Art critic Paddy Johnson addresses the common dilemma faced by unrepresented artists regarding the necessity of attending major art fairs. While acknowledging that fairs can be physically exhausting and prohibitively expensive, Johnson argues that their true value lies in strategic information gathering and long-term career planning rather than immediate sales or representation.
Milan's art scene is currently anchored by a series of high-profile exhibitions coinciding with the Miart fair, featuring a diverse range of international talent. Highlights include Joy Labinjo’s vibrant figurative paintings at Tiwani Contemporary, which explore Black domesticity and sisterhood, and Cao Fei’s multimedia investigation into the intersection of technology and global agriculture at Pirelli HangarBicocca. Other notable presentations include Anselm Kiefer’s monumental tributes to female alchemists and historical figures, marking a significant moment for contemporary art in the city.
EXPO Chicago 2026 marks its 13th edition with a robust program featuring over 130 international galleries alongside significant institutional exhibitions across the city. Highlights include Leah Ke Yi Zheng’s 64-painting installation at The Renaissance Society, which utilizes silk and natural light, and Youssef Nabil’s career-spanning survey of photography and film at Mariane Ibrahim. Additionally, the Chicago Cultural Center is hosting a cross-cultural exploration of modernism, while The Smart Museum presents a thematic study of Alma Thomas’s color theory influenced by space exploration and music.
The 2026 Dallas Art Fair is set to return from April 16–19 at the Fashion Industry Gallery, featuring over 90 national and international dealers. A major highlight of this edition is the introduction of the inaugural Dallas Art Prize, a $20,000 unrestricted award granted to landscape painter John McAllister. The fair is also expanding its scope with a new design crossover featuring Carpenters Workshop Gallery and Sputnik Modern, alongside the debut of the KTX Biennial, Texas’ first biennial dedicated to public art.
The global art calendar for 2026 is set to feature a series of high-profile retrospectives and monumental installations across Europe's major cultural hubs. Highlights include a career-spanning reckoning of Tracey Emin’s work and a deep dive into Frida Kahlo’s iconicity at Tate Modern, a rare dialogue of Henri Matisse’s late-period works in Paris, and the historic loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum. Additionally, site-specific experiences such as Mark Rothko’s canvases in a Florentine palazzo and James Turrell’s largest museum 'Skyspace' in Denmark offer immersive encounters designed to draw international travelers.
Expo Chicago 2026 concluded with a strategic downsizing of its floor plan at Navy Pier, a move that drew praise from dealers for increasing the quality and manageability of the fair. Significant market activity was reported, including six-figure sales of works by Robert Nava and Luftwerk, alongside the distribution of the Northern Trust Purchase Prize which gifted several artworks to institutions like the Denver Art Museum and The Phillips Collection. Beyond the fair, the Illinois Arts Council announced over $325,000 in grants for public art projects commemorating the U.S. semiquincentennial.
The Box in Plymouth has reported a record-breaking 2025/2026 season, attracting 356,000 visitors and surpassing its annual target by 18%. This surge represents a 44% increase from the previous year, contributing to a total of 1.1 million visitors since the institution opened in late 2020. The success is largely attributed to high-profile exhibitions, including a major retrospective of local artist Beryl Cook and a showcase featuring Sir Joshua Reynolds’ portrait of Mai.
Jurors from the Kunstfonds Foundation, a major German contemporary art funding body, have accused Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer of attempted intimidation and political interference. The conflict erupted after Weimer requested the names of the independent jury members, a move the foundation views as a threat to artistic freedom. This follows a separate controversy where Weimer reportedly consulted domestic intelligence to exclude bookstores with left-wing leanings from a national award.
The art world mourns the passing of Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, a prominent artist and activist known for her politically charged paintings and human rights advocacy, who died at the age of 46. Simultaneously, dissident artist Ai Weiwei has released a new book titled 'On Censorship,' which reflects on his career-long struggle against state persecution and the nuances of freedom of expression. Other notable developments include Gagosian's announcement of a new Upper Manhattan space dedicated to Marcel Duchamp and the detention of artist Criselda Vasquez’s father by ICE.
Dissident artist Ai Weiwei explores the corrosive nature of state control and self-restraint in his new book, "On Censorship" (2026). Drawing from a lifetime of persecution—including his father’s exile to a labor camp, his own 81-day detention in 2011, and recent digital erasure by Chinese AI—Ai argues that censorship fundamentally strips individuals of their humanity. He highlights how the mechanism of silencing has evolved from overt state violence in the East to a more insidious culture of self-censorship in the West, exemplified by the cancellation of his own 2023 exhibition at Lisson Gallery following comments on the conflict in Gaza.
