The 21 best art galleries to explore in Australia to get lost in

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.

Henry Moore's King and Queen leads Christie's 20th/21st Century London sales

Christie’s London evening sales achieved a combined total of £197.5 million ($263.8 million) on March 5, 2026, representing a 52 percent increase year-on-year. The night was headlined by Henry Moore’s monumental bronze sculpture 'King and Queen', which sold for a record-breaking £26.3 million after an eight-minute bidding war. The event also debuted a new auction rostrum designed by Sir Jony Ive’s creative collective, LoveFrom, marking the house's 260th anniversary.

Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Evening Sale Springs To Life

Sotheby’s Modern and Contemporary Evening Sale in London achieved a robust total of £131 million, more than doubling the results of the previous year's equivalent auction. The event was characterized by a high 98% sell-through rate and was anchored by significant single-owner collections, most notably works from billionaire Joe Lewis. Highlights included a Francis Bacon self-portrait that fetched £16 million and a record-breaking sale for Leon Kossoff, whose "Children’s Swimming Pool, Autumn Afternoon" sold for £5.2 million, nearly four times his previous auction record.

‘I rely heavily on instinct’: entertainment mogul Hassan Smith on the art he collects and why

Entertainment executive and art collector Hassan Smith, manager to John Legend and advisory board member for the Atlanta Art Fair, shared insights into his collecting philosophy ahead of Frieze Los Angeles. His extensive collection spans art history from Rembrandt and Picasso to contemporary Black masters like Sam Gilliam, Rashid Johnson, and Deborah Roberts. Smith recently added a large-scale painting by Patrick Eugène to his holdings, noting that he relies on a mix of instinct and professional networking to make quick acquisition decisions.

The must-see exhibitions of 2026: from Duchamp in New York to Baldessari in Beijing

The article previews major art exhibitions scheduled for 2026, highlighting two standout shows. At Basel's Fondation Beyeler, a Cezanne exhibition from January to May will focus on the artist's later works, featuring around 60 oil paintings and 20 watercolours, half from private collections. Highlights include a privately owned oil study of 'The Bathers' (around 1902-06) and 'The Boy in the Red Vest' (1888-90), with curator Ulf Küster emphasizing Cezanne's fragmentary, radical perspective. Separately, the traveling exhibition 'Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone' will premiere at the Peabody Essex Museum in February, showcasing 30 sculptures by the 19th-century Black and Indigenous artist, organized after a 2016 acquisition by the Georgia Museum of Art spurred curators to track down her works.

What to expect from Fondation Cartier's new Parisian home

Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain will open its highly anticipated new Paris gallery at Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre, on 25 October 2025. The inaugural exhibition, Exposition Générale (running until 23 August 2026), features over 600 works by more than 100 artists, drawn from the foundation's collection of around 4,500 pieces. Designed by Italian studio Formafantasma, the show is organized into four thematic sections—Machines d’architecture, Être nature, Making Things, and un monde réel—and includes works by Sarah Sze, Rinko Kawauchi, Patti Smith, James Turrell, Vija Celmins, Joan Mitchell, Damien Hirst, and others. The building, part of the former Louvre des Antiquaires complex, was reconfigured by architect Jean Nouvel, adding 6,500 sq. m of exhibition space with a library, auditorium, and restaurant.

Exhibition 'The House of Pikachu: Art, Anime, and Pop Culture' Opens October 17 at Asia Society Texas

Asia Society Texas (AST) in Houston announces its upcoming exhibition 'The House of Pikachu: Art, Anime, and Pop Culture,' opening October 17, 2025 and running through March 15, 2026. The show features 25 artists from Japan, Brazil, China, Mexico, Côte d'Ivoire, Texas, and beyond, exploring the influence of Japanese animation on contemporary art. Highlights include works by Yoshitaka Amano, Houston-based artist Gao Hang, and Monsieur Zohore, who is creating a new monumental painting titled 'Houston, We Have A Problem (2025)' that depicts a melee of postwar anime characters. The exhibition includes playful nods to classics like Astro Boy, Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, and an immersive homage to Pikachu.

The House of Pikachu: Art, Anime, and Pop Culture

Asia Society Texas (AST) in Houston announces its upcoming exhibition "The House of Pikachu: Art, Anime, and Pop Culture," opening October 17, 2025, and running through March 15, 2026. The show features 25 artists from Japan, Brazil, China, Mexico, Côte d'Ivoire, Texas, and beyond, exploring the influence of Japanese animation on contemporary art. Highlights include works by Yoshitaka Amano, Gao Hang, and Monsieur Zohore, with nods to classics like Astro Boy, Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, and an immersive homage to Pikachu.

