A Poetic and Material Institutional Critique: Gala Porras-Kim at kurimanzutto and the Venice Biennale

UNA CRÍTICA INSTITUCIONAL POÉTICA Y MATERIAL: GALA PORRAS-KIM EN KURIMANZUTTO Y LA BIENAL DE VENECIA

Colombian artist Gala Porras-Kim presents her first solo exhibition at kurimanzutto gallery in Mexico City, titled "Espacios del futuro replican los del pasado" (2026), alongside her participation in the 2026 Venice Biennale. The show critically examines how museum conservation protocols transform objects by detaching them from their original material, ritual, and spiritual contexts. Central to the exhibition is "The Motion of an Alluvial Record" (2024), a greenhouse that recreates the humidity and temperature of Yucatecan mangroves, allowing clay and sediment to shift continuously, resisting the linear, stratified time of Western archives and evoking cyclical Maya cosmologies. Another series, "Uprooted" (2026), reproduces fragments of looted Teotihuacan murals from Techinantitla, now held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Ethnological Museum of Berlin, reinstalling them near the floor to restore their original architectural scale and orientation.

Bruno Birmanis and Mareunrol’s on Representing Latvia at the 61st Venice Biennale

Bruno Birmanis and the artist duo Mareunrol’s (Mārite Mastiņa-Pēterkopa and Rolands Pēterkops) will represent Latvia at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026, with their pavilion located in the Arsenale. Their project draws on memories of Latvia in the 1990s, particularly the avant-garde fashion event The Untamed Fashion Assembly (UFA), conceived by Birmanis, which took place two months after Latvia regained independence from the Soviet Union. The installation is not a nostalgic archive but a space of dialogue and reflection, using the visual codes of a fashion show backstage to explore themes of memory, freedom, and utopian intentions.

And We Shall Go Through Their Hills Without Much Delay

This article documents three journeys into and out of Yunnan, China, spanning from 1874 to 2023. It begins with British interpreter Augustus Raymond Margary's failed colonial expedition to establish a trade route, which ended in his violent death and contributed to unequal treaties opening Southwest China. It then follows a Naxi student named Xueshan in 1937, whose railway journey introduced modern timekeeping to the region, and finally describes the construction of the Burma Road, a critical WWII supply route. The narrative concludes with the artist Cheng Xinhao retracing these routes on foot from Kunming toward Burma over a year and a half, reflecting on history, bodily experience, and the layers of infrastructure that have reshaped the landscape.

What’s Left to Learn from Marcel Duchamp?

The article examines Marcel Duchamp's enduring influence on contemporary art, focusing on his readymades such as "Fountain" (1917) and "Bicycle Wheel" (1913/1951). It notes that a major survey co-organized by the Museum of Modern Art and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 70 years after Duchamp predicted his true public would emerge in 50 to 100 years, reaffirms his status as the most influential artist of the past century. The piece discusses how Duchamp's practice of selecting and presenting ordinary objects as art—from a urinal to a snow shovel—once shocked the art world but now seems quaint compared to later works like Maurizio Cattelan's taped banana.

Required Reading

This week's Required Reading from Hyperallergic features a photo by Saber Nuraldin, a finalist for the World Press Photo of the Year, depicting Palestinians climbing an aid truck in Gaza during famine caused by Israel's blockade. The article also includes Elena Megalos's essay on the American Museum of Natural History as a site of motherhood, and reports on Meenu Batra, a legal interpreter arrested by ICE, and the New York Times blocking the Internet Archive from crawling its site.

