Art News. Vasari Codex

article policy schedule Feb 20, 2026 visibility 18 link 2 artists

South Africa pavilion will be empty at 2026 Venice Biennale, culture ministry says

South Africa will not host a national pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale following a legal battle between the country’s Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC) and artist Gabrielle Goliath. The conflict began when Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie labeled Goliath’s planned project, which addressed violence in Gaza, as "highly divisive" and cancelled the exhibition after she refused to alter the content. A South African high court recently dismissed Goliath’s urgent application to overturn the cancellation, leading the government to abandon its participation in the prestigious international event entirely.

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museum exhibitions schedule Feb 12, 2026 visibility 20 link 16 artists, 3 galleries

Art of Contemporary Africa Opens in San Francisco with Inaugural Exhibition ‘Afropop’

Art of Contemporary Africa (AOCA), described as San Francisco's first Pan-African contemporary art gallery, has opened a permanent space at the Minnesota Street Project. Founded by gallerist Craig Mark and photographer Clint Strydom, it operates as a sister space to The Melrose Gallery in Johannesburg and represents a broad roster of artists from across Africa and its diasporas, including the internationally recognized Dr Esther Mahlangu.

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article news schedule Feb 11, 2026 visibility 12 link 10 artists

Chicago’s Intuit Art Museum gifted 61 works by self-taught artists

The Intuit Art Museum in Chicago has received two major gifts totaling 61 works, significantly expanding its collection of art by self-taught artists. The first gift is a bequest of 47 works from the late collector and early museum supporter Jan Petry, featuring pieces by artists like Emery Blagdon, James Castle, and Martín Ramírez. The second gift comprises 14 works from the collection of scholar Gordon W. Bailey, focusing on African American artists such as Sam Doyle and Mose Tolliver.

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rate_review review schedule Feb 9, 2026 visibility 23 link 17 artists

Read the Room: Dallas Museum of Art’s “International Surrealism” Misses the Mark

The Dallas Museum of Art's exhibition "International Surrealism" is critiqued as a missed opportunity during the centennial of the surrealist movement. The author argues that while the show presents a broad survey of mixed-media works from around the world, divided into six thematic subgroups, it lacks the political urgency and revolutionary context that defined surrealism's origins in 1925. The exhibition, initially curated by Matthew Gale from the Tate Modern collection and presented locally by Sue Canterbury, is described as whimsical and decorous, reducing the movement's subversive power to quirky categories and gift-shop fodder.

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article local schedule Jan 31, 2026 visibility 27 link 40 artists

What’s on now at San Francisco museums, February 2026

Several San Francisco museums are experiencing a period of transition and challenge in February 2026. Key exhibitions are closing soon, including "Manet and Morisot" at the Legion of Honor and Suzanne Jackson's first career retrospective at SFMOMA, both ending March 1. New shows are opening, such as "Video Craft" at the Museum of Craft & Design and "Echoes in the Small Mountain: Park Dae-sung and the West Coast" at the Asian Art Museum. Meanwhile, the city's cultural landscape faces strain, with the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts suspending operations, representing a significant loss of community programming.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jan 27, 2026 visibility 28 link 21 artists

What’s on now at San Francisco museums, January 2026

A roundup of current and upcoming exhibitions at San Francisco museums in January 2026 highlights several shows closing soon, including "Manet and Morisot" at the Legion of Honor and "Suzanne Jackson: What is Love" at SFMOMA, both ending March 1. New exhibitions opening include "The art of Cece Carpio" at SOMArts on Jan. 30, and "Trina Michelle Robinson: Open Your Eyes to Water" at 500 Capp Street and Root Division in February. The de Young Museum features "Boom and Bust: Photographing Northern California" and artist Rose B. Simpson's show "LEXICON," part of the newly opened galleries dedicated to Arts of Indigenous America. The Museum of the African Diaspora presents "Unbound: Art, Blackness and the Universe" and "Continuum: MoAD Over Time," while the Asian Art Museum hosts "Jitish Kallat: Covering Letter (Terranum Nuncius)."

