Art Paris 2026 will take place from April 9–12 at the Grand Palais, featuring two major curated themes: "Babel – Art and Language in France," guest-curated by Loïc Le Gall, and "Reparation," curated by Alexia Fabre. The fair will include roughly 165 galleries, with sectors like Promises for emerging artists, Solo Show for monographic presentations, and French Design Art Edition.
Kenny Schachter explores the existential threat posed by the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence and its projected impact on the global economy by 2028. Citing the Citrini Report, he highlights a future of mass unemployment among white-collar professionals—the primary demographic for art consumption—who account for over 50% of discretionary spending in the U.S. As tech leaders like Jack Dorsey begin significant workforce reductions attributed to AI, the financial foundation of the art market appears increasingly precarious.
Galerie Michael Haas in Berlin is presenting "André Thomkins: Lackskins," a focused exhibition on the Swiss artist's experimental technique developed in the 1950s. Thomkins (1930–1985) created these works by dripping varnish onto water and transferring the floating pigment to paper, a process blending controlled manipulation with chance. The show, running through March 6, 2026, highlights a body of work rediscovered only in the last 15 years, including pieces like "Astronauten" (1962).
Warren Isensee's new paintings at Miles McEnery Gallery in Chelsea, New York, explore optical structure with loosened rules, where warm and cool tones trade dominance across repeating frameworks. On view through February 14, 2026, the exhibition is the artist's third solo outing with the gallery and includes a fully illustrated publication with an essay by Stephen Westfall. The works interrupt their own logic, introducing irregular breaks that reroute the eye, creating a test of looking rather than a display of visual effects.
Artissima, Italy's only contemporary art fair, closed its 32nd edition on November 2, 2025, at the Oval Lingotto Fiere in Turin, drawing 34,500 visitors and 176 galleries from 36 countries. Directed by Luigi Fassi for the fourth year, the fair ran from October 30 to November 2, featuring 63 monographic presentations and 26 first-time exhibitors. The edition introduced a new 5% VAT rate on artworks in Italy, awarded 13 prizes including the new Vilnius Residency Prize, and saw the Fondazione Arte CRT Acquisition Fund acquire 26 works for GAM Torino and Castello di Rivoli, marking its 25th anniversary. Special projects included "From Japan: Anonymous Art Project" and a film screening by Basim Magdy at Parco Michelotti.
Artnet News critic Ben Davis presents his annual "art words of the year" for 2025, a curated list of terms that capture prevailing moods and ideas in the art world. The list includes "antimemetics" (from writer Nadia Asparhouva and internet fiction), "cyniserity" (coined by art writer David Colman to describe Anne Imhoff's work), "delightmare" (a horror-adjacent feeling linked to overconsumption and AI art, exemplified by Beeple's Art Basel installation), "elite capture" (from philosopher Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò's book, now a tool for critiquing identity politics in art), and "K-shaped" (an economic term describing divergent recovery, applied to gallery closures versus record auction sales).
Alex Prager has created "Mirage Factory," an immersive installation inside a former Miami Beach cinema that pays tribute to her hometown of Los Angeles while critiquing its illusions. The installation features meticulously crafted sets, a new photograph, and a dining experience by chef Dave Beran, alongside a live performance by Diana Ross. It opened with private events for Capital One cardholders and the Cultivist art club, and is now public through December 4, with proceeds benefiting Heal the Bay.
Design Miami 2025 preview drew a bustling crowd with over 70 exhibitors under the theme "Make Believe." Highlights included Katie Stout's whimsical carousel featuring marine animals, Roham Shamekh's biomorphic "Roots" sofa with integrated headphones, and ATRA's futuristic "Intelligence of Evolution" seating system upholstered in Hermès fabric. The Spanish silver brand Garrido showcased collaborations with Peter Marino, while the fair's 20th anniversary edition embraced a carnivalesque atmosphere with popcorn and mirrored walls.
The childhood home of legendary singer and activist Nina Simone in Tryon, North Carolina, has been fully restored after nine years of effort by an artist coalition led by Adam Pendleton, alongside Julie Mehretu, Rashid Johnson, and Ellen Gallagher. The restoration, completed with a $6 million boost from a charity auction and gala co-hosted by tennis star Venus Williams and Pace Gallery, preserved the 650-square-foot clapboard house to its 1933–1937 condition, including historically accurate materials, an ADA ramp, geothermal climate control, and a century-old magnolia tree named “Sweetie Mae.” The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund announced the completion, and the property remains closed to the public while community programming and ethical cultural tourism are being planned.
