What’s on now at San Francisco museums, June 2025

This article from Mission Local provides a roundup of current and upcoming exhibitions at San Francisco museums and galleries in June 2025. Highlights include the reopening of 500 Capp Street with "Mildred Howard Collaborating with the Muses Part 2" and a forthcoming show celebrating the 50th anniversary of Ant Farm's "Media Burn." At the de Young Museum, Henri Matisse's "Jazz Unbound" closes July 6, Isaac Julien's first U.S. retrospective runs until July 13, and Paul McCartney's photography exhibition has been extended to October. SFMOMA's "Around Group f.64" closes July 13, and the Asian Art Museum features "Yuan Goang-Ming: Everyday War" through August 4. The piece also notes Ashley Voss's local gallery guide and a Q&A with Isaac Julien.

Revealed: how Van Gogh's nephew exchanged two of the artist's drawings for butter and bacon

In early 1945, during the Dutch 'Hunger Winter' at the end of World War II, Vincent van Gogh's nephew, Vincent Willem van Gogh, exchanged two of the artist's drawings for 35 packets of butter and some bacon. The swap was arranged with the help of artist Charley Toorop and involved the cheese business Visser Kaas in Heiloo. One of the drawings, *Head of a Peasant Woman, left profile* (December 1884–May 1885), is now being offered at Sotheby's on 25 June with an estimate of £400,000–£600,000, suggesting the pair would be worth around £1 million today. The nephew's family was suffering from starvation and tragedy, including the execution of his eldest son by German forces.

9 Must-See Museum Shows Across the U.S.

The article highlights nine must-see museum exhibitions across the United States for summer 2025, offering escapes from heat and virtual travel through art. Featured shows include "Lisa Yuskavage: Drawings" at the Morgan Library and Museum (June 27, 2025–January 4, 2026), the first comprehensive museum presentation of her drawings; "Gustave Caillebotte: Painting His World" at the Art Institute of Chicago (June 29–October 5, 2025), featuring over 120 works including the recent Musée d'Orsay acquisition *Boating Party*; and "Anicka Yi" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (June 29–September 7, 2025), showcasing the bio-tech artist's imaginative works on karmic debt.

12 things not to miss at Art Basel's bigger and better 2025 event

Art Basel's 2025 edition in Basel features a packed program across the city, including a new Shop with exclusive drops like a limited-edition porcelain Labubu by Kasing Lung, an FC Basel jersey designed by an artist, and rare prints by Daniel Arsham and Amoako Boafo. Highlights include Jordan Wolfson at Fondation Beyeler, Dala Nasser at Kunsthalle Basel, a ghost train by Rebecca Moss and Augustin Rebetez at Museum Tinguely, and the group show Maison Clearing organized by C L E A R I N G. Joyce Joumaa presents a light-based installation at Art Basel Statements, Thomas Bayrle's 1960s installation Coats appears in Parcours, and Alia Farid shows at Unlimited.

On View: 'Jack Whitten: The Messenger' at Museum of Modern Art in New York is First Full Retrospective of Pioneering Artist

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York has opened "Jack Whitten: The Messenger," the first full-scale retrospective of the pioneering abstract artist Jack Whitten (1939-2018). The exhibition features over 175 works spanning six decades, including paintings, sculptures, and works on paper, alongside archival materials. Whitten, known for his inventive techniques such as using squeegees, rakes, and Afro combs to manipulate paint, explored themes of race, identity, history, and technology. Key works include "Birmingham 1964," inspired by the 1963 church bombing, and "9.11.01," responding to the September 11 attacks. The show runs from March 23 to August 2, 2025, exclusively at MoMA.

Basel native Irène Zurkinden makes a long-overdue return

Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger has opened a two-room exhibition dedicated to Basel native Irène Zurkinden (1909-87), her first major hometown show since the 1980s. The exhibition spans portraits, self-portraits, still-lifes, landscapes, drawings, and several sketchbooks on public view for the first time. Zurkinden studied fashion illustration in Basel before finishing her training at Paris’s Académie de la Grande Chaumière, inspired by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. She lived between Paris and Basel and was close friends with Meret Oppenheim, whose portrait by Zurkinden, Meret à l’orange (1932-35), is in Kunstmuseum Basel’s permanent collection and included in the show.

