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Amalia Ulman's new film *Magic Farm* follows an American documentary crew that arrives in a rural Argentine town with a mandate to cover "crazy subcultures," only to find none. Led by a harried producer (Alex Wolff) and an anchor (Chloë Sevigny), the crew fabricates a zany trend while completely missing an environmental crisis affecting the village—no drinking water and widespread illness. Ulman describes the film as a critique of media bureaucracy, where content demands override actual news. The film continues her exploration of image-making and fiction, themes she previously investigated in her 2014 Instagram performance *Excellences & Perfections* and her 2021 debut feature *El Planeta*.

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Maginel Wright Enright, the youngest sister of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, is the subject of this article highlighting her career as a prolific children's book illustrator and commercial artist. Born in 1877, she studied at the Chicago Art Institute and worked for the engraving firm Barnes, Crosby Co. before illustrating 63 children's books, including works by L. Frank Baum (author of *The Wonderful Wizard of Oz*), Johanna Spyri's *Heidi*, and Clara Ingram Judson's *Flower Fairies* series. She also contributed to magazines such as *Woman's World* and *McClure's*, and created a World War I poster.

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Crypto billionaire Justin Sun and entertainment mogul David Geffen are locked in an escalating legal battle over Alberto Giacometti's sculpture *Le Nez*. Sun purchased the work for $78.4 million at Sotheby's in 2021, but claims his former art adviser Sydney Xiong fraudulently sold it to Geffen for $10.5 million in cash and two paintings, using forged documents and fictitious lawyers. Sun filed suit in New York in February; Geffen countersued in April, calling the allegations "bizarre and baseless" and accusing Sun of "seller's remorse." Sun's legal team now asserts that Xiong has been detained in China since February, while Geffen's camp points to inconsistencies in Sun's story and his broader financial and legal troubles.

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A Caravaggio painting, *Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy* (ca. 1606), has been publicly exhibited in India for the first time, hosted at the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) in Delhi. The exhibition, organized in partnership with the Italian Embassy’s cultural center, coincides with a visit by Italy’s deputy prime minister Antonio Tajani and runs through May 18. It includes a VR experience and a documentary series about the artist. The painting was only rediscovered in 2014 and authenticated by scholar Mina Gregori, though some experts still debate whether it is a 17th-century copy rather than an original Caravaggio.

Close encounters: the new wave of women photographers – in pictures

The Saltzman-Leibovitz photography prize, founded in 2025 by Lisa Saltzman and Annie Leibovitz, announces its winners and runners-up for 2026. Bolivian photographer Marisol Mendez wins for her series 'MADRE,' which challenges patriarchal representations of women in Bolivia through portraits of matriarchs and references to the Inca moon goddess. Runner-up Miranda Barnes documents African American debutante cotillions in Detroit, while other featured photographers include Bettina Pittaluga and Cole Ndelu, whose works explore body diversity and the fusion of Zulu cosmology with Catholicism. The exhibition runs at Photo London, Olympia, 13–17 May 2026.

Women behind the lens: ‘After state massacres, I began burning the prints as an act of mourning’

Iranian-Canadian visual journalist and artist Parisa Azadi describes her process of creating protest photographs during the 2022 Iranian revolution from exile in Dubai. Unable to return to Iran, she used open-source protest footage from social media, isolating frames and printing them with a Fujifilm instax camera to transform ephemeral digital images into physical objects. In January 2026, after state massacres and executions, she began burning these prints as an act of mourning, scarring their surfaces to echo the violence they depict.

In plane sight: how the gilded elite live – in pictures

Photographer Will Vogt's second monograph, *Behind the Hedges*, offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of America's gilded elite, featuring images of his own social circle at hunting estates, weddings, exclusive club lunches, and golf weekends. The book, published by Schilt Publishing, includes quotes by Vogt and text by editor Jennifer Garza-Cuen from her essay 'Posture of Privilege,' capturing a world of inherited wealth and tradition.

Has the world grown weary of art biennials? In search of an antidote, a Portuguese festival turns to anarchism

Anozero, a biennial art festival held in Coimbra's Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova, has opened a ghostly edition that uses installations—including Taryn Simon's sound piece of laments in multiple languages—to protest plans by the Portuguese government to redevelop the 17th-century convent into a hotel under its Revive programme. Festival co-founder Carlos Antunes threatens to cancel the biennial if the development proceeds, framing the event as a warning to the developer about the spirits that haunt the building.

Artists, clowns, runaways: a stay at the Chelsea Hotel – in pictures

Photographer Albert Scopin has released a new book through Kerber Verlag documenting his residency at New York’s iconic Chelsea Hotel between 1969 and 1971. The collection features rare, intimate portraits of the hotel's legendary inhabitants, including a young Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe before their rise to global fame, alongside long-time manager Stanley Bard and avant-garde figures like Vali Myers and Holly Woodlawn. Scopin’s lens captures the 'creative chaos' of the era, from the art-filled lobby to the eccentric private quarters of residents like composer George Kleinsinger.

