7 New Art Books to Step Into Spring

Artnet News has curated a selection of seven significant new art book releases for the spring season, highlighting diverse subjects from historical archives to contemporary memoirs. Featured titles include a deep dive into Frida Kahlo’s private sanctuary, 'Casa Roja,' authored by her descendants; a curatorial history of Hong Kong’s avant-garde art scene by Oscar Ho Hing-kay; and a vibrant exploration of color in contemporary art featuring works by Yayoi Kusama and Tomás Saraceno.

The Women Defining Printmaking at the 2026 IFPDA Print Fair

The 2026 IFPDA Print Fair opened at New York’s Park Avenue Armory, placing a significant spotlight on the contributions of women artists to the medium. High-profile offerings include a new release by Laura Owens from Crown Point Press, Louise Bourgeois’s "Spirals" woodcut series presented by Carolina Nitsch, and large-scale sculptural works by Joan Hall and Orit Hofshi. The fair demonstrates the technical breadth of modern printmaking, ranging from traditional woodcuts to unique, hand-embellished compositions and experimental collaborations between artists and master printers.

What We Miss When We Talk About Giacometti

This article explores a critical reevaluation of Alberto Giacometti’s career, specifically focusing on the decade between 1935 and 1945. While Giacometti is globally recognized for his spindly, post-war 'Existentialist' figures, art historian Joanna Fiduccia’s new book, *Figures of Crisis*, argues that his mid-career departure from Surrealism to study human likeness was not a mere transition but a profound response to the political crises and nationalism of interwar France.

Duchamp in New York

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has launched a major solo exhibition dedicated to Marcel Duchamp, marking the artist's first comprehensive survey in New York City in over 50 years. The exhibition explores Duchamp’s revolutionary impact on modern art, featuring iconic works and archival materials that trace his history from the 1913 Armory Show to his later years in New York. The opening is complemented by a broader "Duchamp spring" in the city, including a forthcoming exhibition of his readymades at Gagosian.

The Untold Story of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek’s Intimate—and Complex—Bond

Andrew Durbin’s new dual biography, *The Wonderful World That Almost Was*, explores the profound and volatile relationship between photographer Peter Hujar and artist Paul Thek. Spanning from their meeting in the late 1950s to their deaths from AIDS-related complications in the 1980s, the book details how their shared experiences—most notably a 1963 visit to the Capuchin Catacombs in Palermo—fundamentally shaped their artistic trajectories. While Hujar captured the mummified remains in haunting photographs, Thek translated the encounter into his visceral "meat pieces" and wax effigies.

Marcel Duchamp Was the Messenger of History

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York is launching the first comprehensive U.S. exhibition of Marcel Duchamp’s work in over 50 years. In an interview regarding the opening, renowned scholar Thierry de Duve discusses the artist's enduring legacy, from his infamous readymades like "Fountain" to his complex, labor-intensive works like the "Large Glass." The exhibition seeks to reconcile Duchamp’s identity as both a conceptual provocateur and a meticulous craftsman.

How Alexander Calder Set Sculpture in Motion

Wie Alexander Calder die Skulptur in Bewegung setzte

The Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris has launched a major retrospective titled "Rêver en Équilibre," dedicated to the American sculptor Alexander Calder. Featuring over 300 works, the exhibition traces Calder’s journey from his 1926 arrival in Paris to his invention of the "mobile," a term coined by Marcel Duchamp. The show includes iconic large-scale hanging sculptures like "Rouge triomphant," wire figures from his famous "Cirque Calder," and rarely seen private loans, alongside paintings and jewelry that highlight his engineering background and poetic approach to abstraction.

V&A exhibition honours designer Elsa Schiaparelli's unique synthesis of fine art and fashion

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) has launched a major exhibition dedicated to the Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli, focusing on her revolutionary integration of Surrealist art and haute couture. The show highlights her early career in Paris, specifically her 1927 breakthrough with a trompe-l’oeil knitted sweater, and explores her collaborations with avant-garde artists like Salvador Dalí. By examining her unique ability to translate Dadaist and Surrealist concepts into wearable garments, the exhibition positions her as a pivotal figure who challenged the traditional boundaries of fashion and art.

