A tour of 10 must-see booths at the miart 2026 fair in Milan

Un giro in 10 stand da non mancare alla fiera miart 2026 a Milano

The 30th edition of miart, Milan’s international modern and contemporary art fair, has launched at the Allianz MiCo South Wing under the artistic direction of Nicola Ricciardi. Titled "New Directions," the 2026 edition features 160 galleries from 24 countries, organized into sections like Emergent, Established, and Established Anthology. Despite some logistical complaints regarding the new layout, the opening saw high attendance and early optimism from dealers regarding sales.

Uri Aran “Untitled (I love you)” at Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Donnaregina – MADRE, Naples

The Fondazione Donnaregina per le arti contemporanee – museo Madre in Naples presents "Untitled (I love you)," the first retrospective in an Italian museum dedicated to American artist Uri Aran (born Jerusalem, 1977). Curated by museum director Eva Fabbris, the exhibition opens on Thursday, February 12, at 6 pm, with President Angela Tecce and the director in attendance.

Museum of Modern Art of Bogotá dismisses longtime artistic director

Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá dismisses longtime artistic director

The Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá (Mambo) has dismissed its artistic director, Eugenio Viola, after more than seven years. The museum's board announced the termination as part of a "comprehensive review," stating Viola will remain until May 2026 while a search for a successor begins. Viola contends his dismissal followed his raising of concerns about deteriorating working conditions, which the board dismissed.

Marina Abramović rolls into Davos with an immersive project that encourages world leaders to take a digital detox

Marina Abramović has unveiled a new immersive work titled THE BUS at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, running until 23 January. The piece, part mobile sculpture and part meditation capsule, invites world leaders and participants to step away from the forum's intense schedule for a digital detox and inner reflection using the Abramović Method. The project was curated by Mirjam Varadinis, curator-at-large at the Kunsthaus Zürich, and developed through Abramović's institute (MAI). It marks Abramović's debut at the WEF, which this year also features eco-artist Thijs Biersteker, multimedia artist Ronen Tanchum, and street artist JR.

With a cut and a caress: Italian exhibition explores Rebecca Horn’s legacy

Castello di Rivoli near Turin is hosting "Rebecca Horn: Cutting Through the Past," the first major Italian exhibition dedicated to the German artist since her death in September 2024 at age 80. The show, co-organized with Munich's Haus der Kunst, centers on Horn's kinetic installation of the same name and explores her six-decade career through kinetic sculptures, early performance videos, and drawings. Chief curator Marcella Beccaria emphasizes a focus on Horn's spiritual concerns and the motif of circularity, with works displayed in the museum's narrow Manica Lunga corridor.

Contemporary art returns to center stage in Ascoli Piceno for the fifth edition of the Premio Sparti

L’arte contemporanea torna protagonista ad Ascoli Piceno per la quinta edizione del Premio Sparti

The fifth edition of the Premio Sparti, titled "Dove finisce la città" (Where the City Ends), will open on May 23 at the Forte Malatesta in Ascoli Piceno, Italy, running through June 28. Curated by Alex Urso, the exhibition features over twenty international artists exploring artistic practice outside major urban centers, with works also installed at the Frida Museum. The show is divided into three sections—"Essere oltre," "Essere qui," and "Essere altro"—highlighting artists who have chosen peripheral, rural, or marginalized locations as bases for their research, including Francesco Arena, Davide Maria Coltro, Andrea Mastrovito, and emerging talents under 35.

A Milano c’è una mostra di un importante artista australiano in cui si ragiona sul rumore

Marco Fusinato, the Australian artist who represented his country at the 59th Venice Biennale, returns to Italy with a solo exhibition at the Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea (PAC) in Milan. Titled "The only true anarchy is that of Power," the show brings together installations, performances, and sound recordings from recent years, all centered on the concept of noise. Curated by Diego Sileo, the exhibition features three ongoing projects, including the monumental performance-installation DESASTRES, first presented at the Venice Biennale in 2022 and later staged at festivals such as Berlin Atonal and Unsound Krakow. The work combines randomized sound and images, using electric guitars, mass amplification, and intense feedback to create an immersive, hallucinatory experience where chaos and control coexist.

What Remains of Democracy? The Answers of Contemporary Art

Che cosa resta della democrazia? Le risposte dell’arte contemporanea

The article is a cultural essay examining how contemporary art reflects and responds to the perceived global crisis of democracy. It argues that recent socio-political accelerations—including rising nationalism, wars, and unchecked capitalism—have eroded the substantive content of democracy, reducing public space to an extension of individual, screen-mediated identity.

