, and her most recent acquisitions include works by Sidival Fila and Yoan Capote. Crespi also shares her regret over not purchasing a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting at a Christie's auction 30 years ago, and names a Caravaggio from the Galleria Borghese and Jackson Pollock's *Two* as her dream museum pieces.
The Art Institute of Chicago is presenting "Frida Kahlo’s Month in Paris: A Friendship with Mary Reynolds," an exhibition running from March 29 to July 13, 2025. It focuses on Kahlo's first and only trip to Europe in 1939, where she fell ill and convalesced at the home of American avant-garde bookbinder Mary Reynolds. The show features approximately 100 objects, including paintings, book bindings, and letters, drawn from the Art Institute's Mary Reynolds Collection and loans from the US, Mexico, and Europe.
The National Trust has unveiled a new exhibition titled "Churchill the Artist" at Chartwell, the former home of Winston Churchill. The show features personal artifacts including his paint-spattered Savile Row overalls and spectacles, alongside the painting "Quiet Waters" (c. 1920s), which is being exhibited in the U.K. for the first time. The work, an impressionistic river scene, was originally a gift from Churchill to the press baron Lord Beaverbrook.
The exhibition 'Prism of the Real: Making Art in Japan 1989-2010' at the National Art Center, Tokyo (NACT), explores Japanese contemporary art from the late Shōwa era through the Heisei era, a period of economic turmoil and social change. Curated by Doryun Chong, Isabella Tam, Kamiya Yukie, and Jihye Yun, the show originated from a friendship between Osaka Eriko and Suhanya Raffel, who collaborated on the 1999 Asia-Pacific Triennial. It features works by artists like Joseph Beuys, Nam June Paik, Lee Bul, Tsuyoshi Ozawa, Gimhongsok, Chen Xiaoxiong, and Navin Rawanchaikul, tracing Japan's artistic exchanges with Asia and the world, and addressing themes of gender, immigration, and national identity.
Doug Woodham, former president of Christie's Americas and current managing partner of Art Fiduciary Advisors, has authored a new biography titled "Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Making of an Icon." The book is divided into two halves: the first offers a straightforward biography of Basquiat's life from his gifted childhood in Brooklyn to his rise as a star artist, his friendship with Andy Warhol, and his tragic death from a heroin overdose at age 27. The second half analyzes how Basquiat achieved such early success, examining the influence of his father Gerard, the legal battle with dealer Vrej Baghoomian over the artist's estate, and the roles of collectors like Peter Brant and José Mugrabi. Notably, the Basquiat estate refused permission to include images of his artwork because the book openly addresses sensitive issues about his character and life.
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.
David A. Ross, chair of the Master of Fine Arts in art practice department at New York's School of Visual Arts (SVA), resigned from his position following the release of documents revealing his long-standing friendly correspondence with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The emails, dating from 2009 to 2016, show Ross praising Epstein's ideas for controversial exhibitions and offering him personal sympathy, even after Epstein's 2008 criminal conviction.
Indrapramit Roy and Mark Cazalet are coming together for a duo exhibition titled 'Stray Birds' at the Shridharani Gallery in New Delhi. Curated by Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya and organized by Art Magnum, the show explores the parallel trajectories of two artists who met during their formative years in Baroda under the mentorship of Gulam Mohammed Sheikh. The exhibition features works that document lived experiences, memory, and movement through drawing and painting, often rooted in their personal sketchbooks and visual journals.
The F.E. McWilliam Gallery & Studio in Northern Ireland has opened "100 Years of British and Irish Art: A Fermanagh Collection," a landmark exhibition showcasing the private art collection of the Earl and Countess of Belmore. Curated by William Laffan and Riann Coulter, the show spans five decades of collecting and features works by Irish painters such as Paul Henry, Norah McGuinness, and Basil Blackshaw, alongside British modernists including David Bomberg and Ceri Richards. The collection, rooted in the historic Castle Coole estate, was shaped by the Belmores' friendships with artists, particularly Enniskillen-born T.P. Flanagan. The exhibition runs until January 31, 2026, with free admission.
Andrew Kreps Gallery in New York presents 'Head Stretch,' a group exhibition featuring Felipe Barsuglia, Allan Gandhi, Luciana Maas, Flora Rebollo, Gokula Stoffel, and Erika Verzutti. The show is rooted in a shared studio building in São Paulo called 'Predinho,' where friendships and creative exchanges among the artists led to the exhibition. The title reflects diverse interpretations: from craning to see another's work to the stretched proportions of figures in paintings, and the expansion of perspective through community. Works by the six artists, including paintings, sculptures, and drawings, are installed in ways that create new associations, with Verzutti inserting her own pieces to open them to fresh readings.
