A Chunk of Eiffel Tower’s Spiral Staircase Returns to Auction After 40 Years
An 8.5‑foot segment of the Eiffel Tower’s original spiral staircase will be auctioned by Artcurial on May 21, with estimates between €40,000 and €50,000 (about $46,300‑$57,900). The staircase was removed in 1983, cut into 24 pieces, and most have been dispersed globally. This lot is the first of the remaining 20 private pieces and follows record‑setting sales that have fetched over $600,000. The piece has been restored and repainted to match its historic hue before the sale.
Norbert Schoerner’s Experiments with Photography in the Age of AI
Renowned photographer Norbert Schoerner releases a provocative new book, Aura: Collaborations with Human and Other Minds 2011‑2023, that contains no images captured by him. The volume assembles four distinct bodies of work created over a twelve‑year period, each probing the...
French Government Blocks Sale of Newly Discovered Drawing by German Renaissance Master Hans Baldung
The French culture ministry stepped in at the last minute to block the auction of a newly identified Hans Baldung Grien drawing, slated for March 23 at Drouot with a pre‑sale estimate of €1.5‑3 million (approximately $1.65‑$3.3 million). The silverpoint portrait of...
Manga Boobs and Cybersigilism: Nail Art Is Entering Its Maximalist Era
Nail art is moving into a maximalist phase, with designers piling on glitter, logos, manga motifs and cyber‑inspired symbols. Italian artist Serena Fiore exemplifies the shift, showcasing cluttered, high‑gloss designs that blend pop‑culture references with handcrafted embellishments. Her work, highlighted...
Lost Photos of the Chelsea Hotel in the 1970s
Albert Scopin’s newly uncovered archive showcases 35 vivid photographs of New York’s iconic Chelsea Hotel in the 1970s. The images blend double‑exposures, saturated reds, and ghost‑like overlays that capture the hotel’s bohemian energy and street‑level drama. Scopin documents everything from...
London Exhibition Celebrates Konrad Mägi, Estonia’s Mystic Modern Master
London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery has opened the first UK exhibition devoted to Estonia’s modernist pioneer Konrad Mägi, showcasing more than 60 paintings, many never displayed abroad. Curated by Kathleen Soriano, the show arranges the works chronologically, tracing Mägi’s evolution from his...
Keeping up with the Kleins: Exhibition Brings Together Yves’s Talented Artist Family
The Stedelijk Museum Schiedam has opened "Yves Klein and His Artist Family," showcasing 30 works by Yves alongside more than 40 pieces by his parents Fred Klein and Marie Raymond and his widow Rotraut Klein‑Moquay. Curated by Tijs Visser of...
Yang Fudong’s Memory Palace
Yang Fudong’s solo show "Fragrant River" at Beijing’s UCCA showcases 30 video works spanning more than eight hours, opening with the five‑channel installation *Young Man, Young Man* (2025). The exhibition weaves nostalgic vignettes of 1980s‑90s hutong life, furniture‑industry imagery from...
A Play About the Play Becomes the Thing: Hamnet Onstage in D.C.
Maggie O'Farrell's bestselling novel *Hamnet* has been transformed into a stage play that opened this week at Washington’s Shakespeare Theatre Company after a successful Chicago run. The production, adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti, centers on Agnes Shakespeare as she battles to...
Interview: Creative Technologist Simi Gu and the Art of Worldbuilding by Serena Hanzhi Wang
The interview with creative technologist Shimin (Simi) Gu explores her immersive project Journey Into Self and the broader evolution of interactive art. Gu explains how her NYU training and early interactive experiments led her to prioritize emotional pacing and seamless...
Just Outside Joshua Tree, This Art Fair Set in a Desert Motel Is Building Something You Can't Get in L.A.
The High Desert Art Fair entered its fifth year in Pioneertown, converting the historic motel’s rooms into galleries for 20 galleries and publishers. Headlined by Devo frontman Mark Mothersbaugh, the event also featured a DJ set by Shepard Fairey, panels, meditation,...
Every Known Work by Georgia O’Keeffe Has Been Digitized and Made Available Online
The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum launched Access O’Keeffe, a free online portal that digitizes every known work by the iconic American modernist, including paintings, sculptures, photographs, and archival materials. The platform offers high‑resolution images, searchable metadata, and tools to browse by...
