How Betye Saar Set Black Dolls Free

An exhibition at the New York Historical celebrates Betye Saar’s promised gift of her collection of over 100 Black dolls to the institution, coinciding with her upcoming 100th birthday. The show, on view through October 4, features dolls alongside Saar’s paintings, prints, and sculptures, including works like “The Liberation of Aunt Jemima” (1972) and “Indigo Mercy” (1975). Saar began collecting Black dolls in 1949 and has incorporated them into her art since the 1970s, using watercolors during the COVID-19 pandemic to reimagine them in mystical scenes.

The Strong Presence of Guatemalan Indigenous Artists at the Sydney Biennale

LA FUERTE PRESENCIA DE ARTISTAS INDÍGENAS GUATEMALTECOS EN LA BIENAL DE SYDNEY

The 25th Sydney Biennale, titled "Rememory" and curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, centers on colonialism and historical reparation, featuring a strong presence of Indigenous and First Nations artists. Notably, five Maya artists from Guatemala—Sandra Monterroso, Angélica Serech, Ángel Poyón, Fernando Poyón, and Edgar Calel—are participating, exploring ancestral knowledge, community practices, and tensions between Indigenous cosmologies and modernity. Their work engages with Australian debates on Indigenous sovereignty and colonial repair, challenging historical institutional representation.

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.

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.

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.

The Invincible Spirit of Edmonia Lewis

The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, has opened "Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone," the first major retrospective of the 19th-century sculptor Edmonia Lewis, who was of Black and Indigenous (Mississauga-Tuscarora) descent. The exhibition displays 30 of her Neoclassical white marble sculptures alongside archival materials and works by other artists, organized into four thematic rooms that explore antislavery, Indigenous artistic worlds, her studios in Rome, and religion and mythology. Co-organized with the Georgia Museum of Art, the show emphasizes Lewis's dual heritage without conflating the two identities, featuring extensive text and quotes from the artist herself.

Rising Voices: Contemporary Art from Asia, Australia and the Pacific opens at the V&A

The Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) in London has opened 'Rising Voices: Contemporary Art from Asia, Australia and the Pacific', a landmark exhibition drawn from the collection of the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA). Featuring over 70 works by more than 40 artists from 25 countries, the show is organized in three thematic sections—Re-Visioning History, Enduring Knowledge, and Evolving Faith—and includes sculpture, photography, painting, ceramics, weaving, and body adornment. Many works are on view outside their home region for the first time. The exhibition runs until 10 January 2027.

Amoako Boafo Drew on Venice’s Rich Creative Heritage for His First Solo Show in Italy

Amoako Boafo, the Ghanaian artist known for his finger-painted portraits of stylish Black sitters, opened his first solo show in Italy at the Museo di Palazzo Grimani in Venice during the 61st Venice Biennale. Titled "It doesn’t have to always make sense" and produced by Gagosian, the exhibition runs through November 22 and features Boafo's paintings alongside works by friends and collaborators, including poems by Raphael Worlasi Langani and a sculpture made with Stephen Allotey. The show also includes a video documenting Boafo's life and a "heroine wall" of portraits honoring women he admires, such as curator Koyo Kouoh.

Liza Lou | FAQ

Liza Lou's latest body of work, presented in the exhibition "FAQ," combines glass beads and oil paint on canvas to create abstract paintings that interrogate mid-century abstraction and the heroics of the painted gesture. Lou translates fluid pigment into cell-like particles of color, juxtaposing spontaneity with painstaking precision, and explores fundamental questions about painting, such as when a painting is not a painting and what constitutes a paint body. The exhibition includes works like "Stanza" (2025) and "Alliteration" (2025), and features a video directed by Mick Haggerty.

A Long-Overdue Reckoning With Nazi-Looted Art on exhibit at the Musée d’Orsay, Paris

The Musée d'Orsay in Paris has opened a new permanent gallery titled "À qui appartiennent ces œuvres ?" ("To whom do these works belong?") dedicated to MNR (Musées Nationaux Récupération) artworks—pieces recovered after World War II that have not yet been returned to their rightful owners. The single-room exhibition displays thirteen works from the 225 "artistic orphans" held by the museum, including paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, and Alfred Stevens. Curators have suspended several works between glass panels to expose the backs of the canvases, revealing inventory stamps and gallery labels that trace their journey from Jewish homes into the Nazi art machine.

I Am Not an Anacronista Painter: The Misunderstood Research of Artist Carlo Maria Mariani

“Io non sono Un Pittore Anacronista”. La ricerca fraintesa dell’artista Carlo Maria Mariani

The Fondazione Carlo Maria Mariani issues a corrective statement defending the late artist Carlo Maria Mariani (1931–2021) against persistent misclassification as an "Anacronista" or "Postmodern" painter. The foundation argues that critics and institutions have superficially lumped Mariani into the anachronistic movement of 1970s–80s Italy, ignoring the conceptual and cerebral foundations of his work. Currently, a solo exhibition titled *I Segni dei Tempi* is on view at the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte in Naples until July 14, curated by Andrea Viliani and Antonio Martino. This follows a 2024 show at the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence and precedes a major retrospective at Palazzo Citterio in Milan in 2026, curated by Eike Schmidt.

