art criticism nayland blake david rimanelli review

Nayland Blake presents a three-part exhibition at Matthew Marks Gallery in New York, featuring the retrospective "Sex in the 90s" curated by Beau Rutland and a new installation titled "Session." The show spans two gallery spaces on West 22nd Street, displaying a diverse array of works including plexiglass boxes of mass-market paperbacks, graphite drawings, a yellow stuffed bunny with Kaposi sarcoma lesions, and sculptures referencing kink and fetish culture. The new work "Session" uses artisanal implements of pleasure and pain clipped to black chains, evoking personal narrative and autobiography.

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London's Roman Road gallery presents "Lize Bartelli: The Hour of the Star," the artist's third solo exhibition, opening January 23, 2026, at Pipeline Contemporary as part of the Visiting Curators Initiative. The show features 14 new paintings that explore feminine expression, identity, and the tension between becoming and performing the self, drawing inspiration from Clarice Lispector's 1977 novel of the same name. Bartelli's graphic style reduces subjects to elemental forms, with red emerging as a structural color that embodies contradiction.

A Sneak Peak Inside “Costume Art” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is set to open the Condé M. Nast Galleries, a new permanent home for the Costume Institute located in prime real estate adjacent to the Great Hall. The inaugural exhibition, "Costume Art," will integrate fashion with artworks from 19 of the museum’s collecting areas, featuring pieces by designers like Tory Burch and Michael Kors alongside works by artists such as Jean Arp. This move transitions the Costume Institute from its traditional basement location to the center of the museum's physical and narrative layout.

“Berthe Weill, Art Dealer of the Parisian Avant-garde” in Montreal

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) has opened a major exhibition titled "Berthe Weill, Art Dealer of the Parisian Avant-garde," showcasing over 100 works that Weill exhibited in her Paris galleries between 1901 and 1940. The show highlights her role in launching the careers of artists such as Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, and Suzanne Valadon, and includes paintings, drawings, sculptures, and archival materials. Weill, born to a poor Jewish family, opened her first gallery at age 36 using her mother's dowry, never charged for exhibitions, and often sold her own possessions to keep her spaces afloat. Despite her immense contributions, she died in poverty and has been largely omitted from art history.

Performance, gioco, rischio. Il grande Paul McCarthy è in mostra a Madrid: l’intervista

Paul McCarthy's latest exhibition, titled "A&E," is on view at Bowman Hal gallery in Madrid, part of the SOLO CONTEMPORARY initiative founded by a Spanish collector couple. The show features large-scale works on paper and videos created in collaboration with German actress Lilith Stangenberg, exploring role-play, performance, and the blurred lines between art and entertainment. The acronym "A&E" alludes to historical pairs like Adam and Eve or Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun, as well as "Arts & Entertainment." The works stem from private encounters between McCarthy and Stangenberg, with drawings serving as storyboards for videos that capture their improvisational, trance-like interactions.

The Poetics of Error Between Art and Architecture

La poetica dell’errore tra arte e architettura

This essay challenges the historical obsession with perfection in architecture and art, rooted in Hegelian philosophy where beauty is equated with truth and flawlessness. It argues that the pursuit of the 'ideal' is a cognitive bias that ignores the value of complexity and structural failure. By reframing the 'error' not as a mistake but as a generative method, the text suggests that imperfection is often what elevates a work to the status of a masterpiece.

Museum diplomacy in action at ICOM UK 2026: museums in a changing world

ICOM UK hosted its 2026 annual conference in Oxford, bringing together delegates from over 20 countries to explore the theme of 'Museum Diplomacy.' Keynote speaker Dr. Sascha Priewe of the Aga Khan Museum and ICOM Canada framed the current geopolitical moment as a 'GZERO World,' where no country is willing or able to lead globally, and discussed how sanctions, export controls, and shifting alliances are straining international museum collaborations. Sessions featured case studies from the Science Museum Group and International Arts & Artists, emphasizing that trust and networks, not grand gestures, are essential for enduring partnerships.

A 30-year media artist transforms: “I wanted to awaken tradition through painting”

A 30-year media artist transforms: “I wanted to awaken tradition through painting”

Renowned South Korean media artist Park Chan-kyong has returned to his roots with a solo exhibition of paintings titled "Zen Master Eyeball" at Kukje Gallery. The show features over 20 satirical works that reinterpret Buddhist myths, shamanic traditions, and folk beliefs through a lens of "Zen Buddhist Grotesque Science Fiction." By utilizing traditional temple wall painting techniques and architectural layouts, Park explores themes of enlightenment, self-punishment, and the futility of contemporary visual consumption.

