The Metropolitan Museum of Art Appoints Oluremi C. Onabanjo as Curator in the Department of Photographs

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has appointed Oluremi C. Onabanjo as a Curator in the Department of Photographs. Joining from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Onabanjo will focus on 20th-century and contemporary photography with a specific emphasis on international practices from Africa and Asia. Her responsibilities include overseeing the stewardship of the recently acquired Walther Collection and developing a major exhibition for 2028.

NADA’s Heather Hubbs on Building the Fair Into an Art-World Mainstay

Heather Hubbs, executive director of the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA), reflects on the organization's evolution from a grassroots initiative into an international coalition with over 250 gallery members and fairs in New York and Miami. The 12th edition of NADA New York returns to the Starrett-Lehigh Building from May 13–17, featuring more than 100 galleries and the return of the Curated Spotlight, organized by curator Anthony Elms in partnership with TD Bank. Hubbs discusses the fair's growth, its commitment to supporting galleries and artists year-round, and highlights 51 first-time exhibitors and experimental works by artists like Chang Sujung and Douglas Rieger.

Barbara Chase-Riboud Speaks Out on Declining US Biennale Pavilion

Sculptor and author Barbara Chase-Riboud has publicly declined an invitation to represent the United States at the 2026 Venice Biennale, stating it was "not the moment" for her to do so. She was among the artists initially considered by the newly formed American Arts Conservancy (AAC), which is organizing the US pavilion after both she and photographer William Eggleston turned down the opportunity.

Corals as Living Geology. In Conversation with Julian Charrière by Timothée Chaillou

Julian Charrière has created two new bodies of work, *Chorals* (2025) and *Veils* (2025), in collaboration with Maison Ruinart. The projects are inspired by the Lutetian Sea, which submerged the Champagne region 45 million years ago, and explore themes of deep time, climate change, and the interconnectedness of organic and mineral life. *Chorals* is a permanent sound installation in Ruinart's cellars in Reims, featuring amplified recordings of ocean reefs, while *Veils* comprises wall works and sculptures centered on corals and fading coral imagery. The works travel to art fairs as preludes to the permanent installation.

10 Must-See Museum Exhibitions This Spring

Major museums worldwide are launching a series of high-profile exhibitions this spring that challenge traditional art historical narratives. Highlights include a Marcel Duchamp retrospective at MoMA, a deep dive into Pop art's legacy at the Guggenheim, and significant surveys of icons like Frida Kahlo and Agnes Martin. Meanwhile, UCCA Beijing is presenting a major exhibition of Duan Jianyu, highlighting the evolution of Chinese painting in relation to Western influence.

DOGE Cuts to National Endowment for the Humanities Were Unconstitutional, Court Rules

A federal judge ruled that the cancellation of over 1,400 grants by the National Endowment for the Humanities, carried out by Elon Musk's Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE), was unconstitutional. Judge Colleen McMahon of the Federal District Court in Manhattan ordered DOGE to rescind the cancellations, finding that the cuts violated the First Amendment and the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment. The lawsuits were filed after the NEH chairman was dismissed and the agency was redirected under President Donald Trump's "America First" cultural campaign, with acting chair Michael McDonald cutting most grants awarded by the previous administration. The cuts, totaling more than $100 million, disrupted research, publications, and humanities programming, and were reportedly flagged using ChatGPT to target grants related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

A Milano c’è una mostra di un importante artista australiano in cui si ragiona sul rumore

Marco Fusinato, the Australian artist who represented his country at the 59th Venice Biennale, returns to Italy with a solo exhibition at the Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea (PAC) in Milan. Titled "The only true anarchy is that of Power," the show brings together installations, performances, and sound recordings from recent years, all centered on the concept of noise. Curated by Diego Sileo, the exhibition features three ongoing projects, including the monumental performance-installation DESASTRES, first presented at the Venice Biennale in 2022 and later staged at festivals such as Berlin Atonal and Unsound Krakow. The work combines randomized sound and images, using electric guitars, mass amplification, and intense feedback to create an immersive, hallucinatory experience where chaos and control coexist.

Protection and Constraint are Two Sides of the Same Coin: An Exhibition in Rome Proves It

Protezione e costrizione sono due facce della stessa medaglia. Una mostra a Roma lo dimostra

The gallery Monti8 in Rome is hosting a group exhibition titled "The Bell Jar," co-curated by Massimiliano Maglione. Inspired by Sylvia Plath’s 1963 novel, the show features seven international artists—Camilla Alberti, Ruby Chen, Mounir Eddib, Stephen Buscemi, Naomi Hawksley, Steffen Kern, and Amber Wynne-Jones. The exhibition explores the dual nature of the glass bell jar as both a protective shield for precious objects and a suffocating barrier that isolates the subject from the world.

