Art News. Vasari Codex

article news schedule May 19, 2026 visibility 5 link 3 artists

Dubai Plans a Massive New Museum for Digital Art

Dubai has announced plans for a new Museum of Digital Art (MODA), a major institution dedicated to digital and tech-driven art. The museum is part of a $27 billion transformation of Dubai's financial district into a technology hub, and will feature immersive and interactive experiences. No budget or completion date has been set, but Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, chairperson of Dubai Culture, stated the museum advances the city's commitment to converging creativity and technology. The museum will be designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, the firm behind the Burj Khalifa.

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trending_up market schedule May 19, 2026 visibility 6 link 5 artists

Cindy and Howard Rachofsky’s Dallas Home Could Be Yours at a Discount, for $17.5 M.

Cindy and Howard Rachofsky, prominent art collectors and mainstays on the ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list, have reduced the asking price of their Dallas home, the Richard Meier–designed Rachofsky House, from $23 million to $17.5 million. The property, completed in 1996 and located in the affluent Preston Hollow neighborhood, has been on the market since October 2024. The Rachofskys, whose collection includes over 800 works, previously hosted the Two x Two gala in support of AIDS- and art-focused initiatives in Dallas, but stopped hosting the event in 2024.

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rate_review review schedule May 19, 2026 visibility 5 link 9 artists

James McNeill Whistler review – a luscious, seductive blockbuster for the painter who scandalised Britain

Tate Britain has opened a major retrospective dedicated to James McNeill Whistler, the American painter who scandalized Victorian Britain. The exhibition centers on his iconic work *Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1* (commonly known as *Whistler's Mother*), lent by the Musée d'Orsay, and traces his evolution from raw realist scenes of London's docks to radical, abstract celebrations of color and pattern. It includes a reconstruction of *The Peacock Room* and highlights his rivalry with critic John Ruskin, who accused him of 'flinging a pot of paint in the public's face.'

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museum exhibitions schedule May 18, 2026 visibility 5 link 3 artists

Tate Britain previews new garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show

Tate Britain is previewing its new garden at the 2026 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, offering a sneak peek of the forthcoming Clore Garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith and scheduled for completion in 2027. The show garden features Barbara Hepworth's 1949 sculpture *Bicentric Form*, the first work Tate acquired by the artist, alongside Mediterranean plants adapted to London's warming climate, a wildlife pond, and recycled materials from the Millbank site. After the show, the garden will be relocated to Tate Britain.

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trending_up market schedule May 15, 2026 visibility 16 link 24 artists, 4 galleries

Rothko from Robert Mnuchin’s Estate Sells for $85.8 M., Leading Sotheby’s New York’s $433.1 M. Contemporary Art Sale

Sotheby’s New York held a $433.1 million modern and contemporary art sale at its Madison Avenue headquarters, led by Mark Rothko’s *Brown and Blacks in Reds* (1957), which sold for $85.8 million. The auction opened with 11 works from the estate of legendary dealer Robert Mnuchin, totaling $166.3 million, including a second Rothko and pieces by Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, and Pablo Picasso. The contemporary art segment followed, with Jean-Michel Basquiat’s *Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown)* (1983) selling for $52.7 million. The overall sale was described by advisers as robust but not particularly exciting, and it significantly exceeded the $186.1 million equivalent sale from last year.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 14, 2026 visibility 12 link 5 artists

Does L.A’s Bold New LACMA Museum Work?

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has debuted a long-awaited new building designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, costing $750 million. The museum opened to the public last month with a gala for the David Geffen Galleries, and its charismatic director Michael Govan promises a new vision for how museums show art and relate to the public. Art critic Carolina Miranda joins Artnet News's Ben Davis to discuss the building's significance, having published her own analysis calling it an instant LA icon.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 14, 2026 visibility 13 link 7 artists

Dutch Designer Iris van Herpen’s High-Tech Garments Are On View in a Mid-Career Retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum

The Brooklyn Museum is opening a mid-career retrospective titled “Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses,” showcasing the Dutch designer’s high-tech garments. The exhibition features over a decade of van Herpen’s work, including the first 3D-printed garment sent down a runway in 2010, pieces worn by celebrities like Lady Gaga, Björk, and Beyoncé, and new collaborations such as an algae dress grown from living microorganisms. Organized by senior curator Matthew Yokobosky, the show originated at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and has traveled internationally before arriving in Brooklyn, where it is augmented with objects from the museum’s collections in art, science, and natural history.

