Vasari Art Codex

museum exhibitions schedule Mar 19, 2026 visibility 20 link 25 artists, 1 gallery

museum openings 2026 2727478

Major international museum projects are nearing completion for 2026, signaling a period of significant institutional expansion despite global economic and political pressures. Key highlights include the long-awaited Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, designed by Frank Gehry, which will finally open its doors on Saadiyat Island after two decades of planning. Meanwhile, Los Angeles is preparing for two major debuts: George Lucas’s $1 billion Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and Refik Anadol’s Dataland, a dedicated space for AI-driven digital art.

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article news schedule Mar 18, 2026 visibility 13 link 13 artists, 6 galleries

tilton gallery to close after over 40 years and more art industry news 2694129

Tilton Gallery, a fixture of New York’s Upper East Side for over 40 years, has announced it will close its physical space following an upcoming Ruth Vollmer exhibition to focus on private projects. The week also saw significant leadership shifts, including Lisa Phillips announcing her retirement as director of the New Museum after 26 years, and Ebony L. Haynes being promoted to the newly created role of global head of curatorial projects at David Zwirner. Meanwhile, legal tensions surfaced as a court dismissed Ronald Perelman’s $400 million insurance lawsuit regarding fire damage to his art collection.

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trending_up market schedule Mar 16, 2026 visibility 18 link 22 artists, 4 galleries

photography auction industry 2655783

Artnet and Morgan Stanley have released a comprehensive analysis of the photography auction market spanning 2005 to 2024. The report reveals that while the volume of photography lots sold has more than doubled over two decades, the total annual sales value has remained largely stagnant, rising from $113.4 million in 2005 to $116.9 million in 2024. When adjusted for inflation, this represents a significant 36.7 percent decline in market value, with average prices for photographs dropping by over 50 percent during the same period.

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museum exhibitions schedule Mar 12, 2026 visibility 8 link 11 artists, 2 galleries

josh smith rap interview artist poll wet paint 2753248

Guest columnist John Chiaverina reports from the opening of the 2026 Whitney Biennial, capturing the shifting moods of the New York art scene. Through interviews with participating artists like Maddie Biven of the collective kekahi wahi and veteran performer Pat Oleszko, the piece explores a tension between the desire for exuberant, risk-taking aesthetics and a perceived lack of political urgency among younger generations.

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museum exhibitions schedule Mar 10, 2026 visibility 5 link 3 artists, 1 gallery

aardman immersive lightroom experience 2752304

Aardman Animations is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a major immersive exhibition titled "Larger Than Life: Starring Wallace & Gromit, Shaun and More" at London’s Lightroom venue. Opening in October 2026, the 50-minute experience will utilize 36-foot-high projections to showcase the studio's claymation legacy, featuring archival footage, original sets, puppets, and newly created animation sequences. The show will be narrated by co-founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton alongside various voice actors, tracing the studio's history from its school-day origins to its status as an employee-owned powerhouse.

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museum exhibitions schedule Feb 25, 2026 visibility 18 link 23 artists, 24 galleries

frieze los angeles city guide 2609795

Frieze Los Angeles returns to a city landscape significantly altered by both commercial development and recent environmental tragedy. While blue-chip galleries like David Zwirner, Marian Goodman, and Lisson have established new strongholds in districts like Melrose Hill and Hollywood, the local community is simultaneously reeling from devastating January wildfires that displaced numerous artists and collectors. This guide provides a strategic roadmap for navigating the sprawling city's geography, highlighting key exhibitions such as Bruce Nauman at Marian Goodman and a 90-artist benefit show for fire victims.

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article policy schedule Feb 2, 2026 visibility 14 link 9 artists, 52 galleries

art galleries close for general strike 2741073

A nationwide general strike, called for Friday, January 30, 2026, in protest of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minneapolis, has prompted numerous art galleries and organizations to close their doors. Major commercial galleries like Gagosian, David Zwirner, Hauser & Wirth, and Pace Gallery, alongside institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles and the Drawing Center, are participating in the shutdown.

