Climate Activists Smear Palazzo Vecchio

Klimaaktivisten beschmieren Palazzo Vecchio

Members of the climate activist group Ultima Generazione targeted the historic Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, spraying its facade with orange washable paint using fire extinguishers. The protest was swiftly interrupted by security forces and Florence's Mayor Dario Nardella, who happened to be on-site and personally tackled one of the activists. Following the incident, the mayor joined cleaning crews on scaffolding to help scrub the medieval stonework with brushes and high-pressure hoses.

Sortilégios de desvio and the Politics of Image-Making

The Museu de Arte do Rio has launched 'Sortilégios de desvio,' the first solo institutional exhibition by Brazilian artist No Martins. Produced in collaboration with Galeria Almeida & Dale and curated by a five-person team led by Marcelo Campos, the show features a significant selection of Martins’ recent works that explore the intersections of urban experience and Afro-Brazilian cultural imaginaries. Through a variety of media, the exhibition highlights the artist's focus on gesture, memory, and the reconfiguration of traditional visual narratives.

art blunk house mariah nielson collector

Mariah Nielson, director of the JB Blunk Estate, reflects on growing up in the Blunk House—a home built by her father, artist JB Blunk, in the 1950s from salvaged materials in Point Reyes Station, California. She describes the house as a living sculpture where art, craft, and daily life merge. Today, she runs Blunk Space, the estate's gallery, and currently presents the exhibition “100 Candleholders,” featuring works by artists connected to the Blunk legacy. Nielson shares how her father's philosophy of functional, un-precious art shapes her collecting and curatorial practice.

design aspen home dana garman jim jacobson

Dana Garman Jacobsen and Jim Jacobsen purchased a 1970s West End house in Aspen, Colorado, after Dana felt an irresistible pull toward the property during a ski trip. The home, previously owned by Chicago philanthropist Joan Harris, features a post-and-beam structure reminiscent of their Richard Neutra house in Los Angeles, with a swimming pool integrated into the living space and architectural details that frame mountain views. The couple furnished the interiors with pieces from Dana's collection, including Børge Mogensen sofas and a Biedermeier chaise lounge, and crafted bed frames from a 150-year-old walnut tree.

Syracuse’s ArtRage Gallery hosts new exhibit exploring global plastic crisis

ArtRage Gallery in Syracuse is hosting a new exhibition titled 'A Rising Tide of Plastic in Art,' featuring works by members of the international collective Project Vortex. The show includes sculptures, photographs, and installations created from reclaimed plastic waste, with artists like Alejandro Durán, Nicole Hixon, Anne Percoco, and Blue McRight transforming debris into commentary on pollution.

Free art party to launch winter exhibits at Surrey Art Gallery

Surrey Art Gallery in British Columbia will host a free art party on January 17, 2026, to launch its winter exhibition season. The event features the group exhibition "remember the earth, remember the sky," inspired by a Joy Harjo poem and focused on ancestral connections through land, air, and memory, with works by early-career artists and pieces from the gallery's permanent collection by Salish artists. Also opening are solo shows by Zachery Cameron Longboy ("HOST") and Atheana Picha, along with the exhibition "What Bodies Know" reflecting on lived experiences in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. The evening includes artist talks, a piñata breaking, and hands-on artmaking workshops.

Gallery openings and exhibits in Central Oregon this week

This article lists numerous gallery openings and ongoing exhibits across Central Oregon, including venues such as Amejko Artistry, Art Adventure Gallery, Artists’ Gallery Sunriver, and the High Desert Museum. Featured shows include nomadic woven artwork by Anna Amejko Peterson, a 40th anniversary exhibition of Jefferson County artists, “A Man Named York” at the Belknap Exhibit Center, and “Drawn West — A History of Promoting Place” at the High Desert Museum, among many others spanning pottery, photography, fiber art, and historical displays.

