A Massive Design Store is About to Open Inside an Entire 19th-Century Palace in Milan

A Milano sta per aprire un enorme negozio di design dentro un intero palazzo dell’Ottocento

The American luxury interior design giant RH (formerly Restoration Hardware) is set to open its first Italian flagship store in Milan's historic Palazzo del Principe di Piombino. Located on Corso Venezia, the massive 5,000-square-meter "Gallery" occupies a 19th-century neoclassical palace that has undergone an extensive restoration costing at least €10 million. The site will feature multiple floors of luxury furnishings, a 1,000-square-meter garden, and a subterranean restaurant called La Volta housed under a crystal dome.

Luxe art gallery picks River Oaks District for first Texas location; major French brands reopen

Paris-based Opera Gallery plans to open its first Texas location in Houston's River Oaks District, with a $7 million build-out of a 3,000-square-foot space at 4444 Westheimer, Suite A115. Construction is scheduled from early September to December 2025, and the gallery has hired Houston-based Abel Design Group as the design firm. Opera Gallery, which began in 1994 with simultaneous openings in Paris and Singapore, caters to high-wealth collectors.

Movie-inspired art exhibition lets public explore one of Canada’s luxury hotels

Hotel Confidential is a new contemporary art exhibition hosted at the Royal Hotel in Picton, Ontario, featuring original projects by 16 artists. The show utilizes the hotel's Annex Building to display site-specific installations, such as a collection of vintage suitcases containing miniature dioramas and various architectural interventions. Co-curated by Stacey Sproule and Christina Zeidler, the event aims to bridge the gap between the region's luxury tourism industry and its dense local artist community.

design la cavalarie cosima ungaro austin feilders

Cosima Ungaro and Austin Feilders, who run the creative agency Concept, have taken over the restoration and operation of Domaine de La Cavalerie, a 12th-century Knights Templar compound in France that was acquired by Emanuel Ungaro in 1985. The estate, which includes the original La Commanderie building, a 17th-century Bergerie, and 160 acres of land, has been updated with geothermal power, 1,000 additional olive trees, and a hospitality concept for stays and events. The article highlights the library as a key example of Ungaro's design philosophy, blending medieval roots with Italian antiques and artworks.

parties jncquoi club comporta portugal

Cultured magazine hosted a dinner at Coco's private club in Manhattan to celebrate JNĉQuoi's forthcoming destination in Comporta, Portugal. The 164-hectare campus, designed by Vincent Van Duysen, will combine a beach club, residential community, and hotel, located an hour outside Lisbon. Founders Paula Amorim and Miguel Guedes de Sousa welcomed a crowd of collectors, gallerists, and art advisors, including Chad Leat, Ida Liu, Alexandra Stanton, Jason and Michelle Rubell, Seth Stolbun, Ellie Rines, Rob Teeters, and Sarah Ivory, with a performance by Portuguese soprano Leonor Vasconcelos.

lallier laila gohar summer party

Culinary artist Laila Gohar has partnered with Champagne Lallier, a historic Champagne house based in Aÿ, France, to celebrate the launch of their R.021 Brut, the first harvest-to-glass Champagne from Chef de Caves Dominique Demarville. Gohar hosted an intimate launch dinner at downtown hotspot Bridges and shared her tips for summer entertaining, including building Champagne towers and pairing the cuvée with raw scallops.

American Popular Art Museum Educates Young Art Mediators for the 2026 Popular Arts Encounter in Cerrillos

The American Popular Art Museum Tomás Lago (MAPA) in Chile has trained a group of children as art mediators for the 2026 Popular Arts Encounter in Cerrillos. The program, called "Art Mediators in Your School," began after the school Pedro Aguirre Cerda hosted its first community art encounter in 2022, initiated by educator Sandra Ramírez and local organizers. Ten children received training in cultural mediation and art appreciation at MAPA, then guided their peers through the exhibition. The collaboration has deepened, with MAPA now also contributing to curating and exhibit design for the 2026 edition.

