National Gallery Singapore's 'Passion Is Volcanic' exhibition: 5 works to see

National Gallery Singapore has opened its first R18 exhibition, 'Passion Is Volcanic: Desire In South-east Asian Art', featuring around 60% of works from the national collection, many shown for the first time, alongside regional loans. The show includes a 14th-15th century tantric Buddhist sculpture of kissing buddhas, a pastel painting by pioneering gay Singaporean artist Tan Peng, Liu Kang's 1953 painting 'Scene In Bali', and long-exposure photography by Lavender Chang originally commissioned for a Viagra campaign. Co-curators Adele Tan and Kathleen Ditzig contextualize the exhibition with pre-modern works to demonstrate that artists' interest in the body, desire, and sex is enduring in Asia.

Size 2 who? Starry Met costume show features pregnant people, plus size models and dwarves for first time

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's upcoming Costume Institute exhibition, 'Costume Art,' will feature mannequins representing a diverse range of body types, including pregnant, disabled, and plus-size figures, instead of the traditional sample size 2. The mannequins were created using photogrammetry scans of real people, such as artist Michaela Stark and disability activist Sinéad Burke, and have reflective steel faces intended to allow visitors to see themselves in the display.

Curator Conversation: Inside The Stars We Do Not See

The Denver Art Museum is presenting "The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art," an exhibition organized by the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in association with the Denver Art Museum, the Portland Art Museum, and the Peabody Essex Museum. The show features works from the National Gallery of Victoria's collection, including paintings by Indigenous Australian artists such as Mirdidingkingathi Juwarnda Sally Gabori, Thunduyingathi Bijarrb May Moodoonuthi, and others, with Bank of America serving as the North America Tour Sponsor.

Israeli artist adopts classical motifs to frame contemporary trauma in new exhibit

Israeli artist Zoya Cherkassky-Nnadi has unveiled a new body of work that utilizes the visual language of Old Masters and classical mythology to process the collective trauma of the October 7 attacks. By referencing iconic compositions from art history, Cherkassky-Nnadi creates a bridge between historical depictions of suffering and the immediate, raw experiences of contemporary Israeli life, offering a formal structure to otherwise unspeakable events.

Kate Tova’s New Exhibition at Oceanside Museum of Art Asks What it Really Means to Rest

San Francisco-based artist Kate Tova has launched a solo exhibition titled "The Art of Rest" at the Oceanside Museum of Art. The show features a series of vibrant, large-scale multimedia works that blend traditional oil painting with unconventional materials like sequins and reflective surfaces. Tova’s latest body of work explores the psychological and physical necessity of stillness, challenging the modern culture of constant productivity through her signature "glitch" aesthetic and tactile textures.

“Constellations”: Jewelry as Art

The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) has launched "Constellations: Contemporary Jewelry," its first exhibition dedicated exclusively to its contemporary jewelry collection. The show features hundreds of pieces organized into four thematic sections—Zones of the Body, Archetypes, Signals, and Play—alongside a historical retrospective titled "Connecting the Dots." The exhibition highlights experimental and often impractical works that blur the lines between wearable objects and sculpture, featuring artists such as Brian Fleetwood, Joyce J. Scott, and Peter Chang.

Gallery showcases artists in their element

Qualia Contemporary Art in Palo Alto is currently hosting two concurrent exhibitions, "Emergence" and "Tidal Traces," featuring the work of Yulia Pinkusevich, Cathy Lu, and Stella Zhang. The shows explore the four classical elements—fire, earth, air, and water—through a diverse range of media including large-scale ceramic incense sculptures, paintings incorporating charcoal and ash, and mixed-media works inspired by oceanic tides.

SA ‘white hands on black art’ controversy in court – and on national gallery walls

The National Gallery of Australia has officially opened the 'Ngura Pulka – Epic Country' exhibition, a major showcase of works by 52 artists from the APY Art Centre Collective. The show was originally postponed in 2023 following allegations published in The Australian that white staff members had improperly interfered with the creation of the paintings. After multiple investigations by government bodies and a review by the NGA cleared the artworks of creative interference, the collective is moving forward with the exhibition while pursuing a $4.4 million defamation lawsuit against the newspaper.

