Sur Arte, un documentaire lève le voile sur l’occulte Hilma af Klint

A new documentary titled "La Double Vie d'Hilma af Klint – Peintre et pionnière de l'art abstrait," directed by Manuelle Blanc, is now available on Arte's website. It explores the life and work of Swedish artist Hilma af Klint (1862–1944), who created abstract paintings years before Kandinsky, Mondrian, and Malevich, but kept them secret per her will until 20 years after her death. The film sheds light on her mystical practice, her dual existence as an academic painter and a spiritual medium, and the cosmic, geometric works that challenge conventional art history.

À Fontainebleau, Alès ou Châlons-en-Champagne, 10 idées de sorties à faire en juin

The article, from Beaux Arts Magazine, lists ten cultural outings in France for June 2026, beginning with a Nuit Blanche in Paris on June 6, curated by DJ Barbara Butch, featuring dance, concerts, and performances from the Hôtel de Ville to the Grand Palais. Other highlights include the Furies circus festival in Châlons-en-Champagne (June 2-6), the ManiFeste festival at IRCAM in Paris (June 3-27) with concerts and installations, dance nocturnes at the Fondation Louis Vuitton (June 4-5) inspired by Alexander Calder's works, and the Festival de l'Histoire de l'Art at the Château de Fontainebleau (June 5-7).

What is the 2026 edition of the Nouveau Printemps de Toulouse, inspired by Rossy de Palma, worth?

Que vaut l’édition 2026 du Nouveau Printemps de Toulouse inspiré par Rossy de Palma ?

The 2026 edition of the Nouveau Printemps festival in Toulouse features actress Rossy de Palma as its "associated artist," a role previously held by designer Matali Crasset, filmmaker Alain Guiraudie, and musician Kiddy Smile. Unlike her predecessors, de Palma declined all interviews and did not accompany journalists, instead appearing only occasionally as a whimsical presence. The festival's artistic director Clément Postec curated several exhibitions, while de Palma selected works by Spanish and Hispanic artists—including Miquel Barceló, Joan Miró, and Manolo Millares—from the collections of the Musée des Abattoirs. A separate outdoor exhibition by photographer Manuel Outumuro features de Palma's portrait alongside those of Juliette Binoche and Monica Bellucci. All exhibitions are free except the one at the Abattoirs, and many are held in everyday public spaces like community centers and gardens.

Giovanni Segantini en 2 minutes

Giovanni Segantini (1858–1899), a key figure in Italian Divisionism and European Symbolism, is profiled in a concise biographical overview. The article traces his life from a difficult childhood in Arco, Trentino, through his training at the Accademia di Brera in Milan, his breakthrough with *Stalles du chœur de Sant'Antonio* in 1879, and his adoption of Divisionist technique in 1886. It highlights his move to the Swiss Alps, his friendship with Giovanni Giacometti, and his creation of major works such as *Ave Maria à la traversée* (1886) and *Midi dans les Alpes* (1891). The piece concludes with his death from peritonitis in 1899 while working on *La Nature* on the Schafberg mountain.

Edgar Morin: 'The state of creativity is a particular state of trance'

Edgar Morin : « L’état de créativité est un état de transe particulier »

French sociologist and philosopher Edgar Morin, known for his 'complexity theory,' discusses his personal relationship with art in an interview with Beaux Arts Magazine. Morin admits he rarely engages with contemporary art galleries but reflects on his early exposure to the Louvre and his belief that art stems from a shamanic, trance-like creative state. He elaborates on his theory that prehistoric cave paintings, such as those at Lascaux, were created by artist-shamans in a state of creative trance, blending rational correction with ecstatic inspiration.

The Hallucinated Dreams of Brion Gysin at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris

Les rêves hallucinés de Brion Gysin au musée d’Art moderne de Paris

The Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris (MAM) has opened a major retrospective dedicated to Brion Gysin, the British-born artist, poet, and musician best known for inventing the Dreamachine in the late 1950s. The exhibition, curated by Olivier Weil and chief heritage curator Hélène Leroy, explores Gysin's跨界 career across surrealism, the Beat Generation, and experimental film, featuring over 400 works and archives that he bequeathed to the City of Paris before his death in 1986.

