As the Nation’s Birthday Approaches, Museums Lead the Way

The New York Times article highlights how museums across the United States are taking a leading role in commemorating the nation's birthday, with special exhibitions, public programs, and curated displays that explore American history, identity, and cultural heritage. These institutions are using their collections and expertise to offer nuanced perspectives on the country's founding, often incorporating diverse voices and critical reflections alongside traditional patriotic narratives.

Joy and Pathos, Gods and Glitter Meet at San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum

The New York Times reports on a new exhibition at San Francisco's Asian Art Museum that juxtaposes traditional Asian art with contemporary works, exploring themes of joy, pathos, divinity, and spectacle. The show brings together ancient sculptures, paintings, and ritual objects alongside glittering modern installations, creating a dialogue across time and culture.

Joy and Pathos, Gods and Glitter Meet at San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum

The New York Times reports on a new exhibition at San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum that brings together over 120 works spanning 2,000 years of Asian art. The show juxtaposes ancient sculptures of Hindu and Buddhist deities with contemporary pieces featuring glitter, neon, and pop culture references, creating a dialogue between spiritual tradition and modern exuberance. Highlights include a gilded bronze Buddha from Thailand, a contemporary Indian painting of a goddess adorned with sequins, and a Japanese scroll depicting a scene of both joy and sorrow.

NEREIDA APAZA MAMANI A HISTORY OF MIGRATION AND VIOLENCE AT THE ICPNA CULTURAL IN MIRAFLORES

Nereida Apaza Mamani presents a solo exhibition at ICPNA Cultural in Miraflores, Lima, featuring 150 works across watercolor, painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, embroidery, and installation. The show traces stories of migration and displacement through cartographies, maps, and family trees, drawing on embroidery techniques inherited from her mother and grandmother. Curated by Miguel López, the exhibition explores belonging in a country marked by discrimination and centralism, incorporating the artist's notebooks begun in 2009 and works that address political violence and memory.

A Reinterpretation of the Fuentes Angarita Collection at La Neomudéjar

A REINTERPRETATION OF THE FUENTES ANGARITA COLLECTION AT LA NEOMUDEJAR

Museo La Neomudéjar in Madrid is presenting a major exhibition titled '30 Years of Irreverence and Vision in the Fuentes Angarita Collection.' The show features over 130 works from the collection of Venezuelan artist and collector Andreína Fuentes Angarita, curated by Néstor Prieto and Omar Castañeda. It is structured as a living archive, mapping three decades of Latin American political art through four thematic stations: the collective self, diaspora, identity and gender, and the memory of the body.

ECOFEMINIST PERSPECTIVES AT THE PANAMANIAN CULTURAL CENTER OF SPAIN

The Cultural Center of Spain in Panama is hosting an exhibition titled 'The Dimension of the Invisible: Ecofeminist Traces of Panamanian Art' until April 1, 2026. The show features traditional and digital works by ten Panamanian and international artists who explore the intersections of nature, culture, and the body from an ecofeminist viewpoint, challenging established boundaries between the human and non-human.

CAF AND PINTA FOUNDATION ANNOUNCE ALLIANCE TO STRENGTHEN THE LATIN AMERICAN ART ECOSYSTEM

CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean – and the Pinta Foundation have formed a strategic alliance to bolster the Latin American art ecosystem. The partnership will support professional exchange, international visibility, and cultural integration for artists, artisans, and creators across the region, with CAF acting as a strategic partner for Pinta's network of events.

50 Works 50 Weeks: Millard Sheets’s “Angel’s Flight”

LACMA is running a 50-week series called '50 Works 50 Weeks' leading up to the 2026 opening of its new David Geffen Galleries. The fourth installment highlights Millard Sheets's 1931 painting *Angel's Flight*, which depicts a historic Los Angeles funicular and tenement life. The work was inspired by George Bellows's *Cliff Dwellers* (1913), one of the first acquisitions by LACMA's predecessor, and was painted for the 1931 Carnegie International Exhibition. Sheets's painting won a prize at the Los Angeles Museum in 1932 and is now displayed alongside Bellows's work in the new galleries.

Senior artists explore censorship, AI and transformation in the capstone exhibition

Shippensburg University senior art students presented their capstone exhibition at the Huber Art Center, featuring works in printmaking, digital art, ceramics, and charcoal drawings. Artists Luke Lindvall, Gerald Pratt, Kaylee Will, Alayna Mandich, and Lily Bramucci explored themes including censorship, artificial intelligence, horror, and personal transformation. Lindvall pushed printmaking onto unconventional surfaces like skateboards and furniture, Pratt addressed over-censorship in politics, Will warned against over-reliance on technology and AI in raising children, Mandich used horror imagery to examine beauty, and Bramucci connected pit-fired ceramics to life choices and hardship.

Unsilenced exhibition explores mental health through art in Moose Jaw

The Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery in Saskatchewan is hosting 'Unsilenced,' an interactive art exhibition that explores mental health through the work of five artists. The show features Peter Tucker, Ruth Cuthand, Derek Poe, Amy Snyder, and Richard Boulet, using mediums such as sculpture, ceramics, beadwork, and fibre art to address topics like anxiety, OCD, climate anxiety, and intergenerational trauma. Visitors can engage with installations, including a clay pot piece about eco-stress and a reflection room for deeper contemplation.

