Art News. Vasari Codex

article policy schedule Apr 15, 2026 visibility 32 link 3 artists

V&A Pulls Catalog Materials Due to Chinese Censorship Laws

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London has admitted to removing maps and images from two exhibition catalogs following censorship demands from a Chinese printing firm. Documents revealed that C&C Offset Printing flagged content in the catalogs for the exhibitions "Music Is Black" and "Fabergé: Romance to Revolution" as violating Chinese law. The censored items included a 1930s map of British trade routes and a photograph of Vladimir Lenin, which the printer claimed could not be produced under Beijing’s strict regulations.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 10, 2026 visibility 33 link 9 artists

After three years, investigations and now a $4.4m lawsuit, Australia’s most controversial art exhibition finally opens

The National Gallery of Australia has finally opened 'Ngura Puḻka – Epic Country,' a landmark exhibition of 30 large-scale paintings by Indigenous artists from the Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands. The show’s debut comes after a three-year delay caused by explosive allegations in the media suggesting that white studio assistants had improperly intervened in the creation of the artworks. These claims sparked multiple independent investigations, a $4.4 million defamation lawsuit, and a previous last-minute cancellation of the exhibition in 2023.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 6, 2026 visibility 22 link 2 artists

‘It was a way of processing violences I’ve survived’: how iconoclastic musician Arca beat burnout with frenzied painting

The acclaimed Venezuelan electronic musician Arca, born Alejandra Ghersi, is transitioning into the visual arts with her first institutional exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London. Titled "Angels," the body of work consists of visceral, heavily textured paintings created using a chaotic mix of oils, acrylics, melted plastic, and latex. Ghersi turned to the physical medium as a therapeutic response to professional burnout, using the permanent nature of painting to process personal trauma and reconnect with the raw creative enthusiasm she felt before her music career became a global profession.

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museum exhibitions schedule Mar 31, 2026 visibility 15 link 4 artists

Spheres of influence: the Bauhaus’s radical female photographers – in pictures

An exhibition titled 'New Woman, New Vision: Women Photographers of the Bauhaus' opens at the Museum of Photography in Berlin. It focuses on the pioneering work of female Bauhaus photographers like Marianne Brandt, Lucia Moholy, and Gertrud Arndt, who used the camera to capture unconventional perspectives and explore artistic freedom during the Weimar Republic.

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museum exhibitions schedule Mar 26, 2026 visibility 21 link 3 artists

Expecting to live past 100? Then this show, with its rotten fruit and robot companions, is for you

The Wellcome Collection in London is preparing to open a major exhibition titled 'The Coming of Age,' which explores the complex realities and cultural anxieties surrounding aging and longevity. The show features diverse objects, from Japan's official silver sake cups for centenarians to Sam Taylor-Johnson's time-lapse film of rotting fruit and artworks examining biological immortality.

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article culture schedule May 4, 2026 visibility 16 link 2 artists

Ready for their close-ups: celebrity passport photos

Dave Sharkey, a former professional boxer, and his wife Ann founded a photographic studio on Oxford Street in London in 1953, offering passport photos with a 10-minute turnaround. The studio, later run by their son Philip, became a popular spot for celebrities including Muhammad Ali, Mick and Bianca Jagger, David Hockney, and Tilda Swinton. A new book titled 'Passport Photo Service,' published by Phaidon Press, compiles over 300 of these celebrity passport portraits from the 1950s to the 2010s.

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article culture schedule May 4, 2026 visibility 27 link 8 artists

Mummy, is this a video game? The dangers of showing kids art on a screen

A parent takes their toddler to Frameless, an immersive digital art experience in London, where works by Hieronymus Bosch, Claude Monet, and Georges Seurat are projected onto walls, ceilings, and floors. The child reacts with mixed engagement—enjoying some moments but feeling overwhelmed by the frenetic, screen-based environment—while the author reflects on the tension between traditional static art and animated digital reproductions.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 30, 2026 visibility 28 link 11 artists

Jarvis Cocker and Kim Sion to curate art exhibition at Hepworth Wakefield

Jarvis Cocker and his wife Kim Sion will curate a new exhibition titled "Hodge Podge" at the Hepworth Wakefield, opening in May 2027. The show brings together a personal selection of works by artists including Jeremy Deller, Peter Doig, Barbara Hepworth, and others, alongside unknown outsider and visionary artists never before exhibited in UK public museums. The exhibition aims to challenge conventional ideas of art and includes an immersive Dreamachine, a flickering light device co-invented by Brion Gysin and Ian Sommerville in 1959.

