Amanda Carneiro and Raphael Fonseca to curate 2027 Bienal de São Paulo

Amanda Carneiro and Raphael Fonseca have been named curators of the 2027 Bienal de São Paulo. Carneiro, a curator at MASP since 2018, has organized solo exhibitions for artists including Santiago Yahuarcani, Beatriz Milhazes, and Sonia Gomes, and was part of Adriano Pedrosa’s curatorial team for the 2024 Venice Biennale. Fonseca, visual arts programmer at Culturgest and curator-at-large at the Denver Art Museum, is currently curating the Taiwan Pavilion for the 2026 Venice Biennale and co-curating the 3rd Counterpublic Triennial. He also curated the 2025 Bienal do Mercosul.

Liu Ding and Carol Yinghua Lu to curate 2027 Istanbul Biennial

The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (ISKV) has announced that Liu Ding and Carol Yinghua Lu will curate the 2027 Istanbul Biennial. Liu Ding is a Beijing-based artist and curator who has participated in numerous international biennials and taught at NABA Milan, while Carol Yinghua Lu is an art historian and director of the Inside-Out Art Museum in Beijing, with a background at OCAT Shenzhen, Museion Bolzano, and Asia Art Archive. The pair, who have collaborated since 2007, most recently served as artistic directors of the 2024 Yokohama Triennale. The 19th edition of the Istanbul Biennial is scheduled for 18 September to 14 November 2027.

The Top Exhibitions To See In London: May 2026

London’s art scene prepares for a major influx of high-profile exhibitions in May 2026, headlined by a comprehensive survey of Francisco de Zurbarán at the National Gallery and the grand opening of the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration in Clerkenwell. Other significant highlights include a sprawling outdoor installation of Henry Moore’s monumental bronzes at Kew Gardens, the debut of the 'Rising Voices' contemporary art exhibition at the newly opened V&A East, and a rare European retrospective of James McNeill Whistler at Tate Britain featuring the iconic 'Whistler's Mother'.

Artists Gala Porras-Kim, Jeremy Frey and Tuan Andrew Nguyen among winners of 2025 MacArthur ‘genius grants'

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation has announced its 2025 cohort of MacArthur Fellows, awarding 27 recipients—including visual artists Gala Porras-Kim, Jeremy Frey, Matt Black, Garrett Bradley, Tonika Lewis Johnson, and Tuan Andrew Nguyen—with $800,000 each over five years. The artists span conceptual institutional critique, Indigenous basketry, documentary photography, film, and social practice, with several currently holding major solo exhibitions or biennial features.

Behind every great artist... there is a great gallery. A look at the 2026 Venice Biennale

Dietro ogni grande artista… c’è una grande galleria. Un punto sulla Biennale Arte 2026

The 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys" (May 9 – November 22, 2026), features over 90% living artists, a significant shift from recent editions focused on historical rediscoveries. Curated by the late Koyo Kouoh (1967–2025), the first African woman to lead the Biennale, the exhibition includes 111 artists, with a majority of women (64 vs. 48 men) and the highest percentage of African-born artists ever (20%). Notable participants include Nick Cave, Carsten Höller, Alfredo Jaar, and Kader Attia, with a focus on mid-career and established figures rather than emerging or deceased artists.

Remembering Raghu Rai, Jack Thornell, and Jarvis Rockwell

Hyperallergic's weekly 'In Memoriam' column honors eight recently deceased figures from the art world, including Indian photojournalist Raghu Rai (1942–2026), Argentine abstract painter Ides Kihlen (1917–2026), Israeli painter and activist Yair Garbuz (1945–2026), British photographer Mark Gerson (1921–2026), Japanese art collector Kurt Gitter (1937–2026), Danish antiquities dealer Ittai Gradel (1965–2026), indigo textile artist Leigh Magar (1968–2026), and Kenyan muralist Patrick Mukabi (1967–2026). Each entry summarizes their life, career highlights, and contributions to visual art and photography.

Teresinha Soares, Brazilian Artist Behind Erotic-Inflected Works That Slyly Defied Taboos, Dies at 99

Teresinha Soares, a pioneering Brazilian artist known for her bold, erotic-inflected paintings and installations that challenged societal taboos and gender conventions, died on March 31 in Belo Horizonte at age 99. Her career, though concentrated between 1965 and 1976, was defined by works featuring pared-down, full-figured female silhouettes in vibrant colors that directly addressed women's sexuality and oppression.

