The Great Lone Wolf of Art

Der große Einzelgänger der Kunst

Georg Baselitz, the German painter known for his radical, figurative works and iconic upside-down motifs, has died at age 88. Born Hans-Georg Kern in 1938 in Deutschbaselitz, Saxony, he fled East Germany for West Berlin in 1957 after being expelled from art school for "socio-political immaturity." Baselitz rose to international fame with his expressive, fractured depictions of the human figure, famously inverting his compositions starting with "Der Wald auf dem Kopf" (1969). He also worked as a stage and costume designer for operas by Harrison Birtwistle, György Ligeti, and Richard Wagner.

Jordan Wolfson’s Newest Provocation Is a Creepy Prada Ad Campaign

Artist Jordan Wolfson has directed a new advertising campaign for Prada's Spring/Summer 2026 collection. The campaign, titled "I, I, I, I AM… PRADA," features unsettling, computer-generated birds and a bird-man hybrid alongside models including actors Carey Mulligan, Nicholas Hoult, Damson Idris, and Hunter Schafer, continuing Wolfson's signature style of disturbing digital avatars.

Artists Gala Porras-Kim, Jeremy Frey and Tuan Andrew Nguyen among winners of 2025 MacArthur ‘genius grants'

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced its 2025 cohort of MacArthur Fellows, awarding 27 recipients—including visual artists Gala Porras-Kim, Jeremy Frey, Matt Black, Garrett Bradley, Tonika Lewis Johnson, and Tuan Andrew Nguyen—with $800,000 each over five years. The artists span conceptual institutional critique, Indigenous basketry, documentary photography, film, and social practice, with several currently holding major solo exhibitions or biennial features.

Fair Week in NYC!

New York City is hosting a packed week of art fairs in May 2025, including Frieze at The Shed, Independent Art Fair at Pier 36, TEFAF New York at the Park Avenue Armory, and NADA New York at the Starrett-Lehigh Building. The fairs feature hundreds of international galleries, with Frieze emphasizing Central and South American exhibitors, Independent exploring a dystopian theme, TEFAF offering antiquities and fine art, and NADA celebrating its 12th edition with 121 galleries. The article also notes recent major exhibitions at the New Museum, Whitney Biennial, MoMA PS1, The Met, and MoMA, and includes a guide to Upstate New York art destinations.

Venice Biennale Strike Makes History

On May 8, thousands marched through Venice and more than two dozen national pavilions were partially or fully shuttered during a 24-hour strike organized by the Art Not Genocide Alliance and local activist groups. The strike, which included Palestinian flags draped over artworks, marks the first cultural strike in the Venice Biennale's 131-year history. Italian police beat back protesters as Editor-in-Chief Hakim Bishara reported from the scene. Separately, a nesting seagull near the Polish pavilion became an unexpected star, and the LA Art Book Fair opened with a focus on archival materials.

Un’isoletta tutta dedicata all’arte nel mezzo della Laguna di Venezia. Va avanti il progetto della Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo sull’Isola di San Giacomo

The Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo has opened a new art space on the island of San Giacomo in the northern Venetian lagoon, acquired in 2018 by Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo and Agostino Re Rebaudengo. The island, previously abandoned, has been transformed into a laboratory for art and sustainability, with a gradual opening plan that initially aligns with the Venice Biennale. The inaugural program launched on May 7, 2026, includes a solo exhibition by Matt Copson curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, a group show titled 'Don’t have hope, be hope!', and a photographic documentation of the restoration process by Giovanna Silva and Antonio Fortugno.

Behind every great artist... there is a great gallery. A look at the 2026 Venice Biennale

Dietro ogni grande artista… c’è una grande galleria. Un punto sulla Biennale Arte 2026

The 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys" (May 9 – November 22, 2026), features over 90% living artists, a significant shift from recent editions focused on historical rediscoveries. Curated by the late Koyo Kouoh (1967–2025), the first African woman to lead the Biennale, the exhibition includes 111 artists, with a majority of women (64 vs. 48 men) and the highest percentage of African-born artists ever (20%). Notable participants include Nick Cave, Carsten Höller, Alfredo Jaar, and Kader Attia, with a focus on mid-career and established figures rather than emerging or deceased artists.