Gallery Times

Carlton Gallery in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, is hosting its 43rd Winter Group and Small Works Exhibition, featuring artwork in all media by standing gallery artists. The exhibition includes paintings, sculptures, wood, glass, clay, and wearable fiber by local and regional artisans, with notable works by George Cadell, Joe Mareka, Nancy Brittelle, Valerie Schnaufer, Mary Means, Bob Meier, Eric Reichard, and others. The gallery invites visitors for holiday cheer, and the show highlights winter landscapes, abstract compositions, and handcrafted jewelry. Separately, Blowing Rock Frameworks & Gallery promotes its collection of local art and framing services, emphasizing works by Elliott Daingerfield, North Carolina's most prolific artist.

State Secretary Dismissed in Dispute Over Funding

Staatssekretär im Streit um Fördermittel entlassen

Berlin's culture administration has dismissed State Secretary Oliver Friederici, who was responsible for distributing funds for projects combating antisemitism. The move follows a prolonged controversy over the allocation of millions of euros in grants, with allegations of unclear criteria and potential political influence from the CDU party.

Reconnecting with the Handmade: The Hart Gallery’s Ampersand student art exhibit

William & Mary students showcased their handmade artworks in the Hart Gallery's "Handmade" exhibit, held in conjunction with the Ampersand International Arts Festival. Curated by alumna Zara Fina Stasi '12, a Richmond-based artist and founder of Good for the Bees, the multimedia exhibition featured approximately a dozen student submissions including assemblage, collage, sculpture, sewn hangings, and traditional painting. Student curators Gibran Adnan '27 and Rebecca Graber '27 collaborated with Stasi to select and install the works, which explored themes of experimentation, self-expression, and the human process of creating by hand.

design formafantasma andrea trimarchi simone farresin

Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin of Milan-based design studio Formafantasma have become fashion and art's go-to design duo. In the past year, they designed runways for Meryll Rogge's Marni debut, scenography for the new Fondation Cartier, and a radical take on the Shaker legacy for a show at the Vitra Design Museum. In an interview, they discuss their critical approach to design, the gap between design's progressive claims and its environmental and labor impacts, and their commitment to using design as a tool for inquiry rather than mere form-making.

“Those Who Tell You What to Wear Today Will Tell You What to Think Tomorrow”: Revisiting International Women’s Day 1979 in Iran

The article revisits the six-day nationwide women's protests in Iran that began on International Women's Day, March 8, 1979. Thousands of women marched in Tehran and other major cities in response to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's declaration mandating the hijab in public ministries, marking the first mass organized resistance against the compulsory hijab and the rising Islamic Republic.

Fractured Horizons Returns to NYCxDesign 2026 with Imaging After Images, Marking Its Second International Spotlight at the Festival

Fractured Horizons: Imaging After Images, the second edition of VSDesign's international exhibition series, returned to the NYCxDesign Festival in 2026, running for a week in New York. Organized by VSDesign in partnership with RAC Studio and Asia Design Week, the exhibition featured 60 works by artists and designers from across Asia and North America, spanning architecture, urbanism, product design, visual communication, and interactive media. The show explored how images no longer simply depict space but actively produce, operate, and regulate it, treating the image as a spatial mechanism rather than a neutral surface.

in venice, ukrainian artists reclaim joy with tender force

The article reports on 'Still Joy — From Ukraine Into the World,' a collateral exhibition at the 61st Venice Biennale presented by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation and PinchukArtCentre. The show features works by Ukrainian artists including Malashchuk & Khimei, Simone Post, and Zhanna Kadyrova, exploring themes of joy, survival, and resilience amid war. Highlights include a two-channel video juxtaposing a Kyiv rave before and after Russia's full-scale invasion, letters from Ukrainian soldiers printed on foam panels, and installations that transform everyday objects into meditations on sweetness and endurance.

The Venice Biennale of Art has begun! The pavilions you should not miss this year

The Venice Biennale of Art has officially opened, showcasing national pavilions and exhibitions from around the world. The article highlights key pavilions that visitors should prioritize this year, offering a curated guide to the most notable presentations at the prestigious international art event.

Arts Council News – Fine Art Exhibition Awards

Venice Biennale previews in chaos, overshadowed by Israeli and Russian participation

The Venice Biennale previews have descended into chaos, with the event overshadowed by controversies surrounding Israeli and Russian participation. Protests and disruptions have marked the lead-up to the prestigious international art exhibition, as demonstrators voice opposition to the inclusion of Israel amid the Gaza conflict and Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine. The situation has created a tense atmosphere, drawing significant media attention and complicating the Biennale's usual celebratory preview period.

