An expert’s guide to Robert Rauschenberg: five must-read books on the US artist

To mark the 100th anniversary of Robert Rauschenberg's birth, over half a dozen exhibitions have been organized worldwide, led by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Shows include "Five Friends" at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne and "Robert Rauschenberg: Fabric Works of the 1970s" at the Menil Collection in Houston. Michelle White, senior curator at the Menil, has selected five key books that illuminate different facets of the artist's life and career, from Calvin Tomkins's biography to a catalogue on Rauschenberg's early 1950s work.

Who made ancient Egyptian art? Plus, Michaelina Wautier, Robert Rauschenberg’s ‘Bed’—podcast

This episode of The Art Newspaper's podcast 'The Week in Art' covers three major art stories. Alexander Morrison visits the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge to explore 'Made in Ancient Egypt,' an exhibition revealing the untold stories of the craftspeople and techniques behind ancient Egyptian objects. Ben Luke speaks with Katlijne Van der Stighelen about the largest-ever exhibition of Baroque painter Michaelina Wautier at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, which will travel to the Royal Academy of Arts in London. The episode also features Robert Rauschenberg's iconic work 'Bed' (1955), part of the exhibition 'Five Friends' at the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, which brings together artists John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Cy Twombly.

Christie's presents its 20/21 Marquee Week - Christie's

Christie's will host its 20/21 Marquee Week in London from October 8, 2025, featuring six live and online sales of Impressionist, Modern, Post-War, and Contemporary art during Frieze Week. Highlights include works by Lucian Freud, Peter Doig, Paula Rego, Yoshitomo Nara, Claude Monet, Paul Cezanne, Louise Bourgeois, Chris Ofili, Paul Signac, Gerhard Richter, and Pablo Picasso, along with the Ole Faarup Collection. The event also includes a philanthropic initiative called Architects for the Birds, with birdhouses designed by architects including Norman Foster, Renzo Piano, and David Chipperfield, benefiting the Tessa Jowell Foundation; an exhibition of wearable sculptures and an installation by artist Natasha Wightman; and a continued partnership with the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair.

UC Irvine finalizes acquisition of Orange County Museum of Art

The University of California, Irvine has finalized its acquisition of the Orange County Museum of Art, creating a new unified institution named the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art. The merger combines OCMA's 53,000-square-foot, $98 million facility in Costa Mesa with UC Irvine's academic resources, bringing together over 9,000 works of art. The museum will also showcase UC Irvine's Gerald Buck Collection and Irvine Museum Collection, while the Jack and Shanaz Langson Institute and Museum of California Art continues operating on campus. OCMA staff have joined UC Irvine, and a national search for an executive director is underway.

New exhibition highlights work from '80s art superstars

The Lévy Gorvy Dayan Gallery on Manhattan's Upper East Side has opened "Downtown/Uptown: New York in the Eighties," an exhibition co-curated by Brett Gorvy and legendary downtown gallerist Mary Boone. The show features works by iconic 1980s New York artists including Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Julian Schnabel, Barbara Kruger, Jeff Koons, Francesco Clemente, Kenny Scharf, the Guerilla Girls, Robert Mapplethorpe, Cindy Sherman, and Louise Lawler. Admission is free, and the exhibition runs through December 13.

Global Icons, Local Spotlight: Contemporary Art from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer

The Portland Art Museum (PAM) will open "Global Icons, Local Spotlight: Contemporary Art from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer" in September 2025, featuring over 75 works from the collections of Oregon collector Jordan D. Schnitzer and his Family Foundation. The exhibition includes pieces by major 20th-century artists like Jasper Johns, Helen Frankenthaler, and Robert Rauschenberg, as well as contemporary figures such as Nick Cave, Mickalene Thomas, and Jeffrey Gibson, many shown publicly for the first time. Highlights include Christopher Myers' installation "Let the Mermaids Flirt with Me," debuting at PAM after its 2022 Art Basel Miami premiere.

Review: Cleveland Museum of Art's Murakami show is big and bold but maybe too much of a good thing

The Cleveland Museum of Art has opened a sprawling retrospective exhibition of Takashi Murakami, one of Japan's leading contemporary artists, showcasing his signature "Superflat" style that blends fine art with pop culture. The show features vast wallpaper designs, sculptures with plastic-like smoothness, and immense mural-sized paintings that combine cartoon characters, acid-hued colors, and traditional Japanese ink-and-brush techniques. The exhibition runs through September 7 and costs $30 for adult non-member tickets.

