lumin wakoa painter dead

Lumin Wakoa, a rising painter known for her hazy, memory-based works that blurred abstraction and figuration, has died at 43 after battling brain cancer. Her death was announced by her gallery, Harper’s, on Monday. Wakoa had solo shows last year at Various Small Fires in Seoul and Harper’s in New York, and her work was featured at Frieze art fair. She studied at the North Carolina School of the Arts, the University of Florida, and earned an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design.

benin dialogue group ocotober 2018

Major European museums have agreed to loan important artifacts, including the Benin bronzes looted during the 1897 Benin Expedition, back to Nigeria for a new museum planned to open in 2021. The agreement was reached at a meeting of the Benin Dialogue Group in the Netherlands, involving representatives from Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Britain, who committed to facilitating a rotating display at the planned Royal Museum in Benin City within three years, though specific objects and loan periods remain unconfirmed.

vatican museums restored raphael rooms cleaning project

The Vatican Museums have unveiled the final room of the Raphael Rooms in the Apostolic Palace after a decade-long cleaning and restoration. The project revealed that Raphael used a novel mural painting technique, applying oil paint directly to the wall rather than using traditional fresco. Restorers discovered a grid of metal nails embedded in the walls, intended to hold a natural resin surface for the oil paint, confirming earlier reports of this experimental approach. The room, dedicated to the Roman emperor Constantine, was completed by Raphael's students after his death in 1520.

notre dame cathedral spire statues return

On June 23, the first of 16 larger-than-life copper statues was reinstalled atop Notre-Dame Cathedral's spire, following a blessing from Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich. The statues, comprising the 12 apostles and four evangelist symbols, were originally installed in 1861 and had been safely removed days before the 2019 fire. After restoration by French company SOCRA, the statues are being returned in stages, with completion expected by July.

lough kinale book shrine medieval manuscripts national museum ireland

In 1986, divers recovered ancient fragments from a lake in Longford County, Ireland, which were later identified as the Lough Kinale Book Shrine, the largest and oldest book shrine in Ireland. After a 39-year conservation process at the National Museum of Ireland (NMI), the 9th-century oak and bronze container is now on public display. The shrine, featuring intricate metalwork, snake-head hinges, and a permanently sealed interior, was reconstructed using photogrammetry and 3D modeling. It is part of the NMI exhibition "Words on the Wave," which showcases over 100 early medieval artifacts, including manuscripts on loan from the Abbey Library of St. Gall in Switzerland.

assyrian king ashurbanipal relief nineveh

A team of archaeologists from Heidelberg University has uncovered a monumental stone relief in Nineveh, Iraq, depicting King Ashurbanipal flanked by two major Assyrian gods, Ashur and Ishtar, along with demigods. The 2,600-year-old relief, measuring nearly 20 feet across and 10 feet high, was found buried in a pit at the northern palace, a site first excavated in the 19th century by Austen Henry Layard. The discovery is part of the Heidelberg Nineveh Project, launched in 2018 after the liberation of Mosul from the Islamic State.

galerie simon blais francoise sullivan

A survey exhibition titled "Françoise Sullivan: Le temps du geste" is on view at Galerie Simon Blais in Montreal, showcasing the multidisciplinary career of French Canadian artist Françoise Sullivan. The show spans works from the 1940s to the present, including painting, sculpture, photography, and choreography, and highlights dialogues between different phases of her practice. Sullivan, who signed the Refus Global manifesto in 1948, is the only active member of that group, and the exhibition features pieces such as the watercolor "Sans titre – Turquie, Ruines de Commagène à Nemrut Dağ" (1996) and the geometric abstraction "Les damiers no. 4" (2018). The exhibition runs through June 14, 2025.

this qing dynasty painting could sell for nearly 19 million at auction

Sotheby's Hong Kong offered the Qing dynasty imperial painting *The Blue Goats* as a single-lot sale during its Asian Art Week. Commissioned by Emperor Qianlong in the late 1750s, the seven-by-six-foot hanging scroll was created by Italian Jesuit painter Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining) and Chinese court artist Jin Tingbiao, blending Western and Eastern techniques. Despite a presale estimate of HK$60–150 million ($7.7–19.3 million), the work sold for HK$58.9 million ($7.6 million) after fees, below the low estimate. The painting depicts a pair of gorals in a rocky landscape and is inscribed with a poem by the emperor symbolizing his military conquests.

ucla fowler museum returns artifacts australia larrakia

The Fowler Museum at UCLA has voluntarily returned 11 culturally significant objects to the Larrakia Community of Australia’s Northern Territory. The items, including a kangaroo tooth headband and 10 glass spearheads dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, were handed over in a ceremony on May 20. Half of the objects arrived at the museum in 1965 via a large donation from the Wellcome Trust, while the rest were gifts from private collectors. Since 2021, Larrakia elders have worked with AIATSIS and the Fowler Museum to identify and facilitate the return. The Larrakia community plans to open a cultural center next year to house the repatriated items.

