Edgar Calel Honored with $75,000 Sam Gilliam Award

The Dia Art Foundation and the Sam Gilliam Foundation have announced Edgar Calel as the winner of the 2026 Sam Gilliam Award. The Guatemala-based artist and poet, born in 1987 in Chi Xot (San Juan Comalapa), will receive $75,000 and participate in a public program at a Dia location this fall. Calel, of Maya Kaqchikel heritage, works across painting, drawing, sculpture, and performance, and is known for monumental installations reflecting Mayan cosmovision and themes of ownership and stewardship. He was selected by a panel including Dia curators Jordan Carter and Matilde Guidelli-Guidi, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Annie Gawlak, Shanay Jhaveri, and Clara Kim.

Art Basel Qatar Taps Former Mathaf Director Wassan Al-Khudhairi to Shape 2027 Fair

Art Basel has appointed Iraqi curator Wassan Al-Khudhairi as artistic director for the 2027 edition of Art Basel Qatar, succeeding Egyptian artist Wael Shawky who shaped the inaugural edition. The fair will take place January 28–30, 2027, with preview days on January 26–27, at Doha Design District and M7 in Msheireb Downtown Doha. Al-Khudhairi, former founding director of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, brings deep ties to Qatar and international curatorial experience from biennials including Gwangju and the Asian Art Biennial.

The art world remembers Valie Export, Austrian pioneer of feminist performance art

VALIE EXPORT, the Austrian pioneer of feminist performance art, died on 14 May, three days before her 86th birthday. Her death was confirmed by her representative, Thaddaeus Ropac. Born Waltraud Lehner in Linz in 1940, she developed a radical artistic language centered on the female body, known for works such as *Tap and Touch Cinema* (1968–1971) and *Body Configurations* (1972–1976). Tributes have poured in from artists, writers, and institutions, including the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin and the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, where director Stella Rollig noted their ongoing collaboration on the exhibition *Feminist Futures Forever*.

Accumulations: A Conversation

On March 16, 2026, e-flux Screening Room presented “Viscosities,” a program of moving-image works by artist Lucy Beech, followed by a conversation between Beech, Lukas Brasiskis, and the audience. The discussion, edited for publication, explores Beech's concepts of accumulation and viscosity, drawing from Trisha Brown's 1971 performance *Accumulation* to describe how her work builds complex sequences through additive materials. Beech discusses her film *Flush*, which examines freemartin cows studied by eugenics-linked scientists, and its connection to endocrinology and IVF. She also addresses her reuse of materials, collaboration with James Richards on *A Map of the Pit*, and her film *Out of Body*, which uses imaging technologies to trace hidden industrial and biological flows, including urine-derived hormones from the Dutch program Moeders voor Moeders.

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Author of Uncategorizable Abstractions, Dies at 84

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, an activist, educator, and artist known for her monumental lampblack paintings that expanded the possibilities of abstraction, died on May 10 in Mérida, Mexico, at age 84. Despite a six-decade career, she was long considered an "artist's artist" before gaining international acclaim in recent years, with major exhibitions at Mnuchin Gallery, Marianne Boesky Gallery, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and inclusion in the 2024 Whitney Biennial and the 2025 group show "Paris Noir" at the Centre Pompidou.

Robert Mnuchin’s Storied Art Gallery Townhouse Lists for $35 Million

The six-story, 17,600-square-foot Upper East Side townhouse that housed Robert Mnuchin's blue-chip gallery for over three decades has been listed for $35 million. Mnuchin and his second wife Adriana bought the 106-year-old property in 1983, and after an 18-month renovation, they lived there for 12 years before the gallery occupied the space from 1992 until Mnuchin's death in 2024. The gallery hosted major shows for artists including Willem de Kooning, Jeff Koons, Ed Clark, and Mary Lovelace O'Neal. The listing comes just months after the announcement that Mnuchin Gallery would close, and four months after Sotheby's sold $166.3 million worth of art from Mnuchin's collection.

