Seoul’s new Centre Pompidou Hanwha museum opens next month—can it live up to expectations?

Seoul's new Centre Pompidou Hanwha museum will open to the public on June 4, 2025, marking the Pompidou's second Asian branch after its collaboration with Shanghai's West Bund Museum. The four-year partnership between the Hanwha Foundation of Culture and the Centre Pompidou will feature two exhibitions per year from the Pompidou collection, starting with "The Cubists: Inventing Modern Vision." The museum occupies 11,000 square meters over four floors of Hanwha Group's 63 Building, with one gallery dedicated to early 20th-century European art and another to global contemporary art with a Korean focus, curated in-house. The inaugural Korea Focus section includes local artists such as Kim Whanki and Yoo Youngkuk.

While the world is ending outside

Während draußen die Welt untergeht

The ninth edition of the art festival "Various Others" opened in Munich amid rain, with galleries, institutions, and off-spaces presenting their exhibitions. Highlights include Jana Schröder's large-format paintings at Jahn und Jahn, juxtaposed with Willem de Kooning's works on newspaper; André Butzer's solo show at Galerie Christine Mayer, featuring his transition from monochrome 'N-Bilder' back to color; and Anselm Reyle's solo exhibition at Walter Storms in collaboration with Galerie Dirimart. Two standout shows are inspired by Persian miniature painting: Elif Saydam's 'Glory' at Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, where silver and gold leaf works will oxidize over centuries, and another exhibition exploring bodies in transitional states—pupating, oxidizing, and escaping fixed forms.

A Major Martin Puryear Retrospective Reveals an Artist Who Has Never Stopped Evolving

The Cleveland Museum of Art has opened "Nexus," a major retrospective of Martin Puryear featuring over 50 works, the first comprehensive survey of the artist's career in some time. The exhibition includes rarely displayed early pieces from Puryear's personal collection alongside recent works, organized in consultation with the 84-year-old artist. Highlights include the titular 1979 piece "Nexus" made of Alaskan yellow cedar, and other works like "Night and Day" and "Alien Huddle" that showcase his mastery of wood and cold-molding techniques.

The New Costume Institute Show Gets Under the Skin

The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has opened its 2026 spring exhibition, “Costume Art,” which explores the relationship between clothing and the human body through pairings of couture with artworks spanning 5,000 years. Curated by Andrew Bolton, the show is divided into thematic chapters such as “Nude Body,” “Disabled Body,” “Aging Body,” and “Anatomical Body,” featuring pieces from designers like Dior, John Galliano for Maison Margiela, and Renata Buzzo alongside historical artifacts and contemporary art.

Bharti Kher Commissioned by Powerhouse Parramatta, Australia’s New Cultural Center Opening Later This Year

British-Indian sculptor Bharti Kher has been commissioned to create a monumental sculpture titled 'Tree of Life' for the entrance of Powerhouse Parramatta, a major new cultural center opening later this year in Parramatta, west of Sydney, Australia. The work, made of four stacked bronze and clay heads, is part of Kher's ongoing 'Intermediaries' series, which began in 2016 after she found a collection of broken clay figurines in her Delhi studio. The commission was reported by Art Asia Pacific, and Kher previously installed related public works in Central Park and at Harvard Business School.

Still in Sound

The Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, Colorado, has opened a new exhibition titled "Still in Sound," which pairs abstract paintings by Clyfford Still with original sonic interpretations by contemporary sound artists. Co-curated by Bailey Placzek, the museum's curator of collections, and British multidisciplinary artist Ben Coleman, the exhibition features works by artists Maria Chávez, Maya Dunietz, Kalyn Heffernan, Matana Roberts, and Michael Schumacher. Each artist selected a Still painting and composed a sound piece in response, with the compositions playing in shuffled order to create a non-linear, immersive experience. A digital guide offers full recordings, and Denver artist Phillip David Stearns designed an interactive component based on Still's pastel drawings. The exhibition runs through February 2027.

