What to Look for at Frieze New York 2026

Frieze New York 2026 returns to The Shed in Hudson Yards from May 13–17, featuring over 65 international galleries in its 15th edition. The fair emphasizes Latin American art with new committee members Fátima González and Omayra Alvarado, and includes highlights such as Southern Guild's expansion into Tribeca and Yeni Mao's cyborg sculptures in the Focus section. Collectors and enthusiasts can explore a diverse range of contemporary and blue-chip works across multiple fairs during Art Week.

This Years Met Gala Felt More Like an Art Exhibition Than a Red Carpet

The 2026 Met Gala, held on May 4 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, was widely described as feeling more like an art exhibition than a traditional red carpet. The theme, "Costume Art," with the dress code "Fashion Is Art," encouraged celebrities to treat their bodies as canvases. Beyoncé made a highly anticipated return after a decade, serving as a co-chair alongside Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour. Beyoncé wore a sculptural skeleton-inspired design by Olivier Rousteing, while Kiddon wore a shimmering red Chanel gown and Williams donned a Swarovski crystal gown inspired by her Smithsonian portrait. Other notable looks included Sabrina Carpenter in a Dior dress made from vintage film strips, Kendall Jenner referencing classical sculpture, Madonna channeling surrealist painter Leonora Carrington, and Heidi Klum arriving as a marble statue. Inside, live performances by Sabrina Carpenter and Stevie Nicks added to the spectacle.

How Tony Albert’s childhood instinct became a radical art practice

Tony Albert, a Girramay/Yidinji/Kuku-Yalanji artist, has spent his life collecting Aboriginalia—kitsch household items from the mid-20th century that feature naive or racist depictions of Indigenous culture. These objects, including ashtrays, velvet paintings, and figurines, form the basis of his upcoming exhibition *Tony Albert: Not A Souvenir* at the Museum of Contemporary Art, curated by Bruce Johnson McClean. Albert's practice transforms these mass-produced artifacts into a powerful critique of colonization, displacement, and erasure.

What Is the 2026 Met Gala Exhibit “Costume Art” All About?

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute will unveil its 2026 exhibition, “Costume Art,” on May 4, 2026, coinciding with the Met Gala. Curated by Andrew Bolton, the show explores the relationship between fashion and the human body, juxtaposing garments like Rei Kawakubo's bulbous Comme des Garçons ensemble with artworks such as Hans Bellmer's “La Poupée” and Albrecht Dürer's “Adam and Eve.” Mannequins cast from real bodies and mirrored heads by artist Samar Hejazi will enhance the immersive experience. The exhibition runs from May 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027, in the new Condé M. Nast Galleries.

Lucas Museum of Narrative Art unveils opening exhibitions

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles has announced its inaugural exhibitions ahead of its opening on September 22. Founded by filmmaker George Lucas and philanthropist Mellody Hobson, the museum was designed by MAD Architects founder Ma Yansong. The opening will feature 18 thematic exhibitions showcasing over 1,200 works across 30 galleries, spanning genres such as cinema, photography, comics, manga, and anime, with dedicated shows for illustrators like Norman Rockwell, Jessie Willcox Smith, and Frank Frazetta. The collection also includes works by Beatrix Potter, Frida Kahlo, Winsor McCay, Alison Bechdel, Gordon Parks, and Dorothea Lange, alongside the Lucas Archives containing props and costumes from Lucas's film career.

Arles Drawing Festival: What Not to Miss at This Fourth Edition

Festival du dessin d’Arles : ce qu’il ne faut surtout pas rater pour cette quatrième édition

The fourth edition of the Arles Drawing Festival has opened, featuring over forty exhibitions across the city. The highlights include two major private drawing collections being publicly presented: Marin Karmitz's collection, displayed at the Sainte-Anne church under the title "Et la vie continue…", and the Collezione Ramo from Milan, showcased at the Museon Arlaten chapel as part of a focus on Italian art.

art exhibition bernard frize perrotin paris

French-born, Berlin-based artist Bernard Frize presents his 21st exhibition with Perrotin and 10th in Paris, titled “Les 26,” on view through May 30. The show features his signature geometric latticework paintings, where interlocking grids of uniform brushstrokes create hazy chromatic architectures. Works include both resin-layered canvases with overlapping bands of bright color and tempera paintings on glass with strict compositional rules—each color moving in three straight lines to form two right angles. Frize continues his practice of using utilitarian, nonsensical titles like “Vido,” “Sioc,” and “Vesem” to decenter subjective interpretation.

