Art News. Vasari Codex

article culture schedule Nov 10, 2025 visibility 9 link 4 artists

rosalia lux patti smith la yugular 1234760894

Rosalía's fourth studio album, *LUX*, features a recording of Patti Smith from a 1976 interview on the closing track "La Yugular." The article describes Rosalía's admiration for Smith, recounting a meeting where Smith complimented her dress and discussed the song. Smith's influence is highlighted through her music, memoir *Just Kids*, and her artistic practice in photography and mixed media, including her first solo exhibition at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in 2011. Smith also recently released a new memoir, *Bread of Angels*.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 7, 2025 visibility 9 link 6 artists

erwin olaf freedom retrospective stedelijk 1234760428

The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam has opened "Erwin Olaf—Freedom," a major retrospective of the late Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf, who died in 2023 at age 64. The exhibition spans over a dozen rooms, showcasing his diverse output from subcultural documentation and commercial work to staged tableaux, self-portraits, and club ephemera, alongside video and sculpture. It juxtaposes formally refined portraits, such as Queen Máxima, with provocative early works like "Joy" (1985), refusing to impose a single narrative on his career.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 7, 2025 visibility 5 link 2 artists

the studio museum in harlem basquiat painting 1234760555

The Studio Museum in Harlem revealed its new building to the press ahead of its public reopening on November 15, showcasing a major new acquisition: Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1984 painting *Bayou*, the first Basquiat painting to enter the museum's collection. The work was gifted in 2023 by financier Joseph Perella and his wife Amy, with Joseph having mentored Raymond J. McGuire, an ARTnews Top 200 Collector and the museum's board chair.

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article news schedule Nov 6, 2025 visibility 11 link 3 artists

teen tourist faces charges after dousing met museum masterpiece 1234760356

A 19-year-old tourist, Joshua Vaurin, allegedly vandalized artworks at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on November 3. He threw water at Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres's 19th-century painting *The Princess de Broglie* and a 16th-century altarpiece by Girolamo dai Libri, then ripped two tapestries. Vaurin was taken into custody, arraigned on criminal mischief charges, and appeared to be under the influence of an unknown substance. The Met reported minor damage with repairs estimated at $1,000.

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article news schedule Nov 6, 2025 visibility 12 link 15 artists

us pavilion venice biennale robert lazzarini proposal 1234760341

The United States Pavilion at the upcoming Venice Biennale faces an uncertain future after a proposal by artist Robert Lazzarini and independent curator John Ravenal collapsed. The proposal, selected by the US State Department in early September, fell through when the University of South Florida’s Contemporary Art Museum declined to sign the contract, citing a shortened timeline and financial obligations. Ravenal attributed the breakdown to bureaucratic misalignment rather than ideological disagreement, while the State Department declined to comment. The selection process also shifted this year, with the National Endowment for the Arts excluding itself due to staffing transitions, leaving the State Department to handle it alone.

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article news schedule Nov 4, 2025 visibility 5 link 4 artists

trumps tariffs upending decorative arts trade famsf gifted 1600 works by kirk edward long morning links for november 4 2025 1234760128

President Donald Trump's tariffs on wood imports, introduced to support American manufacturers, have inadvertently disrupted the international trade in antiques and decorative arts. Memphis-based antique dealer Millicent Ford Creech notes that the tariffs unfairly penalize dealers specializing in pre-1800 pieces with no domestic equivalent, as fine art is exempt but collectible furniture and decorative items are not. Separately, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) received a gift of 1,600 works from local collector Kirk Edward Long, rich in early modern European prints, paintings, antiquities, and decorative arts, as part of its multiyear 'Gifts of Art' initiative. Other news includes a rare jewelry box identified in Vermeer paintings, a Rembrandt drawing sold by Thomas S. Kaplan for conservation charity, and a popular 'Grumpy Guide' tour at Düsseldorf's Kunstpalast performed by artist Carl Brandi.

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article news schedule Nov 3, 2025 visibility 4 link 1 artist

climate activist timothy martin degas sculptures sentenced 1234759911

Timothy Martin, a climate activist with the group Declare Emergency, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for smearing paint on a glass vitrine protecting Edgar Degas's sculpture *Little Dancer, Age Fourteen* at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in April 2023. He was found guilty of conspiracy and injury to government property, and must also pay $4,062 in restitution, perform 150 hours of community service, and is barred from entering Washington, D.C. and its museums. His co-activist, Johanna Smith, had previously pleaded guilty and served a 60-day sentence.

