A recovered ‘balsa’ is the center of an art exhibit in Miami’s Design District

Artists Antonia Wright and Rubén Millares have unveiled a poignant installation titled "Exile" at the Piero Atchugarry gallery in Miami’s Design District. The centerpiece is an authentic 'balsa' (raft) recovered from the shores of Key Biscayne, featuring a 1942 Chevrolet engine and metal barrels marked with the logo of Cuba’s state beekeeping company. The artists preserved the vessel's original state, adding only interior lighting to highlight bullet holes and a soundscape of the roaring sea to immerse viewers in the harrowing experience of Cuban migrants.

Artists take us down the rabbit hole in this group exhibition

The group exhibition 'Down the Rabbit Hole' at The Crypt Gallery features over 30 artists reflecting on the psychological and social impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Presented by the social enterprise Katya’s Space, the show honors the legacy of the late artist Katya Kan, who passed away in 2023. The works explore themes of digital addiction, isolation, and the 'dystopian' shift in reality experienced during global lockdowns, using Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland as a metaphor for this profound transformation.

Meet the First Cohort of Haystack’s Artist Grant Initiative

The Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, supported by the Windgate Foundation, has announced the eight recipients of its inaugural Artist Grant Initiative. Each emerging artist received an unrestricted $10,000 grant and participated in an online mentorship program with artists Vivian Chiu and Cedric Mitchell. The 2025 cohort, selected by jurors Curtis Arima and Annie Evelyn, includes Aminata Conteh, David Gutierrez, Payton Harris-Woodard, Celina Hernandez, Jason McDonald, Alex Paat, David Vuong, and Tzyy Yi (Amy) Young.

An exhibition at a historic villa in Prato brings together the artificial and the natural

In una villa storica a Prato una mostra che fa incontrare artificiale e naturale

Artist Andrea Marini presents "Anomale Intrusioni" (Anomalous Intrusions) at the historic Villa Rospigliosi in Prato, an exhibition organized by Associazione Chorasis. Curated by Riccardo Farinelli, the show features sculptural interventions that blend conceptual minimalism with the villa's centuries-old architecture and natural landscape. Marini’s works function as "programmed interferences," creating a dialogue between the organic and the artificial through metallic structures and zoomorphic forms that react to the surrounding environment and climate.

"My Art Invites People to Rebel Against the Status Quo"

"Meine Kunst lädt ein, gegen die Zustände zu rebellieren"

The iconic, communist Kangaroo from Marc-Uwe Kling’s popular literary series has transitioned into the world of contemporary art. After accidentally wandering into a gallery opening while under the influence of liquor-filled chocolates, the marsupial decides to launch a career as an artist, viewing the white cube as a new frontier for its anti-capitalist rebellion.

NEVERCREW Explores Our Tenuous Relationship with Nature in Huge Murals

The artist duo NEVERCREW, composed of Christian Rebecchi and Pablo Togni, has unveiled a series of large-scale murals across Europe that confront the deteriorating relationship between humanity and the natural world. Their recent works, including the mural "Souvenir" in Vienna and "Switch" in Wuppertal, utilize surrealist imagery—such as polar bears merged with plastic toy components or whales encased in architectural structures—to illustrate how nature is increasingly viewed as an artificial, distant object rather than an integrated system.

Ivan Cheng “Casemates” at Mudam, Luxembourg

Mudam Luxembourg—Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean will present "A Journey," a performance program running throughout 2026. The series features artist Ivan Cheng with his work "Casemates," which explores cultural memory, technological progress, and embodied interpretation through the concept of a journey as both method and metaphor.

NAFRICA–MASCHERE: The Mask Strikes Back

Curator Simon Njami discusses his exhibition 'NAFRICA–MASCHERE' at the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, which juxtaposes the fascist anthropological archives of Lidio Cipriani with contemporary artworks. The show utilizes the metaphor of the mask to explore the tension between how individuals are perceived and how they project themselves, specifically addressing the persistence of colonial logic in the modern world. By including artists from Africa, America, and Italy, Njami seeks to move beyond a binary 'colonizer vs. colonized' narrative toward a broader inquiry into human representation and power.

