Michelle Blade Transforms Everyday California Scenes Into Luminous Reveries

Los Angeles-based painter Michelle Blade is presenting her first solo show with Night Gallery in Los Angeles, titled "It's About Time." The exhibition features a new body of work focused on still lifes and landscapes from around her home, captured at different hours of the day. Using acrylic and ink on cotton poplin with a wet-on-wet technique, Blade creates luminous, shimmering compositions that blend memory, perception, and projections of the future. The show follows her recent solo exhibition at the Powerlong Museum in Shanghai and her inclusion in the group show "Superbloom" at Night Gallery.

Jarvis Cocker Is Bringing His Eclectic Eye to the Hepworth Wakefield

Musician Jarvis Cocker and his wife, creative consultant Kim Sion, will curate an exhibition titled “The Hodge Podge” at the Hepworth Wakefield in the U.K., opening in May 2027. The show will feature artworks selected by the couple that challenge conventional definitions of art, spanning diverse media and time periods, with artists including Peter Doig, Barbara Hepworth, Jeremy Deller, and Emma Kunz. The exhibition will be bookended by an immersive Dreamachine, a 1959 light-art device by Brion Gysin and Ian Sommerville. Cocker and Sion have outlined their curatorial philosophy in a Hodge Podge Manifesto, celebrating beauty in chaos and disorder.

The Big Review | Lacma's David Geffen Galleries ★★★★

The Swiss architect Peter Zumthor's new $724 million building for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma), now called the David Geffen Galleries, has opened after nearly two decades of anticipation. The swooping concrete-and-glass structure is praised for its harnessing of natural light and horizontality, creating a stunning showcase for antiquities and inviting the city inside with floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of the La Brea Tar Pits and Wilshire Boulevard. The building performs best with sculpture and decorative objects, with standout works including Liz Glynn's "The Futility of Conquest" (2023) and Manjunath Kamath's "Vikatonarva" (2024).

Gulf art market feels the force of Middle East conflict

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East, involving the US, Israel, and Iran, has disrupted the Gulf region's art market. Key events like Art Dubai have been postponed, and the inaugural Frieze Abu Dhabi faces uncertainty, as the area's stability—crucial for attracting international dealers and auction houses—is now in question.

Antonio Homem, Champion of the Ileana Sonnabend Collection, Dies at 86

Antonio Homem, the longtime associate and eventual director of the Sonnabend Gallery, has died at 86. Homem began working with legendary gallerist Ileana Sonnabend in Paris in 1968, helped her open the New York gallery in 1971, and became the primary steward of the Sonnabend collection after her death in 2007, overseeing its transition into a foundation and a new public museum in Mantova, Italy.

Paris Dealer Kamel Mennour Buys Galerie Malingue, Founded Over Five Decades Ago

Parisian art dealer Kamel Mennour has acquired the historic Galerie Malingue, taking over its prestigious 4,300-square-foot showroom on Avenue Matignon. The purchase represents a generational shift, with the younger dealer assuming control of a space founded over fifty years ago by Daniel Malingue, known for its focus on Impressionist, Surrealist, and modern masters.

sothebys robert mnuchin collection rothko

Sotheby’s has secured the personal collection of the late financier and legendary art dealer Robert Mnuchin for its marquee May auctions in New York. The 24-work consignment is headlined by Mark Rothko’s 1957 masterpiece 'Brown and Blacks in Reds', which carries an estimate of $70 million to $100 million. The collection also features significant works by Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, and Jeff Koons, reflecting Mnuchin's lifelong dedication to postwar abstraction and the New York School.

takashi murakami interview perrotin los angeles

Takashi Murakami’s latest exhibition at Perrotin Los Angeles, titled “Hark Back to Ukiyo-e: Tracing Superflat to Japonisme’s Genesis,” marks a significant return to his academic roots in Nihonga (traditional Japanese painting). The show features 24 compositions, including four monumental canvases that took over three years to complete, blending Edo-period woodblock aesthetics with 19th-century Impressionism and contemporary Pokémon imagery. The artist describes this body of work as a reflection on the non-linear nature of time and the physical manifestation of memory.

