Peter Doig and Marina Abramović celebrated at star-studded Praemium Imperiale ceremony

Peter Doig and Marina Abramović were honored at the Praemium Imperiale Awards ceremony in Tokyo, hosted by the Japan Arts Association at the Meiji Kinenkan hall. Princess Hitachi presented the laureates with gold medals; other winners included Eduardo Souto de Moura (architecture), András Schiff (music), and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker (theatre/film). Each received 15 million yen. Attendees included international advisors Hillary Rodham Clinton, Lord Patten, and Lamberto Dini, as well as past laureates Hiroshi Sugimoto and Lee Ufan. Clinton spoke about art's unifying power, while Dini warned of declining arts education worldwide.

Martha Graham Took Classic Ballet and Turned It Into Modern Dance. It’s Still Moving Us 100 Years Later

The Martha Graham Dance Company, the oldest professional dance troupe in the United States, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a worldwide centennial tour. The company is marking the milestone by performing Graham's classic works, like the 1946 ballet *Cave of the Heart*, alongside newer commissions that continue her innovative legacy.

New Art21 Documentary Follows Camille Henrot as She Completes New Work for the New Museum’s Reopening

Art21 has announced the premiere of a new documentary titled "Camille Henrot: In Movement," scheduled for release on April 22, 2026. Directed by Adam Golfer, the film tracks the multidisciplinary artist over the course of a year as she prepares a new body of work, including paintings, bronze sculptures, and a new film titled "In the Veins" (2026). The production follows Henrot from her New York studio to a foundry in Paris, capturing her creative process leading up to a major presentation at the newly reopened New Museum.

Screening and Conversation with Sophie Calle

Art21 hosted an advance screening of Sophie Calle's segment from the upcoming Season 12 of "Art in the Twenty-First Century" at the SAG-AFTRA Robin Williams Center in New York. Following the first public showing of the documentary, which follows Calle preparing exhibitions in Paris, Arles, and Minneapolis, the artist participated in a conversation with filmmaker Bette Gordon. They discussed the influence of 1980s New York and themes of identity and vulnerability in her work.

98,000 People Rush to Defense of Arts Trustee Misan Harriman in Wake of Antisemitism Accusations

More than 98,000 people have filed complaints with the UK Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) in defense of British-Nigerian arts trustee Misan Harriman, following accusations of antisemitism leveled against him by right-wing outlets including the Daily Mail and the Telegraph. The complaints mark the highest number ever submitted to IPSO over a single issue. Separately, an open letter signed by activist Greta Thunberg and artists Tracey Emin and Peter Doig condemns what they call a "dishonest smear campaign" targeting Harriman, who is an Oscar-nominated photographer, chair of the Southbank Centre, and a nominee for Amnesty UK’s People’s Human Rights Champion.

Artist Valie Export, Who Saw Right Through the Male Gaze, Dies at 85

Austrian artist Valie Export, a pioneering feminist performance and media artist, died on May 14, three days before her 86th birthday. Her death was confirmed by Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery. Export, born Waltraud Lehner in 1940, rejected traditional domestic roles and adopted her iconic all-uppercase name from a cigarette brand. She created guerrilla-style performances and films that directly confronted the male gaze and patriarchal society, often using her own body as a medium. Key works include “Genital Panic” (1968), in which she walked through a Munich cinema in crotchless pants, and “Tapp und Tastkino (Tap and Touch Cinema)” (1968), where she invited strangers to touch her bare breasts through a stage strapped to her chest.

It is the great Mark Rothko leading Sotheby's first auctions in New York

È il grande Mark Rothko a guidare le prime aste di Sotheby’s a New York

Sotheby's kicked off New York's art and auction week with two major sales on May 14, 2026, led by the highly anticipated Robert Mnuchin: Collector at Heart Evening Auction. The top lot was Mark Rothko's "Brown and Blacks in Reds" (1957), which sold for $85.8 million, the second-highest price ever for the artist at auction. The Mnuchin auction achieved a "white glove" sale, selling all 11 lots for a total of $166.3 million, followed by The Now & Contemporary Evening Auction which brought in $266.8 million. Combined, Sotheby's generated $433.1 million, a 133% increase over its May 2025 session. The sales reflect a strong return of high-value trophy lots to the secondary market, driven by the dispersal of prominent collectors' estates.

