Édouard Glissant’s Museum-as-Archipelago

The article reviews the exhibition "The Earth, the Fire, the Water, and the Winds: For a Museum of Errantry with Édouard Glissant" at the Center for Art, Research and Alliances (CARA) in New York, the first U.S. showing of works from the personal collection of Martinician philosopher and writer Édouard Glissant. Curated from his archive, the exhibition features artists such as Roberto Matta, Wifredo Lam, Etel Adnan, Irving Petlin, Antonio Seguí, Öyvind Fahlström, Jack Whitten, and Mel Edwards, reflecting Glissant's friendships and intellectual exchanges across Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Highlights include Antonio Seguí's large pastel works from his Titanic series.

The Revolutionary Tapestry of Nigerian Modernism

The exhibition "Nigerian Modernism" at Tate Modern in London is the first show of its kind in the UK, surveying how Nigerian artists forged a postcolonial identity across the 20th century. It features works by pioneers such as Aina Onabolu, Benedict Enwonwu, and members of the radical Zaria Art Society, including Uche Okeke, Jimo Akolo, and Clara Etso Ugbodaga-Ngu, highlighting their break from British artistic traditions and embrace of local visual heritage.

Can an Artwork Have Personhood?

The article explores a growing trend in contemporary art where artists like Pierre Huyghe, Nina Katchadourian, and Marge Monko create works that blur the line between art objects and sentient beings. These works incorporate human performers, animals, AI, and smart devices, prompting viewers to question whether these entities possess or simulate personhood, and forcing an examination of our instinct to anthropomorphize.

Marcel Duchamp Was the Messenger of History

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York is launching the first comprehensive U.S. exhibition of Marcel Duchamp’s work in over 50 years. In an interview regarding the opening, renowned scholar Thierry de Duve discusses the artist's enduring legacy, from his infamous readymades like "Fountain" to his complex, labor-intensive works like the "Large Glass." The exhibition seeks to reconcile Duchamp’s identity as both a conceptual provocateur and a meticulous craftsman.

Revisiting One of Fauvism’s Wildest Painters

The Parisian gallery Helene Bailly Marcilhac is hosting a comprehensive monographic exhibition dedicated to the Dutch-French painter Kees van Dongen. The show traces the artist's career from his early days as a leading figure of the Fauvist movement through his later developments in portraiture, still life, and genre painting. Spanning several decades, the exhibition highlights Van Dongen's evolution from the "terrifying" bold colors of his youth to the more nuanced, expressive works of his later years, such as his 1950s floral studies and racing scenes.

Josh Kline Misses the Mark

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.

Elucidating the Esoteric with Hilma's Ghost

The feminist art collective Hilma’s Ghost, founded by artists Dannielle Tegeder and Sharmistha Ray, is reclaiming the role of alternative spiritualities and the occult within art history. Sparked by the 2018 Hilma af Klint retrospective at the Guggenheim, the collective emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic as a research-based project that bridges artmaking with esoteric practices like tarot, witchcraft, and neo-tantric cosmologies. Through workshops and collaborative paintings, the duo explores how women and queer artists have historically been erased from the canon due to their unconventional, mystical methods.

‘Barbara Windsor smacked our bottoms!’ Pet Shop Boys on showstopping visuals, horrified bosses – and snubbing the queen

The Pet Shop Boys have released a comprehensive 600-page visual monograph titled 'Pet Shop Boys: Volume,' documenting over 40 years of their aesthetic evolution. The book explores the duo's collaboration with high-profile artists, photographers, and directors including Wolfgang Tillmans, Alasdair McLellan, Derek Jarman, and long-time designer Mark Farrow. It highlights how Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe utilized the music industry's 1980s boom to treat pop music as a 'Gesamtkunstwerk' (total work of art), merging avant-garde fashion, minimalist graphic design, and cinematic music videos.

