Arts Groups Speak Out Against US Trade Representative’s Potential New Tariffs

The U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, has launched a Section 301 investigation into 60 countries to determine if forced labor practices create unfair trade advantages. This move follows President Trump’s continued push for sweeping tariffs after previous attempts were struck down by the Supreme Court. Major art organizations, including the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) and Heritage Auctions, are formally petitioning for works of art and antiquities to be exempt from any resulting duties.

NBA Star Devon Booker Finds Perspective at James Turrell’s Fabled Roden Crater

NBA star Devin Booker has developed a significant connection with James Turrell’s Roden Crater, visiting the massive land art project in a dormant Arizona volcano three times since 2020. The Phoenix Suns guard has formed a mutual friendship with Turrell, who praised Booker’s artistic sensibility, while Booker credited the immersive installation with providing a sense of presence and perspective that transcends his professional basketball career.

Institute of Museum and Library Services Saved from Defunding After Legal Challenge

The American Library Association (ALA) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) have reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to halt the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The agreement ensures the federal agency will continue its operations, reinstates previously terminated grants, and reverses staff reductions. This legal victory follows a period of significant uncertainty where the agency's budget was slated for a 98% reduction, threatening its role as the primary federal supporter of museums and libraries.

LIKE A DUET. In Conversation with Anne Imhof by Tyler Mitchell

Artists Anne Imhof and Tyler Mitchell engage in a cross-disciplinary dialogue reflecting on their recent solo exhibitions, "Wish You Were Gay" at Kunsthaus Bregenz and "Wish This Was Real" at C/O Berlin. The conversation explores the intersection of performance, photography, and the choreography of space, with both artists discussing how they manipulate the viewer's physical and emotional presence within an installation.

New Orleans Galleries’ Spring Sale Blooms With Modern and Contemporary Works

New Orleans Auction Galleries has announced its upcoming Fine Art and Design sale, featuring 279 lots that span over a century of modern and contemporary art. The auction highlights a diverse range of works, including pieces by Mexican modernist José Clemente Orozco, Abstract Expressionist Grace Hartigan, and Southern Regionalist John McCrady. The selection focuses on themes of identity, social consciousness, and the intersection of text and visual media.

Which Country’s Art Market Came Out on Top in 2025?

The United States solidified its position as the world's leading art market in 2025, with fine-art auction sales rising 25.3 percent to reach $5.4 billion. Despite early volatility caused by trade tariffs, a surging stock market and cooling inflation fueled a massive November auction season in New York, where nine of the year's ten most expensive artworks were sold. In contrast, China's market contracted by nearly 11 percent due to a persistent property crisis, while the United Kingdom and France saw significant growth, with Paris benefiting from the momentum of Art Basel Paris.

250-Year-Old Kiln Discovered on Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Estate

Archaeologists at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello estate have unearthed a 250-year-old kiln used to fire bricks for the plantation’s original construction. Located on the East Lawn just feet from the main house, the site was identified through the discovery of specialized curved bricks, including cyma-shaped and ovolo-molded specimens. These architectural details confirm the kiln dates back to the "Monticello I" period (1768–1782), as these specific water table features were omitted during Jefferson’s later 18th-century renovations.

Inside LACMA’s 2026 Reopening: What to Know About the New David Geffen Galleries

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has announced that its highly anticipated David Geffen Galleries will officially open to the public on April 19, 2026. Designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architect Peter Zumthor in collaboration with director Michael Govan, the new facility features a horizontal, elevated design that spans Wilshire Boulevard. The structure will house 26 galleries on a single level, representing the culmination of a nearly two-decade redevelopment project.

Olafur Eliasson stages public wake for the Great Salt Lake in Utah

Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson presented 'A symphony of disappearing sounds for the Great Salt Lake,' a large-scale multimedia installation in Salt Lake City’s Memory Grove Park. The work featured a three-story luminous sphere projecting visuals of wind currents and geothermal light, accompanied by a soundscape of migratory birds, brine flies, and frogs. Commissioned by the Salt Lake City Arts Council and Bloomberg Philanthropies, the ten-day public event served as a creative wake for the rapidly receding lake.

France's Château La Coste hosts four decades of work by designer Marc Newson

Australian designer Marc Newson is presenting a comprehensive survey of his four-decade career at Château La Coste in Provence. The exhibition, housed in a pavilion designed by Oscar Niemeyer, features fifteen seminal works including the iconic 1988 Lockheed Lounge and a complex 2017 glass armchair. A highlight of the show is the 6-meter-tall sculpture 'Electra,' originally commissioned for the 1996 Olympics but never installed, which has been restored and recently acquired by collector Philip Serafim.