Maracas in hand, my toddler wanders freely through a gallery of priceless ceramics

A parent describes bringing their toddler to a "family-friendly drop-in" session at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, where children are allowed to roam freely among priceless ceramics and other artworks. The session is child-led and loosely structured, with activities like coloring, building blocks, and musical instruments placed directly in the galleries rather than in a separate cordoned-off area.

The Guardian view on the legacy of the Festival of Britain: look to the future | Editorial

The Guardian editorial reflects on the 75th anniversary of the Festival of Britain, launched by King George VI on 3 May 1951 as a "tonic" for a war-weary nation. It highlights the festival's most enduring legacy: the construction of the South Bank, including the Royal Festival Hall, which later became the Southbank Centre—the UK's largest arts complex. This summer, commemorations include poems from London schoolchildren projected onto its walls and a mobile poetry library visiting coastal towns, recreating the journey of the repurposed naval ship Campania. The festival, a triumph for the Labour government, faced critics like Evelyn Waugh and Noël Coward, and much of its physical infrastructure was demolished by the incoming Conservative government, save for the Royal Festival Hall.

Dartmouth Students Turn to Moldy Beef Jerky Installation in Renewed Bid to Remove Leon Black’s Name from Arts Center

Art students at Dartmouth College installed a provocative piece titled "Something Rotten" in the Black Family Visual Arts Center, consisting of 20 moldy beef sticks arranged into a smiley face over the dedication wall honoring billionaire financier Leon Black and his family. The work, created by students Erik Siegel, Angeles Juarez-Ruiz, and Roan Wade, was removed one week after the exhibition "Storage Room" opened on April 14. The piece references Black's documented friendship and business dealings with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with the wall label quoting an Epstein email mentioning "jerky." The installation is part of a broader student and alumni campaign to remove Black's name from the arts center, which was funded by a $48 million gift from Black and his wife Debra.

These Are the Winners of the 2026 Guggenheim Fellowship

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has announced its 2026 fellowship recipients, naming 223 individuals across 55 disciplines. The cohort includes 76 professionals from the visual arts, photography, and fine arts research sectors, featuring notable figures such as Sheida Soleimani, American Artist, Kenneth Tam, and Sonya Clark. This year's selection process was notably competitive, drawing 5,000 applicants—a significant increase from previous years.

Who Do Chicago’s Art Fairs Serve?

Expo Chicago and its satellite fairs serve as a complex barometer for the Midwestern arts ecosystem, highlighting both the successes of local representation and the tensions of institutional growth. While galleries like Andrew Rafacz and Corbett vs. Dempsey demonstrate viable career paths for Chicago-based artists like Melissa Leandro and Gabrielle Garland, the fair's shifting structure reveals a narrowing field for smaller nonprofits.

ulysses jenkins dead video artists

Ulysses Jenkins, a pioneering video artist, muralist, and performer, has died at the age of 79. His passing was confirmed by the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, the institution that hosted his major 2022 retrospective, "Without Your Interpretation." Born and raised in Los Angeles, Jenkins dedicated his career to using the camera as a tool for social commentary, famously documenting the Watts Festival to counter negative media stereotypes and exploring the complex relationship between mass media and Black American identity.

louvre museum closes gallery greek antiquities

The Louvre Museum in Paris has temporarily closed a gallery housing Greek antiquities and several offices after an audit revealed structural weaknesses in beams on the second level of the southern Sully wing. The affected gallery, the Campana Gallery, which displays antique Greek ceramics, was shut as a precaution, and 65 employees have been relocated while experts assess the damage. The closure comes amid a difficult period for the museum, following a $102 million theft of France's crown jewels in October and a scathing report criticizing leadership for prioritizing acquisitions over security upgrades.

Can Raising Children Make You a Better Artist? Four Artist Mothers Weigh In.

Four artist mothers—Hope Atherton, Jessi Reaves, Sam Moyer, and Sarah Morris—share candid reflections on how raising children has shaped their art practices. They discuss fractured time, heightened decisiveness, evolving rituals like bedtime reading, and the guilt and power that accompany balancing motherhood with studio work. Atherton describes a new sense of urgency and efficiency, while Reaves and others offer personal anecdotes about the interplay between caregiving and creativity.

parties bvlgari chateau marmont

Bvlgari and CULTURED magazine co-hosted a launch party for Bvlgari's new Icons Minaudière collection at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. The event, held in Penthouse 64, brought together a mix of Hollywood actors, visual artists, art dealers, and fashion insiders, with guests including Camila Mendes, Lauren Halsey, Emma Webster, and dealers Shaun Regen and Hannah Hoffman. Attendees enjoyed cocktails, dinner, and a rare pink moon sighting, and left with a co-developed mini-magazine.

