Book Club

The Art Newspaper's Book Club section features multiple articles about new art books and related exhibitions. One article explores how different artists have depicted Marilyn Monroe, ahead of an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Another piece examines a little-known New York gallery that brought Modern art to America, exhibiting artists like Picasso and Mondrian. Additional stories cover Martin Parr's photobook 'The Last Resort' on its 40th anniversary, a history of how artists depict the female body by author Amy Dempsey, and a collaboration between author Olivia Laing and painter Chantal Joffe.

Diego Rivera’s grandson donates more than 150,000 objects to Mexico City’s Museo Anahuacalli

Juan Rafael Coronel Rivera, grandson of Diego Rivera, has donated his private collection of 157,300 objects to Mexico City's Museo Anahuacalli. The vast donation spans ceramics, textiles, prints, photographs, archives, and a research library, with works dating from the 16th century to the present. It will be transferred in stages and is expected to be fully integrated by the end of the year.

state of the art market an analysis of global auction sales in the first five months of 2022

Artnet News, in collaboration with Morgan Stanley and the Artnet Price Database, analyzed global auction sales from January through May 20 for the years 2018 to 2022. The total auction sales for the first five months of 2022 reached $5.7 billion, just barely exceeding the previous high set in 2018. The sell-through rate was 73.4%, the second highest in the period examined. The average price of a work sold surged 180% from 2020 and 26% from 2021, driven by pent-up supply of high-value works. Sales of works priced at $10 million and above grew nearly 50% year-over-year, fueled by major consignments from the estates of Thomas and Doris Ammann, Anne Bass, and Harry and Linda Macklowe. Meanwhile, sales of works under $10,000 increased 43% since 2018, partly due to the rise of online auctions during the pandemic.

art shaker museum ica philadelphia hauser wirth

The Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia will present the exhibition “A World in the Making: The Shakers” starting January 31, co-organized with the Vitra Design Museum, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Wüstenrot Foundation, and the Shaker Museum. The show explores the design legacy of the Shakers, a religious sect founded by Ann Lee that built egalitarian communes across the American Northeast and Midwest, through furniture, clothing, tools, architectural pieces, gift drawings, and a dance performance choreographed by Reggie Wilson. The Shaker Museum is also planning a new campus in Chatham, New York, designed by Selldorf Architects, set to open in 2028, and artist Suzanne Bocanegra and actor Frances McDormand will open a related show at Hauser & Wirth Downtown Los Angeles on November 20.

Manifesta 16 Ruhr announces list of artists

Manifesta 16, the nomadic European biennial, has revealed the full list of 106 artists from 30 countries who will participate in its 2026 edition. The event will open on 21 June and take place across 12 decommissioned modernist churches in four cities in Germany's Ruhr region: Bochum, Essen, Duisburg, and Gelsenkirchen. The program includes 64 new commissions.

Nature Morte, 1982–1988 at Ehrlich Steinberg

Ehrlich Steinberg gallery in Los Angeles is presenting the group exhibition "Nature Morte, 1982–1988," featuring works by a significant roster of artists including Alan Belcher, Gretchen Bender, Sherrie Levine, Louise Lawler, and Laurie Simmons, among others. The show runs from February 24 to April 18, 2026, and focuses on artworks created within that specific six-year period.

Anarchic Cats Are Ensnared in Chaos in Léo Forest’s Dynamic Drawings

Paris-based artist Léo Forest creates high-energy pencil drawings that capture the chaotic and dramatic nature of domestic cats. Drawing inspiration from the feline's predatory instincts and internet meme culture, Forest utilizes blurred motion and flailing limbs to depict cats in various states of action, from grooming to brawling.

10 art exhibitions to check out in and around Tokyo this spring

A curated list of ten notable art exhibitions opening in Tokyo and its surrounding areas during the spring season has been published. The guide highlights a diverse range of shows across museums, galleries, and cultural institutions, providing essential details for visitors.

Economic growth supports the art market in Warsaw

The Warsaw art market is expanding rapidly, driven by Poland's strong economic growth (3.6% GDP in 2025). Two new art fairs have emerged: Art Warsaw (May 21–24), organized by Joanna Witek-Lipka and Michał Kaczyński, and the Hotel Warszawa Art Fair (September), organized by four galleries. These join the established Warsaw Gallery Weekend, now in its 15th year. The fairs cater to a growing collector base increasingly seeking international artists, while still featuring Polish talent. Notable participants include Ada gallery from Rome, Coulisse Gallery from Stockholm, and 52 galleries total, with booth fees ranging from €1,000 to €4,000. The venue, Villa Róż, a 19th-century palace with layered historical features, adds to the fair's appeal.

