'Kerry James Marshall: The Histories,' Largest-Ever UK Exhibition of the Artist Includes New Paintings Exploring Role of Black Africans in Transatlantic Slave Trade

The Royal Academy of Arts in London has opened 'Kerry James Marshall: The Histories,' the largest-ever UK exhibition of the American artist, featuring over 70 works spanning 1980 to the present. The show includes eight new paintings that confront the transatlantic slave trade and the role of Black Africans who participated in the enslavement of their own people, alongside celebrated pieces like 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of His Former Self' (1980) and 'Knowledge and Wonder' (1995), the latter displayed outside Chicago for the first time.

Exhibitions Coming to North Texas Museums this Summer

Museums across the Dallas-Fort Worth area have announced their summer exhibitions, including a range of shows from Western art that influenced Hollywood to immersive installations and historical surveys. The Sid Richardson Museum in Fort Worth debuted "The Cinematic West: The Art That Made the Movies," which explores how artists like Frederic Remington and Charles Russell shaped early silent Western films through paintings, sculptures, and ephemera. The Dallas Museum of Art reopened its popular Yayoi Kusama infinity room, "All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins," while the Nasher Sculpture Center opened "Generations: 150 Years of Sculpture," featuring 50 works from its permanent collection. The Amon Carter Museum of American Art is opening "East of the Pacific: Making Histories of Asian American Art" alongside a Richard Avedon exhibition.

The Great Lone Wolf of Art

Der große Einzelgänger der Kunst

Georg Baselitz, the German painter known for his radical, figurative works and iconic upside-down motifs, has died at age 88. Born Hans-Georg Kern in 1938 in Deutschbaselitz, Saxony, he fled East Germany for West Berlin in 1957 after being expelled from art school for "socio-political immaturity." Baselitz rose to international fame with his expressive, fractured depictions of the human figure, famously inverting his compositions starting with "Der Wald auf dem Kopf" (1969). He also worked as a stage and costume designer for operas by Harrison Birtwistle, György Ligeti, and Richard Wagner.

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A new museum dedicated to M. F. Husain, one of India's most important modernist artists, will open in Doha, Qatar, on November 28, 2025. Officially named Lawh Wa Qalam: M. F. Husain Museum, it is operated under the Qatar Foundation and will be the first museum devoted solely to Husain. The 32,300-square-foot institution, designed based on a 2008 sketch by the artist, will house a newly formed permanent collection spanning paintings, tapestries, photographs, films, installations, and poetry. Highlights include a series of paintings on Arab civilization commissioned by Sheikha Moza bint Nasser and Husain's final work, *Seeroo fi al ardh* (2009), which will have its own gallery. The museum is located in Doha's Education City, home to several US university outposts.

Édouard Glissant’s Museum-as-Archipelago

The article reviews the exhibition "The Earth, the Fire, the Water, and the Winds: For a Museum of Errantry with Édouard Glissant" at the Center for Art, Research and Alliances (CARA) in New York, the first U.S. showing of works from the personal collection of Martinician philosopher and writer Édouard Glissant. Curated from his archive, the exhibition features artists such as Roberto Matta, Wifredo Lam, Etel Adnan, Irving Petlin, Antonio Seguí, Öyvind Fahlström, Jack Whitten, and Mel Edwards, reflecting Glissant's friendships and intellectual exchanges across Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Highlights include Antonio Seguí's large pastel works from his Titanic series.

Elucidating the Esoteric with Hilma's Ghost

The feminist art collective Hilma’s Ghost, founded by artists Dannielle Tegeder and Sharmistha Ray, is reclaiming the role of alternative spiritualities and the occult within art history. Sparked by the 2018 Hilma af Klint retrospective at the Guggenheim, the collective emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic as a research-based project that bridges artmaking with esoteric practices like tarot, witchcraft, and neo-tantric cosmologies. Through workshops and collaborative paintings, the duo explores how women and queer artists have historically been erased from the canon due to their unconventional, mystical methods.

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The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) has announced a new exhibition titled “RM x SFMOMA,” featuring around 200 works from both the museum’s permanent collection and the personal collection of K-pop star RM, a member of BTS. RM will serve as lead curator, alongside assistant curator Hyoeun Kim and curatorial project manager América Castillo. The exhibition, running from October 2026 to February 2027, will pair Korean artists—including historical figures like Yun Hyong-keun, Park Rehyun, Chang Ucchin, and Kwon Okyon, as well as contemporary artists such as To Sangbong and Kim Yun Shin—with Western masters like Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin, Henri Matisse, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Paul Klee. A key highlight is Kim Whanki’s 26-I-70 (1979), owned by SFMOMA.

Defying Soft Power: “Proximities” at SeMA

The Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) is hosting "Proximities: Contemporary Art from the United Arab Emirates," a major survey featuring over 110 works by 47 artists. Co-curated by Maya El Khalil and Eunju Kim in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF), the exhibition eschews traditional chronological narratives in favor of a dense, non-linear exploration of Emirati identity. The show is organized into thematic chapters led by artist-curators, featuring works ranging from Shaikha Al Mazrou’s precarious sculptures to Raja’a Khalid’s olfactory installations.

