robert rauschenberg dance guggenheim

A gala performance at the Guggenheim Museum in New York marked what would have been Robert Rauschenberg's 100th birthday, featuring dancers performing Paul Taylor's 'Tracer' (1962), for which Rauschenberg created costumes and sets—including a spinning bicycle wheel that served as a portal to the exhibition above. The show, 'Robert Rauschenberg: Life Can’t Be Stopped,' opened in one of the museum's tower galleries and runs through May 3, presenting select works from the Guggenheim's collections and loans from the artist's foundation, including major pieces like 'Barge' (1962–63), the largest silkscreen painting Rauschenberg made in the early 1960s, back in New York for the first time in nearly 25 years.

sothebys matthew carolyn bucksbaum magritte jean dubuffett

Sotheby's will sell ten works from the Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum collection in its fall auctions, with six pieces by René Magritte, Jean Dubuffet, Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, and Paul Klee featured in the Modern Evening auction on November 20. The group of six works carries a total estimate of $18 million to $24 million, led by Magritte's *Le Jockey perdu* (1942) at $9–12 million and Dubuffet's *Restaurant Rougeot II* (1961) at $6–8 million. Sotheby's executives Julian Dawes and Grégoire Billault emphasized the rarity and importance of these works, noting that the Magritte is the only oil version of its subject and the Dubuffet is one of just three paintings of the iconic Paris restaurant.

macarthur genius grants garrett bradley gala porras kim

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced its 2025 class of 22 MacArthur Fellows, each receiving an $800,000 no-strings-attached grant. Among the winners are several visual artists: Garrett Bradley, known for her Oscar-nominated documentary *Time* (2020) and works centering Black resistance; Gala Porras-Kim, whose practice questions how art institutions convey or conceal information about objects; Tuan Andrew Nguyen, whose films and installations explore trauma and colonization; and Jeremy Frey, a seventh-generation Passamaquoddy basket maker whose midcareer survey is on view at the Bruce Museum. Photographers Matt Black and Tonika Lewis Johnson also received fellowships, along with archaeologist Kristina Douglass and non-artists such as novelist Tommy Orange and astrophysicist Kareem El-Badry.

british museum ball international partnerships

The British Museum in London has announced a new fundraising event called the British Museum Ball, scheduled for October 18, with a pink theme inspired by the colors and light of India, tied to its exhibition 'Ancient India: Living Traditions.' The gala will be co-chaired by Isha Ambani, a patron of the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre in Mumbai, and will feature a silent auction, music by Anoushka Shankar and Jules Buckley, and a guest list including Zadie Smith, Naomi Campbell, Idris Elba, Miuccia Prada, and others. Proceeds will support the museum's international partnerships and its goal of making its collection more accessible worldwide.

aspen art museum redefining future

The Aspen Art Museum is undergoing a strategic shift under director Nicola Lees, moving away from its reputation as a collector's clubhouse toward becoming a global institution. The museum's annual ArtCrush gala and fundraiser week, once centered on wealth-displaying collector home visits and glitzy parties, now emphasizes intellectual programming like the inaugural AIR festival, a $20 million artist-led interdisciplinary initiative featuring talks by Werner Herzog and Hans Ulrich Obrist. This change comes amid soaring local real estate prices, including a $108 million home co-purchased by Steve Wynn and Thomas Peterffy, and contrasts the area's deep pockets with the museum's free admission since 2008.

nicholas galanin pulls out smithsonian syposium

Artist Nicholas Galanin withdrew from a symposium tied to the Smithsonian American Art Museum exhibition “The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture,” alleging that organizers asked him not to record the event or share footage on social media. The symposium, a private event not publicly listed on the Smithsonian’s website, also included curator Hamza Walker, artists Titus Kaphar and Miguel Luciano, and critic Aruna D’Souza. Galanin stated on Instagram that the request effectively censored participants, though a Smithsonian spokesperson denied censorship, citing that not all participants consented to recording. The exhibition was previously singled out by President Donald Trump in an executive order criticizing the Smithsonian for promoting “divisive, race-centered ideology.”

aspen air festival 2025

The inaugural AIR festival took place in Aspen as part of Aspen Art Week, featuring a mix of talks, performances, and a closed-door retreat for artists, writers, scientists, and theorists. Highlights included a pack of panting huskies, a psychoanalysis talk in a psychedelic chapel, an artist conversing with his AI doppelganger, and a whispery musical performance on a museum rooftop. The festival kicked off with a film by Apichatpong Weerasethakul accompanied by composer Rafiq Bhatia, followed by discussions on dreaming and catastrophe, and site-responsive works by Jota Mombaça and Paul Chan.