Artist-run gallery in Old Town Scottsdale’s Art District among best in Valley

On The Edge Gallery, an artist-run collective in Old Town Scottsdale's Arts District, has been named one of the top 10 galleries in the Phoenix metropolitan area by Modern Luxury Magazine. The gallery operates as a co-op where local Arizona artists create the work, set their own prices, and often work on-site, allowing visitors to interact directly with the creators.

Things To Do In Singapore For The Culturally Curious

Singapore's art scene is hosting several diverse exhibitions this April, ranging from a cat-themed group show at Tokonoma to Chok Si Xuan’s solo exploration of technological materials at Starch. Other highlights include a collaborative exhibition at Fluxus House Gallery featuring emerging artists Tay Ying, Zhixin Sheng, and Winnie Chua, which examines the nuances of early adulthood through personal correspondence and imagery.

Art month 2026: all the art exhibitions to see in Hong Kong outside Art Basel

Hong Kong's art scene is preparing for a massive influx of programming to coincide with the 2026 edition of Art Basel Hong Kong. Beyond the main fair, major institutions and private galleries across the city—from M+ and the Hong Kong Museum of Art to the gallery hubs in Central and Wong Chuk Hang—are staging flagship exhibitions to capture the international audience.

India’s Art Market Thrives on New Wealth, and a Whale

The article reports that India's art market is experiencing significant growth, driven by the emergence of new wealth and the presence of a major collector, referred to as a "whale." This surge is characterized by increasing auction sales and a rising demand for modern and contemporary Indian art, with notable activity from wealthy individuals and investors entering the market.

Art and the Automobile in Pre-WWII France Is Worth Visiting St. Louis

The Saint Louis Art Museum is presenting an exhibition titled "Art and the Automobile in Pre-WWII France," showcasing a collection of vintage French automobiles from the 1920s and 1930s. The show features iconic vehicles such as the Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 designed by Ugo Zagato, the 1939 Bugatti Type 57C "Shah," and the 1937 Delage DB-120, among others, drawn from private collections and institutions like the Petersen Automotive Museum and The Henry Ford.

fashion libertine aspen

Fashion brand Libertine, founded by Johnson Hartig, will host a pop-up at the Hotel Jerome in Aspen from July 27 to August 2. The event will feature one-of-a-kind handmade pieces from Hartig’s Los Angeles atelier, previews of the Fall 2025 collection, and Aspen-only exclusives. The brand, approaching its 25th anniversary, draws on Hartig’s own art practice, including a pattern derived from his gouache painting.

Never Spoken Again Exhibition at the Weisman Challenges Museum Norms

The Weisman Art Museum is hosting "Never Spoken Again: Rogue Stories of Science and Collections," a traveling exhibition produced by Independent Curators International (ICI). Curated by David Ayala-Alfonso, the show features works by over a dozen artists that challenge traditional museum practices, such as the use of pre-Hispanic ceramics as speaker stands to give them a literal voice. The exhibition uses diverse media—from cinefoil sculptures to tapestries from Las Vegas casinos—to critique how institutions collect, classify, and display artifacts.

Smells like teen spirit: inside the world’s first scent-lending library

Artist Donna Lipowitz has launched the Scent Lending Library, a multisensory project that allows visitors to check out fragrances like books. Debuting at Olfactory Art Keller in New York before moving to Fogue Gallery in Seattle, the collection features over 200 items ranging from luxury perfumes like Chanel No. 5 to conceptual odors such as "The Smell of Space" and "Green Cicada." Borrowers receive small amber bottles containing scented blotter paper along with traditional library check-out slips.

