SGFARA

Zohra Opoku, a ‘Woven Storyteller,’ Is Shapeshifting Her Way into Africa’s Biggest Museums

Zohra Opoku. Photo Jesse Jewelz/Courtesy Zeitz MOCAA In 2023, Beata America, a curator for the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, made a research trip to Ghana. Accompanied by her colleague Julia Kabat, America ended up visiting the Accra studio of Zohra Opoku, a Ghanaian German artist whom Zeitz MOCAA director Koyo Kouoh “had always …

Zohra Opoku, a ‘Woven Storyteller,’ Is Shapeshifting Her Way into Africa’s Biggest Museums Read More »

SXSW London’s Art Program Spotlights Spain’s ‘Underrated’ Contemporary Art Scene

A still from Enrique Agudo’s four-channel installation, “You Are Beautiful,” on view in SXSW London’s art program. Courtesy SXSW London South by Southwest (SXSW) London returns for its second edition next week, taking over more than 20 venues clustered around the Trueman Brewery in Shoreditch. Known for its mix of technology, business, and music, and …

SXSW London’s Art Program Spotlights Spain’s ‘Underrated’ Contemporary Art Scene Read More »

Jackson Pollock Transformed American Art—and Was Destroyed by His Own Success

American abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock (1912 – 1956) holds a cigarette above and behind one of his paintings in his studio at ‘The Springs,’ East Hampton, New York, August 23, 1953. (Photo by Tony Vaccaro/Getty Images) Getty Images Leaving aside the so-called drip paintings that made Jackson Pollock (1912–1956) the face of Abstract Expressionism, …

Jackson Pollock Transformed American Art—and Was Destroyed by His Own Success Read More »

See Inside the Belarus Free Theatre’s Venice Exhibition on Art Under Authoritarianism

Vladmir Tsesler’s “Spiders,” 2026 hang above Sergey Grinevich’s “Field of Wheat,” 2026. Courtesy Belarus Free Theatre/Photo Dasha Trofimova When the Belarus Free Theatre opened “Official. Unofficial. Belarus.” at La Chiesa di San Giovanni Evangelista di Venezia earlier this month, it marked the first time Belarus had a presence at the Venice Biennale in six years—and …

See Inside the Belarus Free Theatre’s Venice Exhibition on Art Under Authoritarianism Read More »

Harald Metzkes, Postwar German Painter of ‘World Theater,’ Dies at 97

Harald Metkes, Removal of the Six-Armed Goddess, 1956. Courtesy State Museums in Berlin, Nationalgalerie/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn Harald Metzkes, the so-called “Cézannist of Prenzlauer Berg” who made classically indebted and symbolically rich paintings following Germany’s surrender in World War II, died last Thursday in Brandenburg at the age of 97. His death was confirmed to the …

Harald Metzkes, Postwar German Painter of ‘World Theater,’ Dies at 97 Read More »

Whitney Gala Honors Julie Mehretu, Benefactor of Museum’s ‘Free Under 25’ Initiative

Julie Mehretu speaks at the 2026 Whitney Gala. Jason Lowrie/BFA.com Last night, the Whitney Museum of American Art hosted its annual gala, honoring artist Julie Mehretu—who in 2024 donated $2.25 million to the museum to ensure that visitors aged 25 and younger can visit the museum for free—alongside Whitney Board Chair Fern Kaye Tessler, and …

Whitney Gala Honors Julie Mehretu, Benefactor of Museum’s ‘Free Under 25’ Initiative Read More »

Eternal Flame, Burning for 1,200 Years, Survives Blaze at Buddhist Hall in Japan

Reikado Hall before a fire that destroyed it. Daderot/Wikimedia Commons A sacred Buddhist hall on the top of Mount Misen in Japan was destroyed by fire—but an “eternal flame” said to have been burning for more than a millennium was rescued and moved to another site, where it continues to glow. As reported in the …

Eternal Flame, Burning for 1,200 Years, Survives Blaze at Buddhist Hall in Japan Read More »

Spain Threatens to Oust Reina Sofía Director Over Missing Artworks and Finances

http://www.sgfara.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GettyImages-2153506811.jpg The Reina Sofía, Madrid Matias Chiofalo/Europa Press via Getty Images. Spain’s government is turning up the pressure on the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía over longstanding problems tied to its collection inventory, with lawmakers threatening consequences that could ultimately cost museum director Manuel Segade his job. A parliamentary oversight committee in Spain recently passed a resolution …

Spain Threatens to Oust Reina Sofía Director Over Missing Artworks and Finances Read More »

Tickets to See the Bayeux Tapestry Will Cost As Much As $45 A Piece

People viewing the Bayeux Tapestry, which is making a rare journey back to England in 2026. Loic Venance/AFP via Getty Images The upcoming presentation of the Bayeux Tapestry, a 230-foot-long embroidered cloth depicting the Norman invasion of 1066, figures to be the blockbuster exhibition of the year for the British Museum. The institution is pricing …

Tickets to See the Bayeux Tapestry Will Cost As Much As $45 A Piece Read More »