British artist and filmmaker Steve McQueen has been awarded the 2024 Erasmus Prize by the Dutch Praemium Erasmianum Foundation. The prize includes a cash award of 150,000 euros (approximately $172,000) and a specially designed booklet featuring the script of the 16th-century scholar Desiderius Erasmus.
Major galleries reported significant seven-figure sales on the opening day of Art Basel Hong Kong. Hauser & Wirth sold works by Louise Bourgeois and George Condo for millions, while David Zwirner sold paintings by Liu Ye and Marlene Dumas for $3.8 million each. Pace Gallery's CEO noted a renewed energy, and other blue-chip dealers like White Cube and Lehman Maupin also reported high-value transactions, particularly with Asian collectors and institutions.
Larry Gagosian, the mega-dealer, has candidly discussed the failure of his San Francisco gallery, which operated from 2016 to 2021. He stated the gallery simply failed because "nobody showed up" to openings, describing the experience as depressing. The closure was part of a broader reflection on his career, prompted by the opening of a new Gagosian gallery on New York's Upper East Side.
French designer and musician Lucas Lecacheur is creating wildly unconventional yet functional surfboards and skateboards, including a split board resembling crab pincers, a stingray-like shape, and a Brutalist board. Currently in Australia for Melbourne Design Week, Lecacheur is living and working out of At The Above gallery in Fitzroy, where he is crafting new boards like the cowboy boot-nosed Château Rouge. His designs, made with traditional materials like fiberglass, push the boundaries of surfboard norms while remaining rideable.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has opened a major new Costume Institute exhibition titled "Costume Art," which runs until January 10, 2027, in the newly designed Condé M. Nast Galleries by Peterson Rich Office. Curated by Andrew Bolton with Stephanie Kramer, Ayaka Iida, and Emily Mushaben, the show features nearly 400 objects from all 19 of the museum's collecting departments, organized around body typologies such as the "Classical Body" and "Aging Body." The exhibition marks a significant institutional commitment to fashion as a central curatorial concern, with the 12,000-square-foot space adjacent to the Great Hall.
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Anishinaabe artist Henry Guimond has designed a mission patch for Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen to wear during the Artemis II lunar mission. The artwork features seven symbolic animals representing the Seven Sacred Laws of Anishinaabe custom, intended as a universal message for humanity that will literally travel beyond Earth's orbit.
New York City is hosting a packed week of art fairs in May 2025, including Frieze at The Shed, Independent Art Fair at Pier 36, TEFAF New York at the Park Avenue Armory, and NADA New York at the Starrett-Lehigh Building. The fairs feature hundreds of international galleries, with Frieze emphasizing Central and South American exhibitors, Independent exploring a dystopian theme, TEFAF offering antiquities and fine art, and NADA celebrating its 12th edition with 121 galleries. The article also notes recent major exhibitions at the New Museum, Whitney Biennial, MoMA PS1, The Met, and MoMA, and includes a guide to Upstate New York art destinations.
The American Arts Conservancy, a new nonprofit with MAGA-aligned leadership, is fundraising for Alma Allen's 2026 US Pavilion at the Venice Biennale through a "Donate" button on its website, having received no institutional financial support. Meanwhile, a sculpture by Pedro Reyes at the newly unveiled LACMA building has sparked controversy for recalling a 2021 commission rejected by Mexico City after Indigenous and feminist protests, and the experimental LA nonprofit The Box has closed after 19 years.
embattled louvre director laurence des cars resigns
Laurence des Cars has resigned as director of the Louvre Museum following months of intense scrutiny and institutional turmoil. Her departure, accepted by French President Emmanuel Macron, comes in the wake of a massive $102 million jewelry heist in October 2025 that exposed severe security lapses, outdated infrastructure, and systemic management failures. Despite proposing a major security overhaul and a massive modernization project, Des Cars faced mounting pressure from government audits, staff walkouts, and investigations into ticket fraud.