art lottery ryan lee gallery martine gutierrez

Martine Gutierrez's exhibition "Lottery" at Ryan Lee Gallery in Manhattan documents a performance she staged at Paris Photo in 2025, where attendees directed her actions. The show features 17 photographs from 755 taken during the performance, alongside a video installation recreating the waiting line. Gutierrez also created a meta-text in which she interviews herself, drawing on a conversation with the article's author.

aspen art fair 2025

The Aspen Art Fair returns for its second edition from July 29 to August 2, 2025, at the historic Hotel Jerome in Aspen, Colorado. The fair has doubled in size to 44 dealers, including returning exhibitors like Perrotin, Galerie Gmurzynska, and Southern Guild, and newcomers such as Marianne Boesky Gallery, Sean Kelly, and Vielmetter. Co-founded by Becca Hoffman and Bob Chase, the event features a boutique, intimate format with galleries displayed in hotel bedrooms, along with collector home tours, panel discussions, hikes, cold water plunges, and dinners. A special curated suite by advisor Wendy Cromwell draws inspiration from novels by Miranda July and Virginia Woolf.

Morto l’artista Tullio Brunone. Il ricordo

Italian artist Tullio Brunone died on April 21. Born in 1946 in Alexandria, Egypt, to an Italian family, he trained at the Accademia di Brera in Milan. A pioneer of video art and new media, Brunone was a key figure in the Laboratorio di Comunicazione Militante (1976-1978) and later co-founded the Scuola di Nuove Tecnologie at Brera in the 1990s. His work explored interaction, temporality, and the selfie phenomenon, anticipating contemporary digital culture. He was represented by Galleria Clivio in Milan, which dedicated part of its stand to him at the most recent miart fair.

Looking for art, culture? See the latest Central Illinois exhibits

A roundup article highlights current and upcoming art and cultural exhibitions across Central Illinois, featuring venues such as the McLean County Museum of History, Krannert Art Museum, Prairie Aviation Museum, Peoria Riverfront Museum, Eaton Studio Gallery, Illinois Art Station, Illinois State Museum, McLean County Arts Center, Main Gallery 404, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Dickson Mounds Museum, and David Davis Mansion State Historic Site. Specific shows mentioned include "Material Memory" fiber arts show at Brandt Gallery, "Goya's Ghosts" at Armstrong Gallery, "Arts Alive!" auction at Dolan Gallery, "Lincoln: Sight, Sound & Touch" at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, "Ken Kashian Botanical Photography Exhibit" at IAA Credit Union, and "Kelly Pile Pyrography Pop-up Sale" at Main Gallery 404.

Jes Chen Makes a Knock at the Door Feel Like an Accusation

London-based artist Jes Chen presents "Occupied" (2026), an interactive installation that strips AI technology down to a knock sensor, a screen, and a live AI system. Viewers knock on a door-like interface and receive varied responses—defensive, evasive, or silence—generated in real time. The work draws from Chen's childhood memory of having her bedroom door lock removed, transforming privacy and vulnerability into a behavioral system. Recent presentations at the London Design Festival, Edinburgh Fringe, and Generative Art Conference 2025 have showcased Chen's restrained, psychologically charged approach to AI art.

Art Beat

A roundup of current art exhibitions and calls for work in Taos, New Mexico, highlights shows such as "Nicolai Fechin: Figures, Nature, and Expression" at the Taos Art Museum, "Taos Reimagined: Modernist Experiments in the High Desert," and "Rag Made Quilts" at the Taos Public Library. Other featured venues include 203 Fine Art, Stables Gallery, Revolt Gallery, and the Wheaton Museum of World Artifacts, with openings and deadlines spanning through fall 2026.

2 art exhibits in Woolwich, Portland illuminate in more ways than one - Portland Press Herald

Two solo exhibitions by artists Josefina Auslender and Billy Gerard Frank are on view in Woolwich and Portland, Maine, through mid-May. Auslender's "La Chimera de Oro (The Golden Chimera)" at Sarah Bouchard gallery features new ink-on-paper drawings exploring themes of artistic truth and the seductive danger of commercial success, while Frank's show at the Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art & Design (ICA at MECA&D) addresses the legacy of slavery through multimedia installations.

Linda McCartney Retrospective Opens May 23 at Fenimore Art Museum

The Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown will open "The Linda McCartney Retrospective: From the Light" on May 23, running through September 7. The exhibition showcases the life and work of Linda McCartney (1941–1998), a celebrated photographer known for her portraits of musicians like The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Aretha Franklin, and The Beatles. It highlights her career from early editorial work at "Town & Country" to becoming the first female photographer to have a cover photo on "Rolling Stone" magazine, as well as her personal photographs of husband Paul McCartney and their family.

