Lubaina Himid Unveils Reading the Label Across Cork Street for 2026 Banners Commission

Lubaina Himid has unveiled 'Reading the Label', the 2026 edition of the Cork Street Galleries Banners Commission, transforming London's historic Cork Street into a public installation of painted male figures on banners. The works, drawn from Himid's paintings over the past twelve years, explore how clothing communicates identity, memory, and cultural meaning. The installation coincides with London Gallery Weekend 2026 and is commissioned by Cork Street Galleries, an initiative of The Pollen Estate.

Clear your calendar for London Gallery Weekend, a three-day art party in the capital

London Gallery Weekend returns as a three-day event across the capital, featuring over 120 galleries with free entry and a program of talks, performances, and drinks receptions. The article highlights standout exhibitions, including Alvaro Barrington's '92–01 ‘In Livin Color’' at Emalin, which examines the cultural impact of the crack cocaine epidemic on Black communities; Naotaka Hiro's exploration of perception and the body at Herald St; Jemila Isa's debut solo show 'Dreams Lost Upon Waking' at Maureen Paley's Studio M; a survey of British Surrealist Eileen Agar at Alison Jacques; and Elena Njoabuzia Onwochei-Garcia's collage installation 'Grown: The Altering of Innocence and Experience' at William Hine.

Plan an Art-Filled Summer Weekend in the Hamptons

The article outlines a packed summer of art events in the Hamptons for 2025 and 2026, including the US debut of the Nomad collectible design fair at The Watermill Center (June 25–28), the Watermill Center's Summer Festival (July 24–25) honoring founder Robert Wilson, and the return of the Hamptons Fine Art Fair (July 9–12) for its 20th edition. Other highlights include East Hampton Art & Design Days (July 9–12) and a year-long series at the Parrish Art Museum celebrating America's 250th anniversary, featuring exhibitions by Sanford Biggers and Tony Bechara.

Mickalene Thomas solo show of new works in Detroit

Library Street Collective in Detroit presents "Beneath the Moonlight," a solo exhibition of new works by Mickalene Thomas at the Shepherd. The show marks a significant shift in Thomas's practice, introducing an entirely new body of work that explores masculinity and the representation of the Black male body through large-scale paintings, collage, and photography. The exhibition features works staged within her signature environments, including models who are non-binary and trans men, challenging dominant portrayals of Black masculinity. A catalog designed by artist Bob Faust accompanies the show, and Black Diamond Editions, a limited edition print publisher, launches in conjunction with the exhibition.

The Temporal and Geographical Ambiguity of Mark Manders

Belgian artist Mark Manders, known for his monumental half-bust sculptures that evoke classical art while appearing unfinished, opens a new exhibition at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in New York. The show features works like *Bonewhite Clay Head with Vertical-Cloud* and *Monument*, both cast in bronze with a dusty white patina, alongside stretched canvases incorporating newspapers. Manders describes his practice as a form of three-dimensional writing, where objects and spatial relationships create meaning, and his pieces often explore themes of hidden grief and frozen time.

‘The Edward Hopper of the Black Country’: the photographer whose epic shots captured Sikh life in Walsall

Billy Dosanjh's exhibition 'Paths You Walk' at the New Art Gallery Walsall features epic photographic reconstructions of Sikh life in Walsall during the 1960s-70s, using local residents as models and oral histories collected with a National Heritage Lottery Fund grant. The images capture Punjabi migrants working in foundries, socializing in pubs and cafes, and navigating the harsh winter of 1962-63, blending documentary authenticity with cinematic beauty reminiscent of Edward Hopper and Jeff Wall.

A First Look at the Art in the New Obama Presidential Center

The Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, a $850 million campus designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, is set to open later this month in Jackson Park. The center features over 28 commissioned works by contemporary artists including Idris Khan, Theaster Gates, Lorna Simpson, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, and Maya Lin, alongside a basketball court, a Chicago Public Library branch, gardens, and civic spaces. Curators Virginia Shore, Crystal Moten, and Louise Bernard assembled the collection to intertwine art with the Obama legacy and the broader public art landscape of Chicago's South Side.

Al Musée d’Orsay ci sono due grandi mostre per scoprire e riscoprire Renoir

The Musée d'Orsay in Paris has opened two major parallel exhibitions dedicated to Pierre-Auguste Renoir, marking the artist's return to the museum after forty years. Inaugurated on March 17, "Renoir and Love: A Joyful Modernity" and "Drawings by Renoir" offer fresh perspectives on the Impressionist master's work. The first exhibition, curated by Paul Perrin, focuses on Renoir's early career and his depictions of modern life through themes of love, friendship, and conviviality, featuring masterpieces such as "Luncheon of the Boating Party" (1880-81) and rarely seen works from private collections. The second exhibition is the first ever dedicated to Renoir's drawings, highlighting the importance of graphic techniques in his artistic evolution and including around one hundred works from international collections, some never exhibited before.