sothebys karpidas collection sale lots magritte surrealism

Sotheby's has announced the headline lots for the upcoming sale of British socialite and arts patron Pauline Karpidas's collection, set to take place September 17–19 in London. The 250-item auction, described as the 'greatest collection of Surrealism to emerge in recent history,' is led by René Magritte's oil painting *La Statue volante* (1940-41), estimated at £9–12 million ($12–16 million). Other highlights include ten more Magritte works, four Andy Warhol pieces from his 'Art from Art' series, and works by Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, and Leonora Carrington, along with furniture and design objects.

civil rights photographer bob adelman obituary

Photographer Bob Adelman was found dead in his Miami home at age 85, with head injuries likely from a fall. Adelman began his career photographing New York jazz clubs, studied under Harper’s Bazaar art director Alexey Brodovitch, and became a protégé of presidential photographer Jacques Lowe. He earned a master’s degree in philosophy from Columbia and was a member of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), using his camera to document the Civil Rights movement—including sit-ins, the Selma-to-Montgomery march, and Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. He also photographed cultural figures such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Samuel Beckett, and Jim Morrison.

kim kardashian gets authentic donald judd furniture lawsuit

The Judd Foundation has settled a lawsuit with Kim Kardashian and Clements Design over a 2022 promotional video in which Kardashian promoted knockoff versions of Donald Judd's minimalist furniture. The video, which garnered over 3.6 million views before being deleted, featured tables resembling Judd's La Mansana Table 22 and Chair 84. Under the settlement, Kardashian will acquire authentic Judd furniture from Donald Judd Furniture LLC, and both parties expressed satisfaction with the outcome.

old masters sales takeaways art detective

Sotheby's underperformed with the highly anticipated Saunders Collection of Old Masters, which was estimated at $80–120 million but sold for only $65.4 million, falling $14.6 million short of its low estimate. The sell-through rate was a dismal 58%, with 16 of 43 lots failing to sell in the standalone auction. Christie's also saw disappointing results, with a smaller sale totaling $6.89 million, 17% below its low target. The collection, amassed by the late banker Thomas A. Saunders III and his wife Jordan, was billed as the most valuable Old Masters collection ever to come to auction.

whitney museum paused independent study program censorship

The Whitney Museum of American Art has suspended its storied Independent Study Program (ISP) for the 2025–2026 academic year, following widespread outcry over the censorship of a performance titled "No Aesthetic Outside My Freedom: Mourning, Militancy, and Performance" by artists Fadl Fakhouri, Noel Maghathe, and Fargo Tbakhi. The performance, scheduled for May 14, was canceled by museum leadership after reviewing a video in which Tbakhi made demands that supporters of Israel or America leave the venue. Director Scott Rothkopf informed the ISP community of the pause in an email, citing the need to search for a new director. The museum also confirmed that Sara Nadal-Melsió, hired in 2024 as the ISP's first associate director, will not retain her position. The cancellation drew condemnation from free speech advocates, including the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC), which likened the museum's actions to an authoritarian approach.

met museum rockefeller wing renovation review

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, closed since 2021, reopens after a $70 million renovation. The redesign by architect Kulapat Yantrasast transforms the previously dark and cramped galleries into airy, energizing spaces, with a major rehang that reconfigures the Oceania galleries. Notable changes include the repositioning of a Kwoma ceremonial house ceiling in collaboration with descendants of the original painters, the relocation of Asmat funerary poles to a dedicated gallery, and the addition of newly acquired works by Ömie artist Ilma Savari. The renovation also features revised wall texts that better contextualize the objects.

going beyond fashion with charles james at the met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's new Anna Wintour Costume Center opens with the exhibition "Charles James: Beyond Fashion," showcasing the work of the mid-century couturier often called "America's First Couturier." The show presents James's sculptural gowns—made of silk, tulle, and taffeta—on pedestals, accompanied by quotations that frame his designs as art. Highlights include the famous 10-pound "Clover Leaf Gown" and the "Taxi dress," a precursor to the wrap dress. The exhibition features animated video imaging by Diller Scofidio + Renfro that uses robotic cameras to reveal the architectural layers within the garments. The show runs from May 8 to August 10, 2014.

v a c foundation ex director teresa mavica interview

Teresa Iarocci Mavica, former director of the Moscow-based V-A-C Foundation, which she co-founded with Russian billionaire Leonid Mikhelson, has resurfaced after three years of silence. She resigned from V-A-C in November 2021, just before the opening of GES-2 House of Culture, Russia's largest contemporary art museum, and left Russia shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Now based in Naples, she has curated "The Sun to Come" at Made in Cloister, launching her biennial program "REBIRTH." The exhibition includes three Russian artists, reflecting her continued commitment to cultural dialogue between Russia and Europe despite the war.

