renovated frick expansion reopening highlights

The Frick Collection reopens to the public on April 17 after a five-year closure and a $220 million expansion and renovation by Selldorf Architects. The project adds 18,000 square feet, including 10 new galleries in the family's original second-floor living quarters, a marble staircase, cafe, gift shop, and a new auditorium. The percentage of the collection on view has increased from 25% to 47%, and Ukrainian artist Vladimir Kanevsky has created porcelain floral arrangements for the reopening. New director Axel Rüger, who joined from London's Royal Academy of Arts, welcomed journalists at a press preview.

maja ruznic site santa fe

Artist Maja Ruznic has created a suite of large, luminous canvases responding to early 20th-century paintings glorifying Spanish colonization at the St. Francis Auditorium in the New Mexico Museum of Art, as part of the 12th Site Santa Fe International. The exhibition, curated by Cecelia Alemani and titled "Once Within a Time," opened last week. Ruznic, a Bosnian war refugee living in Placitas, New Mexico, confronts the problematic history depicted by artist Donald Beauregard, who died at 29 before completing the commission, which was later finished by uncredited artists Carlos Vierra and Kenneth Chapman.

The car park that changed British art: Bold Tendencies at 20

Bold Tendencies, the pioneering arts organization that transformed a multi-storey car park in Peckham, London, into a vibrant cultural venue, is celebrating its 20th summer season. Founded by gallerist Hannah Barry in 2007, the project has hosted over 3 million visitors, commissioned dozens of new artworks, and built an auditorium and concert hall within the concrete structure. It began as a low-budget experiment in using derelict urban spaces for art, featuring sculptures, performances, and a rooftop bar that predated the experiential art boom.

celebrities art crossover interviews 2025

Artnet News compiled a roundup of 2025 interviews with celebrities whose creative work intersects with the visual art world. Sharon Stone turned to portrait painting after her mother's death, creating a series of works channeling historical and personal figures. Adrien Brody exhibited new works at Eden Gallery in New York, discussing how his acting career supported his art practice. Director Yorgos Lanthimos held his first photography exhibition at Webber Gallery in Los Angeles, while Alejandro Iñárritu created a multisensory installation at Mexico's LagoAlgo to mark the 25th anniversary of his film *Amores Perros*. Actor Lili Taylor performed in an artist lecture by Suzanne Bocanegra centered on a Renaissance tapestry from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

studio museum harlem reopening

The Studio Museum in Harlem reopened its newly rebuilt, seven-story space on 125th Street after nearly eight years without a permanent home. A press preview on November 6, 2025, showcased the $300 million, 82,000-square-foot building designed by Adjaye Associates with Cooper Robertson, which more than doubles the museum's exhibition space. The public reopening is set for November 15 with a free community celebration. Inaugural exhibitions include "From Now: A Collection in Context," works by over 100 alumni of the artist-in-residence program, and a solo show of Tom Lloyd, whose work was featured in the museum's first exhibition in 1968. The building features a grand staircase, a cantilevered auditorium called the "Stoop," a roof terrace, and prominent works by David Hammons and Glenn Ligon.

jennifer gilbert lumana detroit

Entrepreneur and art collector Jennifer Gilbert has founded Lumana, a new non-profit arts organization in Detroit's Little Village neighborhood. Housed in a repurposed 21,000-square-foot former shipbuilding and storage facility at Stanton Yards, the space is being adapted by SO–IL architectural firm with landscape design by OSD. Slated to open in Fall 2027, Lumana will feature two exhibition halls, a café, bookstore, auditorium, and educational spaces, and will house Gilbert's foundation. Gilbert plans to draw on her private art collection for exhibitions, including an inaugural show focused on Cranbrook Art Museum's Detroit collection, and is considering curatorial fellowships to commission new site-specific work.

obama presidential center new york times interview

Barack Obama discussed the Obama Presidential Center, set to open spring 2025 on Chicago's South Side, in a New York Times interview. The four-building complex will include a museum, library, auditorium, basketball court, gardens, and commissioned works by 25 artists, including Julie Mehretu, Maya Lin, Nick Cave, Jenny Holzer, Kiki Smith, and Richard Hunt. Designed by Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects, the centerpiece is an eight-story granite museum nicknamed "the Obamalisk," featuring an 83-foot-tall abstract glass work by Mehretu. Obama emphasized the center's role as a public space to inspire community action, not a presidential mausoleum.

museums of tomorrow roundtable 2025

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) will host the 2025 Museums of Tomorrow Roundtable (MTR) from May 11-17, bringing together 14 global museum leaders and technology firms including Adobe, Anthropic, Bloomberg, and Salesforce. Participants include directors such as Marion Ackermann (Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz), Stephanie Rosenthal (Guggenheim Abu Dhabi), Eike Schmidt (Museo di Capodimonte), Mami Kataoka (Mori Art Museum), and others, alongside Bay Area museum heads and AI artist Refik Anadol, who will speak in a free public program at the de Young Museum. The forum aims to bridge the museum and technology communities, exploring how advanced technologies can enrich operations and visitor experiences while supporting artists working with technology.

