Four original paintings by the late American television personality Bob Ross are set to go on view at Bonhams’ new U.S. flagship gallery in New York on April 22nd. These works, which Ross created during his iconic series The Joy of Painting, will be sold at the auction house's American Art sale the following day. This event marks the third installment of a larger initiative to sell 30 of Ross's works to benefit public broadcasting.
South African artist Johannes Phokela is set to showcase a significant body of work at the 2026 Venice Biennale, building on his recent series 'The Seven Virtues' and 'Original Sin'. Curated under a vision initiated by the late Koyo Kouoh and supported by Eclectica Contemporary, Phokela’s paintings subvert the aesthetics of European Old Master traditions. His works, including 'Fides' and 'Temperantia', utilize Baroque visual languages to critique constructed morality, institutional power, and the performance of virtue.
Sierra Leone has made its inaugural appearance at the 61st Venice Biennale with a pavilion titled 'Worlds of Today' located at the Liceo Guggenheim. Curated with a focus on "minor keys" rather than grand spectacles, the exhibition features Sierra Leonean artists Hawa-Jane Bangura, Ayesha Feisal, Hickmatu Bintu Leigh, and Abu Bakarr Mansaray alongside practitioners from other ECOWAS nations. The pavilion functions as a sensorial, porous space that prioritizes communal resilience and spiritual epistemologies over the commodification of identity.
Curator Simon Njami discusses his exhibition 'NAFRICA–MASCHERE' at the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, which juxtaposes the fascist anthropological archives of Lidio Cipriani with contemporary artworks. The show utilizes the metaphor of the mask to explore the tension between how individuals are perceived and how they project themselves, specifically addressing the persistence of colonial logic in the modern world. By including artists from Africa, America, and Italy, Njami seeks to move beyond a binary 'colonizer vs. colonized' narrative toward a broader inquiry into human representation and power.
The National Pavilion UAE has announced its upcoming exhibition for the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026, titled ‘Washwasha’ (Whispers Across Water). Curated by Bana Kattan with assistant curator Tala Nassar, the presentation features six artists: Mays Albaik, Jawad Al Malhi, Farah Al Qasimi, Alaa Edris, Lamya Gargash, and Taus Makhacheva. The exhibition moves away from traditional visual spectacle to focus on sound, oral traditions, and 'sonic cartographies' that explore memory, migration, and the fluid identity of the UAE through an architectural environment designed by Büro Koray Duman Architects.
The major retrospective ‘Out of Place’ at ART AFRICA showcases over 200 images by South African photographer Jo Ractliff, spanning four decades of her career. The exhibition traces Ractliff’s evolution from her early 1980s street photography to her mature, atmospheric landscapes that examine the scars of colonialism, apartheid, and regional conflicts in Southern Africa. By focusing on the 'afterlife' of violence rather than the events themselves, the collection highlights her unique ability to capture how history sediments within the physical terrain.
Michaela Yearwood-Dan has unveiled her first major UK institutional exhibition, 'The Practice of Liberation,' at the Whitworth. The immersive installation integrates fourteen new paintings with ceramic vessels and soundscapes, reimagining traditional religious motifs through a contemporary, secular lens. By deconstructing elements like stained glass and the Stations of the Cross into abstract forms, the artist creates a sanctuary that explores themes of ritual, memory, and personal identity.
Deborah Roberts’s solo exhibition, 'Consequences of Being,' at The FLAG Art Foundation showcases a significant evolution in her practice, featuring new large-scale paintings, works on paper, and her debut in ceramic sculpture. Her signature collage-based figures are presented as fragmented, composite bodies that challenge fixed notions of Black identity and subjecthood. By blending archival imagery with vernacular signage, Roberts explores how colonial legacies and historical narratives continue to influence the perception of Black bodies across the globe.
The Museum of Modern Art of Rio de Janeiro (MAM Rio) is hosting a major retrospective titled 'Rubem Valentim: a ordem do sensível,' featuring approximately 180 works spanning four decades. Curated by Raquel Barreto and Phelipe Rezende, the exhibition showcases Valentim’s unique fusion of modernist abstraction with the spiritual symbols of Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous cosmologies. The presentation includes paintings, reliefs, and sculptures, culminating in monumental works like 'Templo de Oxalá.'