Museo Igor Mitoraj opens in Pietrasanta: interview with director Frank Boehm between contemporary art and craftsmanship

A Pietrasanta apre il Museo Igor Mitoraj: intervista al direttore Frank Boehm tra arte contemporanea e artigianato

The Museo Igor Mitoraj opens in Pietrasanta on June 6, 2026, housed in the former municipal market designed by Tito Salvatori and renovated by OBR studio. The inaugural exhibition, "Mitoraj. Present," showcases a significant selection of 69 works donated to the Fondazione Museo Igor Mitoraj, highlighting the Polish sculptor's legacy beyond his monumental works. Director Frank Boehm, formerly of Miart and the Museum Insel Hombroich, outlines plans for the museum to become an international platform for contemporary sculpture research, featuring exhibitions, residencies for young artists and curators, and educational activities.

An exhibition in Spain delves into the complex relationship between Picasso and the Christian religion

Una mostra in Spagna approfondisce il complesso rapporto tra Picasso e la religione cristiana

A new exhibition titled "Picasso. Radici Bibliche" (Picasso. Biblical Roots) has opened in the cloisters of the Cathedral of Santa Maria in Burgos, Spain, exploring the complex relationship between Pablo Picasso and Christianity. Organized in collaboration with the Almine and Bernard Ruiz-Picasso Foundation, the show features 44 works—paintings, drawings, and small sculptures—many from the foundation's collection and some never publicly displayed before. The exhibition is curated by Paloma Alarcó and includes loans from the Museo Picasso Barcelona, Musée Picasso Paris, Museo Reina Sofía, and the Monastery of Montserrat. It is structured chronologically across six thematic sections—Education, Maternity, Vanitas, Golgotha, Vera Icon, and Hope—to highlight Christian symbols in Picasso's work.

BRUSK, un nouveau centre d’art à visiter dans le cœur historique de Bruges

A new art center called BRUSK opened on May 8 in the historic heart of Bruges, Belgium, near the Groeningemuseum. Housed in a contemporary building by Robbrecht en Daem Architecten and Olivier Salens Architecten, it features a monumental fresco by Laure Prouvost titled "The Whispering Walls Rêve" and two temporary exhibition spaces. The inaugural show "Vision large" explores Bruges' medieval golden age, while a second space presents a generative AI installation by Refik Anadol. BRUSK also includes the BRON research center, storage for Musea Brugge's collection, and a public café.

From Brueghel to Chanel, why the extraordinary bird of paradise turns all heads

De Brueghel à Chanel, pourquoi l’extraordinaire oiseau de paradis fait tourner toutes les têtes

The article explores the extraordinary bird of paradise, from its biology and courtship rituals to its cultural significance in Papua New Guinea and its impact on European art and fashion. It opens with the exhibition "Plumes du paradis" at the musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, which immerses visitors in the deep, spiritual relationship between Papuan clans and these birds, where skins are exchanged as symbols of alliance and status. The narrative then traces the bird's arrival in Europe in 1522, where it sparked a centuries-long myth of legless celestial creatures, and its subsequent adoption as a motif by Golden Age painters like Brueghel, Rubens, and Rembrandt, who used its feathers to denote prestige and exoticism.

An Invitation into Joan Miró’s Imagination

The article invites readers into the imaginative world of Joan Miró, the Catalan painter, by recounting his successful 1941 retrospective at MoMA and his 1945 exhibition with dealer Pierre Matisse. It highlights Miró's first visit to the United States in 1947 and his inclusion in the New American Paintings show at MoMA in 1991, with a charming anecdote from MoMA conservator Jean Volkmer about Miró blowing kisses at the artworks. The piece also notes an upcoming exhibition at The Phillips Collection from March 21 to July 5, 2026.

Paul Thek at Pace Gallery

Pace Gallery is presenting an exhibition of works by Paul Thek, the influential but often overlooked American artist known for his provocative sculptures and installations that blend the sacred and the profane. The show brings together pieces from different periods of his career, including his famous "Technological Reliquaries"—glass cases containing wax casts of body parts—alongside drawings and other works that explore themes of mortality, spirituality, and the human condition.

“Eva Hesse, Lukas Heerich, Rindon Johnson” at max goelitz, Munich

Max Goelitz gallery in Munich is hosting an exhibition titled “Eva Hesse, Lukas Heerich, Rindon Johnson,” organized in collaboration with Hauser & Wirth for the Various Others 2026 event. The show pairs contemporary works by Lukas Heerich and Rindon Johnson with selected early works on paper and a painting by Eva Hesse, highlighting intergenerational dialogue around material experimentation.

