Your Summer Guide: 20 Art World Highlights Not to Miss

ARTnews has published a summer guide highlighting 20 art world events and exhibitions not to miss in the coming months. Featured highlights include the opera 'El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego' at the Metropolitan Opera, the 'Costume Art' exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a Björk show titled 'echolalia' at the National Gallery of Iceland, a book on the Venice Biennale by Massimiliano Gioni, Raven Halfmoon's 'Flags of Our Mothers' at Ballroom Marfa, a Pierre Huyghe exhibition at Fondation Beyeler Basel, a James McNeill Whistler retrospective at Tate Britain, and the inaugural Medina Triennial in New York.

From The Mandalorian and Grogu to Dear England: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead

This article is a weekly entertainment guide from The Guardian, covering cinema, gigs, art, stage, streaming, games, albums, and brain food. In the art section, it highlights three upcoming exhibitions: Hulda Guzmán's first major European show at Turner Contemporary in Margate (23 May to 13 September), featuring her lush, mystical tropical paintings exploring Caribbean identity; Lewis Hammond's exhibition of dark, old master-inspired portraiture at The Hepworth in Wakefield (23 May to 1 November); and Joanna Piotrowska's show at The Common Guild in Glasgow (23 May to 18 July).

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.

Newcastle Art Gallery’s stunning new exhibitions open up a multiverse

Newcastle Art Gallery has opened three new exhibitions following its February reopening with the blockbuster show 'Iconic Loved Unexpected'. The new presentations include Tiyan Baker's solo show 'Mouth Mnemonica', 'The Mordant Family Gift' featuring 25 works donated by philanthropists Simon and Catriona Mordant, and Brian Robinson's 'Multiverse'. The exhibitions collectively showcase a diverse range of national and international artistry, with works by artists such as Gemma Smith, Tim Silver, Alasdair Macintyre, and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. Baker's solo exhibition focuses on preserving the Bidayǔh language through multimedia works including autostereograms and video installations.

Follow PAPER Undercover at New York Art Week

The article follows the author's undercover experience during New York Art Week, focusing on the simultaneous openings of Frieze New York and TEFAF New York in May. Frieze, held at The Shed in Hudson Yards, features contemporary galleries from 28 countries, while TEFAF at the Park Avenue Armory offers a mix of contemporary art, antiques, and Old Masters. The author highlights standout works, including Kelly Sinnapah Mary's solo presentation at James Cohan and Aki Goto's dental installation at Gallery G, and notes the packed schedule of talks, gallery openings, and museum galas.

Fairfield University Art Museum To Present James Welling: Cento

Fairfield University Art Museum will present "James Welling: Cento," a major exhibition of over 60 photographs by the renowned contemporary photographer, from September 25 to December 12, 2026. The show focuses on the classical world, featuring images of ancient Greek and Roman architecture and statuary, printed on plastic sheets and hand-altered with oil paint and pigment. It includes works from the Cento series (2019-2021) and the Personae series (2021-2022), alongside historic plaster casts from the museum's collection.

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.

Photographer Catherine Opie is everywhere all at once this spring

Photographer Catherine Opie is experiencing an extraordinary year in 2026, with multiple major exhibitions opening simultaneously across Europe and Los Angeles. A career-spanning survey at London’s National Portrait Gallery will travel to Edinburgh’s Royal Scottish Academy, while other shows appear in Kassel, Germany, and Trondheim, Norway. In Los Angeles, her new exhibition “Holding Blue” opens May 28 at Regen Projects, featuring 44 images of Norwegian mountain landscapes shot over 20 days in early 2024, accompanied by nine ceramic sculptures. Her work also appears in group shows at the Autry Museum of the American West, Hauser & Wirth, and David Zwirner. Opie, who retired from UCLA after serving as chair of the art department and teaching photography for more than 20 years, describes this period as the “Catherine Opie World Tour 2026.”

10 Artist-Run Galleries Around the World You Should Know

Artsy Editorial profiles ten artist-run galleries worldwide that are thriving despite the challenge of balancing gallery operations with active art practices. These spaces, founded and operated by working artists, leverage their founders' firsthand experience navigating the art world to curate distinctive programming and build meaningful client relationships. Examples include galleries in underserved neighborhoods in Thailand and other global locations, highlighting the diversity of this grassroots movement.

Block Museum exhibition features contemporary art by five MFA candidates

Northwestern University's Block Museum of Art is hosting the exhibition "We can make any two stories touch," featuring contemporary works by five second-year MFA candidates in the art theory and practice department: Lamia Abukhadra, Pegah Bahador, naakita f.k., Przemek Pyszczek, and Gabby Banks. The show, running through June 14, includes portraits, films, and mixed-media pieces. Gabby Banks presents three portraits of living Black figurative painters Kerry James Marshall, Jordan Casteel, and Amy Sherald, painted in their respective styles. Przemek Pyszczek explores legacy with works like "My Father Winning Gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics (No Boycott Version)" and a wooden Olivier salad sculpture. naakita f.k. addresses resource extraction in "Porous Bodies," using dust from deep-sea mining and copper mine samples from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Interview with Wallace Chan, the artist who created a bridge between Venice and Shanghai through water

