LACMA Sets May 4 Opening Date for $724 Million “Curvaceous Concrete Sandwich” as Reviews Pour In

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has announced that its new David Geffen Galleries will officially open to the public on May 4, 2025. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor, the $724 million "curvaceous concrete sandwich" spans Wilshire Boulevard and replaces four previous buildings. The inaugural exhibition, organized by a massive team of forty-five curators, will forgo traditional chronological displays in favor of a thematic framework centered on global oceanic exchange, featuring both permanent collection highlights and new commissions from contemporary artists like Lauren Halsey and Do Ho Suh.

American Artist, Penny Arcade Among 2026 Guggenheim Fellowship Cohort

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has announced its 101st class of fellows for 2026, awarding 223 individuals across 55 disciplines. This year’s cohort includes a significant number of visual artists and art professionals, such as American Artist, John Ahearn, Sonya Clark, and Fia Backström, alongside scientists, writers, and scholars. The fellowships provide varying monetary awards, typically ranging from $30,000 to $45,000, to support the recipients' ongoing creative and intellectual projects.

Laura Phipps Named Director of Gochman Family Collection

Laura Phipps has been appointed director of the Gochman Family Collection, a private collection focused on contemporary Indigenous art. She joins from the Whitney Museum of American Art, where she was an associate curator, and will oversee the collection's strategic direction and the opening of its new 10,000-square-foot exhibition space in Katonah, New York this fall.

Keith Haring and Louis Vuitton collaboration launches at the Frick Collection.

Louis Vuitton debuted its Cruise 2027 collection at the Frick Collection in New York, drawing heavy inspiration from artist Keith Haring. The collection was sparked by a leather Louis Vuitton suitcase that Haring embellished in 1984, which the house acquired in 2020. Haring’s signature motifs appeared throughout the runway show, which also referenced the gritty energy of New York City’s 1980s downtown art scene.

La grande fiera TEFAF si tiene a New York da 10 anni. Come sarà l’edizione 2026?

TEFAF New York returns to the Park Avenue Armory from May 15–19, 2026 (with a collector preview on May 14), marking the fair's tenth anniversary. The 2026 edition will host 88 top international galleries from 15 countries across four continents, offering museum-quality selections of modern and contemporary art, jewelry, antiques, and design. Highlights include Andy Warhol's Mao (1973) at ML Fine Art, Cecily Brown's Functor Hideaway (2008) at Berggruen Gallery, and a 2026 work by Minjung Kim at Voena. The fair also extends into the Armory's historic period rooms, and the TEFAF Museum Restoration Fund will support the conservation of a Medici tapestry owned by the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Valie Export, Avant-Garde Icon and Feminist Trailblazer, Dies at 85

Valie Export, the Austrian avant-garde artist known for her radical feminist performances, films, and sculptures, has died at age 85. Her gallery, Thaddaeus Ropac, announced her death, noting her groundbreaking work in the 1960s and 1970s introduced a new form of embodied feminism to Europe. Export, born Waltraud Lehner in Linz, Austria, changed her name in 1967 and became known for provocative works such as "Aktionshose: Genitalpanik" (1969) and "Tap and Touch Cinema" (1968–1971), which challenged voyeurism and the sexualization of women's bodies. She also co-founded the Austrian Filmmakers Cooperative in 1968 and was commissioned by the Austrian Broadcast Corporation for her film "Facing the Family" (1971).

Zurich’s Galerie Philipp Zollinger Closes After 7 years

Galerie Philipp Zollinger in Zurich is closing after seven years, as announced by founder Philipp Zollinger on Instagram. Citing continued global instability and a lack of conditions necessary to sustain the gallery, Zollinger explained that despite his willingness to invest further, the market no longer supports growth. The gallery focused on Swiss and Scandinavian artists working in three-dimensional media, along with artists from Southeast Asia and the United States. Its final exhibition, a dual presentation of Renée Levi and Theo Eble, closed on April 18 at Galerie Mueller in Basel. The closure follows a previous move from a nomadic operation to a physical space on Rämistrasse, which shut in fall 2025 due to an unstable art market and shifting collecting trends.

