culture freelance artist tax write offs crazy

The article explores the creative freelancer's financial landscape, focusing on the tax write-off strategies used by artists, writers, musicians, and other cultural workers. It features anecdotes from figures like writer Michelle Tea, photographer Luisa Opalesky, artist Josh Kline, and musician Ben Levi Ross, who share the unusual items they have deducted as business expenses—ranging from cat food and luxury handbags to Skittles, NyQuil, and even a vintage truck used in a film.

art paul mccarthy show performance

Cultured magazine profiles legendary 80-year-old artist Paul McCarthy during his Paris exhibition at Hauser & Wirth, titled “SS EE Saint Santa Eva Elf.” The article follows the journalist's three-day pursuit of McCarthy, covering a screening of his films *A&E Adolf & Eva/ Adam & Eve Cooking Show* (2022/2023) and *A&E Adolf & Eva/Adam & Eve Mother* (2022/2025), which feature psychosexual themes referencing Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun alongside Adam and Eve, co-starring actor Lilith Stangenberg. The exhibition includes large raw drawings created during improvised, multi-camera performances with Stangenberg, where they play twisted Santa and elf characters. McCarthy also has concurrent shows at The Journal Gallery in Los Angeles and SOLO contemporary art space in Madrid.

art beatriz milhazes exhibition cartier aquarium

Brazilian artist Beatriz Milhazes created a suspended sculpture titled "Aquarium" in collaboration with Cartier's Artist meets Artisan project, using unused precious and semi-precious stones such as diamonds, Akoya pearls, and black jade. The work, first realized in 2010, translates her signature colorful, rhythmic painting motifs into a three-dimensional mobile that shimmers like a school of fish. It will be installed at Cartier's Boston boutique on Newbury Street on March 25. The article includes an interview with Milhazes discussing the inception, materiality, and evolution of her sculptural practice.

art ruinart sam falls art basel miami beach

Champagne house Ruinart has commissioned Los Angeles-based artist Sam Falls to create a two-part installation for its Conversations with Nature series at Art Basel Miami Beach. Falls, who grew up in Vermont, used organic materials from Ruinart's Taissy vineyard in France's Champagne region as tools, pigments, and stencils on canvas, with the composition partly inspired by the stained-glass windows of Reims Cathedral. The installation transforms the Ruinart Plaza Bar and Collectors Lounge at the Miami Beach Convention Center, on view through December 7.

art cindy sherman holiday card transanta

Cindy Sherman is reviving her annual holiday party after a five-year hiatus, introducing a new line of kitschy Christmas cards featuring five works created with face-tuning A.I. algorithms that distort her face in a Picasso-esque style. The cards are part of the newly founded Cindy Sherman Legacy Project, curated by Lumi Tan, and all proceeds will benefit Transanta, a trans-led mutual aid project supporting unhoused or unsupported trans youth, founded by Chase Strangio, Indya Moore, and Kyle Lasky. The cards are available through Sherman's website, Hauser & Wirth's New York bookstore, and a launch party on Dec. 9 at Jean's in New York.

art lorenzo amos young artist

Lorenzo Amos, a 23-year-old painter based in New York, held his debut solo exhibition at Gratin gallery last fall. The show featured paintings that blend Abstract Expressionist mark-making with the composed clarity of David Hockney portraits, all rooted in the intimate space of his living room-studio. Amos describes his approach as "Material Realism," where image and paint become inseparable, and his work as "painting about painting." He cites his friend Alex as a key influence, emphasizing the freedom found in imperfection.

parties cultured at home anthony roth costanza

Cultured magazine hosted a launch party at opera singer Anthony Roth Costanzo's New York apartment to celebrate the debut issue of its interiors magazine, 'CULTURED at Home.' Guests including artists Cassie Griffin and Francesca DiMattio, curator Jarrett Earnest, fashion designers Jackson Wiederhoeft and Tanner Richie, and other creative figures gathered in Costanzo's historic Chelsea home, a former residence of architect David Webster, for cocktails, snacks, and a striking ice sculpture featuring the magazine.

