June 19, 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 What’s an Artist Worth? by Rachel Corbett for Vulture. Artist agencies are emerging as a new force in the art world, helping artists pursue opportunities beyond traditional gallery representation.
Art in America
Carlos Valladares, Why Is Everyone Obsessed with UFOs Right Now?
The Art Newspaper
Ruth Lopez, Obama Presidential Center opens, offering an art-filled, hopeful view of US history
Susan Morris, New documentary goes behind the scenes of Rashaad Newsome’s biggest project
Laura Hertzfeld, Inside Refik Anadol’s Dataland, the world’s first AI art museum
Dale Berning Sawa, Santé! Converted French winery gains recognition as national museum
Nina Sigal, Zooming in on the Dutch street photographer Ed van der Elsken
Carlie Porterfield, Big names pay off for Basel Exclusive
Alexander Morrison, Artist, DJ and musician to hold rave at Art Basel
From the Editors, Art Basel Diary: Kanye’s Greek goddess, a wheelie good read and the ultimate plunge pool
Carlie Porterfield, In Pictures: Basel Social Club
José da Silva, ‘Regret is part of the story, but so is discovery’: Valeria Rodnianski tells us what she collects and why
Constanza Ontiveros Valdés, New textile museum in Mexico City celebrates Indigenous artistry
Hannah Sage Kay, Black mirror: a conceptual artist’s new mobile app helps you be a better texter
Matthew Holman, How Old Masters had an enduring influence on a Modern pioneer
Martin Bailey, Exclusive: an unknown archive of treasures from Van Gogh’s doctor, Paul Gachet
Artforum
Harry Gould Harvey IV, Harry Gould Harvey IV on James Joyce, Jim Jarmusch, and the cosmic plane
From the Editors, Teresita Fernández Installation Will Grace The Reopening Of The Menil’s Fresco Building In Houston
From the Editors, David Nahmad Given 30 Days to Return Nazi-Looted Modigliani
From the Editors, Barack and Michelle Obama Unveil First Dual Portrait Painted By Artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby
From the Editors, Art Basel Cancels Baloise Art Prize for Emerging Artists
Artnet
Vittoria Benzine, The Stories Behind the Obama Presidential Center’s Major New Artworks
Min Chen, The Icelandic Collective Turning Perfume Into a Multisensory Art Form
Richard Whiddington, Rare Monumental Laocoön Bronze Poised for $4 Million Sale
Ben Davis, Boston’s Dashing Museum Prankster Does Not Exist
Vittoria Benzine, Miranda July Headlines Aspen Art Museum’s 2026 AIR Festival
Andrew Russeth, 5 Attempts to Write About Liste, Art Basel’s Emerging-Art Satellite
Sonia Manalili and Katya Kazakina, What Does It Take to Keep Art Basel on Top?
ARTnews
Howard Halle, LGBTQ+ Artists Having Institutional Shows This Pride Month
Anne Doran, Archaeologists Say They’ve Found the Prototype for Stonehenge’s Solstice Alignment
Leigh Anne Miller, Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Launches Augmented Reality Project On National Mall
Maximilíano Durón, Helen Cammock Video Work Sparks Controversy Regarding Churchill’s Role in 1943 Bengal Famine
Andy Battaglia, At the Reykjavík Arts Festival, Poetic Perfumes Mingle with Björk and Much More
Harrison Jacobs, Numerous Prominent Art Collectors Are on the Membership List of Peter Thiel’s Invite-Only ‘Dialog’ Organization
Brian Boucher, A New York Judge Gives Dealer David Nahmad 30 Days To Return Nazi-Looted Modigliani Painting
From the Editors, Penske Media Corporation Acquires Vox Media, Creating the World’s Largest Digital Media Publisher
Maximilíano Durón, Three Artists Reflect on David Hockney’s Enduring Influence
Harrison Jacobs, Artist Gavin Snider Accuses Tik Tok-Famous Artist Devon Rodriguez of Stealing Knicks Artworks
ArtReview
Chiara Wilkinson, Ana María Devis: What the Body Leaves Behind
Asya Yaghmurian, Under the Canopy With Raqs Media Collective
Family Style
Rachel Summer Small, Unmoored
Frieze
From the Editors, The Best Shows to See Across the US This June
From the Editors, What to Read This Summer
Hyperallergic
Valentina Di Liscia, Penske Gobbles Up Vox Media
Sharbreon Plummer, The Inner Worlds of Black Quilters
Rhea Nayyar, Animated Nellie Mae Rowe Biopic Coming to YouTube
Lakshmi Rivera Amin, Required Reading
Isa Farfan, Seattle Art Museum Workers Vote to Unionize in Landslide Election
Isa Farfan, 10 Art Events for Juneteenth Joy in NYC
Isa Farfan, Heritage Groups Sue Trump Over “Garden of American Heroes”
MOMUS
Melissa Lo, Pride of Place: Looking for Michael Asher’s Los Angeles at MOCA
The New York Times
Lisa Abend, To Take Us to the Heavens, James Turrell Went Underground
Farah Nayeri, What Are Art Collectors Looking For Now?
Andrew Russeth, The Police Are Coming to Art Basel
Hilarie M. Sheets, This Artist Is Calling Out to the Universe, in Clay
Jillian Rayfield, How Britain Became Surreal
Scott Reyburn, Why Have Sculpture Gardens Become a Thing in Britain?
Dale Berning Sawa, This London Art Fair Is the New (Fun) Kid on the Block
Farah Nayeri, Decades Ago, She Built a Virtual City. Now the Artist Cao Fei Looks Ahead, Again.
Ray Mark Rinaldi, This Mexican Artist Is Breaking Down Walls
Observer
Dan Duray, Curator Kate Kraczon Arrives at the Montclair Art Museum Ready to Get Radical
Elisa Carollo, At Basel Social Club, the Office Becomes a Playground of Anti-Productivity
Elisa Carollo, Konstantina Krikzoni’s Warriors Find Their Power in Balance
Jordan Riefe, Yoko Ono Has Outlasted the Scorn, the Caricatures and the Blame
Georges Berges, After the Clearing: Remembering Hilde Lynn Helphenstein
T Magazine
Clay Risen, Danny Simmons, Painter and Activist From a Creative Family, Dies at 72
Urgent Matter
Adam Schrader, At the Work in Progress art fair, everyone keeps handing you things
Vanity Fair
Christopher Brooks, This Artist Forgot About His Road Trip with David Hockney. Then He Found the Photos.
Vulture
EDITOR’S PICK - Rachel Corbett, What’s an Artist Worth?: A wave of dealers are leaving galleries to start their own agencies with new ideas about how to build their clients’ careers.
The Wall Street Journal
Brian P. Kelly, ‘Giacometti in the Temple of Dendur’ Review: Ancient Forms, Modern Figures at the Met
Whitehot
Margherita Artoni, Too Close to the Trees: Danielle Mckinney and Psychic Space
Ayse Sarioglu, Sanford Biggers: The Art of Transcendence
Bianca Bova, House of Criticism Premiers at Tribeca Film Festival’s 25th Edition
Marcarson, Illuminating Locations with Photographer Alex Silver
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