Marian Goodman Gallery to ‘Pause’ Operations in Los Angeles

Marian Goodman Gallery is suspending operations at its Los Angeles location after two and a half years, following the conclusion of Tacita Dean's solo show on April 25. The gallery's partners announced a consolidation of programming to its historic homes in New York and Paris, stating they will evaluate the space's future while maintaining an LA presence through art fairs, special projects, and museum exhibitions.

London's Southbank Centre to receive £10m government funding boost

The UK government has announced a £10 million funding boost for London’s Southbank Centre as part of a broader £128 million investment package for 130 cultural venues nationwide. Administered by Arts Council England, the grant is earmarked for urgent infrastructure repairs, including fixing leaking roofs and modernizing rigging systems, coinciding with the center's 75th anniversary. Other major beneficiaries of the Creative Foundations Fund include the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art and Firstsite gallery.

u haul gallery frieze london

During Frieze London's VIP preview day, guerrilla dealers Jack Chase and James Sundquist parked their U-Haul Gallery truck outside Regent's Park, selling T-shirts and art by Vladimir Umanetz. The duo, known for launching the U-Haul Art Fair during Armory Week in New York, set up a mobile exhibition inside the truck featuring Umanetz's mixed-media work O-14 (LPSVCYDH) (2025–present) and a giant image of Tina Turner. Park attendants eventually forced them to move under threat of police action, but they later relocated outside Thaddaeus Ropac's London gallery during a party for Tom Sachs.

Tracey Emin’s Retrospective Bears Witness to an Era

Tracey Emin's major retrospective, 'Tracey Emin / Edvard Munch: The Loneliness of the Soul,' has opened at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. The exhibition pairs Emin's deeply personal works, including her iconic 'My Bed,' with paintings by Norwegian expressionist Edvard Munch, exploring shared themes of love, loss, and existential anguish.

The Box LA, Beloved Risk-Taking Art Space, Closes After 19 Years

The Box LA, a pioneering experimental art space in Los Angeles known for its fearless support of unconventional and performance art, is closing after 19 years. Founded in 2007 by Mara McCarthy in Chinatown (later moving to the Arts District), the gallery operated as a commercial space but with a nonprofit ethos, championing underrecognized artists from her father Paul McCarthy's generation alongside emerging talents. Its final exhibition, a retrospective of Wally Hedrick presented with Parker Gallery, ended April 4, with a closing celebration planned for June 6 featuring a fashion show by Johanna Went. The closure is attributed to financial struggles, exacerbated by the Eaton Fire that destroyed McCarthy's home and her family's, and a shift in support from McCarthy Studios.

Art Movements: Meet The Met's New Photography Curator

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has appointed Oluremi C. Onabanjo as its new curator of photographs, bringing her expertise in African and Black diasporic histories from MoMA. This announcement leads a series of industry shifts, including Melissa Chiu’s move from the Hirshhorn to direct the Guggenheim, and the relocation of the influential gallery 47 Canal to Chelsea. Additionally, the New York Foundation for the Arts distributed nearly $500,000 in grants to 129 artists and organizations in Queens.

Hong Kong’s M+ And Centre Pompidou Announce Strategic Partnership

M+, Hong Kong's museum of modern and contemporary art, has announced a multi-year strategic partnership with the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The collaboration includes co-organized exhibitions at M+ starting in 2027, a joint exhibition at the renovated Pompidou around 2030, and a four-year postdoctoral fellowship funded by the Huo Family Foundation, established by philanthropist Yan Huo in 2009. The Huo Research Fellow will focus on twentieth- and twenty-first-century Western and Asian art.

What the Met Gains from the Neue Galerie

Was das Met mit der Neuen Galerie gewinnt

The Neue Galerie, a private museum for German and Austrian art founded by billionaire collector Ronald S. Lauder, will be integrated into the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) as an auxiliary branch under the new name "The Met Ronald S. Lauder Neue Galerie." The transition, announced by founding director Renée Price, is set to be completed by 2028, with the Met assuming full operational control after a planned renovation of the historic townhouse on Fifth Avenue. The merger follows years of Lauder's stewardship and ensures the long-term future of the collection, which includes masterpieces by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Wassily Kandinsky, and Max Beckmann.

fondazione dries van noten opens with inaugural exhibition at palazzo pisani moretta, venice

Fondazione Dries Van Noten has opened at Palazzo Pisani Moretta in Venice with its inaugural exhibition, "The Only True Protest Is Beauty," running from April 25 to October 4, 2026. Curated by Dries Van Noten himself, the show features over 200 works across twenty rooms, blending fashion, art, design, ceramics, glass, and photography. Highlights include archival pieces by Christian Lacroix and Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garçons, alongside works by emerging and established artists such as Ayham Hassan, Peter Buggenhout, Ritsue Mishima, and Misha Kahn. The exhibition avoids a fixed curatorial logic, instead using instinctive juxtapositions to explore beauty as tension and disruption.

