Marina Abramović in Venice: “Don’t treat me like an icon”

Marina Abramović has opened a new exhibition titled "Transforming Energy" at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, running concurrently with the Venice Biennale. Curated by Shai Baitel, the show spans the museum’s permanent collection and temporary exhibition spaces, featuring a timeline of the artist’s biography, video works, and interactive installations with crystals and stone objects. Abramović is the first living woman artist to receive a major solo exhibition at the museum, and the exhibition includes a digital avatar and rituals designed to slow down the viewer’s experience.

The Artists Who Put Their Bodies Into the Work

This article from Google News, dated May 3, 2026, profiles a selection of artists who have used their own bodies as central elements in their work. It draws a connection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's spring Costume Institute exhibition, "Costume Art," which places fashion in dialogue with other artworks. The roundup includes Marina Abramović, known for her 2010 MoMA performance "The Artist Is Present"; Chris Burden, who staged dangerous works like "Shoot" (1971); David Hammons, creator of the "Body Prints" series; Frida Kahlo, whose painting "The Broken Column" (1944) depicts her own physical pain; Ana Mendieta, whose "Silueta" series used her figure in the landscape; and Yoko Ono, a conceptual artist with a significant body-based practice.

Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince’s ‘Helter Skelter’ Is Pure American Grit

American artists Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince will present a joint exhibition titled "Helter Skelter" at Fondazione Prada's Venetian venue, timed to coincide with the Venice Biennale. Curated by Nancy Spector, the show features over 50 works across photography, video, sculpture, installation, and painting, along with a collaboratively produced zine. It marks the first time the two artists have been exhibited together, exploring themes of authorship, race, and image-making within American popular culture.

Charlottesville's Confederate statues are centerstage in West Coast art exhibition rooted in tragedy and trauma

The remains of Charlottesville's melted Confederate statue of General Robert E. Lee are now on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles as part of the 'Monuments' exhibition. The statue, originally standing in Market Street Park, was acquired by the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center (JSAAHC) in 2021, melted down at a secret location, and shipped to Los Angeles. The exhibition, presented in partnership with The Brick, also features artist Kara Walker's reconstruction of the Thomas Jackson statue. The bronze ingots and slag from the melting process are displayed alongside other works that reimagine Confederate monuments.

Maria Lassnig and Edvard Munch's exhibition

The Hamburger Kunsthalle in Hamburg, Germany, presents a major double exhibition pairing Austrian artist Maria Lassnig (1919–2014) with Norwegian painter Edvard Munch (1863–1944) for the first time. Featuring nearly 200 works—including paintings, works on paper, sculptures, films, and photographs—the show highlights parallels between the two artists across a half-century gap, tracing Munch’s influence on Lassnig and revealing new aspects of both oeuvres. Key works include Munch’s *Madonna* (1893–1895) and Lassnig’s *Traditionskette* (1983), with the exhibition organized into 13 chapters plus a prologue and epilogue exploring themes such as self-portraits, gender, nature, and mortality.

Frist Art Museum Will Present 100 Years of Contemporary Indigenous Art

The Frist Art Museum in Nashville will present "An Indigenous Present," an exhibition spanning 100 years of modern and contemporary Indigenous art, from June 26 to September 27, 2026. Co-curated by artist Jeffrey Gibson and independent curator Jenelle Porter, the show features 15 artists who use abstraction as a tool for liberated expression, including Teresa Baker, Raven Chacon, Kimowan Metchewais, Caroline Monnet, George Morrison, Mary Sully, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, and Kay WalkingStick. Organized by the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, the exhibition draws from Gibson and Porter's landmark 2023 publication of the same title and is structured into five thematic sections that place emerging artists in dialogue with established makers.