Unseen George Condo Works Arrive at Auction From Anna Condo’s Collection

Anna Condo, the former wife of American painter George Condo, is bringing 27 previously unseen works from her private collection to auction at Christie’s. The collection, which includes paintings, drawings, and sculptures acquired during their 28-year marriage, will be featured in the Post-War and Contemporary Art day sale on May 21. These works have never been exhibited or sold publicly, offering a rare glimpse into the artist's private creative output between 1988 and 2017.

The Must-See Exhibitions in Milan During Art Week 2026

Le mostre da non perdere a Milano durante i giorni dell’Art Week 2026

Milan Art Week 2026 features a series of major solo exhibitions across the city's premier contemporary art institutions. Fondazione Prada is hosting site-specific installations by Mona Hatoum exploring global instability alongside Cao Fei’s multimedia investigation into the technological revolution of agriculture. Meanwhile, Pirelli HangarBicocca presents Benni Bosetto’s architectural exploration of the female body and Rirkrit Tiravanija’s interactive examination of authorship and communal space.

Toronto Biennial takes waterways as inspiration for its fourth edition

The Toronto Biennial of Art has announced the details for its fourth edition, titled "Things Fall Apart," scheduled to run from September 26 to December 20. Curated by Allison Glenn, the exhibition will feature 30 artists and collectives, including Kent Monkman, Rebecca Belmore, and Dawoud Bey, with a heavy emphasis on new commissions. For the first time, the biennial is expanding its footprint beyond the Greater Toronto Area to include partnerships with institutions across Canada and international sites like Times Square in New York and the Anchorage Museum in Alaska.

Dealer Scott Nichols on His Lasting Love for Iconic California Photographers

Veteran art dealer Scott Nichols reflects on his long-standing career and the evolution of his eponymous gallery, which specialized in 20th-century California photography for nearly three decades in San Francisco before relocating to Sonoma in 2019. The gallery is renowned for its deep expertise in Group f.64, maintaining one of the largest private collections of Brett Weston’s work alongside masterpieces by Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, and Imogen Cunningham.

Marcel Duchamp at MoMA: Five Revelations From the Artist’s First North American Survey in Over 50 Years

The Museum of Modern Art in New York has launched a major retrospective of Marcel Duchamp, marking the artist's first comprehensive North American survey in over half a century. The exhibition traces Duchamp’s evolution from his early satirical drawings and avant-garde paintings to his revolutionary experiments with movement and mechanization, featuring iconic works like "Nude Descending a Staircase" and "L.H.O.O.Q." alongside technical diagrams and studies for "The Large Glass."

MoMA Delivers with First American Marcel Duchamp Retrospective in 50 Years

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has launched a comprehensive retrospective of Marcel Duchamp, marking the first major American survey of the artist's work in five decades. The exhibition follows a chronological path through Duchamp’s radical career, featuring early pen-and-ink drawings, his transition through Cubism and Dadaism, and his revolutionary "readymades" like the urinal titled Fountain. Highlights include the rare gathering of all three versions of Nude Descending a Staircase and documentation of his final, secretive installation, Étant donnés.

Alexander Calder, Brilliant Sculptor of Air and Color Celebrated at the Fondation Vuitton

Alexander Calder, génial sculpteur de l’air et de la couleur célébré à la fondation Vuitton

The Fondation Louis Vuitton is hosting a major celebration of Alexander Calder, the American sculptor who revolutionized 20th-century art by introducing movement and play into the medium. The article traces Calder's formative years in Paris starting in 1926, where the young engineer-turned-artist gained avant-garde fame with his 'Cirque Calder'—a miniature circus of wire and fabric figurines. This period marked his transition from traditional painting to his signature 'drawings in space,' featuring wire sculptures of figures like Josephine Baker that projected dancing shadows and captured the kinetic energy of the era.