Resonances from the Abyss: Uruguayan Artists

Resonancias Desde El Abismo Artistas Uruguayos

The exhibition 'Resonancias desde el abismo. Prácticas artísticas entre presiones y frecuencias extrañas' (Resonances from the Abyss. Artistic Practices Between Pressures and Strange Frequencies), curated by Fabiana Puentes, opened at the Centro Cultural de España in Montevideo. It features works by eight Uruguayan artists—including Guadalupe Ayala, Karina Flores, and Sofía Córdoba—working across sculpture, video, sound, and installation. The show uses the extreme, dark, and high-pressure ecosystem of the ocean abyss as a conceptual framework to explore artistic practices that resist immediate interpretation and conventional systems of reference.

An Artist Embraces the Metaphorical Cracks of Matzah

Artist Emily Drew Miller has created a series of collograph prints titled "Matzot" by running sheets of matzah through a printing press. The resulting black-and-white impressions capture the intricate textures and cracks of the unleavened bread, transforming the traditional Passover food into a medium for her grid-based painting practice. The series began as a personal ritual around the holiday and has evolved into a decade-long exploration.

Emerging Sabah artist debuts solo show at Wei-Ling Gallery

Wei-Ling Gallery in Kuala Lumpur presents 'Trilogy: The Lightseeker', the debut solo exhibition of 25-year-old Sabah-born multidisciplinary artist Iwadh Mahadi. The show, running from Tuesday to November 1 at Wei-Ling Contemporary, is the latest output of the gallery's WLG Incubator programme, launched in 2020 to support emerging Malaysian artists through mentorship and dialogue. Iwadh, who works in bamboo mosaics, frottage, and printmaking under a self-described 'conceptual naturalism', developed the exhibition over seven months under the guidance of established artist Choy Chun Wei, with additional mentorship from British artist Adam Chodzko and gallery director Lim Wei-Ling.

Art Beat Review: Artists explore flight, community and materials in Lynnwood art exhibition

The Lynnwood Event Center recently hosted a "Meet the Artists" reception for its juried exhibition, "Flight Patterns: The Art & Motion of Winged Life." Curated by Mary Adams and Julie Carlos, the show features over 45 works by 27 regional artists from the Pacific Northwest, ranging from traditional paintings and photography to innovative metal etchings and fiber arts. Highlights include Graham Schodda’s holographic bird imagery ground into stainless steel and Alexandra Nason’s participatory installation, "The True Butterfly Effect," which invited guests to decorate aluminum butterflies to contribute to a growing communal wall piece.

Gold by Serakai Studio’s ‘Certainly’ exhibition leans into unpredictability

Gold by Serakai Studio has launched its inaugural exhibition, "Certainly," in Hong Kong’s Wong Chuk Hang district. Curated by Tobias Berger, the former head of art at Tai Kwun, the show features 50 works by 11 diverse artists that explore themes of unpredictability and experimentation. The exhibition takes its conceptual cue from La Monte Young’s 1960 Fluxus score, "Draw a straight line and follow it," using the impossibility of that task as a metaphor for navigating global instability.

Exhibit at Lord Baltimore Hotel by local artist Mark Anthony West Jr. evokes starry skies

Baltimore-born artist Mark Anthony West Jr. is debuting a new body of work titled "Seven Stars Between Two Skies" at the Lord Baltimore Hotel. Created during a residency in Rio de Janeiro, the exhibition features portraits of American and Brazilian creatives depicted as sovereign forces, utilizing signature elements like terra cotta noses, metallic leaf, and symbolic ribbons to explore Afro-diasporic themes and spiritual lineage.

New London exhibition uses architecture to explore the experiences of Iran’s American diaspora

Arash Nassiri's first institutional solo exhibition, 'A Bug's Life,' has opened at London's Chisenhale Gallery. The show features a moving-image commission set within a sculptural installation, following an insect puppet protagonist through a cavernous mansion in Los Angeles. The mansion is a 'Persian Palace'—a hybrid of Iranian and French Empire architectural styles that emerged in 1960s-70s Iran and was recreated by wealthy Iranian exiles in Los Angeles after the 1979 revolution. Nassiri, who is Tehran-born and Berlin-based, uses the film to explore themes of disorientation, displacement, and the ambiguous dual belonging of Iran's American diaspora.