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article news schedule Jan 16, 2026 visibility 5 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

david hockney bayeux tapestry 2737689

David Hockney has publicly condemned the planned loan of the Bayeux Tapestry from France to the British Museum, calling the transport of the 950-year-old, 224-foot-long embroidered chronicle across the English Channel “madness” and an unnecessary risk. Writing in an op-ed for The Independent, the 88-year-old artist warned that moving the fragile artifact—which has nearly 10,000 holes and 30 tears—could cause irreversible damage such as fiber contraction, expansion, or color fading. The tapestry is scheduled for a 10-month loan to the British Museum later this year, and despite a £800 million insurance scheme and assurances from museum director Nicholas Cullinan, Hockney remains unconvinced, noting that a museum representative who met with him had not read his book "Secret Knowledge." The tapestry has already been moved from the Bayeux Museum to a secret storage facility, its first relocation in 40 years.

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trending_up market schedule Jan 15, 2026 visibility 8 link 1 artist, 2 galleries

2026 asian art market preview 2737112

Artnet Pro's 'The Asia Pivot' newsletter previews the 2026 Asian art market, highlighting a hopeful recovery after signs of improvement in late 2025. Key events include Art SG in Singapore (hosting S.E.A. Focus for the first time), the inaugural Art Basel Qatar in February, and Art Basel Hong Kong in March. Auction houses will align spring sales with these fairs. The article also notes regional shifts: South Korea's Art Asia partners with KINTEX for a new fair in India, Hong Kong's Kwai Fung Hin opens in Singapore, and Shanghai's Antenna Space expands to Hong Kong. Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi meets with artist Takashi Murakami to promote culture abroad, while geopolitical tensions with China threaten cultural exchanges.

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person people schedule Jan 5, 2026 visibility 8 link 7 artists, 2 galleries

the monument maker barbara chase riboud 2650705

Barbara Chase-Riboud, now 86, reflects on her transformative 1958 trip to Egypt, which she undertook on a dare as a 19-year-old student at the American Academy in Rome. The journey, during which she explored the pyramids and temples of Luxor and Karnak alone, profoundly influenced her artistic practice, leading her to create abstract bronze sculptures that evoke ancient Egyptian forms. The article traces her remarkable career as a sculptor and writer, highlighting her many firsts: the first Black female artist acquired by MoMA (at age 16), the first Black woman to earn an MFA from Yale, the first living female artist to have a solo show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the only visual artist to appear on the cover of Ebony.

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article culture schedule Jan 3, 2026 visibility 9 link 3 artists, 4 galleries

maurizio cattelan gioni beware of yourself 2725047

Massimiliano Gioni reveals that for nearly a decade, from 1997 to 2006, he acted as Maurizio Cattelan's ghostwriter and public impersonator, writing all of Cattelan's texts, press releases, and interviews, and even giving lectures and television appearances in his place. Gioni describes how he fabricated lies and half-truths, speaking as Cattelan at universities like Yale and NYU, on Vatican Radio, and during the media storm over Cattelan's sculpture of hanged children in Milan, all for a monthly fee of $500.

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article news schedule Dec 22, 2025 visibility 10 link 9 artists, 6 galleries

8 controversies that rocked the art world in 2025 2728947

Artnet News rounds up eight major controversies that shook the art world in 2025, including a brazen theft of crown jewels from the Louvre Museum in Paris, which exposed severe security gaps and led to a staff strike. Another key scandal involves a lawsuit filed by heirs of the Stern family against the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation, alleging that a Van Gogh painting was looted by the Nazis and later concealed through a series of transactions in New York.

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candle obituary schedule Dec 9, 2025 visibility 7 link 11 artists, 1 gallery

frank gehry architect obituary 2724729

Frank Gehry, the renowned American architect, has died at age 96 in his Santa Monica home after a brief respiratory illness. He is survived by his wife, three children, and a vast portfolio of iconic buildings including the Guggenheim Bilbao in Spain, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, and the 8 Spruce skyscraper in New York. The article traces his life from his birth in Toronto in 1929, his education at USC and Harvard, his early career at Gruen Associates, and his rise to fame through innovative, sculptural designs that transformed modern architecture.

