The Synthesis of Poetry and Violence: Inside the New Exhibitions at the Pinault Collection in Venice

La sintesi tra poesia e violenza. Ecco come sono le mostre alla Pinault Collection di Venezia

The Pinault Collection has unveiled its 2025 exhibition program across its two Venice venues, Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana. This year, the institution opts for a multi-artist approach rather than a single-artist takeover, featuring Michael Armitage and Amar Kanwar at Palazzo Grassi, alongside Lorna Simpson and Paulo Nazareth at Punta della Dogana. The exhibitions focus heavily on global perspectives, spanning from Kenya and India to Brazil and the United States, addressing contemporary social tensions through diverse media.

Everything to know about David Geffen Galleries as a new LACMA emerges

The Los Angeles Times reports on the upcoming David Geffen Galleries, a new building that will become the centerpiece of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) as it undergoes a major transformation. Designed by architect Peter Zumthor, the structure is part of a long-delayed, multi-billion-dollar renovation project that aims to modernize the museum's campus and consolidate its collection under one roof. The article details the timeline, design features, and the controversies surrounding the project's cost and scope.

Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst on AI Optimism and Bringing Two-Headed Worms to Venice

Holly Herndon and Mat Dryhurst, known for their work in digital art and experimental music, have curated a group exhibition titled "Strange Rules" at Palazzo Diedo in Venice alongside Hans-Ulrich Obrist. Their contribution includes a collaboration with Tufts University biologist Michael Levin, featuring live planarian worms modified to grow two heads through bioelectric manipulation. The interview discusses their concept of "protocol art," which seeks to expose and reclaim the underlying systems—from algorithms to biological protocols—that shape artistic production.

Michael Garner Explores Truth, Systems & Constructed Reality

Michael Garner, an artist with a background spanning social science and intelligence work, creates immersive works that blend science, espionage, philosophy, and absurdity. His recent exhibitions include a show at the Bomb Factory Art Foundation featuring a vending machine dispensing mock classified information, and a presentation at the Austrian Cultural Forum London exploring his newly acquired Austrian citizenship through neural pathway paintings in the colors of the Austrian flag.

'Art is just about making trouble': Inside Auckland Art Gallery's bold new show

Auckland Art Gallery is preparing to open "Forever Tomorrow: Chinese Art Now," a major exhibition of contemporary Chinese art curated by Hutch Wilco. The show features works from the White Rabbit Collection in Sydney, including a massive 7-meter-high stone sculpture by Xu Zhen, paintings by Shang Liang, and photography by Pixy Liao, who recently won a 2026 Guggenheim Fellowship. Wilco spent three years organizing the exhibition, which includes playful sculptures, paintings, and multimedia works, with significant logistical challenges in transporting large pieces from China.

Miss Subway NYC is a landmark solo exhibition by trailblazing artist Lady Pink.

D'Stassi Art has opened "Miss Subway NYC," a landmark solo exhibition by trailblazing graffiti artist Lady Pink in Shoreditch, London. The show features a full-scale recreation of a graffiti-covered NYC subway station, displaying original works, new commissions, archival pieces, sketches, and ephemera from her early career. Lady Pink, one of the first women to break into New York's graffiti scene, began tagging trains at 17 and exhibited at MoMA PS1's landmark 1981 show "New York/New Wave" alongside Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring. The exhibition's title references the historic Miss Subways beauty pageant, and includes a self-portrait of Lady Pink as Miss Subways 2025.

Michael Asher at Artists Space review

Artists Space in New York is hosting a posthumous survey of Michael Asher, the influential conceptual artist who died in 2012. Curated by Jay Sanders and Stella Cilman, the exhibition focuses not on Asher's well-known site-specific interventions—which by their nature cannot be recreated—but on the material residues they left behind: magazines, advertisements, radio works, postcards, T-shirts, and other ephemera. A key artifact is a copy of Tom Marioni's 1975 magazine *Vision*, in which Asher glued two facing pages together, effectively making himself disappear between contributions by Doug Wheeler and Bruce Nauman. The show spans forty-five years of projects, presenting these objects as physical remainders of Asher's practice.