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trending_up market schedule Jan 19, 2026 visibility 22 link 6 artists

Winslow Homer’s mountaineer and Bob Ross's valley view: our pick of the January auctions

The article highlights five notable artworks heading to auction in January 2025, spanning sales at Christie’s, Sotheby’s, Bonhams Skinner, and Heritage Auctions. Featured lots include Winslow Homer’s *A Mountain Climber Resting* (est. $1.5–2.5M) from the Max N. Berry Collection, Otobong Nkanga’s tapestry *The Pursuit of Bling: The Transformation* (est. £20,000–30,000), Bob Ross’s *Valley View* (est. $30,000–50,000), and Claes Oldenburg’s lithograph *Three Way Plug* (est. $3,000+). Each work comes with distinct provenance—from a Standard Oil heiress to a hardware pioneer—and reflects diverse market segments from blue-chip American painting to contemporary African art and pop-culture collectibles.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jan 16, 2026 visibility 14 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

Amoako Boafo solo exhibition to open in Venice during 2026 Biennale

Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo will open his first solo exhibition in Italy at the Museo di Palazzo Grimani in Venice this spring, timed to coincide with the 61st Venice Biennale (9 May–22 November 2026). The show, co-organized by Gagosian Gallery, will feature new and recent works inspired by the Renaissance atmosphere of the palazzo and the Venetian portrait tradition. Boafo is creating a series of new pieces specifically for the exhibition, directly referencing the historical context and unique architecture of the museum.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jan 14, 2026 visibility 19 link 6 artists

National Museum of African American History and Culture To Open Exhibition Featuring Collections From Five HBCUs

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) will open a new traveling exhibition titled “At the Vanguard: Making and Saving History at HBCUs” on January 16, 2026. The show features artifacts, artwork, historical documents, and multimedia from five historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs): Clark Atlanta University, Florida A&M University, Jackson State University, Texas Southern University, and Tuskegee University. Highlights include first editions of Margaret Walker’s works, Tuskegee Institute pottery, early scientific journals, archival photographs by Doris Derby and Chester Higgins, and a rare color video of George Washington Carver.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jan 12, 2026 visibility 26 link 7 artists

National Museum of African Art Announces “Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art”

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art has announced “Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art,” an exhibition opening January 23 through August 23, 2026. Featuring nearly 60 works by LGBTQ+ artists from Africa and its diaspora—including Zanele Muholi, Toyin Ojih Odutola, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Leilah Babirye, Jim Chuchu, and Ṣọlá Olúlòde—the show spans painting, photography, sculpture, installation, video, and digital art. Co-curated by Serubiri Moses and Kevin D. Dumouchelle, the exhibition is built on years of dialogue with artists and communities, centering their voices and lived experiences.

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article news schedule Jan 9, 2026 visibility 13 link 2 artists

Storm over closure of South Africa’s much-loved Irma Stern Museum

The Irma Stern Museum (ISM) in Cape Town, South Africa, was abruptly closed in October 2024 after the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the Irma Stern Trust ended their 56-year partnership. The museum, housed in Stern's former home The Firs, displayed her collection of artifacts and her own works. The closure sparked public outrage over lack of transparency, with staff removed without clarity and the announcement made only after pressure. The trust, owned by Nedgroup Private Wealth, plans to relocate artworks to a new storage facility and repurpose The Firs, but no reopening date has been set.

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article policy schedule Jan 8, 2026 visibility 18 link 4 artists

Trump administration puts renewed pressure on Smithsonian to turn over materials for review

The Trump administration has given the Smithsonian Institution a deadline of January 13 to turn over materials related to a review of programming at eight of its museums, as outlined in a December 18 letter from White House officials Vince Haley and Russell Vought. The review stems from a March 2025 executive order titled "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," which accused the Smithsonian of promoting a "divisive, race-centered ideology." Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch noted that some requested materials are not readily available and will require significant effort to compile, while the American Alliance of Museums and the Association of Art Museum Directors have expressed confidence in the Smithsonian's commitment to professional standards.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jan 5, 2026 visibility 18 link 10 artists

The must-see exhibitions of 2026: from Duchamp in New York to Baldessari in Beijing

