An Urgent Call From Artists and Curators of the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia 2026

A group of seventy-four artists and curators participating in the 61st Venice Biennale have issued an urgent letter to the institution's leadership, including director Pietrangelo Buttafuoco. The signatories are protesting the decision to relocate the Israeli Pavilion to the Arsenale, placing it in close proximity to the central exhibition, "In Minor Keys," which was conceived by the late curator Koyo Kouoh. The group argues that this relocation violates Kouoh’s curatorial vision of radical solidarity and introduces a threatening military and police presence into the exhibition space.

How Tasmania became one of the world’s most exciting art destinations

Helen Ochyra reports on how Tasmania, particularly Hobart, has emerged as a leading global art destination, driven largely by MONA (Museum of Old and New Art). The privately funded museum, founded by art collector David Walsh, recently opened a $100 million AUD wing housing a towering concrete amphitheatre by German artist Anselm Kiefer. Beyond MONA, Hobart hosts the provocative winter festival Dark Mofo, the science-and-culture Beaker Street Festival, and the inaugural Island Readers & Writers Festival, cementing its reputation for cutting-edge arts and culture.

To-Do List: A night of poetry at the art museum, the rodeo comes to town and a Beatles tribute

This article is a weekly events roundup from Free Times, listing activities in the Columbia, South Carolina area from May 6-11. It includes an art exhibition by sculptor Ellen Emerson Yaghjian at Stormwater Studios, a poetry and performance night at the Columbia Museum of Art responding to Rodney McMillian's exhibition, a Beatles tribute concert, a rodeo, an oil paint-making workshop, a music concert, a historic walking tour, a teen craft workshop, and a rock concert.

Take a Look Inside This Year's 2026 Met Gala 'Costume Art' Exhibition

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced its spring 2026 Costume Institute exhibition titled "Costume Art," along with the accompanying Met Gala fundraiser scheduled for May 4, 2026, with a "Fashion is Art" dress code. The exhibition will debut in the newly designed 12,000-square-foot Condé M. Nast Galleries, featuring nearly 400 objects that juxtapose historical garments with fine art across thematic bodily categories such as the "Classical Body" and "Pregnant Body." Curated by Andrew Bolton, the show includes standout pairings like a Glenn Martens suit with an ancient marble statue and a Comme des Garçons ensemble with a Max Weber painting, with mannequins featuring polished steel heads by artist Samar Hejazi.

Latin American Art: Structural Growth between Market and Institutions

Latin American Art: Structural Growth between Market and Institutions

Latin American contemporary art is experiencing structural growth and increased global visibility between 2024 and 2026, moving beyond speculative trends toward deep-seated institutional legitimacy. This shift is highlighted by the prominent inclusion of regional artists in major international platforms, most notably the 2026 Venice Biennale and the Pinault Collection. Key figures such as Rosanna Paulino, Adriana Varejão, and Paulo Nazareth are leading this movement, utilizing diverse media to explore themes of post-colonialism, racial violence, and ecological memory.

Venezia: Melissa McGill. Marea - Art Exhibition Contemporary art in Veneto

Artist Melissa McGill has announced "Marea," a large-scale public art intervention set to debut in Venice's Corte Nova during the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026. The project features approximately 100 paintings created on bedsheets, which will be hung from traditional laundry lines spanning the historic street. Developed in collaboration with local residents and students from Università Iuav di Venezia, the installation uses shades of blue and green to mirror the Venetian Lagoon and celebrate the city's enduring community spirit.

David Armstrong: Portraits Artists Space New York – Paul Carter Robinson

Artists Space in New York is hosting the first comprehensive U.S. survey of photographer David Armstrong, featuring over 90 works spanning three decades. While often associated with Nan Goldin and the Boston School, the exhibition highlights Armstrong’s distinct evolution from raw black-and-white 1970s downtown portraits to his later blurred landscapes and Renaissance-inspired color photography.

Churchill Landscape Gets First U.K. Showing in Exhibition Tracing His Artistic Life

The National Trust has unveiled a new exhibition titled "Churchill the Artist" at Chartwell, the former home of Winston Churchill. The show features personal artifacts including his paint-spattered Savile Row overalls and spectacles, alongside the painting "Quiet Waters" (c. 1920s), which is being exhibited in the U.K. for the first time. The work, an impressionistic river scene, was originally a gift from Churchill to the press baron Lord Beaverbrook.

