Venice Biennale 2026: all the national pavilions, artists and curators so far

The 61st edition of the Venice Biennale, the world's oldest and most prestigious art biennial, will open on 9 May 2026 and run through 22 November. The main exhibition follows the curatorial plan of the late Koyo Kouoh, while national pavilions have been announcing their participating artists and organizers. The article provides a comprehensive list of confirmed pavilions so far, including artists such as Genti Korini (Albania), Matías Duville (Argentina), Khaled Sabsabi (Australia), Florentina Holzinger (Austria), Faig Ahmed (Azerbaijan), and many others, with details on venues and organizers.

'It’s like the natural world. Nothing lasts forever': Tadashi Kawamata on creating his temporary sculptures

Japanese artist Tadashi Kawamata created a temporary wooden vortex sculpture titled "Tornado" inside the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, made from 5,000 individual pieces of wood and installed on the grand staircase for just two weeks in February. The work was commissioned by Ruinart as part of its "Conversations with Nature" series, which presents a piece in Paris before permanently installing it at the champagne house's headquarters in Reims. Kawamata, who has lived in Paris for 18 years, is known for using found materials and creating site-specific, temporary interventions on or inside architecture, emphasizing spontaneity and impermanence.

Art Basel Curbs Pre-Fair Sales—and More Art Industry News

Art Basel has launched a "Basel Exclusive" initiative to curb pre-fair PDF sales, encouraging galleries to withhold works from previews to drive in-person discovery at its flagship Swiss event (June 16–21). Around 170 of 232 exhibitors have opted in. Meanwhile, Volta returns to Basel with a new "5,000 Edit" section for works under CHF 5,000 to attract younger collectors, and the alternative fair Esther will hold its third edition in New York during Frieze Week. In other news, Sotheby's set a U.S. record for design auctions with the Jean and Terry de Gunzburg collection totaling $96 million, and billionaire collector Mitchell P. Rales pledged $116 million to the National Gallery of Art to fund loans to smaller museums. The Smithsonian American Art Museum named Lynda Roscoe Hartigan as its new director, and Gladstone Gallery plans a new Seoul space for 2026.

LA’s The Box Gallery to Close After 19 Years

The Box, a prominent Los Angeles gallery, announced it will close after 19 years, with its final exhibition—a two-venue collaboration with Parker Gallery for late California artist Wally Hedrick—ending April 4. The closure will be marked by a fashion show for Johanna Went on June 6. Founder Mara McCarthy cited a combination of factors, including changing economics around support for her father Paul McCarthy's work and the loss of her family's homes in the January 2025 Eaton fire, as making continued operation impossible.

Chernobyl 40 years on, Paula Rego at Munch in Oslo, Gluck’s flower painting—podcast

This episode of The Art Newspaper's podcast 'The Week in Art' covers three distinct exhibitions. Host Ben Luke discusses the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster with organizer Olha Kovalevska, whose exhibition at Nikolaikirche in Potsdam runs until 27 April. He also explores a new show at Munch in Oslo, 'Paula Rego: Dance Among Thorns', with curator Kari J. Brandtzæg, focusing on Rego's engagement with Edvard Munch. Finally, the episode features 'Convolvulus' (1940) by Gluck as the Work of the Week, part of the group exhibition 'Handpicked: Painting Flowers from 1900 to Today' at Kettle's Yard in Cambridge, discussed with co-curator Naomi Polonsky.

Alma Allen Speaks Out on Backlash Over U.S. Pavilion Commission: ‘A Little Stressful’

Sculptor Alma Allen has spoken out for the first time about the backlash he faced after accepting the commission to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale. In a rare interview on the podcast *Time Sensitive*, recorded at his home in Tepotzlán, Mexico, Allen described the response as “a little stressful” but said he never hesitated when curator Jeffrey Uslip invited him last fall. His selection sparked controversy because the State Department’s requirement that proposals “reflect and promote American values” while not promoting DEI initiatives led higher-profile artists like William Eggleston and Barbara Chase-Riboud to refuse. Allen’s former galleries, Mendes Wood and Olney Gleason, dropped him after he accepted, though he has since joined Perrotin. He also hinted that his exhibition, “Call Me the Breeze,” will include work about conflict and surveillance.

14 Must-See Museum Shows in New York This Spring

New York museums are launching a significant slate of spring exhibitions, featuring major retrospectives and thematic surveys. Highlights include "Noguchi's New York" at the Noguchi Museum, exploring the sculptor's unrealized urban projects; "Raphael: Sublime Poetry" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a comprehensive look at the Renaissance master; and "Gothic by Design: The Dawn of Architectural Draftsmanship," also at the Met, focusing on medieval architectural drawings.

