IU Bloomington art galleries feature works from and about South Africa

Indiana University Bloomington's art galleries are presenting two exhibitions focused on South African and Indigenous visual culture. "Illusions of Identity: The Colonial Gaze," curated by student Joshua Sinnett at the Community Gallery in the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, contrasts early 20th-century photographs of Native Americans by Joseph K. Dixon with images of Indigenous South Africans by Alfred Duggan-Cronin, examining colonial perspectives. Concurrently, "Coloured Pots (Izinkamba kwamaKhaladi)" at University Collections at McCalla features contemporary ceramics by artist Fileve Tlaloc, who uses amaZulu pottery forms to explore her mixed-race ancestry and challenge colonial racial categories, displayed alongside historical amaZulu vessels.

‘Immersive Elements’ interactive exhibition showcasing student-artist collaboration

SUNY Oswego's ARTSwego program presents "Immersive Elements," an interactive exhibition created by NOIRFLUX's Electric Heliotrope Theater in collaboration with students. Running April 23 through May 4 at the Marano Campus Center, the project features sculpture, drawing, audio, video, and interaction design, developed by artist Lorne Covington and students from Cara Thompson's art classes. The exhibition explores the four elements—water, air, fire, and earth—through projected visuals and interactive pieces.

Ghosts in a Postcard Idyll

Geister im Postkartenidyll

Kôji Fukada's film "Nagi Notes" premieres in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, following Yoriko (Takako Matsu), a sculptor and farmer living a quiet, self-sufficient life in the rural Japanese town of Nagi. Her routine is disrupted when her old friend Yuri (Shizuka Ishibashi), an architect, arrives to model for a sculpture, stirring buried emotions and past conflicts. The film explores the slow, delicate process of creating art and the psychological tensions between the two women, set against the backdrop of Nagi's idyllic but symbolically flat landscape.

In Venedig findet Lotus L. Kang Schönheit im Vergänglichen

Canadian artist Lotus L. Kang has opened an exhibition titled "The Face of Desire Is Loss" at the new Bvlgari Pavilion in Venice. The show features her fluid, changeable works that explore themes of desire, loss, absence, and impermanence, with the artist describing the experience as a charged, chaotic, yet focused pursuit of something elusive.

Exit Homo?

Hua Wang and Emanuel Heim are presenting their dual exhibition "Natural Inversions" in Berlin, curated by John Silvis. The show features abstract queer painting, sculptural installations, and explores themes of perception, materiality, and transformation. An artist talk moderated by Monopol editor Sebastian Frenzel accompanies the exhibition, where the artists discuss transhumanism, artificial intelligence, spirituality, and how technology is reshaping our understanding of being human.

Meloni on Venice Biennale: 'I've somewhat lost track'

Meloni über Venedig-Biennale: "Habe den Überblick etwas verloren"

Days before the opening of the Venice Biennale, the entire international jury resigned in protest over Russia's participation despite its war against Ukraine. The jury had previously excluded Russia and Israel from prize consideration due to International Criminal Court warrants against their leaders. Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni admitted she had "lost track" of the situation, while the government sent inspectors to Venice. Biennale organizers responded by postponing the Golden Lion awards until November and introducing two audience-choice awards that will include Russian and Israeli entries.

Is Art Dying Along With Work?

Stirbt die Kunst mit der Arbeit?

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence raises a fundamental paradox for the future of creativity: while automation could theoretically free humans from labor to pursue artistic endeavors, it simultaneously threatens the economic foundations of the art world. If AI-driven job displacement leads to a widespread loss of disposable income, the commercial market that sustains professional artists could effectively collapse.

À Florence, une transformation silencieuse pour préserver son patrimoine

Florence is undertaking a major restoration of Giotto's Campanile, the first comprehensive conservation of the 14th-century bell tower since its construction. The project, budgeted at over €7 million, addresses decades of damage from pollution, acid rain, and natural aging, including detached stone slabs, darkened facades, and microfractures. The four-year scaffolding will be designed to minimize visual impact and gradually reveal restored sections. Separately, the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore is executing a €60 million program to restore the Collegio Eugeniano (which will become its new headquarters) and expand the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo to 11,000 square meters by 2030. The Ponte Vecchio will also undergo summer cleaning and consolidation of its piles, funded equally by the municipality and the Antinori family.

Turin experiments with a robot guide in one of its historic palaces

Turin expérimente un robot-guide dans l’un de ses palais historiques

The Palazzo Madama in Turin, Italy, has introduced R1, a humanoid robot guide developed by the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Genoa, to accompany visitors through the historic palace. Since late March, R1 has been testing its ability to navigate the building's constrained interiors, interact with diverse audiences, and provide explanations about artworks, artists, and the palace's history. The robot uses infrared cameras, lasers, pressure sensors, and a LED matrix to move, avoid obstacles, and communicate, with over 80% of users reporting positive interactions during the six-week trial. Previous tests occurred in 2022 and May 2024.

Luca Vanello at Z33

The contemporary art center Z33 in Hasselt is hosting a solo exhibition by artist Luca Vanello titled "Withering into breath, wetness undoes itself." Running from February 12 through April 12, 2026, the presentation features a series of sculptural installations documented through extensive photography by Silvia Cappellari. The exhibition explores themes of materiality and transformation, characteristic of Vanello's practice of manipulating organic and inorganic substances.

Dozens of Suspended ‘Halos’ Glimmer in a Florentine Factory

Earlier this month, artist SpY installed "Halos," a large-scale installation of dozens of metallic discs suspended from the ceiling of a former railway factory in Florence. The work was part of the city's Bright Festival, transforming the brutalist industrial interior into a space of ethereal movement and reflection, with the discs interacting with natural breezes and glimmering light.

David Morrison’s Alluring Drawings Spring from the Blank Page

Artist David Morrison has released a new series of hyperrealistic botanical drawings, created with colored pencil. The works, including pieces titled "Botanical Series No.4 Drawing" and "Iceland Poppy," focus on flowers, seeds, and plants, capturing intricate textures and organic forms with delicate lines and smooth gradients that create a soft, luminous effect.

Painterly Figures Entwine in Soojin Choi’s Ceramic Sculptures

Ceramic artist Soojin Choi creates intricate sculptures of entangled pairs, using stoneware slabs and nylon strands to achieve a precarious balance that minimizes contact with the ground. Her painterly background is evident in the gestural marks, visible brushstrokes, and drips on the white-slipped surfaces, with the artist describing her process as a "constant negotiation with gravity."

A Doomed Mission to Mars Awaits Henry Wood’s Lanky Explorers

Artist Henry Wood has created a series of wooden figures depicting doomed explorers on Mars, titled 'We went to Mars and it was a disaster.' Each lanky, meticulously carved figure represents a colonist with a specific tragic history, such as being stranded or buried, imagining a future archaeological dig on the terraformed planet. The work reflects on humanity's ambitious but potentially flawed drive to colonize other worlds, using the medium of wood and ancient relic aesthetics to critique grand narratives of exploration and progress. Wood's process, influenced by travel and traditional techniques, transforms speculative science fiction into tangible artifacts that question the costs of expansion and the stories we tell about our future.

Breezy Swathes of Fabric Dance Amid Landscapes in Thomas Jackson’s Photos

Photographer Thomas Jackson creates striking images featuring multi-colored fabric installations billowing in natural landscapes. His work, which appears digitally manipulated but is captured in-camera with minimal post-production, explores the tension between nature and artificiality.

Restrained Emotions Simmer in Shinsuke Inoue’s Tender Wood Sculptures

Japanese artist Shinsuke Inoue creates small, emotionally resonant wood sculptures of human figures. His practice began about ten years ago when he carved a likeness of his child, sparking a dedicated focus on figurative woodcarving that captures universal human essence rather than specific portraits.

Folklore and Nature Converge in Cat Johnston’s Expressive, Eccentric Puppets

London-based artist Cat Johnston creates expressive puppets and sculptures that blend folklore, nature, and childhood memories into eccentric characters like a fashionable bat, a melancholy sun, and gods representing sunburn, hay fever, and insomnia. Her work, which draws on historical costumes and emotive, cartoonish faces, inhabits dreamlike realms where the familiar meets the strange.

Marianna Simnett “Circus” at Secession, Vienna

Marianna Simnett has opened a new multimedia exhibition titled "Circus" at the Secession in Vienna. The show features a combination of light, sound, and sculptural works that delve into her Yugoslav heritage, weaving together personal family history with folklore.

"The Argument of the Dream" at Fondation Pernod Ricard, Paris

“L’argument du rêve” at Fondation Pernod Ricard, Paris

The Fondation Pernod Ricard in Paris has opened a new exhibition titled "L'argument du rêve" (The Argument of the Dream). The show is curated around the philosophical and communal power of dreams, using them as a lens to explore how shared narratives and consciousness are formed within society.

Julien Bismouth “Exonumia” at Layr, Vienna

Artist Julien Bismouth presents his solo exhibition "Exonumia" at Layr gallery in Vienna. The show features new works that explore the transformation of meaning and the imposition of successive interpretations on the fabric of life, as suggested by the accompanying quote from philosopher Simone Weil.

Laisul Hoque “The Ground Beneath Me” at Nunnery Gallery, Bow Arts, London

Laisul Hoque, winner of the 2025 East London Art Prize, has opened a solo exhibition titled 'The Ground Beneath Me' at the Nunnery Gallery, Bow Arts in London. The show features a new installation, film, and works on paper.

New Art Vault Installation: How to Have a Flying Dream

A new immersive installation titled "How to Have a Flying Dream" by interdisciplinary artist Nancy Dewhurst opens at Gallery One’s Art Vault in Albuquerque, with a reception on May 15. The installation explores the phenomenon of flying dreams through objects, dream journaling, immersive imagery, and a digitized 16 mm film projected onto the ceiling, inviting visitors to engage in dream training exercises.

“Crowned by Resilience” , 2026

Art R us gallery in Naples, Florida, is offering "Crowned by Resilience" (2026), a painting by Nigerian contemporary artist Bonu Deji. The acrylic and oil on canvas work explores themes of strength, endurance, and identity, and is priced at US$1,400. Deji, born in 2003 and based in Lagos, creates figurative works addressing poverty, labor, and human dignity, and has exhibited at Art R us and The Zebra Gallery.

Logo Stuff: Art Exhibit Featuring the Artist Quire

The Imperfecta Gallery is presenting "Logo Stuff," a new exhibition featuring a series of paintings by artist Quire (aka Leah Hugon). The works depict contemporary commercial properties—some vacant, some occupied—paired with native plants that would have thrived in those locations, such as a closed pharmacy paired with medicinal Mullein. Quire draws on her religious upbringing and biblical stories to explore themes of societal choice, connection with nature, and what is lost in modern convenience. The show runs from June 4 to June 27, with an opening reception on June 4.

Zipcy exhibits in Paris: "The Sweet Fortress" at the Goldshteyn-Saatort Gallery.

South Korean artist Zipcy is set to debut her first solo exhibition in France, titled "The Sweet Fortress," at the Goldshteyn-Saatort Gallery in Paris from April 24 to June 4, 2026. The exhibition showcases a new body of work that utilizes traditional Korean hanji paper, natural pigments, and marouflage techniques to explore themes of intimacy, vulnerability, and human connection.

MAC Panama Presents Two New Exhibitions: Oceanic Perspectives and a Surrealist Pioneer

OCEAN AND MEMORY MAC PANAMA PRESENTS TWO NEW EXHIBITIONS

The Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Panamá (MAC Panamá) has opened two exhibitions. The first, 'otras montañas, las que andan sueltas bajo el agua,' features artists Nadia Huggins and Tessa Mars and is part of the international research program The Current IV. It uses video and audio installations to explore an oceanic perspective. The second is a retrospective of pioneering Panamanian surrealist artist Beatrix 'Trixie' Briceño, which includes a digital art response by contemporary artist Ix Shells.

John Smith on Being John Smith

Artist-filmmaker John Smith discussed his latest autobiographical film, 'Being John Smith,' in an interview with Nataliia Serebriakova following a screening. The film explores his lifelong relationship with having one of the most common English names, a subject he was finally inspired to tackle after witnessing a Pulp concert where the crowd became a unified mass during the song "Common People." He describes the project as cathartic, addressing the daily jokes and challenges of individuality tied to his name.

Art with a heart - High Point pet portraitist schedules benefit show

Emily Cassidy, a High Point-based pet portrait artist with a background in animal science and veterinary technology, is holding a three-day solo exhibition titled "All Things Bright & Beautiful" from May 27 to May 29 at Reynolda Village in Winston-Salem. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Wake Forest University Chaplain’s Emergency Fund, which assists students, faculty, staff, and contract workers with essential expenses. Cassidy, who returned to art in 2020 after a career in cancer research, now has a two- to three-month waiting list for commissions and works in colored pencils, pastels, and oils.

Exhibition by Visual Artist Aly Roshdy to Open in Sofia

Visual artist Aly Roshdy will open his solo exhibition "Inside Out" at Sofia Green Gallery in Sofia, Bulgaria, with a vernissage on May 7. The show runs through May 21 and features a series of paintings and collages inspired by the artist's travels, each depicting a specific place seen through a window. Roshdy describes the window as both a literal frame for observing different cultures and a symbolic lens for documenting his journeys, capturing moments of silence and contemplation.

The Space Between. Adam Patrick Grant by Michela Ceruti

Adam Patrick Grant’s artistic practice is rooted in a meticulous and devotional process of observation, transitioning from a background in film to a dedicated focus on oil painting over the last three years. Working from his London studio, Grant utilizes an extensive archive of personal sketches, photographs, and found imagery—such as anonymous postcards and family photos from markets—to capture fleeting moments of intimacy and the unspectacular everyday. His work is characterized by a rhythmic dialogue between the act of walking, the gathering of visual fragments, and the translation of these memories into tender, precise compositions.