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article news schedule Nov 3, 2025 visibility 10 link 9 artists

celebs turn out in force for lacma gala climate activist who targeted degas works gets jail time and more morning links for november 3 2025 1234759857

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) held its 14th annual Art+Film Gala on November 1, drawing nearly 600 celebrities from art, film, fashion, and entertainment. The event honored artist Mary Corse and filmmaker Ryan Coogler, featured a performance by Doja Cat, and set a new fundraising record of nearly $6.5 million to support LACMA's integration of film into its curatorial programs. Separately, climate activist Timothy Martin received an 18-month prison sentence for smearing paint on a Degas sculpture case at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 2023—a punishment critics called disproportionate. Other news includes the permanent installation of Gaetano Pesce's final public artwork in Boston, Antony Gormley's new installation in South Korea, and a report on shifting fortunes in the Islamic art market, where a rare Safavid carpet failed to sell at Christie's London.

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museum exhibitions schedule Oct 31, 2025 visibility 6 link 5 artists

canceled samia halaby exhibition recreated qatar 1234759416

Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art in Qatar has mounted a presentation of seven works by Palestinian artist Samia Halaby that were originally slated for a canceled survey at Indiana University’s Eskenazi Museum of Art in December 2023. The university cited “safety reasons” for the cancellation, which Halaby criticized as occurring amid the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza. The works are displayed in the first gallery of the exhibition “we refuse_d,” curated by Vasif Kortun, which also includes pieces by other artists whose shows were canceled, such as Jumana Manna. Halaby’s paintings span 1980 to 2024 and include the previously unseen “Worldwide Intifadah” (1989) and “Massacre of the Innocents in Gaza” (2024).

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gavel restitution schedule Oct 30, 2025 visibility 6 link 3 artists

met museum sued again van gogh painting jewish heirs 1234759239

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is facing a new lawsuit over Vincent van Gogh's *Olive Picking* (1889), which it sold to a Greek collector in 1972. The suit, filed by heirs of Hedwig and Frederick Stern, alleges the painting was looted from the Sterns when they fled Nazi Germany and should never have entered the Met's collection. The Met bought the work in 1956 for $125,000 and later sold it to the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in Athens, where it is now displayed. A previous 2022 lawsuit in California was dismissed on venue grounds; the heirs are now pursuing the case in New York federal court, arguing the painting was repeatedly trafficked through the city.

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article news schedule Oct 29, 2025 visibility 4 link 1 artist

perez art museum miami billboard lawsuit 1234759024

Miami's Frost Museum of Science has filed a lawsuit against the Florida Department of Transportation seeking the removal of a giant digital billboard on the grounds of the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM). The 1,800-square-foot sign, which advertises luxury brands like Tiffany and Yves Saint Laurent alongside PAMM programming, was built under a 2023 city commission exception that allowed billboards nearly twice the legal size limit. That exception was later overturned amid controversy over campaign contributions from the billboard's operator, Orange Barrel Media, to the commissioner who introduced it. PAMM argues the sign was approved by all relevant authorities, while Frost Science claims it violates state law, degrades the museum environment, and jeopardizes federal highway funding.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 28, 2025 visibility 15 link 13 artists, 2 galleries

altman siegel closes gallery san francisco 1234757474

Altman Siegel, a key gallery in San Francisco's art scene, will close in November 2025 after 16 years. Founder Claudia Altman-Siegel attributed the closure to a challenging market for mid-size galleries, stating it became too difficult to scale in the current climate. The gallery's final show is a solo exhibition by Shinpei Kusanagi, ending November 22. Its roster included artists such as Simon Denny, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Trevor Paglen, and others. The closure follows a trend of galleries shutting down or scaling back, including Blum and LA Louver in Los Angeles, and Clearing and Venus Over Manhattan in New York.

