Art News. Vasari Codex

gavel restitution schedule Dec 11, 2025 visibility 13 link 3 artists

virginia museum fine arts repatriate turkey

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in Richmond has repatriated 41 terracotta relief fragments valued at approximately $400,000 to Turkey. The works, acquired by the museum in the 1970s from Summa Galleries and antiquities dealer Harlan J. Berk, were determined to have been illegally excavated from a 6th-century B.C.E. Phrygian temple. The repatriation followed an investigation by the Antiquities Trafficking Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which presented evidence of illicit excavation and illegal export to the museum.

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article policy schedule Dec 9, 2025 visibility 22 link 3 artists

moma ps1 free admission sonya yu gift

MoMA PS1 in New York will eliminate admission fees for all visitors starting in 2026, funded by a gift from collector and creative strategist Sonya Yu. The three-year initiative coincides with the museum's 50th anniversary and expands its existing free admission for New Yorkers to everyone. Director Connie Butler said the goal is to remove barriers and welcome broader audiences, including families with strollers, while Yu cited her own experience as a Chinese immigrant to explain her motivation.

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trending_up market schedule Dec 5, 2025 visibility 12 link 1 artist, 2 galleries

hauser wirth to open sicily location in historic palazzo

Hauser & Wirth has announced plans to open its first Italian location in Palermo, Sicily, housed in the historic Palazzo Forcella De Seta. The gallery purchased roughly 20,000 square feet of the neo-Gothic palace, which previously served as a venue for Manifesta 12 in 2018 and was once home to Galleria Mediterranea, the city’s first private art gallery. The deal closed in November, but the local government and Italy’s Ministry of Culture retain a 60-day right of public pre-emption due to the building’s status as a historic monument. If that right is not exercised, work could begin in 2026, with completion expected by 2030.

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article policy schedule Dec 4, 2025 visibility 20 link 4 artists

perez art museum miami gift 7 million caribbean cultural institute

The Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) has announced two major gifts totaling $7 million for its Caribbean Cultural Institute (CCI). The Mellon Foundation contributed an additional $2 million, while the Green Family Foundation (GFF) donated $5 million, leading to the institute's renaming as the Green Family Foundation Caribbean Cultural Institute. The funds will support operating expenses and the endowment of the CCI, which was originally established in 2019 with a $1 million Mellon grant. The Green Family Foundation, founded by Steven J. Green and Dorothea Green, has deep philanthropic roots in Miami, including ties to Florida International University and local art initiatives. Current CCI fellows include artist M. Florine Démosthène, writer Rianna Jade Parker, and anthropologist Celia Irina González.

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museum exhibitions schedule Dec 3, 2025 visibility 17 link 1 artist

immersive studio ghibli exhibition opens abu dhabi may 2026

"The World of Studio Ghibli," a traveling immersive exhibition dedicated to the Japanese animation studio, will open at Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi from May 30 to August 20, 2026. The show features large-scale theatrical sets from 16 Studio Ghibli films, including iconic scenes from My Neighbor Totoro, and tickets are available for 125 AED (about $34). The exhibition launched in 2013 and has previously toured Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Singapore.

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museum exhibitions schedule Dec 2, 2025 visibility 14 link 4 artists

national portrait gallery spielberg jamie dimon

The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., will debut an exhibition titled “Portrait of a Nation: 2025 Honorees” on December 12, featuring newly commissioned and acquired portraits of filmmaker Steven Spielberg, JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, scientist Temple Grandin, and poet Joy Harjo. The show follows a fundraising gala and includes works by Kate Capshaw, Jason Alden, Joel Daniel Phillips, and David Lenz, with the Spielberg portrait combining oil painting and film projection.

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trending_up market schedule Dec 2, 2025 visibility 13 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

pace di donna schrader secondary market gallery launch

Pace Gallery, Emmanuel Di Donna, and David Schrader are launching a new joint gallery called Pace Di Donna Schrader Galleries (PDS), dedicated to secondary-market sales. The boutique operation will begin operations in spring 2026, open a formal space on New York's Upper East Side in summer, and host a major historical exhibition in autumn. The venture is a collaborative model rather than a merger, combining Pace's global reach and estate relationships, Di Donna's connoisseurship, and Schrader's expertise in private sales.