Desire, Deferred: Eroticism in Southeast Asian Art

The National Gallery Singapore has opened "Passion is Volcanic: Desire in Southeast Asian Art," its first R18 exhibition, running from April 24 to August 30, 2026. The show explores eroticism in Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art, drawing inspiration from Nanyang school artist Liu Kang's 1953 essay on Bali. It features works from Singapore's national collection and the region, including Liu Kang's "Scene in Bali" (1953), Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook's video "I'm Living" (2002), and a 14th-15th century tantric Buddhist statue. The exhibition is divided into three sections—"Asian Mythos and Ritual," "Conventions of the Erotic," and "Public Arenas/Private Interiors"—and is restricted to audiences over 18 due to Singapore's media regulations, with photography prohibited.

Kulapat Yantrasast to Helm 2027 Bukhara Biennial

The Bukhara Biennial has appointed Kulapat Yantrasast as artistic director for its second edition, scheduled to run from September 3 to November 21, 2027. Yantrasast, a Bangkok-born architect trained under Tadao Ando and founder of WHY Architecture, brings experience from projects at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre, and Milan Design Week 2026, where he collaborated with the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF) on the exhibition "When Apricots Blossom." The inaugural 2025 edition, founded by ACDF chairperson Gayane Umerova and curated by Diana Campbell, drew approximately 1.8 million visitors and featured artists including Antony Gormley, Marina Perez Simão, and Subodh Gupta.

Art Students League Seeks the Next Generation of Public Artists

The Art Students League of New York is accepting applications through July 12, 2026, for its Works in Public fellowship, a fully funded two-year program that trains artists to create large-scale public sculptures. Formerly known as Model to Monument and launched in 2010 with the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, the fellowship selects four artists per cohort, providing tuition, a stipend, and production costs. Participants develop proposals in the first year and fabricate approved works in the second, with sculptures displayed for a year in Manhattan’s Riverside Park and eligible for permanent installation on the Florida Keys Sculpture Trail.

Newly Unearthed John Lennon Drawings Make Their Public Debut

Some 240 rediscovered drawings by John Lennon, created in the 1960s for an animated Beatles music video, are being publicly displayed for the first time at the Liverpool Beatles Museum. The drawings were made in collaboration with artist Stephen Verona and feature lyrics from the Beatles' 1964 hit "I Feel Fine." They were used to produce a short lyric video called "She Said So," described as the first music video. The trove recently surfaced at auction in London, where it was acquired by pop culture memorabilia expert Joseph Robert O'Donnell, who recognized its significance.

Faiza Butt on Representing Pakistan at the 61st Venice Biennale

Faiza Butt, the artist representing Pakistan at the 61st Venice Biennale (2026), discusses her plans for the national pavilion in an interview with ArtReview. Her project draws from the cultural history of Punjab, incorporating folk crafts, intergenerational textile techniques, natural dyes, and collaboration with women artisans. The pavilion will be located at Spazio 996/A, Fondamenta Sant’Ana, and the Biennale runs from 9 May to 22 November 2026. Butt emphasizes a two-pronged approach: preserving historic knowledge and engaging socially through art.

Audain Art Museum Celebrates Takao Tanabe's Centennial with Landmark Retrospective

The Audain Art Museum is opening "Takao Tanabe 100: Inside Passage," a landmark retrospective celebrating the 100th birthday of Canadian painter Takao Tanabe on September 16, 2026. The exhibition features over fifty works spanning six decades, including his iconic coastal and prairie landscapes as well as lesser-known series like the "White Paintings" and "Emperor" paintings. Co-organized with the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, the show will travel to Ottawa and Victoria through 2027.

Twice a Week, David Haskell Leaves New York Magazine To Throw Clay

David Haskell, editor in chief of New York Magazine, is holding his first solo exhibition of sculptures titled "Boom Beach" at Donzella Ltd. in New York City. The show features 68 works, mostly ceramics, along with bronzes and glass sculptures, created over the past several years. Haskell, who works as a sculptor twice a week at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, began working with clay as a teenager and returned to it in 2013, evolving from making planters to abstract forms that he describes as a personal exploration of shape and balance.

Mildred Howard on her first retrospective in a major museum: ‘My art is part of who I am as a person’

Oakland-based artist Mildred Howard, now 80, will receive her first major museum retrospective, "Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory," at the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) starting June 12. The exhibition spans her 50-year career and includes works such as her "Untold Histories / Hidden Truths" series, which reimagines monuments to slaveholders and colonizers, and public installations like "Locks and Keys for Harry Bridges." Howard's home and studio in West Oakland—a 15,000 sq ft warehouse—blurs life and art, filled with samples and cast-offs from her large-scale public artworks.