C’è un libro che racconta il sorprendente rapporto storico tra arte, biciclette e ciclismo

Antonio Colombo, the Italian entrepreneur behind Columbus and Cinelli, has published a memoir titled "A.C. Confidential. La mia vita tra arte, bicicletta e design" (Ediciclo Editore, 2026, co-written with Giacomo Pellizzari). The book traces his family's engineering legacy—his father Angelo Luigi Colombo supplied steel tubes to Bauhaus designer Marcel Breuer in 1933—and Colombo's own career fusing technical precision with artistic vision. He acquired Cinelli in 1978, collaborated with artists like Keith Haring, Alessandro Mendini, and Barry McGee, and introduced groundbreaking bicycle models including the Rampichino mountain bike (1985) and the Laser, which won the Compasso d'Oro design award in 1991. The narrative also covers his friendships with artists Mario Schifano (who designed Tour de France jerseys) and his role in the Red Hook Criterium fixed-gear race.

A life beyond diagnostic labels: Recovering Art exhibition opened this week at Dax Centre, Melbourne

The Dax Centre in Melbourne, in partnership with SANE Australia, has opened "Recovering Art," an exhibition pairing historical works from the Cunningham Dax Collection—created by patients in Victorian psychiatric hospitals from the 1950s—with new contemporary pieces by artists Ruth Buchanan, John Young Zerunge, Abdul Abdullah, Jenna Lee, and Luke Willis Thompson. Curated by Andy Butler, the show includes landscape paintings by Rene Sutton, works by Graeme Doyle, Carla Krijt, and NEG, alongside new commissions that engage with themes of archive, classification, and institutional observation of lived experience.

Lost bunny paintings by JFK's photographer found in ABQ storage

A trove of paintings by Eddie Johnson, an obscure artist who photographed President John F. Kennedy in 1962 as assistant to Elaine de Kooning, has been discovered in a storage unit in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The archive, saved from disposal by the artist's estate, includes a major series of bunny-themed works created between 1972 and 1995, all based on a worn plush toy. Artist Matthan Cowart organized the exhibition "Hares on the Mountain" at his gallery Desert Mystery Center, pairing Johnson's bunny paintings with works by 11 living artists including David Altmejd and Ed Haddaway.

MUUS Collection Acquires Todd Webb Archive, Expanding Its Story of 20th-Century American Photography

MUUS Collection has acquired the archive of American photographer Todd Webb (1905–2000), adding approximately 15,000 prints, 50,000 negatives, ephemera, and his extensive journal to its holdings. Webb is known for his evocative postwar images of New York and Paris, as well as his travels across the American West, Great Britain, New Guinea, and Africa. The archive documents his relationships with key figures such as Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O'Keeffe, Walker Evans, and Berenice Abbott, and will join works by Rosalind Fox Solomon, Larry Fink, and Deborah Turbeville in the collection.

렘브란트 등 거장들의 뉴암스테르담(구 뉴욕) 풍경전 'Old Masters, New Amsterdam" 뉴욕역사협회(5/1-8/30)

The New York Historical will present 'Old Masters, New Amsterdam' from May 1 to August 30, 2026, a first-of-its-kind exhibition using 17th-century Dutch paintings by Rembrandt van Rijn, Frans Hals, Jan Steen, and their contemporaries to envision life in the Dutch settlement that became New York. Featuring over 60 paintings, including works from the Leiden Collection and loans from institutions such as the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, National Gallery of Art, and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the exhibition marks the 400th anniversary of New Amsterdam's founding and the U.S. 250th anniversary.

May 2026 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists

Colossal's May 2026 opportunities roundup lists multiple open calls, residencies, and grants for artists worldwide. Featured opportunities include the Scenerium 2026 Art Award (deadline May 7), the Hopper Prize offering $4,500 and $1,000 artist grants (deadline May 12), and the SaveArtSpace Billboard Art Open Call curated by Gigi Chen (deadline May 7). Other listings include the YICCA Art Prize, CIFRA Award, Cass Art Prize for the U.K. and Ireland, Sunshine Coast National Art Prize in Australia, an opportunity to get published in Artistonish magazine, and the Abbey Mural Prize.