National Museum of Women in the Arts Director Susan Fisher Sterling to Retire

Susan Fisher Sterling, director of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, D.C., will retire at the end of 2024 after 18 years in the role and nearly four decades at the institution. Sterling joined NMWA as an associate curator in 1988, rose through the ranks to become director in 2008, and oversaw a $67.5 million renovation completed in 2023, expansion of the collection to over 6,000 works, and partnerships with the Louvre, the State Hermitage Museum, and Tate Modern. The board of trustees has begun a search for her successor with executive search firm Howe-Lewis International.

Teresinha Soares, Brazilian Artist Behind Erotic-Inflected Works That Slyly Defied Taboos, Dies at 99

Teresinha Soares, a pioneering Brazilian artist known for her bold, erotic-inflected paintings and installations that challenged societal taboos and gender conventions, died on March 31 in Belo Horizonte at age 99. Her career, though concentrated between 1965 and 1976, was defined by works featuring pared-down, full-figured female silhouettes in vibrant colors that directly addressed women's sexuality and oppression.

Pedro Friedeberg, key figure in Mexican art renowned for hand-shaped chair, has died at age 90

Pedro Friedeberg, the Mexico-based artist and designer famed for his iconic Mano Silla (Hand Chair) created in 1962, has died at age 90. A key figure in 20th-century Mexican art, his singular work blended intricate, fantastical architecture with ornament and irony, creating a unique visual universe that defied easy categorization within movements like Surrealism or geometric abstraction.

exhibition canceled by trump dei ban opens 1234755467

An exhibition titled "Before the Americas," originally scheduled to open at the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, D.C., was canceled after the Trump administration deemed it a DEI program and cut its funding. The show, which surveys work by Afro-Latino, Caribbean, and African American artists from the Greater Washington area, has now opened at Gillespie Gallery at George Mason University School of Art in Fairfax, Virginia, thanks to about 50 to 60 private donors who stepped in to fund it. Curated by Cheryl Edwards, the exhibition features 39 artists from 17 countries, including Amy Sherald, Renee Stout, Alma Thomas, Elizabeth Catlett, and Alonzo Davis, and runs through November 15 before traveling to the University of Maryland Global Campus.

2025 art basel miami beach exhibitor list 2669965

With more than 3,000 participating institutions, the European Night of Museums returns this Saturday, May 23

Avec plus de 3 000 institutions participantes, la Nuit européenne des musées revient ce samedi 23 mai

The 22nd edition of the European Night of Museums returns on Saturday, May 23, with over 3,000 institutions across France and Europe opening their doors free of charge from late afternoon. Many museums are offering special activities such as concerts, performances, games, guided tours, and walks. The youth program "La classe, l'œuvre!" will again involve primary, middle, and high school students acting as mediators for artworks they studied throughout the year. Highlights include exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou-Metz dedicated to François Morellet and Louise Nevelson, a concert at Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle's Cyclop in Milly-la-Forêt, a dance performance by Korean artist Eun-Me Ahn at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, and exhibitions at museums in Tours, Vernon, Rouen, and Sète, as well as a Brazilian ball at the Château des ducs de Bretagne in Nantes.

At the Tate Modern, the Moving Renaissance of Tracey Emin

À la Tate Modern, la bouleversante renaissance de Tracey Emin

Tracey Emin has returned to the Tate Modern for a major retrospective titled "A Second Life," marking a poignant milestone in her career. The exhibition features over a hundred works, including the iconic and once-scandalous "My Bed," which first catapulted her to international fame during the 1999 Turner Prize. This survey explores her evolution from the "enfant terrible" of the Young British Artists to a Dame of the British Empire, showcasing her multidisciplinary practice across painting, sculpture, and installation.

Look Inside the Art-Filled Home of New York City's Cultural Crusaders

This profile explores the Upper West Side residence of Crystal McCrary McGuire and Raymond J. McGuire, a power couple deeply embedded in New York City’s cultural and financial sectors. Their home serves as a private gallery for a significant collection of African American art, featuring masterworks by Norman Lewis, Henry Ossawa Tanner, Elizabeth Catlett, and Romare Bearden. The couple’s shared passion for collecting began independently, sparked by their formative years studying in France, and has since evolved into a joint mission to preserve and live alongside Black artistic heritage.

los angeles institutions green protocol 1234776795

A coalition of Los Angeles’s leading art institutions, including the Getty, LACMA, MOCA, and the Hammer Museum, has officially pledged to adopt the Bizot Green Protocol. This collective commitment, which also includes the gallery Hauser & Wirth, establishes climate-minded guidelines for museum operations such as widening temperature and humidity parameters for galleries and reducing air travel for loans. The move was largely catalyzed by the devastating impact of recent wildfires on the region's cultural infrastructure.

palais de tokyo removes martinique flag cameron rowland 1234758546

The Palais de Tokyo in Paris removed Cameron Rowland's artwork "Replacement" (2025) just one day after it went on view in the exhibition "ECHO DELAY REVERB." The piece replaced the French flag above the museum with the flag of Martinique, adopted in 2023, and included a wall text criticizing French colonial rule and quoting the Martinican independence movement. The museum appended a new label stating the work "could be considered illegal" and was no longer included. Neither the Palais de Tokyo nor Rowland's representative commented.

