Art News. Vasari Codex

trending_up market schedule Dec 24, 2025 visibility 15 link 3 artists

moma cryptopunks chromie squiggles acquisitions

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York has acquired eight CryptoPunks and eight Chromie Squiggles for its permanent collection, donated by multiple collectors including ARTnews Top 200 Collector Ryan Zurrer and others. The works, both generative NFT projects on the Ethereum blockchain, were added through MoMA's Media and Performance department and will be displayed alongside new media art. CryptoPunks, launched by Larva Labs in 2017, are considered the first major NFT collection, while Chromie Squiggles were created by Erick Calderon (Snowfro) as the first project on ArtBlocks.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Dec 23, 2025 visibility 14 link 2 artists

nanjing museum alleged art theft probe

Chinese authorities have launched multiple investigations into allegations that staff at the state-run Nanjing Museum secretly removed cultural treasures from the collection and sold them on the open market. The scandal erupted after a 16th-century Ming dynasty painting, *Spring in Jiangnan* by Qiu Ying, appeared in a Beijing auction catalog with an estimate of 88 million yuan ($12.5 million), despite being part of a 1959 donation by collector Pang Laichen. The museum claimed the work and four others were deemed forgeries in the 1960s, deaccessioned in 1997, and sold to a provincial relics store in 2001 for 6,800 yuan. An 80-year-old retired employee, Guo Lidian, accused former museum director Xu Huping of orchestrating a large-scale theft and smuggling operation, including falsely certifying authentic works as replicas. Xu has denied involvement.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article local schedule Dec 12, 2025 visibility 15 link 4 artists

sylvester stallone rocky balboa sculpture philadelphia

Sylvester Stallone is reclaiming one of his two Rocky statues from Philadelphia after a city commission vote. A second bronze sculpture by Auldwin Thomas Schomberg, which Stallone bought at auction in 2017 and loaned to the city in December 2024 for RockyFest, will be returned to the actor in 2026. Meanwhile, the original 1980 statue—currently at the foot of the Philadelphia Art Museum steps—will be moved inside the museum for the exhibition “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments” celebrating the franchise’s 50th anniversary, then relocated to the top of the steps where it originally stood in the 1980s. A third Schomberg Rocky statue was recently unveiled at Philadelphia International Airport.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Dec 12, 2025 visibility 14 link 3 artists

france dinosaur skeleton return mongolia

France returned an extremely rare 70-million-year-old Tarbosaurus bataar skeleton and 30 other paleontological finds to Mongolia on Monday. The fossils were looted from the Gobi Desert by a European trafficking network, smuggled via South Korea, and confiscated by French customs in 2015. At a ceremony in Paris, French Public Accounts Minister Amelie de Montchalin handed the items to Mongolia’s Culture Minister Undram Chinbat. The cache includes dinosaur eggs and the prized skeleton, worth over $800,000 at the time of seizure and now valued two to three times higher.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Dec 9, 2025 visibility 11 link 1 artist

security threats force londons va to remove prophet muhammad artwork

The Victoria & Albert Museum in London removed an image of an artwork depicting the Prophet Muhammad from its website due to security concerns following the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack. The artwork, a poster made by an Iranian artist around 1990, remains in the museum's collection and is available to scholars by appointment. The decision has drawn criticism from experts who view it as self-censorship that could undermine the study of Islamic art.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Dec 4, 2025 visibility 12 link 3 artists

pantone 2026 color of the year tone deaf whiteness

Pantone has named "Cloud Dancer," a shade of white, as its 2026 Color of the Year, describing it as a symbol of serenity and calm in a frenetic society. The announcement has sparked criticism for being tone-deaf amid ongoing political debates about whiteness, white supremacy, and conservative turns in the US and Europe, with wars and censorship fears also looming. Critics, including fashion correspondent Vanessa Friedman, have noted the choice's less salubrious associations, while Pantone executives insist skin tones did not factor into the decision.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

