Meet the Hawaiʻi creatives behind a workout video featured in a New York art exhibition

A satirical workout video titled "20 minute workout" created by the Hawaiʻi-based artist initiative kekahi wahi is featured at the Whitney Biennial in New York. The video shows dancers in spandex stretching in front of the Captain Cook Monument at Kealakekua Bay on Hawaiʻi Island, set to electronic music. The project was part of a larger effort to reimagine public space and challenge commemorative monuments in Hawaiʻi, drawing on the energy of debates over Confederate statues in the continental U.S.

Buddy Holly Center to host gallery talk, closing reception for ‘Daybook’ exhibition

The Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, Texas, will host a closing reception and gallery talk for 'Daybook,' an exhibition of mixed media works by DFW-based artist Ashley Stecenko, on Sunday, May 17, 2026. Stecenko will lead a guided tour discussing her creative process, which combines drawing, printmaking, and quilting techniques to explore domestic spaces and personal memory. The exhibition includes her ongoing 'Little Ditties' series, where small journal-like pieces are sometimes sewn into larger patchwork compositions.

Sculpture as a Form of Architecture: Happening at the Foundation of Super Artist Anish Kapoor in Venice

La scultura come forma di architettura. Succede alla Fondazione del super artista Anish Kapoor a Venezia

Anish Kapoor has opened a major solo exhibition at Palazzo Manfrin in Venice, a 16th-century building he purchased in 2018, now home to his foundation. The show, running until August 8 during the 61st Venice Biennale, spans over fifty years of his practice, featuring models, studies, and installations that blur the line between sculpture and architecture. Works include the Monte Sant'Angelo metro station in Naples, the ArcelorMittal Orbit tower for the 2012 London Olympics, the inflatable concert hall Ark Nova, and the environmental installation Temenos. The palazzo itself remains under restoration, with exposed construction elements and workspaces visible, reinforcing the exhibition's theme of continuous transformation.

Video interview with Cecilia Canziani and Chiara Camoni, curator and artist of the Italy Pavilion at the Venice Biennale

Video intervista a Cecilia Canziani e Chiara Camoni curatrice e artista del Padiglione Italia alla Biennale di Venezia

The article is a video interview with curator Cecilia Canziani and artist Chiara Camoni about the Italy Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale. Camoni's installation, titled "Con te e con tutto," features large, monumental figures called "Sisters" that evoke ancient yet contemporary presences, created through a slow, collective, and materially responsive process. The pavilion is divided into two spaces: a vertical, sacred-like area and a horizontal, convivial one that includes a sub-exhibition called "Dialoghi." The project builds on years of friendship and collaboration between Canziani and Camoni, and involves a fluid community of international students, weavers, midwives, and artists working at Camoni's studio in Fabbiano, on the Apuan Alps.

There is an absent pavilion at the 2026 Venice Art Biennale that no one has talked about: Venezuela

C’è un padiglione assente alla Biennale d’Arte di Venezia 2026 di cui nessuno ha parlato: il Venezuela

The Venezuelan pavilion at the 2026 Venice Art Biennale remains closed, an absence that has gone largely unnoticed amid other controversies surrounding the Russian, Israeli, South African, and Iranian pavilions. Designed by architect Carlo Scarpa and built between 1953 and 1956, the pavilion now displays a trilingual sign stating it will "rise again soon," reflecting the country's collapse after the kidnapping and imprisonment of President Nicolás Maduro by the United States and the installation of a fragile pro-American interim government.

Il grande artista Michelangelo Pistoletto apre un hotel d’arte a Biella

Michelangelo Pistoletto has opened Hotel Cittadellarte in Biella, Italy, within his Cittadellarte Fondazione Pistoletto. The 31-room hotel houses the exhibition "L'ospite inatteso" by Giuseppe Stampone, curated by Ilaria Bernardi, with each room containing a unique artwork designed to be lived with rather than quickly viewed. The exhibition includes Stampone's "Fotocopie intelligenti" and large tapestries from the Brioni manufactory, addressing themes of migration, belonging, memory, and coexistence. The building was sustainably renovated with PNRR funds.

