Art and technology meet in the augmented reality of artist Lois He

Arte e tecnologia si incontrano nella realtà aumentata dell’artista Lois He

Lois He, a Chinese-born artist now based in New York, creates immersive XR installations that blend art and technology, transforming viewers into active participants. Her works, such as "Rising River," an AI-driven virtual reality experience, and "The Silent Carnival," a digital reinterpretation of Goethe's Faust, explore identity, emotion, and the impact of external agents like technology and culture. He also collaborates with institutions like the Museo Dalí and the NYU Neuroscience Institute, merging art with literature and science.

In a Rome exhibition, an artist draws his own atlas: the body becomes world

In una mostra a Roma un artista disegna un proprio atlante: il corpo diventa mondo

Luca di Luzio's exhibition "Atlas ego imago mundi" at Palazzo Mattei in Rome, hosted by the Italian Geographical Society, presents a personal geography where the artist's body becomes landscape and world. Curated by Anna Cestelli Guidi, the show features around 40 maps, three large canvases, and a handmade book created between 2015 and 2023. Di Luzio uses his body as a palette, pressing skin directly onto paper or canvas to generate imaginary territories that merge sensory experience with artistic expression, referencing Merleau-Ponty's philosophy and Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man.

The world's largest, heaviest, and most expensive art book arrives in Venice as a donation to the Biblioteca Marciana

Il libro d’arte più grande, più pesante e più costoso al mondo arriva a Venezia. In donazione alla Biblioteca Marciana

The Alberto Peruzzo Foundation has donated a copy of "Modern Art – Revolution and Painting" to the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in Venice. Described as the world’s largest, heaviest, and most expensive art book, the volume weighs 35 kilograms and measures 70 x 100 centimeters. It features 544 hand-bound pages with 25-color lithographs reproducing over 250 masterpieces from the 19th and 20th centuries, including works by Picasso, Chagall, and Fontana.

Clouds and Their Multiple Meanings Take Center Stage at an Exhibition in Piacenza

Le nuvole e i suoi molteplici significati finiscono al centro di una mostra a Piacenza

The XNL Piacenza contemporary art center has launched "Oltre le nuvole. Beyond the Clouds," a multidisciplinary exhibition running through July 5, 2026. Curated by Chiara Gatti, Paola Pedrazzini, and Gianmarco Romiti, the project explores the cloud as a symbolic and shifting element across art history, literature, cinema, and music. Featuring works by twenty contemporary artists including Piero Manzoni, Mario Schifano, and Leandro Erlich, the show integrates site-specific installations with a 3D auditory landscape and theatrical performances.

Sotheby’s Summer Sale Gathers $433.1M, Thanks To Rothko Painting

Sotheby’s summer contemporary auction in New York raised $433.1 million, far exceeding the $186.1 million from its comparable sale last year. The highlight was the $85.8 million sale of Mark Rothko’s *Brown and Blacks in Reds* (1957) from the estate of late dealer Robert Mnuchin and his wife Adriana, whose 11 blue-chip works fetched $166.3 million against a $130 million estimate. Other top lots included Jean-Michel Basquiat’s *Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown)* at $52.7 million and Willem de Kooning’s *Untitled III* at $26 million.

Exhibition | Bertrand Lavier, 'Brushstroke n.7' at MASSIMODECARLO Pièce Unique, Pièce Unique, Paris, France

French artist Bertrand Lavier is presenting a solo exhibition titled 'Brushstroke n.7' at MASSIMODECARLO Pièce Unique in Paris. The exhibition centers on a single, sinuous steel sculpture that translates the traditionally flat, expressive painterly gesture into a three-dimensional physical entity. This presentation marks Lavier's sixth solo show with the gallery and continues his decades-long exploration of the boundaries between painting, sculpture, and the readymade.

Leading contemporary stars take center stage in Leon Gallery’s year-end sale

León Gallery's The Kingly Treasures Auction 2025, taking place on December 6 at 2 p.m., features works by leading Filipino contemporary artists. The sale highlights Bernardo Pacquing's experimental abstractions, Leo Valledor's geometric explorations, Jigger Cruz's layered and destructive techniques, and Manuel Ocampo's provocative social commentaries, among others.

What Faces Do Not Say: Reimagining Portraiture Beyond Recognition.