ENRIQUE LÓPEZ LLAMAS: LO VISIBLE, LO INVISIBLE
Artist Enrique López Llamas presents a solo exhibition titled "Lo visible, lo invisible" at Fundación CALOSA in Mexico, exploring the intersection of childhood fears and contemporary adult masculinity. The installation utilizes fluorescent plastic polymers that glow in the dark and video works to create a sensory dialogue between light and shadow, symbolizing the repressed memories and systemic behaviors that persist into adulthood.
Una delle fiere in corso a Milano durante questa Art Week sarà visitabile fino a mezzanotte (e ci puoi anche cenare)
MEGA Art Fair has announced an unconventional schedule for its third edition during Milan Art Week 2026, extending its opening hours until midnight. Located in the former Esperis perfume factory known as PROFUMO, the fair will occupy over 3,000 square meters of industrial space. The event features a multidisciplinary public program and a unique "sensory dinner" titled The Perfume Table, which translates the olfactory structure of perfumes into a gastronomic experience set among artworks.
The city of Lakeland, Florida, launched its inaugural Fuego Festival, a downtown celebration dedicated to Latin culture, heritage, and the arts. Organized in part by Tony Agnello of Notta Gallery, the event features live music, local vendors, a Cuban cigar lounge, and live painting demonstrations by artists such as William Araujo.
Homestead Fine Art Gallery in downtown Berthoud has established itself as a vital community hub, currently representing 23 local artists from Northern Colorado. The gallery recently hosted its third annual student art show, featuring works from Berthoud High School students and concluding with a public awards reception. Managed by volunteer Executive Director Jim Fronapfel, the space operates on a cooperative model where artists juried into the gallery rent space and contribute volunteer hours to maintain operations.
Visual artist and faculty member Anthony Ryan debuted his solo exhibition, "Imperfect Pixels," at the City College Art Gallery with an opening reception that highlighted his unique printmaking process. The collection features screen prints and woodcuts developed from digital illustrations created using a MacPaint simulator, embracing the aesthetic limitations of early 1980s software. During the event, Ryan’s students demonstrated printmaking techniques, showcasing the practical application of the methods seen in the gallery.
The Renew Jordan Creek revitalization project in downtown Springfield has severely impacted Fresh Gallery, an award-winning local art space. Extensive road closures on Boonville Avenue and ongoing construction noise have cut off the gallery from its usual pedestrian and tourist traffic, leading to a drastic decline in sales and foot traffic. To combat these challenges, the gallery has launched a GoFundMe campaign and is attempting to reinvent its business model to survive until construction concludes in mid-2024.
The Dittmar Memorial Gallery in Evanston is hosting 'I Was Here,' a community-driven exhibition running from April 9 to May 3, 2026. Curated by Jasmine Ametovski and Clare Kirwan, the show features 24 local artists utilizing diverse mediums such as sound, video, and beeswax to document their daily lives. The project prioritizes lived experience and personal encounters over traditional, academic studio practices.
Several Dallas-Fort Worth cultural institutions are launching a series of soccer-themed exhibitions to coincide with the upcoming FIFA World Cup matches at AT&T Stadium. These showcases range from the Arlington Museum of Art’s multi-part historical exploration "More Than a Match" to the Latino Cultural Center’s solo exhibition of Mexican artist Jazzamoart, whose paintings translate the rhythm and emotion of the sport into expressive canvas works.
Scholar Leigh Raiford examines the personal family archives of Black Panther Party leaders Kathleen and Eldridge Cleaver, specifically focusing on photographs taken during their period of exile in the 1970s. The analysis centers on how domestic objects, such as a zebra-print carver chair and various African artifacts, transitioned from private household items to iconic symbols of Black Power and cultural nationalism in the public sphere.
Japanese artist Manabu Kosaka creates hyperrealistic, scale replicas of everyday and retro objects using only paper. His meticulously crafted sculptures—ranging from 35mm film cameras and vintage transistor radios to luxury wristwatches and fast food—feature functional internal components like gears, levers, and moving hatches that mimic the mechanics of the original items.
The artist duo NEVERCREW, composed of Christian Rebecchi and Pablo Togni, has unveiled a series of large-scale murals across Europe that confront the deteriorating relationship between humanity and the natural world. Their recent works, including the mural "Souvenir" in Vienna and "Switch" in Wuppertal, utilize surrealist imagery—such as polar bears merged with plastic toy components or whales encased in architectural structures—to illustrate how nature is increasingly viewed as an artificial, distant object rather than an integrated system.
