London Gallery Weekend, Brazil’s National Museum, Jane Austen at the Morgan—podcast

The latest episode of The Art Newspaper's podcast 'The Week in Art' covers three major stories: the fifth edition of London Gallery Weekend, which opens amid a sluggish global art market; the National Museum of Brazil's planned partial reopening after a devastating 2018 fire; and the Morgan Library & Museum's new exhibition 'A Lively Mind: Jane Austen at 250', featuring a miniature portrait of the author. Host Ben Luke speaks with gallerists Ananya Mukhopadhyay and Jeremy Epstein about the weekend's potential market impact, interviews museum director Alexander Kellner on the recovery efforts, and discusses the Austen portrait with curator Juliette Wells.

Come for the Jeff Koons living sculpture, stay for the wine: A map of LACMA's David Geffen Galleries

The Los Angeles Times has published a guide to the new public park surrounding LACMA's David Geffen Galleries, designed by architect Peter Zumthor. The 3.5-acre campus features outdoor dining, a sculpture garden, and a 300-seat theater, with free public art including Jeff Koons' topiary "Split-Rocker," Chris Burden's "Urban Light," and works by Alexander Calder, Pedro Reyes, and Shio Kusaka. The article provides a detailed map of installations, amenities, and nearby attractions like the La Brea Tar Pits.

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Alexander Butyagin, a senior archaeologist at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, was arrested in Poland following an extradition request from Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities accuse Butyagin of conducting illegal excavations at the ancient Greek colony of Myrmekion in Crimea without the required permits following Russia's 2014 annexation. He is specifically accused of removing 30 gold coins, including rare artifacts bearing the name of Alexander the Great, while operating under Russian authority in occupied territory.

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The Manhattan District Attorney's office has returned 29 antiquities valued at $3 million to Greece, following seizures by its Antiquities Trafficking Unit. The objects were recovered from ongoing investigations into looting and trafficking networks run by convicted traffickers Robin Symes and Eugene Alexander. Two of the items—a Bronze Foot in the Form of a Sphinx and a Bronze Applique of a Gorgon, both from the 6th century B.C.E.—were seized from the Metropolitan Museum of Art this year, having passed through traffickers and galleries before entering the museum's collection.

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The Manhattan District Attorney's Office, led by Alvin Bragg and the Antiquities Trafficking Unit under Matthew Bogdanos, has repatriated over 30 antiquities to Spain, Italy, and Hungary. The returned objects include a 1st-century CE marble head of Alexander the Great as Helios, a 1675 Jesuit manuscript stolen during World War II, and several 6th-century Visigoth pendants trafficked by Robin Symes and sold to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1990. The items were seized from traffickers including Giacomo Medici, Giovanni Franco Becchina, Robin Symes, Robert Hecht, Eugene Alexander, and Edoardo Almagià, who is awaiting extradition from Italy.

EU imposes sanctions on Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of Russia's State Hermitage Museum

The European Union has imposed sanctions on Mikhail Piotrovsky, the director of Russia's State Hermitage Museum, as part of its 20th sanctions package adopted on 23 April. Piotrovsky, a vocal supporter of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is cited for being a close associate of Vladimir Putin and for actively supporting the war, including justifying Russian cultural policies that incorporate Ukrainian museum items into Russia's State Museum Fund and enabling unauthorized archaeological excavations in occupied Crimea. The sanctions also target three other cultural officials involved in the Crimean digs. Meanwhile, Hermitage archaeologist Alexander Butyagin, arrested in Poland in December 2025 at Ukraine's request, was released in a prisoner exchange on 28 April.

Trustees of Renowned West Coast Artist Residency Visited Epstein’s Island

Two trustees of the prestigious Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Alexander Maxwell Djerassi and Michael Molesky, were identified in recently released Department of Justice files as visitors to Jeffrey Epstein’s private island in 2011. The pair attended the "Mindshift Conference," a gathering of academics and professionals held two years after Epstein’s first conviction. The residency program, located in California's Santa Cruz Mountains, clarified that the visit occurred years before either individual joined the board and emphasized that neither Epstein nor Ghislaine Maxwell ever had any formal ties or donor history with the institution.

What Art Can Do

A conversation between German author and filmmaker Alexander Kluge and curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, originally published in 2017, has been republished following Kluge's recent death at age 94. The dialogue explores the unique capacities of different art forms, the need for interdisciplinary collaboration, and the role of art as an "oasis" or "garden" within an overwhelming technological landscape.

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Alexander Calder’s monumental sculpture "Mountains and Clouds," located in the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., is finally undergoing a full restoration. The 75-foot-wide "clouds" component of the mobile was dismantled in 2016 due to structural safety concerns, leaving only the stationary "mountains" portion on display for nearly a decade. Supported by private funding secured by the Calder Foundation, the project will refabricate the suspended elements and reinstall the computer-controlled motor system that allows the sculpture to rotate.

