Why Contemporary Artists Are Raiding the Renaissance Toolkit

Three contemporary artists—Alison Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Bühler-Rose, and Nick Doyle—are reviving the Renaissance woodworking techniques of intarsia and marquetry in their current exhibitions. Taylor is showing marquetry hybrid paintings at Jessica Silverman Gallery in San Francisco, Bühler-Rose is presenting a solo booth with Stems Gallery at Independent, and Doyle is also participating in the trend. Their work draws inspiration from the Gubbio Studiolo at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a 15th-century trompe-l'œil room that exemplifies the decorative inlay tradition.

art venice faustin linyekula the galeazze project dance

Congolese choreographer Faustin Linyekula is staging "The Galeazze Project," a performance commissioned by the Venice-based nonprofit Scuola Piccola Zattere (SPZ) in the 16th-century Galeazze shipyard complex, which has been inaccessible since World War II and never open to the public. The performance, a collateral event of the 2026 Venice Biennale, brings up to 500 people into the 32,291-square-foot open-air ruin for two nights, featuring local students, musicians from the Venetian label Cosmogram, and trumpeter Heru Shabaka-Ra, with a soundtrack composed collaboratively.

Hito Steyerl “The Island” Osservatorio Fondazione Prada / Milan by Piermario De Angelis

Hito Steyerl's solo exhibition "The Island" at Osservatorio Fondazione Prada in Milan explores the concept of submersion as both a geological condition and a media regime. The show takes its title from a Neolithic artificial island discovered off the coast of Korčula, Croatia, which remained submerged for approximately seven thousand years. Through video interviews, installations, and critical assemblages, Steyerl connects this submerged structure to contemporary issues of digital image circulation, algorithmic power, and the dispossession of agency, drawing on science fiction, quantum physics, biochemistry, and deep time.

What to See at the 2026 Venice Biennial

The 2026 Venice Biennale, opening May 9 and running through November 22, features a main exhibition titled "In Minor Keys" organized by the late Koyo Kouoh, alongside 99 national pavilions. The event spans the Giardini and Arsenale sites, with concurrent shows across the city, including a group exhibition at the Fondazione Dries Van Noten, Melissa McGill's installation "Marea" at Corte Nova, Illy's artist-designed espresso cups at Giardini Reali, and a solo exhibition of Hernan Bas's paintings at Ca' Pesaro International Gallery of Modern Art.

It's full of artworks behind the looks seen on the Met Gala 2026 red carpet

È pieno di opere d’arte dietro ai look visti sul red carpet del Met Gala 2026

The Met Gala 2026, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, adopted the dress code "Fashion Is Art," prompting designers and celebrities to transform their bodies into living canvases and sculptures. Notable looks included Emma Chamberlain in custom Mugler evoking Vincent van Gogh, Anne Hathaway wearing a Michael Kors Collection dress hand-painted by artist Peter McGough with ancient Greek iconography, and Madonna in a Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello ensemble inspired by Leonora Carrington's surrealist work. Other celebrities like Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner referenced classical sculptures such as the Nike of Samothrace and Venus de Milo, while Anok Yai, in collaboration with Pierpaolo Piccioli for Balenciaga, created a metallic bronze effect honoring the Black Madonna.

An Abandoned Shipyard in Venice Is Getting a New Life Thanks to This Congolese Choreographer

Congolese choreographer Faustin Linyekula is staging "The Galeazze Project," a performance in a 16th-century shipyard complex in Venice that has been inaccessible since World War II and never open to the public. Commissioned by the nonprofit Scuola Piccola Zattere, the work will bring up to 500 people into the 32,291-square-foot open-air ruin for two nights during the 2026 Venice Biennale preview week. The rental fee from the performance will help stabilize and restore the floors of the historic Galeazze site.

