We are in danger of losing our sense of community

"Wir drohen das Gespür für die Gemeinschaft zu verlieren"

Christophe Cherix, the new director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, discusses his first months in the role, emphasizing museums as "safe social places" in an era of anxiety and screen-induced isolation. He advocates for collective vision-building with staff and defends the MoMA's independence against political pressure in Trump-era America. Separately, critic Paco Barragán argues in The Observer that biennials are in a structural crisis of repetition, tracing their history from instruments of national soft power to a "Global Neo-Liberal Biennial" system that co-opts diversity without changing its core logic. He introduces the concept of the "vibe-ennial," where discourse is replaced by atmosphere and critique by affect. Meanwhile, longtime Bonn museum director Stephan Berg critiques the boom in immersive art experiences like "Van Gogh – The Immersive Experience," calling them a "surrogate reality" tailored to the Instagram age that destroys the integrity of original works. Artforum reconstructs late-1960s debates on art criticism, focusing on Barbara Rose's challenge to formalists like Clement Greenberg and Rosalind Krauss, arguing that art must engage with societal conflicts such as Black Power and war resistance.

Harnessing the winds of societal change: how art dealers have been able to shape taste for centuries

Valentina Castellani, a former Gagosian director, has authored a new book titled *Trading Beauty: Art Market Histories from the Altar to the Gallery* (out 1 May). The book traces how art dealers have historically leveraged societal changes—political, economic, and social—to reshape taste and market structures. Castellani begins in the Middle Ages, when art was made only on commission for patrons like the Catholic church and monarchies, and moves through key shifts such as the Dutch Republic's first open art market in the 17th century, which gave rise to the professional art dealer. She highlights dealers like Paul Durand-Ruel, Joseph Duveen, and Leo Castelli who capitalized on anti-establishment energy, new wealth, and post-war consumer culture to bring avant-garde art to the forefront.

Fancy a European art break with fewer crowds? Try one of these five cities | Europe holidays

The article highlights five European cities—Zurich, Lille, Warsaw, and others—as alternatives to crowded art capitals like Paris and London for art-focused holidays. It details key museums and galleries in each city, such as Zurich's Kunsthaus Zürich and Löwenbräukunst-Areal, Lille's Palais des Beaux-Arts and LaM, and Warsaw's Museum of Modern Art (MSN Warsaw), along with day-trip suggestions like Baden's Museum Langmatt and Roubaix's La Piscine.

The Best and Worst of the Stars at the 2026 Met Gala Inspired by Art History

Le meilleur et le pire des stars au Met Gala 2026 inspiré par l’histoire de l’art

On May 4, 2026, the Met Gala brought together 450 guests at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York under the theme "Fashion is Art," tied to the exhibition "Costume Art." Attendees were asked to draw inspiration from specific artworks, resulting in standout looks: Madonna channeled Leonora Carrington's "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" (1945) in a Saint Laurent gown, Kim Kardashian wore a custom piece by Allen Jones extending his "Cover Story 4/4" (2021), Hunter Schafer embodied Gustav Klimt's portrait "Mäda Primavesi" (1912-1913) in Prada, and Tessa Thompson referenced Yves Klein's "Anthropométries" in Valentino. Gracie Abrams also paid homage to Klimt's "The Kiss."

Mummy, is this a video game? The dangers of showing kids art on a screen

A parent takes their toddler to Frameless, an immersive digital art experience in London, where works by Hieronymus Bosch, Claude Monet, and Georges Seurat are projected onto walls, ceilings, and floors. The child reacts with mixed engagement—enjoying some moments but feeling overwhelmed by the frenetic, screen-based environment—while the author reflects on the tension between traditional static art and animated digital reproductions.

I Turned My TV Into a Rotating Art Gallery Using Free Museum Downloads

The article provides a guide on how to turn a TV into a rotating art gallery by downloading high-resolution, public-domain images from museum digital collections. It explains the need to filter for Open Access works to avoid copyright issues and recommends several museums with extensive free collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago and the Getty Museum.

Salon des Indépendants

The article is about the Salon des Indépendants, a historic French art exhibition society founded in 1884. It provided a platform for artists to exhibit works without a jury, challenging the official Paris Salon's conservative standards.

Met Gala 2026: Celebrities Wearing Art — Decoding the Inspirations Behind Their Looks

At the 2026 Met Gala, held on May 4 at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, celebrities interpreted the dress code 'Fashion is Art' with looks inspired by iconic artworks. ROSÉ wore a Saint Laurent gown based on Georges Braque's 'The Birds,' Emma Chamberlain's dress fused Vincent van Gogh's 'The Garden at Arles' and 'The Starry Night,' and Ben Platt donned a jacket reimagining Georges-Pierre Seurat's 'A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte' through bead embroidery.

27 Best Museums in the World for Art, History, and Cultural Wonders

This article from Travel + Leisure lists 27 of the best museums in the world, covering art, history, science, and culture. Featured institutions include the Louvre in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Vatican Museums, the National Museum of China in Beijing, the National Gallery and Tate Modern in London, the Natural History Museum in London, the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, and Miraikan in Tokyo. The piece highlights iconic artworks such as the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and the Sistine Chapel ceiling, as well as notable architectural features like I.M. Pei's glass pyramid at the Louvre.

7 new art and culture books in bookstores. Maps of the present: between art, work, memory and forms of perception

7 nuovi libri d’arte e cultura in libreria. Mappe del presente: tra arte, lavoro, memoria e forme della percezione

This article from Artribune presents a curated selection of seven new art and culture books recently released in Italy. The featured titles range from a theoretical lexicon for 21st-century arts edited by Nicolas Martino, which redefines key terms like 'author,' 'AI,' and 'care,' to a poetic pop-up book by Japanese designer Katsumi Komagata titled 'Piccolo Albero,' which uses paper engineering to narrate the cycle of life. Other works explore themes of labor, memory, domestic space (Giorgio Morandi), inner labyrinths (Andrea Bocconi), and direct testimony from Gaza, all aiming to provide new frameworks for understanding a fractured present.

How Native American Artists Redefined Contemporary Art in the United States

A generation of Native American artists, emerging from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe from the 1960s onward, reclaimed Indigenous representation in American art. Figures like Fritz Scholder, T.C. Cannon, Kevin Red Star, and Earl Biss used modernism, irony, and cultural specificity to dismantle colonial stereotypes of Native peoples as romanticized relics, instead portraying them as contemporary individuals with agency and living traditions.