real estate investor carl gambino young collectors

Real estate investor Carl Gambino, who splits his time between New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, discusses his art collection and approach to collecting in an interview with Cultured. Gambino, who once considered flipping art but resolved to buy for keeps, shares his early mistake of buying under social pressure at a dinner in France, a decision that left him feeling sick. He credits Kim Hastreiter of Paper magazine and Marsea Goldberg of New Image Art for teaching him to buy only what he loves. His collection features emerging painters such as Alejandro Piñeiro Bello, Cynthia Talmadge, Tianyue Zhong, and Dennis Miranda Zamorano, and he supports exhibitions including a showing of LaKela Brown at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit.

david zwirner loewe cultured 2025 young collectors

David Zwirner, Loewe, and Cultured magazine co-hosted a summer party at David Zwirner's Los Angeles gallery to celebrate the release of the magazine's 2025 Young Collectors list. Guests enjoyed mint- and cucumber-infused drinks, browsed the new Art + Food issue, and previewed Marcel Dzama's exhibition "Empress of Night," on view through August 8. The event drew a crowd of art, fashion, and media insiders, including collector Ben Weyerhaeuser, philanthropist Claudia Kahn, interior designer Jamie Bush, and artists Christina Quarles, Julien Nguyen, Hilary Pecis, and Richard Hawkins. Attendees left with tote bags containing copies of the magazine featuring a limited-edition cover by Lisa Yuskavage.

site santa fe international

Site Santa Fe has announced its 12th International exhibition, titled "Once Within a Time," opening June 27 and running through January 2026. Curated by Cecilia Alemani, who previously curated the 59th Venice Biennale, the show draws its name and dreamlike logic from a 2022 film by Santa Fe artist Godfrey Reggio. Featuring over 70 artists and more than 300 works—including new commissions, archival interventions, and contemporary selections—the exhibition uses 20 figures with ties to New Mexico as narrative catalysts, among them Navajo code talker Chester Nez, novelist Willa Cather, and the Fire Spirit from local folklore. For the first time, the International will be fully embedded within Santa Fe's urban fabric, activating sites such as a historic foundry, a toy store, and a dispensary alongside traditional cultural partners. Participating artists include Simone Leigh, David Horvitz, and Dominique Knowles, with contributions from writers Tommy Orange, Lucy R. Lippard, and Estevan Rael-Gálvez.

moca gala art performance party

The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) held its annual gala, presented by BVLGARI, at the Geffen Contemporary space in Little Tokyo. The evening introduced a new format called MOCA Legends, honoring artist Theaster Gates, architect Frank Gehry, and philanthropist Wendy Schmidt. Guests included actors Jane Fonda, David Alan Grier, Sarah Paulson, director Ava DuVernay, and artists Andrea Bowers, Charles Gaines, Henry Taylor, and Olafur Eliasson, whose exhibition OPEN was on view. After a performance by the TAIKOPROJECT Japanese drum ensemble, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi surprised attendees by introducing Gehry. Rapper Tierra Whack performed during dinner, and the event raised $3.1 million for museum operations.

david rimanelli willem de kooning cosey fanni tutti

Art critic David Rimanelli reviews Willem de Kooning's exhibition "Endless Painting" at Gagosian's 555 West 24th Street location, curated by Cecilia Alemani, running through June 24, 2025. The show spans de Kooning's career from 1944 to his final phase, though notably omits his black-and-white oil-and-enamel paintings from the late 1940s. Rimanelli expresses ambivalence, finding the show dreary and pointless despite the high caliber of individual works, and critiques the press release's focus on fragmented body parts. Separately, Johanna Fateman reviews Cosey Fanni Tutti's exhibition at Maxwell Graham, highlighting her controversial 1970s series "Magazine Actions" (1972–80), on view through June 28, 2025.