« Bonnes Mères » à Marseille, l’exposition qui déconstruit le mythe de la maternité heureuse

The Mucem in Marseille is organizing a major summer 2026 exhibition titled "Bonnes Mères" that deconstructs the idealized myth of happy motherhood. Curated by art historian Caroline Chenu and feminist activist Anne-Cécile Mailfert, the show brings together 350 works from antiquity to the present, including pieces by Louise Bourgeois, Sandro Botticelli, and contemporary photographers Pierre et Gilles. The exhibition challenges singular representations of motherhood, exploring themes from fertility goddesses and Marian imagery to menstruation, abortion rights, and assisted reproduction across the Mediterranean.

Calder, Lee Miller, Matisse, Af Klint… Que valent les grandes expos du moment à Paris ?

Beaux Arts Magazine surveys the current blockbuster exhibition season in Paris, highlighting major shows including Alexander Calder's expansive retrospective at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, a Lee Miller survey at the Musée d'Art Moderne, Henri Matisse and Hilma af Klint exhibitions at the Grand Palais, a Renoir double show at the Musée d'Orsay, and retrospectives of Leonora Carrington at the Musée du Luxembourg and street art at the Grande Halle de la Villette. The article provides critical appraisals of each exhibition, praising the Calder show's immersive presentation of his mobiles, stabiles, and the rare Cirque Calder, while noting the biographical depth of the Lee Miller exhibition organized with Tate Britain and the Art Institute of Chicago.

In Vernon, a spectacular fireworks display by Cai Guo-Qiang in homage to Monet will open the Normandie Impressionniste festival on Sunday

À Vernon, un spectaculaire feu d’artifice de Cai Guo-Qiang en hommage à Monet ouvrira dimanche le festival Normandie Impressionniste

On May 31, 2026, Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang will launch a spectacular daytime fireworks display over the Seine in Vernon, France, as the opening event of the Normandie Impressionniste festival. The performance, titled "Radiance of Spring," uses over a thousand drones to propel colored pigments into the sky, creating ephemeral impressionist-style compositions inspired by Claude Monet's water lilies. The event coincides with the centenary of Monet's death and is accompanied by an exhibition of Cai's gunpowder paintings at the Mont-Saint-Michel abbey, created during a two-week residency in Vernon.

Back on its home soil after 375 years, the Venus of Arles magnetizes artists in an unprecedented exhibition

De retour sur ses terres après 375 ans, la Vénus d’Arles magnétise les artistes dans une expo inédite

The Venus of Arles, a Roman statue from the 1st century BCE and a copy of a work attributed to the Greek sculptor Praxiteles, has returned to Arles after 375 years for a temporary exhibition titled "Le Passage de Vénus" at the Musée Départemental Arles Antique. Discovered in 1651 in the ancient theater of Arles, the statue was gifted to Louis XIV, restored by François Girardon, and later displayed at the Louvre. The exhibition, co-curated by Ludovic Laugier and Romy Wyche, presents the goddess's journey from her mythical birth to her triumph, featuring eight thematic sections that blend ancient sculptures with works by 16 modern and contemporary artists, including Niki de Saint Phalle, Annette Messager, and Man Ray.

A Bigflo et Oli video shot in front of a giant Picasso at the Abattoirs in Toulouse

Un clip de Bigflo et Oli tourné devant un immense Picasso aux Abattoirs de Toulouse

French rap duo Bigflo et Oli filmed a live session of their song "Picasso" in front of Pablo Picasso's monumental stage curtain "La Dépouille du Minotaure en costume d'Arlequin" (1936) at the Abattoirs museum in Toulouse. The video, directed by Antoine Zago-Honnorat, features nine musicians and draws on Latin and Spanish pop influences, with the duo citing inspiration from Spanish artist Rusowsky. The choice of venue is personal: the brothers grew up visiting the museum, and Oli co-curated an exhibition there in 2024–2025 titled "Le Musée imaginaire d'Oli," which attracted over 100,000 visitors.