12 exciting fashion and jewelry exhibitions that will make you travel this summer

12 expos de mode et de bijoux passionnantes qui vous feront voyager cet été

Beaux Arts Magazine presents a curated selection of twelve fashion and jewelry exhibitions across France, Paris, and Vienna, running through summer 2026. Highlights include a retrospective of Mossi Traoré at the Mucem in Marseille, a showcase of Thai haute couture at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and "Africa Fashion" at the Musée du quai Branly, celebrating African design from the independence era. Other featured exhibitions cover Christian Dior, Gianni Versace, Daniel Brush, Provençal costumes, and anniversaries of glittering fashion houses.

At the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp a major exhibition on Antony Gormley, with more than one hundred works

The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) is hosting a major exhibition titled "Geestgrond" dedicated to British sculptor Antony Gormley, running from May 23 to September 20, 2026. Curated by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, the show features over 100 works made from diverse materials including clay, stone, wood, glass, bread, iron, lead, and steel. The exhibition places Gormley's sculptures in dialogue with the museum's historical collection, spanning from a 14th-century Flemish Crucifixion to works by James Ensor, Auguste Rodin, and Julio González. It also extends beyond the museum walls into the streets of Antwerp and along the Scheldt River, with works from the Domain and Weave Works series appearing in urban spaces.

Julie Mehretu and John Jasperse Find Common Ground

Julie Mehretu, the celebrated abstract painter, and John Jasperse, a noted choreographer, are collaborating on a joint project at Marian Goodman Gallery in New York. The article explores how the two artists are working together to merge visual art and dance, asking how they can bring something productive to each other’s creative practices.

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.

BITS & BYTES May 22, 2026: What’s happening in the Berkshires and beyond!

The article announces four upcoming art exhibitions in the Berkshires region of Massachusetts. At The Mount in Lenox, the 2026 Sculpture at The Mount exhibition titled "Flourish" runs from May 24 to October 24, featuring outdoor sculptures exploring growth, resilience, and connection. In Great Barrington, Childs + Clark Gallery opens "Glass Half Full: Hope, Happiness & Resilience" on May 23, inviting artists to respond to contemporary overwhelm. Also in Great Barrington, Lauren Clark Fine Art presents "In Celebration of the Fine Art Print" from May 23 to July 12, showcasing 18 artists working in print media. At Gallerie 271 in Monterey, "Two to Tango" features works by Jaye Alison and Bill Carlson from May 22 to July 4.

JR: 'Reflecting on the cave is to look at our deep humanity, our origins, art in general'

JR : « Réfléchir à la caverne, c’est se pencher sur notre humanité profonde, sur nos origines, sur l’art en général »

French artist JR is transforming the Pont-Neuf in Paris into a giant inflatable cave structure, titled "La Caverne du Pont-Neuf," set to debut on May 23, 2026. The project, conceived with producer Vladimir Yavachev, pays homage to Christo and Jeanne-Claude's 1985 wrapped Pont-Neuf, using inflatable techniques inspired by Christo's unrealized designs. JR's team built a prototype in a hangar at Orly, and the work involves complex permissions from the French president, the Paris mayor, and local authorities.

In Basel, a Dive into the Great Bath of Colors of Helen Frankenthaler

À Bâle, plongée dans le grand bain de couleurs d’Helen Frankenthaler

The Kunstmuseum Basel has opened a major retrospective of American painter Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011), a key figure in Color Field painting who is less known in Europe than her contemporaries Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. The exhibition was sparked by a 2024 donation of Frankenthaler's 1963 painting "Riverhead" from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, and features around fifty works showcasing her signature soak-stain technique, in which she applied thinned paint to unprimed canvas using sponges, brooms, and scrapers. The show traces her career chronologically, highlighting influences from Old Masters and her physical approach to painting on the floor.

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.

Hito Steyerl “Mechanical Kurds” at Villa Arson, Nice

From February 20 to May 31, 2026, Villa Arson art center in Nice presents "Mechanical Kurds," a video installation by German artist Hito Steyerl. The work blends fiction, documentary, and critical speculation to examine invisible micro-labor chains, the geopolitics of images, and the delegation mechanisms behind so-called autonomous technologies.

