The Big Review | Jacques-Louis David at the Musée du Louvre, Paris ★★★★★

The Musée du Louvre in Paris has opened a major retrospective of Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), the greatest Neoclassical artist, marking his biggest survey in nearly four decades. The exhibition, mounted for the 200th anniversary of his death, comprises just over 100 works, including strategic loans from France and eight other countries, and complements the Louvre's own holdings. The show aims to redefine David beyond the Neoclassical label, presenting him instead as both a "realist" and an "idealist," and is compared to blockbusters like the Rijksmuseum's Vermeer show.

Review: Shows on view at Akron Art Museum reveal creative soul of a 200-year-old city

The Akron Art Museum is hosting a series of exhibitions that explore the identity and creative spirit of Akron, Ohio, as the city celebrates its 2025 bicentennial. The centerpiece is a large-scale retrospective of Alfred McMoore (1950-2009), a self-trained outsider artist from Akron who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent much of his life in psychiatric institutions. McMoore created massive pencil and crayon drawings focused on funerals and death rituals, and his work attracted a circle of supporters including the late antiques dealer Chuck Auerbach and journalist Jim Carney, whose sons Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney later founded the Grammy-winning band The Black Keys, named after McMoore's cryptic phrase.

Museum of the African Diaspora caps 20th anniversary celebration

The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a public celebration on December 13 and two exhibitions: “Continuum: MoAD Over Time” and “UNBOUND: Art, Blackness and the Universe.” Since opening in 2005, MoAD has been defined by Chester Higgins’s photomosaic “The Girl from Ghana,” which features over 3,000 stamp-sized images from contributors worldwide. Under executive director Linda Harrison (2013–2019) and current CEO Monetta White, the museum shifted from a focus on historical and anthropological narratives to centering contemporary Black artists, hiring its first full-time staff curator, Key Jo Lee, in 2023.

A vocabulary of touch: exhibition of sculpture by blind and partially blind artists opens in Leeds

The Henry Moore Institute in Leeds has opened "Beyond the Visual," the first major UK exhibition of sculpture centered on blind and partially blind artists and curators. Co-curated by Ken Wilder, Aaron McPeake, and Clare O'Dowd, the show features works by 16 international artists including Henry Moore, Barry Flanagan, Lenka Clayton, Emilie Louise Gossiaux, David Johnson, and others. The exhibition prioritizes touch, sound, and sensory engagement, with all objects available to handle, textured flooring mats, high-contrast signage, and audio descriptions. It includes new commissions such as David Johnson's "Nuggets of Embodiment" (2024-25), made of 10,000 stone-plaster Digestive biscuits with Braille text.

Frenemies or rivals? Tate Britain show explores Turner and Constable's turbulent relationship

Tate Britain will present "Turner and Constable," a major exhibition spanning 2025–2026 that explores the intertwined careers and rivalry of J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851) and John Constable (1776–1837). For the first time, a show is devoted to both artists, featuring historical reconstructions such as the famous 1831 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition pairing of Turner's *Caligula’s Palace and Bridge* (1831) and Constable's *Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows* (1829–31). Curated by Amy Concannon, the exhibition includes loans from private collections and rarely seen works, including Turner's *The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, 16 October 1834* (1835) from the Cleveland Museum of Art, on show in the UK for the first time since 1883.

Sara Friedlander Appointed Chairman, Post-War & Contemporary Art, Americas - Christie's

Christie's has promoted Sara Friedlander to chairman of Post-War and Contemporary Art for the Americas, as announced by Global President Alex Rotter. Friedlander, a specialist and dealmaker with nearly 20 years at the auction house, will focus on works from the last 50 years. She has brought major collections to market, including the Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art and the Edlis | Neeson Collection, and has achieved world-record prices for artists such as Joan Mitchell, Alice Neel, Ernie Barnes, Dorothea Tanning, and Marlene Dumas.

Women in the Arts museum brings golden age artists into focus

The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C., has opened a new exhibition titled "Women Artists from Antwerp to Amsterdam, 1600-1750," which showcases works by largely forgotten female masters of the Dutch Golden Age, including Judith Leyster, Maria van Oosterwijck, Clara Peeters, and Rachel Ruysch. The show features over a dozen artists and highlights paintings rich in symbolism, such as van Oosterwijck's "Vanitas Still Life" and Leyster's "The Concert," while also addressing how many of these women were celebrated in their own time but later misattributed or omitted from art history.

