The sixth Aichi Triennale seeks to encompass destruction and renewal

The sixth edition of the Aichi Triennale, Japan's largest recurring contemporary art exhibition, opens under the title "A Time Between Ashes and Roses," featuring around 60 artists from 22 countries across venues in Nagoya. Artistic director Hoor Al Qasimi, president of the Sharjah Art Foundation, has curated a program that addresses themes of destruction and renewal, drawing on a poem by Syrian poet Adonis written after the 1967 Six-Day War. The exhibition references both the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with participating artists including John Akomfrah, Simone Leigh, Wangechi Mutu, Michael Rakowitz, and Hiroshi Sugimoto.

Collector’s eye: the art Kyongho Kim has bought and why

Kyongho Kim, a Seoul-based dentist and art collector, discusses his journey into collecting contemporary art, which began in 2019 when he bought his first painting to fill bare walls in his new home. He now owns around 250 works, including pieces by Hernan Bas, Genieve Figgis, Scott Kahn, and Jack Kabangu, and describes his philosophy as stewardship rather than ownership. The interview, published by The Art Newspaper, covers his first purchase (Byung-Rock Yoon's *Scent of Autumn*), his regret over missing a George Condo piece, and his love for art fairs like Frieze Seoul, where he acquired a work by Marina Perez Simão.

Hear the untold stories of North Korean women in this limited-time NYC art show

A limited-time art exhibition titled "UNSEEN: 14 Artists on Resilience and Rights of Women in North Korea" will open in New York City's Tribeca neighborhood from September 20 to 27 at Lume Studios on Broadway. Curated by Dr. Stephanie Seungmin Kim, the show features 14 international artists alongside video testimonies from North Korean escapees, coinciding with the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.

Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá (Not From Here, Not From There)

Boston University Art Galleries presents "Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá (Not From Here, Not From There)," a solo exhibition by Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez, curated by Kate Fowle, running from September 5 to December 10, 2025, at the Faye G., Jo, and James Stone Gallery. The show features original paintings, immersive installations, 3D sculptural works, and a curated soundscape that blend street culture with Indigenous tradition, exploring themes of identity, immigration, incarceration, and resilience through the artist's signature "Neo Indigenous" style.

Marius Frank paints soul of the lake in first solo show

Marius Frank Ajuma opened his first solo exhibition, titled "Janam," at the National Museums of Kenya in Nairobi on August 4, 2025. The show explores life around Lake Victoria, where the artist grew up, featuring vibrant acrylic paintings that depict fishermen, beaches, and the cultural identity of the lake's communities. Ajuma's path to this milestone included training at Mwangaza Art School, a degree in microprocessor technology, a stint in music, and mentorship under artist Patrick Mukabi.

Art and Soul: Inside Madagascar’s Burgeoning Creative Scene

The article explores Madagascar's burgeoning contemporary art scene, centered on Hakanto Contemporary, a non-profit art space in Antananarivo founded by artist Joël Andrianomearisoa. It highlights the group exhibition "Lamba Forever Mandrakizay," featuring 21 Malagasy artists reflecting on the traditional lamba textile, and the innovative culinary-art fusion by chef Lalaina Ravelomanana. The piece also mentions the Musée de la Photo, founded in 2018, which preserves Malagasy photographic heritage.

Towering ambition: the Swiss artist Not Vital's Alpine playground

Swiss artist Not Vital, known for his multidisciplinary practice and SCARCH hybrids, owns Schloss Tarasp, an 11th-century castle in the Engadin region of Switzerland, which he bought in 2016. The castle is part of a foundation he established that also includes Parkin Sent, a sculpture park he acquired in 1998, and the 17th-century Planta House Ardez. Vital's installations in the park, such as "Punt dals asens (Donkey Bridge)" (2001) and "JOSÜJO (Disappearing House)" (2007), invite visitors to explore nature, while at the castle he installed "House to Watch the Sunset" (2018), a tower-like sculpture that challenges architectural logic.

Artist and curator Jean-Marc Bustamante to launch foundation in Arles culture hub

French artist and curator Jean-Marc Bustamante will open the Fondation Bustamante in Arles, France, in summer 2026. Housed in a 12th-century church, the foundation will display his works and archive while hosting contemporary exhibitions, masterclasses, and supporting young curators, critics, and historians. The architect Charles Zana will design the three-floor space. Bustamante, who previously directed the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts (ENSBA) in Paris, aims to position the foundation among Arles's existing cultural institutions such as LUMA Arles and the Fondation Van Gogh.

