georg kolbe museum to restitute nazi looted sculpture to heirs of holocaust victim 1234774497

The Georg Kolbe Museum in Berlin has announced the restitution of the 1922 bronze sculpture 'Tänzerinnen-Brunnen' (Dancers’ Fountain) to the heirs of its original owner, a Jewish art collector and insurance executive named Stahl. Following an extensive provenance investigation, the museum determined that Stahl was forced to sell his villa and the sculpture under Nazi persecution and economic coercion in 1941, shortly before he was deported and murdered at the Theresienstadt concentration camp.

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Sandra Mujinga, a Congolese-born artist based in Berlin and Oslo, recently unveiled a new performance at the Park Avenue Armory in New York and has a major installation, "Skin to Skin" (2025), finishing its run at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam before traveling to the Belvedere museum in Vienna. The installation features 55 lithe, tentacular figures covered in the artist's own textiles, arranged around mirrored columns in a green-lit environment. In an interview, Mujinga discussed how fashion and clothing function as data and storytelling, reflecting identity and belonging, a theme that permeates her sculptures, videos, and performances.

The art of politics: how global conflicts are playing out in this year's Venice Biennale

Israel is making a controversial return to the 2025 Venice Art Biennale after its pavilion was locked in 2024 with a note demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. The artist representing Israel, Belu-Simion Fainaru, will present his project "Rose of Nothingness" in the Arsenale, while Russia also returns to the Biennale after its Giardini pavilion was reassigned to Bolivia in 2024. The Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) has renewed calls for a boycott and is organizing strike action to disrupt the event, accusing Israel of genocide.

Berlin in Art Spring

Berlin im Kunstfrühling

The Monopol podcast "Kunst und Leben" previews the upcoming Gallery Weekend Berlin, taking place from May 1 to 3. Editors Elke Buhr and Silke Hohmann share their personal watchlist of must-see exhibitions, including shows by Daniel Buren and Lawrence Weiner at Konrad Fischer, Candice Breitz at KOW, Heimo Zobernig at Nagel Draxler, and Jorinde Voigt at Mercator Höfe. The episode also covers performances, tattoo art on moving cars, tapestries, robot dogs, and tips for navigating the weekend.

Artemisia Gentileschi Masterpiece Goes to Auction—Without Its Face

The Dorotheum auction house in Vienna is set to auction a rare, autograph replica of Artemisia Gentileschi’s 'St. Mary Magdalen' (c. 1620) that is missing its central focus: the saint's face. Discovered in a private German cellar in 2011 and likely mutilated during the looting of postwar Berlin, the fragment has been authenticated by experts Roberto Contini and Riccardo Lattuada. Despite the missing section, infrared analysis confirms Gentileschi’s hand, and the work is estimated to fetch between $120,000 and $170,000.

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Critic and artist Aria Dean, known for her influential essays on digital culture and race, has staged a new theatrical work titled "The Color Scheme" as part of the Performa biennial. The piece imagines a 1920s meeting in Berlin between two Black intellectuals, marking a shift from her usual focus on contemporary online life to historical Black culture and politics. Dean's essays are collected in the recent book "Bad Infinity" from Sternberg Press, and her art has appeared in major exhibitions including the Hammer Museum's Made in L.A. Biennial and the Whitney Biennial.

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Pace Gallery will present a second solo exhibition of David Lynch's artwork at its Berlin space, opening January 29, 2026. The show features never-before-seen mixed media paintings, watercolors, and three lamps, alongside early short films, spanning works from 1999 to 2022. This follows Lynch's death in January 2025 and a successful estate sale, as well as his first posthumous exhibition, "David Lynch: Up In Flames," currently on view at Prague's DOX Centre for Contemporary Art. Pace plans a larger survey of Lynch's oeuvre at its Los Angeles outpost in autumn 2026.

