London’s Art Market Rebound: Sotheby’s Spring 2026 Recap

Sotheby’s London kicked off its Spring 2026 marquee season with a series of high-energy auctions, totaling £154 million across its Modern & Contemporary sales. The week was highlighted by a "white-glove" evening auction that achieved a 100% sell-through rate, led by Francis Bacon’s 1972 Self-Portrait which sold for £16 million. Significant records were set for British masters, most notably Leon Kossoff, whose painting "Children’s Swimming Pool" shattered estimates to reach £5.2 million.

Ambiguity Reigns in Olaf Hajek’s Mysterious Illustrations

Berlin-based illustrator Olaf Hajek creates dense, uncanny compositions that blend nature, culture, and magic, drawing inspiration from Surrealist icons like Leonora Carrington and Remedios Varo. His work emphasizes ambiguity, using superimposed florals and figures, dramatic scale shifts, and a tension between decay and renewal to develop a universal visual language from diverse cultural influences.

Ghost at La Lison Gallery: our photos from the exhibition Before the Ashes

Ghost at La Lison Gallery: our photos from the exhibition Before the Ashes

The La Lison Gallery in Paris is hosting "Avant les cendres" (Before the Ashes), a solo exhibition by the artist Fantôme running from April 9 to May 16, 2026. The showcase features a series of abstract works that utilize black ink, oils, fabric, and ash to explore texture and light, drawing comparisons to the monochromatic depth of Pierre Soulages. The exhibition serves as a prequel to the artist's upcoming show, "Cercles," in Nancy.

New Exhibition Offers Portals Into the Past, Present, and Future of Blackness

Artist Todd Gray’s solo exhibition, "Portals," at Perrotin Los Angeles features a series of complex photographic assemblages that challenge the historical relationship between Blackness and European colonialism. By stacking framed images of West African landscapes, slave forts, and Renaissance interiors, Gray creates textured collages that collapse geographic and temporal boundaries. Notable works like "Paradox of Liberty" confront the hypocrisy of Enlightenment figures like Thomas Jefferson by physically obscuring his image with the architecture of the slave trade.

This Exhibition Proves That Blackness Is as Vast and Limitless as the Universe Itself

The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco has launched "Unbound: Art, Blackness, and the Universe," a major exhibition marking the institution's 20th anniversary. Spanning all three floors, the show features an international group of African diasporic artists whose work intersects with astrophysics, spirituality, and mythology. Organized into three thematic sections—Geo-Cartographic, Religio-Mythic, and Techno-Cyborgian—the exhibition showcases diverse media ranging from Mikael Owunna’s ultraviolet photography and Harmonia Rosales’s Yoruba-inspired paintings to David Alabo’s virtual reality installations.

Art exhibits to see this April

The Philippine art scene is experiencing a surge of activity both domestically and internationally this April. Highlights include major presentations at Art Basel Hong Kong by The Drawing Room and 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, featuring artists like Mark Justiniani, Cian Dayrit, and Josephine Turalba. Locally, significant exhibitions are opening across Metro Manila, ranging from Geloy Concepcion’s social media-driven photography project at the Ateneo Art Gallery to a rebellious group show curated by Pow Martinez at Modeka Art.

Artist relationship between Helen Frankenthaler and Anthony Caro examined

Yares Art in New York is hosting "SIMILITUDES: Color, Form, Friendship," a landmark exhibition exploring the creative dialogue between American painter Helen Frankenthaler and British sculptor Anthony Caro. Spanning nearly five decades of friendship that began in 1959, the show juxtaposes Frankenthaler’s soak-stained canvases with Caro’s steel armatures. The presentation includes archival letters and photographs that highlight their mutual influence, including a 1972 proposal from Frankenthaler to collaborate on a sculpture.

Protection and Constraint are Two Sides of the Same Coin: An Exhibition in Rome Proves It

Protezione e costrizione sono due facce della stessa medaglia. Una mostra a Roma lo dimostra

The gallery Monti8 in Rome is hosting a group exhibition titled "The Bell Jar," co-curated by Massimiliano Maglione. Inspired by Sylvia Plath’s 1963 novel, the show features seven international artists—Camilla Alberti, Ruby Chen, Mounir Eddib, Stephen Buscemi, Naomi Hawksley, Steffen Kern, and Amber Wynne-Jones. The exhibition explores the dual nature of the glass bell jar as both a protective shield for precious objects and a suffocating barrier that isolates the subject from the world.

