'Trusting that first reaction is important': Nacho Polo and Robert Onuska on the process of collecting

Nacho Polo and Robert Onuska, co-founders of the design gallery Studiotwentyseven, discuss their art collection in an interview with The Art Newspaper. Housed in their Tribeca apartment, the collection spans painting, sculpture, and photography with an emphasis on materiality and sculptural form. They recount their first acquisition—Ron Gorchov's *Autolykos* (2019)—and their most recent purchase, Alex Katz's *Nine Women 5* (2009). The couple also shares their instinctive buying process, a regret over missing a Nick Cave sculpture, and their anticipation for the Jean and Terry de Gunzburg collection at Sotheby's this spring.

A $35 M. Warhol, a $45 M. Basquiat, and More: Who’s Selling The Top Works in the May Sales?

The article reports on the upcoming May marquee sales at Christie’s and Sotheby’s, detailing high-value consignments from major collections. Christie’s will offer works from the estates of S. I. Newhouse (including a Brâncuși sculpture and a Jackson Pollock painting, each estimated at $100 million), former MoMA board president Agnes Gund (a Rothko estimated at $80 million), and the late dealer Marian Goodman (a Gerhard Richter estimated at $50 million). Sotheby’s counters with a Rothko from the collection of the late Robert Mnuchin (estimated at $100 million) and works from David and Shoshanna Wingate, including a Giacometti sculpture. The article also reveals previously unnamed consignors for top lots, such as collector John Sayegh-Belchatowski for a $45 million Basquiat and the Moore family for an Elizabeth Peyton painting.

Hotel and art hub Casabianca opens on Italy's Lake Como

The De Santis family, accomplished hoteliers on Lake Como, has opened Casabianca, a new hotel and art hub in a 1930 villa designed by Piero Ponci. The property features three apartment-style suites launching later this year, while its lower floors are already open to the public for €15, displaying around 50 works from the family's collection of post-war Italian art, including pieces by Arte Povera artists such as Alighiero Boetti, Mario Merz, and Jannis Kounellis. The venture is the latest in a series of heritage hotel restorations by the family, who previously revived the Grand Hotel Tremezzo and Passalacqua.

Botticelli Painting Banned from Export Will Stay in the UK

A Botticelli painting, *The Virgin and Child Enthroned* (1470s), previously placed under an export ban to keep it in the UK, has been acquired by the Klesch Collection. The work, valued at £10.2 million, will remain in England through a three-year loan to the Ashmolean Museum at the University of Oxford. The painting was bought in 1904 by Harriet Sarah Jones Loyd (Lady Wantage) from Italian dealer Elia Volpi, who had acquired it from the Magherini Graziani family.

Botticelli under UK export ban purchased by Klesch Collection

A Botticelli painting, *The Virgin and Child Enthroned* (1470s), valued at £10.2 million, has been purchased by the Klesch Collection, a British private collection, after the UK government placed an export bar on the work in May 2025. The painting, which sold at Sotheby’s London in late 2024 for £9.7 million, will be loaned to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford for three years, ensuring it remains in the UK.

From monumental glass sculptures to a lagoon in the sky: what to see beyond the Venice Biennale pavilions

The article highlights several must-see exhibitions and installations beyond the main Venice Biennale pavilions. Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo's redevelopment of the island of San Giacomo opens on 7 May, transforming abandoned Napoleonic-era powder magazines into exhibition spaces with a solo show by British artist Matt Copson and a group show from her collection. American artist Melissa McGill presents 'Marea', a street-spanning installation of 100 paintings created with local residents and students, addressing climate change and rising sea levels. Dale Chihuly returns to Venice with 'Chihuly: Venice 2026', featuring monumental glass installations along the Grand Canal, including 'Gold Tower' (2025). Wallace Chan unveils titanium sculptures at the Chapel of Santa Maria della Pietà, with a parallel exhibition at the Long Museum in Shanghai.

The Multibillion-Dollar Maneuvers Behind the Met’s Raphael Show

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has opened “Raphael: Sublime Poetry,” the largest survey dedicated to the Renaissance master in the U.S., featuring 33 paintings and 142 works on paper. The exhibition includes loans from 60 public institutions across 11 countries, as well as private loans from billionaire Leon Black, and the estimated aggregate value of the art on view is in the billions of dollars. Curated by Carmen Bambach, the show took eight years to organize and follows her previous triumphs on Leonardo and Michelangelo.

