banksy new mural queens mews centrepoint london

A new Banksy mural appeared on a wall in west London on Monday, December 22, 2025, depicting two children in winter clothing lying on their backs and gazing at the sky. The stenciled artwork, located on Queen’s Mews in Bayswater near Notting Hill, was officially claimed by Banksy via Instagram. An identical version was also spotted outside the Centre Point tower in central London, though not yet claimed. The piece has sparked widespread speculation about its meaning, with interpretations ranging from a commentary on childhood imagination and wonder to a satirical critique of consumerism and the replacement of sacred values by utility.

liebermann resituted gurlitt auction

Max Liebermann's painting *Two Riders on a Beach* (1901), recently restituted to the Rosenburg family from the Cornelius Gurlitt hoard, will be auctioned at Sotheby's in London on June 24, with an estimated price of up to £500,000 ($850,000). The work is one of the first two artworks returned from the trove discovered in Gurlitt's Munich apartment in 2012; the other, Henri Matisse's *Woman with a Fan* (1932), was also handed back to the Rosenburg family last week.

anish kapoor lists 56 leonard street apartment new york

Artist Anish Kapoor is selling his New York apartment at 56 Leonard Street in Tribeca for $17.75 million. The 3,576-square-foot unit on the 47th floor features four bedrooms, four-and-a-half bathrooms, private outdoor spaces, and a travertine marble bath. The building, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, houses a smaller version of Kapoor's famous sculpture Cloud Gate at its base. Kapoor purchased the apartment for roughly $14 million in 2016 and previously listed it for about $18 million last year. The listing is held by Serhant's Krista Nickols and Martin Garcia.

manhattans beloved elizabeth street garden is saved

New York City has abandoned plans to demolish Soho's Elizabeth Street Garden for affordable housing, instead rezoning three nearby sites to build 620 units while preserving the garden. The deal, brokered with council member Christopher Marte—a former garden volunteer—ends a years-long campaign backed by celebrities like Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, and Patti Smith, as well as artists JR and Dustin Yellin and curator Klaus Biesenbach. The garden, filled with antique architectural remnants, was created by the late Allan Reiver and his son Joseph Reiver, who continued the fight after Allan's death in 2021.

mural rialto venice restoration

A rare 16th-century mural has been discovered on an apartment building near the Rialto Bridge in Venice, hidden for centuries beneath layers of plaster. The painting, featuring three life-sized allegorical figures by an unknown artist, was uncovered during a routine restoration of the building on Riva del Ferro. After being reported to Venice’s Superintendency for Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape, a major restoration project was undertaken by the private company Seres srl. Conservators cleaned the heavily deteriorated work, removing dirt, calcium oxalates, and a modern convenience store sign, revealing the mural's vivid palette and dynamic composition.

Grapeshot. Nancy Lupo by Maya Tounta

Artist Nancy Lupo is preparing a new exhibition titled "Meow Meow Real Estate" at the Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation in London. The show shares its name with a novel she is writing, both projects emerging from a period of personal displacement and a fixation on finding a home. The exhibition continues a trajectory of shows that serve as interconnected, physical manifestations of her literary and emotional exploration of place.

Bose Krishnamachari’s resignation from Kochi Biennale came after sexual harassment allegations

Bose Krishnamachari resigned as director of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale and from the board of its foundation in January. The Kochi Biennale Foundation chairperson has now stated the resignation followed a December complaint alleging Krishnamachari sexually harassed a female employee at his apartment, making unwanted remarks and advances. Krishnamachari had initially cited family reasons for his departure.

Yves Saint Laurent–Owned Mirrors Shatter Record, Selling for $33.5 Million

A unique set of fifteen mirrors custom-made for fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé sold at Sotheby’s for $33.5 million, setting a new auction record for the artist Claude Lalanne. The gilt bronze, copper, and mirrored glass mirrors, created between 1974 and 1985, were originally displayed in the couple’s Paris apartment and were purchased from the collection of Jean and Terry de Gunzburg.

Casa Batlló to open second-floor contemporary art gallery

Casa Batlló in Barcelona will open its second floor as a contemporary art gallery starting January 2026. The space, previously used as apartments, offices, and a maintenance workshop, has been redesigned by Barcelona-based studio Mesura with a curved metal ceiling echoing Gaudí’s forms, while preserving original woodwork and stained glass. The gallery extends the Casa Batlló Contemporary program, which commissions artists for two exhibitions per year, accessible with general admission or a standalone ticket.