Intervista a Wallace Chan, l’artista che attraverso l’acqua ha creato un ponte tra Venezia e Shanghai

Wallace Chan, the Hong Kong-born artist turning 70, has launched a dual-exhibition project titled "Vessels of Other Worlds" between Venice and Shanghai, curated by James Putnam. In Venice, the show runs concurrently with the Biennale at the Cappella di Santa Maria della Pietà (Vivaldi's church), featuring three titanium sculptures inspired by Catholic holy oils, surrounded by smaller works evoking water droplets. In Shanghai, the same sculptures appear at the Long Museum (West Bund) starting July 18, 2026, on a monumental scale—seven, eight, and ten meters tall—with a kaleidoscopic interior accessible through a door in the central piece. The exhibitions also include sound compositions by Brian Eno and reference Chan's earlier Venice shows (Titans, Totem, Transcendence).

Cardiff museum exhibit puts Valleys fashion project in spotlight

A 10th anniversary retrospective exhibition titled 'It's Called Ffashiwn!' has opened at National Museum Cardiff, celebrating a decade-long fashion photography project in the South Wales Valleys. The project was founded by French documentary photographer Clémentine Schneidermann and Welsh fashion editor Charlotte James, who began working with local youth groups in Blaina and Merthyr Tydfil in 2015. What started as a three-month residency evolved into an ongoing initiative that has involved young people in designing clothes, sewing, and participating in fashion photoshoots, including a notable collaboration with Alexander McQueen. The exhibition highlights the achievements of the participants, such as Nia Day, who discovered the fashion industry's realities during a cold mountain shoot with the legendary brand.

South London Gallery marks its 135th anniversary with SLG Forever exhibition at Christie’s

The South London Gallery (SLG) is celebrating its 135th anniversary with 'SLG Forever,' a special fundraising exhibition in partnership with Christie’s. Open to the public in London from 5–25 June 2026, with an online component until 30 September, the show features donated works by over 25 major British and international artists, including Tracey Emin, Antony Gormley, Edmund de Waal, Yinka Shonibare, and Firelei Báez. The exhibition launches alongside the SLG Forever campaign, which aims to raise £2 million to support building upgrades, new commissions, and the expansion of the gallery’s Communities & Learning programmes.

James McNeill Whistler at Tate Britain: The Fleeting Nature of Light, and of Life

Tate Britain is hosting a major exhibition of James McNeill Whistler, exploring his mastery of light and atmosphere across paintings, etchings, and pastels. The show traces Whistler's career from his early realist works to his iconic nocturnes and portraits, emphasizing his radical approach to composition and color.

KMSKA stages major Antony Gormley exhibition across museum and city

The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) is opening 'Geestgrond', the largest solo exhibition by British sculptor Antony Gormley ever staged on the European mainland. Curated by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, the show spans all of the museum's modern galleries and extends to the roof, Museumplein, and Antwerp quays, featuring over 100 works including sculptures, installations, early sketches, notebooks, and new pieces. Highlights include 'The Heart', an intimate Wunderkammer of Gormley's process, and 'Cave', a monumental walk-in steel installation.

Don’t Miss: Giles Duley’s “Distortion / Memory / Resilience” at Sutton Tower

Photographer and storyteller Giles Duley has opened a two-week exhibition titled “Distortion / Memory / Resilience” at Sutton Tower on the Upper East Side of New York. The show features his powerful images documenting life during war, alongside artistic touches such as wooden school desks filled with artwork by Ukrainian children. Duley, who lost two legs and one arm after an I.E.D. injury in Afghanistan in 2011, continues to work actively in war zones including Sudan, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. Proceeds from the exhibition support his NGO, the Legacy of War Foundation, which has raised over $4 million since 2017 to help communities rebuild after conflict.

From Obama Presidential Center opening to Anne Frank to Pokemon: Chicago museums unveil ambitious summer exhibitions

Chicago museums have announced a slate of ambitious summer exhibitions, including the opening of the Obama Presidential Center, an Anne Frank exhibition, and a Pokemon-themed show. These exhibits span a range of cultural and historical topics, aiming to attract diverse audiences to the city's major cultural institutions.

James McNeill Whistler at Tate Britain — a plunge into the rush of the modern world

Tate Britain presents a major exhibition of James McNeill Whistler's work, showcasing his immersive depictions of early industrial life alongside masterpieces of Victorian portraiture. The show brings together a wide range of Whistler's paintings, prints, and works on paper, highlighting his innovative approach to capturing the energy and atmosphere of the modern world in the late 19th century.

