Luca De Michelis, chief executive of Marsilio Arte, on his favourite spots in Venice beyond the Biennale

Luca De Michelis, CEO of Marsilio Arte, shares his personal guide to Venice beyond the Biennale, highlighting historic sites, shopping, dining, and cultural venues. His recommendations include Palazzo Grimani, Micheluzzi Glass, the Gardens of the Church of the Redeemer on Giudecca, Antiche Carampane restaurant, the newly opened Dries Van Noten Foundation, San Giorgio Maggiore island, Codroma for spritz, and the upcoming exhibition 'Strange Rules' at Palazzo Diedo’s Berggruen Arts & Culture.

Expanded Vocabulary: Revisiting Deborah Kass’ Studio

The article recounts the author's visit to Deborah Kass's Brooklyn studio, which she shares with her wife, artist Patricia Cronin. The visit was prompted by logistical issues related to the author's exhibition "Social Minimalism" (2025). During the visit, the author and Kass revisited themes central to Kass's work over three decades: the exclusion of women from art history, Jewish identity, queer voice, lesbian subjectivity, and postwar American art. The conversation also touched on Kass's series including the Warhol Project, Feel Good Paintings, No Kidding, and the large painting/sculpture installation "Everybody" (2019), which was recently featured in a conversation between Kass and Titus Kaphar in Interview magazine.

Trevor Paglen’s New Book Says AI Is Rewriting What Images Do

Artist Trevor Paglen has published a new book, *How to See Like a Machine: Images After AI*, which argues that generative AI and computer vision are fundamentally changing how images function in culture. Drawing on his decade-long practice, Paglen contends that images are no longer merely representations for human interpretation but have become operational tools—'activations' that trigger automated responses and shape reality. He cites examples such as surveillance cameras at grocery stores, the Samsara navigation system in trucks, and the ImageNet database to illustrate how machine vision systems normalize surveillance in service of capital, a phenomenon he terms 'machine realism.'

8 Art Films Worth Watching in May

8 Kunstfilme, die sich im Mai lohnen

Monopol magazine presents eight art films worth streaming in May, including a documentary featuring 40,000 slides from critic Jerry Saltz capturing the 1990s New York art scene, Shirin Neshat's film "Women Without Men" about women in 1953 Tehran, Christian Petzold's new film "Miroirs No. 3," and a documentary on the Shroud of Turin. The roundup also includes a politically charged drama directed by Yael Bartana and a Dada-metal film, offering a diverse selection of art-related cinema.

What Artists Sign Away

Artist and writer Sarah Hotchkiss recounts two personal experiences where galleries and residency programs used standard contracts to limit artists' rights. In the first, a new gallery refused to shorten a six-month consignment period after an exhibition, leaving her work in "contractual limbo" where she would owe the gallery half of any sale even if she found the buyer herself. In the second, a residency required her to waive moral rights under the Visual Artists Rights Act, protections that allow artists to prevent distortion and control attribution of their work.