The Museum of Modern Art in New York is presenting the exhibition "Wifredo Lam: When I Don't Sleep, I Dream," featuring the iconic Cuban Surrealist painter. The show includes his seminal work *The Jungle*, acquired by MoMA in 1946, and explores his complex artistic identity.
eugenio viola museo de arte moderno de bogota 1234773563
The Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá (MAMBO) terminated the contract of its artistic director, Eugenio Viola, earlier this month. Viola claims his dismissal came after he raised concerns with the board in September 2025 about deteriorating working conditions at the museum, concerns he says were shared by other staff. The museum stated the decision resulted from a comprehensive review and that it has begun searching for a new artistic director.
Peter Campus, a pioneering video artist, has a new exhibition at The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. The show features his early work, including the intense 1978 video 'Head of a Man with Death on His Mind,' alongside his recent 'philips quartet' (2023–24), a series of four landscape videos from his home on Long Island. The exhibition highlights his career-long themes of self-reflection, time, and mortality.
Bonhams has opened its new U.S. headquarters at 111 West 57th Street in New York, moving from its longtime Madison Avenue location into a 42,000-square-foot space within the restored Steinway Hall. The design features an 80-foot glass atrium, a grand staircase, and restored historic elements, aiming to create a transparent, cultural-center-like atmosphere rather than a traditional salesroom.
Four major paintings by Claude Monet, Paul Signac, Edgar Degas, and Fernand Léger will be offered at Sotheby's Modern and Contemporary evening sale in London on March 4. The works have a combined high estimate of £24 million, led by Monet's rare Italian Riviera scene 'Maison de Jardinier' (1884) with an £8.5 million high estimate.
Artist Judy Chicago recounts her frustrating experiences with public art commissions, focusing on a recent failed collaboration with Google for its Chicago headquarters at the Thompson Center. After being encouraged by her dealer to apply, Chicago was awarded a commission in fall 2025 to create a large terrazzo floor and a 17-story glass elevator shaft using her "Through the Flower" imagery. However, the project fell through after months of effort, mirroring earlier disappointments with the Beverly Hills Sculpture Park, where a city councilor questioned the value of her work, which Chicago attributes to institutionalized sexism.
Mexico City is renowned for its immense concentration of museums, with estimates ranging from 150 to 200 institutions. The city's art scene has been further amplified by the rise of Zona Maco, which has established a major international Art Week each February, drawing collectors and galleries. The article highlights five must-see museums, beginning with the Museo Anahuacalli, a unique museum built by Diego Rivera and architect Juan O'Gorman to house Rivera's vast collection of pre-Hispanic artifacts.
A Nobilified, a start-up that lets customers insert themselves into classic paintings for about $140, has created a series of artworks depicting Super Bowl heroes from the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks in historical masterpieces. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady appears as Prometheus (1868) by Gustave Moreau, tight end Rob Gronkowski as Abduction of Ganymede by Jupiter (ca. 1644) by Eustache Le Sueur, while Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is shown in Ideal portrait of a Spanish King (ca. 1643) by Alonso Cano, with other players featured in works by John Singleton Copley and Benjamin West.
Beverly Buchanan, who lived in Athens, Georgia for over 20 years, often paid for everyday needs with her artworks, trading them with her doctor and local community members. A new exhibition titled "Beverly's Athens" at the University of Georgia's Athenaeum showcases works borrowed from local collections, including pieces from her doctor's personal collection and sculptures from her own backyard. The show features her flower drawings, which her dealer Betty Parsons once rejected, as well as her "ruins" sculptures and archival footage of her garden. Curators Mo Costello and Katz Tepper, both artists who are chronically ill, organized the exhibition to highlight Buchanan's ecosystem of exchange and survival.
Art-world consultants Chen & Lampert present a satirical quiz for contemporary art curators who came of age in the mid-2000s and now face the challenges of middle age—mortgages, school-age children, and dwindling energy for the nightlife that once fueled their careers. The quiz poses ten multiple-choice questions testing whether a curator can stay relevant without partying every night, touching on topics like referencing artists in talks, responding to young artists, and keeping up with art news and trends.