A brush with... Sanya Kantarovsky—podcast

Artist Sanya Kantarovsky is the subject of a podcast interview. He discusses his artistic practice, influences, and the guiding principle of 'ostranenija' or 'making strange' in his figurative paintings, which blend bodies, animals, and plants in atmospheric, often threatening scenarios.

Dallas Art Fair brings Texas's relationship-driven collecting community into focus

The Dallas Art Fair has returned for its 2026 edition, signaling a period of stability with approximately 90 exhibitors and a higher retention rate than previous years. The fair continues to serve as a vital hub for the North Texas collecting community, characterized by a deliberate, relationship-driven approach to acquisitions. Notable activity included the Dallas Museum of Art's acquisition of six works for its permanent collection, including pieces by Nicole Eisenman and Raymond Saunders, funded through a $100,000 partnership with the fair's foundation.

‘Surfers say, that board is so sick!’ The French artist redesigning the surfboard like you’ve never seen before

French designer and musician Lucas Lecacheur is creating wildly unconventional yet functional surfboards and skateboards, including a split board resembling crab pincers, a stingray-like shape, and a Brutalist board. Currently in Australia for Melbourne Design Week, Lecacheur is living and working out of At The Above gallery in Fitzroy, where he is crafting new boards like the cowboy boot-nosed Château Rouge. His designs, made with traditional materials like fiberglass, push the boundaries of surfboard norms while remaining rideable.

From Normal to Ania Magliano: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead

The Guardian's weekly entertainment guide includes a section on art exhibitions, highlighting two shows opening in the UK. Godfried Donkor's solo exhibition at Firstsite in Colchester runs from 22 May to 30 August, weaving stories of resistance from Boudicca to Yaa Asantewaa through collage, painting, and textile. Delcy Morelos's installation at the Barbican in London, running until 31 July, fills the space with huge mounds of earth, clay, and spices to create immersive environments based on Andean and Amazonian knowledge. The guide also mentions Phantasmagoria at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds, exploring video games and digital art.

‘I couldn’t believe we weren’t falling over ourselves for it’: Asia-Pacific art finally conquers Britain

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London has opened "Rising Voices: Contemporary Art from Asia, Australia and the Pacific," a major exhibition produced in partnership with the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) in Brisbane. Featuring over 70 works never before exhibited in the UK, the show draws from QAGOMA's Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT), which began in 1993. Highlights include Michael Parekōwhai's sculpture of a Māori bouncer, Montien Boonma's terracotta bell installation, and Takahiro Iwasaki's intricate wooden model. The exhibition is the first APT survey to be held outside Australia and Chile, arriving after years of planning by V&A exhibitions director Daniel Slater.

‘I paint the kind of people I’m attracted to’: Hernan Bas on hiding from the world in Venice

Cuban-American artist Hernan Bas has been living in Venice, painting tourists while reflecting on the ironies of mass tourism and his own status as a visitor. His new series, titled "The Visitors," comprises 30 paintings that will be exhibited at Ca' Pesaro, Venice's modern art museum, alongside the Venice Biennale. The works range from bleak to satirical, depicting young white men in tourist scenarios—such as a grinning youth at Holi in India or another cradling a koala—and explore themes of alienation, innocence, and the uncanny. Bas, who is gay, acknowledges that his subjects are often the kind of people he is attracted to, and he emphasizes narrative as central to his practice, aiming to be a conceptual artist who happens to paint.

From Mother Mary to Foo Fighters: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead

This article is a weekly entertainment guide from The Guardian, covering cinema, gigs, art, stage, streaming, games, albums, and brain food. In the art section, it highlights two exhibitions: "Handpicked: Painting Flowers from 1900 to Today" at Kettle's Yard in Cambridge, featuring artists like Henri Rousseau and Lubaina Himid; and a show of South African photographer George Hallett's work at the John Lennon School of Art and Design in Liverpool, documenting black resistance in 1970s Britain. It also mentions an open house for Lonnie Holley's new works at Edel Assanti gallery in London.

The 17 Gallery Shows to See During Frieze Week in New York

Frieze New York has drawn collectors, curators, and art enthusiasts to the city, but this article highlights 17 gallery shows across Manhattan that are worth seeing during the fair week. Featured exhibitions include Katharina Fritsch's return to Matthew Marks with monumental sculptures, Kim Dacres' tire-based busts at Charles Moffett, Sasha Brodsky's debut solo show at Margot Samel, Jasper Johns' "Copy/Trace" at David Zwirner, and Lucia Hierro's packing-box sculptures at Marc Straus, among others.

