Steinmeier: Art is not a luxury

Steinmeier: Kunst ist kein Luxus

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has emphasized the importance of art for democracy during the opening of a two-week exhibition at his official residence, Schloss Bellevue. The exhibition, realized by the Akademie der Künste, transforms the already empty rooms of the palace into a pop-up show from June 13 to 28, before the building closes for several years of renovation. Steinmeier stated that art is not a luxury but an essential part of democratic debate, making different experiences and realities visible. The exhibition includes a 3D scan of Steinmeier himself at 1:5 scale, created by artist Karin Sanders.

Justice : la Tapisserie de Bayeux ira bien à Londres

France's highest administrative court, the Conseil d'État, has rejected a legal challenge by the heritage association Sites & Monuments against the loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the United Kingdom. The court ruled on June 5, 2025, that President Emmanuel Macron's decision to lend the 11th-century embroidered linen to the British Museum in London for an exhibition from September 2026 to June 2027 constitutes an "act of government" inseparable from France's international relations, and therefore cannot be reviewed or annulled by administrative judges. The association had argued the tapestry's fragile condition made transport unsafe.

Gallerist Valentine Willie, pioneer at Tanjong Pagar Distripark, dies at 71

Valentine Francis Willie, a pioneering Malaysian gallerist, curator, and art entrepreneur, died in Kuala Lumpur on June 9 at age 71. Born in Sabah, he founded Valentine Willie Fine Art in 1996, which became the first gallery to open at Singapore's Tanjong Pagar Distripark in 2008. A lawyer by training, Willie curated landmark exhibitions such as 'Asean Masterworks' (1997) and 'Faith + The City' (2001), and helped launch the careers of artists like Bayu Utomo Radjikin and Yee I-Lann. He later served as creative director of Ilham Gallery from 2015 to 2020, shaping Kuala Lumpur's cultural landscape.

London Gallery Weekend 2026: Exhibitions for your radar

London Gallery Weekend 2026 runs from 5-7 June, with galleries across the city offering free curated programming. The article highlights eight standout exhibitions, including Ted Le Swer's 'Comrades, Sleep Faster!' exploring labour through dairy cattle and surveillance; 'From the Other End of the Hallway' at Workplace, a group show with Jimmy DeSana, Philip-Lorca DiCorcia, and Patti Smith; Anne Imhof's immersive dystopian installation 'Citizen' at Sprüth Magers; Sara Cwynar's 'Baby Blue Benzo' critiquing consumer desire and late-stage capitalism; Gray Wielebinski's 'Bring Me Men' examining masculinity; and Wang Pei's 'Sertraline' at Workplace.

New Elsewhere Fair Aims to Bring in the International Audience Philly Art Deserves

Megan Galardi, founder of Blah Blah Gallery, has launched Elsewhere, a new contemporary art fair held at the Yowie hotel in Philadelphia's Queen Village. Running over three days, the fair brings together 26 galleries from the U.S., Canada, and Europe, with artworks displayed in hotel rooms, hallways, and bathrooms. It is Philadelphia's first formal contemporary art fair since 2019 and the first in the city founded by a local gallerist in a hotel setting, bypassing the high costs of convention-center fairs. The fair includes programming such as tours of the Institute of Contemporary Art and the Fabric Workshop and Museum, studio visits, panels, and parties, with over 1,000 attendees already registered.

Largest solo printmaking exhibition at STPI

STPI, a creative workshop and contemporary art gallery in Singapore, is presenting "Zarina: Directions to My House," the largest solo exhibition of prints by the renowned Indian American artist and printmaker Zarina Hashmi (1937-2020) in Southeast Asia. Featuring over 50 works from 12 lenders across multiple cities, the exhibition runs from 6 June to 1 August 2026. It includes prints, printing plates, woodblocks, and tools, offering insight into her process. Public programmes such as curator tours, spoken word performances, collagraphy classes, and cartography workshops accompany the show.

Blue Moon Meanderings: Tribeca And Chelsea Summer Exhibitions 2026 – Ilka Scobie

This article surveys several summer 2026 exhibitions in New York's Tribeca and Chelsea neighborhoods. Featured shows include Lynette Yiadom-Boakye's dual-venue presentation of fictional portraits and charcoal drawings at Jack Shainman Gallery; a posthumous exhibition of Walter Robinson's Pop-influenced paintings at Jeffrey Deitch; a group show of American women artists from 1945-1979 at Eric Firestone Gallery; Marina Kappos's cemetery-inspired paintings at Shrine; and Fred Tomaselli's maximalist garden works at James Cohan. The article also notes Robinson's AI-prompted images and includes a poem by Yiadom-Boakye.

