A mysterious new art fair called "The Island" is generating intrigue with plans for a super-secretive inaugural edition in the US Virgin Islands this May. Promotional materials suggest an exclusive event for mega-collectors, featuring special water sports activities and rumors of commissions from artists like Andres Serrano and Jeff Koons, with the unusual claim that all sales will be "redacted after the fact."
Renoir : un festival de prêts pour une double exposition
The Musée d'Orsay in Paris has launched a major two-part exhibition dedicated to Auguste Renoir, titled "Renoir dessinateur" (Renoir as a Draughtsman) and "Renoir et l'amour" (Renoir and Love). The initiative began with a study for Renoir's controversial painting *Les Grandes Baigneuses* and has grown into an international loan effort, featuring over 150 rarely seen drawings, watercolors, pastels, and paintings from major museums and private collections worldwide, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the MET, and the Barnes Foundation.
In una mostra a Roma la natura partecipa alla creazione delle opere
Artist Pietro Pasolini presents his latest body of work, "Ossigrafie," in the solo exhibition "Il tempo inciso" at Galleria Valentina Bonomo in Rome. Moving away from his origins as a travel photojournalist, Pasolini has developed a sustainable, experimental technique that utilizes metal plates—specifically brass and copper—interacted with by natural elements like palm leaves, vines, water, and fire. These works require months to complete, as the artist allows the natural world to act as a co-creator, moving away from the environmentally harmful chemicals associated with traditional darkroom photography.
The Norton Museum of Art is in negotiations to acquire a monumental sculpture by the late Richard Serra to serve as the centerpiece of a new public art park in West Palm Beach. The proposed Norton Cultural Park would transform a two-acre waterfront site into a series of 14 landscaped "garden rooms" featuring world-class artworks. City commissioners have granted preliminary approval for a lease agreement that allows the museum to manage the land, which was formerly a pioneer cemetery.
Roksana Pirouzmand’s dual-site exhibition in Los Angeles, hosted at OXY ARTS and JOAN, features performance-based sculptures and installations that utilize literal erosion to explore themes of loss and displacement. The works include anatomical clay casts of the artist and her mother, which are subjected to water, vibration, and physical interaction, causing them to crack and deteriorate over the course of the show. At OXY ARTS, a kinetic metal floor involves the viewer directly, as their footsteps cause clay hands to collide and break, illustrating the physical impact of movement and presence.
Conceptual sculptor B. Koh is holding his first solo exhibition in South Korea at Baik Art, Seoul, titled 'J Sculpture Show.' The exhibition features a comprehensive survey of the Los Angeles-based artist's career, spanning from his early 1990s experiments to new site-specific works created during a recent residency in Seoul. Koh is known for his "gentle trickery," using everyday objects like clocks, plastic chairs, and water bottles to create subtle interventions that disrupt the viewer's perception of time, gravity, and the mundane.
The Middletown Arts Center is currently hosting the Garden State Watercolor Society’s 56th Annual Open Juried Exhibition alongside the 8th Annual Art Installation Exhibition. Juried by Joseph Gyurcsak, the main showcase features 64 selected watercolor paintings, while a special installation titled "Revolution as Reinvention" presents 55 miniature works exploring the history of artistic rebellion. The exhibition is open to the public through May 30, 2026, with a digital version available online.
Kyrgyzstan has chosen artist Alexey Morosov to represent the country at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026. His pavilion, curated by Geraldine Leardi, will feature a large-scale installation titled BELEK, which explores Kyrgyz nomadic heritage, water as a sacred resource, and the impact of Soviet-era hydro-engineering on the landscape.
The Medina Triennial has announced the artist lineup for its inaugural edition, set to open on June 6 in the Western New York village of Medina. Curated by co-artistic directors Kari Conte and Karin Laansoo, the exhibition features 39 international and local artists, including Venice Biennale winner Lina Lapelytė, Taysir Batniji, and Tania Candiani. The event is centered around the Erie Canal and explores the theme "All That Sustains Us," focusing on ecology, sustainability, and community exchange.
Archaeologists at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello estate have unearthed a 250-year-old kiln used to fire bricks for the plantation’s original construction. Located on the East Lawn just feet from the main house, the site was identified through the discovery of specialized curved bricks, including cyma-shaped and ovolo-molded specimens. These architectural details confirm the kiln dates back to the "Monticello I" period (1768–1782), as these specific water table features were omitted during Jefferson’s later 18th-century renovations.
