London’s Mosaic Rooms, dedicated to art from the Arab region, reopens after expansion

London's Mosaic Rooms, a non-profit gallery dedicated to art and culture from the Arab world, reopens on February 18 after a year-long refurbishment and expansion. The renovation, funded by the Al-Qattan Charitable Trust, added new facilities including a recording suite, a salon, a family playroom, and an expanded bookshop. A permanent stained-glass window commission by Dima Srouji, 'Four Moons from Home (2026)', greets visitors, and the reopening is inaugurated with a solo exhibition by French-Moroccan artist Bouchra Khalili exploring the Arab Workers' Movement.

Studio Ahead’s installation for The Future Perfect recalls the pre-internet days of IRL antique hunting

Studio Ahead, led by curators Homan Rajai and Elena Dendiberia, has created an installation for The Future Perfect titled 'The Houses Are Haunted by White Night-Gowns,' running as a satellite to the 12th edition of FOG Design+Art in San Francisco through January 25, 2026. The show features 13 designers who each produced unique bowls, displayed on a stacked arrangement of vintage furniture sourced from Berkeley-based Mid Century Møbler and San Francisco's C. Mariani Antiques, blending Scandinavian design from the 1940s–1970s with 17th–19th century antiques.

Louvre staff vote to strike, citing failures of management and building maintenance

Staff at the Louvre Museum in Paris voted unanimously to strike, with rolling walkouts set to begin on December 15. The unions, representing around 200 employees, filed a strike notice with the French culture ministry, citing insufficient staff, technical failures, and the building's aging condition. They also criticized the museum's director, Laurence des Cars, for a top-down management system that ignores staff alerts. The strike follows a series of incidents, including the theft of the French crown jewels in October, a forced closure of the Campana Gallery due to structural issues, and a water leak that damaged hundreds of books in the Egyptian antiquities library.

Louvre closes gallery ‘until further notice’ citing structural problems

The Musée du Louvre in Paris has closed its Campana Gallery, which houses nine rooms of ancient Greek ceramics, after a technical report revealed structural weaknesses in beams supporting the second floor of the Sully Wing. The gallery will remain closed 'until further notice' as a precaution, and 65 staff members will be relocated, though the artworks will not be moved. The closure comes amid the Louvre's ambitious New Renaissance renovation project, announced by French President Emmanuel Macron, which includes a new visitor entrance under the Perrault Colonnade by 2031 and is now valued at €1.15bn.

From silk murals to jade inlays: Forbidden City’s Qianlong Garden reopens after 25-year conservation project

The Qianlong Garden in Beijing's Palace Museum (Forbidden City) has reopened to the public after a 25-year, $20 million conservation project in partnership with the World Monuments Fund (WMF). The 1.6-hectare garden, built between 1771 and 1776, features 27 buildings with elaborate decorations including rare silk trompe l'oeil murals, jade inlays, and bamboo thread marquetry. The restoration began with the Juanqinzhai pavilion in 2002 and was completed in 2008, followed by work on three other structures. The project also involved recreating traditional materials and techniques that had fallen out of practice.

Putting young galleries at the front: Frieze London’s bold strategy holds

Frieze London's 22nd edition in October 2025 will retain a bold floor plan debuted in 2024 that places emerging galleries near the main entrance, pushing blue-chip heavyweights like Gagosian and David Zwirner further inside. Fair director Eva Langret confirms the layout is permanent, citing overwhelmingly positive feedback and renewed energy. The Focus section for galleries under 12 years old gets a boost, with a rotating system ensuring fresh stands near the entrance each year. A new curated section, Echoes in the Present, explores artistic links between West Africa, Brazil, and their diasporas. Meanwhile, Frieze Masters, dedicated to pre-20th-century art, will be run by new director Emanuela Tarizzo.

“MAJOR” Exhibit Opens in Eric Dean Gallery

A two-person exhibition titled “MAJOR” opened on September 12 at Wabash College’s Eric Dean Gallery, featuring paintings by alumni Mark Brosmer and Ryan Lane, both among the first art majors to graduate from Wabash in 1985. The show explores everyday complexity, the unseen, and the sublime through Brosmer’s surrealist realism and Lane’s painterly and furniture-making practice. Concurrently, the gallery opened “20th Century Indiana Art: A Private Collection of Midwestern Regional Paintings,” showcasing works from the collection of alumnus Dan Kraft, highlighting the Hoosier Group and Brown County Art Colony.

