napoleon sword could fetch 1 million auction 2638647

A ceremonial saber commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802 sold for €4.6 million ($5.2 million) at Giquello auction house in Paris on May 22, far exceeding its estimate of €700,000–€1 million. The sword, made by master armorer Nicolas-Noël Boutet, was given to Marshal Emmanuel de Grouchy on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and remained in his family ever since. It features a curved Damascus blade, gold-plated silver mounts, and a stingray-skin sheath, with classical imagery including Medusa, Hercules, and Mars. The sale was part of a 20-lot auction at Hôtel Drouot that also included a 15th-century sword, a Gabonese mask, and a 17th-century tapestry.

smith partner art investment firm 11m fraud 2568860

Smith and Partner, a London-based art investment firm, has been accused of defrauding over a thousand investors out of $11 million through a scheme involving high-pressure sales of limited edition art prints with promises of future returns that rarely materialized. The company, founded by Austrian citizen Peter Paul Adam in 2015, faced complaints from 2020 onward, leading to its bank freezing accounts and an investigation by British Trading Standards. Liquidators are seeking $17 million in compensation, and a High Court judge has upheld asset freeze orders against former director Luke Sparkes and his company Zeno Fine Art, which allegedly inflated print prices by nearly 500 percent.

Co-Working Meets Art at Brooklyn’s Newest Experimental Space

Brooklyn’s newest experimental art space, The Gallery (stylized as “The Gallry”), has opened on the fourth floor of a former automobile service station in Prospect Heights, now converted into creative offices. Curated by artist Florian Meisenberg, the exhibition features site-specific works by over 40 artists installed throughout a former guitar-string manufacturer’s office, including cubicle walls, utility closets, and HVAC systems. The space also functions as a co-working hub, with free daily spots for subscribers. The show runs through May 24 and includes events like screenings, poetry readings, and satirical corporate-themed programming.

Exhibition | Shota Nakamura, 'Apple' at Karma, Los Angeles

Shota Nakamura's exhibition 'Apple' at Karma in Los Angeles presents a series of new paintings that explore familiar subjects—fruit, shells, sailboats, landscapes—through a dreamlike, tonally nuanced lens. The Berlin-based Japanese artist focuses on the tonality of light, using closely-valued hues to investigate relationships between color, luminosity, and illusion. Works such as 'Landscape with Apples' (2026), 'A Black Dog', and 'Violin Player' demonstrate his method of combining personal photographs, memory, and art historical references into compositions that balance representation with formal abstraction, often referencing modern Japanese painters like Zenzaburo Kojima and Morikazu Kumagai as well as Mark Rothko.

Ward Nichols Opening at Wilkes Art Gallery is April 17

The Wilkes Art Gallery in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, is hosting a career-spanning exhibition titled “From Reality to Realism, A Lifetime Perspective,” featuring the works of veteran artist Ward Nichols. The opening reception on April 17 will include a jazz performance and an indoor/outdoor celebration that involves the closure of Ward Nichols Way, a street recently renamed in the artist's honor.

Delhi Gallery District: Defence Colony Emerges As City’s First Art Hub

The Defence Colony neighborhood has officially transformed into Delhi’s first dedicated gallery district, housing 11 distinct art spaces within a compact, walkable circuit. Anchored by established institutions like Vadehra Art Gallery and Akar Prakar, the area has seen a recent influx of contemporary spaces including GALLERYSKE, PHOTOINK, and the newly opened Gallery Dotwalk. This concentration of venues has birthed a new cultural ritual in the city: late-night art walks where collectors, curators, and younger audiences move seamlessly between openings.

Aria Dean, Sandra Mujinga and Tschabalala Self

Galerie Eva Presenhuber is hosting a group exhibition featuring the works of Aria Dean, Sandra Mujinga, and Tschabalala Self. The show explores the construction and erasure of the human body through diverse mediums, including Aria Dean’s 3D-animated film of an empty slaughterhouse and Sandra Mujinga’s spectral, fabric-based sculptures. By focusing on the architectures of violence and the labor of repair, the artists move away from traditional representation toward conceptual and structural critiques of subjecthood.

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 BENTON MUSEUM OF ART AT POMONA COLLEGE PRESENTS FIRST SURVEY EXHIBITION OF JOHN SPARAGANA | Pomona Museum

The Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College is presenting "Interference Patterns," the first survey exhibition of artist John Sparagana's work. The show, running from February 21 to June 28, 2026, features nearly 100 works that trace his unique collage practice, which involves meticulously manipulating magazine pages, comic books, and other mass media sources to reveal the vulnerability of images.