artist studio

Journalist Bianca Bosker went undercover as a studio assistant for painter Julie Curtiss and other artists, revealing the gritty, athletic reality behind art-making—a world of blood, sweat, and sleepless nights. The article explores how mounting financial pressures, especially for sculptors and installation artists like Ivana Bašić, Erwin Wurm, and Lindsey Mendick, force tough decisions about studio space and production. Bašić, despite critical acclaim, lost a subsidized Dumbo studio and now outsources production to keep costs down, while a growing number of established artists pass on wisdom through residencies and assistant teams.

sonnabend collection works museum italy arte povera pop art

A new museum dedicated to the legendary art collection of dealer Ileana Sonnabend opened in Mantua, Italy, this past weekend. Housed in the 13th-century Palazzo della Ragione, the Sonnabend Collection Mantova displays nearly 100 artworks valued at $270 million, including masterpieces by Pop artists like Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, Arte Povera sculptors such as Michelangelo Pistoletto, and contemporary figures like Bruce Nauman. The project is a partnership between the Municipality of Mantua, the Sonnabend Collection Foundation, and Marsilio Arte, with a six-year renewable loan agreement.

state department confirms alma allen 2026 us pavilion

The US Department of State confirmed that Mexico-based artist Alma Allen will represent the United States at the 2026 Venice Biennale, opening next May. Jeffrey Uslip will serve as curator, and the commissioning institution is the American Arts Conservancy (AAC), with its executive director Jenni Parido as official commissioner. Allen, who has had only two museum solo shows in three decades, was approached directly by Uslip in October after the State Department had already approved him. The selection process broke from tradition: the National Endowment for the Arts was not involved due to time constraints and staffing transitions, and a prior proposal by artist Robert Lazzarini and curator John Ravenal fell through after negotiations with the University of South Florida’s Contemporary Art Museum collapsed. Allen’s pavilion, titled "Call Me the Breeze," will feature about 30 works exploring elevation and transformation, framed by the State Department as furthering the Trump Administration’s focus on American excellence.

picasso christies hong kong industry moves

Christie's Hong Kong is offering Pablo Picasso's 1944 painting *Buste de femme* with a high estimate of HK$106 million (about $13.6 million) at its 20th/21st Century evening sale, making it the top lot in Hong Kong's September sales across the three major auction houses. Other notable lots include Zao Wou-Ki's *7.3.63* (estimate HK$70–90 million) at Christie's and two Yoshitomo Nara works at Sotheby's and Phillips. In other industry moves, New York's Tilton Gallery is closing after its upcoming Ruth Vollmer exhibition; Esther Schipper Gallery now represents Lotus L. Kang; Başak Doğa Temür and Nilbar Güreş will collaborate on the Turkish Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale; Yan Du Project has appointed Billy Tang as artistic director; and Phillips will auction a juvenile triceratops skeleton in New York.

la louver gallery closes venice huntington archive donation

LA Louver, one of Los Angeles's longest-running galleries, is closing its physical space in Venice, California, after 50 years and shifting to private dealing. The gallery, founded in 1975 by Peter and Elizabeth Goulds, has shown artists including Marcel Duchamp, David Hockney, Ed Ruscha, and Doris Salcedo, mounting over 660 exhibitions. The Venice space will host select exhibitions by appointment, while the gallery will focus activities on a private warehouse in LA's West Adams neighborhood. The Huntington library, museum, and botanical garden will receive LA Louver's archive of photography, correspondence, and documents.

art basel qatar launch february 2026

Art Basel announced a partnership with Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) and QC+ to launch Art Basel Qatar in Doha in February 2026, marking the first major international art fair in the Middle East. The inaugural edition will feature a tightly curated selection of approximately 50 galleries, significantly smaller than Art Basel's other fairs, and will be held at M7, a creative hub in the Doha Design District. A director for the fair will be announced in the coming months.