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gavel restitution schedule Dec 1, 2025 visibility 16 link 2 artists

madrid court spanish count pay sale goya portrait

A Madrid court has ruled that Fernando Ramírez de Haro, 10th Marquess of Villanueva del Duero, must pay his brother Íñigo Ramirez de Haro, Marquis de Cazaza in Africa, €853,732 from the proceeds of the 2012 sale of Francisco de Goya's portrait *Portrait of Valentín Belvís de Moncada* (ca. 1795–1800). The painting, inherited from their father, was sold for €5.8 million to billionaire Juan Miguel Villar Mir via Sotheby's. Íñigo sued Fernando for failing to distribute shares of the sale to siblings as agreed in a 2014 family settlement, alleging fraud, document falsification, and that Fernando's wife, former Spanish minister Esperanza Aguirre, abused her office by not registering the work as national heritage.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 26, 2025 visibility 13 link 1 artist

two curatorial teams win the 2025 hyundai blue prize

Two curatorial teams have won the Hyundai Blue Prize+ 2025, an award organized by Hyundai Motor Company to support curators addressing contemporary issues in an Asian context. The winners are Hyejin and Yoonyoung Park, a Seoul-based duo whose proposal examines AI's reliance on natural resources and labor, and Yifeng Wei and Penny Dan Xu, based in Dublin and London, who invite viewers to reimagine the future of modern technology. Selected from over 160 proposals, the teams participated in a mentorship program and research trip before being chosen by an international jury. Their exhibitions will be held at Hyundai Motorstudio Beijing between mid-2026 and early 2027, with each receiving 800,000 RMB (about $110,000) for production costs.

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article news schedule Nov 26, 2025 visibility 17 link 2 artists

david adjaye speaks against sexual misconduct allegations

David Adjaye has publicly spoken out against the sexual misconduct allegations made against him in 2023, calling a Financial Times article that detailed the claims “deeply unfair” and claiming he was caught in a “#MeToo slam.” In an interview with architecture critic Tim Abrahams for the podcast Superhumanism, reported by Dezeen, Adjaye said the FT story destabilized confidence in him and that there was no interest in hearing his side. He did not explain why he believed the reporting was unfair, despite having declined to comment to multiple outlets at the time. The allegations, which included sexual harassment and assault claims from three women, led several institutions to cut ties with Adjaye, most notably the Studio Museum in Harlem, which had just opened a new building designed by his firm.

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person people schedule Nov 26, 2025 visibility 14 link 5 artists

pulitzer critic christopher knight retires los angeles times

Christopher Knight, the Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic for the Los Angeles Times, is retiring after a 45-year career in criticism, including 36 years at the newspaper. His final day is Friday. Knight, one of the few remaining full-time art critics in American journalism, was praised by colleagues for his encyclopedic knowledge and razor-sharp assessments. He won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 2020, notably for a series of articles that harshly critiqued the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's (LACMA) proposed redesign by architect Peter Zumthor. He also received a lifetime achievement award from the Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation in 2020, and the College Art Association's Frank Jewett Mather Award in 1997. Before his journalism career, Knight worked as a curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego and consulted for the Lannan Foundation and the Smithsonian Institution's Archives of American Art.

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article culture schedule Nov 26, 2025 visibility 15 link 7 artists

david adjaye me too studio museum princeton west african

The article reflects on the #MeToo movement's failure to achieve lasting change, using the case of architect David Adjaye as a central example. Adjaye was accused in 2023 by three women of sexual exploitation, harassment, and creating a hostile work environment at his firm, Adjaye Associates, allegations he denied. Despite initial backlash—including termination from projects like Westminster's Holocaust Memorial—many clients quietly resumed working with him, illustrating a broader pattern of institutional cowardice.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 25, 2025 visibility 17 link 1 artist

michelangelo drawing sistine chapel christies new york

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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trending_up market schedule Nov 24, 2025 visibility 19 link 2 artists

sothebys hong kong sells 125 works from japans okada museum for 88 m so founder can settle 50 m legal bill

Sotheby's Hong Kong sold 125 works from Japan's Okada Museum of Art in a white-glove auction on Saturday, netting $88 million (plus fees). The sale set auction records for Japanese artists Kitagawa Utamaro and Hokusai, with Utamaro's *Fukagawa in Snow* fetching $7.1 million and Hokusai's *The Great Wave Off the Coast of Kanagawa* selling for $2.8 million. The collection was sold by museum founder Kazuo Okada, an 83-year-old billionaire, to settle a $50 million legal bill stemming from a long-running feud with casino magnate Steve Wynn. Okada's law firm, Bartlit Beck, successfully pursued the fee in binding arbitration after Okada contested the amount.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 17, 2025 visibility 17 link 3 artists

crystal bridges to mount exhibition by singer songwriter jewel venice biennale

Crystal Bridges Museum will present an exhibition dedicated to singer-songwriter Jewel during the Venice Biennale, running from May 10 to November 22 at the Salone Verde, near Fondazione Prada. Titled “Matriclysm: An Archeology of Connections Lost,” the show is organized by Crystal Bridges curator-at-large Joe Thompson and features paintings from Jewel's “Ceremony” series, a tapestry, and three large-scale sculptures—including “Heart of the Ocean,” an eight-foot-tall piece that uses live oceanic data from NASA and Stanford University to control 60,000 programmable lights. The exhibition explores themes of feminine memory, matriarchy, and connection.