The article previews major art exhibitions scheduled for 2026, highlighting two standout shows. At Basel's Fondation Beyeler, a Cezanne exhibition from January to May will focus on the artist's later works, featuring around 60 oil paintings and 20 watercolours, half from private collections. Highlights include a privately owned oil study of 'The Bathers' (around 1902-06) and 'The Boy in the Red Vest' (1888-90), with curator Ulf Küster emphasizing Cezanne's fragmentary, radical perspective. Separately, the traveling exhibition 'Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone' will premiere at the Peabody Essex Museum in February, showcasing 30 sculptures by the 19th-century Black and Indigenous artist, organized after a 2016 acquisition by the Georgia Museum of Art spurred curators to track down her works.

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article news schedule Jan 5, 2026 visibility 20 link 14 artists

The eight hotly awaited art-venue openings we are most looking forward to in 2026

The article previews eight major art-venue openings expected in 2026, including the long-awaited Guggenheim Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island, Cardiff's first contemporary art museum (AMOCA), the V&A East Museum in London, the revived Palais de Danse studio of Barbara Hepworth in St Ives, and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. It also notes the uncertain status of the Museum of West African Art in Benin City amid political disputes. These projects range from vast new museums and subterranean expansions to restored artist studios, many delayed by funding, planning, or construction challenges.

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museum exhibitions schedule Dec 29, 2025 visibility 16 link 11 artists

19 New Exhibits Coming to the Smithsonian Museums in 2026

The Smithsonian Institution has announced 19 new exhibitions opening across its museums in 2026, including shows at the African American History and Culture Museum, African Art Museum, Air and Space Museum, American Art Museum, American History Museum, and Asian Art Museum. Highlights include Nick Cave's immersive installation "Mammoth" at the American Art Museum, a photography survey of the U.S. Bicentennial, and a major reopening of the Air and Space Museum's final seven galleries after eight years of renovations. Several exhibitions tie into the nation's 250th anniversary, while others explore LGBTQ+ African art, HBCU collections, salsa music history, and contemporary water-themed paintings by Hiroshi Senju and Bingyi.

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museum exhibitions schedule Dec 16, 2025 visibility 20 link 11 artists

MoMA explores how African studio portraits offered a new vision of freedom

The Museum of Modern Art in New York has opened a new exhibition, 'Ideas of Africa: Portraiture and Political Imagination,' surveying West and Central African studio portrait photography from the 1950s and 60s. The show features works by photographers including James Barnor, Seydou Keïta, Malick Sidibé, Jean Depara, Sanlé Sory, Kwame Brathwaite, Samuel Fosso, Silvia Rosi, and the collective Air Afrique, alongside a reading room exploring print culture. Curated by Oluremi C. Onabanjo, the exhibition presents these portraits not as documentary records but as imaginative acts of self-definition and political expression.

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museum exhibitions schedule Dec 13, 2025 visibility 20 link 16 artists

Museum of the African Diaspora caps 20th anniversary celebration

The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a public celebration on December 13 and two exhibitions: “Continuum: MoAD Over Time” and “UNBOUND: Art, Blackness and the Universe.” Since opening in 2005, MoAD has been defined by Chester Higgins’s photomosaic “The Girl from Ghana,” which features over 3,000 stamp-sized images from contributors worldwide. Under executive director Linda Harrison (2013–2019) and current CEO Monetta White, the museum shifted from a focus on historical and anthropological narratives to centering contemporary Black artists, hiring its first full-time staff curator, Key Jo Lee, in 2023.

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trending_up market schedule Dec 10, 2025 visibility 12 link 2 artists

In the bag: Sotheby’s inaugural Abu Dhabi Collectors’ Week finds success with Birkins and bling

Sotheby’s inaugural Collectors’ Week in Abu Dhabi (2-5 December) achieved a total of $133.4m across five live auctions held on a beachfront stage. The sale featured luxury items including a Hermès Birkin Voyageur owned by Jane Birkin ($2.9m), a 31.68-carat pink diamond called The Desert Rose ($8.8m), and a Patek Philippe watch set that became the second most valuable watch sold in Sotheby’s history ($11.9m). No art was offered, but the auction house sold 50 items privately, including the world’s largest fancy deep green diamond. The sell-through rate was strong, with only one piece of real estate and a couple of cars unsold, outperforming Sotheby’s earlier Saudi Arabia sale.

