Joy Machine presents 'Feel Free', a group exhibition featuring new works by Rachel Hayden, Paulina Ho, Hanna Lee Joshi, and Jeremy Miranda. The show opens with a reception on May 15, 2026, and runs through June 27, 2026. Each artist explores the tension between chaos and control, using diverse media—from acrylic and gouache to Japanese indigo on thrifted textiles—to capture moments of impermanence and unexpected harmony.
From May 30 to June 30, 2026, Blocco 13 in Rome hosts "Qb," the first Roman solo exhibition of Sardinian artist Ruggero Baragliu (born 1987). Curated by Antonello Cuccu and Chiara Manca, the show presents oils, papers, and bas-reliefs that explore the boundary between painting and sculpture through an essential, layered language. Works include small-format oils on panel such as "Colossus" (2026), the multi-year "Untitled with Checkers" (2019–2024), and the bas-relief "Garbata," which transforms brushstroke into volume. The exhibition is part of Blocco 13's "Guests" section, which has previously hosted artists like Pierluigi Fresia and Alessandro Finocchiaro.
An outdoor exhibition titled 'Pop Goes Brum!' will be held in Birmingham's Snow Hill Square from 9 to 30 June 2025, celebrating the life and work of Peter Phillips, a pioneering British pop artist who died in June 2025. Curated by art historian Ruth Millington and developed in partnership with Birmingham School of Art, the free exhibition aims to showcase Phillips' 'pioneering achievements' and his deep connection to Birmingham, where he was born in 1939 and trained at Moseley School of Art and Birmingham School of Art. Phillips, who ranked alongside David Hockney, Pauline Boty, Peter Blake, Andy Warhol, and Roy Lichtenstein, was a key figure in the international pop art movement and helped launch British pop art with a 1961 exhibition.
Two Illinois high school seniors, Dashiell Speir and Hazel Anderson, received substantial art-school scholarship offers after participating in the Illinois High School Art Exhibition's northern regional show. Speir, a student at Downers Grove North High School, was offered $524,000 in scholarships, while Anderson, from Central High School in Burlington, received $372,000 in offers. Speir plans to attend the College of DuPage before transferring to a four-year school, and Anderson intends to enroll at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Stockholms Auktionsverk is holding two live auctions, The Modern Art Sale and The Contemporary Art Sale, on May 20 and 21, 2026, at Nybrogatan 32 in Stockholm. The sales feature a curated selection of Swedish and international artists from the early 20th century to the present day, including works by Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Tony Cragg, Lena Cronqvist, and a newly discovered painting by Gösta Adrian-Nilsson. The Modern Art Sale highlights modernist masterpieces by Otte Sköld, Sigrid Hjertén, and Ragnar Sandberg, while The Contemporary Art Sale pays tribute to Ola Billgren and includes works by David LaChapelle, Cindy Sherman, and Britta Marakatt-Labba.
Mexican artist Paulina Carretero's exhibition "Reminiscence and Furor" is moving from the Laredo Center for the Arts to La Posada Hotel starting May 8. The show, which opened in March for International Women's Month, features paintings that pay tribute to seven historical women artists: Artemisia Gentileschi, Berthe Morisot, Georgia O'Keeffe, Tamara de Lempicka, María Izquierdo, Remedios Varo, and Yayoi Kusama. Carretero created two works for each artist—one capturing their spirit and another reflecting her personal vision. The exhibition also includes a large-format painting titled "El Juego de la Consciencia (The Game of Consciousness)" that incorporates magical realism. Carretero will mark the closing at the Laredo Center for the Arts on May 1.
Zane Bennett Contemporary Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, presents "Lucid Perturbations: The Sewn Drawings and Books of China Marks," the first major solo exhibition dedicated to the artist's sewn works. Featuring over 200 pieces from the last 23 years of Marks's practice, the show runs from May 15 to July 11 and includes pieces like "At the Winter Palace" (2018) and "Above and Below" (2022). Marks, who pivoted from painting to sewing at age 59 in 2000, creates fabric-based narrative tableaux that blend personal and political themes.
