The article explores the ancient origins of astrology, tracing its foundational concepts to Babylonian, Egyptian, and classical civilizations. It details how these early cultures developed complex systems of celestial observation and interpretation that predate modern horoscope apps and the contemporary astrology industry.
The New York Times explores the enduring influence of Shaker design on contemporary artists and designers, highlighting how its principles of simplicity, utility, and spiritual integrity resonate in today's world. The article features creators like furniture maker Thomas Moser and ceramicist Mary Law, who draw directly from Shaker aesthetics of plainness, proportion, and honest craftsmanship.
Air de Paris, a highly influential Parisian gallery known for representing many of the most significant contemporary artists, has become one of the earliest supporters of Contemporary Art Daily's parent organization, Contemporary Art Library. The announcement, made by Contemporary Art Daily, highlights Air de Paris's pioneering role in elevating the gallerist's activities into a form of artistic expression, and positions the gallery as a model for the entire field.
Filipa Ramos has been appointed curator of the 19th edition of the Lofoten International Art Festival, set to take place across the Norwegian arctic archipelago in June 2027. Ramos, a curator and writer who teaches at the Institute Art Gender Nature of the Academy of Art and Design FHNW in Basel, is known for ecologically-focused research that reimagines human-animal-environment relationships. She authored *The Artist as Ecologist* (2025) and is currently organizing the LOOP Festival in Barcelona and the symposia series *The Shape of a Circle in the Mind of a Fish*, created with Lucia Pietroiusti.
The Venice Biennale has announced it will eliminate the Golden and Silver Lions for the 2026 edition, replacing them with Visitor Lions chosen by popular vote. The prizes, traditionally awarded on opening day (May 9), will now be presented at the closing ceremony (November 22). Russia and Israel, previously barred from consideration by the prize jury due to ICC charges against their leaders, will be eligible for the new Visitor Lions. The decision follows the mass resignation of the original prize jury after they excluded those nations and faced pressure to also ban the US.
Martha Ortiz has stepped down as director of Bogotá’s Museo de Arte Moderno (MAMBO) amid allegations of harassing staff and fostering a toxic work environment. The museum announced her retirement and will begin a search for a successor, with board president Ángela Royo and financial manager Francy Hernández assuming interim leadership. Ortiz, who had no prior museum management experience, took the role in March 2024. Her departure follows the ousting of artistic director Eugenio Viola less than three months earlier, after he raised concerns about deteriorating working conditions.
The Phoenix Art Museum has announced a major upcoming exhibition titled "Nike: Form Follows Motion," scheduled to run from April 14 to September 26, 2027. Jeremy Mikolajczak, the museum’s director and CEO, unveiled the project during a presentation to the Phoenix Economic Development and Arts Subcommittee, describing it as one of the most significant milestones in the institution's upcoming schedule.
The article announces and describes artist Peter D. Gerakaris's exhibition "Oculus Serenade," which features a collection of vibrant tondo (round) paintings, works on paper, and mosaic artworks. Gerakaris's work merges microscopic and macroscopic perspectives, focusing on motifs from the natural world such as endangered botanicals, exotic birds, and aquatic life, inspired by his firsthand experiences in diverse ecosystems. The exhibition's centerpiece is a four-foot diameter "Orchid Oculus Tondo," surrounded by hand-embellished prints and a cut-glass mosaic, with the artist's process described as a form of "visual jazz." The article also notes Gerakaris's interdisciplinary practice, his previous projects including a permanent installation at the Berkshire Botanical Garden, and details for an upcoming artist's reception at the Cornwall Library.
Frieze has announced the winners of its prize program at the 2026 Venice Biennale. The prizes recognize outstanding contributions by artists and curators participating in the Biennale, with awards given across multiple categories including emerging talent and innovative exhibition practices. The winners were selected by a jury of international art professionals and will receive financial support and visibility through Frieze's platforms.