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museum exhibitions schedule Dec 2, 2025 visibility 17 link 3 artists

7 Shows to See During Miami Art Week 2025

Frieze has published a guide to seven must-see exhibitions during Miami Art Week 2025, highlighting a diverse range of shows across the city. Featured presentations include a solo exhibition of new works by artist Tschabalala Self at the Bass Museum of Art, a survey of Afro-Cuban abstraction at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, and a group show of emerging Latin American artists at the Rubell Museum. Other notable exhibitions include a site-specific installation by Olafur Eliasson at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, and a retrospective of the late painter Purvis Young at the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami.

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article news schedule Dec 1, 2025 visibility 24 link 13 artists

Despite Putin’s repressive regime, a new private museum opens in Moscow

A new private museum called Zilart is set to open in Moscow on December 2, founded by billionaire couple Andrey and Yelizaveta Molchanov. The museum will showcase their collection of roughly 10,000 works, spanning Russian avant-garde, Soviet nonconformist art, international contemporary art, photography, and African art. Originally conceived in 2015 as a modern art branch of the State Hermitage Museum, the project underwent significant changes: architect Hani Rashid was replaced by Sergei Tchoban in 2021, and the Hermitage withdrew in 2023. The museum is entirely funded by the Molchanovs' LSR Group and receives no state support.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 25, 2025 visibility 34 link 67 artists, 13 galleries

These 16 Miami Art Week 2025 Exhibitions Are Already Creating Buzz Among Collectors

Miami Art Week 2025 is set to take place December 3–7, headlined by Art Basel Miami Beach (public days December 5–7) and concurrent fairs including Design Miami (20th anniversary) and NADA Miami. The article highlights 16 must-see exhibitions across venues such as the Miami Beach Convention Center, Wynwood, and the Miami Design District. Featured galleries include Pace Gallery (presenting Alexander Calder, Elmgreen & Dragset, James Turrell), Locks Gallery (Louise Bourgeois, Isamu Noguchi), Southern Guild (debuting at Art Basel with Zizipho Poswa and others), and Leon Tovar Gallery (focusing on Latin American women modernists).

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person people schedule Nov 20, 2025 visibility 23 link 4 artists

Phillip Bahar steps into top job at MSU's Broad Art Museum

Phillip Bahar has been appointed as the fourth director of the Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, succeeding previous leadership since the museum opened in 2012. In an interview with WKAR's Inside The Arts, Bahar discussed his vision for the museum, emphasizing his role as an institutional curator rather than a hands-on curator of exhibitions, and his commitment to supporting artists at all career stages, from established figures like Zaha Hadid to emerging and mid-career artists such as Diana Al-Hadid.

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article news schedule Nov 14, 2025 visibility 15 link 4 artists

With end of US government shutdown, National Gallery of Art and Smithsonian museums start reopening

Federal museums in Washington, DC, including the National Gallery of Art and multiple Smithsonian Institution branches, began reopening after the longest US government shutdown in history ended on Wednesday night (12 November). The National Gallery of Art reopened its West Building and sculpture garden on 14 November, with the rest of the campus following on 15 November. Its postponed exhibition *The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art* opened on 15 November instead of 18 October. Three Smithsonian museums reopened on 14 November, five more on 15 November, and all remaining venues—including the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York—by 17 November. The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s exhibition *Grandma Moses: A Good Day’s Work* was postponed from its original 24 October opening.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 14, 2025 visibility 15 link 4 artists

Studio Museum reopens, the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum, Stanley Spencer in Suffolk—podcast

The Studio Museum in Harlem has opened its first-ever purpose-built space, designed by Adjaye Associates, with director Thelma Golden leading the institution into a new era. In Egypt, the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) has finally opened in Cairo. Meanwhile, the exhibition "Love & Landscape: Stanley Spencer in Suffolk" is on view at Gainsborough's House in Sudbury, featuring the painting "Tree and Chicken Coops, Wangford" (1925) by Stanley Spencer, with co-curator Amy Lim discussing the work.