Monika Baer at Kölnischer Kunstverein

The Kölnischer Kunstverein in Cologne is hosting a solo exhibition by German artist Monika Baer titled "Defection." Running from February 27 through May 3, 2026, the presentation features new and recent works supported by Greene Naftali and Trautwein Herleth. The exhibition continues Baer’s long-standing exploration of the boundaries of painting, utilizing her signature blend of technical precision and surrealist-inflected imagery.

The Groups and Other Artistic Revolts: Networks and Collectivities in Mexico, 1976-1985

LOS GRUPOS Y OTRAS REVUELTAS ARTÍSTICAS. REDES Y COLECTIVIDADES EN MÉXICO, 1976-1985

The Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC) in Mexico City has launched a major exhibition titled "Los grupos y otras revueltas artísticas," which re-examines the surge of artist collectives in Mexico between 1976 and 1985. Drawing from the Arkheia Documentation Center, the show moves beyond a simple chronological survey to reconstruct emblematic works and document the radical shifts in artistic language that occurred during this era. It highlights key historical moments, such as the 1977 Paris Biennial and the formation of the Mexican Front of Cultural Workers' Groups, while exploring how these collectives navigated urban spaces and institutional boundaries.

“Where it doesn’t reach” at Lo Brutto Stahl, Paris

Lo Brutto Stahl in Paris is hosting a group exhibition titled "Where it doesn’t reach," featuring the works of Hélène Janicot, Park McArthur, and the late conceptual artist Bas Jan Ader. The show creates a dialogue between contemporary sculpture and installation by Janicot and McArthur and historical lens-based media by Ader. Notably, the exhibition's reach extends beyond the Parisian gallery space to include a presence in Basel.

“Passages” at Kunsthalle Friart Fribourg

Kunsthalle Friart Fribourg presents "Passages," a group exhibition exploring the fluid boundaries of matter and form. The show investigates the existential transition points where materials coalesce into recognizable shapes and, conversely, where those forms begin to dissolve or mutate. By focusing on the inherent instability of physical objects, the curated selection of works challenges traditional perceptions of permanence in contemporary art.

The Long Legal Saga Between Artist Ryder Ripps and the Bored Ape Yacht Club Is Finally Over

Yuga Labs, the creator of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), has reached a confidential settlement with artist Ryder Ripps and his partner Jeremy Cahen, ending a multi-year legal battle over trademark infringement and appropriation art. The dispute began in 2022 when Ripps launched his RR/BAYC NFT collection, which used identical imagery to the original Bored Apes to protest alleged racist and alt-right symbolism within the project. As part of the agreement, Ripps and Cahen are now under a permanent injunction preventing them from using any Yuga Labs trademarks or images.

Take a walk on the wild side with the Haas Brothers' fantastical new show

The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York has opened "Uncanny Valley," a major exhibition dedicated to the Los Angeles-based duo Nikolai and Simon Haas. The show features 85 works spanning 15 years of their practice, showcasing their signature blend of art, furniture, and craft through zoomorphic sculptures and kooky forms. Organized in collaboration with the Cranbrook Art Museum, the exhibition places these physical objects against surreal, algorithmically-generated backdrops that explore the intersection of human craftsmanship and digital technology.

In the Studio With Rama Duwaji

Syrian-American artist Rama Duwaji discusses her evolving art practice and her new role as the First Lady of New York City following her husband Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral victory. Known for her distinct illustrations and animations for major institutions like the Tate Modern and the New Yorker, Duwaji is now transitioning into a more public-facing life while maintaining a studio practice at Gracie Mansion. Her work, which spans hand-drawn animation, ceramics, and paintings on found materials like cardboard, continues to blur the lines between commercial illustration and fine art.

