The Anchorage Museum is hosting "Everyday Anchorage: Duke Russell & Ward Wells," an exhibition pairing two artists from different generations who capture ordinary life in Anchorage, Alaska. Ward Wells, a commercial photographer, documented the city after World War II, while Duke Russell uses paint to record post-pipeline scenes. The show runs through August 2027.
Le British Museum mise sur « l’immersion totale » pour exposer la tapisserie de Bayeux qui sera présentée à plat
The British Museum has announced plans for an exceptional exhibition of the Bayeux Tapestry, which will be displayed flat for the first time in its history, rather than hung vertically as it has been for decades in Bayeux. The 70-meter-long 11th-century embroidery depicting the Norman conquest of England will be shown in London from September 10, 2026, to July 11, 2027, with tickets priced between £25 and £33. The museum promises an 'immersive' experience featuring raking light, digital devices, and loaned objects to contextualize the 58 scenes and 626 characters.
Intervista a Pietro Vallone nuovo presidente dell’Associazione delle gallerie d’arte moderna e contemporanea in Italia
Pietro Vallone, partner and financial director of Massimo De Carlo, has been elected the new president of ANGAMC (Associazione Nazionale Gallerie d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea) for the 2026-2030 term. The election took place during the association's ordinary assembly at Triennale di Milano on May 25, 2026, where a new board of directors, including vice presidents Giovanni Bonelli and Claudia Ciaccio, was also appointed. In an interview following his election, Vallone addressed the challenges facing Italian galleries, including a structural slowdown in the global art market due to geopolitical instability, economic shifts, and changing patterns of cultural consumption and collecting.
In the final week of May 2026, South Korea's two leading auction houses, K Auction and Seoul Auction, will hold major sales one day apart. K Auction's May sale on May 27 features 83 works with an estimated value of KRW 10.4 billion, including Park Soo-keun's 'On the Way Home' (1964) and Do Ho Suh's large-scale installation 'Cause & Effect'. Seoul Auction's 192nd Art Auction on May 28 offers 145 works with a combined low estimate of KRW 10.3 billion. Both sales focus on proven artists and rare works rather than large-scale expansion, highlighting Korean modern masters like Kim Whanki and Yoo Youngkuk alongside contemporary international names.
A major group exhibition exploring the theme of love has opened in Paris, featuring works by renowned contemporary artists including Orlan, Marina Abramović, Ai Weiwei, and Roger Ballen. The show brings together diverse perspectives on love, intimacy, and human connection through various media such as performance, photography, and installation.
The Davison Art Collection at Wesleyan University presents "Grotesque: Art Beyond Restraint," an exhibition running from September 23 to December 12, 2026, at the Pruzan Art Center's Goldrach Gallery in Middletown, Connecticut. The show examines the evolving concept of the grotesque in art, featuring works by Lucas van Leyden, Nicoletto da Modena, Otto Dix, Odilon Redon, Jacques Callot, Kara Walker, and Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, among others. It is curated by Miya Tokumitsu, Donald T. Fallati, and Ruth E. Pachman.
From May 30 to June 30, 2026, Blocco 13 in Rome hosts "Qb," the first Roman solo exhibition of Sardinian artist Ruggero Baragliu (born 1987). Curated by Antonello Cuccu and Chiara Manca, the show presents oils, papers, and bas-reliefs that explore the boundary between painting and sculpture through an essential, layered language. Works include small-format oils on panel such as "Colossus" (2026), the multi-year "Untitled with Checkers" (2019–2024), and the bas-relief "Garbata," which transforms brushstroke into volume. The exhibition is part of Blocco 13's "Guests" section, which has previously hosted artists like Pierluigi Fresia and Alessandro Finocchiaro.