artadia artists tennis court benefit

Artadia, a nonprofit grantmaker, held its third annual tennis tournament at the Los Angeles Tennis Club in May 2025, moving the event from its traditional pre-Frieze slot in response to the year's wildfires. The fundraiser, co-chaired by Charles Gaines, Jennie Lamensdorf, and Rafael Flores, gathered over 130 guests including gallerists from Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, and David Zwirner, as well as curator Mia Locks and artists Ally Hilfiger, Todd Gray, and Roksana Pirouzmand. Forty-five participants played in a rotating doubles format, while others socialized; Locks gave remarks and won the tournament.

alison saar david c driskell prize 2

Alison Saar has been named the 2025 recipient of the David C. Driskell Prize by Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, recognizing her significant contributions to the African American art canon. The announcement was made in New York at a celebration held at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in partnership with CULTURED, with a formal gala planned for September featuring a performance by John Legend. Saar, a Los Angeles native known for her commanding sculptures and mixed-media works exploring race, gender, and spiritual identity, joins past honorees including Naomi Beckwith, Ebony G. Patterson, Amy Sherald, and Rashid Johnson.

guggenheim ycc party new york

The Guggenheim Young Collectors Council (YCC) hosted its 2025 party at the museum's New York rotunda, honoring Korean artist Ayoung Kim as the recipient of the LG Guggenheim Award. The event featured a multisensory experience with tarot readings, motion-capture avatars, a performance by YCC Artist Collaborator LaJuné McMillian using LG OLED technology, and a DJ set by Kito, drawing a crowd of artists, curators, and collectors including Naomi Beckwith, Ella Emhoff, Tschabalala Self, and Moses Sumney.

dustin yellin pioneer works birthday party

Pioneer Works founder Dustin Yellin celebrated his 50th birthday with a fundraiser called Village Fête, raising $1.4 million for the nonprofit arts and sciences center he founded 13 years ago. The event featured a cocktail hour, seated dinner, performances by Annie & the Caldwells and David Byrne, and an afterparty co-hosted by CULTURED, with attendees including Claire Danes, Moses Sumney, Maggie Rogers, and Darren Aronofsky. Speakers included lead sponsor Gabriela Hearst, artist Nate Lewis, artist Azikiwe Mohammed, and founding team members Gabriel Florenz and Janna Levin, who highlighted the institution's impact on over 450 artists.

‘A watershed moment’: Major Brisbane art exhibition opens at prestigious London museum

The Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) has exported a major exhibition, "Rising Voices: Contemporary Art from Asia, Australia and the Pacific," to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The show, which runs until January 10, 2027, features works collected over 30 years through QAGOMA's Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, including pieces by Australian artists Michael Cook, Naomi Hobson, Shirley Macnamara, Ken Thaiday Sr, and Judy Watson, as well as artists from China, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, and beyond.

Your guide to Christie's 20/21 auction week in New York

Christie's is holding its 20/21 auction week in New York from May 9–22, 2026, featuring seven live auctions and two online sales at its Rockefeller Center galleries. Highlights include the dedicated sale "MASTERPIECES: The Private Collection of S.I. Newhouse" (led by Constantin Brancusi's *Danaïde* and Jackson Pollock's *Number 7A, 1948*), the Impressionist and Modern Art Day Sale, and "Defined Space: The Collection of Henry S. McNeil, Jr.," which focuses on Minimalist works by Donald Judd and Dan Flavin. Other consignors include prominent collectors Agnes Gund, Marian Goodman, and Joanna Carson. The public can view works for free from May 9–21.

Stephan Balkenhol New Bronze Sculptures 2026 - Man in a White

German sculptor Stephan Balkenhol has unveiled two new hand-painted bronze editions, "Man in a White Shirt and Black Pants 2026" and "Venus 2026." Released in editions of 30 and standing 68 cm tall, the works are being showcased and sold through Frank Fluegel Galerie across its Nuremberg and Kitzbühel locations. The release coincides with the artist's participation in the Art Cologne Palma de Mallorca Fair and precedes his 70th birthday in 2027.