Art from the Bass House by Paul Rudolph

Christie's will offer exceptional works from the Bass House in Fort Worth, Texas, designed by architect Paul Rudolph for Anne and Sid Bass in 1970. The single-owner sale, titled "Art from the Bass House," will be held on 12 May 2025, headlined by a rare Mark Rothko painting from 1950-1951, along with works by Ellsworth Kelly, Alexander Calder, and Frank Stella. The collection will be presented within the 20th Century Evening Sale and the Post-War & Contemporary Art Day Sale, continuing the Bass collection's presence at Christie's after the record-breaking 2022 sale of The Collection of Anne H. Bass.

Reverend Joyce McDonald: ‘Art was like therapy for me’

Reverend Joyce McDonald, a 74-year-old artist and minister, is the subject of her first museum survey, 'Ministry: Reverend Joyce McDonald,' at the Bronx Museum. The exhibition showcases her ceramic sculptures, which she began creating after an HIV diagnosis in 1995 while struggling with heroin addiction and sex work. McDonald discovered ceramics through an art therapy program with the Jewish Board of Family Services and later connected with Visual Aids, a New York organization supporting HIV-positive artists. Her works, often depicting figures praying or embracing, are held in collections including the Hammer Museum, Brooklyn Museum, and CCS Hessel Museum of Art.

Quatre Moreau le Jeune pour Versailles

The French state has preempted four drawings by Jean-Michel Moreau le Jeune at a Christie's Paris auction, securing them for the Palace of Versailles. The works, sold in two lots, depict the festivities in Paris following the birth of the Dauphin Louis Joseph in autumn 1781, including the arrival of the Queen at the Hôtel de Ville and a fireworks display. The drawings were commissioned by the City of Paris and were intended to be engraved, marking a high point of public commissions under the ancien régime. The preemption was made possible through the support of the Friends of the Louvre, echoing a similar acquisition of Hubert Robert works from the same Veil-Picard sale.

After Whistleblower Complaint, Palm Springs Art Museum Declines to Release Report on Allegations of Fraud and Theft, Claims They Are ‘Not Substantiated’

The Palm Springs Art Museum in California has released a three-page statement claiming that an investigation into a whistleblower complaint alleging mismanagement, fraud, and theft found no wrongdoing. The complaint included allegations of improper reclassification of endowment funds, a $3 million discrepancy in investment accounts, and the forced departure of a former director. The museum hired law firm Barnes & Thornburg and forensic accounting firm RSM US to conduct a six-month review, but declined to release the resulting report to ARTnews or the public. The museum acknowledged that proceeds from deaccessioned artworks were used for operating expenses, calling it a long-standing board-approved practice with an internal loan being repaid by 2030.

Fashion figure Jordan Roth wows in collage at the Venice Biennale

Multi-disciplinary artist Jordan Roth staged a performance on May 7 at Palazzo dei Fiori in Venice during the Biennale preview week, where he tore apart vinyl prints of Renaissance painter Irene di Spilimbergo and reassembled them into collages within a gilt frame. The event, presented with Performance Space New York’s Visionaries Circle, was attended by Whitney Museum director Scott Rothkopf and dealer Kristin Hjellegjerde, following Roth's earlier appearance as a "living sculpture" at the Met Gala.

Turkey Notches Another Successful Restitution After Denver Art Museum Returns 1500-Year-Old Marble Head

The Denver Art Museum has repatriated a 1,500-year-old marble head of a bearded man to Turkey, following a successful restitution claim. The sculpture, which dates back to the fifth century BCE, was originally unearthed in the agora of the ancient city of Smyrna (modern-day Izmir) and was likely trafficked illicitly before entering the museum's collection. The artifact is now on public display at the İzmir Archaeology Museum.

One Last Chance to See Dürer's Monumental Print in NYC

Albrecht Dürer’s monumental "Triumphal Arch," a 13-foot-tall woodcut commissioned by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I in 1512, is entering long-term storage at the New York Public Library this fall. The work has been a centerpiece of the library’s Polonsky Treasures exhibition since 2021, but its extreme fragility and age necessitate its removal from public view on October 18.

