marlene dumas pushes the limits of portraiture at tate modern 242725

Marlene Dumas's largest retrospective to date, "The Image as Burden," has opened at Tate Modern, showcasing her uncompromising approach to portraiture. The exhibition features over 200 works, including early ink drawings like "Rejects" (1994-ongoing), political pieces such as "Osama" (2010), and the "Magdalenas" series from the 1995 Venice Biennale. Dumas, a South African painter based in Amsterdam, explores themes of identity, politics, and the female body through her fluid, often dark palette and responses to mass media images.

‘Old masters too’: Ghent exhibition celebrates female artists of the baroque

The Ghent Museum of Fine Arts (MSK) has opened the exhibition 'Unforgettable: Women Artists from Antwerp to Amsterdam, 1600-1750,' featuring over 40 female artists from the Baroque period in the Low Countries. The show highlights painters like Judith Leyster and Maria van Oosterwijck, as well as practitioners of crafts like paper-cutting and lace-making, aiming to restore these women to a historical narrative dominated by male 'Old Masters' like Rembrandt and Vermeer.

Bridging East and West: The top Asia-Pacific art exhibitions in Europe in 2026

Europe is set to host a series of major exhibitions in 2026 that bridge the cultural divide between the East and West. Key highlights include a massive Yayoi Kusama retrospective at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, a showcase of Thai royal haute couture and Pierre Balmain’s designs at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and an exploration of ancient Korean gold at the Musée Guimet. Additionally, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London will partner with Australia’s QAGOMA for a large-scale survey of contemporary art from Asia and the Pacific.

A brush with… Danh Vo—podcast

Conceptual artist Danh Vo discusses his multifaceted practice in a new podcast interview, exploring how his work weaves together personal autobiography, queer identity, and his experience as a Vietnamese immigrant. The conversation delves into his collaborative methods, his use of found objects ranging from religious sculptures to household items, and his upcoming exhibitions at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and White Cube in New York.

Why yellow was Van Gogh's favourite colour

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has launched a new exhibition titled "Yellow: Beyond Van Gogh’s Colour," running until May 17. The show explores Vincent van Gogh’s profound obsession with the color yellow, featuring eight of his works alongside pieces by contemporaries like Paul Gauguin and Aubrey Beardsley. It highlights Van Gogh's technical use of chrome yellow pigments to capture the "high yellow note" of the Provencal sun and the symbolic association of the color with modernity and life-giving energy.

15 of the Most Anticipated Museum Exhibitions Around the World in 2026

Major museums worldwide have announced their flagship exhibitions for 2026, featuring a diverse array of artists and historical periods. Highlights include a Frida Kahlo retrospective at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, exploring her rise to icon status; a survey of Ovid's influence on art from Caravaggio to Louise Bourgeois at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum; a centennial exhibition for Mary Cassatt at the National Gallery of Art; and the largest career survey to date for Tracey Emin at Tate Modern. Other key shows feature Carol Bove at the Guggenheim Museum, Korean national treasures at the Art Institute of Chicago, and exhibitions at the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Louvre.

11 Must-Visit Museums Opening in 2026

The article highlights 11 major museum openings and expansions scheduled for 2026, including the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (designed by Frank Gehry, focusing on modern and contemporary art from West Asia, North Africa, and South Asia), the New Museum in New York (reopening March 21 after a major expansion by OMA), the V&A East Museum in London (featuring a debut exhibition on Black British music history), and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. Other notable projects include the Memphis Art Museum and the Drift Museum in Amsterdam, reflecting a global surge in cultural infrastructure.

Van Gogh shows in 2026: America, Japan and the Netherlands

A wave of Van Gogh exhibitions is scheduled for 2026 across the United States, Japan, and the Netherlands. Highlights include "Van Gogh’s Sunflowers: A Symphony in Blue and Yellow" at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (June–October 2026), featuring a rare loan of London's National Gallery version alongside Philadelphia's own. Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum will present "Yellow: Beyond Van Gogh’s Colour" (February–May 2026), while the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo will display all 88 Van Gogh paintings for the first time since 1984 in "Van Gogh, All Our Paintings" (September 2026–January 2027). In Japan, the Kröller-Müller's "The Grand Van Gogh Exhibition" tours Kobe, Fukushima, and Tokyo, and the Van Gogh Museum's "Van Gogh’s Home" is at Nagoya's Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art. Smaller shows take place at the Van Gogh House in Zundert, the Maison du Dr Gachet in Auvers-sur-Oise, and the Foundation Vincent van Gogh Arles.

