‘Street Nihonga: The Art of Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani’

The Spencer Museum of Art has opened 'Street Nihonga: The Art of Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani,' a major spring exhibition featuring 170 works by the Japanese American artist, many never before displayed. The show traces Mirikitani's extraordinary life from his birth in Sacramento in 1920, his childhood in Hiroshima, formal training in traditional Nihonga under masters Kawai Gyokudō and Kimura Buzan, to his forced incarceration at Tule Lake during World War II after refusing to sign a loyalty oath. After years of statelessness and homelessness in New York City, Mirikitani developed a deeply personal, politically charged mixed-media practice that blended Japanese techniques with American street art.

Meet Ese Onojeruo: the exciting new talent behind the Venice Biennale’s British Pavilion

Ese Onojeruo has been appointed the Shane Akeroyd associate curator for the British Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale, working with Turner Prize-winning artist Lubaina Himid on her exhibition 'Predicting History: Testing Translation'. The show features Himid's paintings—including 'Boatbuilders', 'Architects', 'Chefs', 'Tailors', and 'Gardeners'—which depict two figures negotiating belonging in a place they did not originally come from. Onojeruo, who previously held roles at South London Gallery, Chisenhale, and Tate, describes the collaboration as a 'full circle moment', having discovered Himid's work only after her formal art education.

ICA Watershed reopens for the season with industrial-inspired installations

The Institute of Contemporary Art's Watershed in East Boston has reopened for its 2026 season with the exhibition "Lucy Raven: Rounds," featuring two large-scale installations by New York-based artist Lucy Raven. The show includes "Hardpan," a kinetic light sculpture co-commissioned by the ICA and Barbican Centre, and "Murderers Bar," a 44-minute film documenting the demolition of a concrete dam on the Klamath River in Northern California. Both works explore themes of industrial history, extraction, and environmental transformation, with the Watershed's former factory setting amplifying the industrial resonance.

Tilda Swinton to Perform at Guggenheim Bilbao in June

Actress and performance artist Tilda Swinton will stage a performance titled 'House of Gestures' at the Guggenheim Bilbao on June 5 and 6. The work, a collaboration with fashion historian and curator Olivier Saillard, is commissioned by Dom Pérignon as part of its 'Creation is an eternal journey' series. The piece explores gesture, presence, and transformation, set in the museum's atrium, and is free and open to the public with advance registration.

The Whitney Museum Raised $6.3 Million Last Night

The Whitney Museum of American Art raised $6.3 million at its annual benefit gala on Tuesday night, honoring artist Julie Mehretu, Board Chair Fern Kaye Tessler, and Director Emeritus Adam D. Weinberg. The event drew a crowd of artists, actors, musicians, and arts leaders, with a performance by Grammy winner Shaggy and a seated dinner at the museum's downtown flagship.

From the artist who painted with his feet to the splashes of Pollock: abstraction takes over the Centre Pompidou Malaga

The Centre Pompidou Malaga has opened the exhibition 'Gesture and Matter. International Abstractions (1945–1965)', running until September, featuring around 30 works by 26 artists. The show highlights abstract art as a post-World War II response, with key pieces including Jackson Pollock's 'Number 26A. Black and White' and Kazuo Shiraga's 'Planet Nature', painted with his feet while suspended from ropes. Co-curated by Anne Foucault and Christian Briend, the exhibition traces abstraction's development from Paris and New York to Asia and Europe, emphasizing painting as a full-body, performative act of freedom.

Lenz Geerk’s Theatre of the Mind: painting as regulation of appearance

Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin presents "Theatre of the Mind," the first Italian institutional solo exhibition by German-born painter Lenz Geerk. The show features recent works from 2022 to 2024, exploring painting as a perceptual device where figures, objects, and domestic interiors exist in unstable, unresolved configurations. Installation views by Giorgio Perrottino accompany the exhibition, which runs at the foundation's space.

A Napoli torna il Gallery Weekend tra Chiaia e centro storico: tante mostre e una nuova associazione di galleristi

The third edition of the Napoli Gallery Weekend is scheduled for May 22–24, 2026, spanning the Chiaia district and the historic center of Naples. This year’s key development is the formation of an association of organizing galleries—Acappella, Alfonso Artiaco, Andrea Ingenito Contemporary Art, Galleria Fonti, Gallerie Riunite, Galleria Tiziana Di Caro, Studio Trisorio, and Umberto Di Marino—aiming to coordinate openings, exhibitions, and special visits while strengthening the city’s contemporary art scene. Highlights include shows by Valentina Artone, Adam Pendleton and Antoni Tàpies, David Bowes, Edoardo Aruta, Martin Kippenberger at Galerie Gisela Capitain’s Naples space, Salvatore Emblema and Luisa Lambri, and a geopolitical group exhibition titled "Global Folklore."