Vignettes & Mutations: Eric White @ GRIMM Gallery, NYC
GRIMM Gallery in New York is showcasing Vignettes & Mutations, a solo exhibition by Los Angeles‑based painter Eric White running through May 2, 2026. It marks White’s fifth solo show with the gallery and revisits two decades of his work by extracting and...
A Super-Detailed Guide to Sourcing Antique Artwork, From Someone Who's Spent Decades Combing France’s Brocantes and Flea Markets
The newly released 240‑page volume *The Art of Antiquing in France* offers a step‑by‑step roadmap for sourcing, evaluating, and preserving antique paintings across French brocantes, flea markets, and auction houses. It stresses the importance of cultivating relationships with dealers whose...
ART CENTRAL AND ITS ESTEEMED PARTNERS PRESENT DIVERSE ARTIST PROJECTS AND EXCEPTIONAL HOSPITALITY EXPERIENCES
Art Central 2026 returns to Hong Kong Harbourfront with 117 galleries and over 500 artists, highlighted by UOB's large‑scale ink installation "White Mirror – The Vista of the Inner Worlds" by Ling Pui Sze. The fair expands its regional reach...
New York City John Zieman S Video Ecology by Richard Vine
John Zieman’s latest exhibition, "Weaponized Beauty," opened at Leonovich Gallery in Chelsea, showcasing three experimental videos and eleven aluminum photo panels that explore ecological preservation and personal safety. The dual‑channel piece OTOH directly addresses climate disaster imagery, while the titular...
Opening Picks: RASCAL - Marcarson Curated by Wilhelmina Von Blumenthal by WM
Marcarson’s solo pop‑up exhibition "Rascal" opens at 243 Bowery in New York from March 24 to March 31, 2026, with an opening reception on March 26. Curated by Wilhelmina von Blumenthal, the show occupies two floors near the New Museum and blends Arte Povera, Duchampian,...
The Enduring Power of the Cartier Panthère
The Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris is hosting its final Art Deco exhibition, showcasing over 1,000 jewels, furniture, and objects, including a dedicated Cartier room. The show highlights the iconic Cartier Panthère motif, which evolved from a 1914 wristwatch...
Alia Sugawara Unveils Solo Exhibition in Hong Kong With Jun Takahashi as Collaborator
Japanese‑American ink artist Alia Sugawara opens her first solo exhibition outside Japan, "Konketsu," at Otherthings by The Shophouse in Hong Kong. The show runs from late March to May 10 and features paper‑based scrolls, screens and collages created with fashion designer Jun...
The Oscar-Nominated Movie That Was Supposed To Feel Like A Hug
French animator Ugo Bienvenu’s eco‑fable *Arco* earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature, showcasing a visually striking blend of Studio Ghibli‑style artistry and hopeful climate storytelling. Produced on a €9 million budget, the film follows a 2932 boy who time‑travels...
What the Art Market Still Gets Wrong About Next-Gen Collectors
Georgina Adam’s new book warns the art market that attracting millennials and Gen Z is essential for its survival. While Christie’s claims a third of its 2025 buyers are under 45, these younger participants are volatile and less loyal. The book...
US Graffiti Legend Brings His Iconic Street Art to Japan
Mark Bode, a New York graffiti pioneer and son of underground comics legend Vaughn Bode, unveiled a large mural in Tokyo’s Shibuya district on the Manhattan Records building, introducing his father’s iconic characters to Japanese audiences. The piece marks the...
Harlem: Welcome to Harlem USA Photographs by Ruben Natal-San Miguel Curated by Nitza Tufi O by WM
The Taller Boricua Gallery will host "Welcome to Harlem USA," a solo photography exhibition by Ruben Natal‑San Miguel curated by Nitza Tufiño, running from March 12 to May 17, 2026. Natal‑San Miguel’s twenty‑five‑year archive captures Harlem’s streets, storefronts, murals, and residents with journalistic precision. The show highlights the...
On TikTok, a New Group of Folk Musicians Are Taking the Genre Back to Its Political Roots
A new wave of folk musicians is reviving protest songs on TikTok, turning rapid‑response songwriting into a digital rallying point. Artists like Joseph Terrell and Jesse Welles post verses within days of headline events, amassing millions of views and followers....
Artist LR Vandy on Sculpting the ‘Knotted Histories’ of Power
London-based artist LR Vandy presents her first solo museum exhibition, “Rise,” at Yorkshire Sculpture Park in collaboration with October Gallery. The show features large rope‑based sculptures both inside the gallery and on the park grounds, including the indoor centerpiece “A...
