Kamrooz Aram is the subject of multiple major exhibitions in early 2026, including a solo show at Alexander Gray Associates in New York, a presentation at Nature Morte in Mumbai for Mumbai Art Week, and a significant inclusion in the 2026 Whitney Biennial. The artist, known for his work with the grid, uses painting to explore the connections between Western modernist abstraction and non-Western decorative traditions, particularly from Western Asia.
A guide highlights ten notable art exhibitions opening in Chicago this spring, focusing on shows at smaller, community-focused, and artist-run spaces like Good Weather, Hyde Park Art Center, and the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art. Featured exhibitions include Hunter Foster's "Involition," which repurposes a Cold War siren to comment on infrastructure and threat, and Alison Ruttan's ceramic installation "The Paradox of Inaction," which visualizes climate disaster.
The Toronto Biennial of Art has announced the details for its fourth edition, titled "Things Fall Apart," scheduled to run from September 26 to December 20. Curated by Allison Glenn, the exhibition will feature 30 artists and collectives, including Kent Monkman, Rebecca Belmore, and Dawoud Bey, with a heavy emphasis on new commissions. For the first time, the biennial is expanding its footprint beyond the Greater Toronto Area to include partnerships with institutions across Canada and international sites like Times Square in New York and the Anchorage Museum in Alaska.
Art historian Sam Smiles has released a comprehensive new book examining J.M.W. Turner’s complex relationship with the slave trade, expanding on his 2007 discovery of the artist's personal investment in a Jamaican cattle farm that utilized enslaved labor. The research traces Turner’s financial ties from his early patronage by wealthy plantation owners to his own speculative ventures, challenging the long-held perception of the artist as a straightforward abolitionist.
Four hooded thieves stole three valuable paintings from the Magnani-Rocca Foundation in Parma, Italy, in a swift nighttime heist. The stolen works include Paul Cézanne's 'Still Life with Cherries,' Henri Matisse's 'Odalisque on the Terrace, 1922,' and Pierre-Auguste Renoir's 'Les Poissons (Fish), 1917,' collectively worth millions of euros. The operation, described as highly structured and organized, took less than three minutes.
Tout ce qu’il faut savoir sur Henri Matisse, star du Grand Palais ce printemps
The Grand Palais in Paris is hosting a major retrospective focusing on the final masterpieces of Henri Matisse, the pioneer of Fauvism. The exhibition highlights the artist's late-career reinvention between 1941 and 1954, featuring his innovative gouache cut-outs, illustrated books, and stained glass designs created while he was bedridden in Nice.
À Paris, des galeristes très mobiles
The Parisian art scene is experiencing a significant wave of gallery expansions and relocations across both the Right and Left Banks. Major developments include Kamel Mennour acquiring the former Malingue gallery space on Avenue Matignon for secondary market masterpieces, and Christophe Person moving from the Marais to a redesigned space on Rue du Bac with the backing of collector Jean Claude Gandur. Other notable moves include London-based Waddington Custot opening a Parisian branch, Singapore's Cuturi Gallery settling in the Palais-Royal, and Vincent Sator inaugurating a new space in the David Chipperfield-designed Morland Mixité Capitale complex.
La National Gallery s'agrandit avec Kengo Kuma
The National Gallery in London has commissioned renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma to lead a significant expansion and redesign project. The initiative aims to modernize the museum's infrastructure and create more fluid, accessible spaces for its world-class collection of European paintings.
Seventy-three artists and curators participating in the main exhibition of the 2024 Venice Biennale have issued an open letter objecting to the organizers' decision to relocate the Israeli national pavilion to the Arsenale. They argue this move creates an intimidating atmosphere contrary to the late curator Koyo Kouoh's vision of "radical solidarity" and will necessitate a heightened security presence. The signatories, which include key curators tasked with realizing Kouoh's exhibition, also call for the exclusion of Israel, Russia, and the United States from the event, citing their governments' alleged commission of war crimes.