‘A once-in-a-generation opportunity’: Europe’s biggest exhibition of James McNeill Whistler in 30 years will open in London this week

Tate Britain in London is opening a major retrospective of James McNeill Whistler, the largest exhibition of his work in Europe in 30 years. Featuring 150 works spanning painting, drawing, printmaking, and design, the show includes iconic pieces like *Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1* (commonly known as *Whistler's Mother*) and *Nocturne: Blue and Gold - Old Battersea Bridge*. For the first time, the exhibition examines Whistler's teenage years and also displays his personal notebooks, easel, paint palette, and collections of East Asian ceramics and Japanese prints. The exhibition runs from May 21 to September 27, 2026.

La Fondation Beyeler di Basilea inaugura una grande mostra dell’artista francese Pierre Huyghe. Da vedere durante Art Basel

The Fondation Beyeler in Basel is opening a major solo exhibition of French artist Pierre Huyghe, running from May 24 to September 13, 2026. The show transforms Renzo Piano's museum spaces into a sensitive ecosystem inhabited by images, organisms, sounds, dust, algorithms, and presences suspended between the biological and artificial. Key works include "Apnea" (2026), an artificial organ submerged in water that breathes at a human rhythm; "Alchimia" (2026), featuring a worm on a threshold that reacts to air; "Liminals" (2026), a film depicting a faceless anthropomorphic figure in a state of radical uncertainty; "Adversary" (2026), a closed gate co-created by human and machine; and "Camata" (2024), a film set in the Atacama Desert that is continuously re-edited in real time based on sensors and audience presence.

Quando la mitica Peggy Guggenheim era una gallerista a Londra. Mostra da non perdere a Venezia

The article details the early career of Peggy Guggenheim before she established her famous Venetian museum, focusing on her London gallery Guggenheim Jeune (1938–1939). It describes how the gallery mounted pioneering exhibitions of avant-garde art, including the first UK solo show of Wassily Kandinsky, a group exhibition of contemporary sculpture featuring Jean Arp and Henry Moore, and shows of artists like Marie Vassilief and Gisèle Freund. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice now presents a retrospective of this formative period, titled "Peggy Guggenheim a Londra. Nascita di una collezionista."

Anish Kapoor Returns to the Hayward Gallery with Monumental New Works

Anish Kapoor will return to the Hayward Gallery in London in 2026 with a major exhibition of new and celebrated works, running from 16 June to 18 October. Curated by Ralph Rugoff, the show will fill the gallery and its outdoor terraces with monumental installations, including a vast inflated PVC membrane, a dark mountainous threshold, and the suspended sculpture 'Mount Moriah at the Gate of the Ghetto' (2022). The exhibition also features Vantablack-coated works, mirrored steel sculptures, and recent paintings and sculptures in silicone, resin, and pigment, marking Kapoor's first major return to the Hayward since 1998.

To Paint is to Love Again at Crèvecoeur, rive droite

Crèvecoeur gallery in Paris presents "To Paint is to Love Again," a group exhibition curated by artist Louise Sartor running from April 9 to May 27, 2026. The show brings together works by eleven artists: Geneviève Asse, Sadie Benning, Whitney Claflin, Anne-Lise Coste (Uruk), Jean Dubuffet, Jean Hugo, Ulalai Imai, Françoise Lapeyre, Louise Sartor, Li Shan, and Naoki Sutter-Shudo. The exhibition is documented with 49 images on Contemporary Art Daily.

Lowry Hill Gallery Exhibition: Kirsten Tradowsky, “Annemarie’s Vision”

Lowry Hill Gallery is hosting an exhibition titled “Annemarie’s Vision” featuring the work of artist Kirsten Tradowsky. The show is presented in partnership with Minnesota Women's Press, highlighting Tradowsky's artistic exploration of vision and narrative.

