Nicole Hollander, the creator of the long-running comic strip "Sylvia," has died at the age of 86. For over three decades, she wrote and illustrated the strip, which centered on a tart-tongued, witty woman who freely expressed her many opinions, becoming a staple of feminist humor in American newspapers.
Le Musée d’Ixelles à la croisée de différents regards
The Musée d’Ixelles in Brussels, closed for eight years for expansion and renovation, is nearing completion of its architectural transformation with a reopening scheduled for spring 2027 (March 19). Founded in 1892 in a former slaughterhouse, the museum has grown through successive donations and a continuous acquisition policy, now holding over 15,000 works spanning Belgian art from the 19th century to the contemporary period. Director and curator Claire Leblanc, who has led the institution since 2006, emphasizes a participatory approach that integrates diverse public perspectives, including a project called "Musée comme chez soi" during the closure where locals hosted artworks in their homes.
The United States officially returned 337 looted antiquities to Italy at a ceremony held at La Marmora barracks in Rome. Of these, 221 objects were repatriated through the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, while the remaining 116 were recovered on April 10, 2026, via joint efforts by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the District Attorney’s Office, and Christie’s New York auction house. The objects span from the Villanovan era (900–700 BCE) to the Hellenistic period (323–31 BCE) and include a 1st-century CE marble head of Alexander the Great, a bronze sculpture from Herculaneum, and two Egyptian basalt sculptures.
Artist Gary Baseman has opened his first hometown solo show in over a decade, titled “Off the Menu,” inside the long-shuttered Johnie’s Coffee Shop on Wilshire and Fairfax in Los Angeles. The exhibition features about 40 colored pencil drawings, mostly executed on real menus from iconic L.A. restaurants such as Musso & Frank, Canter’s Deli, and Genghis Cohen, as well as newer spots like Jon & Vinny’s. The whimsical show, which launched in conjunction with the opening of the Wilshire and Fairfax subway station, runs through June 14 and celebrates the dining culture and community of the Fairfax neighborhood.
Dyani White Hawk's eight-channel video installation "LISTEN" (2020–ongoing) is on view at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. The work features Indigenous women speaking in their native languages on their tribal homelands, with no subtitles or explanatory text, encouraging viewers to physically move closer to each screen to hear and engage with the speakers' voices and surrounding environments.
A new art museum, the Salt Lake Art Museum, is opening in the historic B'nai Israel Temple in downtown Salt Lake City, dedicated to preserving and celebrating Utah culture through visual art. Founded by art historian Micah Christensen and led by executive director Chris Jensen, the museum is the first new art museum to open in the city in over 40 years. It has already begun programming, including an interactive 'Make Your Mark' installation and a Utah Master Series highlighting influential local artists such as Galina Perova, Stanley Wanlass, and Ben Hammond. Opening exhibitions will feature works by Albert Bierstadt, Pilar Pobil, and a show on Julia Reagan billboards, alongside a gallery on the temple's history.
The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco has opened "Chiharu Shiota: Two Home Countries," the first solo museum exhibition in the Bay Area for the Berlin-based Japanese artist. The centerpiece is "Diary," an 88-foot-long network of blood-red yarn that incorporates pages from diaries of Japanese soldiers and German citizens from World War II, creating an immersive web of memory. The exhibition also includes a crimson dress unraveling into cords, set designs for a theatrical psycho-drama, performance videos, and paper works reflecting on the artist's experience as a cancer survivor.
Steve La Riccia, gallery coordinator for the New Zone Art Gallery in Eugene, Oregon, is profiled for his decades-long journey through the local art scene. After traveling the West Coast and settling in Eugene in the 1970s, he worked at a food processing plant and sold illegal fireworks to buy a home. In 1991, after the Mayor's Art Show rejected many artists, La Riccia helped organize Eugene's first 'Salon De Refusés,' a show for rejected works, which shifted his focus from promoting his own art to supporting other artists. He later co-ran the New Zone gallery and became known for his SX-70 Polaroid manipulations until the company ceased film production in 2009.
The Condé M. Nast Galleries have opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, a 12,000-square-foot space designed by architecture firm Peterson Rich. The galleries feature white granite floors, classic pedestals, and recessed uplighting to protect fragile fabrics, creating a seamless integration with the museum's existing architecture.
The article reports on "Remain(s)," a dual exhibition at Momart Gallery in Matera, Italy, featuring young artists Luca Granato and Michela Rondinone. Curated by Antonella Marino, the show explores the aesthetics of fragments and memory through installations, sculptures, and video works. Granato's pieces address loss, migration, and climate change, while Rondinone's works focus on childhood, play, and relational practices. The exhibition runs until May 26, 2026.
