VALIE EXPORT, Icon of Feminist Art, Dead at 85

VALIE EXPORT, the radical Austrian performance artist, filmmaker, and sculptor widely regarded as the most significant feminist artist of the postwar era, died in Vienna on May 14, just three days before her 85th birthday. Her death was confirmed by Thaddaeus Ropac gallery, which represents her. Known for provocative works such as *Tapp und Tastkino* (1968), in which she invited passersby to touch her bare breasts through a miniature theater, EXPORT faced hate mail, death threats, and indecency charges but remained undeterred in her mission to challenge patriarchal norms through the female body and sexual agency.

Memory, Migration, Materiality: 12 Artists to Watch During Alserkal Art Month

Alserkal Art Month (April 18–May 18, 2026) in Dubai features a district-wide initiative of exhibitions and events, anchored by the group show "Déjà Vu" at Concrete, Alserkal Avenue (April 25–May 8). Curated by Kevin Jones, Nada Raza, and Zaina Zaarour, the exhibition brings together over 50 artists from 20 UAE-based galleries, centering on themes of memory, displacement, and cultural inheritance. The article profiles 12 standout artists, including Shahpour Pouyan and Juma Al Haj, whose works translate these tensions into materially inventive and conceptually rigorous practices.

Spain Threatens to Oust Reina Sofía Director Over Missing Artworks and Finances

Spain’s government has escalated pressure on the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, demanding a complete inventory of its 25,000-plus artworks by December 31, 2026. A parliamentary oversight committee passed a resolution backed by the conservative Popular Party and far-right, warning that failure to comply could lead to the removal of museum director Manuel Segade. The resolution calls for a full audit of holdings, including loans and missing pieces, and updated financial valuations. The museum faces years of criticism from Spain’s Court of Auditors over weak internal controls and tracking issues, including a 2021 donation that can no longer be fully accounted for.

Raymond Pettibon, Chris Johanson | You're Not Worth Much (Hand Signed by Raymond Pettib… (2017) | For Sale

This article is a sales listing for a collaborative artwork by Raymond Pettibon and Chris Johanson, titled "You're Not Worth Much" (2017), hand-signed by Pettibon. The listing includes a biography of Pettibon, detailing his career, exhibitions, and gallery representation by David Zwirner, as well as his influences and major museum shows.

Exhibition | Paula Rego, 'Drawing from Life' at Galerie Lelong, 38 Avenue Matignon, Paris, France

Galerie Lelong in Paris is presenting 'Paula Rego, Drawing from Life,' an exhibition focused on the artist's intense three-year period from 2005 to 2007, during which she devoted herself almost exclusively to drawing and lithography in her London studio. The show features works inspired by literary sources such as 'Jane Eyre,' 'Peter Pan,' and the sixteenth-century tale 'The King of Pigs,' as well as her connection with playwright Martin McDonagh. Key pieces include 'Shakespeare’s Room,' 'Scarecrow,' and 'Turtle Hands.' The exhibition is made possible with the support of Nick Willing, the artist’s son, and Cristea Roberts Gallery in London.

What you want from your body? Antony Gormley, iron and crawling

British sculptor Antony Gormley discusses his solo exhibition "What Holds Us" at Galleria Continua in San Gimignano, on view from 9 May to 13 September 2026. The show transforms the gallery's former cinema-theatre into an interactive environment where visitors are invited to crawl through massive cardboard bodies, exploring interior spaces and shifting from passive spectatorship to bodily engagement. Gormley explains that the title connects "hold" and "whole," suggesting that being held—by the ground, the womb, or the body—is essential for growth and wholeness.

Exhibition | Carlos Garaicoa, 'Rituals and Liberty' at Goodman Gallery, New York, United States

Goodman Gallery presents Carlos Garaicoa's first solo exhibition at its New York viewing room, titled 'Rituals and Liberty.' The show features eight works, including five reliefs that blend painting and photography, and sculptural models incorporating 19th-century French engravings. The exhibition precedes Garaicoa's solo show at Museo La Tertulia in Cali, Colombia, in May. Garaicoa, a Cuban-born artist based in Madrid, explores urbanism and how architecture reflects and shapes society, continuing his long-standing interest in decoding urban infrastructures.