10 Chicago art exhibitions we’re most excited about in spring 2026

Chicago’s major cultural institutions have unveiled a diverse lineup of exhibitions for the spring 2026 season, ranging from historical retrospectives to pop-culture crossovers. Highlights include the U.S. debut of the Pokémon Fossil Museum at the Field Museum, a rare display of Henri Matisse’s cut-paper maquettes at the Art Institute of Chicago, and an immersive recreation of Anne Frank’s Secret Annex at the Griffin Museum of Science & Industry. Other notable shows explore the intersection of contemporary art and Caribbean music genres at the MCA Chicago and a site-specific residency by Brendan Fernandes at the Driehaus Museum.

25 of 2025: 5 Painters Who’ve Been Catching Our Eye

Artnet News has spotlighted five painters in its '25 of 2025' series, highlighting emerging talents defining the year. Among them are Pol Taburet, a Parisian painter known for bold color palettes and a rising market presence, with works selling above estimates at Sotheby's and Artcurial, and Maja Ruznic, a Bosnian-born artist whose haunting, jewel-toned works earned comparisons to Klimt and Rothko and a standout at the 2024 Whitney Biennial. Taburet is set to feature in the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, while Ruznic recently opened a solo exhibition at Karma Gallery and is included in Site Santa Fe International.

What to expect from Fondation Cartier's new Parisian home

Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain will open its highly anticipated new Paris gallery at Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre, on 25 October 2025. The inaugural exhibition, Exposition Générale (running until 23 August 2026), features over 600 works by more than 100 artists, drawn from the foundation's collection of around 4,500 pieces. Designed by Italian studio Formafantasma, the show is organized into four thematic sections—Machines d’architecture, Être nature, Making Things, and un monde réel—and includes works by Sarah Sze, Rinko Kawauchi, Patti Smith, James Turrell, Vija Celmins, Joan Mitchell, Damien Hirst, and others. The building, part of the former Louvre des Antiquaires complex, was reconfigured by architect Jean Nouvel, adding 6,500 sq. m of exhibition space with a library, auditorium, and restaurant.

new taipei city art museum interview

The New Taipei City Art Museum (NTCAM) opened to the public last weekend with fireworks and light installations after nearly eight years of development. Located in Yingge District, about 30 minutes from Taipei, the publicly funded museum cost 3 billion NTD (approximately $93 million) and spans 38 acres. Designed by Taiwanese architect Kris Yao, the 11-story building houses eight exhibition halls, a 500-seat auditorium, a public plaza, and a park for public art. Inaugural director Lai Hsiang-ling outlined the museum's vision to serve local audiences and the arts community while fostering international and regional collaboration. The opening includes the inaugural exhibition featuring the local art collective Xindian Boys and their commission "Don't Worry, Baby," which addresses ecological change, global politics, and artificial intelligence.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Announces Its MetLiveArts Fall and Winter 2025–26 Season

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced its MetLiveArts fall and winter 2025–26 season, featuring world premiere performances and commissions created specifically for the museum's galleries, as well as concerts in the Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium. The season highlights a significant number of new works by female artists, including composers and musicians Gabriela Ortiz, Wu Man, Hanzhi Wang, Emily Wells, Layale Chaker, and Leilehua Lanzilotti. Performances will draw inspiration from the Met's collection and special exhibitions like 'Man Ray: When Objects Dream,' with events beginning September 9, 2025, featuring Wu Man and The Knights. The season also includes the JACK Quartet as the museum's 2025–26 Quartet in Residence and the appointment of Sarah Jones as Head of Live Arts.

Guide to Cultural Festivals in Italy in April 2026: PARMA 360, Turin Jazz, Rome Science, Genoa of the Arts

Guida ai festival culturali in Italia di aprile 2026: PARMA 360, Torino Jazz, Scienze di Roma, Genova delle arti

The Italian cultural landscape in April 2026 features a diverse array of festivals, headlined by the 10th anniversary of PARMA 360. This contemporary creativity festival, themed 'LUX. Visions on Light,' transforms the city of Parma into a widespread laboratory with exhibitions across 22 locations. Other notable events include the Symeoni Festival in Ferrara, which celebrates the art of movie posters and the legacy of painter Sandro Simeoni, alongside various music and educational programs.