Newsmakers: Founders of Chicago’s Neighbors Fair on ‘Focusing on Quality over Quantity’

A new satellite art fair called Neighbors will debut in Chicago this April, timed to coincide with Expo Chicago. Founded by collector Mirka Serrato and dealer Jonny Tanna, the fair will take place inside a historic Gold Coast apartment, featuring a small, tightly curated selection of galleries from cities including London, New York, Chicago, and Dallas.

New York Galleries: Openings and Closings (02/09-02/15)

A comprehensive list of gallery exhibitions opening and closing in New York City for the week of February 9-15, 2026, has been published. The schedule includes openings at major galleries like Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, and Matthew Marks, featuring artists such as Michael Heizer, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, and Anish Kapoor, alongside shows at smaller spaces. The list also notes the final weekend to see exhibitions at venues including Tanya Bonakdar Gallery and Alexander Gray Associates.

With the help of exhibitions, Jeanne Lanvin's eponymous fashion house is keeping her legacy alive

Jeanne Lanvin, a trailblazer in 20th-century French fashion and interiors, is being honored through exhibitions that explore her legacy. The article features a conversation between Peter Copping, Lanvin's current artistic director, and Olivier Gabet, director of the Department of Objets d'Art at the Musée du Louvre. Gabet curated the exhibition "Louvre Couture" featuring 99 looks from 45 fashion houses, while Copping has drawn inspiration from the Lanvin archive and the preserved rooms of Jeanne Lanvin's apartment now on permanent display at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

See ‘Shattered Glass: The Women Who Elevated American Art’ in Canton

The Canton Museum of Art in Ohio is presenting 'Shattered Glass: The Women Who Elevated American Art,' an exhibition running from November 25, 2025, through March 1, 2026. Curated by Christy Davis and Kaleigh Pisani, the show spans all museum galleries and features over 120 works by 76 female American artists from the 1780s to the present day. Highlights include Audrey Flack's 1977 photorealist painting 'Marilyn,' still-life trompe-l'oeil works by Claude Hirst (born Claudine in 1855), Sister Corita Kent's 'Circus Alphabet' print series, and a photograph of Lee Miller in Adolf Hitler's abandoned apartment. The exhibition aims to spotlight underrecognized women who persevered despite barriers in the art world.

The Rooftop Gallery Next Door

Adam Zhu, an artist, skateboarder, and photographer, has transformed a 9-by-15-foot former storage shed on his Chinatown rooftop into Market Gallery, a tiny exhibition space. The opening of Tucker van der Wyden's "Savage Love" drew about 200 visitors who walked through Zhu's one-bedroom apartment to reach the show. Zhu, who moved into the apartment in 2015, renovated the shed with contractor Andrew Kass, adding concrete walls and folding glass doors. The gallery has hosted seven shows, featuring emerging and established artists, and has become a platform for art in an unconventional setting.

Intuit Art Museum has its big reopening: ‘I don’t want this to be a traditional art museum’

The Intuit Art Museum in Chicago has reopened after a landmark $10 million renovation, marking a significant rebranding from its former name, "Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art," to simply "Intuit Art Museum" (IAM). The museum, which collects work by self-taught artists, replaced a traditional ribbon-cutting with a collaborative ribbon-tying ceremony, creating an interconnected artwork that will remain in its collection. The renovation tripled its gallery space and introduced new exhibitions, including a refurbished Henry Darger installation with LED screens and an immersive recreation of the artist's apartment, as well as a rotating permanent collection display featuring artists like Mr. Imagination, Lee Godie, and Wesley Willis. The second floor is dedicated to the special exhibition "Catalyst: Im/migration and Self-taught Art in Chicago," featuring works by artists such as Drossos Skyllas, Thomas Kong, Pooja Pittie, and Carlos Barberena.

Required Reading

This week's cultural roundup connects diverse stories from art conservation to literary analysis. Novelist Karma Brown draws parallels between restoring artworks and revising novels, inspired by visits to the Art Gallery of Ontario, while an interview with Namwali Serpell examines the complex "monumentalization" of Toni Morrison's legacy. The column also includes a poignant image from Tehran—a framed artwork hanging in a bomb-damaged apartment—and touches on topics ranging from celebrating Eid in Gaza to discussions about "girl games" and the Lindy West drama.

