Vasari Art Codex

article news schedule Dec 29, 2025 visibility 7 link 18 artists, 2 galleries

the art world in 2025 2716064

Artnet News staff reflects on the most impactful stories of 2025, covering a wide range of topics from institutional shifts and devastating wildfires to market sensations and conceptual art. Key pieces include Ben Davis's analysis of the art world's 'post-woke' turn, Sarah Cascone's report on Los Angeles artists losing homes in the Eaton Fire, Katya Kazakina's tale of a David Hockney painting yielding a 7,000 percent return at Christie's, Andrew Russeth's coverage of Richard Prince's seven-hour deposition video, Kate Brown's profile of Friedrich Kunath, and Annie Armstrong's introduction of the 'red-chip' art market driven by hype and crypto.

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article news schedule Apr 25, 2026 visibility 30 link 14 artists, 6 galleries

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.

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article news schedule Dec 8, 2025 visibility 8 link 33 artists, 2 galleries

artists homes los angeles fires 2597327

On January 7, 2025, the Palisades and Eaton Fires erupted in Los Angeles, fueled by drought and Santa Ana winds exceeding 90 mph, destroying over 12,000 structures. The fires devastated Pacific Palisades and Altadena, including the homes and studios of numerous artists, collectors, and art professionals. The Getty Center and Getty Villa were under evacuation but remained safe. Artist Paul McCarthy lost three family homes and his son's editing studio, while many others like Christina Quarles, Analia Saban, and Ruby Neri also suffered losses.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 27, 2026 visibility 6 link 13 artists, 7 galleries

The Box Shutters in Los Angeles After Nearly Two Decades

The Box, a pioneering Los Angeles gallery known for its nonprofit-style support of experimental and performance art, has announced its closure after nearly two decades. Founded in 2007 by Mara McCarthy, the gallery’s final exhibition featured late California painter Wally Hedrick, and a closing event will include a fashion show by Johanna Went. Mara McCarthy cited the shifting market for her father Paul McCarthy’s work and the loss of family homes in the Eaton Fire as factors behind the decision.

newspaper Artforum open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jul 24, 2025 visibility 6 link 10 artists, 4 galleries

these printers share stories of helping artists bring their visions to life 2670094

Artnet Auctions' Premier Prints and Multiples: Summer Edition sale, open for bidding through April 3, 2025, features iconic works on paper by artists such as Jonas Wood and Lynda Benglis. The article highlights the collaborative process between artists and printers, with firsthand accounts from Emmett Walsh of Ollin Editions and a publisher who worked with Lynda Benglis on a tapestry based on her painting *Rajesh in Rajasthan* (2012–2016). Walsh describes producing Wood's 112-color silkscreen *Kitchen Interior* (2022) over 20 months, while the other publisher recounts a three-year search for weavers to create Benglis's detailed rug.

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article news schedule Apr 28, 2026 visibility 5 link 19 artists, 5 galleries

The Box LA, Beloved Risk-Taking Art Space, Closes After 19 Years

The Box LA, a pioneering experimental art space in Los Angeles known for its fearless support of unconventional and performance art, is closing after 19 years. Founded in 2007 by Mara McCarthy in Chinatown (later moving to the Arts District), the gallery operated as a commercial space but with a nonprofit ethos, championing underrecognized artists from her father Paul McCarthy's generation alongside emerging talents. Its final exhibition, a retrospective of Wally Hedrick presented with Parker Gallery, ended April 4, with a closing celebration planned for June 6 featuring a fashion show by Johanna Went. The closure is attributed to financial struggles, exacerbated by the Eaton Fire that destroyed McCarthy's home and her family's, and a shift in support from McCarthy Studios.

newspaper Hyperallergic open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Apr 2, 2026 visibility 15 link 12 artists, 1 gallery