Kim Sajet, former director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery (NPG), has been appointed as the new director of the Milwaukee Art Museum, starting September 22. She left the NPG in June after a high-profile clash with President Donald Trump over diversity initiatives and funding. Sajet brings extensive experience from museums in the Netherlands and Australia, and during her 12-year tenure at the NPG, she doubled attendance and raised $85 million. She replaces Marcelle Polednik, who departed in May after nine years.
Artissima, Italy's only contemporary art fair, closed its 32nd edition on November 2, 2025, at the Oval Lingotto Fiere in Turin, drawing 34,500 visitors and 176 galleries from 36 countries. Directed by Luigi Fassi for the fourth year, the fair ran from October 30 to November 2, featuring 63 monographic presentations and 26 first-time exhibitors. The edition introduced a new 5% VAT rate on artworks in Italy, awarded 13 prizes including the new Vilnius Residency Prize, and saw the Fondazione Arte CRT Acquisition Fund acquire 26 works for GAM Torino and Castello di Rivoli, marking its 25th anniversary. Special projects included "From Japan: Anonymous Art Project" and a film screening by Basim Magdy at Parco Michelotti.
In 2025, a series of major art restorations unveiled transformative discoveries in masterpieces by Caravaggio, Raphael, and Artemisia Gentileschi, among others. Caravaggio's final work, *The Martyrdom of St. Ursula* (1610), owned by Intesa Sanpaolo, was cleaned ahead of Rome's "Caravaggio 2025" exhibition, revealing hidden faces and a soldier's helmet previously only visible by x-ray. At the Vatican Museums, a decade-long restoration of the Raphael Rooms concluded with the revelation that two allegorical figures in the Hall of Constantine were painted by Raphael himself, not just his assistants, rewriting art history. Meanwhile, Artemisia Gentileschi's *Hercules and Omphale* (ca. 1635–37), damaged in the Beirut explosion, underwent emergency conservation by the Getty.
Sotheby's held its inaugural evening sale at the Breuer building, featuring the Contemporary and the Now sale. Auctioneer Oliver Barker achieved $527.5 million in sales, surpassing the pre-sale low estimate of $379 million. The highlight was Gustav Klimt's portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, which sold for $236.4 million, setting an auction record for Klimt and becoming the second most expensive work ever sold at auction. During the sale, auctioneer Phyllis Kao wore a David Webb necklace from the mid-1980s, featuring carved emeralds, rubies, and cabochon sapphires, which was on view and available for private sale at Sotheby's retail salon in the Breuer lobby.
A previously unknown painting by Artemisia Gentileschi, *Hercules and Omphale* (ca. 1635–37), was identified after being damaged in the 2020 Beirut port explosion. The work, which hung in Beirut’s Sursock Palace, underwent a three-year conservation at the J. Paul Getty Museum and is now on view at the Columbus Museum of Art in the exhibition *Artemisia Gentileschi: Naples to Beirut*. It depicts the Greek myth of Queen Omphale enslaving Hercules, a rare subject for Gentileschi that subverts traditional gender roles.
Sotheby's is projecting $7.0 billion in consolidated 2025 sales, a 17% increase over the previous year and the strongest result in the company's history. Auction sales rose 26% to $5.7 billion, driven by high-quality consignments including the Leonard A. Lauder Collection and a $236.4 million Klimt painting. Luxury sales climbed 22% to $2.7 billion, while RM Sotheby's surpassed $1 billion for the first time. The opening of Sotheby's new global headquarters at the Breuer Building was a commercial centerpiece, generating $1.17 billion in its inaugural week. The company also expanded rapidly in the Middle East, staging the first international auction in Saudi Arabia and launching Collectors' Week in Abu Dhabi.
Eduardo F. Costantini, founder of the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (Malba), announced the acquisition of the Daros Latinamerica Collection in Zurich, adding 1,233 works by 117 artists to the museum's holdings. This roughly doubles Malba's collection to 3,000 works, with a major expansion project planned to accommodate the new pieces, set to begin next fall to mark the museum's 25th anniversary. Highlights include works by Doris Salcedo, Ana Mendieta, Julio Le Parc, Alfredo Jaar, Lygia Clark, and Jesús Rafael Soto, with 75 artists new to Malba.