This Historic Art Museum In Seattle Now Has Free Admission For All

Seattle's Henry Art Gallery, located on the University of Washington campus, has permanently waived its admission fee, making entry free for all visitors at any time. Previously, tickets cost between $6 and $10, with free admission limited to the first Thursday of each month and certain groups such as students, children, and military personnel. The museum, which opened in 1927 as Washington state's first public art museum, now spans 40,000 square feet and includes galleries, a cafe, a 154-seat auditorium, and the James Turrell Skyspace installation.

installations, paintings, and playful sculptures that stand out at osaka art & design 2025

The article highlights standout works at Osaka Art & Design 2025, including Maki Takato's 'Yokai Unity' installation at Nankai Namba Station, Shotaro Sanada's 'Next Landscape', and alan's 'Re:Re:' piece. It also promotes designboom's upcoming guides and exhibition roundups, such as the Venice Art Biennale 2026 and a monthly selection of global art and design shows.

Millom: Art exhibition set to bring town's industrial past to life

An art exhibition in Millom, Cumbria, will honor the late artist David Frederick Bates (1929–2024), whose sketches and paintings from 1949–50 document the town's ironworks, mines, and landscapes. Organized by Millom and District Local History Society in partnership with Holy Trinity Church, the show runs June 13–15, 2025, and includes a talk by Bates's son Malcolm. The exhibition also features works by Bates's wife June Moss and by Jim Billsborough, a former student of Bates.

A new ‘anti-biography’ rips apart the myth of Leonardo as a solitary genius

Stephen J. Campbell, a professor of art history at Johns Hopkins University, has published a new book titled *Leonardo da Vinci: An Untraceable Life*, which he frames as an "anti-biography." The book aims to dismantle the mythology surrounding Leonardo da Vinci, arguing that the fragmentary archival record has led to speculative and often outlandish theories that portray him as a solitary genius ahead of his time. Campbell repositions Leonardo within the artistic and intellectual context of late 15th- and early 16th-century Europe, critiquing how media, the art market, and popular culture have commercialized his legacy.

What Category Was the Most Lucrative at Auction in 2024?

The Artnet Intelligence Report's analysis of 2024 auction data reveals that Postwar and Contemporary art remained the most lucrative market category for the second consecutive year, generating nearly $4 billion. However, this represented a 20.5% decline from 2023, and every major category saw a drop in total sales. Ultra-contemporary art suffered the steepest decline at 37.9% year-over-year, as collectors avoided riskier newer artists amid economic uncertainty. Impressionist and Modern sales fell 19.3% to $3.6 billion, with only one top-five lot—Claude Monet's *Nymphéas* (1914) at $65.5 million—coming from that category. Old Masters shrank 27.8%, with growth only in the under-$10,000 bracket.

‘The arts are vanishing from education’: new report urges UK government to invest in arts sector

A coalition of UK arts organizations, including Contemporary Visual Arts England (CVAN) and the Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS), has presented a new report titled 'Framing the Future: The Political Case for Strengthening the Visual Arts Ecosystem' to parliament. Written by Eliza Easton of the Erskine Analysis think tank, the report calls for a £5m grassroots visual arts fund to address the shortage of affordable studio spaces, a UK Cultural Investment Partnership Fund to encourage philanthropic donations, expanded funding for the Art & Design National Saturday Club, and reinstatement of high-cost funding for creative subjects in higher education. Artists including Tracey Emin and Larry Achiampong have voiced support, warning that arts are disappearing from state education.

How ‘Miss Chief’ Can Help Us Rethink Art History

The New York Times article explores how the character 'Miss Chief Eagle Testickle,' created by Indigenous Canadian artist Kent Monkman, serves as a provocative lens for reexamining Western art history. Miss Chief, a gender-fluid, time-traveling figure, appears in Monkman's paintings to subvert classic works by inserting Indigenous perspectives and challenging colonial narratives. The article details how Monkman uses this alter ego to critique the erasure of Indigenous peoples from canonical art, often placing Miss Chief in scenes that parody famous European paintings.

