8 Standout Shows at the Venice Biennale 2026

The 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, titled "In Minor Keys" and curated by Artistic Director Koyo Kouoh, opened in Venice in 2026, running through November 22 at the Giardini, Arsenale, and various city locations. The main exhibition features 110 invited artists, collaborative duos, collectives, and artist-led organizations, realized by Kouoh's team after her passing in May 2025. Alongside 100 National Participations in historic pavilions, 31 Collateral Events and independent projects are on view. Art & Object highlights eight standout shows, including Lu Yang's immersive digital installation "DOKU The Illusion" at Espace Louis Vuitton, Oriol Vilanova's postcard-based "Los restos" at the Spanish Pavilion, and JR's photographic reinterpretation "Il Gesto" at The Venice Venice Hotel.

Five Whirlwind Days in Venice, at (and Beyond) the Biennale

The article recounts a whirlwind three-day visit to the 61st Venice Biennale, focusing on the main exhibition at the Giardini della Biennale curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, titled "In Minor Keys." The author highlights textile works by artists such as Thania Petersen, Billie Zangewa, and Annalee Davis, as well as Beverly Buchanan's "Spirit Jars" and Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons's portrait of Kouoh and Toni Morrison. The trip also includes visits to collateral events, a performance at Jordan Roth's palazzo, and a side trip to Gabriele D'Annunzio's estate on Lake Garda.

Vima 2026: Highlights From Cyprus’ Emerging International Art Fair

The second edition of Vima, Cyprus' emerging international art fair, took place in Limassol from May 15-17, 2026, drawing 5,200 visitors and featuring 26 invited galleries from over 20 countries. Artworks sold ranged from €550 to €90,000, reflecting increased sales from the inaugural 2025 edition. Highlights included a special exhibition curated by Kostas Stasinopoulos titled "The Crashing Waves," performances by Scottish choreographer Magnus Westwell, and notable presentations by galleries such as Cut Art Gallery (Riga) and Eins Gallery (Limassol). The fair also hosted 25 events including talks, live music, and off-site shows across Limassol and Nicosia.

Alexander James Dissects Painting’s Most Enduring Shape in Hong Kong Exhibition

British artist Alexander James presents *Dissecting the Square*, a new exhibition at Phillips Gallery in Hong Kong, running until 31 May 2026. The show features a series of paintings, sculptures, and installations that explore the square as a geometric form, inspired by a moment when sunlight dissected an empty canvas in his studio. James divides canvases into quadrants, creating works that balance order and disruption. The exhibition also includes Josef Albers’ *Homage to the Square: In Time* (1967) and a sculpture by Sean Scully, placing James’s practice in dialogue with art historical precedents.

Lap-See Lam presented in major exhibition at Henie Onstad

Henie Onstad Kunstsenter in Oslo, Norway, is presenting a solo exhibition titled "Ombres" featuring Stockholm-based artist Lap-See Lam, the fourth recipient of The Lise Wilhelmsen Art Award. The exhibition showcases major works from Lam's career, including two shadow play installations brought together for the first time as a single immersive installation, alongside new glass-blown sculptures created during her residency at CIRVA in Marseille. Lam's work interprets traditional storytelling forms like Cantonese opera and shadow plays to explore the translation and mistranslation of cultural heritage, tracing histories from 18th-century Chinoiserie to Chinese restaurants in modern-day Sweden, reflecting her family's migration from Hong Kong.

Lubaina Himid and Magda Stawarska: Zanzibar

Lisson Gallery in London presents "Lubaina Himid and Magda Stawarska: Zanzibar," an immersive installation running from June 4 to August 22, 2026. The exhibition features nine diptychs painted by Himid in 1999, paired with a 38-minute multi-layered sound composition by Stawarska created in 2023. The works explore themes of memory, displacement, and belonging, drawing on Himid's birthplace in Zanzibar and her family's migration to London. The installation includes Taraab music, opera, archival BBC clips, and Himid's own voice, creating a multi-dimensional experience that reflects both artists' sense of loss and connection to their native countries.