With a new exhibition, Fondation Beyeler celebrates the 60-year career of Vija Celmins

Fondation Beyeler in Switzerland is hosting a comprehensive solo exhibition celebrating the 60-year career of Latvian-born American artist Vija Celmins. The show spans her evolution from early paintings of everyday objects and war imagery to her signature meticulous pencil and charcoal drawings of spiderwebs, night skies, ocean waves, and cosmic expanses. Celmins, who fled World War II as a child and later settled in the US, describes her preference for pencil as "dense yet precise," and the exhibition includes a selection of her sculptures as well.

A colorful Takashi Murakami exhibition is coming to Cleveland

The Cleveland Museum of Art is presenting an expanded version of Takashi Murakami's exhibition 'Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow,' originally shown at The Broad in Los Angeles in 2022. The show fills the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Exhibition Hall and Gallery with Murakami's vibrant paintings and sculptures, including early drawings, self-portraits, and new works unseen by American audiences. A highlight is the Yumedono project, a re-creation of the Dream Hall at Hōryū Temple in Nara, Japan, created in collaboration with the team from the FX series *Shogun*. Curator Ed Schad emphasizes the exhibition's exploration of how art can address crisis, healing, and escapist fantasy after shared historical trauma, with loans that dialogue with classical Japanese artists like Ogata Kōrin, Kitaōji Rosanjin, and Itō Jakuchū.

The colorful world of Takashi Murakami comes to Cleveland Museum of Art

The Cleveland Museum of Art has opened "Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow," a major exhibition of works by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami. The show, which originated at the Broad Museum in Los Angeles, features vibrant paintings, sculptures, and an immersive recreation of the Yumedono (Dream Temple) from Nara, Japan, built in collaboration with designers from the TV series "Shōgun." The exhibition traces Murakami's career from early characters like Mr. DOB to large-scale works addressing grief and trauma, including the 82-foot-long painting inspired by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

Pharrell Williams’s auction platform Joopiter teamed with Martha Stewart for first contemporary art sale

Pharrell Williams's auction platform Joopiter has partnered with Martha Stewart for its first contemporary art sale, titled 'The Contemporary Take,' running through May 6. The 48-lot sale features works by blue-chip artists including George Condo, Jeff Koons, and Ed Ruscha, alongside emerging names like Tschabalala Self and Toyin Ojih Odutola. Stewart personally selected six lots, highlighting pieces by Amy Sherald, Damien Hirst, Ai Weiwei, Louise Bourgeois, Roy Lichtenstein, and Alex Katz. Estimates range from $4,000 to $1.2 million, and early bidding has been active, with works by Amy Sherald and Roy Lichtenstein drawing significant attention.

A ruined building, five Ghanaians and an elegant horse: Ron Timehin’s best photograph

Photographer Ron Timehin discusses a standout image from his documentary project in Labadi, Accra, featuring five local community members and a horse against a ruined farm building. The project, commissioned by My Runway Group, aims to move away from traditional documentary tropes by portraying West African communities in a collaborative, dignified, and elegant manner.

‘Just Dudes Hanging Out’: Dustin Yellin and Paul Rudd on Making the Artist’s First Film

Dustin Yellin, known for his glass sculptures and as founder of Pioneer Works, has made his first film, *Goodnight Lamby*, produced by Darren Aronofsky's A.I.-focused studio Primordial Soup. The short film, a hero's journey to rescue his daughter Zia's favorite stuffed animal, premiered at Cannes. Yellin discusses the project with his friend actor Paul Rudd, who voices the character "Papa," exploring how fatherhood and his existing artistic practice of "frozen cinema" inspired the animation.

The artist Fabien Verschaere, creator of joyful shambles, has passed away at age 50

L’artiste Fabien Verschaere, auteur de joyeux capharnaüms, s’est éteint à l’âge de 50 ans

The French contemporary artist Fabien Verschaere has passed away suddenly at the age of 50. Known for his dense, colorful, and highly personal visual language, Verschaere was scheduled to receive the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres distinction just days after his death. His work, which drew heavily from childhood imagery and his own experiences with chronic illness, created a bridge between dreams and nightmares through a cast of recurring characters like ghosts, superheroes, and hybrid creatures.