person people schedule Dec 2, 2025 visibility 17 link 4 artists

art cherrie yu young artist

Cultured magazine profiles Cherrie Yu, a 30-year-old artist based in New York who grew up in Xi'an and Wuxi, China. Yu creates videos, performances, and prints that examine the relationship between everyday movement, dance, labor, and play. Notable works include 'Trisha and Homer' (2018), which juxtaposes a 1986 solo by choreographer Trisha Brown with the movements of a mopping maintenance worker, and 'Wrestling Study' (2017), a video reenacting a wrestling match in Chicago traffic. Yu cites mentor Bryan Saner, a woodworker and performer, as a key influence on their understanding of the laboring body as the dancing body.

newspaper Cultured open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Nov 29, 2025 visibility 22 link 25 artists

art young artists list anniversary

Cultured magazine celebrates the tenth anniversary of its Young Artists list by reuniting 27 artists from past editions for a photoshoot at MoMA PS1, photographed by Dana Scruggs. The article reflects on the 247 artists featured since 2016, noting their diverse backgrounds—from MFA graduates to autodidacts—and includes candid responses from artists about challenges like financial survival, creative evolution, and absurd collector questions.

newspaper Cultured open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Nov 25, 2025 visibility 19 link 2 artists, 2 galleries

lucy sparrow museum crystal bridges momentary

British artist Lucy Sparrow will present her first U.S. museum exhibition, “The Beginning of Convenience,” at the Momentary, the contemporary art hub of Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas, opening in summer 2026. The immersive installation recreates an American supermarket entirely in felt, featuring approximately 20,000 hand-sewn plush products evoking the 1980s and 1990s. Sparrow researched Walmart’s archives to curate semi-vintage items, nodding to the museum’s founding family. Unlike her previous felt installations, nothing will be for sale, and the free exhibition will include a recreation of her studio and a documentary. Sparrow will also debut a candy shop titled “Sugar Rush” at Art Miami with TW Fine Art in December 2025.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Nov 24, 2025 visibility 10 link 3 artists

cia kryptos sculpture code auction

An anonymous bidder has won the solution to the final unsolved puzzle of Kryptos, a famous encrypted sculpture at CIA headquarters in Virginia, for $962,500 in an online auction by R.R. Auction. The artist, Jim Sanborn, offered the handwritten code for the fourth message (K4) along with other unpublished items and a prototype, far exceeding the presale estimate of $300,000–$500,000. The sale came after the solution was accidentally leaked to journalists Jarett Kobek and Richard Byrne, who discovered the plaintext in Sanborn's papers at the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art, though they have agreed not to release it.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Nov 24, 2025 visibility 17 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

friedrich kunath pace aimless love art music

Friedrich Kunath, a contemporary artist known for blending German romanticism with pop culture, has a new solo exhibition titled "Aimless Love" at Pace Gallery in Chelsea, New York, on view through December 20. The show marks his first with the mega-gallery since Pace announced representation in May, and his first New York show since 2019. Kunath, who also co-wrote Liam Gallagher's song "Everything's Electric" in 2022, gave an interview from his Los Angeles studio, discussing his creative process, studio habits, and inspirations. The article includes a studio visit format with questions about his routines, influences, and the eclectic environment he works in, featuring vintage cars, a private bar, and multiple rooms each with its own music, film, and scent.

newspaper Cultured open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Nov 18, 2025 visibility 15 link 4 artists

artist epstein clinton painting

Australian-born artist Petrina Ryan-Kleid's 2012 student painting *Parsing Bill*, depicting Bill Clinton in a blue dress, went viral after the Daily Mail revealed it had been owned and prominently displayed by convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The work, created as a satirical thesis piece at the New York Academy of Art, was intended to critique how opposition parties caricature presidents, referencing Monica Lewinsky's blue dress. Ryan-Kleid, who sold the painting for about $1,300 at the 2012 Tribeca Ball fundraiser, has since distanced herself from the political narrative, expressing discomfort and clarifying the piece's original intent.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Nov 18, 2025 visibility 18 link 8 artists