Gallery: New women's artist collective opens joint show in Tallinn

The newly formed Estonian women’s contemporary art collective, Phoenix, has launched its latest group exhibition titled "Quintessence" at the Vabaduse Gallery in Tallinn. Curated and designed by Eveli Varik, the show features works from 17 members of the collective, including Marina Aleksejeva, Lylian Meister, and Tiiu Rebane. The exhibition explores the Aristotelian concept of the "fifth essence," or ether, serving as a metaphor for the distilled core of creative power and the spiritual immersion required for artistic rebirth.

Blue Sky Gallery Celebrates 50 Years of Photography in Portland

Blue Sky Gallery, a cornerstone of Portland’s photography scene, is celebrating its 50th anniversary throughout 2025. Founded in 1975 by five artists who pooled their unemployment checks to open a tiny storefront, the non-profit collective has since showcased over 1,000 photographers and expanded into a major space in the city's Pearl District. The milestone year includes a series of decade-focused exhibitions and a rooftop gala to honor its history as one of the oldest artist-run photography galleries in the United States.

The Interview: Sea Art Festival 2025

The 2025 Sea Art Festival, titled 'Undercurrents: Waves Walking on the Water,' is co-directed by Keumhwa Kim and Bernard Vienat, who were selected through an international open call. The biennial returns to Dadaepo Beach in Busan, South Korea, focusing on outdoor installations and sculptures that engage with the natural landscape and local communities. Kim, founder of Keum Art Projects, and Vienat, founder of art-werk and leader of the (re)connecting.earth biennial, emphasize collaboration with scientists such as paleontologists and bioacoustic researchers to highlight invisible ecological and social structures.

“Art Macao” public artwork Time Tower jointly created by artists from China, Japan and South Korean commemorates the cultural bonds and spiritual connections among East Asian cities

The "Art Macao: Macao International Art Biennale 2025" has unveiled a new public artwork titled "Time Tower" at the Macao Cultural Centre Plaza. Created collaboratively by artists Guan Huaibin (China), Hirotoshi Sakaguchi (Japan), and Kim Sang-yeon (South Korea), the piece commemorates Macao's designation as a "Culture City of East Asia" this year. The biennale features over 30 exhibitions across six sections, including the "Public Art Exhibition" themed "Waves & Ways," which integrates art into Macao's urban fabric. Additionally, the Community Co-Creation and Mutual-Aid Project at San Mei On Building has launched residencies with artists like Jason Ho, Wang Ying, Shen Jialu, and Zhang Xiao, engaging local residents through interactive works.

Three works by artist and sexual abuser Eric Gill withdrawn from UK exhibition after consultation with survivors group

Three artworks by Eric Gill, a sculptor and artist who sexually abused his daughters, have been withdrawn from the exhibition 'It Takes A Village' at the Ditchling Museum of Art and Craft in the UK, opening on 5 July. The works—two depicting his daughter Petra naked in a bath and one of a nude Elizabeth—were removed after the museum consulted with the Methodist Survivors Advisory Group, a group of abuse survivors. The survivors found the pieces offensive and potentially upsetting to visitors. The exhibition will still include Gill's watercolor 'Annunciation' in a separate room, and the museum's director, Stephanie Fuller, emphasized that the decision was led by the survivors' input.

A guide to Bay View Gallery Night 2025

The 14th annual Bay View Gallery Night will take place on Friday, May 30, 2025, in Milwaukee's Bay View neighborhood. The free, community-focused event features over 60 participating sites including galleries, breweries, restaurants, and shops, showcasing local artists, musicians, and makers. Highlights include live painting, tattoo art, virtual reality art, pet-friendly activities, and a complimentary shuttle service between key venues like Lincoln Warehouse and Hide House.

Carlos Runcie Tanaka's Ceramics in Pinta Lima's Special Project

CARLOS RUNCIE TANAKA S CERAMICS IN PINTA LIMA S SPECIAL PROJECT

The art fair Pinta Lima is presenting a Special Project dedicated to the late Peruvian ceramic artist Carlos Runcie Tanaka. Organized by Fundación Pinta, Henrique Faría Gallery, and the artist's estate, the exhibition brings together a selection of works from 2001 to 2007, focusing on his mastery of the clay sphere and his unique visual language.