One Fine Show: “Paula Rego, Dance Among Thorns” at MUNCH in Oslo

MUNCH in Oslo presents "Paula Rego: Dance Among Thorns," the first comprehensive museum survey of the Portuguese-British artist in the Nordic region and her largest since the 2021 Tate Britain retrospective. The exhibition brings together over 140 works spanning seven decades, from early abstract political collages to the grotesque papier-mâché tableaux of her final years. A central section traces previously undocumented links between Rego and Edvard Munch, including the discovery of a never-before-exhibited work by Rego's son, Nick Willing. Highlights include Rego's monumental "Oratorio" (2008-09) and "The Dance" (1988), which curator Kari J. Brandtzæg connects to Munch's "Dance of Life" (1898-1899).

Brand X Editions workshop celebrated at Dallas Museum of Art

The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) will present "X Marks the Spot: Contemporary Screenprinting at Brand X Editions," an exhibition exploring the expressive possibilities of screenprinting through the work of the legendary New York City-based workshop Brand X Editions. Featuring over 70 works created over four decades, the show highlights collaborations between Brand X's master screenprinters and artists including KAWS, Rashid Johnson, Deborah Kass, Robert Indiana, Glenn Ligon, and Tschabalala Self. The exhibition opens on May 24, 2026, and runs through November 8, 2026, following its debut at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It includes proofs, video, and interpretive materials to demystify the printmaking process, as well as new works created since the Philadelphia presentation.

UAE art guide: 11 museum and gallery exhibitions to see, from Picasso to the Baghdad Modern Art Group

The article presents a guide to 11 current museum and gallery exhibitions across the UAE, following the conclusion of Art Dubai 2026. Highlights include "Picasso, The Figure" at Louvre Abu Dhabi, which examines Pablo Picasso's reinvention of the human body through works from the Musée National Picasso–Paris; "From the Perspective of Language" at The Third Line, featuring Sara Naim's paintings and video work; and "Move, pause, return" at Gallery Isabelle, marking its 20th anniversary with daily unveilings by artists including Hassan Sharif and Mohammed Kazem. Other notable shows include "Reflections: Modern and Contemporary Art from the Villain Collection" at Bassam Freiha Art Foundation.

Exhibition | Judith Murray, 'Pure Pleasure' at Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York, New York, United States

Judith Murray's solo exhibition 'Pure Pleasure' is on view at Sundaram Tagore Gallery in New York. The show presents a selection of the artist's vibrant, abstract paintings that explore color, form, and sensory experience.

White Stripes Frontman Jack White Is Showing Art at Damien Hirst’s Gallery

Jack White, frontman of the White Stripes, is opening a sculpture exhibition at Damien Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery in London. Titled “Jack White: THESE THOUGHTS MAY DISAPPEAR,” the show runs from May 29 to September 13 and features found-object sculptures, furniture designs, notebooks, and photography. White and Hirst first met in 2021 when White was opening a Third Man Records store near Hirst’s studio, and Hirst encouraged White to mount a show after seeing his artwork.

4 Must-See Shows at Gallery Weekend Beijing

Gallery Weekend Beijing (GWBJ) took place in the 798 Art District, drawing visitors who mingled art-viewing with shopping and leisure in a commercialized landscape. The 10th annual event featured solo exhibitions by younger Chinese artists, including Ouyang Chun's "Nirvana" and Yang Fudong's "Fragrant River," with collectors and patrons like Tian Jun and Zhu Zhu actively shaping the programming. Despite an economic downturn, veteran galleries such as Hive Center for Contemporary Art and Tang Contemporary Art maintained robust activity, while emerging artists explored themes of technological anxiety, bodily perception, and material systems.

A Kind of Paradise: Reclaiming Colonial-Era Photography Through Contemporary Art

Museum Rietberg in Zurich has opened "A Kind of Paradise," an exhibition featuring twenty international artists who rework and reclaim colonial-era photographs. The show is organized into four thematic sections—Shapeshifters, Confrontation, Care, and In the Photo Fantastic—each exploring different strategies for challenging the historical narratives embedded in colonial archives. Artists such as Wendy Red Star, Cédric Kouamé, Omar Victor Diop, and Sasha Huber use techniques like cutting, stitching, collage, and critical fabulation to transform photographs that once defined and distorted non-European cultures into new works about memory, identity, and resistance.