Director of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum to depart in October

Janne Sirén, director of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, will step down in October after 13 years leading the institution. The museum announced his departure on April 29, noting that the board will begin a search for a new director this summer. Sirén oversaw a transformative period including a $230 million campus expansion completed in 2023, designed by OMA and Shohei Shigematsu, which added a new building and reconnected the grounds. During his tenure, the museum's collection grew, staff expanded from 62 to nearly 200, the endowment rose from $31.3 million to $79.3 million, and annual visitors reached 340,000. He also launched a public art department, the Innovation Lab, and the AKG Nordic Art and Culture Initiative.

The Short Circuit of Art in Venice. The Tensions at the Biennale Are Not Just Geopolitics

Il cortocircuito dell’arte a Venezia. Le tensioni alla Biennale non sono solo geopolitica

The article analyzes the recent tensions and controversies surrounding the 2026 Venice Biennale, which began with President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco's announcement in March that Russia, Iran, Israel, Ukraine, and Belarus would all be allowed to participate, framing it as a foreign policy gesture. This sparked immediate polarization, leading to two open letters from half the invited artists and curators demanding the exclusion of Russia, Israel, and the United States; the resignation of the jury a week before the opening over a decision to exclude countries under ICC indictment; and a historic strike by workers on May 8 that shut down many pavilions, merging protests against genocide with those against precarious labor conditions.

A Como sta per arrivare una grande mostra su William Turner e il Romanticismo inglese

A major exhibition on William Turner and English Romanticism is set to open on May 29 at Palazzo del Broletto and the Pinacoteca Civica in Como, Italy. Titled "Turner. L’incanto del lago di Como e del paesaggio italiano," the show features seven precious watercolors inspired by Turner's travels to the Lake Como region, alongside an immersive film produced by Tate Digital. The exhibition traces Turner's stylistic evolution from his 1819 sketches to later chromatic studies from 1842-1843, and is organized by the City of Como in collaboration with the Tate in London.

Recensione, interviste e migliori stand della fiera d’arte contemporanea di Varsavia. Che cresce

Art Warsaw returns for its third edition, this time held in the historic Villa Róż, a former British embassy in Warsaw. The fair features 56 galleries, over 30 of which are international, and is co-founded by Joanna Witek-Lipka and Michał Kaczyński. The unconventional venue, with its blend of aristocratic luxury and Cold War-era bureaucratic spaces, is central to the fair's identity, offering an experience far removed from the typical white cube format. Galleries collaborated closely with organizers to adapt their presentations to the building's unique rooms, creating an atmosphere that balances a commercial fair with an exhibition project.

Pappi Corsicato's film on photographer Claudio Abate, which recounts the artistic ferment of Rome between the 1960s and 1990s, is now on RaiPlay

È su RaiPlay il film di Pappi Corsicato sul fotografo Claudio Abate che racconta il fermento artistico di Roma tra gli Anni ’60 e ‘90

RaiPlay has released a new documentary film by Pappi Corsicato titled "Claudio Abate. L’obiettivo nell’arte" (2026), which pays tribute to the late photographer Claudio Abate (1943–2017). The film weaves together interviews, archival materials, and footage from Istituto Luce to chronicle Abate's life and work, focusing on his role documenting the vibrant Roman art scene from the 1960s through the 1990s. It highlights his collaborations with key figures such as Jannis Kounellis, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Fabio Sargentini, and the artists of the Pastificio Cerere school, capturing seminal performances, happenings, and installations that defined Arte Povera and other avant-garde movements.

In the Principality of Monaco, an exhibition where the great painter Poussin dialogues with contemporary art

Nel Principato di Monaco una mostra dove il grande pittore Poussin dialoga con l’arte contemporanea

The Nouveau Musée National de Monaco presents an exhibition titled "Le Sentiment de la Nature," which juxtaposes works by 17th-century French painter Nicolas Poussin and his followers with pieces by about thirty contemporary and 20th-century artists. The show is organized into six thematic sections—storms and nights, forests and gardens, seas and waterfalls, deserts and volcanoes, mountains, and flowers and butterflies—each exploring the ancient concept of "miracula naturae" (wonders of nature). Featured contemporary artists include Nan Goldin, Andreas Gursky, Thomas Demand, Sarah Moon, Mimmo Jodice, Giulio Paolini, Giorgio Andreotta Calò, and Fausto Melotti, with works spanning photography, painting, video, and sculpture. The exhibition runs until May 25, 2026, and is accompanied by a catalog published by Italian publisher Humboldt Books in collaboration with the museum.