superfine met museum costume institute black dandy

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute will open "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" on May 10, an exhibition tracing over 300 years of Black dandyism. The show features around a dozen paintings, fashions, works on paper, photography, sculpture, and decorative objects, including a 1758 portrait of Roch Aza, a ten-year-old enslaved boy from Martinique, depicted in elegant livery alongside his enslaver. The exhibition examines how well-dressed Black figures appeared in European art as symbols of their owners' wealth and status during the transatlantic slave trade, and how subsequent generations have reappropriated and subverted that imagery.

kim kardashian art world

Kim Kardashian, the media personality and billionaire entrepreneur, has increasingly intersected with the art world through high-profile purchases, legal disputes, and controversial photo shoots. She bought Jean-Michel Basquiat's painting "Both Poles" (1982) for $5 million at Christie's in 2017, later confirmed in 2024. She faced a lawsuit from the Donald Judd Foundation in 2024 for falsely claiming two tables were authentic Judd works. She also sparked outrage with a Tesla Cybertruck photoshoot for Perfect magazine during the "Tesla Takedown" protests, and engaged in a bidding war with Tom Brady over a George Condo artwork.

met gala 2025 rosa parks underwear k pop henry taylor

At the 2025 Met Gala, K-Pop star Lisa of Blackpink faced backlash after social media users claimed her Louis Vuitton outfit, designed by Pharrell Williams, featured Rosa Parks's face embroidered on her underwear. A representative for artist Henry Taylor clarified that the pattern actually depicts Taylor's neighbor, not Parks, and that all faces on the garments come from Taylor's personal life and existing artworks, which he provided to LVMH for Williams's debut collection in 2023.

rachofsky house dallas for sale

The Rachofsky House, a landmark contemporary art residence in Dallas designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier, has been quietly listed for sale off-market by Compass agent Faisal Halum. The 9,000-square-foot home at 8605 Preston Road has been owned for decades by prominent collectors Howard and Cindy Rachofsky, who annually hosted the Two x Two gala there, raising over $130 million for amfAR and the Dallas Museum of Art. Howard Rachofsky confirmed the sale, citing his age (81) and ongoing estate planning.

kehinde wiley new sexual assault complaint

Artist Ogechi Chieke has filed a legal complaint against Kehinde Wiley, accusing him of sexual assault stemming from an incident in 2007. Chieke alleges that after a New York exhibition she was included in, Wiley groped her and made unwanted sexual advances, causing her to leave New York and abandon her art career. Wiley denies the allegations, calling them a "blatant money-grab" and stating he has never met Chieke. The suit was filed under New York City's Victims of Gender-Motivated Violence Protection Law just before the statute of limitations window closed on March 1, 2025.

Delegitimation, Denunciation and Insecurity

"Delegitimation, Denunziation und Verunsicherung"

German cultural critic Georg Seeßlen warns in his taz column of a right-wing 'war of conquest' targeting liberal cultural institutions through systematic delegitimation, denunciation, and intimidation. Meanwhile, a new Berlin artist study reveals that the average annual income from artistic work is just €6,000, highlighting a structural dysfunction in the art system. Additionally, Jonathan Meese's play 'Alaska Kid' has been canceled at the Volksbühne Berlin following the death of his mother Brigitte Meese, who was his organizer, muse, and confidante.

Art21 Honors Paul Pfeiffer and Charles Gaines at 2026 Spring Gala as Organization Celebrates 25 Years of Championing Access to Contemporary Art

Art21 will honor artists Paul Pfeiffer and Charles Gaines at its 2026 Spring Gala on April 14, alongside a tribute to philanthropist Agnes Gund. The event, held at Tribeca Rooftop, features a live auction of exclusive experiences and a marching band procession, and serves as the centerpiece of the organization's year-long 25th-anniversary celebration.

Jon Batiste, Troye Sivan, and Amy Sherald lead a Met Gala 2026 rooted in art-historical homage.

The 2026 Met Gala, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, centered on the theme "Fashion Is Art," marking the opening of the Costume Institute's spring exhibition "Costume Art." Attendees including Jon Batiste, Troye Sivan, and artist Amy Sherald interpreted the dress code through art-historical references, with Sivan wearing Prada to channel Robert Mapplethorpe. The event brought together fashion, art, entertainment, and high society to make a deliberate case for fashion as a legitimate art form.