Giovanni Segantini at the Marmottan Monet Museum: our photos from the exhibition on the painter of the Alps

The Marmottan Monet Museum in Paris has opened a major retrospective of Giovanni Segantini, an Italian painter known for his Symbolist and Divisionist Alpine landscapes. Titled "I Want to See My Mountains," the exhibition runs from April 29 to August 16, 2026, and features over 60 works including oil paintings, pastels, and drawings, plus around 30 works on paper from European collections. Curated by Gabriella Belli and Diana Segantini, the show traces Segantini's artistic journey from his early days in Italy to his time in the Engadine Valley in Switzerland, where he found inspiration in mountain landscapes. The exhibition is divided into ten sections and also includes a contemporary tribute to Anselm Kiefer, whose works create a dialogue with Segantini's vision.

Review: Manet-Morisot exhibition is a deep dive into artistic ways of seeing, making

The Cleveland Museum of Art's spring exhibition examines the artistic relationship between 19th-century French Impressionist painters Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot, showcasing 36 paintings and seven works on paper. Organized by curator Emily Beeny of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the show is the first to closely analyze how the two artists influenced each other, correcting the historical record that long positioned Manet as the dominant figure while undervaluing Morisot's contributions. Through side-by-side juxtapositions, the exhibition reveals that Manet may have taken more from Morisot than she from him, highlighting their collaborative and competitive dialogue over 15 years.

In Pictures: Prince Albert II and Princess Caroline open Monaco Art Week 2026

Prince Albert II and Princess Caroline of Hanover opened the 8th edition of Monaco Art Week on Monday evening at the New National Museum of Monaco. The event, running until May 1, transforms the Principality into an open-air art trail with fourteen participating venues, including Artcurial, Sotheby's, Almine Rech Gallery, and the Hôtel des Ventes de Monte-Carlo, spread across La Condamine, Monte-Carlo, and Larvotto. The royal siblings toured the current exhibition "The Feeling of Nature," which explores works from Nicolas Poussin to contemporary art, featuring painting, sculpture, jewellery, and design. The week will culminate with the opening of the Art Monte-Carlo fair at the Grimaldi Forum, marking its 10th edition under the artistic direction of Stefano Rabolli Pansera.

50 Works 50 Weeks: Millard Sheets’s “Angel’s Flight”

LACMA is running a 50-week series called '50 Works 50 Weeks' leading up to the 2026 opening of its new David Geffen Galleries. The fourth installment highlights Millard Sheets's 1931 painting *Angel's Flight*, which depicts a historic Los Angeles funicular and tenement life. The work was inspired by George Bellows's *Cliff Dwellers* (1913), one of the first acquisitions by LACMA's predecessor, and was painted for the 1931 Carnegie International Exhibition. Sheets's painting won a prize at the Los Angeles Museum in 1932 and is now displayed alongside Bellows's work in the new galleries.

Alexander Calder Thought 'It Would Be Fun' to Set Abstract Art in Motion. His Mesmerizing Mobiles Transformed the Definition of Sculpture

A major exhibition titled "Calder: Dreaming in Equilibrium" has opened at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, showcasing 300 works by Alexander Calder, including his pioneering mobiles, stabiles, paintings, drawings, and wire portraits. The show marks 100 years since the artist's arrival in France in 1926 and 50 years since his death in 1976. It features iconic pieces such as the 19-foot-long mobile *Triumphant Red* (1963) and his earliest known kinetic sculpture—a brass duck from 1909—alongside works by contemporaries like Barbara Hepworth, Pablo Picasso, and Paul Klee, as well as photographs by Man Ray, Agnès Varda, and Gordon Parks.

