Artnet Makes Significant Layoffs Following Consolidation with Artsy

Artnet has implemented sweeping layoffs following its consolidation with Artsy under a single leadership team led by CEO Jeffrey Yin. The cuts have severely impacted Artnet News, resulting in the departure of veteran senior reporters Sarah Cascone and Eileen Kinsella, while Andrew Russeth has been named interim editor. Additionally, Artnet’s German entity is being wound down, affecting the Berlin-based team responsible for the platform's online sales operations.

south africa venice biennale gabrielle goliath banned work exhibition 1234778846

South Africa’s official pavilion at the Venice Biennale will remain empty this year following the government's abrupt cancellation of artist Gabrielle Goliath’s planned exhibition. The controversy erupted when Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie pulled the project just days before the deadline, labeling Goliath’s work "highly divisive" due to its inclusion of a tribute to Palestinian poet Hiba Abu Nada. Despite the official ban and a failed court challenge by the artist and curator, the work, titled *Elegy*, will now be staged independently at the Chiesa di Sant’Antonin nearby.

The Bennett Prize Just Raised Its Award to $75,000. These Artists Think You Should Apply.

The Bennett Prize, a biennial award dedicated to women figurative realist painters, has increased its grand prize from $50,000 to $75,000 for its fifth cycle. Founded by collectors Steven Alan Bennett and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt, the prize aims to bridge the gender gap in the art world by providing substantial financial support and institutional recognition. The current call for entries is open to artists who have not yet reached a specific commercial price ceiling, culminating in a 2027 exhibition at the Muskegon Museum of Art.

Did This Photographer’s Provocative Work Inspire a Key Plot Point in The Drama?

The new film *The Drama*, directed by Kristoffer Borgli and starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, features a central plot point involving a fictional photobook titled *Brainrot*. In the movie, Pattinson’s character, a museum curator, becomes obsessed with the book's provocative imagery of young women with firearms after learning of his fiancée’s past violent intentions. While *Brainrot* is a fictional creation, its aesthetic and subject matter draw significant parallels to Lindsay McCrum’s 2011 photography book, *Chicks with Guns*, which documented the diverse demographics of female gun owners in America.

The Long Legal Saga Between Artist Ryder Ripps and the Bored Ape Yacht Club Is Finally Over

Yuga Labs, the creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), has reached a confidential settlement with artist Ryder Ripps and his partner Jeremy Cahen, ending a multi-year legal battle over trademark infringement and appropriation art. The dispute began in 2022 when Ripps launched his RR/BAYC NFT collection, which used identical imagery to the original Bored Apes to protest alleged racist and alt-right symbolism within the project. As part of the agreement, Ripps and Cahen are now under a permanent injunction preventing them from using any Yuga Labs trademarks or images.

Aste a Parigi: nuovo record per Claude Monet da Sotheby’s e per Ettore Spalletti da Christie’s

Sotheby's Paris achieved a new French auction record for Claude Monet on April 16, 2026, with 'Vétheuil, effet du matin' (1901) selling for €10.2 million, far above its €6-8 million estimate. The evening sale generated €35 million total, an 84% increase over the 2025 session, also featuring strong results for Marc Chagall, Lucio Fontana, and Rembrandt Bugatti. Meanwhile, Christie's Paris celebrated the 25th anniversary of its 'Thinking Italian' section with a complete sell-out of 11 lots, including a new auction record for Ettore Spalletti's 'Mobile' (1974) at €203,200. The overall Paris modern and contemporary art week reached a record €80.9 million, up 39% year-on-year.

The world's largest, heaviest, and most expensive art book arrives in Venice as a donation to the Biblioteca Marciana

Il libro d’arte più grande, più pesante e più costoso al mondo arriva a Venezia. In donazione alla Biblioteca Marciana

The Alberto Peruzzo Foundation has donated a copy of "Modern Art – Revolution and Painting" to the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in Venice. Described as the world’s largest, heaviest, and most expensive art book, the volume weighs 35 kilograms and measures 70 x 100 centimeters. It features 544 hand-bound pages with 25-color lithographs reproducing over 250 masterpieces from the 19th and 20th centuries, including works by Picasso, Chagall, and Fontana.