art collector pamela joyner nevada

Pamela Joyner, a prominent art collector and patron, shares a first look inside her Lake Tahoe home in Reno, Nevada, which houses her formidable collection of 20th- and 21st-century abstraction by Black artists. The collection, co-owned with her husband Fred Giuffrida, includes works by Mark Bradford, Jack Whitten, Frank Bowling, and Charles Gaines, and was shaped by Joyner's childhood visits to the Art Institute of Chicago. Joyner, a Harvard Business School graduate and founder of Avid Partners, discusses her collecting philosophy, the strategic approach she applies from her business career, and her advice for new collectors.

parties getty images prize ann philbin

The J. Paul Getty Trust awarded its annual Getty Prize to Ann Philbin, who served as director of the Hammer Museum at UCLA for 25 years. A celebratory dinner was held at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, attended by artists, philanthropists, and museum directors. Philbin used the prize's $500,000 grant to support NPR, KCRW, and LAist, emphasizing the importance of free speech and public broadcasting.

david zwirner loewe cultured 2025 young collectors

David Zwirner, Loewe, and Cultured magazine co-hosted a summer party at David Zwirner's Los Angeles gallery to celebrate the release of the magazine's 2025 Young Collectors list. Guests enjoyed mint- and cucumber-infused drinks, browsed the new Art + Food issue, and previewed Marcel Dzama's exhibition "Empress of Night," on view through August 8. The event drew a crowd of art, fashion, and media insiders, including collector Ben Weyerhaeuser, philanthropist Claudia Kahn, interior designer Jamie Bush, and artists Christina Quarles, Julien Nguyen, Hilary Pecis, and Richard Hawkins. Attendees left with tote bags containing copies of the magazine featuring a limited-edition cover by Lisa Yuskavage.

First Impressions of a Venice Biennale Torn Apart by the Present

The 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys," opens amid turmoil: its curator Koyo Kouoh died of cancer during planning, and the festival jury resigned after a controversial statement about excluding Israel and Russia from prizes, replaced by a Eurovision-style people's choice award. The main exhibition, completed by a team of five collaborators using Kouoh's plans, features over 110 artists and collectives, with highlights including works by Big Chief Demond Melanchon, Tammy Nguyen, Guadalupe Maravilla, Ayrson Heráclito, and a section focused on Michael Armitage's Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute.

Treasures From Matthew Perry’s Estate Head to Auction for a Good Cause

Heritage Auctions will sell a trove of artifacts from Matthew Perry's estate starting June 5, including scripts and memorabilia from the sitcom *Friends*, artworks by Banksy and Mel Bochner, and personal items like a 3D portrait of his invented superhero "Mattman." Proceeds benefit the Matthew Perry Foundation, a nonprofit focused on ending addiction stigma and expanding access to evidence-based care, founded after the actor's death in 2023.

How Art Firms Are—or Should Be—Using A.I. Right Now

Art firms are increasingly experimenting with artificial intelligence, but concrete use cases remain limited and industry-specific tools are still in their infancy. A new partnership between Bonhams and tech company ARTDAI aims to apply AI to market analytics, valuation, and specialist research, while companies like Artsy and Artnet are integrating AI capabilities into their platforms. Industry experts, including former Art Basel chief Marc Spiegler, note that the art market's small size has historically discouraged tech development, but AI now makes high-performance tools accessible to smaller businesses.

The Personal Collection of ‘Last Surrealist’ Enrico Donati Heads to Auction

Sotheby’s has announced the sale of the personal art collection of Enrico Donati, often referred to as the 'last Surrealist.' The 45-lot collection, titled "A Night in May," features works amassed by Donati and his wife Adele, including a rare 1909 Cubist portrait by Pablo Picasso, 'Arlequin (Buste),' estimated at $40 million. The auction marks the first time these intimate pieces—many acquired through direct exchanges with friends like Marcel Duchamp and Yves Tanguy—have been offered since the artist's death in 2008 and his wife's passing last year.

New UCCA CEO Kong Lingyi on the Beijing Institution’s Future

Kong Lingyi has been appointed as the new CEO of the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing, succeeding Philip Tinari who stepped down shortly before the Lunar New Year. A veteran of the institution since 2012, Kong previously served as vice president of brand and is now tasked with overseeing UCCA’s multiple branches in Beijing, Beidaihe, and Yixing. Her leadership marks a shift toward a new management structure focused on institutional sustainability and public accessibility.

