Met Gala guests from Beyoncé to Nicole Kidman set to flaunt fashion as art

The article previews the 2025 Met Gala, where celebrities including Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, and Venus Williams will ascend the Metropolitan Museum of Art's steps dressed according to the dress code "Fashion is art." The event, which raises funds for the museum's Costume Institute, encourages guests to treat fashion as an embodied art form, drawing on historical collaborations between designers and artists—such as Elsa Schiaparelli with Salvador Dalí, Yves Saint Laurent with Piet Mondrian, and Marc Jacobs with Takashi Murakami. The red carpet will be livestreamed by Vogue and the Associated Press.

14 artists having major museum moments in 2026

The article previews 14 artists who will have major museum exhibitions in 2026, highlighting key shows such as a long-awaited US retrospective of Marcel Duchamp, a Calder exhibition in Paris, and a Rothko show in Florence. It also details concurrent auction highlights at Christie's New York, including works from the S.I. Newhouse collection by Brancusi, Lichtenstein, Matisse, and Pollock. Specific exhibitions covered include "Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a Roy Lichtenstein retrospective at the Whitney Museum, and multiple European shows for Constantin Brancusi's 150th anniversary.

The Louvre changes: the project chosen to steer the museum into its new Renaissance

Il Louvre cambia: scelto il progetto che traghetterà il museo nel suo nuovo Rinascimento

The Louvre has announced the winners of its "Nouvelle Renaissance" competition, selecting a team led by STUDIOS Architecture Paris, with Selldorf Architects for museography and BASE Landscape Architecture for landscaping. The jury, chaired by Marc Guillaume and composed of 21 experts, chose this proposal from five finalists for its respectful and contemporary approach, which elegantly connects the city, the palace, and the museum while improving visitor flow and security. The project addresses urgent needs including new underground entrances, a dedicated space for Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, enhanced circulation, and green spaces, following a period of difficulty for the museum including a high-profile theft in October.

And We Shall Go Through Their Hills Without Much Delay

This article documents three journeys into and out of Yunnan, China, spanning from 1874 to 2023. It begins with British interpreter Augustus Raymond Margary's failed colonial expedition to establish a trade route, which ended in his violent death and contributed to unequal treaties opening Southwest China. It then follows a Naxi student named Xueshan in 1937, whose railway journey introduced modern timekeeping to the region, and finally describes the construction of the Burma Road, a critical WWII supply route. The narrative concludes with the artist Cheng Xinhao retracing these routes on foot from Kunming toward Burma over a year and a half, reflecting on history, bodily experience, and the layers of infrastructure that have reshaped the landscape.

The Must-See Biennale Exhibitions in Venice

The 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, titled "In Minor Keys," opens May 9 as a tribute to its late curator Koyo Kouoh. Alongside the Biennale, Venice hosts numerous concurrent exhibitions: Marina Abramović's "Transforming Energy" at Gallerie dell'Accademia (the only living female artist with a major show there); the Matthew Wong Foundation's inaugural exhibition "Interiors" featuring unseen works by the late Chinese Canadian artist; retrospectives of Michael Armitage at Palazzo Grassi and Lorna Simpson at Punta della Dogana; Hernan Bas's new paintings at Ca' Pesaro; Lu Yang's "DOKU The Illusion" at Espaces Louis Vuitton Venezia; and "Minimal Legends" at the Vincenzo de Cotiis Foundation, staging a dialogue among Minimalist masters.

Inside the technicolour world of Jack White

Jack White, the musician best known as the frontman of The White Stripes, has begun showing his visual art, which he has been creating since his teenage years. The article offers a glimpse into his vibrant, technicolour artistic practice, marking his debut as a visual artist in the public eye.

