Philip Castle, the influential British airbrush artist best known for creating the iconic poster for Stanley Kubrick's film 'A Clockwork Orange,' has died at age 83. Castle's distinctive, futuristic style, achieved with an airbrush tool, defined a key visual aesthetic of late 20th-century pop culture.
Christie's London will auction a major collection of Indian paintings and calligraphy from the Seattle-based collectors Mary and Cheney Cowles on April 28, with an estimated total exceeding £1.5 million. The sale is dominated by Mughal-era works from the 16th to 19th centuries, including a highlight piece from the Fraser Album estimated at £180,000, and features rare examples of "Mughal Occidentalism" where court artists incorporated European motifs.
Jack Vettriano, the self-taught Scottish painter behind Britain's best-selling image of 2012, *The Singing Butler* (1992), has announced that he may never paint again after dislocating his shoulder. Vettriano told the Independent that he is undergoing physiotherapy but faces a long recovery and cannot paint in the foreseeable future. The news comes as a blow to his devoted fan base, who had been hoping for new work following his 2013–14 retrospective at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, which drew 123,000 visitors.
The article reflects on the responsibility of critical art writing in the Southeast, sparked by the announcement that Art Papers, an international art magazine based in Atlanta, will sunset in 2026 after 50 years. The author recounts a debate among local art workers about reviewing the forthcoming Minnie Evans retrospective organized by the High Museum of Art and traveling to the Whitney Museum, which he initially declined due to a conflict of interest with curator Katherine Jentleson. He ultimately agrees to write, emphasizing the need for Black scholars to engage with self-taught Black artists. The piece examines how Evans's narrative has been mediated through the lens of white photographer and art historian Nina Howell Starr, questioning the power dynamics and what remains unknown about Evans's own agency.
Sandra Poulson, a 30-year-old Angolan artist, has opened her first museum exhibition at MoMA PS1 in New York, titled "Este quarto parece uma República!" ("This bedroom looks like a Republic!"). The show features sculptures that explore how everyday objects carry social and political meaning, including a work critiquing the influence of mega-churches in Angola. Poulson, who splits her time between Luanda, London, and Amsterdam, drew inspiration from her childhood, local furniture practices in Luanda, and colonial-era wood exploitation. The works were initially produced for Condo London and commissioned by Jahmek Contemporary Art.
Eva, one half of the German artist duo EVA & ADELE, has died. Her passing was announced on the couple's Instagram page on Wednesday, with the German press agency dpa reporting that she died in Berlin after surgery on her lumbar spine. Eva never revealed her true age; the couple's representative, Galerie Nicole Gnesa, stated in an obituary that she was 34 years, one month, and 10 days old—using her chosen wedding day as her birthday. EVA & ADELE were known for treating their lives as a performance, appearing publicly in matching outfits to blur gender binaries and individuality, and were fixtures at major art events like the Venice Biennale, Documenta, and Manifesta.
The Digital Art Mile returns to Basel, Switzerland, from June 16 through 22, 2025, timed to coincide with Art Basel. Organized by Artmeta and staged at the historic Rebgasse, the event features a fair, exhibition, and public program showcasing a wide spectrum of digital and computer-based practices—from 1960s early computer art to humanoid robots and autonomous AI agents. This year's edition includes roughly 11 exhibitors, with solo presentations by Nigerian digital artist Osinachi (at Kate Vass Galerie) and generative artist Tyler Hobbs (via LaCollection), as well as group shows and a conference program exploring themes like the digital art market, AI in generative practices, and institutional engagement with new media. A central exhibition, Paintboxed—part of the Tezos World Tour—examines the legacy of the Paintbox, an early digital painting system.
The 61st Venice Biennale features standout national pavilions from Japan, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, Singapore, and India. Japan presents Ei Arakawa-Nash's 'Grass Babies, Moon Babies,' an interactive exhibition with hand-sewn baby dolls and sound pieces exploring queer parenthood and collective care. The Philippines showcases Jon Cuyson's 'Sea of Love / Dagat ng Pag-ibig,' a solo show using 'mussel thinking' to highlight Filipino seafarers. Timor-Leste's 'Across Words' brings together three artists addressing ethnolinguistic diversity and cultural memory, while Singapore presents Amanda Heng's 'A Pause,' a feminist performance on vulnerability and resilience. India's pavilion features Ranjani Shettar's work, supported by Talwar Gallery.