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person people schedule Apr 27, 2026 visibility 37 link 11 artists

‘Tracey Emin said they’re all about death’: Johnnie Shand Kydd on his dog-walk photographs – and capturing the hard-partying YBAs

Johnnie Shand Kydd, a former art dealer turned photographer, reflects on his intimate black-and-white photographs of the Young British Artists (YBAs) in the 1990s, capturing figures like Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, and Sarah Lucas in candid, hedonistic moments rather than traditional studio portraits. Now 66, Shand Kydd has a new exhibition titled 'Ramsholt' at Emin's gallery in Margate, featuring photographs from his dog-walking route, which will also be published as a photobook.

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article culture schedule Apr 2, 2026 visibility 32 link 12 artists

Made in Fire Island: how artists were at the heart of the LGBTQ+ mecca

A new book titled 'Fire Island Art: 100 Years' chronicles the century-long, integral relationship between artists and the LGBTQ+ community on Fire Island. The book, edited by John Dempsey, traces the creative legacy from pre-war artists like Paul Cadmus to modern figures, highlighting how the island's unique environment fostered both sexual and artistic freedom.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 11, 2026 visibility 18 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

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.

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article culture schedule May 1, 2026 visibility 22 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

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.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 14, 2026 source 6 sources visibility 17 link 5 artists

Rene Matić wins 2026 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize

Rene Matić has won the 2026 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize, becoming the first British winner in over a decade. The announcement was made at The Photographers’ Gallery in London on May 14, 2025, where Matić received £30,000 for their exhibition *AS OPPOSED TO THE TRUTH*, which uses photography, installation, and sound to explore identity and belonging. Matić was nominated for the show at the Center for Contemporary Arts Berlin (CCA Berlin) and is also a recent Turner Prize nominee. The prize exhibition runs at The Photographers’ Gallery until June 7, alongside works by fellow shortlisted artists Jane Evelyn Atwood, Weronika Gęsicka, and Amak Mahmoodian.

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trending_up market schedule May 19, 2026 visibility 4 link 8 artists, 1 gallery

Jackson Pollock painting sells for record $181m at Christie’s in New York

Jackson Pollock's painting *Number 7A, 1948* sold for a record $181.2 million at Christie’s in New York, becoming the fourth most expensive work ever sold at auction. The sale also saw record prices for works by Constantin Brâncuși, Mark Rothko, and Joan Miró, with Brâncuși's bronze head *Danaïde* fetching $107.6 million and Rothko's *No 15 (Two Greens and Red Stripe)* selling for $98.4 million.

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article culture schedule May 19, 2026 visibility 10 link 9 artists, 2 galleries

You can spray that again! New York drenched in colour – in pictures

The Guardian published a photo essay featuring Harry Gruyaert's vibrant street photography of New York City, spanning over 50 years. The Belgian Magnum photographer captures the city's energy through bold color and candid moments—children playing in fire hydrants, yellow cabs, neon-lit diners, and diverse neighborhoods. The images are accompanied by text from French filmmaker Cédric Klapisch, who provides fictional vignettes that blur reality and imagination.

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article local schedule May 17, 2026 visibility 7 link 5 artists, 1 gallery

A skateboarder’s lament: the dismantling of San Francisco’s iconic and divisive fountain

San Francisco's Vaillancourt Fountain, a controversial concrete sculpture and centerpiece of Embarcadero Plaza since 1971, caught fire during its dismantling in early May 2025 after the city voted to potentially replace it with a grassy park. Designed by artist Armand Vaillancourt, the fountain was a landmark for the city's skateboarding scene in the 1980s and 1990s, but fell into disrepair and became a flashpoint in debates over modernist public art. The removal, costing $4 million for storage and assessment, was mourned by skateboarders and preservationists who saw it as a loss of cultural and architectural heritage.