British Museum Unveils Elaborate Display for Bayeux Tapestry

The British Museum has revealed its plans for displaying the nearly 1,000-year-old Bayeux Tapestry when it arrives on loan from France later this year. For the first time in recent history, the 230-foot-long embroidered narrative of the Norman Conquest will be laid flat in a bespoke case, allowing visitors to view all 58 scenes in a single unbroken display. The exhibition, supported by a £5 million pledge from WorldQuant CEO Igor Tulchinsky, will also feature loans including the Junius II manuscript from Oxford's Bodleian Libraries and silver coins from the Chew Valley Hoard. Tickets for the ten-month show, opening September 10, cost £25–£33.

He’s behind you! The best of Photo London – in pictures

Photo London, the UK's leading photography fair, launches its 11th edition at a new venue, Olympia in Kensington, London, running from 13–17 May 2026. The fair features a diverse array of exhibitors, including debutants like Agony and Ecstasy gallery, which showcases nostalgic works of Ibiza by Oriol Maspons and Walter Rudolph, and Hackney-based Guest Editions, presenting Laura McCluskey and Thomas Duffield. A new 'Focus' section highlights galleries from Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe, such as Ungallery (Argentina) and Galeria Monopol (Poland). Notable presentations include vintage prints by Japanese master Daido Moriyama at Akio Nagasawa Gallery, and Ketaki Sheth's series 'Twinspotting' at Photoink, which pairs Patel twins in the UK with those in India.

Parallax(e): Perspectives on the Canada–US Border

The exhibition "Parallax(e): Perspectives on the Canada–US Border" at The Reach Gallery Museum in Abbotsford, British Columbia, brings together archival materials from the Northwest Boundary Survey (1857–62) with new works by five Indigenous artists. The show features photographs, maps, and watercolors from British and American surveyors alongside commissions by Dr. Shawn Brigman, Dr. Michelle Jack, Deb Silver, Xémóntalot Carrielynn Victor, and Dr. T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss, who respond to the legacy of the border's creation through canoe culture, transboundary identity, and place-based knowledge.

The Strange Coincidence Behind Ivy Getty’s Ludovic de Saint Sernin Met Gala Dress

Ivy Getty, an American model and philanthropist, collaborated with Parisian designer Ludovic de Saint Sernin to create her Met Gala dress, inspired by the 1926 illustration *L’Eclat de l’Or* by Russian artist Erté. The sketch, originally for the show *The Golden Fables*, was chosen from Getty’s mood board; the pair later discovered it is held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s archive, coinciding with its 100th anniversary. The final fringed gown debuted on the Met Gala red carpet, and the duo discussed the creative process in an interview.

fashion ivy getty met gala ludovic de saint sernin

Ivy Getty, an American model and philanthropist, collaborated with Parisian designer Ludovic de Saint Sernin on her 2025 Met Gala look. The design was inspired by a 1926 illustration titled *L’Eclat de l’Or* by Russian artist Erté, originally created for the show *The Golden Fables*. Getty's mood board included vintage sketches and imagery from the 1920s, and the pair discovered that the original artwork is held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's archive, which they visited in person. The final dress features a fringe-lined reinterpretation of the historic design, and the article includes an interview with the duo about their creative process and the experience of preparing for the event.

Prize commemorates Henrike Naumann – MMK takes over estate

Preis erinnert an Henrike Naumann – MMK übernimmt Nachlass

A new prize named after the late artist Henrike Naumann has been established by the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa) and the Zeit Stiftung Bucerius, coinciding with her posthumous presentation at the German Pavilion of the Venice Biennale. The €15,000 Henrike-Naumann-Preis für Bildende Kunst, plus €5,000 in production funds, will be awarded regularly starting this year to early- to mid-career artists whose work engages with social transformation, political fault lines, or transnational contexts. Meanwhile, the Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt (MMK) has acquired Naumann's estate, which will be catalogued and made publicly accessible to ensure her work receives long-term scholarly and curatorial attention.