The Ventura County arts community is launching a series of local exhibitions and theater productions for the week of April 9, 2026. Highlights include the opening of the political comedy "The Outsider" at the Santa Paula Theater Center and the "Rediscovering" exhibition at Fox Fine Jewelry featuring Lisa Sachs and Thomas Hoerber. Additionally, the Camarillo Art Center is hosting a themed exhibition titled "I dream my paintings, then I paint my dream," alongside various technical workshops in watercolor and gourd art.
Puerto Rico’s El Yunque National Forest has unveiled the reconstructed El Portal visitor’s center, a $18 million project designed by Marvel Architects to withstand future climate disasters. Following the devastation of Hurricanes Maria and Irma, the new facility features elevated structures, advanced stormwater management, and solar capabilities, serving as both a sustainable tourism hub and an emergency command post.
Artist Ana Teresa Fernández has launched her solo exhibition "Under Pressure" at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, presenting a multi-disciplinary call to climate action. The exhibit features oil paintings, sculptures such as a silver-feathered Quetzalcoatl made from a hose, and performance-based works that use metaphors like expanding balloons to illustrate the planet's breaking point. A central component of the project involved a community-led "social monument" at Ohio Street Beach, where hundreds of participants used mirrors to flash an S.O.S. signal in Morse code toward the horizon.
The Bennington Museum recently hosted its 2026 Annual Student Art Show, an event featuring works from local students ranging from kindergarten to high school seniors. The exhibition showcased a diverse array of mediums, including watercolor, ceramics, and mixed-media self-portraits, while offering free admission and family-oriented activities to the community.
Sabbie e riti dagli antipodi. Da scoprire in una ex chiesa di Venezia
The Church of San Lorenzo in Venice, home to Ocean Space, is hosting "Tide of Returns," an exhibition by the Repatriates Collective. The installation transforms the historic nave with sand dunes populated by thousands of decorated shells known as Dadikwakwa-kwa, or shell dolls, from the Anindilyakwa people of Australia. The show also features a tripartite installation of video, textiles, and braids by German-Bolivian artist Verena Melgarejo Weinandt, exploring themes of ancestral connection and the universal significance of water.
The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) has launched its annual “BRAVO! Listen Up!” exhibition at the Adriana Groza Art studio, featuring visual and written works by thirty-two middle school students. The participants created these pieces in response to composer Andreia Pinto Correia’s orchestral work "Ciprés," following a creativity workshop led by artist April Zay. The collection includes a diverse range of media, from traditional watercolors and acrylics to 3D sculptures made of rosewood and yarn.
Stained glass artists Kurt and Lorraine Wendling have officially opened The Gallery on Gambier in downtown Mount Vernon, Ohio. The new creative hub serves as the permanent home for their business, Wendling Glass Creations, while also showcasing the work of approximately 20 other artists specializing in mediums ranging from photography to oil painting. The space is designed as a multi-functional venue, incorporating a retail gallery, a custom framing center, and a dedicated classroom for art instruction.
The Georgia Watercolor Society’s National Exhibition is returning to the Carrollton Center for the Arts from April 15 to May 22. This year’s juried showcase features 80 watercolor paintings selected from artists across the United States, ranging from highly detailed still lifes to impressionistic landscapes. The exhibition will kick off with a series of public events on April 18, including an artist demonstration by Carol Carter, an opening reception, and the society's annual meeting.
Qualia Contemporary Art in Palo Alto is currently hosting two concurrent exhibitions, "Emergence" and "Tidal Traces," featuring the work of Yulia Pinkusevich, Cathy Lu, and Stella Zhang. The shows explore the four classical elements—fire, earth, air, and water—through a diverse range of media including large-scale ceramic incense sculptures, paintings incorporating charcoal and ash, and mixed-media works inspired by oceanic tides.
Sienna Art Gallery & Gifts has officially opened at 129 S. Gay Street in Knoxville’s downtown Arts District. Founded by watercolorist Gayla Seale, fiber artist Judi Gaston, and painter Blanche Nicoll, the space serves as both a working studio and a retail gallery. The venue debuted during a recent First Friday event, featuring original works, architectural cityscapes, handwoven garments, and guest artist rotations, including pieces by Cynthia Markert.