The Saatchi Gallery in London is hosting 'Textile Art Redefined,' a group exhibition featuring 15 artists who push the boundaries of fiber and fabric. Curated by Helen Adams, the show includes diverse works ranging from Ian Berry’s immersive installations made of recycled denim to Kenny Nguyen’s undulating silk wall pieces and Anne von Freyburg’s textile reinterpretations of Rococo paintings. The exhibition coincides with the release of Adams' new book, 'Textile Fine Art,' which explores the medium's evolution from functional craft to a celebrated pillar of contemporary art.
French authorities arrested five additional suspects in connection with the historic theft of Napoleonic jewelry from the Louvre Museum, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau announced on Thursday. The coordinated raids took place in Paris and its northern suburbs, with one suspect identified through DNA evidence. The investigation has advanced by studying encrypted communications from seized phones. The heist occurred on October 19, when four masked thieves broke into the Apollo Gallery during opening hours, stealing nine artifacts worth approximately $102 million, though one crown was dropped during the escape. Two suspects were previously arrested on October 25, one at Charles de Gaulle Airport. The stolen jewels remain unrecovered, and authorities are searching the black market for them.
On a warm spring Saturday, the Dia Art Foundation hosted its annual Spring Benefit at Dia Beacon, drawing a cross-disciplinary crowd of artists, curators, museum leaders, and fashion figures. The event celebrated the opening of seven major exhibitions across the Beacon campus, featuring works by John Chamberlain, Lee Ufan, Kishio Suga, and Jack Whitten, and marked the rollout of a new partnership with Chanel. Guests explored over 20 galleries, enjoyed a seasonal lunch amid Chamberlain's sculptures, and participated in a special children's program, all set within the former Nabisco box-printing factory along the Hudson River.
Cultured magazine asked several seasoned art collectors—Will Bennett, Laurent Asscher, Geoff Snack, Amélie du Chalard, Allison Sarofim, and Pamela Joyner with Fred Giuffrida—to share their most important advice for novice collectors. Their responses range from building relationships with dealers and scouring unexpected sources like eBay and street-side book boxes (Snack) to focusing on an artist's conceptual approach, technical mastery, and aesthetic result (du Chalard). Others emphasize training the eye through constant exposure, buying what you love rather than what is trendy, and developing a focused area of interest to guide acquisitions.
Michael Govan, director of LACMA, discusses the opening of the new $720 million David Geffen Galleries on April 19, designed by architect Peter Zumthor. The 110,000-square-foot space features concrete walls, natural light, and spans Wilshire Boulevard, replacing traditional white-cube galleries with a fluid, non-chronological layout organized around bodies of water. Govan, who has led the museum for two decades, describes the project as a once-in-a-century opportunity to rethink the encyclopedic museum model.
Cultured magazine has published a guide to the best off-site gallery shows during Frieze Los Angeles 2026, organized by neighborhood. The article highlights six exhibitions: Rodney McMillian's "Some lives in the sunshine" at Vielmetter, Emma McIntyre's "Aragonite and conchiolin" at Château Shatto, Cayetano Ferrer's "Object Prosthetics" at Commonwealth and Council, Vicky Colombet's "Eutierria" at Fernberger, Kye Christensen-Knowles's "ALL & ALL" at Gaylord Fine Arts, and Christina Quarles's "The Ground Glows Back" at Hauser & Wirth. Each entry includes details on dates, key artworks, and curatorial context.
Arne Glimcher, the 87-year-old founder of Pace Gallery, opened a satellite gallery called 125 Newbury in Tribeca in 2021 after his son Marc, Pace's CEO, told him he would have to wait three years for a show slot. The gallery, named after Pace's original Boston address, operates under Pace's umbrella but focuses on experimental, scholarly exhibitions that often feature artists not represented by Pace. Glimcher recently mounted a Kiki Smith show pairing her 1990s paper mannequins with bronze birds, and he continues to take risks, such as funding a pond for Max Hooper Schneider's exhibition. Despite the gallery not being self-sustaining, Glimcher remains committed to supporting original art and connoisseurship.