Court Decision Ends Dispute Over Who Actually Bought Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days for $69.3 M.

A federal judge in New York has approved a final settlement in a lawsuit between the two pseudonymous figures behind the record-breaking $69.3 million purchase of Beeple's NFT "Everydays: The First 5000 Days." The agreement legally prohibits Anand Venkateswaran (Twobadour) from claiming any involvement in the 2021 Christie's purchase, confirming that Vignesh Sundaresan (Metakovan) was the sole buyer. Venkateswaran must also pay an undisclosed sum, dissociate from related online profiles, and correct third-party biographical information.

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A small copper-alloy object, excavated nearly a century ago from a predynastic cemetery at Badari in Upper Egypt, has been re-identified as the world's oldest known Egyptian bow drill. Dating to the late 4th millennium BCE, the tool pushes back the earliest evidence for this technology in Egypt by about 2,000 years, revealing that Egyptian craftspeople mastered efficient rotary drilling much earlier than previously thought.

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UBS's eleventh Billionaire Ambitions Report reveals that global billionaire wealth hit a record $15.8 trillion in 2025, with the number of billionaires rising 8.8% to nearly 3,000. The report, based on a survey of 87 ultra-wealthy clients, found that 27% plan to increase their investment in art and antiques, while 65% intend to maintain current levels—totaling 92% of respondents. Enthusiasm is strongest in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (35% planning increases), followed by Asia-Pacific (25%), and weakest in the Americas (15%).

1000 artifacts stolen oakland museum of california 1234759457

More than 1,000 artifacts were stolen from the Oakland Museum of California's off-site storage facility on October 15, 2023. The thieves broke in around 3:30 a.m., stealing jewelry, precious metals, pearls, Native American baskets and tools, antique daguerreotypes, political pins, laptops, and cameras. No security staff were on duty, and the entry was not through a door. The Oakland Police Department and the FBI's Art Crime Team are investigating, and no arrests have been made. The museum delayed announcing the theft to protect the investigation.

oakland museum of california talks stolen artifacts 1234759735

A thief or group of thieves broke into the Oakland Museum of California's off-site storage facility on October 15, stealing more than 1,000 objects including six Native American baskets, 19th-century scrimshaw, daguerreotypes, modernist metalwork jewelry, and historic memorabilia. The museum initially withheld details to aid the Oakland Police Department and FBI Art Crime Team investigation, but later released a statement calling it a crime of opportunity rather than a targeted theft.

Oman announces artist, concept for Venice Biennale

Haitham Al-Busafi will represent Oman at the 61st Venice Biennale, serving as both artist and curator. His installation, titled "Zinah," transforms the tradition of Omani silver horse adornment (Al-zaanah) into an immersive environment of sand, suspended metal, and collectively generated sound. Located in the Arsenale Artiglierie and commissioned by Oman's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, the work was developed through a community workshop in Muscat where participants inscribed marks into silver forms. The exhibition runs from May 9 to November 22, 2025.

Gallery: New women's artist collective opens joint show in Tallinn

The newly formed Estonian women’s contemporary art collective, Phoenix, has launched its latest group exhibition titled "Quintessence" at the Vabaduse Gallery in Tallinn. Curated and designed by Eveli Varik, the show features works from 17 members of the collective, including Marina Aleksejeva, Lylian Meister, and Tiiu Rebane. The exhibition explores the Aristotelian concept of the "fifth essence," or ether, serving as a metaphor for the distilled core of creative power and the spiritual immersion required for artistic rebirth.

