The Venice Biennale Is High Stakes. James Cohan Gallery Is All In

James Cohan Gallery, a mid-sized New York gallery, is representing four artists in the 61st Venice Biennale's central exhibition, "In Minor Keys," curated by the late Koyo Kouoh. The artists are Ranti Bam, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Kennedy Yanko, and Yinka Shonibare (whose Guest Artists Space Foundation is also participating). This marks a breakthrough for the gallery, which has more artists in the central exhibition than any of the four mega-galleries—Gagosian, Pace, David Zwirner, and Hauser & Wirth—none of which have as many. The gallery is investing heavily in production, logistics, travel, and events, including a luncheon at the St. Regis Hotel co-hosted with Salon 94 and Esther Schipper, and a dinner thrown by collector Pamela Joyner for Yanko.

The village where Van Gogh spent his final days celebrates its most distinguished visitor

An exhibition titled "Van Gogh, Influencer: Legacies in Motion" has opened at the Château of Auvers-sur-Oise, the village near Paris where Vincent van Gogh spent his final 70 days and died by suicide in July 1890. The show, running until 3 January 2027, features nearly a hundred works by artists influenced by Van Gogh, including Léonide Bourges, Charles-François Daubigny, and Léo Gausson, though no original Van Gogh paintings are included. Curated by Wouter van der Veen, the exhibition explores visual parallels and stylistic contrasts between Van Gogh’s iconic works—such as *Church at Auvers* and *Wheatfield with Crows*—and those of his contemporaries and followers.

Slags, bings and pipelines: Edinburgh landscape offers fitting backdrop for exhibition on fossil fuel extraction

Jupiter Artland, a sculpture park and gallery near Edinburgh, Scotland, is hosting the exhibition "Extraction" (through July 26), which examines the impact of fossil fuel extraction on landscapes and culture. Set against a backdrop of historic shale oil bings, North Sea oil pipelines, and modern wind farms, the show features five artists who explore energy histories through nuanced, non-polemical lenses. Glasgow-born painter Siobhan McLaughlin uses earth pigments gathered from the nearby Five Sisters Bing to create works like "Date of Exhaustion" (2025) and "Pioneer Species" (2025), turning mining waste into art that reflects on memory, ecology, and regeneration.

Bringing back the salon: UK organisation aims to revive Brighton's contemporary art scene

The Adelaide Salon, a new arts organization founded in 2024 by Pascal Dowers and Paulina Anzorge, is staging a ticketed contemporary art event at Brighton's Royal Pavilion on 30 May, featuring live art and performance. This follows the organization's earlier exhibitions at their home in Adelaide Crescent and a current takeover of the Founders Room at Brighton Dome with the exhibition Act O (until 25 May), part of the Brighton Festival. The salon aims to revive Brighton's art scene after notable losses, including the 2023 closure of Brighton University's Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) and the withdrawal of Arts Council funding at Fabrica gallery.

‘Surfers say, that board is so sick!’ The French artist redesigning the surfboard like you’ve never seen before

French designer and musician Lucas Lecacheur is creating wildly unconventional yet functional surfboards and skateboards, including a split board resembling crab pincers, a stingray-like shape, and a Brutalist board. Currently in Australia for Melbourne Design Week, Lecacheur is living and working out of At The Above gallery in Fitzroy, where he is crafting new boards like the cowboy boot-nosed Château Rouge. His designs, made with traditional materials like fiberglass, push the boundaries of surfboard norms while remaining rideable.

From Mother Mary to Foo Fighters: 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 two exhibitions: "Handpicked: Painting Flowers from 1900 to Today" at Kettle's Yard in Cambridge, featuring artists like Henri Rousseau and Lubaina Himid; and a show of South African photographer George Hallett's work at the John Lennon School of Art and Design in Liverpool, documenting black resistance in 1970s Britain. It also mentions an open house for Lonnie Holley's new works at Edel Assanti gallery in London.

In Venice, 22 unmissable exhibitions on the sidelines of the biennial

À Venise, 22 expositions incontournables en marge de la biennale

The article highlights 22 must-see exhibitions happening alongside the 61st Venice Biennale, which is expected to be affected by geopolitical tensions but still promises artistic vibrancy. Notable events include Bvlgari's dual projects featuring artists Lotus L. Kang, Lara Favaretto, and Monia Ben Hamouda; the unveiling of the Asscher collection at the Ama Venezia foundation with works by Charles Ray, Jenny Saville, and Richard Serra; and the inaugural exhibition "The Only True Protest Is Beauty" at the Fondation Dries Van Noten, showcasing 200 objects across fashion, design, and art. Other highlights include a dialogue between Picasso, Morandi, and Parmiggiani at the Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa.