V&A Pulls Catalog Materials Due to Chinese Censorship Laws

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London has admitted to removing maps and images from two exhibition catalogs following censorship demands from a Chinese printing firm. Documents revealed that C&C Offset Printing flagged content in the catalogs for the exhibitions "Music Is Black" and "Fabergé: Romance to Revolution" as violating Chinese law. The censored items included a 1930s map of British trade routes and a photograph of Vladimir Lenin, which the printer claimed could not be produced under Beijing’s strict regulations.

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Robert Wiesenberger has been appointed as the new senior curator of contemporary art at the Brooklyn Museum. The position had been vacant since 2023, following the departure of Eugenie Tsai after 15 years. Wiesenberger is moving from his current role as a curator of contemporary art at the Clark Art Institute in Massachusetts.

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A five-inch-tall red chalk drawing of a foot, attributed to Michelangelo (1475–1564), is set to be auctioned at Christie’s New York in February with an estimate of $1.5–2 million. The work was discovered when Giada Damen, a specialist in Old Master drawings at Christie’s, flagged it from a public online submission; after extensive provenance research, technical analysis, and comparison with known sketches, Christie’s has declared it a preparatory study for the Sistine Chapel ceiling (1508–1512). If authenticated, it would be one of only two such Michelangelo drawings remaining in private hands.

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The editor's letter for the 2025 ARTnews Top 200 Collectors issue recounts a cinematic moment at Art Week Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, where a government-affiliated collector described their role as "everyone and no one," reflecting the behind-the-scenes, museum-focused art acquisitions under Vision 2030. The issue features a report by Melissa Gronlund on the Gulf art scene, noting that Saudi Arabia is prioritizing museums and noncommercial programming before an independent market can emerge, while private collectors and foundations are also gaining ground. The article also highlights the cooling art market in Europe and the US, with collector Christen Sveaas criticizing blue-chip galleries for over-commercial pricing strategies.

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London-based nonprofit Yan Du Project (YDP) has appointed Billy Tang as its artistic director, effective this month, ahead of the opening of its new home in a Grade I-listed townhouse on Bedford Square this October. Tang, who was born in London to Vietnamese refugee parents, returns to the city after serving as executive director and curator at Para Site in Hong Kong, and previously held curatorial roles at Magician Space in Beijing and Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai. YDP is the second nonprofit founded by ARTnews Top 200 Collector Yan Du, following the Asymmetry Foundation launched in 2019.

Is Chinese Censorship Reaching Inside Britain’s Museums?

London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) has come under fire following reports that it altered exhibition catalogues to comply with Chinese government censorship. To reduce production costs, the museum utilized printers in China, which are subject to Beijing’s General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) regulations. Consequently, the museum removed historical maps and an image of Vladimir Lenin from publications for the "Music is Black" and "Fabergé: Romance to Revolution" exhibitions after they were flagged by Chinese authorities.

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art has agreed to repatriate 14 artifacts to Cambodia and two to Thailand following an investigation into the late antiquities dealer Douglas Latchford. Latchford, who was indicted in 2019 for trafficking looted Khmer Empire relics, died in 2020 before trial, but federal authorities have continued to track works sold through his network. The returned items include significant sandstone statues and bronze deities dating back as far as the 7th century.

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The British Museum has revised labels for ancient Middle Eastern artifacts in its Levant and Egypt galleries, removing the term 'Palestine' from descriptions of ancient civilizations. The institution states the changes are part of an ongoing review, driven by audience feedback and a recognition that the term is no longer historically neutral due to contemporary political sensitivities.

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Frederic Remington's 1905 painting *Coming to the Call* sold for $13.3 million at Christie's in New York, setting a new auction record for the artist. The work was part of the two-part sale "Visions of the West: The William I. Koch Collection," which became the most successful Western art auction ever, realizing $84.1 million.

LACMA New David Geffen Galleries Open 4/19... Installation of Do Ho Suh's 'Gyeongbokgung Jagyeongjeon'

LA카운티미술관(LACMA) 뉴 데이빗게펜 갤러리 4/19 오픈...서도호 작 '경복중 자경전' 설치

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has announced the official opening of the David Geffen Galleries on April 19, 2026. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor, the 900-foot-long horizontal structure spans Wilshire Boulevard and features a single elevated exhibition level for the museum’s permanent collection. The inaugural installation, curated by a collaborative team of 45 specialists, rejects traditional chronological or geographical hierarchies in favor of a thematic approach centered around global oceanic frameworks.

14 best art exhibitions to see in Tokyo in 2026

Tokyo's museums have announced their 2026 exhibition schedules, featuring a diverse lineup of international and domestic shows. Highlights include 'YBA & Beyond: British Art in the 90s from the Tate Collection' at the National Art Center, a major retrospective of Hajime Sorayama at the Creative Museum Tokyo, and a solo exhibition of Lithuanian artist M. K. Čiurlionis, alongside shows by Picasso, Ron Mueck, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and Minami Tada.