Nancy Graves - En galerie

Nancy Graves (1939-1995), a major figure in American art who first gained recognition in 1969 at the Whitney Museum in New York, is the subject of a gallery exhibition presenting works from 1977 to 1990. Her multidisciplinary practice encompasses sculpture, painting, drawing, and film, drawing on scientific and cultural references. The featured works showcase an experimental approach based on layering, assemblage, and dynamic colors reminiscent of Abstract Expressionism, inspired by art history, archaeology, and her travels. Graves refused a fixed style, instead exploring the memory of forms and their reinterpretation in a free, layered visual language that is now being rediscovered.

François Morellet, mathematics and humor as guides

François Morellet, les mathématiques et l’humour pour guides

The article reports on the national centenary celebration of French artist François Morellet (1926–2016), titled "100 x Morellet," which includes exhibitions, conferences, and symposia across France. The centerpiece is the exhibition "100 pour cent" at the Centre Pompidou-Metz, curated by Michel Gauthier, featuring 100 works spanning Morellet's entire career from 1941 to 2016. The show extends beyond the museum onto a wall of a nearby SNCF technical center, reflecting Morellet's affinity for public space. The exhibition is structured around the artist's dual nature—oscillating between the rigorous geometric order inherited from Piet Mondrian and the irrational, humorous spirit of Francis Picabia—showcasing his evolution from self-taught adolescent paintings to concrete art, Op Art, monochromes, and neon works.

Back on its home soil after 375 years, the Venus of Arles magnetizes artists in an unprecedented exhibition

De retour sur ses terres après 375 ans, la Vénus d’Arles magnétise les artistes dans une expo inédite

The Venus of Arles, a Roman statue from the 1st century BCE and a copy of a work attributed to the Greek sculptor Praxiteles, has returned to Arles after 375 years for a temporary exhibition titled "Le Passage de Vénus" at the Musée Départemental Arles Antique. Discovered in 1651 in the ancient theater of Arles, the statue was gifted to Louis XIV, restored by François Girardon, and later displayed at the Louvre. The exhibition, co-curated by Ludovic Laugier and Romy Wyche, presents the goddess's journey from her mythical birth to her triumph, featuring eight thematic sections that blend ancient sculptures with works by 16 modern and contemporary artists, including Niki de Saint Phalle, Annette Messager, and Man Ray.

For the 9th edition of Printemps Asiatique Paris, K-art in the spotlight

Pour la 9e édition du Printemps Asiatique Paris, le K-art à l’honneur

The 9th edition of Printemps Asiatique Paris, running from June 3 to 12, 2026, places Korean art (K-art) at center stage, celebrating Franco-Korean friendship. The event moves from its previous location to the refined spaces of Galerie Charpentier and includes a "Parcours galeries" route featuring around twenty Parisian galleries. Participating galleries include Louis & Sack with Lee Hyun Joung's memorial landscapes, Magna Gallery with Hoon Moreau's oak sculptures, and Françoise Livinec with works by Bang Hai Ja. Other highlights include Jean-François Cazeau gallery showing major Asian artists like Zao Wou-Ki, Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita, and Yayoi Kusama; Mingei gallery presenting Japanese bamboo basketry from the 8th century to today; Sinapango gallery with lacquer objects including a Ming-dynasty erotic incense box; and Jacques Barrère gallery with a large Goryeo-dynasty bodhisattva sculpture. The Musée national des Arts asiatiques – Guimet mounts complementary exhibitions on Silla civilization treasures and K-beauty.

In London, Churchill's astonishing talent as a painter celebrated by an unprecedented retrospective

À Londres, l’étonnant talent de peintre de Churchill célébré par une rétrospective inédite

The Wallace Collection in London is hosting the first major posthumous retrospective of Winston Churchill's paintings, titled "Winston Churchill: The Painter." Running until November 29, 2026, the exhibition features nearly 60 still lifes and landscapes, many from private collections rarely shown publicly. Churchill took up painting in 1915 after the Dardanelles disaster and used art as a therapeutic escape from the pressures of politics and war, producing luminous, impressionistic works inspired by Monet, Cézanne, and Renoir.

