Art News. Vasari Codex

article news schedule Apr 13, 2026 visibility 53 link 16 artists, 7 galleries

The Untold Story of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek’s Intimate—and Complex—Bond

Andrew Durbin’s new dual biography, *The Wonderful World That Almost Was*, explores the profound and volatile relationship between photographer Peter Hujar and artist Paul Thek. Spanning from their meeting in the late 1950s to their deaths from AIDS-related complications in the 1980s, the book details how their shared experiences—most notably a 1963 visit to the Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo—fundamentally shaped their artistic trajectories. While Hujar captured the mummified remains in haunting photographs, Thek translated the encounter into his visceral "meat pieces" and wax effigies.

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trending_up market schedule Jan 14, 2026 visibility 31 link 11 artists, 5 galleries

peter hujar archive departs pace gallery joins ortuzar

The Peter Hujar Archive and Foundation has left Pace Gallery and will now be jointly represented by New York-based gallery Ortuzar and Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco. The archive will continue working with Mai 36 Galerie in Zürich and Maureen Paley in London on select projects. Ortuzar founder Ales Ortuzar expressed deep personal excitement about representing Hujar, who will be the first photographer the gallery has represented since its founding in 2018. The gallery plans two concurrent exhibitions this spring: a recreation of Hujar's 1986 show at Gracie Mansion and a group show featuring artists from his circle.

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article culture schedule Apr 14, 2026 visibility 64 link 8 artists, 2 galleries

‘They accomplished so much, even as they were dying’: the groundbreaking gay art of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek

Author and Frieze Magazine editor-in-chief Andrew Durbin has released a dual biography titled 'The Wonderful World That Almost Was,' chronicling the lives and creative partnership of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek. The book focuses on their relationship from the mid-1950s through the 1970s, detailing their collaborative influence and the development of their respective practices in photography and sculpture before both died of AIDS-related complications in the late 1980s.

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museum exhibitions schedule Mar 18, 2026 visibility 28 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

Paige Powell Didn’t Just Document Warhol’s Inner Circle. She Shaped It, Too

Paige Powell, a close confidante of Andy Warhol and former associate publisher of Interview magazine, is presenting a new exhibition of her photographs titled "Private Andy: Religious Services" at Jeffrey Deitch in Los Angeles. The show features intimate, often accidental images from 1986-87 that document Warhol's final days, including his volunteer work at a church and his funeral, revealing his spiritual side and the overlap of life and death.

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article culture schedule Jun 2, 2025 visibility 17 link 11 artists

art bites why tilda swinton napped moma

In 2013, visitors to New York's Museum of Modern Art encountered actress Tilda Swinton sleeping in a raised glass box in the lobby, a performance piece titled *The Maybe*. Swinton first performed the work at London's Serpentine Gallery in 1995, developed with Joanna Scanlan, and has reprised it only twice: at Rome's Museo Baracco in 1996 and at MoMA in 2013. The MoMA iteration, curated by Klaus Biesenbach, featured Swinton alone in the glass case for eight hours a day over seven days, without the historical curiosities that accompanied the original Serpentine installation. Swinton has stated in a 2024 interview that she intends to perform *The Maybe* again "when least expected."

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rate_review review schedule Apr 6, 2026 visibility 25 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

The Unbearable Strangeness of Being

South African artist Cinga Samson makes his New York debut at White Cube with "Ukuphuthelwa," an exhibition of haunting, large-scale oil paintings. The works feature figures with distinctive white pupils engaged in enigmatic rituals within dark, crepuscular landscapes. Drawing from the isiXhosa concept of spiritual alertness during sleeplessness, Samson’s compositions blend the palpable with the unearthly, often depicting scenes that feel choreographed yet remain stubbornly illegible to the Western gaze.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 7, 2026 visibility 20 link 1 artist

Beware the technology rat trap: Cooper Jacoby’s standout contribution to New York’s Whitney Biennial