KAWS | Tide, from KAWS: What Party exhibition at Brooklyn Museum (2021)

The auction for KAWS's 2021 print "Tide" has concluded. The work is an offset lithograph originally created for the artist's "What Party" exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum.

The great Anselm Kiefer arrives in Valencia for an exhibition. There is a rare work for the first time in Europe

Il grande Anselm Kiefer arriva in mostra a Valencia. C’è un’opera rara per la prima volta in Europa

German artist Anselm Kiefer is coming to Valencia for the first time, inaugurating the temporary exhibition program at the CAHH – Centro de Arte Hortensia Herrero. The show, curated by Javier Molins, will run from April 29 to October 25 at the Palacio de Valeriola, featuring Kiefer's works in dialogue with the permanent collection. A highlight is "Danaë," a monumental painting over 13 meters wide that depicts the interior of Berlin's Tempelhof airport and references the myth of Danaë; this work has only been shown once before, in New York in 2022, and is now on view in Europe for the first time.

VALIE EXPORT, icon of feminist art who placed the body at the center of her research, has died

È morta VALIE EXPORT, icona dell’arte femminista che ha messo il corpo al centro della sua ricerca

VALIE EXPORT, the Austrian artist and feminist icon known for using her body as a political and artistic tool, has died in Vienna at age 85. Born in Linz in 1940, she changed her name in 1967 and became a pioneer of performance, film, and media art, creating provocative works such as "Tapp-und Tastkino" (1968), where she turned her body into a touchable cinema screen, and "Aktionshose: Genitalpanik" (1969). Her career spanned over six decades, and she taught at institutions including the University of Wisconsin and the Berlin University of the Arts. In 2023, the Albertina Museum in Vienna held a major retrospective of her work.

Basquiat's intense works on paper are at the center of his first exhibition in Denmark

Le intense opere su carta di Basquiat sono al centro della sua prima mostra in Danimarca

The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark, is hosting "Headstrong," a retrospective of 50 works on paper by Jean-Michel Basquiat, running until May 17. The exhibition focuses on Basquiat's depictions of the human head and body, created between 1981 and 1983, and first shown posthumously in 1990. It is the first solo museum presentation of Basquiat in Scandinavia, featuring loans from private collections and international museums, highlighting a lesser-known aspect of the artist's practice.

È morto Paolo Masi. La lunga ricerca dell’artista fiorentino sulla trasformazione dei materiali poveri

Paolo Masi, the Florentine artist known for his lifelong exploration of poor materials and their transformation, died in Florence on Wednesday, May 6, just days before his 93rd birthday. His career spanned from informal experiments in the 1950s through a rigorous investigation of materials in the 1960s, including his first solo show at the Strozzina in 1960. He joined the aesthetic research group Centro F/Uno alongside Baldi, Lecci, and Nannucci, and later co-founded the collective spaces Zona (1974) and Base (1998) with Mario Mariotti and Maurizio Nannucci. Masi participated in the Venice Biennale (1978) and the Rome Quadriennale (1986), and his works are held by major museums and foundations internationally. His later years saw significant retrospectives at the Museo MAGA in Gallarate (2018) and at Le Murate in Florence (2018), as well as a 2023 solo show at Florence's Galleria Frittelli, which remembered him as an extraordinary artist and dear friend.

Fotografia Europea returns to Reggio Emilia. Program, appointments, hundreds of widespread exhibitions

A Reggio Emilia torna la grande rassegna Fotografia Europea. Programma, appuntamenti, centinaia di mostre diffuse

Fotografia Europea, the major photography festival in Reggio Emilia, returns for its 21st edition from April 30 to June 14, 2026, under the theme "Fantasmi del quotidiano" (Ghosts of the Everyday). The official circuit features twenty exhibitions across historic venues such as Chiostri di San Pietro, Palazzo da Mosto, and Palazzo dei Musei, as well as modern spaces like Spazio Gerra and Collezione Maramotti. Highlights include works by Felipe Romero Beltrán (winner of the KBr Photo Award 2025), Mohamed Hassan, Salvatore Vitale, Marine Lanier, Ola Rindal, Tania Franco Klein, Giulia Vanelli, Frédéric D. Oberland, and Simona Ghizzoni, with curatorial contributions from Tim Clark and Luce Lebart. Over three hundred off-circuit exhibitions will also be held throughout the city.

