Gagosian Opens a New Ground-Floor Flagship at 980 Madison Avenue with Duchamp-Rauschenberg Double Header

Gagosian is opening a new ground-floor flagship gallery at 980 Madison Avenue in New York, moving from its former upper-floor space in the same building. Designed by Caplan Colaku Architects, the 12,000-square-foot, two-level space consolidates three storefronts into a continuous layout with restrained materials like Portland Taupe stone and brushed stainless steel. The inaugural exhibition pairs a major Marcel Duchamp show with six early works by Robert Rauschenberg on loan from the Cy Twombly Foundation, coinciding with a Duchamp retrospective at MoMA and referencing a 1965 Duchamp exhibition held in the same building.

Inside Gagosian’s Quiet Power Move to Street Level on Madison Avenue

Gagosian has opened a new 2,275-square-foot ground-floor gallery at 980 Madison Avenue in New York, relocating from its longtime sixth-floor space after 37 years. The move was prompted by Bloomberg Philanthropies' acquisition of the building in 2024, which displaced several fine art tenants. The inaugural exhibition features works by Marcel Duchamp and Robert Rauschenberg, and the space was designed by architect Jonathan Caplan with advanced lighting by Dot Dash.

The village where Van Gogh spent his final days celebrates its most distinguished visitor

An exhibition titled "Van Gogh, Influencer: Legacies in Motion" has opened at the Château of Auvers-sur-Oise, the village near Paris where Vincent van Gogh spent his final 70 days and died by suicide in July 1890. The show, running until 3 January 2027, features nearly a hundred works by artists influenced by Van Gogh, including Léonide Bourges, Charles-François Daubigny, and Léo Gausson, though no original Van Gogh paintings are included. Curated by Wouter van der Veen, the exhibition explores visual parallels and stylistic contrasts between Van Gogh’s iconic works—such as *Church at Auvers* and *Wheatfield with Crows*—and those of his contemporaries and followers.

New US exhibition explores power of monuments – with help from Rocky

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has opened a new exhibition titled "Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments," which uses the iconic Rocky Balboa statue as a focal point to explore the power and meaning of monuments across two millennia of boxing and celebrity culture. Curated by Paul Farber, co-founder of Monument Lab, the show features ancient sculptures, 19th-century works, images from boxing's golden age, and contemporary pieces by artists including Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Glenn Ligon. The Rocky statue, placed on the museum's steps in 1982, attracts an estimated 4 million visitors annually, rivaling the Statue of Liberty.

A Smaller Art Brussels Represents a Shift in the Fair Ecosystem Toward a ‘Quality-First’ Approach

Art Brussels, now in its 42nd edition (April 23–26), has downsized from 164 to 138 participating galleries, a 15% reduction that allows the fair to fit entirely within one hall of Brussels Expo. Director Nele Verhaeren openly acknowledged the shift, framing it as a deliberate move toward a 'quality-first' approach that prioritizes visitor experience over sheer scale. The fair introduces a new section called Horizons, curated by Devrim Bayar of the upcoming Kanal-Pompidou museum, featuring seven large-scale works in the freed-up space. Dealers like Xavier Hufkens and Nadja Vilenne support the strategy, noting that galleries must now carefully choose which fairs to attend amid rising costs and geopolitical tensions.

LA’s The Box Gallery to Close After 19 Years

The Box, a prominent Los Angeles gallery, announced it will close after 19 years, with its final exhibition—a two-venue collaboration with Parker Gallery for late California artist Wally Hedrick—ending April 4. The closure will be marked by a fashion show for Johanna Went on June 6. Founder Mara McCarthy cited a combination of factors, including changing economics around support for her father Paul McCarthy's work and the loss of her family's homes in the January 2025 Eaton fire, as making continued operation impossible.

