In Memoriam is published every Wednesday afternoon and honors those we recently lost in the art world.
Arnulf Rainer (1929–2025)
Austrian abstract painter
He is regarded as a pioneer of Art Informel, which brought an intuitive expressionism into abstraction. He was a cofounder of the Hundsgruppe ("dog group") in 1950, and associated with Vienna Actionism.
Beatriz González (1932–2026)
Colombian painter of collective memory
A foundational figure in Latin American contemporary art, her practice was rooted in local visual culture, including political events, violence, and loss. "While peers like Andy Warhol and Richard Hamilton replicated consumer culture and advertising," Silvia Benedetti writes, "González took a more critical view, exploring the complex relationship between the construct of taste and social class."
Carmen Arnold-Biucchi (1947–2026)
Swiss art historian and coin curator
She was the inaugural curator of Ancient Coins at the Harvard Art Museums and a lecturer in its Classics department. Her main areas of study were ancient Sicily, and she carried out the work of arranging the institution's collections of 20,000 Roman, Greek, and Byzantine coins.
Dylis Blum (1947–2025)
Fashion curator
A long-time curator of fashion and textiles at the Philadelphia Art Museum, she was responsible for maintaining and interpreting its collections of historic clothes and fabric-based art. She previously held roles at the Brooklyn Museum, Chicago Conservation Center, and the Museum of London.
Janet Fish (1938–2025)
Realist painter and screenprinter
She was fascinated by light and transparency, exploring its interactions with ordinary objects. She believed in the underlying interconnectedness of all things, a quality she captured in moody still lifes.
William Martin (d. 2025)
Museum director
The long-time director of the Valentine Museum, he guided it through the threat of financial collapse in the mid-1990s. Under his stewardship, the museum took on thorny contemporary issues such as the role of monuments and Lost Cause ideology.
Robert Mnuchin (1933–2025)
Art dealer
He founded Mnuchin Gallery in New York City, and was notable for exhibitions of Willem de Kooning, including a major retrospective. He also staged shows of Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, and Philip Guston.
Molly Parkin (1932–2026)
Welsh painter, fashion designer, and writer
She was known as one of Wales's most colorful personalities, embodying the style of the "Swinging Sixties." She was an abstract landscape painter, a fashion editor, a writer of "comic erotica" novels, and a one-time resident of the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan.
Jesús Romeo Galdámez Escobar (1956–2025)
Salvadoran mail artist
A key figure in the El Salvador art scene, he appropriated popular imagery for politically charged Xeroxes, murals, mail art, prints, and paintings, leading to his exile. After his return, he held various government positions in the nation.
Mori Yoshiko (1940–2025)
Japanese art director
She was a co-founder of Mori Art Museum in Minato, Japan, which opened in 2003, devoting herself to contemporary art. Under her chairmanship of the board, the museum developed and exhibited a wide-ranging group of artists from Japan, Asia, and the world.
Franco Vaccari (1936–2025)
Italian pioneer of conceptual photography and art theorist
One of the most notable Italian contemporary artists, his photographic and videographic work often involved audience participation. He exhibited in multiple Venice Biennales, including 1972, 1980, and 1993, and a retrospective will be staged at Museion in Bolzano, Italy, later this year.
Jacklyn St. Aubyn (d. 2025)
Painter and teacher
Her colorful still lifes make reference to mysticism, cultural myths, and universal objects. She also taught at New Mexico State University for 25 years.
Takerng Pattanopas Curtin (1965–2025)
Thai sculptor who tackled illness in his work
A sculptor who explored concave and convex spaces, his work turned toward exploring illness after a diagnosis, prompting him to turn toward biologically inspired environments. He also cofounded and lectured in the communication design program at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.