Lee Miller at the Musée d'Art moderne de Paris: A Photographer Between War, Beauty and Chaos

Lee Miller au musée d’Art moderne de Paris : une photographe entre guerre, beauté et chaos

Lee Miller, the American photographer who transitioned from fashion modeling and surrealist experimentation to war photography, is the subject of a major retrospective at the Musée d'Art moderne de Paris. The exhibition covers her career from 1929 to 1955, highlighting her early work as a model for designers like Patou, Chanel, and Schiaparelli, her collaboration and romantic relationship with Man Ray, and her harrowing experiences documenting World War II. After the war, Miller abandoned photography and lived in obscurity until her death in 1977, when her archive was rediscovered and her significance to both history and art history was fully recognized.

In London, Churchill's astonishing talent as a painter celebrated by an unprecedented retrospective

À Londres, l’étonnant talent de peintre de Churchill célébré par une rétrospective inédite

The Wallace Collection in London is hosting the first major posthumous retrospective of Winston Churchill's paintings, titled "Winston Churchill: The Painter." Running until November 29, 2026, the exhibition features nearly 60 still lifes and landscapes, many from private collections rarely shown publicly. Churchill took up painting in 1915 after the Dardanelles disaster and used art as a therapeutic escape from the pressures of politics and war, producing luminous, impressionistic works inspired by Monet, Cézanne, and Renoir.

What You (Maybe) Didn't Know About Édouard Manet

Ce que vous ne saviez (peut-être) pas sur Édouard Manet

Édouard Manet (1832–1883), a pivotal figure bridging realism and impressionism, is the subject of a feature article in Beaux Arts Magazine. The piece explores lesser-known aspects of his life and career, including his near-miss as a naval officer, his rivalry with Gustave Courbet, his refusal to join the impressionist exhibitions despite close ties to the movement, and his deep fascination with Spanish culture. It highlights his scandalous works like *Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe* (1863) and *Olympia*, the latter entering the Louvre after a subscription launched by Claude Monet in 1889.

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera at MoMA in New York in a Passionate Theatrical Dialogue

Frida Kahlo et Diego Rivera au MoMA de New York dans un dialogue théâtral plein d’ardeur

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York has opened a theatrical exhibition titled "Frida and Diego: The Last Dream," curated by Beverly Adams, the museum's curator of Latin American art. The show features around twenty paintings and drawings by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera from MoMA's collection, alongside photographic portraits. The exhibition's dramatic staging, designed by British set designer Jon Bausor—who also worked on the Metropolitan Opera's concurrent production of "El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego"—creates a tense dialogue between the artists' contrasting styles: Rivera's political murals and Kahlo's intimate, colorful self-portraits. Highlights include Kahlo's "Self-Portrait with Cropped Hair" (1940) and Rivera's "Zapata, Agricultural Leader" (1931).

À New York, le Metropolitan Museum of Art absorbe la Neue Galerie et sa collection de Klimt, Schiele, Kokoschka…

On May 14, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Neue Galerie in New York announced a historic merger set for 2028. The Neue Galerie, founded in 2001 by billionaire Ronald Lauder in a Fifth Avenue mansion, will become part of the Met under the name The Met Ronald S. Lauder Neue Galerie, modeled after the Met's Cloisters. The transfer includes the historic building and a collection of 600 works valued at over $1.5 billion, featuring artists such as Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Ludwig Kirchner, Max Beckmann, and Oskar Kokoschka. Lauder and his daughter Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer are also donating thirteen works from their personal collection, and a $200 million endowment fund has been established.

« Caïn » de Fernand Cormon : aux origines de la conscience humaine ?

Beaux Arts Magazine analyzes Fernand Cormon's monumental 1880 painting "Caïn," currently held at the Musée d'Orsay. The article describes the scene: a prehistoric, weary clan trudges through a desert, led by a haggard patriarch, with a tired mother on a litter and hunters carrying game. Cormon's work is presented as the antithesis of classical triumph, evoking a melancholic, post-traumatic atmosphere. The painting is linked to the biblical story of Cain, who killed his brother Abel and was condemned to exile, and is accompanied by verses from Victor Hugo's poem "Conscience."