A water pipe burst at the Musée du Louvre in Paris on November 26, damaging 300 to 400 archival documents related to Egyptian history in the Mollien Pavilion. The leak, which also posed a fire risk due to a nearby electrical cabinet, was followed by a smaller leak days later. Employees, represented by a coalition of unions including CGT, CFDT, and Sud, have voted unanimously to begin a rolling strike next Monday, demanding urgent renovations and the hiring of 200 new staff to restore the workforce to 2014 levels. The Louvre's director Laurence des Cars had previously warned that the museum's buildings were in "poor condition" and "no longer water tight," and a major renovation was announced, but pipe repairs were not scheduled until September 2026.
Ralph Lemon has been awarded the 2025 ARTnews Lifetime Achievement Award for his multidisciplinary practice spanning dance, drawing, painting, installation, sculpture, and writing. The article highlights his career trajectory from founding the Ralph Lemon Dance Company to disbanding it in 1995 to focus on broader artistic collaborations. Central to his work is the Geography Trilogy (1996–2004) and his long-term collaboration with Walter Carter, a former Mississippi sharecropper, whose life and family became a recurring subject. Lemon's recent exhibition "Ceremonies Out of the Air: Ralph Lemon" at MoMA PS1 (November 14, 2024–March 24, 2025), curated by Connie Butler and Thomas Lax, featured videos, found African sculptures, drawings, and a four-channel performance piece, Rant (redux), with Kevin Beasley and Okwui Okpokwasili.
Artnet News offers a lighthearted holiday guide with seven art-historical conversation starters designed to deflect awkward family small talk. The article reveals quirky facts such as a secret apartment atop the Eiffel Tower, the Surrealists' party game 'Exquisite Corpse,' Leonardo da Vinci's role as a wedding planner for Milan's nobility, Marcel Duchamp paying his dentist with a fake check, and Frank Lloyd Wright inspiring Lincoln Logs.
At Design Miami 2025, artist Nicole Cherubini presented monumental ceramic sculptures at Friedman Benda's booth, alongside Molly Hatch's installation of 288 ceramic plates at Todd Merrill's booth. The fair, curated under the theme "Make.Believe" by Glenn Adamson, saw 15 previous exhibitors drop out due to President Trump's tariffs—including a 50 percent tariff on steel and aluminum—while eight more booths appeared overall, dominated by younger, emerging talent and organic, pastel-hued designs. Established galleries like Donzello, Patrick Seguin, and Sarah Myerscough did not return, while first-time exhibitors included Arte y Ritual and Mass Modern Design.
The 24th edition of the Biennale de Arte Paiz, titled "El Arból del Mundo" ("The Tree of Life"), has opened in Guatemala City and Antigua Guatemala. Under Italian curator Eugenio Viola, the biennial has expanded from 30 to 46 artists and doubled its venues from 5 to 10, including the Museo Nacional de Arte de Guatemala (MUNAG) and La Nueva Fabrica. The dates have shifted to December to attract visitors from Miami Art Week and Zona Maco in Mexico City. The show features textile works, research-based art, and ecological themes, with highlights including a street installation by Erick Boror.
Christie’s London will auction the third and final part of Sam Josefowitz’s Rembrandt print collection on December 3, featuring 101 etchings by the Dutch master. The sale, titled “The Sam Josefowitz Collection: Graphic Masterpieces by Rembrandt van Rijn – Part III,” follows two previous installments that together brought £13.5 million. A highlight is the rare portrait *Arnout Tholinx, Inspector* (circa 1656), estimated at up to £2.5 million, described as the last impression in private hands. The collection was amassed by Josefowitz, a Lithuanian-born entrepreneur who built a mail-order business before his death in 2015.
