A collection of 666 artworks by 135 Afro-Brazilian artists has been voluntarily repatriated to Brazil from Detroit, Michigan, marking the largest return of its kind in the nation's history. The works, which include sculptures, paintings, and ritual objects, were returned to the National Museum of Afro-Brazilian Culture (Muncab) in Salvador after being held in the United States for three decades.
The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa is hosting its 2026 MFA Thesis Exhibition from March 7 to March 29 at The Art Gallery. The showcase features the culminating work of five Master of Fine Arts candidates: Diane Chen, Ashley Jeneé Collins, Caroline Holmes, Sheldon Wong, and Mia Zheng. The exhibition represents the final requirement for the terminal degree in visual arts, highlighting a diverse range of practices from personal narratives to broader contextual explorations.
Kendall Hamelryck, the current artist-in-residence at Milligan University, has debuted her solo exhibition titled “Building a Life” at the Milligan Art Gallery. The showcase features mixed-media installations and sculptures, including the centerpiece “Be Content,” which explores themes of domesticity, faith, and the simplicity of childhood. The works reflect Hamelryck’s personal transition into marriage and family life, utilizing everyday objects like tea sets and stuffed animals to convey spiritual contentment.
The Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River is hosting "Black Infinity House," an immersive exhibition curated by August Oaks that showcases the work of over 30 Black Oregon-based artists. The installation is designed as a domestic space featuring a studio, living room, and porch, displaying a diverse range of media including fabric art, wood-burned illustrations, painted portraits, and handmade jewelry.
Artist Victoria Dugger has launched her third solo exhibition, "Freak Flags," at Sargent’s Daughters in New York. The show features six mixed-media works that reimagine the American flag through a maximalist, Southern Gothic lens, utilizing materials like gingham, glitter, nipple tassels, and barbed wire. Drawing inspiration from Jasper Johns’s iconic flag paintings, Dugger’s versions replace traditional colors with hot pinks and bright greens, with several displayed upside down to signal national distress.
A South African high court has dismissed artist Gabrielle Goliath’s urgent application to reinstate her selection for the 61st Venice Biennale. Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie canceled Goliath’s pavilion, titled "Elegy," labeling the work "highly divisive" just days before the official submission deadline. The artist and curator Ingrid Masondo argued the cancellation was an act of censorship and a violation of constitutional freedom of expression, but the court rejected the bid without providing immediate reasons.
Thomas Gainsborough's 1750 painting 'Mr. and Mrs. Andrews' is the centerpiece of the Frick's exhibition 'Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture' in New York. The portrait of the newlywed Suffolk gentry is celebrated as Gainsborough's earliest masterpiece, notable for its eccentric composition that gives equal prominence to the couple and their vast estate, hinting at the transactional nature of their marriage.
A Swiss artificial intelligence firm, Art Recognition, has claimed with high certainty that two versions of the painting 'Saint Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata' (ca. 1428-32), held by the Royal Museums of Turin and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, are not by the hand of Northern Renaissance master Jan van Eyck. The company's CEO, Carina Popovici, stated the A.I. model determined the works were not authentic with 91% and 86% certainty, respectively, though the museums involved have not officially commented.
The F.E. McWilliam Gallery in Banbridge, Northern Ireland, has opened a new exhibition titled 'Constellations: Selected Work from Crawford Art Gallery, Cork.' The show features 14 artists from across the island of Ireland, including established figures like Isabel Nolan (Ireland's representative at the 2024 Venice Biennale), Nick Miller, Amanda Coogan, and Corban Walker, alongside rising stars such as Laura Fitzgerald and Dragana Jurišić. The works, linked by themes of nature, domesticity, and gender, range from film to drawing and highlight the contemporary holdings of the Crawford Art Gallery's collection.
Artist Christina Zimpel has released a new limited-edition print titled CLAP (2025) through a collaboration between Artspace and Lincoln Center Editions. The work, an edition of 36 with unique hand-embellishments in gouache, features a female figure clapping against a vibrant pink field, exploring themes of gesture, sound, and individuality.
The Italian Ministry of Culture has acquired a rare double-sided Renaissance painting by Antonello da Messina, 'Ecce Homo; Saint Jerome in Penitence,' for $14.9 million in a private sale with Sotheby's New York. The work was withdrawn from a planned public auction, and its final institutional home is now the subject of a heated debate among major Italian museums and the artist's hometown.
A 16th-century portrait, attributed only to the "French or Flemish School," sold for $2.3 million at a Sotheby's New York auction, dramatically exceeding its estimate. The work, from the collection of Dutch magnate Anton Philips, sparked a 10-minute bidding war among four participants, likely driven by speculation it could be by the Dutch-born French painter Corneille de Lyon.
A 16th-century portrait, attributed only to the "French or Flemish School," sold for $2.3 million at a Sotheby's New York auction, soaring past its estimate and sparking a 10-minute bidding war. The work, from the collection of Dutch electronics magnate Anton Philips, was once attributed to Corneille de Lyon and later to Lucas de Heere, but its ultimate authorship remains uncertain.
The Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas is opening two major exhibitions on February 19: 'Street Nihonga: The Art of Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani' and 'Brush, Block, and Blood: Three Generations of Yoshida Women Printmakers.' The first is the largest assembly of works by Japanese American artist Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani, whose life was marked by incarceration during WWII and homelessness, and who adapted traditional Nihonga techniques with found materials. The second exhibition presents, for the first time in the U.S., the work of three generations of women printmakers from the renowned Yoshida family. These shows are complemented by a new video commission from Ayomi Yoshida and other smaller exhibitions focusing on Japanese and Asian American contemporary art.