The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) opens two new exhibitions today: "Julius Stockfleth: Dawn of a Century" and "Bill Pangburn: Printed Traces - A Neches River Journal." The Stockfleth exhibition features early Texas artist Julius Stockfleth's paintings of the 1900 Galveston hurricane and Texas coastal history, marking a homecoming as his work was first shown at AMSET in 1987. The Pangburn exhibition presents a new series of large-scale abstract woodcut prints inspired by the Neches River. Both run through July 5, with a free public reception tonight and a musical performance by composer Nathan Felix on May 30.
The iconic bronze statue of Rocky Balboa, the fictional boxer portrayed by Sylvester Stallone, is moving inside the Philadelphia Museum of Art for the first time starting Saturday, as part of the museum's new exhibition "Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments." The exhibition, which marks the 50th anniversary of the original film, features over 150 artworks and ancient artifacts, and explores how monuments are created and reinterpreted by artists and communities. The statue had stood outside the museum for more than 20 years and was originally a prop from the 1982 film "Rocky III."
Graphic artist Jim Phillips, the 81-year-old creator of the iconic "Screaming Hand" logo for Santa Cruz Skateboards, has opened his first solo gallery in his hometown of Santa Cruz, California. The exhibition, titled "Jim Phillips: New Fine Art Prints and Classic ’70s and ’80s Pen and Ink Drawings," runs at the R. Blitzer Gallery and features 15 new large-scale art prints and 30 hand-drawn pen-and-ink works from 1971 to 2026. The show includes his famous "Screaming Hand" and "Hand Wave" pieces, alongside surf, skate, and rock poster art from his career, which includes work for The Doors, James Brown, and Neil Young.
Dataland, the world's first museum dedicated to AI arts, will open to the public on June 20 at The Grand LA complex in Los Angeles. Designed by Gensler, the museum's inaugural exhibition, 'Machine Dreams: Rainforest' by Refik Anadol Studio, runs through January 31, 2027, and uses a Large Nature Model (LNM) processing ecological and biofeedback data in real time to create an immersive, evolving sensory experience.
Lucie Kamusekera, an 82-year-old artist in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, creates embroidered tapestries on tobacco sacks that chronicle the country's violent history. Born in 1944 and taught sewing by Italian nuns, she began documenting contemporary conflicts after witnessing a military truck filled with corpses. Her more than 70 works depict events from the colonial Belgian Congo era to the 1961 assassination of Patrice Lumumba and the second Congo war, as well as personal tragedies including her husband's murder by rebels. Despite ongoing danger from rebel offensives, she continues to stitch from her home studio, training her children and great-granddaughter to carry on her work.
Nic Nicosia: Everyday Surreal, a survey of the last 25 years of the Dallas-born artist's work, has opened at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas and runs through August 16. The exhibition features over 70 works across media, focusing on Nicosia's shift to sculpture in the 2010s and his move from elaborate staged photography to a solitary studio practice. It includes sculptures, drawings, and photographs that explore themes of time, memory, and surreal everyday reality, with highlights such as cast metal works and drawings tracing personal experiences of distance and duration.
Ohio State University's Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum, home to the world's largest cartoon and comic collection, will reopen on Saturday after being closed since November 10, 2025. The reopening features renovated galleries, a new permanent exhibition titled "Story of Comics" that traces 400 years of cartoon art, and the U.S. debut of cartoonist Chris Ware's major international exhibition "Life Is Complicated," on display until January 3, 2027. The museum houses 300,000 original cartoons and 2.5 million newspaper comic strip pages and clippings.
Ronald Rose-Antoinette has been appointed the new Max Stern Curator at Concordia University’s Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery. A Concordia graduate with a BFA, MA in film studies, and PhD in humanities, Rose-Antoinette has over 20 years of experience studying, working, and collaborating at the university. His role includes curating the SIGHTINGS exhibition series, developing public programming, and overseeing the gallery’s permanent collection of more than 1,800 works, primarily by Canadian artists. He describes his return as a "homecoming" and emphasizes a curatorial vision focused on decolonial practices, cross-cultural work, and intersectional approaches.
Carrie Haddad Gallery in Hudson, NY, presents "Between here and home," a group exhibition running from May 22 through July 12, with an opening reception on May 23. The show features works by Fred Cohen, Frank DePietro, Deb Lawrence, Olan Quattro, and ransome, exploring the concept of home as an evolving construct shaped by memory, material, and experience. The exhibition draws on the Welsh idea of hiraeth—a longing for a lost or imagined home—and includes paintings, collages, and mixed media works that reflect each artist's personal engagement with place, interior space, and inherited histories.
