Maia Chao Performs the Museum

Artist Maia Chao will activate the seventh-floor galleries of the Whitney Museum of American Art with her performance "Being Moved" as part of the 2026 Whitney Biennial programming. The work explores the theatricality and choreography of a museum visit, examining the gap between the fantasy of profound encounter and the ambivalence of spectatorship. Chao, who studied cultural anthropology at Brown University and grew up with artist parents in Providence, Rhode Island, approaches the museum as a structure that quietly trains behavior and participation. Her earlier projects include "My Business (Cards)" (2017), which invokes Adrian Piper's work, and "Look at Art, Get Paid" (2015–20), which paid non-museum-goers to serve as guest critics.

Martin Schongauer en toute majesté

The Louvre Museum in Paris has opened a major retrospective dedicated to Martin Schongauer (c. 1445–1491), the German engraver and painter from Colmar, bringing together a large portion of his known works. The exhibition features around one hundred pieces, including fifty engravings, five of his rare drawings, and nearly all of his attributed paintings—such as the "Virgin and Child at the Window" (c. 1480) from the Getty Museum and the "Orlier Altarpiece" (c. 1470–1475) from the Musée Unterlinden. The centerpiece is Schongauer's "Virgin of the Rose Bush" (1473), displayed at low height to reveal its botanical precision. Co-curated by Pantxika Béguerie De Paepe and Hélène Grollemund, the show also highlights Schongauer's influence on contemporaries and later artists through comparative works by Rogier van der Weyden and others.

Los Angeles Metro’s Stunning D Line Art Turns Stations Into Galleries

Los Angeles Metro unveiled a major public art installation on May 8 with the opening of the 3.92-mile D Line extension, connecting downtown to Beverly Hills. Nine artists were selected from over 1,400 applicants to create works across three stations—Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax, and Wilshire/La Cienega. Notable pieces include Karl Haendel's "Hands and Things" at the Wilshire/Fairfax station, featuring photorealist pencil drawings of hands holding objects sourced from nearby cultural institutions, and Susan Silton's "WE, OUR, US." The artworks are mounted using durable porcelain enameling that resists corrosion, scratching, fading, and graffiti.

Gary Baseman fills iconic L.A. coffee shop with charming drawings on real restaurant menus

Artist Gary Baseman has opened his first hometown solo show in over a decade, titled “Off the Menu,” inside the long-shuttered Johnie’s Coffee Shop on Wilshire and Fairfax in Los Angeles. The exhibition features about 40 colored pencil drawings, mostly executed on real menus from iconic L.A. restaurants such as Musso & Frank, Canter’s Deli, and Genghis Cohen, as well as newer spots like Jon & Vinny’s. The whimsical show, which launched in conjunction with the opening of the Wilshire and Fairfax subway station, runs through June 14 and celebrates the dining culture and community of the Fairfax neighborhood.

in venice, ukrainian artists reclaim joy with tender force

The article reports on 'Still Joy — From Ukraine Into the World,' a collateral exhibition at the 61st Venice Biennale presented by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation and PinchukArtCentre. The show features works by Ukrainian artists including Malashchuk & Khimei, Simone Post, and Zhanna Kadyrova, exploring themes of joy, survival, and resilience amid war. Highlights include a two-channel video juxtaposing a Kyiv rave before and after Russia's full-scale invasion, letters from Ukrainian soldiers printed on foam panels, and installations that transform everyday objects into meditations on sweetness and endurance.

Sehwa Museum of Art Launches Artist-Led Hands-On Programs Open to Families and Professionals

The Sehwa Museum of Art in Seoul, operated by the Taekwang Group Sehwa Arts and Culture Foundation, has launched a series of artist-led participatory programs tied to its current exhibitions. On May 17, artist Yesol Kim will lead "Perhaps Scribbling on the World Crookedly," where participants draw and view their work through a kaleidoscope. On May 23, artist Jeong Manyoung will host "Sound Exploration: Finding My Own Sound Space," involving outdoor sound recording. Every Tuesday and Sunday at 3 p.m., visitors can enjoy a performance while holding cotton candy, linked to Lee Wonwoo's work "Gentle Prince." Additional ongoing activities include a handmade zine-making station and a social media review giveaway offering an "Artist Puzzle" from the museum shop.

In Greece, the Thessalonikéon Métropolis Archaeological Museum Opens Its Doors

En Grèce, le musée archéologique Thessalonikéon Métropolis ouvre ses portes

The Thessalonikéon Métropolis archaeological museum opened on May 7 in Thessaloniki, Greece, inside the renovated Pavlos Melas barracks (Building A3). Its collection of over 300,000 objects—including ceramics, jewelry, mosaics, sarcophagi, and architectural fragments—was unearthed during the construction of the city's metro system, which began in 2006 and became the largest rescue excavation in northern Greece. The centerpiece is the Decumanus Maximus, a well-preserved Roman-Byzantine commercial street discovered at the Venizelou station, nicknamed "Byzantine Pompeii." The museum's restoration cost about €14.5 million, partly funded by European Union funds, while the total archaeological interventions cost between €75 and €203 million.