eu sanctions russian museum crimea

The European Union has sanctioned the “Tauric Chersonese” State Museum-Preserve in Crimea, marking the first time the EU has targeted a Russian museum. The museum and its director, Elena Morozova, were included in the latest round of sanctions for allegedly undermining Ukrainian cultural heritage by promoting pro-Russian narratives and supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has been accused of transforming into a historical park under Russian control since Crimea's annexation in 2014.

ilucas museum layoffs 14 percent full time staff

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles has laid off 15 full-time employees (14% of its full-time staff) and seven part-time workers, primarily affecting its Learning & Engagement and Museum Services teams. The cuts also include Regan Pro, deputy director of public programs and social impact, and Bernardo Rondeau, curator of film programs. The museum, founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, has faced multiple delays due to supply-chain issues, pushing its opening from 2023 to 2026, and recently underwent a leadership transition with director Sandra Jackson-Dumont stepping down.

cryptopunks bored ape yacht club yuga labs digital art nonprofit

The Infinite Node Foundation, a new nonprofit focused on digital art conservation founded by venture capitalist Meyer 'Micky' Malka and Becky Kleiner, has acquired the full intellectual property rights to CryptoPunks from Yuga Labs. The purchase price is reported to be around $20 million. CryptoPunks, created in 2017 by Matt Hall and John Watkinson, is one of the earliest and most famous NFT collections, credited with sparking the 2021 NFT craze. Yuga Labs, the parent company of Bored Ape Yacht Club, had bought the rights in 2022 for an undisclosed sum. The foundation's advisory board includes Web3 figures such as Yuga Labs co-founder Wylie Aronow and Art Blocks founder Erick Calderon.

national endowment for the arts cancels grants trump

President Donald Trump's administration has canceled or withdrawn grant offers from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) via email, affecting arts organizations nationwide. The NEA stated it is updating its grantmaking priorities to focus on projects that reflect the nation's artistic heritage as prioritized by the president, including historically Black colleges, Hispanic-serving schools, the 250th anniversary of American independence, AI competency, houses of worship, disaster recovery, skilled trades, military and veterans, Tribal communities, and Asian American economic development. Some affected grants supported artists of color, and the language appeared to conflict with the administration's prior push against DEI initiatives. Similar cancellations have occurred at the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Hamnet-era mourning jewel from celebrated painting rediscovered after 400 years

A rare 17th-century mourning jewel, depicted in the celebrated 1635 painting 'Sir Thomas Aston at the Deathbed of His Wife' by John Souch, has been rediscovered after 400 years. The heart-shaped pendant, which contains a tassel of hair from Aston’s deceased son Robert, was identified by its current owners during a chance visit to an exhibition featuring the portrait. Valued at £650,000, the gold and enamel memento mori features intricate Latin inscriptions that were previously illegible in the painting.

Pooh in pencil: sketches for original Winnie-the-Pooh book shared for first time

Two previously unseen preliminary pencil sketches of Winnie-the-Pooh by illustrator E.H. Shepard have been revealed to the public for the first time. Shared by the artist’s family to mark the centenary of A.A. Milne’s classic stories, the drawings depict scenes from the "expotition" to the North Pole and the hunt for a "Woozle" that were never included in the final 1926 publication. These rare works are set to go on display at Peter Harrington Rare Books in London starting April 17.

Modern heroes and a ravaged Earth: reboot of 1950s space comic Dan Dare has liftoff

The legendary British space hero Dan Dare is set for a 21st-century revival with the upcoming graphic novel "Dan Dare: First Contact." Created by writer Alex de Campi and artist Marc Laming under B7 Comics, the project reimagines the 1950s icon for a modern audience while retaining core characters like Digby and Professor Peabody. The reboot follows a successful Kickstarter campaign and aims to provide a fresh alternative to dominant sci-fi franchises like Star Wars and Star Trek.

Santiago Yahuarcani: The Beginning of Knowledge

SANTIAGO YAHUARCANI: EL PRINCIPIO DEL CONOCIMIENTO

The Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP) is hosting "El principio del conocimiento," the first solo exhibition in Brazil for Peruvian artist Santiago Yahuarcani. Curated by Amanda Carneiro, the show features approximately 35 paintings on llanchama (tree bark) that explore the Uitoto worldview. The exhibition is organized into five thematic sections that navigate the sensory experience of the Amazon, the spiritual significance of sacred plants like coca and tobacco, and the brutal historical memory of colonial extraction.

art sonya yu philanthropy

Philanthropist Sonya Yu made headlines in December by funding universal admission to MoMA PS1, making the Queens institution the largest free museum in New York. Based on the West Coast, she serves on the boards of SFMOMA and the Hammer Museum. In this interview, Yu discusses her influences, her views on the art industry, and her personal philosophy, touching on topics like stagnation, curiosity, and the importance of world-building over algorithm-chasing.