GEORGE FEBRES: TRADUCCIÓN, IRONÍA Y LIBERACIÓN. UN ARTISTA ECUATORIANO EN LA DIÁSPORA

George Febres (Guayaquil, 1943 – New Orleans, 1996) was an Ecuadorian artist whose work blended pop art, neo-surrealism, and Southern U.S. culture, shaped by his experience as a migrant and queer individual. The article traces his life from a privileged but unstable childhood in Ecuador to his migration to the United States, where he was drafted during the Vietnam War and eventually settled in New Orleans. Febres used bilingualism and ironic appropriation of tropical imagery to create a hybrid, irreverent body of work that challenges the official historiography of Ecuadorian art.

Collecting in Madrid: 50 Ways to Build the Contemporary

COLECCIONAR EN MADRID: 50 FORMAS DE CONSTRUIR LO CONTEMPORÁNEO

The exhibition 'Madrid Colecciona. 50 colecciones de arte contemporáneo' opened at CentroCentro, showcasing a hundred works from fifty private collections in Madrid. It shifts focus from the artwork and artist to the often-opaque figure of the collector, allowing each collector to present two pieces: one of personal significance and one recent acquisition, accompanied by their own explanatory texts.

Summer Previews: The Season’s Most Anticipated Shows

Artforum's editors preview twenty-five anticipated institutional exhibitions opening worldwide between May and August. Highlights include "Fade" at the Studio Museum in Harlem, the latest in its career-making "F show" series featuring seventeen emerging artists of African descent; "Modernity and Opulence: Women of the Wiener Werkstätte" at the Jewish Museum in New York, showcasing over 180 women designers from Austria's famed atelier; "Replica of a Chip: The Weaving Technology of Marilou Schultz" at the Hessel Museum of Art, exploring the intersection of Navajo weaving and microchip history; the 59th Carnegie International at the Carnegie Museum of Art, with 61 artists spread across Pittsburgh venues; and "Mary Ellen Carroll: How to Talk Dirty and Influence People" at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.

27 Best Museums in the World for Art, History, and Cultural Wonders

This article from Travel + Leisure lists 27 of the best museums in the world, covering art, history, science, and culture. Featured institutions include the Louvre in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Vatican Museums, the National Museum of China in Beijing, the National Gallery and Tate Modern in London, the Natural History Museum in London, the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, and Miraikan in Tokyo. The piece highlights iconic artworks such as the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and the Sistine Chapel ceiling, as well as notable architectural features like I.M. Pei's glass pyramid at the Louvre.

MANUEL SEGADE: “PRESERVAR LA COMPLEJIDAD DEL MUNDO ES UNA DE LAS TAREAS FUNDAMENTALES DEL MUSEO”

Manuel Segade, director of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, is interviewed as part of a series for International Museum Day. He discusses the museum's role as a space historically tied to critique, conflict, and negotiation with tradition, emphasizing the need to preserve the world's complexity. Segade advocates for institutions that can speak on multiple levels, from introductory lectures to para-academic research, and stresses transforming internal structures toward more horizontal and interdependent models.

In Tuscany, an Artistic Sculpture Hub Thrives

The article profiles Pietrasanta, a small town in Tuscany, Italy, that has evolved into a thriving international sculpture hub. It traces the town's artistic lineage back to Michelangelo, who sourced marble from local quarries in 1518, and highlights how today a dense network of workshops, foundries, and craftspeople attracts artists from around the world. The local government has established the Fondazione Centro Arti Visive di Pietrasanta to promote the town as a year-round art center, not just a seasonal destination. The piece features the Armenian-born artist Mikayel Ohanjanyan, who has seven sculptures on display in the town.