In this L’Aquila High School, there is a Contemporary Art Collection Created by Students and Artists

In questo liceo dell’Aquila c’è una collezione d’arte contemporanea realizzata dagli studenti con gli artisti

The Liceo Bafile in L’Aquila has established a permanent collection of contemporary art featuring over 60 site-specific works created through collaborations between professional artists and students. Initiated by artist and professor Licia Galizia following the devastating 2009 earthquake, the project integrates art into the educational environment as a tool for cultural rebirth. In 2026, the collection will expand further with seven new installations created by artists including Elena Bellantoni and Marco Nereo Rotelli in partnership with the Academy of Fine Arts of L’Aquila.

Making Art Between Light and Darkness. It Happens in a Show in Veneto at Arzignano

Fare arte tra luce e buio. Succede in una mostra in Veneto ad Arzignano

The group exhibition "L’ombra delle lucciole" (The Shadow of the Fireflies) is on view at the Atipografia gallery in Arzignano, Veneto. Curated by Alfonso Cariolato and Luigi de Marzi, it features works by Mats Bergquist, Marco Tirelli, Silvia Inselvini, and Loes van Roozendaal, all exploring the tension and coexistence between light and darkness through diverse painting techniques.

Oleg Prokofiev’s Lost Trove of Paintings Comes to Light After Decades in Hiding

A trove of abstract paintings and sculptures by Russian artist Oleg Prokofiev, hidden for decades in Moscow after he fled the Soviet Union, has been rediscovered and is now on public display for the first time. Prokofiev concealed the works in the 1950s and 1960s to avoid state persecution—abstract art was banned in the USSR, and his relationship with British scholar Camilla Gray made marriage impossible until 1969. After Gray's death and his move to England, the artworks remained safely stored in Moscow, where he found them intact after the Soviet collapse. The collection, including paintings, sculptures, sketchbooks, and letters, is now exhibited at the newly founded Prokofiev Studio in Hackney, London, established by his four children and curator Anzhela Popova.

Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá's director departs amid accusations she harassed staff

The Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá (Mambo) is in a leadership crisis after its director, Martha Ortiz, resigned amid accusations of harassment and creating a toxic work environment. Her departure follows the dismissal of artistic director Eugenio Viola in February, which sparked an open letter signed by over 140 cultural figures demanding transparency. The museum's board chair, Ángela Royo, and financial manager Francy Hernández are temporarily overseeing operations while searches for both director and artistic director are underway.

New space dedicated to Oleg Prokofiev—whose abstract art was censored by Soviet Russia—opens in London

A new art space called Prokofiev Studio has opened in Hackney, London, dedicated to the Russian artist Oleg Prokofiev. Its inaugural exhibition, 'Bending Time,' presents abstract works from the 1950s that were banned under Soviet censorship and long thought lost. The space was founded by Prokofiev’s children, including composer Gabriel Prokofiev, in collaboration with curator Anzhela Popova. The works were rediscovered in 1994 when Prokofiev returned to his former Moscow home and found them preserved by the new owner.

Who is Gladys Hynes? Show reinstates forgotten artist who once represented Britain at the Venice Biennale

The exhibition "Gladys Hynes: Radical Lives" opens this month at Charleston in Lewes, aiming to resurrect the career of Gladys Hynes (1888-1958), a forgotten artist who once represented Britain at the 1924 Venice Biennale. The show brings together 120 paintings, drawings, graphic designs, and sculptural pieces, including works by Hynes and her contemporaries, curated by Sacha Llewellyn. Hynes trained with Stanhope Forbes, Frank Brangwyn, and William Nicholson, worked with Roger Fry's Omega Workshops, associated with Wyndham Lewis and the Vorticists, and was commissioned by Ezra Pound to illustrate his Cantos. Despite her achievements, only one of her paintings is in a British public collection.

Nymphs, mermaids and rosy cherubs: mansion filled with hidden wall paintings makes Victorian Society’s endangered buildings list

A derelict mansion called Parndon Hall, located within the grounds of Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, has been named to the Victorian Society’s annual list of the top ten at-risk buildings in England and Wales. The house, built in 1867, contains a hidden trove of wall paintings by the almost-forgotten Victorian artist Elizabeth Arkwright, who covered walls, ceilings, and doors with nymphs, mermaids, and cherubs—many still concealed under Edwardian whitewash. The building has been used for storage and has sat unoccupied since flood repairs in 2024.

