Aste a Parigi: nuovo record per Claude Monet da Sotheby’s e per Ettore Spalletti da Christie’s

Sotheby's Paris achieved a new French auction record for Claude Monet on April 16, 2026, with 'Vétheuil, effet du matin' (1901) selling for €10.2 million, far above its €6-8 million estimate. The evening sale generated €35 million total, an 84% increase over the 2025 session, also featuring strong results for Marc Chagall, Lucio Fontana, and Rembrandt Bugatti. Meanwhile, Christie's Paris celebrated the 25th anniversary of its 'Thinking Italian' section with a complete sell-out of 11 lots, including a new auction record for Ettore Spalletti's 'Mobile' (1974) at €203,200. The overall Paris modern and contemporary art week reached a record €80.9 million, up 39% year-on-year.

Exhibition | Merlin James, 'See Through' at P420, Bologna, Italy

The gallery P420 in Bologna has opened "See Through," the second solo exhibition by Welsh artist Merlin James. The show features a non-linear curation that blends works from different decades, ranging from landscapes and interiors to erotic scenes and near-abstract compositions. James’s approach treats the exhibition as a "jam session," where visual and thematic repetitions provide a structure for diverse painterly explorations.

Recalling When Lower Manhattan Was New Amsterdam

The New-York Historical Society has launched a major exhibition exploring the 17th-century origins of New York City during its era as the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam. The show utilizes a diverse array of artifacts, maps, and historical documents to trace the colony's development from a fur-trading outpost to a diverse maritime hub, highlighting the complex interactions between Dutch settlers, Indigenous populations, and enslaved Africans.

Yoshitomo Nara's Work Sets Record for Highest Price in Domestic Korean Art Auction History

The work of artist Yoshitomo Nara, who represents Japanese contemporary art, has been sold at the hi..

Yoshitomo Nara’s 2016 painting "Nothing About It" has set a new record for the highest price ever achieved at a domestic South Korean art auction. Sold by Seoul Auction for 15 billion won (approximately $11 million), the work features the artist's signature wide-eyed child and surpassed its low estimate of 14.7 billion won. The same sale also saw Yayoi Kusama’s 2015 "Pumpkin" fetch 10.45 billion won, marking a historic session where multiple works exceeded the 10 billion won threshold.

Studio Sessions: Lauren Boilini

Seattle-based artist Lauren Boilini has reached a significant career milestone with the simultaneous opening of her first museum exhibition at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art and her first solo gallery show, "The Good Death," at J. Rinehart Gallery. Boilini’s practice is rooted in deep scientific research, including residencies at biological stations and insectariums, which she translates into large-scale, frenetic paintings of animals and ecosystems. Her current work explores the intersection of animal behavior and the human condition through dense, layered compositions that blur the lines between struggle and pattern.

Birmingham museum opens exhibition on death and grief

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery has launched a community-led exhibition exploring the universal experiences of death, dying, and grief. Curated in partnership with the local collective BrumYODO, the showcase features traditional mourning rituals alongside contemporary inquiries into how artificial intelligence might manage bereavement. The exhibition serves as the centerpiece for the annual "A Matter of Life and Death" festival, incorporating interactive workshops, clay-making sessions, and even a themed comedy night to engage the public with a typically taboo subject.

At Rirkrit Tiravanija’s “Say Yes To Everything”, Eating Is Part Of The Experience

Renowned contemporary artist Rirkrit Tiravanija has launched his largest solo exhibition in Singapore at STPI – Creative Workshop & Gallery. Titled "Say Yes To Everything," the retrospective spans over a decade of the artist's practice, featuring prints, editioned works, and interactive installations that emphasize communal experiences. The show includes signature elements of Tiravanija’s relational aesthetics, such as communal meals, origami sessions, and works that utilize UV light to reveal extinct animals, highlighting themes of migration, ecology, and social interaction.

After Going Through the Darkness Part 1: Kōta Takeuchi Exhibition "Nononononomatsuri" @ Ichihara Lakeside Museum

暗闇をくぐってみたら Part1 竹内公太展「のののののまつり」@ 市原湖畔美術館

The Ichihara Lakeside Museum, currently under renovation since late 2025, will partially reopen on May 1, 2026, with a theater-style series of solo exhibitions titled "Kōta Takeuchi: Nononononomatsuri" as its first installment. Artist Kōta Takeuchi, born in 1982 in Hyogo Prefecture and based in Fukushima, presents new video installations created during a four-month residency in Ichihara, where he visited over 70 stone monuments across the city—including horse-headed Kannon statues, Koyasu statues, and war memorials—to explore themes of parallel bodies and possession. The exhibition features works such as "Disassembly of the Sansha-za" (2013–2023), "Cement Thief" (2024), and "Sigh of the Ground" (2022), with a map showing the locations of the documented stone monuments.