Curator Yasmin Sarnefors challenges the traditional boundaries of portraiture in the exhibition 'What Faces Do Not Say,' which features artists from Africa and its diaspora. Moving away from the expectation of physical resemblance, the show explores identity through ambiguity, memory, and the use of archives, landscapes, and abstract gestures. By presenting works that obscure or transform the human face, the exhibition highlights the psychological and political dimensions of how individuals are perceived and represented.

fashion art 6397 creative growth

On a rainy evening at 495 Broadway in SoHo, fashion label 6397, founded by designer Stella Ishii, partnered with the Oakland-based nonprofit Creative Growth for a fashion show and fundraiser. The event, hosted by PAPER Magazine's Kim Hastreiter and Mickey Boardman alongside Ishii and Creative Growth's executive director Sunny A. Smith, featured a runway collection of minimalist silhouettes adorned with artworks by Creative Growth's artists, who are individuals with disabilities. Guests browsed limited-edition pieces and wearable art before the show, which included New York creatives as models.

these three artisans have what their peers can only dream of unlimited access to the met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Vacheron Constantin have launched an Artisan Residency Program, selecting three inaugural residents: woodworker Aspen Golann, jewelry maker Joy Harvey, and ceramicist Ibrahim Said. Over 18 months, the trio will receive mentorship, studio space at the Met, full access to its archives and collections, and exposure to Vacheron Constantin's craftsmanship techniques in Geneva, culminating in original works that reflect their practices.

He Who Permeates Exhibition at Tao Art Gallery Explores Myth, Identity and Visual Culture

The exhibition 'He Who Permeates' is currently on view at Tao Art Gallery in Mumbai, curated by Mihir Thakkar. It features contemporary artists Jayesh Sachdev and NFN Kalyan, exploring how imagery and symbols are reinterpreted across cultural contexts in a hyper-visual age. The show runs daily from 11 am to 6:30 pm until May 28, 2026, and marks NFN Kalyan's first presentation in India.

'A Swimming Soul' at Whitestone Gallery, Seoul, South Korea on 18 Apr–24 May 2026

Whitestone Gallery Seoul is hosting "A Swimming Soul," a group exhibition featuring emerging artists Lee Juyoung, Kisho Kakutani, and Yudai Takeuchi. Running from April 18 to May 24, 2026, the show utilizes the metaphor of a swimming fish to explore themes of youth, uncertainty, and the drifting nature of modern existence. Each artist presents a unique visual language to address the ambiguity of reality, from Lee’s blurred urban reflections and Kakutani’s obstructive "noise" layers to Takeuchi’s exploration of the liminal space between consciousness and sleep.

New Exhibition Offers Portals Into the Past, Present, and Future of Blackness

Artist Todd Gray’s solo exhibition, "Portals," at Perrotin Los Angeles features a series of complex photographic assemblages that challenge the historical relationship between Blackness and European colonialism. By stacking framed images of West African landscapes, slave forts, and Renaissance interiors, Gray creates textured collages that collapse geographic and temporal boundaries. Notable works like "Paradox of Liberty" confront the hypocrisy of Enlightenment figures like Thomas Jefferson by physically obscuring his image with the architecture of the slave trade.

Austrian pavilion artist Florentina Holzinger joins Thaddaeus Ropac

Choreographer Florentina Holzinger, known for her extreme and provocative performances, has joined the roster of the Thaddaeus Ropac gallery. This move coincides with her preparation to represent Austria at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026 with a site-specific performance project titled SEAWORLD VENICE.

Slawn’s Studio Opens It's Doors To A Living Exhibition at Saatchi Yates

Slawn’s studio opens its doors to a living exhibition at Saatchi Yates, transforming the gallery space into an immersive environment where the artist’s creative process becomes part of the display. The exhibition invites visitors to witness Slawn at work, blurring the line between studio and gallery, and offering a rare behind-the-scenes look at his practice.

Slawn Transforms Saatchi Yates Gallery Into A Working Studio

London-based artist Slawn has transformed Saatchi Yates gallery into a live working studio for his latest exhibition, titled *Slawn’s Studio*, running from 22 January to 22 February. The gallery functions as his day-to-day workspace, where paintings are produced and reworked, music is composed and recorded, and collaborators drift in and out, creating an atmosphere of spontaneity and shared energy. Most works were made during a residency in the space, and the exhibition evolves over the month. The project has attracted leading collectors and figures from music, sport, and public life.