Exhibition | Daniel Arsham, 'Time Fold' at Perrotin, London, United Kingdom

Daniel Arsham's solo exhibition 'Time Fold' is on view at Perrotin gallery in London, United Kingdom. The show presents the artist's signature archaeological aesthetic, featuring eroded sculptures and installations that blur the boundaries between past, present, and future.

Exhibition | Thomas Houseago, 'Death’s Sacred Mirror' at Lévy Gorvy Dayan, London

Thomas Houseago's exhibition 'Death’s Sacred Mirror' has opened at Lévy Gorvy Dayan in London. The show presents a new body of work by the contemporary artist, exploring themes of mortality and the human condition through sculpture and painting.

Dale Lewis: Interview of the Month, June 2026 – Paul Carey-Kent

Dale Lewis's solo exhibition 'Lost Illusions' opens at Edel Assanti in Fitzrovia, London, marking his first London show in five years. The exhibition presents a new body of work that departs from his earlier large-scale horizontal paintings of East End life, which he felt had become too formulaic. Instead, Lewis returns to a rawer, more immediate style, incorporating spray paint directly onto unprimed canvas. A key painting, 'The Bell' (2025), depicts the real-life protests at The Bell Hotel in Epping over migrants being housed there, using a Christmas tree structure to layer fragments of contemporary British anger and disaffection. Lewis also discusses how studying horticulture at Capel Manor College and moving to the edge of Epping Forest has infused his work with natural imagery.

London is open for art lovers! Ten shows to see at Gallery Weekend 2026

London Gallery Weekend returns for its sixth edition from 5-7 June 2026, featuring over 120 participating galleries across the city. The article highlights ten recommended shows, including 'Tainted Love' at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery exploring intimacy and connection, Gray Wielebinski's 'Bring Me Men' at Nicoletti examining masculinity, and Shaniqwa Jarvis's 'Only Love Will Break Your Heart' at Public Gallery transforming photography into physical objects. The event offers free contemporary art exhibitions, performances, artists' talks, and evening viewings.

Can art history become a language suitable for social media? The Instagram profile that makes documentaries with AI

La storia dell’arte può diventare un linguaggio adatto ai social? Il profilo Instagram che fa documentari con l’AI

The article profiles "pastelantiques," an Instagram account that creates short, AI-assisted documentary-style reels about art history. These videos use animated paintings, melancholic music, slow pacing, and a warm voiceover to turn the lives and works of artists like Rembrandt, Cézanne, Gauguin, Botticelli, and Antonello da Messina into emotionally engaging micro-documentaries. The account also covers historical figures and vintage collectors, blending art education with social media aesthetics.

The Forgotten of Art. The Story of Stella Honey, the Artist Photographer Tatia Franchetti Twombly

I dimenticati dell’arte. La storia di Stella Honey, l’artista fotografa Tatia Franchetti Twombly

An exhibition titled "Stella Honey" at Spazio Treccani Arte in Rome, curated by Isabella Tucci, showcases the photographic and painterly work of Luisa Tatiana Franchetti (1924–2010), an Italian aristocrat and artist who was married to the American painter Cy Twombly. The show draws on hundreds of negatives discovered by her niece Maia in an attic trunk two years ago, revealing intimate portraits of Twombly, family members, and friends, as well as landscapes from Italy, the Middle East, Greece, Egypt, and Mexico. Franchetti, known as Tatia, was also a painter, but her photography—characterized by a keen eye for detail, light, and composition—had remained largely unseen during her lifetime.

The foundation of the great artist Enrico Castellani in Milan exceptionally opens its doors with an intergenerational exhibition

La fondazione del grande artista Enrico Castellani a Milano apre straordinariamente le sue porte con una mostra intergenerazionale

The Enrico Castellani Foundation in Milan has exceptionally opened its doors to the public with an intergenerational exhibition titled "Luisa Lambri. Ipotesi di visione. Dialogo con Enrico Castellani," running until June 10. The show pairs works by the late master Enrico Castellani with photographs by Luisa Lambri, exploring a conceptual dialogue between Castellani's relief paintings that pushed beyond painting's boundaries and Lambri's photography that moves beyond mere documentation. The foundation, established in 2013 from the artist's archive that began in the late 1990s, typically restricts access to scholars by appointment, making this public opening a rare event.

