Your weekly art news fix – served fresh, punchy, and with just the right amount of spice. Expect the unexpected, because the art world never sits still. From controversy to pure inspiration, we’ve got it all covered.
BIG PICTURE:
Art is pushing boundaries this week: from Hong Kong’s shifting scene to Milan’s multi-sensory takeover and a global wave of animals, and emotional realism. Whether it’s quiet resistance or loud reinvention, creativity is speaking loud and clear.
TOP 5 ART STORIES THIS WEEK
1. What’s Going On With Art in Hong Kong?
Art in Hong Kong is having a weird moment. Here’s the tea:
1. Art Basel was back, but collectors weren’t splashing cash like before.
Instead of wild million-dollar buys, people played it safe: snagging smaller, cheaper pieces and thinking long-term. Why? The economy’s a little shaky. Even art lovers get nervous when the markets are wobbly.
2. Meanwhile, some quiet drama behind the scenes:
The fancy museum M+ just got booted from organizing Hong Kong’s show at the Venice Biennale (one of the biggest art shows in the world). Who’s replacing them? The more traditional Hong Kong Museum of Art. No real explanation. Just… thanks, M+, but we’ll take it from here.
3. Oh, and dissident artist Badiucao?
His political billboards were removed from Hong Kong streets. Too bold, too controversial? Whatever the reason, it’s got people asking:
Is there still room for free expression in HK’s art scene?
2. Is Gaudí About to Become a Saint?
Antoni Gaudí (the genius behind Barcelona’s famous Sagrada Família) isn’t just known as an architect anymore. He might soon be known as Blessed Antoni Gaudí.
The Vatican just gave the green light to the first official step toward making him a saint. It’s called beatification, and it means the Pope has approved a miracle attributed to Gaudí’s intercession. Next step? Possibly full sainthood.
Gaudí was known as the “architect of God” for a reason: his work blended nature, faith, and wild imagination into one-of-a-kind buildings. And he was deeply spiritual. He even died on his way to church. (Gaudí died in 1926 after being hit by a tram on his way to confession at the Church of Sant Felip Neri).
Would you visit a church built by a saint?
3. When Animals Take the Mic: Art’s Turn Toward the Non-Human (No, not AI this time!)
This week, animals here and there. 🙂 Across galleries and airwaves, artists are putting animals center stage, asking uncomfortable questions like: How do we treat them? What do they mean to us? And who gets to speak for the voiceless?
In Athens, EMST (National Museum of Contemporary Art) launched what may be the largest international exhibition ever on the treatment of animals. Titled “Why Look at Animals? Justice for Non-Human Life”, it features over 60 artists confronting everything from ecological destruction to industrial farming. The message: animals aren’t props, but co-inhabitants.
Meanwhile, Irish ecologist and broadcaster Anja Murray created a love letter to birds in her six-part audio series Feather & Flock. It’s all poetic storytelling, folk music, and quiet reverence for creatures we pass by every day.
But not all animal art gets applause. Le Monde reports that works using real animals are getting major pushback. Even when the point is to defend them. One recent show featuring pigs sparked so much outrage, it was pulled from display.
4. Key Takeaways from Milan Design Week 2025
· Minimalism is out. Maximalism is having a moment.
Forget clean lines and quiet palettes. This year was all about sensory overload: fog you could walk through (A.A. Murakami), scents that trigger memory (Decibel x Vizcome), and light installations that felt like live performances (Es Devlin). Even automotive brand CUPRA got in on the action, ditching car-centric displays in favor of bold, sculptural objects scattered across central Milan.
· Design is storytelling. And the stories are emotional.
Whether it was climate grief (Formafantasma’s work with recycled materials), cultural legacy (Singapore’s Future Impact 3 inside a centuries-old church), or digital burnout (Lachlan Turczan’s meditative water-and-sound sculptures), the theme was clear: design is how we make sense of being human right now. No more polished perfection, audiences were drawn to imperfect, reflective, and tactile.
