April 28, 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 Comment | Museums are civic institutions. It’s time we acted like it by Lori Fogarty for The Art Newspaper. Director of the Oakland Museum of California argues museums must actively commit to equity and community engagement to earn public trust.
Apollo Magazine
Robert Hanks, Man paints dog: a history of canine art
Valeria Costa-Kostritsky, Inside the crisis at the Louvre
Samuel Reilly, Wanted: a permanent home for Glasgow’s perpetual motion machines
Nicole Rudick, How Marcel Duchamp invented modern art
Edward Behrens, Shining new light on Richter
Christina Makris, Château La Coste keeps its eyes on the prize
William Aslet, The craftsmen with a material understanding of architecture
Emma Crichton-Miller, When form plus function equals fun
Digby Warde-Aldam, Hurvin Anderson’s high-wire acts
Zachary Ginsberg, ‘The best work is chronically online’: at the Whitney Biennial
Arjun Sajip, Frieze is building bridges in New York
Charles Darwent, Jasper Johns, the quiet American
Benjamin Markovits, A Cornish scene where nothing happens, but every detail is full of life
Helena Attlee, Documenting the devastating power of Mount Etna
Fatema Ahmed, What to see at TEFAF New York 2026
Jane Morris, In the art market IRL still beats URL
Hettie Judah, The earthly delights of Abbas Akhavan
Art Asia Pacific
Aisha Traub Chan, The Essential Works of Rirkrit Tiravanija
Louis Lu, Queer Horizon: “Spectrosynthesis Seoul” at Art Sonje Center
Yuqian Fan, Israel Criticizes Venice Biennale Jury over Pavilion’s Exclusion
Art in America
Chen & Lampert, Hard Choices: Should You Donate to Institutions Getting Gutted by Trump?
The Art Newspaper
Gareth Harris, Major Greek contemporary art non-profit Neon to close after 14 years
Amanda Haynes, Barbados’s slavery museum and memorial faces major delays
Alexandre Crochet, Wildenstein dispute over Monet work highlights art market opacity
EDITOR’S PICK - Lori Fogarty, Comment | Museums are civic institutions. It’s time we acted like it: At the Oakland Museum of California we often say: “Keep doing the good work.” We need to be clearer about what the work is and how we commit to it
Benjamin Sutton, Towering homage to Bamiyan Buddhas rises over Manhattan’s High Line
Tim Stone, The forgotten Chinese conceptualists: Melbourne show brings together works by New Measurement Group
Caroline Roux, ‘It’s like the natural world. Nothing lasts forever’: Tadashi Kawamata on creating his temporary sculptures
Matthew Holman, Book uncovers the life of Barnett Newman, an artist who ran for New York mayor
From the Editors, Spice up your life: Tate channels 90s glam at The Groucho Club
Artforum
From the Editors, Inside Alex Da Corte’s practice—from Claes Oldenburg to Rosalyn Drexler and Jessica Stockholder
From the Editors, Liu Ding and Carol Yinghua Lu Named Curators of the 19th Istanbul Biennial
From the Editors, The Box Shutters in Los Angeles After Nearly Two Decades
From the Editors, Sharjah Art Foundation Announces 2027 Biennial Programming
From the Editors, Art Publisher Owes $102.2 Million in Damages for Late Robert Indiana Works
Artnet
Vittoria Benzine, Rare Roy Lichtenstein Work Could Net $60 Million at Auction
Jo Lawson-Tancred, $102 Million Verdict Over Robert Indiana Artwork May End Years-Long Legal Battle
Richard Whiddington, Lost New Testament Pages Recovered After 1,500 Years
Vittoria Benzine, Michael Jackson Accessories Hit the Market Amid Biopic Buzz
Richard Whiddington, This 17th-Century ‘Supercomputer’ Could Set a New Auction Record
ARTnews
Brian Boucher, $60 M. Lichtenstein Comes to the Block at Christie’s, Potentially Joining His Priciest Works at Auction
Anne Doran, Newly Excavated Egyptian Tomb Sheds Light on Greco-Roman Era
Leigh Anne Miller, Seven-Foot-Tall Monument to Ramses II Discovered in Eastern Nile Delta Region
Andy Battaglia, Art Show in London Canceled Over Allegations of Antisemitism from Pro-Israel Group
Eana Kim, Newsmakers: Nalini Malani Lets the Walls Speak with a New Installation in Venice
Daniel Cassady, At 77, Painter Archie Rand Is Still Telling New Stories
Tessa Solomon, Sharjah Biennial Lines Up 109 Artists for 2027 Edition, Titled ‘What Remains, Sits Restive’
Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, Digital Art Pioneer Nancy Burson Collapses the Border Between Mysticism and Quantum Physics
Brian Boucher, A Long-Running Case Centering on Alleged Robert Indiana Forgeries Is Resolved with a $102 M. Settlement
Tessa Solomon, Italian Culture Minister Will Not Attend Venice Biennale Opening in Protest of Russia’s Participation
ArtReview
Rosanna McLaughlin, Can We Stop Making Biopics Now?
