The Joy of Discovery at 1-54 Art Fair

The 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, now open at the Starrett-Lehigh Building in Manhattan, presents a smaller edition than previous years but continues to offer unexpected, tactile works. Highlights include Rommulo Vieira Conceição's Pop-art-inspired wall installation at Aura gallery, Kendra Frorup's mixed-media piece at the Current: Baha Mar Gallery, and Eymric Moderne's gold-leaf and glass bird painting at TM Arthouse. The fair also features posthumous works by Marcel Gotène at Loeve and Co and Sophia Bounou's enigmatic paintings at Blond Contemporary.

The world is rediscovering the talent of Dutch designer Hella Jongerius

Il mondo sta riscoprendo il talento della designer olandese Hella Jongerius

Dutch designer Hella Jongerius is the subject of a major retrospective titled "Whispering Things" at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein. The exhibition features approximately 300 works spanning her career, from her early graduation projects at the Design Academy Eindhoven and her involvement with the Droog Design collective to her long-standing corporate collaborations. The show coincides with Jongerius officially entrusting her extensive professional archive to Vitra, marking a significant milestone in her thirty-year career.

Peter Saul’s New Show Is a Lesson in ‘Art History'

Veteran American artist Peter Saul has debuted a solo exhibition at Gladstone Gallery in New York, marking his first show since joining the gallery last year. Titled "Peter Saul’s Art History," the exhibition features 20 works—both new and historic—that reinterpret iconic masterpieces by 20th-century titans such as Pablo Picasso, Marcel Duchamp, and Willem de Kooning. A centerpiece of the show is the 1973 painting "Little Guernica ‘Liddul Guernica’," which is being publicly displayed for the first time in four decades.

Mexico City's Zona Maco fair finds a ‘balance between continuity and renewal’

Zona Maco, Latin America's largest art and design fair, has launched its 22nd edition in Mexico City as the anchor of the city's 2026 Art Week. The fair features over 220 galleries from 26 countries, blending contemporary and modern art, design, and photography under the artistic direction of Direlia Lazo.

New chapter for Artbo: Colombia’s art market finds resilience amidst flux

The 21st edition of Artbo, Colombia's premier art fair, opened in Bogotá with 46 galleries, down from its peak a decade ago. The fair is framed by the inaugural Bogotá Biennial, which adds international draw, and a leadership change: Jaime A. Martínez, an art historian and former gallerist, takes over from María Paz Gaviria. Early sales include works by Tania Candiani, Marcelo Moscheta, and Ximena Garrido-Lecca, with galleries reporting cautious but engaged Colombian collectors.

The superstars of contemporary art

León Gallery's Magnificent September Auction 2025, taking place on September 13, features a diverse lineup of Philippine modern and contemporary art. Highlights include modernist works by Juvenal Sansó, Cesar Legaspi, Vicente Manansala, José Joya, and Anita Magsaysay-Ho, alongside conceptual pieces by Roberto Chabet. The auction also spotlights living contemporary artists such as Raffy Napay, Geraldine Javier, Demi Padua, and Marc Aran Reyes, with works ranging from textile art and natural-dye pieces to hyperrealistic paintings.

A hundred years on, Cork Street is the beating heart of London’s art scene once more

Cork Street in London's Mayfair district, a historic hub for commercial art, is celebrating its centenary with a collaborative group show involving 15 galleries. The exhibition is inspired by a controversial 1938 Jean Cocteau work, "La peur donnant des ailes au courage," which was deemed obscene by British authorities and only shown in a back office at Peggy Guggenheim's gallery, Guggenheim Jeune, after her petitions. Participating galleries include Stephen Friedman Gallery, Alon Zakaim Fine Art, and Goodman Gallery, with works by artists like Caroline Coon, Shirin Neshat, and others, curated by Tarini Malik.

Stars feiern Mode und Kunst bei Met-Gala

The Met Gala, hosted by Anna Wintour at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, raised millions for the museum's Costume Institute. This year's event featured celebrities like Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, and Heidi Klum, with a dress code of "Fashion is Art." Beyoncé and Kidman brought their daughters for the first time, while Klum dressed as a stone statue. The gala opened the "Costume Art" exhibition and was co-sponsored by Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, drawing protests over Bezos's involvement.