"Art should make us uncomfortable, not protect us." Interview with the artist of the Netherlands Pavilion at the 2026 Biennale

“L’arte dovrebbe metterci a disagio, non proteggerci”. Intervista all’artista del Padiglione Paesi Bassi alla Biennale 2026

Dutch artist Dries Verhoeven and curator Rieke Vos have transformed the Netherlands Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale into a progressively closing structure titled "The Fortress." Designed by Gerrit Rietveld, the pavilion slowly shuts itself off from light as metal shutters descend, plunging visitors into darkness where performers use death-metal grunting as a visceral, physical language. The work became one of the most politically charged sites at the Biennale after a temporary closure in solidarity with the ANGA movement against Israeli presence at the Giardini.

A reflection on Cézanne: the painter who had the courage to represent reality

Una riflessione su Cézanne: il pittore che ha ebbe il coraggio di rappresentare la realtà

La mostra 'Cézanne' alla Fondazione Beyeler di Basilea si è conclusa, riunendo circa 80 opere tra dipinti a olio e acquerelli provenienti da collezioni pubbliche e private internazionali. L'articolo riflette sul significato della pittura di Paul Cézanne, descritto da Picasso come 'il padre di tutti noi', e sulla sua capacità di restituire la realtà senza scorciatoie simboliche, cogliendo il momento originario in cui il reale appare alla coscienza.

Required Reading

This week's Required Reading roundup from Hyperallergic covers a diverse range of cultural topics. It highlights artist Christopher Myers's new mosaic series at the Church Avenue subway station in Brooklyn, commissioned by MTA Arts & Design, which reflects Afro-Caribbean culture. The article also discusses Lynette Yiadom-Boakye's mournful new paintings on view in Manhattan, as reviewed by Lovia Gyarkye in the New York Review of Books. Additional pieces explore the history of Esperanto, the firing of CBS journalist Scott Pelley, and other cultural commentary.

5 new art books released in bookstores in May 2026

5 nuovi libri d’arte usciti in libreria a maggio 2026

Five new art books released in May 2026 are reviewed, each tackling a distinct theme: Luigi Bonfante's "Arte senza artista" examines AI-generated art and authorship; Marco Guenzi's "Prezzi pazzi, arte a pezzi" analyzes the financialization of the contemporary art market; Vittorio Sgarbi's "Il cielo più vicino" traces the iconography of mountains in European painting; Domitilla Dardi's "Cucire universi" explores design as a connective practice between disciplines; and a fifth book (unfinished in the text) addresses lessons from 17th-century Rome.

What awaits us at Art Basel 2026?

Was erwartet uns auf der Art Basel 2026?

Art Basel 2026 will take place from June 18 to 21 in Basel, Switzerland, positioning itself as the premier gathering of the international art world despite a challenging market environment. The Monopol podcast "Kunst und Leben" features editor-in-chief Elke Buhr and deputy editor-in-chief Sebastian Frenzel discussing trends, market sentiment, and highlights including large-scale installations by Nairi Bagramian and Ibrahim Mahama, a new format called "Basel Exclusive" aimed at enhancing on-site art experiences, and the digital platform "Zero Ten" bridging historical and contemporary media art.

How Light Becomes Visible

Wie Licht sichtbar wird

A group exhibition titled 'Aether Commons. Refracted Cosmologies' at the Stefan Gierowski Foundation in Warsaw explores manifestations of light, placing works by Polish painter Stefan Gierowski (1925–2020) in dialogue with contemporary art. Curated by Berlin-based Azu Nwagbogu, the show features eleven artists including El Anatsui, Andile Dyalvane, Mona Hatoum, Esther Mahlangu, and Julian Kyusang Lee, whose works investigate light's behavior on surfaces, human perception, and how materials emit or absorb light.

The Most Important Exhibitions at Zurich Art Weekend

Die wichtigsten Ausstellungen beim Zurich Art Weekend

The article previews the Zurich Art Weekend, taking place from June 12 to 14, highlighting the best exhibitions across galleries and museums in the city. It specifically spotlights Karen Kilimnik, a key figure in the 1990s revival of figurative painting, whose work blends romantic excursions into dandyism, the Ballets Russes, teen dreams, legendary TV series, drag, and pop culture.

Elfie Semotan mit 84 Jahren gestorben

Elfie Semotan, the Austrian photographer known for her incisive portraits and fashion photography, died on Saturday at age 84 after suffering a suspected cardiac arrest while swimming in the Freibad Jennersdorf pool. Born in Wels in 1941, Semotan began her career as a model in Paris before turning to photography, becoming a defining voice in international fashion and portrait photography. She shot for magazines such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and the New Yorker, capturing figures from Naomi Campbell to Brad Pitt, and created iconic campaigns for Palmers and Römerquelle in Austria.