In Warsaw, the Poster Museum reopens and it is the oldest in the world

A Varsavia riapre il Museo del Manifesto ed è il più antico del mondo

The Poster Museum in Wilanów, a suburb of Warsaw, has reopened after a major conservation restoration co-financed by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. Founded in 1968 as an autonomous institution from the National Museum in Warsaw, it is the oldest museum of its kind in the world. Its collection now holds approximately 63,000 posters from Poland and abroad, dating from the late 19th century to the present, including works by Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Stasys Eidrigevičius. The reopening exhibition, "Polish Posters: The Collection," features 240 works spanning 130 years of Polish urban life, covering themes from politics and propaganda to cinema, theater, music, and fashion. The museum also hosts the International Poster Biennale, founded in 1966, with the next edition scheduled for 2027.

The National Gallery of Canada, commissioner of Canada's participation in the 61st International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, unveils the exhibition Abbas Akhavan: Entre chien et loup

The National Gallery of Canada has unveiled the exhibition "Abbas Akhavan: Entre chien et loup" for the Canada Pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in 2026. The site-specific installation reimagines the pavilion's architecture as a Wardian case, a precursor to the terrarium used to transport plants across the British Empire, featuring a custom pool with giant Victoria water lilies. The artist replaced the facade with glass panels, making the plants visible from outside, and the installation is framed by additional sculptural works. The exhibition is curated by Kim Nguyen and accompanied by a fully illustrated publication.

Who’s Afraid of____? at Turquoise

Turquoise gallery in New York is presenting a group exhibition titled "Who’s Afraid of____?" from March 27 to May 10, 2026. The show features works by Anna-Sophie Berger, K.P. Brehmer, David Diao, Gaylen Gerber, Joseph Grigely, John Heartfield, Nandi Loaf, and Alicia Riccio, with images courtesy of the artists, The Heartfield Community of Heirs / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, and the gallery.

Not Just the Biennale: What to See in Venice in Spring 2026 Among Galleries, Independent Spaces, and Special Projects

Non solo Biennale: cosa vedere a Venezia nella primavera 2026 tra gallerie, spazi indipendenti e progetti speciali

The article highlights a curated selection of exhibitions to see in Venice during spring 2026, beyond the main shows of the 61st Venice Biennale. It features projects in galleries, independent spaces, and historic venues, including a group show titled "Waves" at Casa Sanlorenzo with works by Alexander Calder and Lucio Fontana, a video installation by Ieva Lygnugarytė at Oratorio dei Crociferi, a Judy Chicago survey at Galleria Alberta Pane, a solo show by Hanna Rochereau at Mare Karina, and a Barry X Ball retrospective at the Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore.

Il Padiglione Italia alla Biennale è il più internazionale di sempre

Chiara Camoni presents the Italian Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale with her exhibition "Con Te Con Tutto" in the Arsenale. The show is divided into two sections: the first features monumental yet intimate sculptures, including her signature "sister" figures made from necklaces and terracotta fragments, while the second section continues the installation with a focus on circular production and zero waste. Camoni emphasizes a return to front-facing statuary, avoiding the gigantism of past editions, and works with sustainable, handmade processes.

‘In Minor Keys’: discover the themes that define the 61st Venice Biennale exhibition

The 61st Venice Biennale's main exhibition, 'In Minor Keys', curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, has opened after her sudden passing in 2025. Kouoh had fully planned the exhibition before her death, and a team of seven realized her vision. The show features 110 artists, including Wangechi Mutu, Nick Cave, Alfredo Jaar, and emerging talents like Ranti Bam. It opens with a poem by Refaat Alareer and an installation by Khaled Sabsabi, setting a contemplative tone amid themes of mourning, grief, and healing. The exhibition also highlights minority perspectives, including Caribbean and Central American artists, and confronts colonial histories through works like Florence Lazar's film on a hurricane-exposed necropolis.