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article news schedule Oct 27, 2025 visibility 9 link 9 artists

german police bust forgery ring rembrandt picasso 1234759011

German police have dismantled an international forgery ring attempting to sell fake artworks attributed to masters including Rembrandt, Pablo Picasso, and Frida Kahlo. The suspected ringleader, a 77-year-old German man from Bavaria, was arrested after trying to sell two counterfeit Picasso paintings, one a portrait of Dora Maar. Investigators, who code-named the operation “Dora Maar,” conducted raids across Germany, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, seizing 19 fake works with asking prices ranging from $460,000 to $16 million. A 74-year-old accomplice is accused of producing forged expert reports to authenticate the fakes.

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museum exhibitions schedule Oct 27, 2025 visibility 12 link 35 artists

biennale of sydney 2026 artist list 1234758937

The Biennale of Sydney has announced the full artist list for its 2026 edition, titled 'Rememory,' which opens on March 14, 2026. The exhibition is curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, president and director of the Sharjah Art Foundation, marking her second major biennial after the Aichi Triennale. The show will feature over 60 artists and collectives, with a heightened focus on Indigenous art through a partnership with the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, facilitating 15 commissions by First Nations artists. Notable participants include Emily Jacir, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, and many others from diverse global backgrounds.

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museum exhibitions schedule Oct 24, 2025 visibility 4 link 5 artists

oliver jeffers praise shadows 1234757537

Artist and children's book illustrator Oliver Jeffers held a dip performance two days before the opening of his solo show at Praise Shadows gallery in Boston, where he destroyed a portrait of Japanese artist and cancer survivor Yuri Shimojo by submerging it in enamel paint. The invite-only audience watched in silence as the image disappeared, a ritual Jeffers describes as both a death and a birth, exploring themes of memory, loss, and hidden variables. His exhibition also features his "Disaster Paintings," which treat serious subjects like climate change and violence with absurdist humor.

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article news schedule Oct 23, 2025 visibility 10 link 4 artists

louvre admits stolen jewels are not insured art basel ubs collecting report shows growing influence of women and gen z and more morning links for october 23 2025 1234758550

The Louvre has admitted that jewels stolen from its collection in a daylight smash-and-grab robbery on Sunday are not privately insured, leaving the French state liable for the full $102 million loss if the items are not recovered. The heist targeted jewels once owned by Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie, and a leaked audit revealed the museum's security systems were "outdated and inadequate." French officials have struggled to track the thieves, and the culture ministry confirmed that the state acts as its own insurer for works in their usual place of conservation, meaning no reimbursement will be made if the jewels remain missing.

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article news schedule Oct 23, 2025 visibility 5 link 4 artists

british museums controversy hit ball raises 3 3 m securing vital funding for its international partnerships 1234758530

The British Museum held its inaugural fundraising ball, modeled after the Met Gala, raising over £2.5 million ($3.3 million) through ticket sales and a silent auction. The event, attended by celebrities including Mick Jagger, Janet Jackson, Tracey Emin, James Norton, and Naomi Campbell, also secured a £10.3 million pledge from the Garfield Weston Foundation for the museum's Visitor Welcome Program. However, the evening was marred by controversy: a protester from Energy Embargo for Palestine gained access and demonstrated against the museum's £50 million sponsorship from BP, and Greece's culture minister Lina Mendoni criticized the museum for hosting the event near the Elgin Marbles, accusing it of disrespecting the ancient sculptures.

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museum exhibitions schedule Oct 21, 2025 visibility 9 link 8 artists

offscreen paris julien frydman salon 2025 1234758079

Offscreen, the nomadic Parisian art salon founded by former Paris Photo director Julien Frydman, returns for its fourth edition from October 21 to 26, 2025, held concurrently with Art Basel Paris. This year, the event takes over La Chapelle Saint-Louis de la Salpêtrière, a historic church on the grounds of a former hospital that once detained and studied women labeled as “degenerate” or “insane.” The venue previously hosted exhibitions by Anselm Kiefer, Nan Goldin, and Christian Boltanski. Offscreen features 28 artists from 27 galleries, including a guest of honor tribute to late video-sculpture pioneer Shigeko Kubota, a durational performance by Maria Stamenković Herranz, and new talks and museum acquisitions from the Centre Pompidou and ZKM.

