Non-European Artists Are Sorely Under-Represented in Paris Galleries, Spanish Minister Officially Rejects ‘Guernica’ Loan Request by Basque Government: Morning Links for April 8, 2026

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The Headlines

REALITY CHECK. Timed with the opening of Art Paris this week, a new study on the diversity of Parisian galleries has revealed some striking findings, reports The Art Newspaper France. Led by curator and author Louise Thurin alongside César Lévy, founder of 193 Gallery, the study surveyed 108 established galleries across the French capital. The results show notable progress in the representation of women artists, who now make up 34.8 percent of gallery rosters—nearly triple the figure from a decade ago. However, artists born outside Europe remain significantly underrepresented, regardless of where they are currently based. According to the survey, only 4.7 percent of artists were born in Africa, 5.3 percent in Asia, 3.6 percent in Central or South America, and just 0.5 percent in Oceania. By contrast, European artists account for 67 percent of rosters, with North American artists making up 19 percent. Younger artists are also in short supply: those under the age of 40 represent just 15.3 percent of gallery rosters.

GUER-NO-CA. Spain’s culture minister, Ernest Urtasun, has firmly rejected a request to temporarily transfer Guernica by Pablo Picasso from the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, capping what has escalated into a heated political dispute, reports El País. “My obligation is to guarantee access to culture and also to safeguard our heritage. In matters like this, we must listen to the experts who have been preserving the work for 30 years,” Urtasun said during a parliamentary session yesterday, responding to a March 27 loan request from the president of the Basque government. He reiterated that moving the fragile masterpiece would risk damaging it, making any transfer to Bilbao unfeasible. The request, one of many made over the years, was renewed to mark the anniversary of the Bombing of Guernica, when the Basque town was devastated by Nazi and Italian Fascist air forces, an event that inspired Picasso’s iconic painting.

The Digest

A new museum dedicated to Apple has opened in Utrecht, the Netherlands, in time for the tech giant’s 50th anniversary. [Smithsonian Magazine]

New archaeological research by Colorado State University demonstrates that Native Americans created dice for various games over 12,000 years ago, or 6,000 years before similar objects appeared in Europe. [The Art Newspaper]

One of London’s most storied modern and contemporary art galleries, Waddington Custot, is opening a space in Paris as well as embarking on a generational transition in leadership, with an inaugural exhibition titled “The Nabi Shock.” [Artsy]

Carrie Bradshaw’s ever-fabulous closet, worn by Sarah Jessica Parker, and that of her friends Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristin Davis), from all three seasons of And Just Like That … have hit the auction block at Julien’s Auctions. [Artnet News]

The Kicker

ALICJA KWADE’S CURIOUS WORLD. In an interview with Vogue Germany, acclaimed artist Alicja Kwade discussed her enigmatic sculptural practice, its intersections with science (scientists “make the greatest efforts to understand the world,” she notes), her exploration of time and our relationship to it, as well as her own place within that inquiry. In recent years, she has increasingly turned to working outdoors, a shift reflected in her ever-larger sculptures now appearing more frequently in public spaces. These monumental works are counterbalanced by her much smaller jewellery creations, including new designs for the fashion brand Galvan. Among them is a ring inspired by the belladonna plant, long associated with witchcraft due to its hallucinogenic properties. “I want to be able to make and show art until the end of my life,” Kwade concludes, a goal she already seems well on her way to achieving.