Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential List Includes Artist Cao Fei and Photojournalist Lynsey Addario

Time magazine has named artist Cao Fei and photojournalist Lynsey Addario to its 2026 list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Cao Fei is recognized for her multidisciplinary work exploring digital technology and modernity, while Addario is honored for her decades of courageous reporting from global conflict zones, including her Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the war in Ukraine. The list also acknowledges prominent art patrons Susan and Michael Dell.

Why I Wanted to Meet Thaddeus Mosley

The author recounts their personal journey to meet the self-taught sculptor Thaddeus Mosley, driven by a profound impression left by his 2004 New York debut exhibition. After a late-night phone call revealed Mosley's vibrant spirit, the author reflects on the artist's decades-long practice of carving salvaged wood into towering, abstract sculptures in Pittsburgh, inspired by jazz, African visual culture, and modernist art, yet operating largely outside the mainstream art world.

Photographer Zanele Muholi is named the 2026 Hasselblad Award laureate.

South African visual activist Zanele Muholi has won the prestigious 2026 Hasselblad Award, one of the highest honors in photography. The award, which includes a cash prize and a major exhibition at the Hasselblad Foundation in Gothenburg, Sweden, recognizes Muholi's decades-long dedication to documenting and celebrating Black LGBTQIA+ communities in South Africa and beyond. Their powerful portraits and self-portraits challenge historical erasure and create a profound visual archive of resistance and existence.

Hauser & Wirth Partner Cristopher Canizares Departs to Start Artist Agency

Cristopher Canizares, a longtime partner at mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth, is departing after 16 years to launch his own venture, the Artist Legacy Bureau. This new agency will function as an artist management firm, with Canizares working directly for and being paid by a select group of five or six artists to advise on long-term career strategy across their gallery, institutional, and collector relationships.

2026 Guggenheim Fellowships Go to Sonya Clark, John Miller, and American Artist

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has announced its 101st class of fellows, awarding 223 scholars and artists across 55 disciplines for 2026. Selected from a pool of nearly 5,000 applicants, the new cohort includes prominent visual artists such as Sonya Clark, John Miller, American Artist, and Kota Ezawa. The fellowships provide significant financial grants to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts.

How an Overlooked Printmaker Became a Hero of Mexican Cultural Identity

The article profiles the life and work of José Guadalupe Posada, a prolific Mexican printmaker who died in relative obscurity in 1913. It details his career from his early work in lithography and political cartoons to his later, defining collaboration with publisher Antonio Vanegas Arroyo in Mexico City, where he produced sensationalist broadsides and his iconic calaveras (skeletons).

A Brush With... Lorna Simpson—podcast

Artist Lorna Simpson joins the 'A Brush With...' podcast to discuss the vast array of cultural influences that inform her conceptual practice. From her early photo-text works to her recent large-scale paintings, Simpson details how she subverts conventional framing of identity and navigates the boundaries between reality, fiction, and historical archives. She highlights the impact of figures such as David Hammons, Francisco de Zurbarán, and filmmaker Chantal Akerman on her evolving visual language.

A Brush With... Lorna Simpson—podcast

Artist Lorna Simpson joins the 'A Brush With...' podcast to discuss the vast array of cultural influences that have shaped her conceptual practice. From her early photo-text works to her recent large-scale paintings, Simpson details how she subverts conventional framing of identity and navigates the boundaries between reality, fiction, and historical archives. She highlights the specific impact of figures such as David Hammons, Francisco de Zurbarán, and filmmaker Chantal Akerman on her evolving visual language.

Frank O’Hara’s Curatorial Eye

The article examines the largely overlooked curatorial work of poet Frank O'Hara during his tenure at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It details his role in organizing significant exhibitions, championing emerging artists like Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns, and his influential collaborations with artists such as Larry Rivers.

American Artist, Penny Arcade Among 2026 Guggenheim Fellowship Cohort

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has announced its 101st class of fellows for 2026, awarding 223 individuals across 55 disciplines. This year’s cohort includes a significant number of visual artists and art professionals, such as American Artist, John Ahearn, Sonya Clark, and Fia Backström, alongside scientists, writers, and scholars. The fellowships provide varying monetary awards, typically ranging from $30,000 to $45,000, to support the recipients' ongoing creative and intellectual projects.

American Artist and Sonya Clark among Guggenheim Fellows 2026.

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has announced its 101st class of Guggenheim Fellows, awarding grants to 223 individuals across 55 disciplines. Among the 30 fine artists selected for the 2026 cohort are Brooklyn-based conceptual artist American Artist, textile artist and educator Sonya Clark, and interdisciplinary artist Allison Janae Hamilton. Each fellow receives a financial stipend designed to provide the creative and intellectual freedom necessary to pursue their work without restrictive conditions.

