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Art historians and curators are re-evaluating the legacy of Frederic Church, arguing that his contributions extend far beyond his traditional classification as a Hudson River School landscape painter. New research highlights his sophisticated engagement with 19th-century science, his architectural achievements at his estate, Olana, and his role as a global traveler who captured the spirit of the Andes and the Arctic.
The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs has announced a shortlist of six finalists for a public monument honoring jazz singer Billie Holiday, to be installed outside the Jamaica Performing Arts Center in Queens. Among the top contenders are British sculptor Thomas J. Price and Bahamian conceptual artist Tavares Strachan, whose proposals include abstract bronze forms and a mirrored column, respectively. Other finalists are La Vaughn Belle, Nikesha Breeze, Nekisha Durrett, and Tanda Francis, all of whom consulted with Holiday scholars and family members to develop their designs.
Art Basel has announced the thirty-three winners of its 2026 Art Basel Awards, recognizing individuals and institutions across nine categories. The winners include prominent artists like Arthur Jafa, Julie Mehretu, and Barbara Kruger, as well as institutions such as The Brick in Los Angeles and the Diriyah Biennale Foundation. A new jury member, Prof. Dr. Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, was also added for this edition.
Il museo MAR di Ravenna apre una galleria permanente dedicata al fotografo di moda Paolo Roversi
The MAR museum in Ravenna, Italy, is opening a permanent gallery dedicated to fashion photographer Paolo Roversi, set to launch on May 20. The space, curated by Chiara Bardelli Nonino, will showcase Roversi's poetic and visual universe, featuring his iconic portraits of models like Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, and Rihanna, along with his fashion work and still lifes. The gallery is designed by scenographer Ania Martchenko with lighting by Silvestrin & Associati, and includes areas such as the Studio, the Archive, and the Room of the Muses.
The Brooklyn Museum will present the North American debut of "Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses" from May 16 to December 6, 2026. The exhibition features over 140 haute couture creations by Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen, displayed alongside contemporary art, design objects, and scientific artifacts. It explores her fusion of traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology, sustainability, and themes from nature and science. The show first opened at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 2023 and has traveled to QAGOMA, ArtScience Museum Singapore, and Kunsthal Rotterdam. The Brooklyn presentation coincides with the museum's annual Brooklyn Artists Ball, where Van Herpen will be honored.
The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine, has opened a year-long exhibition titled "Maine: A Force Within American Art (1890-2026)" in honor of America's 250th anniversary. The show presents 150 works across media, highlighting the state's artistic legacy from the late 19th century to the present. It features leading modernists such as Marsden Hartley, John Marin, Charles Demuth, and Georgia O'Keeffe, who found inspiration in Maine's landscapes, as well as contemporary artists like Theresa Secord. The exhibition is curated by Jaime DeSimone and Francesca Soriano, in collaboration with multiple institutions including the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation and Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.
The city of Pécs, Hungary, has reopened the Victor Vasarely Museum following a comprehensive renovation to mark the 120th anniversary of the artist's birth. The updated institution features a modernized building and a redesigned curatorial approach that showcases approximately 400 works, including monumental screen prints from the "VI-VA Album" that have been in storage for over 50 years. New interactive spaces and a focus on international dialogue place Vasarely’s Op Art legacy within the broader context of 20th-century geometric abstraction.
The Harlow Open 2026 has launched at the Gibberd Gallery, showcasing 205 selected works from nearly 500 submissions by regional artists. Curated by Laura Noble, the exhibition features a diverse range of media including acrylic painting, sculpture, and experimental photography. Top honors were awarded to Martin Barrall for his painting of Epping Forest, with other major prizes going to Joe Fordham and Jim Brown, alongside special category awards for painting and sculpture.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art will open the Condé M. Nast Galleries, a nearly 12,000-square-foot space adjacent to the Grand Hall, next spring. The new galleries will become the permanent home for the annual Costume Institute exhibition, replacing the museum's largest retail space. The inaugural show, "Costume Art" (10 May 2026–10 January 2027), will pair paintings, sculptures, and other art objects with historical and contemporary garments, emphasizing the dressed body as a central theme across the museum's collections. The move follows the record-breaking success of 2018's "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination," which drew over 1.6 million visitors.
The Portland Art Museum (PAM) will reopen its completely renovated campus on November 20 after nine years and $111 million in construction. The centerpiece is the Mark Rothko Pavilion, a glass structure that connects the museum's two historic buildings—the Main Building (1932) and the Mark Building (1924)—replacing a confusing underground tunnel that often caused visitors to miss entire exhibitions. The renovation touches 100,000 square feet total, including a new media gallery, upgraded spaces, and a 24/7 public passageway through the pavilion. An exhibition of eight paintings by Mark Rothko, who spent his childhood in Portland, will open alongside the pavilion.