beauty francis kurkdjian perfume exhibition

The article reports on "Perfume: Sculpture of the Invisible," a retrospective exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris celebrating 30 years of work by renowned perfumer Francis Kurkdjian. Curated by Jérôme Neutres and running through Nov. 23, the show features over 40 scents, including collaborations with artists like Sophie Calle, Yann Toma, and musicians Kilo Kish, alongside immersive installations such as L’Alchimie des Sens, which translates Kurkdjian's Baccarat Rouge Édition Millésime into a multi-sensory experience involving taste, sound, and sight.

newspaper Cultured open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Oct 31, 2025 visibility 15 link 1 artist

spain acknowledgement injustice pain colonization mexico

Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares inaugurated an exhibition titled “Half the World: Women in Indigenous Mexico” at the Cervantes Institute in Madrid, featuring over 400 works on loan from the Mexican government. At the press conference, Albares acknowledged that Spain's colonization of Mexico caused “pain and injustice” toward indigenous peoples, but stopped short of issuing a full apology. This follows a 2019 letter from former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador demanding an apology from Spain and the Catholic Church for the conquest, which Spain rejected. Current Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has reiterated the demand, calling the original letter “very diplomatic” and criticizing Spain's response as “undiplomatic.”

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

person people schedule Oct 31, 2025 visibility 15 link 5 artists

art collector pamela joyner nevada

Pamela Joyner, a prominent art collector and patron, shares a first look inside her Lake Tahoe home in Reno, Nevada, which houses her formidable collection of 20th- and 21st-century abstraction by Black artists. The collection, co-owned with her husband Fred Giuffrida, includes works by Mark Bradford, Jack Whitten, Frank Bowling, and Charles Gaines, and was shaped by Joyner's childhood visits to the Art Institute of Chicago. Joyner, a Harvard Business School graduate and founder of Avid Partners, discusses her collecting philosophy, the strategic approach she applies from her business career, and her advice for new collectors.

newspaper Cultured open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Oct 30, 2025 visibility 22 link 1 artist

mfa boston david drake vessels restitution

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has restituted two large-scale ceramic vessels by David Drake, an enslaved potter, to his known descendants. The works—a "Poem Jar" and a "Signed Jar," both from 1857—were acquired by the museum in 1997 and 2011 respectively. On October 16, the MFA deaccessioned the jars and transferred ownership to Drake's descendants via the Dave the Potter Legacy Trust. The museum then repurchased the "Poem Jar," which re-entered the collection on October 23, while the "Signed Jar" remains with the family on long-term loan to the museum. The decision followed discussions prompted by the exhibition "Hear Me Now: The Black Potters of Old Edgefield, South Carolina," co-organized with the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Oct 27, 2025 visibility 17 link 3 artists

pepperdine weisman museum director resigns

Andrea Gyorody has resigned as director of Pepperdine University’s Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art after the university removed or obscured artworks deemed “political” from the exhibition *Hold My Hand in Yours*, which she curated. The administration turned off Elana Mann’s video *Call to Arms 2015–2025* and covered an “Abolish ICE” patch in a collaborative sculpture by the collective Art Made Between Opposite Sides (AMBOS). Gyorody’s departure, effective October 24, was described by the university as mutual, and the exhibition was shuttered six months early after artists withdrew their work in protest.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Oct 16, 2025 visibility 18 link 11 artists

art heist genre film tv books guide

This article from Cultured explores the history and evolution of the art heist genre across film, television, and books. It traces the genre's origins from the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa by Vincenzo Peruggia to its appearance in 19th-century detective serials by Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle, and later in French New Wave noirs and slick 1990s heist films. The piece highlights recent entries like Kelly Reichardt's film *The Mastermind* starring Josh O'Connor, and compiles a list of key works including *Animal Crackers* (1930), *How to Steal a Million* (1966), *The Thomas Crown Affair* (1968/1999), and *Hudson Hawk* (1991), noting how the genre reflects changing attitudes toward wealth, crime, and the sublime power of art.