Art as seen by… Louise Bourgoin

L’art vu par… Louise Bourgoin

French actress Louise Bourgoin discusses her deep-rooted connection to the visual arts, stemming from her studies at the Beaux-Arts de Rennes. She reflects on her first art purchase in the Czech Republic, her obsession with line drawing, and how the abstract works of Mark Rothko have informed her acting performances. Bourgoin also reveals her upcoming project: illustrating a children's book written by Arthur Dreyfus, set for release in September.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Appoints Oluremi C. Onabanjo as Curator in the Department of Photographs

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has appointed Oluremi C. Onabanjo as a Curator in the Department of Photographs. Joining from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Onabanjo will focus on 20th-century and contemporary photography with a specific emphasis on international practices from Africa and Asia. Her responsibilities include overseeing the stewardship of the recently acquired Walther Collection and developing a major exhibition for 2028.

Kate McNamara Named Director of Harvard’s Carpenter Center for Visual Arts

Harvard University's Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts has officially appointed Kate McNamara as its John R. and Barbara Robinson Family Director. McNamara, who had been serving in the role on an interim basis since last year, is the founder of the experimental art space ODD-KIN and has held leadership positions at Providence College Galleries, Otis College of Art and Design, and Boston University Art Galleries.

The Guide #237: Fab 5 Freddy, the street artist at the heart of New York’s creative zenith

A new memoir by Fred Brathwaite, known as Fab 5 Freddy, chronicles his life as a pivotal figure connecting the emerging hip-hop and graffiti scenes of 1970s and 80s Brooklyn with the downtown Manhattan art world. The book, "Everybody's Fly: A Life of Art, Music, and Changing the Culture," serves as an all-access pass to a transformative era, featuring encounters with icons like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, and Debbie Harry.

These Are the Winners of the 2026 Guggenheim Fellowship

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has announced its 2026 fellowship recipients, naming 223 individuals across 55 disciplines. The cohort includes 76 professionals from the visual arts, photography, and fine arts research sectors, featuring notable figures such as Sheida Soleimani, American Artist, Kenneth Tam, and Sonya Clark. This year's selection process was notably competitive, drawing 5,000 applicants—a significant increase from previous years.

Tanka Fonta wins 2026 Wi Di Mimba Wi Prize

Cameroon-born artist and polymath Tanka Fonta has been named the recipient of the 2026 Wi Di Mimba Wi Prize. Awarded by SAVVY Contemporary and the AKB Stiftung, the prize includes a €30,000 grant, production funds for a new commission, and dedicated curatorial support. Fonta, whose multidisciplinary practice spans visual art, composition, and philosophy, was selected from a shortlist of five Germany-based artists by a jury of prominent curators and academics.

Colectivo Los Ingrávidos wins Schering Stiftung Award

The Colectivo Los Ingrávidos, an anonymous film collective based in Tehuacán, Mexico, has been named the winner of the 2026 Schering Stiftung Award for Artistic Research. The group will receive a €15,000 prize, a solo exhibition at Berlin's KW Institute of Contemporary Art featuring a newly produced work, and a publication.

In Medias Res. Sofia Defino Leiby by Gabriela Acha

Berlin-based artist Sofia Defino Leiby is currently transitioning her practice between her Alt-Treptow studio and a residency at Defet House in Nürnberg. Her multidisciplinary approach integrates painting, collage, and performance, drawing heavily from a 'running narrative' of personal notes, found ephemera, and high-end materials like Schmincke paints. The work often features visceral, layered compositions that utilize everything from vintage packaging to Swiss Aura-Soma bottle imagery.

I Have Always Been Drawn to the Despised

"Ich habe mich schon immer zum Verachteten hingezogen gefühlt"

Irish artist Alice Maher discusses her ongoing exploration of patriarchal structures, mythology, and the symbolic power of female hair in her practice. Her current work focuses on large-scale drawings of Sibyls—ancient female prophets—whose excessive hair serves as a metaphor for identity, power, and the 'monstrous feminine.' Maher reflects on her career-long engagement with Irish history, from collecting hair during the Troubles to her collaborative textile masterpiece, "The Map," which reclaims the legacy of Mary Magdalene from Catholic institutional narratives.

