Art Workers Plan Venice Biennale Strike

Cultural workers, labor unions, and grassroots groups are planning a strike at the Venice Biennale on Friday, May 8, organized by the Art Not Genocide Alliance and others. The action, described as the first organized strike within the Biennale, aims to protest Israel's inclusion in the event, with participants withholding their labor and calling to "shut down the genocide pavilion." The article also covers other art news, including exhibitions in Los Angeles, a profile of nonagenarian artist Mohammad Omer Khalil, and memes about the Met Gala.

Behind every great artist... there is a great gallery. A look at the 2026 Venice Biennale

Dietro ogni grande artista… c’è una grande galleria. Un punto sulla Biennale Arte 2026

The 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys" (May 9 – November 22, 2026), features over 90% living artists, a significant shift from recent editions focused on historical rediscoveries. Curated by the late Koyo Kouoh (1967–2025), the first African woman to lead the Biennale, the exhibition includes 111 artists, with a majority of women (64 vs. 48 men) and the highest percentage of African-born artists ever (20%). Notable participants include Nick Cave, Carsten Höller, Alfredo Jaar, and Kader Attia, with a focus on mid-career and established figures rather than emerging or deceased artists.

Amy Sherald Dresses As Her Own Award-Winning Painting for Met Gala

Amy Sherald attended the 2025 Met Gala dressed as the subject of her own award-winning painting, *Miss Everything (Unsuppressed Deliverance)* (2014). The work, which won the Outwin Boochever Prize at the National Portrait Gallery and appeared on a *New Yorker* cover, depicts a young girl holding an oversized teacup. Sherald collaborated with designer Thom Browne to recreate the painting's look, including a red fascinator, as part of the gala's theme “Fashion Is Art,” which also aligns with the Costume Institute's exhibition “Costume Art.” Sherald served on the gala's committee alongside artists Anna Weyant and Tschabalala Self.

At MAXXI L'Aquila, exhibition dedicated to Ai Weiwei recounts catastrophes and memory

From April 29 to September 6, 2026, MAXXI L'Aquila presents "AI WEIWEI: Aftershock," an exhibition curated by Tim Marlow featuring approximately seventy works by Chinese artist, architect, and activist Ai Weiwei. The show spans his entire career, focusing on themes of earthquakes, wars, political repression, and memory. The centerpiece is the installation "Straight" (2009–2012), made from 150 tons of steel rods recovered from schools that collapsed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, displayed across three rooms. The exhibition is held at Palazzo Ardinghelli, a Baroque building that houses MAXXI L'Aquila and was itself restored after the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake, creating a dialogue between the works and the building's history of recovery.

Andy Warhol | Original Exhibition Poster (2021) | For Sale

An original Andy Warhol exhibition poster from 2021 is being offered for sale by Baldwin gallery, with locations in London, Miami, and Dubai. The offset lithograph on paper measures 19.7 × 27.6 inches, is in mint condition, unsigned, and includes a Certificate of Authenticity. Priced at £650, the work ships from London with domestic shipping at £45 and international at £55, and is covered by the Artsy Guarantee.

art new york gallery guide spring

Cultured's spring gallery guide for New York highlights a curated selection of exhibitions across the city, with standout shows including Carol Bove's sculptural installation at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Joan Semmel's retrospective at the Jewish Museum, Jessi Reaves's furniture-based works at the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the group show "Afterlives: Contemporary Art in the Byzantine Crypt" at the Metropolitan Museum. The guide also notes exhibitions by Paul Chan, Nicola Tyson, Doron Langberg, and Yuval Pudik that are closing soon, and extends coverage to shows in Philadelphia and Warsaw.

TEFAF New York Opened to Crowded Aisles, Bullish Collectors, and Strong Booths

TEFAF New York opened at the Park Avenue Armory with unexpectedly strong crowds and a buoyant mood, defying the typical afternoon lull. Dealers reported heavy foot traffic and sustained conversations, with gallerist Sean Kelly calling it the best edition in years. The fair, running through May 19, features a mix of antiquities, design, modern, and contemporary art, with standout booths including Alison Jacques’s pairing of Dorothea Tanning, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Gordon Parks, and Sean Kelly Gallery’s display of works by Shahzia Sikander and Sam Moyer. The newly launched Pace Di Donna Schrader Galleries made its TEFAF debut with works by Eugène Delacroix, Willem de Kooning, and Alexander Calder.