World record for Carla Accardi in Contemporary Art auction at Dorothem's

Dorotheum's Contemporary Art auction in Vienna on May 20, 2026, set a new world record for Italian artist Carla Accardi, whose work *Fonda notte - Pieno giorno* (1986) sold for €520,000 to a telephone bidder. The sale also saw strong results for Martha Jungwirth (€429,000), Miriam Cahn (€195,000), and top lots including Thomas Schütte's *Vater Staat* (€520,000) and works by Mikuláš Medek (up to €546,000). International participation was robust, with particular demand for female artists and Central European figures.

Exhibition at the Sarasota Art Museum uses shadows to explore the way identity changes based on experiences

Sarasota Art Museum presents 'Penumbra,' a solo exhibition by textile artist Maria A. Guzman Capron. The show features 10 works, including traditional wall hangings and a suspended 15-foot textile sculpture titled 'Sombra,' all exploring how identity shifts based on context and experience. Curator Lacie Barbour explains that the title refers to the penumbra—a liminal space between light and dark—serving as a metaphor for the multiplicity of identities. Capron, who was born in Milan to Peruvian and Colombian parents and later moved to Texas, draws on her own cross-cultural experiences, using hand-dyed, painted, and screen-printed fabrics to create layered portraits of multi-faceted figures.

(BPRW) Getty Awards $1.8M to Increase Access to Black Visual Arts Archives

The Getty Foundation has awarded $1.8 million in grants to eight institutions through its Black Visual Arts Archives initiative, a multi-year program aimed at increasing access to archival collections related to Black artists and arts organizations. The grants will support processing, digitization, and public programming at venues including Afro Charities, Auburn Avenue Research Library, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Charles H. Wright Museum, Morgan State University, South Side Community Art Center, the University of Chicago's South Side Home Movie Project, and the David C. Driskell Center. This brings Getty's total funding for the initiative to $4.5 million since 2022, supporting 20 grants nationwide.

Three Venice shows everyone is talking about

The Korea Herald recommends three must-visit museum shows in Venice during the Venice Biennale. At Palazzo Grassi, the Pinault Collection presents "Michael Armitage. The Promise of Change," featuring the Kenya-born British painter's vivid works addressing sociopolitical tensions and migration. At Gallerie dell'Accademia, "Transforming Energy" by Marina Abramovic marks her 80th birthday, creating a dialogue between her performance art and Renaissance masterpieces. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection hosts "Peggy Guggenheim in London: The Making of a Collector," revisiting her formative years and her short-lived London gallery Guggenheim Jeune.

Marina Abramović’s Transforming Energy Reframes Performance Art in Venice

Marina Abramović has unveiled "Transforming Energy," a landmark exhibition at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, on view through October 19, 2026. The show marks the museum’s first major solo presentation dedicated to a living woman artist, arriving during the Venice Biennale. It places Abramović’s most significant performance works, including "Pietà (with Ulay)" (1983), in direct dialogue with Renaissance masterpieces such as Titian’s "Pietà," exploring themes of spirituality, grief, endurance, and transcendence. The exhibition is curated by Shai Baitel and features iconic works like "Balkan Baroque" (1997), for which Abramović won the Golden Lion.

5 exhibitions across the globe celebrating women who shaped art and culture

Five museums across the globe are opening exhibitions this month that celebrate women who have shaped art and culture. The shows include Björk's multidisciplinary "Echolalia" at the National Gallery of Iceland in Reykjavík, Iris van Herpen's New York exhibition, Marina Abramović's historic showing at Venice's Gallerie dell'Accademia, the Tate Modern's first major Frida Kahlo retrospective, and centenary tributes to Marilyn Monroe. The article notes that despite women making up 51% of visual artists worldwide, their work remains underrepresented in public institutions, with 78% of London galleries showing more male than female artists.

Patricia Li: An Art And Design Guide To Venice

Patricia Li, writing for Vogue Circle, shares a curated guide to art and design destinations in Venice beyond the main venues of the Venice Biennale. Her recommendations include the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Gallerie dell’Accademia, Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana (part of the Pinault Collection), the newly opened Fondazione Dries Van Noten, and Fondazione Prada, each hosting special exhibitions timed to the Biennale.