"Transformations" Art Exhibit at Wilton's browngrotta arts Explores Inventive Uses of Materials in Art

Wilton gallery browngrotta arts will present "Transformations: Dialogues in Art and Material" from May 9-17, 2026, a Spring exhibition exploring how artists transform materials such as clay, silk, steel, bark, seaweed, bamboo, and horsehair. The show features nearly three dozen international artists, including Kiyomi Iwata, John McQueen, Marian Bijlenga, Toshiko Takaezu, and Kay Sekimachi, whose works demonstrate what curator Glenn Adamson calls "material intelligence"—a deep understanding of material properties and possibilities. Co-curator Tom Grotta notes that artists often start with the same material yet arrive at remarkably distinct outcomes, revealing how artistic vision reshapes substance itself.

This Figurative Painter Captures the Intricacies of Detroit Through a Local Tattoo Artist

Chinese figurative painter Liu Xiaodong has opened a solo exhibition titled "Host" at Lisson Gallery in Los Angeles, focusing exclusively on a single subject: John Mcintyre, a Detroit-based tattoo artist and member of a medieval reenactment club called Knyaz USA. The show features large-scale oil paintings that follow Mcintyre through his daily life—participating in armored historical battles in snowy forests, working in his tattoo studio, and relaxing at home—offering an intimate portrait of Detroit's subcultural communities.

Going Out: Top 20+ arts & nightlife events, April 16-24

The Haight Street Art Center is hosting 'I-Beam: Disco, Dancing and Modern Rock in the Haight,' an exhibition exploring the visual culture of San Francisco's historic nightlife and music scene. Other visual art highlights in the Bay Area include 'Hot Draw!', an erotic figure drawing session at the Mark I Chester Studio, and various community exhibits hosted at the SF LGBT Center.

Exhibition | Anna Park, 'Hot Honey' at Lehmann Maupin, London, United Kingdom

Anna Park makes her United Kingdom solo debut at Lehmann Maupin London with 'Hot Honey,' an exhibition of large-scale charcoal works running from April 30 to May 30. The show features Park’s signature fractured, cinematic compositions that explore female archetypes like the 'vixen' and the 'bombshell.' For the first time, the artist introduces shaped supports that turn her drawings into sculptural reliefs, alongside restrained passages of color that heighten the psychological intensity of her social critiques.

Top Five Booths Not to Miss at Expo Chicago 2026

Expo Chicago 2026 marks a strategic shift under the new leadership of director Kate Sierzputowski and curator Essence Harden, moving away from purely commercial dealer interests toward a more artist-centric and curatorial approach. This year's iteration features a streamlined selection of galleries, allowing for greater depth and focus on individual practices. Notable highlights include Pablo Delano’s poignant installations at Embajada exploring Puerto Rican history, a diverse group showing at Marc Straus Gallery featuring artists like Marie Watt and Lucia Hierro, and a collaborative presentation by São Paulo galleries Bianca Boeckel and Verve.

Wintour: Met Gala still makes me nervous

Wintour: Met-Gala macht mich immer noch nervös

Anna Wintour, longtime host of the Met Gala, admitted at a press conference that even after nearly 30 years, the star-studded fundraiser still makes her nervous, calling it both her favorite and most terrifying time of year. The annual Costume Institute Benefit, which raises millions for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, is expected to bring in more donations than ever this year, according to Wintour and museum director Max Hollein. This year's gala opens the exhibition "Costume Art" with the dress code "Fashion is Art," and new gallery spaces for the Costume Institute will debut. Co-chairs include Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, while New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has publicly declined to attend.

Group "New Generation" Plans "Art Protest" on Wednesday

Gruppe "Neue Generation" plant "Kunstprotest" am Mittwoch

The activist group "Neue Generation" has announced a week of protests in Berlin under the theme "Revolution Days," promising creative and artistically designed actions. Their activities began with a "protest dance" on the steps of the Reichstag building, leading to three participants being investigated for trespassing. The group has scheduled a "Kunstprotest" (art protest) for Wednesday and a "revolutions attempt in the government district" for Thursday.

