Rain, insomnia and finding a model: how Morocco challenged and changed Matisse

Henri Matisse made two pivotal trips to Tangier, Morocco, in 1912-1913, documented in Jeff Koehler's new book *Matisse in Morocco: A Journey of Light and Colour*. At a low point in his career—having lost patrons and critical support after his Fauve period—Matisse sought new inspiration, producing over 20 paintings despite challenges like rain, insomnia, and difficulty finding models. Commissions from Russian collectors Sergei Shchukin and Ivan Morozov helped fund the trips, and Matisse worked at the Villa Brooks estate, creating works such as *Moroccan Landscape (Acanthus)* (1912) and *The Palm* (1912). The article also highlights Matisse's discovery of fingerprints on *View of the Bay of Tangier* (1912-13) and his reliance on a Moroccan model named Zorah.

Art, Music, and Poetry Converge at Rohmer Gallery

J.C. Hopkins and Linh Luu are opening Rohmer Gallery in Saugerties, New York, this month. The 500-square-foot space on Partition Street is inspired by the cross-disciplinary energy of the New York School of the 1950s and '60s, where poets, painters, and musicians like Frank O'Hara, Jackson Pollock, and John Cage influenced each other. The gallery's debut exhibition, “Look Again,” runs from June 14 to August 13 and features works by Andrea Olivia, Rina Kim, Oneslutriot, Hopkins, and ceramicist Robbie Ginsberg. In addition to visual art, the venue will host weekly acoustic performances, monthly poetry readings, and literary events tied to the couple's imprint, Eponymous Books.

6abc Loves the Arts: "Soft/Cover" on view through August 17 at Fabric Workshop and Museum

The Fabric Workshop and Museum in Philadelphia is presenting "Soft/Cover," an exhibition featuring 90 works by 65 artists drawn from the museum's history from the late 1970s to today. Co-curated by Katy Donoghue and former chief curator DJ Hellerman, the show spans three floors and is arranged thematically around home items, shelter, and suiting, including soft architecture, garments, and tapestries. Eight artists-in-residence created new works for the exhibition, with seven produced on-site, such as Aimee Koran's "Mama's Space Suit" inspired by Louise Nevelson's 1985 "Opera Costume." Notable artists featured include Lynda Benglis, Roy Lichtenstein, Pat Steir, and Richard Tuttle.

Grace Kotze exhibit at Art in the Country

Renowned Durban artist Grace Kotze will present a self-curated stand of her work, including her favorite piece 'Darwin's Perch', at the Art in the Country 2025 fair in Hilton from May 22 to 25. The fair, held at Harrington House, features 62 of South Africa's top artists and includes live music. Kotze, who recently showed at the Clarens Arts Festival, draws inspiration from everyday life and cites influences such as William Kentridge and Rembrandt.

New Exhibition by Activist Artist Shines Human Light on Homeless

Zhenya Gershman, a Moscow-born, bi-coastal painter based in New York and Los Angeles, is opening a new exhibition titled "ICU2" on May 10, the second part of her "I See You" project addressing homelessness. Gershman, who began her career at age 14 in St. Petersburg and now runs Zhenya's Art Academy, draws inspiration from subway encounters, approaching strangers to photograph them and transforming candid, imperfect shots into oil-on-canvas portraits. The exhibition follows her previous activist projects, including a portrait of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and a painting of a Ukrainian war victim that sold for $100,000 to benefit the Ukraine Red Cross.

QUESTIONING POWER AND COLONIAL STRUCTURES CINTHIA MARCELLE INTERVENES AT SERRALVES

Brazilian artist Cinthia Marcelle has unveiled a major site-specific installation titled "beginning, middle, beginning" at the Serralves Museum in Porto. Developed in collaboration with the architecture collective vão and curated by Inês Grosso, the work transforms the museum’s Central Gallery into a space governed by cycles of repetition. Drawing inspiration from the philosopher and Quilombola leader Nêgo Bispo, the installation challenges Western linear conceptions of time and highlights the persistence of colonial structures in modern social organization.

What Portland’s First New York Art Gallery Means for the City

Portland art gallery ILY2 (“I Love You Too”) has opened a permanent outpost in New York City, marking the first time a Portland gallery has established a permanent space in the city. The new gallery, located between Chinatown and Tribeca, inaugurated its space with the second installment of the group show SOFT PINK HARD LINE, which originally started at ILY2’s Portland gallery in the Pearl District. The expansion was conceived by philanthropist Allie Furlotti, who founded ILY2 during the pandemic as a series of pop-up residencies to support local artists.