Casa Sanlorenzo in Venice opens its first exhibition with a focus on ocean pollution

Casa Sanlorenzo, a new cultural space in Venice established by yacht builder Sanlorenzo, has opened its inaugural exhibition titled "Breathtaking." The installation by Italian artist and photographer Fabrizio Ferri addresses ocean plastic and microplastic pollution, featuring large-scale portraits of celebrities including Sting, Helena Christensen, Willem Dafoe, Isabella Rossellini, Susan Sarandon, and Naomi Watts, all depicted covered in plastic and debris. At the center of the installation is a glass coffin filled with seawater, symbolizing the fragility of marine ecosystems. The exhibition was previously shown at the Museo di Storia Naturale in Milan, where it attracted over 40,000 visitors in four days.

“Chaos Osmosis” Project Announces Open Call for Artists & Scientists

Nicole Longnecker Gallery in Houston has announced an open call for the third edition of "Chaos Osmosis," an art and science exhibition centered on fluid dynamics. The project is a partnership between the gallery, the Gallery of Fluid Motion in Houston, and the Paradoxluxe curatorial collective, with locations in Greece and Puerto Rico. Selected participants will be featured in a dual exhibition at Nicole Longnecker Gallery and the Houston Museum of Natural Science, opening in October 2025. Houston-region artists and scientists from all disciplines are invited to submit works in any medium, including video, photography, painting, sculpture, installation, and mixed media. The submission deadline is July 30, 2025.

Anxious collectors are increasingly turning to freeport havens, experts say

Rising tariffs, geopolitical instability, and extreme weather events are driving art collectors to move valuable items into secure, tax-friendly freeports, particularly in Switzerland. Experts Alexandre Ducamp of Natural le Coultre and Fritz Dietl of Delaware Freeport report a significant increase in clients over the past three years, citing the war in Ukraine, multiple ongoing conflicts, and President Trump's April 2025 'Liberation Day' tariffs as key factors. Collectors are using freeports in Geneva, Zurich, Basel, and Chiasso, as well as foreign trade zones in Delaware, to delay or avoid import duties on items like design furniture, antiques, and Chinese-origin artworks, with some purchases being cancelled due to new tariffs.

At Art Basel, the Market Hopes for a Recovery

Art Basel 2025 opens on June 19 amid economic and political uncertainty, with collectors exercising caution. The contemporary art market is still recovering from a 12% contraction in 2024, when auction sales dropped 25%. High-end transactions suffered most, while sales under $250,000 rose 17%. The fair expects 200 exhibitors, down from last year's 91,000 visitors. Sotheby’s May modern art auction in New York also posted lukewarm results, barely exceeding the low estimate.

Mandarin Oriental, Macau marks 15th anniversary with new art exhibition

Mandarin Oriental, Macau launched a new contemporary Chinese art exhibition titled "Modern Vision, Timeless Technique" to mark its 15th anniversary at its current location. The exhibition, running until 31 August in the hotel's lobby and Lobby Lounge, features 15 works by local female artists Leong Kit Man and Tsang Tseng Tseng. Curated by Alice Kok, president of the Art For All Society (AFA), the show highlights how the artists blend traditional Chinese painting techniques with modern aesthetics. VIPs including government officials and cultural figures attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and the hotel's executive chef created canapés inspired by the artworks.

‘Immersive Elements’ interactive exhibition showcasing student-artist collaboration

SUNY Oswego's ARTSwego program presents "Immersive Elements," an interactive exhibition created by NOIRFLUX's Electric Heliotrope Theater in collaboration with students. Running April 23 through May 4 at the Marano Campus Center, the project features sculpture, drawing, audio, video, and interaction design, developed by artist Lorne Covington and students from Cara Thompson's art classes. The exhibition explores the four elements—water, air, fire, and earth—through projected visuals and interactive pieces.

In Venedig findet Lotus L. Kang Schönheit im Vergänglichen

Canadian artist Lotus L. Kang has opened an exhibition titled "The Face of Desire Is Loss" at the new Bvlgari Pavilion in Venice. The show features her fluid, changeable works that explore themes of desire, loss, absence, and impermanence, with the artist describing the experience as a charged, chaotic, yet focused pursuit of something elusive.

