Artists

Lubaina Himid creates work for UK government collection inspired by climate change and Black Lives Matter

Turner Prize-winning artist wins the annual Robson Orr TenTen Award, with 15 copies of the print going on display in official buildings

Portrait of a pandemic: five works at Art Basel that confront Covid-19

The first edition of Art Basel to take place since the onset of the global pandemic is full of new works created in the midst of lockdown

Artistate launches to help artists safeguard their legacy

Founded by gallerists and lawyers, the venture will provide estate-planning advice—for a fee—to artists and their families

Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara named an ‘icon’ of 2021 by Time magazine

The Cuban artist and activist is joined on the publication’s list of 100 Most Influential People by Barbara Kruger and Mark Bradford

‘Opera is boring’: Marina Abramovic’s cinematic ode to soprano Maria Callas opens in London

Belgrade-born performance artist discusses recasting opera for a younger generation, how the diva label is “dubious” and why sex is better post-menopause

San Francisco will greet a new Institute of Contemporary Art

Nascent museum proclaims a commitment to economic justice and expansion of the art canon

Chuck Close, Photo Realist painter of large-scale portraits, has died, aged 81

The outsize artist retreated from public attention in his later years, following a diagnosis of dementia in 2015 and accusations of sexual harassment in 2017

Kaari Upson, Los Angeles artist who obsessively explored identity, family and Americana, has died, aged 51

The artist was known for years-long, multi-pronged projects based on singular figures—such as her mother or a mysterious man she dubbed “Larry”—and subjects

Thatcher and tampons: How Tracey Emin came to sell her unmade bed to Charles Saatchi

British artist says she had previously refused to sell her work to the YBA collector after his ad campaign rocketed Margaret Thatcher to power in 1979

Superblue to bring its immersive art experiences to New York and London this autumn

Dutch duo DRIFT launches multi-sensory exhibition at The Shed, while Japanese-British collective Studio Swine’s presentation will go on show in Pace Gallery’s Burlington Gardens venue

‘It’s too dangerous to stay’: Hong Kong artist Kacey Wong leaves for Taiwan as Chinese government curbs artistic and editorial autonomy

Wong’s name appeared in a state-run newspaper article which he considered a “wanted list” for Beijing

Pussy Riot members leave Russia after facing multiple arrests amid crackdown

Rita Flores is the most recent member of the feminist collective to have been sentenced

Young British artist Tunji Adeniyi-Jones paired with Duncan Grant for the Bloomsbury set artist’s first solo show since he died in 1978

Exhibition at Charleston farmhouse in East Sussex comes as White Cube gallery announces representation of the 28-year-old Brooklyn-based painter

'I am honoured to be one of the first Black men to have my work sent to space': Amoako Boafo to paint triptych on rocket

The Ghanaian painter speaks about his plans for the work, which will be attached to the head of a Blue Origin New Shepard rocket when it blasts into space this autumn

Damien Hirst laid off 63 people last autumn while claiming £15m in government Covid-19 loans

Job cuts came after major retrospective in Beijing was cancelled due to the pandemic

Anny Shaw. with additional reporting by José da Silva

The best art books to dive into this summer—as recommended by artists

Whether you are lying on a beach or next to a paddling pool, sit back and let your mind soak up these inspiring reads

Compiled by Gareth Harris and José da Silva

Christian Boltanski, French conceptual artist, has died, aged 76

The artist, who was born just two weeks after Paris was liberated from Nazi control, was known for work that explored memory, loss and personal as well as cultural history

Like Goya, a ‘renegade’: exploring Bob Thompson’s high-octane challenges to Western art

An exhibition at the Colby College Museum of Art probes how the African-American painter defied expectations

Dubai's long-awaited Expo 2020 announces artist line-up

Hamra Abbas, Olafur Eliasson, Yinka Shonibare and Haegue Yang are among the artists that will make works for the delayed giant world fair this autumn

Diego Rivera’s kaleidoscopic Pan American Unity mural takes up residence at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

The monumental work, on loan from a local college and always meant to be mobile, was painstakingly transported across town

Damien Hirst secures £15m in government Covid-19 loans despite owing more than £100m to his parent company in Jersey

The companies that make Hirst’s art and manage his £183m collection are owned by the offshore parent Science

Revising a mostly white ‘greatest hits’ narrative, Seattle Art Museum will overhaul its American art galleries

Museum invites three artists to serve as co-authors of collection displays and enlists 10 local experts to help generate inclusive stories

Book Clubinterview

Q&A | What artists wear and why it matters

A new book by the fashion critic Charlie Porter explores how what artists choose to wear can tell us about the multiple roles of clothing in society

Prizesnews

Shortlist announced for the Sobey Art Award, Canada’s largest art prize

Although nominations were open to artists of all ages for the first time, the finalists are all around the same generation

Detroit Institute of Arts under fire for sponsoring mural depicting police officers

Critics says that the subject matter is out of touch with racial justice issues, and artist now regrets creating it

Simon Lee Gallery announces worldwide representation of Venice Biennale artist Sonia Boyce

Boyce says bringing people together for her Venice commission has been like a “gargantuan puzzle”

Artists will not be subject to anti-money laundering regulations, UK Treasury says

After lobbying from art organisations, government has made last-minute decision that creators who sell their work direct to clients will not be classed as "Art Market Participants"

Mary Beth Edelson, feminist art pioneer, has died, aged 88

She was a founding member of the Heresies Collective and made activism as well as spirituality a major part of her practice

‘A spiral of poets, all at once’: Precious Okoyomon, winner of the Frieze Artist Award, talks about their Tower of Babel-themed commission

An artist, poet and chef, Okoyomon discusses their inspirations as well as the ecosystems they have been creating