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trending_up market schedule Dec 8, 2025 visibility 9 link 8 artists, 3 galleries

art basel digital art 2724446

Art Basel Miami Beach 2025 launched a new digital art section called Zero 10, featuring works like Beeple's robotic dogs with billionaire heads and Tyler Hobbs' generative art. The fair aimed to attract tech-sector buyers, with sales including IX Shells' interactive video installation for $140,000 and Jack Butcher's pay-what-you-wish installation drawing hundreds of new collectors. The section had surprisingly few screens, emphasizing conceptual engagement over spectacle.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 25, 2025 visibility 15 link 20 artists, 6 galleries

shanghai art week 2025 diary 2716632

Shanghai Art Week 2025 featured two major art fairs, West Bund Art and Design and Art021 Shanghai, alongside numerous satellite exhibitions and events across the city. The author navigated the sprawling metropolis by public bike, visiting highlights including “Artist’s Treat,” a cluster of 11 exhibitions organized by artist Xu Zhen in a repurposed French school, and Blunt Society, an artist-run space showing works by Ma Lingli and Alex Müller. The week was marked by a cautiously optimistic market mood, with dealers reporting better-than-expected sales and new initiatives like Art021’s SVIP preview for serious collectors.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 18, 2025 visibility 6 link 11 artists, 2 galleries

art gallery of ontario major gift 2714505

The late Toronto collectors Morton and Carol Rapp have donated over 450 artworks by 203 artists to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) from their estates. The gift includes major Pop art works: 13 screen prints by Andy Warhol, including four Marilyn Monroe portraits (1967); works by Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Claes Oldenburg (including the sculptural print 'Teabag' from 1966), David Hockney, and Roy Lichtenstein; plus Barnett Newman's 1964 lithograph 'CANTO XVIII', marking the Abstract Expressionist's debut in the collection. The donation also features photography by Yinka Shonibare and Kara Walker. The couple, who began supporting the AGO in 1966, had previously donated 474 works, bringing their total contribution to nearly 1,000 pieces.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 17, 2025 visibility 12 link 40 artists, 2 galleries

whitney museum downtown preview 283610

The Whitney Museum of American Art is preparing to open its new Meatpacking District museum, designed by Renzo Piano, on May 1. The new building will nearly double the museum's previous exhibition space, with two floors dedicated to its collection, and is expected to benefit from the millions of visitors who use the High Line. Despite past public criticism of expansions by other major New York museums like MoMA and the Frick, insiders including former MoMA curator Robert Storr and former Whitney director David Ross express strong support for the move, viewing it as a necessary and bold step forward.

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article news schedule Nov 17, 2025 visibility 9 link 3 artists, 2 galleries

stolen banksy print recovered thief sentenced 2536351

A judge at London's Kingston Crown Court sentenced Larry Fraser to 13 months in jail for stealing a Banksy print of the iconic *Balloon Girl* image from Grove Gallery in September 2024. Fraser, who pleaded guilty, used a hammer to break a glass door and stole the print in 36 seconds, hoping to pay off a drug debt. The Metropolitan Police's Flying Squad recovered the artwork within days after Fraser and accomplice James Love stashed it on the Isle of Dogs. Love was acquitted by a jury, claiming he was unaware of the theft until after the fact.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 17, 2025 visibility 6 link 7 artists, 3 galleries

abu dhabi art 2025 2713999

Abu Dhabi Art (ADA) opens its largest edition to VIPs on November 18 at Manarat Al Saadiyat, featuring 142 exhibitors—up from just over 100 last year. This is the final edition under the ADA name before it relaunches as Frieze Abu Dhabi in 2025, marking a major transition for the Gulf's art market. Key international dealers like Pace are returning after a long absence, and the fair includes works by Robert Indiana, Arlene Shechet, and a teamLab installation. The event comes as Art Basel also plans its 2026 debut in Qatar, signaling a broader regional shift.