Van Gogh in 2025: Record prices, memorable shows and the first Korean acquisition

The article reviews the Van Gogh year in 2025, highlighting several key developments. The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam faces potential closure unless the Dutch government increases its annual building subsidy from €8.5m to €11m, leading the museum to file a legal complaint. At auction, two Van Gogh paintings sold, with "Parisian Novels" (1887) fetching $62.7m at Sotheby's, a record for his Paris period, and eight drawings were sold, including "Sower in a Wheatfield with setting Sun" (1888) for $11.2m. Acquisitions included "Tarascon Stagecoach" (1888) given to LACMA via the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation, and "Head of a Peasant" (1885) bought by Korean-born gallery owner Hong Gyu Shin, marking the first known Van Gogh acquisition by a Korean.

Van Gogh’s ‘Postman’, and the very chair seen in the painting, go on show in a revelatory Amsterdam exhibition

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has opened "Van Gogh and the Roulins: Together Again at Last," the first comprehensive exhibition dedicated to Vincent van Gogh's portraits of postman Joseph Roulin and his family. The show, which runs until January 11, 2026, features the artist's first portrait of Roulin on loan from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, alongside the very wicker armchair on which Roulin posed in 1888. The chair, originally bought by Van Gogh for his Yellow House in Arles, was acquired by the museum in 1969 and is exhibited for the first time since then. The exhibition previously drew 280,000 visitors in Boston.

Lovers to friends: the intimate story of Van Gogh's sister-in-law and the artist Isaac Israëls

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has published 103 letters from Dutch Impressionist painter Isaac Israëls to Jo Bonger, Vincent van Gogh's sister-in-law, revealing a previously secret romantic relationship between them. The museum is also presenting an exhibition titled "Captivated by Vincent: The Intimate Friendship of Jo van Gogh-Bonger and Isaac Israëls" (through January 25, 2026), which explores their brief physical relationship in the 1890s and its aftermath, including how Israëls incorporated Van Gogh's paintings into his own portraits—a practice he called "Vincenting." Twelve of these portraits are on display for the first time.

Van Gogh’s love of Hiroshige, the Japanese master of the landscape, is reflected in a British Museum exhibition

The British Museum's exhibition "Hiroshige: Artist of the Open Road" (through September 7) showcases over 100 prints by the Japanese master Utagawa Hiroshige, including rare loans that highlight his influence on European avant-garde artists. A key display is Vincent van Gogh's own copy of Hiroshige's "The Plum Garden at Kameido" (1857), on loan from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, along with Van Gogh's squared-up tracing used for his painting. New research by British Museum senior scientist Capucine Korenberg reveals a short pencil line on the print that confirms Van Gogh used this exact copy as a guide for his tracing and subsequent painting.

The Royal Academy’s Kiefer-Van Gogh show offers a soaring spectacle

The Royal Academy of Arts in London is hosting "Kiefer/Van Gogh" (28 June–26 October), a focused exhibition pairing Anselm Kiefer's monumental multimedia works with Vincent van Gogh's paintings and drawings. The show, curated by Julien Domercq, features seven huge Kiefer pieces including the 8.4m-wide "The Starry Night" (2019) and a single sculpture, alongside 11 Van Gogh works—five on loan from the Van Gogh Museum. It previously ran at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, where it drew 340,000 visitors. The London iteration is smaller but includes different works, with a central room dedicated to Van Gogh's pieces spanning his career.

The 10 Exhibitions to See in June 2025

The article highlights 10 exhibitions to see in June 2025, curated by editors. Key shows include the Serpentine Pavilion in London, designed by Dhaka-based architect Marina Tabassum, titled "A Capsule in Time" (6 June–26 October), a semi-open wooden structure inspired by South Asian tent designs that engages with light and public activation. Another featured exhibition is Hiền Hoàng's "Garden of Entanglement" at FOAM Amsterdam (6 June–ongoing), presenting works that explore trauma's imprint on human bodies and nature, including a soundscape installation developed with scientists and a VR piece on the Agarwood tree.

5 Artists on Our Radar in January 2026

Artsy's January 2026 edition of 'Artists on Our Radar' highlights five emerging visual artists: Elladj Lincy Deloumeaux, Xiaochi Dong, and Bobbye Fermie (with two others implied). Deloumeaux, born in Guadeloupe and based in Paris, paints solitary figures exploring identity and displacement; his work is featured in a group show at Loft Art Gallery in Marrakech and he has a solo show upcoming at Musée de la Parure de Marrakech. Xiaochi Dong, a Shanghai-born artist trained in classical Chinese painting, creates intimate works evoking gardens and ecosystems, currently in a two-person exhibition at Albion Jeune in London. Bobbye Fermie, an Amsterdam-born London-based artist, produces dreamlike watercolors and collages, with works available at Wilder Gallery.