Mario Ceroli on display in Florence: forty works at Tornabuoni Arte

The Tornabuoni Arte gallery in Florence is hosting "Mario Ceroli. Myth and Matter," an anthological exhibition featuring forty sculptures and installations by the Roman artist Mario Ceroli. The show traces his career from the 1960s to 2000, including his iconic wooden silhouettes, works inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, and pieces referencing Greek myth and the Riace Bronzes. The exhibition runs until May 29 at the gallery's Lungarno Benvenuto Cellini 3 location.

Auction house Phillips presents highlights of the next art and design auction in Milan

La casa d’aste Phillips presenta a Milano gli highlights della prossima asta tra arte e design

Phillips auction house is presenting a selection of highlights from upcoming auctions and private sales in Milan during the city's Art Week and Salone del Mobile. The exhibition, staged in a space with architecture and furnishings by Dimoregallery and Dimoremilano, features significant Italian post-war art and design pieces, including a notable 1983 'Mappa' by Alighiero Boetti made in Kabul, works by Carla Accardi and Piero Dorazio, and a Carmen Herrera painting slated for auction in New York.

SHE: Exhibition of street art at Rome gallery

Rosso20sette arte contemporanea in Rome is hosting a group exhibition titled 'SHE Street (Art) – Her (Art) – Exhibition,' featuring six internationally acclaimed female street artists: Swoon, Faith XLVII, Sandra Chevrier, Jacoba Niepoort, Handiedan, and Patrícia Mariano. Curated by Giorgio Silvestrelli, the show presents works on paper and canvas, some never previously exhibited and others created specifically for the occasion. The exhibition runs until 10 July at the gallery on Via del Sudario 39.

Are you not entertained? Three ancient helmets headline UK exhibition exploring the ‘real’ gladiators

Three exceptionally well-preserved ancient bronze gladiator helmets, discovered in Pompeii, are the centerpiece of a new exhibition titled *Gladiators: Heroes of the Colosseum* at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds. The show, organized in collaboration with the Colosseum in Rome, marks the first UK iteration of a touring exhibition that has attracted over a million visitors worldwide. It features arms, armour, and everyday objects from the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, along with immersive installations exploring gladiatorial life.

Nella Tenuta Todini in Umbria sta per aprire un parco di sculture d’arte contemporanea. Le immagini

A new contemporary sculpture park, Parco Sculture Todini, is set to open on May 23 within the Tenuta Todini estate in Collevalenza, near Todi, Umbria. The debut features two site-specific works: "VITE" by Matteo Attruia, which plays on the double meaning of vine and lives, and "Tempus Mirabilis" by Silvia Ranchicchio, a reflective environmental sculpture that changes with light and seasons. The park is curated by Massimo Mattioli and supported by the Arvedi steelworks of Terni and entrepreneur Luisa Todini.

Story of Max Peiffer Watenphul, the Bauhaus painter who found his new homeland in Italy

Storia di Max Peiffer Watenphul, il pittore del Bauhaus che trovò in Italia la sua nuova patria

A major retrospective titled "Max Peiffer Watenphul. Pittore del Bauhaus" has opened at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GNAMC) in Rome, curated by Gregor H. Lersch, director of the Museo Casa di Goethe. The exhibition explores the complex artistic journey of Max Peiffer Watenphul (1896–1976), a German Bauhaus-trained painter who found a second home in Italy. It highlights his multidisciplinary approach, his troubled painting style marked by unusual materials and scratched surfaces, and his deep connection to Italy, where he fled after Nazi persecution and where he lived until his death.

In Venice two new cultural realities in the Civic Museums circuit: a contemporary art center is born in Mestre and the Wagner Museum enters the network

A Venezia due nuove realtà culturali nel circuito dei Musei Civici: nasce un centro d’arte contemporanea a Mestre e entra nella rete il Museo Wagner

The Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia (MUVE) has opened a new contemporary art museum called MUVEC (Casa delle Contemporaneità) at the Centro Candiani in Mestre, inaugurated on April 24. Simultaneously, MUVE has signed an agreement with the Casinò di Venezia and the Associazione Richard Wagner to bring the Museo Wagner in Ca' Vendramin Calergi into its network starting in 2027, expanding the MUVE circuit to 14 museums (excluding MUVEC). MUVEC features a permanent collection spanning from 1948 to the present, drawn from the Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Venezia Ca' Pesaro, and will host temporary exhibitions including a 2026 show on Klimt, Schiele, Kokoschka and the body.

Da Medardo Rosso a Josef Albers: il Novecento va in asta da Il Ponte a Milano

Il Ponte auction house in Milan will hold sales of Modern and Contemporary Art on May 26-27, 2026, followed by Prints and Multiples, with previews from May 22-24 at Palazzo Crivelli. Highlights include Josef Albers' *Study for Homage to the Square: Full Tenor* (1959, estimate €200,000-300,000), Medardo Rosso's wax sculpture *Enfant juif* (€70,000-80,000), and works by Giorgio Morandi, Bruno Munari, Felice Casorati, Giorgio de Chirico, and others spanning the 20th and 21st centuries.