Sotheby’s offers peek at Breuer building’s makeover

Sotheby's has released renderings of its upcoming renovation of Marcel Breuer's former Whitney Museum building at 945 Madison Avenue, which it purchased for $100 million in June 2023. The auction house plans to open in the autumn, in time for its November sales. Renovations, led by Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, include a new service elevator, upgraded lighting and climate systems, and restored gallery floorplans, while preserving the building's landmark-protected exterior and many interior spaces. Charles Simonds's site-specific installation Dwellings (1981) will remain on long-term loan from the Whitney.

With the help of conservators, one of Van Gogh’s finest Arles landscapes will be heading to Japan

Conservator Margje Leeuwestein has examined Vincent van Gogh's "Bridge at Arles (Pont de Langlois)" (March 1888) at the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo to confirm it is fit for travel. The painting will be the centerpiece of an exhibition touring three Japanese cities in 2027. The article details the painting's history, including Van Gogh's intended gift to Hermanus Tersteeg of the Goupil gallery, a later-scraped dedication, and a rare 1929 photograph of the bridge by Johannes Reiher that mirrors the composition.

Visual Arts Review: Great Gallery Shows for Free in NYC – Picasso and Kentridge

Two free art exhibitions in New York City offer deep dives into the work of Pablo Picasso and William Kentridge. At Gagosian Gallery on Madison Avenue, "Picasso: Tête-à-tête" presents a selection of works spanning the artist's career, organized with his daughter Paloma Picasso, including never-before-seen pieces from her collection. The show highlights Picasso's stylistic diversity, his relationships with women like Marie-Thérèse Walter and Olga Khokhlova, and his playful resistance to being pinned down to a single style.

The UAE’s art market is on the up

The UAE's art market is experiencing a resurgence nearly two decades after the 2008 financial crash, driven by a booming economy and strategic investments. Key developments include an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, ADQ, acquiring a $1 billion stake in Sotheby's, and Art Basel announcing a new fair in Doha, Qatar, set to launch in February 2026. Meanwhile, Christie's is expanding its Dubai office, and Saudi Arabia hosted its inaugural Art Week Riyadh in April, featuring 32 commercial galleries. Despite these regional moves, Dubai remains the Gulf's commercial art hub, with Sotheby's chairman Edward Gibbs noting a 70% increase in regional bidders over five years and Christie's president Anthea Peers reporting that sales of modern Middle Eastern art trebled between 2020 and 2024.

Culture Type | The Month in Black Art: Here’s What Happened in May 2025

The May 2025 roundup of Black art news reports the deaths of two influential figures: international curator Koyo Kouoh and artist-curator Evangeline J. Montgomery, who died at 94. Montgomery's career spanned metalwork, fiber art, and photography, and she was a key advocate and mentor in the African American art community, later working at the U.S. Information Agency. Other highlights include historian Edda L. Fields-Black winning a Pulitzer Prize for her book on Harriet Tubman, the acquisition of Adam Pendleton's entire "Who is Queen" installation by MoMA, and Kapwani Kiwanga winning the Joan Miró Prize. The Met Gala also featured Black dandy style inspired by the Costume Institute's exhibition "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style."

Two US ambassadors have displayed Van Goghs in their London residence—but Donald Trump's pick for the job seems unlikely to follow suit

Two former U.S. ambassadors to the UK, John Hay Whitney (1957-61) and Walter Annenberg (1969-74), displayed Van Gogh masterpieces from their personal collections in Winfield House, the official residence in London's Regent's Park. Whitney hung Van Gogh's *Self-portrait* (September 1889) above the mantelpiece in the family dining room, while the Annenbergs placed *La Berceuse* (February 1889) and *Olive Trees* (November 1889) in the green room, alongside works by Gauguin, Degas, Cézanne, Monet, and Renoir. Both ambassadors later donated their Van Goghs to major U.S. museums—Whitney's to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Annenbergs' to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

15 Art Shows to See in Los Angeles This Summer

Los Angeles art institutions are presenting a diverse array of summer exhibitions, ranging from career-spanning surveys to historical reassessments. Highlights include Jeffrey Gibson's beadwork at the Broad, a survey of Barbara T. Smith's early Xerox works at the Marciano Art Foundation, a retrospective of Noah Davis at the Hammer Museum, and a group show at the California African American Museum addressing the legacy of Altadena's Black community after the Eaton Fire. Other notable shows include Nancy Buchanan's retrospective, Will Rawls at the ICA LA, Karl Haendel at the Weisman Museum, and a Jack Kirby exhibition at the Skirball Cultural Center.