NBA star Devin Booker has developed a significant connection with James Turrell’s Roden Crater, visiting the massive land art project in a dormant Arizona volcano three times since 2020. The Phoenix Suns guard has formed a mutual friendship with Turrell, who praised Booker’s artistic sensibility, while Booker credited the immersive installation with providing a sense of presence and perspective that transcends his professional basketball career.
Sotheby’s has announced the sale of the personal art collection of Enrico Donati, often referred to as the 'last Surrealist.' The 45-lot collection, titled "A Night in May," features works amassed by Donati and his wife Adele, including a rare 1909 Cubist portrait by Pablo Picasso, 'Arlequin (Buste),' estimated at $40 million. The auction marks the first time these intimate pieces—many acquired through direct exchanges with friends like Marcel Duchamp and Yves Tanguy—have been offered since the artist's death in 2008 and his wife's passing last year.
Artist Friedrich Kunath, known for his sincere yet absurd paintings, discusses his unlikely friendship with tennis star Reilly Opelka, who is also an art collector. The two share a mutual obsession with each other's crafts—Kunath coaches Opelka in tennis, while Opelka seeks Kunath's insights on artists like Philip Guston. Kunath is preparing for his solo debut at Pace Gallery in New York this November, following his move from Blum Gallery, which closed shortly after. He reflects on the loneliness of both tennis and art, and his creative process, which draws heavily from music and film.
Two art galleries, Galería Raíces and The Dreamers Gallery, have opened in the small border town of Presidio, Texas, and are collaborating rather than competing. Galería Raíces, owned by Yosdy Valdivia, opened in October 2024 in a building that once housed a clothing store run by the late Olivia Rohana de Spencer, a self-taught painter whose work was featured in the inaugural show. The Dreamers Gallery, owned by Adèle Jancovici, opened nearby. The galleries participate in a community event called Nocturnal Animals, which encourages residents to visit both spaces, located just two blocks apart.
Artist Aki Sasamoto presented her performance-installation "Grilled Diagrams" at Studio Voltaire in London. The work featured Sasamoto wielding oversized cooking utensils, manipulating rocks and gems on a custom grill, and delivering a monologue, creating a tense and unpredictable atmosphere for the audience.
Gagosian Gallery will present an exhibition of six early works by Robert Rauschenberg from the Cy Twombly Foundation, opening April 25 at 980 Madison Avenue. The show coincides with the centennial of Rauschenberg’s birth and runs alongside a Marcel Duchamp exhibition in the gallery’s new ground-floor space. The featured works, including a rare 1950 sculpture and the photogram *Untitled (1950)*, were preserved by Cy Twombly, reflecting the close friendship and artistic exchange between the two artists who met in 1951 at the Art Students League of New York and later traveled together through Europe and North Africa.
Art historian Amy Lyford delivered a lecture exploring the artistic and personal relationship between Arshile Gorky and Isamu Noguchi. The talk, presented by the gallery Hauser & Wirth, examined their shared experiences as immigrants, their navigation of American modernism, and the cross-pollination of ideas between their practices.
The film *Moss & Freud*, directed by James Lucas, explores the unlikely friendship between supermodel Kate Moss (played by Ellie Bamber) and painter Lucian Freud (Derek Jacobi) in 2001 London. The story centers on Moss's desire to sit for the reclusive portraitist, culminating in Freud's unflattering *Naked Portrait 2002*. However, the film glosses over Freud's darker reputation—his punishingly long sittings, cruelty, and violent tendencies—portraying him instead as a benign, eccentric old man. It also fails to deeply investigate Moss's character or the exploitation within the fashion industry, relying on weak scripting and forced parallels between Moss and Freud's ex-wife Lady Caroline Blackwood.
Chef Daniel Humm, the renowned culinary figure behind Eleven Madison Park, has guest-curated Sotheby's Contemporary Curated auction series, selecting artworks with the same rhythmic and intentional approach he uses in menu creation. In an interview with CULTURED, Humm describes how a transformative encounter with Claude Monet's Water Lilies at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris inspired his curatorial philosophy, emphasizing stillness, contemplation, and dialogue between works. His selections include pieces by Roni Horn, Alex Katz, Keith Haring, Sarah Crowner, and Jean Dubuffet, reflecting personal friendships and a desire to create an immersive, sensory experience akin to a multi-course meal.
The Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State is opening "Mark Dion and Alexis Rockman: Journey to Nature’s Underworld" on August 30, the first survey of the two artists' work spanning three decades. The exhibition features sculptures, paintings, works on paper, and a new collaborative diorama, exploring themes of ecology, environmental collapse, invasive species, and climate change through scientific and artistic lenses. Both artists, who met in New York in the 1980s, combine intensive research, dark humor, and museum display methods to subvert traditional narratives about nature and humanity.
