Christo's posthumous exhibition "Air" at Gagosian in London finally realizes a 1960s concept to contain air within a room, using a massive polyethylene sack suspended from the ceiling that forces visitors to physically engage with the space. The show also includes early wrapped bubble works and a preserved wrapped Volvo, tracing the artist's lifelong fascination with making the invisible tangible.
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.
The Fabric Workshop and Museum (FVM) in Philadelphia has opened "Some American Dreams," an exhibition marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Curated by Hilde Nelson, FVM curatorial fellow, the show features 27 works by 20 artists created during the museum's Artist-in-Residence Program over four decades. The exhibition includes pieces in furniture, sculpture, textiles, clothing, video, and photography, and is on view until June 14, 2026. In an interview with My Modern Met, Nelson discusses her curatorial approach, which poses the question, "What if 'America' is not one project, but many?" and explores how these multiple Americas are affirmed, resisted, or remade through the artworks.
Marcel Duchamp's 1917 readymade *Fountain* and its radical questioning of art's definition are the focus of a new retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, curated by Matthew Affron, Michelle Kuo, and Ann Temkin. The exhibition, the first major Duchamp show in the U.S. since 1973, assembles three hundred objects and presents them chronologically, tracing Duchamp's evolution from early paintings to his conceptual breakthroughs. The article highlights how *Fountain* was originally submitted to a no-jury exhibition by the Society of Independent Artists, sparking a debate that ultimately led to its rejection and Duchamp's resignation, a pivotal moment in art history.
New York Art Week featured a range of exhibitions that blended banality with body horror, drawing comparisons to a malfunctioning theme park ride. The article highlights several shows that juxtapose mundane, everyday objects with grotesque, unsettling imagery, creating a disorienting experience for viewers. Artists presented works that explore the fragility and absurdity of the human body, often using visceral materials and jarring installations to provoke discomfort and reflection.
Artist Roberto Lugo unveiled a two-part public monument to Puerto Rican culture in Manhattan's Madison Square Park on May 20. The installation includes a colossal ceramic urn titled "Capicú de Cariño (I Heard It Both Ways)" featuring hand-painted portraits of his parents, reggaeton star Bad Bunny, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, alongside a 15-foot-tall orange fire hydrant sculpture "Para Los Días Caliente (This Is For The Hot Ones)" that evokes his childhood summers in Philadelphia. Both works were commissioned by the Madison Square Park Conservancy and will remain on view through December 6.
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.
Arch Enemy Arts in Philadelphia is presenting 'Common Waters,' a group exhibition running from June 5 to July 5, featuring 60 artists from around the world. The show celebrates marine wildlife and lore through square-format works that range from fantastical depictions of coral-haired sirens and octopuses to miniature paintings and sculpted paper reliefs of sea turtles. A portion of sales proceeds will be donated to PangeaSeed, a non-profit that uses art to advocate for ocean conservation.
ArtPhilly has announced the inaugural edition of its city-wide festival, "What Now: 2026," scheduled to open on May 27, 2026, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the United States. The five-week event will feature over 30 newly commissioned projects by Philadelphia-based artists, including performances, installations, and podcasts, staged across festival districts in public spaces and institutions. The festival is led by Creative and Executive Director Bill Adair and Curatorial and Deputy Director Tania Isaac, with a curatorial committee of 17 local curators selecting works that explore the nation's past, present, and future.
Artspace Gallery in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, has opened a new exhibition titled “Dissonance,” featuring works by member artist Jermaine Johnson. The show is dedicated to Johnson’s late mother, Tanya, who passed away in 2023. A public reception will be held on Saturday, May 30, from 4-6 p.m. at the gallery, located at 221 Center St., where the artist will be present to discuss his work. Johnson, an oil painter, wire weaver, and fiber artist educated at the Art Institute of Philadelphia, explores themes of media, spirituality, race, history, and popular culture through mixed-media pieces that incorporate water-mixable oils, paper, natural and synthetic fibers, semi-precious stones, and copper wire.