LACMA’s Soaring New Gallery Was Designed to Give You a Fresh Look at Art History

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is preparing to open the David Geffen Galleries this spring, marking the culmination of a nearly two-decade campus overhaul led by director Michael Govan. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor, the $720 million concrete structure spans 900 feet and is elevated 30 feet above ground to create a public plaza. The new building features 110,000 square feet of gallery space on a single horizontal level, utilizing unconventional materials like gray concrete and floor-to-ceiling windows to integrate natural light.

The Future is Handmade – The Regina A. Quick Center Hosts Community Art Project in the lobby this Season

The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University has debuted "The Future is Handmade," a large-scale exhibition featuring eight female artists with regional ties. Curated by Linda Colletta and organized by the Center for Arts & Minds, the showcase transforms the center's lobby into a vibrant gallery of mixed-media, textiles, and sculpture. The exhibition opened alongside a performance by the dance company BODYTRAFFIC, emphasizing a multidisciplinary approach to community engagement.

The Sticky Politics of Wall Texts

A critic's visit to the 36th Bienal de São Paulo led to a pointed critique of the exhibition's didactic strategy. The show, curated by Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, featured floor-mounted placards with QR codes, poorly placed basic labels, and extremely lengthy omnibus section texts, creating a frustrating experience that oscillated between providing too little and too much information.

Reattributing a Portrait Bust by Edmonia Lewis

A marble portrait bust by 19th-century sculptor Edmonia Lewis, previously known only as a portrait of an unidentified woman, has been reattributed to depict social reformer Ednah Dow Littlehale Cheney. The bust, held by the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, will be included in the upcoming national touring exhibition "Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone," opening at the Peabody Essex Museum in February 2026.

From shopping malls to housing estates, Singapore Biennale integrates art into the city’s urban fabric

The eighth edition of the Singapore Biennale, titled "Pure Intention," opens across five neighborhoods in Singapore, embedding over 100 artworks in sites ranging from shopping malls and housing estates to colonial-era buildings and parks. Curated by Selene Yap, Hsu Fang-Tze, Ong Puay Khim, and Duncan Bass, the biennale features works like field-0's "Drifting Bodies" (2025), which critiques Singapore's hydropower imports and their impact on Thailand's indigenous Karen hill tribe, and Allora & Calzadilla's "Under Discussion" (2004), exploring sovereignty and displacement. Organized by the Singapore Art Museum and commissioned by the National Arts Council, the event is part of SG60, Singapore's 60th anniversary celebrations.

‘Painted Worlds: Color and Culture in Mesoamerican Art’: A colorful journey through time, culture and belief

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art has opened 'Painted Worlds: Color and Culture in Mesoamerican Art', a major exhibition featuring over 250 works spanning nearly 3,000 years, from pre-Hispanic times to the present day. Curated by Kimberly Masteller, the show is the first presentation of Mesoamerican art at the museum in nearly 40 years and includes textiles, ceramics, paintings, murals, and codices organized by color categories—white, blue/green/yellow, and red/black—to explore the cultural and spiritual significance of color in Mesoamerican traditions.

Acquisitions round-up: a rare early Italian portrait of a Black man, a record-breaking Kiddush cup, and a limewood sculpture of the Madonna

The Uffizi Galleries in Florence have acquired Giacomo Ceruti's "Il mendicante moro" (1725–30), one of the earliest known portraits of a Black man in Italian painting. The Toledo Museum of Art has purchased a rare 11th-12th century Kiddush cup that set an auction record for Judaica at Sotheby's for $4m. The Bode-Museum in Berlin has acquired a limewood sculpture of the nursing Madonna from the Circle of the Biberach Master, which was restituted to the heirs of Jakob Goldschmidt in 2023 and sold at Christie's in 2024.

Mario Ayala Unveils Life Sized Van Portraits at CAM Houston

Mario Ayala's first U.S. solo museum exhibition, 'Seven Vans,' has opened at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH). The show, on view from November 14, 2025, through June 21, 2026, features seven life-size van paintings that use the vehicle's rear body as a shaped canvas. Ayala removes wheels and functional markers, turning the vans into motionless 'pseudo-portraits' that convey owners' personalities through details like faded stickers, patchy repairs, and custom airbrush work inspired by auto body painting. The artist describes his process as 'Research While Driving,' documenting rear vehicle perspectives over six years.