15 Art Shows to See in Upstate New York This Summer

This guide highlights 15 art exhibitions across Upstate New York for summer, featuring moody paintings by Emily Pettigrew at Fenimore Art Museum, Native artists exploring time and memory at Hudson River Museum, Renée Green’s conceptual word shuffling at Dia Beacon, and Black history in the Hudson Valley at Vassar College's Loeb. Other shows include Arlene Shechet's intimate sculptures at Catskill Art Space and Larry Fink's photography at CPW in Kingston.

11 Must-See Museum Exhibitions This Summer

This article highlights 11 must-see museum exhibitions for summer 2025, curated by Monica Jae Yeon Moon. Key shows include Melissa Joseph's site-specific installation 'Tender' at the Brooklyn Museum, a comprehensive solo exhibition of 18th-century Dutch still life painter Rachel Ruysch at the Toledo Museum of Art and Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and a queer photography exhibition at the Getty Center. Other notable events include the Venice Architecture Biennale, Berlin Biennale, and Ljubljana Biennial, with a focus on women artists like Emily Kam Kngwarray and Takako Yamaguchi receiving overdue recognition.

Korean artists are taking the world by storm—but why does their work resonate so widely?

Korean artists are gaining unprecedented global recognition, with figures like Haegue Yang, Do Ho Suh, Lee Bul, and Mire Lee leading a shift from traditional Dansaekhwa abstraction to more conceptual and contemporary practices. The article highlights how K-pop and Korean soap operas have boosted cultural awareness, drawing new audiences to events like Frieze Seoul and prompting major international galleries such as White Cube, Perrotin, and Pace to open in Seoul. Curators and scholars note that Korean art now engages deeply with globalization, historical trauma, and sociopolitical change, facilitated by biennials in Gwangju, Busan, and Seoul, as well as a surge in art institutions.

New documentary bringing Metro Pictures gallery to the screen

A new feature documentary, *Pictures of Pictures: The Metro Years*, is being made about the influential New York gallery Metro Pictures. Founded in 1980 by Janelle Reiring and Helene Winer, the gallery represented key artists of the Pictures Generation, including Cindy Sherman, Robert Longo, Louise Lawler, and Walter Robinson. The film, directed by Sophie Chahinian, explores the gallery's four-decade run, its founding principles of integrity and curatorial care over profit, and the personal stories of its artists and founders.

MoMA acquires works featured in monumental Adam Pendleton installation

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has acquired the 35 individual paintings, drawings, and video works that comprised Adam Pendleton's monumental installation *Who Is Queen?* (2019-21), which was on view in the museum's atrium from 2021 to 2022. The installation explored Pendleton's conceptual framework of "Black Dada," a term he first outlined in his *Black Dada Manifesto* (2008), and included works such as *Notes on the Robert E. Lee Monument, Richmond VA (Figure)* (2021), a film reflecting on the 2020 racial justice protests. The acquisition marks a significant institutional commitment to Pendleton's practice, which continues to evolve in his current exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC.

7 Artists Who Capture the Essence of Black Dandyism

The article highlights seven contemporary artists whose work embodies Black dandyism, timed to the 2025 Met Gala theme 'Superfine: Tailoring Black Style' and the corresponding exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. It traces the history of Black dandyism from its 18th-century European roots through its evolution during slavery and the 20th century, emphasizing its role as a defiant, empowering form of self-expression that challenges gender norms and racial stereotypes. Featured artists include Barkley L. Hendricks, Derek Fordjour, and Tyler Mitchell, among others.

As Kazakhstan cautiously strengthens ties with western Europe, new art venues herald a change of direction

Two wealthy Kazakh entrepreneurs, Kairat Boranbayev and Nurlan Smagulov, are opening private art institutions in Almaty this year: the Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture and the Almaty Museum of Arts. The Tselinny Center, designed by British architect Asif Khan, will open in September in a repurposed Soviet-era cinema, while the Almaty Museum of Arts, a 10,000 sq. m building by Chapman Taylor, aims to open the same month. These developments come as Kazakhstan cautiously strengthens ties with western Europe to reduce dependence on Russia, following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and positions itself as an energy supplier to Europe and a logistical hub for China's Belt and Road Initiative.

When—and why—did Van Gogh paint a pair of crabs?

