art cool summer activities new york museum guide

Cultured's guide to summer art activities in New York highlights five museum exhibitions, each paired with the gallery's air-conditioned temperature setting. Featured shows include Temitayo Ogunbiyi's first institutional solo at the Noguchi Museum, MoMA's "Woven Histories" exploring textile art, Saya Woolfalk's "Empathetic Universe" at the Museum of Arts and Design, Ben Shahn's "On Nonconformity" at the Jewish Museum, and "Vermeer's Love Letters" at the newly renovated Frick Collection.

gucci aspen cocktail anna freedamn anderson ranch

On Tuesday, Gucci, CULTURED magazine, and Anna Freedman hosted a cocktail party at the Gucci Aspen boutique to celebrate the Anderson Ranch Summer Series, curated by CULTURED Editor-in-Chief Sarah Harrelson for the second consecutive year. The event honored artist Kelly Akashi and MoMA PS1 Chief Curator Ruba Katrib, who will lead upcoming conversations in the series. The boutique was transformed into an intimate salon, with guests including collectors, museum curators, and patrons mingling over champagne and hors d'oeuvres, while a violin performance set the tone for the evening.

gabrielle chanel la pausa restoration peter marino

Cultured reports on the meticulous restoration of La Pausa, the Mediterranean villa built by Gabrielle Chanel in 1928, led by architect Peter Marino. After Chanel sold the property in 1953 to American collectors who later donated it to the Dallas Museum of Art, the house of Chanel reacquired it in 2015. Over the following decade, Marino worked with Chanel’s heritage team, including Hélène Fulgence, to restore the villa to its original state using archival images, blueprints, and original furnishings sourced at auction. The villa, perched in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, will now serve as a creative retreat for artists and writers.

heading to basel swiss collector suzanne syz has a priceless list of fair dos and donts

Swiss collector Suzanne Syz, a longtime attendee of Art Basel since its early days as a "mammoth indoor flea market," shares her insights and advice for navigating the fair. In an interview with Cultured, Syz discusses her collection, which includes works by Barbara Kruger, Julian Schnabel, Olivier Mosset, and Peter Fischli, and offers tips such as skipping long lines, focusing on the Statements section for emerging artists, and trusting gut instincts over spreadsheets. She also highlights the distinct Swiss art scene, praising institutions like Kunsthalle Zürich and MAMCO, and schools like HEAD and ECAL.

Uncertainty in the Art Market is Currently Extreme

"Im Moment ist die Verunsicherung auf dem Kunstmarkt extrem"

Prominent Cologne gallerist Gisela Capitain is celebrating her 40th anniversary amid a period of significant market volatility. In recent interviews, she reflects on her career—defined by long-term artist relationships like that with Martin Kippenberger—while critiquing the current state of the art world. She notes that buyers have become increasingly hesitant and deliberate, describing the current level of uncertainty in the art market as extreme and calling for reforms to institutions like Art Cologne.

peruvian artist antonio paucar wins 11th artes mundi award

Peruvian artist Antonio Paucar has won the 11th Artes Mundi Award, receiving £40,000 to support his performance, sculpture, and video practice rooted in Andean culture and his Peruvian heritage. The award ceremony took place on January 15 at Amgueddfa Cymru-National Museum in Cardiff, where a group exhibition of the six shortlisted artists runs through March 1. Paucar plans to use the prize money to convert his family's ancestral adobe home in the central highlands of Peru into a combined museum and art school, addressing the lack of such institutions in the region.

At the Tuileries, the PAD Paris Fair Celebrates Design with Elegance This Weekend

Aux Tuileries, le salon PAD Paris célèbre le design avec élégance ce week-end

The PAD Paris (Pavillon des Arts et du Design) returns to the Jardin des Tuileries, showcasing 75 French and international galleries specializing in vintage and contemporary collectible design. Highlights of the 2025 edition include the debut of Gallery Gaïa & Romeo with mid-century Italian ceramics, a contemporary reimagining of Claude Monet’s studio by Amélie du Chalard, and a strong focus on international female designers at Maria Wettergren. Parallel to the main fair, the third edition of the Sustainable Design Biennale is presenting plastic-free material innovations and eco-friendly furniture solutions.