Seeing beyond: Issam Kourbaj on mentoring three young artists for Abu Dhabi Art

Artist Issam Kourbaj is curating and mentoring three emerging UAE-based artists—Salmah Almansoori, Maktoum Al Maktoum, and Alla Abdunabi—for the Beyond Emerging Artists programme at Abu Dhabi Art, which runs November 19–23 at Manarat al-Saadiyat. The artists are creating new works for the fair and separate outdoor installations in Al Ain, including at historical sites like Al Ain Oasis and Jebel Hafeet Tombs, with the outdoor pieces on view for six months. Kourbaj, a Syrian-born artist based in Cambridge, selected the trio for their diverse materials and shared focus on place and memory.

November 2025 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists

This article compiles a list of open calls, residencies, and grants for artists in November 2025, featuring opportunities such as the Hopper Prize offering $4,500 and $1,000 artist grants, the Biafarin Awards with $4,000 CAD in cash grants and global exposure, and the GLEAM public art exhibition at Olbrich Botanical Gardens. Other calls include the Contemporary Reflection exhibition in London, an open call for exhibitions at Municipal Gallery dlr LexIcon in Ireland, the INteriors show at Glen Arbor Arts Center, Sight/Geist film and performance series in New York, and a main gallery commission at Locust Projects in Miami, among others.

Korean National Treasures: 2,000 Years of Art

The Art Institute of Chicago will present "Korean National Treasures: 2,000 Years of Art" from March 7 to July 5, 2026, featuring 140 artworks spanning from 6th-century Buddhist sculpture to contemporary paintings. The exhibition includes 22 objects officially recognized as National Treasures or Treasures by the Korean government, all drawn from a landmark 2021 donation of over 23,000 works by the family of late Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-Hee. Highlights include Joseon dynasty ceramics, Buddhist paintings, and works by modern artists such as Kim Whanki and Park Rehyun.

Tony Fitzpatrick, indefatigable artistic polymath from Chicago, has died, aged 66

Tony Fitzpatrick, a prolific Chicago artist known for his collages, etchings, and works on paper, died of a heart attack on 11 October at age 66. He was also a poet, author, actor, and raconteur, with his work held in major museum collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago. Fitzpatrick ran the influential gallery World Tattoo and was a vocal defender of labor unions and underdogs. He had been awaiting a double lung transplant after being diagnosed with interstitial lung disease, but continued creating until his death, including a new book and a live show at Steppenwolf Theater.

A Look at the DIA’s Contemporary Anishinaabe Art Exhibition

The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) has opened "Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation," its first Native American art exhibition in over 30 years. Featuring 92 works by more than 60 Anishinaabe artists from the Great Lakes region, the show spans from 1892 to 2025 and includes pieces by renowned artists such as Jim Denomie, Norval Morrisseau, Kent Estey, Jonathan Thunder, and Rabbett before Horses Strickland. Highlights include Denomie's vibrant "Four Days and Four Nites, Ceremony" (2020) and Morrisseau's spiritual works like "Punk Rockers Nancy and Andy" (1989).

Art gallery exhibition of works by Alberto Rey through Nov. 21

An exhibition titled “ATLAS: Historical Works and Recent Journeys of Alberto Rey” is on view at the Marion Art Gallery through November 21. The show features 133 paintings, drawings, and ceramics by Alberto Rey, a SUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus who taught at Fredonia from 1989 to 2022. The works were created during and after a five-month expedition to 14 countries and 22 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2024, alongside pivotal pieces from past series such as “Binary Forms,” “Extinct Birds,” and “Critically Endangered Palms of Cuba.” The exhibition also includes journal entries, sketchbooks, and art supplies from the voyage.

As an Emily Kam Kngwarray survey opens at Tate Modern this week, contemporary Indigenous artists are finally taking centre stage in the UK

Tate Modern opens its first major exhibition of Indigenous Australian artist Emily Kam Kngwarray (c. 1914–96), featuring over 70 works including early batiks and vast late-career paintings. The show, adapted from a presentation at the National Gallery of Australia, is co-curated by Hetti Perkins and Kelli Cole, who emphasize presenting Kngwarray's work within its Anmatyerr cultural context rather than through a Western abstraction lens. Concurrently, London's Camden Art Centre hosts an exhibition of Duane Linklater and his family, and a Manchester show features Santiago Yahuarcani, signaling a broader UK focus on contemporary Indigenous artists.