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article news schedule Oct 20, 2025 visibility 9 link 3 artists

amy sherald talks canceled smithsonian show 60 minutes 1234757994

Painter Amy Sherald has revealed in a "60 Minutes" interview with Anderson Cooper that she pulled out of her solo exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery because the museum considered removing her painting of a Black transgender Statue of Liberty, titled "Trans Forming Liberty." Sherald stated that the Smithsonian secretary, Lonnie G. Bunch III, proposed replacing the painting with a video discussing trans issues that would include anti-trans views, which she deemed unacceptable censorship. The exhibition, "American Sublime," was originally organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and last shown at the Whitney Museum; it is now expected to open at the Baltimore Museum of Art on November 2.

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article news schedule Oct 20, 2025 visibility 10 link 2 artists

british museum fundraising gala interrupted by protestor 1234757948

The British Museum's inaugural fundraising gala on October 18 was interrupted by a protester from the group Energy Embargo for Palestine. The woman, who gained access to the Great Court by working as a waitress, took the stage next to board chair George Osborne holding a sign reading 'DROP BP NOW.' She criticized the museum for accepting a £50 million sponsorship from BP, an oil and gas company she accused of causing climate collapse and enabling genocide in Gaza. The gala, co-chaired by Isha Ambani of Reliance Industries, raised over $2 million from ticket sales and featured a silent auction, including a pet portrait by Tracey Emin and a private tour of Coco Chanel's Paris apartment.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 17, 2025 visibility 8 link 7 artists

gene hackman bonhams auction 1234757821

Bonhams will auction works from the collection of late actor Gene Hackman this November, spanning three sales—one live and two online. The live sale, titled “Gene Hackman: A Life in Art, Part I,” takes place November 19 in New York and features highlights such as Milton Avery’s 1957 painting *Figure on the Jetty* (estimate $500,000–$700,000) and Richard Diebenkorn’s 1986 color etching *Green* (estimate $300,000–$500,000). Online sales include two of Hackman’s Golden Globes, a still life painting by the actor himself, and additional lots of annotated books, scripts, and cinematic memorabilia. Hackman, who died in February, was a major arts patron in Santa Fe, a painter, and a board member of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.

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museum exhibitions schedule Oct 17, 2025 visibility 9 link 7 artists

robert rauschenberg dance guggenheim 1234757639

A gala performance at the Guggenheim Museum in New York marked what would have been Robert Rauschenberg's 100th birthday, featuring dancers performing Paul Taylor's 'Tracer' (1962), for which Rauschenberg created costumes and sets—including a spinning bicycle wheel that served as a portal to the exhibition above. The show, 'Robert Rauschenberg: Life Can’t Be Stopped,' opened in one of the museum's tower galleries and runs through May 3, presenting select works from the Guggenheim's collections and loans from the artist's foundation, including major pieces like 'Barge' (1962–63), the largest silkscreen painting Rauschenberg made in the early 1960s, back in New York for the first time in nearly 25 years.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 16, 2025 visibility 7 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

gagosian first to announce it sold out at frieze london 1234757231

Gagosian became the first exhibitor at Frieze London to announce a complete sellout of its booth, featuring a solo presentation of works by Los Angeles artist Lauren Halsey. The booth included pieces from Halsey's 2025 untitled series of polymer-modified gypsum and stain on wood, as well as a six-foot-tall plaza sign sculpture titled 'LODA PLAZA (2025)'. Gagosian director Antwaun Sargent confirmed that the works were placed with both institutions and serious long-term collectors in the U.S. and Europe.

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article news schedule Oct 15, 2025 visibility 17 link 5 artists

leading artists call for nationwide resistance against authoritarian forces 1234757308

Visual artist Dread Scott, playwright Lynn Nottage, and dozens of cultural figures have launched "Fall of Freedom," a nationwide weekend of creative demonstrations scheduled for November 21–22, 2025, to protest rising authoritarianism under the Trump administration. The project invites arts communities to organize independent actions—such as storefront readings, pop-up performances, exhibitions, and workshops—at museums, galleries, classrooms, comedy clubs, or any community gathering space. Participating institutions include the Institute of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, which will host a "Wear Your Rights" silk-screening workshop, and New York's Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, which will turn a gallery into a library of queer art activism books. Other notable participants include artists Marilyn Minter, Robert Longo, and Amy Sherald, who recently canceled a Smithsonian exhibition after concerns over her painting of a Black transgender Statue of Liberty.