Director Yorgos Lanthimos has opened a photography exhibition at the Onassis Stegi in Athens, showcasing personal images taken in Greece over recent years. The show includes a central, temple-like installation housing his newer, non-film-related work, alongside earlier photographic series connected to his movies 'Poor Things' and 'Kinds of Kindness'.
German artist Thomas Zipp, known for his dark, punk-infused explorations of history and science, has died at age 60. Throughout a career spanning painting, sculpture, and immersive scenographic installations, Zipp blended a Dadaist sensibility with a deep interest in politics, neuroscience, and the nuclear age. His work often challenged viewers with complex, opaque environments, such as his notable 2013 Venice Biennale installation that transformed a palazzo into a psychological sanatorium.
Artist Craig Jun Li's solo exhibition features collagist wall-works and installations that deconstruct photographic technology. Works like the 2025 silicone sheets incorporate altered dye-transfer prints, Polaroids, and actual camera parts like SX-70 film cartridge springs, redirecting focus from pictorial representation to the mechanical apparatus of image-making.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is opening a new exhibition titled "Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments," which explores the cultural and artistic significance of the Rocky Balboa statue that sits at the museum's steps. Guest curator Paul Farber organized the show, which spans over 2,000 years of boxing imagery and includes works by Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Andy Warhol. The exhibition marks a shift in the museum's long-standing ambivalent relationship with the statue, which was originally placed on the steps during filming of the "Rocky" movies and later relocated before returning in 2006. After the exhibition closes in August, the statue will be permanently installed at the top of the museum's steps for the first time.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art has opened a new exhibition titled "Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments," centered on the iconic bronze statue of fictional boxer Rocky Balboa that sits at the bottom of the museum's steps. Guest-curated by Paul Farber, the show explores the statue's transformation from a movie prop into a real-world symbol of perseverance and public devotion, tracing over 2,000 years of boxing imagery through works by artists such as Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Andy Warhol. The museum, which once fought to have the statue removed, now embraces it as part of Philadelphia's identity.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art is opening a new exhibition titled "Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments" that brings the iconic bronze statue of fictional boxer Rocky Balboa inside the museum for the first time. Guest curator Paul Farber organized the show, which spans over 2,000 years of boxing imagery and places the statue within art history and Philadelphia's identity. The museum, which had a historically rocky relationship with the statue—initially fighting to have it removed from its steps—has now embraced it, with plans to permanently install the statue at the top of the museum's steps after the exhibition closes in August.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art has opened a new exhibition titled “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments” in April 2026, which examines the cultural significance of public monuments through the lens of the fictional boxer Rocky Balboa. Curated by Paul Farber and drawing on the work of Monument Lab, the show brings the iconic Rocky Statue inside the museum, placing it alongside classical and contemporary artworks by artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol, as well as historical objects spanning 2,000 years.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art will present "Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments," an exhibition opening April 25, 2026, that explores the cultural significance of the Rocky statue and its connection to Philadelphia's boxing legends, immigrant neighborhoods, and public monuments. Featuring over 150 works by more than 50 artists—including Keith Haring, Rashid Johnson, Kara Walker, and Andy Warhol—alongside artifacts spanning 2,000 years, the show includes sculptures, paintings, video, and new commissions, timed to the 50th anniversary of the film "Rocky" (1976), the city's World Cup matches, and Philadelphia's Semiquincentennial.
This article highlights a curated spring journey through major exhibitions across Europe and the US, focusing on artists represented in the UBS Art Collection. Featured shows include Catherine Opie at the National Portrait Gallery in London, Yin Xiuzhen at the Hayward Gallery, Tracey Emin at Tate Modern, Lorna Simpson at Palazzo Grassi in Venice, and Jean-Michel Basquiat at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark. Each exhibition offers fresh perspectives on the artists' practices, from photography and installation to painting and works on paper.
Marcel Duchamp - Hommage a Caissa (for the Marcel Duchamp Fund of the American Chess Foundation) , 1966
This rare 1966 silkscreen poster commemorates the "Hommage à Caissa" exhibition at New York’s Cordier & Ekstrom Gallery, a fundraiser organized by Marcel Duchamp for the American Chess Foundation. The event featured contributions from 36 iconic artists, including Salvador Dalí, Jasper Johns, and Alexander Calder, and is famously remembered for Andy Warhol’s uninvited "guerrilla attack" appearance with the Velvet Underground. The poster's design incorporates RSVP cards sent to participating artists, some featuring personal notes and autographs.