‘Quality always rules’: VIP day sales at Frieze London 2025

Frieze London 2025 opened with VIP day sales reflecting a cautious but resilient market. Gallerists reported solid sales, including Michael Landy's 'Multi-Saint' (2013) sold to the Walker Art Gallery for €125,000, and blue-chip works at Frieze Masters such as René Magritte's 'Le domaine enchanté' (1953) for $1.6m and Gabriele Münter's 'The Blue Garden' (1909) for SFr2.4m ($3m). Dealers noted a shift from speculative frenzy to more considered buying, with collectors taking longer to decide but still investing in quality works. The fair saw strong attendance, including wealthy individuals who had left London due to UK tax changes returning to buy.

What Germany’s Art Market Reveals About the Limits of Localism

German art dealers are increasingly pivoting toward regional strategies as the national market faces a period of stagnation. While the broader European Union saw a modest rise in dealer sales, Germany’s market contracted by 4 percent between 2024 and 2025, hampered by high interest rates and a sluggish post-pandemic recovery. In response, major fairs like Art Cologne are launching satellite editions in locations like Mallorca to follow wealthy German collectors on vacation, while Art Düsseldorf prepares for a record-breaking edition despite the economic downturn.

friends fair austin 2026 exhibitor list

The Friends Fair in Austin has announced its second edition, scheduled for May 7–9, 2026, at the Loren Hotel Austin. Following a successful debut that drew over 2,000 visitors, the boutique fair is expanding its roster from 10 to 17 exhibitors, occupying an entire floor of the hotel. The lineup features a mix of returning local staples like Martha’s and McLennon Pen Co. alongside new additions from major art hubs including Los Angeles, Miami, and New York, plus non-commercial presentations by Co-Lab Projects and UT Austin MFA students.

chicago neighbors expo satellite fair

Collector Mirka Serrato and gallerist Jonny Tanna are launching Neighbors, a new satellite art fair debuting during Expo Chicago in April 2025. Located in a 1,200-square-foot neoclassical apartment in Chicago’s Gold Coast, the fair rejects traditional booth structures in favor of a domestic, intimate setting. The inaugural exhibitor list features a mix of local and international galleries, including London’s Gathering and Harlesden High Street, as well as spaces from New York and Dallas.

nada new york 2026 exhibitor list

The New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) has announced the exhibitor list for its 12th New York edition, featuring over 110 galleries from around the globe. Scheduled for May 13–17, 2026, the fair returns to the Starrett-Lehigh Building in West Chelsea, showcasing a mix of 45 NADA members and 51 first-time participants. Highlights include the TD Bank Curated Spotlight, which will be organized by Anthony Elms, the artistic director of the Mattress Factory.

who will art basel draw to doha

Art Basel will launch a new fair, Art Basel Qatar, in Doha in February 2025, featuring around 50 exhibitors. The expansion into West Asia follows the fair's earlier move into Hong Kong in 2013 and reflects the region's growing wealth and cultural development. Vincenzo de Bellis, Art Basel's director of fairs, stated the company aims to attract collectors from the entire Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region as well as South Asia. The announcement has drawn interest from collectors and curators across Asia, including those from the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and India, who see the fair as a potential turning point for Doha's art scene.

untitled art houston 2025 exhibitor list

Untitled Art has announced the 84 exhibitors for its inaugural Houston edition, taking place September 19–21, 2025, at the George R. Brown Convention Center, with a preview day on September 18. The fair, which has run in Miami Beach for 12 years, expands to Houston citing the city's $1.3 billion arts-related spending in 2022, making it the largest art market in Texas. The exhibitor list includes 17 Texas-based galleries (about 20% of participants), leading US galleries from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit, and New York, and international dealers from Canada, Spain, the UK, Peru, the Bahamas, and Latvia. A Nest section offers reduced booth prices for 20 galleries, and the fair will collaborate with Houston institutions including the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, and the Menil Collection for special projects.