This article presents a visual survey of works by Camille Pissarro, a key figure in Impressionism, featuring paintings such as "The Garden of Les Mathurins, property of the Deraismes Sisters, Pontoise" (1876), "The Pont-Neuf, Afternoon, Sunlight" (1901), and "Self-Portrait" (1873). The images are drawn from major museum collections including the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Musée d'Orsay, and the National Gallery of Art, among others. The article also promotes a members-only experience of a Pissarro exhibition.
Joe Feddersen, a 71-year-old artist and member of the Colville Confederated Tribes, has gained widespread acclaim for his prints, paintings, weavings, glass sculptures, ceramics, photography, and digital imagery. His work draws on the Plateau pictorial style and ancient petroglyphs, blending traditional Indigenous motifs with contemporary icons like chain-link fences and high-voltage towers. A traveling retrospective, a new book titled "Earth, Water, Sky," and a 2024 Governor's Arts & Heritage Award mark a particularly busy period, culminating in the exhibition "Past/Present" at studio e gallery in Seattle. Feddersen also addresses painful history, such as the 2021 discovery of unmarked graves at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, through works covered with skull outlines.
Mei Lanfang Was Famous for His Masterful Performances as Female Leads. In the 1930s, He Introduced American Audiences to the World of Chinese Opera
Mei Lanfang, one of China's most celebrated Peking opera stars famed for his masterful performances of female *dan* roles, embarked on a groundbreaking seven-month tour of the United States in 1930. His performances, which introduced American audiences to the elaborate art of Chinese opera for the first time, were met with critical acclaim and packed houses, earning him honorary doctorates from American universities and adulation from both Chinese American communities and the wider public.
Ball State University's David Owsley Museum of Art is hosting its annual 'Art in Bloom' event from May 15 to 17, 2026, in Muncie, Indiana. Regional floral designers create arrangements inspired by works from the museum's collection, with a free public preview party on May 15 featuring jazz by the Mark Buselli Trio. The weekend includes extended hours, paper flower-making workshops, live music by pianist Mikael Darmanie, and a People's Choice Award vote. This year's event is dedicated to the late David T. Owsley, the museum's namesake and main benefactor. A special exhibition, 'Nora Krug: Belonging,' organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum, is also on view through June 13.
A new exhibition, "Monet and Venice," has opened at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. It centers on the pivotal 1908 trip to Venice that the 68-year-old Claude Monet was initially reluctant to take, showcasing over 20 of the luminous, atmospheric paintings of the city he produced there. The show also includes over 100 related items, featuring works by Canaletto, Turner, Sargent, and Whistler, as well as photographs and books, to contextualize Monet's Venetian achievement.
The Michelson Museum of Art in Marshall, Texas, recently debuted 'Postcards from Home,' a collaborative exhibition featuring the works of regional artists Don Brown and Max Cole. The opening reception drew a significant local crowd, including three generations of Cole’s descendants, to celebrate the legacy of two figures who captured the landscapes and history of East Texas. The show, which runs through July 4, was organized in partnership with the Harrison County Historical Museum and the Meadows Museum of Art.
Two major gifts from Louisa Stude Sarofim and The Anschutz Foundation, part of Princeton University's Venture Forward campaign, will name the Wilmerding Pavilion and the Anschutz Galleries in the new Princeton University Art Museum. The pavilion honors the late John Wilmerding, a pioneering American art historian and professor at Princeton, while the galleries within it will showcase the museum's American art collections. The museum opens on October 31, 2025, and the new space will allow a nearly five-fold increase in displayed works, including a broader definition of American art encompassing Spanish Colonial and Native American art.
Kasmin gallery hosted its third annual benefit auction for Artistic Noise, a nonprofit supporting youth impacted by the juvenile justice, foster care, and mental health systems. The event honored artist Jordan Casteel as the inaugural featured artist, with over 40 donated works curated by Olivia Toups, including pieces by Lee Dawson, Julia Garciá, Ficus Interfaith, and Milly Skellington. The auction, which ended today, is projected to surpass its $100,000 goal, funding art therapy and resources for system-impacted young people.
Roberto Lugo has unveiled a monumental 20ft-tall urn titled *Capicú de Cariño (I Heard It Both Ways)* (2026) in Manhattan’s Madison Square Park, as part of his exhibition *Alfarero del Barrio (Village Potter)* commissioned by the Madison Square Park Conservancy. The urn features portraits of prominent Puerto Rican figures including Bad Bunny, Sonia Sotomayor, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Roberto Clemente, and the artist’s own parents, Gilberto and Maribel Lugo. The installation also includes a 15ft-tall orange fire hydrant sculpture, *Para Los Días Caliente (This Is For The Hot Ones)* (2026), and several planters and domino tables, all designed to invite public interaction and community engagement.
Kim Dacres transforms discarded auto and bicycle rubber into sculptural portraits that celebrate Black hairstyles and community. Her new exhibition "Lost on a Two Way Street" at Charles Moffett in New York features busts with braided buns and gear-like crowns, alongside flat wall works evoking Victorian cameos. The show also includes reimagined U.S. flags with Black and brown figures, addressing the current political climate and the gap between national symbols and lived reality.
