Maximilien Durand reconduit au Louvre

Maximilien Durand, aged 50, has been reappointed for a three-year term as head of the Department of Byzantine and Eastern Christian Arts at the Louvre Museum in Paris. He has been preparing the department's opening since 2022. Durand previously served as director of the Musée des Tissus in Lyon and deputy director of collections at Paris Musées. His role includes overseeing collections, acquisitions, loans, and exhibitions, as well as a national expertise mission. Separately, Sophie Jugie moved to the Musées de France service after her non-renewal as head of the Sculptures department.

Un agent du Louvre devant le juge

A Louvre agent appeared before a judge. The article, published in Le Journal des Arts on May 2, 2026, covers multiple art world stories including the Whitney Biennial's perceived neutrality, the increasing complexity of art taxation in 2025, a resized project for Bourges 2028 by Yann Galut, a new contemporary gallery at Angers Cathedral, the abandonment of the Frigos artist site in Paris, and auctioneer Hubert L'Huillier's emergency sales.

Sécurité dans les musées

This issue of Le Journal des Arts (No. 676, May 2, 2026) covers a range of visual art news: the Whitney Biennial's perceived neutrality, the increasing complexity of art taxation in 2025, an interview with Bourges mayor Yann Galut about scaling back the Bourges 2028 project, the opening of a contemporary gallery at Angers Cathedral, the abandonment of the Frigos artist site in Paris, and a profile of auctioneer Hubert L'Huillier.

L’architecte du Musée Gandur

The article covers several art news items from the May 2, 2026 issue of Le Journal des Arts, including the Whitney Biennial's perceived neutrality, the increasing complexity of art taxation in 2025, an interview with Bourges mayor Yann Galut about the resized Bourges 2028 project, the unveiling of a contemporary gallery at Angers Cathedral, the abandonment of the Frigos artist site in Paris, and a profile of auctioneer Hubert L'Huillier.

Olivia Bourrat revient au Quai Branly

Olivia Bourrat, a 45-year-old chief heritage curator trained at the École du Louvre, the INP, and the Sorbonne, has been appointed director of the heritage and collections department at the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac in Paris. She succeeds Anne-Solène Rolland, and returns to the museum after previous stints there, as well as at France-Muséums, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the French Ministry of Culture, and Paris Musées.

From Paris To Gyeongseong’ Illuminating The Flow Of Modern Art​

The article 'From Paris To Gyeongseong’ Illuminating The Flow Of Modern Art' explores the historical and cultural exchange of modern art between Paris and Gyeongseong (the former name of Seoul during the Japanese colonial period). It traces how Western modernist movements, particularly from Paris, influenced Korean artists in the early 20th century, highlighting the cross-cultural dialogue that shaped the development of modern art in Korea. The piece examines specific artworks, exhibitions, and the role of key figures who facilitated this artistic flow.

A&E: Frederick Hammersley painting exhibition at The Fred

Frederick Hammersley, an American artist who served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II, met Pablo Picasso in occupied Paris while making signs for the war effort. The article announces an exhibition of Hammersley's paintings at The Fred, highlighting this historical connection between the two artists.

Artist Chuck Sperry unveils his Archetypes in a free exhibition at the Art Generation Gallery

American artist Chuck Sperry, renowned for his concert posters for The Rolling Stones, U2, Bob Dylan, Grateful Dead, and Pearl Jam, presents a free exhibition titled "Archetypes" at the Art Generation Gallery in Paris from June 13 to August 1, 2026. The show features his signature silkscreen prints on paper and wooden panels, personal archives, and collector cards, focusing on powerful female figures, goddesses, and allegorical themes such as the Danaids, Courage, Love, and Athena.

3 new exhibitions at Artists Archives tackle urgent social issues

The Artists Archives of the Western Reserve in Cleveland has opened three new exhibitions that confront pressing social issues. The shows feature works by regional artists addressing topics such as racial justice, environmental crisis, and community resilience, using a range of media from painting and sculpture to mixed-media installations.

