‘Landmark’ Tate exhibition to chart 40 years of works by Margate artist Dame Tracey Emin

Dame Tracey Emin will present a major retrospective titled 'Tracey Emin: A Second Life' at Tate Modern in London, running from February to August 2026. The exhibition spans 40 years of her career, featuring iconic works like the Turner Prize-nominated 'My Bed' alongside never-before-exhibited pieces across painting, video, textiles, neons, writing, sculpture, and installation. Emin, who rose to prominence in the 1990s, has recently been appointed Dame Commander of the British Empire and continues to invest in artist spaces in Margate.

What not to miss at Frieze New York 2025

Frieze New York 2025 will take place from 7 to 11 May at The Shed, featuring over 65 leading contemporary art galleries from more than 25 countries. The fair offers collectors access to blue-chip works by major artists and pieces by emerging talents, alongside amenities such as the US debut of Korean luxury beauty brand The Whoo showcasing three South Korean female artists, and a Ruinart champagne bar with a commissioned installation by artist Sam Falls. Notable booths include Mendes Wood DM presenting a new sculpture by Sonia Gomes and works by Kishio Suga, a joint presentation by Apalazzogallery and Emalin featuring Augustas Serapinas, and Tina Kim Gallery highlighting a multigenerational selection of women artists including Maia Ruth Lee.

‘Her crotchless trousers are etched in my brain for ever’: Valie Export remembered by the artists she influenced

Valie Export, the pioneering Austrian feminist artist known for provocative performances like *Tapp-und-Tastkino* (1968) and *Genital Panic* (1969), is remembered by four artists she influenced: Peaches, Florentina Holzinger, Joan Jonas, and Candice Breitz. Each shares personal reflections on Export's radical use of the female body as a political weapon, her confrontational public interventions, and her legacy of civil disobedience against patriarchal structures.

Who’s That Nude Figure on a Washing Machine Outside the New Museum?

British artist Sarah Lucas has unveiled a new public sculpture titled "VENUS VICTORIA" (2026) at the New Museum's entrance plaza on the Bowery in Lower Manhattan. The work, which will remain on view for two years, features a monumental nude female figure with flailing arms and large pink breasts perched atop a dusty washing machine, wearing bright yellow high heels. Lucas adapted the figure from her ongoing "Bunnies" series (1997–present), which uses knotted pantyhose and found objects. The sculpture was unveiled on May 12, 2026, inaugurating a decade-long series of public commissions by women artists at the museum.

Sophia Rivera’s Mythology of Everyday New York

The article reviews "Sophie Rivera: Double Exposures" at El Museo del Barrio, the first survey of the late Nuyorican photographer Sophie Rivera, who died in 2021. The exhibition spans her career, including her feminist conceptual series "Rouge et Noir" and "Bowl Study" (c. 1976–78), which depict intimate bodily waste like used tampons and feces, and her socially engaged "Latino Portraits" series from the late 1970s, which countered negative media stereotypes of Puerto Ricans with affectionate, mythologizing portraits. The review highlights a moment where the critic misidentifies abstract toilet photographs as pinhole or double exposures before learning their true subject.

2026 Spring Arts Preview: The top visual art exhibitions we’re excited about this season

The article previews the spring 2026 visual arts season in San Diego County, highlighting a diverse range of exhibitions and events. It announces the return of Art Gallery Month, a collaborative effort involving 11 local galleries aimed at boosting the visibility of the commercial gallery ecosystem and encouraging local art collecting. Key exhibitions featured include Ruben Ulises Rodriguez Montoya's first California solo museum show, 'In the Garden of Earthly Delights: I Bend to Paradise,' at the Institute of Contemporary Art, San Diego, and the La Jolla Historical Society's 'Space Maker,' which explores the intersection of art and architecture. The preview also notes Richard Allen Morris's work at R.B. Stevenson Gallery and lists numerous participating commercial galleries.

Exhibition Review: “Alan Davie: Paintings, 1959 - 1971” at A Hug from the Art World, Chelsea (long-term viewing, by appointment)

A Hug from the Art World in Chelsea is presenting a long-term exhibition of Scottish Abstract Expressionist Alan Davie (1920–2014), focusing on his work from 1959 to 1971. Gallery founder Adam Cohen, who discovered a Davie painting in his father Frank Cohen's collection, curated the show to highlight what he considers Davie's most influential period, when his style evolved into a psychedelic, complex visual language amid the rise of Pop Art and Minimalism.