Storefront Art Projects in Watertown has launched its "Yard Art 2026" exhibition, running from April 4 through April 25. The opening reception featured a surprise performance by the New England Conservatory Brass Band, who redirected to the gallery after their original venue in Rockport suffered a roof leak. The event showcased a diverse range of works from nine featured artists, blending visual art with an impromptu community musical celebration.
The Minto Arts Gallery in Harriston, Ontario, is set to host a solo exhibition by Kitchener-Waterloo artist Moumita Roychowdhury from April 9 to April 30. The self-taught artist and instructor will showcase a collection of works in watercolor, acrylic, and pastel that explore the emotional resonance of nature and human expression. An opening reception is scheduled for April 9 to launch the three-week engagement.
Une nouvelle aquarelle de Marie-Désiré Bourgoin acquise par Orsay
The Musée d’Orsay has expanded its collection with the acquisition of a watercolor by Marie-Désiré Bourgoin. The work depicts a somber interior scene featuring an elderly woman in black seated before a commemorative display of the late painter Ernest Meissonier’s personal effects, including his Academician's sword, Legion of Honor insignia, and his final self-portrait on an easel.
Artist Hillary Waters Fayle has developed a unique series titled 'Portraits of Place,' which utilizes foraged botanicals to create intricate cyanotypes. By collecting and drying seeds, petals, and foliage from specific locations like Grace Farms and Maymont Park, Fayle arranges them into symmetrical, mandala-like compositions on UV-sensitive paper. The resulting bright blue prints serve as a botanical record of a specific geography and moment in time.
San Francisco-based artist Anoushka Mirchandani presents a solo exhibition, 'My Body Was a River Once,' at ICA San José. The show features vibrant oil paintings that depict apsaras, ancient Southeast Asian mythological nature spirits associated with water and transformation, drawing from the artist's Indian heritage and childhood memories of sites like the Ajanta and Ellora caves.
Lebanese performance artist Rawya El Chab has debuted the second installment of her trilogy, "Crossing the Water," at The Brick in Brooklyn. The performance explores the collective trauma of the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon and her family's subsequent flight to the Ivory Coast, blending personal memory with political satire and mythology. By embodying various roles—from suspicious neighbors to puppet-like politicians—El Chab navigates the complexities of life under military occupation and the persistent feeling of surveillance.
The Art Museum at the University of Toronto has opened a new exhibition titled "Land. Sea. Sugar. Salt.: Terrestrial and Aquatic Contemplations of the Caribbean." The show features works by contemporary artists from the Caribbean and its diaspora, exploring the region's complex geography, layered histories, and cultural intersections through themes of land, water, and the legacies of colonial industries like sugar production.
The Art Gallery of Burlington (AGB) has launched a new Community and Medicine Garden, a collaborative initiative designed to enhance waterfront biodiversity and serve as a living classroom. The opening event features traditional seed songs by Kaniehtenhawi Deer, tobacco planting workshops led by Michele Dent, and activities focused on sustainable gardening. Artists-in-residence Carly Franklin and Kamaldeep Kaur are also utilizing the space to grow indigo and other plants for their research into natural pigments and textiles.
The Center for Art, Research and Alliances (CARA) in New York is hosting "The Earth, the Fire, the Water, and the Winds: For a Museum of Errantry with Édouard Glissant," an exhibition traveling from the Instituto Tomie Ohtake in São Paulo. The show eschews traditional curatorial hierarchies, instead utilizing the theories of Martinican philosopher Édouard Glissant to present works by artists such as Gerardo Chávez and Eduardo Zamora. Rather than providing didactic labels, the installation encourages "errantry" and "relationality," allowing visitors to discover visual resonances and meanings through their own active engagement with the landscape of the gallery.
A local art exhibition in Waterford City, Ireland, has sparked controversy after residents labeled its content 'immoral' and pressured local officials to shut it down. The installation, which depicted a love story through various media, led to a series of complaints directed at Councillor Eamon Quinlan and other local representatives who serve on the boards of community arts organizations. Despite the public outcry, Quinlan refused to intervene, citing concerns over censorship and the role of a director.