UK’s Hepworth Wakefield announces new co-directors

The Hepworth Wakefield in West Yorkshire has appointed Olivia Colling as executive director and Laura Smith as artistic director, filling the leadership void left by former director Simon Wallis, who departed last summer to lead the Royal Academy of Arts. Colling, who joined the gallery in 2015, previously oversaw commercial income and capital projects, while Smith, who arrived in 2022, has focused on expanding the collection and curated a Helen Chadwick retrospective in 2025; her upcoming exhibition features the late Indian sculptor Mrinalini Mukherjee.

Museum Exhibitions Coming to East & South Texas in Spring 2026

Several museums in East and South Texas have announced their spring 2026 exhibition schedules. The Beeville Art Museum will open a solo show of landscape painter William Anzalone in January. The Art Museum of South Texas in Corpus Christi will present 'In Nature’s Studio: Two Centuries of American Landscape Painting,' a traveling exhibition from the Reading Public Museum. The Longview Museum of Fine Arts will host a retrospective of photographer Frank Armstrong. The International Museum of Art and Science in McAllen will open three shows: 'Piñatabstract' by Josuè Rawmirez, 'Voces del Arte Popular' featuring Mexican folk art, and 'Aviary,' a bird-themed exhibition. South Texas College will also present two exhibitions in January and February, including Leila Hernández's 'The Lessons of the Empress.'

THE SMOKING SECTION: GOTHAM CHELSEA UNVEILS FIRST ASHTRAY ART EXHIBITION FEATURING COMMISSIONED WORKS BY PREMIER ARTISTS

Gotham, the world's first cannabis concept store, has unveiled 'The Smoking Section,' its first commissioned art exhibition at Gotham Gallery in Chelsea, New York. Running from November 6, 2025, to January 5, 2026, the show features over 45 artists and designers—including Ridykeulous (Nicole Eisenman and A.L. Steiner), Daniel Gordon, Mika Tajima, Deborah Czeresko, and Peter Shire—who each created original ashtrays that range from functional to conceptual. Curated by Rachel Berks, Gotham's VP of Product Development & Partnerships, the exhibition explores the ashtray as both a ritual object and cultural symbol, linking cannabis culture to contemporary art.

Backed by an Expanding Collector Base, Old Masters Make a Quiet Comeback

Christie's London Classic Week generated a combined total of £60,844,240 ($83,660,830) between its Old Masters Evening Sale and The Exceptional Sale, led by a record-setting £31.9 million sale of a Canaletto masterpiece. The painting, once part of Sir Robert Walpole's collection, attracted five bidders from Asia, Europe, and North America. Sotheby's also saw strong results, with the two houses together achieving £58 million (excluding buyer's premium) in Old Masters evening auctions, a notable increase from 2024. Other highlights included Titian's Portrait of a nobleman, seated before a window selling for £3,428,000 and Jan Davidsz de Heem's still life achieving £3,670,000.

How Dayanita Singh Organized a Major Show in Venice Without Institutional Funding

Dayanita Singh has organized a major exhibition titled "ARCHIVIO" at the State Archives of Venice, marking the first time the institution has opened its doors to the public for an art show. The exhibition, which runs until July 31, features collapsible wooden pillars covered with black-and-white photographs that explore Singh's 25-year relationship with Italy and her broader engagement with archival documents from both Italy and India. Singh achieved this without major institutional funding, instead relying on a "friendship economy" of bartering, negotiation, and individual patrons, and even arranged for local art students to serve as docents in exchange for professional mentorship.

Beyoncé, Bad Bunny and Heidi Klum take artistic liberties with Met Gala dress code

The 2026 Met Gala, celebrating the opening of the Costume Institute's "Costume Art" exhibition, saw celebrities including Beyoncé, Naomi Osaka, Emma Chamberlain, and Heidi Klum embrace the dress code "Fashion is art" with bold, sculptural, and art-inspired ensembles. Beyoncé wore a custom Olivier Rousteing skeleton dress with a feathered train and diamond crown, while Osaka stunned in a Robert Wun white sculptural dress with a red anatomy-themed reveal. Co-chairs Anna Wintour, Nicole Kidman, and Venus Williams also made notable appearances, with Williams referencing a Robert Pruitt portrait of herself. Many guests drew direct inspiration from art history, such as Lauren Sánchez Bezos channeling John Singer Sargent's "Madame X" and Lena Dunham collaborating with Valentino's Alessandro Michele to depict Artemisia Gentileschi's "Judith Slaying Holofernes."