GALLERY AN INVITATION TO ENJOY CONTEMPORARY ART IN THE CITY OF BUENOS AIRES

Gallery, a free contemporary art event in Buenos Aires, returns for its first 2026 edition on Saturday, May 16th, connecting over 40 galleries, museums, art spaces, and foundations across the Recoleta, Retiro, and Microcentro neighborhoods. Organized by Arte al Día and Pinta, the event features guided tours led by specialists, live music performances, and special activities at each meeting point. Participating venues include Rolf Art, Vasari, Fundación Klemm, ARTHAUS CENTRAL, Isla Flotante, and others, with support from the Buenos Aires City Ministry of Culture.

CULTIVATING A VIRTUAL GARDEN LEO CASTANEDA'S NEW INTERACTIVE DIGITAL WORK

CULTIVATING A VIRTUAL GARDEN LEO CASTANEDA S NEW INTERACTIVE DIGITAL WORK

The Whitney Museum of American Art has launched a new interactive digital artwork titled 'Camoflux Recall Grotto' by artist Leo Castañeda. Commissioned for the Whitney Biennial 2026, the web-based game invites players to cultivate a garden within a surreal, primordial landscape inspired by the Amazon and the Everglades, blending organic and technical infrastructures.

ROBERTO BEHAR ROSARIO MARQUARDT WIN THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AT THE ELLIES OOLITE ARTS AWARDS

The Argentine artistic duo Roberto Behar and Rosario Marquardt have received the $75,000 Lifetime Achievement Award at The Ellies Oolite Arts Awards. The pair, founders of R&R STUDIOS, are recognized for their decades-long collaborative practice that merges art, architecture, and public space to create social sculptures.

Stay Connected: Supplying the Globe @ Tai Kwun

Stay Connected: Supplying the Globe @ 大館

Tai Kwun in Hong Kong is set to host "Stay Connected: Supplying the Globe," a major group exhibition running from February 28 to May 31, 2026. Curated by Pi Li and Yan Kwok, the exhibition features a diverse array of contemporary artists including Musquiqui Chihying, Ho Rui An, Lap-See Lam, and Li Shuang. The works span various media, from video installations like "The Smart City" to sculptural interventions and performance-based projects, focusing on themes of global infrastructure, labor, and technological connectivity.

Open Studios, Exhibitions, & More: A Guide To The First-Ever Kolkata Art Weekender

Art Fervour announces the inaugural Kolkata Art Weekender, a three-day city-wide arts festival scheduled from November 21 to 23, 2025. The event transforms Kolkata into an open-access cultural hub featuring studio visits with artists Suhasini Kejriwal and Rathin Barman, exhibitions at venues like Experimenter, DAG Museums, Kolkata Centre for Creativity, and TRI Art & Culture, plus workshops, heritage walks, film screenings, and riverfront activities such as block-printing at Alipore Museum and zine-making on a Hooghly barge.

Guide to cultural festivals in Italy at the end of May 2026: Spring Attitude, Aura, Buongiorno Ceramica!, URBAPHONIA, CYFEST

Guida ai festival culturali in Italia di fine maggio 2026: Spring Attitude, Aura, Buongiorno Ceramica!, URBAPHONIA, CYFEST

A guide to cultural festivals in Italy at the end of May 2026 highlights several events across the country, including Spring Attitude in Rome (May 29-30), Aura Festival in Palermo (June 1), Hypermaremma in Maremma (through September 30), Emulsioni in Ferrania (May 22-24), and Caorle Sea Festival in Caorle (May 23-June 7). These festivals cover diverse themes such as electronic music, club culture, analog photography, ceramics, media art, street art, and outdoor practices, often set in historically or culturally significant locations like La Nuvola in Rome, the Palazzina Cinese in Palermo, and an ex-film factory in Ferrania.

Maine College of Art & Design Presents the 2026 MFA Thesis Exhibition

Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D), in collaboration with the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at MECA&D, presents the 2026 MFA Thesis Exhibition, showcasing the culminating work of nine graduate candidates in the Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art program. The exhibition features artists Abigail G. Cloutier, Harley Ngai Grieco, Molly Knobloch, Stephen Medeiros, Darby Miller, Dylan Ouellette, Caitlin Perrigo, Jonathan Spath, and Isaac L. Stern, working across ceramics, drawings, photography, prints, sculpture, sound, and video installations. The show runs from May 7–16, 2026, at the ICA in Portland, Maine.