interview mega collector dakis joannou

The article profiles billionaire Greek Cypriot collector Dakis Joannou, focusing on his superyacht *Guilty*, painted by Jeff Koons in dazzle camouflage, and his Deste Foundation's project space on Hydra. It describes the 2023 group show "Dream Machines," co-curated by Daniel Birnbaum and Massimiliano Gioni, featuring works by Koons, Andro Wekua, Mire Lee, and others, and includes an interview with Joannou about the yacht's design and his art collection.

jean paul engelen joins acquavella galleries

Jean-Paul Engelen, currently president for the Americas and worldwide co-head of modern and contemporary art at Phillips auction house, will join Acquavella Galleries as a director starting July 1. Engelen spent a decade at Phillips, where he helped increase auction sales by 72 percent between 2015 and 2021, and previously worked at Christie’s for 16 years and at Qatar Museums.

expo chicago 2025 report

Expo Chicago 2025 wrapped on Sunday with upbeat energy and larger crowds than usual, thanks to a scheduling change that allowed VIPs earlier access. The fair, now in its second edition under Frieze ownership, featured 170 exhibitors, a new magazine with artist profiles of Caroline Kent and Nick Cave, and a partnership with KIAF and the Galleries Association of Korea that brought 20 Korean galleries. Dealers reported healthy sales, including a sold-out presentation by Jaylon Hicks at Maximilian Williams gallery, with works priced from $3,000 to $20,000. Frieze leaders attended major events, signaling continued commitment to Chicago nearly two years after acquiring the fair.

New York’s Neue Galerie to Merge with Metropolitan Museum of Art in Major Expansion

The Neue Galerie, a private museum on New York's Upper East Side founded by collector Ronald S. Lauder, will merge with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2028. The institution will be renamed the Met Ronald S. Lauder Neue Galerie, or Met Neue for short. Lauder and his daughter Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer will contribute funds toward a $200 million endowment, along with 13 works from their collection, including a prized Gustav Klimt and paintings by German Expressionists. The Met plans to exhibit some holdings at its Fifth Avenue base, but Klimt's "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I" will remain at the townhouse.

Elsa Schiaparelli Gets Her UK Museum Debut at the V&A, in a Show Featuring Dalí, Man Ray, and Picasso

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is presenting the first UK exhibition dedicated to Italian fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli. Titled 'Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art,' the show features over 400 objects, including 100 ensembles, and traces her work from the 1920s to the present under current creative director Daniel Roseberry. It highlights her collaborations with major 20th-century artists.

‘Harlem has always been evolving’: inside the Studio Museum’s $160m new home

The Studio Museum in Harlem is set to inaugurate its new $160 million, purpose-built home on Manhattan’s 125th Street. Designed by Adjaye Associates in collaboration with Cooper Robertson, the 82,000-square-foot facility nearly doubles the museum's previous exhibition space and replaces a repurposed 1914 bank building that lacked essential infrastructure like loading docks and large elevators. This milestone marks the first time in the institution's history that it will operate out of a structure specifically designed to support its mission of championing artists of African descent.

On Curating Carnage

On Curating Carnage

The Berlin-based art journal *OnCurating* published a September 2025 issue titled "Let’s Talk About… Anti-Democratic, Anti-Queer, Misogynist, Antisemitic, Right-Wing Spaces and Their Counter-Movements." The article critiques this publication, arguing it uses the language of feminism, anti-racism, and anti-Semitism as a political tool to unconditionally support Israel and demonize the Palestinian cause, thereby aligning with German state policy and a specific strain of leftist thought known as Antideutsch.

art how to start art collection advice

Cultured magazine profiles 10 art collectors, sharing the stories of their first acquisitions. The article features collectors such as Miami real estate developer Craig Robins, hotelier Steve Wilson, Allison Sarofim, Brandon John Harrington, James Frey, and Rodrigo Padilla, recounting how they began their collections—from a Dalí sketch and a Matisse drawing to an Andy Warhol portrait and a late-night Instagram purchase. Each narrative highlights the personal, often serendipitous moments that sparked a lifelong passion for art.

