March 20, 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 Art Dubai Postpones 20th Edition as Iran War Rages On by Vivienne Chow for Artnet. The conflict in the Middle East continues to impact the art world as Art Dubai postpones its 20th edition amid escalating instability.
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Pamela Sneed, Ralph Lemon
Art in America
Simon Wu, In a Show at Stanford, Miljohn Ruperto Trolls the Death Drive of AI Guys
The Art Newspaper
Lee Cheshire, London National Gallery’s visitor numbers remain below pre-Covid levels, despite renovation boost
Sophia Kishkovsky, Russia’s pavilion at Venice Biennale will be closed if it features propaganda, city’s mayor says
Graciela Ibáñez, New Chilean president reverses predecessor’s policies, cutting culture budget
Melissa Gronlund, Art Dubai 2026 to be postponed and adapted in response to regional conflict
Mercedes Ezquiaga, Mexico’s culture ministry urges eBay to halt sales of pre-Hispanic artefacts
Anna Brady, Major collection of Indian paintings and calligraphy to be offered at Christie’s
Artforum
Fabiola Iza, A Hard Sell: on Mexican art in the age of austerity
Jan Tumlir, Forever Acid
From the Editors, Art Dubai Postpones 2026 Fair Amid Iran War Fears
From the Editors, Helen Legg Named Artistic Director of Royal Academy of Arts
From the Editors, Forthcoming Róng Museum in Shenzhen Announces Pi Li as Founding Director
Artnet
Ben Davis, ‘New Humans’ and the Strange End of Contemporary Art as We Know It
Cathy Fan, Rising Artist Ding Shilun’s Sweet Paintings Mask Unsettling Truths
EDITOR’S PICK - Vivienne Chow, Art Dubai Postpones 20th Edition as Iran War Rages On: With flights grounded and freight stalled, organizers push the fair to May while galleries reassess participation.
Richard Whiddington, In John Constable’s Hometown, a Trio of Shows Marks His 250th Birthday
Richard Whiddington, Jordan Wolfson Brings His Weird Creatures to Prada’s New Campaign
Vittoria Benzine, Man Charged After Smashing $240,000 Worth of Chihuly Glass at Seattle Exhibition
Vivienne Chow, This Small Dorothea Tanning Painting Sold for $120,000 per Square Inch—and Set a New Record
Ben Davis and Sonia Manalili, Are We Entering a Post-Individual Era of Art?
Jo Lawson-Tancred, The Cultural Heritage Sites Damaged by the U.S.-Israel War on Iran
Richard Whiddington, Lost Parthenon Piece Unearthed From Lord Elgin’s Shipwreck
Vittoria Benzine, Australia Is Getting Its First Major Takashi Murakami Retrospective
Sarah Cascone, A New Museum, Expanded: Inside the Reinvented Downtown Institution
ARTnews
Emily McDermott, 30 Iconic Feminist Works By Women Artists
Maximilíano Durón, Met Museum to Acquire Rediscovered Renaissance Painting Admired by Vasari
Daniel Cassady, California Museum to Remove Cesar Chavez From Hall of Fame Following Abuse Allegations
Tessa Solomon, Fort Lauderdale Still Fighting Removal of Rainbow Crosswalks: ‘We Are the Last Man Standing’
Maximilíano Durón, San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum Plans to Sell Building
Alex Greenberger, Lauren Halsey’s Long-Awaited LA Sculpture Park in South Central Is Finally Here—See Inside
Harrison Jacobs, Art Dubai Postpones Fair to May Amid Wider Middle East Conflict
Leigh Anne Miller, National Women’s History Museum Annonuces Seven-Figure Donation from Meryl Streep
Daniel Cassady, Emmanuel Di Donna Mounts Major Salvador Dalí Show as Final Exhibition in Madison Avenue Space
Maximilíano Durón and Alex Greenberger, Our Critics Say the New Museum Finally Has a Building to Match Its Ambitions
ArtReview
Mark Rappolt, 15th Shanghai Biennale Review: Code Switching
Chiara Wilkinson, Louise Bourgeois’s Body Clock
Louis Bury, Golnar Adili’s Family Archive
From the Editors, Allegations of hate speech pointed at Sydney Biennale opening party
From the Editors, Glasgow International announces full 2026 programme
Frieze
From the Editors, What to Read This Spring
Claudia Ross, Nancy Lupo Is Selling the Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation
The Guardian
Eddy Frankel, Matisse, 1941-1954 review – hit after glorious hit in a show of life-enhancing genius
Jonathan Jones, Estonia exports a modernist, Glasgow gets poetic and Leonora Carrington goes wild – the week in art
Lanre Bakare, Natural History Museum tops UK attraction list with record visitors
Hyperallergic
Rhea Nayyar, What Can $500 Buy at the Affordable Art Fair?
Aruna D’Souza, Zarina Brought the World to New York
Lakshmi Rivera Amin, Required Reading
Lisa Yin Zhang, Art Movements: And the $100K Rauschenberg Award Goes to...
Isa Farfan, California Schools Cover Cesar Chávez Statues After Abuse Accusations
Lakshmi Rivera Amin, A View From the Easel
The New York Times
Jason Farago, The New Museum Reopens, Asking, ‘What Is Human?’
Will Heinrich, At the 34th Outsider Art Fair, Still Genuine Surprises
Kadish Morris, A Painter Faces His Biggest Show, and the Truth About Success
Rachel Sherman, 9 Art Shows to Catch Before They Close This Spring
Penelope Green, Thomas Gentille, Artist Who Made Wearable Sculpture, Dies at 89
From the Editors, Mending Ceramics and Slowing Time With the Japanese Art of Kintsugi
Observer
Elisa Carollo, Gabriel De La Mora’s Meditations On Matter and the Monochrome
Elisa Carollo, Beneath the Art Market’s Recovery, a Structural Reset Is Underway
Elisa Carollo, Inside Time to Be Happy, Benzi’s Bowery Art Experiment
Sarah Moroz, Danielle Orchard’s Indescribable Yearning
Dan Duray, One Fine Show: “Cezanne” at the Fondation Beyeler
Urgent Matter
Adam Schrader, Québec Biennale uses winter theme to address climate, colonial issues
Adam Schrader, Sa’dabad complex latest damaged as blast waves hit more of Iran’s cultural sites
The Wall Street Journal
Kelly Crow, Frida Kahlo Is More Popular Than Ever
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.