Thoroughly Modern Maastricht: why Tefaf is embracing the 20th century

TEFAF Maastricht is reinforcing its position as a premier destination for high-end collectors by increasingly integrating 20th-century secondary market material alongside its traditional Old Masters and antiquities. Despite a period of leadership instability—marked by the recent departure of managing director Dominique Savelkoul after less than a year—the fair remains a critical fixture for 276 exhibitors. This year's edition highlights a diverse range of objects spanning 7,000 years, from Neolithic pottery to contemporary photography and high jewelry worn by celebrities like Helen Mirren.

The Big Review | Monuments, The Geffen Contemporary at Moca and The Brick, Los Angeles ★★★★★

A major exhibition titled 'Monuments' is on view at two Los Angeles venues, The Geffen Contemporary at Moca and The Brick. The show places nine decommissioned Confederate monuments, some already defaced, into dialogue with works by 19 contemporary artists, most of whom are Black. The centerpiece is Kara Walker's 'Unmanned Drone' (2023), a radical reworking of a removed statue of Confederate general Stonewall Jackson, which occupies its own venue at The Brick.

Master Drawings New York marks 20th anniversary as both fair and market expand

Master Drawings New York (MDNY) marks its 20th edition this month, founded in 2006 by London dealers Crispian Riley-Smith and Margot Gordon and acquired in 2023 by dealer Christopher Bishop. The fair focuses on works on paper from the 15th century to today, also including painting, sculpture, and photography. This year features 36 dealers across two dozen Upper East Side gallery spaces, with ten new exhibitors from Europe, making it the most geographically diverse edition yet. Programming includes a highlights catalogue of 20 important works sold during previous editions that ended up in major collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Getty.

Rock star’s first art exhibit a bright, brash pop culture provocation at CT gallery

Rob Zombie, the heavy metal musician and filmmaker, is holding his first-ever visual art exhibition, "What Lurks on Channel X?", at the Morrison Gallery in Kent, Connecticut, through November 16. The show features 18 large-scale paintings created between 2012 and 2020, drawing on pop culture, horror, and crime iconography. Zombie briefly studied at the Parsons School of Design before leaving to pursue music and film.

In a risk-averse market, Paris Photo offers diversity

Paris Photo returns to the Grand Palais for its 28th edition, featuring 220 exhibitors from 33 countries, including 178 galleries and 42 publishers. The fair opens amid a risk-averse market where dealers report slower acquisitions, increased production costs, and reduced collector risk-taking, yet attendance reached 81,000 in 2024. Notable trends include a resurgence of Japanese galleries after a five-year absence, strong Latin American presentations from Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Santiago, and Mexico City, and a rise in women artists to 39% of practitioners, up from 20% in 2018. Highlights include MEM's exhibition of the August 6 Hiroshima Day student photography project and Claudia Andujar's Yanomami works shown by Galeria Vermelho.

Explore 200 Years of American Art at the PEM

The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, is hosting "Making History: 200 Years of American Art," an exhibition organized by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) and on view through September 21, 2025. The show features 85 original works by American artists, including Charles Willson Peale's *The Artist in His Museum*, Patience Wright's wax sculpture of George Washington, and portraits of Ruth St. Denis and Mrs. Chase. PEM's curators have reimagined the exhibition with local relevance and immersive design, and the final gallery invites visitors to contribute personal reflections on history.

Anonymous image makers, New York nights and confronting the colonial: three photography shows to see at Les Rencontres d'Arles

The article highlights three photography exhibitions at the 2025 Rencontres d'Arles festival, titled "Disobedient Images." The first show features the late David Armstrong, a Boston School photographer, with vintage prints and contact sheets capturing 1970s-80s New York counterculture. The second, "On Country: Photography from Australia," presents works by Indigenous and non-Indigenous photographers that challenge colonial narratives and explore First Peoples' connection to land. The festival runs across multiple venues in Arles through summer and fall.

Finnish gallery Makasiini Contemporary will open a new gallery space in Helsinki.

Finnish gallery Makasiini Contemporary has announced it will open a new location in Helsinki this fall, after eight years in Turku. The 8,000-square-foot space, located in Helsinki's historic Train Factory in Pasila, will debut on September 19 with three simultaneous exhibitions: solo shows by Spanish painter Jorge Galindo and Canadian painter Cindy Phenix, plus a group exhibition featuring artists from the gallery's roster. Founded in 2016 by Frej Forsblom, the gallery also maintains its flagship in Turku's former governor's stables, built in 1832.

