The Colors of Mark Rothko Conquer Florence: A Major Exhibition Across Three Venues

I colori di Mark Rothko conquistano Firenze: una grande mostra in tre sedi

The city of Florence is hosting a major three-venue retrospective dedicated to Mark Rothko, centered at Palazzo Strozzi with extensions into the Museo di San Marco and the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana. Curated by Christopher Rothko and Elena Geuna, the exhibition features 70 works spanning the artist's career, from his early Surrealist-influenced paintings of the 1930s and 40s to his iconic 'Multiform' and classic color-field abstractions. A unique highlight of the show is the installation of Rothko’s smaller works within the historic cells of the Museo di San Marco, directly alongside frescoes by Beato Angelico.

editors picks december 17

Artnet News's weekly roundup highlights six free holiday-themed art installations and events across New York City through early January 2019. Featured works include Bovey Lee's paper snowflake installation 'Flower Knot Snowflake' at 10 Hudson Yards, Studio Cadena's yellow vinyl 'Happy' installation at Flatiron Plaza, David Hoey's window displays at Bergdorf Goodman, a For Freedoms Christmas tree at the New York EDITION hotel, LAB at Rockwell Group's 'Luminaries' light show at Brookfield Place, and a Charles Dickens manuscript exhibition at the Morgan Library & Museum.

San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum Plans to Sell Building

The Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco has announced plans to sell its iconic Daniel Libeskind-designed building in the Yerba Buena Gardens neighborhood. The institution has been closed to the public since December 2024, drastically reduced its staff and budget, and aims to use the sale to stabilize its finances, reduce debt, and ensure its long-term survival.

Blue-Chip Names Anchor Showplace’s Art and Design Auction

New York's Showplace is hosting its Important Fine Art and Design Auction on May 14, 2026, featuring 145 lots that span Old Masters to contemporary works. Key highlights include Yayoi Kusama's *Infinity Nets* (1995, est. $100,000–$200,000), Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe's *Yellow Fanny Pack* (2021, est. $12,000–$18,000), Alexander Calder's *Paradis* (1976, est. $60,000–$80,000), Henri Martin's *L'Eglise de Labastide-du-Vert* (est. $60,000–$80,000), and Milton Avery's *Untitled (Winter Landscape Scene)* (est. $20,000–$40,000). The auction brings together blue-chip names like Warhol, Kusama, and Calder alongside emerging artists.

Salvador Dalí painting behind Schiaparelli’s “Tears Dress” to make London debut.

Salvador Dalí's 1936 painting 'Necrophiliac Spring' will be exhibited in the UK for the first time as part of the 'Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art' exhibition at London's Victoria and Albert Museum. The show, dedicated to designer Elsa Schiaparelli, runs from March 28th to November 8th.

‘Let Us Gather In a Flourishing Way’ Convenes 58 Artists to Survey Contemporary Latinx Painting

A major exhibition titled 'Let Us Gather In a Flourishing Way' has opened at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, featuring 58 artists in a comprehensive survey of contemporary Latinx painting. The show, curated by Andrea Alvarez over several years, is organized into seven thematic sections and is designed as a fluid, conversational space that celebrates community and cultural convergence.

Philip Castle obituary

Philip Castle, the influential British airbrush artist best known for creating the iconic poster for Stanley Kubrick's film 'A Clockwork Orange,' has died at age 83. Castle's distinctive, futuristic style, achieved with an airbrush tool, defined a key visual aesthetic of late 20th-century pop culture.

ayala foundation reuben keehan kontemp arts center

The Ayala Foundation has appointed Reuben Keehan as the incoming artistic director of Kontempo, a new contemporary art space set to open in Manila. Designed by Kulapat Yantrasat of WHY Architecture, the venue will feature over 26,000 square feet of exhibition space across three galleries and nearly four acres of green space for sculptures and installations, located in the Circuit Makati development. Keehan joins from the Queensland Art Gallery / Gallery of Modern Art, where he served as curator of contemporary art, and has curated the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art since 2013.

Weekly News Roundup: April 16, 2026

The art landscape in Asia is undergoing significant shifts with Art Basel renewing its five-year commitment to Hong Kong and the Centre Pompidou announcing a June opening for its new Seoul branch. Meanwhile, the Ayala Foundation unveiled designs by architect Kulapat Yantrasast for Kontempo, a major new contemporary art center in Manila slated for 2028, and the Kochi-Muziris Biennale appointed Jitish Kallat as president following the resignation of cofounder Bose Krishnamachari.

