The 2026 Venice Biennale jury resigned.
The international jury of the 2026 Venice Biennale resigned en masse just days before the exhibition’s opening, amid escalating controversy over both the inclusion of Russia and a prior decision to bar Russia and Israel from prize consideration due to International Criminal Court charges against their leaders.
The move followed political pressure from the Italian government and broader backlash across Europe, highlighting deep tensions between artistic autonomy and geopolitical conflict within the Biennale.
In the jury’s absence, the Biennale has postponed its awards and introduced alternative measures—including visitor-selected prizes.
A British billionaire’s £200 million art collection will head to Sotheby’s London.
British billionaire Joe Lewis is set to sell a major portion of his private art collection at Sotheby’s London this June, with an estimated value of £150–£200 million, making it the most expensive single-owner collection ever offered in the U.K. The collection includes blue-chip works by artists such as Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and Francis Bacon, building on a previous March sale of Lewis-owned works by School of London painters that underscored the depth of his holdings.
Tiffany & Co. returns to the screen in “The Devil Wears Prada 2.”
Tiffany & Co. is playing a prominent role in “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” supplying high jewelry pieces that underscore the film’s aesthetic and reinforce its ties to real-world fashion houses. In particular, Emily Blunt’s character is seen wearing a Tiffany High Jewelry diamond and aquamarine necklace featuring a 30+ carat center stone and over 50 carats of diamonds. The collaboration reflects a broader strategy by luxury brands to align with the sequel’s global visibility, using the film as a platform to showcase craftsmanship and desirability while blending storytelling with product placement.
Neo-Expressionist pioneer Georg Baselitz dies at 88.
German artist Georg Baselitz, a towering figure of postwar art known for his provocative, Neo-Expressionist style and signature upside-down paintings, has died at age 88 after a career spanning more than six decades. Born in 1938 in East Germany, Baselitz used raw, often controversial imagery to confront the traumas of World War II and challenge artistic conventions, gaining notoriety early on with censored works and later international acclaim for radically rethinking figuration. Remaining active into his final years, he leaves behind a complex legacy defined by rebellion, formal innovation, and an unflinching engagement with history, identity, and the psychological weight of Germany’s past.
Herzog & de Meuron’s Triangle tower tops out in Paris.
Herzog & de Meuron’s Triangle Tower (Tour Triangle) in Paris has officially topped out, marking a major milestone for the controversial 180-meter, pyramid-shaped skyscraper rising in the 15th arrondissement near Porte de Versailles. Set for completion this year, the mixed-use building—the first new skyscraper in central Paris in decades—will house offices, a hotel, cultural spaces, retail, and panoramic public areas, signaling a shift in the city’s traditionally low-rise skyline. Long debated for its impact on Paris’ historic urban fabric, the project’s distinctive glass form—appearing as a slim triangle or broad pyramid depending on the viewpoint—positions it as both a new architectural landmark and a symbol of the city’s evolving relationship with modern high-rise design.
Today’s attractive distractions:
Porsche is reviving its 1980 Apple Computer livery.
NASA and USGS launched an alphabet of aerial images.
Apparently Gen Z loves the “teensy grandma watch.”
Accor just introduced the world’s largest sailing yacht.