New Manhattan gallery slips into historic property

Slip House, a new Manhattan gallery co-founded by Ingrid Lundgren and Marissa Dembkoski, has opened in a historic carriage house on East 5th Street. Its inaugural group exhibition, "As if a line" (9 May–14 June), features a cross-generational lineup of painters including Jack Whitten, Claude Viallat, and emerging talents like Lizzy Gabay and Alix Vernet. The show was organized with former Sprüth Magers director Jessica Draper, and the space also includes lamps by ceramicist Gordon Moore on consignment. The building, built in the 1880s, once belonged to fashion designer and artist Charles Kritsky, who allegedly had Jean-Michel Basquiat contribute to its penny mosaic facade.

125 years of ceramic art at the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum

The Alfred Ceramic Art Museum will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University with an exhibition titled *History: A Legacy in Motion, Alfred Ceramic Art 1900–2025*. Running from May 8 to December 14, 2025, the show features works by principal artist-teachers who shaped the institution, including Charles Fergus Binns, whose early pottery launched American studio ceramics. The exhibition also highlights masterpieces by current and recently retired faculty, curated by Benjamin Evans and Director Wayne Higby.

Pioneering Pop Surrealist Gallery in Seattle Celebrates Reopening With Three Exhibitions in New Space

Roq La Rue, a pioneering gallery in Seattle's art scene known for championing Pop Surrealism and New Contemporary movements, has reopened in a new space in the Belltown neighborhood—its eighth location in 27 years. The reopening was celebrated with three simultaneous exhibitions: a solo show by Frank Gonzales titled "Frequencies," a group show of small works called "Spectacle du Petit," and a four-person exhibition "Unveiled" featuring large-scale works by Beth Cavener, Josie Morway, Carles Gomila, and Jason Puccinelli. Founder Kirsten Anderson described the renovated space as an "elevated, elegant" oasis with a book nook and coffee to encourage visitors to linger.

The Château de Breteuil upgrades its offering

Le château de Breteuil monte en gamme

François and Pauline de Breteuil, the son and daughter-in-law of the 10th Marquis de Breteuil, have initiated a strategic shift for the centuries-old Château de Breteuil in the Chevreuse Valley, one year after taking over the family estate. They are moving the château's positioning away from its previous focus on family tourism and Perrault's fairy tales toward a more museum-like and prestigious experience. This 'upgrading' includes the opening of a new on-site restaurant, the Café d'Achille, and the redecoration of four rooms by interior designer Jacques Garcia, creating period rooms dedicated to the 18th century, Marie Antoinette, and the Empire style.

The Major Exhibitions at LUMA Arles in France: Zaha Hadid, Gerhard Richter and Patti Smith

Le grandi mostre al LUMA di Arles in Francia: Zaha Hadid, Gerhard Richter e Patti Smith

LUMA Arles in France will launch a new exhibition cycle on May 1, 2026, followed by a second series starting July 4. The program, presented by CEO Mustapha Bouhayati and artistic director Vassilis Oikonomopoulos, includes a major show of Gerhard Richter's "Overpainted Photographs" in the Frank Gehry-designed tower, a Zaha Hadid retrospective titled "I Think There Should Be No End to Experimentation" marking the tenth anniversary of her death, and a centennial celebration of the influential art magazine Cahiers d'Art. The exhibitions aim to bridge visual arts with music, performance, and live events, bringing together voices from diverse geographies and disciplines.

The Unnameable Artists of the Canton Trade System

Art historian Winnie Wong’s new book, *The Many Names of Anonymity: Portraitists of the Canton Trade*, investigates the lives and legacies of 18th and 19th-century Chinese artists who produced works for Western traders under the Canton system. These artists, often dismissed by history as mere copyists or left anonymous in museum "tombstone" labels, created complex works that blended European techniques with Chinese traditions. Wong challenges the reductive category of "Asian export art," proposing instead the term "Canton trade painting" to better reflect the unique atmosphere of cultural exchange in Guangzhou.

Is There an Ethical Path for AI Art?

An exhibition at Rice University's Moody Center for the Arts, titled 'Imaging after Photography', presents work by seven contemporary artists who use artificial intelligence in ethically considered ways. The show argues we are in a post-photographic moment where AI disrupts the link between photorealism and reality, and features artists who train their algorithms on their own images or public domain datasets to avoid plagiarism.