Project EATS held its 2025 benefit gala at New York's IAC Building, honoring food writer and former Food & Wine editor-in-chief Dana Cowin and artist Lauren Halsey, a 2025 CULT100 recipient. The event brought together a crowd of artists, patrons, and cultural leaders including Cindy Sherman, Glenn Ligon, Iwan and Manuela Wirth, and Glenn Lowry, with a culinary experience led by chefs Aretah Ettarh and Camari Mick. The evening featured speeches celebrating Cowin and Halsey, and highlighted Project EATS's mission of transforming vacant lots into urban farms and community spaces that provide access to food and culture.
Robert Goff, a journalist-turned-art dealer and current Deputy Chairman and President of Private Sales at Gurr Johns, launches a new column for CULTURED titled "Out of Office" that explores destinations through the lens of local artists and creatives. The inaugural edition focuses on Joshua Tree and the Yucca Valley, highlighting off-the-beaten-path art experiences such as Rachel Whiteread's concrete casts of 1950s homesteader cabins on Jerry Sohn's private property, the outdoor sculptures of Noah Purifoy, and a memorable outdoor dinner at Andrea Zittel's A-Z West compound organized by sculptor Dan John Anderson, complete with a meal from the acclaimed High Desert restaurant La Copine.
The article is a review of fall art openings in Los Angeles, written by Juliana Halpert for her Critics’ Table debut. Halpert surveys a range of exhibitions, including Calvin Marcus's show at Karma, Stanya Kahn's solo presentation, the Hammer Museum's "Made in L.A." biennial and its scrappier counterpart "Made in HelLA," Josh Smith's grim reaper paintings at David Zwirner, and Adam Alessi's show at Hoffman Donahue. She also recounts attending the Poetic Research Bureau's 25th anniversary party and fundraiser at 2220 Arts + Archives, where musician Jack Skelley performed. The review weaves a thematic thread of mortality and the macabre, noting how many shows this season engage with death, from fake blood and skulls to sinister landscapes.
Project for Empty Space celebrated its 15th anniversary with the annual Badass Art Woman Awards at the Angel Orensanz Foundation in Manhattan. The event honored Dr. Deborah Willis, Ebony L. Haynes, and Helen Toomer, and featured performances by Mia X, Marcy De Pina, and Armana Khan, with a crowd of artists, curators, and scholars including Mickalene Thomas, Derrick Adams, and Legacy Russell.
The article, published by Cultured, serves as a curated guide to September's art exhibitions in New York, highlighting both ongoing and closing shows. It recommends balancing the frenzy of fair week with slower, more meaningful experiences, pointing to specific exhibitions like EJ Hill's silent kneeling performance at 52 Walker, Lisa Yuskavage's drawing show at the Morgan Library, the Stettheimer Dollhouse at the Museum of the City of New York, and MoMA's presentation of Hilma af Klint's nature notebooks. It also notes upcoming must-see shows, including a Cady Noland exhibition at Gagosian, and mentions the Gaza Biennial, Nancy Holt, Raúl de Nieves, and Kahlil Robert Irving, along with future features on Ambera Wellmann and Sophie Calle.
Cultured magazine asked 12 collectors to name the single work in their home that most stops guests in their tracks. Responses include Wolfgang Tillmans’s camera-less photograph *Freischwimmer 153* (2010), a medieval illuminated *Book of Hours* (ca. 1480/90), Jordan Wolfson’s robotic installation *(Female figure)* (2014), Julie Curtiss’s hair-covered sculpture *Spider* (2018), and Haegue Yang’s kinetic bell sculpture *Sonic Rotating Geometry Type E – Brass Plated #23* (2014). Each collector explains why the piece provokes awe, laughter, discomfort, or deep conversation.