A Launchpad for the Future

"Eine Startrampe für die Zukunft"

The article is a media roundup covering several stories from the art world. It includes an interview with Jeff Koons discussing his artistic process and philosophy, a portrait of artist Jorinde Voigt, a report on the robust Art Düsseldorf fair, a news piece about two valuable Gerhard Richter paintings on loan to a museum, and a review of the new LACMA building's non-linear curatorial approach.

Notes from New York: The World in a Convex Mirror

The article reviews the sixth edition of MoMA PS1's quinquennial survey 'Greater New York 2026,' which coincides with the institution's 50th anniversary. It highlights works by artists such as Covey Gong, Win McCarthy, Mekko Harjo, and Sophie Friedman-Pappas, noting how the exhibition's themeless structure and use of reflective surfaces create a hall of distorted reflections. The show includes 53 emerging and midcareer artists, mostly millennials, and is accompanied by a block party and gala rather than a dedicated commemorative exhibition like FORTY (2016).

Appropriation Culture: Richard Prince and Arthur Jafa

An upcoming exhibition at ArtReview pairs artists Richard Prince and Arthur Jafa to explore the ethics and aesthetics of image appropriation. Jafa's work, such as the video "Love is the Message, The Message is Death" (2016), uses found footage of police violence and Black cultural icons, while Prince's "Girlfriends" series rephotographs amateur snapshots from biker magazines. Jafa has cited Prince as a key influence on his own practice of transposing images across contexts.

In Venice, 22 unmissable exhibitions on the sidelines of the biennial

À Venise, 22 expositions incontournables en marge de la biennale

The article highlights 22 must-see exhibitions happening alongside the 61st Venice Biennale, which is expected to be affected by geopolitical tensions but still promises artistic vibrancy. Notable events include Bvlgari's dual projects featuring artists Lotus L. Kang, Lara Favaretto, and Monia Ben Hamouda; the unveiling of the Asscher collection at the Ama Venezia foundation with works by Charles Ray, Jenny Saville, and Richard Serra; and the inaugural exhibition "The Only True Protest Is Beauty" at the Fondation Dries Van Noten, showcasing 200 objects across fashion, design, and art. Other highlights include a dialogue between Picasso, Morandi, and Parmiggiani at the Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa.

David Hockney : tout savoir sur la superstar de la peinture exposée à la galerie Lelong

Beaux Arts Magazine has published a comprehensive dossier on David Hockney, coinciding with his current exhibition at Galerie Lelong in Paris. The article presents a multi-episode series covering the British artist's career, from his iconic "Pool Paintings" like *A Bigger Splash* (1967) to his recent works created on iPad in Normandy. It highlights his ongoing exhibitions at multiple venues, including a major retrospective at the Centre Pompidou starting June 21, a dialogue with Matisse at the Musée Matisse in Nice, a show at the Van Gogh Museum, and a loan from Tate Britain to the Musée Granet in Aix-en-Provence. The piece also explores Hockney's fascination with Old Masters, his use of technology, and his enduring status as a pop art and hyperrealist superstar.

David Hockney décroche la lune dans une lumineuse exposition gratuite à Paris

David Hockney presents "The Moon Room," a series of fifteen iPad drawings of full moons created during the 2020 lockdown, at Galerie Lelong in Paris until May 7, 2026. The exhibition, free and open to the public, features nocturnal landscapes Hockney painted from his farm in Normandy, inspired by Maupassant's "Clair de lune" and his own nightly observations. The works were first shown at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen in 2024 and later at the Fondation Louis Vuitton.

The Box Shutters in Los Angeles After Nearly Two Decades

The Box, a pioneering Los Angeles gallery known for its nonprofit-style support of experimental and performance art, has announced its closure after nearly two decades. Founded in 2007 by Mara McCarthy, the gallery’s final exhibition featured late California painter Wally Hedrick, and a closing event will include a fashion show by Johanna Went. Mara McCarthy cited the shifting market for her father Paul McCarthy’s work and the loss of family homes in the Eaton Fire as factors behind the decision.