The best art books of 2025, as picked by The Art Newspaper’s editors

The Art Newspaper’s editors have selected their top art books of 2025, featuring a diverse range of titles. Highlights include "Kerry James Marshall: The Histories," a catalogue from the Royal Academy of Arts exhibition surveying the American artist’s large-scale history paintings centered on Black figures; "Minimal, edited by Jessica Morgan," which reassesses overlooked Minimalist artists; and "Lee Miller," the Tate Britain exhibition catalogue exploring the photographer’s multifaceted career. Other notable picks include monographs on Celia Paul, Shahzia Sikander, and Edward Gorey, as well as a comprehensive overview of Middle Eastern art from 1900 to now.

Nara's vampire-girl portrait sells for US$10m at Sotheby's, leading US$43m Hong Kong Evening Sale

Sotheby's Modern and Contemporary Evening Auction in Hong Kong on 28 September achieved HK$335 million (US$43.1 million), with a 95% sell-through rate across 40 lots. The top lot was Yoshitomo Nara's 2012 painting *Can't Wait 'til the Night Comes*, which sold for HK$79.9 million (US$10.3 million) to a private Asian collector. A group of five works by Roy Lichtenstein from the artist's personal collection also debuted at auction, collectively bringing HK$46.4 million (US$5.9 million).

The Show the Art World Loves to Hate Gets a Soul

The 60th Venice Biennale, titled "Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere," has opened to a polarized reception. Curated by Adriano Pedrosa, it is the first Biennale led by a Latin American curator and heavily features artists from the Global South, Indigenous creators, and queer artists, marking a significant departure from the Eurocentric focus of past editions.

A Muddy History of Plant-Hunting

The exhibition "Seeds of Exchange" at London's Garden Museum highlights a 1773 botanical collaboration between British amateur plant hunter John Bradby Blake and Cantonese painter Mak Sau. Centered on Blake’s unpublished "Flora Sinensis," the project attempted to systematically catalogue Chinese flora, including the Camellia japonica, through detailed watercolors that blended Western objective illustration with Chinese artistic expertise. These works served as the primary medium for introducing Chinese plant species to the West long before live specimens could survive the journey.

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."

13 Nudes That Changed Western Art History

The article presents a curated list of 13 seminal Western artworks featuring the nude form, highlighting how each piece shifted artistic conventions and cultural perceptions. It begins with the Paleolithic Venus of Willendorf and moves chronologically through works by artists including Sandro Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Lavinia Fontana, and Édouard Manet, analyzing their groundbreaking approaches to depicting the human body.

AI Model Reveals New Information About Authorship of 17th-Century El Greco Altarpiece

A team of scientists from Case Western Reserve University has developed a new AI model named PATCH that analyzes tiny sections of paintings to identify the number of artists involved in their creation. The model was applied to two works by El Greco, suggesting that 'The Baptism of Christ,' long thought to be a collaborative workshop piece, may have been painted primarily by the master himself.

Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter to Co-Headline ‘Immersive Experience’ at Art Basel

Thomas Bangalter, formerly of the electronic music duo Daft Punk, is scheduled to co-headline an immersive experience called 'WAREHOUSE ARTEFACTS' at the Art Basel fair in Basel, Switzerland. The event, produced by Nordstern Basel nightclub in cooperation with Art Basel and Fondation Beyeler, will also feature house music producer Rampa and conceptual artist Julian Charrière.

Tokyo Architect Kengo Kuma Beats Out Renzo Piano and Selldorf to Design National Gallery’s £350 M. New Wing

The National Gallery in London has appointed Tokyo-based architect Kengo Kuma to design a new £350 million wing as part of its ambitious £750 million "Project Domani" expansion. Kuma, known for the V&A Dundee, beat out high-profile Pritzker Prize winners Renzo Piano and Norman Foster for the commission. The project involves the demolition of St. Vincent House to create 15,000 square feet of new exhibition space dedicated to 20th and 21st-century art, along with new pedestrian zones and a roof garden.

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Artist Ai Weiwei has claimed in a new interview that he faced censorship in the West, citing a specific incident with London's Royal Academy. In late 2023, an exhibition of his new works at the Lisson Gallery was canceled after he posted a controversial tweet about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Subsequently, the Royal Academy held a vote on whether to revoke his honorary membership over accusations of antisemitism, which he won. Ai also claims the Academy then declined to publish an article he wrote on free speech for its magazine.

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The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has announced that its new building, the David Geffen Galleries, will open to members on April 19 and to the public on May 4. Designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, the 900-foot-long structure spans Wilshire Boulevard and offers 110,000 square feet of exhibition space, displaying 2,500 to 3,000 objects from the permanent collection on a single level. The museum also revealed that Willow Bay has been elected co-chair of its board of trustees, succeeding the late Elaine Wynn.