The Vatican has announced a star-studded lineup of musicians and artists for its pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, titled "The Ear Is the Eye of the Soul." Curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers in collaboration with Soundwalk Collective, the exhibition features commissioned sound works from figures including Brian Eno, FKA Twigs, Patti Smith, and the late Alexander Kluge. The project is inspired by the 12th-century mystic Saint Hildegard of Bingen and will be staged across two historic Venetian locations: the Mystical Garden of the Discalced Carmelites and the Complesso di Santa Maria Ausiliatrice.
"Ein alter Mann, dessen Ich-Sucht keine Grenzen kennt"
More than 30 current and former jury members of the Stiftung Kunstfonds have issued a formal protest against German Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer, accusing his office of political interference and intimidation. The controversy stems from reports that the ministry requested lists of all jury members across various art institutions and bypassed jury decisions to exclude specific recipients from awards based on intelligence service reports.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has unveiled its new $724 million David Geffen Galleries, a long-awaited and controversial expansion designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. The structure, which spans Wilshire Boulevard with its distinctive horizontal, glass-walled design, marks the culmination of a decade-long effort to modernize the campus and replace several aging buildings.
The Château de Chambord, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the second-most visited castle in France, has launched a €30 million ($35 million) crowdfunding campaign to fund urgent structural restorations. Decades of flooding and drought in the Loire Valley have severely compromised the foundations of the François I Wing, leading to warped walls and a 2023 incident where 20 visitors fell through a collapsing floor. Director General Pierre Dubreuil has initiated a three-phase plan to shore up the masonry, modernize accessibility, and create new educational facilities.
ARTES DE LA TIERRA
The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has inaugurated "Artes de la Tierra" (Arts of the Earth), a multidisciplinary exhibition curated by Manuel Cirauqui that examines the relationship between contemporary art and the soil. Spanning from the mid-20th century to the present, the show integrates visual arts, architecture, and ancestral Basque knowledge to explore themes of composting, terraforming, and ecological repair. Featured artists include pioneers of Land Art and Arte Povera such as Ana Mendieta, Fina Miralles, and Meg Webster, whose works are presented alongside archival materials and architectural models.
Los Angeles Metro is set to unveil three new stations on the D Line Extension on May 8, 2026, featuring massive site-specific art installations. The Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax, and Wilshire/La Cienega stations have been transformed into underground galleries showcasing large-scale murals, mosaics, and photographic works by prominent Los Angeles-based artists including Karl Haendel, Eamon Ore-Giron, and Ken Gonzales Day.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has announced the official opening date of April 19, 2026, for its new David Geffen Galleries. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor, the 274-meter-long concrete structure will house between 2,500 and 3,000 objects from the museum's permanent collection. The inaugural display will feature a mix of historical masterpieces by artists such as Matisse and Van Gogh alongside new contemporary commissions by Todd Gray, Lauren Halsey, and Do Ho Suh.
Gardar Eide Einarsson’s latest exhibition at Maureen Paley’s East London space presents a haunting exploration of dissociation and coded information. The show features two distinct series: 'Closed Caption,' a collection of monochrome black gouache paintings featuring isolated subtitles from films, and 'Incendiary Test Area,' a set of hyperrealistic woodblock prints created in collaboration with master Shoichi Kitamura. These prints depict the interiors of mock 'Japanese' houses built by the US Army for fire-bombing tests during World War II.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has officially opened the David Geffen Galleries, a massive glass-and-concrete structure designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor. Elevated nine meters above the ground and spanning Wilshire Boulevard, the 275-meter-long building replaces several older structures to house the museum’s permanent collection. The inaugural installation, developed by a team of 45 curators, abandons traditional chronological displays in favor of a geographic framework organized around four major bodies of water: the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea.
Cree artist Kent Monkman has unveiled a significant solo exhibition at the Akron Art Museum, featuring large-scale paintings including "History is Painted by the Victors" and "The Great Mystery." The showcase highlights Monkman’s signature style of subverting Western art history canons through the lens of Indigenous experience, utilizing his gender-fluid alter ego, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, to challenge colonial narratives.