Clasutta Explores the Dynamics of Love in Solo Exhibition at Whitestone Gallery Singapore

Indonesian artist Clasutta presents a solo exhibition titled "Roommates?" at Whitestone Gallery Singapore, exploring the emotional dynamics of love and relationships through her playful painting style. The exhibition is part of a larger curatorial narrative called "Through Reverie: Love and Memory," which also features a concurrent presentation by Malaysian artist C.K. Koh titled "Folded Glimpses," drawing from his personal photographic archive. Clasutta's works trace the subtle shifts from lighthearted beginnings to spaces shaped by attachment, expectation, and unspoken negotiation, portraying love as fluid and ever-changing.

Gyeongnam Art Museum to host Picasso film screening and talk program May 27

The Gyeongnam Art Museum in South Korea will host a special film screening and curator talk on May 27, 2025, as part of its ongoing Picasso Ceramics exhibition and Korea's monthly Culture Day program. The event, titled Picasso Film Room, features the 1954 documentary "Meeting Picasso" by Italian filmmaker Luciano Emmer, which shows Pablo Picasso creating ceramics and drawings in real time. Following the screening, curator Kim Ju-hyun will lead a discussion on Picasso's artistic legacy and the significance of the exhibition.

GROUNDS FOR SCULPTURE-Stunning New Exhibition in the Domestic Arts Building

Grounds for Sculpture has opened a new exhibition in the Domestic Arts Building, as reported by BroadwayWorld. The show presents a stunning collection of works, though specific artists or artworks are not detailed in the brief announcement.

Powers Art Center to open Roy Lichtenstein exhibit

The Powers Art Center will open a new exhibition titled “Roy Lichtenstein: Beyond Reality” on June 2, 2026, running through May 1, 2027. The show features a broad range of Lichtenstein’s comic book-inspired works, including Ben-Day dots, bold imagery, landscapes, and reinterpretations of classical subjects, curated by museum director Sonya Taylor Moore. An opening reception is scheduled for June 18, 2026.

From art school to soccer pitch: Peter Robinson's six-decade career celebrated in new exhibition in Glen Ellyn

The Daily Herald reports on a new exhibition in Glen Ellyn celebrating the six-decade career of artist Peter Robinson, whose work spans from his art school training to unexpected subjects like soccer pitches. The show highlights the breadth of his practice and his enduring creative output over sixty years.

Catharine MacTavish “High-Speed Eternity” at Shmorévaz, Paris

Mousse Magazine reports on Catharine MacTavish's exhibition "High-Speed Eternity" at Shmorévaz, Paris. The show spans six decades of the Canadian artist's work from 1974 to 2026, featuring drawings, prints, videos, holograms, three-dimensional paintings, and dollhouses brought together for the first time.

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.

Aung Myint's 'Clash' opens at Supples Gallery

Aung Myint's exhibition 'Clash' has opened at Supples Gallery. The show features the work of the prominent Myanmar artist, known for his pioneering role in the country's contemporary art scene.

Great Pulteney Street gallery presents Soho Solos: 4 solo exhibitions by Soho Open prize winners

Great Pulteney Street Gallery (GPS Gallery) is launching the inaugural edition of Soho Solos, a new exhibition programme developed from last year’s Soho Open in partnership with Parker Harris. Running from 10th–28th June, the show features four solo exhibitions by prize-winning artists Mandy Hudson, James Robert Morrison, Conor Quinn, and Alice Sheppard Fidler, each presenting new work that explores themes from queer memory and car-crash eroticism to the transformation of everyday objects.

Arte in Situ Vodnjan 2026: final artists’ exhibition at

The eighteenth edition of the international art symposium Arte in Situ is taking place from 25 to 28 May 2026 at Casa Rosina in Vodnjan, Croatia. Organized by artist Solidea Guerra and co-organized by the Tourist Board of the Town of Vodnjan, the event brings together artists from Croatia and Austria, including Elisabeth Melkonyan, Boris Kačić, Snježana Pokos-Vujec, Nela Marušić, Dunja De Martini, Vesna Kuharić-Ternovec, Solidea Guerra, and Boris Roce. The symposium concludes on 28 May with a vernissage at 6 p.m., presenting works created during the residency. Founded in 2004 as a ceramics meeting, Arte in Situ has expanded to include painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, and mixed media, hosting over 200 artists over the years.

Coalescence featuring Resident Artist Emily Lamb

Baltimore Clayworks presents "Coalescence," a solo exhibition featuring resident artist Emily Lamb. The show combines ceramics and glass into mixed-media sculptures that explore the human body and emotional states, with expressive figurative narratives emerging from the interplay of glass translucency and refined clay modeling. The exhibition runs daily through May 22, 2021, with free admission.