Robert Mnuchin’s Rothko Sells at Sotheby’s for $85.8 M., Narrowly Missing a Record

A Mark Rothko painting, *Brown and Blacks in Reds* (1957), formerly owned by the late influential art dealer Robert Mnuchin, sold at Sotheby’s on Thursday night for $85.8 million. The work hammered at $74 million, falling short of the upper end of its $70–$100 million estimate, but with premium fees it became the second-most expensive Rothko ever sold at auction, narrowly missing the artist’s record of $86.9 million set by *Orange, Red, Yellow* (1961) in 2012. The painting was part of a sale devoted to Mnuchin’s collection, which also included works by Willem de Kooning, Pablo Picasso, Franz Kline, and Jeff Koons.

Behold! Nina Simone’s chewing gum! Inside the show celebrating extreme pop fandom

The Guardian reports on 'Holy Pop,' a new exhibition at London's Somerset House that celebrates extreme pop fandom through personal shrines and collections. The show features photographer Alice Hawkins's Dolly Parton shrine, including leaves from Parton's garden and hair extensions, alongside artifacts from fans of Prince, the Spice Girls, George Michael, Marc Bolan, and others. Curated by Tory Turk, the exhibition includes visual art by Graham Dolphin and Tox26, as well as films and photos of fans visiting stars' graves and impromptu memorials.

‘I can use it, I can abuse it’: Tony Albert spent decades collecting racist ‘Aboriginalia’. Now he wants to turn yours into art

Tony Albert, a 45-year-old artist of Girramay, Yidinji, and Kuku-Yalanji heritage, has spent decades collecting thousands of objects he terms 'Aboriginalia'—kitsch, caricatured, and often racist depictions of Aboriginal people created by non-Indigenous Australians. His solo exhibition 'Not a Souvenir' opens at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Sydney on 21 May, showcasing over 3,000 items from his collection alongside transformed artworks. The MCA is inviting the public to donate additional Aboriginalia items to Albert's collection, which is housed in his Brisbane studio.

Phillips’ $115.2 Million Evening Sale Was a Testament to the Power of Pre-Planning and Priority Bidding

Phillips’ Modern & Contemporary Art Evening Sale on May 19 achieved a white-glove result, totaling $115.2 million across 41 lots—a 122 percent increase from May 2025. The sale saw strong performances from works by Lee Bontecou, Salman Toor, and Cecily Brown, with Bontecou’s 1985 pastel on canvas setting a record for a two-dimensional work by the artist at $4.2 million. Other top lots included Andy Warhol’s *Sixteen Jackies* (1964) at $16.2 million, a Monet landscape at $9.3 million, and a Joan Mitchell at $6.9 million. Notably, less than half of the lots were guaranteed, with Phillips’ Priority Bidding incentive—offering a 4 percent discount on buyer’s premium—contributing to the strong results, as more than half of the lots attracted such bids.

Frieze New York 2026 Reports Major Sales and Acquisitions

Frieze New York 2026 closed its 15th edition at The Shed on May 17, drawing 25,000 visitors from 75 countries and featuring 68 galleries from 26 countries. The fair reported strong sales across market levels, including seven-figure transactions such as El Anatsui's *LuwVor I* sold by White Cube for $2.2 million and Georg Baselitz's *Stunde der Nachtigall* sold by Thaddaeus Ropac for €1.4 million. The inaugural Sherman Family Foundation Acquisition Fund enabled acquisitions by the Brooklyn Museum and the Baltimore Museum of Art, with works by Bettina, Reika Takebayashi, Seba Calfuqueo, and Joanne Burke. Several galleries, including Johyun Gallery and James Cohan, reported sold-out or near-sell-out booths.