Salomé: Henner and Moreau Confront the Myth

Salomé. Henner et Moreau face au mythe

The Musée National Jean-Jacques Henner in Paris is hosting a focused exhibition exploring the iconographic myth of Salomé through the lenses of Jean-Jacques Henner and Gustave Moreau. The show examines how these two 19th-century masters interpreted the biblical figure who demanded the head of John the Baptist, contrasting their stylistic approaches to her seductive and fatal power. While the Gospels provide no physical description of Salomé, the exhibition highlights how these artists moved away from traditional fleshy depictions to create more ethereal, haunting versions of the femme fatale.

Art of the Vineyard Tasting Gallery Opens in Downtown Paso Robles

Art of the Vineyard Tasting Gallery has opened in downtown Paso Robles, California, at 840 13th Street. The 1,500-square-foot venue combines estate wine tasting from Carmody McKnight Wines with curated fine art exhibitions, live music, open mic nights, and hands-on creative activities like sip-and-paint sessions and artist-led workshops. The gallery features works by local, national, and international artists, including original pieces by Gary Conway, and offers a Collectors Club with wine shipments and limited-edition prints.

Studio Sessions: Raili Jänese

Artist Raili Jänese, an Estonian-born painter now based in Kirkland, Washington, creates colorful acrylic works that capture everyday human and animal behaviors with humor and tenderness. Her practice, which began after a corporate career, focuses on observation of mundane moments—people eating, drinking coffee, riding transit, and animals in urban settings. Her upcoming solo exhibition, "E.L.U," will be on view at Ryan James Fine Arts from May 1–31, 2025, with a Gallery Night on May 22. Jänese has shown work regionally at venues including Happy Time Studio Gallery, Oxbow Montlake, and the Seattle Art Fair, and has completed public art projects in Bellevue, Kent, Kirkland, and Seattle.

JFK's Last Lover Was a Painter. The Story of Mary Pinchot Meyer

L’ultima amante di JFK era una pittrice. La storia di Mary Pinchot Meyer

Mary Pinchot Meyer, an American abstract painter active in the 1960s, is being rediscovered for her artistic contributions, which have long been overshadowed by her personal life. She was the last lover of President John F. Kennedy and was murdered under mysterious circumstances in 1964, a year after his assassination. Her killer was acquitted, leaving the case unsolved.

TV art show finalist opens new solo exhibition at Christchurch venue

Dorset-based artist Tom Winter, a finalist on Sky Arts’ Landscape Artist of the Year, has launched a solo exhibition titled "Lightscapes" at the Coda Music and Arts Trust in Christchurch. The showcase features works spanning several years, including pieces created during his time on the television competition, all centered on the transformative power of light on everyday subjects.

Skin deep: Museum exhibit showcases body art

The Chippewa Valley Museum in Eau Claire is concluding its run of “Tattoo: Identity Through Ink,” a traveling exhibition exploring the historical and cultural evolution of body art. To bring the history to life, the museum hosted live tattooing sessions where local artists, including Ed Erdmann of Wintership Tattoo, demonstrated their craft. In a notable moment of institutional engagement, the museum’s executive director, Carrie Ronnander, received her first-ever tattoo during the event to highlight the personal significance of the medium.

Unesco grants enhanced protection to 39 Lebanese heritage sites as war escalates

UNESCO has granted enhanced protection to 39 cultural heritage sites in Lebanon during an extraordinary session of its Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property. This designation, which prohibits targeting or military use of the sites, also unlocks over $100,000 in emergency funding for on-the-ground operations. The protected sites include the ancient Bekka Temple, the Lebanese National Library, and Barsbay Tower.

‘Jimmy & the Demons’ Review

A new documentary film by Cindy Meehl, titled 'Jimmy & the Demons,' profiles the life and work of artist James Grashow. The film explores his whimsical yet profound sculptural practice and delves into the dynamics of his long-lasting marriage, offering an intimate portrait of the artist's personal and creative world.

The Age-Old Obsession With Living Forever

A new exhibition in London explores the human desire for immortality, using contemporary biohacking figures like Bryan Johnson as a starting point to examine the cultural and philosophical implications of extreme life extension.

From fine art to upcycled furniture - New exhibition opens in Festival Place

The Artist’s Window charity has launched a massive 660-square-metre pop-up exhibition titled Art Space within the Festival Place shopping centre. Featuring 17 professional and amateur artists, the showcase includes a diverse range of media such as fine art, photography, and upcycled furniture. The venue also functions as an interactive studio, offering community workshops and "Stay and Play" sessions for families throughout its run.

