April 21, 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 There Has Never Been an Apolitical Venice Biennale by Oliver Basciano for ArtReview. More than a century after its founding, the Venice Biennale remains a stage where art and national propaganda operate as tools of soft power.
Apollo Magazine
From the Editors, France passes law to make restitution easier
Michael Delgado, Restoring Dresden’s crowning glory
Anna Brady, Claude brings in the Monet at this month’s auctions in Paris
George Macbeth, Honoré Daumier, a satirist of his time – and ours
Art Asia Pacific
Mikala Tai, The 25th Biennale of Sydney: “Rememory”
Emmanuelle Richter, Mikala Tai to Curate 2027 TarraWarra Biennial
Yuqian Fan, Art Dubai Adapts to Conflict with “Special Edition”
The Art Newspaper
Scott Reyburn, Gulf art market feels the force of Middle East conflict
Mercedes Ezquiaga, Diego Rivera’s grandson donates more than 150,000 objects to Mexico City’s Museo Anahuacalli
Giovanni Aloi, What is a botanical curator? Rahel Kesselring takes on inaugural role at Fondation Beyeler
Roger Bowdler, New catalogues reveal Royal Collection’s vast sculpture holdings—and Queen Victoria’s acquisition spree
Artforum
Violet Dennison, Violet Dennison on Lee Lozano, Louis XIV, and the “Strangely Catchy” Judee Sill
From the Editors, Art Dubai to Present Significantly Smaller Event After Iran War Forces Postponement
From the Editors, Mikala Tai Appointed Curator of 2027 TarraWarra Biennial
From the Editors, Arthur Jafa and Julie Mehretu Among Art Basel Awards 2026 Medalists
From the Editors, Maria Schnyder Named New Director of De Pont Museum of Contemporary Art
Artnet
Richard Whiddington, Luminous Tiffany Window Poised to Net $2 Million at Auction
Jo Lawson-Tancred, V&A East Launches With a Fresh Lens on a 2.8 Million-Object Collection
Vittoria Benzine, Diane Keaton’s Iconic Wardrobe and Art Collection Head to Auction
Vittoria Benzine, Was This Anne Boleyn’s Seat? Rare 500-Year-Old Chair Linked to the Tudor Queen
Margaret Carrigan, Inside Sotheby’s Latest Financial Maneuvers
ARTnews
Karen Chernick, 13 Nudes That Changed Western Art History
Maximilíano Durón, Marian Goodman Gallery to ‘Pause’ Operations in Los Angeles
Alex Greenberger, Twombly Foundation to Exhibit Rare Rauschenberg Works at Gagosian
George Nelson, Agnes Gryczkowska Discusses Curating Marina Abramović’s New Berlin Mega Show
Bella Bromberg, Christie’s to Offer $35 M. Renoir Painting Owned by Whitney Family For Nearly a Century
Maximilíano Durón, A Work Gifted to David Drake’s Descendants Is the Star of Theaster Gates’s Powerful Gagosian Show
Leigh Anne Miller, AI Model Reveals New Information About Authorship of 17th-Century El Greco Altarpiece
Brian Boucher, Three Months Out from Mandated Deadline, Trump’s Sculpture Garden Languishes
Anne Doran, Rare Books Stolen from Former MoMA President Are Returned
Daniel Cassady, Alma Allen’s US Pavilion Heads to Venice Amid Questions Over Selection Process
Brian Boucher, Dealer Matthew Brown More Than Doubles His Los Angeles Space with Move to Hollywood Media District: ‘I Really Believe in LA’
Harrison Jacobs, Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter to Co-Headline ‘Immersive Experience’ at Art Basel
Tessa Solomon, Suspect Charged in $45,000 Fraud Incident Involving Floridian Museum
Alex Greenberger, Hans Ulrich Obrist Reveals the One Artist Who Refused to Let Him Into Their Studio
Andy Battaglia, See Photos from Archives of Nine Photographers Going to Center for Creative Photography
Daniel Cassady, Investor Says Artnet Layoffs Were Necessary for ‘Financial Strength’
Brian Boucher, Art Transport Hobbled and Prices Surging in Asia Amid US and Israel’s War in Iran
ArtReview
EDITOR’S PICK - Oliver Basciano, There Has Never Been an Apolitical Venice Biennale: More than a century on, the Venice Biennale remains a stage for soft-power plays, where art and propaganda are inseparable
From the Editors, Ibrahim Mahama awarded 2026 Arnold Bode Prize
BOMB
Jared Quinton, Haig Aivazian by Jared Quinton
Cultured
Eve Eismann, 13 Art Shows You Don’t Want to Miss During Milan Design Week
Karly Quadros, For Diya Vij, Mayor Mamdani’s New Culture Czar, Art Is a Labor Issue
Sam Falb, These Collectors Started With a Soviet Camera. Their Holdings Now Span Three Continents.
Financial Times
Julia Halperin, America’s Venice Biennale artist was scorned by tastemakers — he says he’s misunderstood
Frieze
Andrew Pasquier, What Do Danh Vo’s Curated Collections Add Up To?
The Guardian
María Ramírez, Picasso’s Guernica is the ultimate emblem of the horrors of war. It has no place in Spain’s partisan squabbles
Charlotte Jansen, Martin Parr: Global Warning review – the great photographer in all his gluttonous, giddy glory
Hyperallergic
Jerry Elengical, Jean Shin’s Living Memorial to the Trees of Green-Wood Cemetery
Isa Farfan, Mexico to Divert Train Route After Cave Art Discovery
John Yau, Jule Korneffel Finds Meaning at the End of Light
Jonah Goldman Kay, Leonardo Madriz’s Monuments to the Precarity of Now
Rhea Nayyar, Genesis P-Orridge’s Subversive Mail Art Goes on View
Naz Cuguoğlu, The Future of Museums Is a Dance Floor
The Los Angeles Times
Iris Kwok, Early visitors share first impressions of LACMA’s sprawling new building
The New York Times
Laura Rysman, For Italy’s Art Pioneer, a New Bronze Age
Lauren Gallow, How an Art Event in the California Desert Became a Community
Zoë Lescaze, An Artist Asks: Without Darkness, Who Are We?
Ted Loos, An Artist Devoted to the Origins of Paints
Observer
Daniel Grant, What Happens When a Sitter Hates Their Portrait?
Sarah Moroz, miart’s Three-Tier Experiment Reflects a Changing Milan
Urgent Matter
Adam Schrader, Court Documents: Jupiter Contemporary Legal Cases
Adam Schrader, Jupiter Contemporary faces lawsuits over rent, artist disputes and damaged artwork
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.