Here is what the 2027 Venice Architecture Biennale curated by Chinese architects Lu Wenyu and Wang Shu will be about

Ecco di cosa parlerà la Biennale Architettura di Venezia 2027 dei curatori cinesi Lu Wenyu e Wang Shu

For the first time in the history of the Venice Architecture Biennale, two Chinese architects—Wang Shu (Pritzker Prize 2012) and Lu Wenyu—have been appointed as curators of the 20th International Architecture Exhibition, scheduled from May 8 to November 21, 2027. The duo, who co-founded Amateur Architecture Studio in 1997 and are partners in life and work, previously participated in the Biennale in 2010 under Kazuyo Sejima (receiving a Special Mention for their project "Decay of a Dome") and in 2016 under Alejandro Aravena. Their edition will follow the 2025 edition curated by Carlo Ratti and will be titled "Fare Architettura" (Doing Architecture), focusing on the coexistence of diversity in real reality.

Two photographers tried to tell Tuscany beyond the usual clichés

Due fotografi hanno provato a raccontare la Toscana oltre i soliti cliché

The article profiles photographers Gioconda Rafanelli and August Kaciuruba, who are contributing to the "How Italy Feels" project curated by Marina Serena Cacciapuoti and Cesare Cacciapuoti of Italy Segreta. The project involves twenty local photographers capturing Italy beyond stereotypes. In the Tuscany chapter, Rafanelli and Kaciuruba present a lived, off-duty vision of the region, blending fashion, architecture, and cinematic influences. They discuss their collaborative process, their shared gaze, and how their work shifts between the fast pace of Milan and the slower rhythms of Tuscany, drawing inspiration from filmmakers like Wong Kar-wai, Stanley Kubrick, Luchino Visconti, and Michelangelo Antonioni.

Anyflatsurface turns paddles, saws and rocks into art in new Northern Ontario show

Joyce Effinger, a self-taught visual artist based in Corbeil, Ontario, opens her solo exhibition "Anyflatsurface" at the Alex Dufresne Gallery on May 9. The show features paintings on unconventional surfaces such as paddles, saws, rocks, cloth, and found objects, transforming everyday items marked by use and history into vibrant studies of color, form, and place. Effinger, who came to painting later in life, draws inspiration from northern Ontario's landscapes and heritage, as well as poetry and personal reflection.

Helena Samarasinghe at Camberwell Space

British-South Asian artist Helena Samarasinghe is presenting her debut solo exhibition, "Reaching, Touching, Shedding," at Camberwell Space in London. The show features a series of vibrant drawings and sculptural cut-out installations that explore the intersections of sport, power, and identity. Developed during her residency as the 2024 Vanguard Prize winner, the works utilize oil, soft pastels, and charcoal to depict brown women engaged in activities like football, wrestling, and athletics, drawing stylistic inspiration from 19th-century Bengali Kalighat painting.

How the GDR apron became Italian luxury

Wie die DDR-Schürze zum Italo-Luxus wurde

Italian luxury label Miu Miu has released dresses for summer 2026 that resemble 1980s East German kitchen aprons, with prices reaching up to €12,000 for crystal-embroidered versions. The collection debuted on the Paris runway in October, where actress Sandra Hüller opened the show in robust workwear, evoking factory workers from the former GDR. Designer Miuccia Prada, a former member of the Italian Communist Party, drew inspiration from Helga Paris's 1984 photo series "Frauen bei der Arbeit" (Women at Work), which documented female laborers in East Berlin's VEB Treffmodelle textile factory.

Writer Thomas Clerc casts a tender fictional gaze on Montmartre's 'daubs'

L’écrivain Thomas Clerc pose, à travers une fiction, un regard tendre sur les « croûtes » de Montmartre

French writer and essayist Thomas Clerc has published a new fiction titled "Croûtes" as the fifteenth volume in the "Fléchette" collection by éditions sun/sun. The book draws inspiration from a single autochrome image taken from the Musée Albert-Kahn's "Archives de la planète" (1909–1931), specifically a one-minute film shot in March 1927 at the Foire aux croûtes in Montmartre, Paris. Clerc's narrative tenderly and humorously explores the life of an amateur painter and the infinite possibilities of so-called "croûtes"—a French slang term for amateurish or kitsch paintings that exist outside institutional recognition.