Frieze New York Is an Assembly-Line Salad

At Frieze New York, curator Lucien Zayan searches for artworks exploring the relationship between food and art, finding a piece by Aki Goto at Europa gallery that reflects on sugar, colonization, and cavities. The fair features works like David Lamelas's "To Pour Milk into a Glass" (1972) from Dia Art Foundation and Mungo Thomson's "Snowman" (2023) at Karma, while a performance by Kite (Oglála Lakȟóta) at the Counterpublic triennial booth offers a reprieve from the monotonous fair experience.

In Venice, Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince Ask: What Is Appropriate to Appropriate?

Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince are showing their work together in a joint exhibition titled "Helter Skelter" at the Fondazione Prada in Venice. Curated by Nancy Spector, the show explores the artists' shared practice of appropriation, a connection that began when Prince attended the debut of Jafa's video work AGHDRA (2021) and later deepened through conversations about race, property, and self-authorization. Jafa has long admired Prince's approach, calling him "the blackest white artist I know," and the exhibition pairs their works to examine how appropriation functions differently for a Black artist versus a white artist.

Does the Neue Nationalgalerie Have Feelings?

Hat die Neue Nationalgalerie Gefühle?

The Kunsthalle Bremen has opened "Remix. Photographie – Fiktion und Wahrheit," an exhibition drawn from its permanent collection that explores the tension between reality and artifice in photography. The show traces a lineage from Heinrich Zille’s unvarnished turn-of-the-century street scenes to the objective industrial typologies of Bernd and Hilla Becher, eventually moving into the postmodern manipulations of the Düsseldorf School, including works by Thomas Ruff and Thomas Struth.

Au musée Picasso, l’artiste africain-américain Henry Taylor dévoile sa peinture d’un quotidien troublé par la violence

The Musée Picasso in Paris is hosting a retrospective of African American artist Henry Taylor, running until September 6. The exhibition centers on Taylor's 2007 painting *From Congo to the Capital, and Black Again*, a bold reimagining of Picasso's *Les Demoiselles d'Avignon* that replaces the original figures with darker-skinned women and introduces Josephine Baker and a white man's arm. The show follows the museum's series on African American painting, after Faith Ringgold in 2023 and ahead of a Harlem Renaissance exhibition in 2027.

Frieze New York marks 15th edition with expanded international reach

Frieze New York marks its 15th edition from 13-17 May at the Shed, featuring 68 galleries from over 25 countries. The fair includes 57 exhibitors in the main section and 11 in Focus, with nearly half maintaining a New York location. First-time participants include Europa, Sargent’s Daughters, Soft Opening, Ulrik, and W-galería. Latin American representation has grown significantly, with 14 galleries from the region, including Campeche from Mexico City, Isla Flotante from Buenos Aires, and Central from São Paulo. Christine Messineo, Frieze’s director of fairs for the Americas, highlights the fair’s increasingly international scope and the strong Brazilian contingent.

10 must-see exhibitions in Berlin this spring 2026

10 mostre da vedere a Berlino in questa primavera 2026

Artribune's article highlights ten must-see exhibitions in Berlin for spring 2026, curated by Nicola Violano. Key shows include Marina Abramović's "Balkan Erotic Epic" at Gropius Bau, exploring Balkan ritual, body, and sexuality; Giulia Andreani's "Sabotage" at the Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, which uses near-monochrome painting to critique historical narratives; and Shilpa Gupta's "What Still Holds" at the same venue, reflecting on borders and fragility in dialogue with Joseph Beuys. The selection spans major museums and galleries, emphasizing conceptual depth over pure aesthetics.

Naked jetskiers, giant bells and a celebrity seagull! Venice Biennale’s wildest moments – in pictures

The Guardian presents a photo essay capturing the most eccentric and memorable moments from the 61st Venice Biennale, running until 22 November 2026. Photographer David Levene documents installations including a concrete 'Origami Deer' evacuated from war-torn Pokrovsk, Ukraine, by artist Zhanna Kadyrova; a seagull that became a minor celebrity after nesting outside the Polish pavilion; and the Holy See pavilion's immersive sound installation curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers. Other highlights include the Egyptian pavilion's touch-and-smell 'Silence Pavilion' and a Polish pavilion film featuring deaf and hearing singers.

Think you have strong opinions about the 2026 Archibald prize? Check out the portraits that didn’t make the cut | Dee Jefferson

The article explores the annual ritual of the Archibald Prize, Australia's most famous portrait competition, through the lens of the 2026 edition. The author, Dee Jefferson, describes the predictable cycle of public enthusiasm, critical disdain, and media coverage that surrounds the prize, noting recurring trends like brown suits, oversized heads, and the dominance of male artists painting male subjects. The piece highlights specific works in this year's exhibition, including a portrait of musician Keli Holiday by Sindy Sinn that the author finds disorienting, and contrasts the main exhibition with the Salon des Refusés, the showcase of rejected entries, which includes a provocative portrait of Patricia Piccinini by Wendy Sharpe featuring exaggerated anatomy.