SFMOMA reimagines our connection to 250 works of art across four floors.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) has unveiled "Reimagined: The Fisher Collection at 10," a major reinstallation of approximately 250 works from 35 artists across four floors. The project was led by project assistant curator Ted Mann and chief education and public engagement officer Gamynne Guillotte, who collaborated to transform how the collection is presented. Changes include rotating galleries, such as the Agnes Martin room, to improve sightlines, and incorporating artists' voices, archival video, and interpretive tools to make abstract works more accessible. The reinstallation marks the tenth anniversary of the Fisher Collection's long-term loan to SFMOMA, originally arranged in 2009 and later extended to 100 years.

Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy closing for summer, but 37 other exhibitions on view at museums in May

The article provides a roundup of museum exhibitions on view in Southwest Florida during May, highlighting five new openings, eight closings, and 25 continuing shows across museums from Sarasota to Naples. Featured exhibitions include Molly Hatch's site-specific ceramic installation "Amalgam" at Sarasota Art Museum, Jillian Mayer's interactive "Slumpies" sculptures, a group show "Something Borrowed, Something New" with works by Louise Bourgeois, Chuck Close, David Hockney, Yoko Ono, Kara Walker, and Ai Weiwei, and Maria A. Guzman Capron's solo textile exhibition "Penumbra." The Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy is noted as closing for the summer.

DC Getaway: Exploring Toronto’s art scene, from galleries to murals

Toronto's visual arts landscape is highlighted as a premier destination for travelers, featuring a mix of massive institutional collections and specialized local galleries. Key attractions include the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), known for its vast natural history and ancient civilization galleries, and the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), which houses over 120,000 works ranging from Renaissance masterpieces to contemporary installations like Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room.

'If I love something, I buy it': Los Angeles-based Rina Mark on the art she collects and why

Los Angeles-based collector Rina Mark discusses her four-decade history of acquiring art, highlighted by her deep connection to the legendary printmaking studio Gemini G.E.L. Mark, a former LACMA docent, reveals a spontaneous approach to collecting, often purchasing works on instinct. Her collection features a strong emphasis on iconic West Coast and Pop artists, including John Baldessari, Roy Lichtenstein, and Ed Ruscha, whose work "Pico and Sepulveda" she recently acquired due to its personal connection to her college years.

ART SG and Singapore Art Week

ART SG, Southeast Asia's leading contemporary art fair, returns to the Sands Expo and Convention Centre at Marina Bay Sands from 23–25 January 2026, with previews on 22 January. The fair features three core sectors—Galleries, Focus, and Futures—and for the first time co-presents S.E.A. Focus, curated by John Z.W. Tung with artistic consultation by Emi Eu, themed 'The Humane Agency'. Highlights include Melati Suryodarmo's performance 'I Love You' (2007) from the UBS Art Collection, presented in the UBS Art Studio, with a re-performance and artist talk. Singapore Art Week runs concurrently from 22–31 January 2026, offering exhibitions, installations, and performances across the city, including a collaboration between Rockbund Art Museum and ART SG at The Warehouse Hotel.

‘An incredible instinct for contemporary art’: Doris Lockhart, the overlooked figure behind the Saatchi collection, has died aged 88

Doris Lockhart, the US-born art collector who played a pivotal role in shaping the Saatchi collection and championing contemporary art in the UK, has died at age 88. Alongside her then-husband Charles Saatchi, she helped introduce postwar American artists like Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and Robert Rauschenberg to British audiences, and was instrumental in recognizing the Young British Artists (YBAs) of the 1990s, including Damien Hirst and Gary Hume. After their divorce in 1990, Lockhart continued collecting independently, backing emerging talents and expanding her interests to architectural models and drawings.