‘One simple gesture says it all’: the world in black and white – in pictures

Photographer Marina Sersale has released a new monograph titled 'Liminal Space,' published by Gost, which compiles over a decade of monochrome photography. The collection features dramatic black-and-white images captured between 2013 and 2021 across diverse locations including Italy, Japan, Iran, and the United States. Sersale, a former documentary filmmaker, focuses on the interplay of light and shadow to document fleeting, everyday moments—from sunbathers in Positano to commuters in Naples.

And this one shows the police evicting me: the fabulous fabric visions of Elizabeth Allen

The British textile artist Elizabeth Allen, who lived in a dilapidated hut and gained brief international fame in the 1960s after being discovered by artist Patrick Heron, is the subject of a major rediscovery. A new exhibition at Compton Verney in Warwickshire features works that have been hidden in storage or private collections for nearly fifty years, including the first public display of 'Autobiraggraphy,' a textile work documenting her wrongful eviction in 1934.

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 Guide #237: Fab 5 Freddy, the street artist at the heart of New York’s creative zenith

A new memoir by Fred Brathwaite, known as Fab 5 Freddy, chronicles his life as a pivotal figure connecting the emerging hip-hop and graffiti scenes of 1970s and 80s Brooklyn with the downtown Manhattan art world. The book, "Everybody's Fly: A Life of Art, Music, and Changing the Culture," serves as an all-access pass to a transformative era, featuring encounters with icons like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, and Debbie Harry.

Love & Fury: how poster artists responded to the Aids crisis – in pictures

A new exhibition titled 'Love & Fury: New York’s Fight Against AIDS' showcases posters created by grassroots groups and artists in response to the AIDS crisis from the late 1970s to the 2000s. The show features works from collectives like the Silence=Death Project and Gay Men’s Health Crisis, as well as artists including Keith Haring and Howard Cruse, highlighting how graphic design was used to promote safe sex, demand government action, and build community resilience.

Calls for Artists: May 2026

Burnaway's May 2026 Calls for Artists roundup lists multiple opportunities with deadlines in early May. These include the Joan Mitchell Center's call for figurative works, the Michael P. Smith Fund for Documentary Photography for Gulf Coast photographers, the Center for Craft Teaching Artist Cohort offering $10,000 grants to mid-career craft artists, the Hopper Prize grants totaling $13,000, residencies at The Studios of Key West and Trillium Arts, and the National Performance Network Creation & Development Fund. Each opportunity has specific eligibility, fees, and deadlines ranging from May 3 to May 18, 2026.

'Stray Birds': An art exhibition

Indrapramit Roy and Mark Cazalet are coming together for a duo exhibition titled 'Stray Birds' at the Shridharani Gallery in New Delhi. Curated by Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya and organized by Art Magnum, the show explores the parallel trajectories of two artists who met during their formative years in Baroda under the mentorship of Gulam Mohammed Sheikh. The exhibition features works that document lived experiences, memory, and movement through drawing and painting, often rooted in their personal sketchbooks and visual journals.

“Photography as a Way of Life” at PU Art Museum

The Princeton University Art Museum has unveiled "Photography as a Way of Life," a major exhibition running from April 19 through September 7. The show examines the interconnected careers of Minor White, Aaron Siskind, and Harry Callahan, three titans of mid-20th-century American photography. Drawing heavily from the museum’s Minor White Archive, the exhibition features unpublished color and black-and-white prints, archival documents, and a reconstruction of White’s slide projection piece, "Slow Dance."

First-ever oil painting depicting an artist at work to star in female Old Master exhibition

The first-ever exhibition dedicated to Catharina van Hemessen, Europe's most important early female painter, will open at the Snijders&Rockox House in Antwerp (15 October 2026 – 31 January 2027) before traveling to the National Gallery in London (4 March – 30 May 2027). The show will reunite most of her surviving works for the first time in nearly 500 years, including her groundbreaking 1548 self-portrait at the Kunstmuseum Basel, which is the earliest known self-portrait by a female artist and the earliest surviving oil painting depicting an artist at work. Archival research on her family is underway, and the exhibition will also feature works by her father, Jan Sanders van Hemessen.

Tyler’s reimagined Pyramid Club gallery enters final exhibition month

Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University opened an archive exhibition at the Tyler Contemporary Art Gallery on September 5, reimagining the historic Pyramid Club, a cultural hub for Black professionals in North Philadelphia from 1937 to 1963. Curated by Matthew Jordan-Miller Kenyatta, the show features 34 paintings and 35 photographs by John Mosely, alongside works by contemporary artists like Shawn Theodore, and draws from archives by William Dodd, Leslie Willis-Lowry, and the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection. The exhibition runs through its final month, with events drawing over 200 attendees.