Intervista all’artista italiano che ha riempito la città di Stoccolma di sculture-animali

Italian artist Davide Rivalta has installed thirteen monumental bronze sculptures of lions, buffalo, and rhinoceroses across Stockholm, Sweden, in a project titled "Blowing Figures into Space." Organized by the Italian Cultural Institute of Stockholm, the works are placed in strategic locations including Mynttorget, Gamla Stan, Ladugårdsgärdet, and Hagaparken, with installations rolling out from April 2025 through summer 2027. The first sculpture was unveiled near the Swedish Parliament during Stockholm Art Week, and additional animals will appear in public parks on August 29.

Un big della fotografia del Novecento è in mostra a Venezia: tanti scatti inediti

A major exhibition dedicated to 20th-century photography master Horst P. Horst has opened at Le Stanze della Fotografia on San Giorgio Maggiore Island in Venice. Titled "La Geometria della Grazia" (The Geometry of Grace), it is the largest and most significant show ever devoted to the photographer, featuring over 400 works—about half of which are exhibited for the first time. The display pairs original vintage prints with archival materials such as period magazines, preparatory drawings, sketches, letters from Coco Chanel and Salvador Dalí, and slide projections. The exhibition is organized into eight sections exploring Horst's constant search for balance and proportion, moving beyond his famous fashion photography for Vogue to highlight the classical and modernist influences in his work.

In a Rome exhibition, an artist draws his own atlas: the body becomes world

In una mostra a Roma un artista disegna un proprio atlante: il corpo diventa mondo

Luca di Luzio's exhibition "Atlas ego imago mundi" at Palazzo Mattei in Rome, hosted by the Italian Geographical Society, presents a personal geography where the artist's body becomes landscape and world. Curated by Anna Cestelli Guidi, the show features around 40 maps, three large canvases, and a handmade book created between 2015 and 2023. Di Luzio uses his body as a palette, pressing skin directly onto paper or canvas to generate imaginary territories that merge sensory experience with artistic expression, referencing Merleau-Ponty's philosophy and Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man.

The ironic and intellectual painting of Renato Varese. The exhibition in Conegliano

La pittura ironica e intellettuale di Renato Varese. La mostra a Conegliano

Palazzo Sarcinelli in Conegliano is hosting a retrospective exhibition dedicated to Renato Varese (1926–2024), a versatile Italian painter, graphic artist, engraver, sculptor, and ceramist. Curated by Lorena Gava, the show marks the centenary of Varese's birth and features around fifty works spanning painting and graphic art, highlighting his ironic, intellectual, and visionary style often described as "Gothic." Concurrently, the artist's heirs have donated thirteen works to the city's civic collections, including the large canvas "Beati gli ultimi" (1997), now housed in a dedicated room named Sala L.R. Varese.

A Londra compare una statua firmata da Banksy. Trovata di marketing o davvero una nuova opera dell’artista?

A satirical statue has appeared in Waterloo Place, London, depicting a man in a suit with his face covered by a large waving flag. Initially met with skepticism due to its unusual chalk signature and three-dimensional form—departing from Banksy's typical stencil and mural work—the artist later claimed the piece via an ironic video on his Instagram page. The statue stands near the Crimean War Memorial and statues of Edward VII and Florence Nightingale, and is interpreted as a critique of authoritarian trends in democracies.

Qatar's Pavilion at the Venice Biennale Is Not Yet Built. But It Takes Shape Under a Tent in the Giardini with a Rich Cultural Program

Il Padiglione del Qatar alla Biennale di Venezia ancora non c’è. Ma prende forma sotto una tenda ai Giardini con un ricco programma culturale

Qatar's national pavilion at the Venice Biennale, designed by architect Lina Ghotmeh, is still under construction in the Giardini. For the 2026 Venice Art Biennale, Qatar Museums and Rubaiya Qatar have commissioned artist Rirkrit Tiravanija to present "Untitled 2026 (a gathering of remarkable people)" under a tent structure on the site. The project, curated by Tom Eccles and Ruba Katrib, will feature a film by Sophia Al-Maria, live performances by Tarek Atoui, a culinary program by chef Fadi Kattan, and a large-scale sculpture by Alia Farid, bringing together artists, musicians, and chefs from the Arab world.