Photography in all its letters, an artistic ABC on display at the MEP

The Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP) in Paris is presenting a special exhibition titled "La photographie en toutes lettres" from June 10 to September 13, 2026, celebrating the bicentennial of photography. The show brings together 35 artists, including Nan Goldin, Ralph Gibson, Martin Parr, Sophie Calle, and Frank Horvat, organizing works alphabetically around key words to explore the medium's history, evolution, and thematic diversity.

Andy Warhol exhibition at Saint Laurent Rive Droite turns Paris boutique into pop art gallery

Since April 23, 2026, the Saint Laurent Rive Droite boutique in Paris has been hosting an exhibition dedicated to Andy Warhol titled “Objets banals”. Curated by Anthony Vaccarello, the show features a selection of Polaroids and 35 mm photographs taken from the 1960s onward, revealing a more intimate and personal dimension of the pop art master. The installation is immersive and minimalist, with photographs interacting with Saint Laurent collections, design pieces, and exclusive objects, blurring the boundaries between commerce, museum, and artistic manifesto. All works on display are available for sale, distinguishing the boutique from a traditional museum.

The Pont Neuf Cave: work on JR's giant installation begins in Paris

Starting May 11, 2026, French artist JR has begun assembling "La Caverne du Pont Neuf" (The Cave at Pont Neuf), a monumental temporary installation that will transform Paris's oldest bridge into an immersive open-air cave. The project, open to the public from June 6 to 28, 2026, features inflatable structures, optical illusions, light shows, and augmented reality technology developed by Snap's AR Studio Paris. It includes a mineral soundscape by Thomas Bangalter (formerly of Daft Punk) and is funded entirely through private means, including support from L'Amicale des Ponts de Paris and sales of JR's works.

Intermezzo: revisiting Helmut Newton

The Helmut Newton Foundation at Berlin's Museum für Fotografie is overhauling its permanent exhibition after more than 20 years, introducing a cinematic installation called "Intermezzo" that uses eight video projectors across four screens to present a film portrait of Helmut Newton. The film incorporates previously unreleased material, including personal recordings by his wife June Newton, and features interviews with figures from Newton's world such as Philippe Garner, Carla Sozzani, and Matthias Harder. Alongside the immersive film, the ground-floor gallery displays nearly 100 of Newton's exhibition posters and launches a new curatorial series, "Spotlight: behind the frame," which will focus on iconic photographs by Helmut Newton or Alice Springs, starting with Newton's 1975 "Rue Aubriot" and Alice Springs' 1970 Gitanes advertisement.

georg baselitz dies at 88, pioneer of inverted painting and postwar german art

Georg Baselitz, the influential German painter known for his inverted figures and raw, expressive style, has died at age 88. A pioneer of postwar German art, Baselitz gained international fame in the 1960s by turning his canvases upside down, forcing viewers to focus on form and paint rather than narrative. His work often grappled with the trauma of Nazi Germany and the divided nation's identity, making him a central figure in the Neo-Expressionist movement.

Michelangelo and Rodin: Finding the Living Spirit in Stone

The New York Times article examines the artistic kinship between Michelangelo and Auguste Rodin, focusing on how both sculptors sought to animate stone with a sense of living spirit and emotional intensity. It explores their shared techniques, such as leaving surfaces unfinished to suggest movement and inner life, and highlights key works including Michelangelo's "Slaves" and Rodin's "The Gates of Hell."

ai weiwei confronts memory, catastrophe, and resilience at MAXXI l'aquila exhibition

Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei presents a new exhibition at MAXXI L'Aquila, titled 'Ai Weiwei: Confronting Memory, Catastrophe, and Resilience.' The show explores themes of collective trauma, historical catastrophe, and human resilience through a range of media including sculpture, installation, and documentary works. It draws on Ai's ongoing engagement with political dissent, migration, and the fragility of cultural memory.

Paul’s Show of the Month: Cristallina Fischetti – Alchemea

Cristallina Fischetti's solo exhibition 'Alchemea' is on view at the Art Centre in the crypt of St Marylebone Parish Church, London, from 25 April to 18 May. The show presents ten works from the first two acts of a planned 33-painting cycle, incorporating unconventional materials such as coffee, wine, plastic, and leather. Fischetti's process involves ritualistic dance, drawing on her background in ballet, yoga, alchemy, and mystical healing, with influences from abstract expressionists like Frankenthaler and Motherwell, as well as Hilma af Klint.