L.A. vs. N.Y. vs. UK punks and so much more at a sprawling new Skirball exhibit

The Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles opens a new exhibition titled "Outsiders, Outcasts, Rebels + Weirdos: Punk Culture 1976-86," tracing the evolution of punk music and culture over a decade. Featuring nearly 400 original fliers, posters, photographs, clothing, and pins, the show highlights punk's spread from New York to the UK and then to the West Coast, with a special focus on Los Angeles' contributions and the often-overlooked role of Jewish musicians and icons. The exhibition opens as punk celebrates its 50th anniversary, with events like the Sex Pistols' upcoming tour.

Marcel Duchamp and the MoMA Exhibition That Didn’t Ask Questions

Marcel Duchamp's 1917 readymade *Fountain* and its radical questioning of art's definition are the focus of a new retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, curated by Matthew Affron, Michelle Kuo, and Ann Temkin. The exhibition, the first major Duchamp show in the U.S. since 1973, assembles three hundred objects and presents them chronologically, tracing Duchamp's evolution from early paintings to his conceptual breakthroughs. The article highlights how *Fountain* was originally submitted to a no-jury exhibition by the Society of Independent Artists, sparking a debate that ultimately led to its rejection and Duchamp's resignation, a pivotal moment in art history.

Serralves museum director steps down

Philippe Vergne, the French curator who has served as director of the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in Porto since 2019, will step down at the end of July 2026 at his own request. The Serralves Foundation announced that Vergne will continue contributing to exhibition curation until his departure, and the search for a new director will begin immediately. During his tenure, the museum presented major exhibitions of artists including Alexander Calder, Joan Miró, Cindy Sherman, Mark Bradford, and Maurizio Cattelan, and expanded its space with the Álvaro Siza Wing.

Inside Frieze New York 2026: The Best Booths and Standout Moments of the Art Fair

Frieze New York 2026 opened at the Shed in Hudson Yards, drawing a record crowd of collectors, artists, and celebrities on preview day. The fair featured over 65 international galleries, with a strong presence of Latin American artists and a notable shift toward textile-based works, sculpture, and paper pieces. Highlights included the Ruinart Art Lounge with preparatory studies by Tadashi Kawamata, and the Focus section spotlighting emerging galleries. Notable attendees included Leonardo DiCaprio, gallerist Almine Rech, and Sotheby's senior vice president Ralph DeLuca.

How to watch the 'Costume Art' Met Gala red carpet

The 2026 Met Gala, held on May 4 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, featured a dress code titled 'Costume Art' that explicitly frames fashion as an embodied art form. Celebrities including Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, and Venus Williams ascended the museum's steps wearing archival fashion pieces and custom creations, with references to artistic collaborations such as Elsa Schiaparelli and Salvador Dalí's lobster dress, Yves Saint Laurent's Mondrian-inspired designs, and Marc Jacobs' work with Takashi Murakami. The event raises funds for the museum's Costume Institute, whose spring exhibition 'Costume Art' examines the centrality of the dressed body.

Black Designers as Fine Artists: Fashion Meets Sculpture

The article from Ebony.com explores the intersection of fashion and fine art, highlighting how Black designers are increasingly being recognized as fine artists whose work bridges clothing design and sculpture. It profiles several contemporary Black designers who create garments that function as sculptural objects, exhibited in galleries and museums rather than solely on runways. The piece examines how these creators challenge traditional boundaries between fashion and art, using materials and techniques that elevate their work into the realm of fine art.

4 exhibitions to visit this summer in London, Kyoto and Venice

The article highlights four art exhibitions to visit this summer across London, Kyoto, and Venice. In London, the Design Museum presents "Nigo: From Japan with Love," showcasing over 700 objects from the Japanese designer's three-decade career, including collaborations with Nike and Louis Vuitton. In Kyoto, the Kyoto City Kyocera Museum of Art hosts "YBA & Beyond: British art in the 1990s from the Tate Collection," featuring works by Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, and other Young British Artists. At the Venice Biennale, Hong Kong artist Wallace Chan presents "Vessels of the Other World," a show of titanium sculptures inspired by sacred Catholic oils, curated by James Putman.

What’s Left to Learn from Marcel Duchamp?