An Interactive Archive Celebrates the Wide Ranging Projects Inviting ‘Unruly Play’

Amsterdam-based studio Imagination of Things, co-founded by Vitor Freire and Monique Grimord, has launched "Unruly Play," an interactive digital archive featuring 169 artworks, designs, games, and participatory projects. The repository includes notable works such as Rael San Fratello's "Teeter-Totter Wall" and the Wind Phone project, alongside a 12-foot puppet that travels the world. The archive is searchable by theme or through a shuffle feature, aiming to showcase projects that invite surprise, camaraderie, and unexpected encounters with imagination and joy.

Retrofuturistic Figures Emerge from Wood in Playful Sculptures by Aleph Geddis

Artist Aleph Geddis creates intricate, hand-carved wooden sculptures that blend organic forms with retrofuturistic aesthetics. His work oscillates between abstraction and figuration, drawing inspiration from his nomadic lifestyle between Japan, Bali, and the Pacific Northwest. Currently, Geddis is exploring varying scales of production, ranging from intimate, toy-like "Littles" to a massive, immersive installation designed for the upcoming Burning Man festival.

“Harit Srikhao: Cave Stories 0” at YDP, London

Harit Srikhao's exhibition "Cave Stories 0" at YDP in London presents a multimedia installation combining photography, moving images, drawings, and puppetry. The project draws inspiration from the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue in Thailand, where twelve boys and their coach were trapped and later saved, weaving this event together with local folktales and psychological studies to create an immersive exploration of inner landscapes.

Statues Also Breathe: A Chorus of Clay and Memory, Where the Missing Return as Form.

The exhibition 'Statues Also Breathe' has opened at the Museum of African Contemporary Art Al Maaden (MACAAL) in Marrakech. Curated by Meriem Berrada, the installation features 108 terracotta heads created by artist Prune Nourry in collaboration with artisans and students. The work draws inspiration from the historic sculptural tradition of Ife in Nigeria while directly addressing the ongoing trauma of the 2014 kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls, using portraiture to represent the missing.

AT A LOW FLAME. CLAY AND NATURAL FIBERS IN THE WORK OF IBERO-AMERICAN ARTISTS

A MEDIA LUMBRE. BARRO Y FIBRAS NATURALES EN LA OBRA DE ARTISTAS IBEROAMERICANOS

The exhibition 'A media lumbre' presents a collection of works by Ibero-American artists that engage with materials and knowledge historically considered minor arts, such as ceramics, clay, wool, textiles, embroidery, and natural fibers. The show integrates sound and oral tradition as tools for transmitting memory, drawing inspiration from communal gatherings like the 'filandones.' It unfolds across four autonomous exhibitions in Valencia, Mallorca, Aragon, and Catalonia, connecting urban museums like the IVAM with rural contexts.

design walter hood lincoln center plaza park

Walter Hood, an award-winning landscape designer known for transforming overlooked urban spaces into vibrant gathering areas, has been selected for his most high-profile project yet: the new $335 million park at Lincoln Center Plaza in Manhattan. In a brief interview for Cultured's 2026 CULT100 honorees, Hood discusses misconceptions about his personality, his inspirations, and the challenges he faces as a creative professional.

Tom Vattakuzhy’s Mumbai exhibition follows the feeling a story leaves behind

Tom Vattakuzhy's new exhibition "Where Words End" opens in Mumbai from May 3–17, 2026, at ICIA Gallery in Kalaghoda. The show presents a series of "story paintings" that explore the emotional residue left behind after reading a narrative, focusing on moods and sensations rather than plot or illustration. Vattakuzhy, who began his career as an illustrator, shifts here toward open-ended scenes where figures appear mid-gesture and rooms feel charged with unspoken meaning, drawing from literary sources as points of departure rather than literal subjects.

Ullger reflects on ‘quite special’ Berlin exhibition with Cane-Yo collective

Artist Karl Ullger recently participated in the group exhibition "Running with Scissors" at Anders Galerie in Berlin, organized by the global artist collective Cane-Yo. The show featured over 40 artists, including five invited Berlin artists, and displayed some 200 artworks. Ullger described the experience as "quite special," highlighting the energy of the packed opening and the direct engagement with visitors. He noted standout works by Austrian artist Theo Ritzinger, Chilean artist Diego Palacios, and Italian artist Yasmine Elgamal, as well as the opportunity to reconnect with fellow artists Alf Sims, Alex May, Shanice Farrugia, and Nicole Debono.