Mapping the Exhibitions to See in Rome During the Easter Period 2026

Mappatura delle mostre da vedere a Roma durante il periodo di Pasqua 2026

Rome's cultural institutions are presenting a diverse lineup of exhibitions for the Easter 2026 holiday period. Major shows include 'Treasures of the Pharaohs' at the Scuderie del Quirinale, a Hokusai retrospective at Palazzo Bonaparte, 'Flowers. From the Renaissance to Artificial Intelligence' at the Chiostro del Bramante, 'Bernini and the Barberini' at the Gallerie Nazionali Barberini Corsini, a show on Roman villas and gardens at Palazzo Braschi, and 'Impressionism and Beyond' at the Museo dell'Ara Pacis.

Philadelphia Museum of Art Rebrands Again as "PhArt"

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has announced a rebranding to "PhArt," following the discovery of a long-lost Marcel Duchamp readymade—an early prototype of a whoopee cushion titled "Le rire"—in its archives. The institution is dropping "Museum" from its name to signal a commitment to art that transcends traditional boundaries, and the new branding will be featured prominently on social media.

artists auction palestine charity london eno devlin goldin

A group of high-profile artists including Es Devlin, Brian Eno, Nan Goldin, and Grayson Perry are donating works for a London-based charity auction to support humanitarian aid in Palestine. Organized by Choose Love, Gideon Berger Studio, Hope 93 Gallery, and dealer Zayna Al-Saleh, the sale will benefit the Together For Palestine Fund. The auction features a diverse range of media, from Grayson Perry’s ceramics to Nan Goldin’s photography, and will be accompanied by a public exhibition at Hope 93 Gallery from March 26 to April 9.

kaws victory counterfeit art lawsuit

Artist Brian Donnelly, known as KAWS, won a $900,000 damages award from a U.S. District Court on May 2 against Dylan Joy An Leong Yi Zhi and two Singapore-based companies, the Penthouse Theory and the Penthouse Collective, for counterfeiting replicas of KAWS's signature "Companion" figure, toys, skateboards, and artworks. The court also ordered the defendants to stop producing the knockoffs, with KAWS's attorney Aaron Richard Golub calling it a significant international case that can now be enforced globally, including in Singapore.

Why the New Orleans Museum of Art Is One of the City’s Must-visit Cultural Gems

The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), housed in a Beaux-Arts building within City Park, is profiled as a cultural cornerstone of the city. Founded in 1911 as the Isaac Delgado Museum of Art, it now holds over 50,000 works spanning global artifacts, Japanese ceramics, Egyptian relics, and modern pieces by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Edgar Degas, and Wangechi Mutu. The museum also features the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, a 12-acre free-admission outdoor space with works by Rodin, Moore, and Oldenburg. Upcoming 2026 programming includes Japan Fest, an Edo-period Rinpa exhibition, and a long-term show of French porcelain from the Thomas B. Lemann collection.

Last chance! Four excellent London exhibitions close this weekend

Four major art exhibitions are scheduled to conclude their London runs on Sunday, April 12, 2026. The closing shows include the high-profile 'Turner & Constable: Rivals and Originals' at Tate Britain, the 'Theatre Picasso' centenary celebration at Tate Modern, and the 'New Contemporaries' showcase of emerging talent at the South London Gallery.

The must-see exhibitions of 2026: from Duchamp in New York to Baldessari in Beijing

The article previews major art exhibitions scheduled for 2026, highlighting two standout shows. At Basel's Fondation Beyeler, a Cezanne exhibition from January to May will focus on the artist's later works, featuring around 60 oil paintings and 20 watercolours, half from private collections. Highlights include a privately owned oil study of 'The Bathers' (around 1902-06) and 'The Boy in the Red Vest' (1888-90), with curator Ulf Küster emphasizing Cezanne's fragmentary, radical perspective. Separately, the traveling exhibition 'Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone' will premiere at the Peabody Essex Museum in February, showcasing 30 sculptures by the 19th-century Black and Indigenous artist, organized after a 2016 acquisition by the Georgia Museum of Art spurred curators to track down her works.