Jule Korneffel Finds Meaning at the End of Light

Artist Jule Korneffel's solo exhibition 'In Search of Lost Light' is on view at Spencer Brownstone Gallery through May 2. The show features seven paintings from 2023 to the present, including a site-specific wall work, that explore themes of fading light, memory, and melancholia through a nuanced palette of grays and blues.

In ‘Piercing the Veil,’ Marina Kappos Gets to Know the Spectre of Grief

Artist Marina Kappos opens her solo exhibition 'Piercing the Veil' at SHRINE gallery in New York City, running from May 15 to June 27. The show features her signature acrylic-on-wood-panel paintings that use thin layers of pigment to create gauzy, prismatic effects. Inspired by the sculptural figures of grieving women she encountered at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, Kappos explores themes of loss, memory, presence and absence, and the threshold between life and death. Works like 'Veil Study (Eclipse)' (2026) and 'Quantum Study (Green Entanglement)' (2025) depict hazy landscapes and keyhole-shaped portals that invite viewers to contemplate the unknown and the spiritual.

The Biennale of Quiet Tones

Die Biennale der leisen Töne

The 61st Venice Biennale's main exhibition, titled "Gardens, Processions, Art as Expression of Lived Realities," places humanity at its center. Curators revealed minimal biographical details for the 111 participating artists, only noting the oldest (Marcel Duchamp, born 1887) and youngest (Mohammed Z Rahman, born 1997), signaling a deliberate shift away from individual fame toward collective experience.

The Underrated Architect of the Avant-Garde

Der unterschätzte Architekt der Avantgarde

The Fondazione Antonio Dalle Nogare in Bolzano is hosting a comprehensive retrospective dedicated to Ilja Sdanewitsch, known as Iliazd, a Georgian-Russian-French avant-garde polymath. The exhibition, titled "Toutité Iliazd. Die Erforschung der Form," showcases his diverse output as a writer, designer, and publisher who viewed the book as a primary art object. The display includes architectural reliefs, textile designs for Coco Chanel, and his significant collaborations with icons like Picasso and Duchamp.

For the 61st Venice Biennale, a quest for beauty despite a troubled world

Pour la 61e Biennale de Venise, une quête de beauté malgré un monde troublé

Koyo Kouoh, the Swiss-Cameroonian curator who was set to become the first African woman to direct the Venice Biennale, died suddenly on May 10, 2025, at age 57, just weeks before the opening of the 61st edition she had conceived. Titled "In Minor Keys," the exhibition at the Giardini and Arsenale will proceed posthumously based on her detailed directives, featuring 111 artists including Laurie Anderson, Wangechi Mutu, and Kader Attia, with a focus on beauty, resilience, and radical emotional connection amid global turmoil.

Disobedience Archive (Canopy for Broken Time) In Dialogue with Raqs Media Collective at Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich

The Disobedience Archive, a mobile video archive initiated by Marco Scotini in 2005, is presented in dialogue with Raqs Media Collective at the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst in Zürich. The archive contains over one hundred documentary and art films at the intersection of art and activism, documenting forms of resistance, social struggle, and collective self-organization.

“Feedback. The Environments of Franco Vaccari” at Museion, Bolzano

Museion in Bolzano has launched a major retrospective titled "Feedback. The Environments of Franco Vaccari," focusing on the influential Italian conceptual artist. The exhibition marks the first comprehensive institutional survey to prioritize Vaccari’s "environments"—immersive spaces that utilize photography, video, and archival materials to engage the viewer in a process of real-time feedback.

art exhibition biennials this year curators

In 2026, a rare alignment of major biennial exhibitions will take place globally, including the Venice Biennale (opening May 9, curated by Koyo Kouoh), MoMA PS1's Greater New York, the Whitney Biennial, and the Bronx Museum's AIM Biennial, alongside events in Toronto, Pittsburgh, Gwangju, Sydney, Diriyah, and Busan. CULTURED interviewed curators from four of these shows—such as Marcela Guerrero and Drew Sawyer of the Whitney Biennial—to explore how these sprawling group exhibitions come together, revealing a trend toward smaller, internally organized shows with less declarative themes.