Bold Solos, Global Dialogues: Inside Frieze New York 2026

Frieze New York 2026 will return to The Shed from May 13–17, featuring an expansive program of solo, dual, and curated presentations. The fair brings together 33 New York galleries alongside international exhibitors, with strong solo booths by Virginia Jaramillo (Hales), Akinsanya Kambon (Ortuzar and Marc Selwyn Fine Art), and Kelly Sinnapah Mary (James Cohan). Dual presentations include mor charpentier pairing Anas Albraehe and Nohemí Pérez, and Nara Roesler showing Jonathas de Andrade with Marcelo Silveira. Blue-chip galleries like Hauser & Wirth, White Cube, and Gagosian will present works by major artists including Cindy Sherman, Tracey Emin, and Nan Goldin. The Focus section, curated by Lumi Tan, highlights 11 emerging galleries with solo presentations by Antoni Miralda, Seba Calfuqueo, Reika Takebayashi, and Aki Goto.

Italian Renaissance masterpieces debut in Beijing exhibition

An exhibition titled 'Homage to the Virtuosos: From Leonardo da Vinci to Caravaggio - Masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance' has opened at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, featuring 36 Renaissance masterpieces from Italy's Uffizi Galleries. The show includes works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Caravaggio, with many pieces traveling to China for the first time. The exhibition is jointly curated by the National Art Museum of China and the Uffizi Galleries, and is divided into three thematic sections tracing the evolution of Renaissance painting, from early Florentine masters through Mannerism to Venetian and Caravaggio's revolutionary works.

Marina Abramović: Historic dell'Accademia Exhibition Announced During Venice Biennale 2026

Marina Abramović will be honored with a major exhibition at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice during the 61st Venice Biennale Arte in 2026, making her the first living woman artist to receive such a show at this historic institution. The exhibition coincides with her eightieth birthday and features works including the 1983 photograph *Pietà (with Ulay)*, placed in dialogue with Titian’s *Pietà*, alongside participatory elements like her Transitory Objects. Curated by Shai Baitel, the show unfolds within the museum’s Renaissance galleries rather than a separate wing.

In Paris, step inside Swedish artist Mamma Andersson's broken reality

Swedish artist Mamma Andersson is preparing for a new exhibition, 'Œuvres sur papier', at David Zwirner Paris, showcasing her works on paper including aquatint, etching, lithograph, and woodcut. The article visits her studio in Stockholm, where she discusses her creative process, recurring motifs like chairs, masks, and deer, and her collaborations with writer Karl Ove Knausgaard. The show also features vitrines with reference materials and books alongside original artworks.

The Many Forms of Marcel Duchamp

The New Yorker's Hilton Als reviews "Marcel Duchamp," a major retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, running through August 22, 2026. Curated by Matthew Affron, Michelle Kuo, and Ann Temkin, it is the first North American retrospective of Duchamp's work since 1973, organized in collaboration with the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The exhibition spans MoMA's entire sixth floor, showcasing Duchamp's shape-shifting practice—from iconic works like "Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2)" (1912) and "Bicycle Wheel" (1951) to his readymades and conceptual pieces—emphasizing his rejection of commodification and embrace of intellectual freedom, play, and queer sensibilities.

Two Monet paintings have arrived in Hong Kong and entry is completely free

The Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) has opened a new free exhibition titled 'Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West', featuring over 100 paintings and artefacts. A major collaboration between the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Palace of Versailles, the show includes masterpieces by Claude Monet—specifically 'Water Lilies' (1906) and 'Water Lily Pond' (1900)—on loan from Chicago, alongside works by Chinese artists such as Leng Mei, Wen Zhengming, and Zhang Daqian. The exhibition explores garden imagery across cultures, from the royal grounds of King Louis XIV to the imperial retreats of Emperor Qianlong, and runs until July 29, 2026, with free admission.

Treasures from the worlds of fashion and art collide at an extraordinary new exhibition in Lisbon

A new exhibition titled 'Art & Fashion' has opened at Lisbon's Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, curated by Eloy Martínez de la Pera Celada. It juxtaposes masterpieces from the museum's permanent collection—spanning ancient Egyptian artifacts to Rembrandt and Impressionist works—with historic and contemporary fashion pieces, including garments from Charles Frederick Worth, Yohji Yamamoto, Dries Van Noten, Alexander McQueen, and Sarah Burton's debut at Givenchy. The show is organized by regional provenance and temporarily replaces the museum's usual display while its Brutalist building undergoes renovation.