L’Assemblée vote à l’unanimité la loi sur la restitution des œuvres pillées pendant la colonisation, mais avec des restrictions
The French National Assembly has unanimously passed a landmark law establishing a permanent legal framework for the restitution of cultural property looted during the colonial era. Moving away from the previous requirement for case-by-case legislation, the new law allows the government to return artifacts via decree following consultations with scientific and parliamentary commissions. This shift fulfills a long-standing promise to simplify the return of African heritage currently held in French public collections.
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's Crossman Gallery recently hosted the BA & BSE Senior Show, a showcase of diverse artworks created by graduating students. The exhibition featured a wide range of mediums, including photography, painting, sculpture, and print design, highlighting the creative versatility of the senior class. The event served as a professional milestone for students, allowing them to navigate the gallery submission process and network with faculty and the community.
Hastings Contemporary has launched its inaugural biennial open exhibition, titled "Odyssey," featuring 151 works selected from over 2,500 submissions by artists across Sussex. The exhibition explores themes of journeying and the local coastal landscape, showcasing a diverse range of media including enamel on aluminium, woodcuts, and ceramics. While the show has been a financial success for the gallery, it has sparked local debate regarding the high volume of rejected entries and the ethics of submission fees.
Artist Fran Siegel presents 'Arrábida' at Wilding Cran Gallery, a body of work developed during a Fulbright fellowship in Portugal. The exhibition features multi-panel compositions, cyanotypes, and drawings that investigate the botanical motifs of traditional Portuguese azulejo tiles. By layering organic plant impressions with rigid geometric patterns, Siegel explores how these ceramic surfaces function as a 'visual cartography' that encodes histories of trade, colonial expansion, and cultural identity.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has reached a legal settlement allowing it to resume full operations after being targeted for dismantling by a presidential executive order. The agreement, facilitated by a lawsuit from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, reverses planned mass layoffs and the termination of federal grants that support thousands of institutions across the United States.
The Toronto Biennial of Art has unveiled the artist list and thematic framework for its 2026 edition, titled "Things Fall Apart." Curated by Allison Glenn, the exhibition will feature over 30 artists and collectives, including 17 new commissions that explore themes of syncopation, rupture, and the connective power of global waterways. For the first time, the biennial will expand its physical footprint beyond the Greater Toronto Area to include site-responsive projects in Detroit, New York, and Anchorage.
The Maude Kerns Art Center is currently hosting two concurrent exhibitions, "Witness: Earth & Sky" and "Consume & Dispose," curated by Liberty Rossel. The shows feature the work of four artists—Rich Bergeman, Amanda Thomas, Rolf Huber, and Jennifer Bucheit—whose practices converge on themes of environmental stewardship, colonial history, and social justice. From Bergeman’s infrared photography documenting indigenous Kalapuya lands to Thomas’s use of toxic mine drainage in her ceramic glazes, the works utilize specific materials and historical research to challenge viewers' perceptions of the landscape and industrial impact.
The Burlington Magazine - n°1477 vol CLXVIII - April 2026
The April 2026 issue of The Burlington Magazine presents a wealth of new scholarship, highlighted by significant discoveries regarding the 'Rainbow' portrait of Queen Elizabeth I and a previously unpublished portrait of Sarah Churchill by Godfrey Kneller. The edition spans centuries of art history, featuring research on 18th-century color theorist Mary Gartside, the pottery windows of William Bell Scott, and newly identified drawings by Marcellus Laroon the Younger.
Artist Sarah Rosalena has completed a monumental 27-foot tapestry titled "Threading the Boundless: Omnidirectional Terrain" (2025), commissioned for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s (LACMA) new David Geffen Galleries. The work utilizes an industrial-scale jacquard-rapier loom to weave complex patterns that distort NASA satellite imagery of Earth and Mars. By blending her Wixárika maternal weaving traditions with computational craft, Rosalena transforms scientific data into a tactile, atmospheric landscape that challenges traditional methods of planetary mapping.
V&A East Museum is launching its inaugural exhibition, 'The Music is Black: A British Story,' a comprehensive exploration of Black British music spanning over a century. Curated by Jacqueline Springer, the show features more than 200 objects—including instruments, fashion, and personal artifacts—alongside significant artworks by figures such as Sonia Boyce and Frank Bowling. The exhibition traces the evolution of genres from early 20th-century compositions to contemporary grime and drill, framing them as vital expressions of migration, resistance, and cultural identity.