In 1955, Calder brings his famous 'Cirque' to life in front of Jean Painlevé's camera

En 1955, Calder active son célèbre « Cirque » face à la caméra de Jean Painlevé

A 1955 film by Jean Painlevé captures Alexander Calder performing his famous "Cirque" (Circus), a handmade miniature circus he created between 1926 and 1931 in Paris. The film shows Calder manipulating fragile wire-and-wood figures—weightlifters, trapeze artists, clowns, and dancers—while a gramophone plays. The work, now preserved at the Whitney Museum of New York, is on loan for a major Calder retrospective at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris (April 15–August 16, 2026). Painlevé's film is also the subject of a concurrent exhibition at the Musée de Pont-Aven (February 7–May 31, 2026).

The fate of 'Guernica', a political icon born under bombs, traced in virtual reality at the Musée Picasso

Le destin de « Guernica », icône politique née sous les bombes, retracé en réalité virtuelle au musée Picasso

The Musée Picasso-Paris is launching a virtual reality experience that traces the epic journey of Pablo Picasso's "Guernica," one of the most iconic political paintings of the 20th century. Guided by the voices of writer Juan Larrea and photographer Dora Maar, visitors are transported to Picasso's Paris studio and the bombed ruins of Gernika, reliving the creation of the masterpiece commissioned for the Spanish Republic's pavilion at the 1937 International Exposition in Paris. The VR experience covers the painting's genesis, its global tour, and its eventual exile at MoMA in New York until 1981.

6 musées incontournables à visiter à Venise

Beaux Arts Magazine highlights six must-visit museums in Venice, including the Palazzo Ducale, Gallerie dell'Accademia, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, and the Pinault Collection venues Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana. The article notes that during the Biennale, the city is filled with free pavilions, but the main museums have high entry fees, offset by passes like the Venice Museum Pass (€59) and Venice City Pass (€119). It also mentions a current Marina Abramović exhibition at the Gallerie dell'Accademia, marking her as the first living female artist honored there.

Sofiane Pamart: 'With my piano, I sculpt sound matter'

Sofiane Pamart : « Avec mon piano, je sculpte la matière sonore »

French pianist Sofiane Pamart discusses his creative process in an interview with Beaux Arts Magazine, explaining how his music is inspired by contemplative cinema, particularly the films of Takeshi Kitano and Wong Kar-wai. He describes his approach to composition as sculpting sound, drawing parallels to impressionist painting and the works of sculptors Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel. Pamart also expresses a preference for art that interacts with nature, citing the open-air museum of sculptor Anachar Basbous in Lebanon as an example.

7 unique hotel experiences around the world for inspired travelers

7 expériences hôtelières inédites à travers le monde pour voyageurs inspirés

Beaux Arts Magazine presents a curated selection of seven unique hotel experiences worldwide, designed for art-loving travelers. The featured properties include a converted convent in Nice (Hôtel du Couvent, opened summer 2024), a Louis XIII-era castle near Fontainebleau (Domaine de Fleury), a five-star hotel in Amboise (Relais d'Amboise) with artworks by Bernar Venet, and a mountain inn in Sils-Maria, Switzerland (Chesa Marchetta) operated by art dealers Iwan and Manuela Wirth. Each destination blends historic architecture, exceptional landscapes, and artistic elements to offer immersive stays.

Alain Passard's Art Recipe: Monet's Sublime 'Water Lilies' Invade the Plate

La recette d’art d’Alain Passard : les sublimes « Nymphéas » de Monet s’invitent dans l’assiette

Chef Alain Passard shares a recipe inspired by Claude Monet's "Nymphéas" (Water Lilies) series, connecting the painter's obsessive depictions of his Giverny water garden to a spring consommé decorated with flower petals. The article recounts Monet's move to Giverny in 1883, his creation of a water garden, and his decades-long focus on painting the pond's surface, light, and reflections—culminating in the immersive panoramic panels gifted to France in 1918 and now housed at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris.

What Drives the Enduring Popularity of Nancy Holt?