Berlin exhibition focuses in on women photographers of the Bauhaus

The Museum für Fotografie in Berlin is hosting a major exhibition titled "New Woman, New Vision," featuring approximately 300 photographs by 29 women associated with the Bauhaus. The show aims to dismantle the persistent myth that female students at the influential German school were restricted to the weaving workshop. By showcasing works from figures like Lucia Moholy, Ise Gropius, and Marianne Brandt, the exhibition highlights how women were integral to the school’s photographic documentation and its development as a standalone artistic medium.

Colours of Time review – Monet meets Mamma Mia in charming French artist comedy

Director Cédric Klapisch’s new film, *Colours of Time* (originally *La Venue de L’Avenir*), is a sentimental French comedy that weaves a fictional romantic history around Impressionist master Claude Monet and pioneering photographer Félix Nadar. The plot follows a group of modern-day descendants who discover a trove of historical secrets in a derelict cottage, leading to a whimsical, time-bending exploration of their ancestors' lives in Belle Époque Paris.

‘One simple gesture says it all’: the world in black and white – in pictures

Photographer Marina Sersale has released a new monograph titled 'Liminal Space,' published by Gost, which compiles over a decade of monochrome photography. The collection features dramatic black-and-white images captured between 2013 and 2021 across diverse locations including Italy, Japan, Iran, and the United States. Sersale, a former documentary filmmaker, focuses on the interplay of light and shadow to document fleeting, everyday moments—from sunbathers in Positano to commuters in Naples.

A historic section of the Eiffel Tower's original staircase is set to go up for auction

Un tronçon historique de l’escalier d’origine de la tour Eiffel s’apprête à s’envoler aux enchères

The auction house Artcurial is set to auction a 2.75-meter-tall section of the original spiral staircase from the Eiffel Tower on May 21. This specific segment, consisting of fourteen riveted steel steps, was part of the structure connecting the second and third floors until it was dismantled in 1983 to make way for modern elevators. Estimated between €120,000 and €150,000, the piece holds significant historical value as it is the inaugural 'Lot No. 1' from the original 1983 dispersal sale.

Chaïm Kaliski’s Drawings Haunted by the Shoah Revealed in an Exhibition at mahJ

Les dessins hantés par la Shoah de Chaïm Kaliski se révèlent dans une expo au mahJ

The Musée d’Art et d’Histoire du Judaïsme (mahJ) in Paris is hosting the first monographic exhibition dedicated to Chaïm Kaliski, a Belgian artist who began drawing at the age of 60 to process the trauma of the Holocaust. After his death in 2015, thousands of drawings were discovered in his Brussels apartment, documenting his family's history and the fate of Polish Jews in Belgium. The exhibition features 120 works that blend childlike aesthetics with haunting historical narratives, including poignant depictions of his parents' final moments at Auschwitz.

Nicéphore Niépce in 2 Minutes

Nicéphore Niépce en 2 minutes

Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, a Burgundian engineer and inventor, is credited with creating the world's first permanent photograph, "Point de vue du Gras," in 1827. Using a process he termed heliography, Niépce utilized bitumen of Judea on pewter plates to fix images captured in a camera obscura. Despite his groundbreaking achievement, he died in relative obscurity in 1833, shortly after entering a partnership with Louis Daguerre, who would later receive the primary credit for the invention of photography.

The Art of Appearing

De l’art de paraître

The Musée Cognacq-Jay in Paris is hosting an exhibition titled "Révéler le féminin," which explores the intersection of 18th-century fashion and portraiture. Curated in collaboration with the Palais Galliera and the Musée d’arts de Nantes, the show features works by prominent portraitists like Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun and Maurice Quentin de La Tour alongside rare period textiles. The exhibition examines how the rising bourgeoisie used clothing as a visual language of prestige and social standing during the Enlightenment.

A Sculptor’s Life, in Constant Motion

A major retrospective of Alexander Calder’s work has opened in Paris, offering a comprehensive look at the sculptor’s career-long obsession with movement and balance. The exhibition invites visitors to engage directly with his iconic mobiles and wire sculptures, emphasizing the physical and temporal experience of art that shifts with the surrounding air and light.

Genti Korini on Representing Albania at the 61st Venice Biennale

Artist Genti Korini will represent Albania at the 61st Venice Biennale with a new moving-image installation titled 'A Place in the Sun.' Curated by Małgorzata Ludwisiak, the project utilizes 'Zaum'—a transrational language from the Russian Futurist movement—to explore themes of performance, puppetry, and animation. The work investigates Albania’s historical position as a 'somewhere place' often defined by external exoticism and orientalist perceptions rather than its own internal voice.