· No more showroom vibes. This was Milan as a living, breathing design lab.
The city didn’t feel like a fair, but like a walk-in experience. From the ancient-meets-future vibe of Singapore’s exhibit to the smellscapes and sonic experiments tucked into every district, Milan became one big interactive playground. This year, the best designs weren’t on pedestals, they were in the air, on your skin, and under your feet.
The best piece? A.A. Murakami’s Fog Installation – this installation used invisible scent molecules, rolling fog, and ambient lighting to recreate the feeling of walking through the air right after a thunderstorm. Go check out this artist on Instagram right now.
🔥Hot Take: Is Realism Making a Full Comeback?
Realism is quietly taking center stage again. But this time, it’s less about copying reality and more about holding a mirror up to it.
According to NRC Handelsblad, galleries are seeing a surge in figurative and realistic painting, often by younger artists. But not your old-school still lifes. Think intimate portraits, urban scenes, and hyper-detailed everyday moments, painted with care, but loaded with mood, memory, and meaning.
So why now?
Because in a world full of filters, AI images, and digital overload, people are craving something grounded. Something human. Something that doesn’t glitch.
Curators are calling it “emotional realism.” Artists aren’t just showing what life looks like.. they’re showing what it feels like.
The new realism isn’t retro. It’s slow art in a fast world. It’s truth-telling, one brushstroke at a time.
💡 Steal This Idea
This week’s creativity boosters are all packed into one neat place: the Creativity Accelerator ebook I made for you. If you haven’t checked it out yet, now’s the time. Steal ideas, spark something new, and get inspired in five minutes or less.
Let me know, what do you think. And please, share this link with others, if you’re feeling kind! 🙂
📢 Artists, Unfiltered: Jaime Danielle Smith
Dynamic. Bold. Emotional. That’s how Jaime Danielle Smith describes her work.
This week’s artist on Sofionart is born in Zimbabwe, based in Germany, and shaped by the Mediterranean. Jaime’s journey from film and anthropology to superyacht chef to full-time painter is wild. And it’s visible in every layered canvas she creates.
Her abstract expressionist work captures the tension between chaos and calm, memory and movement. It’s not meant to be understood, but be felt. Her process is steady: music on, brushes clean, full days in the studio.. with dog walks to clear her head.
She paints like she once worked on boats: navigating tides, trusting instinct, and chasing light.
Inspiration? Travel. Always.
A flavor representing her art? Salt and vinegar.
Advice to younger self? Don’t fear mistakes. And stock up on white paint.
Read our full convo here: https://sofionart.com/artist-interview-jaime-danielle-smith/.
🍿 Movie Recommendation
One to One: John & Yoko
The new documentary One to One peels back the headlines and gives us something rarer: intimacy. Built around the couple’s 1972 charity concert at Madison Square Garden, the film mixes performance footage, behind-the-scenes moments, and new commentary to show the raw, creative energy between the two.
Watch it if you love:
Old-school rock documentaries
Quiet moments that say a lot
Stories about art, activism, and doing things your own way
“It’s less about Lennon the Beatle, and more about Lennon and Ono as a radical art duo with real tenderness at the center.” — RTÉ Review
👑 Royal Art Note: Queen Margrethe II Turns 85 – And She Cuts and Glues
Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II turns 85 today, and while she’s known for crowns and statecraft, she’s also a devoted decoupage artist. Using scissors, glue, and layers of cut paper, she creates surreal, whimsical images – often combining figures, animals, and fantastical landscapes. Her decoupage work has been featured in books, exhibitions, and even ballet set designs. It’s quirky, meticulous, and unmistakably hers.
She is both queen and artist with scissors. If a queen can make decoupage, what other excuse are you waiting for?
Now go ahead, google “Queen Margrethe decoupage” or click here, and get inspired 🙂
That’s it for this week. Thank you for reading! Have a beautiful one 🙂
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