An exhibition titled "Cagecircle: Composition for an Exhibition—curated by chance!" will open on June 27, 2026, at Bard College’s Stevenson Library in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, as part of Upstate Art Weekend. The show features archival items from twenty-two collections, selected using John Cage's chance procedures, including works by Marcel Duchamp, Hannah Arendt’s kitchen cabinet door, a death mask, and an architecture model of a garage. The opening includes free performances of Cage’s "Lecture on Nothing" and "Extended Lullaby."
Upstate Art Weekend is bringing back its OPEN HOURS program to Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in Tivoli, New York. The event, organized by BroadwayWorld, offers extended hours for visitors to explore the park's artistic and cultural offerings, including exhibitions and performances, during a dedicated weekend in the Hudson Valley region.
Singer-songwriter Jewel has transformed into a multimedia artist, presenting a solo exhibition titled '24 Hours with Jewel' at the 2026 Venice Biennale. The show features 34 new works, including paintings, sculptures, and kinetic installations, with the centerpiece 'Heart of the Ocean'—an eight-foot kinetic sculpture created in collaboration with scientists from NASA, NOAA, Stanford, and UC Berkeley that translates real-time oceanographic data into light and sound. V Magazine followed Jewel for 24 hours as she prepared for her Biennale debut, documenting her day from rooftop meditations and water taxi rides with her son to private patron tours and an opening night performance in a custom Schiaparelli dress.
Polish painter Zuzanna Szary discusses her artistic journey and the intersection of queer identity, domesticity, and painting in an interview with Wojciech Szymański. Szary recounts discovering her lesbian identity in junior high and turning to painting after a period of clinical depression, eventually studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow. Her work, which has evolved from portraits of partners to still lifes centered on food and home, explores themes of softness, sensuality, and the politics of the body, drawing inspiration from figures like Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas.
Jia Art, a new gallery designed by Foster + Partners, has opened in Shanghai's Putuo District as part of the Changfeng mixed-use development. The 5,000-square-meter building features flexible exhibition, event, and educational spaces, with a design inspired by spring blessing flowers found in the local park. Its petal-like form, tubular glass ribs, and central glass skylight create a dynamic, light-filled environment that houses both contemporary and traditional art.
The article traces the history and significance of corporate art collections, beginning with Deutsche Bank's acquisition of 57 early drawings by Joseph Beuys in the late 1970s, which led to the formal launch of its collection in 1980. Today, the Deutsche Bank Collection comprises over 57,000 objects displayed in 500 locations across 40 countries, and the bank sponsors events like the Frieze Art Fair. The piece also highlights the role of American banker David Rockefeller, who inaugurated Chase Manhattan Bank's Art at Work program in 1959, and notes that corporate collecting has deep roots in Renaissance banking, with institutions like Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena commissioning art for their offices.
Designboom revisits Tilda Swinton's iconic sleeping performance piece, originally staged with artist Cornelia Parker, as part of a new exhibition titled 'Flat 19' that reconstructs Swinton's former London apartment alongside filmmaker Joanna Hogg. The show also features 'A Biographical Wardrobe,' displaying garments from Swinton's films, performances, and personal archives, creating an immersive exploration of her artistic collaborations and personal history.
Five museum collections in Scotland have been awarded national significance status on International Museum Day, bringing the total number of recognized collections in Scotland to 56. The newly designated collections are the Linoleum Collection (managed by OnFife), the Photographic Collection (University of St Andrews), the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design Collection (University of Dundee Museums), the Oakbank Collection (Scottish Crannog Centre), and the Art Collection (University of Stirling). The Recognition Scheme, managed by Museums Galleries Scotland, highlights collections beyond those held in national museums and galleries, spanning from Shetland to Dumfries and Galloway.