The 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys" and curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, opens amid global turmoil and internal controversy. Kouoh, who passed away in May 2025, conceived the exhibition around the metaphor of a "creole garden," emphasizing deep affinities between 111 artists from diverse locations such as Dakar, Beirut, and Salvador. The Biennale is overshadowed by recent geopolitical events, including US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, and faces protests: over 70 participating artists signed an open letter opposing the participation of Israel, Russia, and the US, while the Australian pavilion saw the reinstatement of Khaled Sabsabi after being dropped, and South Africa withdrew its official pavilion over Gabrielle Goliath's femicide project, which she will still present independently.
The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art has commissioned artist Nalini Malani for a collateral exhibition at the 2026 Venice Biennale, titled 'Of Woman Born'. Art Collaboration Kyoto announced a shift from a single director to a seven-member leadership committee. Australian artist Datsun Tran won the 2026 Glover Prize for his landscape work 'The giants are falling'. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani appointed Diya Vij as commissioner of the city's Department of Cultural Affairs.
The Turner Prize 2026 shortlist has been announced, featuring four artists: Simeon Barclay, Kira Freije, Marguerite Humeau, and Tanoa Sasraku. The exhibition will be held at MIMA (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) from September 26, 2026 to March 29, 2027, with the winner revealed on December 10, 2026. The jury includes Sarah Allen, Jo Hill, Suk-Kee Lee, Alona Pardo, and Alex Farquharson as chair.
La nuova galleria d’arte di Torino è un appartamento dove le opere si espongono in cucina, bagno e camera da letto
The Italian branch of Paris-based gallery CiacciaLevi is relocating from Milan to Turin in September 2026, opening a new space that is an apartment where artworks will be displayed in the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. Founders Antoine Levi and Nerina Ciaccia, who first met and began their careers in Turin between 2005 and 2010, describe the move as both a professional and personal life choice, deepening their ties to the city where they previously worked with Galleria Franco Noero and a.titolo.
The New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) has announced the 12th edition of NADA New York, taking place from May 13 to 17, 2026, at the Starrett-Lehigh Building in West Chelsea. The fair will feature over 121 galleries, art spaces, and non-profit organizations from 15 countries and 46 cities, including 45 NADA Members and 51 first-time exhibitors such as Brigitte Mulholland (Paris), The Address (Brescia), and Central Server Works (Los Angeles). Returning initiatives include the TD Curated Spotlight, organized by Anthony Elms of the Mattress Factory, and NADA Presents, a series of conversations and performances. Highlights include solo presentations by Malcolm McCormick, Jonathan Torres, Effie Wanyi Li, Xiaoyi Gao, and others.
Collector Mirka Serrato and gallerist Jonny Tanna are launching Neighbors, a new satellite art fair debuting during Expo Chicago in April 2025. Located in a 1,200-square-foot neoclassical apartment in Chicago’s Gold Coast, the fair rejects traditional booth structures in favor of a domestic, intimate setting. The inaugural exhibitor list features a mix of local and international galleries, including London’s Gathering and Harlesden High Street, as well as spaces from New York and Dallas.
The Louvre Museum in Paris will restore Empress Eugénie's crown, which was severely damaged during a $102 million heist on October 19, 2025. Thieves broke into the museum, used an angle grinder to cut through a display case, and stole crown jewels, but dropped the crown in their escape. The lightweight, diamond-and-emerald crown was deformed, with four of its eight decorative palmettes broken off and one gold eagle missing. However, all 65 emeralds and most of the 1,354 diamonds remain intact. The museum has opened a bidding process for an accredited restorer, overseen by an expert committee chaired by Louvre director Laurence des Cars, to reshape and fully restore the piece for display in the Galerie d'Apollon.
