Antonio Paucar Wins Artes Mundi Prize, Philip Tinari Joins Tai Kwun, and More Art World News
Save to My OculaColombian artist Beatriz González dies at 93, the Rijksmuseum will open a sculpture garden, and Goodman Gallery shrinks its roster. Here’s Ocula’s briefing on the past seven days in the art world.
Biennials and Institutions
Rijksmuseum to Open Sculpture Garden
The Netherlands’ national museum will open a new, free-to-access sculpture garden this autumn, with three pavilions hosting sculptures by Alberto Giacometti, Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Calder, Jean Arp, Roni Horn and Henry Moore, as well as temporary exhibitions. Museum director Taco Dibbits said: ‘It will give modern sculpture the visibility it deserves.’ The project is funded by a €60 million donation from the Don Quixote Foundation.
Philip Tinari Departs UCCA for Tai Kwun
After 14 years at the helm of the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing, U.S. curator Philip Tinari will join Hong Kong art space Tai Kwun as its deputy director and head of art. Tinari will begin his new role, which includes overseeing Tai Kwun Contemporary, towards the end of next month.
Israel’s Venice Biennale Artists Announced
Israel will be represented at this year’s Venice Biennale by Haifa-based sculptor Belu-Simion Fainaru and curators Sorin Heller and Avital Bar-Shay. The exhibition, entitled Rose of Nothingness, will feature an installation of a black pool at the Arsenale, as Israel’s Giardini pavilion is reportedly “under construction”.
Galleries
Goodman Gallery Downsizes Artist Roster
The South African gallery, which maintains spaces in Cape Town, Johannesburg, London and New York, has reduced its artist roster by 11 artists, cutting its representation by more than a fifth. Among those who have parted ways are Yto Barrada, ruby onyinyechi amanze, Lisa Brice and Gabrielle Goliath, who until recently was set to represent South Africa at the Venice Biennale.
Leadership Transitions at Luhring Augustine
Roland Augustine, co-founder of New York gallery Luhring Augustine, is stepping down from the business four decades after opening to concentrate on philanthropy. Lawrence Luhring will continue to lead the gallery, while longtime directors Donald Johnson Montenegro and Lauren Wittels become gallery principals.
As One Berlin Gallery Closes, Another Opens
Georgian gallery Bukia Vakhania (formerly named Gallery Artbeat in Tbilisi) opened its new Berlin outpost on Thursday, its first international expansion. The Berlin space is inaugurated with a solo exhibition by Tbilisi and New York-based painter Nina Kintsurashvili.
Meanwhile, Berlin mainstay Galerie Mehdi Chouakri, which was founded in 1996, is taking a ‘temporary pause from exhibitions’. The gallery will continue its work with artists’ estates but is seeking ‘constructive collaboration’ for its roster of living artists, which includes John M Armleder and Sylvie Fleury.
Gallery Representations
New Year, New Representations in New York
The year has started with a flurry of activity in New York’s gallery scene. Chelsea gallery C24 announced the addition of Mexican artist Vidal Mouet to its roster, while PPOW in Tribeca now represents American painter Phoebe Helander.
The estate of Peter Hujar, meanwhile, is now represented by Ortuzar, in collaboration with photography-focused Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco. Ortuzar will stage two exhibitions exploring Hujar’s life and work this spring.
Joline Kwakkenbos Joins Carl Freedman Gallery
The Margate gallery has announced its representation of the Dutch painter, who brings her background in fashion design to intimate self-portraits exploring femininity and queerness. Her first solo exhibition with the gallery will open this autumn.
Awards and Residencies
Artes Mundi Prize Goes to Antonio Paucar
Peruvian artist Antonio Paucar was awarded the 11th annual Artes Mundi Prize, worth £40,000, at the National Museum Cardiff on Thursday. Paucar was recognised for his performance, sculpture and video work, which looks to his Andean heritage and the challenges currently faced by indigenous peoples and their environments.
Obituaries
Colombian Artist Beatriz González Dies at 93
The Bogotá-based painter Beatriz González died at home last Friday. She is best known for her vibrant canvases depicting life growing up during La Violencia, Colombia’s ten-year civil war that ended in 1958. A retrospective of González’s six-decade career will travel this year from the Pinacoteca de São Paulo to the Barbican in London and Astrup Fearnley Museet in Oslo. —[O]
Main image: Antonio Paucar. Exhibition view: Artes Mundi 11, National Museum Cardiff (2025–2026). Photo: Robin Maggs.
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