Pat Oleszko “Fool Disclosure” at SculptureCenter, New York

Pat Oleszko has opened a major solo exhibition, "Fool Disclosure," at SculptureCenter in New York. The show features her signature sculptures and costumes, which are designed to be activated through performance, and includes new works created specifically for the presentation.

The Art and History Museum of Sainte-Anne Hospital showcases the emblematic works by artist-patients.

The Museum of Art and History of Sainte-Anne Hospital (MAHHSA) in Paris is presenting an exhibition titled "Masterpieces at the Heart of the Sainte-Anne Collection" from April 16 to July 26, 2026. The show features 145 works by artist-patients from the 19th century to today, including pieces by Aloïse Corbaz, Unica Zürn, Guillaume Pujolle, Maurice Blin, and Caroline Macdonald. Curated by Anne-Marie Dubois, the exhibition is organized into six thematic sections—such as "History of asylum and refuge" and "Imaginary universes"—to allow the works to dialogue without being reduced to the artists' illnesses. The museum also highlights Yayoi Kusama, who has long described her art as therapy.

Millon Takes Over Pierre Bergé & Associés

Millon reprend Pierre Bergé & Associés

The Millon Auction Group has acquired Pierre Bergé & Associés (PBA), becoming the sole shareholder of the historic house founded in 2002. This acquisition follows a turbulent period for PBA, which was placed in receivership in 2023 and briefly owned by Alexandre Landre after being embroiled in a high-profile antiquities trafficking scandal. Under the leadership of Alexandre Millon and newly appointed Managing Director Marc Chochon, the firm plans to return to Drouot and focus on prestigious collections and rare books.

A Dismembered Album by Gerard van Honthorst (1592-1656): Unpublished Drawings and Reconstruction of a Corpus

Un album démembré de Gerard van Honthorst (1592-1656) : dessins inédits et reconstitution d'un corpus

An article in La Tribune de l'Art presents a significant expansion of the known corpus of drawings by Dutch Golden Age painter Gerard van Honthorst (1592-1656). Following the 2014 exhibition of twenty-seven drawings identified by the author, this study adds thirty-two more sheets—twenty-two of which are previously unpublished—as a preliminary step toward reconstructing a dismembered album. The research, conducted with direct observation and advanced imaging techniques (digital microscopy, ultraviolet, raking light), aims to restore the album's original order and shed light on the role of drawing in Honthorst's workshop and creative process.

Au musée de l’Image d’Épinal, les talents multiples de Frans Masereel, entre autres inventeur du roman graphique

The Musée de l'Image d'Épinal is presenting a comprehensive exhibition on Belgian artist Frans Masereel (1889–1972), widely credited as the inventor of the graphic novel in 1918 with his wordless narratives composed of black-and-white woodcuts. The show, curated by Samuel Dégardin, brings together loans from major institutions and a private collection to reveal the full breadth of Masereel's practice, which spanned drawing, animation, painting, theater, ceramics, tapestry, and satirical press illustration. It highlights his pacifist activism during World War I, his collaborations with writers such as Stefan Zweig and Romain Rolland, and his humanist vision of a unified Europe.

Château-Chinon unveils the astonishing gifts of President François Mitterrand

Château-Chinon déballe les étonnants cadeaux du président François Mitterrand

The Cité des présents-François Mitterrand, formerly the Musée du Septennat, has reopened in Château-Chinon, France, after a renovation. The museum displays thousands of diplomatic gifts received by President François Mitterrand during his 14-year tenure (1981–1995), including a portrait of Prince Charles, a vermeil oasis from the king of Saudi Arabia, and taxidermy lions from the Central African Republic. The collection of 4,800 objects spans 80 countries, with one-third donated by French citizens. The site also houses a fashion museum featuring 5,000 pieces from the 17th century to contemporary designers like Alexis Mabille and Yves Saint Laurent.

Victorien Bornéat : « De l’échec de la démocratisation culturelle est né un sentiment d’exclusion »

Victorien Bornéat has published a manifesto arguing that French cultural democratization policy, rooted in André Malraux's vision of making masterworks accessible to all, has failed. He cites budget cuts by regional presidents Laurent Wauquiez and Christelle Morançais, police raids on bookshops like Violette and Co, and statistical studies showing that working-class audiences still do not spontaneously attend theaters, museums, or opera. Bornéat contends that the policy's emphasis on direct confrontation with canonical works ignored the need for cultural codes and institutional literacy, creating an exclusion that politicians now exploit for electoral gain.