The exhibition that aims to make you remember the Seventies appears in a former newsstand in Siena

La mostra che punta a farti ricordare gli Anni Settanta spunta in una ex edicola di Siena

The former newsstand in Siena, transformed into an exhibition space by the association Giallo Menta in 2023, opens its seventh artistic intervention. From May 9 to June 20, 2026, artist Luigi Presicce presents a site-specific installation titled "La Mamma," which turns the small architectural space into a scenic device exploring the concept of birth while reappropriating elements of Italian popular culture from the 1970s. The installation simulates an underwater environment, an aquarium where "sea monkeys" live under human gaze, referencing a 1970s pop myth where these fantastic creatures were sold in packets and dissolved in water.

Wagner comes alive in Milan. Not only at the theater but also in these two exhibitions

A Milano rivive Wagner. Non solo a teatro ma anche in queste due mostre

Two exhibitions dedicated to Richard Wagner's Ring cycle have opened at Milan's Teatro alla Scala, coinciding with a new production of the Ring des Nibelungen and the centenary of the first Scala staging of the tetralogy in 1926. The Museo Teatrale alla Scala presents "La rivoluzione del Ring – Visconti Ronconi Chéreau," curated by Giovanni Agosti with design by Studio Margherita Palli, while the Ridotto dei palchi "A. Toscanini" hosts "Risonanze Wagner – Visioni intorno al Ring," curated by Gianluigi Colin and Mattia Palma, featuring contemporary paintings by four women artists—Antonella Benanzato, Flaminia Veronesi, Chiara Calore, and Federica Perazzoli—each reinterpreting one of the four operas.

Art After Hours exhibition with artist Melinda Buie

The J House Greenwich's J Gallery will host an Art After Hours exhibition on May 5, featuring Port Chester-based artist Melinda Buie. The event showcases Buie's large-scale oil paintings, which range from pastoral scenes inspired by her East Texas roots to portraits and architectural works. Guests can purchase tickets for $15, which include wine and hors d'oeuvres, and enjoy a boutique shopping experience with partners including The Bruce Museum and Gems by Christine Jewelry & Accessories.

Jockey Club unveils global horse art exhibition in Tsim Sha Tsui to celebrate 140th anniversary

The Hong Kong Jockey Club launched the Harmonious Horse International Exhibition Tour in Tsim Sha Tsui on Friday, featuring large-scale horse sculptures by artist Simon Ma. The opening ceremony at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza was attended by Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun Yuk-han and Jockey Club CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges. The exhibition runs until May 21 at Tsim Sha Tsui before moving to Tamar Park in Admiralty, then traveling to Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. A nighttime light show accompanies the display, and winners of a youth art competition inspired by Xu Beihong's equine paintings were announced.

On Being American: Contemporary Artworks, Echoes of the Past

From May 13 to June 20, 2026, Lippitt House Museum in Providence, Rhode Island, will host an exhibition titled "On Being American: Contemporary Artworks, Echoes of the Past." The show features new works by five local contemporary artists—Susan Hardy, Steven Easton, Amalia Galdona Broche, Lynne Harlow, and McDonald Wright—who draw on the museum's architecture, period, and stories to explore themes of American identity. A special opening reception and artist talk will take place on May 13, with additional open house hours throughout the run.

Entries open for 2026 Indiana Heritage Arts annual exhibition

Indiana Heritage Arts has officially opened the call for entries for its 2026 annual exhibition, a long-standing tradition that showcases regional talent. Artists specializing in traditional styles are invited to submit their work for consideration in this juried show, which typically features a variety of media including oil, watercolor, and pastel.

Echoes of Memory and Quiet Revolutions

The Henrike Grohs Art Award concludes its final edition, naming Tanzanian artist Rehema Chachage as the 2026 laureate. Chachage, who works across performance, video, text, scent, and installation, creates a "performative archive" in collaboration with her mother and grandmother, transforming personal and ancestral memory into shared sensory experiences. The two finalists are Younès Ben Slimane, a Tunisian filmmaker and visual artist whose silent, disorienting works challenge cinematic narrative structures, and Egyptian artist Rania Atef, whose participatory practice turns domestic spaces into stages for revealing power dynamics. The award received over 600 applications from more than 30 African countries.

culture art apple liquid glass artists

Apple is launching iOS 26, its first-ever cross-platform design update, featuring a new digital material called Liquid Glass. This translucent interface element refracts light like real glass and responds to touch, created by Apple's Vice President of Human Interface Design Alan Dye and his team in collaboration with the industrial design studio. The article includes reflections from artists Alice Bucknell and P. Staff on how Apple's technology and design philosophy intersect with their own practices.