The 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair will return to New York's Starrett-Lehigh Building from May 13 to May 17, 2026, for its 12th edition. Featuring over 20 exhibitors from 12 countries, the fair introduces a curated section titled "1-54 Presents: Brazil Beyond Brazil," led by Brazilian curator and professor Igor Simões, marking the fair's first focus on Afro-Brazilian art and the cultural connections between Africa and Latin America. New participants include Adegbola Gallery (Lagos), Aura (São Paulo), and Black Pony Gallery (Bermuda), alongside returning exhibitors such as 193 Gallery and Galerie Myrtis.
The Institute for Primary Facts has transformed New York's Mriya Gallery into the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Reading Room, a pop-up exhibition displaying all 3.5 million pages of the released Epstein files in 3,437 bound volumes. Open from May 8 to May 21 in Tribeca, the installation is the group's first live project, requiring visitors aged 16 and over to book appointments via a platform called Trumpsonian. Only accredited press, Congress, law enforcement, and victims' advocates may open the volumes, due to the Department of Justice's failure to properly redact victims' names.
This article, titled 'Art Notes, May 20,' is a roundup of local art events and exhibitions on Long Beach Island, New Jersey. It highlights Alexander Taylor's solo exhibit 'Washed Upon the Shore' at the Ocean County Library in Surf City, featuring his marine-life paintings created with purified ocean water. Other events include summer art classes by Jamie Jarka at multiple venues, the 'Art in Bloom' floral design event at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences, and ongoing shows at the Pine Shores Art Association's galleries. The article also announces a deadline for the LBIF 'Coast' exhibition.
Artist and teacher Jamie Jarka, creator of the popular Milo the Seagull mascot for Long Beach Island, has expanded her merchandise to Ron Jon Surf Shop in Ship Bottom, selling prints, stickers, magnets, and nightlights. Jarka will also teach weekly summer art classes at three Island venues: Bayview Park in Brant Beach, Firefly Gallery in Surf City, and Sea Shell Resort and Beach Club in Beach Haven, with schedules and pricing detailed for each location. Additionally, the article covers the 51st annual Art in Bloom movement, with events at Pine Shores Art Association's Stafford gallery and the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences (LBIF), where garden club members create floral arrangements inspired by artworks. Other news includes the PSAA Tuckerton Art Center's "Blooming Spring" show, a "Glimpses of America" exhibition at Beach Haven Borough Gallery, and a call for South Jersey photographers to submit work for an LBIF photography exhibition and fundraiser celebrating LBI lifeguards.
The P.E.I. Farm Centre in Charlottetown is hosting an exhibition titled "Chaos Corralled: Art Harvested from the Heart of Havoc" by Belle River artist Wendy Jones, running from May 20 to June 30. The show features paintings and photographs, with an opening reception on May 20 where Jones will demonstrate fluid art techniques and offer visitors a chance to create their own miniature pour paintings.
A screenprint titled "May (1969)" by German Abstract artist Winfred Gaul is being offered for sale through RoGallery Auctions on Artsy. The work, edition 6/100, was originally featured as the image for May in the 1969 Domberger calendar, which included screenprints by 12 prominent artists. The print is signed and numbered in pencil, with an estimated value of $600–$900 and a starting bid of $250. The listing includes a biography of Gaul, noting his studies at the University of Cologne and the Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart, his first solo exhibition in 1956 at Gurlitt Gallery in Munich, and his participation in Documenta 2 in 1959. His work is held in major museum collections including MoMA, the National Gallery of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) will host a Free Family Arts Day titled "The Art of H2O" on Saturday, May 16, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Beaumont, Texas. The event features hands-on art activities inspired by the museum's current exhibitions, "Julius Stockfleth: Dawn of a Century" and "Bill Pangburn: Printed Traces - A Neches River Journal," both celebrating water. Visitors can explore galleries, create art, and enjoy live entertainment from Sonny “The Birdman” Carlin, with treats from the IScream Ice Cream Truck available for purchase.
The Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, Texas, will host a closing reception and gallery talk for 'Daybook,' an exhibition of mixed media works by DFW-based artist Ashley Stecenko, on Sunday, May 17, 2026. Stecenko will lead a guided tour discussing her creative process, which combines drawing, printmaking, and quilting techniques to explore domestic spaces and personal memory. The exhibition includes her ongoing 'Little Ditties' series, where small journal-like pieces are sometimes sewn into larger patchwork compositions.
On May 16, 2026, Museum Night celebrations will take place across Belarus and beyond, with cultural institutions offering extended hours and special programs. Highlights include the National Centre for Contemporary Arts in Minsk hosting lectures, artist talks, and exhibitions such as “Forms and Shadows: Feminine” and “Difficulties of Translation,” while the National Art Museum explores the color blue through its program “Blue of Blue.” Literary museums dedicated to Maksim Bahdanovich, Yakub Kolas, and Yanka Kupala will feature space-themed activities, reenactments, and fashion shows, and the “Sula” History Park will offer an interactive journey called “Hunting the Dragon.”
The Art Gallery of Burlington (AGB) opens its spring exhibition "A material called Earth, Volume 1: The life of corners" on May 16th, featuring the immersive textile art of Argentinian artist Celina Eceiza. The installation transforms the main gallery with hand-dyed, stitched, and embroidered works, including sculptures ranging from palm-sized to near-monumental, and incorporates ceramics from the AGB's collection. A public opening on May 16th includes a talk and tour with curator Sylvie Fortin and the artist, plus free programming by artist Camila Salcedo and refreshments from local vendors.
Sue Johnson, professor of art at St. Mary's College, is presenting her second solo exhibition at gallery neptune & brown in Washington, D.C., titled “Blueprint for Happiness.” The show runs from May 16 through June 20, with an opening reception on May 16. Johnson debuts a new series, “My Teenage Years,” which builds on her earlier “Symmetrical Bodies” work and examines the pressures on women to conform to ideals of happiness and perfection in body image and domestic spaces, drawing on 1960s-70s material and commercial culture.
ShanghART Gallery presents Dai Chenlian's solo exhibition 'Waxing and Waning of the Augustness III' at its M50 space in Shanghai from April 10 to May 29, 2026. The show is the final chapter of the artist's 'Mother Trilogy,' centering on his mother's life from 1954 to 2025. Through a reconstructed old house made from loom parts, along with painting, installation, performance, sound narration, and shadow puppetry, the exhibition explores themes of memory, migration, and female resilience, drawing on a line by Tang dynasty poet Li Shangyin.
The Art Gallery of Burlington (AGB) will host the inaugural Henry Goodman Exhibition for Emerging Artists starting May 21, presented by the arts charity FUSION. The traveling show features over 25 emerging artists working in ceramic and glass under the theme 'gathering,' curated by 2025 Sobey Award finalist Chukwudubem Ukaigwe. Artists include Laura Wagner, Thomas Paik, Deborah Hatanaka, and Ryan Nesbitt. The exhibition will later travel to Rails End Gallery in Haliburton and Neilson Park Creative Arts Centre in Mississauga.
Cultural workers and participants at the Venice Biennale plan to strike on 8 May during the opening week of the 61st edition, protesting Israel’s participation in the event. The strike, organized by the Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) and supported by Italian trade unions, includes a rally near the Arsenale site. ANGA previously sent a letter signed by over 230 artists and curators demanding the cancellation of the Israeli pavilion, citing opposition to "genocide normalisation in culture" and precarious labor conditions. Israel is represented this year by sculptor Belu-Simion Fainaru, who opposes cultural boycotts.
The entire jury of the Venice Biennale resigned just days before the 61st international art exhibition's opening on May 9, following a dispute over the decision to allow Russia to participate. The five-member panel, led by Solange Farkas and including Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi, had previously stated it would not award prizes to artists from countries whose leaders face charges of crimes against humanity, a move seen as targeting Russia and Israel. The Biennale responded by postponing the award ceremony to November 22 and announcing it would give two awards, including one that could go to any national participation, citing its founding principles of openness and rejection of censorship.