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article news schedule May 14, 2026 visibility 12 link 4 artists

The Met and Neue Galerie Embark on Historic Merger

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Neue Galerie in New York have announced a historic merger set for 2028. The Met will acquire the Neue Galerie's Beaux-Arts mansion, renaming it the Met Ronald S. Lauder Neue Galerie (or Met Neue Galerie), while preserving its museum experience. The merger comes ahead of the Neue Galerie's 25th anniversary and its renovations from May to August 2026. Founder Ronald S. Lauder will remain involved, and the Met will supplement the Neue Galerie's programs, research, and digital initiatives. Major fundraising is underway, with the endowment target of $200 million already 80 percent met, supported by Lauder, his daughter Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer, and trustee Marina Kellen French.

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article news schedule May 14, 2026 visibility 11 link 5 artists

The Met Teams Up with Band-Aid on Art-Themed Adhesive Bandages

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Band-Aid have reunited for a second collaboration, releasing a new set of art-themed adhesive bandages in 2026. The bandages feature details from three flower paintings in the Met's collection: Claude Monet's *Water Lilies* (1919), Vincent van Gogh's *Irises* (1890), and Odilon Redon's *Bouquet of Flowers* (ca. 1900–1905). The 50-count assortment includes small, medium, and large fabric bandages packed in a collectible tin, available exclusively at Target for $7.29. The 2025 Hokusai collection, which sold out quickly, is also back on sale at major retailers.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 13, 2026 visibility 11 link 19 artists, 11 galleries

The Best Booths at Frieze New York, From Cindy Sherman’s Newest Photos to UFOs

The article reviews the best booths at Frieze New York 2026, held at the Shed in Hudson Yards. It highlights eight standout presentations, including Hauser & Wirth's debut of new Cindy Sherman photographs, Andrew Edlin Gallery's themed booth featuring artists like Paulina Peavy and Melvin Way who explore extraterrestrial themes, and Carlos/Ishikawa's display of Evelyn Taocheng Wang's monumental paintings that engage with Agnes Martin and Georgia O'Keeffe. The author notes that while art fairs prioritize commerce, some galleries successfully balance good art with monetization.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 13, 2026 visibility 13 link 4 artists

Garment, body and space merge in Iris van Herpen’s first major New York show

The Brooklyn Museum is hosting Iris van Herpen's first major New York exhibition, featuring over 140 haute couture looks from the Dutch fashion designer. Van Herpen, who founded her house in 2007, pioneered 3D printing in fashion and uses unconventional materials like upcycled marine debris and fermented fibers. The touring show, which originated at Paris's Musée des Arts Décoratifs, includes contemporary art, scientific objects, and natural-history specimens alongside her garments. Curated by Matthew Yokobosky, the Brooklyn iteration draws on the museum's own collections and loans from the American Museum of Natural History, the Staten Island Museum, and the Yale Peabody Museum. Highlights include a dress made with living bioluminescent algae and a re-creation of Van Herpen's atelier.

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trending_up market schedule May 13, 2026 visibility 13 link 11 artists

Contemporary Icons and Modern Masters Headline This Major May Sale

Rago/Wright is hosting two major spring sales on May 14, 2026: 'Pure Edge: American Geometric Abstraction, Selected Works from the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Buenos Aires' and a Post War and Contemporary Art sale. The first features 19 works from the museum's premier collection of American geometric abstraction, while the second spans 20th- and 21st-century art. Highlighted lots include Sam Gilliam's 'Sun Woman' (1970, est. $300,000–$500,000), Annie Morris's 'Stack 7 (Ultramarine Blue)' (2015, est. $150,000–$200,000), Miyoko Ito's 'Adam and Eve' (1957, est. $200,000–$300,000), and Maria Martins's 'Impossible' (1946, est. $150,000–$200,000).