The exhibition "The Construction of Painting," organized by the National Museum of Fine Arts, opened at the MAR Provincial Museum of Contemporary Art in Mar del Plata, Argentina. It traces the career of Argentine visual artist Fernando Maza (1936–2017) through more than 50 paintings and watercolors, curated by Pablo De Monte. Maza, who studied under Raúl Podestá and was part of the Informalist Movement alongside Alberto Greco and Kenneth Kemble, lived in New York, London, and Paris. The show features works that blend metaphysical painting with surreal atmospheres, using objects like staircases, arches, and linguistic signs to create enigmatic landscapes.
El Salvador will debut its own national pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale, running from May 9 to November 22, 2025. The exhibition, titled "Cartographies of Displacement," features the sculptural series "Children of the World" by Salvadoran-American artist J. Oscar Molina, curated by Alejandra Cabezas and commissioned by Dr. Astrid Bahamond. The pavilion is located at Palazzo Mora, showcasing Molina's elongated, faceless monumental figures that explore the migrant experience and global diaspora.
The Argentine Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale will feature a site-specific installation titled "Monitor Yin Yang" by artist Matías Duville. Curated by Josefina Barcia, the work uses salt and charcoal to create an unstable, walkable landscape that explores the coexistence of opposing forces such as light and shadow, waste and energy. The installation includes a sound composition developed with Centolla Society and Alvise Vidolin, integrating real-time environmental data from Venice. Duville's project was selected from 69 proposals in an open competition organized by Argentina's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Secretariat of Culture, and the Argentine Investment and Trade Agency.
Architetture, progetti e visioni. La storia del Santa Maria della Scala va in mostra a Siena
The Fondazione Antico Ospedale Santa Maria della Scala in Siena has launched a new regeneration project for the historic complex, 40 years after it ceased functioning as a hospital. The foundation, led by president Cristiano Leone and director Chiara Valdambrini, commissioned Luca Molinari Studio to analyze the original design by Guido Canali and coordinate a collaborative masterplan involving three international architecture firms: LAN Architecture, Odile Decq with Pangalos Feldmann Architectes, and Hannes Peer Architecture. An exhibition titled "Santa Maria della Scala. Architetture, progetti e visioni" will open on May 30, 2026, curated by Luca Molinari, showcasing the architectural plans and visions for the site.
Intervista all’artista del Padiglione Danese della Biennale di Venezia 2026 che ha messo in scena i porno divi
The Danish Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale presents "Things to Come," a project by artist Maja Malou Lyse (b. 1993, Denmark), curated by Chus Martínez. The installation combines a three-channel video developed with DIS, materials from Cryos (the world's largest sperm bank), and performers from the porn industry, embedding them within the pavilion's architecture to explore the convergence of pornography, biotechnology, desire, and visual culture as a single system of imaginary production.
Il fotografo Valerio Minato colpisce ancora. Lo straordinario scatto della luna rossa allineata con lo skyline di Milano: “ho atteso per 5 anni”
Italian photographer Valerio Minato captured a striking image on May 2, 2026, showing a giant red moon aligned with Milan's skyline, including the Porta Garibaldi skyscrapers and the Duomo with its Madonnina. The photograph, which went viral, was the result of a five-year pursuit involving astronomical calculations, multiple location scouting across northwestern Italy, and precise timing to align the moon with the city's landmarks. A Ryanair Boeing 737-800 crossing the lunar disk added an unexpected cinematic element.
At the 2026 Venice Biennale, two seagulls built a nest in front of the Polish Pavilion in the Giardini. Organizers chose to protect the nest with a small fence and a sign, turning it into an unofficial "Nature Pavilion." The birds share incubation duties equally, drawing large crowds who pause to watch their cooperative behavior amid the Biennale's intense geopolitical tensions, including protests against the Russian Pavilion, pro-Palestinian actions, and debates over Israel's cultural role.
Artribune's newsletter "Render" is set to release its 57th issue on May 11, featuring stories on urban regeneration projects across Italy. Highlights include a new library under construction in Latisana near the train station, a square-shaped island in the Venice lagoon transformed into an exhibition space after decades of abandonment, participatory tactical urbanism initiatives in Torre Annunziata funded by a Ministry of Social Policies and Labor grant, and a post-war complex in Rome poised to become a cultural hub. The issue will also profile the Peruvian architecture duo Barclay & Crousse ahead of their exhibition at the Politecnico di Milano and include a reflection on contemporary green spaces inspired by a visit to a private English park.