Exhibition Celebrating Abstract Painter Joan Mitchell Features Work on Loan from the Hofstra Museum

Joan Mitchell's painting "Metro" (1965) from the Hofstra University Museum of Art's permanent collection is on loan to David Zwirner gallery in New York for the exhibition "To define a feeling: Joan Mitchell, 1960-1965," running from November 6 to December 13, 2025. The exhibition focuses on a transformative period in Mitchell's career, showcasing paintings and works on paper from public and private collections, including the Joan Mitchell Foundation, that trace her shift from structured abstractions to centralized, swirling forms inspired by travels along France's Côte d'Azur.

Michelangelo Pistoletto: ‘AI will not destroy humanity, we are doing it ourselves’

Italian artist and Arte Povera pioneer Michelangelo Pistoletto, aged 92, has opened a new exhibition at Helly Nahmad Gallery in London, pairing his latest Mirror Paintings with Cubist works by Pablo Picasso, including Picasso's 1924 painting *Partition, Guitare, Compotier*. In an interview with The Art Newspaper, Pistoletto discusses how his mirror works—first presented in 1963—break down the traditional perspective of art, reflecting society and reality in a 360-degree space-time continuum, and how Picasso's shattering of the image paved the way for his own innovations. He also touches on his Cittadellarte foundation in Biella, his Nobel Peace Prize nomination, and his "Third Paradise" philosophy.

Introducing Erich Heckel, the unsung driving force of Die Brücke

The Neue Galerie in New York is opening the first US museum exhibition dedicated to German Expressionist artist Erich Heckel (1883-1970), running from October 9, 2025 to January 12, 2026. Heckel was a co-founder of the influential group Die Brücke in 1905, alongside Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, and Fritz Bleyl. Unlike the more flamboyant Kirchner, Heckel was introverted and avoided scandal, but he served as the group's organizational driving force, organizing key exhibitions and transforming Die Brücke into a promotional platform. The show features around 40 works from 1905 to 1920, including loans from the Harvard Art Museums and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Exhibitions Celebrate Mead’s 75th Anniversary

The Mead Art Museum celebrated its 75th anniversary with a fall installation featuring three distinct exhibitions: Swapnaa Tamhane's immersive textile work "Spaces That Hold," "A Contentious Legacy: Paintings from Soviet Ukraine," and "Re/Presenting: An Activity Gallery." The opening transformed the museum into an interactive space where visitors could lie down, sit, or sing among hanging block-printed textiles, challenging traditional gallery norms. Tamhane's "Mobile Palace" (2020–2021), created with artisans Salemamad Khatri and Mukesh Prajapati, reinterprets Le Corbusier's Mill Owners' Association building as an ornament, while the Soviet Ukraine exhibition presents paintings from the 1960s–1980s that navigated propaganda and creative expression under state censorship.

Calder Gardens opens this weekend in Philadelphia

Calder Gardens, a new art space dedicated to the work of Alexander Calder, opens this weekend in Philadelphia on Benjamin Franklin Parkway, across from the Rodin Museum. Designed by Herzog & de Meuron with gardens by Piet Oudolf, the building is mostly underground and emphasizes a multi-sensory experience, including curated scents, textured surfaces, and no wall labels. The space will display 50 years of Calder's mobiles, stabiles, paintings, and drawings, rotating works without a fixed schedule.

Ten essential works of art to see at the Museum of Modern Art, New York

The article presents a curated list of ten essential artworks at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, coinciding with the departure of longtime director Glenn Lowry after 30 years and the appointment of Christophe Cherix as his successor. It highlights iconic pieces such as Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" (1907) and Matisse's "The Red Studio" (1911), while reflecting on MoMA's history, its founding vision by Alfred Barr, and its evolution through expansions including the incorporation of PS1 and the $450 million renovation of its 53rd Street building.

‘I feel a renewed passion to shape a new era’: Youn Bummo takes the reins as president of the Gwangju Biennale

Youn Bummo has been appointed president of the Gwangju Biennale Foundation, returning to the organization he helped launch in 1995. He previously served as director of South Korea's Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) from 2019 until his resignation in 2023, which was widely attributed to political pressure. The 16th edition of the Biennale in 2025 will be curated by Singaporean film artist Ho Tzu Nyen.

Something from Everything leads current excellent array of exhibitions at Utah Museum of Contemporary Art

The Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA) is presenting five exhibitions, including an outdoor public art installation, with the highlight being "Something from Everything" (on view through Jan. 3, 2026). This exhibition features works from 19 artists that use mundane, discarded, and overlooked materials, exploring the evolving medium of sculpture. Key pieces include Lee Bontecou's 1959 "Untitled" relief (on loan from the Art Bridges Foundation) and Charlotte Posenenske's modular "Vierkantrohre (Square Tubes)" from 1967, alongside contemporary works by Nolan Flynn, Patrick Durka, Ricardo Rendón, and Leonardo Drew.