The Welcoming Spaces of Italian Artist Donatella Spaziani at Her First Major Exhibition in China

Gli spazi accoglienti dell’artista italiana Donatella Spaziani alla sua prima grande mostra in Cina

Italian artist Donatella Spaziani has opened her first major solo exhibition in China, titled "Incolume tra le cose" (Unharmed Among Things), at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute Art Museum in Chongqing. The retrospective features over 100 works, including drawings, collages, site-specific installations, and sound art, spanning her career and highlighting her recent residency in the city. The exhibition eschews chronological order, instead creating an immersive environment where the artist’s signature silhouettes and explorations of the human body interact with the architectural space of the museum.

A library of sensations in Rome in the exhibition of Gabriele Simei: The interview

Una biblioteca di sensazioni a Roma nella mostra di Gabriele Simei. L’intervista

Artist Gabriele Simei has transformed the VOLUME! art space in Rome into an immersive installation titled "LABiblioteca Sottotevere." Curated by Silvano Manganaro, the exhibition features metal sculptures shaped like books, alongside found objects such as old lace, blankets, and tools. Simei uses acid to etch the textures of leaves gathered from the banks of the Tiber River and vintage textiles onto iron and brass plates, creating a "library of sensations" that bridges the gap between nature and domestic memory.

月を射る @ KAG

KAG in Tokyo is presenting a group exhibition titled "月を射る" (Shooting the Moon), running from May 19 to August 16, 2026. The show takes its starting point from a prose poem of the same name by Korean poet Yun Dong-ju (1917–1945), who wrote it in 1939 under Japanese colonial rule and later died in a Fukuoka prison. The exhibition spans pre-war and wartime educational films, propaganda, performance, and contemporary fieldwork, featuring works by artists such as Inoue Kan (Lee Byung-woo), Choe Seung-hui, Kamei Fumio, Yoshimi Yasushi, Atsugi Taka, Fujii Hikaru, Yamamoto Seiko, T.T. Takemoto, Morita Reine, Gataro, and Shirakawa Masao. It examines the management models formed by the former empire and the spiritual structure of colonialism that underlies contemporary issues, centering on works that carry the "memory of censorship"—banned, deleted, or denied existence by national, administrative, or social norms.

Cincinnati Art Museum to open new East Asian inspired exhibit

The Cincinnati Art Museum will open a new exhibition titled "Rediscovered Treasures" this fall, featuring approximately 60 East Asian masterpieces from its own collections, including Japanese armor, Chinese scrolls, Korean lacquer, a Japanese bronze "magic mirror," a Qing dynasty portrait of Lady Nian, and a Meiji period sumo wrestler's embroidered apron. The exhibition runs from September 19, 2025 to January 18, 2026, and is organized into three thematic sections: Rediscovery, New Identities, and Conservation. Admission is free.

UC Davis Graduate Exhibition Showcases Next Generation of Artists, Thinkers

The University of California, Davis, will host the Arts & Humanities 2025 Graduate Exhibition from June 5–22 at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art. The multidisciplinary showcase features 31 graduate students from art studio, art history, design, comparative literature, English, environmental science and policy, music, and performance studies. Works include photography, painting, sculpture, video, performance, and textiles, with live performances and awards on opening night. Participants explore themes such as human-technology relationships, environmental resilience, African diaspora, and emotional healing.

[Century Highlights] The Formosa Era Exhibition at Tainan Art Museum – A Journey Through 100 Years of Modern Taiwanese Art

The Tainan Art Museum has opened "The Formosa Era – The Enlightenment of Modern and Contemporary Taiwanese Art," a major exhibition spanning a century of Taiwanese art history. Featuring national treasures and significant works by artists such as Chen Cheng-po, Huang Tu-shui, and Chang Dai-chien, the show is organized into eight thematic sections that trace Taiwan's artistic evolution from the Dutch colonial period through Japanese rule to the post-war era. Highlights include an immersive audio-visual installation that transforms iconic paintings into panoramic, interactive experiences using high-resolution projections and motion sensors.