The article examines Marcel Duchamp's enduring influence on contemporary art, focusing on his readymades such as "Fountain" (1917) and "Bicycle Wheel" (1913/1951). It notes that a major survey co-organized by the Museum of Modern Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 70 years after Duchamp predicted his true public would emerge in 50 to 100 years, reaffirms his status as the most influential artist of the past century. The piece discusses how Duchamp's practice of selecting and presenting ordinary objects as art—from a urinal to a snow shovel—once shocked the art world but now seems quaint compared to later works like Maurizio Cattelan's taped banana.

The Relentless Avant-Garde of The Renaissance Society

The Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago, founded in 1915, has consistently championed avant-garde contemporary art from its modest gallery space on the fourth floor of Cobb Hall. Under the leadership of current director Myriam Ben Salah (since 2020), the institution continues its legacy of presenting visionary works by artists who later become household names, including Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, and Félix González-Torres. The article traces the society's history through its pioneering female directors—Eva Watson Schütze, Frances Strain Biesel, and Suzanne Ghez—who shaped its forward-thinking exhibition program, from early modernist shows to local Chicago talent and cross-disciplinary collaborations.

parties cult100 cultured magazine guggenheim

CULTURED magazine hosted its second annual CULT100 party at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, in exclusive partnership with Valentino and Valentino Beauty. The event celebrated the magazine's spring issue, a 400-page edition honoring 100 luminaries and rising talents across food, film, art, fashion, and more. Guests including Keke Palmer, Lena Dunham, Naomi Watts, Adam Scott, and Anne Imhof gathered in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed rotunda for cocktails, a Valentino Beauty lounge, and a program that coincided with artist Carol Bove's ongoing museum survey exhibition at the Guggenheim.

Le Louvre choisit son entrée côté colonnade

Le Louvre has selected a joint proposal by Studios Architecture Paris and Selldorf Architects for its new entrance via the Perrault colonnade, part of the 'Louvre Nouvelle Renaissance' plan. The project, announced by Emmanuel Macron on January 28, 2025, aims to create a new eastern access to relieve overcrowding at the Pyramid, with two underground entrances, vegetated moats, new services, and a dedicated space for the Mona Lisa. The selection was announced by Culture Minister Catherine Pégard on May 18, despite controversies over funding, heritage constraints, a theft in the Galerie d'Apollon on October 19, 2025, and the departure of museum president Laurence des Cars.

The Artist Who Painted Pixels Before We Saw in Pixels

Der Künstler, der Pixel malte, bevor wir in Pixel sahen

Reinhard Voigt, a German artist little known to the public, painted grid-based pictures as early as 1968—years before pixels became ubiquitous in daily life. Despite early discouragement from Gerhard Richter and fellow artist Alan Jones, Voigt persisted, creating meticulous works on paper and canvas using transparent paper, rulers, pencil, and oil paint. His first major exhibition, "Pure Pleasure," took place in 2023/2024 in Nuremberg, and his current duo show "High on Low" with Anna-Sophie Berger is on view at Berlin's Kunstraum Grotto, featuring his Word Paintings series. Voigt lives and works in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg with his wife, artist Susan Elias.

Chi sono i vincitori del XXIX Compasso d’Oro premiati all’ADI Design Museum di Milano

The XXIX edition of the Compasso d'Oro award, founded in 1954 by Gio Ponti and Rinascente, concluded at the ADI Design Museum in Milan. The jury awarded 3 Compassi d'Oro Young, 10 student project recognitions, 38 honorable mentions, and 20 Compasso d'Oro ADI prizes. Winning projects include Array sofa by Snøhetta for MDF Italia, Bilboquet lamp by Philippe Malouin for Flos, D'Antan armchair by Raffaella Mangiarotti for De Padova, and the Salone del Mobile.Milano Annual Report 2024. Career awards were given to nine figures including Giovanni Arvedi, Paola Lenti, and Alberto Meda, while three iconic products—Sedia '64 by AG Fronzoni, Tavolo Eros by Angelo Mangiarotti, and Tavolo con ruote by Gae Aulenti—received career Compassi d'Oro. The exhibition of all nominated projects runs until June 4, 2026.