The Center for Creative Photography acquires nine significant archives

The Center for Creative Photography (CCP) at the University of Arizona has announced the acquisition of nine significant photography archives, including the legacies of Laura Aguilar, Jack Dykinga, Jody Forster, Frank Gohlke, Mark Klett, Nathan Lyons, Stephen Marc, Patrick Nagatani, and Susan Wood. This marks one of the largest expansions of CCP's holdings in recent years, adding to its renowned collection that already includes archives of Ansel Adams, W. Eugene Smith, and others. The archives contain not only prints but also correspondence, notebooks, and teaching materials, and will be processed over the next several years for researcher access.

At the 2026 Met Gala, Black stars and socialites turned the human form into art

The 2026 Met Gala, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art under the theme 'Costume Art,' featured Black celebrities and socialites interpreting the human form as art on the red carpet. Notable attendees included Beyoncé in a skeletal silver gown by Olivier Rousteing, Colman Domingo inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Rihanna in a custom Maison Margiela 'living sculpture' by Glenn Martens, and Venus Williams co-chairing the event while wearing a look referencing her own portrait by Robert Pruitt. Others like SZA, Tschabalala Self, and Cardi B offered surreal or literal nods to art history and body imagery.

All the Looks That Made It From the Runway Into the Met’s “Costume Art” Exhibition

Black Artists Featured in Monet to Matisse Exhibition at Birmingham Museum of Art

The Birmingham Museum of Art (BMA) has opened its presentation of the traveling exhibition "Monet to Matisse: French Moderns, 1850–1950," which features over 100 masterworks from the Brooklyn Museum. Uniquely, the BMA version includes more than 40 additional works from its own collection, among them paintings by two Black American artists—Henry Ossawa Tanner and Charles Ethan Porter—who lived and worked in France during the period. Curator Dr. Maggie Crosland emphasized the importance of including these artists to highlight the contributions of Black Americans to French modernism, especially given the political climate that drove many to Paris between 1850 and 1950.

Montclair Art Museum Announces Retirement of Longtime Chief Curator Dr. Gail Stavitsky

The Montclair Art Museum (MAM) has announced that Dr. Gail Stavitsky, its Chief Curator, will retire on July 1, 2026, after a tenure of more than 30 years. Stavitsky joined MAM in 1994 as Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, was promoted to Chief Curator in 1998, and curated over 200 exhibitions, including landmark shows such as "Cézanne and American Modernism" (2009) and "Matisse and American Art" (2017). Her recent exhibitions include solo shows for vanessa german and Tom Nussbaum, and she co-curated "Shifting Terrain: Perspectives on Land in North America." She also oversaw major acquisitions and the care of the museum's collections of George Inness and Morgan Russell.

Marina Abramović in Venice: “Don’t treat me like an icon”

Marina Abramović has opened a new exhibition titled "Transforming Energy" at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, running concurrently with the Venice Biennale. Curated by Shai Baitel, the show spans the museum’s permanent collection and temporary exhibition spaces, featuring a timeline of the artist’s biography, video works, and interactive installations with crystals and stone objects. Abramović is the first living woman artist to receive a major solo exhibition at the museum, and the exhibition includes a digital avatar and rituals designed to slow down the viewer’s experience.

Everything to know about the Met Gala 2026: Theme, hosts and what to expect

The Met Gala 2026 will take place on the first Monday in May, with the theme "Costume Art" and a dress code of "Fashion is Art." The accompanying exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art explores depictions of the dressed body throughout time, pairing garments with artworks from the museum's collection. Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour are named co-hosts, while Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos serve as honorary chairs. The event will debut the newly named Condé M. Nast Galleries, a permanent 12,000-square-foot space in the museum's Great Hall, allowing the exhibition to run for nine months from May 10, 2026 to January 10, 2027.

Summer Previews: The Season’s Most Anticipated Shows

Artforum's editors preview twenty-five anticipated institutional exhibitions opening worldwide between May and August. Highlights include "Fade" at the Studio Museum in Harlem, the latest in its career-making "F show" series featuring seventeen emerging artists of African descent; "Modernity and Opulence: Women of the Wiener Werkstätte" at the Jewish Museum in New York, showcasing over 180 women designers from Austria's famed atelier; "Replica of a Chip: The Weaving Technology of Marilou Schultz" at the Hessel Museum of Art, exploring the intersection of Navajo weaving and microchip history; the 59th Carnegie International at the Carnegie Museum of Art, with 61 artists spread across Pittsburgh venues; and "Mary Ellen Carroll: How to Talk Dirty and Influence People" at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.