Phallus, Vagina, Universe

Phallus, Vagina, Universum

Marina Abramović is presenting a major retrospective at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, shifting focus from her well-known explorations of physical pain to the erotic energy of the human body. The exhibition draws heavily on Slavic folklore and pagan traditions from her Balkan heritage, exploring how ancient rituals used sexuality and the body as tools for spiritual and cosmic connection.

'It was my job to create the view': US artist Liza Lou on making colourful works in her windowless warehouse

American artist Liza Lou discusses her recent shift in practice, moving from her famous large-scale bead installations to a new body of work that fuses oil painting with glass beads. After years of collaborative work in South Africa and focusing on monochrome tones, Lou has returned to a solitary studio practice in a windowless warehouse in the San Fernando Valley. This new phase is defined by a "headlong love affair with colour," inspired by the hallucinatory palette of the Mojave Desert and a transition from logical drawing to a more intuitive, freestyle process.

15 Artists Explore the Potentiality of Fabric and Fiber in ‘Textile Art Redefined’

The Saatchi Gallery in London is hosting 'Textile Art Redefined,' a group exhibition featuring 15 artists who push the boundaries of fiber and fabric. Curated by Helen Adams, the show includes diverse works ranging from Ian Berry’s immersive installations made of recycled denim to Kenny Nguyen’s undulating silk wall pieces and Anne von Freyburg’s textile reinterpretations of Rococo paintings. The exhibition coincides with the release of Adams' new book, 'Textile Fine Art,' which explores the medium's evolution from functional craft to a celebrated pillar of contemporary art.

At 85, Anjolie Ela Menon revisits her iconic themes in New Delhi exhibition

Veteran Indian artist Anjolie Ela Menon is currently presenting a career-spanning exhibition titled 'Revisitations' at Triveni Kala Sangam in New Delhi. Presented by Vadehra Art Gallery and curated by Uma Nair, the show features over 30 works ranging from the 1950s to new pieces created in 2025 and 2026. The exhibition highlights Menon’s steadfast commitment to figurative painting, Byzantine-inspired imagery, and recurring motifs such as the empty chair and the crow, which explore themes of presence and loss.

On View: First Major Museum Exhibition of Hurvin Anderson at Tate Britain Spans Entire Career of Acclaimed British Painter

Tate Britain has launched the largest-ever museum survey of British painter Hurvin Anderson, featuring over 80 works spanning from 1995 to the present. The exhibition showcases Anderson’s unique blend of abstraction and figuration, highlighting major series such as his Barbershops, Country Clubs, and the monumental new 16-panel work "Passenger Opportunity." The show tracks his evolution from a Royal College of Art student to a Turner Prize finalist and one of the most significant Black painters in contemporary art.

Orientalism, Tales and History at the Louvre-Lens

L’orientalisme, contes et histoire au Louvre-Lens

The Louvre-Lens has launched "Beyond the Arabian Nights," an ambitious exhibition exploring the evolution of Orientalism in France. Moving past simple clichés of odalisques and flying carpets, the show features over 300 items, including masterpieces by Delacroix, Ingres, and Gérôme, alongside popular culture objects like porcelain figurines and film clips. The exhibition traces cultural exchanges from medieval trade and the Crusades to the 19th-century obsession with Islamic art, utilizing a scenography that emphasizes the construction of fictional narratives.

‘A cauldron of people with their tops off!’ Goldie, Estelle, Courtney Pine, Flo and more pick great moments in Black British music

Prominent figures in Black British music, including Goldie, Estelle, and Dennis Bovell, reflect on iconic photographs and visual artifacts that define the history of their genre. The article highlights specific works such as Eddie Otchere’s portrait of drum and bass pioneers Kemistry and Storm, Janette Beckman’s photography of Slick Rick, and Adrian Boot’s documentation of the Race Today offices in Brixton.