Lost Cecil Beaton and Lee Miller Photos Turn Up in Old Scrapbook

A previously unknown scrapbook containing over 150 unseen photographs by Cecil Beaton and Lee Miller has been acquired by the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library. Compiled between 1943 and 1949 by Roland Haupt, a darkroom assistant who processed film for both photographers during World War II, the album includes rare war reportage, portraits, and personal mementos. Among the highlights is an unpublished alternative shot of Miller in Adolf Hitler’s bathtub and Surrealist-inflected images of the conflict's aftermath.

david nahmad denies modigliani nazi loot 517082

Art collector David Nahmad has publicly denied allegations that Amedeo Modigliani’s "Seated Man with a Cane" (1918) is Nazi-looted property. Following revelations from the Panama Papers that Nahmad is the true owner of the painting via the International Art Center, he defended his provenance, claiming the work sought by the heirs of Jewish art dealer Oscar Stettiner is a different painting entirely. Nahmad asserted that if the work is definitively proven to be looted, he will return it, but he currently maintains that the historical documentation regarding a 1944 sale at Drouot refers to a self-portrait, not the work in his possession.

Peter Halley Continues to Probe the ‘Crisis in Geometry’

American artist Peter Halley is presenting his first solo show in Austria in two decades at Galerie Nikolus Ruzicska in Salzburg. The exhibition, titled 'Peter Halley: Six Paintings for Salzburg,' features six new works created specifically for the occasion, showcasing his mature exploration of geometric abstraction using his signature 'Cells,' 'Prisons,' and 'Conduits.'

The Tensions Seething Beneath the Surface of the 2026 Whitney Biennial

The 2026 Whitney Biennial has quickly generated a consensus among critics, prompting a deeper analysis of its underlying themes. The exhibition features a notable tension between works exploring artificial intelligence, such as Zach Blas's maximalist installation and Cooper Jacoby's emotionally resonant sculptures, and a contrasting trend of delicate, nostalgic art focused on domesticity and ecology, exemplified by artists like Kelly Akashi and Jasmin Sian.

Michelangelo's Pietà Altarpiece for His Own Tomb Restored and Returned to Public View

altarpiece michelangelo made tomb brought back life conservators see pictures update masterpiece 2014676

The Opera del Duomo Museum in Florence has unveiled the newly restored Bandini Pietà, a monumental sculpture Michelangelo carved for his own tomb between 1547 and 1555. The two-year conservation project, funded by the Friends of Florence Foundation, removed centuries of accumulated dust, wax, and plaster residue from the 5,900-pound marble block, which the artist famously left unfinished after discovering flaws in the stone.

claude lorrain woburn abbey export bar 2739738

The United Kingdom has imposed a temporary export bar on Claude Lorrain's masterpiece "Landscape with Rural Dance" (c. 1640), valued at £9 million ($12 million), to prevent it from leaving the country. The painting, which has hung at Woburn Abbey for over 250 years, is being sold by the Duke of Bedford to fund a major renovation project. The export bar, recommended by a reviewing committee that deemed the work of "outstanding aesthetic importance," gives UK institutions until April 15 to express intent to acquire the painting for the nation.

dorothy waugh national park posters 2734817

Dorothy Waugh, a pioneering Modernist designer who created the U.S. government's first in-house National Parks poster campaign during the Great Depression, is the subject of her first-ever solo exhibition at New York's Poster House. Titled "Blazing a Trail: Dorothy Waugh's National Parks Posters," the show reunites all 17 posters Waugh designed for the National Park Service between 1934 and 1936, bold experimental works that helped define a new visual language for federal design. Guest curator Mark Resnick spent three decades tracking down Waugh's story, locating documents across the National Archives, the Library of Congress, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Jones Library in Amherst, Massachusetts.

freddy gallery church sale 2737217

Artist Joshua Abelow is selling the 100-year-old former Methodist church in Harris, New York, that housed his unconventional gallery Freddy from 2016 until last year. Listed at $649,000, the 3,500-square-foot building served as both Abelow's home and studio, hosting over three dozen exhibitions featuring artists such as Rafael Ferrer, Cheryl Donegan, Jörg Immendorff, and emerging talents. Abelow, who moved to Santa Fe with his family, hopes a creative buyer will continue using the space for cultural endeavors. He has since launched a new collaborative venue called Gene & Fred in Santa Fe with Keith J. Varadi's Gene's Dispensery.