Best Bets: Rosemont hosts Spring Fun Fest and Anime Central

This article is a roundup of upcoming events in the Chicago area, primarily focused on the Rosemont suburb. It announces the annual Spring Fun Fest at Parkway Bank Park on May 16, featuring family activities and music, and the return of Anime Central, a major anime and Japanese pop-culture convention, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center from May 15-17. The article also lists several other cultural happenings, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's all-French program, a new exhibition at the Driehaus Museum titled "Ink & Outrage: 18th Century Satirical Prints in London & Dublin," an improv performance by Bluebird Improv at the Studebaker Theater, and a Chamber Blues concert by Corky Siegel at Space in Evanston.

Sally Tallant, director of New York’s Queens Museum, to lead London’s Hayward Gallery

Sally Tallant, currently director of the Queens Museum in New York, has been appointed director of the Hayward Gallery and visual arts at the Southbank Centre in London. She will succeed Ralph Rugoff, who steps down in spring after 20 years. Tallant previously worked as an assistant curator at the Hayward in 2001 and later led the Liverpool Biennial from 2011 to 2019. She will begin her new role in July, while Rugoff will oversee a major Anish Kapoor retrospective opening in June.

Frieze London diary: a Mick Jagger meeting, a movie night and punk fair style

Frieze London 2025 is underway with a series of off-site events and colorful encounters. Highlights include a Prada Mode installation by Elmgreen & Dragset at Camden Town Hall, where the duo transforms a former council chamber into an auditorium filled with mannequins and a looping abstract film. At Nahmad Projects, artist Michelangelo Pistoletto met Mick Jagger at an exhibition pairing his new Mirror Paintings with Cubist works by Picasso. Belgian collector Alain Servais turned heads in a blazer emblazoned with British rock band names and the slogan "Anarchy in the UK." Russian performance artist Petr Davydtchenko displayed his Pfizer-forehead tattoo as part of his archive piece "Skin in the Game" (2025), acquired by the A/POLITICAL collection. Meanwhile, Victoria and Albert Museum director Tristram Hunt published a Financial Times op-ed defending London and the UK as a cultural destination.

numismatic society toledo museum

The American Numismatic Society (ANS), a 166-year-old organization dedicated to coin collecting and research, is relocating from Lower Manhattan to the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio. The move, set for 2028, will see the ANS occupy a four-story Art Deco building on the museum's campus, where it will establish a new home featuring a library, auditorium, and education center. The partnership will integrate the ANS's collection of 800,000 coins, medals, and monetary objects into the museum's reinstallation of its collection galleries in 2027, with the ANS mounting its own exhibitions starting the following year.

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The Frick Collection hosted its annual Young Fellows Ball on the Upper East Side, a black-tie gala that drew a polished crowd of cultural figures, designers, and philanthropists. The event featured the theme 'Travel Through Time,' with guests exploring the museum's galleries filled with masterworks and Gilded Age furnishings, and highlighted the exhibition 'Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture.' Benefit chairs included Natalie Bloomingdale, Ivy Getty, and Alexander Hankin, while Frick leadership Axel Rüger and Aimee Ng were in attendance, alongside comedian Marcello Hernández and political candidate Jack Schlossberg.

Get Ready to Explore the Recently Renovated Portland Art Museum All Winter Long

The Portland Art Museum (PAM) will reopen its completely renovated campus on November 20 after nine years and $111 million in construction. The centerpiece is the Mark Rothko Pavilion, a glass structure that connects the museum's two historic buildings—the Main Building (1932) and the Mark Building (1924)—replacing a confusing underground tunnel that often caused visitors to miss entire exhibitions. The renovation touches 100,000 square feet total, including a new media gallery, upgraded spaces, and a 24/7 public passageway through the pavilion. An exhibition of eight paintings by Mark Rothko, who spent his childhood in Portland, will open alongside the pavilion.

Brendan Fernandes animates a century-old Chicago auditorium through dance

Brendan Fernandes, a Chicago-based visual and performing artist, has created an evolving dance work titled *Score for the Murphy Auditorium* as part of his nearly year-long exhibition *In the Round* at the Driehaus Museum's newly acquired Murphy Auditorium. The piece features seven dancers moving around a 12-sided mirrored bench, with choreography inspired by the 1960s Judson Dance Theater, and includes textile works from the Fabric Workshop and Museum and a sound installation by Alex Inglizian. The auditorium, built in 1926 and designated a Chicago landmark in 2024, underwent renovation after being acquired by the Driehaus Museum in 2022.

Woody De Othello Celebrates First Major Solo Public Exhibition in New York with Public Art Fund

Woody De Othello's first major solo public exhibition in New York, titled "Guardian Spirit," has opened at Brooklyn Bridge Park, presented by Public Art Fund. The exhibition features monumental redwood totems standing 20 to 22 feet tall, carved with chainsaws and grinders, alongside bronze sculptures created between 2021 and 2025. The works explore themes of ritual, spirituality, and the elemental forces of wind and water, drawing inspiration from nkisi, ritual objects from Western and Central Africa. The exhibition runs from May 5, 2026, to March 8, 2027, with sculptures installed at Pier 1 and the Manhattan Bridge View.