The documentary dedicated to Sicilian patron Antonio Presti airs on Rai Tre. Here is the video preview.

Va in onda su Rai Tre il documentario dedicato al mecenate siciliano Antonio Presti. Qui la video anteprima

On Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at 3:30 PM, RAI 3 will broadcast the documentary "Asteroide 20049 Antonio Presti," produced by Rai Documentari and dedicated to Sicilian patron Antonio Presti (born 1957). Written by Fedora Sasso and Francesco Castellani, curated by Giulietta Venneri, and directed by Fedora Sasso, the film explores Presti's four-decade career using art to intervene in marginalized areas of Sicily. The documentary's title references an asteroid named after Presti, symbolizing his vision linking cosmic and urban space. It opens at the Astrophysical Observatory of Isnello and focuses on the Catania neighborhood of Librino, where Presti created MAGMA, an open-air museum developed through collaboration with students, artists, and residents.

The Museums of Verona have a new director. "This city can become a cultural laboratory," says Lorenzo Balbi

I Musei di Verona hanno un nuovo direttore. “Questa città può diventare un laboratorio culturale”, dice Lorenzo Balbi

Lorenzo Balbi, currently director of MAMbo in Bologna, has been appointed as the new director of the Musei di Verona, a civic museum network that includes the Arena di Verona, Casa di Giulietta, Museo Archeologico al Teatro Romano, Museo Civico di Storia naturale, Museo degli Affreschi di G. B. Cavalcaselle, Museo di Castelvecchio, Museo Lapidario Maffeiano, and Galleria d’Arte Moderna Achille Forti. He will take office in September 2026, selected for his strategic vision to revitalize the system as a hub for cultural production, civic participation, and international dialogue.

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.

Basquiat's intense works on paper are at the center of his first exhibition in Denmark

Le intense opere su carta di Basquiat sono al centro della sua prima mostra in Danimarca

The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark, is hosting "Headstrong," a retrospective of 50 works on paper by Jean-Michel Basquiat, running until May 17. The exhibition focuses on Basquiat's depictions of the human head and body, created between 1981 and 1983, and first shown posthumously in 1990. It is the first solo museum presentation of Basquiat in Scandinavia, featuring loans from private collections and international museums, highlighting a lesser-known aspect of the artist's practice.

È morto Paolo Masi. La lunga ricerca dell’artista fiorentino sulla trasformazione dei materiali poveri

Paolo Masi, the Florentine artist known for his lifelong exploration of poor materials and their transformation, died in Florence on Wednesday, May 6, just days before his 93rd birthday. His career spanned from informal experiments in the 1950s through a rigorous investigation of materials in the 1960s, including his first solo show at the Strozzina in 1960. He joined the aesthetic research group Centro F/Uno alongside Baldi, Lecci, and Nannucci, and later co-founded the collective spaces Zona (1974) and Base (1998) with Mario Mariotti and Maurizio Nannucci. Masi participated in the Venice Biennale (1978) and the Rome Quadriennale (1986), and his works are held by major museums and foundations internationally. His later years saw significant retrospectives at the Museo MAGA in Gallarate (2018) and at Le Murate in Florence (2018), as well as a 2023 solo show at Florence's Galleria Frittelli, which remembered him as an extraordinary artist and dear friend.

Performance, gioco, rischio. Il grande Paul McCarthy è in mostra a Madrid: l’intervista

Paul McCarthy's latest exhibition, titled "A&E," is on view at Bowman Hal gallery in Madrid, part of the SOLO CONTEMPORARY initiative founded by a Spanish collector couple. The show features large-scale works on paper and videos created in collaboration with German actress Lilith Stangenberg, exploring role-play, performance, and the blurred lines between art and entertainment. The acronym "A&E" alludes to historical pairs like Adam and Eve or Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun, as well as "Arts & Entertainment." The works stem from private encounters between McCarthy and Stangenberg, with drawings serving as storyboards for videos that capture their improvisational, trance-like interactions.

