Author: Corinne Ashby

It seems the US is not the only country whose Venice Biennale pick is stirring up discontent in the arts community back home.  Prague based artist Predrag Đaković was tapped to represent Serbia at the 2026 Venice Biennale with a project titled “Across Golgotha to Resurrection.” Serbia’s Ministry of Culture reportedly announced the competition on its website on September 6, with a one-month deadline, but did not announce Đaković’s win. Instead, the announcement appears to have been made via the Serbian artist’s Instagram, which boasts just over 700 followers. A petition calling for the reversal of the pick has garnered more than 600 signatures at time of writing. “We believe that his selection…

Legal proceedings seek to halt a long term loan agreement authorised by Mexican authorities concerning works by Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and other national treasures The controversy over the Gelman Collection, a major repository of 160 works of 20th-century Mexican art (including 18 by Frida Kahlo), continues to escalate. On 1 July, the citizen collective Defence of the Gelman Collection initiated legal action against Mexican cultural authorities to halt a long term agreement governing their circulation, which they say allows the indefinite departure of the collection’s works, protected by Mexican heritage laws. The move follows months of scrutiny over Fundación Banco Santander’s January…

Rare are the shows that reveal a bona fide masterpiece to the public; the Museum of Modern Art’s rich, fascinating Wifredo Lam retrospective is one of them. I’m not talking about his iconic 1942 43 painting La jungla (The Jungle), a landmark of the Surrealist movement that has been a prized possession of MoMA’s since 1945. The real star here is Grande Composition (1949), a 14 foot wide tangle of angular, elongated creatures that twist through each other. Grande Composition was Lam’s largest work, and he made it by painting onto paper with oil so thinned down that it appears semitranslucent. Note the bottom portion of the painting,…

Reza Moayer Toroghi, known as Bahador, is an accomplished artist, educator, and researcher whose multidisciplinary practice encompasses painting and graphic arts. With an academic background spanning painting, graphic design, environmental studies, cinema, photography, and educational sciences, Bahador has developed a broad creative perspective that connects visual art with cultural heritage, symbolism, and the environment. His artistic practice primarily focuses on acrylic painting on canvas, where he explores figurative and symbolic imagery through vibrant colors, intricate patterns, and carefully developed compositions. Drawing from cultural and environmental themes, Bahador has created a distinctive visual language that brings traditional symbolism into conversation with…

Turkan is an artist whose creative practice centers on painting, with a particular focus on oil and acrylic works created on canvas. Her artistic approach combines traditional painting techniques with an interest in texture, color, and material experimentation, allowing her to create vivid compositions with a strong visual presence. Working across figurative and representational subjects, Turkan explores themes through portraits and animal imagery. Her paintings demonstrate careful attention to detail and texture, while her use of different tools and materials enables her to achieve a variety of visual effects. From expressive palette knife applications to more controlled brushwork, Turkan approaches…

An art festival on a coastal promenade has announced it had cancelled its 20th event due to not being able to cover its core costs, the organisers said. Art on the Prom in Felixstowe, Suffolk, had been due to take place on 6 September and typically attracts up to 11,000 visitors. In a statement on social media, co-ordinators Nichola Adams and Iona Hodgson said a number of factors had meant not enough income had been generated from pitch sales or sponsorship, while three grant applications had been unsuccessful. “Thankfully we do have leads for potential sponsors for next year, plus…