An article explores the story behind Vincent van Gogh's still life "Two Crabs," revealing that the two crabs are likely the same individual—a female Cancer pagurus missing its first pair of walking legs. Paul Clark, a crustacean specialist at London's Natural History Museum, confirmed the sex based on the broad abdomen visible in the painting. The work is on long-term loan to London's National Gallery, where it was recently redisplayed as part of the gallery's major rehang ahead of the Sainsbury Wing reopening on May 10. The article also traces the painting's provenance: it was the first Van Gogh bought by a British collector, William Cherry Robinson, in 1893 for 200 guilders, later sold at auction in 1906 for half that amount, and eventually resold at Sotheby's in 2004 for £5.2 million to an anonymous collector who lent it to the National Gallery.

teamLab in Abu Dhabi, Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader, Vermeer’s final painting?—podcast

The article covers three major art stories: the opening of Christine Sun Kim and Thomas Mader's exhibition "1880 THAT" at the Wellcome Collection in London, which explores the 1880 Milan Conference that banned sign language in Deaf education; the launch of a new teamLab museum in Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Cultural District; and new conservation findings on Johannes Vermeer's "Young Woman seated at a Virginal" (1670-75), which may be his final painting, with 17th-century pollution helping to date the work.

Historical Downtown Icons in ‘Focus’ at Frieze New York

Frieze New York is spotlighting historical downtown icons in a new 'Focus' section at its upcoming fair. The initiative will feature curated presentations of works by artists who were central to New York's downtown art scene, highlighting their enduring influence and the cultural history of the era.

A Brief History of Protest at the Venice Biennale

The article provides a historical overview of protest actions that have taken place at the Venice Biennale, tracing key moments of political and social dissent within the prestigious international art exhibition. It highlights instances where artists, activists, and participating nations have used the Biennale as a platform to challenge authority, address censorship, and critique global issues, from the 1968 student protests to more recent controversies involving national pavilions and institutional policies.

Why Beatriz González’s Haunting Paintings Are More Relevant Than Ever

Why Beatriz González’s Haunting Paintings Are More Relevant Than Ever

A major retrospective of Colombian artist Beatriz González, "Beatriz González: A Retrospective," is touring internationally, with recent stops at the Pérez Art Museum Miami and the Museo de Arte Miguel Urrutia in Bogotá. The exhibition, the largest of her 60-year career, showcases over 150 works, including her iconic paintings that appropriate and rework images from art history and mass media to critique political violence, social inequality, and cultural memory in Colombia.

Remembering Pearl Fryar, Siri Aurdal, and Frank Stack

The art world mourns the loss of several influential figures, including self-taught topiary artist Pearl Fryar, who transformed a South Carolina cornfield into a botanical landmark, and painter Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, known for her politically charged works featured in the Whitney Biennial. The week's memorials also include Norwegian sculptor Siri Aurdal, a pioneer of industrial materials in the 1960s Scandinavian scene, and Frank Stack, the educator and cartoonist credited with creating the first underground comic.

KAWS | ALONG THE WAY (2013) | Art & Prints

This article is a detailed listing for KAWS's sculpture *ALONG THE WAY* (2013), a wood piece measuring 96 7/8 × 75 × 51 1/4 inches, held in the collection of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. It includes the work's exhibition history, the artist's biography (born Brian Donnelly, 1974), his key solo exhibitions at institutions such as the Brooklyn Museum and Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and his high auction record of HK$116 million at Sotheby's in 2019. The listing also features a series of related KAWS works available at auction houses including Christie's, Phillips, and Heritage Auctions.

UAE art guide: 12 museum and gallery exhibitions to see, including Gallery Isabelle's 20th anniversary show

The UAE art scene is currently hosting a diverse array of exhibitions across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah, despite regional disruptions. Key highlights include a major Picasso retrospective at Louvre Abu Dhabi, a 10th-century anniversary celebration at 421 Arts Campus titled 'Rays, Ripples, Residue,' and the inaugural photography exhibition at Sharjah Art Foundation’s new Al Manakh venue. These shows range from historical surveys of the human form to contemporary explorations of UAE’s urban development and climate change.

the first gulf quinquennial in the uae argues for a less is best approach to group shows

NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery has launched its first Gulf Quinquennial, titled "Between the Tides," featuring around 30 artists from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. The exhibition presents a coherent selection of videos, installations, paintings, and traditional record-keeping practices, aiming to deepen and complicate the cultural narrative of the Arabian Peninsula by highlighting its diversity, linguistic interactions, and migrant labor.

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.