Kyotographie, an independent international photography festival in Kyoto, has announced 'The Edge' as its theme for the 2026 edition, following a focus on humanity in 2025. The festival will feature exhibitions exploring fringes, darkness, and extremes of life, including a posthumous show of Fatama Hassona's 'The Eye of Gaza', a focus on South Africa with works by Lebohang Kganye, Pieter Hugo, and a peripatetic library from A4 Arts Foundation, as well as Ernest Cole's 'House of Bondage' at the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art—his first exhibition in Japan. Other highlights include Linder Sterling's survey 'Goddess of the Mind' at the Museum of Kyoto Annex and Anton Corbijn's 'Presence' at the Shimadai Gallery.
The Oklahoma Arts Council has announced a historic gift of artworks for the Oklahoma State Art Collection. The donation, described as one of the largest in the collection's history, includes a significant number of works by Oklahoma artists and will be formally added to the state's holdings.
Los Angeles is undergoing a major cultural expansion in 2026, with several high-profile museum openings and immersive art experiences set to debut between June and December. Key developments include Dataland 3.0, the world's first dedicated Museum of AI Arts, created by Refik Anadol Studio at The Grand LA; the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, a 100,000-square-foot gallery in Exposition Park designed by MAD Architects; and a new permanent installation by the art collective Meow Wolf. These are joined by recurring events such as LA Pride 2026, Cali Vibes 2026, the German Currents Film Festival, the Hollywood Christmas Parade, and the L.A. County Holiday Celebration, creating a dense cultural calendar.
The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in Gwacheon, South Korea, has opened a major exhibition titled “Art between Korea and Japan since 1945,” co-organized with the Yokohama Museum of Art. Running from May 14 to September 27, 2026, the show marks the 60th anniversary of normalized diplomatic ties between the two countries. Featuring some 200 works by 43 artists, including Zainichi artists and video art pioneer Nam June Paik, the exhibition traces eight decades of artistic exchange shaped by colonialism, war, division, and ongoing tensions. It previously opened in Yokohama, drawing over 37,000 visitors—significantly surpassing typical attendance—with strong interest from younger audiences.
An upcoming exhibition at Tim Bessell's surfboard shop and gallery in La Jolla will showcase surf-inspired works by a group of artists connected by their shared love of surfing and the ocean. The show, expected to open in the first week of June, features painter, sculptor, photographer, and mixed-media artists, including Joel Pessoa, Tim Bessell, Robin Bessell, Shaun Donovan, and Steve Sherman. Pessoa will display wood carvings from Portugal and paintings from his time in La Jolla, while Bessell—an internationally known surfboard maker and artist—will also exhibit his own works, alongside his wife Robin's floral mixed-media pieces and informal contributions from his daughter Natalie.
This article explores the work of artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles, who in 1969 wrote her "Manifesto for Maintenance Art" after experiencing a crisis of meaning following the birth of her first child. She proposed that routine maintenance tasks—like cleaning, cooking, and laundry—could be redefined as art when performed in public, particularly in museums. The article traces her early exhibitions at the Wadsworth Athenaeum, where she swept and mopped as performance, and her later projects interviewing passersby on New York City sidewalks and embedding herself in a Manhattan office building, where she invited workers to declare their maintenance tasks art.
The FOMU photography museum in Antwerp has opened a new exhibition titled 'Families', curated by Anne Ruygt. The show explores the evolving concept of family through historical and contemporary photography, featuring works by artists such as Mous Lamrabat, Cecil Beaton, Omar Victor Diop, Mayara Ferrão, Peter Hujar, Carmen Winant, and Seiichi Furuya. It includes diverse perspectives, from 'hidden mother portraits' and post-mortem photography to AI-generated images of queer Black and Indigenous women, questioning traditional notions of kinship and representation.
The article profiles Icelandic artist Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir, whose multidisciplinary practice spans visual art, performance, music, poetry, and filmmaking. It describes a recent performance at Reykjavik's Mengi venue where the audience was invited onstage to be stirred with an imaginary spoon, and highlights her upcoming project 'Pocket Universe' representing Iceland at the Venice Biennale, installed in a former shipyard. The piece also explores her fluid relationship with time, her admiration for artists like Meredith Monk and Laurie Anderson, and the tight-knit, artist-run creative ecosystem of Reykjavik that shapes her work.