Art Basel Curbs Pre-Fair Sales—and More Art Industry News

Art Basel has launched a "Basel Exclusive" initiative to curb pre-fair PDF sales, encouraging galleries to withhold works from previews to drive in-person discovery at its flagship Swiss event (June 16–21). Around 170 of 232 exhibitors have opted in. Meanwhile, Volta returns to Basel with a new "5,000 Edit" section for works under CHF 5,000 to attract younger collectors, and the alternative fair Esther will hold its third edition in New York during Frieze Week. In other news, Sotheby's set a U.S. record for design auctions with the Jean and Terry de Gunzburg collection totaling $96 million, and billionaire collector Mitchell P. Rales pledged $116 million to the National Gallery of Art to fund loans to smaller museums. The Smithsonian American Art Museum named Lynda Roscoe Hartigan as its new director, and Gladstone Gallery plans a new Seoul space for 2026.

Shreg the green ogre, a grey obsessive and Vermeer’s boiled egg – the week in art

This week's art roundup from The Guardian highlights a range of exhibitions across the UK, including Bruce Asbestos's 'Bootleg Shreg 2' at Exeter Phoenix Gallery, a playful show featuring a green ogre that parodies copyright rules. Other notable shows include Roy Oxlade's primitive paintings at Alison Jacques, May Morris's craft legacy at Lady Lever Art Gallery, a 30-year anniversary group show at Timothy Taylor, and Alan Charlton's monochrome grey works at Annely Juda Fine Art. The article also features an image of a naturally sculpted rock on Kangaroo Island, a review of the Turner Prize nominees, and a masterwork analysis of Vermeer's 'The Guitar Player' at Kenwood House, which was stolen in the 1970s and recovered with the help of a clairvoyant.

Saudis Renege on Met Opera Financial Aid, Berlin’s Culture Senator Resigns, and More: Morning Links for April 24, 2026

The Metropolitan Opera has announced that Saudi Arabia reneged on a noncommittal memorandum of understanding that would have provided up to $200 million over eight years to the cash-strapped New York institution. Met general manager Peter Gelb said the Saudis blamed the war in Iran and the blocked Strait of Hormuz, but funding had already failed to materialize before the conflict, prompting preemptive layoffs in January. Separately, Berlin culture senator Sarah Wedl-Wilson resigned after a state audit found she illegally authorized €2.6 million for 13 projects meant to combat antisemitism, violating budget regulations. Other news includes President Trump's plan to renovate the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, Ontario increasing support for the Art Gallery of Ontario and Royal Ontario Museum, Rome's new photography museum, and the appointment of Thiago de Paula Souza as curator of the eighth Athens Biennale.

Tate at a turning point: new director must confront unwieldy ‘beast’ of an art institution

Roland Rudd, chair of Tate, insists the institution is thriving despite recent leadership changes, citing record visitor numbers of 6.2 million, strong exhibition attendance (Turner and Constable at Tate Britain, Lee Miller, and Tracey Emin at Tate Modern), and 155,000 members. However, Maria Balshaw has stepped down as director after nine years, leaving her successor to confront a financially strained organization hit by pandemic losses, multiple redundancies, and low staff morale amid culture war battles.

Au musée Picasso, l’artiste africain-américain Henry Taylor dévoile sa peinture d’un quotidien troublé par la violence

The Musée Picasso in Paris is hosting a retrospective of African American artist Henry Taylor, running until September 6. The exhibition centers on Taylor's 2007 painting *From Congo to the Capital, and Black Again*, a bold reimagining of Picasso's *Les Demoiselles d'Avignon* that replaces the original figures with darker-skinned women and introduces Josephine Baker and a white man's arm. The show follows the museum's series on African American painting, after Faith Ringgold in 2023 and ahead of a Harlem Renaissance exhibition in 2027.