Exhibition Review: “Alan Davie: Paintings, 1959 - 1971” at A Hug from the Art World, Chelsea (long-term viewing, by appointment)

A Hug from the Art World in Chelsea is presenting a long-term exhibition of Scottish Abstract Expressionist Alan Davie (1920–2014), focusing on his work from 1959 to 1971. Gallery founder Adam Cohen, who discovered a Davie painting in his father Frank Cohen's collection, curated the show to highlight what he considers Davie's most influential period, when his style evolved into a psychedelic, complex visual language amid the rise of Pop Art and Minimalism.

Embrace the Sparkle at 7 Jewelry-Themed Museum Exhibitions Across the Globe

Seven jewelry-themed museum exhibitions are on view globally in 2025, showcasing pieces from Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, and artist-designed adornments by Man Ray and Pablo Picasso. Highlights include "Cosmic Splendor" at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, featuring astronomically inspired Van Cleef & Arpels creations, and "Cartier" at the V&A in London, displaying over 350 objects including royal commissions and iconic panther jewels. Other shows feature contemporary and vintage designs, emphasizing jewelry as a wearable art form.

From Rembrandt to Warhol, a Paris exhibition asks: what do artists wear?

Annabelle Ténèze, now Director of the Musée du Louvre-Lens, has curated a new exhibition titled 'The Art of Dressing – Dressing like an Artist' at the museum. The show explores how artists from Rembrandt to Warhol use clothing and self-fashioning in their self-portraits and public personas, drawing on examples such as Niki de Saint Phalle's eccentric wardrobe and Rembrandt's deliberate sartorial choices. Ténèze was inspired by her earlier work on de Saint Phalle at Les Abattoirs in Toulouse and by Charlie Porter's book 'What Artists Wear'.

National Gallery London's 200th anniversary

The National Gallery in London is celebrating its 200th anniversary, marking two centuries since its founding in 1824. The milestone is being commemorated with a series of special exhibitions, events, and public programs throughout the year, highlighting the museum's collection of over 2,300 paintings and its role as a cornerstone of British cultural heritage.

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Wem die Glocke schlägt

The Kunsthalle Wien has revived its recurring exhibition format "Lebt und arbeitet in Wien" (Lives and Works in Vienna) for the fifth time since 2000, presenting 56 artists selected from a pool of 700 local practitioners. Curated by Daniel Baumann, Monika Georgieva, and Michelle Cotton, the show spans two venues—the Museumsquartier and Karlsplatz—featuring works in painting, sculpture, installation, film, and video that reflect the city's diverse artistic landscape. The exhibition marks a return after a decade-long hiatus, filling gaps left since the previous edition under the curatorial collective WHW.

Is the art market slump over?

Ist die Flaute im Kunstmarkt vorbei?

The New York spring auctions saw explosive top prices, with Jackson Pollock's drip painting "Number 7A" (1948) selling for $181.2 million at Christie's, making it the fourth most expensive artwork ever auctioned. Christie's evening sales alone generated $1.1 billion, including $630.8 million from 16 works from the S.I. Newhouse collection. Sotheby's opened the season with a Mark Rothko from the estate of dealer Robert Mnuchin, achieving $85.8 million, while Phillips sold all 40 lots for $115 million, double the previous year. Younger artists like Joseph Yaeger also saw prices far exceed estimates.

The Pain Behind the Colors

Der Schmerz hinter den Farben

Henry Taylor is the subject of a major exhibition at the Musée Picasso in Paris, where his monumental paintings addressing racism, poverty, hope, and pain are displayed in dialogue with art history. The article describes a key work featuring Martin Luther King Jr. in a park scene, with small adult-faced figures and a limousine of white men watching, highlighting Taylor's narrative style.

Werke von Pollock und Brancusi für Rekordsummen versteigert

At Christie's spring auctions in New York, Jackson Pollock's painting "Number 7A" sold for approximately $181 million and Constantin Brancusi's sculpture "Danaïde" fetched around $108 million, both setting records. The works came from the estate of publisher S. I. Newhouse, who died in 2017. Christie's total sales for the evening exceeded $1 billion, while rival Sotheby's had sold several hundred million dollars' worth of art the previous week. Christie's enlisted actress Nicole Kidman to promote the Brancusi piece.