newspaper Cultured open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Oct 15, 2025 visibility 17 link 7 artists

culture jamieson webster psychoanalysis ai sex

Psychoanalyst Jamieson Webster launches a new column for CULTURED titled "Neurotica," exploring the intersection of psychoanalysis, technology, and sexuality. In the debut installment, she interviews artist and theorist Mindy Seu about her work "A SEXUAL HISTORY OF THE INTERNET," which traces how sex workers were integral to developing digital platforms like chat rooms, e-commerce, and webcams, only to have their innovations co-opted by Big Tech. Webster reflects on how AI, chatbots, and online intimacy are reshaping human desire, pleasure, and relationships, drawing on Freud's pleasure-principle and contemporary anxieties about AI psychosis and digital dependency.

newspaper Cultured open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Oct 14, 2025 visibility 16 link 4 artists, 7 galleries

perrotin relocating hong kong gallery

Emmanuel Perrotin announced that his gallery is relocating from K11 Atelier Victoria Dockside back to Central, Hong Kong’s business district, where it first opened in Asia in 2012. The gallery vacated Dockside on October 1 after six years, citing the need to better serve its community, enhance accessibility, and reduce operational costs. The move follows Pace Gallery’s announcement that it will close its H Queen’s location by the end of October, and comes amid a broader shake-up in Hong Kong’s gallery scene, with other blue-chip dealers like Lévy Gorvy Dayan also shuttering spaces.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Oct 8, 2025 visibility 14 link 5 artists

met divine egypt review ancient art blockbuster

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is set to open "Divine Egypt" on October 12, 2025, the museum's first large-scale exhibition of ancient Egyptian art since 2012. The show features 210 objects, including strange and surreal works such as a limestone block with carved ears, a snake with a woman's head, and a giant quartz diorite scarab representing the god Khepri. Curated by Diana Craig Patch with research associate Brendan Hainline, the exhibition focuses on about 25 of the 1,500 gods worshipped in ancient Egypt, presenting them in nonchronological mini-sections that highlight how divine iconographies were remixed and subverted over time. Most works come from the Met's own collection, with none on loan from Egypt.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Oct 6, 2025 visibility 12 link 3 artists, 1 gallery

limited edition print ozzy osbourne artwork mason newman

British artist and designer Mason Newman is selling limited-edition silkscreen prints of his artwork "Prince of Darkness," which was gifted to the late Ozzy Osbourne just before the Black Sabbath vocalist's death. The prints, featuring goldleaf detail and limited to an edition of 76, are priced at £850 and benefit Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Acorns Hospice, and Cure Parkinson’s, in line with the Osbourne family’s wishes. The release coincided with the airing of two documentaries about Osbourne on BBC and Paramount+.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

person people schedule Sep 12, 2025 visibility 19 link 14 artists

art collector francis j greenburger omi awards

Francis J. Greenburger, a real estate developer, philanthropist, and literary agent, discusses his lifelong art collection and philanthropic initiatives in an interview with CULTURED. He recounts buying his first painting at age 14 for $25, navigating the 1970s SoHo art scene at Max's Kansas City, and founding the Francis J. Greenburger Awards in 1985 to honor under-recognized artists with a $12,500 prize. Greenburger also details his role at Art Omi, a nonprofit arts center in the Hudson Valley with a sculpture park, residency programs, and the upcoming Art Omi Pavilions project, which will offer 18 artists and collectors individual sites across 190 acres. He is also releasing a book, *Autobiography of a Skyscraper*, about Chicago's 1000M tower.