Sony world photography awards 2026 – in pictures

The 2026 Sony World Photography Awards have announced their top honors across professional, open, student, and youth categories. Notable winners include Citlali Fabián for her series on Indigenous activists in Mexico, Seungho Kim for a project exploring the intersection of parenting and pet ownership in South Korea, and Dafna Talmor for her abstracted, collaged landscapes. The winning works span a diverse range of subjects, from the documentation of a fire at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm to intimate portraits of faith at the Vatican.

Tongue River Theory. davi de jesus do nascimento by Mateus Nunes

Brazilian artist davi de jesus do nascimento explores the intersection of poetry, memory, and the geography of the São Francisco River. Born in Pirapora, Minas Gerais, the artist’s work is deeply informed by his family's history of displacement due to the Sobradinho dam and the tragic loss of his mother to the river. His practice spans painting, installation, and performance, all rooted in a linguistic and philosophical framework he calls "Tongue River Theory."

Of Testaments and Transfigurations: An Interview with Poet Silvia Righi

Di testamenti e di trasfigurazioni. Intervista alla poeta Silvia Righi

Italian poet Silvia Righi discusses her latest collection, *Ex voto suscepto*, published by Pungitopo as part of the Remedia series. The book originated from a narrative concept involving the arrival of God's daughter on Earth and features a unique interdisciplinary collaboration with artist Mattia Barbieri, who provided China ink illustrations. The interview explores the collection's focus on the decaying body, the fluidity of the lyrical 'I', and the intersection of poetic language with visual art.

Pi Li appointed founding director of Shenzhen’s Róng Museum, set to open 2027

Pi Li, former head of art at Hong Kong's Tai Kwun, has been appointed the founding director of the new Róng Museum in Shenzhen. The museum, focusing on 20th and 21st-century global creative practices across visual art, design, performance, architecture, and digital media, is scheduled to open in the second half of 2027 as part of the M80 lifestyle complex.

‘Prince laughed like a kid as I painted “Free” on his stomach’: Steve Parke’s best photograph

Photographer Steve Parke recounts the story behind his iconic 1999 photo shoot of Prince for Notorious magazine. The singer rejected the magazine's initial concept of painting "1999" on his stomach, instead insisting on the word "Free" to reflect his ongoing battle for artistic freedom from record labels. Parke, who was Prince's in-house art director, ended up painting the word on the singer's stomach himself with gold paint, causing Prince to laugh like a child from the cold sensation.

A Painter Reveals Hong Kong’s Natural Wonders — and Where to See Them

Hong Kong-based painter Stephen Wong Chun Hei, who spent much of his childhood indoors, has become an avid hiker and now creates vibrant, colorful paintings of the city's natural landscapes. His work focuses on capturing the dramatic geology, lush vegetation, and hidden trails of Hong Kong's country parks and coastal areas.

Davide Hjort Di Fabio Recasts the Sick Body

The article profiles artist Davide Hjort Di Fabio, whose work explores the experience of chronic illness and the sick body through sculpture and installation. He uses materials like silicone, resin, and medical paraphernalia to create visceral forms that challenge conventional representations of health and the human form.

See the Spectacular Winners of Smithsonian Magazine’s 23rd Annual Photography Contest

Smithsonian Magazine has announced the winners of its 23rd annual photography contest, selecting top honors from over 17,000 submissions spanning 108 countries. The Grand Prize was awarded to Jacqueline Burke, a veterinarian and photographer, for her image "The Punk Rockers," which captures three egret chicks with mohawk-like plumage at a New Jersey rookery. Other category winners highlighted diverse subjects, including an abstract portrait by Irina Denisova and a spiritual scene of a devotee in Varanasi by Arun Kumar Nalimela.

Cosmic Province. Between bar and studio, or the punk life of Jacopo Benassi

Provincia Cosmica. Tra bar e studio, ovvero la vita punk di Jacopo Benassi

Italian artist Jacopo Benassi, born in 1970 and shaped by the punk scene, discusses his return to his hometown of La Spezia after years in Milan, where he worked as a photographer for Rolling Stone. He describes his life revolving around his studio and local bars, and reflects on founding the underground club B-Tomic in 2011, which became a hub for his artistic and photographic work blending music and performance. He also mentions an upcoming book of drawings and texts by Renzo Daveti (alias Benzo), a formative figure from the Italian punk scene.

Closely Watched Curator Raphael Fonseca Joins Lisbon’s Culturgest

Raphael Fonseca, a prominent curator specializing in Latin American art, has been appointed as the new visual arts programmer at Culturgest in Lisbon. He will relocate to Portugal in June, succeeding Bruno Marchand, while maintaining a curator-at-large position with the Denver Art Museum, where he has served since 2021.