Remembering Desmond Morris, James Hayward, and Flo Oy Wong

This week's obituaries mark the passing of several significant figures in the visual arts. They include British surrealist painter and zoologist Desmond Morris, known for his 'biomorph' paintings and experiments with chimpanzee art; West Coast monochrome abstractionist James Hayward, who developed a cult following for his thickly painted canvases; and Chinese American artist Flo Oy Wong, a foundational storyteller of Oakland's Chinatown and the Asian American experience. Also remembered are assemblage artist Aldwyth, Ethiopian painter and educator Behailu Bezabih, Anglo-Irish conservator and designer Alec Cobbe, Bangladeshi art director Tarun Ghosh, and New Mexico painter Michael Hurd.

Art Movements: Dozens Laid Off at Artnet and Artsy

Digital art giants Artnet and Artsy have implemented significant layoffs following their recent merger under the investment firm Beowolff Capital. The cuts, which occurred on April 16, impacted dozens of employees across both organizations, including senior editorial staff such as Sarah Cascone and Eileen Kinsella. The restructuring follows a reported 12% revenue decline for Artnet in early 2025 and involves the shutdown of Artnet's German entity as the two companies consolidate into a single team led by CEO Jeffrey Yin.

Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, Artist Who Confronted Injustice, Dies at 46

Acclaimed painter Celeste Dupuy-Spencer has passed away at the age of 46 in Los Angeles, just days before a scheduled solo exhibition at Jeffrey Deitch’s gallery. Known for her visceral and politically charged figurative works, Dupuy-Spencer gained national recognition for her contributions to the 2017 Whitney Biennial and the 2018 Made in LA biennial. Her practice often deconstructed American mythologies, the rise of domestic fascism, and global human rights issues, including a high-profile stance against the conflict in Gaza.

Sea change: inside LACMA’s new curatorial strategy

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is debuting a radical curatorial overhaul within its new David Geffen Galleries, moving away from traditional 19th-century departmental silos. Led by Director Michael Govan and a team of 45 curators, the museum is implementing a cross-disciplinary approach that organizes the collection around "oceanic nodes"—the Mediterranean, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific. This strategy allows for the juxtaposition of disparate media and cultures, such as contemporary photography alongside ancient textiles, to highlight the historical circulation of ideas and people across bodies of water.

Ed Ruscha | Billy (1968) | Art & Prints

Ed Ruscha's 1968 exhibition catalogue 'Billy', designed for a show of works by his friend Billy Al Bengston, is being offered for sale. The catalogue features a flocked sandpaper cover, satin ribbon bookmark, and machine screw and hex nut binding, and was published by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for an exhibition that traveled to the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Vancouver Art Gallery. The work is listed on an art marketplace platform with a price of €62,600, and the listing includes details about its condition, provenance, and the artist's broader career.

This influential L.A. collector bought the artists no one else would. The art world is finally catching up

Eileen Harris Norton, a foundational figure in the Los Angeles art scene, is being celebrated with a major exhibition of her collection at Hauser & Wirth. The show, "Destiny Is a Rose: The Eileen Harris Norton Collection," features over 80 works, many from her home, highlighting her five-decade commitment to collecting artists who were often her friends and neighbors, particularly women, artists of color, and Southern California-based artists.

Guadalupe Rosales Brings East LA to Venice for the Biennale

Guadalupe Rosales, a Los Angeles–based artist known for her Instagram archive @veteranas_and_rucas documenting 1990s Chicana life, has been selected to participate in the main exhibition of the 2026 Venice Biennale, curated by the late Koyo Kouoh. In an interview with ARTnews, Rosales discusses how her invitation came about after Kouoh's passing, her evolving practice that includes photography, murals, and installations, and the emotional depth of her archival work—balancing joy and grief, as exemplified by her cousin's death certificate. She will also publish a memoir titled *East of the River* in September.

an up to the minute list of the all the art fairs taking place in 2026 2708747

The global art fair calendar for 2026 is taking shape with a mix of established blue-chip events and significant new international expansions. Key highlights include the debut of Pavilion in Taipei and Hong Kong, the expansion of Paris Internationale into Milan, and the highly anticipated return of the ADAA Fair to New York's Park Avenue Armory following a strategic hiatus.

LACMA’s David Geffen Galleries offers a seductive art-viewing experience

The article discusses the newly opened David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), describing the viewing experience as seductive. The galleries are a major component of LACMA's ongoing transformation, designed by architect Peter Zumthor.

Everywhere you need to be during Frieze L.A.

The Los Angeles art scene is preparing for a major surge of activity anchored by the return of Frieze Los Angeles to the Santa Monica Airport from February 26 to March 1. The week features a dense schedule of satellite fairs including the inaugural West Coast edition of Indianapolis’s Butter Fine Art Fair, the boutique Post-Fair in a historic Art Deco post office, and the poolside Felix Art Fair at the Hollywood Roosevelt. Major gallery presentations include James Turrell at Pace, Sam Gilliam at David Kordansky, and a high-profile opening for Christina Quarles at Hauser & Wirth.

