There is an absent pavilion at the 2026 Venice Art Biennale that no one has talked about: Venezuela

C’è un padiglione assente alla Biennale d’Arte di Venezia 2026 di cui nessuno ha parlato: il Venezuela

The Venezuelan pavilion at the 2026 Venice Art Biennale remains closed, an absence that has gone largely unnoticed amid other controversies surrounding the Russian, Israeli, South African, and Iranian pavilions. Designed by architect Carlo Scarpa and built between 1953 and 1956, the pavilion now displays a trilingual sign stating it will "rise again soon," reflecting the country's collapse after the kidnapping and imprisonment of President Nicolás Maduro by the United States and the installation of a fragile pro-American interim government.

Provincia Cosmica. Interview with Giuseppe Stampone, the artist who chose Gran Sasso as his home

Provincia Cosmica. Intervista a Giuseppe Stampone, l’artista che ha scelto il Gran Sasso come casa

Italian contemporary artist Giuseppe Stampone, born in Cluses in 1974, has returned to his native Abruzzo after years living in New York, Rome, and Brussels. Following the loss of his parents, he established his studio in the province of Teramo, where he is restoring a farmhouse under the Gran Sasso mountain to house the Archivio Giuseppe Stampone-Maria Crispal and an artist residency called Abruzzo Mon Amour. Stampone won the PAC2021 prize for his project "La natura delle cose," which explores his bond with the region and will create an archive dedicated to the flora and fauna of the Monti della Laga, Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo, and Gran Sasso areas.

Il grande artista Michelangelo Pistoletto apre un hotel d’arte a Biella

Michelangelo Pistoletto has opened Hotel Cittadellarte in Biella, Italy, within his Cittadellarte Fondazione Pistoletto. The 31-room hotel houses the exhibition "L'ospite inatteso" by Giuseppe Stampone, curated by Ilaria Bernardi, with each room containing a unique artwork designed to be lived with rather than quickly viewed. The exhibition includes Stampone's "Fotocopie intelligenti" and large tapestries from the Brioni manufactory, addressing themes of migration, belonging, memory, and coexistence. The building was sustainably renovated with PNRR funds.

Mimmo Paladino torna a Milano con una grande mostra dopo anni. Sotterranea e immersiva

Mimmo Paladino returns to Milan with a major exhibition after 15 years, opening on May 16 at Palazzo Citterio's underground Sala Stirling. The show features his iconic series "Dormienti" (Sleepers), 32 anthropomorphic terracotta sculptures in fetal positions, arranged in a theatrical, immersive installation. The exhibition also includes a soundscape by Brian Eno and a selection of 15 drawings on paper from 1973, curated by Lorenzo Madaro and organized by Grande Brera and the Archivio Paladino. It runs until July 26, 2026.

Body as Device. Guide and Reflection on the Performances of the Venice Biennale

Corpo come dispositivo. Guida e riflessione sulle performance della Biennale di Venezia

The article analyzes the role of performance art at the 2026 Venice Biennale, arguing that performance is no longer a rediscovered genre but a structurally institutionalized primary form of experience production. It examines how the body reemerges not as an alternative to image-based works but as an internal interruption of the artwork system, preventing closure and reintroducing instability. Key pavilions are discussed: Austria's Florentina Holzinger with "Sancta" draws on 1970s radical performance and feminist body art, creating an immersive environment of continuous movement; Belgium's Miet Warlop with "IT NEVER SSST" engages post-dramatic theater and postmodern dance repetition; Japan's Ei Arakawa-Nash with "Grass Babies, Moon Babies" activates Gutai avant-garde legacies through viewer interaction with soft dolls.