Chloë Sevigny, Hari Nef, and Mickalene Thomas Just Partied at the Brooklyn Artists Ball

The Brooklyn Museum hosted its annual Brooklyn Artists Ball on Tuesday evening, serving as the opening celebration for the "Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses" exhibition. The event drew a crowd of artists, patrons, designers, and downtown figures, including event hosts Fabiola Beracasa Beckman, Sylvana Durrett, Jordan Roth, Lizzie Tisch, and Amanda Waldron; co-chairs Regina Aldisert, Megan Brodsky, Victoria Rogers, and Carla Shen; CULTURED Editor-in-Chief Sarah Harrelson; designers Iris van Herpen and Wes Gordon; musicians Peggy Gou and Swizz Beatz; artists Mickalene Thomas, Keisha Scarville, Paul Arnhold, and Miles Greenberg; writer Derek Blasberg; and gallerist Saam Niami. Highlights included a special performance by dancers from the New York City Ballet in winged costumes, an afterparty with DJs Swizz Beatz and Runna, and a site-specific photo booth by artist Keisha Scarville.

parties vhernier pae white jewelry frieze la

Vhernier hosted an elegant private reception in Los Angeles to unveil a new jewelry collection designed by LA-based multidisciplinary artist Pae White. The event, held at the home of esteemed collector and Museo Jumex founder Eugenio López, brought together a global crowd including MOCA board chair Carolyn Powers, gallerist Francesca Kaufmann, curator Valérie-Anne Giscard d’Estaing, visual artist Jwan Yosef, and Chanel’s President of Arts, Culture & Heritage Yana Peel. The collection, inspired by a crab’s exoskeleton, is crafted in white gold, abalone, jade, sapphires, and rock crystal, with only two iterations of each design produced.

tefaf maastricht art fair museum collection

TEFAF Maastricht, the European Fine Art Fair, returns to the Maastricht Exhibition & Conference Centre from March 14 through 19, 2025. The fair spans Dutch Old Master paintings, contemporary textiles, antiques, jewelry, and design, with a Focus section that juxtaposes canonical figures like Gerrit Rietveld with emerging artists such as Ladi Kwali. Last year, major museums including the Met, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Art Institute of Chicago acquired works at the fair, highlighting its role as a key acquisition venue for public collections.

design guide openings events exhibtions

This article from Cultured magazine highlights several notable art and architecture openings and exhibitions around the world. Key events include the reopening of Donald Judd's Architecture Office in Marfa, Texas, after a seven-year closure and a devastating 2021 fire; the opening of the Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture in Almaty, Kazakhstan, designed by British architect Asif Khan; and the debut of "Chiharu Shiota: Two Home Countries" at Japan Society in New York, marking the artist's first solo museum exhibition in the city. Other featured shows include "Dream Rooms: Environments by Women Artists 1950s-Now" at M+ Museum in Hong Kong, "Vacant Futures" at VI PER Gallery in Prague, and "Four Five Six" by OFFICE KGDVS at A83 in SoHo, New York.

art alex foxton salon 94 dior interview

Alex Foxton presents his latest exhibition, “Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance,” at New York’s Salon 94 in partnership with Galerie Derouillon, opening September 10. The show features a new series of monumental canvases exploring modern masculinity, inspired by moments such as Volodymyr Zelensky’s suitless visit to the White House, British royalty, fascist armies, and prep school students. Foxton, trained in fashion design at Central Saint Martins and formerly at Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta, Maison Margiela, and Dior, employs a limited color palette drawn from military and 19th-century male dress norms, balancing desire and discipline. The exhibition includes works referencing figures like Yukio Mishima and bullfighter Manolete.

parties parrish museum gala hamptons

The Parrish Art Museum held its Echoes of the Cosmos Midsummer Gala in the Hamptons, honoring artists Sanford Biggers, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, and Nina Yankowitz, along with local philanthropists Sandy and Stephen Perlbinder. The event drew over 720 guests, raised nearly $1.4 million for arts education and community programming, and featured live dance by Parsons Dance, a sunset dinner, and an afterparty with projections by Lozano-Hemmer on the museum's Herzog & de Meuron-designed building.