Getting Messy in the Archive at LA’s Art Book Fair

Printed Matter's Los Angeles Art Book Fair returned to the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena for its 13th edition, featuring over 250 exhibitors—slightly fewer than last year—with about a fifth participating for the first time. A common thread across the fair was the archive: publications that excavate, remix, and repurpose historical media, from a book chronicling a 1960s hoax about animal nudity to a compendium of vintage photographs that subvert male subjectivity, and a collection of found photos from abandoned houses in rural Maine. The fair also highlighted diasporic and personal archives, including a Palestinian-American artist's cassette mixtape tracing music from the Middle East and an artist-run press focusing on translation as cultural resistance.

Art Workers Plan Venice Biennale Strike

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 Box LA, Beloved Risk-Taking Art Space, Closes After 19 Years

The Box LA, a pioneering experimental art space in Los Angeles known for its fearless support of unconventional and performance art, is closing after 19 years. Founded in 2007 by Mara McCarthy in Chinatown (later moving to the Arts District), the gallery operated as a commercial space but with a nonprofit ethos, championing underrecognized artists from her father Paul McCarthy's generation alongside emerging talents. Its final exhibition, a retrospective of Wally Hedrick presented with Parker Gallery, ended April 4, with a closing celebration planned for June 6 featuring a fashion show by Johanna Went. The closure is attributed to financial struggles, exacerbated by the Eaton Fire that destroyed McCarthy's home and her family's, and a shift in support from McCarthy Studios.

Refik Anadol’s AI Art Museum DATALAND Will Open in Los Angeles in June

Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç will open DATALAND, a museum dedicated to AI art, in Los Angeles on June 20, 2026. Located in the Grand LA complex designed by Frank Gehry, the 25,000-square-foot venue will feature five gallery spaces plus 10,000 square feet for supporting technology. Its inaugural exhibition, "Machine Dreams: Rainforest," created by Refik Anadol Studio, uses AI trained on ecological datasets to generate sensory experiences, including a version of Anadol's Infinity Room with a 1987 recording of an extinct Hawaiian bird and AI-generated scents. Membership starts at $350 per year.

The Big Review | Lacma's David Geffen Galleries ★★★★

The Swiss architect Peter Zumthor's new $724 million building for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma), now called the David Geffen Galleries, has opened after nearly two decades of anticipation. The swooping concrete-and-glass structure is praised for its harnessing of natural light and horizontality, creating a stunning showcase for antiquities and inviting the city inside with floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of the La Brea Tar Pits and Wilshire Boulevard. The building performs best with sculpture and decorative objects, with standout works including Liz Glynn's "The Futility of Conquest" (2023) and Manjunath Kamath's "Vikatonarva" (2024).

Refik Anadol’s Dataland Museum Sets an Opening Date

Refik Anadol's Dataland, billed as the world's first A.I. art museum, will open on June 20 in Los Angeles after more than two and a half years of planning. Founded by Anadol and his partner Efsun Erkiliç, the museum is housed inside the Frank Gehry-designed Grand L.A. complex and features five galleries. Its debut exhibition, "Machine Dreams: Rainforest," uses ecological data processed through Anadol's Large Nature Model to create digital sculptures simulating possible rainforests. The museum, designed by Gensler, dedicates nearly a third of its 35,000 square feet to operational hardware and runs on 87 percent carbon-free energy.

7 Shows to See in Milan Right Now

Inside Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Radical Reinvention

Milan’s art scene takes center stage during the Miart fair with a diverse array of institutional and gallery exhibitions. Highlights include Cao Fei’s exploration of global farming and technology at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Anselm Kiefer’s monumental tributes to female alchemists at Palazzo Reale, and a survey of Italian conceptualist Salvo at Pinacoteca di Brera.

'I’m interested in breaking binaries, barriers and boundaries': Sarah Rosalena on her new LACMA commission

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.

Exhibition | Tristan Unrau, 'Hopes and Fears' at David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles, United States

David Kordansky Gallery in Los Angeles presents 'Hopes and Fears,' a solo exhibition of new paintings by Tristan Unrau from March 19 to April 25, 2026. This is the artist's first show with the gallery and his most ambitious presentation to date, occupying three spaces at the venue.

Ed Ruscha | A Particular Kind Of Heaven (1983) | Art & Prints

Ed Ruscha's 1983 work "A Particular Kind Of Heaven" is being offered at auction through Tate Ward, with current bidding at £100. The piece is an exhibition poster from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, measuring 61 x 92 cm, and is part of Tate Ward's Urban and Contemporary Art London sale. The listing also shows multiple other Ruscha works available from various sellers, including posters and prints from EHC Fine Art Auction, Blond Contemporary, and Baldwin.