Cecily Brown: ‘Painting Happens Very Quickly; Often I Don’t Know if It’s Working’
British painter Cecily Brown reveals that her canvases often emerge in a flurry of rapid strokes, leaving her unsure mid‑process whether the work is succeeding. She describes a practice driven by instinct, where composition evolves organically rather than through meticulous...
New York City Postcard From Jacksonville, Florida by Nina Mdivani
MOCA Jacksonville is hosting Whitney Oldenburg’s retrospective “Left Behind,” featuring large‑scale sculptures built from everyday waste. The exhibition, running November 2025 through April 2026, aims to confront over‑consumption and ecological impact through provocative material installations. Under director Caitlín Doherty, the museum has deepened ties...
The Whitney Biennial Is for the Faint-Hearted
The 2026 Whitney Biennial opened without a unifying theme, opting for vague moods rather than a direct political stance. While the roster is more internationally diverse than ever, the show largely sidesteps the nation’s current crises, offering only subdued, contemplative...
Direct to Market: New York’s March Shows, On and Offline
Maxwell Graham’s dual exhibition spotlights Louise Lawler’s arrow installation and Hans Haacke’s 2005 “Untitled #1,” both interrogating political rhetoric and institutional memory. Across town, Isa Genzken’s “Disco Soon (Ground Zero)” reimagines the 9/11 site as a flamboyant gay bar, contrasting Haacke’s somber critique. Meanwhile,...
Gullah Artist Sam Doyle’s Narrative Portraits Shine at Outsider Art Fair in New York
Sam Doyle, a self‑taught Gullah artist from South Carolina, is featured with twenty narrative paintings at the Outsider Art Fair in New York, sourced from Bob Roth’s collection and priced between $35,000 and $85,000. Doyle’s works depict local Lowcountry figures, historic...
Never-Before-Seen Paintings Reveal Anthony Van Dyck’s Formative Italian Period
“Van Dyck: The European” opens at Genoa’s Palazzo Ducale, assembling around 60 paintings from institutions such as the Louvre, Prado and the National Gallery. The show repositions the artist’s six‑year Italian sojourn as the pivotal phase that forged his theatrical...
K-Beauty on Show in Paris Museum
The Musée Guimet in Paris has opened a K‑beauty exhibition titled “K‑Beauty: Korean Beauty, story of a phenomenon,” running through July 6. Curators trace Korean concepts of beauty from the late‑Joseon era to today, juxtaposing historic artifacts with modern cosmetics and...
Met Acquires Long-Lost Work by Mannerist Master Rosso Fiorentino
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has acquired *Madonna and Child with Saint John the Evangelist*, the earliest known painting by 16th‑century Mannerist Rosso Fiorentino. The work, dated 1512‑13, was rediscovered after a conservation cleaning removed overpaint that concealed Saint John,...
Five Questions with Ruebana Paraha: 73-Year-Old Artist on How She Got Her First Solo Exhibition
Seventy‑three‑year‑old Ruebena Paraha, a Māori artist of Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Tūwharetoa and Ngāti Kahungunu descent, is debuting her first solo show, Wayfinding, at Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga Hastings Art Gallery. After three decades living across Germany, Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia, Oceania and India,...
A Trove of Vivian Maier’s Photographs Could Rewrite Her Market
Artnet’s Important Photographs auction features a single lot of 206 sold‑out prints from Vivian Maier’s estate. The lot is estimated to fetch between $1 million and $1.5 million, marking the largest single‑lot offering of her work to date. Maier’s secondary market has surged,...
Jordan Wolfson’s Newest Provocation Is a Creepy Prada Ad Campaign
Prada’s Spring/Summer 2026 campaign is directed by controversial artist Jordan Wolfson, known for unsettling VR installations and violent imagery. The ad features high‑profile models such as Carey Mulligan and Nicholas Hoult alongside oversized, computer‑generated birds that create a disquieting atmosphere. Titled “I, I,...
Marina Abramović Hopes This Exhibition Will Heal Your Broken Heart
Marina Abramović’s new immersive show "Seven Deaths" opens at Copenhagen’s underground museum Cisternerne, drawing on the haunting voice of opera legend Maria Callas. The exhibition fuses performance art, video installations, and live soundscapes to explore love, loss, and emotional renewal....