Nathaniel Mary Quinn's Museum Show | Herbie Hancock Returns Home | The Lake Plans Opening

Nathaniel Mary Quinn, a Chicago-born artist who grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes, will present his first solo museum exhibition in his hometown at the National Public Housing Museum. The show, titled "Nathaniel Mary Quinn: A Love Letter To My Mother," features ten works on canvas and paper, a recreated living room from his family's apartment circa 1984, and a reading room with historical materials about the housing project. Separately, Mariane Ibrahim gallery now represents Chicago-based artist Leasho Johnson, whose work draws on Jamaican mythology and appeared on the cover of Newcity's April 2026 issue. In other local news, a new social club called The Lake is set to open in River North this fall, designed by Robert A. M. Stern Architects, and construction has begun on the next phase of the Southbridge development on the site of the former Harold Ickes Homes.

A Record for Lalanne

Un record pour Lalanne

Sotheby's New York achieved a major result with the sale of a set of fifteen mirrors by Claude Lalanne (died 2019), commissioned between 1974 and 1985 for the music room of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé's Paris apartment. Estimated at $10–15 million, the lot—from the collection of Jean and Terry de Gunzburg after the 2009 Saint Laurent-Bergé sale—fetched $33.5 million including fees, setting a record for the artist.

500-Plus And Just Like That… Items Head to Online Auction

Julien’s Auctions is hosting an online sale featuring over 500 items from the production of the HBO series "And Just Like That…," the sequel to "Sex and the City." The auction includes a wide array of fashion, accessories, and home decor associated with main characters Carrie Bradshaw, Miranda Hobbes, and Charlotte York-Goldenblatt, as well as new additions like Lisa Todd Wexley. Notable lots include Carrie’s hatbox suitcases, Miranda’s wine-red jumpsuit, and various furniture pieces from the characters' apartments, with a portion of proceeds benefiting the foster care charity You Gotta Believe.

And Just Like That… Carrie Bradshaw’s Closet Hits the Auction Block

Julien’s Auctions is hosting a massive sale of over 500 props, costumes, and furnishings from the HBO series "And Just Like That…". The auction features iconic items associated with characters Carrie Bradshaw, Charlotte York, and Miranda Hobbes, including a prop Rolex watch engraved for Mr. Big, high-fashion garments, and furniture from the characters' New York apartments. Bidding began online in early April and will culminate in a live two-day event in California at the end of the month.

Major exhibition to transform USC Pacific Asia Museum into an immersive journey through myth and the immigrant story

USC Pacific Asia Museum (USC PAM) has announced "Mythical Creatures: The Stories We Carry," a major exhibition conceived by Los Angeles–based Korean American artist Dave Young Kim. Opening February 14, 2026, the 12-room immersive installation blends approximately 100 objects from the museum's collection—spanning 5,000 years of Asian and Pacific art—with new media technology and contemporary works by over 20 artists, including Dinh Q. Lê, Lily Honglei, Wendy Park, Momoko Schafer, Kyungmi Shin, Sanjay Vora, and Lauren YS. The exhibition uses mythology as a visual language to explore the immigrant experience, featuring environments like a shadowy night crossing, a recreated first apartment, and a gilded room with a gold Jin Chan frog. A limited public preview runs December 20, 2025–January 4, 2026.

art david salle east hamptons

CULTURED magazine interviews David Salle at his East Hampton home, discussing his new "Windows" series of paintings debuting at Seoul's Storage by Hyundai Card space as part of the exhibition "David Salle: Under One Roof." The Neo-Expressionist artist explains how the series evolved from an idea for a digital game, placing characters from his "Tree of Life" paintings into apartment windows against backgrounds drawn from details of his own past works spanning 40 years. Salle also reflects on his long history with the Hamptons, first visiting in 1976 through his connection to CalArts dean Paul Brach, and the area's deep ties to Abstract Expressionist history.