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article news schedule Jul 22, 2025 visibility 4 link 3 artists, 2 galleries

maurizio cattelan comedian banana eaten pompidou metz 2669084

A museum-goer ate Maurizio Cattelan's "The Comedian" (2019)—a banana duct-taped to a wall—on display at the Pompidou-Metz in France. The museum quickly replaced the fruit, noting it is regularly changed per the artist's instructions. Cattelan joked the eater should have consumed the tape and skin as well.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 22, 2025 visibility 7 link 10 artists, 12 galleries

another management shake up at sothebys asia and a rundown of the latest in asias art world 2668709

Sotheby's Asia faces another leadership shake-up as Elaine Holt departs her role as chairman of modern and contemporary art in Asia after just one year. Jasmine Prasetio, Sotheby's managing director for Southeast Asia, will relocate to Hong Kong to serve as interim chair. Meanwhile, European galleries Meyer Riegger and Galerie Jocelyn Wolff are partnering to open a new space in Seoul called Meyer Riegger Wolff, led by Gala Musi, with an inaugural show during Frieze Seoul. Design Miami will make its Asian debut in Seoul, and London-based artist Firenze Lai has joined White Cube's roster. In Taiwan, the Taichung Green Museumbrary, designed by SANAA, is set to open in December, and the Gwangju Biennale Foundation has appointed Youn Bummo as its new president.

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trending_up market schedule Jul 22, 2025 visibility 6 link 25 artists, 2 galleries

collectors reveal key advice part ii 2666208

Artnet News published part two of a two-part series featuring advice from 11 experienced collectors. Among them are comedian Cheech Marin, who began collecting Chicano art in the 1980s and opened the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture in Riverside, California in 2022, and Kiran Nadar, founder of the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in India, who with her husband has amassed over 15,000 works. Marin emphasizes trusting instincts, building relationships with artists, seeing art in person, and warns about storage space becoming an addiction. Nadar advises staying open and curious, and not hesitating to explore the unfamiliar.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jul 17, 2025 visibility 9 link 31 artists, 6 galleries

upstate art weekend 2025 go to guide 2665987

The sixth edition of New York's Upstate Art Weekend, founded by Helen Toomer in 2020, runs July 17–21 across the Catskills and Hudson Valley, featuring 158 participating art organizations—a dramatic increase from 23 in its first year. Highlights include a Kishio Suga solo show at Dia Beacon, Sonia Gomes's first U.S. outdoor installation at Storm King Art Center, a group exhibition of seven women artists at Toomer's new project space Upbringing, Tomokazu Matsuyama's homage to Edward Hopper at the Edward Hopper House Museum, and a comparative show of Georgia O'Keeffe and Thomas Cole at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site.

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article culture schedule Jul 9, 2025 visibility 3 link 4 artists, 2 galleries

labubu art history 2665107

An ancient bronze artifact at China's Luoyang Museum has gone viral for its striking resemblance to Labubu, a wildly popular collectible toy created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung in 2015. The artifact, an Eastern Zhou Dynasty ceremonial danglu used as horse armor, dates to the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 B.C.E.) and is on display until August. Meanwhile, some internet users have drawn comparisons between Labubu and the Mesopotamian demon Pazuzu, sparking baseless conspiracy theories and TikTok warnings from overly devout Christians.

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article news schedule Jul 8, 2025 visibility 6 link 13 artists, 7 galleries

paint drippings art industry news jul 7 2664592

This week's art industry news covers major auction results, gallery changes, and restitution developments. At Christie's Old Masters evening sale in London, Canaletto's "The Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day" set a new auction record for the artist at £31.9 million ($43.9 million), leading the sale to a total of £60.8 million. Sotheby's Old Masters evening sale brought in £14.5 million, with three new records including Diana de Rosa's "Salome with the Head of Saint John the Baptist" selling for £317,500. A rare early watercolor by Man Ray, "Nude Playing Musical Instrument" (1913), resurfaced after decades and will be auctioned at Dreweatts. In gallery news, Blum gallery laid off most of its staff and plans to cease brick-and-mortar operations, while Waddington Custot announced a new Paris space, and Company Gallery hired Subhas Kim Kandasamy as executive director. White Cube now represents Firenze Lai, and JD Malat Gallery launched a new initiative for UAE artists. In restitution, the Netherlands returned 119 Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, transferred two Benin works to the Oba of Benin.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 25, 2025 visibility 3 link 4 artists, 2 galleries