In Venice two new cultural realities in the Civic Museums circuit: a contemporary art center is born in Mestre and the Wagner Museum enters the network

A Venezia due nuove realtà culturali nel circuito dei Musei Civici: nasce un centro d’arte contemporanea a Mestre e entra nella rete il Museo Wagner

The Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia (MUVE) has opened a new contemporary art museum called MUVEC (Casa delle Contemporaneità) at the Centro Candiani in Mestre, inaugurated on April 24. Simultaneously, MUVE has signed an agreement with the Casinò di Venezia and the Associazione Richard Wagner to bring the Museo Wagner in Ca' Vendramin Calergi into its network starting in 2027, expanding the MUVE circuit to 14 museums (excluding MUVEC). MUVEC features a permanent collection spanning from 1948 to the present, drawn from the Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Venezia Ca' Pesaro, and will host temporary exhibitions including a 2026 show on Klimt, Schiele, Kokoschka and the body.

Il grande artista Michelangelo Pistoletto apre un hotel d’arte a Biella

Michelangelo Pistoletto has opened Hotel Cittadellarte in Biella, Italy, within his Cittadellarte Fondazione Pistoletto. The 31-room hotel houses the exhibition "L'ospite inatteso" by Giuseppe Stampone, curated by Ilaria Bernardi, with each room containing a unique artwork designed to be lived with rather than quickly viewed. The exhibition includes Stampone's "Fotocopie intelligenti" and large tapestries from the Brioni manufactory, addressing themes of migration, belonging, memory, and coexistence. The building was sustainably renovated with PNRR funds.

A Venezia sta aprendo un nuovo Palazzo delle Arti e delle Culture grazie alla Fondazione Giancarlo Ligabue. L’intervista

A new Palazzo delle Arti e delle Culture – Collecto is opening in Venice at Palazzo Erizzo Ligabue, a 15th-century palace on the Grand Canal. The initiative, spearheaded by Inti Ligabue (45), son of the late paleontologist and entrepreneur Giancarlo Ligabue, will open to the public from May 7 to May 24, 2026, offering guided tours of a collection of over 400 pieces spanning from 4.5-billion-year-old fossils to contemporary works by artists such as Arcangelo Sassolino, Nico Vascellari, and Giorgio Andreotta Calò. The project builds on the Fondazione Giancarlo Ligabue, established in 2016 from the original Centro Studi founded in 1973, and will feature a residency by artist Marta Spagnoli.

Florence welcomes the great artist Georg Baselitz with a major exhibition at the Museo Novecento

Firenze accoglie il grande artista Georg Baselitz con una grande mostra al Museo Novecento

The Museo Novecento in Florence has opened "Avanti!", a major retrospective dedicated to German artist Georg Baselitz, featuring 170 works on paper spanning his career from the 1960s to the present. Curated by Sergio Risaliti and Daniel Blau, the exhibition is the first in Italy to focus on Baselitz's graphic output, including woodcuts, linocuts, and etchings, alongside sculptures and installations that explore themes of the human body, war, and inversion.

What We Saw at Buffalo Prescott’s 'Vernal 2026'

Buffalo Prescott’s Detroit headquarters is hosting 'Vernal 2026,' a spring-inspired contemporary arts exhibition running through June 27, with a public opening on May 22. The exhibition features works by resident artists including Jessica Wildman Katz, Halima Afi Cassells, Cyrah Dardas, Sara Nickleson, and Tony Printz, alongside metro Detroit and international artists. Highlights include Katz's botanical rabbit sculpture 'Kindling,' Cristina Umaña's whimsical 'Mesa De Centro' (a stack of white tables with human-like limbs), and Amelia Burns's photographic diptych 'Evil Eye' and 'Evil Eye Transmuted onto Organza, 2026,' which explores contemporary American culture through collage.

Uzbek Artist Saodat Ismailova Makes Her U.S. Museum Debut at the Smithsonian

Uzbek artist Saodat Ismailova is making her U.S. museum debut at the Smithsonian Institution. The exhibition introduces her multimedia works, which often explore Central Asian history, spirituality, and female identity, to an American audience for the first time.