Il Padiglione della Gran Bretagna alla Biennale d’Arte di Venezia 2026 spiega cos’è l’appartenenza

The British Council has selected artist Lubaina Himid to represent Great Britain at the 2026 Venice Biennale. Her exhibition, titled "Predicting History: Testing Translation," will transform the British Pavilion into a large-scale installation exploring belonging, displacement, and the recreation of home in new contexts. Created in collaboration with artist Magda Stawarska, the show features multi-panel paintings and a surreal soundscape that engages with the neoclassical architecture of the pavilion. Himid, a Turner Prize winner and pioneer of the Black British Art Movement, focuses on cultural memory and identity, challenging Eurocentric narratives and highlighting overlooked Black figures in Western history.

Color in Full Bloom: Chihuly Transforms Meijer Gardens

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan, will host "CHIHULY at Meijer Gardens" from May 2 to November 1, 2026, featuring the largest exhibition of Dale Chihuly's work ever held at the institution. The show includes 12 large-scale outdoor installations, over 80 indoor glass pieces, and 40 related drawings, with a 30-foot tower and glass boats in the Japanese Gardens. This marks the third Chihuly exhibition at Meijer Gardens, following shows in 2002 and 2010, and is one of only two 2026 exhibitions of the artist's work worldwide—the only one in America.

Korean modern masters lead K Auction’s May sale

K Auction will hold its May sale on May 27 at its headquarters in Sinsa-dong, Seoul, offering 83 works by Korean modern and contemporary masters with a combined estimated value of around 10.4 billion won. Highlights include Suh Do-ho's large-scale installation "Cause & Effect" (estimated 280 million to 600 million won), Kim Whan-ki's untitled 1969 painting from his New York period (estimated 780 million to 1.5 billion won), and Yoo Young-kuk's abstract landscape "Mountain" from 1988 (estimated 400 million to 800 million won). The sale also features works by Dansaekhwa artists Yun Hyong-keun, Park Seo-bo, and Lee Ufan, alongside contemporary artists Angel Otero, Anna Park, and Woo Kuk-won.

McEvoy Gallery Open House & Art Sale Planned

Newtown artist Dick McEvoy will open his studio and gallery at 51 Taunton Lake Road to the public for a weekend open house and art sale on June 13-14, 2026, from 1-4 pm each day. This is the first time in five years he has hosted such an event. McEvoy, known for his pastel landscapes and later large-scale oil paintings, synthesizes techniques from Impressionism and Abstract Expressionism, with curator Peter Hastings Falk praising his evolution into drip-action painting and his ability to reconcile seemingly opposing art movements.

Exhibition | Daniel Crews-Chubb, 'Pareidolia' at MASSIMODECARLO Pièce Unique, Pièce Unique, Paris, France

MASSIMODECARLO Pièce Unique in Paris presents 'Pareidolia,' an exhibition of new paintings by London-based artist Daniel Crews-Chubb. The show explores the psychological phenomenon of pareidolia—the brain's tendency to see faces in random patterns—through heavily layered works created with hands, ink, oil, sand, and collage. Three paintings are featured: 'Immortal XXXVIII' and 'Immortal XXXIX' (2026), large-scale works drawing on cultural memory of ancient sculpture, and 'Mask XXIV' (2026), which tests the minimal cues needed for facial recognition. Crews-Chubb's process involves building up and tearing back surfaces over weeks, with charcoal lines added last to define emergent figures.