In Savona there is a new contemporary culture festival that aims to make tradition dialogue with the most emerging research

A Savona c’è un nuovo festival di cultura contemporanea che mira a far dialogare la tradizione con le ricerche più emergenti

A new contemporary culture festival called Brucia has launched in Savona, Italy, with its zero edition running from May 9 to 17, 2026. Organized by the under-30 association Fiammiferi, founded by Teresa Raineri, the festival transforms the Fortezza del Priamàr and Teatro Chiabrera into a diffuse laboratory of artistic practices, including performances, concerts, exhibitions, workshops, and meetings. A highlight is the solo show [Çigae] by artist Gaia De Megni, curated by Gabriele Cordì, which explores themes of return and belonging through a Ligurian lens, featuring her film 'La tigre e i gabbiani' (2019).

L’arte italiana del Dopoguerra va in asta da Sotheby’s a Milano: tutti i nomi più attesi

Sotheby's will hold a live auction of Modern and Contemporary Art at Palazzo Serbelloni in Milan on May 27, 2026, featuring major Italian post-war artists. Highlights include works by Lucio Fontana, Giorgio Morandi, Carla Accardi, Alighiero Boetti, Emilio Vedova, Salvo, Piero Dorazio, and Tancredi, many appearing at auction for the first time. Key lots include Fontana's "Concetto Spaziale, Attese" (1965-66, estimate €700,000-1,000,000) and a Yves Klein monochrome from 1959.

Art and politics: to take a stand or not? Nine artists and curators respond

Arte e politica: bisogna esporsi o no? Rispondono in 9 tra artisti e curatori

Nove tra artisti e curatori italiani rispondono alla domanda se l'arte debba esporsi politicamente, in un articolo pubblicato su Artribune. Marco Trulli, responsabile Cultura Arci e curatore, sostiene che l'arte non possa prescindere dal contesto storico e geopolitico, e che il mondo dell'arte debba mettere in discussione le connessioni tra istituzioni culturali, guerre e violenze sistemiche. Gabi Scardi, curatrice, rifiuta la categoria di 'arte politica' e invita gli artisti ad agire politicamente, citando esempi di padiglioni nazionali alla Biennale di Venezia (Turchia 2017, Israele 2015) come modelli di critica radicale dall'interno. Un altro contributo, legato al progetto 'Francesco 2026' per il Padiglione Internet a Venezia, propone una regola etica: l'arte deve minimizzare il danno alle persone più vulnerabili.

The ironic and intellectual painting of Renato Varese. The exhibition in Conegliano

La pittura ironica e intellettuale di Renato Varese. La mostra a Conegliano

Palazzo Sarcinelli in Conegliano is hosting a retrospective exhibition dedicated to Renato Varese (1926–2024), a versatile Italian painter, graphic artist, engraver, sculptor, and ceramist. Curated by Lorena Gava, the show marks the centenary of Varese's birth and features around fifty works spanning painting and graphic art, highlighting his ironic, intellectual, and visionary style often described as "Gothic." Concurrently, the artist's heirs have donated thirteen works to the city's civic collections, including the large canvas "Beati gli ultimi" (1997), now housed in a dedicated room named Sala L.R. Varese.

C’è un artista che ha deciso di vivere in povertà come un monaco francescano. La storia

Miltos Manetas, a Greek-born artist, has adopted a life of Franciscan poverty as both a personal practice and an artistic project called "Francesco_2026." His work is featured in the exhibition "Vita minore. San Francesco e la santità dell’arte contemporanea" at Palazzo Collicola in Spoleto, curated by Gianni and Giuseppe Garrera. Manetas has also launched the tenth Internet Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, inviting Saint Francis as the artist, using AI conversations and a monastery in the Venetian lagoon to create an informal community of "Fratelli e Sorelle" who follow a shared rule based on poverty, absence of preparation, and divine providence.

Florence welcomes the great artist Georg Baselitz with a major exhibition at the Museo Novecento

Firenze accoglie il grande artista Georg Baselitz con una grande mostra al Museo Novecento

The Museo Novecento in Florence has opened "Avanti!", a major retrospective dedicated to German artist Georg Baselitz, featuring 170 works on paper spanning his career from the 1960s to the present. Curated by Sergio Risaliti and Daniel Blau, the exhibition is the first in Italy to focus on Baselitz's graphic output, including woodcuts, linocuts, and etchings, alongside sculptures and installations that explore themes of the human body, war, and inversion.

