The 21st Century’s Biggest Art Trend is Not a Style. But Once You See It, You’ll Notice It Everywhere.

The article traces the evolution of "systems art," a term coined by critic Jack Burnham in 1968 to describe art that uses rules, seriality, and repetition to mirror and reveal the growing protocols of the Cold War era. It highlights early practitioners like Kenneth Noland, Robert Morris, Dan Flavin, and notably Hans Haacke and Adrian Piper, who shifted from atmospheric systems (e.g., Haacke's *Condensation Cube*) to social systems (e.g., Haacke's *Shapolsky et al. Manhattan Real Estate Holdings*). The piece argues that systems thinking has become unavoidable in contemporary life—from algorithms to systemic racism—and that art remains a crucial tool for making these invisible systems legible.

‘A gift that keeps on giving’: the witty world of Lee Friedlander – in pictures

The Guardian published a photo essay celebrating American photographer Lee Friedlander, featuring images from his career spanning the 1950s to the 2010s. The article highlights his new book "Life Still," published by Aperture, which collects over 130 photographs—most previously unpublished—showcasing his signature wit and his eye for the American social landscape, including chain link fences, roadside signs, and still lifes. The piece includes commentary from curator Peter Galassi and notes Friedlander's influences from Walker Evans and Robert Frank.

Shoot and branch: new photography book highlights the enduring majesty of trees

A new photography book, *Trees of Great Britain and Ireland*, reproduces over 60 photographs originally taken between 1906 and 1913 for Henry John Elwes and Augustine Henry's ambitious seven-volume catalogue of tree species. The images, mostly by uncredited photographers, were printed using a collotype process by the Autotype Company and are now newly lithoprinted to preserve their tonal subtlety. The book includes an introduction by Michael Pritchard and notes by photographic historian Björn Andersson, highlighting the historical and aesthetic significance of these botanical photographs.

A pop-up hotel format is born that focuses on culture: starting in an architecture in Arles, France (with photos by Carla Sozzani)

Nasce un format di hotel pop up che punta sulla cultura: si inizia in un’architettura di Arles in Francia (con le foto di Carla Sozzani)

Luca Pronzato, founder of the pop-up restaurant platform We Are Ona, is launching a new itinerant hospitality concept called Casa Ideale. The first edition will take place from July 1–10, 2026, at Villa Bank, a 1970s villa near Arles, France, designed by Emile Sala and protected as a Remarkable Contemporary Architecture by the French Ministry of Culture. Guests will stay in the villa and dine at a restaurant run by chef Gil Nogueira, while the space also hosts a photography exhibition titled "Prologo" curated by Maddalena Scarzella for Fondazione Sozzani, featuring over 60 works from Carla Sozzani's archive by artists such as Urs Lüthi and Helmut Newton, alongside design pieces from the gallery Downtown+ by Luna Laffanour.

Pappi Corsicato's film on photographer Claudio Abate, which recounts the artistic ferment of Rome between the 1960s and 1990s, is now on RaiPlay

È su RaiPlay il film di Pappi Corsicato sul fotografo Claudio Abate che racconta il fermento artistico di Roma tra gli Anni ’60 e ‘90

RaiPlay has released a new documentary film by Pappi Corsicato titled "Claudio Abate. L’obiettivo nell’arte" (2026), which pays tribute to the late photographer Claudio Abate (1943–2017). The film weaves together interviews, archival materials, and footage from Istituto Luce to chronicle Abate's life and work, focusing on his role documenting the vibrant Roman art scene from the 1960s through the 1990s. It highlights his collaborations with key figures such as Jannis Kounellis, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Fabio Sargentini, and the artists of the Pastificio Cerere school, capturing seminal performances, happenings, and installations that defined Arte Povera and other avant-garde movements.

Stripteases, ecstatic embraces and a dog in a dress: the full-on photos celebrating queer dancefloors worldwide

A new photo book titled *Sex, Clubs, Dissent: Visualising Queer Nightlife*, edited by writer Amelia Abraham, collects photographs from the 1960s to today that document queer nightlife around the world. The anthology features works by artists such as Wolfgang Tillmans, Sunil Gupta, Kia LaBeija, Phyllis Christopher, Roxy Lee, Ajamu X, and Del LaGrace Volcano, alongside images from trans community archives in Mexico City and Buenos Aires. The book is organized into sections on sex, clubs, and dissent, and includes a range of media from film stills to a Grindr screenshot, aiming to capture the messy, sexy, and politically charged atmosphere of queer social spaces.

Required Reading

This week's Required Reading roundup from Hyperallergic covers a diverse range of art-world stories. French photographer JR has unveiled "La Caverne du Pont Neuf Paris" (2026), an optical illusion installation that transforms the pathway across the Seine into a black-and-white mountain range cave, paying homage to Christo and Jeanne-Claude's 1985 wrapping of the same bridge. Other highlights include architecture scholar Karrie Jacobs investigating a New York waterfront walking initiative for The Nation, curator Tara Contractor writing in Apollo about James McNeill Whistler's use of metallic pigments influenced by Japanese traditions, and Rob Corsini interviewing Amelia Abraham about their new book celebrating photography of queer nightlife for Dazed.

Elle Peréz Gets Personal with the Next-Gen Collectors Changing the Art World

Elle Peréz, a photographer and co-chair of the Young Collectors Council (YCC) at an unnamed museum, discusses the group's activities in an interview. The YCC meets twice a year to acquire artworks through a transparent process involving curator presentations and studio visits, with members voting on acquisitions. Peréz highlights the party celebrating Diane Severin Nguyen's commissioned piece, noting the seamless integration of music, art, and aesthetics, and emphasizes that the acquisition meetings are the core of the group's appeal.

On the MUBI platform arrives the story of the great New York photographer Peter Hujar

Sulla piattaforma Mubi arriva la storia del grande fotografo newyorchese Peter Hujar

MUBI has announced the exclusive streaming release of "Peter Hujar's Day," a film directed by Ira Sachs, set to premiere on May 22. The film is based on a 1974 conversation between photographer Peter Hujar and author Linda Rosenkrantz, and stars Ben Whishaw as Hujar and Rebecca Hall. It reconstructs a single day in Hujar's life, capturing the creative energy and precariousness of 1970s New York, with appearances from figures like Allen Ginsberg and Susan Sontag.

Dolce Vita is Over

Dolce Vita war gestern

Andrea Modica's new photobook "Italian Story" collects four decades of photographs taken in Italy, beginning with her first trip there in the late 1980s. Born in 1960 to a family with roots in Sicily and Naples, Modica received a Fulbright scholarship to travel to Sicily and photograph the origins of the Catholic imagery, gender roles, and family structures she experienced growing up in New York. The book, however, is not a documentary of her heritage; instead, it presents dreamlike, surreal images—motionless bodies in water, dead fish, figures behind mosquito nets, Madonna statues—that resist clear narrative or identity politics. Modica works with an 8x10 large-format analog camera and prints using the historic platinum-palladium process, giving the images a timeless, collaborative quality.

The diaries of Czech photographer Josef Koudelka — ‘home doesn’t exist’

The Financial Times Visual Arts section publishes an article offering a compelling insight into the mind and process of Czech photographer Josef Koudelka, who documented the plight of people living on the edge of European society. The piece focuses on his diaries, revealing his personal reflections and artistic journey.

From war zones to the White House: Christopher Anderson’s photography

Christopher Anderson, a photographer known for his work in war zones, has shifted his focus to capturing intimate and emotional moments, including assignments at the White House. His approach emphasizes connecting viewers with feelings that transcend factual data, reflecting a broader evolution in his photographic practice.