Peter Doig, Tracey Emin, and More Sign Letter Defending Southbank Centre Chair

A letter signed by environmental activist Greta Thunberg and artists Tracey Emin and Peter Doig is circulating in support of Misan Harriman, chair of London's Southbank Centre. The letter defends Harriman against what it calls a "dishonest smear campaign" by the Telegraph and other right-wing outlets, which accused him of promoting conspiracies and comparing Reform Party voters to Nazis. The controversy stems from Harriman's social media comments about a knife attack on Jewish men and a video referencing Susan Sontag and Kurt Vonnegut on the Holocaust, which critics say minimized antisemitism or drew inappropriate parallels. Harriman denies making such analogies, and 70,000 people have complained to media watchdog Ipso, while 15,000 signed the letter.

'Trusting that first reaction is important': Nacho Polo and Robert Onuska on the process of collecting

Nacho Polo and Robert Onuska, co-founders of the design gallery Studiotwentyseven, discuss their art collection in an interview with The Art Newspaper. Housed in their Tribeca apartment, the collection spans painting, sculpture, and photography with an emphasis on materiality and sculptural form. They recount their first acquisition—Ron Gorchov's *Autolykos* (2019)—and their most recent purchase, Alex Katz's *Nine Women 5* (2009). The couple also shares their instinctive buying process, a regret over missing a Nick Cave sculpture, and their anticipation for the Jean and Terry de Gunzburg collection at Sotheby's this spring.

Tracing the Arc of British Sculpture From Modernism to Today

A new exhibition titled “Modern British: Modern & Contemporary British Sculpture” has opened at Bowman Sculpture in London, tracing the evolution of British sculpture from Modernism to the present day. The show features iconic figures such as Henry Moore, Eduardo Paolozzi, and Lynn Chadwick alongside emerging talents like Rufus Martin and Joanna Allen, creating cross-generational dialogues. Highlights include Moore’s *Small Seated Figure* (ca. 1936) and Paolozzi’s *Richard Rogers as Newton* (1990). The exhibition runs through May 29, 2026, and reflects the gallery’s shift from focusing on Modern masters to embracing contemporary voices.

Scrappy, Political and Paranoid: ‘Greater New York 2026’

The article previews 'Greater New York 2026', an exhibition at MoMA PS1, characterizing it as 'scrappy, political and paranoid'. It is presented as a critic's guide, highlighting key shows during Art Brussels, including Richard Tuttle's assemblages at Galerie Greta Meert and an expansive exhibition of Lutz Bacher at WIELS. The piece is written by Emile Rubino and published by Frieze.

15 Art Shows to See in NYC This May

Hyperallergic's May 2025 guide to New York City art shows highlights 15 exhibitions, including a survey of Hawaiian Japanese-American artists from the Metcalf Chateau group at Ryan Lee Gallery, a retrospective of Malian photographer Seydou Keïta at the Brooklyn Museum, and Renée Green's multimedia project 'Secret' at Bortolami Gallery. The article also features Lynette Yiadom-Boakye's quietude-focused works, a meditation on grief and death, and a document of a city devastated by the AIDS crisis through portraits of inanimate objects, among other shows.

The 5 Best Booths at Frieze New York 2026

Frieze New York 2026 opened its VIP day at The Shed on May 13, following the Venice Biennale's opening week. Now in its 15th edition, the fair anchors New York Art Week, a series of concurrent fairs, gallery openings, auctions, and parties that take over the city each May. The article highlights the five best booths at the fair, curated by Artsy Editorial.

Frieze New York Is an Assembly-Line Salad

At Frieze New York, curator Lucien Zayan searches for artworks exploring the relationship between food and art, finding a piece by Aki Goto at Europa gallery that reflects on sugar, colonization, and cavities. The fair features works like David Lamelas's "To Pour Milk into a Glass" (1972) from Dia Art Foundation and Mungo Thomson's "Snowman" (2023) at Karma, while a performance by Kite (Oglála Lakȟóta) at the Counterpublic triennial booth offers a reprieve from the monotonous fair experience.

The Works, Trends, and Artists Artnet Specialists Can’t Stop Thinking About

Artnet Auctions has three sales currently live: Post-War and Contemporary Art (through May 20), Contemporary Editions (through May 29), and Private Sales for immediate purchase. Three Artnet specialists highlight key lots: Robert Rauschenberg's 'Corridor (Hoarfrost)' (1978), Emily Mason's 'Express Report' (1988), and Andy Warhol's 'Double Mickey Mouse' (1981). The specialists discuss market trends, including the growing importance of artist foundations in supporting scholarship and market health, the rapid revaluation of post-war women abstractionists like Mason, and shifts in the prints market as consignors leverage demand.