After a £27m makeover, Norwich Castle reopens with a new gallery, royal rooms—and medieval toilets

Norwich Castle has reopened after a five-year, £27.5m renovation that reinstates long-lost royal rooms within its medieval keep. The Royal Palace Reborn project added a bedroom, chapel, kitchen, banqueting hall, and medieval toilets, recreating the spaces as they would have appeared when King Henry I stayed in 1121. Visitors can explore the rooms with period-appropriate furniture, textiles, and painted decorations, plus new animations projected onto the keep's walls. A new Gallery of Medieval Life, developed with the British Museum, displays over 900 medieval objects, including 50 on long-term loan from the British Museum.

Newly designed gallery for Applied Arts of Europe opening at Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago will open the newly designed Eloise W. Martin Galleries for the Applied Arts of Europe on July 11, 2025. The 4,500-square-foot space will display over 300 objects from the museum's collections of furniture, silver, ceramics, and glass dating from 1600 to 1900, with 40% more objects on view than previously. Highlights include a carved chair made by Indian artisans for a European merchant, rare Chinese porcelain vases mounted in gilded bronze, and a neo-Gothic sideboard by William Burges. The galleries, designed by Barcelona-based architects Barozzi Veiga, follow a chronological narrative exploring design, craftsmanship, and commerce amid geopolitical shifts and colonialism.

Art x Climate Gallery triumphs at the Smithsonian

The article reports that the Art x Climate Gallery has achieved a notable success at the Smithsonian Institution, though the specific details of the triumph are obscured by a security verification page that blocks access to the full content. The gallery, which likely focuses on the intersection of art and climate change, appears to have been recognized or celebrated within the Smithsonian's prestigious museum network.

Gallery sharing event Constellations Warsaw brings international flavour to a quickly developing art scene

Eleven Warsaw galleries opened their doors to eleven international counterparts for the second edition of Constellations, a gallery-sharing event running until May 10. Organized by Piktogram, Dawid Radziszewski, Stereo, and Wschód, the initiative pairs galleries from Basel, Berlin, Bucharest, Frankfurt, London, Naples, Paris, Shanghai, Stockholm, and Vienna with Polish art spaces like Foksal, Raster, and experimental newcomer Turnus. Highlights included Iris Touliatou's installation "untitled (still not over you)" at Import Export, which won the Friends’ Art Prize, funding an acquisition for the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (MSN).

Saodat Ismailova at Portikus

Portikus in Frankfurt is presenting a solo exhibition by Saodat Ismailova, featuring new and existing works. The show includes video installations, photographs, and other media that explore themes of memory, spirituality, and Central Asian cultural heritage.

major exhibition of rare paintings and archives honors zaha hadid ten years after her passing

A major exhibition titled 'I Think There Should Be No End to Experimentation' has opened at LUMA Arles, marking the sixth chapter of the Hans Ulrich Obrist Archives. Curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Arthur Fouray, the show honors the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid on the tenth anniversary of her passing. It features rarely exhibited paintings, early calligraphic drawings, personal notebooks, and previously unseen video interviews from 2001 to 2013, alongside tribute posters by peers such as Sir Peter Cook, Stefano Boeri, Sumayya Vally, Iwan Baan, and Lina Ghotmeh. The exhibition is presented in the Tower building designed by Frank Gehry and unfolds across the Cherry Tree Gallery and Archives Gallery, with exhibition furniture conceived by Kazuyo Sejima.

All you need to know about world’s highest art biennale 2026 that is set to be hosted in Ladakh

The sā Ladakh Biennale, billed as the world's highest art biennale, returns to Ladakh from August 1-10, 2026, after a previous edition. Held at 3,600 meters above sea level, the event transforms the corridor between Leh and Kargil into an open-air exhibition titled 'Signals from Another Star', curated by Vishal K Dar and Tsering Motup across eight locations including Basgo, Lamayuru, and Kargil. It features 24 artists, including international figures like Jitish Kallat, Anna Jermolaewa, Peter Kogler, and Agnieszka Kurant, alongside local artists such as Tundup Dorjay, Chemat Dorjey, and Stanzin Samphel. Works are created using natural materials like stone, clay, and wool, and are designed to eventually disintegrate, reflecting the fragile ecosystem.

In Antwerp, as photography show asks 'What is a normal family?'