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rate_review review schedule May 15, 2026 visibility 11 link 3 artists, 1 gallery

Mounting Rene Matić’s snapshots in Perspex isn’t really enough to make them interesting | Charlotte Jansen

Rene Matić, at 29, became the youngest winner of the £30,000 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation prize, nominated for their solo exhibition "As Opposed to the Truth" at CCA Berlin. A smaller version of that show is now at the Photographers’ Gallery in London. Matić was also the youngest Turner Prize nominee last year. The article critiques Matić's work, praising their 2022 piece "Upon This Rock" for exploring masculinity, fatherhood, and British identity, but dismissing much of their other output—like the snapshot installation "Feelings Wheel"—as immature, mediocre, and reliant on display gimmicks rather than photographic substance.

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article news schedule May 9, 2026 visibility 19 link 5 artists, 1 gallery

At the Venice Biennale I saw anger at Russia and Israel – and its leadership pretending everything was fine | Charlotte Higgins

At the 2024 Venice Biennale, the Russian pavilion returned with festive performances and prosecco deliveries, drawing sharp criticism from observers who saw it as a propaganda effort to distract from Russia's war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukraine's Kramatorsk was bombed, and protests erupted, including a Pussy Riot intervention. Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco defended Russia's and Israel's participation, rejecting preemptive bans despite open letters and appeals. European Commission investigated potential sanctions breaches, and culture ministers from Ukraine, Poland, Estonia, and Baltic states boycotted or condemned the biennale's stance, accusing it of yielding to the aggressor.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 5, 2026 visibility 22 link 12 artists, 1 gallery

‘We put our heads above the parapet’: Lubaina Himid on winning her 40-year battle to storm the Venice Biennale

Lubaina Himid, the 71-year-old British artist, is representing Britain at the Venice Biennale with a solo exhibition in the British Pavilion. Known for her decades-long career addressing Black identity and colonial history through paintings, textiles, and cut-out figures, Himid installed her work early and even got married in the lead-up to the biennale. She follows fellow Black British artists John Akomfrah and Sonia Boyce in recent years, completing a trio of artists from the same generation to take over the pavilion.

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candle obituary schedule Apr 30, 2026 visibility 18 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

Raghu Rai’s masterful images of Indian life – in pictures

Raghu Rai, the celebrated Indian photographer who was recruited to Magnum Photos by Henri Cartier-Bresson in 1977, has died at the age of 83. Over five decades, he produced defining images of Indian life, ranging from intimate portraits of Mother Teresa to stark documentation of the Bhopal disaster. His work captured both the grand and the everyday, from crowds at Mumbai's Churchgate railway station to slums in Dharavi, and he published more than 18 books, receiving multiple awards for his unflinching human gaze.

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trending_up market schedule Mar 24, 2026 visibility 17 link 10 artists, 2 galleries

Chickens, train surfers and Marilyn Monroe: Magnum’s print sale – in pictures

Magnum Photos, in partnership with The Photographers' Gallery, is holding a print sale titled 'Odyssey' featuring works from over 100 of its photographers. The sale includes iconic images from artists like Eve Arnold, Alec Soth, and Chris Killip, with themes ranging from personal journeys and American life to global migrations and cultural rituals. The event runs until March 29, 2026.

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rate_review review schedule Mar 25, 2026 visibility 20 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

Angela de la Cruz review – wonky chairs and busted pianos are monuments to resilience

Angela de la Cruz's solo exhibition "Upright" at Birmingham's Ikon gallery presents a collection of broken and mended artworks. Her canvases are crumpled, folded, and snapped, while sculptures are assembled from precarious junk like a three-legged chair on a stool and a piano stacked atop another. The works, though appearing on the verge of collapse, are all repaired and propped back up, reflecting a state of post-collapse resilience.

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article news schedule Mar 30, 2026 source 4 sources visibility 17 link 1 artist

Scholar Attributes Long-Suspected ‘Workshop Copy’ Painting to Rembrandt

A painting in a private UK collection, long considered a workshop copy of Rembrandt's 'Old Man with a Gold Chain' at the Art Institute of Chicago, has been newly attributed to Rembrandt himself by scholar Gary Schwartz. Schwartz argues the quality and lack of corrections suggest Rembrandt, not a pupil, created the canvas replica while the original process was still fresh.