Ai Weiwei's first solo show in India features a Pichwai in his iconic toy-brick style

Globally renowned conceptual artist Ai Weiwei has opened his first solo exhibition in India at the Nature Morte gallery in New Delhi. The show, presented in collaboration with Galleria Continua, features his iconic toy-brick canvases, including new commissions inspired by Indian modernist painters like Raza and Gaitonde, and a unique LEGO-brick interpretation of a traditional Pichwai painting. Other works address themes of migration, history, and censorship through mediums like Neolithic stone axes, porcelain urns, and repurposed furniture.

Gone too soon: A posthumous retrospective of the late Noah Davis at the Philadelphia Art Museum

The Philadelphia Art Museum (PAM) has opened "Noah Davis," the first solo retrospective of the late Los Angeles–based painter, who died at age 32 from a rare cancer. Davis's career spanned only six years, beginning with his first solo show at Tilton Gallery in New York in 2009. The exhibition, which originated at the Barbican in London, is the fourth and final stop of an international tour and the only North American venue. It features Davis's large-scale, abstract figurative paintings of Black life, including works like "You Are..." (2012) and "Untitled" (2015), and highlights his use of chemical solvents to degrade paint surfaces. The show also explores his role as founder of the Underground Museum in Arlington Heights, Los Angeles, a community-focused space where he once displayed fakes as "Imitations of Wealth."

London show of Lee Miller photographs is fundraising to save thousands of her negatives

The Lee Miller Archives, established after the American photographer's vast collection was discovered in the attic of her Sussex home following her death in 1977, is raising funds through an exhibition at Lyndsey Ingram gallery in London to conserve up to 60,000 negatives and prints, some nearly 100 years old and in perilous condition. The show, titled "Lee Miller: Performance of a Lifetime" (23 January-25 February), explores the role of theatre and performance in Miller's work from her 1929 arrival in Paris through her WWII photojournalism, with prices starting at £3,800. Proceeds will enable freezing and preservation of the archive stored at Farleys House, where Miller lived with her husband Roland Penrose.

In Ho Chi Minh City, Art Feels Urgent Again

The article reports on a vibrant season of exhibitions in Ho Chi Minh City, where artists are turning to abstraction, faith, and innovation to question perception and belief. Key shows include Bùi Thanh Tâm's "Christ, Buddha, and the Jigsaw" at Gate Gate Gallery, which fuses religious iconography, folk traditions, and pop media, and Trần Văn Thảo's "New Moon" at Galerie Quynh, reimagining darkness as creative space. The scene reflects a lineage of defiance dating back to post-war restrictions on artistic expression.

Stephen Friedman to close New York gallery, two years after opening the Tribeca space

Stephen Friedman, the Canadian-born, London-based dealer, will close his New York gallery in Tribeca at the end of February 2026, less than three years after opening the space in October 2023. The decision is described as a strategic evolution to consolidate operations in London, where several new directors have been hired. The gallery's artist roster will remain unchanged, and Friedman plans to stay active in the US art scene through major fairs. The closure follows a challenging period marked by a £1.7m loss in 2023 due to renovation costs and a downturn in the art market, with cash flow currently tight after slow exhibition sales.

Best art exhibits to see in the Bay Area this fall

The article highlights several notable art exhibitions opening in the Bay Area this fall, including 'Rave into the Future: Art in Motion' at the Asian Art Museum, featuring immersive dance culture works and ceramics by Sahar Khoury and Maryam Youssif; Selva Aparicio's solo show at Gallery Wendi Norris, where she carves rug designs into the floor and uses cicada wings and hair in her installations; Andrew Owen's photography exhibition 'In Light Years' at Small Works, capturing California's landscapes and environmental scars; Caterina Fake's installation 'Bed for Dreaming' at the Jones Institute, an experimental home gallery where guests can sleep in an ancient bed; and the farewell celebration at Altman Siegel Gallery after 16 years of operation.

'I never imagined we'd get here': Beirut gallery Marfa' Projects turns ten

Beirut gallery Marfa' Projects celebrates its tenth anniversary, a milestone founder Joumana Asseily never expected to reach given the immense challenges faced since opening in 2015. The gallery, located in the city's port district, survived widespread civil protests, Lebanon's economic crisis, and the devastating 2020 Port of Beirut explosion that destroyed its premises. Asseily rebuilt within a year, supported by a global network of fellow dealers who inspired her with virtual shows and offered solidarity during Israel's 2024 bombardment. The anniversary group exhibition features works consigned by partner galleries including Sadie Coles HQ, Experimenter, and Emalin, alongside Marfa' Projects artists like Mohamad Abdouni and Stéphanie Saadé, both of whom won major art fair prizes last year.