À Nîmes, la peinture sans entrave de Tursic & Mille envahit le Carré d’art

The article covers the retrospective exhibition of French artist duo Ida Tursic and Wilfried Mille at the Carré d'art in Nîmes. Titled "Dissonances à géométries variables," the show traces their career from student works at the École nationale supérieure d'art de Dijon to recent paintings, featuring a critical, humorous, and materially rich approach to figurative painting. The duo draws from press images, internet sources, art history, and archives, disrupting reproductions with paint splatters and odd details, and the exhibition is organized thematically from "happiness" to "melancholy."

This First Nations artist wants your racist 'Aboriginalia' – video

Indigenous artist Tony Albert has issued a public call for Australians to donate their 'Aboriginalia'—objects that depict Aboriginal people and designs but were created by non-Indigenous people, often as caricatures or exoticized souvenirs. Over 3,000 items from Albert's own collection, including tea towels, ashtrays, and playing cards, are now on display in his solo exhibition 'Not a Souvenir' at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Sydney, opening on 21 May.

Drained, Drowning, and Decay: The Best National Pavilions at the Venice Biennale

The 2026 Venice Biennale is defined by themes of ruin and decay, with standout national pavilions exploring bodily, infrastructural, and archaeological collapse. The Slovenian Pavilion features the Nonument Group repurposing materials from past Biennales into a ruin of a mosque for Bosnian Muslim soldiers from World War I. Syria presents its first national pavilion since the Civil War, with Sara Shamma invoking Palmyra, destroyed by ISIS. Germany's pavilion, titled "Ruin," features works by Henrike Naumann (who died in February) and Sung Tieu, questioning the pavilion's fascist architecture and nationalist residue. The Austrian Pavilion, curated by Florentina Holzinger, offers a visceral performance titled "Sea World." The Biennale is also marked by the abrupt resignation of its five-member jury, who refused to consider nations charged with crimes against humanity, leading to awards being chosen by public vote. Additionally, the main exhibition "In Minor Keys" was affected by the death of its curator, Koyo Kouoh.

Pleasure, parody and propaganda: rethinking the art of illustration in a new history of the genre

D.B. Dowd's new book "Reading Pictures" offers a sweeping 400-page history of illustration, tracing the genre from the Diamond Sutra frontispiece in Tang China (AD868) to Molly Crabapple's Gaza reports in 2015. The book examines key works such as Jules Chéret's 1891 poster for the Alcazar d'Été Club, Stuart Davis's caustic covers for The Masses, and Duong Ngoc Canh's Vietnamese propaganda poster, arguing that illustrations are meant to be "read" rather than admired like museum paintings.

Lucas Museum Aims to Tell the History of Storytelling via 1,200 Objects

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles has announced details of its inaugural exhibitions, set to open on September 22, 2026. Founded by filmmaker George Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson, the museum will feature over 1,200 objects across 30 galleries, tracing the history of visual storytelling from ancient sculptures to Renaissance paintings, photography, comics, and manga. The collection draws from Lucas's personal trove of more than 40,000 works of illustrator art, including pieces by N.C. Wyeth, Norman Rockwell, Frank Frazetta, Beatrix Potter, and Jack Kirby, as well as large-scale murals and photography by artists like Judy Baca and Dorothea Lange. The museum, designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects, also includes archives of Lucas's film sets, props, and costumes.

The tiniest event can tear a hole. Sara MacKillop by Margaret Kross

Sara MacKillop's exhibition "The Cutaway View" at Good Weather in Chicago presents sculptures made from humble analog materials like blank wall calendars, empty shopping bags, and gift wrapping. The London-based artist alters these objects with minimal interventions—such as surgically cut holes in shopping bags to accommodate vinyl records—drawing attention to the ephemera and texture of retail culture. Her series "Calendar Houses" (2021–ongoing) uses archive boxes and wall calendars to create miniature modernist dwellings that critique systems of order and self-optimization.