This article from Artribune presents seven new art book releases in Italy, all united by a common theme of bringing marginalized subjects back into focus. Featured titles include Johnny L. Bertolio's "L'ha scritto lei, ma…" which examines why female authors are excluded from Italian school curricula, and Carla Rossi's "Oltre i margini," a rigorous study of European female miniaturists from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Other works address queer representation in museums, children's voices on Gaza, photographic portraiture by Lorenzo Cicconi Massi, a collective volume on the Bertolucci family, and a theatrical project by Kepler-452 set in the central Mediterranean.
Una recensione della Biennale di Venezia 2026 senza nominare neppure un artista
This review of the 2026 Venice Biennale describes an exhibition that overcame dire circumstances—the death of curator Koyo Kouoh early in preparations, losses of key artists, and international political controversies—to deliver a surprisingly joyful and engaging show. Titled "In Minor Keys," the Biennale features a well-conceived, flowing presentation across the Giardini and Arsenale that prioritizes beauty, craftsmanship, and hope over a punitive or documentary tone.
L’icona pop Anni ‘90 Jewel è protagonista a Venezia con una mostra che riscrive le geografie del femminile
Singer-songwriter Jewel, a 1990s pop icon with four Grammy nominations, is presenting her largest exhibition to date in Venice. Titled "Matriclysm: An Archaeology of Connections Lost," the immersive show runs from May 6 to November 22, 2026, at the Salone Verde, coinciding with the 2026 Venice Biennale. Curated by Joe Thompson, the exhibition blends painting, textiles, sculpture, sound, and installation to explore themes of femininity, motherhood, care, and intergenerational knowledge, drawing on forgotten rituals and marginalized mythologies.
La Colombia degli Anni ’70 arriva a Milano con una mostra che pare un film
Ever Astudillo (Cali, 1948–2015) is the subject of a new exhibition at Velo Project in Milan, titled "Latin Fire." The show brings together photographs and drawings from the 1970s and 1980s, capturing the Colombian city of Cali as a silent theater of anonymous, often isolated figures. The installation also features kinetic sculptures by filmmaker Virgilio Villoresi (Fiesole, 1979), creating a dialogue between Astudillo's still images and Villoresi's fragile, hypnotic movement. The exhibition runs until May 16, 2026.
In una mostra a Napoli è possibile perdersi senza urgenza in un equilibrio instabile. La recensione
The exhibition "A Gentle Collapse," curated by Marta Ferrara at Andrea Nuovo Home Gallery in Naples, explores the contemporary psychic state through a spatial and perceptual construction. Featuring works in photography, painting, engraving, and installation, the show creates a sense of instability, with meaning emerging gradually through shifts between familiar and altered forms. Artists include Dorottya Vékony, Matteo Silverii, Flora Villaumié, and Zoë Pelikan, whose works engage with themes of genetic engineering, serial accumulation, and subtle disorientation across two gallery levels.
La Roma del Cinquecento vista con gli occhi di uno straniero. La mostra
Fabio De Chirico has been appointed as the new director of the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica in Rome, with a mission to boost research, strengthen international dialogue, and enhance the institution's collections. His tenure opens with the exhibition "Maarten van Heemskerck e il fascino di Roma: percorsi visivi della Città Eterna," curated by Tatjana Bartsch, Rita Bernini, and Giorgio Marini, running until June 7, 2026. The show features drawings by the 16th-century Dutch artist Maarten van Heemskerck, on loan from the Kupferstichkabinett of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, alongside over sixty works from the institute's own holdings—including prints, engravings, and archival photographs—plus loans from the Bibliotheca Hertziana, the Musei Capitolini, and the Istituto Archeologico Germanico di Roma.