tracey emin landmark italian show 2623880

Tracey Emin, the renowned British artist and former YBA, is the subject of a major new exhibition titled "Sex and Solitude" at the Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, Italy—the first comprehensive show of her work in the country. Curated by the museum's director general Arturo Galansino, the exhibition features some 60 works spanning 30 years, including paintings, drawings, film, photography, embroidery, sculptures, and neon installations. Emin created a new neon piece for the facade, and many works are being shown in Italy for the first time. In a video interview, she emphasized the show is not a retrospective but a living, present-focused exploration of her themes of sexuality, love, trauma, and solitude.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 18, 2025 visibility 3 link 10 artists, 5 galleries

meret oppenheim basel 2657245

A new exhibition at Hauser & Wirth's Basel location, timed to Art Basel, reexamines the legacy of Swiss artist Meret Oppenheim, 40 years after her death. The show aims to move beyond her famous 1936 work *Object (Breakfast in Fur)*, presenting the full breadth of her practice across sculpture, painting, readymades, and wearable art. Curated by Josef Helfenstein, the exhibition positions Oppenheim as a multifaceted artist who resisted the labels of Surrealist muse and pop star, highlighting her irreverent, medium-defying approach.

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article news schedule Jun 17, 2025 visibility 7 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

maurizio cattelan gold toilet trial theft video 2613738

A judge has sentenced two men for stealing Maurizio Cattelan's 18-carat gold toilet, titled "America," from Blenheim Palace in England during a 2019 raid. Michael Jones received 27 months in prison for burglary, while James Sheen was sentenced to four years, added to his existing 19-year term for other crimes. The theft took less than five minutes, causing major flooding and water damage when the toilet was ripped from the plumbing. Police arrested four men in November 2023, with evidence including DNA, phone messages, and CCTV footage leading to convictions. Fred Doe received a suspended sentence, and Bora Guccuk was found not guilty. None of the gold has been recovered and is believed to have been chopped up and sold.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 13, 2025 visibility 2 link 3 artists, 2 galleries

pompidou free access wolfgang tillmans 2656918

Celine is partnering with the Centre Pompidou to offer free public access on four select days this summer, coinciding with Wolfgang Tillmans's major exhibition "Nothing Could Have Prepared Us – Everything Could Have Prepared Us." The initiative, "Accès Libre par Celine," launches June 13 and continues on July 3, August 28, and September 22. Tillmans's exhibition occupies the museum's entire second floor, typically home to the Bibliothèque publique d'information (Bpi), and runs through September 22. Rather than a chronological retrospective, the installation engages directly with the building's architecture, repurposing library furniture and redesigning partitions. The show follows Tillmans's traveling retrospective "To Look Without Fear" at MoMA in 2022 and a recent solo presentation at David Zwirner.

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article culture schedule Jun 12, 2025 visibility 4 link 5 artists, 1 gallery

gerbil art museum london 1827057

Filippo Lorenzin, an independent curator at London's Victoria and Albert Museum, and artist Marianna Benetti built a miniature art museum for their pet gerbils, Pandoro and Tiramisu, during lockdown. The couple spent four hours constructing the tiny gallery from cardboard, paper, and wood, featuring rodent-themed parodies of famous artworks including Gustav Klimt's *The Kiss*, Johannes Vermeer's *The Girl With the Pearl Earring*, Leonardo da Vinci's *Mona Lisa*, and Edvard Munch's *The Scream*. They filmed the gerbils exploring the space and shared the footage on Reddit, where it quickly went viral.

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