2025 Art21 at the Movies

2025 Art21 at the Movies

On October 8 and 10, 2025, Art21 hosted its second 'Art21 at the Movies' event in New York. The two-day program featured film premieres, artist talks, and screenings at venues including the Metrograph and the Museum of Modern Art. It highlighted artists from the 'Art in the Twenty-First Century' series and included discussions with filmmakers and curators.

Melvin Edwards, pioneer of Black abstraction, 1937–2026

Melvin Edwards, a pioneering sculptor known for his steel assemblages that explored Black history and experience, has died. He was the first African-American artist to have a solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York in 1970. His signature series, Lynch Fragments, began in the 1960s as a response to the civil rights movement and evolved over his lifetime to incorporate references to the Vietnam War and African cultural practices.

At the ‘art world Olympics,’ Team USA is chaotic

The US Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, often called the 'art world Olympics,' is mired in controversy and delays under the Trump administration. Curator Jeffrey Uslip insists the process has been smooth and artistically autonomous, but the selection of sculptor Alma Allen and commissioner Jenni Parido—a former pet supply shop owner with a new nonprofit—has raised eyebrows. The usual vetting process by the National Endowment for the Arts was disrupted, new language banning diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts was added to applications, and a government shutdown left only six months to fundraise and plan the exhibition, which coincides with the US's 250th anniversary.

Behold! Nina Simone’s chewing gum! Inside the show celebrating extreme pop fandom

The Guardian reports on 'Holy Pop,' a new exhibition at London's Somerset House that celebrates extreme pop fandom through personal shrines and collections. The show features photographer Alice Hawkins's Dolly Parton shrine, including leaves from Parton's garden and hair extensions, alongside artifacts from fans of Prince, the Spice Girls, George Michael, Marc Bolan, and others. Curated by Tory Turk, the exhibition includes visual art by Graham Dolphin and Tox26, as well as films and photos of fans visiting stars' graves and impromptu memorials.

How an Artist and Museum Conspired to Give a Delivery Worker What the Apps Won’t: PTO

Artist Fields Harrington, after witnessing a delivery worker get hit by a car in Brooklyn, began photographing the customized bikes of New York City's delivery workers, capturing their gloves, reflective tape, and cultural markers. His series is now featured in MoMA PS1's "Greater New York" exhibition. In a direct act of reciprocity, Harrington convinced the museum to rent a delivery worker's bike and pay its owner, Gustavo Ajche, his usual wage of $21.44 per hour during museum hours. For one week each month, the bike is displayed, and every 21 minutes and 44 seconds, a notification ding sounds, referencing the wage Ajche and his group Los Deliveristas Unidos fought for.

Sea change: inside LACMA’s new curatorial strategy

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is debuting a radical curatorial overhaul within its new David Geffen Galleries, moving away from traditional 19th-century departmental silos. Led by Director Michael Govan and a team of 45 curators, the museum is implementing a cross-disciplinary approach that organizes the collection around "oceanic nodes"—the Mediterranean, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific. This strategy allows for the juxtaposition of disparate media and cultures, such as contemporary photography alongside ancient textiles, to highlight the historical circulation of ideas and people across bodies of water.

rediscovered sofonisba anguissola portrait winter show

A rediscovered 16th-century portrait by Sofonisba Anguissola, titled *Portrait of a Canon Regular* (1552), is being shown at the Winter Show at the Park Avenue Armory in New York. The painting was found in a private collection in Durham, North Carolina, after being known only through an old black-and-white photo at the Frick Art Reference Library. Old Master dealer Robert Simon is acting as the owners' agent, and the work is priced at $450,000.

cyberattack dresden state art collections

A cyberattack targeted the Dresden State Art Collections (SKD), a network of 15 museums in eastern Germany, on Wednesday. The attack disrupted large parts of the digital infrastructure, including the online shop and visitor services, but the museums remain open and physical security is intact. IT specialists and forensic experts are working to clean up and rebuild systems, with no timeline yet for full restoration. The SKD is cooperating with the Dresden Police and State Criminal Police Office, as confirmed by the Saxon State Minister for Culture and Tourism.