Things To Do In Singapore For The Culturally Curious

Singapore's art scene is hosting several diverse exhibitions this April, ranging from a cat-themed group show at Tokonoma to Chok Si Xuan’s solo exploration of technological materials at Starch. Other highlights include a collaborative exhibition at Fluxus House Gallery featuring emerging artists Tay Ying, Zhixin Sheng, and Winnie Chua, which examines the nuances of early adulthood through personal correspondence and imagery.

MAFOLOFOLO: Sonic Cartographies of Return

The South African artist collective MADEYOULOOK has unveiled 'Mafolofolo' at Hangar – Centro de Investigação Artística in Lisbon. Curated by Margarida Mendes, the installation utilizes sound, oral histories, and liberation songs to map the complex relationships between land, memory, and dispossession in northern South Africa. The work, which originally debuted at documenta fifteen, has been reconfigured for this specific research-driven setting to explore themes of extraction and survival.

Studio LaDue opens in St. Cloud, aims to build community

Artist Paige LaDue Henry has officially opened Studio LaDue, a new creative space located within the Crossroads Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Moving from a restrictive home-based setup to a larger commercial venue, Henry offers classes in acrylic mixed media, ranging from intensive four-hour sessions to accessible "Art Bites" designed for quick, affordable creative experiences. A formal grand opening for the space is scheduled for May 30, 2026.

‘The Beginning’ Group Exhibition Features Live Painting at Art Bridge Gallery

The Art Bridge Gallery in Yangon is hosting a group exhibition titled 'The Beginning,' which showcases the work of multiple contemporary artists. A standout feature of the event is the inclusion of live painting sessions, allowing visitors to witness the creative process firsthand as artists develop new works within the gallery space.

An Anthology on Time

Une anthologie sur le temps

The publishing house Citadelles & Mazenod has released a new anthology titled "Écrire le temps. De l’Antiquité à nos jours" (Writing Time: From Antiquity to the Present Day). Edited by Pascal Dethurens, the 480-page volume compiles a vast array of literary sources on the concept of time, from ancient thinkers to contemporary writers, and pairs these texts with a wide variety of artistic representations.

Insects, Dresses, and Rebellion: Why 'The Law of Lidia Poët' is Different from All Other Costume Dramas

Insetti, abiti e ribellione: perché “La legge di Lidia Poët” è diversa da tutte le altre serie in costume

The third and final season of the Netflix series "The Law of Lidia Poët" concludes the story of Italy's first female lawyer in 1880s Turin. While the narrative follows her legal battles and social defiance, the production distinguishes itself through a rigorous and symbolic approach to costume design led by Stefano Ciammitti. Rather than modernizing the past, the series uses historical aesthetics—specifically gothic literature and naturalistic obsessions—to construct a visual language of rebellion.

Can Video Art Rewire South Korea’s Global Image?

The rise of the 'one-work exhibition' is transforming the traditional museum experience by focusing an entire show on a single object. These minimalist presentations prioritize 'slow looking' and spatial immersion, forcing viewers to engage deeply with a lone masterpiece rather than scanning through a crowded gallery of multiple works.

Milton Keynes Snap learners unveil new community art exhibition

Learners from the Milton Keynes charity MK Snap have launched a new community art exhibition at Unity Place. The showcase features seven selected artworks that explore themes of individuality, inclusion, and local identity, with several pieces referencing iconic landmarks like the Concrete Cows and the Whispering Statue. The project was developed through the charity’s canvas art sessions, which provide creative outlets for adults with learning disabilities.

Towering homage to Bamiyan Buddhas rises over Manhattan’s High Line

A new public sculpture by Vietnamese American artist Tuan Andrew Nguyen has been installed on the High Line Plinth at Hudson Yards in Manhattan. Titled "The Light That Shines Through the Universe" (2026), the 27-foot-tall sandstone monument pays homage to the Buddhas of Bamiyan, the 6th-century colossi destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. The work features carved sandstone forms with two monumental steel hands cast from melted-down artillery shells sourced from Afghanistan, making gestures of fearlessness and compassion. It will remain on view through autumn 2027 and is accompanied by monthly lectures and meditation sessions.

Kids Day: When Nature Becomes Art

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice offers a free weekly workshop series called "Kids Day" for children aged 4 to 10, held on Sundays at 3 pm. The upcoming session, "When Nature Becomes Art," introduces young participants to collage techniques inspired by Surrealist artists such as Eileen Agar and André Masson, who used natural materials like shells, sand, feathers, and plants. The program includes a brief guided tour of the museum followed by a hands-on art workshop, conducted in Italian with interpretation available upon request.