The Spiritual Ear: On Daniel Heller-Roazen’s Far Calls

The article is a critical review of Daniel Heller-Roazen's new book, 'Far Calls: On Omens, Slips, & Epiphanies.' It examines the book's central thesis, which explores the historical and philosophical concept of a 'spiritual ear'—the interval between speaking and hearing where language escapes its intended meaning, giving rise to omens, slips of the tongue, and epiphanies. The review traces Heller-Roazen's genealogical investigation from ancient divinatory practices to modern psychoanalysis, highlighting his argument that linguistic accidents hold prophetic potential.

Not Just the Biennale: What to See in Venice in Spring 2026 Among Galleries, Independent Spaces, and Special Projects

Non solo Biennale: cosa vedere a Venezia nella primavera 2026 tra gallerie, spazi indipendenti e progetti speciali

The article highlights a curated selection of exhibitions to see in Venice during spring 2026, beyond the main shows of the 61st Venice Biennale. It features projects in galleries, independent spaces, and historic venues, including a group show titled "Waves" at Casa Sanlorenzo with works by Alexander Calder and Lucio Fontana, a video installation by Ieva Lygnugarytė at Oratorio dei Crociferi, a Judy Chicago survey at Galleria Alberta Pane, a solo show by Hanna Rochereau at Mare Karina, and a Barry X Ball retrospective at the Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore.

Sotheby’s will open its new Breuer Building HQ in New York on November 8th.

Sotheby's announced it will open its new global headquarters at the Breuer Building on Madison Avenue in New York on November 8th. The inaugural weekend will feature a major exhibition of modern and contemporary art, with marquee auctions scheduled for the week of November 17th. The building, originally designed by Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer for the Whitney Museum, has been renovated by Herzog & de Meuron in collaboration with PBDW Architects, adding new salesrooms, climate control, and a second-floor gallery while preserving the original design.

daniel english jeans dinner party

CULTURED editor-in-chief Sarah Harrelson and Legacy Investing co-founder Daniel English hosted an intimate dinner at Jean's in New York, bringing together leaders from art, finance, and real estate. Guests included Frieze's Julie Kim, Wells Group founder George Wells, Art Intelligence global director Rick Cappellazzo, and others. The evening featured Oscar Wilde's quote about artists and money printed on bookmarks, and guests received copies of Michael Craig-Martin's On Being an Artist and Michael Findlay's The Value of Art, along with CULT100 totes filled with magazines and products.

WORDS WORDS WORDS at Everard Read shows the power of words in contemporary art

The article reviews 'WORDS, WORDS, WORDS,' an exhibition at Everard Read Gallery's CIRCA space in South Africa, which explores the role of language in contemporary visual art. Curated with a focus on how words are bent, repeated, fragmented, and reassembled, the show features works by South African artists including Willem Boshoff and Luca Evans, who engage with conceptual art traditions from Dada to Barbara Kruger. Boshoff's braille-inset wooden piece 'Planet of Echinus' questions inclusion and exclusion in language, while Evans' work riffs on Joseph Kosuth's iconic text pieces using ancient wood-inlay techniques.

Salone Diary – Day One

Diario del Salone – Tag eins

The author begins a daily diary from the Milan Design Week, navigating the sprawling Fuorisalone exhibitions that run parallel to the Salone del Mobile furniture fair. The overwhelming experience prompts a search for genuine innovation amid a sea of installations merging fashion, art, and design, leading to the first lesson of the week: accepting the inevitability of missing out on some events.

More Than 100 Seattle Art Museum Workers Plan to Unionize

More than 100 Seattle Art Museum employees announced plans to unionize under the banner Seattle Art Museum Workers United (SAMWU), representing workers across over 20 front- and back-end departments including curatorial, education, and visitor experience. The union informed SAM director and CEO Scott Stulen of its formation in a letter citing unsustainable wages, subpar health benefits, and top-down decision-making. Organizers say they have a supermajority support among eligible workers. SAMWU has filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board but is willing to withdraw if leadership voluntarily recognizes the union before May 27. The union has affiliated with the Washington Federation of State Employees/AFSCME Council 28. Security staff, who previously unionized as SAM VSO in 2022 and secured a contract after a 12-day strike in late 2024, will remain separate.

