April 16, 2026
Your morning brew of art world media
Welcome to Art Spell, a daily, comprehensive roundup of art news and reviews for the visual arts community. Today’s Editor’s Pick is With Artnet and Artsy, Andrew Wolff Is Laying the Groundwork for a New Kind of Art-World Ecosystem by Elisa Carollo for Observer. Andrew Wolff says Beowolff’s combined ownership of Artnet and Artsy is establishing the foundation for a new AI-powered art ecosystem while keeping the platforms distinct.
Art in America
Ara H. Merjian, What We Miss When We Talk About Giacometti
Eliza Goodpasture, A Schiaparelli Show Offers a Properly Surrealist Mash-Up of Art and Fashion
The Art Newspaper
Richard Unwin, ‘The extremely happy part of the crowd’: Hungarian arts figures hope for change after 16 years of Orbán rule
James Imam, Barcelona museum refuses to return Sijena murals to monastery
Sarvy Geranpayeh, More than 200 cultural figures sign statement criticising international response to destruction of Iran’s heritage
Veronica Horwell, V&A exhibition honours designer Elsa Schiaparelli’s unique synthesis of fine art and fashion
Artforum
Tom McDonough, “Vagrant and Astray”: Danh Vo’s Wandering Objects at the Stedelijk
From the Editors, $120 Raffle Ticket Nets $1.2 Million Picasso
From the Editors, Hampshire College, Alma Mater to Many in the Arts, Closing
From the Editors, Sotheby’s Owes Real Estate Firm $10.2 Million Commission: Lawsuit
Artnet
Vittoria Benzine and Richard Whiddington, 7 New Art Books to Step Into Spring
Vittoria Benzine, Unseen George Condo Works Arrive at Auction From Anna Condo’s Collection
Margaret Carrigan, Art Dubai Downsizes Dramatically as War Reshapes Plans
Jo Lawson-Tancred, Mystery 17th-Century Portrait Sparks Search for Identity of Black Sitter
Richard Whiddington, Rare Medieval Seal Rediscovered After 40-Year Disappearance
Jo Lawson-Tancred, Is Chinese Censorship Reaching Inside Britain’s Museums?
Eileen Kinsella, Billionaire Collector Ken Griffin’s Basquiat Buying Spree Continues
Richard Whiddington, Historic Tiffany Window, Once Hidden in Texas Church, Reemerges at Crystal Bridges
Vittoria Benzine, Versailles Restores Royal Bedroom to Its 1789 Splendor
ARTnews
Anne Doran, Activist Super-Glues Herself to Display Cabinet at Berlin’s Bode Museum
Daniel Cassady, Art Dubai Unveils Leaner ‘Special Edition’ Built Around Regional Core
Tessa Solomon, V&A Pulls Catalog Materials Due to Chinese Censorship Laws
Daniel Cassady, Beowolff Combines Artsy and Artnet in Digital Art Market Push
Andy Battaglia, NBA Star Devon Booker Finds Perspective at James Turrell’s Fabled Roden Crater
Alex Greenberger, Met Museum to Stage Giacometti Show in Temple of Dendur This Summer
Daniel Cassady, The Met is Finally Treating Lee Krasner as Pollock’s Equal—Will the Market Follow?
Brian Boucher, Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential List Includes Artist Cao Fei and Photojournalist Lynsey Addario
Leigh Anne Miller, A Parisian Man Just Won a $1 Million Picasso Painting with a $117 Raffle Ticket
Maximilíano Durón, Erewhon, Grocery Store Known for $20-Plus Smoothies, to Set Up Shop in LACMA’s New Building
Harrison Jacobs, Billionaire Art Collector Ken Griffin Warns of Global Recession if Strait of Hormuz Remains Closed
Leigh Anne Miller, Lincoln Center Kicks Off Accessibility Project With Vibrant New Mural
ArtReview
Adeline Chia, Taiwan’s New Typologies
From the Editors, Morad Montazami appointed artistic director of 2026 Dakar Biennale
From the Editors, Toronto Biennial of Art announces 2026 artists and theme
From the Editors, Theme and artists announced for British Art Show 10
The Brooklyn Rail
Liam Otero, Robert Rauschenberg’s New York: Pictures from the Real World
Jan Staller, Christopher Payne: Made in America
Hindley Wang, Qiu Xiaofei: The Theater of Wither and Thrive
Ayesha Raees, Motohiro Takeda: Counting Leaves
Gabriel Meier, Prison and Port: Lineaments of Migrant Detention in South Texas
Pavlos Roufos, The Ratline, Neoliberalism, and the New Right in Chile
Frieze
From the Editors, New York: An Artist’s City
Ben Livne Weitzman, Can Textile Art Challenge the Status Quo?
Grace Byron, ‘New Humans’: A Hallucinatory Humanism Worth Moving Toward
The Guardian
Chloë Ashby, Paula Rego review – tantalising drawings with the shoeprints left on them
Peter Bradshaw, Colours of Time review – Monet meets Mamma Mia in charming French artist comedy
Matthew Cantor, ‘Designed to disorient’: LA art museum unveils enormous concrete gallery, 20 years in the making
Hyperallergic
Hakim Bishara, In the Studio With Rama Duwaji
Rhea Nayyar, “Boycott the Bezos Met Gala” Posters Emerge Across NYC
Leigh Raiford, Inside a Black Panther Family Album
Isa Farfan, Georgia O’Keeffe Museum Launches Digital Catalogue Raisonné
Lisa Yin Zhang, Remembering Pearl Fryar, Siri Aurdal, and Frank Stack
The Los Angeles Times
Sam Lubell, Peter Zumthor on criticism of LACMA’s David Geffen Galleries, and how L.A. changed his practice for good
The New York Times
Max Lakin, ‘Greater New York’ Brings the Noisy, Messy Vitality of 53 Artists
Eleanor Stanford, An 18-Foot Black Woman Opens a New Door to London’s V&A
Annabel Keenan, Putting Connecticut Artists in the Spotlight
Jillian Anthony, In the Tech Heart of Texas, an Art Show Built on Data, Code and A.I.
Hilarie M. Sheets, Honoring Frederic Church: Beyond the Hudson River School
John Hanc, ‘Rethinking, Reimagining and Reinstalling’ the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Morgan Malget, What to See This Spring at Museums Across the Country
Observer
EDITOR’S PICK - Elisa Carollo, With Artnet and Artsy, Andrew Wolff Is Laying the Groundwork for a New Kind of Art-World Ecosystem: “We will preserve those differentiated voices while quietly building connective tissue—shared data architecture, technology and tools that enhance both brands,” Wolff told Observer in a recent interview.
Noah Berlatsky, Critic Megan O’Grady On Art and Feeling Alive
Dan Duray, Kate McNamara Has Ambitious Ideas About What Harvard’s Carpenter Center Can Be
Elisa Carollo, The Exhibitions Not to Miss During Milan Art Week
Elisa Carollo, How One Art Shipping Company Is Pairing A.I.-Driven Efficiencies With Hands-On Human Attention
Urgent Matter
Adam Schrader, Art Dubai announces ‘special edition’ details amid ongoing Iran war disruptions
Adam Schrader, Protester superglues herself to display at Berlin’s Bode Museum
The Washington Post
Phillip Kennicott, Raphael, a master of serenity, is the artist we need right now
Art Spell is a subscription-based daily roundup of art news and reviews to help you stay current with what’s being reported on in the visual arts community. The profits from Art Spell are donated to organizations supporting art journalists and writers.