Where to find art gallery inspiration in Luxembourg

A guide to art galleries in Luxembourg highlights year-round venues like Villa Vauban, which focuses on 17th-19th century Old Masters, and Casino Luxembourg – Forum of Contemporary Art, known for its international contemporary program and experimental approach. The article also promotes Luxembourg Art Week, taking place November 21-23, 2025 at Glacis, featuring 77 galleries from 15 countries, and the Salon du Cercle Artistique de Luxembourg from November 1-16, 2025 at Tramsschapp.

Frieze London diary: a boozy gallery bar, head-turning headlines and talking mice

During Frieze London week, Thaddaeus Ropac gallery hosts Tom Sachs’s "A Good Shelf" exhibition featuring a working coffee and mezcal bar alongside 30 ceramic works inspired by Japanese tea bowls. At the satellite fair Minor Attractions, performance artist Mark McGowan (aka Artist Taxi Driver) displays subverted Daily Mail headlines. Ryan Gander’s solo show at Camden Arts Projects introduces a fourth animatronic mouse that critiques the state of contemporary art. Meanwhile, the Gallery of Everything presents "Ectoplasmix," a show of works depicting ectoplasm, including pieces by František Jaroslav Pecka, Mathew Weir, and Susan Hiller.

From Mondrian to Man Ray, Here Are the Best-Sellers at Auction So Far This Year

The article analyzes the best-selling artworks at auction in the first half of 2025, covering Old Masters, Impressionist and Modern, and Postwar categories. Notable sales include a pair of Francesco Guardi views of Venice that sold for $10.5 million at Sotheby’s New York, a Piet Mondrian abstraction from the estate of Barnes & Noble founder Leonard Riggio that fetched just under $50 million, and a monumental rhinoceros-shaped desk by François-Xavier Lalanne that more than tripled its high estimate after a 13-minute bidding war. The report highlights that Old Masters sales were up 24% year-over-year, while top Impressionist and Modern lots saw lower prices compared to 2024.

5 Standout Shows to See at Small Galleries This September

This article highlights five standout exhibitions at small and rising galleries for September 2025. Featured shows include Ali Tahayori's "Archive of Longing" at THIS IS NO FANTASY in Melbourne, where family photographs are transformed into fragile glass sculptures exploring memory; Michael Batty's "Ladders and Tone Poems" at Mark Moore Fine Art, an online exhibition of abstract, geometrically arranged paintings; and "William S. Burroughs: REDUX 1995–2025" at Robert Berman Gallery in Santa Monica, a survey of the Beat writer's gestural abstract paintings and mixed-media works.

Art’s new hybrid economy: who is making creative waves in a sector where analogue and digital media exist together?

The article examines how contemporary artists are navigating a hybrid art economy where analogue and digital media converge, particularly in the age of AI. It profiles Simon Denny, recently appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, whose machine-assisted paintings at Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler in Berlin address the illegibility of AI-generated images and the militarized rhetoric of Italian Futurism. Other artists featured include Sara Ludy, whose postdigital paintings at Smart Objects, Los Angeles, reflect screen-based perception, and Chris Dorland, whose exhibition at Nicoletti Contemporary, London, exposes the limits of technical systems through glitch aesthetics. Hito Steyerl's new book *Medium Hot: Images in the Age of Heat* (2025) is also discussed, questioning the role of images in an era of operational, nonhuman vision.

As Iraq's economy shows signs of recovery, a thirst for new art is emerging

Iraq's improving economy and security situation, despite regional conflict, is fueling a revival in its art scene. Artists who fled violence are returning, and curators from the Arab region are touring the country. Key initiatives include Tarkib, a Baghdad art platform co-founded by Hella Mewis that offers workshops and exhibitions, and Babil Performance Art, set up by Zurich-based artist Wathiq Al Ameri to focus on performance work. These efforts reflect a generational shift spurred by the 2019 Tishreen protests, particularly among young women.

What Does It Feel Like to Be Called an Emerging Artist at 72? Ask Takako Yamaguchi

Takako Yamaguchi, a 72-year-old Japanese-born artist based in Los Angeles, is experiencing a career resurgence with a new series of seascapes featured in a 2023 show at Ortuzar and the 2024 Whitney Biennial. She is set to receive her first solo museum exhibition in Los Angeles at MOCA's Grand Avenue space starting June 29, where she will present 10 new works. In an interview with CULTURED, Yamaguchi discusses her ambivalent relationship with the sea, her process of drawing inspiration from other artists' seascapes rather than nature itself, and her identity as an outsider who has lived most of her life in the U.S. while retaining Japanese citizenship.