Rothko from Robert Mnuchin collection fetches US$85.8m, becoming artist’s second-priciest work at auction

A red-and-black Mark Rothko painting, *Brown and Blacks in Reds* (1957), sold for US$85.8 million at Sotheby’s New York on May 14, becoming the artist’s second-most expensive work at auction. The canvas came from the collection of Robert Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner turned gallerist, and was the star lot of a dedicated 11-lot evening sale that totaled US$166.3 million. The winning bid was placed by Sotheby’s chairman Helena Newman on behalf of a telephone client, with the hammer falling at US$74 million against an estimate of US$70–100 million. The painting was originally owned by Joseph E. Seagram & Sons and hung in the lobby of the Seagram Building, a landmark of corporate modernism designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson.

DOZIE KANU’S FIRST FORAY INTO MASS-PRODUCTION

Artist Dozie Kanu has debuted his first mass-production collaboration with Knoll, a line of leather-tasseled tables launched in 2026 during Milan's Salone del Mobile, shortly after the opening of his solo exhibition at Fondazione ICA Milano. The Texas-born, Portugal-based artist, who first appeared in PIN–UP magazine in 2018 as an emerging design wunderkind, has since expanded his practice beyond collectible design into art, exhibition-making, film, and music. His recent projects include a documentary short screened at South by Southwest, a two-person exhibition with László Moholy-Nagy at Meyer Voggenreiter's project space piece*unique in Cologne, and a solo show at ICA Milano that dialogues with Marc Camille Chaimowicz and Jean Cocteau, featuring works alongside selections from the Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation collection.

At MAXXI L'Aquila, exhibition dedicated to Ai Weiwei recounts catastrophes and memory

From April 29 to September 6, 2026, MAXXI L'Aquila presents "AI WEIWEI: Aftershock," an exhibition curated by Tim Marlow featuring approximately seventy works by Chinese artist, architect, and activist Ai Weiwei. The show spans his entire career, focusing on themes of earthquakes, wars, political repression, and memory. The centerpiece is the installation "Straight" (2009–2012), made from 150 tons of steel rods recovered from schools that collapsed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, displayed across three rooms. The exhibition is held at Palazzo Ardinghelli, a Baroque building that houses MAXXI L'Aquila and was itself restored after the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake, creating a dialogue between the works and the building's history of recovery.

5 Artists on Our Radar in December 2025

Artsy's December 2025 edition of "Artists on Our Radar" highlights five emerging visual artists who have gained attention through new gallery representation, exhibitions, auctions, or art fairs. Featured artists include British painter Imogen Allen, known for gauzy, nature-inspired works with a Gerhard Richter-like blur effect; Brazilian painter Elian Almeida, who reimagines marginalized figures in Brazilian visual culture through vibrant, narrative paintings; and nomadic American artist ektor garcia, who works with unconventional materials like wire, clay, and leather. The article details their recent exhibitions, gallery affiliations, and career milestones.

London Art Exhibitions Not To Miss Opening Autumn 2025

London's major museums and galleries are preparing a packed autumn 2025 season with blockbuster exhibitions. Highlights include 'Radical Harmony: Helene Kröller-Müller’s Neo-Impressionists' at the National Gallery, 'Theatre Picasso' at Tate Modern, a Kerry James Marshall retrospective at the Royal Academy of Arts, Peter Doig at the Serpentine, Gilbert & George at the Hayward, and 'Encounters: Giacometti x Mona Hatoum' at the Barbican. The Barbican show pairs historic works by Alberto Giacometti with new and existing pieces by Mona Hatoum, including several UK debuts and site-specific large-scale sculptures.