In the Principality of Monaco, an exhibition where the great painter Poussin dialogues with contemporary art

Nel Principato di Monaco una mostra dove il grande pittore Poussin dialoga con l’arte contemporanea

The Nouveau Musée National de Monaco presents an exhibition titled "Le Sentiment de la Nature," which juxtaposes works by 17th-century French painter Nicolas Poussin and his followers with pieces by about thirty contemporary and 20th-century artists. The show is organized into six thematic sections—storms and nights, forests and gardens, seas and waterfalls, deserts and volcanoes, mountains, and flowers and butterflies—each exploring the ancient concept of "miracula naturae" (wonders of nature). Featured contemporary artists include Nan Goldin, Andreas Gursky, Thomas Demand, Sarah Moon, Mimmo Jodice, Giulio Paolini, Giorgio Andreotta Calò, and Fausto Melotti, with works spanning photography, painting, video, and sculpture. The exhibition runs until May 25, 2026, and is accompanied by a catalog published by Italian publisher Humboldt Books in collaboration with the museum.

Rediscovering the Eternal City of the 1500s in the drawings of Maarten van Heemskerck. The exhibition in Rome

Riscoprire la Città Eterna del ‘500 nei disegni di Maarten van Heemskerck. La mostra a Roma

A major exhibition at Palazzo Poli in Rome, hosted by the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica, showcases a selection of drawings by Dutch artist Maarten van Heemskerck (1498–1574) from his so-called 'little sketchbook,' now held at the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin. The show, titled 'Maarten van Heemskerck e il fascino di Roma' and running until June 7, presents the artist's meticulous studies of Roman antiquities made during his four-year stay in the city from 1532, offering a rare visual record of Renaissance Rome's ancient collections before and after the 1527 Sack of Rome.

Le vedute veneziane di Francesco Guardi tornano in laguna da un museo di Lisbona

Ca' Rezzonico, the Museum of 18th-Century Venice, has opened its exhibition season with a selection of ten paintings by Francesco Guardi (1712–1793) on loan from the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon. The works, dated between 1770 and 1790, include iconic Venetian views such as the Festa della Sensa in Piazza San Marco and the Regata sul Canal Grande, showcasing Guardi's distinctive loose brushwork and atmospheric perspective. The exhibition also features drawings from civic collections, including Il Gran Teatro La Fenice and two watercolored sheets depicting Le nozze del duca di Polignac.

In Toscana il borgo di Monte San Savino si apre all’arte contemporanea con una mostra itinerante e di genere

The Tuscan hill town of Monte San Savino launched a contemporary art exhibition titled "Art Gender Gap" on International Women's Day, featuring 40 female artists and 53 works across multiple historic venues including the GAS, Chiesa di Santa Chiara, Palazzo Ciocchi di Monte, and the Renaissance Cisternone. Curated by Giuseppe Simone Modeo, Nicoletta Castellaneta, and Domenico de Chirico, the show includes loans from the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington (via its Italian committee president Claudia Pensotti Mosca), the Christian Levett collection, and the FAMM Museum in Mougin, France—a museum dedicated exclusively to women artists. Participating artists range from historical figures like Louise Bourgeois, Carol Rama, and Sonia Delaunay to contemporary names such as Kiki Smith, Pipilotti Rist, Marlene Dumas, Tracey Emin, and Mona Hatoum.

All the complexity of Cézanne on display at the legendary Fondation Beyeler in Basel

Tutta la complessità di Cézanne in mostra alla mitica Fondation Beyeler di Basilea

The Fondation Beyeler in Basel has opened a major exhibition dedicated to Paul Cézanne, marking the 120th anniversary of his death. Curated by senior curator Ulf Küster, the show features 80 works—58 paintings and 21 watercolors—drawn from public and private collections across Switzerland, Germany, France, the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, and the United States. Highlights include nine versions of Mont Sainte-Victoire, rare comparisons of two watercolor versions of "Boy in a Red Waistcoat," and two versions of "The Card Players" from the Courtauld Gallery and the Musée d'Orsay. The exhibition runs until May 25, 2026, and is accompanied by a catalog published by Hatje Cantz Verlag.