A Milano rivive Wagner. Non solo a teatro ma anche in queste due mostre
Two exhibitions dedicated to Richard Wagner's Ring cycle have opened at Milan's Teatro alla Scala, coinciding with a new production of the Ring des Nibelungen and the centenary of the first Scala staging of the tetralogy in 1926. The Museo Teatrale alla Scala presents "La rivoluzione del Ring – Visconti Ronconi Chéreau," curated by Giovanni Agosti with design by Studio Margherita Palli, while the Ridotto dei palchi "A. Toscanini" hosts "Risonanze Wagner – Visioni intorno al Ring," curated by Gianluigi Colin and Mattia Palma, featuring contemporary paintings by four women artists—Antonella Benanzato, Flaminia Veronesi, Chiara Calore, and Federica Perazzoli—each reinterpreting one of the four operas.
The international artist duo Dorota Gawęda and Eglė Kulbokaitė present their debut exhibition in Rome, titled "Spit and Image," at the Basement gallery. The show, on view until July 10, 2026, features sculptures, installations, and videos that explore identity construction in the digital age, using mirrors, fragmented bodies, and olfactory elements. Works like "Yield (twinning)" (2025) and "Spit and Image 1 and 2" (2025) evoke surveillance, metamorphosis, and duplication, while the Slavic vampire figure of the upiór serves as a metaphor for fluid, non-binary identities.
In Romagna da oltre un secolo c’è un Carnevale “serio” di primavera. La storia dei carri di gesso e di pensiero
A small town in Romagna, Casola Valsenio, has been hosting a unique spring festival for 125 years, featuring massive allegorical floats made of plaster and wood. Unlike traditional carnivals, this event—called the "serious carnival"—takes place in late April/early May and focuses on social and political themes. The floats, up to seven meters long and nine meters high, are built by local youth and paraded twice (day and night) with performers frozen in tableau vivant poses. A jury, this year chaired by Roberto Cantagalli, director of the MAR museum in Ravenna, awards a winner.
A Torino c’è un confronto tra maestri: la mostra di Beato Angelico e Bartholomeus Spranger
The Musei Reali in Turin has unveiled a specialized study exhibition titled "Beato Angelico negli occhi di Bartholomeus Spranger," which brings together two versions of the Last Judgment. The show features the return of Beato Angelico’s "Madonna of Humility" to Turin, accompanied by his "Last Judgment" on loan from the Museo di San Marco in Florence. This masterpiece is displayed alongside a later interpretation of the same subject by the Flemish Mannerist Bartholomeus Spranger, painted over a century later.
Nuove date, nuova sede e nuovo tema. Ecco come sarà il festival di fotografia emergente di Moncalieri
Liquida Photofestival has announced the details for its fifth edition, scheduled to take place from April 17 to 19, 2026. The independent festival dedicated to emerging contemporary photography is moving to a new venue at the Real Collegio Carlo Alberto in Moncalieri, near Turin. Under the artistic direction of Laura Tota, the upcoming edition will center on the theme "Learning and Unlearning – (re)writing the rules," featuring a program of exhibitions, talks, and publishing events built primarily through open calls.
L’intelligenza artificiale come macchina perturbante è in mostra in un rifugio antiaereo di Firenze
Artist and philosopher Francesco D’Isa presents "Latent Rooms" at Rifugio Digitale, a gallery located within a former air-raid shelter in Florence. The exhibition features video works created using generative AI models like Midjourney and Seedance 2.0, which D’Isa manipulates to create dreamlike, glitch-heavy sequences. Rather than aiming for cinematic realism, the artist embraces the technical errors and "hallucinations" of the AI, resulting in an aesthetic that blends Renaissance beauty with haunting, domestic melancholy.
È morto il filantropo e mecenate Emmanuele Emanuele. Fautore a Roma degli spazi museali di Palazzo Sciarra e Palazzo Cipolla
Emmanuele Francesco Maria Emanuele, a prominent Italian philanthropist, jurist, and patron of the arts, has passed away in Rome at the age of 86. Born in Palermo, Emanuele dedicated the latter half of his life to cultural promotion, most notably serving as the President of Fondazione Roma and the Fondazione Terzo Pilastro – Internazionale. His leadership was instrumental in transforming Rome's Palazzo Sciarra and Palazzo Cipolla into significant museum spaces, hosting both permanent collections and major temporary exhibitions.