Met Gala guests arrive on carpet in dramatic works of art

The 2026 Met Gala, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, featured celebrities arriving in dramatic, custom outfits adhering to the dress code 'Fashion is art.' Notable attendees included Naomi Osaka in a Robert Wun white sculptural dress with red feathers and dripping red paint, Emma Chamberlain in a hand-painted Mugler gown by Miguel Castro Freitas, and co-chair Anna Wintour in a mint ensemble by Matthieu Blazy for Chanel. The event celebrated the opening of the Costume Institute's exhibition 'Costume Art.'

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Crowns (Peso Neto)To Star in Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Sale

Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1981 painting *Crowns (Peso Neto)* will headline Sotheby's Contemporary Evening Sale this November, carrying an estimate of $35–45 million—the highest ever for a Basquiat work from that year. The painting, never before offered at auction, debuted at Annina Nosei Gallery in 1982 and was later shown at documenta 7. It will be publicly exhibited in London, Paris, and New York before the sale, which coincides with the opening of Sotheby's new global headquarters in the former Whitney Museum's Breuer Building.

Anna Ridler x Sofia Crespo win the Artist of the Year at ABS Digital Art Prize 2025.

Anna Ridler and Sofia Crespo have won the Artist of the Year award at the ABS Digital Art Prize 2025, recognizing their collaborative work combining analog photography and AI to explore nature and technology. The Emerging Artist of the Year category, introduced this year, was awarded to Cezar Mocan for his artwork "World Upstream," a real-time simulation that intersects contemporary art, game design, and media theory. The prize, established by Arab Bank Switzerland, received over 120 applications from 38 countries for the emerging category, and winners receive networking opportunities and a solo show or exhibition at a cultural institution within 12 months.

parties vicky krieps winter issue los angeles

CULTURED magazine hosted a party at the Beverly Hills outpost of Michael Werner Gallery to celebrate its September issue featuring actor Vicky Krieps on the cover. Guests including artists, designers, directors, and collectors gathered to view late artist Per Kirkeby's abstract paintings while enjoying Ruinart champagne and LALO Tequila cocktails. Attendees departed with copies of the issue, which features Krieps wearing Issey Miyake and Comme des Garçons.

BLANCA DE LA TORRE Y EL “MUSEO ANFIBIO”: “A MÍ ME INTERESA EL PÚBLICO, NO NECESARIAMENTE LAS MASAS”

Blanca de la Torre, director of the Institut Valencià d’Art Modern (IVAM), discusses her concept of the "Museo Anfibio" (Amphibious Museum) in an interview for Artishock Revista's series on Ibero-American museum leaders. She proposes reimagining the museum as a relational institution that mediates between physical and symbolic territories, communities, and ecosystems, structured around two axes: Territories-Earth and Aquatic Environments. The interview is part of a series leading up to International Museum Day, with previous entries including Nicolás Gómez Echeverri of the Banco de la República de Colombia.

LUCRECIA LIONTI: GRAFISMOS DESTERRADOS

Lucrecia Lionti, an Argentine textile artist from Tucumán, is the subject of a feature examining her solo exhibition "Grafismos desterrados" at Sorondo Projects in Barcelona (2026). The article details how Lionti's practice, spanning over fifteen years, merges modern art with craft, using textiles as a political and affective device. It highlights her involvement since 2018 with the feminist collective La Lola Mora – Trabajadoras de las Artes de Tucumán, and her recent exhibition at MALBA titled "Fabril la mirada." The show presents works where language becomes material—woven, knotted, and frayed—featuring illegible marks that blur writing and drawing, evoking loss and exile.

Morto l’artista Tullio Brunone. Il ricordo

Italian artist Tullio Brunone died on April 21. Born in 1946 in Alexandria, Egypt, to an Italian family, he trained at the Accademia di Brera in Milan. A pioneer of video art and new media, Brunone was a key figure in the Laboratorio di Comunicazione Militante (1976-1978) and later co-founded the Scuola di Nuove Tecnologie at Brera in the 1990s. His work explored interaction, temporality, and the selfie phenomenon, anticipating contemporary digital culture. He was represented by Galleria Clivio in Milan, which dedicated part of its stand to him at the most recent miart fair.

Morag Keil at Arcadia Missa

The London-based gallery Arcadia Missa is currently hosting a solo exhibition by artist Morag Keil titled "With You For Life." Running from March 5 through April 25, 2026, the presentation features a new body of work documented through a series of installation views captured by photographer Tom Carter.

