Serpentine opens Cecily Brown’s “Picture Making.”
Open now through September 6, Cecily Brown’s exhibition “Picture Making” at London’s Serpentine Gallery marks her first major institutional show in the U.K., presenting new and recent paintings inspired by Kensington Gardens and themes of nature, memory, and perception. Brown—once adjacent to the Young British Artists scene alongside figures like Damien Hirst and Sarah Lucas—reflects on forging her own path as a painter, ultimately relocating to New York in the 1990s where her career flourished. Now one of the most commercially successful living female painters, she uses the exhibition to revisit her practice, blending abstraction and figuration while exploring painting as both a space of escape and psychological tension.
Members of the European Parliament urge the EU to pull Venice Biennale funding over the Russian Pavilion.
A group of more than 30 Members of the European Parliament has urged the EU to cut funding to the Venice Biennale if Russia is allowed to participate in its 2026 edition, escalating political pressure on the institution. The lawmakers argue that Russia’s return—its first since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine—raises “serious moral and political concerns” and risks legitimizing a regime engaged in ongoing war, contradicting the Biennale’s stated values. The dispute highlights a broader clash between artistic openness and geopolitical accountability, as EU officials have also warned funding could be suspended if the Biennale proceeds with the Russian pavilion.
The Dalí Museum has acquired the Surrealist’s largest-ever work.
The Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, has acquired Salvador Dalí’s largest-ever work, a monumental 1939 stage set painting created for the ballet Bacchanale, at auction for roughly $293,000. Composed of 13 panels spanning approximately 65 by 100 feet, the immersive piece reflects Dalí’s interdisciplinary practice, merging Surrealism with theater, dance, and spectacle. The acquisition underscores the museum’s commitment to expanding the ways in which audiences engage with Dalí’s legacy, highlighting a lesser-known but ambitious dimension of his work beyond traditional painting.
The Rocky statue has been moved inside of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Philadelphia’s Rocky statue—created in 1980 for Rocky III—has been moved inside the Philadelphia Museum of Art after more than 20 years outdoors for inclusion in a new exhibition. The show, “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments” (April 25–August 2026), examines the statue’s cultural meaning as a symbol of the “underdog” and its unusual status between movie prop and public monument. Following the exhibition, the sculpture is expected to return outdoors—relocated to the top of the museum’s steps—continuing its evolving role as one of Philadelphia’s most recognizable landmarks.
Guillaume Cerutti has stepped away from the Pinault Collection.
Guillaume Cerutti has stepped down as president of the Pinault Collection after 13 months in the role. The former Christie’s CEO, who took the position in February 2025, leaves without an official explanation, raising questions about governance within the Pinault art empire, which includes museums in Paris and Venice and more than 10,000 works. Despite the departure, Cerutti remains within the Pinault orbit as chairman of Christie’s, while founder François Pinault continues to play an active role in overseeing the collection’s direction.
Today’s attractive distractions:
David Morrison’s hyperrealistic botanical drawings feel alive.
Colored denim returned to the runway this year.
Outlander profiled the “blue men of the Sahara.”
A 1970s estate has turned into one of Nairobi’s most sought out new hotels.