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person people schedule Nov 17, 2025 visibility 15 link 3 artists

javier tellez wins pamm perez prize

The Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) has awarded its annual Pérez Prize to New York–based artist Javier Téllez, accompanied by an unrestricted $50,000 grant. The prize was presented at the museum's Art of the Party Fundraiser on November 15. Téllez, known for film, installation, and collage works addressing marginalization of immigrants and people with disabilities, was recognized for his empathetic and imaginative practice. His recent film "Amerika" (2024) responds to the displacement of Venezuelans, reflecting his own background as a Venezuelan-born artist living in New York.

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gavel restitution schedule Nov 14, 2025 visibility 12 link 2 artists

met repatriates painting korea buddhist temple korean war

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has returned an 18th-century Korean painting, *The Tenth King of Hell* (1798), to Sinheungsa Temple in Sokcho, South Korea. The work, part of a ten-panel series called *Siwangdo* depicting kings of the afterlife, was illicitly taken from the temple in 1954 during the U.S. military presence after the Korean War. The Met purchased the painting in 2007 from a collector via an LLC linked to Bonhams’s Chinese art head. The repatriation was coordinated with the Sokcho Committee for the Return of Cultural Heritage and the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. Six other panels were previously returned by LACMA in 2020; three remain abroad.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 12, 2025 visibility 16 link 7 artists

moma ps1 2026 greater new york 50th annivesary

MoMA PS1 has announced details for the 2026 edition of Greater New York, its quinquennial survey of art made in and around New York City, coinciding with the institution's 50th anniversary. Unlike previous editions that brought in outside curators, this iteration will be organized entirely by PS1's in-house curatorial team, led by director Connie Butler, chief curator Ruba Katrib, and associate curators Jody Graf and Elena Ketelsen González, with support from assistant curator Kari Rittenbach, curatorial assistant Sheldon Gooch, and curatorial coordinator Andrea Sánchez. The exhibition, featuring more than 50 artists, opens on April 16, 2026, though a specific theme has yet to be announced.

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article news schedule Nov 6, 2025 visibility 15 link 1 artist

lacma declines to voluntarily recognize union formed by hundreds of workers

Hundreds of staff at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) voted to form a union, LACMA United, in association with AFSCME Cultural Workers United District Council 36, calling for higher wages, better benefits, and greater transparency. LACMA leadership declined to voluntarily recognize the union, opting instead for a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election, which is currently paused due to the federal government shutdown, effectively delaying the unionization effort. The union has filed with the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), asserting its status as public sector employees.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 6, 2025 visibility 16 link 4 artists, 2 galleries

art basel zero 10 digital art platform miami beach 2025

Art Basel will launch Zero 10, a new curated platform dedicated to digital art, at its Miami Beach edition in December 2025. Supported by OpenSea and curated by digital art strategist Eli Scheinman, the inaugural presentation will feature 12 international exhibitors including Art Blocks, bitforms gallery, Beeple Studios, Pace Gallery, AOTM, and Visualize Value, along with a loan of Lu Yang's DOKU – Heaven (2022) from the UBS Art Collection. The initiative takes its name from Kazimir Malevich's historic 1915 exhibition 0,10 and will run from December 5–7, 2025, with VIP previews on December 3–4, before expanding to other Art Basel fairs in 2026.

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museum exhibitions schedule Oct 31, 2025 visibility 13 link 7 artists

vaginal davis moma ps1

The article profiles artist Vaginal Davis and her exhibition "Magnificent Product" at MoMA PS1, which opened shortly after the author visited. Davis, born in 1961, is described as a transformative figure who repurposes fragments of popular culture—from classic Hollywood to gay porn—to create immersive, queer alternate realities. The show includes works like *The Wicked Pavillion* (with *Fantasia Library* and *Tween Bedroom*, both 2021) and a collaboration with Jonathan Berger titled *Naked on my Ozgoad: Fausthaus—Anal Deep Throat* (2024–ongoing). Davis's practice is characterized by a playful, femme-centered critique of mainstream culture, centering Black women and inverting traditional gazes.

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article news schedule Oct 29, 2025 visibility 20 link 2 artists

lacma employees unionization effort

Employees at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) have formed a union called LACMA United in association with AFSCME Cultural Workers United District Council 36. In a letter dated October 29 addressed to museum leadership, a supermajority of eligible staff across departments requested voluntary recognition by November 5, citing wages that have not kept up with the rising cost of living and the need for fairer compensation, expanded benefits, and greater transparency. The effort comes ahead of the opening of LACMA's new Peter Zumthor–designed David Geffen Galleries, scheduled for next April.