Raven Halfmoon's traveling exhibition "Flags of Our Mothers" has opened at Ballroom Marfa in Texas, featuring her monumental ceramic sculptures that explore her dual identity as Caddo and American. The show includes the 12.5-foot-tall outdoor piece "Flagbearer" (2022), her largest work to date, along with two new works debuting at this venue. Halfmoon, who drove from her home in Norman, Oklahoma, to Marfa for the installation, uses a coil technique to build imposing forms that evoke both protective matriarchs and the violence faced by Indigenous women, with her signature graffiti-like scrawl asserting resilience.
Protests against the reopening of the Russian pavilion erupted at the Venice Biennale and spread across the city on the second day of the 61st edition. Visual artist Shalva Nikvashvili, who grew up in post-Soviet Georgia, began a silent performance wearing a muzzle-style mask and carrying a chair, holding a sign reading “La Biennale di Venezia” and “violence.” Shortly after, a group of about 20 protesters led by Pussy Riot co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova gathered outside the Russian pavilion, chanting against Vladimir Putin, waving Ukrainian flags, and releasing a pink smoke flare. The protests followed the Biennale's decision to allow Russia to participate for the first time since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, despite calls from artists and politicians to exclude the country.
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, a 300,000-square-foot institution designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec, will open in Los Angeles' Exposition Park on September 22. The 11-acre campus includes a park by Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA and will feature over 1,200 objects across 30 galleries, showcasing narrative art from ancient sculptures to modern cinema, drawn from the museum's founding collection. Separately, Julien's Auctions will host "Roberta Flack: Style, Art & Music," a no-reserve auction celebrating the singer's life and cultural impact, including her Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand Piano.
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has announced a new exhibition titled "Star Wars in Motion" as part of its inaugural lineup, set to open on September 22, 2026, in Los Angeles's Exposition Park. The showcase will feature vehicle designs, props, costumes, and illustrations from the first six Star Wars films, including iconic items like Luke's Landspeeder and General Grievous's Wheel Bike. The museum, co-founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, will open with over 30 exhibitions and more than 1,200 objects spanning visual storytelling from ancient sculptures to modern cinema.
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, set to open in Los Angeles on September 22, has announced its inaugural Cinema Exhibition will be "Star Wars in Motion," focusing on vehicle designs, props, costumes, and illustrations from the first six Star Wars films. The museum is now accepting founding member sign-ups at LucasMuseum.org, with four membership tiers ranging from $140 to $600, offering benefits such as priority access, preview events, limited-edition products, and lifetime recognition as a Founding Member. Founding memberships last one year from the museum's opening through September 2027.
Art collector Christoph Müller has gifted approximately 200 works on paper—drawings, prints, and watercolours—to the Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings) in Berlin. The gift is being presented in four successive exhibitions at the Gemäldegalerie under the title "Das alles bin ich" (I am all that!), with the final installment, "Leaf by leaf – A life with art," running from 10 March to 14 June 2026. The works span five centuries and originate from Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and France, covering themes such as nature, portraits, landscapes, history, and everyday life.
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, set to open on September 22, 2026, in Los Angeles's Exposition Park, has announced its inaugural exhibition schedule curated by George Lucas. The museum will showcase a wide range of narrative art, from Americana works by Thomas Hart Benton and Norman Rockwell to documentary photography by Gordon Parks, Dorothea Lange, and Robert Capa, as well as public murals by Diego Rivera and Judith F. Baca. The collection also includes production designs, props, and costumes from the Lucas Archives, alongside illustrations by Frank Frazetta, Maxfield Parrish, and N.C. Wyeth, children's literature art by Beatrix Potter and Jacob Lawrence, and comics and manga by Jack Kirby, Alison Bechdel, and Mœbius.