Anne Boleyn Exhibition at Hever Castle

anne boleyn hever castle

Hever Castle has launched "Capturing a Queen: The Image of Anne Boleyn," a landmark exhibition exploring the visual legacy of King Henry VIII’s second wife at her childhood home. The show brings together an unprecedented collection of portraits, woodcuts, and costumes to challenge the long-held myth that all contemporary likenesses of Anne were destroyed after her execution. Key highlights include infrared analysis of the 1583 "Rose" Portrait and research suggesting that some famous posthumous depictions actually blended her features with those of her daughter, Elizabeth I, to solidify Tudor legitimacy.

katya kazakina front page award

Artnet News senior reporter and columnist Katya Kazakina has won the Newswomen’s Club of New York’s 2025 Front Page Award for specialized reporting in arts and entertainment for the second consecutive year. The award recognizes her July story “Keeping Up With the Clients: The Art World Lifestyle Can Be Dangerously Alluring,” which investigated how dealers and advisors overextend themselves financially and legally to maintain social ties with wealthy patrons. The piece grew out of her earlier scoop on dueling lawsuits between ultra-high-end art advisors Barbara Guggenheim and Abigail Asher.

sothebys abu dhabi luxury auctions collectors week

Sotheby's will launch its first luxury marquee auction series in Abu Dhabi this December, called Abu Dhabi Collectors' Week. Running from December 3 to 5 at the St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, the sales will feature cars, watches, jewelry, and real estate, alongside a museum-quality art exhibition spanning Old Masters to contemporary works. The auctions are organized in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and coincide with major regional events like the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and Abu Dhabi Finance Week. Headline lots include The Desert Rose diamond (estimated $5–7 million), a rare Rolex Daytona watch ($500,000–$1 million), and a 2017 Pagani Zonda 760 Riviera ($9.5–10.5 million).

abu dhabi collectors week sothebys luxury market not art

Sotheby's will hold its first luxury marquee sales in Abu Dhabi from December 3 to 5 as part of Abu Dhabi Collectors' Week, featuring Formula 1 cars, an Aston Martin, diamonds, and rare Rolexes. The sales coincide with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and other major events, backed by a $1 billion investment from majority shareholder Patrick Drahi and Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund ADQ, along with support from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office. The auction house is focusing on luxury goods rather than fine art, with only a non-selling exhibition of Old Masters to contemporary works.

jeff bezos lauren sanchez bezos met gala

Billionaire couple Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos are sponsoring the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 2026 Met Gala, the annual benefit for the Costume Institute. The news has revived speculation that Bezos may buy Condé Nast, Vogue’s parent company, which organizes the gala. Sánchez Bezos, a former TV reporter and recent Vogue cover subject, has been increasingly active in fashion circles, attending Paris Fashion Week and sitting front row at Chanel and Balenciaga shows. The 2026 gala will be the first since Anna Wintour’s retirement, with Chloe Malle taking over Vogue, and will feature a new dedicated Costume Institute gallery and the theme “Costume Art.”

marie antoinette execution guillotine va exhibition

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has opened a major exhibition titled "Marie Antoinette Style," showcasing items from the French queen's life and death, including her final letter, a guillotine blade, and a plain linen chemise she wore in prison. The exhibition explores her legacy as a style icon and the public's enduring fascination with her execution during the French Revolution, featuring objects linked to her imprisonment and the macabre history of Madame Tussauds' Chamber of Horrors.

art bites zuccaro drawing banished from rome

Federico Zuccaro, a 16th-century Italian Mannerist painter, was banished from Rome in 1581 after presenting a satirical drawing at a feast in the church of Saint Luke. The 13-foot work, 'Porta Virtutis (The Gate of Virtue),' depicted King Midas with donkey ears as a thinly veiled attack on papal steward Paolo Ghiselli, who had rejected Zuccaro's altarpiece. Zuccaro explicitly identified Ghiselli as the foolish Midas and labeled Bologna the 'Reign of Ignorance,' leading Pope Gregory XIII to sentence him for 'excesses' and banish him from the city. He avoided prison by paying a 400 scudi bail.