5 new art hotels 2732180

Five new art hotels opened in 2025, including Hotel Saint Augustine in Houston, Texas, and Capella Taipei in Taipei, Taiwan. Hotel Saint Augustine, located near the Menil Drawing Institute, features minimalist interiors by Post Company with custom furnishings and Art Deco-style lighting, while Capella Taipei boasts an art program curated by The Artling, showcasing works by artists such as Chen-Lin Lee, Jasper Huang, Tara Vaughan, Joel Escalona, and Etan Pavavalung. Both properties emphasize craftsmanship and cultural connection through curated art and design.

work of the week basquiat onion gum 2731165

Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1983 painting *Onion Gum*, priced at $21.5 million, was one of the most expensive works for sale at the 23rd edition of Art Basel Miami Beach. The large square canvas, featuring a white head and handwritten text, has a long market history: it sold for $7.36 million at Sotheby's in 2012 to hedge fund manager Daniel Sundheim, then failed to meet its estimate at auction in 2016, fetching $6.6 million. Since 2017, Van de Weghe Gallery has used the work as collateral for bank loans, showing it at multiple Art Basel fairs with prices rising from $16.5 million in 2018 to the current $21.5 million.

lewis carroll rare alice in wonderland oxford 2731138

Lewis Carroll's personal copy of 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' from the original 1865 run has been acquired by Oxford's Christ Church college and the Bodleian Libraries. The rare volume, donated by American philanthropist and bibliophile Ellen Michelson, contains the author's handwritten notes, sketched plans for a future nursery edition, and 10 original pencil sketches by John Tenniel used for the wood engravings. The book had never before been exhibited in the United Kingdom.

art bites sistine chapel michelangelo critics 2718347

The article recounts the creation and controversy surrounding Michelangelo's fresco of the Last Judgement on the west wall of the Sistine Chapel. While the chapel attracts 25,000 daily visitors and is celebrated as a pinnacle of Renaissance art, the west wall initially provoked scorn from church officials and critics like Biagio da Cesena and Pietro Aretino, who objected to its nudity, pagan imagery, and perceived idolatry. Michelangelo retaliated by painting his detractors into the fresco—Da Cesena as King Minos with donkey ears and a snake biting his genitals, and Aretino as Saint Bartholomew holding flayed skin resembling the artist.

giacometti schiaparelli buttons bonhams 2727206

A pair of rare bronze buttons designed by Alberto Giacometti in 1938 for fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli will be auctioned at Bonhams on December 16, each estimated at £5,000–£8,000. Titled "Femme aux Bras Levés," the buttons were used on garments including a coat worn by Marlene Dietrich, now in the German Cinema Museum in Berlin. Only two other examples exist, held by the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and Le Comité Giacometti. The sale also features a rare Émile Gallé vase, works by Lucie Rie, and a Tiffany Studios chandelier.

norman rockwell thanksgiving freedom from want three facts 1926485

Norman Rockwell's iconic painting "Freedom From Want" (1943), known as the quintessential Thanksgiving image, is examined through three lesser-known facts. The painting was part of a series responding to FDR's "Four Freedoms" speech, initially rejected by the military's Office of War Information before being embraced for a war bond campaign that raised over $132 million. Rockwell used friends and family as models, including his wife and the family cook, who actually prepared the turkey depicted. The work has recently returned to the spotlight: a four-panel Rockwell suite sold for $7.2 million at Heritage Auctions to the White House Historical Association, while Rockwell's family criticized the Department of Homeland Security for using his art in divisive social media posts.

julia stoschek foundation los angeles show 2716818

The Julia Stoschek Foundation, one of the world's largest collections of video art, will present its first major U.S. exhibition at the Variety Arts Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Titled "What a Wonderful World: An Audiovisual Poem" and curated by Udo Kittelmann, the show opens February 6, 2026, pairing contemporary video works by artists such as Marina Abramović, Dara Birnbaum, Cyprien Gaillard, Arthur Jafa, Jesper Just, and Lu Yang with historic films by Luis Buñuel, Walt Disney, Alice Guy-Blaché, Winsor McCay, and Georges Méliès. The exhibition spans 120 years of filmmaking and will occupy a historic 1920s Venetian-style landmark that once housed L.A.'s first women's clubhouse and a vaudeville theater.