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trending_up market schedule May 11, 2026 visibility 19 link 3 artists, 2 galleries

Market Outlook for New York’s May Sales

New York's May sales season is underway with over $1.8 billion worth of art heading to auction at major houses including Sotheby's, where a monumental Rothko consigned by Robert Mnuchin is expected to fetch $70–100 million. Frieze New York opens at the Shed with 68 galleries, half of them local. Other notable developments include a major Banksy work hitting the auction block with one of its highest estimates ever, and the estate of sculptor Robert Therrien leaving Gagosian after nearly 30 years to join David Zwirner.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 8, 2026 visibility 22 link 13 artists

Venice Biennale Special 2026—podcast

This episode of The Art Newspaper's podcast is a Venice Biennale special, covering the opening week of the 2026 edition. Host Ben Luke, along with Louisa Buck and Jane Morris, reviews the main exhibition "In Minor Keys," curated by the late Koyo Kouoh and realized by five collaborators. The podcast features interviews with artists Gabrielle Goliath, whose work for the South African pavilion was cancelled and is instead staged in a Venice church, and Lubaina Himid, showing in the British pavilion. It also includes conversations with writer Saidiya Hartman and Daniella Kaliada of Belarus Free Theatre about their collateral projects. The episode concludes with a focus on two restored Tintoretto paintings at the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, funded by Save Venice.

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article news schedule May 8, 2026 visibility 19 link 3 artists

As Her Venice Biennale Opens, Koyo Kouoh Foundation Launches in Memory of Late Curator

The Koyo Kouoh Foundation has launched in Basel, Switzerland, coinciding with the opening of the 2026 Venice Biennale, which features the late curator Koyo Kouoh's main exhibition "In Minor Keys." The foundation aims to continue Kouoh's work supporting contemporary African cultural production globally, including plans for the Koyo Kouoh Prize and a permanent home for the Koyo Kouoh Collection. It is led by her partner, saxophonist Philippe Mall, and includes board members such as artist Alfredo Jaar, curator Adrienne Edwards, and former Kunstmuseum Basel director Josef Helfenstein.

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article news schedule May 7, 2026 visibility 18 link 7 artists

Here’s Why the Venice Biennale Main Show Lost One Artist During the Planning Stages

The Venice Biennale's main exhibition, curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, originally included 111 artists when announced in February, but now lists only 110. ARTnews reveals that the removed artist is Bodys Isek Kingelez, a Congolese sculptor known for his colorful cardboard "extreme maquettes" of fantastical cities. A Biennale spokesperson stated that works initially considered for Kingelez were ultimately unavailable. Kingelez, who died in 2015, was to be one of the few deceased artists in the show, alongside figures like Marcel Duchamp and Issa Samb.

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article policy schedule May 5, 2026 visibility 20 link 3 artists

Van Gogh Museum in funding mediation with Dutch government following threats of closure

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has entered mediation with the Dutch government after initiating legal proceedings to secure additional public funding for a major renovation. The museum, which plans a three-year, €104m renovation starting in 2028, claims it could be forced to close unless its annual subsidy increases by €2.5m. The Dutch government, facing a budget deficit, considers the current €8.5m subsidy sufficient and argues the museum should contribute more itself. Mediation talks are making progress, and legal proceedings have been postponed indefinitely, with both sides aiming to conclude before summer.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 4, 2026 visibility 21 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

Unrealized Artwork by Christo and Jeanne-Claude Will Take Over Gagosian in London