In Minor Keys: The 61st Biennale di Arte Venezia Opens Under Koyo Kouoh (1967–2025).

The 61st Biennale di Arte Venezia opens under the posthumous curatorial vision of Koyo Kouoh (1967–2025), the late Cameroonian-born curator who reshaped contemporary African and diasporic art discourse. The central exhibition, spanning the Giardini and Arsenale, features 111 participants including artists, collectives, and artist-led organizations from across the Global South, with works in textiles, film, sculpture, and performance that interrogate colonialism, migration, and ecological repair. The Biennale is also marked by a pronounced presence of African and diasporic narratives across national pavilions, including several first-time pavilions from the African continent.

Israeli organisation threatens legal action against Canadian Museum for Human Rights over Palestine exhibition

The Israeli organization Shurat Hadin has threatened legal action against the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) in Winnipeg over its upcoming exhibition "Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present," scheduled to open on June 27. The group sent a legal letter to the museum's board and leadership, alleging the exhibition promotes a one-sided narrative that could fuel antisemitism and violate Canadian federal law, and calling for an independent review. The CMHR is reviewing the letter but declined further comment, while supporters like Independent Jewish Voices argue the museum is right to tell the story of the Nakba from the perspective of Palestinian victims.

‘Anger, curiosity and hope’: a planet of protest – in pictures

Matthew Connors' new photo book, *The Axe Will Survive the Master*, compiles 12 years of protest photography from Hong Kong, Cairo, New York, Kyiv, North Korea, and beyond. Published by MACK Books, the work weaves together images from the Occupy movement, the Egyptian revolution, Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests, the war in Ukraine, and other confrontations with authoritarian power, dissolving geographic boundaries into a single sequence drawn from an archive of 200,000 images.

A Persian Garden Blooms on Governors Island

Artist Bahar Behbahani organized a four-hour event called "Damask Rose: A Gathering" on Governors Island, transforming three shallow fountains with handwoven carpets and crocheted canopies. The gathering featured West African musical improvisation, Kurdish poetry, a cyanotype workshop, and communal activities like hair braiding and tea ceremonies, involving over two dozen community groups including the Asia Contemporary Art Forum and Eat Offbeat. The event was part of Governors Island Arts's annual Interventions series, curated with associate curator Juan Pablo Siles.

A Landmark Benjamin Franklin Collection Is Hitting the Auction Block

A landmark collection of Benjamin Franklin memorabilia assembled by sports and entertainment mogul Jay Snider is heading to Sotheby’s New York on June 24. The collection includes over 150 items—books, broadsides, letters, and manuscripts—tracing Franklin’s career from printer to scientist to diplomat. Highlights include a 1758 letter to Joseph Galloway (estimated $70,000–$100,000), a 1778 letter from George Washington introducing the Marquis de Lafayette (which sold for over $1 million in January), and a bound volume of Franklin’s electrical experiments ($75,000–$125,000). The full catalogue is valued at $3 million to $4.5 million, and 40 artifacts will be displayed at the Library Company of Philadelphia from May 5 to 7.

ai da architecture denmark

Ai-Da, the world's first robot artist, has debuted a retro-futuristic architecture concept at the Utzon Center in Aalborg, Denmark, as part of the exhibition "I'm not a robot." The design, a smooth-edged pod with sweeping curved windows, imagines a space-age co-living space for humans and humanoids. Ai-Da, created by British gallerist Aidan Meller in 2019, uses A.I. to generate her works, and the building concept emerged from discussions between the robot and her team. The exhibition runs through October 18, and Ai-Da's designs will also be shown in London later this year.

how sothebys institute of art is training the next generation of leaders in luxury

Sotheby's Institute of Art, the academic arm of the Sotheby's auction house, is expanding its focus on luxury business education with three M.A. programs in Luxury Business. These programs, offered in New York and London as well as online, train students in sectors such as fashion, jewelry, watches, and wines and spirits, leveraging the institute's connections to the art market and luxury brands like Chanel, Cartier, LVMH, and Tiffany & Co. Program director Natasha Degen and Dr. Federica Carlotto emphasize the blurring boundaries between art and luxury, and the need for cross-disciplinary expertise.