How this artist finds sci-fi inspiration in bamboo scaffolding

Freddy Carrasco, a Canadian artist of Dominican heritage based in Japan, is preparing for his first Hong Kong exhibition titled "Return to Nothing" at WKM Gallery in Wong Chuk Hang, running until August 2. The show features paintings and sculptures inspired by the bamboo scaffolding and grid-like structures he observes from his studio window in Tsim Sha Tsui, which he likens to a tesseract—a four-dimensional cube representing space and time. Carrasco's work explores themes of existence, death, religion, and transformation, often depicting abstract black figures suspended in grids, hands in worship, or empty forms suggesting portals between dimensions. He is in Hong Kong on a visiting artist residency with Side Space, supported by Matt Chung, Alex Chan of The Shophouse, and William Kayne Mukai of WKM Gallery.

New Providence Artist Zenia Olesnyckyj Opens "Impressions of Alaska" Exhibition at Summit Free Public Library

Artist Zenia Olesnyckyj is presenting her exhibition "Impressions of Alaska" at the Gallery at the Summit Free Public Library from May 1 to June 30, 2026. The show features twenty mixed-media works inspired by the Alaskan landscape and the art of the Tlingit people, aiming to capture the grandeur and intimacy of the region through texture and color.

Elliot Erick Jimenez El Monte

Elliot and Erick Jiménez, twin photographers from Miami, have debuted their first museum exhibition, 'El Monte,' at the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM). The immersive installation transforms the gallery into a hybrid chapel-forest, drawing conceptual inspiration from Cuban ethnographer Lydia Cabrera's seminal 1954 book of the same name, which explores Afro-Cuban spiritual traditions. The artists present staged photographs featuring anonymous 'shadow figures' adorned in paint and costumes, creating archetypal representations of spiritual forces.

The world’s largest light installation shines on a small Australian town

Finnish artist Kari Kola has unveiled 'Lighting the Sound,' the world's largest light installation, in Albany, Western Australia. The work, spanning over 10 million square meters across King George Sound, uses massive beams of colored light to transform the night sky over three weekends as part of the city's bicentenary celebrations.

Student artwork sells for record $525K at RodeoHouston School Art Auction

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo School Art Auction set new records at its 2026 event, with student artworks attracting unprecedented bids from donor groups. The grand champion piece, a painting titled 'Between Boots and Moccasins' by Pasadena Memorial High School senior Joshua Washington, sold for a record $525,000, nearly doubling the previous year's top sale. The auction, held at NRG Arena, showcases artwork selected from a statewide competition involving over 200,000 students, highlighting the program's scale and impact on young Texas artists.

The Flash

Artist and educator Diego Romero is opening a new gallery called Rayo del Alma in Santa Fe, located at 130 W Palace Avenue. The space, which has been in planning for decades, will feature works by local artists including Maggie Hanley, Donica Dominguez, Oriana Lee, and Marie Maez, alongside Romero's own multimedia photography. The gallery also offers vintage Western wear, jewelry, prints, and stickers, aiming to reflect the collaborative and artisanal spirit of New Mexico. Romero, a Las Vegas, New Mexico native with a background in multimedia and digital media, draws inspiration from his grandfather, who taught him photography with a 35mm Mamiya camera. His practice focuses on nighttime sky shots printed through an aluminum process, capturing the movement of the cosmos in still images.

‘Ojai Mystique’ exhibition returns to Ojai Valley Museum

The Ojai Valley Museum has opened its annual 'Ojai Mystique' exhibition, featuring 19 invited artists from California and beyond. Each artist created two paintings inspired by the Ojai Valley—a large masterwork and a smaller companion piece—resulting in 38 works that explore the region's landscape, atmosphere, and light. The exhibition runs through August 9 and includes a series of Sunday Town Talks with artists and a master framer.

Bringing ‘Nari Shakti’ to life on canvas: ‘Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu’ art exhibition in Delhi

The Kalamkar Gallery at Bikaner House in Delhi is hosting 'Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu,' a contemporary art exhibition by artist Shiny Sharma that explores the cultural and spiritual power of the Divine Feminine, or 'Nari Shakti.' Running until April 26, the exhibition features paintings on canvas using acrylic and oil, along with multimedia elements, each depicting a distinct manifestation of Shakti. Sharma, who also serves as President of the Army Wives Welfare Association for the Northern Army Command, draws inspiration from the resilience of Army wives and war widows (Veer Naris).

Aaron Goldschmidt of The Shine Studio on Art, Inspiration, and Creativity

Aaron Goldschmidt, founder and director of The Shine Studio in Bridgehampton, discusses the studio's first art exhibition, "The Lost Works" by multidisciplinary artist Adam Baranello. The show features 70 pieces of "lost art" recovered from a gallery that closed, representing Baranello's work from 2015 to 2020. The exhibition runs through the end of April, with works sold at original prices.