The Art Market Enters 2026 With Renewed Confidence and a Sharper K-Shape Divide

ArtTactic's Global Art Market Outlook 2026 report reveals renewed confidence in the art market, with 51% of participants expecting growth and 42% anticipating stability. Strong sales in London, Paris, and Miami Beach, along with multi-billion-dollar November auction results, have buoyed sentiment. The recovery is uneven but meaningful, driven by selective demand for established names: Impressionist art rose 80.4%, Modern art 19.4%, and Old Masters 68.7%. The K-shaped divide is sharpening, with robust performance at the top end (above $1 million) and accessible tiers (below $50,000), while the middle market remains sluggish. Top performers include Klimt, Picasso, Rothko, and Calder, while ultracontemporary artists like Nicolas Party and Matthew Wong have seen significant declines.

How to Keep a Gallery Open: Lessons From One of London’s Longest-Operating Dealers

London gallerist David Juda of Annely Juda, one of the city's longest-operating dealers, shares his strategies for keeping a gallery open amid a wave of closures. He emphasizes staying small, avoiding expensive art fairs for newcomers, and planning succession—handing responsibilities to co-director Nina Fellmann as he approaches 80. The gallery is moving to a new space on Hanover Square, inaugurating with new paintings by David Hockney.

In Karyn Lyons’s Paintings, the Ghost of Girlhood Lingers

American painter Karyn Lyons explores the longing and desolation of adolescent girlhood in her solo exhibition “Day for Night” at Stems Gallery in Paris, which opened ahead of Art Basel Paris. The show features paintings of an adolescent girl in affluent yet lonely settings, which Lyons describes as metaphoric pages from her diary. After studying journalism and working in advertising and fashion, Lyons earned a post-baccalaureate degree from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in 2003, but kept her work private for nearly two decades until a creative breakthrough during the pandemic led her to explore her own adolescence more psychologically.

New York gallery Kasmin will close this autumn as leadership launches new venture, Olney Gleason

The Chelsea gallery Kasmin will close this autumn after 35 years of operation, transitioning into a new venture called Olney Gleason. The new gallery will be led by Kasmin president Nick Olney and senior director Eric Gleason, both longtime employees who say the move aligns with the wishes of the late founder Paul Kasmin. Olney Gleason will continue working with an unspecified number of artists and estates from Kasmin's roster, including François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne, Lee Krasner, and Jackson Pollock's estate, and will open a flagship space in Chelsea with an inaugural show this autumn.

Chelsea Exhibition Reviews: Rosebud Contemporary, Paula Cooper, Fredericks & Freiser, Berry Campbell and more

This article reviews several Chelsea gallery exhibitions, focusing on Mary Ann Unger's monumental sculpture show 'Across the Bering Strait' at Berry Campbell, which features her hydrocal-over-steel works exploring themes of feminism, anthropology, and the natural world. It also covers 'En Route' at Rosebud Contemporary, a group exhibition of abstract painters Rifka Milder, Meg Hitchcock, and Ketta Ioannidou, each reflecting on artistic journeys through their work.

LACMA inaugurates its new building

Le Lacma inaugure son nouveau bâtiment

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has inaugurated its new David Geffen Galleries building, a massive horizontal structure spanning Wilshire Boulevard. Designed by architect Peter Zumthor, the $720 million project features 32,000 square meters of exhibition space across 90 non-hierarchical galleries, a free public park level, and a radical departure from traditional museum departmental organization.

From a waterfall cube to a field of mushrooms: Vivid Sydney 2026 – in pictures

Vivid Sydney 2026 has launched, transforming the city with bold light installations, projections, and digital art. The festival features a 6.5km light walk from Barangaroo to Darling Harbour, along with live music, panel discussions, and pop-up dining. Highlights include works like 'Vaiola' by Sāmoan/Australian artist Angela Tiatia, projected onto the Museum of Contemporary Art. The event runs until 13 June.

Bidding battle for Matisse leads Sotheby’s $303.3m Modern art evening sale in New York

Sotheby’s Modern evening auction on 19 May in New York achieved $303.3m with fees, falling within its pre-sale estimate of $244m to $322.8m. The standout lot was Henri Matisse’s 1919 painting *La Chaise lorraine*, which sold for $48.4m after a ten-minute bidding battle, becoming the second most valuable Matisse painting at auction. Other highlights included Alberto Giacometti’s *La Clairière (Composition avec neuf figures)* at $23.1m, Pablo Picasso’s *Arlequin (Buste, 1909)* at $42.6m, and a Mark Rothko untitled work on paper at $9.27m. The sale also saw strong demand for works by female Surrealists Leonor Fini and Leonora Carrington, while a Rodin sculpture was passed and a Gottlieb painting was withdrawn.

Nicole Kidman's Billion-Dollar Breakfast at Christie's

Christie's held a record-setting evening sale on May 18, 2025, that generated over $1 billion, featuring a promotional video starring Nicole Kidman. Jackson Pollock's drip painting "Number 7A, 1948" sold for $181.2 million, nearly tripling the artist's previous auction record, while Constantin Brancusi's bronze bust "Danaïde" (c. 1913) fetched $107.6 million, becoming the second most expensive sculpture ever sold. The works came from the collection of late magazine magnate S.I. Newhouse, and a Rothko from Agnes Gund's collection also set a new artist record at $98.4 million.

Enter the unsettled space of Asian American abstraction

The Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation in New York is hosting the exhibition "How Asian Is It?", featuring 12 pioneering East Asian American abstractionists born between 1928 and 1955. Curated by Lilly Wei, the show includes works by Barbara Takenaga, Emily Cheng, Charles Yuen, and David Diao, among others. These artists navigated an art world where downplaying their Asian identities often felt necessary for survival, especially after the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act reshaped US immigration policy. The exhibition explores how their abstraction—marked by attention to interval, pause, and what remains unsaid—reflects a disciplined negotiation with space rather than a shared style or manifesto.

Several Venice Biennale pavilions shut in protest over inclusion of Israel

Several national pavilions at the 2026 Venice Biennale shut down during the final preview day in a strike organized by the Art Not Genocide Alliance (Anga) protesting Israel's inclusion due to its war in Gaza. Pavilions from Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Japan, Macedonia, and Korea closed entirely, while others like Britain, Spain, France, Egypt, Finland, and Luxembourg partially closed or reopened later. Artists in the main exhibition added Palestinian flags and posters reading "Palestine is the future of the world." The Israeli pavilion was closed for a private event, and earlier in the week Pussy Riot staged a protest at the Russian pavilion.

Khaled Sabsabi is finally at the Venice Biennale: ‘Being here is already a win’

Khaled Sabsabi has opened his exhibition 'conference of one’s self' at the Australian Pavilion of the 61st Venice Biennale, alongside a second installation 'Khalil' in the Arsenale. This follows a tumultuous period in which Creative Australia rescinded his appointment as Australia’s representative in February 2025, sparking widespread backlash from the art community. After being reappointed in July 2025, Sabsabi presents two monumental multimedia works inspired by Sufi practice, created in Bangkok and described as 'one body with two limbs'.

Pussy Riot protest at Venice Biennale forces Russian pavilion to briefly close

On the second day of the Venice Biennale preview, the activist group Pussy Riot staged a chaotic protest at the Russian pavilion, forcing it to temporarily close. Wearing pink balaclavas and carrying flares, about 40 activists—including members of Femen—gathered outside the pavilion, shouting slogans like "Blood is Russia's Art" and attempting to enter before being pushed back by police. Founding member Nadya Tolokonnikova led the protest, condemning Europe for allowing Russian participation despite the war in Ukraine. Separately, the Art Not Genocide Alliance (Anga) demonstrated outside the Israeli pavilion, which was locked from inside, over Israel's war in Gaza.