He Had Swag

"Er hatte Swag"

Henry Taylor, one of today's most sought-after contemporary artists, pays tribute to his former teacher James Jarvaise in a new exhibition in Zurich. The show honors Jarvaise, who Taylor credits with changing his life and teaching him the most important lessons of his career. In an interview, Taylor reflects on their relationship and the rare gesture of a successful artist publicly acknowledging a mentor.

Sammlung Horn bleibt dauerhaft auf Schloss Gottorf

Bettina Horn, the Berlin-based art collector and philanthropist, has announced her intention to donate the Horn Collection—over 500 works of German Expressionist art—to the state of Schleswig-Holstein, ensuring its permanent home at Schloss Gottorf in Schleswig. The collection includes major pieces by Emil Nolde, Ernst Barlach, Christian Rohlfs, and members of the Brücke group such as Kirchner, Schmidt-Rottluff, Heckel, and Pechstein, as well as contemporary sculptures. Parts of the collection have been exhibited at Schloss Gottorf since 1988, and a dedicated gallery was established in 1995. After a two-year international tour, the works will return to the newly renovated Galerie der Moderne in July.

Precht und der Tod der avancierten Kunst

In a recent episode of the German podcast "Lanz + Precht," philosopher Richard David Precht discussed whether AI kills art. Precht argued that AI is merely the final nail in the coffin for an art form that has long lost its social relevance. The conversation, which included AI expert and entrepreneur Andreas O. Loff, explored the democratizing potential of AI in creative fields, but Precht doubled down on a reactionary stance: modern art, from Expressionism to Fluxus, once claimed a vital social role, but by the end of the 20th century, it had become meaningless—and AI only completes that decline.

Now Art Speaks

Jetzt spricht die Kunst

The June issue of Monopol magazine covers the 61st Venice Biennale, which opened amid global political protests and strikes. The issue features a report from the Biennale, including the main exhibition 'In Minor Keys' curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, the German pavilion resembling a Berlin refugee shelter, and Florentina Holzinger's provocative performances in the Austrian pavilion. It also includes an interview with artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset, who have installed unusual guests at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, and a conversation with African American painter Henry Taylor about his influences.

Marlene A. Schenk wird neue Direktorin von Rebecca Horns Stiftung

Marlene A. Schenk has been appointed as the new director of the Moontower Foundation, the organization managing the estate of the late German artist Rebecca Horn (1944–2024). She will take up the position on June 1, 2026, overseeing the strategic and programmatic development of the foundation, which is based in Bad König, Hesse. Schenk previously served as artistic director of the Kunstverein Friedrichshafen, where she curated programs at the intersection of place, collectivity, and institutional practice, and led the digital processing of the archive. She is also a co-founder of the independent exhibition space FKA Six in Berlin and has worked at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt.

The Crazy Game with Dimensions

"Das verrückte Spiel mit den Dimensionen"

The Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin has opened a new exhibition titled "Rooms / Stages," curated by Matthias Harder. The show explores the late photographer Helmut Newton's use of space as a stage for his fashion and theatrical photography, featuring his iconic images of models in hotels, restaurants, and theaters, as well as his work with Pina Bausch's Tanztheater Wuppertal and the Monte Carlo Ballet. The exhibition pairs Newton's photographs with works by twelve contemporary artists, including Paolo Ventura, creating a dialogue across generations that examines empty rooms, pictorial space, and theatrical settings.

Finally cut those damned two minutes out of your film!

"Schneide endlich diese verdammten zwei Minuten raus aus deinem Film!"

Wim Wenders is temporarily withdrawing his 1975 film "Falsche Bewegung" ("Wrong Move") from all current distribution formats following a dispute over a nude scene featuring actress Nastassja Kinski, who was 13 at the time of filming. The decision was announced by the Wim Wenders Foundation after critic Daniel Kothenschulte proposed the solution in Monopol and feminist activist Alice Schwarzer publicly urged Wenders to cut the scene. Separately, JR's "Caverne du Pont-Neuf" installation in Paris was partially damaged by wind and rain just before its planned June 6 opening, and artist Robert Wyland has filed a $25 million lawsuit against FIFA for painting over his whale mural in Dallas during World Cup 2026 preparations.

Baselitz, le monde à l’envers

German painter and sculptor Georg Baselitz, a major figure in contemporary art, died on April 30, 2026, at age 88. Born Hans-Georg Kern in 1938 near Dresden, he created a singular body of work over six decades, marked by violent, provocative painting and his radical 1969 inversion of motifs, which upended representational conventions.