First Zurbarán exhibition at the National Gallery

The National Gallery in London has opened the first monographic exhibition in the UK dedicated to Francisco de Zurbarán, a leading 17th-century Spanish painter. The show brings together exceptional loans from public and private collections across the UK, Europe, and the United States, including works displayed together for the first time in over a century. Highlights include life-size depictions of saints, soaring altarpieces, and contemplative still lifes, with the exhibition running until 23 August.

GALLERY AN INVITATION TO ENJOY CONTEMPORARY ART IN THE CITY OF BUENOS AIRES

Gallery, a free contemporary art event in Buenos Aires, returns for its first 2026 edition on Saturday, May 16th, connecting over 40 galleries, museums, art spaces, and foundations across the Recoleta, Retiro, and Microcentro neighborhoods. Organized by Arte al Día and Pinta, the event features guided tours led by specialists, live music performances, and special activities at each meeting point. Participating venues include Rolf Art, Vasari, Fundación Klemm, ARTHAUS CENTRAL, Isla Flotante, and others, with support from the Buenos Aires City Ministry of Culture.

Guide to cultural festivals in Italy at the end of May 2026: Spring Attitude, Aura, Buongiorno Ceramica!, URBAPHONIA, CYFEST

Guida ai festival culturali in Italia di fine maggio 2026: Spring Attitude, Aura, Buongiorno Ceramica!, URBAPHONIA, CYFEST

A guide to cultural festivals in Italy at the end of May 2026 highlights several events across the country, including Spring Attitude in Rome (May 29-30), Aura Festival in Palermo (June 1), Hypermaremma in Maremma (through September 30), Emulsioni in Ferrania (May 22-24), and Caorle Sea Festival in Caorle (May 23-June 7). These festivals cover diverse themes such as electronic music, club culture, analog photography, ceramics, media art, street art, and outdoor practices, often set in historically or culturally significant locations like La Nuvola in Rome, the Palazzina Cinese in Palermo, and an ex-film factory in Ferrania.

In Tuscany a new festival brings contemporary art to agricultural estates with exhibitions and artist residencies

In Toscana una nuova rassegna porta l’arte contemporanea nelle aziende agricole con mostre e residenze d’artista

The first edition of CARMI.CO 2026 – Carmignano Contemporanea will take place from May 15 to 24, 2026, in the Carmignano area near Prato, Tuscany. The festival features five exhibitions and five artist residencies hosted by local wineries and agricultural estates, alongside talks, workshops, and studio visits. Exhibitions are staged at venues including the Rocca di Carmignano, Museo Archeologico di Artimino, and Museo delle Maioliche di Bacchereto, with works by artists such as Marco Bagnoli, Qiu Yi, Gola Hundun, Rachel Morellet, Fargo, Marco Ulivieri, Serena Fineschi, and others. Residencies take place at Tenuta di Capezzana, Colline San Biagio, Tenuta Le Furre, Tenuta di Artimino, and Fattoria Il Grumolo, involving artists Max Magaldi, Ronaldo Fiesoli, Vittorio Cavallini, Graziano Riccelli, and Gola Hundun.

Working in Art and Culture: Opportunities from Premio di Pittura Casciaro, Fondazione MUS.E, Comune di Roma, Fondazione Officine Saffi

Lavorare nell’arte e nella cultura: opportunità da Premio di Pittura Casciaro, Fondazione MUS.E, Comune di Roma, Fondazione Officine Saffi

This article from Artribune compiles five current job and grant opportunities in the Italian visual arts and culture sector. It lists open calls for the Premio di Pittura Giuseppe Casciaro (a painting prize with a career award and a solo exhibition prize), a residency program for artists and curators under 36 at Fondazione MUS.E's MAD Murate Art District, an open call for artists on the theme of play by Associazione Circuiti Dinamici, a search by the Comune di Roma for a three-year artistic director for the La Vaccheria cultural space, and a stage (internship) position at Fondazione Culturale Officine Saffi for exhibition programming and project coordination.