art nicola lees aspen art museum

Nicola Lees, director of the Aspen Art Museum since 2020, discusses her tenure and the launch of AIR, a new initiative that blends festival, think tank, and public artwork to cultivate artists as leaders. The weeklong kickoff event begins with a closed-door session for artists, scientists, and technologists, followed by citywide programming from July 29 to 31. Lees reflects on how the museum's remote Colorado location has become an asset, enabling durational projects like Precious Okoyomon's rooftop garden, and emphasizes artist-centered programming and long-term collaborations.

patricia udell onna house hamptons show

Patricia Udell, an artist known for modernist works in clay, plaster, wood, and canvas, is unveiling her first tapestry at Onna House in East Hampton in a show titled “My Life Has Been a Tapestry,” opening tomorrow and running through Sept. 1. The exhibition takes its name from the 1971 Carole King song. Udell, who has exhibited at Meislin Projects, Quogue Gallery, and amArtHouse, discusses her move into textiles, her inspirations from Calder and Matisse, and the solitary, intuitive nature of her practice. Onna House, founded by designer Lisa Perry, focuses on women artists, making it a fitting venue for Udell’s work.

hotels museum future architecture

The article, written by a former New Museum staffer, traces the evolution of museum architecture from the early 2000s starchitect era toward a hospitality- and community-focused model. It cites examples like MoMA's extensive visitor amenities (four restaurants, two retail spaces) and the Williams College Museum of Art's open, evolving design by SO-IL. The piece also highlights the Underground Museum's storefront approach in Los Angeles and the Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York as strategies that prioritize accessibility and community engagement.

Arts of the Earth

ARTES DE LA TIERRA

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has inaugurated "Artes de la Tierra" (Arts of the Earth), a multidisciplinary exhibition curated by Manuel Cirauqui that examines the relationship between contemporary art and the soil. Spanning from the mid-20th century to the present, the show integrates visual arts, architecture, and ancestral Basque knowledge to explore themes of composting, terraforming, and ecological repair. Featured artists include pioneers of Land Art and Arte Povera such as Ana Mendieta, Fina Miralles, and Meg Webster, whose works are presented alongside archival materials and architectural models.

Emirati abstraction meets floral forms

This article is a roundup of cultural events and openings in Dubai's Alserkal Avenue, including the launch of WINDOW, a chef-driven restaurant by the team behind Kokoro, led by chef Gonzalo Platero. It also covers the opening of Gradient, a gallery by Syrian-American designer Nader Gammas showcasing lighting, collectible design, and antiques; an exhibition of Syrian artist Safwan Dahoul's melancholic 'Dream' series; a group show titled 'All the Lands from Sunrise to Sunset' at Green Art Gallery exploring imperialism; and a book recommendation for Thani Al-Suwaidi's 'The Diesel'. Additionally, it notes the 20th 'Special Edition' of Art Dubai, which attracted 25,000 visitors.

Sad Cowboy

What Pipeline gallery presents "Sad Cowboy," a group show organized for Miguel Bendaña at The Falstaff Project in El Paso, running from May 28 to July 4, 2026. The exhibition features three Detroit artists—Israel Aten, Cay Bahnmiller, and Dylan Spaysky—whose works explore American mythology, masculinity, and identity through collage, drawing, and sculpture. The title references a collage by Bahnmiller incorporating Amiri Baraka's poem "Sad Cowboy," critiquing the lone cowboy myth. Aten's colossal figures blend medieval iconography with video games, Bahnmiller's text-based works deconstruct language, and Spaysky's carbon paper drawings capture disposable media moments.

Exhibition | Meg Webster, 'Thicket' at Paula Cooper Gallery, 521 West 21st Street, New York, United States

Meg Webster's exhibition 'Thicket' opens May 9 at Paula Cooper Gallery, 521 West 21st Street, New York, featuring new sculptures and drawings. The centerpiece is a large spiral installation made from plant cuttings, inviting viewers inside for an immersive sensory experience. The show follows Webster's major presentation at Dia Beacon (2024–2026) and her inclusion in 'Minimal' at Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection, Paris (2025–2026). Also on view are monochromatic works on paper made by rubbing organic materials onto the surface, and a three-part beeswax relief.

Pablo Picasso | AR310 Mask (1956) | For Sale

This article presents a Pablo Picasso ceramic mask, AR310 Mask (1956), available for sale through Leona Craig Art in Hong Kong for US$21,000. The work is an edition of 300, made from A.R. white clay with engobes and oxidized paraffin decoration. The provenance describes how Picasso first visited Vallauris in 1946 after a Paris exhibition, was inspired by ceramicist Suzanne Hammier, and later returned with Matisse and Chagall to see his fired pieces, eventually staying for nearly thirty years.