Museums & Heritage

Melissa Chiu has been appointed as the new director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, departing her long-standing role at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. This major leadership transition comes alongside several other significant museum developments, including the Getty Center's planned $600m–$800m renovation closure and the National Gallery's staff reduction scheme to address a multi-million pound deficit.

Reina Sofía Museum

The Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid has closed its garden for maintenance and temporarily closed its two satellite buildings, the Glass Palace and Velázquez Palace in El Retiro Park, for renovation. The main museum remains open, showcasing its renowned collection of modern and contemporary art, including Picasso's Guernica and works by Dalí, Miró, and Bourgeois.

Artist Jan Tichy plans to plunge MSU's Broad Art Museum into darkness

Artist Jan Tichy has created a major exhibition titled "Darkness" at the Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, opening January 30, 2026, and running through late July. The exhibition transforms the museum's main floor galleries by blacking out Zaha Hadid's iconic angular windows and entrances, using projections and modulated lights to simulate a 24-hour day-night cycle. Tichy, who previously worked with the museum on a Flint water crisis project in 2017, collaborated with MSU researchers—including the Department of Entomology—to create works inspired by academic studies, such as photographic prints made from insects collected on the museum grounds over a year.

Renovated Whitsell Auditorium reopens as a destination for PAM CUT programming in film, new media, and visual storytelling

The renovated Whitsell Auditorium at the Portland Art Museum will reopen on January 10, 2026, as PAM CUT @ The Whitsell, marking the final phase of the museum's $116 million campus transformation. The 293-seat auditorium features upgraded seating, cinema projection, sound, and streaming capabilities, and is paired with the new Blair Family Gallery, which opens with Marco Brambilla's exhibition "Maximalist Dreamscapes." The space will host weekly screenings curated by Amy Dotson and Joanna Sokolowski, with guest curators including Carrie Brownstein and Lance Bangs, and partnerships with Criterion.

Chile to get a new contemporary art museum

A new contemporary art museum, the New Museum of Santiago (NuMu), is set to break ground in Chile's capital in August 2025. Led by businessman and philanthropist Claudio Engel and his four children through the Engel Foundation, the museum will be built around the family's collection of over 1,000 works by more than 200 artists, including Alfredo Jaar, Paz Errázuriz, and Pilar Quinteros. Designed by architect Cristián Fernández, the 2,000 sq. m facility will feature exhibition spaces, a sound-art room, an auditorium, a library, a restaurant, and a museum shop. It will be the first large-scale contemporary art museum in Chile housed in a new structure, located in Vitacura's Bicentennial Park.

Comment | Muted grey, bloody red, or dark blue—here’s why the colour of museum walls matters more than you might think

The article explores the often-overlooked significance of color in museum spaces, prompted by a conversation with architect Annabelle Selldorf about her $220 million renovation of New York's Frick Collection. Selldorf describes the new auditorium's muted grey as creating a calm, meditative environment, contrasting sharply with Tate Modern's Starr Cinema, which architect Jacques Herzog painted shocking red to symbolize the space as the museum's "brain." The piece traces historical approaches to gallery wall colors, from Charles Eastlake's advocacy at the National Gallery in London—informed by Goethe's color theory—to the enduring orthodoxy of reds and greens, and a notable departure with deep Prussian blue for a Gainsborough exhibition at Tate Britain. It also recounts Henri Matisse's 1946 project in Paris, where he covered his room's grimy beige walls with cut-paper forms, creating the screens "Océanie, Le Ciel" and "Océanie, La Mer."

When satire met paper: ‘Ink & Outrage’ is now open at the Driehaus Museum

The Driehaus Museum in Chicago has opened 'Ink & Outrage: 18th-Century Satirical Prints in London & Dublin,' an exhibition of some 100 prints by Georgian-era caricaturists including James Gillray and Thomas Rowlandson. Curated by Silvia Beltrametti and William Laffan, the show explores the rise of visual satire in 18th-century England and features side-by-side comparisons of original English prints with unauthorized Irish copies, highlighting issues of plagiarism and intellectual property.

Taiwan's newest art institution taps into a flourishing local scene

A new art museum, the New Taipei City Art Museum (NTCAM), will open on 25 April in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Designed by Kris Yao of Artech, the 32,641 sq. m building features eight floors, five exhibition halls, and a 500-seat auditorium, part of a larger complex with a park and creative cluster. Director Lai Hsiang-ling, who previously led Shanghai's Rockbund Art Museum, aims to help the city emerge from Taipei's cultural shadow by leveraging its grassroots creative energy and industrial capabilities. Four inaugural exhibitions will showcase local artists including the Xindian Boys, Yuan Goang-ming, and Wu Mali, alongside an international advisory committee featuring Aric Chen, Patrick Flores, and Clara Kim.