Here's what's at Southwest Florida museums during July

Southwest Florida museums, from Sarasota to Naples, present a robust July lineup: two exhibitions open, one closes, and 24 continue. Highlights include Chris Friday's first solo museum show "Where We Never Grow Old" at Sarasota Art Museum, featuring large-scale chalk drawings and a site-specific installation exploring safe havens. Other notable shows include "Personal to Political: Celebrating the African American Artists of Paulson Fontaine Press," with works by Martin Puryear and Kerry James Marshall; Jillian Mayer's interactive sculpture series "Slumpies"; Lillian Blades' immersive mixed-media maze "Through the Veil"; and Molly Hatch's site-specific ceramic installation "Amalgam" (2023-24). The Ringling Museum also highlights a newly acquired painting by Juana Romani.

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.

Open Letter Published by Activist Group Calling for Venice Biennale to Eject Israel Signed by Nearly 200 Participating Artists and Curators

An activist group called Art Not Genocide Alliance has published an open letter demanding the Venice Biennale eject Israel from this year's exhibition. The letter has been signed by nearly 200 artists, curators, and arts workers participating in the 2026 Biennale, including members of the main exhibition's curatorial team and contributors to several national pavilions. The letter accuses Israel of genocide and apartheid, and references the 2024 Biennale where Israel's pavilion remained closed due to similar protests.

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.

Sotheby’s Posts $433 Million Haul, as Trophy Lots Continue to Carry the Market

Sotheby's May 2025 evening auctions in New York generated $433.1 million, a 132.7% increase over the same sales last spring, despite offering fewer lots. The evening featured an 11-lot sale from the collection of the late banker-turned-dealer Robert Mnuchin, which alone brought in $166.3 million, led by Mark Rothko's "Brown and Blacks in Reds" (1957) selling for $85.8 million. The main contemporary art auction, including "The Now" sale, totaled $266.8 million, with over 80% of lots guaranteed. Four works went unsold and one was withdrawn, yielding a 91% sell-through rate.

Performa Is Bringing a Star-Studded Variety Show to Broadway

Performa, New York's biennial for performance art, is staging a one-night variety show on Broadway at Manhattan's Town Hall on June 10. The inaugural Performa All-Star Variety Show will feature artists including Barbara Kruger, Julio Torres, Marcel Dzama, Laurie Simmons, and Anne Imhoff, hosted by comedian Casey Jost. The 90-minute, 12-act event draws inspiration from 19th-century vaudeville and Futurist cabarets, offering a public spectacle outside the biennial's usual three-week format.

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.

Was Jeffrey Epstein’s Copy of a Modernist Painting Available for Sale on eBay?

An eBay seller listed a giclée print of Kees van Dongen's painting "Femme Fatale" (ca. 1905), claiming it once hung above Jeffrey Epstein's desk in his Upper East Side townhouse. The listing, titled "Documented by Federal Prosecutors," sought $50,000 and reached $25,000 in bidding before eBay removed it for violating its policies. The print had previously sold at Millea Bros. Auctioneers for $275. The New York Post first reported the listing, which referenced federal documentation of Epstein's art collection.

Radiohead Spectacle in Brooklyn Teems with World-Building Paintings, Sculpture, and Film

Radiohead has launched a multimedia installation, exhibition, and screening experience titled "Motion Picture House KID A MNESIA" at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, running through June 28. The immersive event features artwork related to the band's albums Kid A and Amnesiac, including screenprints, a video array with vintage TVs, and a 25-foot-tall sculpture of the band's recurring "Stickman" figure. The centerpiece is a hour-plus film set in a black-and-white woods, accompanied by the band's music, with no dialogue or wall text, allowing visitors to freely explore the darkened space. Tickets are $72, and the experience will travel to Chicago, Mexico City, and San Francisco.

