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.

Show at the Barnes Foundation charts Henri Rousseau's rise from mockery to acclaim

The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia is opening "Henri Rousseau: A Painter's Secrets" (October 19–February 22), reuniting for the first time in over a century the two largest collections of Rousseau's work—18 paintings from the Barnes Foundation and 11 from the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris. The exhibition, co-curated by Nancy Ireson and Christopher Green, uses new conservation research to challenge the long-held myth of Rousseau as a naive, unworldly amateur, revealing instead a strategic artist who revised compositions, reused canvases, and actively sought an audience through Paris's open salons.

Family Business: An Exhibition by the 2024-2025 WaterFire Accelerate Cohort

Five emerging artists—Elizabeth Alice-Isam Jweinat (Lizzy Sour), Dorian Epps, Caterina Maina, Sissy Rosso, and Ariel Tavares—present 'Family Business,' a group exhibition at the WaterFire Arts Center in Providence, Rhode Island, running through October 19, 2025. The show transforms the gallery into a reimagined household, with each artist creating an immersive room exploring themes of memory, lineage, domesticity, and inherited experience through installation, photography, collage, sculpture, and multimedia. The exhibition is the culmination of the 2024-2025 WaterFire Accelerate program, a year-long professional development initiative for artists under 30.

Wafaa Bilal: ‘I see democracy slowly eroding now’

The article profiles Iraqi American artist Wafaa Bilal through his survey exhibition "Indulge Me" at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, running until October 19. The show highlights his career-spanning works including the 2007 performance "Domestic Tension," where he lived in a gallery while online participants could shoot him with a paintball gun; "3rdi" (2010-11), featuring a camera surgically affixed to his head; and "Virtual Jihadi" (2008), a video game critiquing war's sanitization. Recent works like "Thumbsat Model" (2024), a golden bust of Saddam Hussein on a satellite to be launched into orbit, are also featured. Bilal, who fled Iraq in 1991 after arrest for anti-regime art, discusses his journey from refugee to NYU professor.

Six months after the Louvre heist, a 'Complément d'enquête' takes stock, with never-before-seen images broadcast tonight on France 2

Six mois après le casse du Louvre, un « Complément d’enquête » fait le point, avec des images inédites diffusées ce soir sur France 2

On October 19, 2025, eight historic and priceless jewels were stolen from the Galerie d'Apollon at the Louvre Museum in Paris in just over three minutes, using a hoist and an angle grinder. Six months later, the French investigative program "Complément d'enquête" airs a 50-minute documentary titled "Musée du Louvre : dans les coulisses du casse du siècle" on France 2, featuring exclusive surveillance footage, interviews with guards, police, experts, and ministers, and new details about the four suspects arrested within weeks.

Parliamentary report calls for major changes at French museums in the wake of Louvre heist

A French parliamentary report published on 13 May, following the October 19 heist of the crown jewels at the Louvre, issues a damning assessment of the country's museum security and management. The commission heard around 100 testimonies and examined some 2,000 museums, dedicating a special chapter to the Louvre. It blames former director Laurence des Cars's leadership for a "dysfunctional drift" that prioritized contemporary art interventions and fashion shows over basic infrastructure and collection protection, allowing the heist to occur. The report lists rising threats including riots, burglaries, cyberattacks (which forced the National Museum of Natural History in Paris to cancel an exhibition after a ransomware attack in July 2025), and terrorist plots. It proposes 40 recommendations, including raising budgets by an estimated €20–25 billion over a decade, enhancing staff training, and overhauling museum leadership.

tv art authenticator claims he was contacted to authenticate stolen louvre jewels 1234758194

British art authenticator Curtis Dowling claims he received two phone calls on Sunday, October 19, 2025, from individuals asking him to authenticate "some important French jewelry," just hours after a $102 million jewel heist at the Louvre. The stolen pieces once belonged to Emperor Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie and were taken by three masked men using chainsaws to breach a museum window. Dowling, who hosts the TV series "Treasure Detectives" on CNBC Prime Time, said the callers offered him cash far above his usual fee, which he declined, suspecting the jewels were stolen and that organized crime was involved.

Studio DRIFT brings kinetic sculpture to life in their first solo exhibition in Spain

Studio DRIFT, the Dutch artist duo founded by Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta, presents their first solo exhibition in Spain at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León (MUSAC). Titled *Amplitude / Meadow*, the show runs from July 12 to October 19, 2025, and features two major kinetic installations: *Amplitude*, a choreographed network of glass tubes that sways in response to invisible energies, and *Meadow*, an upside-down garden of robotic flowers that react to human presence. The works blend art, technology, and nature to create immersive environments that explore biological patterns and human connection.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art to Host “P.S. Art” Exhibition

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will host "P.S. Art 2025: Celebrating the Creative Spirit of NYC Kids" from June 10 through October 19, 2025, a juried exhibition featuring 138 artworks by prekindergarten through grade 12 students from New York City public schools. The works were selected from over 950 submissions by a panel including the late artist Tony Bechara and Met staff, spanning painting, mixed-media, and sculpture. A ceremony at The Met Fifth Avenue on June 10 will coincide with the Museum Mile Festival, and the Times Square Advertising Coalition will display 43 of the works on OUTFRONT's screen, The Cube, starting June 17.