Valie Export ist tot

Valie Export, the pioneering Austrian media and performance artist, has died at age 85 in Vienna. Born Waltraud Lehner in Linz in 1940, she adopted the name Valie Export in the late 1960s, derived from a cigarette brand, and became internationally known for provocative works such as "Tapp- und Tastkino" (1968) and "Aktionshose: Genitalpanik." Her practice critically examined gender roles, power structures, and the representation of the female body through film, video, photography, and performance. She participated in major exhibitions including Documenta, the Centre Pompidou, and the Museum of Modern Art, and represented Austria at the Venice Biennale in 1980 alongside Maria Lassnig. She also taught as a professor of media and performance art in Berlin and Cologne, and the VALIE EXPORT Center opened in Linz in 2017.

In Geneva, John M Armleder’s Stunning Lesson in Art History

À Genève, la renversante leçon d’histoire de l’art de John M Armleder

The Musée d’Art et d’Histoire (MAH) in Geneva has unveiled its sixth "carte blanche" exhibition, curated by the influential Swiss artist John M Armleder. Following in the footsteps of figures like Ugo Rondinone and Wim Delvoye, Armleder was invited by museum director Marc-Olivier Wahler to mine the institution's vast collection of 800,000 objects. The resulting show defies traditional museum hierarchies by juxtaposing fine art with decorative objects, such as silver-topped corks and musical instruments, alongside Armleder's own prolific output of multiples.

The Centre Pompidou will inaugurate its South Korean branch in a former Seoul aquarium in early June

Le Centre Pompidou inaugurera début juin son antenne sud-coréenne dans un ancien aquarium de Séoul

The Centre Pompidou has announced the official opening date for its new South Korean satellite, the Centre Pompidou Hanwha, scheduled for June 4, 2026. Located in a former aquarium within Seoul’s financial district, the 11,000-square-meter space was redesigned by architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte and will launch with a major cubism exhibition featuring 90 works by masters such as Picasso and Braque. The inauguration was recently marked by a site visit from French President Emmanuel Macron and key cultural officials.

Orsay inaugure une salle destinée aux œuvres « MNR »

The Musée d'Orsay in Paris has opened a new dedicated gallery, Room 10b, to display works from its MNR (Musées nationaux Récupération) collection—artworks looted or acquired under dubious circumstances during the Nazi era. The room features detailed labels and educational texts, with some works shown verso to reveal provenance labels. The initiative is funded by the American Friends of the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée de l'Orangerie with €1 million over four years, and includes a fake Monet, a Degas subject to a restitution claim, a Rodin sculpture, and a debated Cézanne. The museum's provenance research team, led by Inès Rotermund-Reynard, collaborates with the French Ministry of Culture's M2RS mission.

JR to cover Paris’s Pont Neuf in homage to Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

French artist JR has begun installing a monumental trompe-l’oeil work titled *La Caverne du Pont Neuf* (2026) on Paris’s Pont Neuf, transforming the city’s oldest bridge into an immersive cave. The project reimagines the bridge as a limestone quarry cave, referencing the stone from which the bridge and many Parisian buildings were constructed. The work pays homage to Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s iconic *The Pont Neuf Wrapped* (1985) and will be visible both day and night throughout the summer.

Centre Pompidou Hanwha to open its Seoul space in June 2026.

The Centre Pompidou Hanwha is scheduled to open its doors in Seoul in June 2026, following a three-year construction period. Located within the iconic 63 Building in the Yeouido district, the 10,000-square-meter facility replaces a former aquarium with a four-story "box of light" designed to maximize natural illumination.

How Fatinha Ramos Channels ‘Visual Activism’ in Her Richly Layered Illustrations

Fatinha Ramos, a Portuguese artist and illustrator based in Antwerp, describes her work as 'visual activism,' creating richly layered illustrations that give voice to minorities and address social issues. She collaborates with major clients including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Tate, Scientific American, the Anne Frank Museum, and MoMA, which commissioned her to illustrate an essay about being compared to Frida Kahlo. Born with osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease), Ramos spent much of her childhood in hospitals, where drawing became an escape. After 12 years as an art director in advertising and publishing, she now focuses on her own practice, which challenges stereotypes around disability, climate crisis, sexism, and racism. She is currently working on a graphic novel and a series of anatomical glass sculptures based on brittle bone disease.