Christie's London will offer Wassily Kandinsky's painting *Le Rond Rouge* (1939) with a high estimate of £15.5 million ($21.3 million) in its 20th/21st Century evening sale on March 5. The work, a key piece from the artist's Paris period, has been in prominent collections and was last sold at Sotheby's New York in 2018 for $20.6 million. A major Henry Moore bronze sculpture, *King and Queen* (1952-53), with a £15 million estimate, will also headline the same sale.
Christie's London will offer Wassily Kandinsky's painting *Le Rond Rouge* (1939) with a high estimate of £15.5 million ($21.3 million) in its 20th/21st Century evening sale on March 5. The work, a key piece from the artist's Paris period, has been in prominent collections and was last sold at Sotheby's New York in 2018 for $20.6 million. The sale will also feature a fresh-to-auction Henry Moore bronze sculpture, *King and Queen* (1952-53), estimated at up to £15 million.
David Hockney will create a monumental 22-by-32-foot window installation for the Sunley Gallery at Turner Contemporary in Margate, UK. The work, based on a 2020 iPad painting of a Normandy sunrise, will be illuminated at night and is scheduled to be on view from April 1 to November 1 as part of the gallery's 15th-anniversary celebrations.
David Hockney will create a monumental 22-by-32-foot window installation for the Sunley Gallery at Turner Contemporary in Margate, UK. The work, based on a 2020 iPad painting of a sunrise in Normandy, will be illuminated at night and will be on view from April 1 to November 1 as part of the gallery's 15th-anniversary celebrations.
London's art scene is bustling with a diverse range of openings this week, featuring both historical and contemporary work. Key events include a major exhibition of Conceptual artist Christine Kozlov at Raven Row, exploring her contributions and collaborations from the 1960s-70s, and a two-person show of small-scale paintings by Matthew Clifton and Faith Hughes at Soup gallery. Other events include a book launch, a talk, and experimental sound programs.
Shrewsbury-based artist Lee Lewis has opened a solo exhibition titled 'Story' at Swan Hill Studio, featuring a collection of paintings and personal objects that explore themes of memory and personal narrative. The exhibition, which has been extended until February 28, 2026, focuses on her recent concentration on painting and draws heavily on her Welsh roots and observations of everyday life.
Shrewsbury-based artist Lee Lewis has opened a solo exhibition titled 'Story' at Swan Hill Studio, featuring a collection of paintings and personal objects that explore themes of memory and personal narrative. The exhibition, which has been extended until February 28, 2026, focuses on Lewis's paintings inspired by childhood memories, observed scenes, and her Welsh heritage, and includes items like her late brother's telephone and her grandfather's handmade cricket bat.
Artist David Hockney will create a monumental, ten-meter-long window installation for the Sunley Gallery at Turner Contemporary in Margate, UK. The work, based on a 2020 iPad painting of a Normandy sunrise, will be illuminated at night and installed from April to November as part of the gallery's 15th anniversary celebrations.
Artist David Hockney will create a monumental, ten-meter-long window installation for the Sunley Gallery at Turner Contemporary in Margate, UK. The work, based on a 2020 iPad painting of a sunrise in Normandy, will be illuminated at night and will be on view from April to November as part of the gallery's 15th-anniversary celebrations.
Three major artworks from the collection of the late arts patron Agnes Gund will be auctioned at Christie's in New York this May, with a combined minimum estimate of $123 million. The works include Mark Rothko's 'No. 15 (Two Greens and Red Stripe)' (est. ~$80 million), a Cy Twombly untitled painting from 1961 (est. $40-60 million), and Joseph Cornell's 'Untitled (Medici Princess)' from 1948 (est. $3-5 million).
The Working Arts Club (WAC), a London-based organization supporting art professionals from lower socio-economic backgrounds, is expanding to northern England. Its new chapter will launch in Manchester on March 24, with plans for regional programming and online events. Founder Meg Molloy emphasizes that class barriers in the art world are systemic, not confined to London.
The University of Texas at Austin abruptly closed an exhibition at its Visual Arts Center after a single day because it included a piece critical of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The artwork, a neon sign reading "Fuck ICE" by artist Tammie Rubin, was part of a group show curated by the university's own art faculty. The administration cited concerns about the work's "vulgarity" and potential to distract from the university's educational mission as reasons for the closure.
High Line Art has announced its 2026 season of public art commissions for New York's elevated park. The program includes a billboard work by Katherine Bernhardt and three major installations by Patricia Ayres, Ximena Garrido-Lecca, and Derek Fordjour, alongside video works for the High Line Channel by Saba Khan and a film grouping by Marianna Simnett, Filip Kostic, and Ana Hušman.
A major bronze sculpture by Henry Moore, 'King and Queen' (1952-53), will be the top lot at Christie's 20th/21st Century evening sale in London on March 5. The work, estimated at £15 million ($20.5 million), is the first cast from an edition and the only one remaining in private hands, having been acquired directly from the artist by its current anonymous owner.
Christie's will offer three major paintings by Gerhard Richter in its March evening sales in London and Hong Kong. The London sale on March 5 features the 1984 photo-painting 'Schober (Haybarn)', estimated at £6 million, and a 1991 'Abstraktes Bild' abstract work, estimated at £4.5-6.5 million. The Hong Kong sale on March 27 will offer a larger 1991 'Abstraktes Bild', estimated at HK$78-98 million ($10-13 million), coinciding with Art Basel Hong Kong.
A viral Instagram video by Emily Kaplan claims that two artworks stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990 appear in tax estate documents from the Jeffrey Epstein files. Kaplan suggests the Rembrandt etching and a painting attributed to Govaert Flinck were listed, potentially linking the infamous art heist to Epstein's financial network for money laundering.