Made in Fire Island: how artists were at the heart of the LGBTQ+ mecca

A new book titled 'Fire Island Art: 100 Years' chronicles the century-long, integral relationship between artists and the LGBTQ+ community on Fire Island. The book, edited by John Dempsey, traces the creative legacy from pre-war artists like Paul Cadmus to modern figures, highlighting how the island's unique environment fostered both sexual and artistic freedom.

newspaper The Guardian open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Jan 7, 2026 visibility 4 link 2 artists

diana thater media art preservation cmacc 1234769025

When the Eaton Fire swept through Altadena in January 2025, artist Diana Thater lost decades of raw footage, master tapes, installation manuals, and ephemera stored in her garage. Her husband, artist T. Kelly Mason, managed to save a server and several hard drives, but much of her earlier archive—never digitized—was destroyed. In the aftermath, Thater began working with the Canyon Media Art Conservation Center (CMACC), a nonprofit conservation lab opening in 2026 that specializes in time-based media art. Led by conservator Cass Fino-Radin, CMACC is helping Thater locate surviving versions of her works in museums and private collections to rebuild and preserve her archive.

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article news schedule Aug 15, 2025 visibility 4 link 3 artists

london imperial war museum faces critcism morning links for august 15 2025 1234749443

Greenpeace activists climbed a Shell-operated gas rig in the North Sea and unfurled a 315-square-foot crimson canvas created with artist Anish Kapoor, titled "Butchered," to protest environmental destruction. Separately, London's Imperial War Museum faces criticism for an information board in its Holocaust Galleries that historians say contains a serious misrepresentation of the Nuremberg race laws, with The Spectator accusing the institution of "soft Holocaust distortion." Meanwhile, the family of late mixed-media artist John Outterbridge is sifting through the charred ruins of his Altadena home, destroyed in the Eaton Fire, hoping to salvage artworks and archives to create a tribute.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 20, 2026 visibility 10 link 1 artist, 3 galleries

'Frank Gehry' at Gagosian, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, United States on 14 May–27 Jun 2026

Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills is presenting a posthumous exhibition of works by architect Frank Gehry, opening on May 14, 2026. The show, realized in collaboration with Gehry's family and studio, features animal-themed sculptures and works on paper, including the life-size stainless steel 'Bear with Us' (2014), 'Fish on Fire' (2023), and the early 'A Pair of Snake Lamps' (1989).

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museum exhibitions schedule Feb 27, 2026 visibility 5 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

‘My paintings are always really kitchen sink, everything’s thrown into them’: Christina Quarles on her new solo show in Los Angeles

Artist Christina Quarles has launched her first solo exhibition with Hauser & Wirth in Los Angeles, titled "The Ground Glows Black." The new body of work features her signature fluid, elastic depictions of bodies, but introduces a more "untethered" and monochromatic aesthetic influenced by recent personal trauma. The paintings and works on paper were created in the aftermath of the Eaton fire, which destroyed the artist's home and community in Altadena.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 4, 2025 visibility 3 link 25 artists, 7 galleries

15 Art Shows to See in Los Angeles This Summer

Los Angeles art institutions are presenting a diverse array of summer exhibitions, ranging from career-spanning surveys to historical reassessments. Highlights include Jeffrey Gibson's beadwork at the Broad, a survey of Barbara T. Smith's early Xerox works at the Marciano Art Foundation, a retrospective of Noah Davis at the Hammer Museum, and a group show at the California African American Museum addressing the legacy of Altadena's Black community after the Eaton Fire. Other notable shows include Nancy Buchanan's retrospective, Will Rawls at the ICA LA, Karl Haendel at the Weisman Museum, and a Jack Kirby exhibition at the Skirball Cultural Center.

newspaper Hyperallergic open_in_new Read original

person people schedule Nov 26, 2025 visibility 5 link 6 artists, 2 galleries

A brush with… Mary Kelly—podcast

This podcast episode features an in-depth conversation with pioneering conceptual and feminist artist Mary Kelly, now 84 and based in Los Angeles. She reflects on her groundbreaking works such as *Post-Partum Document* (1973-77) and *Interim* (1984-89), her move to Beirut in the 1960s, the influence of May 1968, and her lifelong commitment to non-figurative art after encountering Franz Kline's work at age 15. The episode also covers her current exhibition *We don't want to set the world on fire* at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery in London, running until January 2026.