‘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.

lorena levi painter dead

Lorena Levi, a British artist known for her narrative portraits painted on wood, died on January 8 at age 29 after battling pancreatic cancer. Her death was announced via Instagram. Levi gained rapid momentum in the UK art scene over the past few years, staging a show in Milan with M+B gallery, participating in the V.O. Curations program, and being added to Marlborough Gallery's roster shortly before it closed in 2023. Her work is held in the British government's national collection. She was born in Istanbul in 1997, raised in Tel Aviv and the UK, and studied at Art & Guilds in London and Edinburgh College of Art.

serpentine pavilion commission lanza atelier

LANZA atelier, a Mexico City-based architecture studio founded by Isabel Abascal and Alessandro Arienzo, has been commissioned to design the 2025 Serpentine Pavilion in London’s Kensington Gardens. The pavilion, which will be unveiled on June 6, marks the 25th anniversary of the Serpentine Pavilion program. Inspired by the English serpentine or crinkle-crankle wall, the design features a brick wall of alternating curves, a translucent roof resting on brick columns, and a second wall that harmonizes with the tree canopy. This year’s pavilion will be accompanied by a dedicated architecture program at Serpentine South, honoring the legacy of Zaha Hadid, who designed the inaugural pavilion in 2000.

andy warhol foundation arts writers grants 2025

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts has announced its 2025 Arts Writers Grant recipients, awarding a total of $1.04 million to 31 writers. The grants, ranging from $15,000 to $50,000, are distributed across four categories: Articles, Books, Short-Form Writing, and a newly introduced Translation category with a $30,000 purse for translating books on contemporary visual art into English. Recipients include past and current contributors to ARTnews and Art in America, such as Glenn Adamson, Jeremy Lybarger, Zoé Samudzi, and Catherine G. Wagley.

sperone westwater dealers lawsuit gallery closure

Three months before announcing the closure of Sperone Westwater after 50 years, co-founder Gian Enzo Sperone sued his partner Angela Westwater, alleging a "parasitic deadlock" and accusing her of wresting control of a corporation holding a 50 percent stake in the gallery. The lawsuit claims Westwater mishandled funds, withheld records, mismanaged rent payments, and increased her own salary without approval. The gallery, founded in 1975 as Sperone Westwater Fischer, has represented major artists including Bruce Nauman, Francesco Clemente, and Richard Long, and will close this December.

pee wee herman

Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian best known for his character Pee-wee Herman, died at age 70 on June 30, leaving behind a legacy that extends far beyond children's television. The article explores how the design of "Pee-wee's Playhouse" (1986–1990) was a groundbreaking aesthetic achievement, created by a team of downtown New York artists—production designers Gary Panter, Ric Heitzman, and Wayne White—who approached the set as an evolving art installation. Their work blended postmodernism, Memphis Group influences, psychedelia, and thrift-store aesthetics into a joyful, childlike environment that became a cultural touchstone.

hamptons jewelry show 2025

The Hamptons Jewelry Show (HJS) returns July 24–27, 2025, in Southampton, New York, for its eighth edition. The event brings together 80 brands, dealers, and artisans from around the world, offering high-end jewelry including signed pieces from Cartier, Bulgari, Van Cleef & Arpels, and David Webb. Curator Hilary Joy Diaz and founder Rick Friedman emphasize the show's direct-to-customer model, where collectors meet makers and dealers face-to-face, contrasting with traditional retail and art fair models.

mierle laderman ukeles maintenance artist documentary review

A new documentary titled "Maintenance Artist," directed by Toby Perl Freilich, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film chronicles the career of Mierle Laderman Ukeles, who coined the term "Maintenance Art" in a 1969 manifesto to elevate everyday domestic and civic labor into art. It follows her decades-long collaborations with New York City agencies, including her seminal "Touch Sanitation Performance" (1979–80) with the NYC Department of Sanitation, and her ongoing struggle to realize the installation "Landing: Cantilevered Overlook" (2008) at Freshkills Park. The documentary weaves together archival footage, interviews, and analysis of second-wave feminism, conceptual art, and urban bureaucracy.