Catherine Opie “To Be Seen” at National Portrait Gallery, London

The National Portrait Gallery in London is hosting "Catherine Opie: To Be Seen," the first major UK museum exhibition dedicated to the American photographer. The show brings together over 80 photographs spanning 30 years of Opie's career, exploring themes of social, political, and individual identity through studio portraiture, environmental studies, and documentary images.

Esther fair goes out on top

The Esther art fair, a satellite of Frieze New York, opened its third and final iteration at Estonian House on East 34th Street. Founded by Estonian gallerists Olga Temnikova and Margot Samel, the fair eschews conventional stands, instead arranging 22 participating galleries and three bespoke projects throughout the historic Beaux-Arts building’s basement, salons, and upper floors. Highlights include sold-out presentations at Adams and Ollman and Management, works by Katja Novitskova, Jill Goldstein, and Elīna Vītola, and a special project by Darja Popolitova and Madlen Hirtentreu turning beauty-industry equipment into installations. Gallerists praised the cooperative atmosphere, contrasting it with larger, more institutionalized fairs.

Barry X Ball’s Wild Sculptures Are Perfectly at Home at Venice’s Grand Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore

New York-based artist Barry X Ball's exhibition "The Shape of Time" has opened at the Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, featuring 23 sculptures centered on the elaborate silver and gold piece *Pope Saint John Paul II* (2012–24). The show, organized by curator Bob Nickas, includes many works shown publicly for the first time, such as *Pietà* (2011–22) inspired by Michelangelo and *Saint Bartholomew Flayed* (2011–20). The sculpture of John Paul II, cast in collaboration with Italian jewelry house Damiani, contains hidden references to the pope's life, including his nemeses Hitler, Stalin, and Lenin, as well as a bullet from the 1981 assassination attempt.

Fair Week in NYC!

New York City is hosting a packed week of art fairs in May 2025, including Frieze at The Shed, Independent Art Fair at Pier 36, TEFAF New York at the Park Avenue Armory, and NADA New York at the Starrett-Lehigh Building. The fairs feature hundreds of international galleries, with Frieze emphasizing Central and South American exhibitors, Independent exploring a dystopian theme, TEFAF offering antiquities and fine art, and NADA celebrating its 12th edition with 121 galleries. The article also notes recent major exhibitions at the New Museum, Whitney Biennial, MoMA PS1, The Met, and MoMA, and includes a guide to Upstate New York art destinations.

SWANSEA: British Art Show 10 confirmed for Glynn Vivian next year — the only Welsh stop on a national tour featuring artists from Tracey Emin to Grayson Perry

Swansea has been confirmed as the only Welsh stop on the British Art Show 10 national tour, with the exhibition taking place at the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery from February 12 to May 16, 2027. Titled 'A Chorus of Strangers,' the show will also feature venues including the new home for Elysium Gallery and potentially Y Storfa, and will explore themes of Moments of Being, Ways of Living, and States of Nature across various media. Curated by Ekow Eshun, the tour launches in Coventry in October 2026 before visiting Swansea, Bristol, Sheffield, and Newcastle-Gateshead.

From YBAs to McQueen: Tate Britain’s New Exhibition Reframes the Creative Explosion of the 1990s

Tate Britain has announced a major new exhibition, *The 90s: Art and Fashion*, opening in autumn 2026, which will be the first to examine the intersection of contemporary art, photography, and fashion during the 1990s in Britain. Featuring over 100 works by nearly 70 artists, photographers, and designers—including Sarah Lucas, Alexander McQueen, Tracey Emin, and Steve McQueen—the show explores the decade's raw experimentation, anti-establishment energy, and the rise of the Young British Artists. Curated with input from Edward Enninful, the exhibition also highlights subcultures, nightlife, and the work of figures who challenged dominant narratives around race, identity, and class.

Does L.A’s Bold New LACMA Museum Work?

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has debuted a long-awaited new building designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, costing $750 million. The museum opened to the public last month with a gala for the David Geffen Galleries, and its charismatic director Michael Govan promises a new vision for how museums show art and relate to the public. Art critic Carolina Miranda joins Artnet News's Ben Davis to discuss the building's significance, having published her own analysis calling it an instant LA icon.

Garment, body and space merge in Iris van Herpen’s first major New York show

The Brooklyn Museum is hosting Iris van Herpen's first major New York exhibition, featuring over 140 haute couture looks from the Dutch fashion designer. Van Herpen, who founded her house in 2007, pioneered 3D printing in fashion and uses unconventional materials like upcycled marine debris and fermented fibers. The touring show, which originated at Paris's Musée des Arts Décoratifs, includes contemporary art, scientific objects, and natural-history specimens alongside her garments. Curated by Matthew Yokobosky, the Brooklyn iteration draws on the museum's own collections and loans from the American Museum of Natural History, the Staten Island Museum, and the Yale Peabody Museum. Highlights include a dress made with living bioluminescent algae and a re-creation of Van Herpen's atelier.