The true story of the Caravaggio theft by the Sicilian Mafia behind the Arte series 'The Caravaggio Conspiracy'

La véritable histoire du vol du Caravage par la mafia sicilienne derrière la série « Le Complot Caravaggio » sur Arte

The theft of Caravaggio’s 'Nativity with Saint Francis and Saint Lawrence' from the Oratory of San Lorenzo in Palermo remains one of the world's most notorious unsolved art crimes. Stolen in October 1969 by professional thieves who cut the massive three-meter canvas from its frame, the masterpiece has been missing for over 50 years. Investigations have long pointed toward the Sicilian Mafia, with various theories suggesting the work was displayed at secret summits, hidden in Switzerland, or tragically destroyed.

Louvre’s €666m plans for new entrance ‘financially unsound’—and security should come first—auditor says

A report from the Cour des comptes, France's state auditing body, has deemed the Louvre's €666 million plan for a new entrance and subterranean complex around the Mona Lisa as "financially unsound." The report, released on November 6 by chairman Pierre Moscovici, criticizes the museum's management under director Laurence des Cars, highlighting severe delays in security upgrades—only 4% of an €83 million infrastructure budget has been spent since 2018. The audit follows an audacious heist of French crown jewels on October 19, which the report says was enabled by inadequate security. It urges the Louvre to prioritize a €450 million infrastructure plan over the grand renovation project, which has already seen a 45% cost overrun from its initial €450 million estimate.

46 artists to be involved in Art Macao Biennale: IC

The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) of Macau announced that the 2025 Art Macao Biennale will open on July 19, featuring 46 artists from four Chinese regions (mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan) and 12 foreign countries. The event includes 30 exhibitions across six segments, with a main venue at the Macao Museum of Art, and will run through October 19. Chief curator Feng Boyi introduced the theme “Hey, what brings you here?” focusing on Macau’s local history and global presence. The budget is 4.5 million patacas, and 27% of participating artists are from Macau.

2025 Summer + Fall Exhibitions at the WaterFire Arts Center

WaterFire Arts Center in Rhode Island has announced its summer and fall 2025 exhibition lineup, featuring five shows from June through November. Highlights include Kate Blacklock's solo exhibition "Inside Out" (June 5–July 6), which explores memory and identity through large-scale narrative paintings; "Growing the Networks" (July 10–August 31), a group show building on the 2024 NetWorks Rhode Island and Chazan Collection; "Family Business" (September 11–October 19), an immersive installation by the WaterFire Accelerate 2024–2025 cohort of six emerging artists; and "Nothing Follows its Spontaneous Course" (October 23–November 9). The season also includes the BuyArt holiday sale, reinforcing WaterFire's role as a hub for local creativity.

Well-known Manx artist to showcase her latest work in new exhibition

Eileen Schaer, a well-known Manx artist, will open her latest exhibition 'Small Paintings' at Studio 42 in Port St Mary, Isle of Man, on October 19. The show features 28 new gouache paintings created over the past two years, marking her first solo exhibition in two years. Studio 42 owner Eben Carswell describes the works as dreamlike, imaginative, and harmonious, blending animals and humans in joyful dreamscapes.

Dive Into San Francisco’s Art Scene At SF Open Studios This Fall

SF Open Studios, organized by the nonprofit ArtSpan, returns for its 40th anniversary in 2025, running from September 19 to October 19. The month-long event invites the public into hundreds of local artists' studios across San Francisco, divided by neighborhood each weekend, and includes a group exhibition at SOMArts, guided walking tours, and an Art Tasting event. Participating neighborhoods range from Noe Valley and the Mission to Hunters Point Shipyard Artists, with some "Choice Artists" hosting independent open-studio events throughout the month.

Find your creative inspiration at this weekend’s West Kelowna Art Exhibition

The West Kelowna Art Exhibition will take place on Sunday, October 19, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Westbank Lions Community Centre in West Kelowna, British Columbia. The free event features local artists showcasing original artwork in various mediums, an artisan marketplace, and live smooth jazz music, with most works available for purchase.

Step into local artists’ studios at the Riverfront Arts Center in Stevens Point

The Riverfront Arts Center in Stevens Point is hosting a new immersive exhibition titled "The Studio," opening with a reception on September 18, 2025. The exhibit recreates the studio spaces of eight local artists, including Ravi Barkey (ceramics), Barnplotter (pen plotting), Ryan Gaska (drawing/painting), Erin Prais-Hintz (mosaics), Twinky Satterthwaite (oil, acrylic, pastel), Roz Schuettpelz (quilting/appliqué), Toni Starr (painting/drawing), and Cate Thomding (repurpose/upcycling). The show runs through October 19 and will conclude with a watercolor workshop led by Roberta Laine.