art komal shah making their mark forum

Komal Shah, a former tech executive and art collector, is hosting the Making Their Mark Forum in Washington, DC from March 5–7, 2025, coinciding with the presentation of her collection at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The forum brings together museum leaders, artists, educators, and students to discuss the representation of women artists, following her 2023 exhibition “Making Their Mark” in New York, which featured 84 women artists and drew 50,000 visitors. Shah, who built her collection of works by women and artists of color through a strategy of “soft seduction,” has shifted toward a more activist stance after the re-election of Donald Trump and the subsequent attacks on DEI initiatives.

art new york museum exhibition guide winter

Cultured magazine has published a winter exhibition guide for New York museums, highlighting six major shows running through early 2026. Featured exhibitions include Ayoung Kim's "Delivery Dancer Codex" at MoMA PS1, a survey of UFO-themed works at The Drawing Center, a Ruth Asawa retrospective at MoMA, Renoir drawings at the Morgan Library & Museum, Robert Rauschenberg's photography at the Museum of the City of New York, and Alexander Calder's circus at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Each entry provides dates, curatorial context, and visitor tips.

parties lacma art film gala photos

The 14th LACMA Art+Film Gala took place this weekend, co-chaired by LACMA trustee Eva Chow and actor Leonardo DiCaprio. The event honored artist Mary Corse and filmmaker Ryan Coogler for their contributions to art and cinema, and raised a record $6.5 million to support LACMA's mission and film initiatives. The gala was held beneath Chris Burden's Urban Light and Michael Heizer's Levitated Mass, with dinner by chef David Shim of COTE, and featured a performance by Doja Cat introduced by SZA. Attendees included a constellation of Hollywood stars, models, musicians, and designers.

parties samsung frame tv cultured collection

CULTURED magazine partnered with Samsung to launch the "CULTURED Collection," a series of contemporary artworks available on the Samsung Art Store for owners of Samsung's The Frame and QLED TVs. A pop-up gallery in Chelsea, New York, and a dinner event celebrated the launch, featuring works by artists including Adam Pendleton, Dominique Fung, Oscar yi Hou, Theresa Chromati, Andrea Marie Breiling, Chris Martin, and Emma Webster. The event drew a cross-section of art and tech insiders, including Art Basel CEO Noah Horowitz, Samsung executives, and collectors.

art young photographer jasmine clarke

Jasmine Clarke, a photographer and MFA candidate at the Yale School of Art, is featured in Cultured's "Art Young Photographer" series, nominated by renowned photographer Stephen Shore. Her tender images of home and family have been exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum and the Phoenix Art Museum. Clarke describes her work as a form of "biomythography," blending history, biography, and myth to explore memory, cultural identity, and the nature of seeing.

art pat steir khajistan hc westermann

Pat Steir's early installation "Mirage 1975" has been restaged at Hauser & Wirth's Soho location, marking the 50th anniversary of her first-ever installation originally at the State University of New York in Oneonta. The exhibition runs through August 15, 2025, and coincides with the publication of the monograph "Pat Steir Paintings 2018–2025." Separately, the exhibition "Spasial Program by Khajistan" is on view at SculptureCenter in Long Island City through July 28, 2025, presenting a vast archive of rare, illicit, and suppressed media artifacts from the Islamicate world, curated by Lahore-born filmmaker Saad Khan.

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.

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.

Marian Goodman’s personal collection of Gerhard Richters

Christie's will auction seven paintings by Gerhard Richter from the personal collection of legendary gallerist Marian Goodman in May 2026, headlining a series of sales titled "Breaking Ground: The Private Collection of Marian Goodman." The group includes the iconic 1982 work *Kerze (Candle)*, estimated at $35–50 million, and spans Richter's career from 1982 to 2009. Goodman, who died in 2024, began representing Richter in 1985 after writing him a letter, and her collection reflects their decades-long professional and personal relationship.

Kid Cudi’s Debut Solo Art Exhibition Is Underway – But Is His Work Any “Good”?

Musician Kid Cudi, working under the artist alias Scotty Ramon, has launched his debut solo art exhibition titled 'Echos of the Past' at the Ruttkowski;68 gallery in Paris. The show features a collection of paintings characterized by a cartoonish aesthetic, bold colors, and themes ranging from inner turmoil to meditative peace, accompanied by a 16-minute documentary detailing his creative process.

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.

Comment | I went to see Sarah Lucas and Damien Hirst sculptures in an ancient UK cave system—and it was eerily brilliant

The article describes a visit to "Back to the Cave: The Full Spectrum," an exhibition of around 70 sculptures by contemporary artists including Damien Hirst, Antony Gormley, Sarah Lucas, and Maggi Hambling, held in the ancient Clearwell Caves in the Forest of Dean, England. The show was organized by Rungwe Kingdon and Claude Koenig of Pangolin Editions, a sculpture foundry that fabricated many of the works, and required significant ingenuity to install large, heavy pieces in the deep, dark, damp cave system.