Seoul’s Centre Pompidou, Three Years in the Making, Will Open in June

The Centre Pompidou Hanwha is scheduled to open in Seoul on June 4, coinciding with the 140th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and South Korea. Housed in the iconic Tower 63 and designed by architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte, the new institution is a partnership with the Hanwha Foundation of Culture. The agreement includes a four-year brand licensing deal and a schedule of eight monographic exhibitions drawn from the Pompidou’s permanent collection.

patricia marroquin norby met museum curator departure

Patricia Marroquin Norby, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s first-ever curator of Native American art, has stepped down from her role after a five-year tenure. While both Norby and the museum cited health reasons for her December 2025 departure, the exit follows intense public scrutiny regarding her claims of Indigenous heritage. A 2024 report by the Tribal Alliance Against Frauds (TAAF) alleged that Norby has no American Indian ancestry, leading to a public debate over her qualifications and identity.

curators museum directors offer support in letter to louvre

Fifty-seven curators and museum directors, including Christophe Cherix of MoMA and Michael Govan of LACMA, signed an open letter published by Le Monde expressing solidarity with Louvre director Laurence des Cars following the theft of the museum's crown jewels. The letter emphasizes that museums are not immune to global violence and that such thefts represent a profound fear for museum professionals, while reaffirming that museums must remain open and accessible despite security risks.

spring break art show surprises 2025

New York's Spring Break Art Show has returned to its namesake season, opening alongside Frieze New York after abruptly canceling its Los Angeles edition due to January's devastating fires. Founded by artist duo Andrew Gori and Ambre Kelly, the fair is now held in a former book printing office on Varick Street, featuring offbeat emerging art and boundary-pushing installations. Roughly a third of the presentations were already planned under the theme "Paradise Lost and Found," but the accelerated timeline led to last-minute additions, with some artists joining just the night before. Standout works include Louis Sarowsky's carved stone food sculptures, Kate Rusek's zero-waste porcelain pieces molded from trash, and Colin J. Radcliffe's ceramic sculptures reimagining queer figures in classical iconography.

Interview with the great sculptor Charles Ray who shows in two different galleries in Los Angeles

Intervista al grande scultore Charles Ray che a Los Angeles si mostra in due diverse gallerie

Charles Ray, the renowned American sculptor, opened two simultaneous solo exhibitions in Los Angeles on April 18, one at Matthew Marks Gallery and the other at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, located about a mile apart. The Matthew Marks show features three new works, including "Junk 2" (2026) and "The Animation of Pandora" (2026), while the Deitch exhibition presents three older iconic pieces such as "Firetruck" (1993), "Pepto-Bismol in a Marble Box" (1988), and "Table" (1990). Ray, who has lived in Los Angeles for four decades, is known for his meticulous, slow-working process and his exploration of the human body and everyday objects at altered scales.

Fairfield University Art Museum invites readers to private tour

Fairfield University Art Museum is offering an exclusive private tour to readers, as reported by the Westport Journal. The event provides a behind-the-scenes look at the museum's collections and exhibitions, allowing attendees to engage directly with curators and artworks in an intimate setting.

heidi hahn not your woman

Artist Heidi Hahn discusses her recent exhibition "Not Your Woman" and the emotional journey behind the paintings in an interview with Thalia Stefaniuk. Originally scheduled to open at Mitchell-Innes & Nash's Chelsea gallery, the show was cancelled when the gallery suddenly closed, leaving Hahn feeling discarded and forcing her to rethink the work. The resulting large-scale canvases feature abstract, monumental female bodies rendered in muted oranges, reds, and blues—figures that are faceless, exaggerated, and more like totems or memories than recognizable women. The conversation explores themes of disappointment, failure, and the tension between wanting to be seen and wanting to disappear.

art basel air de paris

The French gallery Air de Paris has publicly withdrawn from Art Basel in Switzerland after being assigned a booth position its founders considered unfavorable. In an open letter, owners Florence Bonnefous and Edouard Merino stated they were offered a choice between their usual stand and a new one, only to have the rejected option imposed. The gallery, which has participated in Art Basel since 1999, accused the fair of prioritizing managerial efficiency over longstanding relationships. Art Basel defended its placement process, citing curatorial vision and logistical factors. Bonnefous, who served on the fair's selection committee, confirmed the gallery will still participate in Art Basel Paris in the fall.

Out and About: What's Happening in Philly

This article is a roundup of events happening in Philadelphia, including a Mother's Day Weekend visit to the Barnes Foundation, a live stage show of "Dancing with the Stars," the Night Market at East Market, and Broadway productions of "Chicago" and "The Wiz." It highlights the Barnes Foundation's collection of impressionist and modern art, along with its new exhibition "Freedom Dreams" on view through August 9.