Barbados's slavery museum and memorial faces major delays

Barbados's Heritage District at the Newton Enslaved Burial Ground, a major project including a memorial, national museum, archives, and cultural complex, is facing significant construction delays more than four years after its 2021 announcement. The site, one of the largest known burial grounds of enslaved Africans in the Western Hemisphere, is being developed under the Road (Reclaiming Our Atlantic Destiny) Programme led by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley. While a temporary pavilion for the National Performing Arts Centre opened in August 2025, the overall completion—initially slated for 2024—has been pushed back due to expanded archival digitization, supply-chain disruptions, and a fire at the Barbados Archives Department in June 2024. The memorial, designed by Adjaye Associates, is conceived as a landscape intervention using teak sourced from Ghana.

One of the Art Market’s Biggest Secrets, Revealed

Global auction totals saw a significant rebound in 2025, rising 13.3 percent compared to the previous year after a prolonged period of decline. The latest Artnet Intelligence Report highlights this recovery while shifting focus toward the increasingly influential world of private auctions, where high-value masterpieces are traded in invitation-only, clandestine settings away from the public eye.

250-Year-Old Kiln Discovered on Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Estate

Archaeologists at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello estate have unearthed a 250-year-old kiln used to fire bricks for the plantation’s original construction. Located on the East Lawn just feet from the main house, the site was identified through the discovery of specialized curved bricks, including cyma-shaped and ovolo-molded specimens. These architectural details confirm the kiln dates back to the "Monticello I" period (1768–1782), as these specific water table features were omitted during Jefferson’s later 18th-century renovations.

NASA’s Artemis II Returns to the Moon—and Captures a Powerful New Image of Earth

NASA has released the first images from the Artemis II mission, marking humanity's first return to the moon since 1972. During a lunar flyby on April 6, Commander Reid Wiseman captured a series of high-resolution photographs using a Nikon D5, including a striking image titled 'Earthset' that shows the planet sinking below the lunar horizon. The mission's four-person crew produced approximately 10,000 images, documenting the far side of the moon and a total solar eclipse from a unique celestial perspective.

scott kelly photographer astronaut 342386

Astronaut Scott Kelly is utilizing his record-breaking year-long mission aboard the International Space Station to capture high-altitude photography of Earth's surface. Dubbing his work #EarthArt, Kelly shares abstract, vividly colorful images of terrestrial landscapes—ranging from the Australian outback to the Himalayas—with his massive social media following. His approach favors formal abstraction over traditional documentation, highlighting the planet's diverse topography through a lens that blurs the line between science and fine art.

New exhibition at Yorkville’s top gallery celebrates the 100th birthday of this famous artist

Mira Godard Gallery in Yorkville is hosting the Takao Tanabe 100th Birthday Exhibition this May, celebrating the centenary of the renowned Canadian landscape artist. Tanabe, born in 1926 in Seal Cove, B.C., studied at the Winnipeg School of Art and the Brooklyn Museum of Art School under Hans Hoffmann, later working in New York, London, and Japan before teaching at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. The gallery has represented Tanabe for nearly 55 years, and the exhibition features paintings and prints directly from his studio, focusing on British Columbian and Prairie landscapes.

Shokkan at the ROM considers the sense of touch in Japanese art

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto presents "Shokkan," an exhibition curated by Akiko Takesue that explores the Japanese concept of touch in art. Despite the challenge of displaying tactile experiences behind glass, the show succeeds by featuring historic Japanese works—such as kimonos, tea bowls, ukiyo-e prints, and netsuke—alongside contemporary pieces by artists like Issey Miyake, Tabaimo, Makiko Hattori, and Emma Nishimura. Interactive stations allow visitors to handle replicas and less valuable objects, including samurai swords, scrolls, and netsuke, to physically engage with the theme.