Newly released surveillance footage shows masked thieves breaking into the Louvre's Apollo gallery in October 2025, using disc cutters to slice open display cases and steal France's crown jewels. The heist occurred under staff observation, with no security guards present, and police have since identified five suspects via DNA evidence, arresting four, though the jewels remain missing. The footage was broadcast on French TV on January 18, 2026, as the museum faces its third staff strike in over a month.
The Louvre Museum board has voted to raise ticket prices by 45% for visitors outside the European Economic Area, effective January 14. The price will increase from €22 ($25) to €32 ($37), affecting tourists from the United States, Britain, and Russia. The move is part of a broader effort to fund infrastructure upgrades and security improvements following a high-profile heist in October in which thieves stole nine pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $102 million from the Apollo Gallery. The museum's director, Laurence des Cars, acknowledged that the institution has "very inadequate" and "outdated" security systems, and a full overhaul is not expected until 2032.
A cousin of one of the suspected robbers in the Louvre heist has spoken out in an interview with ABC News. The man, identified as Mehdy, told ABC News' James Longman on "Impact x Nightline" that his cousin was a low-income worker who sold fruit and had children. Four suspects have been arrested in connection with the heist, which occurred on October 19 when robbers used a cherry picker and angle grinder to steal nine pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $102 million from the Louvre's Apollo Gallery. One suspect remains at large, and a crown belonging to Empress Eugénie was later recovered outside the museum.
Four suspects have been arrested for allegedly stealing the French crown jewels from the Louvre Museum last month. One suspect, identified as 39-year-old Abdoulaye N., is a former security guard at the Centre Pompidou and a social media influencer known for motocross stunts under the name Doudou Cross Bitume. His DNA was found at the crime scene, and he is suspected of breaking into the museum's Apollo gallery through an unsecured window before escaping on a motorbike. He has a prior criminal record including a 2014 jewelry store robbery conviction, and was due in court for a separate case. The stolen jewels have not yet been recovered.
Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the theft of French crown jewels from the Louvre on October 19. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau announced the arrests on Sunday, with one man detained at Charles de Gaulle Airport while preparing to board a flight to Algeria. The heist, captured on a 36-second video, involved two thieves escaping with $102 million worth of Napoleonic jewelry using a furniture lift. Nine artifacts were taken from the Apollo Gallery, but one crown was dropped in the haste. The stolen jewels were not privately insured, meaning France will not be reimbursed if they are not recovered.
On October 19, 2025, thieves broke into the Louvre Museum's Apollo Gallery in Paris, using a cherry picker and an angle grinder to steal nine pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $102 million in under eight minutes. One piece was recovered outside the museum. Approximately 100 investigators are now analyzing DNA evidence found on a helmet and gloves at the scene, as well as video footage captured by a bystander showing two suspects escaping on scooters. The museum reopened the day after the heist, but the Apollo Gallery remains closed due to the ongoing investigation.
The Louvre Museum reopened on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, after a dramatic jewel heist on Sunday, October 19, in which robbers used a cherry picker and angle grinder to steal eight pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $102 million from the Apollo Gallery in just seven minutes. The second-floor gallery housing France’s crown jewels remains closed as investigations continue, and the museum’s security systems—deemed outdated and inadequate in a prior official report—are under heavy scrutiny. Museum director Laurence des Cars was booed by staff and is expected to address questions in a hearing later Wednesday, while the thieves remain at large.
The Brooklyn Museum hosted its annual Brooklyn Artists Ball on Tuesday evening, serving as the opening celebration for the "Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses" exhibition. The event drew a crowd of artists, patrons, designers, and downtown figures, including event hosts Fabiola Beracasa Beckman, Sylvana Durrett, Jordan Roth, Lizzie Tisch, and Amanda Waldron; co-chairs Regina Aldisert, Megan Brodsky, Victoria Rogers, and Carla Shen; CULTURED Editor-in-Chief Sarah Harrelson; designers Iris van Herpen and Wes Gordon; musicians Peggy Gou and Swizz Beatz; artists Mickalene Thomas, Keisha Scarville, Paul Arnhold, and Miles Greenberg; writer Derek Blasberg; and gallerist Saam Niami. Highlights included a special performance by dancers from the New York City Ballet in winged costumes, an afterparty with DJs Swizz Beatz and Runna, and a site-specific photo booth by artist Keisha Scarville.