London National Gallery’s deficit bombshell, Simon Schama on birds and art, Vilhelm Hammershøi—podcast

The National Gallery in London has announced unexpected and significant budget cuts, including potential staff reductions, due to a projected deficit of £8.2 million for the upcoming year. This financial crisis comes as a surprise following the recent completion of a major building project and the announcement of another ambitious expansion planned for the 2030s.

Art@Countway Exhibition Closing Ceremony: Call & Response

The Countway Library at Harvard Medical School is hosting a closing ceremony for the art exhibition "Call and Response: A Narrative of Reverence to our Foremothers in Gynecology" on January 21. Developed by the Resilient Sisterhood Project, the multimedia exhibition highlights the exploitation of enslaved Black women—Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy—in the origins of modern gynecology, focusing on experiments by Dr. J. Marion Sims in the 1840s. The event will feature speakers including artists Jules Arthur, Dr. Michele David, Michelle Hartney, and others, along with community organizers.

Every Year This Wisconsin Museum Hosts the Best Modern Bird Art in the World

The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin, celebrated the 50th anniversary of its annual "Birds in Art" exhibition in September 2024. The show, the largest in its history, features 142 artworks by 142 artists from 16 countries, including paintings, sculptures, and collages. The exhibition originated in 1976 as "Birds of the Lakes, Fields, and Forests," organized by wildlife artist Owen J. Gromme, and has since become a premier global showcase for modern bird art. This year's selection included 101 works chosen from 1,160 entries, plus 41 pieces by past Master Wildlife Artists from the museum's collection.

Independent 20th Century fair will move to Sotheby’s Breuer Building in 2026

The Independent 20th Century art fair will move to the Breuer Building in New York, soon to become Sotheby’s headquarters, for its 2026 edition running September 24–27. The fair, previously held at Casa Cipriani, will expand to accommodate over 50 galleries. Sotheby’s acquired the landmarked building in 2023 and has made subtle renovations led by Herzog & de Meuron, with the new headquarters opening November 8.

“It’s All in the Details” at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas

The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) has opened a new exhibition titled “It’s All in the Details,” featuring approximately 50 works from its permanent collection, many of which have never been exhibited before. The show spans contemporary fine art and Mexican folk art, highlighting intricate techniques and the need for close viewing. Key works include Shawne Major’s mixed-media piece “Syzygy” (2022), Marcelino Eduardo Sánchez Rodriguez’s feather-based “Viva Mexico” (2009), and Mary McCleary’s densely layered collage “The Clouds Grew So Dense, She Couldn’t See” (2015), which had been hanging in the museum’s intern office for years.

The New Sotheby's Flagship Sets An Opening Date

Sotheby's has announced that its new flagship auction house and gallery space, located in the iconic Breuer Building on Madison Avenue, will open on November 8. The building, designed by Marcel Breuer in 1966, originally housed the Whitney Museum of American Art and later served as temporary home for The Frick Collection and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The opening exhibition will feature works for Sotheby's marquee modern and contemporary art auctions, followed by pieces for Luxury Week in December. The building also includes a new restaurant from the team behind La Mercerie, and the galleries will be free and open to the public.

Sotheby’s Has Set a Debut Date for Its Landmark Breuer Building Headquarters

Sotheby's has announced that its new headquarters in the iconic Breuer Building at 945 Madison Avenue will open on November 8. Originally designed by Marcel Breuer for the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1966, the building later housed the Met Breuer and the Frick Collection during its renovation. Sotheby's purchased the Brutalist landmark from the Whitney two years ago and has renovated it with Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron and PBDW Architects, adding auction rooms and state-of-the-art gallery spaces while preserving original features like bluestone floors and concrete walls. The opening will coincide with a major modern and contemporary art exhibition, followed by fall marquee sales the week of November 17.