Exhibition explores connection between textiles and spirituality in Asia

The Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile (Chat) in Hong Kong has launched "Threading Inwards," an exhibition featuring 14 artists from across Asia who utilize fabric as a medium for spiritual exploration. Co-curated by Wang Weiwei alongside three regional curators, the show features diverse works ranging from Sang A. Han’s ink-stained cotton gates to Aziza Kadyri’s AI-integrated Uzbek folk dance installations. The exhibition emphasizes textiles not merely as material, but as portals to ancestral cosmology and sacred vessels linking the physical and metaphysical worlds.

Art Talk Sunday Featuring Exhibition ’10th Street Studio’

The Humboldt Arts Council presents an Art Talk Sunday event at the Morris Graves Museum of Art on January 4th, featuring the four artists from the exhibition '10th Street Studio': Carol Andersen, Laura Corsiglia, Peggy Rivers, and Van Shields. The exhibition showcases works by these like-minded artists who recently began sharing a studio space dedicated to creativity and mutual support. Andersen, Corsiglia, and Rivers have over 110 years of combined art-making experience, with works in significant public and private collections, while Shields joins as an emerging artist. The talk will include discussions on their practices, with Andersen focusing on wildlife as metaphor, Corsiglia drawing from nature and her time in Paris, Rivers exploring color theory through series, and Shields reflecting on his post-retirement artistic awakening.

Nordic Echoes: Tradition in Contemporary Art

“Nordic Echoes: Tradition in Contemporary Art” is a major traveling exhibition opening October 4, 2025, at the South Dakota Art Museum and running through January 3, 2026. Curated by Sally Yerkovich, the show features 55 works by 24 artists from the Upper Midwest, including Bill Amundson, Sonja Peterson, and Tara Austin. The exhibition explores how Nordic folk arts—such as weaving, carving, and blacksmithing—continue to inspire contemporary artists, presenting painting, textiles, wood, and metal pieces that honor heritage while adapting to modern contexts.

Nordic Echoes: Tradition in Contemporary Art

“Nordic Echoes: Tradition in Contemporary Art” is a traveling exhibition opening October 4, 2025, at the South Dakota Art Museum and running through January 3, 2026. Curated by Sally Yerkovich, it features 55 works by 24 artists from the Upper Midwest, including Bill Amundson, Sonja Peterson, and Tara Austin. The show examines how Nordic folk arts—such as weaving, carving, and blacksmithing—inspire contemporary painting, textiles, and metalwork, presenting tradition as a living, evolving practice.

Archaeologists Identify Lost Medieval Village in Polish Forest

Archaeologists from Poland's Relicta Foundation have located the lost medieval village of Stolzenberg in a dense forest near Sławoborze in northwestern Pomerania. The 15-acre site, identified through a combination of historical research, metal detecting, and advanced geophysical surveys, has yielded 1,500 surface anomalies and 400 artifacts, including coins and belt buckles from the 13th-14th centuries, confirming its medieval origins. Radiocarbon dating places the height of its activity in the 14th century.

The language of termites: Liss Fenwick’s The Colony – in pictures

Artist Liss Fenwick has created a photobook titled 'The Colony' by feeding a collection of historical Australian novels, described as 'settler fan fiction,' to a colony of termites. The insects consumed the books over several years, leaving behind hollowed, sculptural remains that Fenwick photographed. The resulting work documents this process of organic transformation, where the physical texts are digested and reshaped.

Tuwaiq Sculpture 2026 presented by Riyadh Art

The seventh edition of Tuwaiq Sculpture will take place in Riyadh from January 12 to February 22, 2026. The annual public art symposium will bring 25 international artists to Tahlia Street to create large-scale sculptures on-site using local granite and reclaimed metals, with all finished works entering the permanent Riyadh Art collection for installation across the city.

CUBA PRESENTS FREE MEN AT THE VENICE BIENNALE

Cuba presents Roberto Diago's installation "Hombres Libres (Free Men)" at the 61st Venice Biennale, curated by Nelson Ramirez de Arellano Conde and commissioned by Daneisy García Roque. The work, on view from May 9 to November 22, 2025, features a group of sculpted heads made from oxidized metals, wood, plastics, and reclaimed materials that advance toward viewers, bearing scars that evoke a history of pain and resistance.