Nelson Félix’s Desire for Ascent

Nelson Félix's exhibition "Pedra de Rumo" is on view at Galeria Almeida & Dale, featuring new sculptures in Carrara marble, bronze, and living plants. The show explores themes of orientation and boundary-breaking, drawing on the artist's long-standing practice of mapping extreme geographical points. The title references Portuguese sailors' navigation stones, and the exhibition extends beyond the gallery to include a metal tip and seedling planted at a point determined by lines drawn between the gallery and the Museum of Contemporary Art of USP, where Félix will have another solo show in May 2025.

The investigation of intimacy at the center of an exhibition in a Paris gallery

L’indagine sull’intimità al centro di una mostra in una galleria di Parigi

French artist Guillaume Valenti (b. 1987) presents his solo exhibition "Système domestique" at Parliament Gallery in Paris, exploring how personal identity can be conveyed through intimate domestic spaces rather than traditional portraiture. The show centers on repeated depictions of the artist's studio bookshelf, captured from the same viewpoint and proportions, which serves both as a subject and a structural grid. Valenti's paintings investigate the interplay of light, color, and abstraction, with works such as "Grise" (2026) and "Bibliothèque blanche" (2026) using overexposure and artificial coloration to deconstruct realistic representation. Other pieces like "The florist" (2026) depict views from the studio window, further examining the boundary between interior and exterior perception.

Vânia Quintão | Cold Afternoon (2023) | For Sale

Brazilian artist Vânia Quintão is offering her 2023 painting "Cold Afternoon" for sale through Inn Gallery. The acrylic-on-canvas work, sized 70 × 100 cm, depicts a suspended, cool-toned landscape under a diffuse blue sky. Quintão, a self-described cultural producer and fundraiser based in Belo Horizonte, has exhibited internationally including at the Louvre Museum in Paris and won prizes at The Holly Art Exhibition (London) and Art Connects Women (Dubai). The work is hand-signed, includes a certificate of authenticity, and is priced at US$1,500.

At Galerie Martel, Ugo Bienvenu unveils his dreamlike drawings in a free exhibition

À la galerie Martel, Ugo Bienvenu dévoile ses dessins oniriques dans une expo gratuite

French artist Ugo Bienvenu presents his new exhibition "Futur antérieur" at Galerie Martel in Paris, featuring around twenty ink-on-paper drawings created during the marathon promotion of his debut animated feature film "Arco." The show offers an intimate glimpse into Bienvenu's creative process, where drawing serves as a necessary respite from the demands of filmmaking, blending childhood memories, mythology, and science fiction into dreamlike compositions.

And the (Senior Show and URECA Art Exhibition) Winners Are …

The Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery at Stony Brook University hosted the opening reception of the ninth annual combined Senior Show and URECA Arts Exhibition on April 29, drawing about 300 attendees including students, faculty, staff, university leaders, and local museum curators. The Senior Show, a nearly 50-year tradition, features works by senior studio art majors and minors, while the URECA exhibition highlights undergraduate research-based art selected by faculty. This year's exhibition is noted for its diversity in subject matter and materials, from chalk painting to digital media, and runs through May 22.

At the 2026 Biennale, the Bulgarian Pavilion Transforms into a Political Laboratory to Explore the Present

Alla Biennale 2026 il Padiglione della Bulgaria si trasforma in laboratorio politico per esplorare il presente

The Bulgarian Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, housed in the Sala Tiziano of the Centro Culturale Don Orione Artigianelli, has been transformed into a speculative political laboratory by The Federation of Minor Practices. Curated by Martina Yordanova, the project features an all-female group of artists—Veneta Androva, Gery Georgieva, Maria Nalbantova, and Rayna Teneva—whose four films serve as "signals" exploring tensions around ecology, media systems, disinformation, and collective responsibility. The pavilion is conceived as a research headquarters from the near future, open until November 22, 2026.

