José da Silva

José da Silva is the Exhibitions Editor of The Art Newspaper

What has the National Portrait Gallery’s Nicholas Cullinan been reading this summer?

The museum director has been delving into artist biographies, swotting up on black British history and is hoping to finally begin a well-known novel trilogy

Book Clubfeature

In Pictures | Yayoi Kusama’s colourful life gets the graphic novel treatment

From naked performances in New York and her relationship with Joseph Cornell to hijacking the Venice Biennale, the Japanese artist is the subject of a new comic book by Elisa Macellari

Book Clubfeature

Extract | Philip Guston’s fascination with the ‘funnies’ was key to developing his distinctive later style

An exclusive excerpt from a forthcoming biography by art historian Robert Storr looks at the influence of comics as well as caricatures that the American-Canadian artist made of his contemporaries

Three exhibitions to see in New York, London and online this weekend

From Nicholas Galanin’s 'escape plans' for Indigenous objects at Peter Blum Gallery to the Royal College of Art's virtual degree show

Danish art school on brink of closure after director resigns following misconduct allegations

Open letter from current and former students accuses Fatamorgana's founding director Morten Bo of “unpleasant, degrading, discriminatory” behaviour

Banksynews

Banksy graffiti removed by London Underground cleaners—but TFL invites artist to make new work in ‘suitable location’

"We appreciate the sentiment of encouraging people to wear face coverings,” says a spokesman

Banksynews

Banksy paints London Underground train with sneezing rat not wearing face mask

British street artist, who likes to mask his own identity, has released a new video showing a tube train being graffitied in apparent support of face coverings

Three exhibitions to see in New York and London this weekend

From David Goldblatt's images of apartheid-era South Africa to Sophie Taeuber-Arp's Swiss abstraction

Picasso show sells out before it even reopens—but Royal Academy of Arts is still making a loss

The London institution has reopened after four months of coronavirus lockdown but under very different circumstances

Women artists to dominate Tate's 2021 solo shows

Exhibitions will focus on Paula Rego, Lubaina Himid, Yayoi Kusama and Sophie Taeuber-Arp as well as a major survey of Philip Guston

Half of British public not comfortable visiting museums or exhibitions post-lockdown

As museums begin to reopen across the UK this month, a new poll by Ipsos Mori suggests many are simply not ready for visiting exhibitions

Spring into summer: see the major shows almost scuppered by lockdown

From Titian's masterpieces and a major Raphael survey, to the final stop of the Soul of a Nation tour

Three exhibitions to see in New York, London and online this weekend

From Vanessa Thill's mixed-media sculptures at Deli Gallery to Ella Kruglyanskaya's figurative works at Thomas Dane Gallery

Mediablog

With museums having been off limits, could AR works find a new home—in the home?

Augmented reality art has had a potentially huge captive audience during the coronavirus lockdown. We look at the pros and cons of the technology in a domestic setting

Three online exhibitions honouring Pride Month

From the history of discriminatory blood donation policies at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art to the history of the rainbow flag

Batshit crazy? Russian performance artist eats live bat in protest against Big Pharma

Petr Davydtchenko's performance video, which will go on show in Italy, was inspired by the response of pharmaceutical companies to the coronavirus pandemic

Three projects celebrating Juneteenth, the holiday marking the end of slavery in the US

From freedom papers on view at the National Museum of African American History and Culture to Issac Julien's film about famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass

How beret dare they: survey says artists are the most non-essential workers

Social media backlash prompts clarification from researchers after Singaporean newspaper poll paints artists in poor light

Three cultural projects exploring racial injustice and black resistance

From the artist collective Forensic Architecture's investigation into the UK police killing of Mark Duggan to an interactive platform chronicling the legacy of lynching in the US justice system

Where to buy works of art to support anti-racism causes

Artists and galleries have been raising money to help charities and funds in the wake of the George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests

What has the Camden Art Centre director Martin Clark been reading during lockdown?

The curator has been delving into the complex lives of plants and has found “the perfect companion through these strange days”

Three initiatives that explore racial inequality and the long fight for justice in the US

From Google Arts & Culture's digital platform exploring the culture of black experience to the Smithsonian's new Talking About Race portal

An eerie pre-pandemic vision of the future emerges in Beijing

UCCA's Meditations in an Emergency exhibition was hastily put together after the coronavirus lockdown through plans into disarray

What would you do to keep your museum afloat? The Garden Museum director is swimming 50 miles in the Atlantic Ocean

The swim from Cornwall to the Isles of Scilly aims to raise £100,000 for the London museum, which is planning shows on Derek Jarman and Lucian Freud

Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s greatest hits

The artist duo made some of the most important and popular works of the 20th and early 21st century—here are their most memorable

Three artist-led initiatives that are chronicling the coronavirus experience

From printed masks made by Ai Weiwei to art historical masterpieces recreated at home

AI you ready for this? Bucharest Biennale to be curated by artificial intelligence called Jarvis

The 2022 edition will exist in virtual reality and use data harvested from universities, galleries and art centres to select artists

What has the Wallace Collection director Xavier Bray been reading during lockdown?

The art historian has been engrossed by a spy biography featuring art world personalities, and is taking his first steps with a book on ancient walking routes

Three virtual readings to check out this weekend

From Maurizio Cattelan's Bedtime Stories to Neïl Beloufa's post-capitalist fable featuring camels and foxes

Three shows to see online this weekend

From a collaborative series between the New Museum and Rhizome to Modern Art Oxford's virtual tours