The great artists Kounellis and Warhol together in an exhibition in Milan: a shared spirituality

I grandi artisti Kounellis e Warhol insieme in una mostra a Milano: una condivisa spiritualità

The Galleria Fumagalli in Milan presents "Kounellis | Warhol. La messa in scena della tragedia umana," a curated exhibition pairing the classical, material-driven works of Jannis Kounellis with the pop iconography of Andy Warhol. Curator Annamaria Maggi explores the theme of tragedy through contrasting yet complementary approaches: Kounellis transforms raw matter into symbols of memory and suffering, while Warhol reveals the dark side of glamour through mechanical repetition and frozen surfaces. The show includes Warhol's 1981 polaroids and a 1978 negative serigraph of Marilyn Monroe, alongside Kounellis's 2006 "Senza titolo" featuring a coat crushed against iron.

A Walk with Ernest Pignon-Ernest in Naples through 5 Sublime Works

Promenade avec Ernest Pignon-Ernest à Naples en 5 œuvres sublimes

Ernest Pignon-Ernest, a pioneering French street artist born in Nice in 1942, has spent over 50 years creating contextual art by pasting charcoal drawings and screen prints onto urban walls. The article focuses on his long engagement with Naples, Italy, where he first arrived in the 1980s after hearing Neapolitan baroque music on the radio. It highlights five key works from his Neapolitan series, including a 1988 collage combining Caravaggio's 'David and Goliath' with the head of Pier Paolo Pasolini, his 'Pulcinella' figure from the 1990s exploring death and comedy, and 'Épidémie' (1990) depicting plague victims. The works are currently featured in an exhibition at the Bibliothèque-Musée l'Inguimbertine in Carpentras, France.

Au Grand Palais, Leandro Erlich nous entraîne dans un tourbillon d’illusions et de métamorphoses

Leandro Erlich's immersive exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris transforms the monumental space into a playground of architectural illusions. The show features iconic works such as *Port of Reflections* (2014), where mirrored boats float on a sculpted black surface, and *Bâtiment* (2004), inviting visitors to lie on a building facade and see themselves suspended in a giant mirror. Curated by Fabrice Bousteau, the exhibition includes pieces like *Changing rooms* (2008), *Infinite Staircase* (2020), and the politically charged *Window and Ladder – Too Late for Help* (2008), inspired by Hurricane Katrina. The display emphasizes joy and interaction, contrasting with the contemplative atmosphere of concurrent Matisse and Hilma af Klint shows at the same venue.

Paul Thek at Galerie Buchholz

Paul Thek's work is currently on view at Galerie Buchholz in an exhibition documented by 42 images on Contemporary Art Daily. The show presents the artist's pieces, though no specific artworks or dates are detailed in the article text.

Jonathan Lasker at Galerie Thomas Schulte

Jonathan Lasker is the subject of a solo exhibition at Galerie Thomas Schulte in Berlin. The show presents a selection of his paintings, characterized by his signature abstract vocabulary of gestural marks, schematic forms, and layered compositions that blend painterly expression with conceptual rigor. The exhibition includes 33 images documenting the works on view.

The Sun and The Moon Exhibition at Saatchi Gallery | Art Inspired by Celestial Bodies - News and Statistics

The Saatchi Gallery has opened a major new exhibition titled 'The Sun and The Moon,' exploring humanity's fascination with celestial bodies. Curated by Katherine Benson, the show spans nine gallery spaces across two floors and features works from over 170 artists, structured as a 24-hour cycle from dawn through night. Highlights include Luke Jerram's six-metre illuminated sphere 'Helios,' made from 400,000 NASA photographs, and Margot Selby's textile 'Moon Landing,' which honors the Navajo women and Raytheon workers who contributed to the Apollo missions. The exhibition also includes works by Patrick Caulfield, Barbara Hepworth, Sinta Tantra, Kay Gasei, and Aina Petrova, alongside historical artifacts like a Sol Invictus Celtic Bust and a replica of the Nebra Sky Disc.

Barbie: The Exhibition at Kelvingrove - 70 years of an iconic doll’s design story

Barbie: The Exhibition, originally staged at London's Design Museum, will open at Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum on June 13, running for four months. Curated by Danielle Thom, the show explores the design history of the iconic doll, from her 1959 debut to her cultural impact, including the evolution of Barbie pink and the architectural trends reflected in Dreamhouses. The exhibition is produced in partnership with Mattel and the Design Museum, aiming to present Barbie as a significant piece of mainstream design.