"Bertille Bak: Voices from the Earth" exhibition at the Vincenzo Vela Museum

From 26 April 2026 to 10 January 2027, the Vincenzo Vela Museum in Ligornetto, Switzerland, presents "Bertille Bak: Voices from the Earth," the first major solo exhibition in Switzerland of French artist Bertille Bak. The show brings together works from the past fifteen years that combine cinema, visual arts, and field research, focusing on marginalized communities and themes of labor, identity, and resistance. Bak, born in Arras in 1983, creates video installations and narrative devices through long immersions in communities, with her work held in collections such as the Centre Pompidou and the Collection François Pinault.

Explore HKMoA's large-scale exhibition "Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West" Starting April 24

The Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) opens its large-scale exhibition "Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West" on April 24, featuring over 100 sets of paintings and artefacts from the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Palace of Versailles, and HKMoA's own collection. Works include paintings, prints, lacquerware, sculpture, ceramics, and glassware, with highlights such as Claude Monet's "Water Lilies" and "Water Lily Pond," Zhang Daqian's "Entrance of Bade Garden," and a Ming dynasty bowl with garden scenes. The exhibition also includes a scenographic recreation of the Orchid Pavilion Gathering enhanced with technology for an immersive experience.

This California Art Show From Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys Pairs Major Artists With a Stunning Pacific Backdrop

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego is hosting "Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys," an exhibition featuring over 130 works by 37 Black American and diasporic artists. The show, which began at the Brooklyn Museum in 2024, includes pieces by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Gordon Parks, Mickalene Thomas, and Derrick Adams, and was celebrated with a preview party attended by the collectors and their creative community.

Kent Monkman Reimagines History Painting At Akron Art Museum

The Akron Art Museum will present "Kent Monkman: History Is Painted by the Victors," a major exhibition of monumental paintings by Cree artist Kent Monkman. Running from April 11 to August 16, 2026, the show reimagines history painting through a subversive, Indigenous lens, confronting colonial narratives and offering new perspectives on the past and present.

Manet and Morisot: Game On | Susan Tallman

The article recounts an incident in 1870 when Berthe Morisot, a young painter, sought advice from Édouard Manet on a double portrait of her mother and sister for the Paris Salon. Manet, a friend and fellow artist, visited her studio and, after deeming the work "very good" except for the dress, took up brushes and extensively retouched the figure of Morisot's mother from hem to head, leaving Morisot mortified. This moment, described as "mansplainting," is framed as a pivotal point in their artistic relationship, which the exhibition "Manet and Morisot" explores through paintings that dialogue with each other, including Manet's *The Balcony* and Morisot's *The Artist's Sister at a Window*.

Beyond the Eiffel Tower: Photo Exhibition Reveals Paris Unseen

The Sungkok Art Museum in Seoul is hosting a photography exhibition titled 'Paris Unseen' or 'Paris, Invisible Paris'. The show features works by 51 artists, including three Koreans, and was co-curated with Alain Sayag, former head of photography at the Centre Pompidou. It aims to move beyond the city's iconic tourist imagery to present lesser-known perspectives of Paris, coinciding with the 140th anniversary of Korea-France diplomatic relations.

BTS leader RM to unveil personal art collection at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

RM, the leader of K-pop group BTS, will present his personal art collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) in an exhibition titled "RM x SFMOMA," running from October 3 to February 7. The show features around 200 works from RM’s collection and SFMOMA’s holdings, many never before shown in the US, and is co-curated by RM, SFMOMA curatorial project manager America Castillo, and assistant curator Kim Hyo-eun. Key Korean artists in RM’s collection include Yun Hyong-keun, Park Rehyun, Kwon Ok-yon, Kim Yun-shin, To Sang-bong, and Chang Ucchin, while SFMOMA contributes works by Kim Whan-ki, Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin, Henri Matisse, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Paul Klee.