How an Artist and Museum Conspired to Give a Delivery Worker What the Apps Won’t: PTO

Artist Fields Harrington, after witnessing a delivery worker get hit by a car in Brooklyn, began photographing the customized bikes of New York City's delivery workers, capturing their gloves, reflective tape, and cultural markers. His series is now featured in MoMA PS1's "Greater New York" exhibition. In a direct act of reciprocity, Harrington convinced the museum to rent a delivery worker's bike and pay its owner, Gustavo Ajche, his usual wage of $21.44 per hour during museum hours. For one week each month, the bike is displayed, and every 21 minutes and 44 seconds, a notification ding sounds, referencing the wage Ajche and his group Los Deliveristas Unidos fought for.

Eyecatchers and Discoveries

Eyecatcher und Entdeckungen

The 42nd edition of Art Brussels has scaled down to 138 exhibitors from 165 in 2025, responding to a sluggish contemporary art market and economic uncertainty. The fair introduces a new section called 'Horizonte,' curated by Devrim Bayar of Kanal Centre Pompidou, featuring six large-scale installations including Pao Hui Kao's delicate paper-and-lacquer refuge and Oswald Oberhuber's €380,000 panoramic painting 'Paradiesgarten.' Galleries are now consolidated into one hall, with fewer blue-chip participants but a continued focus on living artists (95% of the 500 shown). Notable presentations include Xavier Hufkens' solo show of Cassi Namoda, Krinziger's works by Marina Abramović and Monica Bonvicini, and Richard Saltoun's historical mix of Fernand Khnopff, Everlyn Nicodemus, and Suzanne Van Damme.

Refik Anadol’s AI Art Museum DATALAND Will Open in Los Angeles in June

Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç will open DATALAND, a museum dedicated to AI art, in Los Angeles on June 20, 2026. Located in the Grand LA complex designed by Frank Gehry, the 25,000-square-foot venue will feature five gallery spaces plus 10,000 square feet for supporting technology. Its inaugural exhibition, "Machine Dreams: Rainforest," created by Refik Anadol Studio, uses AI trained on ecological datasets to generate sensory experiences, including a version of Anadol's Infinity Room with a 1987 recording of an extinct Hawaiian bird and AI-generated scents. Membership starts at $350 per year.

Who are the members of the Venice Biennale jury?

Qui sont les membres du jury de la Biennale de Venise ?

The 61st Venice Biennale, opening May 9, 2026, has announced its international jury, which is composed entirely of women. The five members are Solange Oliveira Farkas (president), Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi, hailing from Brazil, Thailand, Spain, the United States, and Switzerland. Their backgrounds span the Global South, feminist studies, and transnational curatorial practices.

Ces 5 créatrices « inoubliables » à découvrir absolument à Gand

The Museum of Fine Arts (MSK) in Ghent is hosting the exhibition "Inoubliables" (Unforgettables), on view until May 31, which highlights the work of women artists from the 17th and 18th centuries in the former Netherlands region. The show features about 40 female creators active between 1600 and 1750, including painters like Michaelina Wautier, Judith Leyster, and Rachel Ruysch, working in genres from portraiture and still life to engraving, lacemaking, and paper cutting. The exhibition aims to restore these women to their rightful place in art history.

Sonic investigations non-profit to be artist-in-residence at London's Gasworks

The non-profit organization Earshot, founded by artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan, has been awarded a three-year studio bursary at London's Gasworks. The bursary, backed by Spanish patron Mercedes Vilardell, provides an annual stipend and covers monthly rent for a studio space at the south London exhibition and residency space. Earshot uses sound in the defense of human and environmental rights, and the residency gives it a platform to operate independently after an incubation period with Forensic Architecture. Abu Hamdan and Earshot will also take over the Barbican Centre this autumn for an event titled Repercussions, featuring installations, performances, screenings, and live music.