Peterson Rich Office Designed The Met’s New Condé M. Nast Galleries and its Inaugural Costume Institute Exhibition

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has opened its new Condé M. Nast Galleries, a 12,000-square-foot exhibition space designed by Brooklyn-based architecture firm Peterson Rich Office (PRO). The galleries, which debuted with the Costume Institute's exhibition "Costume Art," transform a former interior courtyard and gift shop into five sequential rooms, including named spaces for Thom Browne, Michael Kors, and Lance LePere. PRO also designed the exhibition itself, which pairs 200 garments and accessories with 200 artworks from the Met's collection, creating a dialogue between fashion and fine art.

Exhibition | Daniel Arsham, 'Eroded Horizon' at Baró Galeria, Palma, Spain

Baró Galeria presents 'Eroded Horizon', Daniel Arsham's fifth collaboration with the gallery and his second exhibition at its Mallorca location, as part of Art Palma Summer 2026. The show features recent and previously unseen works across sculpture, drawing, and painting, exploring themes of time, decay, and the intersection of body and landscape. Arsham employs materials like marble, sand, bronze, and charcoal to create forms that blend ancient and futuristic aesthetics, continuing his signature fictional archaeology.

As old HQ comes down, Best Products’ design legacy is highlighted in Branch Museum exhibit

The Branch Museum of Design in Richmond has opened 'Imagining Best Products,' an exhibition exploring the architectural and graphic design legacy of the former retailer Best Products. The show, curated by architect Don O’Keefe with Harvard Graduate School of Design students, features original drawings by James Wines, items from a 1979 MoMA exhibition, and building models. It coincides with the demolition of Best Products' old headquarters in Henrico, which is being razed for a new arena-anchored development, though the timing is coincidental.

The Holy See Pavilion asks Venice Biennale Visitors to Slow Down and Listen, and Other News.

The Holy See's pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale presents "The Ear is the Eye of the Soul," a multi-sensory exhibition centered on deep listening and inspired by Hildegard von Bingen, curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers with Soundwalk Collective, featuring new commissions by 24 artists including Patti Smith, Brian Eno, FKA twigs, and Dev Hynes across two Venetian sites. Separately, Chanel and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation have launched the Chanel Culture Fund Fellowship, a transatlantic curatorial program for postgraduate scholars at the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. In other news, a father-daughter duo from New Jersey pleaded guilty to a $2 million counterfeit art scheme involving forged works attributed to Andy Warhol, Banksy, and others; Vienna's Burgtheater is offering guided scaffolding tours of Gustav Klimt's early ceiling paintings during restoration; and the sixth edition of the Head Hi Lamp Show opens in New York.

No Hay Banda: Vandria Borari, Petra Feriancová, Karoliina Hellberg, and Sofia Silva, 29th May – 26th June 2026, CFA, Milan, Italy. Private View: 28th May 2026.

CFA in Milan presents "No Hay Banda," a group exhibition running from 29 May to 26 June 2026, featuring four international artists: Vandria Borari (Brazil/Germany), Petra Feriancová (Slovakia), Karoliina Hellberg (Finland), and Sofia Silva. The show brings together ceramicist and Indigenous activist Borari, whose work includes the Yupirungáwa series and the Fluid Forest project; Feriancová, a Slovak artist who represented the Czech and Slovak Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale; and Hellberg, a Finnish artist who recently won the Visual Artist Award from the Marcus Collins Memorial Fund. The private view is scheduled for 28 May 2026.

Alex Katz | Porcelain Beauty 1 (2021) | For Sale

Alex Katz's 2021 porcelain enamel sculpture "Porcelain Beauty 1" (edition 18/25) is being offered for sale through Palm Beach Modern Auctions. The work, measuring 24 by 20.75 inches and mounted on aluminum, was printed and published by Lococo Fine Art Publishing in St. Louis, Missouri, and comes with its original crate and installation brochure. Its provenance includes Vertu Fine Art in Boca Raton, Florida, and a private collection in Florida.

Richard Diebenkorn | Untitled (For Harvey Gantt) | For Sale

Artsy is offering for sale Richard Diebenkorn's work "Untitled (For Harvey Gantt)", a piece by the renowned American painter associated with Abstract Expressionism and the Bay Area Figurative movement. The artwork is listed on the online platform, making it available to collectors and art enthusiasts.