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The Great Elephant Migration, a public art project featuring 100 life-size elephant sculptures, has concluded its cross-country journey in Beverly Hills, California. The sculptures, crafted by Indigenous artisans of the Coexistence Collective in India from the invasive lantana camara weed, represent real elephants from the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. The herd traveled 5,000 miles via electric trucks, making stops in Newport, New York, Miami, Houston, Jackson Hole, and Montana, before arriving at Beverly Gardens Park. The artworks are for sale, with prices ranging from $8,000 to $22,000, and sales have exceeded $3 million, with proceeds supporting 22 conservation NGOs.

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New York's American Museum of Natural History is launching a new film at the Hayden Planetarium titled "Encounters in the Milky Way," narrated by actor Pedro Pascal. Opening June 9, the 30-minute show uses data from the European Space Agency's Gaia observatory and contributions from over 20 academic institutions to map the sun's journey through the Milky Way over billions of years. The project involved astronomers, artists, and science visualization experts, with a score by composer Robert Miller and direction by museum trustee Shawn Levy.

David Bowie: You’re Not Alone review – Ziggy glam and Berlin grime in a bum-shaking yet sanitised immersion

A new immersive film exhibition titled 'David Bowie: You’re Not Alone' has opened at London's Lightroom. Directed by Mark Grimmer, who previously designed the V&A's 2013 Bowie exhibition, the hour-long 360-degree film focuses on the artist's most-streamed hits and features unseen performance footage, including from his 1978 Earls Court show. It aims to appeal to both die-hard fans and a younger audience.

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.

Leaky Berlin Modern Museum’s Opening Delayed Until 2030

The opening of the Berlin Modern Museum, a planned extension of the Neue Nationalgalerie, has been delayed until 2030 due to significant moisture damage and microbial contamination in its foundation, floors, roof coverings, and exterior walls. Originally laid in February 2024 with a projected 2027 opening, the museum's construction costs have surged from 200 million to 507 million euros, according to Monopol. A spokesperson for the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation stated that repairs are underway but will push completion back by approximately eight months.

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.

Negative Impressions and Positive Traces of ’20th Century Debris’.

Marc Brandenburg's solo exhibition '20th Century Debris' is on view at the Berlinische Galerie in Berlin until September 14, 2026. The show features approximately 150 works, including early drawings from the 1990s, recent pieces, video, photography, and tattoo editions, all exploring spectral cityscapes and the debris of contemporary life through a process of tonal reversal and inversion.

Ai Weiwei and the Art of Keeping Your Mouth Shut

Dissident artist Ai Weiwei explores the corrosive nature of state control and self-restraint in his new book, "On Censorship" (2026). Drawing from a lifetime of persecution—including his father’s exile to a labor camp, his own 81-day detention in 2011, and recent digital erasure by Chinese AI—Ai argues that censorship fundamentally strips individuals of their humanity. He highlights how the mechanism of silencing has evolved from overt state violence in the East to a more insidious culture of self-censorship in the West, exemplified by the cancellation of his own 2023 exhibition at Lisson Gallery following comments on the conflict in Gaza.

Tanka Fonta wins 2026 Wi Di Mimba Wi Prize

Cameroon-born artist and polymath Tanka Fonta has been named the recipient of the 2026 Wi Di Mimba Wi Prize. Awarded by SAVVY Contemporary and the AKB Stiftung, the prize includes a €30,000 grant, production funds for a new commission, and dedicated curatorial support. Fonta, whose multidisciplinary practice spans visual art, composition, and philosophy, was selected from a shortlist of five Germany-based artists by a jury of prominent curators and academics.

German artist Thomas Zipp, who explored the dark side of humanity, dies at 60.

German artist Thomas Zipp, a prominent figure in the Berlin art scene known for his dark, immersive installations, has died at the age of 60. His longtime representative, Galerie Barbara Thumm, confirmed his passing on April 4th, noting that the artist died far too soon. Zipp gained international recognition for his multidisciplinary approach, blending painting, sculpture, and performance into theatrical environments that often felt like unsettling psychological experiments.