Lake Flato Shapes a Stunning New Art Space in Texas Hill Country

A new art space called Arthouse is opening on April 25, 2026, in Marble Falls, Texas. Designed by the architecture firm Lake Flato, the 2,000-square-foot white building will display works from the personal collection of philanthropists Mickey and Jeanne Klein, including pieces by Mary C. Sloane, Kenturah Davis, Faith Ringgold, Ed Ruscha, James Turrell, and Teresita Fernández. The debut exhibition, "Words Matter," curated by Mickey Klein, explores text and narrative and coincides with the town's Paint the Town Art Festival. The building also features a courtyard designed by landscape designer Sada Uchiyama.

Local Collections Shine at Sarasota Art Museum's Latest Exhibition

Sarasota Art Museum (SAM) has opened a new exhibition titled "Something Borrowed, Something New," featuring works from private collectors across Southwest Florida. The show includes pieces by renowned artists such as Chuck Close, KAWS, Richard Serra, Yoko Ono, Ai Weiwei, and Louise Bourgeois, spanning paintings, prints, sculptures, and mixed media from the 20th and 21st centuries. The exhibition was inspired by a museum trip program, during which executive director Virginia Shearer noticed that local collectors owned significant works by artists featured in major institutions like the Renwick Gallery and Glenstone.

Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy closing for summer, but 37 other exhibitions on view at museums in May

The article provides a roundup of museum exhibitions on view in Southwest Florida during May, highlighting five new openings, eight closings, and 25 continuing shows across museums from Sarasota to Naples. Featured exhibitions include Molly Hatch's site-specific ceramic installation "Amalgam" at Sarasota Art Museum, Jillian Mayer's interactive "Slumpies" sculptures, a group show "Something Borrowed, Something New" with works by Louise Bourgeois, Chuck Close, David Hockney, Yoko Ono, Kara Walker, and Ai Weiwei, and Maria A. Guzman Capron's solo textile exhibition "Penumbra." The Marietta Museum of Art & Whimsy is noted as closing for the summer.

A new foundation for contemporary art has been born in Spain. Collector Gabriel Calparsoro told us about it

In Spagna è nata una nuova fondazione per l’arte contemporanea. Il collezionista Gabriel Calparsoro ce l’ha raccontata

The Calparsoro Foundation, a new contemporary art foundation, has been launched in Spain by collector Gabriel Calparsoro. Its inaugural event was the presentation of Isaac Julien's video installation "Once Again … (Statues never die)" at the Museo Lazaro Galdiano in Madrid. The foundation aims to share Calparsoro's private collection of around 180 works, which focuses on North American and international artists addressing political and social issues related to ethnic and gender minorities.

Facing Modernity: Degas to Picasso to open at Shepparton Art Museum

Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) in Victoria, Australia, will host the exhibition "Facing Modernity: Degas to Picasso" from 23 May to 20 September 2026. The show features 37 paintings and sculptures from Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, including works by masters such as Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Salvador Dalí. Many of these works are part of a major philanthropic gift from New York-based collectors Julian and Josie Robertson, donated to the Auckland gallery in 2023, and have never before been shown in Australia.

Carole A. Feuerman | Miniature Serena (with Blue-Green Tube) (2021) | For Sale

Carole A. Feuerman's sculpture "Miniature Serena (with Blue-Green Tube)" (2021) is being offered for sale. The work is an oil on resin piece with 24K gold leaf cap, table-top scale, measuring 10 x 17 x 8 inches, from a variant of 10. Feuerman, born in 1945, is an American sculptor and author credited with co-founding the Hyperrealist movement in the late 1970s, known for figurative works of swimmers and dancers. Her public sculptures have been displayed globally, including at Central Park, the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, the Venice Biennale, and the State Hermitage Museum. She has received multiple awards, including the Medici Award, and her works are in the permanent collections of 31 museums and owned by notable figures such as Steven A. Cohen, former President Bill Clinton, and Dr. Henry Kissinger.

Who’s The Next Obsession? 12 European Collectors Reveal How They Discover New Talent

Cultured magazine asked 12 European collectors how they discover new talent, timed to the 61st Venice Biennale. Collectors like Nicole Saikalis Bay, Amélie du Chalard, Belma Gaudio, and Laurent Asscher share their personal approaches—ranging from emotional resonance and dialogue with existing works to long-term obsession with an artist before acquiring a piece. The responses reveal a diversity of methods, from instinct-driven buying to conceptual and technical evaluation.