Pedro Friedeberg, key figure in Mexican art renowned for hand-shaped chair, has died at age 90

Pedro Friedeberg, the Mexico-based artist and designer famed for his iconic Mano Silla (Hand Chair) created in 1962, has died at age 90. A key figure in 20th-century Mexican art, his singular work blended intricate, fantastical architecture with ornament and irony, creating a unique visual universe that defied easy categorization within movements like Surrealism or geometric abstraction.

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Martin Scorsese will moderate a panel at New York Comic Con on Sunday, organized by the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. The panel features street artist JR and fantasy painters Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell, offering a preview of the museum's renderings, artworks, and a prerecorded interview with founders George Lucas and Mellody Hobson. The museum, originally slated to open in 2023, has faced delays and is now expected to open in 2026, following a tumultuous year that included the departure of director Sandra Jackson-Dumont and staff layoffs.

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The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) has announced a new exhibition titled “RM x SFMOMA,” featuring around 200 works from both the museum’s permanent collection and the personal collection of K-pop star RM, a member of BTS. RM will serve as lead curator, alongside assistant curator Hyoeun Kim and curatorial project manager América Castillo. The exhibition, running from October 2026 to February 2027, will pair Korean artists—including historical figures like Yun Hyong-keun, Park Rehyun, Chang Ucchin, and Kwon Okyon, as well as contemporary artists such as To Sangbong and Kim Yun Shin—with Western masters like Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin, Henri Matisse, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Paul Klee. A key highlight is Kim Whanki’s 26-I-70 (1979), owned by SFMOMA.

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Protests erupted outside White Cube's London gallery last Thursday over a fireworks piece by Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang. The artwork, titled *The Rising Dragon*, was staged on September 19 at a high-altitude plateau in Shigatse, Tibet, and sparked online backlash over environmental concerns. Two UK-based groups, Tibetan Community in Britain and Free Tibet, led the protest, accusing Cai of committing "cultural violence." White Cube acknowledged the groups' concerns but continues to host Cai's exhibition, which opened in June and runs through early November.

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With more than 3,000 participating institutions, the European Night of Museums returns this Saturday, May 23

Avec plus de 3 000 institutions participantes, la Nuit européenne des musées revient ce samedi 23 mai

The 22nd edition of the European Night of Museums returns on Saturday, May 23, with over 3,000 institutions across France and Europe opening their doors free of charge from late afternoon. Many museums are offering special activities such as concerts, performances, games, guided tours, and walks. The youth program "La classe, l'œuvre!" will again involve primary, middle, and high school students acting as mediators for artworks they studied throughout the year. Highlights include exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou-Metz dedicated to François Morellet and Louise Nevelson, a concert at Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle's Cyclop in Milly-la-Forêt, a dance performance by Korean artist Eun-Me Ahn at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, and exhibitions at museums in Tours, Vernon, Rouen, and Sète, as well as a Brazilian ball at the Château des ducs de Bretagne in Nantes.

Our 5 Favorite Gallery Exhibitions to See This Spring in Paris

Nos 5 expos coups de cœur à voir en galeries ce printemps à Paris

Paris is experiencing a vibrant gallery season this spring, marked by the arrival of major international players and the rediscovery of overlooked artists. Highlights include the opening of Singapore’s Cuturi Gallery at the Palais-Royal with a cross-disciplinary show on decadence, and the London-based Waddington Custot establishing a new space in Saint-Germain-des-Prés with an exhibition bridging Nabis masters and contemporary painters. Other notable shows include a first-ever public look at the surrealist collages of Roland Sig and a dialogue between neo-impressionism and contemporary art at Galerie Pavec.

New Zealand's Venice Biennale pavilion explores the secret life of birds

New Zealand returns to the Venice Biennale in 2025 with Fiona Pardington’s solo exhibition *Taharaki Skyside* at the Istituto Provinciale per l’Infanzia Santa Maria della Pietà. The show features 17 large-scale photographic portraits of taxidermied birds from the South Canterbury Museum Timaru’s collection, including the extinct whēkau (laughing owl) and the critically endangered kākāpō. Pardington, an artist of Māori and Scottish descent, draws on Māori cosmology in which birds serve as spiritual messengers, and her work continues a long-standing photographic investigation of objects that hold “mana” (power) for Māori people.