Gagosian gallery in London will present "Christo: Air," an exhibition opening May 21 and running through August 21, featuring a never-realized artwork conceived by Christo and Jeanne-Claude in 1968. The centerpiece, "Air Package on a Ceiling," was originally planned for the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia but abandoned due to technical limitations. The work, a 32-by-52-foot internally illuminated suspended form, will be installed for the first time, along with other rare pieces including "Wrapped Automobile—Volvo, Model PV-544 (1981)," which has not been shown in 30 years. Studio manager Lorenza Giovanelli discovered the original plans in 2018, two years before Christo's death.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 4, 2026 visibility 24 link 6 artists, 1 gallery

Derrick Adams Offers Monumental Tribute to Koyo Kouoh in Venice

American artist Derrick Adams has installed a monumental portrait of the late curator Koyo Kouoh on a building façade near the Arsenale in Venice, ahead of the 2026 Venice Biennale that Kouoh was to curate. The painting, titled "Heavy is the head that wears the crown (2026)," depicts Kouoh with a crown that transforms into the word "JOY" emitting golden light. The project was spearheaded by curator Francesco Bonami, who invited Kouoh to serve on the jury of the 50th Venice Biennale, and is intended as an accessible public homage rather than an exclusive art-world event.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 1, 2026 visibility 35 link 10 artists, 5 galleries

5 Standout Shows to See at Small Galleries in May 2026

Artsy Editorial highlights five standout exhibitions at small and rising galleries for May 2026. Among them is British-born, Amsterdam-based painter K. T. Kobel's first major Swiss show, "Hand, Body, Object, Sin," at Kutlesa in Goldau, Switzerland, running through May 29. Kobel, who has exhibited from Los Angeles to Milan since 2022, presents cinematic, storyboard-like paintings that embrace fragmentation and loose ends.

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trending_up market schedule May 1, 2026 visibility 26 link 6 artists

Botticelli Painting Banned from Export Will Stay in the UK

A Botticelli painting, *The Virgin and Child Enthroned* (1470s), previously placed under an export ban to keep it in the UK, has been acquired by the Klesch Collection. The work, valued at £10.2 million, will remain in England through a three-year loan to the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford. The painting was bought in 1904 by Harriet Sarah Jones Loyd (Lady Wantage) from Italian dealer Elia Volpi, who had acquired it from the Magherini Graziani family.

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trending_up market schedule May 1, 2026 visibility 26 link 4 artists

Metropolitan Museum of Art Announces $23M. Gift from Top 200 Collectors Jennifer Rubio and Stewart Butterfield

Jennifer Rubio and Stewart Butterfield, both listed on ARTnews's Top 200 Collectors, have pledged $23 million to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Rubio, founder of Away, and Butterfield, co-founder of Flickr and Slack, made the donation just two months after Rubio became a Met trustee. The gift will fund the museum's internship program, ensuring all undergraduate and graduate internships are fully paid positions, building on a previous $5 million gift from Adrienne Arsht.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 1, 2026 visibility 33 link 15 artists

How Latin American Artists Have Harnessed the Allure of Alchemy

A new exhibition titled “Constellations and Drifts: Art from Latin America in the FEMSA Collection” has opened at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Monterrey (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey) in Mexico, running through August 9, 2026. The show features 170 works by 115 Latin American artists from the FEMSA Collection, one of the most prestigious corporate collections of Latin American art, and is organized around five curatorial themes or “constellations,” including a section centered on alchemy. Highlights include works by Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, Francis Alÿs, and a new commission by Argentine artist Ad Minoliti, alongside Surrealist pieces by Remedios Varo, Leonor Fini, Leonora Carrington, and Kati Horna.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 1, 2026 visibility 27 link 9 artists

Cosmic, concrete, earthy: Nancy Holt’s Land Art on show in UK

Nancy Holt (1938-2014), a pioneering land artist who studied biology at Tufts University, is the subject of her first major UK exhibition at the Goodwood Art Foundation in West Sussex. The show includes the first posthumous installation of *Hydra's Head*, an earthwork of six pools aligned with the Hydra constellation, originally sited on the Niagara River in 1974, and *Ventilation System* (1985-92), which extends from the gallery into the landscape. Curated by Ann Gallagher, the exhibition draws on Holt's archives and the Holt/Smithson Foundation, which preserves her legacy and that of her husband Robert Smithson.