The Can’t-Miss Moments at TEFAF New York 2026

TEFAF New York 2026 opened to packed crowds at the Park Avenue Armory, showcasing a mix of historic and contemporary works. Highlights include Gagosian’s solo booth of Kathleen Ryan’s bejeweled “Bad Fruit” sculptures, Thaddaeus Ropac’s presentation of monumental canvases by Danish painter Eva Helene Pade, and Axel Vervoordt Gallery’s spotlight on overlooked Italian painter Ida Barbarigo. The fair also features collectible design and perennial favorites like Alexander Calder mobiles and Alighiero Boetti tapestries.

Contemporary Icons and Modern Masters Headline This Major May Sale

Rago/Wright is hosting two major spring sales on May 14, 2026: 'Pure Edge: American Geometric Abstraction, Selected Works from the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Buenos Aires' and a Post War and Contemporary Art sale. The first features 19 works from the museum's premier collection of American geometric abstraction, while the second spans 20th- and 21st-century art. Highlighted lots include Sam Gilliam's 'Sun Woman' (1970, est. $300,000–$500,000), Annie Morris's 'Stack 7 (Ultramarine Blue)' (2015, est. $150,000–$200,000), Miyoko Ito's 'Adam and Eve' (1957, est. $200,000–$300,000), and Maria Martins's 'Impossible' (1946, est. $150,000–$200,000).

Market Outlook for New York’s May Sales

New York's May sales season is underway with over $1.8 billion worth of art heading to auction at major houses including Sotheby's, where a monumental Rothko consigned by Robert Mnuchin is expected to fetch $70–100 million. Frieze New York opens at the Shed with 68 galleries, half of them local. Other notable developments include a major Banksy work hitting the auction block with one of its highest estimates ever, and the estate of sculptor Robert Therrien leaving Gagosian after nearly 30 years to join David Zwirner.

Venice Diary Day 3: Offsite Highlights Include Fleshy Films and Vegetarian Videos

The article reports on the author's third day at the Venice Biennale, focusing on offsite exhibitions. Highlights include Li Yi-Fan's animated video "Screen Melancholy" (2026) at the Taiwan Pavilion, described as chaotic, absurdist, and uncanny, featuring a naked CGI character interacting with ChatGPT. The author also praises Janis Rafa's video installation "Baby I'm Yours, Forever" (2026) at Fondazione In Between Art Film, which transforms scenes from a meat refrigeration plant into haunting surreal imagery. The piece notes the resurgence of video art, aided by LED screens that create immersive environments.

Venice Biennale Special 2026—podcast

This episode of The Art Newspaper's podcast is a Venice Biennale special, covering the opening week of the 2026 edition. Host Ben Luke, along with Louisa Buck and Jane Morris, reviews the main exhibition "In Minor Keys," curated by the late Koyo Kouoh and realized by five collaborators. The podcast features interviews with artists Gabrielle Goliath, whose work for the South African pavilion was cancelled and is instead staged in a Venice church, and Lubaina Himid, showing in the British pavilion. It also includes conversations with writer Saidiya Hartman and Daniella Kaliada of Belarus Free Theatre about their collateral projects. The episode concludes with a focus on two restored Tintoretto paintings at the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, funded by Save Venice.

Lubaina Himid on capturing the 'uneasiness' of Britain for her Venice Biennale pavilion

Lubaina Himid, the Turner Prize-winning artist born in Zanzibar and raised in England, is representing Great Britain at the Venice Biennale with a pavilion that captures the 'uneasiness' of living in Britain. The exhibition features her signature paintings, prints, and cutout figures, alongside a soundscape by Magda Stawarska, designed to evoke ambiguous encounters and the gap between a question and an answer. Himid describes the pavilion as a reflection of Britain's everyday pleasantness undercut by a persistent sense of otherness, drawing on her own experience as an East African brought up by English women.

Arthur Jafa: ‘America has always been a demonic state. And we love it’

The article covers the exhibition "Helter Skelter: Richard Prince and Arthur Jafa" at the Prada Foundation’s Ca’ Corner della Regina in Venice, curated by Nancy Spector. It brings together over 50 works by Prince and Jafa in a call-and-response format, exploring themes of appropriation, race, violence, and American identity. The show pairs Prince’s iconic rephotographed images and Jafa’s video work "Love Is The Message, The Message is Death" (2016) with new and existing pieces, including Jafa’s "Big Wheel II" and Prince’s "Blasting Mats."