This article from Cultured magazine is a gallery exhibition guide for New York, highlighting four major shows in the Hudson Valley, Meatpacking District, and Tribeca. It features Stan Douglas's retrospective at the Hessel Museum of Art, Cameron Rowland's "Properties" at Dia Beacon, Christine Sun Kim's mid-career survey "All Day All Night" at the Whitney Museum, and EJ Hill's endurance performance at 52 Walker. Each entry includes a brief critical description of the artist's work and themes, with details on dates and locations.
Artists Rashid Johnson and Sheree Hovsepian hosted the Guggenheim Museum's annual summer cocktail party at their East Hampton home, celebrating the launch of the Guggenheim Constellation Council, a new philanthropic group offering global access across the museum's institutions. The evening also honored Johnson's mid-career survey "A Poem for Deep Thinkers," on view at the Guggenheim through January 2026, with guests including gallerist David Kordansky, Hauser & Wirth President Marc Payot, collectors Alan and Alessandra Mnuchin, and Guggenheim Director Dr. Mariët Westermann.
Stan Douglas's survey exhibition "Ghostlight" at the Hessel Museum of Art features his commanding 2024 photograph of the same name, depicting a ghost light illuminating the empty Los Angeles Theater. The show spans works from the 1990s to 2025, including the North American premiere of his multi-channel video "Birth of a Nation" (2025), which reexamines D.W. Griffith's racist 1915 film. Organized by Lauren Cornell, the exhibition assembles staged historical scenes and imagined scenarios that explore how past eras have been pictured through images, written history, and mass media.
Larry Gagosian, the world-renowned art dealer, has purchased BookHampton, an independent bookstore in East Hampton, after its original owner put it up for sale last fall. In an interview for CULTURED's new column "Required Reading," Gagosian discusses his reading habits, his plans to maintain the store as a community hub while expanding its art and design offerings, and shares his personal summer reading list, which includes biographies of Douglas Cooper and Albert Barnes.
Designboom has curated a list of the top 10 art exhibitions of 2025, highlighting standout shows from around the world. Key exhibitions include Yayoi Kusama's new infinity room at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Do Ho Suh's solo show 'Walk the House' at Tate Modern, Andy Goldsworthy's 'Fifty Years' land art retrospective at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh, and Steve McQueen's immersive light and sound installation 'Bass' at Schaulager Basel. The list also features A.A. Murakami's mist-filled installation at Museo della Permanente during Milan Design Week 2025.
Christie’s is holding its 20th and 21st Century Art auctions in New York this November, featuring masterpieces by David Hockney, Mark Rothko, Pablo Picasso, Lucian Freud, and Richard Diebenkorn. The sales include works from distinguished private collections such as The Collection of Robert F. and Patricia G. Ross Weis, Elaine: The Collection of Elaine Wynn, the Edlis | Neeson Collection, and the Arnold and Joan Saltzman Collection. A free public exhibition runs from 7–20 November at Christie’s Rockefeller Center galleries, with live auctions on 18 and 20 November, including an Impressionist & Modern Works on Paper Sale and a Post-War & Contemporary Art Day Sale. Highlights include Edgar Degas’ pastel *Danseuses sur la scène* (c. 1879), a Joan Miró from 1942, and a Frida Kahlo painting with a storied exhibition history.
At Art Basel 2025, a consensus has emerged among dealers and advisers that the fair represents a 'buyer's market,' characterized by slow sales, modest expectations, and increased negotiating power for collectors. Galleries are offering discounts of 20-30% below asking prices, particularly for works under $1 million, though open discussion of discounts remains taboo in Switzerland. Some dealers, like Tim Blum of Blum gallery, acknowledge a paradigmatic shift, with galleries adapting by focusing on established artists and estates, while still seeing demand for reasonably priced younger artists.
Chanel has announced a new five-year partnership with the Centre Pompidou in Paris, providing a confidential financial boost to the institution during its closure for major renovations until 2030. The partnership builds on previous collaborations, including the 2023 Assemble program and a 2025 initiative to expand the museum's collection of Chinese contemporary artists by over 30% by 2028, with works already acquired from artists like Chen Wei and Cui Jie.