New exhibition ‘Personal Structures – Confluences’ to open in Venice in May 2026

The European Cultural Centre Italy has announced the eighth edition of its biennial contemporary art exhibition, 'Personal Structures – Confluences,' set to run from May 9 to November 22, 2026, in Venice. Spanning Palazzo Bembo, Palazzo Mora, and the Marinaressa Gardens, the massive showcase will feature 175 artists from over 40 countries, including high-profile figures like ORLAN, Rashid Al Khalifa, and Hirohiko Araki. This edition introduces 'PS Design,' a new section dedicated to the intersection of art and architecture, and will host the national pavilions of El Salvador and Seychelles alongside a significant collaboration with the Palestine Museum US.

Hampshire College, Alma Mater to Many in the Arts, Closing

Hampshire College, the experimental liberal arts institution in Massachusetts, has announced it will permanently close after nearly sixty years of operation. The college's board cited insurmountable financial pressures and a failure to meet regulatory requirements as the primary drivers behind the decision, noting that progress toward a stable financial foundation fell short of expectations.

How Entertainment Exec Hassan Smith Built an Art Collection Championing Black Artists

Entertainment executive Hassan Smith has curated a deeply personal art collection in his North Atlanta home that bridges historical mastery with contemporary Black identity. His holdings range from a 17th-century Rembrandt drawing in the kitchen to iconic photography by Gordon Parks and contemporary works by artists like Ferrari Sheppard and Derek Fordjour. The collection is characterized by its integration into daily family life, featuring a Basquiat-inspired aesthetic that begins at the front door.

IN LYON, CONTEMPORARY ART HAS A HISTORY : THREE STAGES TO EXPLORE IT

The Lyon Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC Lyon) has launched a major seasonal program featuring three distinct exhibitions that explore memory, archives, and the evolution of contemporary media. Central to the program is Giulia Andreani’s solo exhibition, "Cold Painting," which presents sixty canvases created between 2011 and 2025 that interrogate historical power structures and the erasure of women from art history. Complementing this is a significant showcase of video art drawn from a massive donation by collectors Isabelle and Jean-Conrad Lemaître, alongside a retrospective dedicated to Jean-Claude Guillaumon.

The 200th RSA Annual Exhibition and Big Birthday Party

The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) has announced its 200th Annual Exhibition, a landmark event running from May 9 to June 14, 2026, in Edinburgh. This bicentenary edition features a massive survey of contemporary Scottish art and architecture, including works by Academicians and selections from an open call. To celebrate the milestone, the RSA will host a "Big Birthday Party" on May 27 and has introduced three major new prizes, including the RSA Jack Vettriano Award, bringing the total prize fund to over £25,000.

Dream Win With a Catch

Traumgewinn mit Haken

A 58-year-old sales engineer from Paris has won a 1941 Pablo Picasso portrait titled "Tête de femme" through a charity raffle. The winner acquired the masterpiece, valued at approximately €1.45 million, by purchasing a single €100 ticket. Organized to benefit Alzheimer’s research, the international lottery sold 120,000 tickets across 152 countries, raising a total of €12 million.

A Frenchman wins a Picasso in a lottery

Un Français gagne un Picasso à la loterie

A Parisian resident has won a painting by Pablo Picasso valued at €1 million through a charity raffle. The winner acquired the masterpiece after purchasing a single lottery ticket for just €100.

Can Textile Art Challenge the Status Quo?

Milan's art scene is currently anchored by a series of high-profile exhibitions coinciding with the Miart fair. Key highlights include Cao Fei’s exploration of global agricultural shifts at Pirelli HangarBicocca and Anselm Kiefer’s monumental tributes to female alchemists at Palazzo Reale. The city's galleries and institutions are showcasing a diverse range of media, from intricate textile works that challenge traditional hierarchies to immersive digital installations.

‘New Humans’: A Hallucinatory Humanism Worth Moving Toward

Milan’s art scene is currently anchored by 'New Humans' at Pirelli HangarBicocca, a major solo exhibition by Cao Fei that explores the intersection of technology, labor, and human identity. The show features immersive installations and films that document global farming practices and the surreal evolution of social structures in the digital age, alongside other key city-wide exhibitions including Anselm Kiefer’s portraits of female alchemists.

7 Shows to See in Milan Right Now

New York: An Artist’s City

Milan's art scene is currently anchored by several major exhibitions, ranging from Cao Fei’s exploration of global agricultural shifts at Pirelli HangarBicocca to Anselm Kiefer’s monumental tributes to female alchemists. Other highlights include solo presentations by emerging and established artists across the city's commercial galleries and institutional spaces, coinciding with the Miart fair.

7 Shows to See in Milan Right Now

Gallery Applications Open for Frieze Abu Dhabi

Milan's art scene is currently anchored by several high-profile exhibitions coinciding with the Miart fair. Key highlights include Cao Fei’s exploration of global farming and technology at Pirelli HangarBicocca, alongside Anselm Kiefer’s monumental tributes to female alchemists. Other notable shows feature historical and contemporary dialogues, ranging from Italian post-war masters to experimental multimedia installations.