A Firenze c’è da vedere una mostra sulla creatività degli Anni Venti

A new exhibition titled "Firenze Déco. Atmosfere degli anni Venti" has opened at Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence, running until August 25, 2026. Curated by Lucia Mannini and promoted by Città Metropolitana di Firenze with Fondazione MUS.E, the show explores the creative explosion of the 1920s in Florence, focusing on decorative arts, fashion, graphic design, and manufacturing. It highlights figures such as Gio Ponti for Richard-Ginori, Galileo Chini, Thayaht, Ferragamo, and Gucci, tracing how the city absorbed influences from Paris and the 1925 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs to forge its own distinctive Deco style. The exhibition features ceramics, furniture, jewelry, costumes, and period photographs, and is accompanied by an interview with the curator.

Art and technology meet in the augmented reality of artist Lois He

Arte e tecnologia si incontrano nella realtà aumentata dell’artista Lois He

Lois He, a Chinese-born artist now based in New York, creates immersive XR installations that blend art and technology, transforming viewers into active participants. Her works, such as "Rising River," an AI-driven virtual reality experience, and "The Silent Carnival," a digital reinterpretation of Goethe's Faust, explore identity, emotion, and the impact of external agents like technology and culture. He also collaborates with institutions like the Museo Dalí and the NYU Neuroscience Institute, merging art with literature and science.

In Romagna, debate over the artistic legacy of the Fascist era

In Romagna c’è discussione attorno all’eredità artistica del Ventennio fascista

Recent developments in Romagna, Italy, have sparked debate over the artistic legacy of the Fascist era. The 102-meter-long Flight Mosaics at the former Aeronautical College in Forlì are now open to the public, and the Conad-Città di Forlì Auditorium, converted from a former GIL cinema, will inaugurate on May 13, 2026. Regional President De Pascale has announced initial funding to secure the Colonia Varese in Cervia, a Rationalist masterpiece, while long-awaited consolidation work has begun on the Casa del Fascio in Predappio, Benito Mussolini's birthplace. A 2010 plan to turn the Casa del Fascio into a cultural center documenting Fascism has stalled due to political changes and bureaucratic hurdles.

Casabianca is the name of the new art space to visit in Como

Si chiama Casabianca il nuovo spazio per l’arte da visitare a Como

A new art space called Casabianca has opened in Como, Italy, housed in a 1930s building designed by Piero Ponci. The project is spearheaded by hoteliers Paolo and Antonella De Santis, who have transformed the former luxury villa and bank into a domestic-style exhibition venue for their contemporary art collection. The space features works by artists such as Giulio Paolini, Stefano Arienti, Alighiero Boetti, Mario Merz, Marina Abramovic, and Joseph Kosuth, with no labels or didactics to preserve the feel of a private home.

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.

L’arte vibra come un’onda. 7 artisti nell’elegante mostra a Casa Sanlorenzo a Venezia

Casa Sanlorenzo, the artistic division of the luxury yacht brand, has opened a new exhibition titled "Waves" in Venice, coinciding with the Venice Biennale. Curated by Sergio Risaliti and Cristiano Seganfreddo, the show spans 1,000 square meters across two floors plus a 600-square-meter garden, featuring works by seven artists: Alexander Calder, Lucio Fontana, Fausto Melotti, Tony Cragg, Marcello Maloberti, Christine Safa, and Friedrich Andreoni. The exhibition explores the concept of the wave as a metaphor for artistic expression, with a focus on sculpture and sound, including Melotti's poetic sculptures, Andreoni's immersive sound installation, and Calder's mobiles.

An Italian artist makes an exhibition in Tunis inspired by Le Corbusier's architectures

Un artista italiano fa una mostra a Tunisi ispirandosi alle architetture di Le Corbusier

Italian artist Cristian Chironi has opened the seventh chapter of his ongoing project "My house is a Le Corbusier" with an exhibition in Tunis titled "My house is a Le Corbusier (Villa Baizeau)". The project centers on Villa Baizeau, a Le Corbusier-designed house built between 1928 and 1930 for industrialist Lucien Baizeau, which is now inaccessible inside the Tunisian presidential park. Chironi, inspired by a failed attempt by artist Costantino Nivola to bring Le Corbusier's architecture to his hometown Orani, instead travels the world temporarily inhabiting Le Corbusier's buildings. For this iteration, he set up a residency at La Boîte – Centre d'Art & d'Architecture in the Medina of Tunis from January 22 to April 5, 2026, culminating in an exhibition that opened April 3, 2026, using the villa as a lens to read the city rather than a physical space to occupy.