LACMA Responds to Anger Over Pedro Reyes Sculpture, New Louvre President Reveals His Plans, and More: Morning Links for May 6, 2026

A sculpture at LACMA's new David Geffen Galleries has sparked controversy. Pedro Reyes's large stone work *Tlali* (2026) resembles a 2021 project for Mexico City that was canceled because Reyes is not Indigenous. A letter signed by nearly 80 people accuses LACMA of lacking "memory" for displaying the piece. LACMA defends the work as "entirely different in purpose and meaning," and director Michael Govan suggested the figure may be androgynous, not female. Separately, new Louvre president Christophe Leribault outlined plans to reduce contemporary art projects and acquisition spending, while a jury will select an architect for the Louvre-Nouvelle Renaissance renovation. Other news includes Georg Baselitz's final exhibition at Fondazione Giorgio Cini, a planned strike at the Venice Biennale's Israel Pavilion, and the Lucas Museum's first "Star Wars" exhibition.

Ken Griffin Acquires Another Copy of the US Constitution, Union Files Charges Against Kennedy Center for Layoffs, and More: Morning Links for May 5, 2026

Billionaire Ken Griffin has acquired a second original copy of the US Constitution via a private sale for an undisclosed amount, making him the owner of the only two known surviving copies in private hands. The first copy, purchased for $43.2 million in 2021, is on view at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, while the second will be exhibited at the South Street Seaport Museum in Manhattan starting May 27 as part of a show on American history for the country's 250th anniversary. Separately, a union for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has filed unfair-labor-practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing the center of unlawfully firing dozens of employees under the guise of a planned two-year closure for renovations.

Lucas Museum Reveals First Set of Exhibitions Curated by Founder George Lucas

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles has announced its inaugural exhibitions, curated by founder George Lucas, ahead of its September opening. The initial hang will feature around 12,000 objects from the museum's collection of over 40,000, displayed across 30 galleries in the 300,000-square-foot building. Thematic galleries will highlight specific artists such as Thomas Hart Benton, Norman Rockwell, and N.C. Wyeth, as well as mediums like cinema, photography, muralism, and comics. Broader themes include "Everyday Life," "Narrative Forms," and "Western Stories."

Whistleblower Complaint Alleges Misconduct at Palm Springs Art Museum, Where an Ex-Trustee Describes a ‘Shattered Moral Compass’

An anonymous whistleblower has filed a complaint alleging misconduct by leadership at the Palm Springs Art Museum, including improper movement of funds between accounts to address cash shortages, the forced resignation of a former director based on fabricated staff complaints, and a failure to properly interview external candidates for the director position. The complaint, forwarded to ARTnews, also references a $3 million discrepancy in the reported endowment value and the departure of several trustees, leaving the board below its required size. The museum has formed a special committee to investigate the allegations, which were first reported by the Los Angeles Times in November 2025.

Erewhon, Grocery Store Known for $20-Plus Smoothies, to Set Up Shop in LACMA’s New Building

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has announced a partnership with the high-end grocery chain Erewhon to open a café within its new Peter Zumthor-designed building, the David Geffen Galleries. Scheduled to open to the public on May 4, the outpost will be located in the W.M. Keck Plaza and will offer the brand's signature organic snacks and viral $20-plus smoothies. The collaboration is currently framed as a seasonal residency lasting through the summer.

The curator awakens: Lucas Museum of Narrative Art reveals inaugural exhibition lineup

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, will open in Los Angeles on 22 September with 18 inaugural exhibitions featuring over 1,200 objects. Curated by Lucas himself, the shows span media like photography, architecture, and cinema, as well as genres such as manga, anime, comics, and children's stories. Six solo exhibitions will highlight American artists including Thomas Hart Benton, Frank Frazetta, and Norman Rockwell. The museum's collection now exceeds 40,000 works, including the Separate Cinema Archive and Lucas Archives of film memorabilia.

From the World Cup and the Olympics to two new museums: upcoming cultural attractions in Los Angeles

Los Angeles is preparing for a major influx of cultural and sporting events, including hosting matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup at SoFi Stadium and the 2028 Summer Olympics. The city is also enhancing its cultural infrastructure with new Metro stations featuring site-specific art commissions and the imminent openings of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and the David Geffen Galleries at LACMA.

A teaspoon at a time: how LACMA built its collection

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has grown from a fledgling institution into a world-class museum through a deliberate, long-term strategy of cultivating collectors, building strong local relationships, and leveraging its exhibition program to acquire major works. This approach, described as "a teaspoon at a time," involved patient donor cultivation and using international loan shows as opportunities to secure significant pieces for the permanent collection.

Museum openings: V&A East and Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Plus, William Blake in Dublin—podcast

Two major museum projects have reached completion as London’s V&A East prepares for its public debut and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) unveils its new $700m David Geffen Galleries. V&A East opens with a focus on community-driven programming and its inaugural exhibition, 'The Music is Black: A British Story,' while LACMA’s long-awaited Peter Zumthor-designed building begins member previews amidst ongoing debates regarding its scale and cost.

Thomas J. Price’s Monumental Sculpture Anchors V&A East’s Opening in London

The V&A East Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum's second site in East London, opened to the public on April 18. The inaugural presentation features new site-specific commissions by artists Rene Matić, Carrie Mae Weems, and Tania Bruguera, with Thomas J. Price's monumental sculpture serving as a key anchor piece for the new institution.