See exhibition by Erin Jane Nelson, ‘Living and Working,’ at UAB’s AEIVA through Sept. 26

The Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts (AEIVA) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham presents “Living and Working,” a survey exhibition of artist Erin Jane Nelson, running through September 26. This is Nelson’s largest solo exhibition to date and her first survey, spanning a decade of her practice across photography, textiles, and ceramics. The exhibition will travel to the Knoxville Museum of Art in August 2027, and AEIVA is co-publishing an exhibition catalog with Institute 193. The opening reception is May 21, and free community programming includes summer drop-in tours, a pinhole camera workshop, Science Nights in partnership with the Birmingham Zoo, and a chamber music event.

LR Vandy tells stories of labor, movement, and collective resistance through rope sculptures

British artist LR Vandy presents 'Rise' at Yorkshire Sculpture Park's Weston Gallery, featuring rope sculptures that appear caught mid-motion. The exhibition includes works like 'A Call to Dance,' a monumental maypole form, and explores themes of tension, labor, and movement through maritime fibers sourced from her studio at Chatham Dockyard. The sculptures climb walls, loop through pulleys, and collapse onto the floor, evoking both architectural strength and delicate fragility.

Carole A. Feuerman | Miniature Serena (with Blue-Green Tube) (2021) | For Sale

Carole A. Feuerman's sculpture "Miniature Serena (with Blue-Green Tube)" (2021) is being offered for sale. The work is an oil on resin piece with 24K gold leaf cap, table-top scale, measuring 10 x 17 x 8 inches, from a variant of 10. Feuerman, born in 1945, is an American sculptor and author credited with co-founding the Hyperrealist movement in the late 1970s, known for figurative works of swimmers and dancers. Her public sculptures have been displayed globally, including at Central Park, the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, the Venice Biennale, and the State Hermitage Museum. She has received multiple awards, including the Medici Award, and her works are in the permanent collections of 31 museums and owned by notable figures such as Steven A. Cohen, former President Bill Clinton, and Dr. Henry Kissinger.

Studio Visit: Ding Yi on his major Venice exhibition ‘Cosmotechnics’

Artist Ding Yi, known for his decades-long dedication to the cross motif in abstraction, is preparing for his major Venice exhibition 'Cosmotechnics' at the Fondazione Querini Stampalia. The show, running from 9 May to 22 November 2026, features key archival works alongside a new series of twelve black-and-white basswood relief paintings and two stone steles carved with his signature cross pattern. Ding Yi reflects on his artistic journey, which began in 1988 at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, and his shift from strict geometric grids to more intuitive, cosmic-inspired compositions.

Hotel Room Transforms into Media Art Exhibition Space

South Korea's only media art fair, Loop Plus, was held from April 23 to 26 at the Grand Josun Busan Hotel in Haeundae, Busan. The fair transformed 26 hotel rooms on the 13th floor into exhibition spaces, featuring media artworks from 19 international galleries including Tang Contemporary Art, Esther Schipper, Chiwen Gallery, and Baek Art. Highlights included a 38-minute video installation by Russian artist group AES+F titled *‘Inverso Mundus’*, presented by Tang Contemporary Art, which humorously subverts societal absurdities. The event also included artist booths for Kang Lee-yeon and Lucia Levolino, and institutional booths for the Justice Foundation and Gwangju Media Art Platform. A related festival, Loop Lab Busan 2026, runs until June 28 across multiple venues in Busan.

Ruth Pastine | Violet (Yellow), Color Space Series (2021) | For Sale

Ruth Pastine's painting "Violet (Yellow), Color Space Series" (2021) is being offered for sale through Louis Stern Fine Arts in West Hollywood, listed on Artsy. The work is an oil on canvas on beveled stretcher, measuring 30 × 60 inches, and is part of her Color Space Series. Pastine, an American artist born in 1964, holds a B.F.A. from The Cooper Union and an M.F.A. from Hunter College, and has exhibited widely, including a museum survey at MOAH Museum of Art and History and a show at CAM Carnegie Art Museum. Her work is held in major collections such as SFMOMA, MCASD, and the Achenbach Foundation.