L’artista Kader Attia ci racconta la sua opera alla Biennale di Venezia 2026. L’intervista

Kader Attia presents his multimedia installation "Whisper of Traces" at the 2026 Venice Biennale, curated by Koyo Kouoh under the theme "In Minor Keys." The work explores the intersections of magic, spirituality, traditional healing, and digitalization, drawing on Attia's long-standing interest in how colonialism, neoliberalism, and technology have transformed shamanic and healing practices. Attia describes the project as an accumulation of psychic traces from human history, which his mother called "ghosts."

A Rococo Snuffbox for Cleveland

Une tabatière rocaille pour Cleveland

The Cleveland Museum of Art has acquired a rare gold and lapis-lazuli snuffbox (tabatière) by the Rococo master Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier, dated 1728-1729. The box, which bears Meissonnier's hallmark and the coat of arms of Marie-Anne de Neubourg (widow of King Charles II of Spain), was likely made for her during her long exile in Bayonne. It will be a centerpiece of the museum's upcoming exhibition "Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier: Rococo Goldsmith in Focus," opening in October.

L'excellent rapport de la commission d'enquête sur la sûreté des musées est paru

A French parliamentary commission of inquiry into museum security, initiated by Alexandre Portier (president) and reported by Alexis Corbière, has published its findings. The report, unanimously adopted across party lines, includes forty recommendations and is notably critical of the Louvre's management under director Laurence des Cars, accusing her of neglecting security priorities and causing significant delays in the museum's master plan. The commission validated earlier criticisms by La Tribune de l'Art, describing the Louvre as an "État dans l'État" (state within a state) and estimating that twenty to twenty-seven months were lost due to postponed decisions.

Between heroes, anti-heroes and pure humanity: an exhibition in Rome becomes a metaphor for the current crisis

Tra eroi, antieroi e pura umanità una mostra a Roma diventa metafora della crisi attuale

The Museo di Roma Palazzo Braschi in Rome is hosting "It's Happening Again," a solo exhibition by artist Adrian Tranquilli, curated by Studio Stefania Miscetti and running until May 24. The show presents new works including the monumental sculpture "Endsong" (2025), a black monolith inspired by Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" covered in hundreds of Joker faces, and a large pop-up book titled "My Little White Book" (2026). Tranquilli's pieces, often built from playing cards, explore themes of power, fragility, and the instability of cultural symbols.

In Tuscany a new festival brings contemporary art to agricultural estates with exhibitions and artist residencies

In Toscana una nuova rassegna porta l’arte contemporanea nelle aziende agricole con mostre e residenze d’artista

The first edition of CARMI.CO 2026 – Carmignano Contemporanea will take place from May 15 to 24, 2026, in the Carmignano area near Prato, Tuscany. The festival features five exhibitions and five artist residencies hosted by local wineries and agricultural estates, alongside talks, workshops, and studio visits. Exhibitions are staged at venues including the Rocca di Carmignano, Museo Archeologico di Artimino, and Museo delle Maioliche di Bacchereto, with works by artists such as Marco Bagnoli, Qiu Yi, Gola Hundun, Rachel Morellet, Fargo, Marco Ulivieri, Serena Fineschi, and others. Residencies take place at Tenuta di Capezzana, Colline San Biagio, Tenuta Le Furre, Tenuta di Artimino, and Fattoria Il Grumolo, involving artists Max Magaldi, Ronaldo Fiesoli, Vittorio Cavallini, Graziano Riccelli, and Gola Hundun.