15 Must-See Events Enriching the Venice Biennale 2026 Experience.

The article presents a curated guide to 15 must-see events accompanying the 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys" and curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, running from May to November 2026. It highlights key exhibitions beyond the main pavilions, including "Screen Melancholy: Li Yi-Fan" at Palazzo delle Prigioni, "Darkness Visible: The Long Shadow of Dictatorship" at Spazio Punch, "Elegy" by Gabrielle Goliath at Chiesa di Sant'Antonin, and "As Above, So Below" at Ex Church Santi Cosma e Damiano, among others. These events span museums, foundations, and historic palazzi, featuring performances, talks, and curatorial interventions that extend the Biennale's reach across Venice.

December 2025 Exhibitions and Events at SVA

The School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York is hosting a series of exhibitions and events throughout December 2025 and into January 2026. Highlights include "Wavelengths," a juried alumni survey at SVA Chelsea Gallery; "Act 1: Geraldine Scott III," a solo exhibition by alumnus Lillian Ansell at SVA Gramercy Gallery; "The Book Show" featuring first-year MFA students; "Migrant Housing: Water as a Medium for Healing" at SVA Flatiron Gallery; and "fables for introverts, chapter iii: limbo" by Gerald Euhon Sheffield II at SVA Flatiron Project Space. Events include open studios, a lecture on the anti-Nazi "Red Orchestra" group, and an artists' roundtable with Samson Young.

Introducing CULTURED’s Inaugural Young Dealers List

CULTURED magazine has launched its inaugural Young Dealers List, highlighting 23 galleries under five years old that are reshaping the art world. Selected from over 100 recommendations gathered from more than 40 collectors, advisors, and curators, the list features ambitious new spaces in cities from Accra to Berlin. One featured gallerist, Adora Mba of ADA \ Contemporary Art Gallery in Accra, comes from a family of collectors and opened her gallery after working as a cultural news producer; she has dedicated her 2025 program to women artists and curators.

Tuguldur Yondonjamts’s Animalistic Realm

Mongolian artist Tuguldur Yondonjamts explores the habitat of the saker falcon through a series of accordion-style books titled *The Secret Mountain of Falcons* (2011–14), created during fieldwork across Mongolia. The drawings, presented in Perspex vitrines at his solo exhibition *Wolf Loving Princess* at Gallery Ver in Bangkok, depict the falcon's perspective as imagined by the artist, blending black-and-white film-like imagery with abstract textures. The work responds to the falcon trade, particularly to the Middle East, and the species' declining population, which led to its designation as Mongolia's national bird in 2012.

ceal floyer dead 1234766206

Ceal Floyer, a conceptual artist known for her spare, witty sculptures that transformed everyday objects into thought-provoking art, died on Thursday at age 57 after a long illness. Her Berlin-based gallery Esther Schipper, along with Lisson Gallery and 303 Gallery, confirmed her death. Floyer gained international recognition for works like *Light Switch* (1992–99), which projected an image of a light switch onto a wall, and *Bucket* (1999), a plastic bucket with a recorded dripping sound but no water. She participated in major exhibitions including the Venice Biennale (2009) and Documenta (2012), and won the Preis der Nationalgalerie in 2007.

munich lohaus sominsky expands to tribeca 1234763956

Munich-based gallery Lohaus Sominsky, founded by Ingrid Lohaus and Sofia Sominsky, will open its first New York space at 62 White Street in Tribeca next month. The inaugural exhibition, featuring new paintings and a site-specific installation by Berlin-based artist Charlie Stein, opens December 11, shortly after the gallery participates in Art Basel Miami Beach for the first time. The expansion follows three years of operations in Munich, where the gallery has mounted over 18 exhibitions with an international roster including Vera Molnár and Phoebe Derlee.