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candle obituary schedule Oct 15, 2025 visibility 13 link 2 artists

dara birnbaum lynn hershman leeson tribute 1234757303

This tribute article recounts the profound impact of artist Dara Birnbaum's work on the author, describing a chance meeting with Birnbaum at MoMA's café and the subsequent friendship that developed. It highlights Birnbaum's pioneering role in video art, including her manipulation of single video frames and use of color bars, and cites key works like "Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman" (1978–79), "Local TV News Analysis" (1980), and "MTV: Artbreak" (1987) that deconstructed mass media and gender representation.

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article news schedule Oct 15, 2025 visibility 11 link 4 artists

morning links october 15 2025 1234757199

Taylor Swift's music video for her song 'The Fate of Ophelia' has been found to closely reference Friedrich Heyser's painting 'Ophelia' (ca. 1900), held at the Wiesbaden State Museum in Hamburg. Swifties have flocked to the museum by the hundreds to see the Art Nouveau work, surprising and delighting museum director Andreas Henning. Separately, a street mural reading 'Black Artists Matter' and a rainbow crosswalk in Austin, Texas, face removal under President Trump's directive against DEI initiatives, as ordered by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. In other news, Art Basel has renamed its VIP section to 'collector and institutional relations,' five stolen 18th-century snuffboxes have been recovered from the Cognacq-Jay Museum in Paris, and Chiara Camoni will represent Italy at the upcoming Venice Biennale.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 15, 2025 visibility 10 link 2 artists

qatar owns courbet self portrait 1234757129

Qatar has revealed that it is the owner of Gustave Courbet's famed self-portrait *Le Désespéré* (The Desperate Man, 1843–45), which has gone on view at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris for the first time in 17 years. The painting, previously listed as being on loan from an unknown private collector, was acquired by Qatar Museums, a state body that oversees the nation's art scene. Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, head of Qatar Museums, acknowledged the ownership during a tribute at the Musée d'Orsay, noting that the work will be on long-term loan there for five years before moving to the future Art Mill Museum in Doha, set to open in 2030.

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article culture schedule Oct 14, 2025 visibility 7 link 1 artist

issy wood charli xcx vanity fair cover 1234757050

Issy Wood, a rising British artist known for her figurative paintings of luxury objects and body parts, created the cover for Vanity Fair's first art-themed issue in nearly two decades. The cover features a portrait of pop star Charli XCX titled *Charli 2* (2025), painted in oil on velvet with gauzy stars and white forms. Wood cited their shared Britishness and the singer's career longevity as inspiration, while the article draws parallels between Wood's subject matter and the 'Brat universe.'

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person people schedule Oct 13, 2025 visibility 4 link 1 artist

joan weinstein vice president getty wide program planning 1234756895

The Getty has appointed Joan Weinstein, current director of the Getty Foundation, to the newly created role of vice president for Getty-wide program planning. Weinstein will continue as foundation director until a successor is named, and in her new position she will develop strategy across the institution’s four divisions: the Museum, Research Institute, Conservation Institute, and Foundation, focusing on art historical scholarship and community partnerships. She is best known for co-directing PST ART, a major Southern California cultural collaboration, and has overseen significant relief funds for artists affected by wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemic.

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article news schedule Oct 13, 2025 visibility 4 link 1 artist

climate activists deface christopher columbus painting on day marking his arrival to americas 1234756823

Two activists from the climate group Futuro Vegetal were arrested on October 12 after throwing biodegradable red paint on José Garnelo's 1892 painting *First Tribute to Christopher Columbus* at the Naval Museum in Madrid. The protest occurred on Spain's National Day, which commemorates Columbus's arrival in the Americas. The activists unfurled a banner reading “October 12, nothing to celebrate. Ecosocial justice” and were charged with crimes against cultural heritage. Separately, about 20 activists from Marea Palestina staged a sit-in around Picasso's *Guernica* at the Reina Sofía Museum, demanding an end to “the genocide against the Palestinian people,” temporarily closing the gallery.

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