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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has charged veteran New York antiquities dealer Michael Ward with criminal facilitation following an investigation into the illicit trade of cultural property. Ward, who operated his Upper East Side gallery for nearly forty years, was convicted in September for his role in facilitating the sale of stolen artifacts, including a 1st-century gilded bronze plaque. Court documents reveal a broader pattern of misconduct involving 40 objects stolen from Italy, Greece, and Turkey, with a total value reaching into the millions.

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Alexander Calder's painted wood mobile "Painted Wood" (ca. 1943) sold for $20.4 million at Christie's 20th-century evening sale in New York, exceeding its $15–$20 million estimate. The work, from the collection of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, was acquired over 30 years ago and made its auction debut. Bidding was competitive among Christie's staffers Alex Rotter, Max Carter, and Patrick Saich, with Saich winning the lot for a client after a brief technical hiccup. The result is the second-highest price ever for a Calder at auction, behind "Poisson volant (Flying Fish)" (1957) which sold for $25.9 million in 2014.

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The Hamptons Jewelry Show (HJS) returns July 24–27, 2025, in Southampton, New York, for its eighth edition. The event brings together 80 brands, dealers, and artisans from around the world, offering high-end jewelry including signed pieces from Cartier, Bulgari, Van Cleef & Arpels, and David Webb. Curator Hilary Joy Diaz and founder Rick Friedman emphasize the show's direct-to-customer model, where collectors meet makers and dealers face-to-face, contrasting with traditional retail and art fair models.

‘The doorbell went at 5am. Six masked men were outside’: Belarus Free Theatre bring totalitarian terror to the Venice Biennale

Belarus Free Theatre (BFT), an exiled troupe based in London, is presenting its first major visual art project, titled 'Official. Unofficial. Belarus.', at the Venice Biennale. The installation, masterminded by the founders' daughter Daniella Kaliada, features contributions from former political prisoners, painters, sculptors, composers, and world-renowned chef Rasmus Munk, who created a dish evoking detention under an authoritarian regime. The work includes a giant ball of banned books, surveillance cameras attached to an iron crucifix, and a custom scent of a freshly dug grave, all reflecting the terror of life under Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko.

A Sculptor’s Life, in Constant Motion

A major retrospective of Alexander Calder’s work has opened in Paris, offering a comprehensive look at the sculptor’s career-long obsession with movement and balance. The exhibition invites visitors to engage directly with his iconic mobiles and wire sculptures, emphasizing the physical and temporal experience of art that shifts with the surrounding air and light.

Suspect Arrested for $240,000 Damage to Chihuly Glass Artworks

A man was arrested for allegedly breaking into the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibition in Seattle and destroying multiple glass sculptures, causing an estimated $240,000 in damage. The suspect, Alexander Taylor Weis, reportedly threw glass at security staff and attempted to stab a guard with a shard before being apprehended by police.

Longevity and Obsoletion Impress Upon Alexander Endrullat’s Intaglio Prints

Longevity and Obsoletion Impress Upon Alexander Endrullat’s Intaglio Prints

Artist Alexander Endrullat has created a new series of intaglio prints by running discarded laptops through a century-old printing press. The process, discovered impulsively, physically deforms the devices with each pass, revealing worn keys and internal damage while transferring their textures and residues onto paper.

Hessink’s to hold inaugural Georgian art auction in Tbilisi

Hessink’s Tbilisi Auction House has announced its inaugural international auction, "Contemporary Georgian Art," scheduled for April 27, 2026, at the Museum of Modern Art in Tbilisi. The sale will feature 90 works ranging from the late Soviet era to contemporary pieces, highlighting prominent figures such as Alexander Bandzeladze and Vera Pagava alongside emerging talents. To ensure global reach, the auction will be broadcast via digital platforms including Drouot and Invaluable, preceded by a week-long public preview.

Treasures from the worlds of fashion and art collide at an extraordinary new exhibition in Lisbon

A new exhibition titled 'Art & Fashion' has opened at Lisbon's Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, curated by Eloy Martínez de la Pera Celada. It juxtaposes masterpieces from the museum's permanent collection—spanning ancient Egyptian artifacts to Rembrandt and Impressionist works—with historic and contemporary fashion pieces, including garments from Charles Frederick Worth, Yohji Yamamoto, Dries Van Noten, Alexander McQueen, and Sarah Burton's debut at Givenchy. The show is organized by regional provenance and temporarily replaces the museum's usual display while its Brutalist building undergoes renovation.

Nocturne Calder #1: Exhibition, music, workshop and bar at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in May 2026

The Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris will host its first late-night event dedicated to Alexander Calder on Friday, May 8, 2026. Titled "Nocturne Calder #1," the evening features guided micro-tours of the retrospective "Calder. Dreaming in Equilibrium" (April 15–August 16, 2026), a creative workshop inspired by the artist, music, and a food-and-drinks offering. The program also includes a spotlight on the concurrent Armineh Negahdari exhibition. The event runs from 7:00 PM to 10:30 PM, with timed tours and open gallery spaces.