Los Angeles Metro’s Stunning D Line Art Turns Stations Into Galleries

Los Angeles Metro unveiled a major public art installation on May 8 with the opening of the 3.92-mile D Line extension, connecting downtown to Beverly Hills. Nine artists were selected from over 1,400 applicants to create works across three stations—Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax, and Wilshire/La Cienega. Notable pieces include Karl Haendel's "Hands and Things" at the Wilshire/Fairfax station, featuring photorealist pencil drawings of hands holding objects sourced from nearby cultural institutions, and Susan Silton's "WE, OUR, US." The artworks are mounted using durable porcelain enameling that resists corrosion, scratching, fading, and graffiti.

Fátima González Doesn’t Want You to Shy Away From Asking Your Art Questions

Fátima González, founder of Mexico City-based gallery Campeche, recounts her journey from working the front desk at Kurimanzutto to opening her own gallery. After earning a graduate degree at the School of Visual Arts in New York and returning to Kurimanzutto in sales, she left in February 2020, just before lockdown. During the pandemic, she planned her gallery, found a space in one day, and opened with a group show of all-women artists from Mexico City. Campeche is now making its Frieze New York debut.

Coolidge Corner art gallery relocates, brightening downtown Boston neighborhood

Praise Shadows Art Gallery, a contemporary art gallery focusing on untapped and unrecognized artists, has relocated from Coolidge Corner in Brookline to a larger 2,000-square-foot space on Kingston Street in downtown Boston. The gallery reopened in mid-March after moving in January, with founder and CEO Yng-Ru Chen citing the convenience and breathing room of the new location. The move was facilitated by the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture and the Downtown Boston Alliance, which aims to fill vacant storefronts with arts businesses and revitalize the neighborhood.

Suman Dey’s new solo in Kolkata gives form to the abstract notions around us

Artist Suman Dey presents his second solo exhibition, titled *Chance, Remains of Another Time*, at Emami Art in Kolkata. The show features large-scale works on wood and other materials that explore abstract notions of memory, time, and nature through fragmented forms, textures, and narrative. Key pieces include a series of frames capturing everyday surface textures and a work titled *Journey* that uses boat shapes to depict transformation. The exhibition runs until May 9.

US Border Wall Construction Damages 1,000-Year-Old Indigenous Land Art in Arizona

Construction crews building a barrier between the United States and Mexico have damaged a 200-foot-long etching of a fish embedded in the land in Arizona, known as the Las Playas Intaglio, which is thought to be 1,000 years old. According to a report in the Washington Post, workers destroyed a 60-to-70-foot portion of the ancient Indigenous land art as part of President Donald Trump’s $46.5 billion border-wall project. Satellite imagery confirmed the destruction, showing bulldozer marks running through about a third of the fish formation. U.S. Customs and Border Protection acknowledged the incident, stating that a contractor inadvertently disturbed the cultural site on April 23, 2026, and that the remaining portion has been secured.

Metal Detectorists Unearth Norway’s Largest-Known Viking Coin Hoard

Two hobbyist metal detectorists, Rune Sætre and Vegard Sørlie, discovered Norway's largest-known Viking Age coin hoard in a field in Østerdalen, east-central Norway. Starting with 19 silver coins on April 10, the find grew to over 3,250 coins dating from the 980s to the 1040s, surpassing the previous record of 1,800 coins found in the 1800s. The hoard includes coins minted under Æthelred the Unready, King Cnut, and Holy Roman Emperor Otto III, as well as early Norwegian coins from after Harald Hardråde's return from Byzantium. The coins have been transferred to the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo for expert analysis.

A Theatre Group of Exiled Belarusian Artists Arrive in Venice, With an Exhibition That Shows What Repression Feels Like

The Belarus Free Theatre, an exiled underground theater group, will stage its first official collateral exhibition at the 61st Venice Biennale, titled “Official. Unofficial. Belarus.” The show, held in the historic La Chiesa di San Giovanni Evangelista di Venezia, features site-specific paintings, a sound installation, and large-scale sculptures that aim to immerse visitors in the experience of repression under authoritarian rule. This marks only the fifth time Belarus has been present at the Biennale, and the first time it appears not as a state but as a self-governing cultural body, challenging the official narratives of nations like Russia.

