Art News: April Edition
- Zarina Isakhodjaeva
- Apr 16
- 5 min read
As spring breathes new life into the world around us, a fresh wave of creativity sweeps across the globe.
In this month’s edition, we take you on a journey through the most exciting things happening across the world of art.
Salvador Dali’s screenplay is going to be recreated by Google using its innovative AI platform
While the controversy surrounding AI's use in the arts continues, some enthusiasts use the tool to revive almost lost treasures. Soon enough, it will be available for the public to watch and decide whether or not AI has a place in creation.
Once misunderstood and rejected, the screenplay of the surrealist is finally in good hands. The Dali Museum, in collaboration with Goodby Silverstein & Partners, produced and demonstrated a trailer for a new film, based on Dali’s play called Giraffes on Horseback Salad. It was made using the newest video generative video model, Veo 2.
The play was initially produced in 1937 and told a story of a man who fell in love with a woman from another reality - chaotic, vibrant and alive. However, as their worlds merge, lines are blurred, and it becomes impossible to tell where imagination turns into destruction.
The representatives of Dali’s Museum and initiators of the film treat this AI usage as an act of service to honour the painter's art, and do not think there is anything wrong with a reawakening of the screenplay. They are convinced that if these technologies had been present at Salvador Dali’s time, he would’ve definitely played with them. This film is an attempt to prolong and preserve the legacy of one of the most celebrated artists of all time.
Art as a remedy: New Canadian initiative encourages patients to visit the Emily Carr exhibition as a support to their mental health
In a bold and innovative move, the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is teaming up with PaRx—Canada’s nature prescription program to offer something that may significantly increase the well-being of the public: a doctor-prescribed visit to an art exhibition.
Launched on World Health Day, this new initiative lets healthcare professionals prescribe visits to Emily Carr: Navigating an Impenetrable Landscape, a major exhibition celebrating one of Canada’s most beloved artists.
The results of the guided tour through the 17 densely packed ‘tree portraits’ from the 1930s revealed that this exhibition positively affects the participants' emotional condition. It can help soothe anxiety, reduce stress, and support emotional healing.
Patients who are prescribed to visit the exhibition receive several other perks: free admission for themselves and a guest, a Carr-inspired colouring book, and a guide to “slow looking”—a mindfulness technique that encourages lingering with a work of art rather than rushing through.
This program is the debut of the gallery’s new Art of Wellbeing Lab, aimed at making art more accessible and meaningful in a city grappling with rising mental health challenges. Vancouver has recently been named Canada’s “most unhappy city,” and the VAG wants to change that by bringing art back to our everyday life.
Collector and conservationist Thomas Kaplan has announced his intention to sell ‘Young Lion Resting’, a rare Rembrandt drawing
Currently, the drawing is on display at H’ART Museum in Amsterdam, and is going to auction next year only with a prediction to break all records and fetch a solid sum for its owner.
Thomas Kaplan, current owner of the drawing, is well-known as a prominent collector of 17th-century Dutch art with a touching passion for Rembrandt. The decision to sell the drawing did not come to him out of nowhere. He plans to attract more attention to the protection of endangered cat species, and even though it pains him to part with the drawing, he admits that this cause surpasses his love for Rembrandt.
While Kaplan hasn't disclosed an exact estimate, he suggests the drawing could fetch "multiples of tens" of millions of dollars at auction. The funds will support Panthera, the conservation organisation he founded, which focuses on protecting the world's big cats, including lions, tigers, and leopards.
Young lion resting was the first Rembrandt’s drawing in Kaplan’s collection, but certainly not the last. He shared that he has no less than 17 other paintings in his private collection. The fact that only 40 of Rembrandt’s artworks are in private collections means that Thomas Kaplan possesses nearly half of them.
A leash around the lion's neck suggests that the drawing was from life, possibly from the time when the artist visited a menagerie or a fair in Amsterdam. The drawing is presumably dated 1638-42, meaning that Rembrandt was in his 30s at the moment of creation.
Hong Kong airport is about to get an art storage facility to strengthen the city's position as a leading global art hub
A separate art storage facility will be built at the Hong Kong International Airport, which is currently under construction. The project for a separate airport city, Skytopia, has already been approved by the local specialised department. It is planned that the main construction work will be completed by the end of this year.
Representatives of Skytopia claim that foreign collectors will be able to use the new space as a viewing platform, where they will be able to get acquainted with the works they plan to buy, negotiate with sellers and even take them for a “try-on”. According to Skytopia's press service, this will strengthen Hong Kong’s position as a leading global art hub. In addition to a separate art storage facility, the Skytopia project includes a yacht marina, a chain of hotels, shops and a concert venue for 20,000 people.
A masterpiece of Russian art enters the Louvre collections
The Société des Amis du Louvre association acquired for the French Louvre a triptych by Mikhail Evlampievich Perkhin, which belonged to the last Russian Emperor, Nicholas II. The rare icon from the Russian Empire will add to the museum’s future collection of Byzantine and Eastern Art.
This outstanding purchase is comparable to the triptych created by the House of Fabergé for the wedding of Nicholas II and Alexandra in 1894 and kept in the St. Petersburg museum. This acquisition was made on the New York market from the renowned gallery "A La Vieille Russie," for €2.2 million. It is part of a larger and exceptional €4 million donation from the Société des Amis du Louvre to support the development of the Department of Byzantine Art and Eastern Christianity.
The icon is made of Karelian birch, set in a silver frame and decorated with emeralds, rubies, sapphires and pearls. It was presented to Nicholas II in 1895 in honor of the birth of his first child, Grand Duchess Olga.
References
Artlyst, 2025. Rare Rembrandt Lion Drawing Auctioned To Fund Big Cat Conservation Efforts. Artlyst. Available from https://artlyst.com/news/rare-rembrandt-lion-drawing-auctioned-fund-big-cat-conservation-efforts/ [Accessed 11 April 2025].
Ditmars, H. (2025). Patients can be prescribed visits to Emily Carr exhibition under the new Vancouver Art Gallery mental health initiative. The Art Newspaper. Available from https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/04/08/vancouver-art-gallery-mental-health-prescriptions-emily-carr-parx [Accessed 11 April 2025].
Jacobs, H. (2025). Dali Museum Produces Salvador Dali’s Once-Lost Screenplay With Google’s New Generative Video Platform. Art News. Available from https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/salvador-dali-lost-film-screenplay-google-veo-museum-1234738341/ [Accessed 11 April 2025].
Karant, V. (2025). An Orthodox icon that belonged to Nicholas II was acquired for the Louvre. Lenta. Available from https://lenta.ru/news/2025/04/13/dlya-luvra-priobreli-prinadlezhavshuyu-nikolayu-ii-pravoslavnuyu-ikonu/?from=amp [Accessed 11 April 2025].
K.Ho, K. (2025). Hong Kong’s International Airport Will Get a Standalone Art Storage Facility. ArtNews. Available from https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/hong-kong-airport-art-storage-facility-1234737387/ [Accessed 11 April 2025].
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