Sonja Teszler, Rafał Zajko Is Hatching a Plan
From the Editors, Amanda Carneiro and Raphael Fonseca to curate 2027 Bienal de São Paulo
From the Editors, Filipa Ramos takes on 2027 Lofoten Festival
From the Editors, Italian culture minister will not attend opening of Venice Biennale
Financial Times
Amy Sherlock, Lubaina Himid’s art is haunted by a vexed question: who gets to belong in Britain?
Frieze
From the Editors, What Not to Miss in Venice’s Arsenale and Giardini
From the Editors, The Must-See Off-Site Shows at the 61st Venice Biennale
Agnish Ray, Inside Mirna Bamieh’s Edible Meditations on Borders and Belonging
The Guardian
Ben Eastham, Salon review – like getting to know fascinating guests at a fabulous party
From the Editors, ‘Street culture is about revolution’: Brazilian ‘hip-hop’ painter Paulo Nimer Pjota
Melisa Denes, ‘The doorbell went at 5am. Six masked men were outside’: Belarus Free Theatre bring totalitarian terror to the Venice Biennale
Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, ‘I was super horny when I made my early work’: Loie Hollowell’s abstract paintings of breasts and vaginas
Hyperallergic
Rhea Nayyar, Russia’s Venice Pavilion to Close to the Public in Compliance With Sanctions
Aaron Short, Co-Working Meets Art at Brooklyn’s Newest Experimental Space
Hakan Topal, The Death of the Art School
Bella Bromberg, Pussy Riot Shows Art by Russia’s Prisoners in New Protest Exhibition
Monica Uszerowicz, Joe Macken Spent 22 Years Building a Miniature New York by Hand
Natalie Haddad, Kim Gordon Was Never Just the “Girl in the Band”
Coco Picard, Lee ShinJa’s Handwoven Portals
The New York Times
Robin Pogrebin, With ‘Sister Dreamer’ Park, Lauren Halsey Brings Her Heroes Home
The New Yorker
Observer
Elisa Carollo, The Vintage Leica Market Is Surging as Analog Photography Finds New Devotees
Christa Terry, Inside YAGP’s 2026 Stars of Today Meet the Stars of Tomorrow Gala
Nicolas Vamvouklis, Art Brussels Keeps Getting Better at Being Itself
Elisa Carollo, Christie’s Locks in the $450 Million S.I. Newhouse Collection
T Magazine
Rose Corteau, The Artist Whose Work Is as ‘Boundless’ as Water
Urgent Matter
Adam Schrader, Right-wing group Judicial Watch sues Justice Department for records in art theft
Adam Schrader, Taiwan’s Supreme Court upholds artist Sakuliu Pavavalong’s rape conviction
Adam Schrader, Police identify suspect in theft of George Washington painting from Pa. restaurant
Adam Schrader, Exiled Putin critic Marat Guelman opens atomic bomb show at Ethan Cohen
Vanity Fair
The Wall Street Journal
Kelly Crow, War Threatens a Rising Iranian Sculptor’s Breakthrough
The Washington Post
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.