‘It’s a huge, futuristic space with massive skylights’: Ali Zolghadri’s best phone picture

Ali Zolghadri, a Tehran-born fine art photographer, captured a composite image of the central atrium of the Iran Mall in Tehran—the world's largest shopping mall—which was shortlisted in the creative category of the 2026 Sony World Photography Awards. The photograph, taken four months before the US and Israel launched their war on Iran, depicts the mall's futuristic architecture with sweeping curved lines, metallic surfaces, and massive skylights, and includes a lone passerby to emphasize scale. Zolghadri emphasizes that his process involves manual editing in Photoshop without AI, blending three frames and removing unnecessary elements to construct meaning.

Dolce Vita is Over

Dolce Vita war gestern

Andrea Modica's new photobook "Italian Story" collects four decades of photographs taken in Italy, beginning with her first trip there in the late 1980s. Born in 1960 to a family with roots in Sicily and Naples, Modica received a Fulbright scholarship to travel to Sicily and photograph the origins of the Catholic imagery, gender roles, and family structures she experienced growing up in New York. The book, however, is not a documentary of her heritage; instead, it presents dreamlike, surreal images—motionless bodies in water, dead fish, figures behind mosquito nets, Madonna statues—that resist clear narrative or identity politics. Modica works with an 8x10 large-format analog camera and prints using the historic platinum-palladium process, giving the images a timeless, collaborative quality.

This is fucking Disneyland

"Das ist fucking Disneyland"

The article surveys recent German cultural commentary, highlighting three main stories: art historian Bénédicte Savoy's warning in the FAZ about the physical decay of German universities, particularly the Technical University of Berlin, as a threat to democratic culture; Berlin artist Charlie Stein's essay on anxiety as a pervasive contemporary condition and art's role in making it visible; and critic Rachel Wetzler's harsh review of the Venice Biennale in Artforum, calling it an overwhelming 'theme park' version of the art world. Additionally, Nikolaus Bernau defends expert juries in the Tagesspiegel, using the Biennale's jury crisis as a case study.

Nasan Tur Collects Contributions for 'Archive of Feelings' for Manifesta 16

Nasan Tur sammelt Beiträge für "Archiv der Gefühle" zur Manifesta 16

Berlin-based artist Nasan Tur is calling on people from the Ruhr region and beyond to submit contributions to his "Archive of Feelings" via an online portal. The project is part of his commissioned work for the 16th edition of the nomadic biennial Manifesta, which opens on June 21 across several cities in the Ruhr area. Tur's installation, titled "Elevation," will be housed in St. Gertrud Church in Essen, where excerpts from anonymous submissions—expressing hopes, fears, wounds, ideas, wishes, and everyday observations—will be carved into old church pews.

He’s Trolling Your Trash, and Turning It Into Art

Thomas Dambo, a Danish artist known for constructing giant, whimsical sculptures from recycled scrap materials and hiding them in forests around the world, has gained a massive global following. His troll-like creatures, made from discarded wood and trash, have become viral sensations, drawing visitors to remote locations. Now, after years of operating largely outside the traditional art establishment, Dambo is receiving recognition from the mainstream art world, with galleries and institutions beginning to embrace his work.

JR transforms the Pont-Neuf into an immense immersive cave

JR métamorphose le Pont-Neuf en immense caverne immersive

French artist JR has transformed the Pont-Neuf in Paris into a massive immersive cave installation titled "La Caverne du Pont-Neuf," unveiled in May 2026. The work pays homage to Christo and Jeanne-Claude's 1985 wrapping of the same bridge, using an inflatable double-wall structure covered with printed fabric to simulate rock formations and a prehistoric cave. The 120-meter-long installation is free and open to the public day and night, featuring augmented reality experiences via mobile devices and VR glasses, with a soundscape by a former Daft Punk member. The project, budgeted at €10.9 million funded by private sources, marks the first time JR has invited the public inside one of his works.