nada miami curated spotlight

NADA Miami has announced its 23rd edition, taking place December 2–6, 2025, at Ice Palace Studios. The fair will feature 140 exhibitors from 30 countries and 65 cities, including 47 first-time participants such as Foundry Seoul, Post Times, and Brigitte Mulholland. The Curated Spotlight program, now in its sixth year and supported by TD Bank, will be organized by Vancouver-based curator Kate Wong, who selected seven galleries and artists—including Devin N. Morris, Ana Alenso, Alessandro Balteo-Yazbeck, Faith Icecold, Huey Lightbody, Mahari Chabwera, and Marissa Delano—to present works exploring power structures, identity, and collective histories. The fair will also host the ECOLOGIES public programming series.

ai artist elias marrow cardiff museum installation

Conceptual artist Elias Marrow secretly installed an AI-generated artwork titled *Empty Plate* inside the National Museum Cardiff on October 29, where it hung for several hours before staff removed it. The framed digital print depicts a Welsh schoolboy holding a book and a blank plate, which Marrow says represents the state of Wales in 2025 and references Victorian charity propaganda. He described the act as 'participation without permission' rather than vandalism, and noted he used AI as part of the natural evolution of artistic tools.

manhattan district attorney returns antiquities greece

The Manhattan District Attorney's office has returned 29 antiquities valued at $3 million to Greece, following seizures by its Antiquities Trafficking Unit. The objects were recovered from ongoing investigations into looting and trafficking networks run by convicted traffickers Robin Symes and Eugene Alexander. Two of the items—a Bronze Foot in the Form of a Sphinx and a Bronze Applique of a Gorgon, both from the 6th century B.C.E.—were seized from the Metropolitan Museum of Art this year, having passed through traffickers and galleries before entering the museum's collection.

hector guimard paris metro museum

A dedicated museum for French Art Nouveau architect Hector Guimard (1867–1942) will open in Paris at the Hôtel Mezzara, a building he designed in 1910. The project is led by the nonprofit Le Cercle Guimard, which secured a 50-year lease on the state-owned property after two decades of advocacy. The museum will be funded by Hector Guimard Diffusion, a company founded by collector Fabien Choné, and will house the Cercle archives and around 100 works from Choné's collection, including ceramics, Métro entrances, and cast iron pieces. A virtual reality experience recreating Guimard's 1901 Humbert de Romans concert hall is also planned.

adam eve nude restored fitzwilliam

An illuminated manuscript from 1505, *The Primer of Claude of France*, has had its original nude depictions of Adam and Eve digitally restored after a former owner crudely painted clothing over them. The restoration was achieved using an algorithm developed by Cambridge University's Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, which stripped away the overpaint without damaging the original page. The manuscript is currently on display at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England, as part of the exhibition “Colour: The Art and Science of Illuminated Manuscripts.”

art ruinart sam falls art basel miami beach

Champagne house Ruinart has commissioned Los Angeles-based artist Sam Falls to create a two-part installation for its Conversations with Nature series at Art Basel Miami Beach. Falls, who grew up in Vermont, used organic materials from Ruinart's Taissy vineyard in France's Champagne region as tools, pigments, and stencils on canvas, with the composition partly inspired by the stained-glass windows of Reims Cathedral. The installation transforms the Ruinart Plaza Bar and Collectors Lounge at the Miami Beach Convention Center, on view through December 7.

art met museum man ray exhibition

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is opening "When Objects Dream," the first exhibition to examine Man Ray's rayographs in the context of his broader oeuvre. Opening September 14, the show features over 60 rayographs alongside 100 paintings, objects, drawings, and films spanning the artist's career. The exhibition is supported by the haute couture house Schiaparelli, whose founder Elsa Schiaparelli was a close friend and collaborator of Ray's, both central figures in the 1920s Parisian avant-garde.

schomburg center new york public library centennial

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, part of the New York Public Library, is celebrating its centennial with the exhibition “100: A Century of Collections, Community, and Creativity,” on view through June 2026. The show features manuscript pages from Maya Angelou, writings by Malcolm X, photography by Gordon Parks, murals by Aaron Douglas, and the original 1925 visitor book signed by Langston Hughes, recreating the experience of visiting the institution at the height of the Harlem Renaissance.

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.