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera at MoMA in New York in a Passionate Theatrical Dialogue

Frida Kahlo et Diego Rivera au MoMA de New York dans un dialogue théâtral plein d’ardeur

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York has opened a theatrical exhibition titled "Frida and Diego: The Last Dream," curated by Beverly Adams, the museum's curator of Latin American art. The show features around twenty paintings and drawings by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera from MoMA's collection, alongside photographic portraits. The exhibition's dramatic staging, designed by British set designer Jon Bausor—who also worked on the Metropolitan Opera's concurrent production of "El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego"—creates a tense dialogue between the artists' contrasting styles: Rivera's political murals and Kahlo's intimate, colorful self-portraits. Highlights include Kahlo's "Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair" (1940) and Rivera's "Zapata, Agricultural Leader" (1931).

Raque Ford ”The only one willing to to the hard part” at Fridericianum, Kassel

The article reviews Raque Ford's exhibition "The only one willing to do the hard part" at Fridericianum in Kassel. Ford, born in 1986 in Columbia, Maryland, and based in New York, presents works that blend artistically formed shapes with bold color contrasts and slogan-like text. Using plastic and industrial materials, she creates an aesthetic that oscillates between abstraction and simple visual codes, with layered compositions that challenge conventional boundaries.

‘BlowUp Jubilee’ Celebrates Inflatable Public Art in the Center of The Hague

BlowUp Jubilee, the sixth edition of The Hague's BlowUp Art event, has opened in the Dutch city, featuring 20 inflatable public art installations curated by Mary Hessing. The exhibition takes place at Madurodam and other locations around The Hague, with works by returning artists including Steve Messam, Eugenie Boon, John Körmeling, Sigrid Calon, and Yamuna Forzani. The sculptures interact with historic monuments and buildings, playing with scale, color, and form—such as a giant pink chair that is actually small and a green passageway installation.

Zohran Mamdani Visited MoMA PS1’s Greater New York—and Loved It

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani visited MoMA PS1's recurring survey exhibition "Greater New York" alongside New York State Representative Claire Valdez. PS1 director Connie Butler shared the news on Instagram, posting images of the politicians smiling and raising their arms near an installation by Palestinian American photographer Dean Majd. Majd's work features photographs of communities in New York and the West Bank, including a portrait of Mahmoud Khalil, an Algerian Palestinian activist detained by ICE. The exhibition, which runs through August 17, includes 53 artists and focuses on themes of urban decay, infrastructural failure, and survival.

Venice show brings together two leading figures from the Polish avant-garde

A collateral exhibition at the 2024 Venice Biennale, titled "Tadeusz Kantor (1915-1990) Emballage Cricotage and Madame Jarema," brings together two towering figures of the Polish avant-garde: Tadeusz Kantor and Maria Jarema. Organized by the Starak Family Foundation at the Procuratie Vecchie, the show features over 60 works spanning paintings, monotypes, sculptures, theatre props, and costumes, culminating in a room dedicated to Kantor's seminal theatre piece "The Dead Class" (1975). Jarema's work was shown at the 1958 Venice Biennale, and Kantor exhibited in the Polish pavilion in 1960; the exhibition highlights their intertwined, interdisciplinary practice and their foundational role in post-war Polish avant-garde art.

Flash back: The artists creating new stories from archival photos

Nanina Guyer, curator of photography at Zurich's Museum Rietberg, has organized the exhibition "A Kind of Paradise: Colonial-Era Photography in Contemporary Art," which examines how contemporary artists repurpose archival colonial-era photographs. The show features 20 artists, including Sammy Baloji, Rosana Paulino, Sasha Huber, Dinh Q. Lê, Wendy Red Star, Omar Victor Diop, and Zenaéca Singh, who transform these historical images into sculptures, films, and recontextualized works. The exhibition is divided into four sections: artists as archivists, confronting stereotypes, healing, and a final section on repair.

