Welcome to Art Spell, a daily, comprehensive roundup of art news and reviews for the visual arts community. Today’s Editor’s Pick is National Pavilions We Loved at the Venice Biennale by Hrag Vartanian and Aruna D’Souza for Hyperallergic. Critics highlight their favorite 2026 Venice Biennale national pavilions.
Art in America
Andy Battaglia, After a Much-Maligned MoMA Retrospective, Björk’s Hometown Museum Gives Her a Second Chance
The Art Newspaper
Martin Bailey, A century ago, Tate borrowed five Van Goghs to inaugurate its new ‘modern foreign’ galleries
Melissa Gronlund, Riyadh’s JAX cultural district expands with Lift gallery arrival
Allison C. Meier, ‘Race against time’ to rescue Alabama Civil Rights landmark
Bendor Grosvenor, Comment | I’m trying my hand at writing an art historical novel—it is the best training in looking I’ve ever set myself
Amrita Singh, New documentary focuses on traditional crafts around the world and the pressures facing artisans
Carlie Porterfield, The Armory Show will launch two museum acquisition prizes at upcoming fair
Artforum
Matthew Linde, Marc Jacobs and the Power of Style, With Matthew Linde
Allyn Aglaïa, Exercises in Immortality: Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s “Sweet Revenge”
Mateus Nunes, Chromatic Relations: Peter Bradley Takes a Chance on Color
From the Editors, French Heat Wave Fries Flowers at Monet Gardens in Giverny
From the Editors, National Gallery of Art Adds a Slew of New Artists to Its Collection
From the Editors, Fake Webpage Takes Credit for Jordan Casteel’s Work
From the Editors, Speed Art Museum Repatriates 24 Artifacts to Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
Artnet
Nolan Simon, Marcel Duchamp in Full: Join Painter Nolan Simon on a Tour of MoMA’s Sprawling Show
Jo Lawson-Tancred, The Other Anguissolas: Four Forgotten Renaissance Women Painters Take the Spotlight
Andrew Russeth, MoMA PS1 Gets New Cafe, Neue Galerie’s to Reopen—and Other Art World Matters
Sonia Manalili and Min Chen, Welcome to the World of Julio Torres and Martine Gutierrez
Vittoria Benzine, The Bill Blass Archive Has Finally Come to Market
Andrew Russeth, Jordan Wolfson Is Opening a Major Show at Gagosian. He Does Not Want to Talk About It
Vittoria Benzine, Cult-Fave Art Space Blank Forms Is Getting a New Home in SoHo
Gabi Vidal-Irizarry, Hunting the Marina Abramović at the Brand-New Balloon Museum—and More Juicy Art-World Gossip
ARTnews
Tessa Solomon, After Leadership Shakeup, Telfair Museums Names Caitlín Doherty as Next Director
Brian Boucher, Visitors to the Walker Art Center Encounter Olalekan Jeyifous’s Digital Artwork and Wrongly Brand It ‘AI Slop’
Daniel Cassady, ‘Amateur Artist’ Charged in $80K Theft From Minneapolis Painter’s Studio
Andy Battaglia, Gagosian to Show New Jordan Wolfson Works at His First Show With the Gallery in New York
Vivienne Chow, Taiwan Calls Renaming of National Pavilion at Gwangju Biennale ‘Political Censorship’
Maximilíano Durón, MoMA PS1’s Newest Restaurant Will Be Symone, a French African Cafe by DeVonn Francis
Maximilíano Durón, Armory Show Announces Two Museum Acquisition Prizes, Launching at September Fair
ArtReview
Martin Herbert, Franco Vaccari: Reverie Against Ruin
From the Editors, Gwangju Biennale accused of censoring pavilion title
From the Editors, Mariam Elnozahy to curate 2nd Ulaanbaatar Biennale
Frieze
From the Editors, Applications for Frieze New York 2027 Are Now Open
Natalie Haddad, Enrico David’s Spectral Figures Are Hard to Forget
Laura Robertson, Rafael Pérez Evans Confronts Britain’s Care Crisis
The Guardian
Jonathan Jones, Kapoor’s blockbusting blobs, terrible Tudors and Emin’s proteges – the week in art
Veronica Esposito, ‘She had this divine calling’: the incredible and transporting art of Minnie Evans
Mark Brown, See the Light: Tracey Emin and Steve McQueen illuminate Durham gallery’s revival
Dee Jefferson, Dozens of ‘dangerous’ artworks are buried under dirt in Sydney, and Heap visitors will be asked to dig deep
Hyperallergic
EDITOR’S PICK - Hrag Vartanian and Aruna D’Souza, National Pavilions We Loved at the Venice Biennale: As the punishing heat waves of this summer taper off, this might be the perfect time to visit the international exhibition.
Anne Lee, Six Epic Artworks Inspired by “The Odyssey”
Jennifer Samet, Beer With a Painter: Rina Banerjee
Rhea Nayyar, Heatwaves in France Damage Beloved Flowers at Monet’s Gardens
Valentina Di Liscia, Wolf Kahn Foundation Opens New Space in NYC
The New York Times
Leila Sheridan, Can She Translate a Big New York Sports Moment Into a Poster?
Observer
Sarah Moroz, Catherine Opie’s Norwegian Landscapes Are Portraits in Disguise
Candace Bushnell, My Unsentimental Education: Cupid Has Flown the Co-Op (The End of Love in Manhattan)
Abigail Bassett, Meet Herbert Wertheim, the Billionaire Who Paid $40M for Ferrari’s First EV
Dan Duray, The Founding Director of Mathaf Returns to Doha for Art Basel Qatar’s Second Edition
Elisa Carollo, Thomas Houseago Makes Ancient Objects Speak to Our Violent Present
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