Derrick Adams: Glimpses of Black Leisure

The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, is hosting 'Derrick Adams: View Master,' the first mid-career survey dedicated to the multidisciplinary artist. Featuring over 100 works spanning two decades, the exhibition includes painting, collage, sculpture, video, and performance that highlight Adams's unique visual language of pattern and color.

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Nigel Peverett, a former staffer in the British Museum’s prints and drawings department, stole over 350 artworks during his tenure in the 1970s and 80s. The thefts, detailed in Barnaby Phillips’s upcoming book 'The African Kingdom of Gold', involved Peverett smuggling prints out of the museum, altering them with razors to remove catalog numbers, and selling them at London’s Portobello Road market. Although he was caught in 1992 with 35 prints in his possession, nearly 100 items remain unrecovered.

How NADA is Cultivating the Next Generation of Collectors Through Salons

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The New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) has launched a new initiative called NADA Collects, a series of salons and educational events designed to demystify the art-buying process. Through gallery walks, dinners, and informal Q&A sessions, the program addresses the intimidation factor that often prevents potential buyers from entering the contemporary art market. By fostering a space where "no question is too dumb," NADA aims to bridge the gap between galleries and a new generation of collectors who may feel alienated by the perceived elitism of the art world.

Anne Boleyn Exhibition at Hever Castle

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Hever Castle has launched "Capturing a Queen: The Image of Anne Boleyn," a landmark exhibition exploring the visual legacy of King Henry VIII’s second wife at her childhood home. The show brings together an unprecedented collection of portraits, woodcuts, and costumes to challenge the long-held myth that all contemporary likenesses of Anne were destroyed after her execution. Key highlights include infrared analysis of the 1583 "Rose" Portrait and research suggesting that some famous posthumous depictions actually blended her features with those of her daughter, Elizabeth I, to solidify Tudor legitimacy.

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Beginning January 1, 2026, major French museums including the Louvre and the Château de Versailles will charge non-European Union visitors €30 (about $35), up from €22 ($25). The new "differential tariff" is driven by cultural budget cuts, waning corporate sponsorships, and rising restoration costs. Versailles, where 42 percent of 8 million annual visitors come from outside Europe, sees the funds as a lifeline for repairs, while the Louvre faces €400 million in renovation needs over 15 years. The policy is expected to spread to other sites like the Arc de Triomphe and Château de Chambord, and more institutions may adopt it in 2027.

Poly Auction Hong Kong Spring Auctions 2026: High Jewels and Watches, Modern and Contemporary Art Auctions to Be Held on 6 April

Poly Auction Hong Kong has announced its Spring 2026 auction series, scheduled to take place from April 6 to April 8 at the Shun Tak Centre. The sales feature a diverse array of categories including Modern and Contemporary Art, Chinese Ceramics, Chinese Paintings, and High Jewelry and Watches. Highlighting the contemporary selection is Liu Wei’s 1995 masterpiece "You Like Pork?", a rare work previously exhibited at the Venice Biennale, alongside a significant 1960s "White period" abstract canvas by Zao Wou-Ki.

Who’s The Next Obsession? 12 European Collectors Reveal How They Discover New Talent

Cultured magazine asked 12 European collectors how they discover new talent, timed to the 61st Venice Biennale. Collectors like Nicole Saikalis Bay, Amélie du Chalard, Belma Gaudio, and Laurent Asscher share their personal approaches—ranging from emotional resonance and dialogue with existing works to long-term obsession with an artist before acquiring a piece. The responses reveal a diversity of methods, from instinct-driven buying to conceptual and technical evaluation.

art paul mccarthy show performance

Cultured magazine profiles legendary 80-year-old artist Paul McCarthy during his Paris exhibition at Hauser & Wirth, titled “SS EE Saint Santa Eva Elf.” The article follows the journalist's three-day pursuit of McCarthy, covering a screening of his films *A&E Adolf & Eva/ Adam & Eve Cooking Show* (2022/2023) and *A&E Adolf & Eva/Adam & Eve Mother* (2022/2025), which feature psychosexual themes referencing Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun alongside Adam and Eve, co-starring actor Lilith Stangenberg. The exhibition includes large raw drawings created during improvised, multi-camera performances with Stangenberg, where they play twisted Santa and elf characters. McCarthy also has concurrent shows at The Journal Gallery in Los Angeles and SOLO contemporary art space in Madrid.