Exhibition explores revolutionary artists the Scottish Colourists in a new light

A major exhibition opening at The Arc Gallery in Winchester places the Scottish Colourists—SJ Peploe, JD Fergusson, GL Hunter, and FCB Cadell—in dialogue with their European and UK contemporaries for the first time. Running until September, the show features 70 artworks including André Derain's *The Pool of London* (1906) on loan from the Tate, alongside works by Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant, Walter Sickert, Augustus John, and Roderic O'Connor. The exhibition is presented by Hampshire Cultural Trust in partnership with the Fleming Collection and explores the international "colour revolution" from 1905 to 1914, examining influences of Cubism and Vorticism.

Arshile Gorky Exhibition at Armenian Museum of America Extended through September

The Armenian Museum of America in Watertown has extended the exhibition “Arshile Gorky: Redrawing Community and Connections” through September 27 due to overwhelming interest and positive reviews from publications including Boston Art Review and Artscope magazine. Curated by Kim S. Theriault and sponsored by the JHM Charitable Foundation, the show brings together works from private collectors and institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Housatonic Museum of Art, and Yale University Art Gallery, and was highlighted as a top pick by the Boston Globe and GBH Arts Editor Jared Bowen.

Landmark Gorky Exhibit Extended at Armenian Museum

The Armenian Museum of America has extended its landmark exhibition "Arshile Gorky: Redrawing Community and Connections" through September 27, 2026, due to overwhelming interest and positive reviews. This is the first exhibition of Arshile Gorky's work in an Armenian museum, featuring paintings and drawings on loan from the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Housatonic Museum of Art, Yale University Art Gallery, private collectors, and other lenders. Curated by Kim S. Theriault and sponsored by the JHM Charitable Foundation, the show opened to coincide with the 100 Years of Arshile Gorky programming in Watertown, Massachusetts.

Arshile Gorky exhibition at AMA extended through September 2026

The Armenian Museum of America (AMA) in Watertown, Massachusetts, has extended its exhibition "Arshile Gorky: Redrawing Community and Connections" through September 27, 2026, due to overwhelming interest and positive reviews from publications such as Boston Art Review and Artscope magazine. Curated by Kim S. Theriault and sponsored by the JHM Charitable Foundation, the show is the first exhibition of Gorky’s work in an Armenian museum, featuring loans from the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Housatonic Museum of Art, Yale University Art Gallery, private collectors, and the Armenian diaspora.

Two students find community through the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum’s docent program

Two art students from Appalachian State University, Jenna Curlee and Frankie Mancuso, have become docents at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum (BRAHM) in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. As volunteer hosts and tour guides, they engage with visitors, share stories about exhibits, and participate in excursions to artists' studios, historic sites, and private collectors' homes. The program has deepened their connection to the local art community and influenced their own artistic practices.

New York art museum showcases Raphael's rare prints

The Murray Hill Art Museum in New York has opened an exhibition featuring 100 rare prints of works by Italian Renaissance master Raphael. The show includes engravings and lithographs from the museum's own collection as well as loans from private collectors across the United States, and was attended by local artists and collectors at its opening ceremony on April 25, 2026.

Oklahoma Arts Council receives largest gift to state art collection

The Oklahoma Arts Council has received the largest gift in the history of the Oklahoma State Art Collection: ten works by influential Native artists from The Howard L. and Mary Ellen Meredith Collection, donated by America Meredith and Samonia Byford in honor of their parents. The donated works include pieces by Benjamin Harjo Jr., Norma Howard, Vanessa Paukeigope Jennings, Ruthe Blalock Jones, Shan Goshorn, Doc Tate Nevaquaya, Jane Osti, Juanita Pahdopony, Jeri Redcorn, and Dick West. The artworks are now on display in the Betty Price Gallery at the Oklahoma State Capitol, alongside two other recent acquisitions.

Collecting Now 2: Six Collectors exhbit at the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Arts (YSMA)

Six prominent Nigerian art collectors are exhibiting selections from their private collections at the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art (YSMA) in Lagos. The exhibition, titled 'Collecting Now 2', showcases contemporary African art and highlights the personal tastes and motivations of these influential individuals.