A Landmark Calder Exhibition with Over 300 of His Revolutionary Works Goes on View in Paris

The Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris has launched "Calder: rêver en équilibre," a massive retrospective featuring over 300 works by the American modernist Alexander Calder. The exhibition spans the artist's entire career, from his early engineering-influenced "Circus" performances and hand-wrought jewelry to his iconic suspended mobiles and monumental outdoor sculptures. Notably, the show marks the first time the Frank Gehry-designed institution has installed artworks on its exterior lawns, creating a dialogue between Calder’s geometric forms and the building's avant-garde architecture.

Artist Alexander Calder's mobiles come to life in a Paris exhibition

The Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris has launched a major retrospective dedicated to the American artist Alexander Calder, featuring approximately 300 works. The exhibition showcases 139 of his signature kinetic sculptures and 33 paintings, utilizing the institution's vast internal galleries as well as its external gardens. This marks the first time the museum's outdoor spaces, designed by the late architect Frank Gehry, have been used to host such a comprehensive display of Calder's monumental works.

What’s on now at San Francisco museums, April 2026

San Francisco’s museum landscape is undergoing a significant shift this April, anchored by the major reinstallation "Reimagined: The Fisher Collection at 10" at SFMOMA. The exhibition marks a decade of the museum's partnership with the Doris and Donald Fisher Collection, featuring works by Alexander Calder, Sol LeWitt, and Roy Lichtenstein across multiple floors. While the city celebrates these high-profile openings and the announcement of SECA Art Award finalists, the local scene faces challenges as the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts has suspended operations due to institutional difficulties.

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.

High-Profile Montreal-Based Art Gallery Opening in Wynwood This Summer

Montreal-based Galerie de Bellefeuille, a commercial gallery founded in 1980 that represents over 100 artists including Damien Hirst, Robert Indiana, Jeff Koons, and Alexander Calder, has announced it will open a 4,000-square-foot location at 136 NW 25th St. in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood this summer. The expansion comes shortly after the gallery's planned U.S. flagship in Midtown New York, and marks the latest in a wave of international galleries establishing a presence in Miami.

The Aldrich Names Artists for First-Ever Decennial

The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art in Connecticut has announced the 40 participating artists for its first-ever Aldrich Decennial, a survey exhibition titled "I am what is around me." Opening June 7 and running through January 10, 2027, the show focuses on artists living and working in Connecticut who have never had a solo museum exhibition in the state. Notable participants include painter Dominic Chambers, multimedia artist Arghavan Khosravi, and novelist-poet Renee Gladman. The exhibition draws its title from a 1917 poem by Wallace Stevens, a longtime Connecticut resident.

Rare wooden Alexander Calder mobile heads to Christie’s

Christie’s has secured the consignment of Painted Wood (1943), a rare wooden mobile by Alexander Calder, which will lead its 20th Century Evening Sale next month. Specialists estimate the work will sell for between $15 million and $20 million, the highest auction estimate ever placed on a Calder piece. The mobile comes from the collection of prominent Latin American art collector Patricia Phelps de Cisneros and was featured in Calder’s landmark 1943 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, where he became the youngest artist to receive a solo exhibition at the museum.

Iconic photos are part of Gordon Parks exhibition at Wichita Art Museum

The Wichita Art Museum opens "Homeward to the Prairie I Come," an exhibition of 71 photographs by Gordon Parks, running from May 11 to July 27, 2025. The works come from a collection Parks curated and donated to Kansas State University in 1973, now held by the Beach Museum of Art, which co-curated the touring show with Aileen Wang and Sarah Price. The exhibition is organized thematically around five large iconic images, including portraits of Muhammad Ali, Alexander Calder, Malcolm X, and Flavio da Silva, the subject of Parks' first film.

One of LACMA's first commissions finds new life at David Geffen Galleries

Alexander Calder's monumental fountain sculpture "Three Quintains (Hello Girls)" has been reinstalled at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's new David Geffen Galleries, more than 60 years after it was first commissioned for the museum's original 1965 campus. The colorful, whimsical piece features four water jets that propel mobile-like paddles, and its water jets were turned back on in March 2025. The sculpture now anchors the northeast corner of the new building, placed alongside the main cafe and near the W.M. Keck Education Center, with a technically advanced filtration system to address previous environmental challenges.

A Theatre Group of Exiled Belarusian Artists Arrive in Venice, With an Exhibition That Shows What Repression Feels Like

The Belarus Free Theatre, an exiled underground theater group, will stage its first official collateral exhibition at the 61st Venice Biennale, titled “Official. Unofficial. Belarus.” The show, held in the historic La Chiesa di San Giovanni Evangelista di Venezia, features site-specific paintings, a sound installation, and large-scale sculptures that aim to immerse visitors in the experience of repression under authoritarian rule. This marks only the fifth time Belarus has been present at the Biennale, and the first time it appears not as a state but as a self-governing cultural body, challenging the official narratives of nations like Russia.

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Designer Alexander Wang and his mother Ying Wang have acquired the historic 58 Bowery building in New York's Chinatown for $9.5 million, marking its first Chinese American ownership. They are transforming the former bank into a cultural venue named Wang Contemporary, which will host exhibitions, performances, and festivals focused on Asian and Asian American creatives, with its inaugural exhibition curated by the art collective MSCHF.