This Weeks SLEEK News
This week’s SLEEK news blends art, fashion, and sustainability. ArtCircle 2026 gathers international artists at Lake Wolfgang, Austria, from April 27‑May 3, turning lakeside hotels into creative hubs. In fashion, Alpha Industries × GR10K revives the CWU‑45 flight jacket, Scarosso launches silver‑accented “Pauli” sandals,...
San Francisco Mural of Cesar Chavez Painted Over, Venice Mayor Warns Russian Pavilion Against Peddling Propaganda: Morning Links for March...
A San Francisco mural honoring Cesar Chavez was painted over after new sexual‑abuse allegations against the labor leader were confirmed, prompting the building owner and the artist to act swiftly. In Venice, Mayor Luigi Brugnaro warned that the Russian pavilion at the biennale...
30 Iconic Feminist Works By Women Artists
The latest feature adds fifteen seminal feminist artworks to a previously published roster of thirty iconic pieces by women artists, extending the timeline from early first‑wave feminism to contemporary intersectional practice. The selection spotlights creators such as Edmonia Lewis, Mary...
Before the Whitney: Gagosian Visits Roy Lichtenstein S Brushstrokes by Scott Orr
Gagosian’s Chelsea gallery opens "Painting with Scattered Brushstrokes," a preview of Roy Lichtenstein’s brushstroke series ahead of the Whitney’s October retrospective. The show, running March 19‑April 25, pulls largely from the Lichtenstein family collection and highlights works from the 1970s...
Russia’s Pavilion at Venice Biennale Will Be Closed if It Features Propaganda, City’s Mayor Says
Mayor Luigi Brugnano warned that Venice will close Russia’s Biennale pavilion if it serves as a propaganda platform, reinforcing EU pressure to limit Russian cultural presence after the 2022 invasion. The Biennale’s president announced a “Biennale del Dissenso” space featuring...
Golnar Adili’s Family Archive
Golnar Adili’s Smack Mellon exhibition, “To Measure the Emotions of Others,” transforms family letters from the post‑1979 Iranian diaspora into sculptural and textual installations. The centerpiece, *Ye Harvest From the Eleven‑Page Letter–Installation*, repeats the Persian “ye” character in archival cardboard,...
A TikTok-Famous Model of New York City Heads to Museum Mile
Delivery driver Joe Macken spent two decades crafting a detailed balsa‑wood replica of New York City, comprising hundreds of thousands of miniature structures. The model went viral on TikTok, garnering over 10 million views and drawing widespread attention. In March 2026, the...
Alicia McCarthy Opens New Solo Show @ V1 Gallery, Copenhagen
Alicia McCarthy’s new solo exhibition opens at V1 Gallery in Copenhagen from March 13 to April 25, 2026. The show presents her signature abstract canvases that fuse 1960s‑style Op Art geometry with spontaneous, graffiti‑inspired gestures, drips and splashes. Rooted in the Mission School’s queer punk...
Pizza the Action: Hong Kong Artists Critique ‘Hegemonic’ Venice Model
Ahead of Hong Kong Art Week, fifteen local artists have turned a Kowloon pizzeria into the pop‑up exhibition Ve(ry)nice. The project directly responds to the Hong Kong government‑run museum’s takeover of the Venice Biennale pavilion and its new open‑call structure. By mixing...
Why Ireland Is Giving a Basic Income to Artists – Podcast
The Irish government has launched a Basic Income for the Arts scheme, granting €325 (£283) per week to 2,000 eligible artists. A recent pilot demonstrated that the program not only recouped its net cost but also improved participants' wellbeing. Musicians...
Art Trendspotting at Art Fair Tokyo 2026: Craft Appreciation, Uncanny Valley Visuals
Art Fair Tokyo’s 20th edition gathered 141 galleries from Asia‑Pacific, Europe and North America at the Tokyo International Forum. The fair emphasized a blend of traditional craft and contemporary pop‑culture, featuring matcha‑tasting sessions, ceramic works, and a 16‑face wooden sculpture...
Switzerland’s Rietberg Museum to Return Benin Bronzes
Switzerland’s Museum Rietberg will return eleven Benin bronzes to Nigeria after Zurich signed a restitution agreement. The artifacts, looted during the 1897 British raid, include a mask, ivory tusk and a bracelet. Zurich’s mayor emphasized rectifying colonial injustices, while Nigeria’s...