James McNeill Whistler was more than just a combative ‘coxcomb’

Carol Jacobi, curator of a new exhibition at Tate Britain in London, aims to reframe the legacy of James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), an artist often reduced in public memory to his 1877 libel lawsuit against critic John Ruskin. The show, the UK's first full Whistler survey since 1994, highlights his prolific output, evolving style, and belief that art should seek "a more fundamental beauty" beyond mere impression. It brings together many of his celebrated nocturnes and, for the first time, his sketchbooks, though the infamous Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket (1875) could not be loaned.

Three Dinosaur Fossils Are Up for Grabs at This New York Art Gallery

Amanita, a New York art gallery, is presenting three Maiasaura dinosaur fossils alongside a John Chamberlain sculpture in an exhibition titled "Land Before Time: Three Dinosaurs and a Gondola" at its Bowery location through August 9. The fossils, sourced from Tucson-based Granada Gallery, include an 85 percent complete adolescent, a 68 percent complete adult, and a 62 percent complete juvenile—marking the first time a full Maiasaura growth cycle has been displayed. The Chamberlain piece, "Gondola Marianne Moore" (1982), was procured with help from Hauser and Wirth. Only the fossils are for sale, with prices undisclosed.

‘Entertainment is often violence shrouded in a fun disguise’: Marianna Simnett on being tickled for hours and having Botox injected into her throat

Marianna Simnett, a Croatian British multi-disciplinary artist, discusses her new exhibition 'Circus' at the Secession in Vienna, which features a light, sound, and sculpture installation in a pitch-black basement. The show includes works like 'Catherine Wheel' (2026), a blue spinning reflective skirt accompanied by the sound of the artist being tickled for four hours, and 'Fountain' (2026), a neon of a woman urinating referencing Balkan folklore. Simnett explores themes of violence, desire, pain, and power, often using her own body as a site of transformation, as in her earlier work 'The Needle and the Larynx' (2016) where she had Botox injected into her throat.

Free Summer Exhibitions in 2026 Across Paris and Île-de-France: This Season’s Must-See Events

A curated guide lists free summer exhibitions across Paris and Île-de-France for 2026, including shows at Fluctuart, Perrotin Gallery, Petit Palais, Bourse de Commerce, Rachel Hardouin Gallery, and Domaine de Chamarande. Highlights include "Everybody's Searching for Their Cat" at Fluctuart (May 7–August 23), JR's "Les Esquisses de la Caverne" at Perrotin (June 5–July 25), the return of "We are (still) here" street-art exhibition at Petit Palais (June 20–September 20), and free late hours at Bourse de Commerce on the first Saturday of each month.

In an age of distraction, Marina Abramovic draws audiences into art

Marina Abramović, the pioneering performance artist who turns 80 this year, is the subject of a major exhibition at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, running through October. The show, titled "Transforming Energy," features interactive "transitory objects" such as crystal structures and minerals, a re-enactment of one of her best-known performances, and a depiction of her work "Pieta" staged with her late partner Ulay alongside Titian’s masterpiece. Abramović became the first living woman to be honored with a major exhibition at the museum, and she previously won the top prize at the 1997 Venice Biennale. In an interview, she discusses her shift from painting to performance, her evolving relationship with the audience, and the challenge of holding attention in an age of distraction.

The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art and Christie's Unveil 'The Meeting Ground: Scenes from the KNMA Collection' - Christie's

The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) in New Delhi and Christie's London have announced a major institutional exhibition titled 'The Meeting Ground: Scenes from the KNMA Collection,' running from 16 July to 21 August 2026 at Christie's King Street. The show brings together modern and contemporary works alongside folk and indigenous art from South Asia, curated by Akansha Rastogi with a team of curators. It features artists such as M.F. Husain, S.H. Raza, Zarina Hashmi, and Jangarh Singh Shyam, and is part of KNMA's ongoing international programme.

Biennale Arte 2026: which national pavilions strike us and why

The 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, titled "In Minor Keys" and curated by Koyo Kouoh (who passed away in May 2025), opened amid intense controversy over its artist list and geopolitical tensions. Protests erupted against the participation of Israel and Russia, with a petition signed by 22 countries to exclude Russia, threats from the European Commission to suspend funding, and the resignation of the international jury. Around 18 national pavilions staged strikes and partial closures to denounce the normalization of Israel's presence and precarious labor in the art world. The Austria Pavilion's performance by Florentina Holzinger, featuring a girl hanging upside down inside a tilting bell, became a viral symbol refocusing attention on art itself.