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.

Hall Art Foundation Opens Season With Three Major Exhibitions

The Hall Art Foundation is reopening its Vermont campus for the 2026 season with three major exhibitions running through November 29. The centerpiece, "A Farewell to the Western World," is a group show of roughly 70 works exploring global power shifts and political instability, featuring artists such as Ai Weiwei, Aleksandra Mir, and Philip Guston. Also on view are Christian Marclay's video installation "Made To Be Destroyed," which compiles film scenes of artworks being damaged or destroyed, and Piotr Uklański's photographic installation "The Nazis," examining how film and popular culture have shaped representations of the Third Reich. The campus, set on a former dairy farm in Reading, includes converted gallery buildings and outdoor sculptures by Olafur Eliasson, Antony Gormley, Richard Long, and Marc Quinn.

New exhibition at Buxton reveals insights into Chinese conceptual art

The University of Melbourne's Buxton Contemporary has opened a new exhibition titled "Poetry goes no further than language," which examines the emergence of conceptual art in China during the mid-1980s and early 1990s. Featuring works by the Beijing collective New Measurement Group and Shanghai artist Qian Weikang, the show also includes a new commission by Victorian College of the Arts graduate Darcey Bella Arnold. Curated by Dr. Carol Yinghua Lu, Director of Beijing's Inside-Out Art Museum, together with artist Liu Ding, the exhibition brings previously inaccessible or little-known works to Australia for the first time.

Buxton Unveils Chinese Conceptual Art Exhibition

The University of Melbourne's Buxton Contemporary has opened "Poetry goes no further than language: A historical moment of art becoming art again," an exhibition examining the emergence of conceptual art in China during the mid-1980s and early 1990s. It features works by the Beijing collective New Measurement Group and Shanghai artist Qian Weikang, alongside a new commission by Victorian College of the Arts graduate Darcey Bella Arnold. The exhibition is curated by Dr. Carol Yinghua Lu, Director of Beijing's Inside-Out Art Museum, and artist Liu Ding.

Pandolfini presents Julie Hamisky's "Alchemical Garden" at Design Week 2026

Pandolfini Auction House is hosting a solo exhibition titled "Giardino Alchemico" (Alchemical Garden) by French artist Julie Hamisky at its Milan office during Design Week 2026, from April 22 to 26. The exhibition, created in collaboration with Mitterrand gallery, features sculptures and botanical jewelry made through electroplating—a process that preserves organic matter like flowers and leaves in metal. Key works include "La Géante" (2024), an enlarged poppy sculpture, and "Aqua" (2024), a chandelier of galvanized plant elements, alongside wearable jewelry pieces.

Poly Auction Hong Kong concludes spring sales - Vietnam Investment Review

Poly Auction Hong Kong concluded its Spring 2026 auction series with total sales exceeding HKD 255 million, representing a 23% increase over the previous autumn season. The sales were led by Liu Wei’s 1995 masterpiece "You Like Pork?", which fetched HKD 27.6 million, and a Ming Dynasty Blue and White 'Grapes' Dish that realized HKD 24.6 million. The auction saw participation from collectors across 17 countries, with significant growth in the Modern and Contemporary Art segment, which rose over 63% compared to the prior season.

A Spring of Exhibitions in Bologna 2026

Bologna is set to host a diverse array of major art exhibitions throughout the spring 2026 season, spanning photography, street art, and contemporary installations. Key highlights include a photographic exploration of Frida Kahlo at Palazzo Pepoli, a retrospective of Italian Informal artist Mattia Moreni at MAMbo, and a significant showcase of Michelangelo Pistoletto’s Mirror Paintings at Palazzo Boncompagni. The city’s cultural institutions are also featuring international names like Banksy, Agnès Varda, and the influential German photography duo Bernd & Hilla Becher.

India Modern Art Boom Spreads Through Spring Auctions

The Indian modern art market has reached a significant milestone as a 19th-century oil painting by Raja Ravi Varma sold for nearly $18 million at auction. The sale of 'Yashoda and Krishna' reportedly involved high-profile Indian tycoons from the pharmaceutical and consumer industries acting as both buyers and sellers, signaling a robust domestic appetite for blue-chip Indian masterpieces.