What to expect from Fondation Cartier's new Parisian home

Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain will open its highly anticipated new Paris gallery at Place du Palais-Royal, opposite the Louvre, on 25 October 2025. The inaugural exhibition, Exposition Générale (running until 23 August 2026), features over 600 works by more than 100 artists, drawn from the foundation's collection of around 4,500 pieces. Designed by Italian studio Formafantasma, the show is organized into four thematic sections—Machines d’architecture, Être nature, Making Things, and un monde réel—and includes works by Sarah Sze, Rinko Kawauchi, Patti Smith, James Turrell, Vija Celmins, Joan Mitchell, Damien Hirst, and others. The building, part of the former Louvre des Antiquaires complex, was reconfigured by architect Jean Nouvel, adding 6,500 sq. m of exhibition space with a library, auditorium, and restaurant.

Embrace the Sparkle at 7 Jewelry-Themed Museum Exhibitions Across the Globe

Seven jewelry-themed museum exhibitions are on view globally in 2025, showcasing pieces from Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, and artist-designed adornments by Man Ray and Pablo Picasso. Highlights include "Cosmic Splendor" at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, featuring astronomically inspired Van Cleef & Arpels creations, and "Cartier" at the V&A in London, displaying over 350 objects including royal commissions and iconic panther jewels. Other shows feature contemporary and vintage designs, emphasizing jewelry as a wearable art form.

From Rembrandt to Warhol, a Paris exhibition asks: what do artists wear?

Annabelle Ténèze, now Director of the Musée du Louvre-Lens, has curated a new exhibition titled 'The Art of Dressing – Dressing like an Artist' at the museum. The show explores how artists from Rembrandt to Warhol use clothing and self-fashioning in their self-portraits and public personas, drawing on examples such as Niki de Saint Phalle's eccentric wardrobe and Rembrandt's deliberate sartorial choices. Ténèze was inspired by her earlier work on de Saint Phalle at Les Abattoirs in Toulouse and by Charlie Porter's book 'What Artists Wear'.

National Gallery London's 200th anniversary

The National Gallery in London is celebrating its 200th anniversary, marking two centuries since its founding in 1824. The milestone is being commemorated with a series of special exhibitions, events, and public programs throughout the year, highlighting the museum's collection of over 2,300 paintings and its role as a cornerstone of British cultural heritage.

Preview

The Art Newspaper is promoting its digital newsletter, which delivers a daily digest of essential news, views, and analysis from the international art world directly to subscribers' inboxes. The article serves as a brief call-to-action for readers to subscribe.

Wem die Glocke schlägt

The Kunsthalle Wien has revived its recurring exhibition format "Lebt und arbeitet in Wien" (Lives and Works in Vienna) for the fifth time since 2000, presenting 56 artists selected from a pool of 700 local practitioners. Curated by Daniel Baumann, Monika Georgieva, and Michelle Cotton, the show spans two venues—the Museumsquartier and Karlsplatz—featuring works in painting, sculpture, installation, film, and video that reflect the city's diverse artistic landscape. The exhibition marks a return after a decade-long hiatus, filling gaps left since the previous edition under the curatorial collective WHW.

Exhibition at Bellevue Palace: Rush causes server crash

Ausstellung im Schloss Bellevue: Ansturm legt Server lahm

Berlin's Schloss Bellevue, the official residence of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, is being transformed into a pop-up art gallery from June 13 to 28 before undergoing a multi-year renovation. The exhibition, titled "Freiraum Kunst," features works by artists including Katharina Grosse, Wolfgang Tillmans, and Monica Bonvicini. However, the ticket booking system crashed due to overwhelming demand, causing delays and prompting the Akademie der Künste to work on resolving the technical issues, assuring the public that tickets are still available.

Free tickets now available for temporary exhibition at Bellevue Palace

Ab sofort kostenlose Karten für temporäre Schau im Schloss Bellevue

Berlin's Bellevue Palace, the official residence of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, will transform into a pop-up gallery for two weeks from June 13 to 28. Free timed-entry tickets become available from 3:00 PM on the website of the Akademie der Künste. The exhibition will feature works by artists including Katharina Grosse, Wolfgang Tillmans, and Monica Bonvicini, displayed in rooms emptied ahead of a multi-year renovation.