newspaper Cultured open_in_new Read original

article policy schedule Sep 5, 2025 visibility 13 link 2 artists

museums association code of ethics fossil fuel sponsorships

The Museums Association (MA) in the United Kingdom has proposed a new code of ethics that, for the first time, explicitly mentions fossil fuel companies. The guidelines recommend that museums transition away from sponsorship by organizations involved in environmental harm, human rights abuses, or other activities misaligned with museum values, and instead seek ethical funding that serves community interests. MA members will vote on ratifying the changes from September 15 until the annual conference on October 7, with the last code updated in 2015.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Sep 4, 2025 visibility 14 link 2 artists

art raul de nieves pioneer works

Raúl de Nieves, a queer Mexico-born artist based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, is preparing for his latest institutional exhibition, “In Light of Innocence,” opening September 12 at Pioneer Works in Red Hook. The show features 40 new stained glass assemblages made from tape, acetate, and inexpensive materials, installed above a single floor-bound work—a departure from his typically maximalist style. De Nieves, who has exhibited at the ICA Boston, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Cleveland Museum of Art, and gained prominence after the 2017 Whitney Biennial, describes the exhibition as a valediction, stating it will be the last time he creates this kind of work.

newspaper Cultured open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Sep 3, 2025 visibility 15 link 7 artists

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.

newspaper Cultured open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Sep 2, 2025 visibility 17 link 6 artists

art basel unlimited ruba katrib curator

Art Basel has appointed Ruba Katrib, Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs at MoMA PS1, as the curator for the Unlimited sector at its 2026 Swiss edition. Katrib succeeds Giovanni Carmine, who held the role since 2021. Known for championing emerging and cult artists like Jumana Manna and Rirkrit Tiravanija, Katrib has shaped MoMA PS1's curatorial direction for eight years, with prior experience at SculptureCenter and SITE Santa Fe's biennial. Unlimited is a platform for large-scale works beyond traditional booths, and Katrib will oversee installations, sculptures, and ambitious new projects. Art Basel 2026 runs June 18-21 at Messe Basel, with preview days June 16-17.

newspaper Cultured open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Aug 22, 2025 visibility 24 link 15 artists, 1 gallery

art james frey author art collection

James Frey, the controversial author of "A Million Little Pieces" and "Bright Shiny Morning," opens his home in Pound Ridge, New York, to discuss his personal art collection. The collection includes works by Rashid Johnson, Robert Colescott, Nate Lowman, Richard Prince, Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, and Auguste Rodin, among others. Frey describes his art-buying philosophy as driven by emotion rather than market trends, and recounts purchasing his first pieces—a Picasso drawing and a Matisse drawing—for cash in 1994.

newspaper Cultured open_in_new Read original

gavel restitution schedule Aug 21, 2025 visibility 23 link 3 artists

petition to block loan of bayeux tapestry to londons british museum garners 50000 signatures

Nearly 50,000 people have signed a petition to block the loan of the Bayeux Tapestry from France to the British Museum in London. The petition, launched in July by French art historian Didier Rykner, cites warnings from textile restorers that transporting the 1,000-year-old embroidered linen could cause irreparable damage. The tapestry is scheduled to be displayed at the British Museum from September 2026 to July 2027 while its home, the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Normandy, undergoes renovation. The loan was announced by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron. Prominent French cultural figures, including former Bayeux Tapestry Museum director Isabelle Attard, and British conservation watchdog ArtWatch UK director Michael Daley have voiced concerns. Rykner hopes to unite French and British opposition to stop the exchange, which also includes Anglo-Saxon and Medieval objects from the British Museum moving to France.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Aug 20, 2025 visibility 19 link 8 artists

art studio museum harlem reopening

The Studio Museum in Harlem will reopen on November 15 after a seven-year closure, unveiling a new seven-floor, 82,000-square-foot building designed by Adjaye Associates and executed by Cooper Robertson. To mark the occasion, Cultured magazine convened three conceptual artists—Nikita Gale, Camille Norment, and Sable Elyse Smith—who received early support from the museum, each reflecting on how the institution shaped their careers. Norment, featured in the 2001 exhibition "Freestyle," is creating a new installation for the reopening; Gale and Smith both participated in the 2017 show "Fictions."

newspaper Cultured open_in_new Read original