The article reports on a new exhibition at the Kickernick Gallery in Minneapolis celebrating the 50th anniversary of WARM (Women's Art Registry of Minnesota), a pioneering women's art collective founded in 1976. The show features works by founding members including Harriet Bart, whose textile piece "Concrete Poem" (1985) is made from discarded garment labels she collected from her studio floor. The exhibition is curated by Christy Frank and runs until mid-June, highlighting the collective's history of mentorship, activism, and advocacy for gender equity in the arts.
The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. hosted its popular 'NGA Nights' series, featuring a 'Garden Party' theme that blended paper flower crafting with after-hours gallery access. The upcoming April event, 'United We Create,' shifts focus to the West Building to highlight five centuries of American creativity as part of the 'Celebrating American Art' exhibition and the broader America250 celebrations.
Sixteen artists have been commissioned to create original works for "Forged," a group exhibition at Drummond Studio Gallery honoring the legacy of Philip Simmons. Simmons was a master ironworker and blacksmith whose ornamental gates and balconies are definitive features of Charleston’s architectural landscape. The exhibition, which opens March 6, features local artists including Demetrius Bing, Riivo Kruuk, and Jonathan Green, and aims to highlight the cultural significance of the Simmons home and workshop.
Egypt's visual arts scene in 2025 saw significant growth, marked by the opening of new galleries and a surge in diversity of artistic approaches, aesthetics, and techniques, according to Ehab Ellaban, director of the Arts Complex in Zamalek, and artist Samir Abdelghany. The year featured major exhibitions honoring both established masters and emerging talents, including Mohamed Abla's participation in the 4th–7th Generation exhibition at Al Masar Gallery and his solo show In the Glow of the City, Ahmed Shiha's Egyptian Spirit at Picasso East Gallery, Salah Bisar's Glee at Ubuntu Art Gallery, and retrospectives for Esmat Dawestashy, Salah Abdel Kerim, Chafik Charobim, and Inji Efflatoun. Katherine Bakhoum's Between Sea and Sky at Safarkhan Gallery also highlighted the enduring relevance of Egyptian-French artists.
Marina Abramović, the pioneering performance artist who turns 80 this year, is the subject of a major exhibition at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, running through October. The show, titled "Transforming Energy," features interactive "transitory objects" such as crystal structures and minerals, a re-enactment of one of her best-known performances, and a depiction of her work "Pieta" staged with her late partner Ulay alongside Titian’s masterpiece. Abramović became the first living woman to be honored with a major exhibition at the museum, and she previously won the top prize at the 1997 Venice Biennale. In an interview, she discusses her shift from painting to performance, her evolving relationship with the audience, and the challenge of holding attention in an age of distraction.
The 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys" and curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, opened in May 2026 amid significant turmoil. The Austrian Pavilion features Florentina Holzinger's performance piece "Seaworld Venice," centered on a giant bell that chimes hourly. The biennale has been marked by the death of its curator, the resignation of the international jury over the inclusion of Russia and Israel, protests by Pussy Riot and the Art Not Genocide Alliance, and the cancellation of the South African Pavilion over Gabrielle Goliath's "Elegy," which honors murdered women including a Palestinian poet. The US Pavilion's state-sponsored offerings have also drawn criticism.
The University of Stirling's Art Collection has been designated a Collection of National Significance by Museums Galleries Scotland, joining four other collections receiving the honor on International Museums Day. The collection comprises over 800 prints, paintings, and sculptures, many displayed across the campus, particularly in the A-listed Pathfoot Building. Founded on a policy set by Principal Dr Tom Cottrell in 1967 to allocate 1% of building costs for art, the collection has grown through purchases and donations, including 14 works by Scottish Colourist J.D. Fergusson gifted by Margaret Morris. The collection team runs exhibitions, workshops, and an Artist in Residence programme to integrate art into university life.
The World Boxing Council (WBC) presented two commemorative championship belts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in connection with the exhibition "Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments," which marks the 50th anniversary of the film "Rocky." On April 23, 2026, Rasheen Farlow of the WBC gave a belt to the family of Joe Frazier, accepted by his daughter Jacquelyn Frazier-Lyde. The following evening, a second belt was presented to the exhibition itself, accepted by guest curator Paul Farber. The belts honor boxing figures Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, and Jose Sulaiman, and one also features the film character Rocky.
The McNay Art Museum in San Antonio presents "Garden Party: Nature on Paper," an exhibition running from May 7 to August 9, 2026, that explores humanity's relationship with the natural world. Featuring prints, drawings, photographs, paintings, and sculpture from the museum's permanent collection, the show includes works by René Magritte, Rufino Tamayo, Kara Walker, Luis Jiménez, and Honoré Daumier. Organized by Elizabeth Kathleen Mitchell, the exhibition is divided into two narratives: one celebrating nature's abundance through gardens and flowers, and another examining human extraction through hunting and exploitation imagery.