parties art fashion warhol museum gala piaget

The Andy Warhol Museum held its annual fundraising dinner at La Tête d’Or, chef Daniel Boulud’s steakhouse in New York’s One Madison, on Monday. The event gathered the city’s cultural vanguard, including artists Mickalene Thomas and Isabelle Brourman, museum director Mario Rossero, philanthropist Jeanine Heriveaux, and collectors Nathalie and Stan Doobin. Highlights included a live auction conducted by Sotheby’s Christy Coombs, featuring works by Mickalene Thomas and a limited-edition Dom Pérignon set with Basquiat artwork, and a try-on session of Piaget’s Warhol-inspired watches designed by creative director Stéphanie Sivrière.

parties ruba katrib lawrence kumpf hosting

Blank Forms celebrated its ninth anniversary with performances by Dez Andrés, Douglas Sherman, and 7038634357 at the Ukrainian National Home in the East Village. The article, written by Ruba Katrib and Lawrence Kumpf, offers a personal glimpse into their New York apartment, filled with books, records, art from friends, and a curated sound system, alongside recipes and anecdotes about hosting artists, musicians, and curators for dinners and listening sessions.

art heist genre film tv books guide

This article from Cultured explores the history and evolution of the art heist genre across film, television, and books. It traces the genre's origins from the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa by Vincenzo Peruggia to its appearance in 19th-century detective serials by Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle, and later in French New Wave noirs and slick 1990s heist films. The piece highlights recent entries like Kelly Reichardt's film *The Mastermind* starring Josh O'Connor, and compiles a list of key works including *Animal Crackers* (1930), *How to Steal a Million* (1966), *The Thomas Crown Affair* (1968/1999), and *Hudson Hawk* (1991), noting how the genre reflects changing attitudes toward wealth, crime, and the sublime power of art.

art fashion dirty looks barbican

A new exhibition titled "Dirty Looks: Desire and Decay in Fashion" opens September 25 at the Barbican in London, exploring how fashion designers have embraced decay, dirt, and imperfection. Curated by Karen Van Godtsenhoven, the show features garments from over 60 designers, including Hussein Chalayan's iron-filing-stained dresses, Vivienne Westwood's transgressive tears, Issey Miyake's gunpowder-speckled pleats, and wine-stained couture by Robert Wun. It also highlights five emerging designers like Elena Velez and Michaela Stark who use dirt and decay to challenge conventional beauty standards.

Nahmad Seeks to Reopen Modigliani Restitution Case With New Witnesses

David Nahmad's lawyers are asking a New York court to reconsider its April 3 decision in the restitution case over Amedeo Modigliani's *Seated Man with a Cane* (1918), which awarded the painting to the estate of dealer Oscar Stettiner. They cite new eyewitness testimony from Frédéric Allain, who recalls a different Modigliani—smaller, darker, and without a seated man or cane—hidden by the Van der Klip family in Paris during World War II, suggesting the wrong painting may have been the focus of the case. The filing also references a 1946 report describing the missing work as a self-portrait and a new catalogue raisonné by Marc Restellini that finds no link between the painting and Stettiner. Mondex, representing Stettiner's heirs, rejects the claims, asserting that *Seated Man with a Cane* bears Stettiner's name and was in the family's possession from 1944 to 1996.

Towering homage to Bamiyan Buddhas rises over Manhattan’s High Line

A new public sculpture by Vietnamese American artist Tuan Andrew Nguyen has been installed on the High Line Plinth at Hudson Yards in Manhattan. Titled "The Light That Shines Through the Universe" (2026), the 27-foot-tall sandstone monument pays homage to the Buddhas of Bamiyan, the 6th-century colossi destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. The work features carved sandstone forms with two monumental steel hands cast from melted-down artillery shells sourced from Afghanistan, making gestures of fearlessness and compassion. It will remain on view through autumn 2027 and is accompanied by monthly lectures and meditation sessions.