Dark clouds, protests and resignations dampen start of 61st Venice Biennale

The 61st Venice Biennale opened under grey skies and rain, with political tensions overshadowing the art world's premier event. The Russian pavilion, absent for two editions due to the Ukraine war, reappeared with a party atmosphere, though the Italian ministry of culture confirmed it would not be open to the public. The Ukrainian culture minister called Russia's symbolic presence powerful. The Iranian pavilion withdrew without explanation, and a protest by 60 artists from the In Minor Keys show marched through the Giardini humming in solidarity against Israel's participation. Over 200 artists, including Lubaina Himid and Alfredo Jaar, signed an open letter demanding the Israeli pavilion's cancellation. The event also proceeded without its curator, Koyo Kouoh, who died in May 2025; her curatorial team delivered the exhibition following her plans.

David Nahmad maintains that his Modigliani was not looted by the Nazis

David Nahmad is continuing his legal battle to prove that his Modigliani painting, *Seated Man with a Cane* (1918), was not looted by the Nazis from the Jewish dealer Oscar Stettiner. Despite a recent New York ruling against him, Nahmad’s lawyers have filed a motion to review the case based on new eyewitness testimony. Two witnesses claim the painting they saw in the Van der Klip family—which bought the Nazi-looted work in 1944—is completely different from Nahmad’s painting, lacking a seated man or a cane. Nahmad’s legal team also cites a 1946 French bailiff report and a recent catalogue raisonné by Marc Restellini to argue that Mondex, the restitution firm working for Stettiner’s heirs, misidentified the work.

Nahmad Seeks to Reopen Modigliani Restitution Case With New Witnesses

David Nahmad's lawyers are asking a New York court to reconsider its April 3 decision in the restitution case over Amedeo Modigliani's *Seated Man with a Cane* (1918), which awarded the painting to the estate of dealer Oscar Stettiner. They cite new eyewitness testimony from Frédéric Allain, who recalls a different Modigliani—smaller, darker, and without a seated man or cane—hidden by the Van der Klip family in Paris during World War II, suggesting the wrong painting may have been the focus of the case. The filing also references a 1946 report describing the missing work as a self-portrait and a new catalogue raisonné by Marc Restellini that finds no link between the painting and Stettiner. Mondex, representing Stettiner's heirs, rejects the claims, asserting that *Seated Man with a Cane* bears Stettiner's name and was in the family's possession from 1944 to 1996.

BBC ‘Buried’ Footage of Banksy at NYC Mural Site, Former Reporter Claims

Former BBC New York correspondent Nick Bryant claims the BBC suppressed footage he captured of Banksy at a mural site in New York City in March 2018. In a Substack post, Bryant recounts being tipped off by Banksy's PR team about a new artwork at the Houston Bowery Wall, where he and his cameraman filmed the artist—described as a middle-aged man in a black beanie and grey coat—fleeing the scene with fresh paint on his fingers. Despite believing he had a world exclusive, Bryant says BBC editors in London decided not to air the footage, citing concerns about unmasking the artist and preserving the mystery for audiences, including a senior colleague's daughter who compared revealing Banksy's identity to telling children there is no Santa Claus.

Anish Kapoor says US’s ‘politics of hate’ should exclude it from Venice Biennale

Anish Kapoor has called for the United States to be excluded from the Venice Biennale, citing the country's "abhorrent politics of hate" and "incessant warmongering." His comments follow the resignation of the five-member international jury, who stepped down in protest over the inclusion of Israel and Russia. Kapoor praised the jury's decision as "courageous" but argued they should have also targeted the US. The US pavilion, featuring artist Alma Allen and his exhibition "Call Me the Breeze," has faced scrutiny over perceived Trump administration interference and a delayed selection process. Meanwhile, the Israeli and Russian pavilions remain flashpoints, with over 200 participants signing a letter demanding the cancellation of the Israeli pavilion, and the Russian pavilion closed to the public but viewable through windows.