New York Art Week 2026 Frieze And TEFAF Report

New York Art Week 2026 featured major art fairs including Frieze New York at The Shed, which drew 25,000 visitors from 75 countries and launched the Sherman Family Foundation Acquisition Fund, placing works by four artists into the Brooklyn Museum and Baltimore Museum of Art. TEFAF New York at the Park Avenue Armory presented over 90 international galleries across historic period rooms, while satellite fairs Independent, NADA New York, and 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair offered focused alternatives. Auction houses Sotheby's, Christie's, and Phillips opened free spring sale previews featuring highlights such as Roy Lichtenstein's 'Anxious Girl' and the Lewis Collection.

New York Is About to Sell $3 Billion in Art. Who’s Buying?

Vanity Fair's Nate Freeman reports on New York's spring art season, where auction houses are poised to sell at least $2.6 billion in art alongside major museum exhibitions (Raphael at the Met, Duchamp at MoMA, Matisse at Acquavella) and the opening of Frieze New York at The Shed. The article follows the social and commercial frenzy, highlighting a David Shrigley gong installation at Anton Kern Gallery's booth and the enduring dominance of New York, where nearly 90% of U.S. art sales occur.

Sotheby’s $433 Million Contemporary Evening and Mnuchin Sales Kicked Off New York’s May Marquee Auctions

Sotheby's held two major evening sales in New York—the Mnuchin collection sale and The Now & Contemporary Evening Auction—generating a combined $433.1 million. The Mnuchin sale achieved a white-glove result of $166.3 million, led by Mark Rothko's *Brown and Blacks in Reds* (1957) which sold for $85.8 million, while the contemporary auction reached $266.8 million, with Jean-Michel Basquiat's *Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown)* as the top lot. The results fell within presale estimates but marked a 133% increase over last May's contemporary sales.

Art in America’s Summer Issue Features 20 “New Talent” Artists, Juicy Art Heist Stories, and More

Art in America's Summer issue features 20 emerging artists in its annual "New Talent" portfolio, selected by the magazine's editors. The issue also includes a feature on art heist stories by Jackson Arn, an essay on systems art by Emily Watlington, and a piece on tragicomic times by Eugenie Brinkema. Additional content includes a tribute to Henrike Naumann, a spotlight on Olga Fröbe-Kapteyn, a book review of Trevor Paglen's latest work, and departments covering museum and gallery worker perspectives, a Frick Collection vs. Morgan Library comparison, and a summer reading list of art-themed novels.

‘Surfers say, that board is so sick!’ The French artist redesigning the surfboard like you’ve never seen before

French designer and musician Lucas Lecacheur is creating wildly unconventional yet functional surfboards and skateboards, including a split board resembling crab pincers, a stingray-like shape, and a Brutalist board. Currently in Australia for Melbourne Design Week, Lecacheur is living and working out of At The Above gallery in Fitzroy, where he is crafting new boards like the cowboy boot-nosed Château Rouge. His designs, made with traditional materials like fiberglass, push the boundaries of surfboard norms while remaining rideable.

The Night of Records at Christie’s in New York. Here’s How the Mega Art Auction of More Than a Billion Dollars Went

La notte dei record di Christie’s a New York. Ecco com’è andata la mega asta d’arte da più di un miliardo di dollari

On May 18, 2026, Christie’s in New York held a landmark evening auction that surpassed $1.1 billion in total sales, driven by two sessions: Masterpieces: The Private Collection of S.I. Newhouse and a sale of 20th-century art. The Newhouse collection alone brought in $631 million, making it the second most valuable collection ever sold at auction, behind Paul Allen’s $1.7 billion sale in 2022. Record prices were set for Jackson Pollock’s Number 7A, 1948, which sold for $181.2 million, and Constantin Brancusi’s Danaïde (1913), which fetched $107.6 million, a record for a sculpture at auction. Other artists achieving strong results included Mark Rothko, Joan Miró, and Alice Neel.