Public art blossoms around New York

New York City's public spaces are blooming with large-scale outdoor art this spring, complementing the gallery and museum season. From the High Line to Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Bronx to Stuyvesant Square, artists including Derek Fordjour, Raven Halfmoon, Monira Al Qadiri, Judith Modrak, Woody De Othello, Shellyne Rodriguez, and Graciela Cassel have installed sculptures, murals, and interactive works. Highlights include Fordjour's mural *Backbreaker Double* (2025), Halfmoon's ceramic bust *West Side Warrior* (2025), and Rodriguez's *Phoenix Ladder: Monument to the People of the Bronx* (2025), which commemorates housing loss in the 1970s.

Venice Diary Day 3: Offsite Highlights Include Fleshy Films and Vegetarian Videos

The article reports on the author's third day at the Venice Biennale, focusing on offsite exhibitions. Highlights include Li Yi-Fan's animated video "Screen Melancholy" (2026) at the Taiwan Pavilion, described as chaotic, absurdist, and uncanny, featuring a naked CGI character interacting with ChatGPT. The author also praises Janis Rafa's video installation "Baby I'm Yours, Forever" (2026) at Fondazione In Between Art Film, which transforms scenes from a meat refrigeration plant into haunting surreal imagery. The piece notes the resurgence of video art, aided by LED screens that create immersive environments.

Venice Biennale Special 2026—podcast

This episode of The Art Newspaper's podcast is a Venice Biennale special, covering the opening week of the 2026 edition. Host Ben Luke, along with Louisa Buck and Jane Morris, reviews the main exhibition "In Minor Keys," curated by the late Koyo Kouoh and realized by five collaborators. The podcast features interviews with artists Gabrielle Goliath, whose work for the South African pavilion was cancelled and is instead staged in a Venice church, and Lubaina Himid, showing in the British pavilion. It also includes conversations with writer Saidiya Hartman and Daniella Kaliada of Belarus Free Theatre about their collateral projects. The episode concludes with a focus on two restored Tintoretto paintings at the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, funded by Save Venice.

Lubaina Himid on capturing the 'uneasiness' of Britain for her Venice Biennale pavilion

Lubaina Himid, the Turner Prize-winning artist born in Zanzibar and raised in England, is representing Great Britain at the Venice Biennale with a pavilion that captures the 'uneasiness' of living in Britain. The exhibition features her signature paintings, prints, and cutout figures, alongside a soundscape by Magda Stawarska, designed to evoke ambiguous encounters and the gap between a question and an answer. Himid describes the pavilion as a reflection of Britain's everyday pleasantness undercut by a persistent sense of otherness, drawing on her own experience as an East African brought up by English women.

Brandywine Conservancy and Museum picks architects for $100m expansion project

The Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, has selected Kengo Kuma & Associates, along with landscape architects Field Operations and Schwartz Silver Architects, to lead a $100 million expansion project. The plan includes a new 40,000-square-foot museum building, renovation of the existing 19th-century grist mill museum, and a ten-mile loop of walking trails connecting the two buildings to the historic studios of artists N.C. Wyeth and Andrew Wyeth. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2025, with completion in autumn 2029. Nearly half the funding has been raised, including contributions from the Wyeth Foundation for American Art and Wyeth family members.

Arthur Jafa: ‘America has always been a demonic state. And we love it’

The article covers the exhibition "Helter Skelter: Richard Prince and Arthur Jafa" at the Prada Foundation’s Ca’ Corner della Regina in Venice, curated by Nancy Spector. It brings together over 50 works by Prince and Jafa in a call-and-response format, exploring themes of appropriation, race, violence, and American identity. The show pairs Prince’s iconic rephotographed images and Jafa’s video work "Love Is The Message, The Message is Death" (2016) with new and existing pieces, including Jafa’s "Big Wheel II" and Prince’s "Blasting Mats."

‘I shared a single bed with my mother for three years’: Sung Tieu on her monument to immigrant workers in Venice

Artist Sung Tieu has clad the German pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale with a mosaic replica of the Gehrenseestrasse complex, a now-abandoned housing estate in Berlin where she lived as a child. The work, titled "Human Dignity Shall Be Inviolable," uses three million mosaic stones to recreate the facade of the prefabricated blocks that housed Vertragsarbeiter—contract workers from Vietnam, Mozambique, Angola, and Cuba who bolstered East Germany's economy. Tieu, who shared a single bed with her mother in the complex for three years, conceived the pavilion alongside the late artist Henrike Naumann.