How much Berlin fits on 230 square meters?

Wie viel Berlin passt auf 230 Quadratmeter?

The Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin has opened a compact exhibition titled "Ruin und Rausch: Berlin 1910–1930," featuring 35 works across just 230 square meters in a side cabinet of the lower floor. The show uses paintings, sculptures, film clips, and audio poems to tell the story of Berlin between World War I and the Nazi takeover, contrasting themes of excess and poverty, emancipation and extremism. It is structured in three chapters: "Berlin im Taumel" (Berlin in Frenzy), "Schatten der Großstadt" (Shadows of the Big City), and "Die Urbane Frau" (The Urban Woman), with works by artists such as Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Otto Dix, and Otto Nagel.

Schloss Bellevue wird temporär Ausstellungshaus

Schloss Bellevue, the official residence of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin, will be transformed into a temporary pop-up gallery for two weeks from June 13 to 28, before undergoing a major renovation expected to last around eight years. The exhibition, organized in cooperation with the Akademie der Künste, will feature works by artists including Katharina Grosse, Wolfgang Tillmans, and Monica Bonvicini, taking advantage of the emptied rooms ahead of the president's move-out before the summer break. Free timed-entry tickets will be available from May 18 via the Akademie's website.

"Etwas zaghaft, etwas ängstlich, etwas sicher"

The article surveys recent art-world commentary, focusing on a critical review of the Turner Prize shortlist in The Guardian, where Eddy Frankel calls the selection "timid, anxious, safe" and laments a self-perpetuating, elitist system. It also covers a Hyperallergic essay by Lisa Siraganian questioning whether artworks can possess personhood, sparked by Pierre Huyghe's Venice exhibition. Additionally, it reports on controversy at the Venice Biennale, where the jury preemptively excluded countries whose leaders are sought by the International Criminal Court—namely Russia and Israel—drawing sharp criticism from Die Welt's Marcus Woeller. A podcast interview with US sculptor Alma Allen, selected for the US Pavilion, rounds out the coverage.

Because the Ego Suddenly Dissolves

"Weil das Ego sich plötzlich auflöst"

The art world is facing significant structural and political shifts, highlighted by the merger of Artnet and Artsy which has resulted in mass layoffs, particularly within the Artnet News editorial team and its Berlin operations. Simultaneously, tensions are rising in German cultural policy as gallery owner Rupert Pfab raises concerns over government interference in the Stiftung Kunstfonds jury selection, reflecting a broader climate of unease that includes recent controversies at the Berlinale.

Imitations of a Mediocre Teenager on Tranquilizers

"Nachahmungen eines mittelmäßigen Teenagers auf Tranquilizern"

The Victoria & Albert Museum has reportedly censored exhibition catalogs following pressure from Chinese printing firms, removing images and maps related to sensitive topics like Tibet and Tiananmen Square. This editorial roundup also highlights artist Molly Crabapple’s sharp critique of generative AI as a massive intellectual property theft and a profile of Rirkrit Tiravanija’s communal home in Thailand, which functions as a social sculpture.

Art as Experimental Setup

Kunst als Versuchsanordnung

The influential Berlin-based artist and professor Thomas Zipp has passed away unexpectedly. Known for his immersive installations that blurred the lines between art, science, and madness, Zipp created complex "experimental setups" involving painting, sculpture, and performance. His work often explored dark parallel worlds, notably evidenced in his haunting 2013 Venice Biennale project that transformed a palazzo into a derelict psychiatric ward.

One of the Greatest Photographic Documents of the 20th Century

"Eines der größten fotografischen Dokumente des 20. Jahrhunderts"

A New York court has concluded an eleven-year legal battle by awarding Amedeo Modigliani’s 'Seated Man with a Cane' to the heirs of Jewish art dealer Oscar Stettiner. The ruling rejected the claims of the powerful Nahmad family, with the judge determining that Stettiner never voluntarily relinquished the work during the Nazi era. Additionally, a significant photographic archive belonging to darkroom technician Roland Haupt has surfaced, containing previously unseen World War II images by Lee Miller and Cecil Beaton.