Maison Margiela Opens "Tabi: Collectors Exhibition" in Chengdu, China

Maison Margiela has launched the “Tabi: Collectors Exhibition” at The Third Avenue Art Museum in Chengdu, China, running from April 9 to April 13, 2026. This immersive showcase features the personal archives of nine global collectors, including artist Theaster Gates and musician Zion.T, alongside a curated selection of the house’s own historical footwear dating back to 1989. The event is a key component of the brand's "MaisonMargiela/folders" initiative, which includes a series of regional activations across China and a digital open-source archive.

MODERN MADE: Modern, Post-War & Contemporary Art, Design, Craft and Studio Ceramics

Lyon & Turnbull is presenting the 14th edition of its MODERN MADE sale, featuring a curated selection of modern and contemporary art, design, craft, and studio ceramics. Highlights include a private collection of early 2000s contemporary art, Modern British Art from Sickert to the post-war period, and works by European artists such as Klimt, Picasso, and Braque, alongside a rare wartime piece by Jankel Adler. The sale also emphasizes Kinetic and Light Art, design pieces led by an early Ettore Sottsass Carlton bookcase, and concludes with part two of the Y2K! collection featuring works by John Sonsini, Barnaby Furnas, and Elizabeth Peyton.

[Interview] Framing Space Through the Human Experience: Michael Najjar x Samsung Art Store

German artist and future astronaut Michael Najjar has partnered with the Samsung Art Store to feature his work "europa" (2016) as part of the Art Basel Hong Kong 2026 Collection. Najjar, who is scheduled to become the first contemporary artist in space via a 2027 Virgin Galactic flight, uses his practice to explore the intersection of technology, space exploration, and human ambition. The collaboration allows his large-scale digital constructions to be displayed on Samsung Art TVs, bridging the gap between the physical art fair and domestic environments.

Coastal Discovery Museum hosting annual Beaufort County High School Regional Art Exhibition

The Coastal Discovery Museum is hosting the fifth annual Beaufort County High School Regional Art Exhibition, a juried showcase featuring over 100 works by local students. Running through May 5, the exhibition includes a diverse range of media such as painting, photography, ceramics, and digital art from eight public and private schools. A public reception and awards ceremony are scheduled for April 9 to celebrate the technical skill and creativity of these emerging young artists.

World-class exhibition showcases the complete Rugby Collection of contemporary art

Rugby Art Gallery and Museum has launched "UNVEILED - The Rugby Art Collection in Full," a landmark exhibition featuring all 257 artworks from its permanent collection. This marks the first time in decades that the entire body of work has been displayed together, celebrating the 80th anniversary of the collection's founding in 1946. The show includes a prestigious roster of British masters such as L.S. Lowry, Lucian Freud, Barbara Hepworth, and Paula Rego, alongside Turner Prize winners Lubaina Himid and Gillian Wearing.

Auctions of the week: Art, design, jewelry and comics

Auctions of the week: Art, design, jewelry and comics

The global auction calendar for the week of March 19–25, 2026, features a dense schedule of sales across major hubs including Milan, Rome, Paris, Hong Kong, and New York. Italian houses like Il Ponte, Wannenes, and Finarte are leading with diverse offerings in Modern and Contemporary art, design, and niche collectibles like European comics and militaria. Simultaneously, international giants Christie’s and Sotheby’s are hosting major sessions ranging from Modern British art in London to luxury spirits and private sales in Asia and the United States.

Andrée Putman Studio to Reveal Unseen Iconic Furniture Creations at Art Paris

Andrée Putman Studio is set to unveil a series of unseen furniture creations and collectible interior pieces at the Art Paris fair this April. Curated by the late designer’s daughter, Olivia Putman, and CEO Aurélie Laure, the showcase features archival designs reinterpreted in new materials, such as a mirrored version of the 'Mille et Un Carreaux' table and stainless steel 'Trois Carats et Demi' side tables. The presentation coincides with the opening of La Galerie Andrée Putman in Paris, a new space dedicated to the designer's enduring legacy.

EU threatens to pull funding from Venice Biennale over return of Russian pavilion

The European Union has threatened to withdraw a €2m grant from the Venice Biennale following the foundation's decision to allow Russia to reopen its national pavilion for the first time since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. EU commissioners Henna Virkkunen and Glenn Micallef, supported by 22 European culture ministers, argue that the Biennale must not provide a platform for Kremlin propaganda or individuals who justify military aggression. The Russian pavilion's return is reportedly being organized by the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music under the direction of the Russian Ministry of Culture.