Wildenstein dispute over Monet work highlights art market opacity

A long-running dispute involving the Wildenstein art dynasty has resurfaced over a 2004 transaction for Claude Monet's *Adolphe Monet Reading in a Garden* (1867). The painting was acquired by Guy Wildenstein through a €4.5m deal that included works by Pierre Bonnard and Alfred Sisley, among them Monet's *Marine, Amsterdam* (1874). That work was later resold via Christie's, but a 2020 sale attempt revealed that the original canvas had been lost during a transfer process, significantly reducing its value. Court-appointed specialists concluded in 2024 that the alteration predated the transaction and that the gallery likely knew of the damage. The sellers have filed a claim alleging "vitiated consent" under French law, with a court date set for 7 May in Rouen. The disputed Monet now reportedly belongs to billionaire Larry Ellison.

A Blockbuster Take on Ovid’s “Metamorphosis”

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has opened a major exhibition titled 'Metamorphoses,' inspired by Ovid's poem. The show brings together Renaissance masterpieces, antiquities, and contemporary works, grouping them by the myths they depict to explore themes of transformation, desire, and gender through striking visual juxtapositions.

ukraine demands extradition russian archaeologist crimea 1234768170

Ukraine has requested the extradition from Poland of Russian archaeologist Oleksandr Butyagin, who was detained in Warsaw on December 4 on suspicion of conducting illegal excavations in Russian-occupied Crimea. Butyagin, an employee of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, faces charges from Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office for unauthorized digs at the ancient Greek colony of Myrmekion between 2014 and 2019, allegedly causing significant damage. A Polish court has ordered his custody until January 13 while the extradition process proceeds; if convicted in Ukraine, he could face up to 10 years in prison.

Landmark Exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts Reframes an Iconic Historical Era

The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, D.C., will present "Women Artists from Antwerp to Amsterdam, 1600–1750" from September 26, 2025, to January 11, 2026. This landmark exhibition features nearly 150 artworks by 40 Dutch and Flemish women artists, including Judith Leyster, Rachel Ruysch, and Clara Peeters, alongside works by unnamed textile makers. Co-curated by Virginia Treanor and Frederica van Dam, the show includes loans from over 50 institutions such as the Rijksmuseum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Prado Museum. It will travel to the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium, from March to May 2026.

Taxidermists—prized by Damien Hirst—open museum in Amsterdam

Two artist-taxidermists, Ferry van Tongeren and Jaap Sinke, have opened the Art Zoo Museum in a restored canal house in Amsterdam, in partnership with the Vrije Academie cultural education institute. The museum, opening on 26 June, is described as a "modern wunderkammer"—a contemporary cabinet of curiosities—featuring taxidermied animals that died natural deaths, arranged in surreal poses alongside preserved flowers and ornate interiors. Van Tongeren, a former advertising agency owner who retrained as a taxidermist, gained international fame after he and Sinke sold their first collection to Damien Hirst in 2016. Their collective is named Darwin, Sinke & Van Tongeren, reflecting the influence of Charles Darwin.

rijksmuseum research art health benefits parkinsons 1234763401

Researchers in the Netherlands, led by neuroscientist Blanca Spee and neurologist Bas Bloem at Radboudumc Medical Center, have been studying the link between creativity and improved health outcomes for Parkinson's disease patients. A study of 800 patients found that 41% reported changes in creativity, with those on dopamine agonists especially likely to experience increases. A subsequent 10-week creative 'playground' involving painting, music, and writing led to reduced anxiety, increased well-being, and slight cognitive improvements. On November 17, the Michael J. Fox Foundation awarded Bloem its Pritzker Prize, including a $200,000 grant, to fund a new 18-month study in partnership with Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum. That study will compare three groups: one exploring the museum's art collection, one making art, and a control group with no art exposure.