Curatori e allestitori ci raccontano la grande mostra dedicata a Franco Vaccari a Bolzano

A major retrospective exhibition titled "Feedback. Gli ambienti di Franco Vaccari" has opened at Museion in Bolzano, Italy, dedicated to the late artist Franco Vaccari (1936–2025). The show features over twenty immersive environments, historical works, and recent video experiments drawn largely from the museum's permanent collection and the Franco Vaccari Archive of Visual Writing. Curated by Frida Carazzato and Luca Panaro in collaboration with Fosbury Architecture, the exhibition explores Vaccari's cross-disciplinary practice spanning photography, writing, and participatory installation art.

Mafalda meets Pimpa. In Rome, the dialogue between two authentic comic icons: interview with the curators

Mafalda incontra Pimpa. A Roma il dialogo tra due autentiche icone del fumetto: intervista ai curatori

A new exhibition in Rome titled "Mafalda & La Pimpa" brings together two iconic comic strip characters for the first time. Created by Quino (1964) and Altan (1975) respectively, Mafalda and Pimpa represent different approaches to childhood: Mafalda critically questions adult society, while Pimpa explores a gentle, wonder-filled world. The show runs from May 14 to July 11 at the Instituto Cervantes, featuring over 120 original strips and plates, and is organized in collaboration with ARF! Festival and other partners. Curators Stefano Piccoli and Daniele Bonomo designed the exhibition to highlight both the contrasts and surprising analogies between the two beloved figures.

Two photographers tried to tell Tuscany beyond the usual clichés

Due fotografi hanno provato a raccontare la Toscana oltre i soliti cliché

The article profiles photographers Gioconda Rafanelli and August Kaciuruba, who are contributing to the "How Italy Feels" project curated by Marina Serena Cacciapuoti and Cesare Cacciapuoti of Italy Segreta. The project involves twenty local photographers capturing Italy beyond stereotypes. In the Tuscany chapter, Rafanelli and Kaciuruba present a lived, off-duty vision of the region, blending fashion, architecture, and cinematic influences. They discuss their collaborative process, their shared gaze, and how their work shifts between the fast pace of Milan and the slower rhythms of Tuscany, drawing inspiration from filmmakers like Wong Kar-wai, Stanley Kubrick, Luchino Visconti, and Michelangelo Antonioni.

A giugno 2026 a Pietrasanta apre il Museo Igor Mitoraj. Opere dell’artista ma anche mostre

The article announces the opening of the Museo Igor Mitoraj in Pietrasanta, Italy, scheduled for June 6, 2026, after several years of delays. The museum is the first space entirely dedicated to the Polish sculptor Igor Mitoraj, who died in 2014 and was known for transforming Tuscan marble into works blending classical forms with fragmented, contemporary themes. Designed by OBR, Politecnica, and Studio Lumine, the museum results from collaboration between the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Municipality of Pietrasanta, and the artist's heirs, united in the Fondazione Museo Igor Mitoraj. Frank Boehm, director of the foundation, envisions the space as a research-oriented center that will engage with different artistic languages and contemporary issues, not limited to Mitoraj's work alone.

The Paradox of Contemporary Art: The World Is Violent, but the Works Are Correct and Inoffensive

Il paradosso dell’arte contemporanea: il mondo è violento, ma le opere sono corrette e inoffensive

The article examines a paradox in contemporary art: as the world grows more violent and chaotic, art has become increasingly 'correct,' morally irreproachable, and inoffensive. The author argues that over the past fifteen years, artworks have been judged primarily by their moral and identity credentials, with curators acting as moral gatekeepers and censors. This shift coincides with a period when geopolitics, history, and public behavior have spiraled out of control, creating a strange compensatory dynamic where art is expected to be perfectly controlled and polite while reality grows brutal.

L'invité de La Tribune de l'Art n° 28 : Gérard Audinet

Gérard Audinet, director of the Maison de Victor Hugo in Paris, is retiring. In a new podcast episode of "L'invité de La Tribune de l'Art," he discusses the history of the museum, its collections, the Maison de Victor Hugo in Guernsey, and the acquisitions and exhibitions he oversaw during his tenure.

