Art & Illustration Weekly Digest — June 14–21

Here's what's been happening in the world of art and illustration this week.

Art Basel 2026 Wraps with Strong Sales and 90,000 Visitors

Hayal Pozanti’s Envoys From Deep Time (2026) sold at Jessica Silverman

Art Basel in Basel, Switzerland closed on June 21 after a successful public run (June 18–21, with VIP preview days June 16–17). The 2026 edition featured 290 galleries from over 40 countries and drew approximately 90,000 visitors from 103 countries, representing over 270 museums and foundations.

Notable sales included a reported $35 million Picasso at the VIP preview, and closing-day transactions of Gerhard Richter's Abstraktes Bild (2015) for $20 million and a Cy Twombly for $5 million. The Unlimited sector, curated by Ruba Katrib of MoMA PS1, featured 59 large-scale installations by artists including Tracey Emin and Niki de Saint Phalle. The fair debuted a new digital-art initiative, Zero 10, curated by Trevor Paglen and Eli Scheinman, focused on the history of digital art. Dealers described the 2026 market as "measured and steady," noting a shift toward deliberate institutional acquisitions.

Source: Art Basel (artbasel.com) • The Art Newspaper

Art Institute of Chicago Opens First de Kooning Drawing Survey Since 1969

Untitled [man and woman], about 1947–48 Willem de Kooning Private collection. © 2026 The Willem de Kooning Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo courtesy of TAJAN

"Willem de Kooning Drawing" opened at the Art Institute of Chicago on June 14, 2026, running through September 20. It is the first comprehensive exhibition to focus exclusively on de Kooning's drawing practice, presenting more than 200 works — drawings, paintings, sculptures, and prints — spanning seven decades of his career. The show is also the first AIC solo presentation of his work since 1969.

Organized in collaboration with the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Willem de Kooning Foundation, the exhibition frames drawing as the "foundational engine" of de Kooning's entire practice. Highlights include the early Dish With Jugs (ca. 1919–21), on which de Kooning reportedly spent nearly 600 hours as a teenager, and the museum's own Excavation (1950). The show will travel to the Rijksmuseum in autumn 2026.

Source: Art Institute of Chicago (artic.edu)

Annecy Animation Festival Opens Its 50th Anniversary Edition

The 2026 Annecy International Animation Film Festival opened June 21 in Annecy, France, marking the festival's historic 50th edition (running through June 27). The opening film is Minions & Monsters (Illumination, directed by Pierre Coffin), and this year's theme is "Animated Thrills" (Les Grands Frissons). The milestone edition also coincides with the inauguration of the new International City of Animated Film.

Honorary Cristal Lifetime Achievement Awards were announced for Mike Judge (creator of Beavis and Butt-Head and King of the Hill) and stop-motion duo the Brothers Quay, both of whom will lead masterclasses during the week. The festival previewed upcoming animated features from Pixar (Gatto, directed by Enrico Casarosa), Netflix (Ray Gunn, directed by Brad Bird), and Laika (Wildwood). The official 2026 poster was designed by Canadian visual artist and animator Randall Finnerty.

Source: Annecy Festival (annecyfestival.com) • Animation Magazine

World's Largest Illustration Centre Opens in London

The Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration opened to the public on June 5, 2026, at New River Head — a restored 18th- and 19th-century waterworks site in Clerkenwell, London. Established after a 25-year campaign by Sir Quentin Blake, it is billed as the world's largest cultural destination dedicated entirely to illustration. The £12.5 million site features three gallery spaces, a free illustration library, creative studios, a café, a shop, and half an acre of public gardens.

The Centre launched with three inaugural exhibitions: Quentin Blake: Performance, exploring theatrical influence on Blake's 80-year career (featuring over 100 original drawings); Queer as Comics, the first UK exhibition of its kind, curated by Paul Gravett and tracing queer comic-making from the 1940s to the present; and MURUGIAH: Ever Feel Like…, the first solo show by British-Sri Lankan illustrator Murugiah, whose kaleidoscopic work draws on sci-fi, anime, and pop-punk. Entry to the gardens, library, and café is free; ticketed gallery exhibitions are approximately £15–16.50.

Source: Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration (qbcentre.org.uk) • The Art Newspaper

Adobe Photoshop 27.8: Custom AI Models and New Color Tools Land June 18

Adobe released Photoshop version 27.8 on June 18, 2026, with a significant expansion of its AI and color management capabilities. The headline feature is Custom AI Models in the Generate Image tool: artists can now train a Firefly model on 10–30 of their own images, enabling the tool to produce results that match a specific personal or brand visual style. The update also introduces multi-model selection, allowing users to choose between Adobe Firefly Image 5, Google Gemini 3.1, and Black Forest Labs' FLUX.2 Pro from within the same Generate Image dialog.

Other additions include an on-device Remove Tool that operates offline, a new Reflection Removal feature for photos taken through glass (which isolates reflections onto a separate layer), and updated professional color standards with OpenColorIO 2.5 and ACES 2.0, bringing Photoshop in line with the 2026 VFX Reference Platform. A new Color and Vibrance Adjustment layer adds non-destructive white balance correction directly in the panel.

Source: Adobe (helpx.adobe.com) • CG Channel (cgchannel.com)