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person people schedule Mar 17, 2026 source 4 sources visibility 28 link 1 artist

What to Know About Banksy and the Street Artist’s Identity

Reuters has conducted an investigation that claims to have identified the famously anonymous street artist Banksy. The report's key evidence is a police report from Banksy's arrest in New York City approximately twenty years ago.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 23, 2026 visibility 21 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

Ai Weiwei to Reenact His Own Detention in 24-Hour Performance in Manchester

Artist and dissident Ai Weiwei will reenact his 81-day detention by China's Ministry of Public Security in a 24-hour performance titled "Sewing a Button" at Factory International's Aviva Studios in Manchester, England. The performance, part of his exhibition "Button Up!" running from July 2, 2025, will take place in a re-creation of his cell and involve Ai sleeping, eating, exercising, writing, washing, and being interrogated, with visitors able to book two-hour slots or a full 24-hour ticket. The work follows his earlier piece "S.A.C.R.E.D." (2013) and is joined by other commissioned works including "Eight-Nation Alliance Flags" and a new version of "History of Bombs."

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article news schedule Apr 19, 2026 visibility 39 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

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.

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person people schedule Apr 15, 2026 visibility 15 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

A ruined building, five Ghanaians and an elegant horse: Ron Timehin’s best photograph

Photographer Ron Timehin discusses a standout image from his documentary project in Labadi, Accra, featuring five local community members and a horse against a ruined farm building. The project, commissioned by My Runway Group, aims to move away from traditional documentary tropes by portraying West African communities in a collaborative, dignified, and elegant manner.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 15, 2026 source 2 sources visibility 13 link 8 artists, 3 galleries

Photo London x Nikon Emerging Photographer Award 2026 – in pictures

The Photo London x Nikon Emerging Photographer Award 2026 has announced its shortlist, showcasing works from seven emerging photographic artists. The exhibition is on display at Photo London, featuring pieces such as Sal Taylor Kydd's "Passing" (2026), Devin Oktar Yalkin's portraits including "Anne Hathaway" and "Swallows Pride" (2020), Ci Demi's "Il-Giorniale" (2021), Steffi Reimers' "Gunshot punctures" (2023) from her series "Guilty Grounds," Sebastian Gonzalez's "Escalas Temporales" (2025), and Edward Rollitt's "Alfred Smee Pruned His Roses" (2024). The award, launched in 2015 in partnership with Nikon, aims to nurture and enable the career development of emerging photographic artists.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 7, 2026 visibility 21 link 8 artists, 1 gallery

‘A daring flash of pubic hair’: the extraordinary, monumental nudes of Sylvia Sleigh

A small London gallery, Malarkey, is exhibiting eight paintings by Welsh-born artist Sylvia Sleigh (1916–2010), including her monumental 1963 work *The Bridge*, which is now for sale. The show, curated by Daniel Malarkey, features Sleigh's earliest-known self-portrait and her first commission, alongside other nudes that challenge traditional objectification by portraying both sexes with dignity. Sleigh, who studied at Brighton School of Art and moved to New York with her second husband, critic Lawrence Alloway, reimagined classical poses like Giorgione's *Sleeping Venus* in modern settings, notably including a daring flash of pubic hair in *The Bridge*.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 11, 2026 visibility 18 link 12 artists, 1 gallery

The Museo Casa Natal Picasso rescues Marisol Escobar, the forgotten queen of pop art

The Museo Casa Natal Picasso in Málaga, Spain, has opened the exhibition "Ni Musas Ni Modelos" (Neither Muses Nor Models), which seeks to reclaim the legacy of Marisol Escobar, a Venezuelan-born pop artist who rose to fame in the 1960s but later fell into obscurity. The show features over forty works by Escobar—including her piece "Saco La Lengua" (I Stick Out My Tongue)—alongside works by thirty other artists such as Dorothea Tanning and Helen Frankenthaler, aiming to correct the historical sidelining of female artists.

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