art cool summer activities new york museum guide

Cultured's guide to summer art activities in New York highlights five museum exhibitions, each paired with the gallery's air-conditioned temperature setting. Featured shows include Temitayo Ogunbiyi's first institutional solo at the Noguchi Museum, MoMA's "Woven Histories" exploring textile art, Saya Woolfalk's "Empathetic Universe" at the Museum of Arts and Design, Ben Shahn's "On Nonconformity" at the Jewish Museum, and "Vermeer's Love Letters" at the newly renovated Frick Collection.

gucci aspen cocktail anna freedamn anderson ranch

On Tuesday, Gucci, CULTURED magazine, and Anna Freedman hosted a cocktail party at the Gucci Aspen boutique to celebrate the Anderson Ranch Summer Series, curated by CULTURED Editor-in-Chief Sarah Harrelson for the second consecutive year. The event honored artist Kelly Akashi and MoMA PS1 Chief Curator Ruba Katrib, who will lead upcoming conversations in the series. The boutique was transformed into an intimate salon, with guests including collectors, museum curators, and patrons mingling over champagne and hors d'oeuvres, while a violin performance set the tone for the evening.

laura de gunzburg gabriel chipperfield art family young collectors

Laura de Gunzburg, a 35-year-old cultural advisor and daughter of arts patron Nathalie de Gunzburg, and Gabriel Chipperfield, a 36-year-old developer and son of architect David Chipperfield, discuss their art collection and collecting philosophy in an interview. The couple, who support institutions like the Dia Art Foundation, Serpentine Galleries, and Turner Contemporary, share insights on their first purchases, rookie mistakes, and the artists they follow, including Alvaro Barrington, Alicja Kwade, and Mary Stephenson.

gabrielle chanel la pausa restoration peter marino

Cultured reports on the meticulous restoration of La Pausa, the Mediterranean villa built by Gabrielle Chanel in 1928, led by architect Peter Marino. After Chanel sold the property in 1953 to American collectors who later donated it to the Dallas Museum of Art, the house of Chanel reacquired it in 2015. Over the following decade, Marino worked with Chanel’s heritage team, including Hélène Fulgence, to restore the villa to its original state using archival images, blueprints, and original furnishings sourced at auction. The villa, perched in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, will now serve as a creative retreat for artists and writers.

Georg Baselitz ist tot

German artist Georg Baselitz has died at the age of 88. According to Galerie Thaddeus Ropac, he passed away peacefully on Thursday. Born Hans-Georg Bruno Kern in 1938 in Deutschbaselitz, Saxony, Baselitz fled East Germany in 1957 after political repression and academic conflicts. His first solo exhibition in West Berlin in 1963 was shut down due to scandal, and works were confiscated. He became internationally known in the late 1960s for his radical upside-down painting, a signature inversion that destabilized pictorial logic. He also created an extensive sculptural body of work. Key career milestones include representing Germany at the Venice Biennale in 1980 alongside Anselm Kiefer, multiple Documenta appearances, the Praemium Imperiale in 2004, and election to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 2019. Major late-career exhibitions included "Nackte Meister" at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna in 2023.

This week's openings in Parisian galleries

Les vernissages cette semaine dans les galeries parisiennes

This week's openings in Parisian galleries feature a wide range of exhibitions across the Marais, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and other districts. Highlights include Galerie Alain Margaron's group show "Du modèle à l'autoportrait" exploring the body in works by André Derain, Jean Hélion, Fred Deux, and Zoran Mušič; Kim Myoung Nam's first solo show at Galerie UNIVER / Colette Colla, presenting perforated paper pieces; and Galerie Wagner's collective exhibition dedicated to Latin American artists Milton Becerra, Olga Luna, and Claudia Lavegas. Other notable shows include Louis Pion's ink-on-envelope series at Galerie Incognito Artclub, Léonore Chastagner's raw ceramics at Galerie Anne-Sarah Bénichou, and solo presentations by Quentin Gouevic and Jérôme Zonder at Galerie Nathalie Obadia.

Robert Filliou, artistes océaniens… Que nous réserve la prochaine édition de la Biennale de Lyon ?