12 exciting fashion and jewelry exhibitions that will make you travel this summer

12 expos de mode et de bijoux passionnantes qui vous feront voyager cet été

Beaux Arts Magazine presents a curated selection of twelve fashion and jewelry exhibitions across France, Paris, and Vienna, running through summer 2026. Highlights include a retrospective of Mossi Traoré at the Mucem in Marseille, a showcase of Thai haute couture at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and "Africa Fashion" at the Musée du quai Branly, celebrating African design from the independence era. Other featured exhibitions cover Christian Dior, Gianni Versace, Daniel Brush, Provençal costumes, and anniversaries of glittering fashion houses.

Sex Dreams, Piss Takes, and Fake Trends: A Week in the NY Art World With Domenick Ammirati

Domenick Ammirati returns to New York after a year-long writing residency in Siena and Provincetown to cover the spring art fairs, including Frieze New York 2026. He observes a notably calm art week, attributing the subdued atmosphere to the fair's proximity to the Venice Biennale, which left key players exhausted. Highlights include a Rei Kawakubo installation at Independent, Gucci's Cruise show in Times Square, and MoMA PS1's 50th anniversary gala, where he mingles with curator Jody Graf and spots Klaus Biesenbach.

Here’s What You Missed at MoMA PS1’s 50th Birthday Bash

MoMA PS1 held its annual gala on Tuesday night, celebrating the institution's 50th anniversary and honoring founding director Alanna Heiss and former MoMA Director Glenn D. Lowry. More than 500 guests attended the Surrealist-themed event, which featured artistic direction by the fashion and art collective Women’s History Museum, with stilt walkers, custom posters, performances, and DJ sets. Notable attendees included artists Wolfgang Tillmans and Camille Henrot, dealers Jeffrey Deitch, and musicians Swizz Beatz, along with museum leadership and collectors.

parties ifpda 2026 benefit gala

The 2026 IFPDA Foundation Benefit Gala took place on the Upper East Side, honoring Christophe Cherix, Director of The Museum of Modern Art. Held in the historic Veterans Room at the Park Avenue Armory, the event gathered notable figures including artists Hank Willis Thomas and Yashua Klos, collectors Sharon Coplan, Stewart Gross, and Jordan Schnitzer, dealers Carolina Nitsch, Jill Newhouse, and Joni Moisant Weyl, and curators Nadine Orenstein, Freyda Spira, and Andrew Weislogel. A new print edition by Stanley Whitney, produced with Universal Limited Art Editions, was released to support the IFPDA Foundation’s grantmaking initiatives.

art international artists to watch 2026 biennials

Cultured magazine has published a preview of artists to watch in 2026, focusing on the upcoming biennial season. The article features insights from a dozen industry insiders, including Diya Vij of Powerhouse Arts, who highlights Guadalupe Maravilla's healing-focused practice; Allan Schwartzman, who champions Yoko Ono's underrecognized legacy; Hans Ulrich Obrist, who anticipates Koo Jeong A's multisensory exhibitions; and Victoria M. Rogers, who spotlights Akinsanya Kambon's politically charged ceramics. Major events in 2026 include the 61st Venice Biennale (opening after the death of commissioner Koyo Kouoh), new Art Basel and Frieze fairs in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, and expansions at LACMA and the New Museum.

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Blank Forms held its eighth annual gala at the Angel Orensanz Foundation on the Lower East Side, honoring artist Cosima von Bonin and vocalist Asha Puthli. The event transformed the historic former synagogue into a stage for experimental music and Cambodian cuisine, featuring performances by guitarists Brandon Ross and Melvin Gibbs, as well as Puthli herself, introduced by Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz saxophonist Henry Threadgill. Guests included curators Ruba Katrib and Jay Sanders, Brooklyn Rail Co-Founder Phong Bui, Amant’s Tobi Maier, gallerists from Matthew Marks and Gladstone, musicians Lizzi Bougatsos and Miho Hatori, writer Lucy Sante, and artists Amalia Ulman, Sylvie Fleury, and Rachel Rose.

art collector mistake guide

The article compiles personal anecdotes from several art collectors—Laurent Asscher, Suzanne Syz, Rob and Eric Thomas-Suwall, Toby Milstein Schulman, and Danielle Falls—who share mistakes they made while building their collections. Asscher recounts buying a lesser Basquiat at Christie's before quickly reselling it to acquire a superior work at Phillips; Syz regrets buying a piece because others wanted it; the Thomas-Suwalls missed out on a Dominique Fung diptych; Schulman accidentally bought a work attributed 'after Keith Haring' at a charity auction; and Falls reflects on her early eagerness as a young trustee of the Bronx Museum.