Human Connection Cuts Through Technology at Focus Art Fair

Focus Art Fair, New York's only art fair dedicated to contemporary Asian art, returned for its fourth edition at Chelsea Industrial, running through May 24, 2026. The fair's theme, 'human-technology coexistence,' was explored through works such as Hwia Kim's interactive installation 'What if two eyes don't work together?' presented by LG Electronics, and pieces by the Ukrainian-born F-Twins (Anna and Valeriia Lyshchenko), who founded the Primarealism art movement in response to AI's encroachment on critical thinking. Other highlights included Annu Yadav's political installation 'This Land is Wounded' (2025) and Taezoo Park's 'Hacked Snoopy' (2025), which memorializes neglected technologies. The fair featured more than 40 galleries and presenters, with a notable appearance by Japanese pop icon Kento Senga, who shared his FiNGA character as a means of connecting with his grandmother suffering from Alzheimer's.

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.

Oshorenoya David Francis Explores Identity in Solitude, Fantasies & Becoming at 1853 Studios, Manchester

Oshorenoya David Francis presents a solo exhibition titled *In Solitude, Fantasies & Becoming* at 1853 Studios in Manchester, running from 15 to 17 May 2026. Co-curated by Obi Nwaegbe and Natasha Virli, the show features new acrylic paintings on canvas and paper that explore themes of solitude, identity, and emotional transformation through expressive figurative compositions. Key works include *Hug*, *Thoughts in Blue*, *Chapters in Atomic Habits*, and *Thy Wish*, each employing bold color, intimate perspectives, and narrative ambiguity to evoke psychological depth.

Ten artists serving life have a story to tell. It’s on the walls of this Center City art gallery.

Ten artists serving life sentences at SCI-Phoenix, a Pennsylvania state prison, have their work on display at Morton Contemporary Art Gallery in Philadelphia in an exhibition titled "The Weight of Time." The show is co-curated by artist Keith Andrews, who has been incarcerated for nearly 30 years, and gallerist Debbie Morton. Andrews' painting "Defiant Mercy" explores themes of time, isolation, and confinement, reflecting his own experience. The exhibition includes nearly 50 works by ten artists, each accompanied by biographies detailing their lives inside and outside the carceral system.

South Asian show at carwright Hall draws new Bradford audiences

Cartwright Hall in Bradford, UK, is hosting a South Asian-themed exhibition titled (Un)Layering, co-curated by Walia and Salima Hashmi. The show has drawn new, diverse audiences to the museum, with a 40% increase in visitors compared to the previous year, driven by the exhibition's cultural resonance and community outreach efforts.

Oxford Festival Of The Arts brings world famous artists, free exhibitions and silent films to the city centre

The Oxford Festival of the Arts is bringing a major visual art component to its 2025 program, featuring free exhibitions by world-renowned artists across multiple venues in Oxford city centre. Highlights include James Gemmill's cinematic paintings at St John's College, a collaborative installation by Chinese artist Qu Lei Lei and Caroline Deane at OVADA examining humanity and geopolitics, a retrospective of Ukrainian artist Oleksandr Dubovyk's 'White Bouquet' series, and a charitable project supporting Ukrainian children through art. All exhibitions are free and require no booking.

130+ Artists Illuminate the Vast Creative Possibilities of the Nightlight

DUDD LITE, a collaboration between design collective Dudd Haus and The Future Perfect gallery, presents over 130 artist-designed nightlights on view through June 26. Curated from nearly 400 open-call submissions, the exhibition transforms a mundane household object into a canvas for small-scale sculptures made from stained glass, wood, sea shells, ceramic, cotton, and more. Featured artists include James Burial, Chris Wolston, Nicholas Holmes, and Mikei Huang, among others.

Fourth-floor exhibits at Yale Art Gallery are separate and independent but line up beautifully

The Yale Art Gallery's fourth floor is hosting five concurrent exhibitions running through June, including solo shows by John Coplans, August Sander, Jes Fan, and Hans Hofmann, alongside a group exhibition of American Impressionism featuring artists like Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent, and Childe Hassam. The displays range from Coplans' intimate black-and-white self-portraits to Sander's sprawling photographic catalog of 20th-century German society, and from Fan's modern sculptures to Hofmann's bold abstract paintings.

James Welling’s “Cento” exhibit brings ancient art and color to Fairfield University

James Welling's exhibition "Cento" has opened at Fairfield University, showcasing the artist's exploration of ancient art and color through a series of photographic works. The exhibit draws on classical sculpture and architectural fragments, reimagining them with vibrant, abstract color treatments that blend historical references with contemporary photographic techniques.

Joy Machine’s Feel Free Examines Order, Change, and the Limits of Control

Joy Machine's exhibition 'Feel Free' explores themes of order, change, and the limits of control through a series of artworks. The show presents a visual dialogue between structured systems and the unpredictable forces that disrupt them, inviting viewers to reflect on the tension between stability and transformation.

Arch Enemy Arts’ Common Waters Examines Ocean Life Through Contemporary Art

Arch Enemy Arts presents "Common Waters," a group exhibition that explores ocean life through contemporary art. The show features works by multiple artists who use diverse media to examine marine ecosystems, environmental concerns, and humanity's relationship with the sea.

Gallery 1882 bringing work of contemporary artists from around the country to Chesterton

Gallery 1882, located in Chesterton, Indiana, is hosting a new exhibition featuring contemporary artists from across the United States. The show brings together a diverse range of works, highlighting emerging and established talents in a local gallery setting.