The Rediscovery of the Female Old Masters

Die Wiederentdeckung der Alten Meisterinnen

The Museum of Fine Arts Ghent (MSK) has launched a major exhibition titled "Unforgettable: Women Artists from Amsterdam to Antwerp, 1600–1750," showcasing over 40 female Baroque artists who were once highly successful but later faded into obscurity. The show highlights figures like Michaelina Wautier, who defied gender norms by painting large-scale history scenes and male nudes, and Rachel Ruysch, whose floral still lifes commanded prices rivaling those of Rembrandt. These women were not merely exceptions but active participants in the art market, running workshops and securing royal patronage across the Low Countries.

scotch and soda jean michel basquiat collection 1234775107

Amsterdam-based fashion brand Scotch & Soda has launched a new apparel collection in partnership with the estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. The line features men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing adorned with the late artist’s signature motifs, including his iconic three-point crown and sketches. A central element of the collaboration is the use of Basquiat’s 1987 painting "Unbreakable," which has been adapted into prints for hoodies, jackets, and denim.

stevenson gallery closing johannesburg branch 1234765511

Stevenson Gallery is closing its Johannesburg branch after 17 years, with the last day on December 12. The final exhibition, Tofo Bardi's "Underground: Nothing to Hold," will close early. The gallery's Cape Town and Amsterdam locations will remain open. Founded in Cape Town in 2003 by Michael Stevenson, the Johannesburg outpost opened in 2008 and moved several times before settling in Parktown North in 2019.

Women in the Arts museum brings golden age artists into focus

The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., has opened a new exhibition titled "Women Artists from Antwerp to Amsterdam, 1600-1750," which showcases works by largely forgotten female masters of the Dutch Golden Age, including Judith Leyster, Maria van Oosterwijck, Clara Peeters, and Rachel Ruysch. The show features over a dozen artists and highlights paintings rich in symbolism, such as van Oosterwijck's "Vanitas Still Life" and Leyster's "The Concert," while also addressing how many of these women were celebrated in their own time but later misattributed or omitted from art history.

Moving On Up: 24 Museum Curators and Art Leaders Who Took on New Appointments in First Half of 2025

Culture Type has published its annual list of new appointments among museum curators and arts leaders for the first half of 2025, highlighting two dozen hires and promotions at major institutions. Notable appointments include Deana Haggag as program director for arts and culture at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Ann Collins Smith as chief curator at the New Orleans Museum of Art (the first Black American in a full-time curatorial role there), and Vincent van Velsen as head of exhibitions at Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam. The list also features curators such as Alisa Chiles at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and Brittany Webb at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Larissa Sansour: Rogue Agents of History

Wereldmuseum Amsterdam is presenting "Rogue Agents of History," the first solo exhibition in the Netherlands by Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour. Running from April 24 to September 27, 2026, the show features three films—including the premiere of "A Sunken Tale of Losses Delayed" commissioned by the museum—alongside Sansour's artworks, personal heirlooms, film props, and historical objects. Curated by Nat Muller, the exhibition explores themes of identity, memory, belonging, and loss through a science-fiction lens, drawing on the Palestinian context and blurring boundaries between fact and fiction.

War in the Middle East, the Whitney Biennial, and a newly-discovered Rembrandt in Amsterdam—podcast

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has officially authenticated a previously dismissed painting, 'The Vision of Zacharias in the Temple' (1633), as a genuine work by Rembrandt van Rijn. Long considered a mere copy of a lost original, the piece has been upgraded following extensive research by the museum's scholarly team. Simultaneously, the 82nd Whitney Biennial has launched in New York, while the escalating conflict in the Middle East raises concerns regarding the stability of the burgeoning cultural tourism sector in the Persian Gulf.

Rijksmuseum announces plans for €60m sculpture park

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has announced plans to build a €60 million Modern sculpture garden, called the Don Quixote Pavilion and Garden, on a nearby triangular plot of land. The project is funded by an exceptional donation and long-term art loans from the Don Quixote Foundation, established by billionaire businessman Rolly van Rappard. The garden will feature three pavilions designed by Foster + Partners, with landscaping by Piet Blanckaert, and will display sculptures by Alberto Giacometti, Jean Arp, and Henry Moore. The museum aims to open the space free of charge this autumn, but planning permission has not yet been granted, and the project includes the restoration of three listed buildings.

A rare jewellery box identified in Vermeer paintings sheds new light on the artist’s connections

New research by curator Alexandra van Dongen of Rotterdam’s Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum reveals that a rare Indo-Portuguese jewellery casket depicted in two Johannes Vermeer paintings—Mistress and Maid and A Lady Writing (both 1664-67)—is a real, surviving object. Van Dongen tracked down the sole known example in the Távora Sequeira Pinto collection in Porto, with help from Amsterdam dealer Dickie Zebregs. Her findings, published in the book De tastbare wereld van Johannes Vermeer, suggest the casket likely belonged to Vermeer’s patron Maria de Knuijt, a wealthy Dutch East India Company shareholder who may have asked the artist to include it in her paintings.