Gareth Harris

Gareth Harris is the Chief Contributing Editor of The Art Newspaper

Influential Düsseldorf dealer Hans Mayer—the first to show Warhol in Germany—dies aged 82

The gallerist is credited with introducing European audiences to post-war US artists

From Sharjah to São Paulo: 2023's most interesting biennials

From Okwui Enwezor’s final project to an Indigenous-inspired Liverpool Biennial, here are some key dates for your exhibition calendars

Brazilnews

Arts figures draw a line under Bolsonaro as Lula is sworn in as Brazil's new president

Leftist leader has appointed a culture minister but faces challenges from fundamentalism to funding

Awardsnews

Tate Modern chief Frances Morris and artist John Akomfrah recognised in UK New Year Honours list

Grayson Perry is made a knight while Turner prize nominee Ingrid Pollard gets an MBE

Salamanders at Gloucester Road station and a new mural at Brixton tube—Art on the Underground 2023 programme revealed

Monster Chetwynd, Jem Perucchini and Zadie Xa will all unveil works around London’s transport hubs

Petranews

Unesco World Heritage site Petra reopens to tourists after flash flooding

Regional authority takes steps to prevent further damage to the ancient desert city

The artist Dorothy Iannone, hailed as a ‘freedom fighter’, dies aged 89

She confronted censorship issues including a legal battle over Henry Miller novel

Take four—Naples exhibition curators attribute a new quartet of works to Artemisia Gentileschi

Organisers of Gallerie d’Italia show have given full attributions to four works on loan from public and private collections in the US and UK

Nativity scene by Renaissance master saved from leaving the UK

Rare work by Baldassare Tommaso Peruzzi, valued at £277,990, will go on show at Ulster Museum

Germany kicks off major Benin bronze restitution with return of 20 artefacts to Nigeria

The agreement—signed by the two countries in July—involves the return of 1,100 objects in total

Artist Katharina Grosse calls on Iran to overturn death sentences of LGBTQ activists

Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani and Elham Choubda were sentenced in September for the crime of "corruption on earth through the promotion of homosexuality"

Cologne museum to transfer 92-strong Benin bronze collection back to Nigeria

The Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum is the latest Western institution to return its collection of artefacts looted from Nigeria in the late-19th century

Crime news

Police recover bulk of objects stolen in audacious £100m art heist from Dresden museum

Announcement was made during the trial of six men which began in January and is due to resume this week

London's National Portrait Gallery to reopen its doors in June 2023 after three-year closure

The refurbishment is backed by a raft of sponsors including British-American billionaire Leonard Blavatnik and international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills

Londonnews

East London art space Raven Row makes a comeback

Launched in 2009, the gallery took a five-year hiatus in 2017, but will return early next year with a TV archive show

Adriano Pedrosa named curator of Venice Biennale 2024

The Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand artistic director is the first Latin American curator to take up the position

Immersive David Hockney show will launch new interactive art space in London

The Lightroom project, due to open next year, is backed by Tate Modern sponsor Leonard Blavatnik

England footballer Raheem Sterling launches art project with National Portrait Gallery

Works on self-identity will be shown at the revamped London gallery next year

'The ultimate artist residency': team chosen for space voyage includes photographers and performers

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa's dearMoon trip is being developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company

Cindy Sherman, Kara Walker and others sign letter denouncing human rights abuses in Iran

Meanwhile, Shirin Neshat decries execution of protestor Mohsen Shekari on Instagram

And they’re off—France, Estonia and Lithuania first to announce artists for 2024 Venice Biennale

Caribbean-born Julien Creuzet and sculptor Edith Karlson will fly the flag at the 60th edition of the exhibition

Penske Media expands art publishing empire with acquisition of Artforum

New York journal joins ARTnews and Art in America under same corporate umbrella

The top art books of 2022—chosen by The Art Newspaper's books team

Struggling for Christmas gifts? Take a look at the publications we enjoyed over the past year—from an exploration of art and motherhood to an interrogation of the culture wars

US campaign group sues Smithsonian over return of Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

Restitution Study Group have lost their first legal battle but insist the case is still pending

Marlene Dumas donates Mouth painting about women's rights for Amnesty International sale

Ai Weiwei and Richard Serra have also given works to the auction taking place at Sotheby's Paris

Naples exhibition reveals how the city was the perfect foil for Artemisia Gentileschi

The painter, arguably Europe’s greatest female Old Master, had a flourishing workshop in the southern Italian city, interacting with key contemporaries there

Awardsnews

National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh gets annual Freelands Award

Prize worth £110,000 enables Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art to host first UK museum show dedicated to Tanzanian-born artist Everlyn Nicodemus