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gavel restitution schedule Nov 7, 2025 visibility 15 link 6 artists

MFA Boston returns work by enslaved artist David Drake to his heirs, Wifredo Lam, Ghirlandaio’s Adoration of the Magi—podcast

The Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) in Boston has agreed to return two 1857 works by the enslaved potter David Drake to his descendants. One vessel will remain on loan to the museum for at least two years, while the other, known as the "Poem Jar," has been purchased back by the museum for an undisclosed sum, now carrying a certificate of ethical ownership. The episode also covers the opening of the exhibition "Wifredo Lam: When I Don’t Sleep, I Dream" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, featuring the modernist painter of African and Chinese descent, and discusses Domenico Ghirlandaio's "Adoration of the Magi" (1488) in the context of a new book on Renaissance foundlings.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 6, 2025 visibility 20 link 24 artists

The Top 10 Exhibitions to See Around the World This November

This article presents a curated list of the top 10 exhibitions to see around the world in November, highlighting key shows such as 'Project a Black Planet' at MACBA, which explores Pan-Africanism through art and culture, Sylvie Fleury's installation 'She-Devils On Wheels Headquarters' in New York, and Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook's survey at Jameel Arts Centre. Other featured exhibitions include Karolina Jabłońska's paintings of pickled beets and severed limbs, among others, each offering unique perspectives on identity, gender, and mortality.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 5, 2025 visibility 21 link 13 artists

Portland exhibit shows off multifaceted artists’ personal narratives | Column - Portland Press Herald

Mauricio Muñoz and Andrew Roberts' installation "The Harvest" (2021) is featured in "otherwise," a thesis exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA&D in Portland, running through Dec. 13. The show also includes works by Ayana V. Jackson, whose project "From the Deep: In the Wake of Drexciya" was targeted by Donald Trump in his attacks on the Smithsonian Institution. The exhibition explores how artists use storytelling and worldbuilding to cope with difficult contemporary issues and imagine better futures, serving as a companion to the Ogunquit Museum of American Art's "Where the Real Lies."

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trending_up market schedule Nov 3, 2025 visibility 23 link 12 artists

Miami collectors donate 36 works by African and diaspora artists to Tate

Miami-based collectors Jorge and Darlene Pérez have donated 36 works by 15 artists from Africa and the African diaspora to Tate. The gift includes photographs by Seydou Keïta, paintings by Cheri Samba, a hanging piece by El Anatsui, and works by Joy Labinjo, Wangechi Mutu, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Buhlebezwe Siwani, Bruce Onobrakpeya, and Gavin Jantjes. The donation also comes with a multi-million dollar endowment to support curatorial research on African and Latin American art, funding a dedicated curatorial post currently held by Osei Bonsu.

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museum exhibitions schedule Oct 22, 2025 visibility 17 link 17 artists

'Monuments' is the most significant American art museum show right now

The article reports on "MONUMENTS," a major exhibition jointly organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles and the nonprofit Brick. The show features 10 decommissioned Confederate monuments, some splashed with protesters' paint, alongside works by 20 contemporary artists including Hank Willis Thomas and Karon Davis. It was assembled by curators Hamza Walker, Hannah Burstein, Bennett Simpson, Paula Kroll, and artist Kara Walker, and has been in development for nearly eight years, spurred by events such as the 2015 Charleston church massacre, the 2017 Charlottesville riot, and the 2020 George Floyd protests.

newspaper Los Angeles Times open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Oct 16, 2025 visibility 15 link 1 artist

Detroit Institute of Arts' new African American galleries open Saturday

The Detroit Institute of Arts opens its new African American art galleries, titled “Reimagine African American Art,” to the public on Saturday. The installation features 50 works displayed across four galleries in a central location adjacent to Rivera Court, organized by the museum’s Center for African American Art. The galleries present a chronological narrative of African American history from 1840 to 1986, covering key periods and themes such as the Harlem Renaissance, Social Realism, the Civil Rights era, and the Black Arts Movement.

newspaper The Detroit News open_in_new Read original