Venice Biennale 2026 Roundup

The 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys" and curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, opened in May 2026 amid significant turmoil. The Austrian Pavilion features Florentina Holzinger's performance piece "Seaworld Venice," centered on a giant bell that chimes hourly. The biennale has been marked by the death of its curator, the resignation of the international jury over the inclusion of Russia and Israel, protests by Pussy Riot and the Art Not Genocide Alliance, and the cancellation of the South African Pavilion over Gabrielle Goliath's "Elegy," which honors murdered women including a Palestinian poet. The US Pavilion's state-sponsored offerings have also drawn criticism.

Clark Art Institute to Exhibit Priceless Art Donated by Tavitian Foundation

The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts, announced an upcoming exhibition titled “An Exquisite Eye: Introducing the Aso O. Tavitian Collection,” on view from June 13, 2025, through February 21, 2027. The show features approximately 150 works from the Tavitian Collection, a major private collection of European art assembled by the late collector and philanthropist Aso O. Tavitian. Spanning c. 1450–1850, the exhibition includes paintings, sculpture, drawings, and decorative arts by artists such as Jan van Eyck, Jean-Antoine Houdon, and Elizabeth Louise Vigée-Lebrun. The collection, comprising 331 objects, was donated to the Clark and will eventually be housed in a new wing designed by Selldorf Architects, set to open in 2028.

Picasso, the figure: Inside Louvre Abu Dhabi’s transformative exhibition

Louvre Abu Dhabi has opened "Picasso, the Figure," its first exhibition dedicated entirely to Pablo Picasso, running until May 31. The show brings together around 60 works exploring Picasso's fascination with the human figure, spanning his cubist experiments, neoclassical portraits, surrealist compositions, and late works. It is presented in collaboration with Musée National Picasso-Paris and France Muséums, housed within Jean Nouvel's iconic floating dome on Saadiyat Island.

Wallace Chan in Venice and Shanghai

Wallace Chan will present "Vessels of Other Worlds," a monumental dual-site exhibition across Venice and Shanghai in 2026, coinciding with his 70th birthday and the 61st Venice Biennale. The exhibition premieres on May 8, 2026, at the Chapel of Santa Maria della Pietà in Venice, featuring a new series of titanium sculptures inspired by the three sacred oils of the Catholic Church, with a parallel exhibition opening on July 18, 2026, at the Long Museum (West Bund) in Shanghai, where the sculptures will be displayed at a dramatically larger scale. Curated by James Putnam, the project also includes a complementary site-specific exhibition, "Mythos," at Scala Contarini del Bovolo in Venice from April to October 2026.

Yoo Young-kuk’s inner landscapes spotlighted in Seoul retrospective

The Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) has opened its largest-ever retrospective of pioneering Korean abstract painter Yoo Young-kuk, titled "Yoo Youngkuk: A Mountain Within Me," marking the 110th anniversary of his birth. Running through Oct. 25 at SeMA's Seosomun branch, the exhibition brings together 178 works, including 115 oil paintings, drawings, photographs, archival materials, and previously unseen pieces, as well as BTS RM's collection "Mountain." Rather than a chronological format, the show begins in 1964—the year of Yoo's first solo exhibition—and moves backward and forward through time, highlighting his geometric compositions and bold primary colors inspired by the mountains and sea of his hometown Uljin.

What not to miss from the new edition of The Phair, the photography fair in Turin

Cosa non perdere della nuova edizione di The Phair, la fiera della fotografia di Torino

The seventh edition of The Phair, a photography fair in Turin, Italy, opened on Thursday, May 21, at the Sala Fucine of the Officine Grandi Riparazioni. Founded by Roberto Casiraghi and Paola Rampini, the fair features 42 national and international galleries. Highlights include a surprising automotive partnership at the entrance, and standout presentations from Red Lab Gallery (Ezio D’Agostino and Carlotta Valente), Alberto Damian Gallery (Paolo Gioli), Roccavintage (Costanza Gastaldi), Tucci Russo (Giulio Paolini), Raw Messina (Kri Babusci), and Galleria Umberto Benappi (Ugo Mulas). Other notable artists include Arnulf Rainer, Anton Corbijn, Luigi Ontani, and Simon Starling.

Notte Europea dei Musei 2026: tornano le aperture serali con biglietto a 1 euro. Il programma

The European Night of Museums returns on Saturday, May 23, 2026, with participating museums across Europe opening their doors for special evening hours. In Italy, the Ministry of Culture organizes extraordinary openings from 8 PM to midnight at the symbolic price of 1 euro, alongside events in theater, music, dance, literature, and cinema. Highlights include Rome's Notte dei Musei (16th edition) with civic museums open until 2 AM, Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este in Tivoli offering evening access and contemporary performances, and the Royal Savoy Residences in Piedmont featuring guided tours, exhibitions, and family activities.