V&A East opens as ‘civic space’ for creativity and community

V&A East Museum, a major new branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum, opened on 18 April in London's Olympic Park as part of the East Bank cultural quarter. The free-entry museum features permanent galleries and temporary exhibitions, launching with a landmark show titled 'The Music is Black: A British Story,' which traces over a century of Black British music through more than 200 objects. Developed with BBC Music, the exhibition includes items from artists like Winifred Atwell, Little Simz, Skepta, and Mis-Teeq. The museum's permanent display, 'Why We Make,' was co-created with the V&A East Youth Collective and explores global creative motivations. The opening was marked by a star-studded event with performances by AJ Tracey, Beverley Knight, and MNEK.

History, Culture, and Place Ground LACMA’s Breathtaking New David Geffen Galleries

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has opened its new David Geffen Galleries, a long, elevated concrete structure designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. The building, more than 20 years in the making, replaces much of LACMA's mid-century campus with a single winding gallery that hovers above Wilshire Boulevard. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Sunday, followed by a two-week member preview, with the public opening scheduled for May 4. The project is the vision of longtime director Michael Govan, who sought to create a museum without hierarchy, placing objects from different geographies and time periods in dialogue. Artist Mariana Castillo Deball was commissioned to create a plaza installation that incorporates native animal tracks, Mesoamerican imagery, and the labor of migrant workers, reflecting themes of migration and cultural exchange.

La sede ad Albisola della Galleria Raffaella Cortese è più “un pensatoio che spazio espositivo”: la storia e le collaborazioni con gallerie d’arte emergente

Raffaella Cortese opened a small 12-square-meter space in Albisola Superiore, Italy, in June 2022, described as "more a think tank than an exhibition space." The venue, located near the Ligurian sea, honors the town's legacy as a center for contemporary ceramics from the 1950s to the 1970s, hosting artists like Lucio Fontana and Asger Jorn. The space alternates works from Cortese's Milan gallery with collaborations from emerging galleries, such as Fanta-MLN of Milan (presenting Noah Barker's installation "lux principum" in 2023) and Gian Marco Casini Gallery of Livorno (featuring Clarissa Baldassarri's "Exposure value" in 2024). A future collaboration with Triangolo gallery of Cremona is scheduled for May–September 2026, showcasing Nicole Colombo's sculpture "Rosario (to the moon and back)."

In Veneto, a New Art Center is About to Open in Two 16th-Century Villas on the Brenta Riviera (Opening on the Same Day as the Biennale)

In Veneto sta per inaugurare un nuovo centro d’arte con sede in due ville cinquecentesche della Riviera del Brenta (apertura lo stesso giorno della Biennale)

A new cultural center named Ca' Riviera will open on May 9, 2026, in Mira, Veneto, housed within two 16th-century villas on the Brenta Riviera. The project, founded by Riccardo Corò and Leonardo Tiezzi, aims to be a permanent hub for contemporary art, design, and architecture, featuring exhibitions, installations, and artist residencies. Its inaugural exhibition, 'The Shape of the Self / La forma del Sé,' is organized in collaboration with the Milan gallery Cassina Projects.

5 Exhibitions in Avignon and its Surroundings to Shine from Spring to Summer

5 expos à Avignon et ses environs pour rayonner du printemps à l’été

A series of five art exhibitions are scheduled from spring to autumn 2026 in and around Avignon, France. The program includes a refreshed permanent display of 1980s art at the Collection Lambert featuring Jean-Michel Basquiat and Nan Goldin, a solo show by Julien Prévieux critiquing artificial intelligence at Le Grenier à Sel, a photography exhibition of South Korean landscapes by Michael Kenna at Galerie Rousset, and other shows focusing on artists from Asia and the Middle East.