ArtReview publishes an essay by Jenny Wu examining Nancy Holt's Land art masterpiece *Sun Tunnels* (1973–76) in Utah's Great Basin Desert. The piece contrasts the work's intended framing of the landscape with its real-world context: bullet scars from local target practice, a nearby bar displaying a Trump 2024 banner, and the voices of 'Pineys' in Holt's film *Pine Barrens* (1975). Wu argues that Holt's framing devices both focus and exclude, revealing tensions between curated experience and the disorder of wider society.

Open letter denounces Centre Pompidou and Hanwha group partnership

A collective of artists and thinkers published an open letter on May 27, accompanied by an op-ed in the French newspaper Libération, calling for the termination of the partnership between the Centre Pompidou and the Hanwha group. The Centre Pompidou Hanwha is set to open later this week in Seoul. The letter denounces Hanwha's involvement in the arms industry linked to the Palestinian genocide and criticizes the partnership as an "art-washing" operation masking profits from armed conflicts. Over 100 art professionals, writers, and thinkers have signed, including Ruanne Abou-Rahme, Ali Cherri, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, and Ariella Aïsha Azoulay.

What Arsenal’s League Win Tells Us About Britain – And Art

Clive Chijioke Nwonka, author of *Black Arsenal*, reflects on the intersection of football, art, and race following Arsenal's league win in 2026. In an essay for ArtReview, he discusses a panel at the Royal Academy inspired by Rose Wylie's painting *Yellow Strip* (2006) and highlights a mural of Black Arsenal player Eberechi Eze near Emirates Stadium. Nwonka argues that football art often fails to transcend the racial contradictions of the sport, where Black players are celebrated yet Black people face hatred.

‘Moss & Freud’: Both Complaining and Explaining

A new biopic titled *Moss & Freud*, directed by James Lucas and released in 2025, fictionalizes the creation of Lucian Freud's 2002 painting *Naked Portrait* of Kate Moss. The film stars Derek Jacobi as Freud and Ellie Bamber as Moss, and opens with the pair discussing art at the National Gallery in London. Critic Philippa Snow argues that the film fails to capture the real Moss, portraying her as frivolous and airheaded rather than the savvy, enigmatic icon she is known to be. Snow notes that Moss's lifelong reluctance to give interviews and her mantra 'never complain, never explain' have contributed to her mystique, which the film undermines by attempting to explain her behavior as trauma-driven.

ArtReview Podcast | Episode 7: Zineb Sedira

The ArtReview Podcast episode 7 features artist and photographer Zineb Sedira in conversation with digital editor Alexander Leissle. Sedira discusses Algerian cinema, the Scopitone, and her new Tate Britain Commission titled "When Words Fall Silent, Cinema Speaks," a site-specific installation in the Duveen Galleries open until January 2027. The episode explores three works chosen by Sedira, including Agnès Varda's "Salut les Cubains" (1963) and William Klein's "The Pan-African Festival of Algiers" (1969), as lenses into her practice and themes of displacement, identity, and cinema as a tool of resistance.

Pine Cone–Wielding Child Damages Magritte Masterwork at Israel Museum

A six-year-old boy visiting the Israel Museum in Jerusalem used a pine cone from the museum's sculpture garden to puncture René Magritte's 1959 painting *Le château des Pyrénées*. Security intervened quickly, and the artwork was removed to the conservation department for repairs. The painting, commissioned by Magritte's friend Harry Torczyner to hide an unpleasant view from his Manhattan office, was donated to the museum in 1985 and is considered a major 20th-century work.

Private Jackson Pollock Auction Falls Apart at Sotheby’s: Report

Sotheby’s attempted a private auction for Jackson Pollock’s *Number 19, 1951* on June 2 in New York, with an asking price of $50 million. The painting is owned by Pace Gallery founder Arne Glimcher. The sale failed after the auction house could not attract enough bidders, and Sotheby’s chairman Oliver Barker reportedly sent a video to prospective buyers noting Glimcher’s reluctance to sell. The auction was called off entirely, marking what sources describe as Sotheby’s first significant attempt at a private auction.