What Made Marcel Duchamp’s Readymades So Revolutionary?

Marcel Duchamp transformed the trajectory of 20th-century art by introducing the 'Readymade,' a concept where mass-produced, everyday objects are elevated to the status of art through the artist's selection rather than manual craft. Beginning with a bicycle wheel in 1913 and a bottle rack in 1914, Duchamp eventually formalized the term during a 1915 stay in New York, where the city's industrial modernity and lack of rigid class structures inspired him to challenge traditional definitions of creativity.

Anthony Elms and Hamza Walker in Conversation

The Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh has announced a public conversation between its new Artistic Director, Anthony Elms, and renowned curator Hamza Walker to mark the institution's 50th anniversary. The event focuses on the evolution of artist-centered institutions and Elms's vision for the museum following his tenure as Chief Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania.

The National Gallery of Art Holds an Artistic Mirror Up to the United States for Its Big 250th Birthday

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., has launched "Dear America," a major exhibition commemorating the United States' 250th anniversary. Featuring over 100 prints, drawings, and photographs from the museum’s permanent collection, the show spans from the late 18th century to the present day. The exhibition is organized into three thematic sections—"Land," "Community," and "Freedom"—showcasing works by iconic artists such as Andy Warhol, Ansel Adams, and Richard Avedon alongside contemporary voices like Tom Jones of the Ho-Chunk Nation.

Harmony Korine’s First U.S. Museum Show Is ‘Perfect Nonsense’

The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) Miami is set to host 'Perfect Nonsense,' the first U.S. museum survey dedicated to the multidisciplinary work of director and artist Harmony Korine. Opening April 15, the exhibition features over 50 works spanning Korine’s career, from early collages and notes following his 1995 film 'Kids' to his recent infrared 'post-cinema' project 'Aggro Dr1ft.' The show includes a diverse array of media, including 'Twitchy' paintings, collaborative works with Rita Ackermann, and a dedicated 'Florida Room' exploring his current home in Miami.

A Cartier Exhibitions Lands at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne

The National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne is hosting a major exhibition of Cartier’s historic jewelry and objects, organized in partnership with the Victoria and Albert Museum. The showcase features over 300 items, ranging from the iconic 1917 Tank watch and the surrealist 1967 Cartier Crash to opulent commissions for figures like the Maharaja of Patiala, the Duchess of Windsor, and Grace Kelly.

Revolutionary-era themes shape 2026 Chesterwood exhibitions, workshops and performances

Chesterwood, the historic summer home and studio of sculptor Daniel Chester French, has announced its 2026 season opening on May 15. The programming will center on themes of patriotism and American history, specifically highlighting the Revolutionary era through a dedicated exhibition on the "Minute Man" statue. The season will feature a diverse array of workshops, performances, and gallery shows hosted across the 122-acre National Trust for Historic Preservation site.

National Assembly Unanimously Votes on Law for Restitution of Looted Colonial Works, but with Restrictions

L’Assemblée vote à l’unanimité la loi sur la restitution des œuvres pillées pendant la colonisation, mais avec des restrictions

The French National Assembly has unanimously passed a landmark law establishing a permanent legal framework for the restitution of cultural property looted during the colonial era. Moving away from the previous requirement for case-by-case legislation, the new law allows the government to return artifacts via decree following consultations with scientific and parliamentary commissions. This shift fulfills a long-standing promise to simplify the return of African heritage currently held in French public collections.

Review: “The Things We Carry” at Un Grito Gallery

The exhibition "The Things We Carry" at Un Grito Gallery serves as the centerpiece for the 2026 Contemporary Art Month (CAM) Perennial in San Antonio. Curated by Casie Lomeli and Leslie Moody Castro, the show features eight artists including Matt Rebholz, whose vibrant, alien-like landscapes subvert traditional Western imagery, and Tina Linville, who presents tactile sculptures composed of salvaged materials and concrete. The exhibition is part of a larger city-wide initiative spread across five artist-run spaces.