Robert Wilson, experimental playwright, director and artist, has died, aged 83

Robert Wilson, the visionary experimental playwright, director, and visual artist known for his highly stylized theatrical productions, has died at age 83. He passed away at his home in Water Mill, New York, on July 31 following a brief acute illness, according to a statement from the Watermill Center, the arts organization he founded. Wilson's most famous works include the silent opera *Deafman Glance* (1970) and the epic collaboration with composer Philip Glass, *Einstein on the Beach* (1976). He was also a prolific visual artist, creating drawings, sculptures, and video portraits, including a series featuring Lady Gaga, Pope.L, and Isabella Rossellini, and his work was exhibited at institutions such as SFMoMA, the Centre Pompidou, and the Louvre.

Less than two years after opening, the Museum of Censored Art in Barcelona has closed its doors

The Museu de l’Art Prohibit (Museum of Censored Art) in Barcelona, the world's first museum dedicated to censored artworks, has closed indefinitely less than two years after opening. Founded in October 2023 by Catalan journalist and businessman Tatxo Benet, the museum housed over 200 banned works by artists including Ai Weiwei, David Wojnarowicz, and Abel Azcona. The closure, announced on June 27, was attributed to financial losses caused by four months of picketing by the Solidarity and Unity of Workers union (SUT), which protested the museum's termination of a contract with management company Magma Cultura. The union demanded better working conditions, including improved air conditioning, more breaks, and higher pay.

New exhibit 'Ode to Dena' explores Altadena’s deep Black artistic legacy

The California African American Museum in Exposition Park has opened 'Ode to ’Dena: Black Artistic Legacies of Altadena,' a free exhibition celebrating the deep Black artistic heritage of the Altadena neighborhood. Curated by Dominique Clayton, the show features over 20 Black artists with ties to the area, including a wall of archival family photos, works by 98-year-old Betye Saar, and pieces by Kenturah Davis and her family. The exhibition was organized rapidly after the Eaton Fire, incorporating debris from the disaster, such as a scorched flugelhorn and a charred sound bowl, to reflect loss and resilience.

The Met to Present Focused Exhibition of George Morrison Works from the Artist’s Early Years in New York

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will present "The Magical City: George Morrison’s New York," a focused exhibition of works by George Morrison (1919–2000), a Native American artist from the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Running from July 17, 2025, to May 31, 2026, at The Met Fifth Avenue, the show highlights Morrison’s early years in New York City, where he became a key figure in the American Abstract Expressionist movement. It features paintings, drawings, and archival materials from his time at the Art Students League and his interactions with peers like Willem de Kooning and Franz Kline, tracing his evolution from figurative work to abstract automatism infused with Ojibwe aesthetics.

New CAM Exhibition Shows Food’s Role in French Art

The Cincinnati Art Museum has opened a new exhibition titled "Farm to Table: Food and Identity in the Age of Impressionism," organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Chrysler Museum of Art. Featuring works by Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, and others, the show explores the role of food in French art and society from the 1870s onward, juxtaposing scenes of peasant labor with depictions of upper-class abundance. Curator Andrew Eschelbacher highlights how food was central to French identity during a period marked by war, famine, and social upheaval, with Impressionist brushstrokes often veiling deeper sociopolitical realities.

The Denver Art Museum celebrates A Century of Art in Latin America

The Denver Art Museum (DAM) has announced its upcoming Fox Gallery exhibition, *A Century of Art in Latin America*, opening June 15, 2025, and running through June 15, 2027. The exhibition will be held in the Latin American Art galleries on level four of the museum’s Martin Building and is included in general admission, which is free for visitors 18 and under and for museum members. Featuring works exclusively from the John and Sandy Fox Collection, the show includes sculptures, paintings, textiles, prints, and mixed media pieces spanning the 20th and 21st centuries, offering a broad survey of artistic movements across the region.

Museum openings: V&A East Storehouse and the Met’s Rockefeller Wing, plus Rachel Whiteread at Goodwood Art Foundation—podcast

This episode of The Art Newspaper's podcast 'The Week in Art' covers three major museum developments. Ben Luke tours the V&A East Storehouse in London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, a new facility offering unprecedented public access to the Victoria and Albert Museum's collection, speaking with deputy director Tim Reeve, lead technician Matt Clarke, senior curator Georgia Haseldine, and director of collections care Kate Parsons. Ben Sutton visits the Metropolitan Museum of Art's newly revamped Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, which houses collections from Africa, the Ancient Americas, and Oceania, interviewing curator Alisa LaGamma and contemporary artist Taloi Havini. The episode also features Rachel Whiteread's new work 'Down and Up (2024-25)' as Work of the Week, part of her debut exhibition at the Goodwood Art Foundation in West Sussex.