A New Look at Rabelais and His World

The article examines the philosophical and literary significance of laughter in François Rabelais's work, particularly *Gargantua and Pantagruel*, contrasting his celebratory view with the predominantly negative assessments of laughter in Western philosophy from Plato to Hobbes. It highlights how Rabelais channels a durable tradition of folk humor as a form of affirmative relief from oppression and official solemnity.

In Memory of Éliane Radigue (1932–2026)

Éliane Radigue, the pioneering French composer of electronic and electroacoustic music, has died at age 94. A key figure in the development of minimalist and drone music, she was known for her deeply focused, slowly evolving soundscapes created primarily on analog synthesizers like the Buchla 100 and ARP.

John Smith on Being John Smith

Artist-filmmaker John Smith discussed his latest autobiographical film, 'Being John Smith,' in an interview with Nataliia Serebriakova following a screening. The film explores his lifelong relationship with having one of the most common English names, a subject he was finally inspired to tackle after witnessing a Pulp concert where the crowd became a unified mass during the song "Common People." He describes the project as cathartic, addressing the daily jokes and challenges of individuality tied to his name.

New art exhibition opens at luxury Edinburgh hotel in Charlotte Square

Artist Vicky Paul has opened a solo exhibition titled 'Where Energy Resets' at the Kimpton Charlotte Square Hotel in Edinburgh as part of its Artist in Residence programme. The show features 31 paintings from four collections—Celestial, Cosmos, Thin Places, and Cherry Blossoms—displayed in the hotel's main reception areas. Works are available for purchase, with prices ranging from £350 to £2,250. One of Paul's pieces, Elementum, previously raised £20,000 at a Sotheby's auction.

This art exhibition wants to leave you ‘a bit happier’

Architect and artist François Valentiny, together with his wife Edith Burggraff, has opened a joint exhibition titled "L'art en partage" at the Valentiny Foundation in Remerschen, Luxembourg. Running until 10 May, the show features paintings and sculptures by the couple and is accompanied by concerts, workshops, and community events. Valentiny, known for designing landmarks like KPMG Luxembourg's headquarters and the Bijou building, studied architecture in Vienna and splits his time between Luxembourg and Austria.

The new cultural space by Sanlorenzo Arts where design, creativity and sustainability meet

Sanlorenzo Arts has inaugurated Casa Sanlorenzo, a new cultural space in Venice adjacent to the Basilica Santa Maria della Salute, opening on June 3 during the first edition of Venice Climate Week and the Venice Architecture Biennale. Designed by Piero Lissoni's architectural firm, the space blends history and contemporary design, featuring a restored building with adaptive lighting, a monumental glass staircase, and a new bridge connecting to the surroundings. It is not a traditional museum but a dynamic platform for art, design, and sustainability, hosting initiatives that reflect on contemporary society.

Luxe art gallery sets opening date for River Oaks District location, first in Texas

A luxury art gallery, Galerie Philia, has announced its first Texas location will open in Houston's River Oaks District on May 10. The gallery, known for its focus on collectible design and contemporary art, will feature a rotating selection of about 40 pieces every three weeks and host three to four special exhibitions annually.

The arrival of the Orient Express hotel in Venice reopens the historic Palazzo Donà Giovannelli (filling it with contemporary art)

L’arrivo dell’hotel Orient Express a Venezia riapre lo storico Palazzo Donà Giovannelli (riempiendolo di arte contemporanea)

Palazzo Donà Giovannelli, a 15th-century Venetian palace, has reopened as the flagship Orient Express hotel after an eight-year restoration led by architect and interior designer Aline Asmar d’Amman. Located in the Cannaregio district, the 5-star luxury hotel features 47 rooms, suites, and residences, blending historical frescoes and neogothic details with contemporary sculptures, Murano glass chandeliers, and custom furnishings. The property, owned by Arsenale Group since 2019, includes a transformed courtyard lobby, a secret garden, and a rotating selection of contemporary artworks displayed in a passage called Calle Meraviglia.