The 18th edition of the Lyon Biennale, titled "Passer d’un rêve à l’autre" (Moving from One Dream to Another), will run from September 19 to December 13, 2026. Curated by Catherine Nichols, an Australian-born art historian and editor based in Berlin, the biennial will take place across ten venues in Lyon, including the Grandes Locos, macLyon, and for the first time the Musée des Tissus et des Arts décoratifs. More than half of the works will be new productions, and over half of the artists are women, with a substantial focus on Oceanian artists such as Timo Hogan, Jazz Money, and Kaylene Whiskey. The exhibition draws inspiration from Lyon's traboules (hidden passageways) and the writings of artist Robert Filliou, exploring themes of dreams, critical analysis, and a "poetic economy."

At the Tuileries, the PAD Paris Fair Celebrates Design with Elegance This Weekend

Aux Tuileries, le salon PAD Paris célèbre le design avec élégance ce week-end

The PAD Paris (Pavillon des Arts et du Design) returns to the Jardin des Tuileries, showcasing 75 French and international galleries specializing in vintage and contemporary collectible design. Highlights of the 2025 edition include the debut of Gallery Gaïa & Romeo with mid-century Italian ceramics, a contemporary reimagining of Claude Monet’s studio by Amélie du Chalard, and a strong focus on international female designers at Maria Wettergren. Parallel to the main fair, the third edition of the Sustainable Design Biennale is presenting plastic-free material innovations and eco-friendly furniture solutions.

Inside the Studio of Abdelkader Benchamma, Cartographer of Invisible Worlds

Dans l’atelier d’Abdelkader Benchamma, cartographe des mondes invisibles

French-Moroccan artist Abdelkader Benchamma is preparing for his upcoming solo exhibition, "Signs and Wonders," at Galerie Templon in Paris. Working from his sun-drenched studio in Montpellier, Benchamma has transitioned from his signature black-and-white ink drawings to large-scale canvases that incorporate celestial blues and earthy mineral tones. The new body of work draws inspiration from 15th and 16th-century manuscripts, specifically the Kitab al-Bulhan and the Book of Miracles, creating a "giant book" of visual narratives that blur the lines between abstraction and figuration.

Fairfield University Art Museum invites readers to private tour

Fairfield University Art Museum is offering an exclusive private tour to readers, as reported by the Westport Journal. The event provides a behind-the-scenes look at the museum's collections and exhibitions, allowing attendees to engage directly with curators and artworks in an intimate setting.

Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy closing for summer, but 37 other exhibitions on view at museums in May

The article provides a roundup of museum exhibitions on view in Southwest Florida during May, highlighting five new openings, eight closings, and 25 continuing shows across museums from Sarasota to Naples. Featured exhibitions include Molly Hatch's site-specific ceramic installation "Amalgam" at Sarasota Art Museum, Jillian Mayer's interactive "Slumpies" sculptures, a group show "Something Borrowed, Something New" with works by Louise Bourgeois, Chuck Close, David Hockney, Yoko Ono, Kara Walker, and Ai Weiwei, and Maria A. Guzman Capron's solo textile exhibition "Penumbra." The Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy is noted as closing for the summer.

Bridging East and West: The top Asia-Pacific art exhibitions in Europe in 2026

Europe is set to host a series of major exhibitions in 2026 that bridge the cultural divide between the East and West. Key highlights include a massive Yayoi Kusama retrospective at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, a showcase of Thai royal haute couture and Pierre Balmain’s designs at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and an exploration of ancient Korean gold at the Musée Guimet. Additionally, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London will partner with Australia’s QAGOMA for a large-scale survey of contemporary art from Asia and the Pacific.

DC Getaway: Exploring Toronto’s art scene, from galleries to murals

Toronto's visual arts landscape is highlighted as a premier destination for travelers, featuring a mix of massive institutional collections and specialized local galleries. Key attractions include the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), known for its vast natural history and ancient civilization galleries, and the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), which houses over 120,000 works ranging from Renaissance masterpieces to contemporary installations like Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room.

'Something Borrowed, Something New' at the Sarasota Art Museum headlines 35 exhibitions on view in April

The Sarasota Art Museum is headlining a busy month for the Southwest Florida art scene, featuring 35 exhibitions across the region this April. Key highlights include the opening of "Something Borrowed, Something New," a diverse group show featuring artists like William Villalongo, alongside major closing exhibitions such as Molly Hatch’s site-specific plate installation "Amalgam" and Janet Echelman’s career retrospective "Radical Softness." Other notable displays include Jillian Mayer’s interactive "Slumpies," which explores the physical impact of digital device usage.