Cooper Jacoby's sculptures at the Whitney Biennial explore how AI corporations and other companies turn personal data into financial assets. His five works, displayed in a green-carpeted space he describes as "almost like a rat trap," include the 2026 piece *Estate (July 10, 2022)*—a folding screen with an intercom that uses AI trained on social media posts from deceased creatives to generate vocal outputs. Another series, *Mutual Life*, features eye-like sculptures with clock hands that spin based on the biological age of anonymous individuals in the artist's network. Jacoby's work highlights the lack of regulation around digital life and death, and the opaque nature of AI systems.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Jul 1, 2025 visibility 12 link 5 artists, 2 galleries

artist solange pessoa aspen art museum

Cultured magazine interviews Brazilian artist Solange Pessoa about her new exhibition "Catch the sun with your hand" at the Aspen Art Museum, on view through October 26. The conversation explores parallels between Aspen's mining history and her home region of Minas Gerais, Brazil, her use of organic materials like blood and hair, her stone collection, and the sense of incompleteness in her process-based work. The exhibition features carved soapstone sculptures on the museum's roof and works inside that engage with crystals and silver.

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museum exhibitions schedule Dec 16, 2025 visibility 15 link 2 artists

marie antoinette execution guillotine va exhibition

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London has opened a major exhibition titled "Marie Antoinette Style," showcasing items from the French queen's life and death, including her final letter, a guillotine blade, and a plain linen chemise she wore in prison. The exhibition explores her legacy as a style icon and the public's enduring fascination with her execution during the French Revolution, featuring objects linked to her imprisonment and the macabre history of Madame Tussauds' Chamber of Horrors.

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museum exhibitions schedule Mar 23, 2026 visibility 20 link 6 artists, 4 galleries

Zhang Huan’s 125 Newbury Show Is Not for the Weak

Zhang Huan has unveiled a provocative new solo exhibition at 125 Newbury in New York, featuring a series of visceral works that utilize unconventional materials like cowhide and incense ash. The show centers on the artist's career-long exploration of the body, spirituality, and the cycle of life and death, anchored by large-scale sculptural paintings that challenge the viewer's sensory boundaries.

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candle obituary schedule Aug 1, 2025 visibility 25 link 14 artists

Robert Wilson, experimental playwright, director and artist, has died, aged 83

Robert Wilson, the visionary experimental playwright, director, and visual artist known for his highly stylized theatrical productions, has died at age 83. He passed away at his home in Water Mill, New York, on July 31 following a brief acute illness, according to a statement from the Watermill Center, the arts organization he founded. Wilson's most famous works include the silent opera *Deafman Glance* (1970) and the epic collaboration with composer Philip Glass, *Einstein on the Beach* (1976). He was also a prolific visual artist, creating drawings, sculptures, and video portraits, including a series featuring Lady Gaga, Pope.L, and Isabella Rossellini, and his work was exhibited at institutions such as SFMoMA, the Centre Pompidou, and the Louvre.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule May 13, 2026 visibility 9 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

In ‘Piercing the Veil,’ Marina Kappos Gets to Know the Spectre of Grief

Artist Marina Kappos opens her solo exhibition 'Piercing the Veil' at SHRINE gallery in New York City, running from May 15 to June 27. The show features her signature acrylic-on-wood-panel paintings that use thin layers of pigment to create gauzy, prismatic effects. Inspired by the sculptural figures of grieving women she encountered at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, Kappos explores themes of loss, memory, presence and absence, and the threshold between life and death. Works like 'Veil Study (Eclipse)' (2026) and 'Quantum Study (Green Entanglement)' (2025) depict hazy landscapes and keyhole-shaped portals that invite viewers to contemplate the unknown and the spiritual.

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museum exhibitions schedule Oct 9, 2025 visibility 26 link 3 artists, 1 gallery

Henry Art Gallery fall opening celebration hums with color and conversation

The Henry Art Gallery hosted its fall opening celebration on October 3, transforming the museum into a lively social event with a DJ set by KEXP's Diana Ratsamee and an open bar. The evening featured four exhibitions: "Spirit House," exploring life and death through works by 34 Asian diasporic artists; Charlene Liu's single painting "Scallion"; Rodney McMillian's "Neighbors," a multimedia reflection on social and civic violence; and Kameelah Janan Rasheed's "we leak, we exceed," an immersive text-based installation. The event drew crowds who engaged with the art and each other, creating a vibrant atmosphere that contrasted with the museum's usual quietude.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 27, 2026 visibility 19 link 8 artists, 2 galleries

Lucio Santiago | LA ESPERA (2015) | For Sale

Lucio Santiago's bronze sculpture "LA ESPERA" (2015) is listed for sale at US$3,400 through Bernardini Art Gallery & Auction House. The work measures 23 × 19 × 19 cm, is unique, and signed. Lucio Santiago, born in 1987 in Oaxaca de Juárez, is the son of artist Alejandro Santiago. His artistic training includes workshops in photography at the Manuel Álvarez Bravo center and with Katy McFadden, as well as graphic art at Gráfica Bambú and a three-year residency at La Ceiba in Xalapa. His first solo exhibition was in 2007, and he has since shown in Europe and the US. His work explores themes of life and death, incorporating wings, skeletons, mutilated bodies, and animals like eagles, fish, and coyotes.

