April 29, 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 Venice Biennale 2026: How Do You Critique a Posthumous Exhibition? by Martin Herbert for ArtReview. Martin Herbert explores how the 2026 Venice Biennale’s posthumous curation complicates how it can be critically judged.
The Art Newspaper
Sophia Kishkovsky, EU imposes sanctions on Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of Russia’s State Hermitage Museum
Martin Bailey, Ittai Gradel, gems expert who uncovered British Museum thefts, dies aged 61
James Imam, Israel’s foreign ministry accuses Venice Biennale’s jury of ‘politicising’ exhibition
Mercedes Ezquiaga, Two Brazilian curators selected to organise 2027 Bienal de São Paulo
Aimee Dawson, Tefaf restoration award goes to 500-year-old Medici tapestry
Claudia Barbieri Childs, Who is Gladys Hynes? Show reinstates forgotten artist who once represented Britain at the Venice Biennale
Caroline Roux, East Africa meets Western Europe as Michael Armitage takes on Venice’s Palazzo Grassi
Ben Luke, A brush with... Andrew Cranston—podcast
Artforum
Alex Bacon and David Lamelas, “I deny the concept of sole ownership of artwork”: David Lamelas on his survey at Dia
From the Editors, Arts Collective to Open New Arts Center in Northampton England
From the Editors, Marcello Dantas Named Curator of 2027–29 Vancouver Biennale
From the Editors, Russia’s Venice Pavilion Will Be Closed to Public for Duration of Biennale
From the Editors, Amanda Carneiro and Raphael Fonseca Appointed Curators of the 37th São Paulo Bienal
Artnet
Richard Whiddington, The Newest Docent at This Historic Italian Palace Is a Robot
Richard Whiddington, Lost New Testament Pages Recovered After 1,500 Years
Margaret Carrigan, Online Auctions Continue to Draw in First-Time Art Buyers as Sales Grow
Richard Whiddington, America’s Finest Renaissance Tapestry Set for Major Restoration
Vittoria Benzine, Star-Studded Doc on Auction Icon Simon de Pury Heads to Cannes
Vittoria Benzine, Row Over Russia’s Return to the Venice Biennale Deepens
Jo Lawson-Tancred, São Paulo Biennial Names Two Rising Brazilian Curators for 2027 Show
ARTnews
Harrison Jacobs, Natasha Tontey to Unveil Major New Immersive Installation Exploring Indigenous Resistance During Venice Biennale
Harrison Jacobs, A Theatre Group of Exiled Belarusian Artists Arrive in Venice, With an Exhibition That Shows What Repression Feels Like
Maximilíano Durón, Raphael Fonseca and Amanda Carneiro to Curate the 2027 Bienal de São Paulo
Daniel Cassady, New Jersey Father and Daughter Plead Guilty to $2 M. Counterfeit Art Scheme
Daniel Cassady, Judge Orders Prado to Hold Disputed Velázquez Painting in Divorce Case
Leigh Anne Miller, What Does Damien Hirst Have to Do With This Giant McDonald’s Ball Pit in Milan?
Daniel Cassady, Republicans Push $400 M. White House Ballroom After Gala Attack
Andy Battaglia, Aspen AIR Festival to Feature Lucy Raven, Camille Henrot, Los Thuthanaka, Morgan Bassichis, and More
Alex Greenberger, Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art Gets $490 M. from Powerful Real Estate Firm
ArtReview
EDITOR’S PICK - Martin Herbert, Venice Biennale 2026: How Do You Critique a Posthumous Exhibition?: Previous artistic directors have found themselves ripe for a panning. Martin Herbert wonders what will happen to Koyo Kouoh’s In Minor Keys, if anything at all
From the Editors, ArtReview Podcast | Episode 6: Hyeree Ro
BOMB
Phaan Howng, Carly Glovinski by Phaan Howng
Kevin Tervala and Katie Cooke, Rachel Lee Hovnanian by Kevin Tervala and Katie Cooke
Financial Times
Jackie Wullschläger, Matthew Wong’s rhapsodies in blue claim their place in art history
Debika Ray, ‘I wanted to make her proud’: Venice Biennale artists on realising the late Koyo Kouoh’s vision
Frieze
Evan Moffit, Lydia Ourahmane’s Simple Yet Audacious Acts
Matthew Holman, A Brief History of Protest at the Venice Biennale
From the Editors, How to Stage a Performance in Venice
Angel Lambo, Sammy Baloji Binds Past and Present in Uneasy Union
Alastair Curtis, Bugarin + Castle Lead a Parade of Shame
Kite and Livia Russel, Work in Progress: Kite
Galerie
Rima Suqi, Meet the Maker Producing Transfixing Vessels of Candy Ribbon-like Ceramics
Rena Gross, Gagosian Relocates to Ground Floor at Historic 980 Madison Avenue
Alexandria Sillo, Van Cleef & Arpels’s “Spring Is Blooming” Returns to Rockefeller Center
Caroline Roux, Fondazione Dries Van Noten Opens Its Doors in Venice
The Guardian
Steven Morris, ‘Still lots to talk about’: UK galleries team up to shine light on female artists
Nicholas Wroe, Concrete sun tunnels and shimmering pools of water: the monumental land art of Nancy Holt
Jonathan Jones, Zurbarán review – ecstatic visions, primitive surrealism … and the finest loincloths ever painted
Hyperallergic
Isa Farfan, The US Pavilion Is Taking Online Donations
Eliana Perozo, DACA Artist Uses Thread to Weave Immigration Stories
Matt Stromberg, The Box LA, Beloved Risk-Taking Art Space, Closes After 19 Years
Lauren Moya Ford, The Mysterious Life of Fluxus Dame Alison Knowles
Aditya Lyer, The Revolutionary Tapestry of Nigerian Modernism
Isa Farfan, Mexican Cultural Workers Denounce Pedro Reyes Sculpture at LACMA
The New York Times
Alex Marshall, A Curator Died Suddenly. Could the Art World’s Most Important Event Be Saved?
Observer
Christa Terry, At the New York Academy of Art’s Annual Benefit, the Studio Visits Are the Main Event
Jordan Riefe, LACMA’s Bold New Wing Can’t Quite Escape Its Own Contradictions
Elisa Carollo, The Last Surrealist: Artist Enrico Donati’s Collection Heads to Auction
Henry Roberts, At 88, Joel Meyerowitz Is Still Playing Games
Puck
Ingrid Abramovitch, The Luxury Marauders Take Milan
Urgent Matter
Adam Schrader, Woman damages Fountain of Neptune on a pre-wedding dare to grope nude statue
Adam Schrader, Latino arts center The Clemente names inaugural Van Lier fellowship recipients
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.