Uri Aran “Untitled (I love you)” at Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Donnaregina – MADRE, Naples

The Fondazione Donnaregina per le arti contemporanee – museo Madre in Naples presents "Untitled (I love you)," the first retrospective in an Italian museum dedicated to American artist Uri Aran (born Jerusalem, 1977). Curated by museum director Eva Fabbris, the exhibition opens on Thursday, February 12, at 6 pm, with President Angela Tecce and the director in attendance.

Free Summer Exhibitions in 2026 Across Paris and Île-de-France: This Season’s Must-See Events

A curated guide lists free summer exhibitions across Paris and Île-de-France for 2026, including shows at Fluctuart, Perrotin Gallery, Petit Palais, Bourse de Commerce, Rachel Hardouin Gallery, and Domaine de Chamarande. Highlights include "Everybody's Searching for Their Cat" at Fluctuart (May 7–August 23), JR's "Les Esquisses de la Caverne" at Perrotin (June 5–July 25), the return of "We are (still) here" street-art exhibition at Petit Palais (June 20–September 20), and free late hours at Bourse de Commerce on the first Saturday of each month.

Art Beat

A roundup of current art exhibitions and calls for work in Taos, New Mexico, highlights shows such as "Nicolai Fechin: Figures, Nature, and Expression" at the Taos Art Museum, "Taos Reimagined: Modernist Experiments in the High Desert," and "Rag Made Quilts" at the Taos Public Library. Other featured venues include 203 Fine Art, Stables Gallery, Revolt Gallery, and the Wheaton Museum of World Artifacts, with openings and deadlines spanning through fall 2026.

The Big Art Loop is transforming SF into an open air gallery over the next three years.

The Big Art Loop has transformed San Francisco into an open-air gallery with nearly 100 sculptures installed along a 34-mile walkable and bikeable path through the city. The project, funded by the Sijbrandij Foundation and founded by Sid and Karen Sijbrandij, features works including R-Evolution at the Ferry Building, Echoes: A Voice from Uncharted Waters by Masaki Omor, Coralée by BJB, Got Framed, Desert Shark, and a double feature by Betsabeé Romero. The loop is designed to be encountered spontaneously in daily life, with no fixed starting point, and has support from Mayor Daniel Lurie.

Art Toronto gives Latin American artists pride of place with new curated section

Art Toronto, Canada’s largest art fair, returns for its 26th edition (23–26 October) at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre with over 100 galleries. It debuts Arte Sur, a new curated section focused on Latin American art, organized by Mexico City-based curator and gallerist Karen Huber. The section features 11 galleries from across the Americas, including first-time participants from New York, Mexico City, Argentina, and Chile, showcasing more than 30 artists primarily from Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, and Peru.

Class Notes

Boston University's College of Fine Arts (CFA) published its 2025 alumni class notes, featuring updates from graduates spanning the 1950s to the 1980s. Notable entries include Mark Mobius (’58) releasing a book on wealth, Cynthia Close (’67,’69) completing a memoir about her time in an artists' commune, and Jane O’Hara (’78) exhibiting a 51-painting series on animal rights at the New Bedford Art Museum. Other alumni activities range from radio documentaries and theatrical performances to gallery shows, poetry albums, and consulting work.

On Arte and France Culture, all the secrets of the unicorn

Sur Arte et France Culture, tous les secrets de la licorne

The article discusses the enduring cultural presence of the unicorn, from churches to toy stores and LGBTQIA+ parades, coinciding with the exhibition "Licornes!" at the Musée de Cluny (through July 12, 2026), which centers on the museum's famed tapestry *La Dame à la licorne*. It highlights two complementary media programs: an episode of the radio show *Le Cours de l'histoire* on France Culture and a documentary on Arte, both exploring the mythical animal's many transformations across history.

Tutto Boetti 1966–1993

Tutto Boetti 1966–1993

Magazzino Italian Art has announced a major survey exhibition titled "Tutto Boetti 1966–1993," scheduled to run from April 2026 through April 2028. The show features approximately 30 works tracing Alighiero Boetti’s career from his early industrial material experiments in Turin to his later collaborative embroideries and graph paper works. The exhibition draws from the museum’s permanent collection, the Boetti estate, and private loans, and will be launched alongside a scholarly symposium organized with the Fondazione Alighiero e Boetti.