A Data Analysis of the 2026 Venice Biennale Signals a Shift to the Present

The 2026 Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys," marks a significant pivot from the historical revisionism of recent editions toward a focus on contemporary, mid-career artists. Posthumously realized based on the vision of the late Koyo Kouoh, the exhibition features 111 participants, including a notable inclusion of artist-led organizations from Africa. Data analysis reveals a balanced demographic split between the Global North and South, moving away from the retrospective focus of predecessors like Adriano Pedrosa and Cecilia Alemani to prioritize living artists and subtler, emotional themes.

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Art collector David Nahmad has publicly denied allegations that Amedeo Modigliani’s "Seated Man with a Cane" (1918) is Nazi-looted property. Following revelations from the Panama Papers that Nahmad is the true owner of the painting via the International Art Center, he defended his provenance, claiming the work sought by the heirs of Jewish art dealer Oscar Stettiner is a different painting entirely. Nahmad asserted that if the work is definitively proven to be looted, he will return it, but he currently maintains that the historical documentation regarding a 1944 sale at Drouot refers to a self-portrait, not the work in his possession.

Lost Joan Miró Drawings Reemerge at Auction

Three previously unknown drawings by Joan Miró have been discovered among the possessions of his friend, the artist and designer Edmond Vernassa. The works include a 1972 promotional drawing for Mallorca and two large-scale designs for interior balcony railings, created for the influential art dealers Aimé and Marguerite Maeght. The drawings are now set for auction in Antibes with estimates reaching up to €400,000 each, following a public showcase during Paris Drawing Week.

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Christie’s announced a single-owner sale titled “Visions of the West” featuring artworks from the collection of billionaire Bill Koch, to be held over two sessions on January 20 and January 21. The sale includes dozens of works by artists who depicted the American West and frontier, such as Frederic Remington, Charles Marion Russell, and Albert Bierstadt, with highlights including Remington’s painting *Coming to the Call* (estimated $6–$8 million) and Russell’s *The Sun Worshippers* ($4–$6 million). Koch, 85, is the lesser-known of the four Koch brothers and an avid art collector, who also recently sold part of his wine collection through Christie’s.

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Claude Monet’s iconic water lily pond paintings are the subject of a new article exploring the artist’s deep passion for gardening. The piece details how Monet, after moving to Giverny in 1883, spent decades transforming his property into a lush, Japanese-inspired garden, complete with a pond, wisteria bridge, and exotic plants. He hired up to eight gardeners, studied botanical journals, and even faced protests from local farmers when he diverted a river to create the pond. The garden became his sole artistic focus for the last 20 years of his life, producing around 250 paintings of the water lilies.

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Two French parliamentarians, Jean-Paul Matteï and Philippe Juvin, have proposed a new tax regime on art as part of France's 2026 budget, which would make France the only major art market to impose a wealth tax on the mere possession of artworks. The French art world has strongly opposed the proposal, with 27 signatories including Art Basel, auctioneer Drouot, visual artists' rights organization ADAGP, the Association for the International Diffusion of French Art (ADIAF), and the Comité Professionel des Galeries d’Art (CPGA). Critics argue the tax is technically unenforceable, would drive collectors away, and harm the broader art ecosystem.

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A new biography titled *Chaïm Soutine: Genius, Obsession, and a Dramatic Life in Art*, written by Celeste Marcus, explores the life and work of the early 20th-century painter Chaïm Soutine. Marcus argues that Soutine’s intensely visceral paintings—featuring dizzying landscapes, bloody carcasses, and penetrating portraits—are the key to understanding the artist, who left behind few personal records. The book challenges the tendency to read historical tragedy, particularly Soutine’s identity as an Eastern European Jew before WWII, into his turbulent brushwork, instead emphasizing the life force and internal logic of his compositions.

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French artist Invader, whose real name is Franck Slama, sued the parent company of Julien Auctions for copyright infringement, theft, and violations of the Visual Artists Rights Act. The lawsuit claims 15 of his original mosaic artworks were stolen from their installation sites worldwide—including Tokyo, Paris, and other French locations—damaged or distorted, and then offered in the auction house's "Street Art: Paint & Pavement" sale on September 25. Invader demanded the works be removed, and a U.S. District Court in California granted a restraining order halting the auction of those pieces. The auction house's co-founder Martin Nolan defended the sale, arguing that street art created in public spaces transfers ownership to those who lawfully acquire it.