mark fingerhut halcyon exe the ride

Mark Fingerhut's software-based artwork "Halcyon.exe: The Ride" (2024) is gaining cult status as it tours indie venues like Public Works Administration gallery in Manhattan and Sulk Chicago, before appearing as a star attraction at "Rhizome World" at Water Street Projects in New York's Financial District. The piece takes over a computer desktop, flooding it with images, videos, and text in a choreographed, immersive experience that includes vibrating seats, wind, rain, and synced spotlights, evoking the sensation of art-as-malware.

us appeals court yuga labs bored ape nfts ryder ripps

A US appeals court overturned an $8.8 million judgement against artist Ryder Ripps and his business partner Jeremy Cahen, who were previously ordered to pay Yuga Labs, creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs, for creating copycat NFTs. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on July 23 that Yuga Labs had not sufficiently proven that Ripps and Cahen's tokens would confuse buyers. The case, originally filed in June 2022, alleged trademark infringement, false advertising, and cybersquatting. Ripps and Cahen argued their works were satirical appropriation art, while Yuga Labs denied claims of racism tied to the BAYC imagery. The ruling sends the case back to federal court for a trial on trademark and cybersquatting claims.

justin allen new language wendys subway

Justin Allen celebrated the launch of his debut book *Language Arts* (2024), published by Wendy’s Subway, with a live reading at Performance Space in New York’s Lower East Side. The book merges music, dance, performance, and language, including a poem "140 BPM" that recreates nights at Bushwick’s Bossa Nova Civic Club. Allen, who grew up in Northern Virginia and moved to New York City, draws on influences from experimental punk, indie sleaze artists like Santigold and M.I.A., and his own invented language, Hatnahans, to craft a work that blends leftist critique with speculative fiction and club culture.

miriam simun octopus teacher

Artist Miriam Simun is currently presenting an exhibition about her Institute for Transhumanist Cephalopod Evolution at the art space Recess in Brooklyn. The centerpiece is a series of workshops titled “How to Become an Octopus (and sometime squid),” where she guides participants through psycho-physical exercises developed with marine biologists, engineers, dancers, and synchronized swimmers. Artnet News co-host Ben Davis attended the workshop and discusses the experience on this week's Art Angle podcast.

lawmakers probe executive order targeting museum content

A group of 71 House Democrats, led by Representatives Ayanna Pressley and Paul Tonko, is urging the Smithsonian Institution's inspector general to investigate Executive Order 14253, issued by President Donald Trump in March 2025. The order mandates the removal of exhibits and materials deemed "divisive" or promoting "race-centered ideology" from federally funded museums, including the Smithsonian. The lawmakers argue that the directive threatens the Smithsonian's congressionally mandated independence and could breach federal law, as the institution is expected to remain nonpartisan and free from political interference.

yuga labs seeks access to crypto wallets bored apes lawsuit

Yuga Labs, the parent company of Bored Ape Yacht Club, has filed a motion in US District Court demanding that Jeremy Cahen, co-creator of the RR/BAYC NFT series, turn over control of four cryptocurrency wallets allegedly holding $400,000 in assets. This follows a February judgment ordering Cahen and Ryder Ripps to pay nearly $9 million for trademark infringement and cybersquatting. Yuga Labs claims Cahen transferred funds to private wallets after a court-authorized levy was served on his crypto exchange account, and seeks court-ordered access via the U.S. Marshals. Cahen's legal team plans to respond by May 5, calling the motion "courtroom theater" and arguing it contains factual misrepresentations.

Can a Venice Biennale Pavilion Be Rock ‘n’ Roll? At the Belgium Pavilion, Miet Warlop Makes the Case.

Miet Warlop, a Belgian artist known for her avant-garde theater work, is representing Belgium at the 2026 Venice Biennale with a performance-installation titled "IT NEVER SSST." The project transforms the Belgian Pavilion into a chaotic, sensory-filled space where performers climb wooden structures, bang drums, and break plaster boards inscribed with multilingual text, reflecting the noise and misunderstandings of contemporary life. Curated by Caroline Dumalin, the pavilion blurs the line between theater and visual art, with live performances occurring only part of the time while sculptors continuously remake plaster reliefs throughout the Biennale's run.