'HEAD STRETCH' at Andrew Kreps Gallery, 394 Broadway, New York, United States on 24 Apr–20 Jun 2026

Andrew Kreps Gallery in New York presents 'Head Stretch,' a group exhibition featuring Felipe Barsuglia, Allan Gandhi, Luciana Maas, Flora Rebollo, Gokula Stoffel, and Erika Verzutti. The show is rooted in a shared studio building in São Paulo called 'Predinho,' where friendships and creative exchanges among the artists led to the exhibition. The title reflects diverse interpretations: from craning to see another's work to the stretched proportions of figures in paintings, and the expansion of perspective through community. Works by the six artists, including paintings, sculptures, and drawings, are installed in ways that create new associations, with Verzutti inserting her own pieces to open them to fresh readings.

Bones in the Canal and Other Photographs

David Kordansky Gallery in New York is presenting 'Bones in the Canal and Other Photographs,' a solo exhibition of new work by Norwegian artist Torbjørn Rødland. This marks his first New York gallery show in nearly a decade. The exhibition features two distinct series, including a significant new body of smaller-format 35mm photographs that represent a major shift in his 30-year practice. The show runs from March 12 to April 25, 2026, at the gallery's West 20th Street location.

Anna Park's new show at Lehmann Maupin in London offers a voyeuristic mix of the abstract and the figurative

Artist Anna Park is preparing for her first major solo exhibition at Lehmann Maupin’s London space, titled 'Hot Honey'. The show features her signature large-scale charcoal and ink works that blend traditional figurative techniques with chaotic abstraction. Drawing from a diverse range of influences including vintage comics, pin-up culture, and her upbringing as an outsider in Utah, Park’s new pieces explore the 'male gaze' and female archetypes through a satirical, voyeuristic lens.

A 30-year media artist transforms: “I wanted to awaken tradition through painting”

A 30-year media artist transforms: “I wanted to awaken tradition through painting”

Renowned South Korean media artist Park Chan-kyong has returned to his roots with a solo exhibition of paintings titled "Zen Master Eyeball" at Kukje Gallery. The show features over 20 satirical works that reinterpret Buddhist myths, shamanic traditions, and folk beliefs through a lens of "Zen Buddhist Grotesque Science Fiction." By utilizing traditional temple wall painting techniques and architectural layouts, Park explores themes of enlightenment, self-punishment, and the futility of contemporary visual consumption.

‘I don’t take advice on collecting. If I don’t like, I don’t buy’: Tariq Al Jaidah on his approach to acquiring art

Qatari patron and dealer Tariq Al Jaidah is a pivotal figure in building a grassroots commercial art market in Qatar. He opened the country's first commercial gallery, Waqif Art Centre, in 2007, later established the non-profit Katara Art Centre, and most recently founded the commercial gallery Wusum in 2023 to showcase emerging Qatari artists and cultivate young local collectors. He advocates for more private museums, foundations, and corporate collecting to create a self-sustaining ecosystem beyond the state-run institutions.

‘I think of immersion as a state of perception’: Lawrence Lek on his exhibition at the Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach

London-based multimedia artist Lawrence Lek presents his latest work, NOX Pavilion, at the Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach during Miami Art Week. The installation is part of his ongoing fictional universe NOX ("nonhuman excellence"), which imagines a rehabilitation program for rogue self-driving cars. This year alone, Lek has staged NOX-related works at Tate Modern, the Hammer Museum, and Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art, demonstrating his growing international presence. In an interview, Lek discusses how his practice spans architecture, video, gaming, and music, treating immersion as a critical state of perception rather than mere spectacle.

Amazonia Açu

Americas Society in New York will present 'Amazonia Açu,' an exhibition opening September 3, 2025, that offers a kaleidoscopic view of Amazonian aesthetic, cultural, and material diversity. Curated by Keyna Eleison and a committee of representatives from all nine Amazonian states—Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela—the show features over 50 works by 34 local artists and collectives, addressing themes such as artistic production, land rights, cultural heritage, and spirituality.

Zero Art Fair Isn’t Selling Art—It’s Giving It Away, With Just a Few Caveats

Zero Art Fair, debuting its second edition at the FLAG Art Foundation in New York City from July 10 to 12, offers a radical alternative to traditional art fairs: attendees can take home selected artworks for free. The fair uses a "store-to-own" contract developed by artist William Powhida, NYU professor Amy Whitaker, and artist-attorney Alfred Steiner. Participants commit to a five-year vesting period before ownership transfers, during which artists retain rights to sell or borrow the work. After transfer, artists receive 50 percent of any sale price and a 10 percent royalty on subsequent resales. The fair was conceived by Powhida and artist Jennifer Dalton, rooted in their experiences with unsold work and structural gaps in the art market.