The article reports on the fourth edition of Romanian Art Dealers (RAD), an art fair in Bucharest that exclusively features Romanian galleries and artists. The author, Sammy Loren, travels from Los Angeles to experience the fair, which is co-founded by dealer Catinca Tabacaru and artist-dealer Daniela Pălimariu. The fair includes 31 booths, a Curatorial Summit with 35 international curators, and a central installation titled "Donate a Word" (2025) by Romanian artist Victoria Zidaru. The author attends events like the 10-year anniversary party for Sandwich Gallery and notes the intimate, family-like atmosphere of the local art scene.
Juliana Halpert, writing for Cultured's Critics' Table, offers a local perspective on Los Angeles's busy February art scene, contrasting the global art-fair circuit with four distinctive local exhibitions. She visits Tanya Brodsky's "Stories of the City" at Campbell Hall school in Studio City, where Brodsky's sculptures engage with Italo Calvino's *Invisible Cities*; the Julia Stoschek Foundation; Amanda Ross-Ho's show; and Rita McBride's exhibition. Halpert uses Calvino's metaphor of Eutropia—a city whose inhabitants cycle through identical suburbs—to critique the repetitive nature of art fairs like Art Basel and Frieze, which travel from city to city with little variation.
This article from Cultured magazine highlights several notable art and architecture openings and exhibitions around the world. Key events include the reopening of Donald Judd's Architecture Office in Marfa, Texas, after a seven-year closure and a devastating 2021 fire; the opening of the Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture in Almaty, Kazakhstan, designed by British architect Asif Khan; and the debut of "Chiharu Shiota: Two Home Countries" at Japan Society in New York, marking the artist's first solo museum exhibition in the city. Other featured shows include "Dream Rooms: Environments by Women Artists 1950s-Now" at M+ Museum in Hong Kong, "Vacant Futures" at VI PER Gallery in Prague, and "Four Five Six" by OFFICE KGDVS at A83 in SoHo, New York.
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is presenting "What Stands Behind the Flowers," an exhibition centered on Hilma af Klint's "Nature Studies" portfolio of 46 works on paper acquired in 2022. Completed from 1919 to 1920, these precise botanical renderings include abstract diagrams, and the show features over 50 additional pieces contextualizing the series within the Swedish artist's broader practice, including earlier works like her 1889 mushroom studies and "The Atom Series" from 1917.
This article from Cultured magazine highlights seven outdoor art and performance activities in New York City for summer 2024. It covers MoMA PS1's Warm Up dance party series featuring monumental sculptures by Yto Barrada, Socrates Sculpture Park's annual fellows exhibition themed "Up/Rooted," Little Island's adventurous performance series including works by Suzan-Lori Parks and Laurie Anderson, Wave Hill's 60th-anniversary installations with Yoko Ono's wish tree and works by Monica Duncan and Sarah Jimenez, the Beach Sessions Dance Series on Rockaway Beach, and SummerStage NYC's music performances in Central Park.
Miky and Leticia Grendene, co-founders of the hospitality brand Casa Tua, discuss their photography-focused art collection and its integration into their properties in Miami, Aspen, New York, and Paris. In an interview with Cultured, they reveal plans to display a new series of works by artist Anastasia Samoylova at their Aspen location this summer, and reflect on three decades of collecting, their shift toward sculpture and painting, and how their children have developed their own visual language.
The Parrish Art Museum held its Echoes of the Cosmos Midsummer Gala in the Hamptons, honoring artists Sanford Biggers, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, and Nina Yankowitz, along with local philanthropists Sandy and Stephen Perlbinder. The event drew over 720 guests, raised nearly $1.4 million for arts education and community programming, and featured live dance by Parsons Dance, a sunset dinner, and an afterparty with projections by Lozano-Hemmer on the museum's Herzog & de Meuron-designed building.