Shiva Zahed Gallery has opened in Istanbul’s Pera district, specifically dedicated to showcasing Iranian contemporary art. The gallery's inaugural exhibition, "Echoes," features works by the influential artist Fereydoun Ave and installation artist Shaqayeq Arabi. The opening was significantly delayed and reconfigured after civil unrest in Iran and a communication blackout prevented the founder from coordinating with the 20 emerging artists originally scheduled for the debut.
The legendary British sci-fi hero Dan Dare is returning in a new graphic novel titled 'Dan Dare: First Contact,' published by B7 Comics. Written by Alex de Campi and illustrated by Marc Laming, the project marks a 21st-century reboot of the character originally created by Frank Hampson for the Eagle magazine in 1950. The new iteration modernizes the cast, transforming Professor Peabody into a character of Indian descent and reimagining the sidekick Digby as a young working-class engineer, while maintaining the core conflict against the villainous Mekon.
Art world provocateur Kenny Schachter addresses the current climate of anxiety within the industry, touching on everything from the existential threats of advanced AI tools like Anthropic’s Mythos to the 'doomster' narratives of market analysts. Amidst reports of dwindling demand and galleries struggling with non-paying clients, Schachter highlights the enduring value of historical works, such as a 1799 Goya etching, while dismissing claims that screens are replacing physical art in the home.
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum has appointed Melissa Chiu as its new director, effective September 1. Chiu joins the New York flagship after a 12-year tenure at the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, where she was credited with doubling attendance and significantly increasing fundraising. Her appointment is part of a leadership restructuring by Guggenheim Foundation Director and CEO Mariët Westermann, who will shift her focus toward the foundation's international outposts, including the upcoming Abu Dhabi location.
The Palm Springs Art Museum has unveiled "A Queer Arcana," an ambitious exhibition exploring the intersection of LGBTQ+ culture, occultism, and esoteric spirituality. Spanning the 20th and 21st centuries, the show features a diverse array of media—including a major four-banner commission by the collective Hilma’s Ghost—and is organized into thematic sections such as Tarot, Sex Magick, and healing. The project emerged from the museum’s Q+Art initiative, a unique program dedicated to queer art histories within a general art museum context.
Maurizio Cattelan has launched a participatory artwork and sales campaign titled 'The Confessional,' where people can call a hotline to submit their sins for his consideration. Selected participants will be invited to a livestreamed event on April 23 where Cattelan, acting as a priest, will absolve them. The project is tied to the re-release of his controversial 1999 sculpture 'La Nona Ora,' a miniature wax figure of Pope John Paul II struck by a meteorite.
The Turkish-Jordanian modernist Fahrelnissa Zeid is the subject of a new solo exhibition titled "Immersion" at Dirimart London, curated by art historian Adila Laïdi-Hanieh. This marks the artist's first gallery solo show in the United Kingdom this century, featuring several works from her estate that have never been publicly exhibited. The selection spans various periods of her career, highlighting her transition from monumental geometric abstractions to her late-career expressionist portraits.
A major exhibition at the Royal Academy is presenting the work of 17th-century Flemish painter Michaelina Wautier, an artist whose significant oeuvre was long misattributed to her male contemporaries, including her brother Charles. The show acts as a real-time art historical investigation, using scientific analysis, scholarship, and connoisseurship to reconstruct her career and assert her authorship of ambitious works like the monumental 'The Triumph of Bacchus'.
Critic Aruna D’Souza responds to a viral essay by artist Josh Kline, who argued that the extreme cost of living in New York City has made it impossible for artists to survive, suggesting they should relocate. While D’Souza acknowledges the validity of Kline's frustrations regarding the affordability crisis, she rejects his conclusion that mass exodus is the answer, calling instead for collective action and structural change within the city.
Critic Aruna D’Souza responds to a viral essay by artist Josh Kline regarding the extreme financial pressures of living and working in New York City. While Kline suggests that artists should abandon the city due to the affordability crisis, D’Souza argues that leaving is not a viable long-term solution and calls for a more proactive approach to systemic change within the urban art ecosystem.
Hyperallergic compiled a list of notable April Fools' Day pranks executed by major arts and cultural institutions in 2025. The jokes included the Morgan Library and Museum pretending to give its ornate interior a cheap "Landlord Special" makeover, the New York Public Library announcing it would replace its iconic lion statues with beaver sculptures, and the Brooklyn Museum and Brooklyn Botanic Garden proposing a whimsical, amusement park-style tunnel connecting their campuses.