8 Art Films Worth Watching in May

8 Kunstfilme, die sich im Mai lohnen

Monopol magazine presents eight art films worth streaming in May, including a documentary featuring 40,000 slides from critic Jerry Saltz capturing the 1990s New York art scene, Shirin Neshat's film "Women Without Men" about women in 1953 Tehran, Christian Petzold's new film "Miroirs No. 3," and a documentary on the Shroud of Turin. The roundup also includes a politically charged drama directed by Yael Bartana and a Dada-metal film, offering a diverse selection of art-related cinema.

The 25th Biennale of Sydney: “Rememory”

The 25th Biennale of Sydney, titled "Rememory," opened in March 2026 across multiple venues in Sydney, including the prominent White Bay Power Station. Curated by Hoor Al-Qasimi, the exhibition features 83 artists and collectives from around the world, presenting works that demand slow, immersive engagement rather than spectacle, with highlights including large-scale textile installations by Edgar Calel and Nikesha Breeze.

The Swiss Collector Building a Massive Trove of Chinese Art

Swiss businessman and former diplomat Uli Sigg has spent over three decades assembling one of the largest private collections of contemporary Chinese art, comprising thousands of works. Artist Ai Weiwei has referred to Sigg as “my maker,” highlighting the collector’s pivotal role in promoting Chinese contemporary art on the global stage.

Art Lovers Movie Club: The Archive

ArtReview's Art Lovers Movie Club has published a comprehensive online archive of all the artists' videos it has screened monthly on its website. The archive lists dozens of films from 2021 through 2026, featuring works by a diverse, international roster of artists including Hikaru Fujii, Mary Helena Clark, Gê Viana, and many others, with specific screening dates for each.

Marcello Dantas Named Curator of 2027–29 Vancouver Biennale

The Vancouver Biennale has appointed Brazilian artist and documentary filmmaker Marcello Dantas as senior curator for its 2027–29 edition. Dantas, currently art director at the immersive museum Ster Ik in Tulum, Mexico, recently cocurated the 2024 iteration of Saudi Arabia's Desert X AlUla with Maya El Khalil. He has previously organized exhibitions for artists including Ai Weiwei, Anish Kapoor, Shirin Neshat, and Bill Viola, and curated a project by Vik Muniz for the 2013–15 Vancouver Biennale. Dantas plans to shape the event by addressing the city's corporate real estate development alongside its First Nations and colonial history, exploring themes of displacement and belonging.

White House launches review of Smithsonian museums and exhibitions

The White House has launched a comprehensive internal review of the Smithsonian Institution, targeting eight of its museums including the National Museum of American History, National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the Hirshhorn Museum. A letter signed by senior White House officials Lindsey Halligan, Vince Haley, and Russ Vought demands extensive documentation, curatorial materials, and exhibition schedules within 30-, 75-, and 120-day deadlines, with the stated goal of aligning programming with President Donald Trump's directive to "celebrate American exceptionalism" and remove "divisive or partisan narratives." The review follows Trump's March executive order reshaping the Smithsonian, which had already led to the resignation of National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet and the cancellation of artist Amy Sherald's traveling exhibition after the museum allegedly sought to remove her painting of a non-binary transgender person.

Blank Spaces. Sung Tieu by Sarah Johanna Theurer

Sung Tieu's installations, characterized by austere, bureaucratic surfaces, explore the hidden architectures of power embedded in everyday systems. The article examines her series of works that deconstruct administrative forms used in asylum procedures, reducing them to blank spaces and quantified grids to expose how institutional power operates through seemingly neutral documents. Her exhibition "In Cold Print" at Nottingham Contemporary physically manifests these themes by using steel fences to control viewer movement, drawing direct parallels between minimalist sculpture and the dehumanizing design of border controls.

‘New Humans’: A Hallucinatory Humanism Worth Moving Toward

Milan’s art scene is currently anchored by 'New Humans' at Pirelli HangarBicocca, a major solo exhibition by Cao Fei that explores the intersection of technology, labor, and human identity. The show features immersive installations and films that document global farming practices and the surreal evolution of social structures in the digital age, alongside other key city-wide exhibitions including Anselm Kiefer’s portraits of female alchemists.

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.

Marsha Pels Presents a Material Memorandum on Grief

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. Marsha Pels stands out with a deeply personal presentation that utilizes industrial materials to navigate the complexities of grief and memory.

Michaela Eichwald at Maureen Paley

Michaela Eichwald has opened a solo exhibition titled "MÄR" at Maureen Paley gallery in London. The show runs from March 28 to May 23, 2026, and is documented with 27 images on the Contemporary Art Daily website.