Welcome to Art Spell, a daily, comprehensive roundup of art news and reviews for the visual arts community. Today’s Editor’s Pick is Independent 20th Century, the Mise en Abyme of Art Fairs by Valentina Di Liscia for Hyperallergic. Di Liscia praises the fair for spotlighting overlooked artists while critiquing its role in the art world’s growing commercialization and institutional convergence.
Art in America
Emily Watlington, Why It Took This Artist 5 Years to Ship American Soldiers’ Trash Back from Afghanistan
The Art Newspaper
Ben Luke, Alexander Morrison, David Clack, Cezanne in Paris, Taryn Simon in New York, Magritte in London—podcast
Elizabeth Fortescue, ‘It is not a political joke’: Ai Weiwei unveils 500 cast-iron combat helmets in Sydney
Joe Ware, London’s Courtauld and National Portrait Gallery announce partnership for aspiring curators
Elena Goukassian, Moca Los Angeles picks longtime public media executive as next director
Vincent Noce, Was this Pissarro painting—sold at Sotheby’s in 2024—looted by Nazis? A Paris court deliberates
Mercedes Ezquiaga, Artists in Bogotá protest deep cuts to Colombia’s cultural budget
Elena Goukassian, More than just fun and games at the Spring Break art fair in New York
Lisa Abend, Painting believed to be a newly discovered Goya to go on show at Museo del Prado in 2028
Artforum
Bryan Barcena, Savior Complex: Populist Pugilism at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
From the Editors, Jonathan Abbott to Lead Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
From the Editors, Aperture Opens New Headquarters on New York’s Upper West Side
From the Editors, Getty Acquires Long-Lost Velázquez Painting
From the Editors, Buoyed by $105 Million Sale, Christie’s Inaugurates Pop Culture Division
From the Editors, Joan Mitchell Foundation Releases Report on Artist Legacy Stewardship
From the Editors, Fondation Beyeler Unveils Three New Peter Zumthor–Designed Buildings
From the Editors, El Museo del Barrio Rented Space to Controversial 9/11 Conference
From the Editors, Steven Shearer, Painter of Disaffected Youth, Wins 2026 Audain Prize
Artnet
Richard Whiddington, How a Transcendental Artist’s Paintings Became Ads for Los Alamos
Sonia Manalili, NYC Gallery Blitz, the Lucas Museum Arrives, a Messy Art Divorce
Andrew Russeth, In Surprise Move, MOCA Los Angeles Taps Media Exec for Top Job
Eddy Frankel, The 2026 Turner Prize Show Is Grim—but the Strongest in Years
Margaret Carrigan, What Can Buyer’s Fees Tell Us About the Market’s Weirdness Right Now?
ARTnews
Daniel Cassady, When It Comes to Armory Show Sales, Can Slow and Steady Win the Race?
Tessa Solomon, New York Investigators Return 36 Artifacts to Syria, Including Relief Looted from Palmyra
Andy Battaglia, Newly Speculated Goya Painting to Feature in 2028 Museo del Prado Show
Leigh Anne Miller, Art Collector and Publisher Benedikt Taschen Lists Mid-Century Modern Beverly Hills Home for $25 M.
Alex Greenberger, MOCA LA Names Former Public Media Executive as New Director
Devorah Lauter, Greek PM Rejects British Museum Comparison of Parthenon Marbles and Bayeux Tapestry
Tessa Solomon, At Spring/Break’s First Edition in the Old CBS Newsroom, (Almost) Everything Is Political
Hikmat Mohammed, Private Members Club Maison Estelle Under Police Investigation, Canceling Frieze Week Events
Francesca Aton, AI-Generated Mural Sparks Backlash in Banksy’s Hometown of Bristol
ArtReview
From the Editors, Jonathan Abbott named CEO and director of LA MOCA
Jenny Wu, What is Catherine Liu’s Problem with ‘Trauma Culture’?
Troels Steenholdt Heiredal, How Disability Reshapes Photography
Financial Times
Jo Ellison, Alvaro Barrington talks taste
Louis Wise, Tim Walker’s portraits of LGBTQ+ royalty – ‘the gays have killed me’
Frieze
Charlene K. Lau, ‘Coyote Time’ Presents Public Art for Trying Times
Phillip Edward Spradley and Erdem Moralıoğlu, Erdem Moralıoğlu: Strange Threads
The Guardian
Jonathan Jones, K-art, William Kentridge and a Turner prize worth getting excited for – the week in art
Michael Donkor, Ai Weiwei unveils his epic new Australian work: ‘90% of art is just garbage. Real art questions the existing order’
Chloë Ashby, Rachel Kneebone review – who knew porcelain could be so edgy, nerve-wracking and marvellous?
Eddy Frankel, Beverly Buchanan review – ramshackle mini barns and shanties bursting with brutal history
Ben Eastham, Nicole Eisenman review – ICE-like goons clash with sublime stargazing as America’s magical magpie returns
Hyperallergic
From the Editors, Should You Sit Out the Armory Show?
Hakim Bishara, The Armory Show in One Sentence
EDITOR’S PICK - Valentina Di Liscia, Independent 20th Century, the Mise en Abyme of Art Fairs: Despite the mind-boggling amount of spectacular works on view, I was reminded at each turn that the Breuer Building has been turned into an art mall.
Amanda Cachia, The Polish Pavilion Dissolves You in the Politics of Sound
Anna Lee, El Museo del Barrio Apologizes for Renting Space for 9/11 Conspiracy Event
Anna Lee, Christie’s Launches Pop Culture Division to Court Millennial and Gen Z Buyers
Lisa Yin Zhang, Photographer Tyler Mitchell Wins Crystal Bridges’s $250K Prize
The Los Angeles Times
Jessica Gelt, MOCA finally names new director after lengthy search, years of leadership turmoil
The New York Times
Anika Burgess, ‘Hold My Legs’: How Ernie Sisto Shot a Sky-High Disaster
Guy Trebay, Es Devlin, Master of the Extravaganza, Highlights the Art of Craft
Reggie Ugwu, MOCA Appoints Former Public Media Leader as Its New Director
Will Heinrich and Aruna D’Souza, 12 Artists On the Rise at The Armory Show
Observer
Olga Samofalova, Tim Kent’s New Show Is About Rest But He Can’t Stop Working
Elisa Carollo, Artist and Dealer Jaqueline Cedar’s SPLIT LEVEL Fair Bets on a More Intimate Art Market Model
Elisa Carollo, Studio Lenca Has Built a Career on the Ambiguity of the Diasporic Experience
Wana Udobang, Precious Okoyomon On Play and the Garden as a Revolution of Tenderness
OCULA
Lydia Eliza Trail, Why is the Art World Obsessed with Mannequins?
Zian Chen, On the Ground During Art Season in Korea, a Country in Flux
Philippa Kelly, Turner Prize Showcase Opens in Middlesbrough: Meet the 2026 Nominees
Naomi Rea, Has Poland’s Art Scene Become ‘Too Comfortable’?
Urgent Matter
Adam Schrader, Artist hangs her own arrest report at Spring/Break
Adam Schrader, Choreographer turns Sam Shepard’s incest play into dance in an Ace Hotel room
Vanity Fair
Nate Freeman, Did Roy Lichtenstein Invent Our Instagram-Addled Era?
The Wall Street Journal
Brian P. Kelly, The Best Work at Spring/Break Art Show
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