Uzbek artist Saodat Ismailova is making her U.S. museum debut at the Smithsonian Institution. The exhibition introduces her multimedia works, which often explore Central Asian history, spirituality, and female identity, to an American audience for the first time.
A collection of Chinese antiques, including an Imperial robe from the 19th century, was discovered in a chest in London after being kept as family mementos for decades. The items were acquired by Nan Brake, a British translator living in Beijing during the 1950s, who purchased them on excursions around the city. The collection, which features Ming dynasty paintings, Qing dynasty embroidered robes, and jade ornaments, will be auctioned by Roseberys on May 12 with an estimated total value of £40,000 ($54,100). The standout piece is a turquoise silk Imperial robe embroidered with nine five-clawed dragons, likely made for a male member of the emperor's family.
Yoko Ono finally receives her first solo exhibition in Southern California with "Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind" opening May 23, 2026 at the Broad museum in Los Angeles. The retrospective spans seven decades of her work as a conceptual artist, peace activist, and musician, featuring instructional pieces like "Painting to Hammer a Nail" (1961/1966), her famous 1964 book "Grapefruit," and a video of her iconic performance "Cut Piece." The exhibition, organized in collaboration with Tate Modern, also includes participatory elements such as "Wish Trees for Los Angeles" (1996/2026) and a series of peace-themed billboards, running through October 11, 2026.
The Art Institute of Chicago is hosting a gallery conversation on June 1 titled "Ideal Landscapes in Painting and Photography." The program, led by curators Yechen Zhao and Felice Graciela Robles, will examine idealized representations of nature in East Asian art, comparing painted landscapes from the Korean National Treasures exhibition with a 1938 photograph by Chinese artist Lang Jingshan. The discussion will explore the blurred boundaries between ideal and real, as well as between painting and photography.
The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, located at 220 Larkin Street, offers a vast collection of both contemporary and ancient art from across Asia, including Japanese, Chinese, and Southeast Asian works. The museum features permanent exhibits with artifacts such as a Japanese tea set, Chinese jade, and a notable Buddha sculpture dated to 338 C.E., alongside rotating special exhibitions like Chiharu Shiota's "Two Home Countries," which uses red string installations to explore bicultural identity. The museum also hosts events like Mahjong and Mocktails, film screenings, and talks, with general admission at $14 for students and $20 for adults.
Serakai Studio presents 'dreamedcore', its second exhibition at GOLD in Hong Kong's Wong Chuk Hang district, running from June 6 to August 1. Curated by Shirley Lau and Tobias Berge, the show blends an art exhibition, concept store, and runway format to explore digital-age nostalgia through the lens of 'dreamcore' aesthetics—drawing on 1990s and early 2000s visual textures. Featuring 22 emerging multi-disciplinary artists and creative practitioners from across Asia, including Li Shuang, Wong Ping, and Peng Ke, the exhibition is divided into two chapters: 'The Lure' and 'The Twist', with a central runway stage, ambient lighting, and a mini cinema screening a video by Wong Ping.
The UOB Painting of the Year competition, now in its 45th edition, is expanding beyond its traditional awards format to launch its first-ever arts festival in Singapore. Running from late August to early September, the festival will feature exhibitions, workshops, and artist talks, showcasing semi-finalists from the Emerging Artist category alongside veteran winners. The competition, established in 1982, has grown into one of Southeast Asia's most recognized art awards, with editions in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, and has launched over 1,000 artists' careers. This year also introduces stricter criteria for the Established Artist category, requiring a stronger professional track record.
Manila Calling, a traveling art exhibition organized by Manila Collective Inc., launches this May, connecting Manila, Barcelona, Madrid, and Tokyo. The project transforms traditional exhibition spaces into a hybrid of gallery, curated gift shop, and street-level art party, featuring 70 creatives from the Philippines, Spain, France, Italy, and Japan. Participating artists submitted original artworks translated into a unified silk textile installation, alongside limited-edition prints, zines, apparel, and collectible objects. The tour includes stops in Barcelona (May 15-16), Madrid (May 19-20), a month-long exhibit at Centro de Turismo Intramuros in Manila (June 6-27), and a Tokyo stop with a closing celebration in Barcelona in July. A pop-up gift shop in Comuna, Makati precedes the tour on May 8-10.
Indonesian artist Natasha Tontey is the subject of an interview discussing her film series *Macho Mystic Meltdown*, which debuted at the Venice Biennale. The series includes chapters *Oikoumenē* (2025), *Monster, She Wrote* (2026), and *The Phantom Combatants* (2026), exploring Minahasan cosmology, the Permesta rebellion, and the mythologized figure of female combatant Len Karamoy. Tontey uses speculative fabulation, collage, and unstable bodily forms to challenge patriarchal norms and official histories.
A new wave of gallerists in Singapore is emerging, creating platforms to elevate the city-state's contemporary artists. These young dealers are opening spaces that prioritize local talent, offering exhibition opportunities and market access in a scene historically dominated by international blue-chip galleries. The article profiles several of these gallerists and their efforts to build a sustainable ecosystem for Singaporean artists.
A major exhibition of Indian art titled “Of the Hills: Pahari Paintings from India’s Himalayan Kingdoms” has opened at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C. Running from April 18 to July 26, 2026, the show features 48 rare paintings created for Hindu kings in the Pahari region of north India between the 1620s and 1830s. Curators highlight the diversity of styles—from lyrical and naturalistic to boldly colored and abstracted—and emphasize the collaborative nature of the artist communities that produced these works. The exhibition includes pieces acquired from art historian Catherine Glynn Benkaim and Ralph Benkaim, some never publicly exhibited before, alongside loans from the Cleveland Museum of Art.
