Contemporary art

Censored work showing faces of 4,000 French police officers goes on show in Berlin

Work was pulled after the intervention of France's interior minister amid protests against a new bill that would have criminalised the publication of images of law enforcement

Chinanews

Consulates provide new safe haven for political art in China

Artists tackling contentious issues have found an unlikely home in the form of foreign diplomatic services such as the Goethe-Institut and consular residences

The Big Review: Howardena Pindell at The Shed in New York

This survey of the 77-year-old artist's work lulls the viewer with colourful abstraction before tackling its real subject: racial violence

Booksreview

Lucian Freud the anti-hero: book relaying artist's philandering and impetuous behaviour is heavy on incident, light on insight

Second and last instalment of this two-part biography on the painter’s life fails to satisfy—but it does supply valuable first-hand records

A breath of fresh air: The Clark opens its first outdoor exhibition

Known for its esteemed collection of European and American paintings and art historical research library, the institution's 140-acre meadow now features contemporary sculptures set against the bucolic landscape of the Berkshire Highlands in Massachusetts

Artistsfeature

Holiday gift guide 2020: artworks for every budget

From a £14.95 Fuck You 2020 bauble by Jeremy Deller to a £125,000 woodcut by Edvard Munch, we've assembled some our favourite arty stocking fillers

Artistscomment

Portrait of Tracey: how Emin's cancer diagnosis hasn't stopped her from being an artistic dynamo

With exhibitions at the Royal Academy and Xavier Hufkens, as well as her return to Margate, the artist is doing more in convalescence than most people manage in full health

Artist demands Baku art centre pulls his exhibition for using it as a 'propaganda tool' in Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict

Turkish-born Ahmet Ogut says the Yarat Contemporary Art Space refused to take down the exhibition banner with his name appearing next to the Azerbaijani flag

Ai Weiwei, Anish Kapoor and John Akomfrah among artists condemning Thai state violence against democracy protestors

Almost half of the artists participating in the Bangkok Art Biennale opening this week have expressed "support for the struggle for democracy"

Phillips London sets new records for Emily Mae Smith and Portia Zvavahera in £26.3m contemporary evening sale

While the top lot of the night—a fiery self-portrait by George Baselitz—struggled to meet its low estimate, a bidding war broke out over Dana Schutz's painting of a bright orange Trump

Exhibitionsinterview

Cecily Brown: ‘I’m trying to understand what England means to me’

With her delayed show now open at Blenheim Palace, the British-born painter explains that she is as likely to be inspired by childhood comics as historic battle scenes

Deutsche Bank to auction Kandinsky and Schiele works from collection

Three works are to be sold at Christie’s in Paris this month; further sales to follow

Under the influence: three artists on how Bruce Nauman continues to be an inspiration

As a retrospective opens at Tate Modern, we speak to Rashid Johnson, Jacolby Satterwhite and Adham Faramawy about the enduring appeal of the 78-year-old artist's work

Protestanalysis

Student flash mobs in Thailand target ‘art scene run by elite old men’

Recent demonstrations break a long-held taboo–criticism of the Thai monarchy, an institution which protesters believe is the main obstruction to democracy

Artist transforms Gilded Age pool house into an atmospheric soundscape

To evoke a watershed moment in society, Jorge Otero-Pailos has filled an abandoned natatorium with sounds recorded from bodies of water in New York State

Erich Marx, Berlin collector and patron, dies age 99

His collection of works by Warhol, Twombly, Beuys and Kiefer is on long-term loan to the Berlin museums

Podcastspodcast

Berlin: still a magnet for artists?

Plus, Jadé Fadojutimi on Laura Owens. Sponsored by Christie's

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by Julia Michalska, David. Clack and Aimee Dawson

Belarusian opposition leader and arts promoter Maria Kolesnikova charged with organising a coup d'état

Aleksandr Lukashenko regime continues to crackdown on Belarus’s contemporary arts community

Magnum photographer Alec Soth defends similarities with work by Chicago artist Tonika Johnson

On commission for the New York Times, Soth says he had "no knowledge" of the long-term project by the Chicago resident and documentary photographer

Saatchi Gallery exhibits London’s graduate artists deprived of degree shows

The exhibition forms part of the education programme at the collector’s gallery which has now ‘transitioned into a charity’

Berlin Art Week: shows in disused airports and nightclubs defy gloomy predictions

From Berghain's lockdown exhibition to the Brücke Museum's Vivian Suter display, here's what to see in the reigning contemporary art hub this week

Artistsfeature

What songs do contemporary artists listen to while they work? Tune in to our Spotify playlist to find out

From Joni Mitchell to Radiohead and Sun Ra, Michael Armitage, Jenny Saville, Chantal Joffe and Rashid Johnson reveal their favourite tracks

Podcastspodcast

Cancelled: should good artists pay for bad behaviour?

Plus, Tavares Strachan on Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty. Sponsored by Christie's

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by Julia Michalska, David. Clack and Aimee Dawson
Prizesgallery

Prozac nation: Russian photographer’s images of depression win 2020 Wellcome Photo Prize

Arseniy Neskhodimov’s photographs raise awareness of mental health in the age of coronavirus

Artistscomment

Remembering the beautiful melancholy of Matthew Wong

The astronomical increase in the value of works by the Canadian artist, who died by suicide last year, is driven by morose opportunism

LGBTQnews

Shanghai Pride announces suspension of operations shortly after opening exhibition

Move comes amidst increased official scrutiny of civil society in China

CoroNation: Ai Weiwei releases lockdown documentary about Wuhan

Film aims to show “surveillance, ideological brainwashing, and brute determination used to control every aspect of society” by China’s leaders