"Wir mussten schwierige Entscheidungen treffen"
Investor Andrew E. Wolff has stepped down as CEO of Artnet after orchestrating a merger of the company's US operations with Artsy, another major art market platform he recently acquired. Jeffrey Yin, previously the interim head of Artsy, has been appointed as the permanent CEO of the combined entity. The restructuring involves significant layoffs, the closure of Artnet's Berlin office, and a consolidation of management teams, though both brands will continue to operate with distinct editorial voices.
Le Mexique face aux ventes d’art précolombien
The Mexican government is facing ongoing legal and diplomatic hurdles in its attempts to halt the sale of pre-Columbian artifacts in Paris. Despite formal protests from the Mexican embassy citing national heritage laws from 1827, auction houses like Millon continue to proceed with sales, generating millions in revenue. French authorities and legal experts maintain that Mexican national laws do not supersede French jurisdiction, which largely adheres to the 1970 UNESCO Convention regarding the illicit import and export of cultural property.
Le Musée Nicéphore-Niépce fait du surplace
The Musée Nicéphore-Niépce in Chalon-sur-Saône remains in a state of stagnation as long-promised modernization plans continue to stall. Despite over twenty-five years of proposals for a new facility or a "Cité de l'image," the project has become a political "sea serpent," hampered by budget cuts, staff reductions, and shifting municipal priorities. Most recently, the city declined to renew the contract of Fannie Escoulen, a former Ministry of Culture official hired to steer the project, further signaling a lack of progress.
Jean-Gabriel Peyre (1941-2026)
Jean-Gabriel Peyre, a distinguished French art dealer and expert in antique ceramics, passed away on March 27 at the age of 85. Originally a fashion professional who worked for Jacques Esterel, Peyre transitioned to the art world in the late 1960s, establishing himself as a preeminent specialist in European ceramics from the 16th to 18th centuries. Based in Paris and later Aix-en-Provence, he was particularly renowned for his expertise in French faience and his significant personal collection of Apt ceramics.
Artists Charlie Kirkham and Robert Walker are set to debut a joint exhibition titled "The Cost of Love" at the Rugby Art Gallery and Museum this May. The showcase features contemporary paintings that reimagine classical mythological figures—such as Narcissus, Apollo, and Adonis—to explore psychological themes of desire, transformation, and vulnerability. While both artists maintain a focus on technical rigor and the human figure, the works shift away from traditional storytelling to focus on the emotional tensions of modern life.
Renowned American printmaker Chuck Sperry has collaborated with the Fort Wayne Ballet to create a limited-edition poster for their upcoming production of "A Midsummer Night’s Dream." This partnership coincides with the announcement of Sperry’s solo exhibition, "Archetypes," which is scheduled to open at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art on August 25. The exhibition will showcase over 100 wooden panels depicting the Greek Muses, all of which will be inducted into the museum’s permanent collection as part of the Chuck Sperry Archive.
Artist Debra Wick is presenting a new series of hyper-realistic watercolor paintings focused on the intricate physics of raindrops at the Redlands Art Association. The exhibition, running from April 18 to May 15, showcases Wick’s unique self-taught technique involving masking fluid and layered washes to capture atmospheric reflections, alongside her earlier works and functional art pieces like painted umbrellas and pillows.
The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) in San Francisco recently celebrated the opening of two major exhibitions, "Diedrick Brackens: gather tender night" and "Conjuring Power: Roots & Futures of Queer & Trans Movements." The event drew over 1,000 attendees and featured leadership from the institution alongside the featured artists and curators.
The Michelson Museum of Art in Marshall, Texas, has launched "Postcards from Home," a new exhibition featuring the works of Max Cole and Don Brown. The show highlights the regional history of East Texas through Cole’s illustrations of historic landmarks and Brown’s plein air paintings of local landscapes like Caddo Lake. The exhibition was organized through a collaboration with the Harrison County Historical Museum and Centenary College, bringing together works that were previously held in private and bank collections.
Rogue Valley artist and spiritual teacher Tiziana DellaRovere has launched a multi-media exhibition and book debut titled "Adorata: The Path of Enlovement" at the Langford Art Gallery in Phoenix, Oregon. The project features a collection of sculptures, paintings, and an illustrated book that explores the divine feminine through the figure of Mother Mary, focusing on themes of compassion and introspection.