L’antica certosa vicino Siena dove il disegno è diventato una performance condivisa. Il report

The third edition of the De Linea Art Festival took place on May 2-3 at the Certosa di Pontignano near Siena, Italy. Curated by Matteo Marsan and Riccardo Guasco, the event transformed the historic monastery into a living laboratory of drawing, illustration, and performance. Nine illustrators—including Marina Marcolin, Francesco Poroli, Elisa Macellari, Gianluca Folì, Ale Giorgini, Gloria Pizzilli, Matteo Berton, Giovanna Giuliano, and Daniele Caluri—participated in a week-long residency, producing works inspired by the site and the festival's theme "Crepe e spiragli" (Cracks and Glimmers), a contemporary interpretation of a Leonard Cohen quote. Over 500 visitors attended workshops, talks, and shared creative sessions, including a workshop by Fondazione Il Bisonte and performances by actress Daniela Morozzi and graphic poet Alessandro Valenti (Alvalenti).

Nikima Jagudajev “Like” at Scuola Piccola Zattere, Venice

Artist and choreographer Nikima Jagudajev presents "Like", a new commission and exhibition at Scuola Piccola Zattere in Venice, running from 7 May to 18 October 2026. The work merges film and video game into a playable experimental piece, housed in the nonprofit's palazzo in Dorsoduro.

Indian High Commission celebrated Rabindra Jayanti, inaugurating art exhibition

The Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) of the Indian High Commission in Dhaka inaugurated a ten-day art exhibition titled “Sampriti” on May 7, 2026, coinciding with the 165th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore. The exhibition features works created during a two-day art camp by 33 eminent Bangladeshi artists, including Rafiqun Nabi, Monirul Islam, and Farida Zaman, and was curated by Professor Sanjoy Chakraborty of Dhaka University. High Commissioner Pranay Verma opened the event, highlighting the shared artistic traditions between India and Bangladesh, and paid tribute to the late Bangladeshi artist Tarun Ghosh, whose work is included in the show.

‘Sampriti’: Dhaka exhibition celebrates artistic ties between Bangladesh and India

The Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre (IGCC) in Dhaka inaugurated the art exhibition “Sampriti” on May 7, bringing together artists, scholars, and diplomats from Bangladesh and India. The exhibition, which follows a two-day art camp held in April, features works by 33 contemporary Bangladeshi artists and ICCR scholars, and was curated by Prof Sanjoy Chakraborty. The opening coincided with the 165th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore and included a lamp-lighting ceremony, speeches by High Commissioner Pranay Verma, and a performance of Rabindra Sangeet by Prof Shahnaz Nasrin Ila.

The exhibition that aims to make you remember the Seventies appears in a former newsstand in Siena

La mostra che punta a farti ricordare gli Anni Settanta spunta in una ex edicola di Siena

The former newsstand in Siena, transformed into an exhibition space by the association Giallo Menta in 2023, opens its seventh artistic intervention. From May 9 to June 20, 2026, artist Luigi Presicce presents a site-specific installation titled "La Mamma," which turns the small architectural space into a scenic device exploring the concept of birth while reappropriating elements of Italian popular culture from the 1970s. The installation simulates an underwater environment, an aquarium where "sea monkeys" live under human gaze, referencing a 1970s pop myth where these fantastic creatures were sold in packets and dissolved in water.

CHS art show May 22-29

Artist and curator Mary Walker presents "10 + 4 + 1: A Collaborative Art Project" at the Cannon Street Arts Center during Piccolo Spoleto from May 22 to May 29. The exhibition pairs ten visual artists—including Linda Fantuzzo, Joe Walters, Lese Corrigan, Hirona Matsuda, Kristi Ryba, Jeff Kopish, Herb Parker, Yvette Dede, and David Higginbotham—into five duos, each combining a 2D and a 3D artist to work outside their usual practice. The project also features four dance companies (Annex Dance Company, Unbound Ballet Project, Collective SC, and Georgia Schrubbe) performing over the weekend, with a family-friendly kickoff and artist reception on May 22.