Edgar Calel wins 2026 Sam Gilliam Award

Edgar Calel, a Maya Kaqchikel artist from Chi Xot, Guatemala, has been awarded the 2026 Sam Gilliam Award, as announced by the Dia Art Foundation and the Sam Gilliam Foundation. The prize includes $75,000 and a public programme at a Dia Foundation location this autumn. Calel’s multidisciplinary practice—spanning drawing, sculpture, installation, and performance—centers on ancestral knowledge, Indigenous experience, and the legacies of colonialism. He was selected by a jury of curators and foundation leaders, including Jessica Morgan, director of the Dia Art Foundation.

Emma and Chloe Fineman Talk Prosthetic Boobs, Bible Sluts, and Late-Life Lesbianism

Emma Fineman, a visual artist based in London, is presenting her first solo show at Alexander Berggruen gallery in New York, on view through June 24. The exhibition features 18 paintings that explore her queer identity and self-acceptance, drawing from Christian mythology and the Book of Genesis to celebrate female desire. In a conversation with her sister Chloe Fineman, a cast member on SNL, the two discuss their creative processes, the overlap between comedy and painting, and how they support each other through artistic blocks.

Paloma Elsesser, Joan Jonas, and Isha Ambani Descended Upon Beacon for a Day at Dia

On a warm spring Saturday, the Dia Art Foundation hosted its annual Spring Benefit at Dia Beacon, drawing a cross-disciplinary crowd of artists, curators, museum leaders, and fashion figures. The event celebrated the opening of seven major exhibitions across the Beacon campus, featuring works by John Chamberlain, Lee Ufan, Kishio Suga, and Jack Whitten, and marked the rollout of a new partnership with Chanel. Guests explored over 20 galleries, enjoyed a seasonal lunch amid Chamberlain's sculptures, and participated in a special children's program, all set within the former Nabisco box-printing factory along the Hudson River.

Sotheby’s $304M Modern Evening Auction Confirms the Market Has Found Its Footing

Sotheby's Modern Evening Auction on May 19 achieved $304 million with a 98% sell-through rate across 45 lots, more than doubling the total from the equivalent sale in November. The auction was anchored by fresh-to-market masterpieces, including Henri Matisse's "La Chaise Lorraine" from the Barbier-Müller collection, which sold for $48.4 million—the second-highest price for a Matisse painting at auction. Other highlights included works from the Enrico Donati collection, which generated a combined $58.9 million, and Pablo Picasso's "Arlequin (Buste)" (1909) selling for $42.6 million. The sale contributed to a running combined total of $839.6 million for Sotheby's marquee sales, following strong results from the Mnuchin collection and Contemporary Day Auction.

A Major Martin Puryear Retrospective Reveals an Artist Who Has Never Stopped Evolving

The Cleveland Museum of Art has opened "Nexus," a major retrospective of Martin Puryear featuring over 50 works, the first comprehensive survey of the artist's career in some time. The exhibition includes rarely displayed early pieces from Puryear's personal collection alongside recent works, organized in consultation with the 84-year-old artist. Highlights include the titular 1979 piece "Nexus" made of Alaskan yellow cedar, and other works like "Night and Day" and "Alien Huddle" that showcase his mastery of wood and cold-molding techniques.

'V' from 'Hockney's Alphabet' , 1991

This article is a sales listing for David Hockney's limited-edition lithograph 'V' from the 1991 portfolio 'Hockney's Alphabet', offered by Baldwin gallery for £1,850. The work is signed by the artist and editor, comes with a certificate of authenticity, and is printed on Exhibition Fine Art Cartridge paper in an edition of 250. The listing includes a biography of Hockney, noting his iconic California pool paintings, his record-breaking $90.3 million sale at Christie's in 2018, and his representation by major international galleries.