It's full of artworks behind the looks seen on the Met Gala 2026 red carpet

È pieno di opere d’arte dietro ai look visti sul red carpet del Met Gala 2026

The Met Gala 2026, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, adopted the dress code "Fashion Is Art," prompting designers and celebrities to transform their bodies into living canvases and sculptures. Notable looks included Emma Chamberlain in custom Mugler evoking Vincent van Gogh, Anne Hathaway wearing a Michael Kors Collection dress hand-painted by artist Peter McGough with ancient Greek iconography, and Madonna in a Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello ensemble inspired by Leonora Carrington's surrealist work. Other celebrities like Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner referenced classical sculptures such as the Nike of Samothrace and Venus de Milo, while Anok Yai, in collaboration with Pierpaolo Piccioli for Balenciaga, created a metallic bronze effect honoring the Black Madonna.

The New Installation of the Querini Stampalia Foundation in Venice Is a Game of Combinatory Art. Interview with Director Cristiana Collu

Il nuovo allestimento della Fondazione Querini Stampalia a Venezia è un gioco di arte combinatoria. Intervista alla direttrice Cristiana Collu

The Fondazione Querini Stampalia in Venice has unveiled a new permanent installation titled "The Dreamer," curated by director Cristiana Collu and opening May 5, 2026. The exhibition repositions over 170 works from the foundation's collection—including Giovanni Bellini's *Presentation of Jesus at the Temple*, Luca Giordano's *San Sebastiano*, and Palma il Vecchio's *Madonna with Child*—in dialogue with works by six contemporary artists: Giusy Calia, Silvia Giambrone, Daniela De Lorenzo, Davide Rivalta, Emanuele Becheri, and Chiara Bettazzi. Inspired by the dreams and passions of founder Giovanni Querini Stampalia (born May 5, 1799) and his sister Caterina, the installation is conceived as a non-chronological, emotionally driven journey likened to a "reverse cinema" where visitors move through space like directors constructing their own narrative.

In Piedmont, Langhe, Roero and Monferrato increasingly focus on contemporary art and cultural tourism

In Piemonte le Langhe, il Roero e il Monferrato puntano sempre di più sull’arte contemporanea e il turismo culturale

The Langhe, Roero, and Monferrato regions of Piedmont, Italy, have consolidated their cultural alliance under the name Orma, a unified system launched in 2025 that brings together four existing festivals—Creativamente Roero, Resté, Germinale Monferrato Art Fest, and La collina sale sempre—to offer a widespread contemporary art program across the UNESCO World Heritage territory. In 2026, Orma expands its activities from May to November, involving over 60 municipalities, with new entries like Canelli hosting a site-specific work by Brazilian artist Maria Theresa Alves in partnership with Castello di Rivoli, and projects such as Prospettive / Perspectives with Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo and Villa Arson. The program includes artist residencies, permanent interventions, and exhibitions, with Resté already underway in the Langhe towns of Diano d'Alba, Montelupo Albese, Rodello, and Cerretto Langhe.

The New Exhibitions of the Pinacoteca Agnelli and the New Public Works on the Lingotto Park-Track: The Photos

Le nuove mostre della Pinacoteca Agnelli e le nuove opere pubbliche sulla pista-parco del Lingotto: le foto

The Pinacoteca Agnelli in Turin has launched a new exhibition program that includes the first major institutional retrospective in Italy dedicated to Swiss photographer Walter Pfeiffer, titled "In Good Company," running until September 13, 2026. Curated by Nicola Trezzi and Simon Castets, the show features over 100 photographs from the 1970s to today, blending iconic and unseen works that explore queer eroticism, everyday artifice, and collaborative image-making. Concurrently, the museum presents "Modigliani sottopelle. Quattro capolavori" as part of its "Beyond the Collection" series, placing four masterpieces by Amedeo Modigliani—including a loan from the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart and works from the Centre Pompidou—in dialogue with the permanent collection. Curated by Pietro Rigolo and Beatrice Zanelli, the exhibition takes an interdisciplinary approach combining art history, diagnostics, and scientific research, using an algorithm to analyze canvas weaves and propose a new dating for the iconic "Nu couché" acquired by Giovanni and Marella Agnelli in 1960.