Museo Jumex in Mexico City will host "Fútbol y Arte. Esa misma emoción" (Football & Art. A Shared Emotion), an exhibition timed to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Opening March 28 and running through July 26, the show features around 100 works by 60 international artists, including Marta Minujín, Graciela Iturbide, Melanie Smith, and Rafael Ortega. Curated by Guillermo Santamarina with exhibition design by Mauricio Rocha, the museum will be transformed into elements symbolic of soccer, with sections exploring gender, community, identity, and the political dimensions of the game. New commissions by Diego Berruecos, Iñaki Bonillas, and Sofía Echeverri are included, along with a sculptural installation by Tercerunquinto made from recycled Estadio Azteca seats.
New York's marquee auction week delivered strong results, with Sotheby's and Christie's posting combined sales of nearly $2 billion. Sotheby's achieved a record $706 million evening at its new Breuer Building headquarters, driven by the Leonard Lauder estate sale, while Christie's $690 million 20th-century sale was up 41.9% from last November. Gustav Klimt's *Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer* sold for $236.4 million, setting a new auction record for the artist and becoming the most expensive Modern artwork ever sold at auction. Frida Kahlo's *El Sueño (La Cama)* fetched $54.7 million, a record for a work by a woman artist at auction.
Artnet News' Wet Paint column reports on a special auction held at Clemente Bar in New York, where Fair Warning—an app founded by former Christie's executive Loic Gouzer—sold an Andy Warhol portrait of Brigitte Bardot for $14.5 million ($16.7 million with fees). The event, hosted by Gouzer and curator-advisor Lolita Cros, featured former Christie's auctioneer Jussi Pylkkänen and attracted a crowd of high-net-worth individuals, including Greek shipping magnate George Economou, dealer David Mugrabi, artist Tony Shafrazi, and other art-world figures. Bidding started at $7 million, and the winning bid came from an anonymous phone bidder.
Gustav Klimt's 'Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer' (1914–16) sold for $236.4 million at Sotheby's New York on November 18, 2025, after 20 minutes of bidding. The painting, which started at $130 million, was won by a phone bidder represented by Sotheby's specialist Julian Dawes, with the hammer price at $205 million. The work was the highlight of the Leonard A. Lauder Collection sale, a 55-work trove valued at over $400 million, and proceeds will go to the Lauder trust. The portrait had been restituted after Nazi-era confiscation and was acquired by Lauder in the mid-1980s.
Alison M. Gingeras, an American curator and writer, has organized a major new exhibition titled “The Woman Question: 1550–2025” at the recently opened Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw. The show brings together over 200 artworks spanning nearly 500 years of women’s creative production, from Renaissance figures like Sofonisba Anguissola and Lavinia Fontana to Baroque artists such as Elisabetta Sirani and Artemisia Gentileschi, and contemporary names like Betty Tompkins and Lisa Brice. The exhibition explores how women artists have depicted themselves, power, resistance, desire, and violence, drawing on the historical concept of the "querelle des femmes" and Linda Nochlin’s famous 1971 essay. Gingeras discusses the project on the podcast The Art Angle.
London's Victoria and Albert Museum has announced that its new branch, V&A East Museum, will open to the public on April 18, 2026. The five-story building, designed by Irish architecture firm O'Donnell + Tuomey, is located in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and will feature exhibitions, live events, site-specific commissions, and performances. The V&A East Storehouse, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, opened earlier this year and offers free behind-the-scenes access to over half a million objects and books from the V&A's collections. Artists Tania Bruguera, Carrie Mae Weems, Rene Matić, and Thomas J. Price have been commissioned to create new works for the museum.
Canal Projects, a nonprofit art space in New York's Tribeca neighborhood, announced it will close its physical location on May 23, 2026, after just four years of operation. The organization will pivot to a grant-making model, allocating $3 million over three years to support arts projects, including Ayoung Kim's upcoming exhibition at MoMA PS1. The decision was driven by the high costs of maintaining an outdated building and a desire to redirect resources toward direct financial support for artists. The space, launched in 2022 by the YS Kim Foundation, hosted notable shows by artists such as Karimah Ashadu, Sin Wai Kin, Candice Lin, Geumhyung Jeong, and Seung-taek Lee. Artistic director and curator Summer Guthery departed at the end of March 2025. The final exhibition will feature Jakkai Siributr, opening January 30, 2026.