Doyen retrouve la chapelle Saint-Louis

A cycle of eleven paintings commissioned in 1772 for the Chapelle Saint-Louis at the École Militaire in Paris, depicting the life of Saint Louis, has been rediscovered. The chapel was built under Louis XV by architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel, and the paintings were executed by Jean-Baptiste-Marie Pierre following a carefully devised iconographic program. The discovery sheds new light on a major decorative ensemble from the Ancien Régime.

Why Italy's cultural wealth never really enters public accounts and budgets?

Perché la ricchezza culturale italiana non entra mai davvero nei conti e nei bilanci pubblici?

Italy has exceeded the European Commission's structural adjustment path by 0.1 percentage points of GDP, reopening fiscal scrutiny. Amid this debate, the article highlights a deeper issue: Italy's immense cultural heritage is drastically undervalued in public accounts. For example, the Pompeii Archaeological Park is recorded at just €48.9 million, the Colosseum at under €15 million, and the Uffizi at about €2 billion—figures based on outdated 2002 ministerial criteria that bear no relation to actual economic or cultural worth. The State General Accounting Office, with the University of Roma Tre and EU technical assistance, has proposed a new methodology to value cultural assets by discounting their future net financial flows, including direct revenues and indirect tourism-related returns.

A Firenze nasce la “nuova” istituzione GAMB che riunisce la Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze e i Musei del Bargello (con nuovo logo d’autore)

A new museum institution called GAMB (Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze e Musei del Bargello) has been established in Florence, unifying seven cultural sites under a single autonomous museum system. The sites include the Galleria dell’Accademia, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Orsanmichele, Casa Martelli, Palazzo Davanzati, Cappelle Medicee, and the former Church of San Procolo. A new visual identity designed by Milanese studio Migliore+Servetto features a pictogram that maps the geographic distribution of the venues, along with a custom typeface and color palette unique to each location. The launch also coincides with the start of a public restoration project for the base of Benvenuto Cellini’s *Perseo* at the Bargello, open to visitors from May 12 to September 5, 2026.

Agitate, Educate, Organize. A Conversation with the Indonesian Collective That Is in Venice with Two Projects

Agitare, educare, organizzare. Una conversazione con il collettivo indonesiano che è a Venezia con due progetti

Sale Docks, an activist art space born from a 2007 occupation in Venice, has invited the Indonesian collective Taring Padi to collaborate on two projects. The first is the exhibition "Taring Padi: People's Liberation," which reactivates banners as tools for propaganda, mobilization, and resistance. The second is a public intervention in Venice, where the collective and local community will repaint the walls of the historic social center Laboratorio Occupato Morion. The article includes an interview with Taring Padi, which was founded in 1998 in Yogyakarta by students and activists, and discusses their use of wayang shadow-puppet imagery and collaborative processes to agitate, educate, and organize communities.

Bayeux Tapestry: A Blank Voyage That Tests Nothing

Tapisserie de Bayeux : un voyage à blanc qui ne teste rien

A confidential interim report obtained by La Tribune de l'Art reveals that the "blank voyage" test transport of the Bayeux Tapestry from Bayeux to London in February 2026 failed to measure actual risks to the artwork. The report admits that the vibration threshold used (2 mm/s) is arbitrary and based on paintings, not on a textile of this size and fragility. Because the tapestry has been stored and inaccessible since September 2025, no mechanical tests could be conducted beforehand to determine safe vibration levels, rendering the test meaningless. A second test took place on April 15, 2026, but its report has not yet been finalized; the actual loan is planned for July 2026, with transport via Eurostar.

A Milano c’è la prima mostra omaggio all’artista Giovanni Campus dopo la morte

BUILDING Gallery in Milan has opened "Tempo e passione," the first posthumous exhibition dedicated to Giovanni Campus (1929–2025), who died less than five months ago at nearly 100 years old. Curated by Marco Meneguzzo, the two-floor show spans Campus’s career from his Sardinian roots to his Milanese performances, featuring works that measure space using materials like springs and cords, alongside vintage video documentation of his actions in Piazza Palazzo Reale and Sardinia.