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Jonny Tanna, founder of the London gallery Harlesden High Street, has launched a pop-up project in Mayfair during Frieze Week, in collaboration with Düsseldorf- and Berlin-based gallery Setareh. The inaugural exhibition, “Forces of Nature,” features London-based artists Abbas Zahedi and Jamiu Agboke, presenting conceptual installation and atmospheric painting. Tanna emphasizes that this is not a permanent relocation but an itinerant extension of his gallery, which exclusively shows artists of color and is known for its community-focused, unvarnished approach.

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Artist Sun Yitian, known for photorealistic paintings of mass-produced consumer objects that sell for up to six figures, is opening her largest solo exhibition to date at Esther Schipper in Berlin as part of Gallery Weekend Berlin on May 2. The exhibition, titled "Romantic Room," features 14 new paintings that incorporate Christian religious symbols alongside references to China's copy culture (shanzhai) and the proliferation of fakes in the 1990s. Works like "Image of Jesus" (2024) depict a Christ with facial fillers, inspired by posters in her hometown Wenzhou, while "Jingpin" (2024) playfully addresses Wenzhou's history of fabricating high-quality shoe copies. The show also includes her ongoing "Shelter" series, featuring inflatable bouncy castles from her childhood.

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Jeffrey Deitch has organized a pop-up exhibition in Miami's Design District during Art Basel Miami Beach, titled "That Was Then, This Is Now." The show, running from December 2, 2025 to January 2, 2026, features about two dozen ultra-emerging artists, predominantly from the West Coast. It was organized by American Art Projects, a platform led by Deitch associate director William Croghan and Benno Tubbesing, former director of Ruttkowski;68's New York branch. The exhibition includes paintings, ceramics, clothing, and books, aiming to offer accessible price points for new collectors.

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Sharon Stone has created a new series of figurative paintings titled "Rogues Gallery," which she describes as channeling the spirits of historical figures from different eras and locations, including an enslaved individual who drowned in the East China Sea and Iranian freedom fighter Mahsa Amini. The works, made in 2025, mark a shift from her earlier abstracted landscapes and floral motifs, and were produced in her Los Angeles home studio. Stone, who began painting seriously around 2020 and has previously exhibited at C. Parker Gallery, Allouche Gallery, and Galerie Deschler Berlin, approaches the portraits as a medium for healing and confronting difficult histories, including her own family's potential involvement in enslavement.

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American artist Ellen Akimoto (b. 1988) has opened her second solo exhibition with Berlin-based Galerie Judin, titled “Everybody’s in the Room.” The show features a body of new work exploring reality, human relationships, and the interplay between figuration and abstraction. Its centerpiece is a monumental six-panel painting spanning nearly 40 feet, which incorporates the physical gallery space as part of the artwork. The exhibition will later travel to Kunstverein Ulm in September. In an interview, Akimoto discusses themes of inside and outside, ghosts of ordinary objects, and the conceptual starting point of the show, which she describes as a culmination of processes developed over the past year.

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Chinese artist Sun Yitian, dubbed the 'it girl' of the art world, is the subject of a new solo exhibition titled 'Romantic Room' at Esther Schipper in Berlin, her third show with the gallery. The 34-year-old hyperrealist painter, known for her depictions of mass-produced consumer products, set a new artist record in June 2024 when her 2021 painting *Prologue* sold for RMB 2.99 million (around $415,029), the top result for Asian artists born in the 1990s. She also recently collaborated with Louis Vuitton and is pursuing a PhD in literature alongside her painting career.

Aileen Murphy Sleeps on the Ceiling

Aileen Murphy's third exhibition at Deborah Schamoni in Munich, titled "Sleeps on the Ceiling," presents five new paintings dominated by rosé and pink tones. The works revolve around a table-like motif, featuring animals, disembodied limbs, and surreal details such as a white cat with red eyes and a yellow snake. Murphy, who completed her studies in 2018, blends abstract gestures with detailed figuration, creating scenes that are both playful and uncanny. The exhibition's title is borrowed from Elizabeth Bishop's poem "Sleeping on the Ceiling" (1946), reflecting a dissolution of domestic interior, urban monument, and psychological landscape.