An expert's guide to Tracey Emin: five must-read books on the British artist

The Art Newspaper published a reading list curated by Jess Baxter, assistant curator of Tracey Emin's exhibition 'Second Life' at Tate Modern. The list features five key books about the British artist, including her autobiography 'Strangeland' (2006), a monograph co-authored by gallerist Carl Freedman, a recent painting survey, a personal photo album, and a forthcoming study by Martin Gayford. The exhibition, inspired by Emin's recovery from bladder cancer, runs until 31 August.

Filippo Lippi painting—once the centrepiece of Florence's Palazzo Medici Chapel—to undergo two-year restoration

The Staatliche Museen zu Berlin has announced a two-year restoration of Filippo Lippi’s 1459 painting *The Adoration in the Forest*, funded by the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung and the Schoof’schen Stiftung. The tempera-on-panel work, a centerpiece of the Palazzo Medici chapel in Florence, is now in the Gemäldegalerie’s collection. Conservators discovered that a 19th-century varnish layer is degrading the paint, causing it to lift off the panel, particularly affecting the Virgin’s blue cloak, skin, and gold leaf areas. The treatment aims to remove the varnish while stabilizing the paint layer, and may also reveal Lippi’s use of oil paint alongside egg tempera.

Museum acquisitions round-up: a rediscovered work by Rosso Fiorentino, a circular painting by Salman Toor and 16th-century gold goblet

The Art Newspaper reports on three notable museum acquisitions: a rediscovered Renaissance painting by Rosso Fiorentino acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a 16th-century silver gilt goblet by Hans Rappolt I acquired by the Siegerland Museum, and a circular painting by Salman Toor donated to the National Gallery of Art. The Rosso Fiorentino work, 'Madonna and Child with Saint John the Evangelist' (1512/13), was thought lost for centuries and was identified after cleaning revealed a hidden figure. The goblet, made around 1581, is a rare example of Nuremberg goldsmithing and was supported by a €75,000 donation from the German Federal Cultural Foundation. The Toor painting, 'Wandering Beggars' (2022), is the first by the artist to enter the NGA's collection, donated by the Bronzini-Vender family.

See Some of the Most Outrageous, Stylish Looks at the 2026 Met Gala

The 2026 Met Gala raised $42 million for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, surpassing last year's $31 million. The event, themed "Costume Art" with a dress code of "Fashion is Art," featured honorary chairs Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, whose involvement sparked protests. Co-chairs included Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour, with artists Anna Weyant, Tschabalala Self, and Amy Sherald on the host committee. The gala precedes the Costume Institute's spring exhibition, also titled "Costume Art," opening May 10.

Unrealized Artwork by Christo and Jeanne-Claude Will Take Over Gagosian in London

Gagosian gallery in London will present "Christo: Air," an exhibition opening May 21 and running through August 21, featuring a never-realized artwork conceived by Christo and Jeanne-Claude in 1968. The centerpiece, "Air Package on a Ceiling," was originally planned for the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia but abandoned due to technical limitations. The work, a 32-by-52-foot internally illuminated suspended form, will be installed for the first time, along with other rare pieces including "Wrapped Automobile—Volvo, Model PV-544 (1981)," which has not been shown in 30 years. Studio manager Lorenza Giovanelli discovered the original plans in 2018, two years before Christo's death.

The Venice Biennale has long been a sales platform—now no one is pretending otherwise

The Venice Biennale, traditionally a government-subsidized non-commercial institution where sales were downplayed, is experiencing an unprecedented open embrace of commerce. For the first time, Christie's is hosting an invitation-only selling exhibition in Venice, offering works ranging from Old Masters like Lucas Cranach to Modern and contemporary giants such as Andy Warhol, Louise Bourgeois, and Mark Bradford, with prices from $500,000 to over $35 million. Dealers, auction houses, and private foundations are openly pricing and selling works to collectors, spurred partly by Italy's reduced 5% VAT rate on art imports, now Europe's lowest.

7 Books We’re Looking Forward to in May

ARTnews has published a list of seven art books to look forward to in May 2026, covering a wide range of topics from contemporary theory and AI imagery to historical biographies and the Venice Biennale. Featured titles include Dena Yago's collected writings 'That Figures,' Victoria Johnson's biography of Frederic Church 'Glorious Country,' Trevor Paglen's 'How to See Like a Machine,' Nicholas Fox Weber's 'Anni Albers: A Life,' Massimiliano Gioni's 'High Waters: An Oral History of the Venice Biennale,' Rennie McDougall's 'Nonstop Bodies: How Dance Shaped New York City,' and Paul Elie's 'Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex and Controversy in the 1980s.'