A new visitor experience survey at the Louvre Museum has revealed that 51% of male respondents believe Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa "should smile more." The finding highlights a specific demographic's critique of the artwork's famously enigmatic expression.
The article is a table of contents for Issue 43 of Contemporary Art Review LA, highlighting a feature on artist Tristan Unrau's exhibition at David Kordansky Gallery. The issue includes a range of critical essays, interviews, and reviews covering topics from olfactory art and tarot to social urgency in curation and video art, with a specific focus on the Los Angeles art scene.
Des chefs-d’œuvre de l’art modélisés et imprimés en très haute définition : le défi relevé par LITO
Beaux Arts Magazine partnered with the Austrian printing and publishing company LITO to stage a challenge at its 500th-issue launch party. Guests were asked to identify the authentic 15th-century painting by Giovanni Bellini's circle from among four seemingly identical works, three of which were ultra-high-definition reproductions created by LITO. The company's patented modeling and printing technology replicates the texture of brushstrokes, varnish sheen, canvas grain, and even craquelure with unprecedented precision.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has finally unveiled its new David Geffen Galleries, a $724 million concrete and glass structure designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. Spanning Wilshire Boulevard, the 110,000-square-foot elevated gallery space will house 1,700 works from the museum’s permanent collection, including masterpieces by Francis Bacon, Henri Matisse, and Katsushika Hokusai. The building is scheduled to open to the public on April 19, marking the completion of a massive campus expansion that has been nearly two decades in the making.
Penny Cooper and Rena Rosenwasser, a Berkeley-based couple, are debuting their private collection of women artists at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). Titled "Rhapsody: Works from the Cooper Rosenwasser Collection," the exhibition features highlights from a half-century of collecting, including works by Marlene Dumas, Nicole Eisenman, and Jacqueline Humphries. The show coincides with the couple's significant donation of nearly 150 artworks to the museum, marking the first time these pieces have been displayed outside their home.
Glenstone Museum in Potomac, Maryland, is celebrating its 20th anniversary as one of the largest private contemporary art museums in the United States. Founded in 2006, the institution offers a unique, immersive experience across 230 acres, combining world-class art, minimalist architecture, and expansive nature trails. The museum currently features major works by iconic artists such as Jackson Pollock, Ruth Asawa, and Kerry James Marshall within its two primary structures, The Gallery and The Pavilions.
Four major art exhibitions across London are entering their final weekend, with closing dates set for April 12, 2026. Highlights include Tate Britain’s face-off between landscape masters J.M.W. Turner and John Constable, and Tate Modern’s dual offerings: a deep dive into Pablo Picasso’s theatrical influences and Máret Ánne Sara’s monumental Hyundai Commission installation in the Turbine Hall. The South London Gallery is also concluding its showcase of the New Contemporaries, which highlights emerging artistic talent.
The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, New York, is launching its 35th annual High School Juried Art Show on April 18, 2026. This year’s exhibition features 136 selected works from over 440 submissions, representing student artists from 18 regional school districts across five counties. A panel of professional jurors, including ceramicist Ava Tesoriero, painter Katie Langford, and fiber artist Joy Muller-McCoola, curated the selection which spans mediums from digital illustration to sculpture.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has finalized the construction of the David Geffen Galleries, a $723.8-million project designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. As the museum prepares for its April 16 gala, officials have released a detailed breakdown of the spending, which supported over 8,600 jobs and generated an estimated $1.2 billion in regional economic activity. Despite the massive investment, the project remains a lightning rod for controversy due to its unconventional modernist design and the fact that it offers less gallery space than the four buildings it replaced.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has unveiled its $724-million David Geffen Galleries, a massive concrete structure designed by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor that spans Wilshire Boulevard. Replacing several older pavilions, the new building rejects traditional museum conventions like white-cube galleries and encyclopedic organization in favor of a sinuous, organic form that emphasizes light, atmosphere, and a visceral connection to the surrounding landscape.