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Zona Maco, one of Latin America's premier art fairs, will return to Mexico City from February 4–8, 2026, at Centro Banamex. The fair will feature 241 exhibitors across nine sections, including a new section called Forma, which blends contemporary art and design, and a revised Diseño Emergente section for emerging designers. Notable participants include Pace Gallery, Galleria Continua, Kurimanzutto, and OMR, with curated sections led by Aimé Iglesias Lukin and Manuela Moscoso. Founder Zélika García highlighted the fair's growth and its commitment to showcasing blue-chip galleries alongside emerging and mid-career talent.

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The article reports on the outlook for the art market in 2026, following a difficult 2025. It notes signs of recovery, including decent sales in Miami and $2.2 billion in marquee New York auctions, but warns of a K-shaped recovery where some sectors will bounce back while others continue to struggle. The piece also highlights a major shift toward the Gulf region, with Art Basel launching in Qatar, Art Dubai celebrating its 20th anniversary, Frieze debuting in Abu Dhabi, and the long-awaited opening of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, all signaling commercial maturity in the area.

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French artist JR is presenting two solo exhibitions in China: “La Vie en Mouvement” at Perrotin Shanghai and “Kaleidoscope” at Galleria Continua in Beijing. The shows feature works from the past two decades, including photographs of ballerinas in unexpected urban settings and an installation that appears to crack open the gallery wall to reveal a Summer Palace pavilion. In an interview, JR discussed how architecture shapes his images, his resistance to being labeled an activist, and his reflections on past projects in Shanghai’s now-vanished shantytowns.

Soft armour, pert nipples: how London design team made Kim Kardashian’s Met Gala breastplate

Kim Kardashian wore an orange fibreglass breastplate to the 2024 Met Gala, created by the east London design duo Whitaker Malem (Patrick Whitaker and Keir Malem) in collaboration with British pop artist Allen Jones. The breastplate was cast from a mould derived from Jones's 1969 sculpture "Hatstand," finished by car bodyshop MPS Body and Paint in Kent, and paired with a hand-painted leather skirt. Kardashian directly contacted the duo in early April, flew to the UK for fittings, and chose the piece to interpret the gala's "fashion is art" dress code, which explored the dressed and undressed human body.

Rothko from Robert Mnuchin collection fetches US$85.8m, becoming artist’s second-priciest work at auction

A red-and-black Mark Rothko painting, *Brown and Blacks in Reds* (1957), sold for US$85.8 million at Sotheby’s New York on May 14, becoming the artist’s second-most expensive work at auction. The canvas came from the collection of Robert Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner turned gallerist, and was the star lot of a dedicated 11-lot evening sale that totaled US$166.3 million. The winning bid was placed by Sotheby’s chairman Helena Newman on behalf of a telephone client, with the hammer falling at US$74 million against an estimate of US$70–100 million. The painting was originally owned by Joseph E. Seagram & Sons and hung in the lobby of the Seagram Building, a landmark of corporate modernism designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson.

DOZIE KANU’S FIRST FORAY INTO MASS-PRODUCTION

Artist Dozie Kanu has debuted his first mass-production collaboration with Knoll, a line of leather-tasseled tables launched in 2026 during Milan's Salone del Mobile, shortly after the opening of his solo exhibition at Fondazione ICA Milano. The Texas-born, Portugal-based artist, who first appeared in PIN–UP magazine in 2018 as an emerging design wunderkind, has since expanded his practice beyond collectible design into art, exhibition-making, film, and music. His recent projects include a documentary short screened at South by Southwest, a two-person exhibition with László Moholy-Nagy at Meyer Voggenreiter's project space piece*unique in Cologne, and a solo show at ICA Milano that dialogues with Marc Camille Chaimowicz and Jean Cocteau, featuring works alongside selections from the Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation collection.

At MAXXI L'Aquila, exhibition dedicated to Ai Weiwei recounts catastrophes and memory

From April 29 to September 6, 2026, MAXXI L'Aquila presents "AI WEIWEI: Aftershock," an exhibition curated by Tim Marlow featuring approximately seventy works by Chinese artist, architect, and activist Ai Weiwei. The show spans his entire career, focusing on themes of earthquakes, wars, political repression, and memory. The centerpiece is the installation "Straight" (2009–2012), made from 150 tons of steel rods recovered from schools that collapsed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, displayed across three rooms. The exhibition is held at Palazzo Ardinghelli, a Baroque building that houses MAXXI L'Aquila and was itself restored after the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake, creating a dialogue between the works and the building's history of recovery.