The Italian Way of Symbolism in the Exhibition at the Fondazione Magnani-Rocca

La via italiana del Simbolismo nella mostra alla Fondazione Magnani-Rocca

The Fondazione Magnani-Rocca in Mamiani di Traversetolo, Parma, recently made headlines due to a dramatic theft targeting its permanent collection. Despite the incident, the museum's temporary exhibition spaces remain unaffected, and the show "Simbolismo in Italia" (Symbolism in Italy), curated by Francesco Parisi, continues without disruption. The exhibition aims to update critical discourse on Symbolism, a movement that spread across Europe from the 1880s to the early 1900s and arrived in Italy with a distinct, often tradition-rooted character. It features works by artists such as Cesare Saccaggi, Giulio Aristide Sartorio, and Adolfo Wildt, organized into thematic sections exploring literary sources, mythological landscapes, and the dual nature of femininity.

Genuflecting Before “Don Colossus”

A 15-foot-tall gold-leafed bronze statue of Donald Trump, titled "Don Colossus," was unveiled at his National Doral golf club in Miami, Florida, ahead of the G20 summit. The statue, funded by $450,000 raised by cryptocurrency moguls and sculpted by Alan Cottrill (founder of Four Star Pizza), depicts Trump raising a triumphant fist with a plaque reading "FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!" The unveiling was organized by televangelist Mark Burns of "Pastors for Trump," who posted that the statue was "not a golden calf," and was attended by evangelical Christian leaders and reportedly some Hassidic rabbis.

What Did Mozart’s Life Look Like?

An exhibition at the Morgan Library & Museum, titled "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Treasures from the Mozarteum Foundation of Salzburg," presents a curated journey through the composer's life and career. The show features well-preserved ephemera, including Mozart's childhood violin, original sketches for the opera "The Magic Flute," and personal letters that reveal his scatological humor, alongside portraits of his patrons.

The 15th-century Ca' Giustinian Faccanon reopens in Venice. It will be a space for exhibitions and events

A Venezia riapre il quattrocentesco Ca’ Giustinian Faccanon. Sarà uno spazio per mostre ed eventi

The historic Ca' Giustinian Faccanon, a rare example of Venetian Gothic architecture in the San Marco district, has reopened in Venice after over a year of restoration work. The 15th-century palace, acquired by entrepreneur Andrea Parisotto, will now serve as a space for exhibitions and events managed by Art Events and Cultural Real Estate Studio. During the 61st Venice Biennale, it will host the Vietnam Pavilion with the exhibition "Arte nel flusso globale" curated by Do Tuong Linh, marking Vietnam's first official participation, as well as a solo show by Korean sculptor Shim Moon-Seup titled "Harnessed From Nature."

Jonk & Friends: the exhibition that blends street art and photography at the Nature Forte Gallery

Photographer Jonk has invited 13 fellow artists to reinterpret his urbex photographs for a group exhibition titled "Jonk & Friends" at his Galerie Nature Forte in Paris. The show runs from May 7 to June 6, 2026, featuring works in a uniform 60 x 80 cm format, with participating artists including Horss, Mouarf, S4m, Siel, Bault, and Jace. Admission is free.

How the GDR apron became Italian luxury

Wie die DDR-Schürze zum Italo-Luxus wurde

Italian luxury label Miu Miu has released dresses for summer 2026 that resemble 1980s East German kitchen aprons, with prices reaching up to €12,000 for crystal-embroidered versions. The collection debuted on the Paris runway in October, where actress Sandra Hüller opened the show in robust workwear, evoking factory workers from the former GDR. Designer Miuccia Prada, a former member of the Italian Communist Party, drew inspiration from Helga Paris's 1984 photo series "Frauen bei der Arbeit" (Women at Work), which documented female laborers in East Berlin's VEB Treffmodelle textile factory.

Lié au musée Guimet, l’hôtel d’Heidelbach rouvre pour la Nuit des musées, sublimé par Constance Guisset

The Hôtel d'Heidelbach, now renamed 'Maison Guimet,' has reopened after months of renovation led by designer Constance Guisset. Located at 19 Avenue d'Iéna, just steps from the Musée Guimet in Paris, the early 20th-century mansion will welcome visitors for the Nuit des musées on May 23. The guided tour includes reception rooms, an impressive collection of Chinese ceremonial furniture, and a Japanese garden with a tea pavilion, ending with a tea tasting. The renovation was intentionally sober, reversible, and modular, aiming to enhance rather than overhaul the space.