Basquiat's intense works on paper are at the center of his first exhibition in Denmark

Le intense opere su carta di Basquiat sono al centro della sua prima mostra in Danimarca

The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark, is hosting "Headstrong," a retrospective of 50 works on paper by Jean-Michel Basquiat, running until May 17. The exhibition focuses on Basquiat's depictions of the human head and body, created between 1981 and 1983, and first shown posthumously in 1990. It is the first solo museum presentation of Basquiat in Scandinavia, featuring loans from private collections and international museums, highlighting a lesser-known aspect of the artist's practice.

A Vienna una grande mostra dedicata a Daumier, l’artista della satira

The Albertina Museum in Vienna is hosting a major retrospective titled "Honoré Daumier – Mirror of Society," dedicated to the French artist Honoré Daumier (1808–1879). The exhibition features lithographs, drawings, paintings, and sculptures, with significant loans from the Städel Museum in Frankfurt. Daumier, known for his sharp satire and acute social observation, critiqued political abuses and social injustices of 19th-century European society. The show also recalls a previous Daumier exhibition held at the Albertina in 1936, which served as a political statement against Nazi oppression.

France reckons with Nazi-looted art in a new Paris museum gallery

France has opened a new permanent gallery at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris dedicated to displaying Nazi-looted artworks that remain unclaimed. The gallery features 13 works from the MNR (Musées Nationaux Récupération) collection, including a painting by Alfred Stevens originally destined for Hitler's planned museum in Linz. The display is the first in the museum's history to show the backs of paintings, revealing stamps, labels, and inventory marks that trace how each piece moved from private Jewish homes into Nazi hands. The museum also launched its first research unit to trace rightful heirs, led by Ines Rotermund-Reynard.

Palette of flowers: Nada Al Barazi hosts ‘Gardens’ solo exhibition at Intent Gallery

Internationally acclaimed artist Nada Al Barazi presented her solo exhibition 'Gardens' at Intent Gallery in Dubai from May 9 to 13. The show featured a contemplative body of work exploring nature as an emotional and introspective experience, with layered textures, expressive color, and organic forms that invite viewers to reflect on memory, transformation, and renewal. Al Barazi, a holder of the UAE Golden Visa from Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, is recognized for her contributions to contemporary art in the Emirates and globally.

Meet Ese Onojeruo: the exciting new talent behind the Venice Biennale’s British Pavilion

Ese Onojeruo has been appointed the Shane Akeroyd associate curator for the British Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Biennale, working with Turner Prize-winning artist Lubaina Himid on her exhibition 'Predicting History: Testing Translation'. The show features Himid's paintings—including 'Boatbuilders', 'Architects', 'Chefs', 'Tailors', and 'Gardeners'—which depict two figures negotiating belonging in a place they did not originally come from. Onojeruo, who previously held roles at South London Gallery, Chisenhale, and Tate, describes the collaboration as a 'full circle moment', having discovered Himid's work only after her formal art education.

A new, monochromatic perspective on Alexander Calder at SAM

The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) has opened "Monochrome: Calder and Tara Donovan," a new exhibition in its Calder at SAM series that pairs two matte-black Alexander Calder sculptures with works by Brooklyn-based artist Tara Donovan. Curated by Donovan alongside SAM curator Catharina Manchanda, the show uses black as its sole color to highlight materials, texture, and form. Highlights include Calder's 1949 mobile "Jacaranda" and 1976 maquette "Mountains (1:5 intermediate maquette)," juxtaposed with Donovan's sculptures made from industrial materials like plastic stir sticks, slinkys, tar paper, and mylar. The exhibition runs through January 17, 2027.