Faces of Russian Art

Gesichter der russischen Kunst

On the Venice Biennale, the Russian Pavilion presents itself as a space for dialogue, while simultaneously a major exhibition in St. Petersburg titled "Russischer Imperativ" (Russian Imperative) opened on May 8 at the Manezh exhibition hall, glorifying war as a historical imperative of Russian identity. Curated by Anton Belikov, a Moscow artist and former Russian soldier who fought in Ukraine, the show features works from state museums like the Tretyakov Gallery, blending historical battles with the current war in Ukraine, and includes a monumental, fascistoid design with a ten-meter-tall installation of a soldier's head. The exhibition has sparked outrage on social media and in Russian exile media for its militaristic propaganda.

Exhibition at Bellevue Palace: Rush causes server crash

Ausstellung im Schloss Bellevue: Ansturm legt Server lahm

Berlin's Schloss Bellevue, the official residence of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, is being transformed into a pop-up art gallery from June 13 to 28 before undergoing a multi-year renovation. The exhibition, titled "Freiraum Kunst," features works by artists including Katharina Grosse, Wolfgang Tillmans, and Monica Bonvicini. However, the ticket booking system crashed due to overwhelming demand, causing delays and prompting the Akademie der Künste to work on resolving the technical issues, assuring the public that tickets are still available.

Künstler Harald Metzkes ist tot

German painter Harald Metzkes has died at the age of 97 in Wegendorf, Brandenburg, surrounded by his family. His son, sculptor Robert Metzkes, confirmed the news to the German Press Agency. Metzkes, who grew up in East Germany, was a leading figure of the Berlin School of painting and resisted the official doctrine of socialist realism, instead creating a personal "world theatre" of harlequins, circus scenes, and theatrical figures inspired by Rembrandt, Velázquez, and Paul Cézanne. His best-known work includes "Der Abtransport der sechsarmigen Göttin." After training as a stonemason and studying at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, he worked as a freelance artist in Berlin, supporting himself with book illustrations. His work gained international attention when one of his paintings was sent to the Venice Biennale in 1984, and after the fall of the Berlin Wall he built connections with Western collectors.

Stühle, die zum Reden zwingen

The article examines a peculiar three-seat sofa called the "Indiscret" on display in the Louvre, designed in 19th-century France under Napoleon III to force conversation among sitters. This "Conversation Chair" reflects an era when furniture was deliberately crafted to create social intimacy and control guest behavior, in stark contrast to modern public seating that often discourages lingering through hostile architecture.

Free tickets now available for temporary exhibition at Bellevue Palace

Ab sofort kostenlose Karten für temporäre Schau im Schloss Bellevue

Berlin's Bellevue Palace, the official residence of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, will transform into a pop-up gallery for two weeks from June 13 to 28. Free timed-entry tickets become available from 3:00 PM on the website of the Akademie der Künste. The exhibition will feature works by artists including Katharina Grosse, Wolfgang Tillmans, and Monica Bonvicini, displayed in rooms emptied ahead of a multi-year renovation.

Watching the Great Form Shatter

Der großen Form beim Zerbrechen zuschauen

Marc Brandenburg, a Berlin-based artist born in 1965, is the subject of a comprehensive survey exhibition titled "20th Century Debris" at the Berlinische Galerie. The show presents his meticulous pencil drawings on paper, which invert light and dark and are viewed under blacklight to create ghostly, dissolving images. Brandenburg's works fragment urban spaces, faces, and everyday objects into shimmering, unstable forms, drawing on photography and photocopying to produce a sense of eerie stillness and motion. The exhibition also includes his first films, tracing his stylistic evolution from early 1990s fragmented portraits to large-scale panoramic works with metallic surfaces.

On High Heels into the Museum

Auf High Heels ins Museum

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) closed its newly opened David Geffen Galleries just days after their official debut to host a Dior fashion show. The show, designed by Dior creative director Jonathan Anderson, featured a Cruise collection inspired by Hollywood glamour, with models walking through the museum's outdoor spaces amid vintage cars and historical lamps. The event highlighted the ongoing tension between the museum's architectural ambitions—Peter Zumthor's amoeba-like concrete structure has drawn both criticism and praise—and its use as a venue for luxury brand marketing.