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candle obituary schedule Oct 29, 2025 visibility 18 link 3 artists

artist jackie ferrara died by assisted suicide at 95 in switzerland

Jackie Ferrara, a New York-based artist known for her stacked-wood sculptures, died by physician-assisted suicide in Basel, Switzerland, on October 22 at age 95. She told the New York Times she had fallen twice in the past year and did not want to be dependent on anyone. Assisted suicide is legal in Switzerland even for those who are not terminally ill.

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article news schedule Oct 28, 2025 visibility 19 link 6 artists

curators museum directors offer support in letter to louvre

Fifty-seven curators and museum directors, including Christophe Cherix of MoMA and Michael Govan of LACMA, signed an open letter published by Le Monde expressing solidarity with Louvre director Laurence des Cars following the theft of the museum's crown jewels. The letter emphasizes that museums are not immune to global violence and that such thefts represent a profound fear for museum professionals, while reaffirming that museums must remain open and accessible despite security risks.

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article news schedule Oct 24, 2025 visibility 10 link 1 artist

wexner center staff sent no confidence letter director

Staff at the Wexner Center for the Arts at Ohio State University sent a letter of no confidence in executive director Gaëtane Verne to university officials on August 25, 2023, as reported by Columbus outlet Matter News. The letter, signed by 13 employees, alleges high turnover, organizational dysfunction, financial instability, and reputational harm under Verne's leadership. Specific complaints include a "red card" for financial turmoil, a $1 million capital project lacking transparency, and over $200,000 spent on exhibition catalogues without proper budgeting. Since Verne's appointment in November 2022, nearly 50% of staff have departed, and seven Foundation Board trustees have resigned. Ohio State is reviewing the letter, while Verne has defended her leadership as fostering a respectful workplace.

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article news schedule Oct 23, 2025 visibility 13 link 2 artists

french culture ministry admits stolen louvre jewels valued at 102 m are not insured

Masked thieves stole jewels once belonging to Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie from the Louvre in a daylight smash-and-grab, using a furniture lift to access the first floor and cutting into display cases. The stolen items, including a diamond-encrusted brooch, diadems, necklaces, and the empress's crown (which was dropped during the escape), are valued at $102 million. French officials have admitted the loot is not privately insured, meaning the state will not be reimbursed if the items are not recovered. Louvre director Laurence des Cars blamed a "terrible failure" in security, offered her resignation (which was refused), and acknowledged staff did not detect the thieves soon enough.

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museum exhibitions schedule Oct 22, 2025 visibility 17 link 2 artists

es devlin library faena art basel miami beach

British artist and designer Es Devlin, known for stage designs for U2 and Kendrick Lamar, has created a 50-foot-tall revolving library titled 'The Library of Us' for the 10th anniversary of the Faena hotel and cultural complex in Miami Beach. The installation, presented during Art Basel Miami Beach, contains 2,500 books that have influenced Devlin, with visitors able to sit on revolving stools and read. Phrases from 250 books will appear on an LED screen accompanied by Devlin's voice. After the installation closes on December 9, all books will be donated to Miami organizations including public libraries and schools.

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article news schedule Oct 15, 2025 visibility 19 link 4 artists

taylor swift fans friedrich heyser ophelia wiesbaden state museum germany

Taylor Swift fans have flocked to the Wiesbaden State Museum in Germany to see Friedrich Heyser's painting 'Ophelia' (ca. 1900), which the singer referenced in the opening scene of her music video for the song 'The Fate of Ophelia' from her album 'The Life of a Showgirl'. The museum saw hundreds of additional visitors last weekend, with director Andreas Henning expressing surprise and delight at the attention.

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article news schedule Oct 15, 2025 visibility 14 link 2 artists

creative australia khaled sabsabi grant venice controversy

Creative Australia has awarded Khaled Sabsabi a $100,000 grant under its Visual Arts, Craft and Design Framework, supporting a solo show at the Samstag Museum of Art in Adelaide in 2027. This comes after Sabsabi was controversially dropped as Australia’s Venice Biennale representative in February over past works, including one depicting Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and claims that he favored boycotts of Israel. Creative Australia cited an “unacceptable risk to public support,” but widespread backlash led to the departure of senior leaders and, in July, the reinstatement of Sabsabi and his curator Michael Dagostino.

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article news schedule Oct 14, 2025 visibility 13 link 2 artists

british museum tudor heart henry viii

The British Museum has launched a high-profile fundraising campaign to acquire the Tudor Heart, a gold pendant from the early reign of Henry VIII, discovered by amateur metal detectorist Charlie Clarke in Warwickshire in 2019. The museum needs to raise £3.5 million ($4.6 million) by early next year to secure the piece, which features symbols of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon and is described as the only surviving Tudor jewelry of its kind. Actor Damian Lewis and historian Mary Beard are supporting the appeal, and the museum will host its first British Museum Ball on October 18 to further fundraising efforts.

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