Meet the Former Monk Taking Over Venice During This Year’s Biennale

Wallace Chan, a Hong Kong-born sculptor and jeweler who once lived as a Buddhist monk, is presenting his latest exhibition “Vessels of Other Worlds” at the Chapel of Santa Maria della Pietà in Venice on May 8, coinciding with his 70th birthday and the Venice Biennale, followed by a show at Shanghai’s Long Museum on July 18. The exhibition features three monumental titanium sculptures standing seven, eight, and 10 meters tall, evoking religious oil vessels, and explores themes of birth, growth, and rebirth through the demanding medium of titanium, which Chan describes as the material closest to eternity.

art charles porch instagram art collecting

Charles Porch, VP of Global Partnerships for Instagram, moved from Venice Beach to a historic West Village brownstone in 2020. He enlisted sculptor-turned-designer Jed Lind to renovate the property, blending vintage furnishings with contemporary artworks collected from emerging artists. The home features pieces by Pierre Augustin Rose, Michael O’Connell, and artworks by Whitney Bedford, Robert Natkin, and Brett Cody Rogers. Porch later married Robert Denning, a philanthropist on the Met’s Board of Trustees, and the couple has since moved to a Chelsea space, combining their collections.

Thomas Hart Benton, Jessie Wlicox Smith announced for shows at Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, co-founded by filmmaker George Lucas and businesswoman Mellody Hobson, has announced its inaugural exhibitions. The ambitious survey will feature over 1,200 works from a founding collection of more than 40,000 objects, including pieces by Thomas Hart Benton and Jessie Wilcox Smith. The museum is housed in a 300,000-square-foot building designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec.

Arts and cultural engagement ‘linked to slower pace of biological ageing’

A new study published in the journal *Innovation in Aging* finds that engaging in arts and cultural activities—such as singing, painting, visiting museums or galleries—is linked to a slower pace of biological ageing. Researchers from University College London analyzed blood test and survey data from 3,556 adults in the UK Household Longitudinal Study, using epigenetic clocks to measure biological ageing. Those who participated in arts activities at least weekly showed a 4% slower ageing process, while monthly engagement yielded a 3% slowdown. The effect was comparable to the difference between smokers and those who quit smoking.

Senior Art Exhibition 2026 Showcases the ‘Incredible Crossroads’ of Studio Art Majors

The Senior Art Exhibition 2026 at Colby College Museum of Art's Joan Dignam Schmaltz Gallery of Art in Waterville showcases capstone projects from 17 graduating studio art majors. The works span painting, photography, printmaking, digital media, and sculpture, created after a yearlong capstone course coordinated by Associate Professor Bradley Borthwick. The exhibition runs through May 23 and includes a catalog with artist statements and critical essays.

Who is Gladys Hynes? Show reinstates forgotten artist who once represented Britain at the Venice Biennale

The exhibition "Gladys Hynes: Radical Lives" opens this month at Charleston in Lewes, aiming to resurrect the career of Gladys Hynes (1888-1958), a forgotten artist who once represented Britain at the 1924 Venice Biennale. The show brings together 120 paintings, drawings, graphic designs, and sculptural pieces, including works by Hynes and her contemporaries, curated by Sacha Llewellyn. Hynes trained with Stanhope Forbes, Frank Brangwyn, and William Nicholson, worked with Roger Fry's Omega Workshops, associated with Wyndham Lewis and the Vorticists, and was commissioned by Ezra Pound to illustrate his Cantos. Despite her achievements, only one of her paintings is in a British public collection.

Read a book, flip off a Nazi: when reading meant resistance – in pictures

A new exhibition at Poster House in New York, titled "Reading Under Fire: Arming Minds & Hearts During Wartime," showcases vintage posters from World War I and World War II that promoted reading and book donations to support troops. The posters, drawn from the collections of the American Library Association, the YMCA, and other organizations, encouraged the public to supply soldiers with reading material as a form of morale-boosting and education. The exhibition runs until 1 November and is curated by Molly Guptill Manning.

Mysterious Lake District barn joins national treasures on heritage list

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has granted Grade II* listed status to "Henry’s Castle," a mysterious limestone structure in the Lake District previously used as a livestock shelter. Following a four-year restoration project involving archaeologists and conservation engineers, experts identified high-status architectural features including a 14th-century oak roof truss, a corbelled chimneystack, and a garderobe. These elements suggest the building was originally a significant residence, such as a hunting lodge or a lookout dwelling, rather than a simple barn.