Three things the Fuorisalone should do (and doesn't) to improve the quality of life in Milan

Tre cose che il Fuorisalone dovrebbe fare (e non fa) per migliorare la qualità della vita di Milano

The 2026 Milan Design Week, coinciding with the Salone del Mobile, has officially begun, bringing over 1,850 events to the city. The launch included a special breakfast-barter event in Piazza Duomo with artist Maurizio Cattelan and journalist Nicolas Ballario, kicking off a week expected to draw 300,000 visitors.

Steven Durland, Champion of Performance Art, Dies at 75

Steven Durland, a longtime editor of *High Performance* magazine and a champion of performance art, died on March 11 at age 75 after a brief illness. His life partner, Linda Frye Burnham, confirmed his death in Saxapahaw, North Carolina. Durland was born in Long Beach, California, raised in South Dakota, and trained as a ceramic artist with a BFA from the University of South Dakota and an MFA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He became deeply involved in performance and mail art, and from 1986 to 1994 served as editor of *High Performance*, a magazine founded by Burnham that featured thousands of artists including Nancy Buchanan, Carolee Schneemann, Paul McCarthy, Suzanne Lacy, and Ulysses Jenkins. Durland also maintained his own artistic practice, creating performances such as "Win Defeat/BID FOR POWER" (1978) and "Death and Taxis" (1982), and produced the micro-newspaper *Tacit*.

Highlights and Hidden Gems at Dumbo Open Studios

DUMBO Open Studios celebrated its 10th anniversary with over 175 artists across 21 buildings participating in the weekend event. The open studios, jointly managed by Team Dumbo and real estate developer Two Trees, featured a wide range of work, with a noted highlight being works on paper from artists like Bianca Fields, Amy Cutler, and Jason Karolak. Despite rainy weather, the event fostered impromptu conversations and community, with more than half of surveyed artists reporting sales and expectations of future exhibition opportunities.

Monopol verlost 5 × 2 Tickets für Graciela Iturbide bei C/O Berlin

German art magazine Monopol is giving away 5 × 2 tickets for the retrospective exhibition "Graciela Iturbide: Eyes to Fly With" at C/O Berlin. The article describes Iturbide's career, including her iconic photograph "Mujer ángel" (Angel Woman) taken in the Sonora Desert while living with the Seri people, and her long-term documentary projects on Mexican cultural practices, such as the Zapotec community in Oaxaca and images like "Nuestra Señora de las Iguanas." Iturbide, born in Mexico City in 1942, began her photography career in the late 1960s as an assistant to Manuel Álvarez Bravo.

Julia Stoschek Foundation Closes Berlin Location

Julia Stoschek Foundation schließt Berliner Standort

The Julia Stoschek Foundation is closing its Berlin exhibition space at the end of October. The foundation, which specializes in video art, opened the venue in 2016 in a former Czech cultural center on Leipziger Straße, quickly becoming a key destination for time-based art in the city. Over its run, it presented 22 solo and group shows featuring artists such as Arthur Jafa, Ian Cheng, and Mark Leckey, attracting more than 450,000 visitors. The closure is part of a strategic reorientation: the foundation will now focus on its headquarters in Düsseldorf and temporary international projects, building on recent presentations abroad like a show in Los Angeles that drew over 30,000 visitors in early 2026.

Queer Saints, Big Egos

Queere Heilige, große Egos

Andrew Durbin's new biography examines the intertwined lives of artists Peter Hujar and Paul Thek, focusing on their art, desire, and self-staging. The review notes that while the book covers their creative circles—including figures like David Wojnarowicz, Divine, John Waters, and Susan Sontag—it loses sight of the urgent political and social context that animated their work, particularly the AIDS crisis and Reagan-era repression.

Sun, Sea, and Security

"Sonne, Meer und Sicherheit"

The Art Cologne Palma Mallorca art fair has emerged as a strategic hub for wealthy German collectors, positioning the Mediterranean island as a safe and accessible alternative to more volatile global markets. While sales have been strongest in the lower price segments, the fair's revival highlights a trend toward 'lifestyle' art events that prioritize security and leisure. Simultaneously, the German art market faces a broader crisis of regionalization, where galleries are increasingly focusing on local buyers despite declining overall sales and a lack of transformative economic growth.