In tough times for dealers, Art Basel debuts a section for new works

Art Basel is introducing a new section called Premiere at its upcoming fair, designed for galleries to present works created within the last five years by up to three artists, organized around a loose curatorial concept. The inaugural section features ten exhibitors, mostly smaller to mid-sized galleries showing mid-career artists, with prices ranging from €5,000 to $85,000. The section is priced at SFr22,000 for a 32 sq. m stand, cheaper than the main section but more expensive than the emerging-artist-focused Statements section, which can be financially risky for dealers.

London Gallery Weekend 2025: must-see shows for digital art lovers

London Gallery Weekend (LGW) 2025 features a strong digital art focus, with must-see shows by artists including Auriea Harvey, Tyler Hobbs, Beeple, and Robert Alice. Highlights include Beeple's interactive video sculpture *Tree of Knowledge* at the first South By Southwest London festival, LoVid's 25-year exploration of video and hand-stitched textiles at Gazelli Art House, David Salle's AI-assisted paintings at Thaddaeus Ropac, and Máté Orr's digital-first folklore paintings at JD Malat Gallery. The festival, where *The Art Newspaper* moderated a panel, underscores London's emergence as a digital art capital.

‘Maintenance Artist’ Highlights Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ Radical, Caring Approach to Public Art

A new documentary titled 'Maintenance Artist,' premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, profiles New York City artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles, who has served as artist-in-residence at the city's Department of Sanitation since 1977. The film traces her radical practice, which began with her 1969 'Manifesto for Maintenance Art' and includes performances like 'Touch Sanitation Performance' (1980), where she shook hands with all 8,500 sanitation workers, thanking each for keeping the city alive. Ukeles' work elevates overlooked labor—trash collection, street-cleaning—as a form of public art.

‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way’: Georg Baselitz incorporates his wheelchair into his art

Georg Baselitz, the 87-year-old German painter, has incorporated his wheelchair into his artistic process for a new series of 22 large-format paintings, 14 ink-on-paper drawings, and his first sculpture in over a decade. The works, made by spreading canvases on the floor and using the wheelchair's tracks to create swirling parallel lines, are on view at Thaddaeus Ropac in Pantin, Paris, in an exhibition titled 'Ein Bein von Manet aus Paris' (until 26 July). The show continues Baselitz's long exploration of the human figure, particularly his wife Elke, while introducing a novel technique that turns his mobility aid into a mark-making tool.

Record-breaking female Surrealists spice up underwhelming Christie’s New York sales

Christie’s New York spring sales brought in a combined $489 million across two evening auctions, including the Leonard and Louise Riggio collection ($272 million) and a 20th-century evening sale ($216 million). While sell-through rates were high at 94%, bidding was shallow and several high-profile lots underperformed: a Mondrian estimated at $50 million sold for $47.6 million, a Magritte from the Empire of Light series matched its 2023 price at $34.9 million, and a Lucio Fontana canvas that sold for $14 million in 2017 fetched just $7.5 million. Andy Warhol’s Big Electric Chair was withdrawn last minute amid a reported $10 million gap between seller and buyer expectations. The sales were bolstered by third-party guarantees and came hours after news of a temporary US-China tariff détente.

Together in doom: tense paintings of social ills feature at Tefaf New York

VIPs attended the opening of Tefaf New York at the Park Avenue Armory on 8 May, where a surprising number of dark, oppressive works stood out amid the usual luxury offerings. Highlights include Anne Imhof's entire stand at Sprüth Magers, featuring her painting *Untitled* (2024) showing figures holding hands before an atomic bomb (sold for €250,000), Fernando Botero's *El Nuncio* (1987) critiquing clerical power, Paula Rego's *The Bullfighter's Godmother* (1990-91) exploring dominance and loss, and George Grosz's interwar depictions of Berlin's social decay.

FROM SÃO PAULO TO NEW YORK: THE MUSEUM OF ERRANCY OF ÉDOUARD GLISSANT

DE SÃO PAULO A NUEVA YORK: EL MUSEO DE LA ERRANCIA DE ÉDOUARD GLISSANT

The exhibition "La tierra, el fuego, el agua y los vientos: Por un Museo de la Errancia con Édouard Glissant" has traveled from the Instituto Tomie Ohtake in São Paulo to the Center for Art, Research and Alliances (CARA) in New York, marking its first U.S. presentation. Curated by Manuela Moscoso with Marian Chudnovsky, and building on prior work by Ana Roman and Paulo Miyada, the show engages with the philosophy of Martinican poet and philosopher Édouard Glissant, particularly his concepts of errantry, Relation, opacity, and the Tout-Monde. It centers on Glissant's unrealized idea of a museum as a fluid, porous space that resists colonial frameworks and fixed origins, featuring works by artists such as Melvin Edwards, Gerardo Chávez, and Eduardo Zamora.