From YBAs to McQueen: Tate Britain’s New Exhibition Reframes the Creative Explosion of the 1990s

Tate Britain has announced a major new exhibition, *The 90s: Art and Fashion*, opening in autumn 2026, which will be the first to examine the intersection of contemporary art, photography, and fashion during the 1990s in Britain. Featuring over 100 works by nearly 70 artists, photographers, and designers—including Sarah Lucas, Alexander McQueen, Tracey Emin, and Steve McQueen—the show explores the decade's raw experimentation, anti-establishment energy, and the rise of the Young British Artists. Curated with input from Edward Enninful, the exhibition also highlights subcultures, nightlife, and the work of figures who challenged dominant narratives around race, identity, and class.

Liu Wei’s "You Like Pork?" leads Poly Hong Kong modern and contemporary art sale at US$3.5m

Poly Auction Hong Kong concluded its modern and contemporary art sale on April 6, achieving a total of HK$76.4 million (US$9.8 million) with a 67% sell-through rate. The auction was headlined by Liu Wei’s 1995 masterpiece "You Like Pork?", which sold for HK$27.6 million (US$3.5 million) to a phone bidder. Other top performers included Zao Wou-Ki’s "15.07.67" from his Hurricane period and Wu Dayu’s "Rhymes of Beijing Opera," both of which surpassed the HK$10 million threshold.

Ten London Art Exhibitions Not To Miss Opening in March 2026

London’s spring art season kicks off this March with a diverse array of high-profile exhibitions across the city's major institutions. Highlights include the Serpentine Galleries hosting concurrent shows by David Hockney and Cecily Brown, while the National Portrait Gallery presents the first major UK museum survey of American photographer Catherine Opie. Other notable openings include a George Stubbs focus at the National Gallery and a comprehensive look at the Baroque architecture of Sir John Vanbrugh at the Sir John Soane’s Museum.

All the Art You Need to See During L.A. Art Week 2026

L.A. Art Week 2026 is anchored by the return of Frieze Los Angeles at the Santa Monica Airport, featuring approximately 100 international galleries and the curated Frieze Projects. The week serves as a precursor to a landmark season for the city, which includes the upcoming opening of LACMA’s David Geffen Galleries and the debut of Lauren Halsey’s major sculpture park in South Central. Satellite fairs like Felix Art Fair at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and the artist-centric Post-Fair continue to expand the week's geographical and conceptual footprint.

Art market 2026 predictions: underwhelming rebound and another Frieze fair

The article presents five predictions for the art market in 2026, following a relatively improved but still cautious end to 2025. Key forecasts include a subdued market rebound, a shift toward smaller and cheaper artworks, the continued expansion of Frieze fairs (possibly into India), a consolidating Art Basel, and a resurgence of London's art-world clout. The predictions are informed by trends such as declining demand for art as investment, gallery closures and geographic pruning, and the thematic direction of the 2026 Venice Biennale, curated by the late Koyo Kouoh under the title "In Minor Keys."

Christie’s Holds Its Nerve Mid-Marathon as the 21st Century Evening Sale Secures a Steady $123.6 Million

Christie's 21st Century Evening Sale on November 20 achieved $123.6 million across 45 lots, with a 98% sell-through rate. The top lot was Andy Warhol's *The Last Supper*, selling for $8.1 million with fees, while works from the collection of Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson brought in $49.2 million. The sale included strong results for Christopher Wool, Cindy Sherman, and Diego Giacometti, though it lacked the record-breaking fireworks of earlier sessions.

9 Contemporary Artists Conjuring Ghosts

Maxwell Rabb profiles nine contemporary artists who explore ghostly and spectral themes in their work, coinciding with two major museum exhibitions: Kunstmuseum Basel's "Ghosts: Visualizing the Supernatural" (through March 2026) and Tacoma Art Museum's "Haunted." The article traces the historical evolution of ghost imagery in art from Renaissance depictions to 19th-century psychological forms by Goya and Fuseli, through 20th-century surrealist and post-war treatments, and highlights living artists such as Xie Lei and Mariann Metsis who use haunting as a metaphor for memory, loss, and the unseen.

Kerry James Marshall offers a fresh lesson in art history at his London retrospective

Kerry James Marshall's retrospective 'The Histories' opens at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, featuring over 80 works spanning his career. The exhibition, co-curated by Mark Godfrey and Adrian Locke, includes early pieces like 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of His Former Self' (1980) and recent paintings exploring African history and the transatlantic slave trade. After London, the show travels to Kunsthaus Zürich and the Musée d'Art Moderne in Paris, timed to Marshall's 70th birthday.