7 Artists to Watch at the New York Fairs This Weekend

The article highlights seven artists and presentations to watch at the New York art fairs this weekend, including Frieze, TEFAF, Independent, and NADA. Key highlights include Comme des Garçons' sculptural fashion display at Independent, Danish painter Eva Helene Pade's U.S. debut at Thaddaeus Ropac's TEFAF booth, and sold-out booths for Kelly Sinnapah Mary at James Cohan and Rachel Youn at G Gallery during Frieze. The piece notes that while no single viral spectacle dominates this fair week, a quieter but compelling mix of works and sales is drawing attention across venues.

How Artist Iréne Norén Used Painting to Reclaim Her Relationship to Her Body

Artist Iréne Norén, who began painting just three years ago after a personal crisis, is now mounting her first solo gallery show in New York. Titled "Reliquary of the Body: Returning to Eden," the exhibition opens at Harper’s Chelsea and explores themes of shame, self-acceptance, and the female body, drawing on Catholic art historical imagery and Renaissance altarpiece structures. Norén started painting after an abortion while living in New York without a work visa, using art as a tool for emotional expression and confidence.

In His Last Interview, Georg Baselitz Unpacks His New Nudes, Identity Art, and Being a Lifelong Outsider

Georg Baselitz, the influential German painter known for his inverted, upside-down works, gave his final interview before his death on April 30 at age 88. In the conversation, he discussed his upcoming exhibition "Eroi d’Oro [Heroes of Gold]" at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice, featuring monumental gold-primed canvases depicting nude portraits of himself and his wife Elke. Baselitz reflected on his lifelong outsider status, his refusal to follow artistic movements, and the controversial nature of his work, including his 1963 painting that led to an obscenity trial.

art georg baselitz artist venice death

Georg Baselitz, the influential German painter known for his inverted, upside-down artworks, has died at age 88 on April 30. The news was announced by his longtime gallery, Thaddaeus Ropac, via an obituary written by Robert Isaf. Baselitz gave his final spoken interview weeks before his death, discussing his upcoming exhibition “Eroi d’Oro [Heroes of Gold]” at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice, which opened May 6. The show features monumental gold-primed canvases with inverted portraits of himself and his wife Elke, which he described as a summary of his career and a reflection on art history.

art gordon veneklasen sigmar polke

Art dealer Gordon VeneKlasen, former longtime partner of Michael Werner, launched his own gallery at the start of 2025. The new VeneKlasen Gallery made its art fair debut at the inaugural Art Basel Qatar in Doha and will open twin shows of the late German artist Sigmar Polke at its New York and London spaces on March 3 and 12, respectively. In an interview, VeneKlasen discusses his career trajectory, from studying art history and working at the Ashmolean Museum to a stint with the U.S. Census Bureau, before joining Michael Werner and eventually striking out on his own. Several artists, including Florian Krewer, Issy Wood, and Sanya Kantarovsky, are following him to his new venture.

art cayetano ferrer sculpture los angeles

Cayetano Ferrer, a 44-year-old artist born in Honolulu and raised in Las Vegas, is featured in a studio visit ahead of his solo exhibition "Object Prosthetics" at Commonwealth and Council in Los Angeles, running from January 31 to March 14. Ferrer's work often begins in archives, exploring how time is annotated and reinterpreted; his early piece made from casino carpeting was shown at the first "Made in L.A." biennial in 2012. He has salvaged fragments from the original William Pereira-designed LACMA buildings for recent projects, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Historic Preservation at Columbia University. The interview covers his creative process, influences like Caetano Veloso's concept of antropofagia, and his use of a hot iron seaming machine called the Kool Glide Pro.

art basel miami beach report viral moments

Art Basel Miami Beach 2025 generated viral moments with Beeple's 'Regular Animals' installation featuring robot dogs with billionaire faces, while Leandro Erlich's underwater sculpture garden 'Reefline' debuted concrete cars in Biscayne Bay. The fair's priciest work was Andy Warhol's $18 million 'Muhammad Ali' (1977), sold by Lévy Gorvy Dayan. Other highlights included Katie Stout's public commission 'Gargantua's Thumb' in the Miami Design District, Refik Anadol's AI screen, and the return of Sukeban, a Japanese women's wrestling league, as a crowd favorite.