Space, stadiums, poses and prizes: the best art and architecture of autumn 2025

This article is a seasonal preview of the best art and architecture exhibitions opening in autumn 2025, primarily in London and other UK venues. It highlights major shows including Mona Hatoum's dialogue with Giacometti at the Barbican, a Picasso exhibition at Tate Modern, Kerry James Marshall's first major European retrospective at the Royal Academy, and the Turner Prize 2025 at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Bradford. Other featured exhibitions cover Hilary Lloyd's work on Dennis Potter, Marie Antoinette's image through art and fashion at the V&A, Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme's new commission at Nottingham Contemporary, and a Lee Miller retrospective at Tate Britain.

7 Art Exhibitions Worth Planning A Trip Around This Fall

Sophia Penske, founder of Penske Projects and an art advisor at Gagosian Art Advisory, highlights seven European art exhibitions worth traveling for this fall. Key shows include "Picasso and Klee in the Heinz Berggruen Collection" at Madrid's Thyssen-Bornemisza Museo Nacional (October 28, 2025 to February 1, 2026), "Warhol, Pollock and other American spaces" also in Madrid (October 21, 2025 to January 25, 2026), and "Exposition Générale" at Paris's Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain (opening October 25). The article also recommends the Rosewood Villa Magna hotel and cultural stops in Madrid, and mentions Yayoi Kusama in Basel and Leonora Carrington in Milan as other seasonal draws.

The School That Became a Refuge for Artists From Georgia O’Keeffe to Tony Smith

The Art Students League of New York, founded in 1875, is celebrating its 150th anniversary with an exhibition titled "Shaping American Art: A Celebration of the Art Students League of New York at 150." The show features 87 works by famous alumni and instructors, including Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeois, Norman Rockwell, Tony Smith, and Robert Rauschenberg, drawn from the school's collection and supplemented by loans. Curated by Esther V. Moerdler and Ksenia Nouril, the exhibition spans the school's main gallery, lobby, registration office, and café, highlighting the League's unique open-enrollment, non-degree atelier model that has instructed some 200,000 students since its founding.

Art galleries in Sydney: Here are 20 that should be on your radar

This article lists 20 art galleries in Sydney that are recommended for art enthusiasts. It highlights major institutions like the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Museum of Contemporary Art, as well as smaller spaces such as China Heights, STATION, Cement Fondu, Abstract Thoughts, Campbelltown Arts Centre, and Jerico Contemporary. Each gallery is described with its unique focus, from modern and Aboriginal art to performance and emerging artists.

55 years. Berggruen Gallery

Berggruen Gallery in San Francisco announces its 55th Anniversary Exhibition, a group show running from June 26 to August 14, 2025. The exhibition features paintings, works on paper, sculpture, film, and archival ephemera from the SFMOMA Library and SFAI archive, showcasing museum-quality works by contemporary and historical artists. Many pieces are on loan from private collections and rarely exhibited publicly. The gallery, founded by John Berggruen in 1970 on Grant Avenue, quickly became a nationally recognized force in shaping the West Coast art scene, bridging New York and international artists with local collectors.

Here Are This Spring’s 11 Must-See Museum Exhibitions in New York

This article highlights 11 must-see museum exhibitions in New York for spring 2025, including shows at Amant, the American Folk Art Museum, the Guggenheim, the Hill Art Foundation, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and MoMA PS1. Featured artists include Madalena Santos Reinbolt, Rashid Johnson, Sam Moyer, Jennie C. Jones, and Andro Eradze, with works spanning textiles, sculpture, sound installations, and mixed media.

art elizabeth peyton david zwirner interview

Elizabeth Peyton's New York solo debut with David Zwirner, titled "Elizabeth Peyton: mountains in my heart (the death of Sarpedon)," opened at the gallery's West 19th Street space. The exhibition features Peyton's small-scale figurative paintings, including a new work inspired by the death of Sarpedon from the Iliad, rendered after a 19th-century painting by Henri-Léopold Lévy. Peyton, who has been an artist-in-residence at the Louvre since 2023, continues her practice of drawing from pop culture, historical figures, and personal acquaintances, with subjects ranging from musician Cameron Winter to philosopher Simone Weil.

fashion dries van noten foundation venice

Fashion designer Dries Van Noten is opening the Fondazione Dries Van Noten in Venice's 15th-century Palazzo Pisani Moretta, which he and his partner Patrick Vangheluwe acquired last year. The foundation's inaugural exhibition, "The Only True Protest Is Beauty," curated with Geert Bruloot, will open on April 25, featuring over 200 works across 20 rooms. Van Noten, who handed over his brand's creative direction to Julian Klausner in 2024, remains involved in the beauty arm and store design while launching this new cultural venture.