Book uncovers the life of Barnett Newman, an artist who ran for New York mayor

A new biography titled "Barnett Newman: Here" by Amy Newman (no relation) explores the life of Abstract Expressionist painter Barnett Newman, revealing his little-known 1933 run for mayor of New York City at age 28 under a platform of cultural and environmental reforms. The book details his upbringing as the son of Jewish immigrants in the Bronx, his philosophical studies, and his eventual reinvention as a painter who pioneered the 'zip' painting style with works like Onement I, while also chronicling his combative personality and lifelong battles against political machines and critics.

Top 200 Collector Mitchell Rales Gifts $116 M. to National Gallery if Art for Lending Program

Top 200 art collector and National Gallery of Art trustee Mitchell Rales has donated $116 million to permanently endow the museum's 'Across the Nation' lending program. The initiative loans artworks from the National Gallery's collection to regional museums across the United States, covering all associated costs.

Rare Books Stolen From Ex-MoMA President’s Home Recovered After Nearly 40 Years

Seventeen rare books, valued at over $2 million and stolen nearly 40 years ago from the Long Island estate of former Museum of Modern Art president John Hay Whitney, have been recovered and will be returned to his descendants. The trove includes a $2 million portfolio of handwritten letters from poet John Keats and first editions of works by James Joyce and Aleister Crowley.

‘Depraved in all the right ways’: why forgotten no wave visionary Gordon Stevenson is about to take off

The article profiles Gordon Stevenson, a forgotten visionary of the no wave movement in late-1970s New York, who was an artist, jewelry designer, musician, and filmmaker best known for the notorious film *Ecstatic Stigmatic*. Decades after his death from AIDS, a storage unit full of his lost work has been discovered, including jewelry, mail-art collaborations with Ray Johnson, and clues to a surviving print of his film. His family has also recovered hundreds of letters he wrote to his parents, chronicling his life in downtown New York and his experiences as one of the city's first AIDS patients. The piece traces his journey from a small town in Georgia, where he met his wife Mirielle Cervenka (who later renamed Exene Cervenka), to their punk-era jewelry brand LHOOQ and his lasting influence on gothic fashion.

Story of enslaved boy featured in 1748 Joshua Reynolds portrait emerges in new study

A research project by the National Trust, the National Gallery in London, and Royal Museums Greenwich has uncovered new details about the identity of an enslaved boy known only as “Jersey,” who appears in a 1748 portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds. The painting, which hangs at Saltram in Devon, depicts Jersey with his enslaver, naval officer and MP Paul Henry Ourry. Through admiralty records, muster books, and baptismal certificates, researchers identified the boy as “Boston Jersey,” later baptised as George Walker, and found evidence of his naval service and possible path to freedom.

Sketches of Spain at arms: Sim, the anarchist illustrator who drew the civil war from the frontline

The Guardian reports on José Luis Rey Vila, known as Sim, an anarchist illustrator who documented the Spanish Civil War from the frontlines in Catalonia. His bold, colorful sketches captured street battles, militias, nurses, and milicianas, and were widely reproduced in booklets and exhibitions, raising international awareness before Picasso's Guernica. After the war, Sim fell into obscurity and died in near-anonymity in 1983. Now, on the 90th anniversary of the conflict, Barcelona's Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC) is exhibiting 40 recently acquired Sim illustrations, highlighting his role as a key visual chronicler of the conflict.

Tate at a turning point: new director must confront unwieldy ‘beast’ of an art institution

Roland Rudd, chair of Tate, insists the institution is thriving despite recent leadership changes, citing record visitor numbers of 6.2 million, strong exhibition attendance (Turner and Constable at Tate Britain, Lee Miller, and Tracey Emin at Tate Modern), and 155,000 members. However, Maria Balshaw has stepped down as director after nine years, leaving her successor to confront a financially strained organization hit by pandemic losses, multiple redundancies, and low staff morale amid culture war battles.

5 Standout Shows to See at Small Galleries in May 2026

Artsy Editorial highlights five standout exhibitions at small and rising galleries for May 2026. Among them is British-born, Amsterdam-based painter K. T. Kobel's first major Swiss show, "Hand, Body, Object, Sin," at Kutlesa in Goldau, Switzerland, running through May 29. Kobel, who has exhibited from Los Angeles to Milan since 2022, presents cinematic, storyboard-like paintings that embrace fragmentation and loose ends.

With $116 Million Gift, National Gallery Will Send Its Art Around Nation

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., has received a $116 million gift from billionaire art collector Mitchell P. Rales. This donation will fund a new program to send the museum's collection on long-term loans to smaller institutions across the United States in perpetuity, significantly expanding its national reach.