Perrotin in Paris Marais is presenting 'Soulages-Hartung: Affinités électives,' an exhibition exploring the friendship and artistic dialogue between Pierre Soulages (1919–2022) and Hans Hartung (1904–1989). The show features a never-before-screened filmed interview from the Fondation Hartung-Bergman, along with archival documents and rarely seen studio tools. It highlights their shared concerns as postwar abstract painters, their mutual support and gift exchanges—such as Soulages's walnut stain piece given to Hartung in 1948—and their contrasting approaches, with Hartung's explosive gestures versus Soulages's measured structures. The exhibition also reveals their lesser-known use of blue in the 1980s.
Yares Art in New York is hosting "SIMILITUDES: Color, Form, Friendship," a landmark exhibition exploring the creative dialogue between American painter Helen Frankenthaler and British sculptor Anthony Caro. Spanning nearly five decades of friendship that began in 1959, the show juxtaposes Frankenthaler’s soak-stained canvases with Caro’s steel armatures. The presentation includes archival letters and photographs that highlight their mutual influence, including a 1972 proposal from Frankenthaler to collaborate on a sculpture.
ArtReview Podcast episode 6 features artist Hyeree Ro, who speaks with associate editor Jenny Wu about her practice, including her attraction to objects with ambiguous functions. Ro discusses her work *Niro* (2024), a skeletal car installation exploring her relationship with her late father, and her upcoming exhibition at the Korean pavilion for the 61st Venice Biennale. The episode also touches on gardens and maintaining friendships as artists, with references to the Soswaewon garden and Hua Hsu's memoir *Stay True*.
Lancaster city's May First Friday 2026 features over 20 events, including exhibition openings, concerts, and performances. Highlights include a new exhibition 'Hybrids' by artist Jeremy Waak at Curio Gallery & Creative Supply, the Demuth Museum's 'Demuth Invitational: American Reflections' tied to the U.S. 250th anniversary, and the Lancaster Living Poetry Museum II with performers embodying poets at venues like the Lancaster Public Library and Lancaster Art Vault. Other offerings include salsa dancing at Binns Park, works by York County painters at The Framing Concept, and a show inspired by Yayoi Kusama at Friendship Heart Gallery + Market.
An anonymous artist collective called the Secret Handshake has installed a 12-foot-tall statue in Washington, D.C., depicting Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein holding hands and twirling, titled "The Secret Handshake." The sculpture, made from wood, foam, and resin, includes plaques quoting a birthday message Trump reportedly wrote to Epstein and a satirical reference to free speech. The artists declined to identify themselves, speaking through a pseudonymous representative, and stated the work aims to highlight the public friendship between the two men, both of whom have been accused of abusing women.
The Little Prince: The Journey of Stars, an immersive exhibition retelling Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's classic children's book, is now open at Parkview Square in Bugis, Singapore, hosted by the GROUNDSEESAW SINGAPORE art gallery. The experience runs through 31 July 2025 and features a film recap, interactive zones, and 3D projections of iconic characters like The Fox and The King, with sessions lasting about an hour. Tickets start at $15 for children and $22 for adults, with an early bird 50% discount available until 7 July 2025.
The Mills College Art Museum in Oakland, California, has opened "100 Years of Creative Visions," a centennial exhibition running through April 26 that showcases major works from its permanent collection. The show highlights the museum's long history of supporting diverse artistic communities, featuring pieces such as Hung Liu's "White Rice Bowl" and works by Diego Rivera, Alfredo Ramos Martinez, and members of the f/64 photography group including Imogen Cunningham, Ansel Adams, and Tina Modotti. The exhibition emphasizes creative friendships and the museum's role as a laboratory for risk-taking, with artists like Young Suh and Weston Teruya discussing how the institution encouraged experimental approaches.
Colleghi pittori e anche amici. Zandomeneghi e Degas sono in mostra a Rovigo
Palazzo Roverella in Rovigo is hosting the exhibition "Zandomeneghi e Degas. Impressionismo tra Firenze e Parigi," curated by Francesca Dini. The show brings together works by Italian 19th-century painter Federico Zandomeneghi and French Impressionist Edgar Degas, featuring about fifteen paintings and sculptures by Degas alongside works by Zandomeneghi. It explores their friendship, mutual artistic influence, and shared commitment to realism, tracing their connections from Florence's Caffè Michelangiolo to Paris, where their paths fully converged. Themes such as dance and the nude are highlighted, with works like Degas's "Classe de ballet" (1888) and Zandomeneghi's "Visita in camerino" and "Donna che si asciuga" on view.