The National Asia Culture Center (ACC) in Gwangju, South Korea, celebrated its 11th anniversary, having attracted over 23 million visitors since its opening. The milestone was marked with a commemorative event highlighting the center's role in promoting Asian arts and culture through exhibitions, performances, and educational programs.
The Guimet Museum in Paris is presenting Europe's first-ever exhibition dedicated to the ancient Korean kingdom of Silla. The show features archaeological treasures, including gold crowns, jewelry, and Buddhist artifacts, highlighting the cultural and artistic achievements of Silla, which flourished from 57 BCE to 935 CE.
The 9th edition of Printemps Asiatique (Asian Spring) will take place from June 3 to 12, 2026, across Parisian galleries, museums, and auction houses. Modeled on New York’s Asia Week and London’s Asian Art, the festival features a shared calendar of exhibitions, tours, talks, and auctions, with nearly thirty galleries, ten museums and art venues, and thirteen auction houses participating. This year, Korea is the spotlight country, with dedicated exhibitions and artistic itineraries. Key venues include the Musée National des Arts Asiatiques - Guimet, Musée Cernuschi, Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Paris, and Musée du Louvre, alongside auction houses such as Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams, and others.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C., has opened "Of the Hills: Pahari Paintings from India’s Himalayan Kingdoms," an exhibition featuring 48 paintings and colored drawings that trace the evolution of Pahari painting across three key periods between 1620 and 1830. The show highlights the genre’s ties to the region’s landscapes, courtly life, and devotional practices, with works created using opaque watercolors, beetle wings, and gold, many of which have not been publicly displayed before. The exhibition runs until July 26.
An exhibition titled “Of the Hills: Pahari Paintings from India’s Himalayan Kingdoms” has opened at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, part of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, D.C., running through July 26. The show features 48 rare paintings created for Hindu kings in the Pahari region of northern India between the 1620s and 1830s, highlighting diverse styles from lyrical and naturalistic to boldly colored and abstracted. Key works include pieces acquired from art historian Catherine Glynn Benkaim and collector Ralph Benkaim, some never publicly exhibited before, along with loans from the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Taiwanese contemporary artist Chiang Hsin-Ching's 2017 ink-and-color-on-paper work "Of Mountain and Sea II" is being offered for sale by Hiraya Gallery (EU) for €20,000. The 175 × 96 cm piece, stamped by the artist's estate and accompanied by certificates of authenticity, is listed on Artsy with shipping from Taichung, Taiwan. Chiang, born in 1970 in Taichung, is a researcher at the Contemporary Ink Art Research Institute and has exhibited widely, including at the Kyocera Museum of Art in Kyoto, the Venice International Art Exhibition, and ART TAIPEI.
Gallery Silver Scapes will present 'Silent Stories', a solo exhibition by Sri Lankan artist Shanaka Kulathunga, at the CCA Building, Bikaner House in New Delhi from May 21 to 28, 2026. This marks the artist's first solo presentation in India, featuring acrylic and oil paintings that explore memory, everyday life, and rural Sri Lankan landscapes through figuration and narrative depth. Curated by Archana Khare-Ghose, the exhibition includes a publication launch and aims to foster cross-cultural dialogue between India and Sri Lanka.
Newmarket artist Jing Fu presents her solo exhibition 'Unearthed – My Equilibrium' at the Aurora Cultural Centre, opening May 14. The show traces her 30-year artistic journey from Shanghai to Canada, blending traditional Chinese shanshui painting with Canadian natural landscapes. Fu's work includes atmospheric landscapes inspired by Ontario wilderness and an abstract 'Roots' series exploring emotional connection and inner balance.
The article explores the artistic practice of Thai painter Vichit Nongnual, examining how his work engages in a continuous dialogue with art history. It highlights his unique approach to blending traditional Thai artistic elements with contemporary techniques, positioning his paintings as a bridge between past and present visual cultures.
Asia Art Archive (AAA) in Hong Kong has announced its March 2026 programmes, headlined by the exhibition "At 25: Artists’ Early Worlds," presented as part of AAA’s 25th anniversary. The two-chapter exhibition brings together eight prominent contemporary artists to reflect on their early artistic development, emphasizing the importance of art archives in reinterpreting art history.
Two exhibitions in Delhi, 'Paper and Play' at Gallery XXL and 'Pulp Bazaar' at Pulp Society, are opening in June 2026, inviting visitors to physically interact with art. 'Paper and Play', curated by Priyanshi Saxena, offers books, games, zines, toys, and artist books in a participatory, chill environment. 'Pulp Bazaar', the fourth edition by Pulp Society, is a playful summer exhibition featuring zines, prints, communal reading tables with South Asian art publications, and odd little objects, with workshops and surprises. Both events are free and emphasize tactile engagement over traditional fine art norms.
The Science Museum in London has partnered with Serendipity Arts, a not-for-profit foundation supporting artistic practice across South Asia, to present free events this June. The collaboration launches on June 5 with Innovation Lates, an adults-only evening of music, making, and ideas inspired by Indian innovation, as part of the Great Exhibition Road Festival. The festival marks 175 years since the Great Exhibition of 1851 and includes workshops, talks, performances, and a puppet parade directed by Dadi Pudumjee.
The 13th edition of the Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong is taking place from May 14 to May 17 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre. The fair showcases a wide range of affordable contemporary artworks, with participating galleries presenting pieces priced to attract new and seasoned collectors alike.