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Daily brief 27 Sept 2026
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Daily Brief · 27 September 2026

Daily Brief — September 27, 2026

Three stories move between remembrance, recognition and close looking: QAGOMA marks Yayoi Kusama’s death with a record of her Brisbane connections, evala receives an international award selection, and Stephen Antonakos’s neon work returns to view through a detailed New York profile.

QAGOMA has mourned Yayoi Kusama, who died on August 14, 2026, at 97. The museum identifies works including Obliteration Room (2002), created for its Children’s Art Centre, and Eyes Are Singing Out (2012–13), which remains on permanent public view in Brisbane. Infinity Nets (2000) entered the QAGOMA Collection in 2001. Kusama was the subject of the museum’s solo exhibitions Look Now, See Forever (2011–12) and Life Is the Heart of a Rainbow (2017–18), making her the only international artist featured in two of its solo exhibitions. She also presented work in The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art 2002.

evala’s ‘Studies for’ Selected for S+T+ARTS Prize 2026

NTT InterCommunication Center says evala’s Studies for has been selected for the S+T+ARTS Prize 2026. The work was created for the exhibition evala: Appearing Place, Vanishing Image. The prize is described as an international award organized by the European Commission and operated by Ars Electronica. A recording of an artist talk held under the theme of Studies for is also available on HIVE. The selection follows the work’s presentation through Tokyo’s NTT InterCommunication Center, which shared the announcement.

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Bookstein Projects has shared Afterglow, a T Magazine profile of Stephen Antonakos by M.H. Miller, published September 21, 2026. The article examines Antonakos’s engagement with neon and his transformation of the material into a fine-art medium, alongside his preserved home and studio on West Broadway in SoHo. It discusses his geometric neon sculptures, Greek Orthodox influences and public works, including The Blue Neon Cross, Neon Desk, Blue Cube With Red Neon and The Light of the World. The profile also includes photographs and time-lapse videos by David Chow.