Theaster Gates: Contending with the Past and Present

Theaster Gates has transformed the Smart Museum of Art into a personal sanctuary for his first major solo institutional exhibition in Chicago, titled "Unto Thee." The immersive installation features vast archives from Gates's personal collections, including African artifacts, funerary objects, and a significant vinyl record collection that provides a continuous sonic backdrop to the space. Key works on display include the monumental "Black Still Life #3" and the ongoing series "Walking Prayer," which consists of black books embossed with golden phrases that explore the complexities of Black identity and collective memory.

On View: First Major Museum Exhibition of Hurvin Anderson at Tate Britain Spans Entire Career of Acclaimed British Painter

Tate Britain has launched the largest-ever museum survey of British painter Hurvin Anderson, featuring over 80 works spanning from 1995 to the present. The exhibition showcases Anderson’s unique blend of abstraction and figuration, highlighting major series such as his Barbershops, Country Clubs, and the monumental new 16-panel work "Passenger Opportunity." The show tracks his evolution from a Royal College of Art student to a Turner Prize finalist and one of the most significant Black painters in contemporary art.

5 Must-See Exhibitions During Milan Art Week 2026

Milan Art Week 2026 features a robust program of institutional exhibitions alongside the miart and Paris Internationale Milano fairs. Key highlights include Cao Fei’s multimedia exploration of smart agriculture at Fondazione Prada, Anselm Kiefer’s monumental tribute to forgotten female alchemists at Palazzo Reale, and a major retrospective of Rirkrit Tiravanija’s architectural research at Pirelli HangarBicocca.

The Art Exhibitions and Museum Openings Worth Traveling For in 2026

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.

REVIEW: The Open: Odyssey at Hastings Contemporary

Hastings Contemporary has launched its inaugural biennial, titled "The Open: Odyssey," featuring over 150 artists with connections to Sussex. Selected from a pool of 2,600 applicants by a panel led by Kathleen Soriano, the exhibition explores themes of marine ecology, migration, mythology, and coastal life. Notable works include Alan Patch’s large-scale hanging of plastic detritus, Kate Howe’s monumental waxed paper installation "The Moving Edge," and Kevin J J Warren’s sculptures made from salvaged fishing nets.

Ellsworth Kelly: Eight Decades at Parrish Art Museum

The Parrish Art Museum is hosting "Ellsworth Kelly: Eight Decades," a comprehensive retrospective celebrating the centennial of the legendary American abstractionist. The exhibition spans Kelly’s prolific career, featuring a diverse array of works including his signature shaped canvases, wood sculptures, and precise drawings. By bringing together pieces from various stages of his life, the show highlights Kelly's unwavering commitment to exploring the relationships between color, form, and space.

Taking a Seat at Robert Therrien’s Table

The Broad museum in Los Angeles has opened a major retrospective, "Robert Therrien: This is a Story," dedicated to the late artist Robert Therrien. The exhibition, featuring over 120 works from five decades, aims to move beyond Therrien's most famous piece—the monumental "Under the Table" sculpture—to present the full scope of his obsessively iterative practice, which transformed personal memories into universal forms.

A Wooden Canopy by Kengo Kuma Casts Dappled Light Around a Copenhagen Museum

Architect Kengo Kuma has unveiled a monumental site-specific installation titled "Earth / Tree" at Copenhagen Contemporary. The structure features a suspended canopy of curved wooden slats designed to evoke the Japanese concept of 'komorebi,' or the dappled light that filters through trees. Positioned over a brick platform and rubble, the installation serves as a material bridge between Nordic and Japanese architectural traditions.

BETWEEN EARTH AND CONCRETE DELCY MORELOS EXHIBITS IN LONDON

Colombian artist Delcy Morelos has unveiled her first UK public commission, titled "Origo," at London’s Barbican Centre. Located in the Sculpture Court—a space reactivated for the first time in ten years—the monumental oval installation is constructed from earth, clay, hay, and seeds, infused with aromatic spices like cinnamon and cloves. The work invites visitors to walk through earthen tunnels, creating a sensory experience that contrasts the organic, porous nature of soil with the Barbican’s rigid Brutalist concrete architecture.

Dalí Museum Acquires Dalí’s Largest Work: A Monumental Surrealist Ballet Set

The Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, has acquired Salvador Dalí's largest known work, the monumental 1939 ballet set 'Décor de théâtre pour Bacchanale,' for €254,400 at a Bonhams auction. The work, over 20 meters high and 30 meters wide, consists of thirteen panels painted by Dalí as a backdrop for the Surrealist ballet 'Bacchanale' choreographed by Léonide Massine for the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo.