Pre-Raphaelite exhibition explores LGBT+ stories

Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Bradford has launched a new exhibition of Pre-Raphaelite masterpieces paired with contemporary reflections from the local LGBT+ community. Members of the Equity Partnership charity collaborated with museum staff to reinterpret 19th-century works by artists such as Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Ford Madox Brown, and John Collier through the lens of lived queer experience.

Monk football and sperm whales: All About Photo awards winners 2026

The 11th edition of the All About Photo awards – The Mind's Eye has announced its 2026 winners, with first place awarded to Matt McClain for his image of an intern working in a historic millinery shop at Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. The competition features a diverse range of winning photographs, including conceptual self-portraiture by Brooke Shaden, a street scene at the Benin-Togo border by France Leclerc, a train sleeping in Tunisia by Javier Arcenillas, freedivers with sperm whales by Khaichuin Sim, and young monks playing football in the Himalayas by Andrew Newey. Winners receive $5,000 in cash prizes.

Venice Biennale jury ‘will not award artists from countries facing war crimes charges’

The jury of the Venice Biennale has announced it will not award prizes to artists from countries whose leaders face charges of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, a decision widely seen as targeting Russia and Israel. The five-member jury, appointed by the late curator Koyo Kouoh, stated its commitment to human rights and will exclude artists from nations whose governments are under ICC investigation when selecting winners of the Golden and Silver Lion awards for the 2026 edition, which opens on 9 May. The move follows controversy over Russia’s participation in the biennale, with the European Commission threatening to suspend a €2m grant due to Russia’s involvement, and Italy’s far-right government opposing the decision.

World Press Photo 2026 winners – in pictures

The World Press Photo 2026 winners have been announced, with Carol Guzy awarded the top honor for her image of distraught girls clinging to their father as ICE agents detain him after an immigration hearing in New York City. Finalists include Saber Nuraldin’s photograph of Palestinians scrambling for aid in Gaza, Victor J Blue’s image of Achi women outside a Guatemala City court, and other powerful works documenting climate displacement in Mexico, a wedding during a typhoon in the Philippines, police detaining a priest at a pensioners’ protest in Argentina, and a social robot in Europe.

‘We’re attached to this land like a tree is rooted in soil’: unexpectedly timely exhibition speaks up for the people of south Lebanon

An exhibition titled 'Forget Me Not: South Lebanon in Memory and Motion' was held at London's Palestine House earlier this month. It featured archival news footage from 2000, photographs, audiovisual materials, and children's drawings to document the history, culture, and resilience of southern Lebanon, a region experiencing renewed conflict.

Emma the joke-telling robot cracks up the care home: Paula Hornickel’s best photograph

Photographer Paula Hornickel captured a moment between an elderly care home resident named Waltraud and a social robot named Emma in Albershausen, Germany. The robot, designed for companionship in settings with staff shortages, engages residents in conversation, tells jokes, and discusses topics like favorite flowers, simulating social interaction.

Sony world photography awards 2026 – in pictures

The 2026 Sony World Photography Awards have announced their top honors across professional, open, student, and youth categories. Notable winners include Citlali Fabián for her series on Indigenous activists in Mexico, Seungho Kim for a project exploring the intersection of parenting and pet ownership in South Korea, and Dafna Talmor for her abstracted, collaged landscapes. The winning works span a diverse range of subjects, from the documentation of a fire at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm to intimate portraits of faith at the Vatican.

Douglas Lees obituary

Douglas Lees, a dedicated architect and community figure, has died at the age of 94. Born in East London and overcoming the physical limitations of Erb’s palsy, Lees spent his career designing diverse structures across England, ranging from new town developments in Merseyside to prison facilities for the Home Office. In his later years, he became a fixture in the village of Hatfield Broad Oak, where he contributed to local planning and captured the local scenery through watercolor painting.

‘One simple gesture says it all’: the world in black and white – in pictures

Photographer Marina Sersale has released a new monograph titled 'Liminal Space,' published by Gost, which compiles over a decade of monochrome photography. The collection features dramatic black-and-white images captured between 2013 and 2021 across diverse locations including Italy, Japan, Iran, and the United States. Sersale, a former documentary filmmaker, focuses on the interplay of light and shadow to document fleeting, everyday moments—from sunbathers in Positano to commuters in Naples.