Villepin in Hong Kong presents 'As the Ground Holds', a focused exhibition running from 21 May to 8 August 2026. The show brings together works by Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita, Zenzaburō Kojima, Lê Phổ, and Mai Trung Thứ—four artists who made Paris their home during the city's modernist heyday. It marks Kojima's debut in a Hong Kong gallery and reunites works by these migrant artists who navigated the École de Paris in the 1920s and 1930s.
Internationally renowned ceramic artist Jin Eui Kim will present his exhibition "Simplicity and Complexity" at The Base, Greenham, from June 26 to August 30. The show features sculptural works exploring illusion and reality, alongside a program of workshops and an evening talk with the artist. Kim, originally from South Korea and now based in Cardiff, holds an MA and PhD in ceramics from Cardiff School of Art & Design, and his work is held in major public collections including Manchester Art Gallery and the National Museum Wales.
The Chattanooga Public Library and the Hart Gallery are opening a new exhibition titled "Art From The Hart" at the Downtown Library on Saturday, May 9, with a reception from 2:00 to 4:00 PM. Curated by Hart Gallery artists and Library Services Specialist Ali Banks, the show features mixed-media illustrations, pencil drawings, paintings, sculptures, and digital art by returning artists Alex Scoggins and Angel Pellegrino, along with over a dozen other local creators. The exhibit runs through August 31, 2026, and pieces are available for purchase to support the Hart Gallery's mission.
The Chattanooga Public Library and the Hart Gallery are opening a new art exhibit titled "Art From The Hart" at the Downtown Library on May 9, with a reception from 2-4 p.m. Curated by Hart Gallery artists and Library Services Specialist Ali Banks, the show features mixed-media illustrations, pencil drawings, paintings, sculptures, and digital art from local artists, including returning participants Alex Scoggins and Angel Pellegrino.
Bruce Katsiff, the founding director of the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, has returned to the institution with his first-ever exhibition at the museum, titled 'Pieces of a Life.' The retrospective showcases six decades of Katsiff's photography, including series such as 'Face Maps,' 'River Town Portraits,' and 'Nature Morte,' as well as collaborative works never before exhibited. Katsiff, who led the museum from 1989 to 2012, transformed it from an arts center into a full-fledged museum, building a collection focused on regional artists from Bucks County and overseeing the installation of iconic spaces like the Nakashima Room.
Two art students from Appalachian State University, Jenna Curlee and Frankie Mancuso, have become docents at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum (BRAHM) in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. As volunteer hosts and tour guides, they engage with visitors, share stories about exhibits, and participate in excursions to artists' studios, historic sites, and private collectors' homes. The program has deepened their connection to the local art community and influenced their own artistic practices.
Amherst Arts Night Plus returned on April 23 after a six-year hiatus, with 20 venues across downtown opening their doors and over 20 local artists exhibiting their work. Several pieces were sold during the evening, and most venues offered free refreshments and the chance to speak directly with artists. Katie Streater of the Amherst Business Improvement District estimated attendance at about 125 people, and the Amherst Center Cultural District is now exploring a recurring version of the event, possibly quarterly or monthly.
Chester County, Pennsylvania, is home to a vibrant community of artists working across mediums like acrylic paint, watercolors, sculpture, and furniture. The article highlights five local art galleries—Church Street Gallery, Diving Cat Studio Gallery, Square Pear Fine Art Gallery, Sugartown Art and Antiques, and Werring Contemporary—each offering unique exhibitions, classes, and opportunities to purchase original works. It also promotes the upcoming Chester County Studio Tour, an annual event taking place May 16, where artists open their studios to the public.
An exhibition titled 'Houses I Almost Lived In' is currently on view at Latitude 28 gallery in Delhi's Defence Colony, running until May 25. The show brings together works by five artists—Shalina Vichitra, Pooja Iranna, Raj Jariwala, Samit Das, and Mahen Perera—who explore how architecture, memory, and belonging intertwine. Through layered cartographies, cement grids, stitched forms, and material fragments, the artists evoke nostalgia for the houses and spaces we once inhabited, examining how physical structures persist in personal and collective memory long after they vanish.
The first section of Berlin's Pergamon Museum will reopen to the public on June 4, 2027, after years of renovation. The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK) announced the date, ending months of uncertainty. The museum has been completely closed since autumn 2023 for comprehensive refurbishment, and the reopening will finally make the famous Pergamon Altar accessible again. However, the south wing, housing the Ishtar Gate and Babylonian Processional Way, will remain closed until 2037, with full museum access expected that year.
Polish painter Zuzanna Szary discusses her artistic journey and the intersection of queer identity, domesticity, and painting in an interview with Wojciech Szymański. Szary recounts discovering her lesbian identity in junior high and turning to painting after a period of clinical depression, eventually studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. Her work, which has evolved from portraits of partners to still lifes centered on food and home, explores themes of softness, sensuality, and the politics of the body, drawing inspiration from figures like Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas.