Jenny Saville: The Anatomy of Painting

The National Portrait Gallery in London is hosting a major exhibition of Jenny Saville's work, titled "Jenny Saville: The Anatomy of Painting," running from 20 June to 7 September 2025. The show brings together some of Saville's most monumental paintings, including works like "Hyphen" (1999) and "Reverse" (2002-03), drawn from private collections and courtesy of Gagosian. The article traces Saville's career from her early days as a committed child artist, through her studies at Glasgow School of Art and the University of Cincinnati, to her breakthrough when collector Charles Saatchi purchased her entire degree show in 1992, enabling her to create large-scale works for a solo exhibition.

At Baltimore Museum of Art, a new exhibition asks us to consider the connections between race, colonialism and the climate crisis

The Baltimore Museum of Art has opened "Black Earth Rising," an exhibition organized by British curator and writer Ekow Eshun. The show brings together thirteen African diasporic, Latin American, and Indigenous artists—including Frank Bowling, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Yinka Shonibare, Wangechi Mutu, Alejandro Piñeiro Bello, Firelei Baez, and Tyler Mitchell—to explore the connections between race, colonialism, and the climate crisis. Eshun also authored an accompanying book that pivots environmental debates away from a Eurocentric viewpoint, emphasizing that the Global South bears the brunt of climate change despite being least responsible for it. The exhibition critiques the term "Anthropocene" and instead promotes the concept of the "Plantationocene," which traces environmental destruction back to 15th-century European colonization and the plantation system.

Have we reached peak painting?

The article examines the enduring dominance of painting in the art world, despite repeated predictions of its demise. It cites record-breaking sales—Leonardo's *Salvator Mundi* ($450m), Jasper Johns's *Flag* ($110m), and Marlene Dumas's *Miss January* ($13.6m)—and highlights the upcoming Jenny Saville survey at the National Portrait Gallery in London. The Turner Prize shortlist includes painter Mohammed Sami, whose work *Poor Folk II* sold for $571,500 at Sotheby's, far exceeding estimates. Exhibitions like *Painting after Painting* at SMAK in Ghent and *R U Still Painting???* in New York explore how artists continue to use the medium, with curators and market figures affirming painting's resilience.

15 Art Shows to See in Los Angeles This Summer

Los Angeles art institutions are presenting a diverse array of summer exhibitions, ranging from career-spanning surveys to historical reassessments. Highlights include Jeffrey Gibson's beadwork at the Broad, a survey of Barbara T. Smith's early Xerox works at the Marciano Art Foundation, a retrospective of Noah Davis at the Hammer Museum, and a group show at the California African American Museum addressing the legacy of Altadena's Black community after the Eaton Fire. Other notable shows include Nancy Buchanan's retrospective, Will Rawls at the ICA LA, Karl Haendel at the Weisman Museum, and a Jack Kirby exhibition at the Skirball Cultural Center.

On the Met Gala’s Cy Gavin-designed blue carpet, art was front and centre

The 2025 Met Gala, held on May 5 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, raised a record $31 million while celebrating the opening of the Costume Institute's new exhibition, "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" (May 10-October 26). The event's dress code, "Tailored for You," inspired attendees to embrace Black-dandy fashion, with guests including Rihanna, Cynthia Erivo, Stevie Wonder, and Kamala Harris. The exhibition, curated by Andrew Bolton and Monica L. Miller, explores the evolution of Black style in the Atlantic diaspora from the 18th century to today, drawing on Miller's 2009 book "Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity." It is the Costume Institute's first show to directly address race's impact on style and the Met's first menswear exhibition in over 20 years.

8 Must-See Solo Gallery Shows in May

Galerie magazine has curated a list of eight must-see solo gallery shows across the United States for May, spanning from New York to Miami and Los Angeles. Featured artists include Takako Yamaguchi at Ortuzar in New York, Enzo Cucchi at Vito Schnabel Gallery, Iván Argote at Perrotin, and Kang Seung Lee, among others, with exhibitions showcasing a range of styles from hybrid transnational paintings to Neo-expressionist works and conceptual installations.

Comment | Perhaps artists do have only ‘ten good years’—but they can happen at any time in their career

The article reflects on the idea that artists may have only 'ten good years' of peak creativity, prompted by a visit to the exhibition "Anselm Kiefer: Early Works" at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. The author contrasts the young Kiefer's deft, emotionally intimate works from 1969–1982 with his later, more grandiose output, arguing that Kiefer's early period surpasses anything he has achieved since. The piece also revisits critic Douglas Cooper's harsh dismissal of late Picasso and former Tate director Alan Bowness's theory of artistic prime.

Chicago's Intuit Art Museum set to unveil $10m renovation

Chicago's Intuit Art Museum has completed a two-year, $10 million renovation that triples its footprint and adds a lower level featuring the Henry Darger Room, a permanent installation recreating the artist's apartment. The museum will preview publicly on April 25 during Expo Chicago and officially reopen on May 23. The renovation, led by president and CEO Debra Kerr and local architecture firm Doyle & Associates, balances improved accessibility and natural light with preservation of the building's historic character. The inaugural exhibition, "Catalyst: Im/migration and Self-taught Art in Chicago" (May 23–January 11, 2026), features 75 works by 22 artists exploring migrant and immigrant contributions to outsider art from the 1930s to today.

The extraordinary boom in modern Indian art

Despite a general art market downturn, modern Indian art auctions have seen extraordinary demand. Over the past two weeks, sales at Christie’s in New York, Saffron Art in New Delhi, Pundole’s in Mumbai, and Sotheby’s in London all sold out. Sotheby’s London sale raised £19 million, more than five times its estimate, led by record-breaking works from Francis Newton Souza, including *Houses in Hampstead* (1962) sold for £5.6 million and *Emperor* (1957) sold for £5.2 million. The article traces Souza’s rebellious career, from his expulsion from school in Mumbai for pornographic graffiti, to his founding role in the Progressive Artists’ Group, his struggles in England and the US, and his eventual death in 2002 with little recognition.

Weekly News Roundup: May 5, 2026

The article reports three major developments in the global art world. Saudi Arabia's Diriyah Company has awarded a $490 million contract for a new flagship space of the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art (SAMoCA) in Diriyah, designed by Godwin Austen Johnson. The Sharjah Art Foundation has announced details for Sharjah Biennial 17 (SB17), titled "What remains, sits restive," curated by Angela Harutyunyan and Paula Nascimento, featuring 109 artists and set to open in 2027. Additionally, DATALAND, a new AI art museum founded by Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç, will open on June 20 in Los Angeles, showcasing digital and immersive artworks.

the first gulf quinquennial in the uae argues for a less is best approach to group shows

NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery has launched its first Gulf Quinquennial, titled "Between the Tides," featuring around 30 artists from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. The exhibition presents a coherent selection of videos, installations, paintings, and traditional record-keeping practices, aiming to deepen and complicate the cultural narrative of the Arabian Peninsula by highlighting its diversity, linguistic interactions, and migrant labor.

Your Go-To Guide to NYC's Spring Art Fairs

New York City's spring art season is bustling with a diverse array of art fairs catering to different tastes and budgets. Major events include the contemporary art-focused Frieze at The Shed, the budget-conscious Affordable Art Fair, the Outsider Art Fair showcasing self-taught artists, the New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, and the IFPDA Print Fair.

Lost for More Than a Century, the First ‘Sci-Fi’ Film Ever Made Resurfaces

Lost for More Than a Century, the First ‘Sci-Fi’ Film Ever Made Resurfaces

A lost 1897 silent film by pioneering French director Georges Méliès, "Gugusse et l'Automate," has been rediscovered and digitally restored. The 45-second slapstick short, featuring a magician battling a robot, was found in a collection of early film reels passed down through a family of traveling showmen and has now been preserved in 4K by the Library of Congress.

Major collection of Indian paintings and calligraphy to be offered at Christie's

Christie's London will auction a major collection of Indian paintings and calligraphy from the Seattle-based collectors Mary and Cheney Cowles on April 28, with an estimated total exceeding £1.5 million. The sale is dominated by Mughal-era works from the 16th to 19th centuries, including a highlight piece from the Fraser Album estimated at £180,000, and features rare examples of "Mughal Occidentalism" where court artists incorporated European motifs.

louvre heist surveillance footage

Newly released surveillance footage shows masked thieves breaking into the Louvre's Apollo gallery in October 2025, using disc cutters to slice open display cases and steal France's crown jewels. The heist occurred under staff observation, with no security guards present, and police have since identified five suspects via DNA evidence, arresting four, though the jewels remain missing. The footage was broadcast on French TV on January 18, 2026, as the museum faces its third staff strike in over a month.

louvre security cameras captured heist but guards werent watching

French investigators have revealed that security cameras at the Louvre did capture the $102 million jewelry heist on October 19, 2025, contradicting earlier claims by museum director Laurence des Cars that no video existed. The footage was discovered during a Senate hearing on December 10, showing that the control room lacked enough screens to monitor all cameras simultaneously, so guards did not see the break-in in real time. By the time they switched to the relevant feed, nearly eight minutes later, the thieves had already escaped. The investigation also found that security guards and police arrived just 30 seconds too late because staff miscommunicated the exact location of the break-in within the Apollo Gallery. All four members of the heist commando group have been arrested.

louvre security report

A 2018 security audit commissioned by the Louvre from Van Cleef and Arpels identified critical vulnerabilities in the museum's Apollo Gallery, including a balcony accessible via a lift platform—the exact entry point used by thieves in a daring October 19, 2025 heist. The audit, which included diagrams highlighting a window facing Quai François-Mitterrand as a major weakness, was not passed on to current Louvre president Laurence des Cars when she took over in 2021. The museum only discovered the document after the theft, prompting an internal review and referral to France's General Inspectorate of Cultural Affairs. French authorities have since arrested four more suspects, bringing the total to eight, as the investigation continues into the theft of eight valuable pieces including Napoleon Bonaparte's emerald-and-diamond necklace.

louvre heist suspect is former museum guard social media influencer

Four suspects have been arrested for allegedly stealing the French crown jewels from the Louvre Museum last month. One suspect, identified as 39-year-old Abdoulaye N., is a former security guard at the Centre Pompidou and a social media influencer known for motocross stunts under the name Doudou Cross Bitume. His DNA was found at the crime scene, and he is suspected of breaking into the museum's Apollo gallery through an unsecured window before escaping on a motorbike. He has a prior criminal record including a 2014 jewelry store robbery conviction, and was due in court for a separate case. The stolen jewels have not yet been recovered.

design guide openings events exhibtions

This article from Cultured magazine highlights several notable art and architecture openings and exhibitions around the world. Key events include the reopening of Donald Judd's Architecture Office in Marfa, Texas, after a seven-year closure and a devastating 2021 fire; the opening of the Tselinny Center of Contemporary Culture in Almaty, Kazakhstan, designed by British architect Asif Khan; and the debut of "Chiharu Shiota: Two Home Countries" at Japan Society in New York, marking the artist's first solo museum exhibition in the city. Other featured shows include "Dream Rooms: Environments by Women Artists 1950s-Now" at M+ Museum in Hong Kong, "Vacant Futures" at VI PER Gallery in Prague, and "Four Five Six" by OFFICE KGDVS at A83 in SoHo, New York.

Independent Opens With Solo Presentations, Early Sales and (Most Importantly) Breathing Room

Independent art fair opened on May 14, 2026, at a new location in Lower Manhattan’s Pier 36, offering a larger, less central venue than its previous Tribeca home. The fair emphasizes solo presentations, which make up 70 percent of the booths, and features tightly focused displays. Gallerist Susanne Vielmetter reported early sales and museum reservations for works by Samuel Levi Jones, Robert Pruitt, and Nate Lewis. Brazilian gallery Almeida & Dale shares a booth with David Nolan Gallery, showcasing Chakaia Booker and Miguel Rio Branco, while New York dealer Charles Moffett reported strong interest in late Swiss artist Silvia Heyden’s tapestries.

The Top Gallery and Museum Exhibitions to see in late May in London

Tabish Khan, the London-based art critic, selects his top gallery and museum exhibitions to see in late May in London. Highlights include Christopher Page's illusionistic mirror paintings at Ben Hunter, Dirk Braeckman's chemically altered photographs at Grimm, a historical exhibition on Hawai'i's relationship with the UK at The British Museum, a pairing of James Capper's claw-like machines with Anthony Caro's metal sculptures, and a focused display of George Stubbs' horse portrait and anatomical drawings at The National Gallery.

2 exhibits at Portland Museum of Art show off photography, decorative arts

The Portland Museum of Art (PMA) is presenting two concurrent exhibitions: "Ming Smith: Jazz Requiem — Notations in Blue" (through June 7) and "Precious: The Value of Ornament" (through July 19). The Ming Smith exhibition showcases the pioneering Black photographer's emotive, manipulated images, including jazz club scenes and portraits, drawn from the museum's collection and loans from The Gund at Kenyon College. The decorative arts exhibition highlights the value of ornament in applied arts.

North America’s Longest-Running Exhibition of International Art Has Landed at the Carnegie Museum

The 59th Carnegie International, titled "If the word we," has opened at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, marking North America's longest-running exhibition of international art. Featuring 61 artists and collectives from countries including Brazil, Benin, China, Indonesia, Lebanon, Peru, Taiwan, and South Africa, the exhibition explores the theme of "we" as an evolving proposition. It includes nearly 40 newly commissioned projects—the largest number in the International's history—spanning painting, photography, sculpture, installation, video, and theater. Notable works include Jonathan González's performance "The Strikebreakers" and Georges Adéagbo's installation "Le Socialism Africain," which uses discarded objects to examine Western power and colonial legacies in Africa.

The Holy See Pavilion asks Venice Biennale Visitors to Slow Down and Listen, and Other News.

The Holy See's pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale presents "The Ear is the Eye of the Soul," a multi-sensory exhibition centered on deep listening and inspired by Hildegard von Bingen, curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers with Soundwalk Collective, featuring new commissions by 24 artists including Patti Smith, Brian Eno, FKA twigs, and Dev Hynes across two Venetian sites. Separately, Chanel and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation have launched the Chanel Culture Fund Fellowship, a transatlantic curatorial program for postgraduate scholars at the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. In other news, a father-daughter duo from New Jersey pleaded guilty to a $2 million counterfeit art scheme involving forged works attributed to Andy Warhol, Banksy, and others; Vienna's Burgtheater is offering guided scaffolding tours of Gustav Klimt's early ceiling paintings during restoration; and the sixth edition of the Head Hi Lamp Show opens in New York.

FAD’s Fab Five: 5 Must-See Highlights at the 2026 Venice Biennale

Lee Sharrock selects five must-see highlights at the 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys" and conceived by the late curator Koyo Kouoh, who passed away in 2025. The Biennale runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026, at the Giardini, Arsenale, and various Venetian venues. Featured highlights include Marina Abramović's historic exhibition "Transforming Energy" at the Gallerie dell'Accademia—the first major show for a living woman artist there—the Holy See Pavilion's "The Ear is the Eye of the Soul" with artists like Patti Smith and Brian Eno, and Lubaina Himid's British Pavilion presentation "Predicting History: Testing Translation."

Your Australian art guide for May 2026 is here

May 2026 brings a packed calendar of art exhibitions across Australia, with highlights including Rone's 'Another TIME' at COMA Gallery in Sydney, the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes at the Art Gallery of NSW, and solo shows by Eleanor Louise Butt, Jordan Gogos, Natalya Hughes, Patricia Piccinini, and Michaela Gleave. Regional venues like Bundanon and Ngununggula also feature major exhibitions, including a posthumous show of Rosalie Gascoigne alongside new commissions by First Nations women artists.

Whistler's Audain Art Museum Raises a Record-Breaking $1.5 Million at Annual Gala Marking its 10-Year Anniversary

The Audain Art Museum in Whistler, British Columbia, raised a record-breaking $1.5 million at its 2026 annual gala, marking the institution's 10-year anniversary. The sold-out event, attended by over 500 guests, featured a live art auction of works by artists in the museum's permanent collection, with Stan Douglas's 1974 piece 'Coat Check' achieving a $200,000 hammer price—the highest ever for the gala.

'Joan Semmel' at Xavier Hufkens, Rivoli, Brussels, Belgium on 22 Apr–27 Jun 2026

American painter Joan Semmel is debuting a dual-continent exhibition titled "Continuities," presented simultaneously at Xavier Hufkens in Brussels and Alexander Gray Associates in New York. The show features recent large-scale paintings, including works like "Here I Am" (2025) and "Red Breast" (2025), which utilize saturated hues and layered compositions to explore the artist's own aging body from her own perspective. By presenting related works across two cities, the exhibition mirrors the internal logic of Semmel’s paintings, which often employ doubling and shifting imagery to represent the body as a site of active presence.

72 Hours of Art in Salt Lake City: Museum Hopping, Spiral Jetty and Sculpture on the Slopes

Billionaire Reed Hastings, the former CEO of Netflix, has transformed Utah’s Powder Mountain ski resort into a unique 'skiable outdoor art museum.' Collaborating with landscape architect Reed Hilderbrand, the resort now features major installations by artists such as Nancy Holt, James Turrell, and EJ Hill. This development positions the resort as a contemporary companion to the region's historic land art landmarks, including Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty and Holt’s Sun Tunnels.

Readers react to LACMA’s new David Geffen Galleries: L.A. arts and culture this weekend

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is preparing for the public debut of its $724-million David Geffen Galleries, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor. Ahead of the April 19 member opening, public discourse has intensified following a series of reports detailing the building's architecture, the reinstallation of Alexander Calder’s "Three Quintains (Hello Girls)," and the project's massive budget. Reader reactions remain deeply polarized, reflecting a two-decade-long debate over the structure's unconventional design and its impact on the urban landscape.