‘It’s not much but, at the same time, it’s very much’: the enduring impact of Sade’s style

The article discusses the enduring style of Sade Adu, frontwoman of the British group Sade, following the band's announcement of their induction into the 2026 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It highlights how Adu's signature look—scraped-back hair, red lipstick, hoop earrings, and simple black dresses or denim—has become iconic and influential, with her outfits featured in exhibitions like V&A East's 'The Music is Black' and referenced by celebrities such as Drake. The piece traces the origins of her style to her fashion design studies at Saint Martin's School of Art and her early work with designer Fiona Dealey.

Pittsburgh’s new $31m Arts Landing combines public art with civic engagement

Pittsburgh's new $31 million public space, Arts Landing, opened on 17 April, just before the NFL Draft and the 59th Carnegie International. Developed by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, the project features public artworks by vanessa german, Darian Johnson, Lenka Clayton, Phillip Andrew Lewis, Sharmistha Ray, Mikael Owunna, Marques Redd, John Peña, Shikeith, and the late Thaddeus Mosley. Highlights include Shikeith's neon sculpture *Hold*, part of his *Project Blue Space*, and Mosley's *Touching the Earth* series, originally commissioned by New York's Public Art Fund. The space also includes a playground, bandshell, and artist-designed pickleball courts.

How Much Is That Chagall in the Window: Metropolitan Opera Faces Funding Crisis After Saudi Deal Collapse

The Metropolitan Opera in New York faces a $30 million deficit after a $200 million funding deal with Saudi Arabia collapsed. The Saudi government withdrew from the agreement, which would have sent Met performers to the Royal Diriyah Opera House for three weeks each February, citing economic pressures from the Iran War and the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz. To address the shortfall, the Met is considering selling two monumental Marc Chagall paintings—The Sources of Music and The Triumph of Music (1966)—valued at $55 million, along with other options like selling naming rights or seeking a similar deal with another country.

Where to go this weekend?

Wohin am Wochenende?

This week's art tips from Monopol magazine highlight exhibitions and events across Germany and Europe. In Berlin, the Helmut Newton Museum reopens with a new immersive film space and a fresh presentation of its collection, while the Neue Nationalgalerie showcases Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's iconic painting "Potsdamer Platz" in the exhibition "Ruin und Rausch. Berlin 1910-1930." In Bozen, Chinese artist Evelyn Taocheng Wang presents new works at Museion, blending painting, textiles, and installation. The Art Brussels fair returns with a reduced lineup of 138 galleries, focusing on Belgian and neighboring markets. In Duisburg, Anish Kapoor receives the Wilhelm-Lehmbruck Prize, accompanied by a solo exhibition at the Lehmbruck Museum.

Stockholm's Market Art Fair is a new model art fair from which to learn something

La Market Art Fair di Stoccolma è un nuovo modello di fiera d’arte da cui imparare qualcosa

The Market Art Fair in Stockholm, founded in 2006 by galleries from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland, held its 20th edition from April 23-26, 2026, at Magasin 9 during Stockholm Art Week. The fair features 54 exhibitors from 8 countries and 150 artists, with 80% of works tied to the Nordic context and 20% international. Highlights include a solo presentation by Olafur Eliasson at i8 Gallery (Reykjavík) featuring his sculpture *Rare metallic plant* (2026), and a preview of the Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale by artist Benjamin Orlow at Season 4 Episode 6 gallery. The fair has recently opened its selection to international galleries, a shift welcomed by collectors.

Long-Hidden Keith Haring Artworks Come to Auction

A collection of rare Keith Haring artworks, gifted to his childhood friend Kermit Oswald over nearly three decades, is coming to auction at Sotheby’s Breuer Building in May 2025. The trove includes a self-portrait from 1985 (estimated at $3–5 million), a painted crib and dresser ($250,000–350,000), a carved wood sculpture from 1983 (up to $800,000), and other early works on wood, fabric, and paper. These pieces trace Haring’s artistic evolution before his subway drawings and international fame, and were kept by Oswald, who was Haring’s best friend since kindergarten and later installed his shows.