Exhibit at National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago is a call to climate action

Artist Ana Teresa Fernández has launched her solo exhibition "Under Pressure" at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, presenting a multi-disciplinary call to climate action. The exhibit features oil paintings, sculptures such as a silver-feathered Quetzalcoatl made from a hose, and performance-based works that use metaphors like expanding balloons to illustrate the planet's breaking point. A central component of the project involved a community-led "social monument" at Ohio Street Beach, where hundreds of participants used mirrors to flash an S.O.S. signal in Morse code toward the horizon.

Inside de Young Museum’s New Indigenous American Art Galleries

The de Young Museum in San Francisco has unveiled its completely reimagined Arts of Indigenous America galleries, featuring nearly 2,000 objects from across North, Central, and South America. Developed in close collaboration with Indigenous scholars and community advisors, the new installation moves away from traditional chronological or ethnographic displays. Instead, it integrates historical artifacts with contemporary works to emphasize the continuity and living nature of Indigenous artistic traditions across four regional sections.

A New Exhibition of Contemporary Latinx Paintings at Buffalo AKG

The Buffalo AKG Art Museum has announced a major upcoming exhibition titled "Let Us Gather in a Flourishing Way," featuring fifty-eight contemporary Latinx artists. Curated by Andrea Alvarez, the show examines how artists from the Latin American and Caribbean diaspora are redefining the traditions of painting while challenging political and disciplinary boundaries. After its debut in Buffalo in March 2026, the exhibition will embark on a national tour to Des Moines, Phoenix, and Seattle.

Review | Women are trailblazers in abstract art. These 6 works show their vision.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts is hosting "Making Their Mark: Works From the Shah Garg Collection," a comprehensive exhibition featuring eight decades of abstract art created by women. The show includes approximately 80 pieces by nearly 70 artists, spanning a diverse range of media including painting, sculpture, ceramics, and textiles. By showcasing works that often blur the lines between figuration and abstraction, the exhibition highlights how female artists have consistently acted as trailblazers in a genre historically associated with men.

Goldfish on cars and ceramic flowers: artists take over the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong

Three artists have installed site-specific works at The Peninsula Hong Kong hotel as part of its annual Art in Resonance program, coinciding with Hong Kong Art Week. Angel Hui's 'Swimming in Light' features embroidered goldfish imagery on plastic bags and the hotel's glass frontage, Albert Yonathan Setyawan's 'Metamorphic Modulation' fills a circular structure with 700 ceramic elements, and William Lim's 'Walking on a Bright Future' is a textile and spatial intervention in the hotel's café.

Foreign Office Reprimands Goethe-Institut for Exhibition

Auswärtiges Amt rügt Goethe-Institut für Ausstellung

The German Foreign Office has formally reprimanded the Goethe-Institut for its involvement in an exhibition in Vilnius, Lithuania, featuring Palestinian-American artist Basma al-Sharif. The ministry stated that events organized by German cultural intermediaries must leave no doubt about the government's firm rejection of antisemitism and hatred of Israel, and demanded greater care in planning and conceptualizing such events with partners. The exhibition, "Bells and Cannons - Contemporary Art in Times of Militarization," was a collaboration between the Goethe-Institut Vilnius, the Contemporary Art Centre Vilnius, and the Berlin Academy of Arts.

THE REINA SOFIA REVIVES ALBERTO GRECO S LIVING ART

The Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid is presenting a major retrospective, 'Viva el arte vivo,' dedicated to Argentine-Spanish artist Alberto Greco. The exhibition traces his evolution from early Informalist paintings to his radical conceptual practice, showcasing works from 1949 until his death in 1965, including photographs, drawings, collages, and literary pieces.

Clouds and Their Multiple Meanings Take Center Stage at an Exhibition in Piacenza

Le nuvole e i suoi molteplici significati finiscono al centro di una mostra a Piacenza

The XNL Piacenza contemporary art center has launched "Oltre le nuvole. Beyond the Clouds," a multidisciplinary exhibition running through July 5, 2026. Curated by Chiara Gatti, Paola Pedrazzini, and Gianmarco Romiti, the project explores the cloud as a symbolic and shifting element across art history, literature, cinema, and music. Featuring works by twenty contemporary artists including Piero Manzoni, Mario Schifano, and Leandro Erlich, the show integrates site-specific installations with a 3D auditory landscape and theatrical performances.