NEW ZEALAND PHOTOGRAPHER FIONA PARDINGTON REPRESENTS AOTEAROA AT THE VENICE BIENNALE

New Zealand photographer Fiona Pardington (born 1961, Auckland) is representing Aotearoa at the 61st Venice Biennale with her exhibition *Taharaki Skyside*, on view from May 9 to November 22, 2026, at the Aotearoa New Zealand Pavilion. The show features large-scale portraits of taxidermied birds from museum collections across New Zealand and Australia, focusing on endemic species including the extinct huia and whēkau. Curated by Felicity Milburn and Chloe Cull, the exhibition is presented by the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) and Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū.

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.

British Museum Unveils Elaborate Display for Bayeux Tapestry

The British Museum has revealed its plans for displaying the nearly 1,000-year-old Bayeux Tapestry when it arrives on loan from France later this year. For the first time in recent history, the 230-foot-long embroidered narrative of the Norman Conquest will be laid flat in a bespoke case, allowing visitors to view all 58 scenes in a single unbroken display. The exhibition, supported by a £5 million pledge from WorldQuant CEO Igor Tulchinsky, will also feature loans including the Junius II manuscript from Oxford's Bodleian Libraries and silver coins from the Chew Valley Hoard. Tickets for the ten-month show, opening September 10, cost £25–£33.

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.

The Delicate Bouquet of Roses and Peonies by Redouté and Thilo Westermann at Malmaison

Le délicat bouquet de roses et de pivoines de Redouté et de Thilo Westermann à Malmaison

An exhibition titled "Roses & Pivoines" has opened at the Château de Bois-Préau in Malmaison, France, pairing the 19th-century botanical watercolors of Pierre-Joseph Redouté with contemporary glass-painting works by German artist Thilo Westermann. Redouté, famous for his meticulous rose and peony illustrations commissioned by Empress Joséphine Bonaparte, is shown alongside Westermann's pointillist technique on glass, which he developed from 2014 onward. The show also includes works by Jan-Frans van Dael and Cornelis van Spaendonck, plus scent stations for visitors to smell rose essences.

‘It’s like a Ouija board – I listen to the painting’: the supernatural art of Sanya Kantarovsky

Russian-born, New York-based artist Sanya Kantarovsky presents his new exhibition "Basic Failure" at Venice's Institute of Sciences, Letters and Arts, timed to coincide with the Venice Biennale. The show features his signature dishevelled, otherworldly figures—including a pallid boy with a cigarette, a child spinning in innocence, and a glass bust of a young boy with a dead spider under its eye—that explore tension, alienation, and the supernatural. Kantarovsky describes his process as listening to the painting like a Ouija board, and the exhibition includes works that confound narrative expectations, such as a scruffy toy panda and a recreation of Antonello Gagini's 16th-century sculpture.

Interview with Ramuntcho Matta: Brion Gysin: The Last Museum Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris

The article is an interview with Ramuntcho Matta about the exhibition "Brion Gysin: The Last Museum" at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris. It explores the life and work of Brion Gysin, a multifaceted artist associated with Surrealism, the Beat Generation, and the invention of the Dreamachine. The exhibition traces Gysin's career through his calligraphy, painting, and multimedia works, including collaborations with William S. Burroughs and Ian Sommerville. A complementary show, "Underwood 2246449-5 (Les diables de Brion)," organized by Matta at New Galerie, features Burroughs's typewriter and related instruments.

Singapore Art Museum at 30: tough decisions

The Singapore Art Museum (SAM) is celebrating its 30th anniversary while navigating the challenges of its 2022 relocation to Tanjong Pagar Distripark, a remote industrial building that has drawn mixed reactions—some visitors find it too inaccessible, while younger audiences applaud the move away from the colonial civic district. Director and CEO Eugene Tan defends the decision, citing the building's high ceilings and flexible spaces as ideal for contemporary art, and announces a fifth gallery opening by 2026 that will bring total exhibition space to 3,800 square meters. The museum also plans to experiment with open-air exhibition techniques in the new space, aiming to reduce energy demands.