Rothko from Robert Mnuchin collection fetches US$85.8m, becoming artist’s second-priciest work at auction

A red-and-black Mark Rothko painting, *Brown and Blacks in Reds* (1957), sold for US$85.8 million at Sotheby’s New York on May 14, becoming the artist’s second-most expensive work at auction. The canvas came from the collection of Robert Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner turned gallerist, and was the star lot of a dedicated 11-lot evening sale that totaled US$166.3 million. The winning bid was placed by Sotheby’s chairman Helena Newman on behalf of a telephone client, with the hammer falling at US$74 million against an estimate of US$70–100 million. The painting was originally owned by Joseph E. Seagram & Sons and hung in the lobby of the Seagram Building, a landmark of corporate modernism designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson.

Spain Threatens to Oust Reina Sofía Director Over Missing Artworks and Finances

Spain’s government has escalated pressure on the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, demanding a complete inventory of its 25,000-plus artworks by December 31, 2026. A parliamentary oversight committee passed a resolution backed by the conservative Popular Party and far-right, warning that failure to comply could lead to the removal of museum director Manuel Segade. The resolution calls for a full audit of holdings, including loans and missing pieces, and updated financial valuations. The museum faces years of criticism from Spain’s Court of Auditors over weak internal controls and tracking issues, including a 2021 donation that can no longer be fully accounted for.

Citing Epstein Ties, Wexner Union Demands Leslie Wexner’s Name be Dropped from Art Center

Members of the Wexner Center for the Arts union, Wexner Workers United, have formally demanded that Ohio State University remove Leslie Wexner's name from the art center. In a letter posted on Instagram, the union cites Wexner's documented ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, noting his name appears over 1,300 times in Department of Justice files. The union argues that the connection meets the university's criteria for renaming, and that staff face daily harassment while artists refuse to collaborate due to the Epstein association.

A New Residency Aims to Give Indigenous Artists the Tools to Make Art in Neon

The Walker Youngbird Foundation, a Native-led nonprofit, has launched a new residency program in collaboration with Lite Brite Neon Studio in Kingston, New York, aimed at giving Indigenous artists the opportunity to create work in neon for the first time. The inaugural resident is Sarah Rowe (Ponca Tribe of Nebraska), a painter and installation artist selected from over 100 applicants. The residency is valued at around $50,000 per cycle, covering fabrication, travel, lodging, a $10,000 stipend, and full ownership of the artwork and intellectual property. The program was inspired by foundation founder Reid Walker's acquisition of neon works by artists such as Watt and Jeffrey Gibson.

‘Woman Impressionist’ No More: A New Catalogue Raisonné Restores Eva Gonzalès’s Legacy

The Wildenstein Plattner Institute (WPI) has released a new digital catalogue raisonné for French painter Eva Gonzalès, correcting long-standing misattributions and omissions from the 1990 printed edition. The project reattributes works like *Apples in Basket* (previously assigned to Belgian painter Isidore Verheyden) and adds newly discovered pieces, including a portrait of Madame Georges Haquette and Gonzalès’s sketchbooks now held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. WPI executive director Elizabeth Gorayeb emphasizes that the digital format allows for iterative updates and brings overlooked figures in Gonzalès’s orbit to light.

The New Costume Institute Show Gets Under the Skin

The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has opened its 2026 spring exhibition, “Costume Art,” which explores the relationship between clothing and the human body through pairings of couture with artworks spanning 5,000 years. Curated by Andrew Bolton, the show is divided into thematic chapters such as “Nude Body,” “Disabled Body,” “Aging Body,” and “Anatomical Body,” featuring pieces from designers like Dior, John Galliano for Maison Margiela, and Renata Buzzo alongside historical artifacts and contemporary art.

New residency in upstate New York will give Indigenous artists access to neon fabrication studio

Lite Brite Neon Studio in Kingston, New York, has partnered with the Walker Youngbird Foundation to launch Native Neon, a residency program providing Indigenous artists with access to neon fabrication. The inaugural recipient is Sarah Rowe, an enrolled member of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska and of Lakota descent, who receives $50,000, a $10,000 stipend, and a week-long residency to create an immersive neon environment. The studio, known for collaborations with artists like Glenn Ligon and Jeffrey Gibson, aims to lower the technical and financial barriers to working with neon.