Get to know these 5 unconventional galleries driving art forward in North Texas

A wave of independent, artist-run galleries is emerging across North Texas, operating out of unconventional spaces like houses, lofts, and apartments. Notable examples include PRP (Permanent Research Project) in a little white house in Trinity Groves, Nature of Things in a Deep Ellum loft, and 2 BED 1 BATH in an Oak Cliff apartment. These venues often face precarious funding and zoning issues, yet they persist, with some like 500X operating since 1978 and PRP for a decade. Recent exhibitions have addressed themes such as the treatment of bodies in visual culture and political commentary, including a protest show after the University of North Texas shut down an exhibition critical of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

EXPO Chicago isn't just at Navy Pier this weekend

EXPO Chicago has returned to Navy Pier with a streamlined format of 130 booths, but the fair's influence is increasingly felt through satellite exhibitions across the city. A notable example is 'Neighbors,' an alternative exhibition space hosted in a Gold Coast apartment by Mirka Serrato, which provides a more affordable and intimate platform for 15 emerging galleries and artists from around the world.

jiadu art center, café, and studio form flexible community art network in china

The Jiadu Art Center in Yanjiao, Hebei Province, represents a strategic architectural intervention by MINOR lab to transform existing residential and commercial stock into a community-focused art network. The project reconfigures three distinct spaces—an ancillary structure, a commercial unit, and a residential apartment—into a cohesive system featuring a flexible exhibition hall, a café, and an adaptable artist studio. Utilizing movable walls, modular furniture, and a consistent material palette of strawboard and hot-rolled steel, the design prioritizes spatial fluidity and multi-functional use.

One of Milan's most unique and peculiar museums is full of works that are not beautiful

Uno dei musei più unici e particolari di Milano è pieno di opere che non sono belle

The Casa Museo Boschi Di Stefano in Milan, housed in a building designed by Piero Portaluppi, showcases a massive collection of 20th-century Italian art donated by Antonio Boschi and Marieda Di Stefano. The apartment displays approximately 300 works by masters such as Lucio Fontana, Giorgio de Chirico, and Mario Sironi, arranged in the intimate domestic setting where the collectors once lived.

Kiss Me, Beneath the Milky Twilight

The article reviews the exhibition "Ahhh! Beije-me" (Ahhh! Kiss me) at Martins & Montero gallery in São Paulo, featuring the late Brazilian artist Hudinilson Jr. (1957-2013). The show presents works from the 1970s and 1980s, including photocopies, stencils, paintings, and personal objects from the artist's apartment, which was closed by his family for twelve years after his death. Highlights include a billboard artwork "Zona de tensão," newly discovered gouache and pastel works on photocopies of Michelangelo's "David," and stencil matrices made from laundry detergent boxes used in street graffiti. The exhibition also incorporates furniture, decorative objects, and photographs by Mauro Restiffe documenting the apartment before its dismantling.

Apenas meus cabelos são brancos... [Only my hair is white...]

Galerie Lelong in New York is presenting "Lucia Laguna: Apenas meus cabelos são brancos... [Only my hair is white...]," the Brazilian artist's first solo exhibition in the United States, organized in collaboration with Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel. The show features new paintings from her ongoing series "Pequenos formatos" and "Paisagem," which explore the interplay between architecture and nature through vibrant color blocking and geometric forms. Laguna's work reflects her recent move from a suburban home with a garden to an apartment in Rio de Janeiro's Laranjeiras neighborhood, a shift that has prompted compositional changes as her studio space became more condensed and her views of the urban landscape changed.

ira sachs director peter hujars day interview

Ira Sachs's new film *Peter Hujar's Day* dramatizes a 1974 interview in which photographer Peter Hujar recounted his day to journalist Linda Rosenkrantz. The transcript, originally intended for a book project, was rediscovered and published by Magic Hour Press in 2021. Starring Ben Whishaw as Hujar and Rebecca Hall as Rosenkrantz, the film is set entirely in a Westbeth apartment, capturing the texture of New York's downtown art scene through Hujar's anecdotes about figures like Susan Sontag, William Burroughs, and Allen Ginsberg.

Trial Begins in Brent Sikkema Murder-For-Hire Case

Opening statements and witness testimony began on Tuesday in a Manhattan court for the murder-for-hire trial following the 2024 killing of New York art dealer Brent Sikkema. Alejandro Triana Prevez, a Cuban national, was arrested shortly after Sikkema was found murdered in his Rio de Janeiro apartment, and claims that Sikkema's ex-husband, Daniel Carrera Sikkema, offered him $200,000 to commit the crime. Carrera Sikkema was charged in February 2025 with hiring Prevez. Prosecutors presented evidence including phone records, financial transactions, and witness testimony, while the defense argued the case relies on circumstantial evidence and that Carrera Sikkema's statements were made amid a contentious divorce.