Renowned British sculptor Antony Gormley is preparing for a major creative season, marked by two upcoming exhibitions at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp and Galleria Continua in San Gimignano, alongside the release of a new book dedicated to his drawings. Speaking from his David Chipperfield-designed studio in London, the artist reflects on his rigorous daily practice and his background in art history, contrasting his own ascetic, industrial aesthetic with the fleshy opulence of Flemish masters like Rubens.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) have launched "A Nation of Artists," a massive dual-museum exhibition running through late 2027. The show features over 1,000 works, including the public debut of 120 pieces from the private Middleton Family Collection, owned by Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton. While the PMA presents the works chronologically from 1700 to 1960, PAFA offers a thematic exploration, both aiming to integrate underrepresented Black, Indigenous, and immigrant artists alongside canonical figures like Georgia O’Keeffe and Jackson Pollock.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is set to open its highly anticipated David Geffen Galleries to the public on May 4, 2026, following a members-only preview starting April 19. Designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, the $724 million, 110,000-square-foot concrete structure spans Wilshire Boulevard and houses the museum's permanent collection in a single-floor layout. The opening will be celebrated with a public block party on June 20, featuring free admission, tours, and live performances.
The Victoria & Albert Museum has launched the V&A Storehouse in East London, a massive open-storage facility housing over 250,000 objects, 1,000 archives, and a vast library. Designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with Austin-Smith:Lord, the space eschews traditional curated narratives in favor of a dense, immersive environment where visitors navigate four stories of artifacts arranged by cataloging logic rather than art-historical themes.
A limited edition 30th-anniversary exhibition poster for the historic Warhol/Basquiat collaboration is currently being offered for sale. The work, an offset lithographic poster published by the Tony Shafrazi Gallery in 2015, commemorates the iconic 1985 exhibition that brought together the king of Pop Art and the rising star of Neo-Expressionism. Signed by the publisher Tony Shafrazi, the piece is part of an edition of 300 and is being shipped from Hong Kong.
Kyoto-based textile house HOSOO has announced a collaborative exhibition with American artist Theaster Gates titled “Glorious Robe,” scheduled to run from April 11 to August 30, 2026. The showcase centers on the “Dashikimono,” a hybrid garment merging the West African dashiki with the Japanese kimono, alongside ceramic vessels and traditional obi sashes. These works incorporate motifs from the American Civil Rights Movement, including tributes to Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, woven directly into the fabric using HOSOO’s centuries-old Nishijin techniques.
April 2026 marks a significant month for global art exhibitions, featuring major retrospectives and site-specific installations across Rome, Seoul, London, and Paris. Highlights include Gagosian Rome’s exploration of Francesca Woodman’s surrealist photography, a homecoming retrospective for video-art pioneer Nam June Paik in Seoul, and Senga Nengudi’s performance-based sculptures at London’s Whitechapel Gallery. Additionally, Isaac Julien will debut a new moving-image work at The Cosmic House, while the Fondation Louis Vuitton prepares a large-scale exhibition dedicated to Alexander Calder’s kinetic sculptures.
The Ashley Gibson Barnett (AGB) Museum of Art in Lakeland, Florida, has launched its largest-ever student art exhibition, featuring 187 award-winning works from Polk County students in grades seven through twelve. The showcase includes regional and national winners of the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards across various media, including ceramics, photography, and digital painting. Notably, eighth-grader Sophia De La Cruz’s mixed-media piece, "Blast of Emotions," was selected for the museum’s permanent collection, placing her work alongside masters like David Hockney and Robert Rauschenberg.
Tate Modern has launched "Tracey Emin: A Second Life," the largest survey exhibition of the British artist’s work to date. Spanning 40 years of her career, the show features over 100 works including her iconic 1998 installation "My Bed," early textile pieces, and recent bronze sculptures. The exhibition, supported by Gucci, traces Emin’s journey from the Young British Artists (YBA) era to her contemporary practice, which addresses her recent experiences with cancer and disability.
Hong Kong's gallery scene is hosting a series of major solo exhibitions to coincide with the 2026 edition of Art Basel Hong Kong. Key highlights include Qiu Anxiong’s Daoist-inspired animations at Pearl Lam Projects, Mary Weatherford’s Asian debut at Gagosian featuring neon-infused canvases inspired by the myth of Persephone, and Walter Price’s first solo show in the region at David Zwirner. These exhibitions showcase a mix of established Chinese contemporary art and high-profile international painters entering the Asian market.
This comprehensive guide highlights the 21 premier art institutions across Australia, ranging from major state museums to specialized private galleries. The selection features iconic venues such as the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, which houses the world’s largest collection of Indigenous art, and David Walsh’s subversive Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Tasmania. The list serves as a roadmap for navigating the country's diverse artistic landscape, including contemporary Chinese art at White Rabbit Gallery and significant Aboriginal works at the Araluen Arts Centre.