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museum exhibitions schedule Aug 1, 2025 visibility 5 link 8 artists, 2 galleries

Lord of the Flies: How This Artist Enlists an Army of Tiny Collaborators

Los Angeles artist John Knuth uses flies as collaborators to create paintings, with over one million insects contributing to his current exhibition 'The Hot Garden' at Hollis Taggart Downtown in New York. Inspired by flyspecks he noticed on a windowsill in 2005, Knuth orders fly larvae by the thousands, letting them hatch on canvases where their regurgitation deposits pigment. The show features works priced between $700 and $20,000, and a custom enclosure at the gallery allowed visitors to see the flies working live during the opening. Knuth's fly paintings gained viral attention in 2013 after a video by the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art received over 100,000 views, helping launch his career.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 28, 2025 visibility 3 link 5 artists, 3 galleries

New exhibit 'Ode to Dena' explores Altadena’s deep Black artistic legacy

The California African American Museum in Exposition Park has opened 'Ode to ’Dena: Black Artistic Legacies of Altadena,' a free exhibition celebrating the deep Black artistic heritage of the Altadena neighborhood. Curated by Dominique Clayton, the show features over 20 Black artists with ties to the area, including a wall of archival family photos, works by 98-year-old Betye Saar, and pieces by Kenturah Davis and her family. The exhibition was organized rapidly after the Eaton Fire, incorporating debris from the disaster, such as a scorched flugelhorn and a charred sound bowl, to reflect loss and resilience.

newspaper LAist open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Apr 3, 2026 source 2 sources visibility 9 link 1 artist

Santiago museum, set on fire during 2020 protests, reopens

The Violeta Parra Museum in Santiago, Chile, has reopened after being closed for over six years due to arson attacks during the countrywide social protests of February 2020. The museum, dedicated to the multifaceted artist and musician, suffered three fires but its distinctive guitar-shaped building, designed by architect Cristián Undurraga, did not sustain major structural damage. A $1 million restoration, funded by the museum's fire insurance and overseen by director Denise Elphick, focused on cleaning soot and rehabilitating the concrete, while adding heat-resistant windows and enhanced security.

newspaper The Art Newspaper Also: Artforum open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 1 link 1 artist

maura brewer money laundering art 1234744709

Maura Brewer, a Los Angeles-based artist and academic, creates video works that expose the role of art in money laundering. Her 2021 piece *Private Client Services* demonstrates the laundering process, while *Offshore* (2024) serves as a satirical guide for artists navigating global finance, featuring locations like the Cayman Islands and Geneva Freeport. Her ongoing project *Leverage* examines art-backed loans through the case of collector Daniel Sundheim. Brewer also works as a private investigator and recently lost her home in the Eaton Fire.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jul 12, 2025 link 3 artists, 1 gallery

A new art show brings L.A. climate inequities to life at Descanso Gardens

Descanso Gardens in Los Angeles opens a new exhibition titled “Roots of Cool: A Celebration of Trees and Shade in a Warming World,” co-curated by climate researcher Edith de Guzman and artist Jolly de Guzman. The all-women show features outdoor installations and gallery works that address shade equity—the unequal access to cooling shade across urban neighborhoods. Highlights include Leslie K. Gray’s three-part “Bus Stop” series depicting the climate challenges of female bus riders, Chantée Benefield’s “Cool Canopy” of suspended umbrellas (a recreation after her original was lost in the Eaton fire), and works by Kim Abeles and Diana Kohne inside the Sturt Haaga Gallery and Boddy House.

newspaper Los Angeles Times open_in_new Read original