“Voglio porre domande che non avranno mai risposte”. Intervista all’artista Ndayé Kouagou in mostra a Reggio Emilia

Ndayé Kouagou, an artist from Montreuil (1992) based in Paris, presents his first solo exhibition in Italy, "Heaven's truth," at Collezione Maramotti in Reggio Emilia, running until July 26, 2026. The show features his video installation "A coin is a coin" (2022) and is part of the 21st edition of Fotografia Europea 2026, themed "Fantasmi del quotidiano." During the opening, Kouagou performed with poet and actress Salber Lee Williams, composing and deconstructing phrases into the expression "Please Be Yourself." The exhibition will travel to Heidelberger Kunstverein from September 3, and new works co-produced with the institution will appear at the 18th Lyon Biennale (September 19 – December 13, 2026). In an interview, Kouagou discusses his background as a self-taught visual artist and performer, having worked as a motion designer in advertising and as a DJ, and emphasizes writing as his central expressive medium, comparing himself more to a writer than a visual artist.

Julie Mehretu — Perceptual Infrastructure and the Post-Retrospective Condition

Julie Mehretu's latest exhibition, "Our Days, Like a Shadow (a non-abiding hauntology)," is on view at Marian Goodman Gallery in New York from April 14 to June 6, 2026. The show presents paintings that push beyond traditional representation, creating immersive perceptual environments through dense layers of abstraction, cartographic traces, and architectural fragments. The works, including the TRANSpaintings series created with Nairy Baghramian, extend Mehretu's practice into spatial expansion, where painting behaves like infrastructure without becoming literal architecture.

In Pol Taburet’s New Show, Being Paranoid Is the Point

French artist Pol Taburet has opened a solo exhibition titled *Paranoia as Method* at Villa Medici in Rome, on view through July 15. The show features sculptures, large-format paintings, and charcoal drawings created during his spring residency at the institution, transforming the villa’s gardens, loggias, and salons into tense psychic landscapes. Taburet’s figures drift between human and animal, evoking transformation, mortality, and spiritual tension, drawing on his Caribbean roots, voodoo traditions, contemporary culture, and classical painting.

The Holy Spirit in a Rapture of Pain

Der Heilige Geist im Schmerzrausch

Florentina Holzinger's "Pfingstspiel" (Pentecost Play) is a multi-hour performance staged across two locations in Austria—the Wiener Eislauf-Verein in Vienna and Schloss Prinzendorf—as a satellite event to her contribution to the Venice Biennale. The work features extreme physical stunts, including a performer rappelling down a hotel facade, a car drifting with Holzinger on its roof, and a crucifixion scene, all drenched in blood, pain, and religious imagery. The performance, presented only once before 700 guests as part of the Wiener Festwochen, is described as a brutal, uncompromising marathon that pushes the boundaries of live art.

Gerard van Honthorst

A major retrospective of the Dutch Golden Age painter Gerard van Honthorst has opened at the Centraal Museum in Utrecht, running from April 25 to September 13, 2025. The exhibition brings together numerous large-format works that trace Honthorst's full career, from his early Caravaggesque phase to his later stylistic and thematic diversification across Utrecht, Rome, London, and The Hague. The show is praised for its successful mix of chronological and thematic hanging, offering a comprehensive view of the artist's complexity.

US SCULPTURES AMID CONTROVERSY AT THE VENICE BIENNALE

The United States Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale features sculptor Alma Allen's exhibition "Call Me the Breeze," which opened with no clear funding just ten days prior. Unlike previous pavilions supported by major foundations like Ford and Mellon, Allen's show relies on a $375,000 US government contribution and public donations via the American Arts Conservancy. The selection process was unconventional: the State Department, which took over after Trump's NEA budget cuts, imposed restrictions on DEI policies and required proposals promoting "American exceptionalism." Curator Jeffrey Uslip directly approached Allen without a formal proposal, leading the artist's two galleries—Olney Gleason and Mendes Wood DM—to drop him when he accepted the commission.

Nolan Lucidi “Bildersaal” at Kunsthaus Glarus

Kunsthaus Glarus presents "Bildersaal," the first institutional solo exhibition by Swiss artist Nolan Lucidi (b. 2000, based in Basel). The installation combines videos and objects to explore male homosexual desire drawn from literature, art history, and personal experience, while also interrogating formal language and claims to authority.

“Cartographies of Growth” at MARTa Herford

From February 7 to June 7, 2026, MARTa Herford presents a dual exhibition dedicated to Lois Weinberger (1947–2020) and Katinka Bock (born 1976). The show explores poetic phenomena beyond human control, where materials react, spaces shift, and natural forces leave their traces both inside the museum and beyond.