What to see at Canada’s largest photo festival

The Contact Photography Festival, Canada's largest photography event, opens Friday in Toronto with over 160 exhibitions across eclectic venues including artist-run centers, commercial galleries, cafes, and a laundromat. Highlights include a towering portrait by Haitian-born artist Thandiwe Muriu on Spadina Ave., and a multi-site exhibition by Turner Prize-nominee Sin Wai Kin, featuring billboards and a two-channel video titled 'The Time of Our Lives.' The festival lost its long-time lead sponsor Scotiabank in 2024, resulting in a reduced budget and less public programming, but organizers remain committed to championing lens-based art.

Thinking small and dreaming big in Isabel Nolan’s imaginary world

Dublin-born artist Isabel Nolan discusses her Ireland pavilion exhibition "Dreamshook" at the Venice Biennale, developed with curator Georgina Jackson. The show explores the liminal state between dreaming and waking, weaving a fictional narrative around Renaissance humanist Aldo Manuzio, who popularized portable books. Nolan draws on late Medieval and early Renaissance visual language, using intimate forms like textiles to tackle big ideas about cosmology, religion, and humanism. She describes her ambivalent relationship with European cultural inheritance and the need to recover occluded voices.

sun yitian esther schipper gallery weekend berlin

Artist Sun Yitian, known for photorealistic paintings of mass-produced consumer objects that sell for up to six figures, is opening her largest solo exhibition to date at Esther Schipper in Berlin as part of Gallery Weekend Berlin on May 2. The exhibition, titled "Romantic Room," features 14 new paintings that incorporate Christian religious symbols alongside references to China's copy culture (shanzhai) and the proliferation of fakes in the 1990s. Works like "Image of Jesus" (2024) depict a Christ with facial fillers, inspired by posters in her hometown Wenzhou, while "Jingpin" (2024) playfully addresses Wenzhou's history of fabricating high-quality shoe copies. The show also includes her ongoing "Shelter" series, featuring inflatable bouncy castles from her childhood.

The Hole Gallery Sued Over Unpaid Back Rent

The Hole, a prominent contemporary art gallery founded by Kathy Grayson, has shuttered its West Hollywood location amid a wave of legal and financial troubles. Court filings reveal that the gallery faces multiple lawsuits for unpaid rent and real estate taxes across its Los Angeles and Manhattan outposts, with debts totaling over $180,000. Beyond real estate disputes, the gallery has been dogged by allegations of financial instability and delinquent payments to artists, including a 2019 lawsuit from artist Dan Lam regarding unpaid sales and damaged works.

In Warsaw, “The Woman Question” Dismantles Art History’s Greatest Myth

The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw presents "The Woman Question 1550-2025," a major exhibition curated by Alison Gingeras that dismantles the myth that women have only recently become artists. Featuring 199 works spanning centuries, the show includes pieces by Lubaina Himid, Alina Szapocznikow, Gina Birch, Macena Barton, Betty Tompkins, and Artemisia Gentileschi, among others. The exhibition is organized into nine chapters examining themes such as Baroque women, motherhood, and war, and is accompanied by a catalogue with contributions from museum director Joana Mytkowska and other scholars.

A Tale of Two Cities: Spring Auctions in Hong Kong and Shanghai

Christie's and Sotheby's held their spring marquee auctions in Hong Kong and Shanghai, timed to coincide with Art Basel Hong Kong for the first time. Christie's evening sale of 20th and 21st century art in Hong Kong achieved HKD 560 million (USD 72 million) with a 95% sell-through rate, led by Jean-Michel Basquiat's *Sabado por la Noche (Saturday Night)* (1984) at HKD 112.6 million. Other highlights included a new artist record for Zhang Enli's *Intimacy* (2002) at HKD 23.4 million, and strong sales for works by Yayoi Kusama, Zao Wou-Ki, and Adrian Ghenie, though most lots sold near their low estimates.

A Roma è tutto pronto per il weekend delle gallerie d’arte: mostre, progetti speciali, inaugurazioni. Il programma

The fourth edition of Roma Gallery Weekend will take place from May 15 to 17, 2026, featuring 31 galleries across Rome. The event kicks off with a new Gallery Night on May 14, where simultaneous openings and special projects serve as a concentrated prologue. Participating galleries include established names like Gagosian, Galleria Continua, and Lorcan O'Neill, as well as emerging spaces such as Amanita and Cantadora. Highlights include exhibitions of Francesca Woodman, Tracey Emin, Friedrich Kunath, and Carlos Garaicoa, alongside site-specific interventions and group shows.