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article local schedule Apr 10, 2026 visibility 16 link 3 artists, 1 gallery

Birmingham museum opens exhibition on death and grief

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery has launched a community-led exhibition exploring the universal experiences of death, dying, and grief. Curated in partnership with the local collective BrumYODO, the showcase features traditional mourning rituals alongside contemporary inquiries into how artificial intelligence might manage bereavement. The exhibition serves as the centerpiece for the annual "A Matter of Life and Death" festival, incorporating interactive workshops, clay-making sessions, and even a themed comedy night to engage the public with a typically taboo subject.

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article local schedule Apr 7, 2026 visibility 12 link 4 artists, 1 gallery

Community Exhibition Explores Death, Grief and Rituals at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery has launched a community-led exhibition exploring the universal themes of death, grief, and mourning rituals. Part of the annual "A Matter of Life and Death Festival 2026," the showcase combines historical artworks from the museum’s permanent collection with contemporary perspectives, including the role of artificial intelligence in grief management. The program features interactive workshops led by artists Bianca Beneduzi and Jemma Mellor, as well as a comedy night designed to spark open dialogue about mortality.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 9, 2026 visibility 18 link 1 artist

Gallery Conversation: Life and Death Lessons from Ancient Egypt (Jul 20)

The Art Institute of Chicago is hosting a gallery conversation titled "Life and Death Lessons from Ancient Egypt" on July 20, exploring ancient Egyptian objects and their reflections on mortality and living fully. The event is led by Ashley Arico, associate curator of ancient Egyptian art, and Sam Ramos, director of Gallery Activation, and will take place in Gallery 50 with folding stools provided.

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museum exhibitions schedule Aug 13, 2025 visibility 13 link 2 artists, 2 galleries

Polish artist's new Tartu exhibition explores inherent fragility of living organisms

Polish artist Paweł Matyszewski presents a new solo exhibition titled "Momentary Organisms" at Kogo Gallery in Tartu, Estonia, opening on August 15. The show explores the fragility and transformation inherent in all living organisms through exuberant, patchwork-like abstractions that merge plant and human body parts. The exhibition is part of a regional exchange program involving galleries in Turku, Riga, and Warsaw, curated by Šelda Puķīte, and will run until September 27.

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article culture schedule Apr 17, 2026 visibility 16 link 5 artists

Collapse Finance, Part 2: Longevity Capitalism—Life as an Asset Class

The essay explores the emergence of "longevity capitalism," a financial and biopolitical regime where biological duration and life expectancy are treated as assets for capital accumulation. As traditional welfare systems and collective pension schemes collapse, the uncertainty of human lifespan has been transformed into a speculative frontier, with retirement security increasingly tied to volatile private equity and cryptocurrency markets.

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museum exhibitions schedule May 15, 2026 visibility 6 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

The painter who pulls light from the darkness

Toronto-based artist Laura Findlay presents *Night Vision*, a solo exhibition at Glenhyrst Art Gallery in Brantford, Ontario, featuring ethereal oil paintings of nocturnal garden scenes. Using an Old Masters subtractive technique, Findlay applies dark glazes and wipes away pigment to create luminous images of birds, blooms, and bats that appear to emerge from darkness. The show runs through the spring of 2026.

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article news schedule May 6, 2025 visibility 12

house of helle and phrixus pompeii family death

A new study published in the Pompeii Excavations online journal reveals the final moments of a family during the 79 CE eruption of Mount Vesuvius. At the House of Helle and Phrixus in Pompeii, archaeologists found that the family attempted to barricade a bedroom door with a bed to survive the eruption, but perished. The remains of at least four individuals, including a child, were identified, along with a bronze amulet worn by the child and bronze kitchenware in the pantry.

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