A Dismembered Album by Gerard van Honthorst (1592-1656): Unpublished Drawings and Reconstruction of a Corpus

Un album démembré de Gerard van Honthorst (1592-1656) : dessins inédits et reconstitution d'un corpus

An article in La Tribune de l'Art presents a significant expansion of the known corpus of drawings by Dutch Golden Age painter Gerard van Honthorst (1592-1656). Following the 2014 exhibition of twenty-seven drawings identified by the author, this study adds thirty-two more sheets—twenty-two of which are previously unpublished—as a preliminary step toward reconstructing a dismembered album. The research, conducted with direct observation and advanced imaging techniques (digital microscopy, ultraviolet, raking light), aims to restore the album's original order and shed light on the role of drawing in Honthorst's workshop and creative process.

Two 17th-Century Dutch Still Lifes Acquired by the Getty

Deux natures mortes hollandaises du XVIIe siècle acquises par le Getty

The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles has acquired two 17th-century Dutch still-life paintings by Pieter Claesz and Jan Davidsz. de Heem, masters of the genre. The works, including de Heem's "Vase en verre avec fleurs et fruits," were purchased on the New York art market and fill a gap in the museum's Dutch still-life collection, which previously lacked examples by these two artists.

À Bordeaux, la métamorphose du MADD

The Musée des arts décoratifs et du design (MADD) in Bordeaux has reopened its design-focused wing after three years of renovation, featuring a new entrance pavilion designed by Antoine Dufour Architectes that connects the historic Hôtel de Lalande and the former municipal prison. The overhaul includes a monumental shelving display of eighty vases by designers such as Andrea Branzi and Gaetano Pesce, a new "gallery of know-how" dedicated to rotating thematic presentations (starting with ceramics), a graphic arts cabinet showcasing the Jacques Sargos collection of over 130 drawings, and improved climate control for conservation.

The Fantasy of the Femme Fatale

Le fantasme de la femme fatale

A documentary titled "Le fantasme de la femme fatale" (The Fantasy of the Femme Fatale), directed by Susanne Brand, is available on Arte.tv. The film traces the visual history of the femme fatale, a seductive and dangerous figure prevalent in centuries of figurative painting by male artists like Gustave Moreau and Franz Von Stuck, often depicted as Salome or languid nymphs.

Fake Warhol, Haring and Banksy works seized in Italy

Des faux Warhol, Haring et Banksy saisis en Italie

Italian authorities have seized 143 counterfeit artworks attributed to Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, and Banksy. The works were on display in the exhibition "Pop to Street Art: Influences" in Reggio Calabria, Italy, and were provided on loan by a Belgian company. The carabinieri, in a transnational investigation extending to Liège, Belgium, identified the operation as part of a larger forgery network known as "Operation Cariatide." Eleven works remain under expert examination.

Victorien Bornéat : « De l’échec de la démocratisation culturelle est né un sentiment d’exclusion »

Victorien Bornéat has published a manifesto arguing that French cultural democratization policy, rooted in André Malraux's vision of making masterworks accessible to all, has failed. He cites budget cuts by regional presidents Laurent Wauquiez and Christelle Morançais, police raids on bookshops like Violette and Co, and statistical studies showing that working-class audiences still do not spontaneously attend theaters, museums, or opera. Bornéat contends that the policy's emphasis on direct confrontation with canonical works ignored the need for cultural codes and institutional literacy, creating an exclusion that politicians now exploit for electoral gain.

Theater in Paris: Studio Hébertot brings to life the companions of Pablo Picasso, from Fernande Olivier to Françoise Gilot

Théâtre à Paris : le Studio Hébertot fait revivre les compagnes de Pablo Picasso, de Fernande Olivier à Françoise Gilot

A theatrical production titled 'Les Amours de Pablo' is being staged at the Studio Hébertot in Paris until the end of May 2026. The play, created by the Compagnie Bille en Tête, focuses on the intimate and tumultuous relationships of Pablo Picasso, but primarily aims to give voice and substance to seven of his romantic partners, portraying them as complex individuals and artists in their own right.

Extraterrestrial Art Created During Space Observatory Residencies on View in Mouans-Sartoux

À Mouans-Sartoux s’expose l’art extra-terrestre créé lors des résidences de l’Observatoire de l’espace

The Espace de l’art concret in Mouans-Sartoux is hosting a landmark exhibition featuring "extraterrestrial" artworks created through the Observatoire de l’espace’s residency program. Since 2006, this cultural laboratory of the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) has invited artists like Renaud Auguste-Dormeuil, Stéphane Thidet, and Victoire Thierrée to produce works in zero-gravity environments. These creations are born aboard parabolic flights on the Airbus A310 Zero G or via stratospheric balloons, where physical laws like gravity and atmospheric pressure are suspended.