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candle obituary schedule Apr 30, 2026 visibility 27 link 13 artists, 2 galleries

Georg Baselitz – a life in pictures

Georg Baselitz, the German painter known for his raw, expressive works and inverted imagery, has died at age 88. Born in 1938 in Deutschbaselitz, he lived through Nazi Germany and East German communist rule, experiences that deeply shaped his art. The Guardian's obituary traces his life through photographs, from his early years to major exhibitions at Thaddaeus Ropac, White Cube, and the Serpentine, highlighting key works such as 'Das Grosse Pathos' (1966) and his 2024 series 'A Confession of My Sins'.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 30, 2026 visibility 22 link 11 artists

Lucas Museum Reveals First Set of Exhibitions Curated by Founder George Lucas

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles has announced its inaugural exhibitions, curated by founder George Lucas, ahead of its September opening. The initial hang will feature around 12,000 objects from the museum's collection of over 40,000, displayed across 30 galleries in the 300,000-square-foot building. Thematic galleries will highlight specific artists such as Thomas Hart Benton, Norman Rockwell, and N.C. Wyeth, as well as mediums like cinema, photography, muralism, and comics. Broader themes include "Everyday Life," "Narrative Forms," and "Western Stories."

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 30, 2026 visibility 32 link 13 artists

The curator awakens: Lucas Museum of Narrative Art reveals inaugural exhibition lineup

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, will open in Los Angeles on 22 September with 18 inaugural exhibitions featuring over 1,200 objects. Curated by Lucas himself, the shows span media like photography, architecture, and cinema, as well as genres such as manga, anime, comics, and children's stories. Six solo exhibitions will highlight American artists including Thomas Hart Benton, Frank Frazetta, and Norman Rockwell. The museum's collection now exceeds 40,000 works, including the Separate Cinema Archive and Lucas Archives of film memorabilia.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 30, 2026 visibility 58 link 15 artists

British billionaire's £200m art collection most expensive ever offered in UK

British billionaire Joe Lewis will sell a tranche of his art collection in a standalone sale at Sotheby’s in London this June, estimated at £150m–£200m. This makes it the most valuable single-owner collection ever offered in the UK, surpassing the Pauline Karpidas collection which totalled £101m. Highlights include Gustav Klimt’s *Bildnis Gertrud Loew* (est £20m–£30m), Amedeo Modigliani’s *Homme à la pipe* (est £12m–£18m), and Francis Bacon’s *Two Studies for Self-Portrait* (est £8m–£12m). The sale follows a smaller March auction of four works from the Lewis collection that focused on School of London artists.

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person people schedule Apr 29, 2026 visibility 26 link 6 artists

Buffalo AKG Art Museum Director Janne Sirén to Depart After 13 Years

Janne Sirén, director of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum in Upstate New York, will step down in October after 13 years. His tenure included a major $230 million expansion in 2023 that doubled the museum's square footage and drew a record 340,000 visitors in the following year. However, his departure follows local media reports that he used a museum loan to help finance his $710,000 home, with the Erie County Comptroller’s Office alleging he failed to repay it and that the loan may violate state nonprofit laws. The museum defended the loan as common in executive recruitment and stated it operates in full compliance with the law.

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rate_review review schedule Apr 28, 2026 visibility 40 link 6 artists

Zurbarán review – ecstatic visions, primitive surrealism … and the finest loincloths ever painted

The Guardian reviews a major exhibition of 17th-century Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán, highlighting his visionary and surrealist qualities. The show features works such as "The Apparition of Saint Peter to Saint Peter Nolasco" (1629), newly attributed paintings including a giant mask, and iconic pieces like "The Crucified Christ" and "Saint Serapion," all drawn from collections including the Prado and the National Gallery, London. The review emphasizes Zurbarán's ability to paint supernatural subjects with naturalistic conviction, his exquisite rendering of fabrics—especially loincloths—and his influence on modern artists like Salvador Dalí.

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