Philadelphia Museum welcomes Rocky statue with new exhibition | Daily Sabah

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is opening a new exhibition titled "Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments," which explores the cultural and artistic significance of the Rocky Balboa statue that sits at the museum's steps. Guest curator Paul Farber organized the show, which spans over 2,000 years of boxing imagery and includes works by Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Andy Warhol. The exhibition marks a shift in the museum's long-standing ambivalent relationship with the statue, which was originally placed on the steps during filming of the "Rocky" movies and later relocated before returning in 2006. After the exhibition closes in August, the statue will be permanently installed at the top of the museum's steps for the first time.

Philadelphia Museum of Art exhibit featuring Rocky Balboa statue gets underway

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has opened a new exhibition titled "Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments," centered on the iconic bronze statue of fictional boxer Rocky Balboa that sits at the bottom of the museum's steps. Guest-curated by Paul Farber, the show explores the statue's transformation from a movie prop into a real-world symbol of perseverance and public devotion, tracing over 2,000 years of boxing imagery through works by artists such as Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Andy Warhol. The museum, which once fought to have the statue removed, now embraces it as part of Philadelphia's identity.

Museum of Art brings Rocky statue inside

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is opening a new exhibition titled "Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments" that brings the iconic bronze statue of fictional boxer Rocky Balboa inside the museum for the first time. Guest curator Paul Farber organized the show, which spans over 2,000 years of boxing imagery and places the statue within art history and Philadelphia's identity. The museum, which had a historically rocky relationship with the statue—initially fighting to have it removed from its steps—has now embraced it, with plans to permanently install the statue at the top of the museum's steps after the exhibition closes in August.

10 Exhibitions to See in Venice Which Aren’t Part of the Biennale

Ocula's editors have curated a list of 10 must-see collateral exhibitions in Venice that are not part of the main Biennale. Highlights include Shirin Neshat's film trilogy "Do U Dare!" about YouTuber Nasim Aghdam, Hernan Bas's ironic paintings of tourists at Ca' Pesaro, and the group show "Outta Love" featuring Francesca Woodman, Jenny Saville, and Wolfgang Tillmans. Another notable exhibition is "Turāndokht" from Parasol unit, which brings together 11 female artists from Central Asia to challenge Orientalist stereotypes.

Julia Stoschek Foundation to Close in Berlin

The Julia Stoschek Foundation will close its Berlin outpost at the end of October 2025, after a decade of operation. The Düsseldorf-based nonprofit, which holds one of the world's largest collections of time-based art, opened the Berlin space in 2016 and welcomed over 450,000 visitors across 22 exhibitions, including solo shows by Meriem Bennani, Stan Douglas, Arthur Jafa, and Mark Leckey. The foundation cited a "strategic realignment" that will shift focus to projects elsewhere in Germany and abroad. Its Düsseldorf space is currently closed for renovations and expected to reopen next year.

The New York Historical Celebrates Artist Betye Saar’s 100th Birthday with a New Exhibition Featuring Her Black Doll Collection

The New York Historical will present "Betye Saar’s Black Dolls" from May 8 to October 4, 2026, celebrating the artist’s 100th birthday. The exhibition features 27 dolls from Saar’s promised gift of over 100 Black dolls to the museum, alongside 15 watercolors and several assemblages, including "Hoo Doo Woman" (1974) and "Indigo Mercy" (1975). Saar, a key figure in the Black Arts and feminist art movements, began collecting Black dolls in the late 1960s after growing up without one.

Art and authoritarianism in Auckland

Auckland Art Gallery is presenting 'Forever Tomorrow: Chinese Art Now,' a major survey of Chinese contemporary art featuring 67 works by 42 artists, running from May 2 to August 23, 2026. The exhibition includes Xiao Lu's iconic 1989 work 'Dialogue,' which she famously shot with a gun hours after its opening, an act later linked to the Tiananmen Square protests. Xiao Lu comments on the political resonance of the show in New Zealand amid global shifts in democracy and US-centric world order.