Historic Tiffany Window, Once Hidden in Texas Church, Reemerges at Crystal Bridges

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art has unveiled a monumental Tiffany Studios window, "Mountain Landscape (Root Memorial Window)," which was previously housed in a San Antonio church. The 1917 stained-glass masterpiece, designed by Agnes Northrup, had been roped off for a decade due to insurance liabilities before the church sought a public institution to ensure its preservation and display. Following a meticulous conservation process, the nine-foot-tall window is now a centerpiece of the museum’s Visions of America Galleries.

A Truck Driver Spent 20 Years Building a Miniature Model of New York City. Then, It Went Viral

A truck driver named Joe Macken spent 21 years building a massive, 50-by-27-foot miniature model of New York City from humble materials like balsa wood and cardboard. His daughter's suggestion to post it on TikTok led to the project going viral, which subsequently caught the attention of the Museum of the City of New York. The museum has now mounted a dedicated exhibition, "He Built This City: Joe Macken's Model," featuring the sprawling 1:2400-scale creation.

The Sense of Touch at Billboard Scale

Conceptual artist Ann Hamilton has debuted a new series of large-scale scanner photography installations at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Moving from her signature immersive environments to high-resolution digital captures, Hamilton utilizes a flatbed scanner to document the tactile qualities of various objects and figures, enlarging them to billboard proportions to emphasize the intimacy of touch.

Siri Aurdal, Artist Who Elevated Industrial Materials Into Visions of Shared Humanity, Dies at 88

Norwegian artist Siri Aurdal, known for her pioneering use of industrial materials to create socially-driven sculptures, has died at the age of 88 in Oslo. Born into a prominent artistic family, Aurdal rose to prominence in the late 1960s by repurposing materials like reinforced fiberglass and plexiglass—often sourced from Norway’s oil industry—into modular, interactive installations. Her work frequently bridged the gap between fine art and public utility, manifesting in monumental playground structures and politically charged pieces that responded to global events like the Vietnam War.

MCASD welcomes art exhibition from collection of Swizz Beatz, Alicia Keys

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) is hosting the West Coast debut of "Giants," a major exhibition featuring the personal art collection of musical icons Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz (Kasseem Dean). The show features works by nearly 40 Black American and diasporic artists, including monumental pieces by towering figures in the contemporary art world. To localize the presentation, the museum has collaborated with the Deans to launch a companion exhibition titled "Hometown Heroes," which spotlights San Diego-based artists.

All Things Art You Cannot Miss This April

The Indian art scene is set for a bustling April 2026 with a series of high-profile exhibitions across major cities like Delhi and Mumbai. Key highlights include Subodh Gupta’s monumental installations at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, a photographic tribute to Bombay by Raghubir Singh at Jhaveri Contemporary, and the public viewing of Raja Ravi Varma’s iconic 'Yashoda and Krishna' at the ShowKeen exhibition. These shows span a diverse range of media, from Akanksha Patil’s introspective narratives on migration to Laila Khan Furniturewalla’s raw, expressive paintings.

The Monumental Impact of Indian Miniature Painting

Aicon Art in New York has opened its first exhibition dedicated entirely to Indian miniature painting, titled "Courtly Visions: Indian Miniature Painting." The show features a breadth of works created between roughly 1630 and the early 19th century, showcasing the intricate detail and narrative scenes characteristic of the genre. It aims to highlight the diverse styles and themes that emerged from various royal courts across the Indian subcontinent.

Matisse, Soulages, Chagall… The most beautiful churches and chapels decorated by artists throughout France

Matisse, Soulages, Chagall… Les plus belles églises et chapelles décorées par des artistes dans toute la France

Renowned modern and contemporary artists have transformed various religious sites across France into immersive 'total works of art.' From Pierre Soulages’ translucent stained-glass windows in the Abbey of Sainte-Foy in Conques to Pablo Picasso’s monumental 'War and Peace' murals in Vallauris, these projects demonstrate how secular artists have engaged with sacred architecture. The article highlights ten specific locations where artists like Matisse, Chagall, and Cocteau integrated painting, glasswork, and furniture into historic ecclesiastical settings.

CAM “Fresh Air: Inflatable Sculptures” exhibit set to open this summer

The Cameron Art Museum (CAM) in Wilmington, North Carolina, has announced its upcoming summer exhibition, "Fresh Air: Inflatable Sculptures." Running from June 19 through September 6, 2026, the show features large-scale, immersive works by a roster of high-profile contemporary artists including Nick Cave, Andy Warhol, and Claire Ashley. The exhibition is designed to be interactive, utilizing scale and movement to engage visitors with contemporary art in an accessible, unconventional format.

Polygon Gallery exhibition features 'one of the most important artists working in Canada'

The Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver has launched "Photolithics," a major exhibition by Secwépemc and Scottish-settler artist Tania Willard. The show features a decade of Willard’s work, including monumental recreations of historical postcards on sandpaper and photographs viewed through ulexite crystals. The exhibition utilizes innovative installation techniques, such as a traditional kekuli structure, to recontextualize archival imagery and explore the intersection of geological time and Indigenous history.