Exhibition | Nyakallo Maleke, 'A Soft Language of Distance' at Bode, Berlin, Germany

Johannesburg-based artist Nyakallo Maleke presents her solo exhibition, 'A Soft Language of Distance,' at Bode in Berlin. The show features an expanded practice of drawing that incorporates textiles, wax paper, and intricate stitching to explore themes of movement, memory, and spatial experience. Maleke, who was recently named the recipient of the 2025 Standard Bank Young Artist Award, utilizes these unconventional materials to create a tactile vocabulary that bridges the gap between intimate gesture and architectural form.

What Faces Do Not Say: Reimagining Portraiture Beyond Recognition.

Curator Yasmin Sarnefors challenges the traditional boundaries of portraiture in the exhibition 'What Faces Do Not Say,' which features artists from Africa and its diaspora. Moving away from the expectation of physical resemblance, the show explores identity through ambiguity, memory, and the use of archives, landscapes, and abstract gestures. By presenting works that obscure or transform the human face, the exhibition highlights the psychological and political dimensions of how individuals are perceived and represented.

“100% L’Expo”: 5 Young Talents Shaping Today’s Art at La Villette

« 100 % L’Expo » : 5 jeunes talents qui font l’art d’aujourd’hui à La Villette

The Grande Halle de La Villette in Paris is hosting "100% L’Expo," a major showcase featuring emerging talents from art schools across France. Curated by Inès Geoffroy, this year’s edition highlights a diverse range of multidisciplinary installations focusing on themes of living ecosystems, diasporic memories, and new spiritualities. Notable participants include Zoé Saudrais, whose work blends activism with ceramics and textiles, and Joséphine Berthou, who presents a tense, two-screen video installation exploring social aggression.

Monopol is giving away 1 × 2 tickets for "Arv og miljø" at the Schaubühne Berlin

Monopol verlost 1 × 2 Tickets für "Arv og miljø" in der Schaubühne Berlin

The Schaubühne Berlin is hosting the Norwegian production "Arv og miljø" (Will and Testament) as part of the Festival Internationale Neue Dramatik (FIND). Based on Vigdis Hjorth’s controversial novel, the play follows Bergljot, a woman who confronts her estranged family during an inheritance dispute over summer houses, leading to a harrowing clash over suppressed childhood memories and the nature of truth.

Tarek Atoui “Souffle Continu and Sunflowers” at IMMA, Dublin

IMMA in Dublin is presenting the first Irish solo exhibition of Lebanese sound artist and composer Tarek Atoui, titled "Souffle Continu and Sunflowers." The exhibition opens on February 21, 2026, showcasing Atoui's innovative work in sound, performance, and custom instrument creation, which focuses on the physical experience of listening.

Retrofuturistic Figures Emerge from Wood in Playful Sculptures by Aleph Geddis

Artist Aleph Geddis creates intricate, hand-carved wooden sculptures that blend organic forms with retrofuturistic aesthetics. His work oscillates between abstraction and figuration, drawing inspiration from his nomadic lifestyle between Japan, Bali, and the Pacific Northwest. Currently, Geddis is exploring varying scales of production, ranging from intimate, toy-like "Littles" to a massive, immersive installation designed for the upcoming Burning Man festival.

Kazuhito Kawai & Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka "Tsuitayo: Becoming by Making" @ KOTARO NUKAGA (Roppongi)

川井雄仁&アレクサ・クミコ・ハタナカ「ついたよ：Becoming by Making」@ KOTARO NUKAGA（六本木）

Artists Kazuhito Kawai and Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka are presenting a joint exhibition titled "Tsuitayo: Becoming by Making" at KOTARO NUKAGA in Roppongi, Tokyo. Running from March 14 to April 10, 2026, the show features Kawai’s expressive ceramic sculptures alongside Hatanaka’s textile-based works, including her signature "Noren" and "Tabi" pieces. The exhibition highlights a dialogue between Kawai’s tactile, often grotesque ceramic forms and Hatanaka’s exploration of heritage and craft through traditional Japanese materials.