Evelyn Taocheng Wang ”Sweet Landscape” at MUSEION, Bolzano

Museion in Bolzano, Italy, presents the first institutional solo exhibition in Italy by Evelyn Taocheng Wang, a Rotterdam-based artist born in 1981 in Chengdu. The exhibition, titled "Sweet Landscape," showcases her work across painting, writing, installation, performance, and fashion, featuring a visual language that blends poetry, subtle humor, and critical depth while intertwining art historical traditions and fragments.

Indian Art In London: Sakshi Gallery Marks 40 Years With Landmark Show By Contemporary Indian Artists This June

Sakshi Gallery, a Mumbai-based gallery founded in 1986 by Geetha Mehra, is presenting a contemporary art show titled 'Unfolding Narratives: Perspectives in Contemporary Indian Art' at London's Mall Galleries from June 30 to July 8, 2026, marking its 40th anniversary. The exhibition features works by six artists—Amit Ambalal, Manjunath Kamath, Ravinder Reddy, Rekha Rodwittiya, Shine Shivan, and Surendran Nair—with several pieces created specifically for the show. It serves as a prelude to a larger institutional exhibition planned for 2027 in London.

A Roma c’è la mostra di un’artista 40enne californiana che ci racconta il valore della lentezza

Erica Mahinay, a 40-year-old California-born artist based in Los Angeles, is the subject of a solo exhibition titled "Rhythms" at T293 gallery in Rome. The show presents 24 intimate-scale works that explore the artist's physical, process-driven approach to abstract painting, where she manipulates pigment through pouring, dripping, and erasing to create layered, luminous surfaces. Mahinay, who holds degrees from the Kansas City Art Institute and Cranbrook Academy of Art, has work in the Marciano Art Foundation and Pinault Collection, and was included in the Hammer Museum's 2023 biennial "Made in L.A.: Acts of Living."

An Art-Lover’s Guide to Tunis’ Ground-Up Contemporary Scene

The article profiles Selma Feriani, a Tunisian gallerist who opened a new purpose-built gallery in the industrial El Kram district of Tunis in January 2024. Designed with architect Chacha Atallah, the three-story space features a concrete exterior referencing traditional Tunisian hand-application techniques and a garden of olive, palm, and orange trees. Feriani, who previously ran a gallery in London's Mayfair, returned to Tunisia after the Revolution to contribute to the country's cultural renaissance. The gallery currently hosts simultaneous exhibitions: Nadia Ayari's paintings of menacing plants and Nidhal Chamekh's "Frictions," part of his broader historical project "Et si Carthage…" exploring Mediterranean power dynamics.

Get a taste of the beautiful game through art at exhibits across LA

The article highlights several art exhibitions and installations across Los Angeles that celebrate soccer and sports culture in anticipation of the World Cup. Featured works include Lyndon J. Barrois Sr.'s "Fútbol is Life" at LACMA, featuring miniature sculptures made from chewing gum wrappers depicting historic soccer moments; Pelle Cass's "Play!" at Union Station's Metro Art Passageway Gallery, showing densely layered timelapse photographs of athletes; and Mark Dean Veca's mural "Miracle of La Brea" at the new Wilshire/La Brea Metro Station, which traces the history of the Miracle Mile. The piece also notes the recent opening of the David Geffen Galleries at LACMA and upcoming museums like Refik Anadol's Dataland and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

Marcel Duchamp and the MoMA Exhibition That Didn’t Ask Questions

Marcel Duchamp's 1917 readymade *Fountain* and its radical questioning of art's definition are the focus of a new retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, curated by Matthew Affron, Michelle Kuo, and Ann Temkin. The exhibition, the first major Duchamp show in the U.S. since 1973, assembles three hundred objects and presents them chronologically, tracing Duchamp's evolution from early paintings to his conceptual breakthroughs. The article highlights how *Fountain* was originally submitted to a no-jury exhibition by the Society of Independent Artists, sparking a debate that ultimately led to its rejection and Duchamp's resignation, a pivotal moment in art history.