A Testimony to Survival and Hope Amid Chaos and Destruction

Vian Sora's first solo museum exhibition in the United States, 'Outerworlds,' is on view at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) through September 7. The exhibition features vibrant, layered abstract paintings that the artist describes as deeply personal, including 'Forest Remains,' a 2023 SBMA acquisition that she considers a self-portrait about migration and assimilation. Sora, born in Baghdad and a survivor of the Iran–Iraq War, Gulf War, and the 2003 invasion, discussed her work in a conversation with SBMA Chief Curator James Glisson, explaining how a 2015 hysterectomy led to a dramatic shift in her style toward bold, colorful compositions. The show will travel to the Speed Art Museum in Louisville and the Asia Society Texas Center after its Santa Barbara run.

Tate Liverpool receives £12m from UK government to support delayed revamp

Tate Liverpool has received a £12m grant from the UK government's Public Bodies Infrastructure Fund, bringing the Department of Culture, Media and Sport's total contribution to the gallery's redevelopment to £18.6m. The funding, combined with additional philanthropic donations from the Garfield Weston Foundation (£3m), the Wolfson Foundation (£1.25m), and the Ross Warburton Charitable Trust, plus a £10m award from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, has raised a minimum of £32.85m toward the project, now costed at £35m. The gallery, closed since October 2023, had postponed its planned 2025 reopening to 2027 due to fundraising difficulties.

The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Michael C. Rockefeller Wing reopened in May 2025 after a multiyear renovation, presenting reimagined galleries for the arts of Africa, the ancient Americas, and Oceania. The 40,000-square-foot space, designed by Kulapat Yantrasast of WHY Architecture, now houses the three collections as independent entities, featuring digital features, commissioned films, new wall text, and objects on view for the first time—including major acquisitions of historic and contemporary works, a gallery for light-sensitive ancient Andean textiles, and contemporary commissions by Indigenous Pacific artists.

‘We are all part of this intergalactic universe’: Saya Woolfalk’s solo show immerses viewers in her “Empathic Universe”

Saya Woolfalk's solo exhibition "Empathic Universe" at the Museum of Arts and Design (Mad) in New York presents two decades of her visionary world-building practice. The show unfolds in five chapters, featuring sculptures made from textiles, videos, performances, and immersive digital installations that trace the evolution of fictional plant-and-human hybrid races. Woolfalk discusses the origins of her project, which began after her return from Brazil with works like "Winter Garden: Hybrid Love Objects" (2005) at MoMA PS1, and how the Empathic Universe came into focus during her time in the Whitney Independent Study Program around 2006, drawing on mythology, anthropology, technology, and feminist theory.

‘It’s much more extreme’: US institutions and artists enter a new culture war

Since President Donald Trump took office, his administration has rapidly dismantled parts of the U.S. cultural infrastructure through executive orders and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk. Key federal funding bodies—the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)—have faced staff cuts, grant cancellations, and threats of further reductions. Trump has also replaced leadership at the Kennedy Center and signaled similar moves against the Smithsonian Institution, while DOGE visited the National Gallery of Art to discuss its legal status. Arts organizations and advocates are scrambling to assess the damage and find alternative funding.

Small Formats, Great Tensions

Kleine Formate, große Spannungen

The Paper Positions art fair in Berlin is celebrating its tenth anniversary, held in the vast Tempelhof Airport hangar with around 70 galleries. The fair focuses exclusively on works on paper, showcasing artists like Kubra Khademi, whose series "Women in simple situations" features nude female bodies as acts of resistance and political visibility. Other highlights include Annegret Soltau's pierced paper works, Una Ursprung's layered collages, Dirk Krecker's typewriter compositions, and Tina Heuter's tissue-paper sculptures, alongside photography by Stefanie Moshammer and vibrant works by Madita Kloss.

Wexner Center for the Arts Workers Call for Institution to Be Renamed Over Top Funder’s Epstein Ties

Unionized workers at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, have demanded that the institution remove the name of top funder Les Wexner from its moniker, citing his close ties to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. In a letter to Ohio State University leadership, Wexner Workers United (WWU) argued that Wexner’s name on the building harms the center’s mission and community trust. Wexner, a billionaire retail magnate and art collector, donated $25 million to the center’s construction in the 1980s and has been mentioned over a thousand times in the Epstein Files; Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre named Wexner as among those she was trafficked to, though Wexner denies the allegations.