Mbare Art Space: a colonial beer hall in Zimbabwe has become a vibrant arts centre

Moffat Takadiwa, a leading figure in Zimbabwe's artist-run spaces movement, has transformed a former colonial-era beer hall in the Mbare township of Harare into the Mbare Art Space. Opened in 2019 under a long lease from the Harare City Council, the nonprofit hub now houses studios, an exhibition hall, a digital hub, and office space, serving as a vibrant center for artistic and community revival. The beer hall was originally built by British colonial authorities as a tool of social control and segregation, but Takadiwa has repurposed it into a site of creative freedom and empowerment, inspired by global precedents like Theaster Gates' Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicago.

Remembering Pope Francis, for 12 years head of the Catholic church and proprietor in trust of the Vatican's library and art collections

Pope Francis, the 266th pope and the first from the Americas and the Global South, has died. He was the spiritual leader of 1.3 billion Catholics, head of state of the Vatican, and proprietor in trust of the Vatican's vast art and architectural collections. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, he was the first Jesuit pope and the first to take the name Francis, signaling a commitment to austerity and social justice. His papacy, beginning in 2013 after Benedict XVI's resignation, addressed theological controversies, church culture wars, interfaith relations, Vatican financial reform, the clergy sexual abuse crisis, and cultural restitution from the Vatican's holdings.

Marilyn Monroe, Iconic Idol

Marilyn Monroe, idole iconique

The Cinémathèque française in Paris is presenting an exhibition dedicated to Marilyn Monroe to mark the centenary of her birth. The show explores her evolution from actress to a globally reproduced image, featuring portraits by renowned photographers and examining her enduring cultural presence.

Al Padiglione del Giappone della Biennale di Venezia vi affidano una bambola da accudire

The Japan Pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale 2026 features an immersive, interactive exhibition titled "Grass Babies, Moon Babies" by Japanese-American artist Ei Arakawa-Nash. Visitors are invited to care for one of 200 dolls, each with a QR code that provides a "diaper poem" linked to the doll's symbolic birth date—reflecting the artist's personal experience of becoming a father in 2024 and broader social dynamics in Japan. The pavilion, curated by Lisa Horikawa and Mizuki Takahashi, evolves over the seven months of the Biennale as a platform for shared care and participation.

A Place of Perpetual Warmth: Hyde Park Art Center and the Making of Chicago’s Creative Identity

The Hyde Park Art Center (HPAC) stands as a vital pillar of Chicago’s grassroots creative identity, serving for eighty-six years as an unpretentious alternative to the city's major encyclopedic museums. From its early days under curator Don Baum, the center became a catalyst for the avant-garde, famously launching the careers of the Chicago Imagists and the Hairy Who. Today, it continues to function as a multifaceted ecosystem that blends community education, artist residencies, and experimental exhibitions within a residential neighborhood setting.

Things To Do In Singapore For The Culturally Curious

Singapore's art scene is hosting several diverse exhibitions this April, ranging from a cat-themed group show at Tokonoma to Chok Si Xuan’s solo exploration of technological materials at Starch. Other highlights include a collaborative exhibition at Fluxus House Gallery featuring emerging artists Tay Ying, Zhixin Sheng, and Winnie Chua, which examines the nuances of early adulthood through personal correspondence and imagery.

Review: Thomias Radin, Echoes of KA at Esther Schipper, Berlin

Thomias Radin’s fourth solo exhibition at Esther Schipper in Berlin, titled "Echoes of Ka," presents a multidisciplinary environment blending painting, woodwork, and installation. The Guadeloupe-born artist draws heavily from Caribbean embodied knowledge, dance philosophy, and the ancient Egyptian concept of 'Ka'—a vital life force—to transform the gallery into a choreographed 'secret garden.' The works, characterized by vibrant colors and gestural oil paintings on raw linen, are informed by Radin’s collaboration with dance scholar Léna Blou and his own practice of improvisation.

Frieze Los Angeles Diary: Joe Cool, cold juice and hot desert art

Frieze Los Angeles kicked off its 2024 edition with a high-profile opening day, drawing a mix of Hollywood celebrities, professional athletes, and major international collectors. The fair's atmosphere was defined by a blend of blue-chip art commerce and Los Angeles lifestyle culture, featuring notable presentations such as Stephanie H. Shih’s ceramic homages to Erewhon juices at Berggruen gallery and Napoles Marty’s Frieze Impact Prize exhibition.