Una delle opere più importante esposte alla Galleria Nazionale di Roma sta ammuffendo

An article by Laura Carlotta Cortoni on Artribune reports that Pino Pascali's iconic 1967 work "32 mq di mare circa" ("32 square meters of sea approximately"), on display at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GNAMC) in Rome, is covered in mold, dust, and insects due to a total lack of maintenance. The author describes the installation as resembling a neglected warehouse and notes that visitors unfamiliar with the piece mistake the decay for an intentional environmental statement, creating a critical paradox given Pascali's own series of works titled "Muffe" (Molds).

The Kenyan artist who was a revelation at the last Biennale is on show at Masaccio's house in Tuscany

L’artista del Kenya rivelazione all’ultima Biennale è in mostra alla casa di Masaccio in Toscana

Kenyan artist Agnes Waruguru, a breakout star of the most recent Venice Biennale, is presenting her first solo museum exhibition in Italy. Titled 'From What We Are,' the show is curated by Alessandro Romanini and is on view at the Centro per le arti contemporanee Casa Masaccio in San Giovanni Valdarno, Tuscany.

Milan now has an open-air contemporary art museum. The ArtLine project at CityLife is finally complete: the final work inaugurated for Art Week 2026

Milano ha un museo d’arte contemporanea a cielo aperto. Il progetto ArtLine a CityLife è finalmente completo: per l’Art Week 2026 inaugurata l’ultima opera

The City of Milan has officially completed ArtLine, a major public art project that has transformed the CityLife park into a permanent open-air contemporary art museum. Spanning 173,000 square meters, the park now hosts nineteen site-specific installations by internationally renowned artists and emerging talents. The project's conclusion was marked during Milan Art Week 2026 with the inauguration of 'Octospider', a large-scale interactive sculpture by British artist Jeremy Deller designed for children.

Fondazione Fiera Milano opens its contemporary art collection to the public during Art Week

La Fondazione Fiera Milano apre al pubblico la sua collezione d’arte contemporanea in questi giorni della Art Week

Fondazione Fiera Milano has announced it will open its private contemporary art collection to the public at the Palazzina degli Orafi during the 2026 edition of the miart fair. The initiative features free guided tours of a selection of the foundation's 140 works, including pieces by Nicolas Party, Marisa Merz, and Monica Bonvicini. This rare opening coincides with Milan's Art Week, providing public access to a corporate collection usually held in private offices.

Why Does Italy No Longer Qualify for the World Cup or the Biennials?

Perché l’Italia non si qualifica più né ai Mondiali né alle Biennali?

Artist Oscar Giaconia draws a provocative parallel between the decline of Italian football and the diminishing presence of Italian contemporary artists in major international forums like the Venice Biennale and Manifesta. He argues that both sectors suffer from a systemic failure to nurture young talent, characterized by a lack of strategic scouting, a preference for foreign trends, and a bureaucratic deafness that stifles growth.

In this L’Aquila High School, there is a Contemporary Art Collection Created by Students and Artists

In questo liceo dell’Aquila c’è una collezione d’arte contemporanea realizzata dagli studenti con gli artisti

The Liceo Bafile in L’Aquila has established a permanent collection of contemporary art featuring over 60 site-specific works created through collaborations between professional artists and students. Initiated by artist and professor Licia Galizia following the devastating 2009 earthquake, the project integrates art into the educational environment as a tool for cultural rebirth. In 2026, the collection will expand further with seven new installations created by artists including Elena Bellantoni and Marco Nereo Rotelli in partnership with the Academy of Fine Arts of L’Aquila.

From Bari to Genoa: Among the Current Exhibitions with Artbox on Sky Arte

Da Bari a Genova: tra le mostre del momento con Artbox su Sky Arte

The television program Artbox on Sky Arte, in its April 7th episode, features a tour of current art exhibitions across Italy. The episode spotlights a major exhibition of Flemish master Anthony van Dyck at Genoa's Palazzo Ducale, a solo show by Angolan artist Ana Silva at the GAMeC in Bergamo, and the contemporary programming at Bari's Pinacoteca Corrado Giaquinto, including an installation by local artist Pamela Diamante. The show also includes its regular segments: "Invito al viaggio," exploring the relationship between art and society through figures like Warhol and Banksy, and "Arte e vita in libreria," where critic Vincenzo Trione presents his new book.

Gulistan at GNAMC of Rome

Chinese artist Gulistan, based in Beijing, presents her solo exhibition "Time Garden" at the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art (GNAMC) in Rome. Curated by Gabriele Simongini and supported by the Foundation for Chinese Art in Italy and the International Federation of Women Artists 923 Art Space, the show explores a fusion of Eastern and Western aesthetics through painting, drawing on the legacy of the Silk Road. The exhibition features series such as "Fragments of Time," "The Nature of Memory," and "Memory of the Portraits," blending Chinese ink traditions with classical Western portraiture and archaeological motifs.