NEXT in the Gallery: July art is a ‘time capsule of medieval Pittsburgh’

NEXTpittsburgh's July gallery guide highlights a range of new exhibitions and events across Pittsburgh. Featured shows include Nathan Van Patter's 'Medieval Pittsburgh' at Irma Freeman Center for Imagination, which reimagines the city's modern figures and landmarks in a medieval fantasy style; 'Five on Five' at Spinning Plate Gallery presenting new works by five local painters; Ben Schonberger's 'Hi-NRG' at 707 Penn Gallery, drawing from gay underground visual culture and disco music; and Ashley Andrykovitch's 'LAN Party' at UnSmoke Systems Artspace, inspired by 1990s local area network gaming gatherings.

NEXT in the Gallery: June art brings John Lennon, the Fiberart International and a moral compass

NEXTpittsburgh's June gallery guide highlights a packed month of art events across Pittsburgh, including the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival (June 5-8) with 191 artists, a Juried Visual Arts Exhibition at SPACE Gallery, and a rare photography exhibit by May Pang documenting John Lennon's "lost weekend" at Atithi Studios. Other openings include ceramicist Philip Soucy's solo show, painter Caroline Heckman's portraits at Revel, Stephanie Gonzalez's cosmic "Nebulas" at BoxHeart Gallery, the Fiberart International 2025 triennial at Contemporary Craft and Brew House Arts, and Natalie Westbrook's "Corners of My Mind" at ZYNKA Gallery.

Renoir, Matisse, and the Temptation of Spectacle

Renoir, Matisse, et la tentation du spectacle

The article criticizes two major Parisian exhibitions scheduled for 2026: "Renoir et l'amour. La modernité heureuse (1865-1885)" and "Renoir dessinateur" at the Musée d'Orsay, and "Matisse 1941-1954" at the Galeries nationales du Grand Palais. The author argues that these shows prioritize spectacle and audience appeal over scholarly rigor, using flashy titles and famous names to attract crowds like movie releases.

No, the courts have not cleared the way for contemporary stained-glass windows at Notre-Dame

Non, la justice n'a pas laissé la voie libre aux vitraux contemporains de Notre-Dame

The article clarifies that legal challenges against installing contemporary stained-glass windows in Notre-Dame Cathedral are still ongoing, contrary to misleading headlines. Two judicial procedures remain active: an appeal by the heritage association Sites & Monuments after losing a first-instance ruling on procedural grounds, and a separate case contesting the legitimacy of the works themselves. Although an emergency injunction was denied because the judge found no urgency, the core legal arguments—that replacing Viollet-le-Duc's windows is not conservation or restoration—remain strong. The author warns that if the windows are installed before the appeals are resolved, they may later have to be removed at great expense.

The Burlington Magazine - n°1478 vol CLXVIII - May 2026

The May 2026 issue of The Burlington Magazine (n°1478, vol. CLXVIII) presents a rich array of scholarly articles, exhibition reviews, and book reviews covering European art from the medieval period to the 20th century. Highlights include Laure Boyer's study of two photographs of Victorine Meurent linked to Manet's 'Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe' and 'Olympia', Axel Moulinier's analysis of Watteau's copies after old masters, and Richard Thomson's essay on a century of Monet in print. Exhibition reviews cover shows on Monet's Étretat coast, Orazio Gentileschi, Cornelius Jonson van Ceulen, Gainsborough, Seurat, Italian Symbolism, and Iliazd. Book reviews range from medieval art and Pietro Bellotti to Helene Schjerfbeck, Roberto Matta, and contemporary jewelry at the Dallas Museum of Art.

Un grand dessin de Beckmann pour Stuttgart

The Staatsgalerie Stuttgart has acquired a monumental drawing by Max Beckmann titled *Resurrection*, measuring nearly five meters long and three and a half meters high. Executed between 1916 and 1918, it is the largest painting by the artist and a key work in his oeuvre, created after his traumatic experience as a volunteer medical orderly in World War I. Beckmann described the piece as expressing 'the terrifying cry of pain of deceived poor humanity,' marking a shift toward a new formal vocabulary influenced by the war.

Artibus et Historiae - An Art Anthology - No. 92, 2025

Artibus et Historiae - An art anthologie - n°92, 2025

The latest issue of the academic journal 'Artibus et Historiae' has been published, featuring a collection of scholarly articles focused on European art from the Renaissance to the early 19th century. The volume includes research on topics such as the translation of classical imagery in colonial Peru, investigations into women artists in Bologna, new attributions and provenance studies for works by artists like Ludovico Carracci and Caravaggio, and analyses of drawings and artistic education.