The New Victoria & Albert Museum Opens in April: Once Again in East London

Ad aprile inaugura il nuovo museo del Victoria&Albert. Ancora una volta nell’East London

The Victoria & Albert Museum has announced the official opening date for the V&A East Museum, a new five-story cultural landmark in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Designed by architects O’Donnell + Tuomey, the museum will debut on April 18, 2026, featuring two permanent galleries titled "Why We Make" that showcase over 500 objects ranging from Renaissance paintings to contemporary fashion by Vivienne Westwood. The entrance will be anchored by a monumental bronze sculpture by Thomas J Price, marking the start of a robust contemporary commission program.

A Look Back at Newport’s Historic 1974 Sculpture Show

The Preservation Society of Newport County is hosting "Full Circle" at the Rosecliff mansion, an exhibition that revisits the landmark 1974 outdoor sculpture show "Monumenta." The current display features scale models, preparatory drawings, and archival photographs of works by modern masters such as Claes Oldenburg, Alexander Calder, and Willem de Kooning. A significant portion of the show is dedicated to Richard Fleischner, whose site-specific earthwork "Sod Maze" remains the only original piece from the 1974 project still standing in its original Newport location.

'I’m interested in breaking binaries, barriers and boundaries': Sarah Rosalena on her new LACMA commission

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.

Derrick Adams: Glimpses of Black Leisure

The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, is hosting 'Derrick Adams: View Master,' the first mid-career survey dedicated to the multidisciplinary artist. Featuring over 100 works spanning two decades, the exhibition includes painting, collage, sculpture, video, and performance that highlight Adams's unique visual language of pattern and color.

Unbound Narratives: Embodied Language at Atlanta Contemporary, Atlanta

The Atlanta Contemporary is presenting the group exhibition 'Unbound Narratives: Embodied Language,' curated by Karen Comer Lowe. It features works by artists February James, Bethany Collins, Gabi Madrid, and a’driane nieves across film, painting, and mixed media, focusing on how each translates personal and embodied experience into visual and linguistic forms. Key pieces include nieves's monumental painting on grief and rage, Collins's text-based interrogation of racial identity, James's debut stop-motion film exploring stillness, and Madrid's inscribed headboards addressing healing and cultural memory.

Gangnam styles: South Korea’s brutalist gems – in pictures

Photographer Paul Tulett has captured the stark, concrete landscapes of South Korea in his new book, *Brutalist Korea*, published by Prestel. The photo series highlights a range of architectural landmarks, from Tadao Ando’s minimalist Jeju Glass House and Zaha Hadid’s futuristic Dongdaemun Design Plaza to the playful geometry of the Paju Kindergarten. Tulett’s work documents how the raw, monumental aesthetic of Brutalism has evolved from the country’s postwar industrialization into a sophisticated tool for modern urban experimentation.

The Violent Weather of Roger Brown’s Paintings

A curated selection of seven essential exhibitions in Milan highlights the city's vibrant art scene during the Miart fair. The guide features a diverse range of artists, including Cao Fei’s exploration of global farming practices and Anselm Kiefer’s monumental portraits of female alchemists, showcasing both international heavyweights and emerging voices across the city's premier institutions and galleries.

7 Shows to See in Milan Right Now

Could ‘The Antwerp Six’ Thrive in Today’s Fashion Industry?

Milan's art scene is currently anchored by a series of high-profile exhibitions coinciding with the Miart fair, ranging from Cao Fei’s exploration of global agriculture to Anselm Kiefer’s monumental tributes to female alchemists. Key highlights include solo presentations by established figures like Liliana Moro and emerging voices, alongside thematic shows that bridge the gap between industrial history and contemporary digital aesthetics.

7 Shows to See in Milan Right Now

Milan's art scene is currently anchored by several high-profile exhibitions coinciding with the Miart fair. Key highlights include Cao Fei’s exploration of global farming and technology at Pirelli HangarBicocca, alongside Anselm Kiefer’s monumental portraits of female alchemists. The city's galleries and institutions are showcasing a diverse range of media, from immersive installations to historical retrospectives, positioning Milan as a critical hub for contemporary art during this peak seasonal moment.

Can Textile Art Challenge the Status Quo?

Milan's art scene is currently anchored by a series of high-profile exhibitions coinciding with the Miart fair. Key highlights include Cao Fei’s exploration of global agricultural shifts at Pirelli HangarBicocca and Anselm Kiefer’s monumental tributes to female alchemists at Palazzo Reale. The city's galleries and institutions are showcasing a diverse range of media, from intricate textile works that challenge traditional hierarchies to immersive digital installations.