Some cry censorship, others cry antisemitism

"Die einen schreien Zensur, die anderen Antisemitismus"

A constitutional law scholar, Christoph Möllers, warns in an interview with Die Zeit about the dangerous escalation of cultural policy conflicts, sparked by Documenta 15, where accusations of censorship and antisemitism collide. In Poland, Adam Budak was removed as director of MOCAK in Krakow after just a few months, facing 79 allegations including mobbing and problematic leadership. Meanwhile, the New York spring auctions have launched, and Jason Farago's review of the Venice Biennale in the New York Times criticizes the shift from aesthetic innovation toward identity-driven art. Robin Pogrebin also reports on the merger of the Met and the Neue Galerie, described as a rare convergence of two museum models.

Valie Export ist tot

Valie Export, the pioneering Austrian media and performance artist, has died at age 85 in Vienna. Born Waltraud Lehner in Linz in 1940, she adopted the name Valie Export in the late 1960s, derived from a cigarette brand, and became internationally known for provocative works such as "Tapp- und Tastkino" (1968) and "Aktionshose: Genitalpanik." Her practice critically examined gender roles, power structures, and the representation of the female body through film, video, photography, and performance. She participated in major exhibitions including Documenta, the Centre Pompidou, and the Museum of Modern Art, and represented Austria at the Venice Biennale in 1980 alongside Maria Lassnig. She also taught as a professor of media and performance art in Berlin and Cologne, and the VALIE EXPORT Center opened in Linz in 2017.

Was in den Museen läuft

Munich's art festival "Various Others" kicks off this week with major city museums participating. The Pinakothek der Moderne presents "Reflexion," a group show of 100 works across fine art, architecture, graphic design, and design by artists including Isa Genzken, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Piet Zwart, and Ettore Sottsass. The Alexander-Tutsek-Stiftung celebrates its 25th anniversary with a glass-focused exhibition featuring Monica Bonvicini, Tony Cragg, and Laure Prouvost. The Villa Stuck reopens after renovation with four shows: Philipp Messner's sculptures, Ilit Azoulay's macro-film installation, a returning Franz von Stuck painting, and Delschad Numan Khorschid and Jan-Hendrik Pelz's migration-themed "Zehn Leben." The Lenbachhaus presents "Ein Ferngespräch. Szenen aus der Weimarer Republik" with works by Jeanne Mammen, Gabriele Münter, and Christian Schad. Museum Brandhorst's "Carrying" addresses the history of the Maxvorstadt art district, once site of a military barracks built by Ottoman prisoners. The Eres Stiftung continues "Seeing the Unseen" on quantum physics. The Flux meeting space, designed by Morag Myerscough, moves indoors at the Pinakothek der Moderne.

Überraschende Begegnungen

The ninth edition of the "Various Others" festival in Munich brings together institutions, off-spaces, and galleries for a city-wide series of exhibitions in May. Highlights include Walter Storms Galerie presenting Anselm Reyle's first Munich solo show with Istanbul's Dirimart; Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler collaborating with Rome's T293 to show Simon Denny's tech-critical works; Max Goelitz pairing Lukas Heerich and Rindon Johnson with Eva Hesse in dialogue with Hauser & Wirth; Lohaus Sominsky and Paris's Mennour featuring Ilit Azoulay and Alicja Kwade; and Rüdiger Schöttle hosting Milena Muzquiz and Elif Saydam. A new parcours exhibition, "Vectors," inspired by Jan Hoet's "Chambres d'Amis," places contemporary art in tech company offices across Munich.

"Man besitzt Kunst nicht, man ist nur ihr Verwalter"

The 61st Venice Biennale opened on Saturday without ceremony or an opening celebration, amid political turmoil over the participation of Russia and Israel. Italy's Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli criticized Biennale director Pietrangelo Buttafuoco for not informing the government about Russia's participation request, suggesting it could have been used as leverage for a ceasefire in Ukraine. The entire jury resigned after attempting to exclude both Russia and Israel from prize awards, leading to the cancellation of the traditional jury decision in favor of a public vote, which over 70 participating artists have protested by withdrawing from this year's prizes. Separately, a rare photograph from the early 1940s has surfaced showing Lucas Cranach the Elder's painting "Venus with Cupid as Honey Thief" in Adolf Hitler's Munich apartment, raising unresolved questions about whether the work was looted from Jewish owners before 1935.

Monopol verlost 5 × 2 Tickets für Marina Abramović im Gropius Bau

Monopol magazine is giving away 5 × 2 tickets to Marina Abramović's exhibition "Balkan Erotic Epic" at the Gropius Bau in Berlin. The show, which opened in 2025, explores erotic energy through Balkan myths, rituals, and folklore, combining new video works with historical pieces from the 1970s onward, including installations, sculptures, and live performances.