Kay Sage (1898-1963)

At Whitechapel Gallery in East London, the German painter Kai Althoff’s exhibition pays homage to the British Potter Bernard Leach’s (1887-1979) influence on his practice.

With the approach of the Second World War, Surrealism moved across borders. In the UK and the US, women artists delved into esotericism, botany, medicine, cinema, naive art—in fact, everything was grist to their mill.

The top place is bound to go to this 1950 painting: a gift from the artist to his friends Marie-Louise and Jehan Mayoux, which has remained in their family ever since. 

The Foundation for Contemporary Arts - a New York-based organization founded by artists Jasper Johns and John Cage in 1963 to benefit other artists – has named Kay Takeda as its next executive director, as of March 28. Takeda was previously deputy director of artists programs for the Joan Mitchell Foundation.

Fetching $195M (with fees) on May 9, Andy Warhol’s 1964 painting Shot Sage Blue Marilyn is the most expensive piece of 20th-century art and the most expensive piece of American art ever sold. The previous records were $179.4M and $110.5M respectively. According to Bloomberg US art dealer Larry Gagosian was the buyer.

The American artist James Turrell has drawn inspiration from Asian stupas – the dome structures in which the remains of Buddhist monks were buried – in his latest design for French glassmaker Lalique. Turrell created two bottles for the brand’s perfumes "Range Rider" and "Purple Sage". 100 bottles were made. (Dezeen)

Polling suggests that an overwhelming majority of Japanese people are skeptical of this summer’s Olympics. Artists such as Miwako Sakauchi and Kai Koyama express their frustration through their work. The latter says that because of the games “Freedom of speech is about to be extinguished…We’re being suffocated.” (AP)

For 25 years now, Paris Photo, the first international fair entirely dedicated to photography, has made France shine beyond its borders on this specialized market.

The former "MasterChef" juror, seen in the kitchen of the Palais de Tokyo during their Creation Dinners, has for two years managed her own restaurant, Pouliche, in the 10th arrondissement of Paris.

At over four million euros, this lantern vase attests to the vogue for Chinese imperial pieces, which is not expected to abate any time soon.