Conductor Art Fair made its debut at Powerhouse Arts in Gowanus, Brooklyn, with a VIP preview night on April 29, ahead of its public run from April 30 to May 3. Led by Powerhouse Arts President Eric Shiner and Fair Director Adriana Farietta, the event drew over 800 guests, featuring installations by Juan Jose Barboza-Gubo, House of Silence by Vuslat, and Sana Frini, along with 28 gallery exhibitors and 20 special projects. A performance by Grammy-nominated artist Lido Pimienta highlighted the evening, and the fair showcased works by numerous artists and gallerists.
Lo Brutto Stahl presents "Where It Doesn’t Reach," a group exhibition featuring works by Bas Jan Ader, Hélène Janicot, and Park McArthur, running from March 27 to May 2, 2026, at both its Basel and Paris locations. The show brings together three artists whose practices explore absence, gesture, and the limits of perception, with the press release and floor plan available on the gallery's website.
Galerie Meyer Kainer in Vienna is presenting "SPLENDID PLAYGROUND," a group exhibition featuring works by Ei Arakawa-Nash, Nikolas Gambaroff, and Nora Schultz. The show runs from March 20 to May 16, 2026, and includes 29 images documenting the exhibition, as published by Contemporary Art Daily.
This article highlights a series of art exhibitions and events taking place in Kenosha and Racine counties this week. The Anderson Arts Center in Kenosha is hosting a watercolor exhibition in collaboration with the Watercolor USA Honor Society through May 24. Additionally, the Kenosha Art Association is offering a Tatakizome (hammering plants) Flower Printing class with instructor Jill Montgomery. In Racine, an exhibition titled "Flying Kites in a Windless World" featuring works by Vanessa Filley continues.
Arch Enemy Arts in Philadelphia is presenting 'Common Waters,' a group exhibition running from June 5 to July 5, featuring 60 artists from around the world. The show celebrates marine wildlife and lore through square-format works that range from fantastical depictions of coral-haired sirens and octopuses to miniature paintings and sculpted paper reliefs of sea turtles. A portion of sales proceeds will be donated to PangeaSeed, a non-profit that uses art to advocate for ocean conservation.
The Galleria d'Arte Moderna (GAM) in Turin has launched "Quarta Risonanza," an exhibition program running from May 21 through November 1, 2026. The program comprises four distinct projects: a major survey of works on paper from the museum's collections titled "Un altro Novecento," curated by Fabio Cafagna and Elena Volpato; an intervention by artist Pesce Khete as the program's "Intruso"; a photographic series by Lisetta Carmi exploring eroticism and authority at the Staglieno cemetery, presented in dialogue with sculptures; and a centenary exhibition for conceptual artist Vincenzo Agnetti, "Oggi è un secolo," curated by Chiara Bertola and Virginia Lupo, focusing on his Photo-graffi works from 1979–1981.
The new episode of Artbox on Sky Arte, airing May 26, focuses on the exhibition "Luigi Ghirri. A series of dreams. Paesaggi visivi e paesaggi sonori" at the Musei Civici and Teatro Valli in Reggio Emilia, which explores the unique relationship between Luigi Ghirri's photography and music. The episode features curator Ilaria Campioli and Adele Ghirri, president of the Fondazione Luigi Ghirri and the artist's daughter. Additionally, Maria Vittoria Baravelli's segment "Invito al viaggio" examines female royalty through art, cinema, and fashion, and the program visits the Galleria d’Arte Moderna Ricci Oddi in Piacenza to discuss recent renovations by architect Piero Lissoni. The episode also includes a book review of "Histoire des galeries d’art en France" by Alice Ensabella.
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MUBI has announced the exclusive streaming release of "Peter Hujar's Day," a film directed by Ira Sachs, set to premiere on May 22. The film is based on a 1974 conversation between photographer Peter Hujar and author Linda Rosenkrantz, and stars Ben Whishaw as Hujar and Rebecca Hall. It reconstructs a single day in Hujar's life, capturing the creative energy and precariousness of 1970s New York, with appearances from figures like Allen Ginsberg and Susan Sontag.