Meet four artists behind the public art you'll see at L.A. Metro's new D Line stations

L.A. Metro opened the first phase of its D Line extension on Friday, May 1, 2026, adding three new underground stations connecting downtown Los Angeles to Beverly Hills: Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax, and Wilshire/La Cienega. The stations feature nine site-specific public artworks by artists including Mariana Castillo Deball, Eamon Ore-Giron, Ken Gonzales-Day, Todd Gray, Karl Haendel, Soo Kim, Fran Siegel, Susan Silton, and Mark Dean Veca. The competitive selection process began a decade ago, drawing over 1,200 applicants, with finalists judged by a panel of art professionals including curators from Miracle Mile museums. Metro deputy executive officer Zipporah Yamamoto leads the agency's public art program, which is funded by a 0.5% construction budget set-aside.

Calls for Artists: May 2026

Burnaway's May 2026 Calls for Artists roundup lists multiple opportunities with deadlines in early May. These include the Joan Mitchell Center's call for figurative works, the Michael P. Smith Fund for Documentary Photography for Gulf Coast photographers, the Center for Craft Teaching Artist Cohort offering $10,000 grants to mid-career craft artists, the Hopper Prize grants totaling $13,000, residencies at The Studios of Key West and Trillium Arts, and the National Performance Network Creation & Development Fund. Each opportunity has specific eligibility, fees, and deadlines ranging from May 3 to May 18, 2026.

Cy Twombly, From Intimate Angles

A recently discovered cache of negatives taken by Tatiana Franchetti, the wife of artist Cy Twombly, reveals intimate and personal photographs of the 20th-century master. The negatives were found by Twombly's granddaughter, offering a new, private perspective on the artist's life and daily surroundings.

Jenna Sutela on Representing Finland at the 61st Venice Biennale

Jenna Sutela, representing Finland at the 61st Venice Biennale, will present an exhibition titled *Aeolian Suite* in the Giardini pavilion. The work features sound sculptures that engage with wind as both a physical and political force, using meteorological data, wind machines, recorders, a children's woodwind orchestra, and recordings of winds from Venice, Helsinki, and beyond. Sutela explores noise as a creative medium, drawing on the concept of deep listening inspired by artist Pauline Oliveros, and connects her project to the Biennale's theme, *In Minor Keys*, curated by Koyo Kouoh.

The MAR Museum in Ravenna Opens a Permanent Gallery Dedicated to Fashion Photographer Paolo Roversi

Il museo MAR di Ravenna apre una galleria permanente dedicata al fotografo di moda Paolo Roversi

The MAR museum in Ravenna, Italy, is opening a permanent gallery dedicated to fashion photographer Paolo Roversi, set to launch on May 20. The space, curated by Chiara Bardelli Nonino, will showcase Roversi's poetic and visual universe, featuring his iconic portraits of models like Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, and Rihanna, along with his fashion work and still lifes. The gallery is designed by scenographer Ania Martchenko with lighting by Silvestrin & Associati, and includes areas such as the Studio, the Archive, and the Room of the Muses.

How Dayanita Singh Organized a Major Show in Venice Without Institutional Funding

Dayanita Singh has organized a major exhibition titled "ARCHIVIO" at the State Archives of Venice, marking the first time the institution has opened its doors to the public for an art show. The exhibition, which runs until July 31, features collapsible wooden pillars covered with black-and-white photographs that explore Singh's 25-year relationship with Italy and her broader engagement with archival documents from both Italy and India. Singh achieved this without major institutional funding, instead relying on a "friendship economy" of bartering, negotiation, and individual patrons, and even arranged for local art students to serve as docents in exchange for professional mentorship.

I Turned My TV Into a Rotating Art Gallery Using Free Museum Downloads

The article provides a guide on how to turn a TV into a rotating art gallery by downloading high-resolution, public-domain images from museum digital collections. It explains the need to filter for Open Access works to avoid copyright issues and recommends several museums with extensive free collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago and the Getty Museum.