“Lighting” exhibition by Mohamed Abdalla Otaybi at Swailam gallery is not to be missed

This article is a roundup of art exhibitions and cultural events in Cairo, Egypt, spanning multiple venues and dates. It highlights a photographic project titled "New Cairo, Do You Love Me?" by Judi Yassin and Tia Khalil at the American University in Cairo, which documents the disconnect between the promised luxury of New Cairo and its dehumanizing reality using 35mm black-and-white film. Other featured events include painting exhibitions by Osama Nashed and Alaa Hegazi at Dai, Mahmoud Hamdi's "Journey to the Core" at Difaf, the immersive "Beyond Van Gogh" experience at District 5, the permanent collection at Al-Fustat Centre for Ceramic, and the Empower Her Art Forum at the Grand Egyptian Museum.

Charlotte professor brings voice to African artists, reshaping the mold of contemporary art

Lisa Homann, an Associate Art & Art History Professor at UNC Charlotte, will participate in the 2024 Venice Biennale (May 9–Nov. 22) alongside West African Masquerade artist David Sanou. Homann co-curated the traveling exhibition "New African Masquerades: Artistic Innovations and Collaborations," which opened in New Orleans and will conclude at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. She was invited by Kevin Dumouchelle, the museum's main curator, to join the African Art in Venice Forum, a critical dialogue aimed at giving voice to contemporary African artists often excluded from mainstream contemporary art narratives. Homann's work with the Sanou family spans nearly two decades, beginning with David's father, Andre Sanou, in 2008.

Fellow Painters and Also Friends. Zandomeneghi and Degas Are on Show in Rovigo

Colleghi pittori e anche amici. Zandomeneghi e Degas sono in mostra a Rovigo

Palazzo Roverella in Rovigo is hosting the exhibition "Zandomeneghi e Degas. Impressionismo tra Firenze e Parigi," curated by Francesca Dini. The show brings together works by Italian 19th-century painter Federico Zandomeneghi and French Impressionist Edgar Degas, featuring about fifteen paintings and sculptures by Degas alongside works by Zandomeneghi. It explores their friendship, mutual artistic influence, and shared commitment to realism, tracing their connections from Florence's Caffè Michelangiolo to Paris, where their paths fully converged. Themes such as dance and the nude are highlighted, with works like Degas's "Classe de ballet" (1888) and Zandomeneghi's "Visita in camerino" and "Donna che si asciuga" on view.

Impressively harmonious artistic manifesto propels Storywork: The Prints of Marie Watt from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation exhibition at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts

The Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) is hosting "Storywork: The Prints of Marie Watt from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation," an exhibition running through June 21. It features over 60 works by Marie Watt, an enrolled member of the Seneca Nation's Turtle Clan, including prints, monumental blanket stacks, hanging textiles, and small-scale sculptures. The show is drawn from the collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer, a top 200 collector recognized by ARTNews, whose foundation has supported more than 180 exhibitions and loaned works to over 130 museums at no cost.

Alexander Calder Thought 'It Would Be Fun' to Set Abstract Art in Motion. His Mesmerizing Mobiles Transformed the Definition of Sculpture

A major exhibition titled "Calder: Dreaming in Equilibrium" has opened at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, showcasing 300 works by Alexander Calder, including his pioneering mobiles, stabiles, paintings, drawings, and wire portraits. The show marks 100 years since the artist's arrival in France in 1926 and 50 years since his death in 1976. It features iconic pieces such as the 19-foot-long mobile *Triumphant Red* (1963) and his earliest known kinetic sculpture—a brass duck from 1909—alongside works by contemporaries like Barbara Hepworth, Pablo Picasso, and Paul Klee, as well as photographs by Man Ray, Agnès Varda, and Gordon Parks.

Bold Solos, Global Dialogues: Inside Frieze New York 2026

Frieze New York 2026 will return to The Shed from May 13–17, featuring an expansive program of solo, dual, and curated presentations. The fair brings together 33 New York galleries alongside international exhibitors, with strong solo booths by Virginia Jaramillo (Hales), Akinsanya Kambon (Ortuzar and Marc Selwyn Fine Art), and Kelly Sinnapah Mary (James Cohan). Dual presentations include mor charpentier pairing Anas Albraehe and Nohemí Pérez, and Nara Roesler showing Jonathas de Andrade with Marcelo Silveira. Blue-chip galleries like Hauser & Wirth, White Cube, and Gagosian will present works by major artists including Cindy Sherman, Tracey Emin, and Nan Goldin. The Focus section, curated by Lumi Tan, highlights 11 emerging galleries with solo presentations by Antoni Miralda, Seba Calfuqueo, Reika Takebayashi, and Aki Goto.

Watch: Wallace Chan returns to the Venice Biennale with ‘Vessels of Other Worlds’

Wallace Chan returns to the Venice Biennale for the fourth time with 'Vessels of Other Worlds', a two-city exhibition opening at the Chapel of Santa Maria della Pietà in Venice on 8 May 2026 and continuing at the Long Museum West Bund in Shanghai from 18 July, coinciding with the artist's 70th birthday. Curated by James Putnam, the project features large-scale titanium sculptures that explore material transformation, perception, and metaphysical space, including a live video link between the two venues and an inhabitable mirrored sculpture at the Long Museum.

“Rising Up Rocky” Exhibition In Philadelphia Museum Of Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has opened the exhibition “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments,” featuring the iconic bronze statue of Rocky Balboa, the fictional boxer portrayed by Sylvester Stallone. The statue, which has long stood on the museum steps, was moved inside for the show, which also includes photographs of the historic Blue Horizon Gym and a tribute to boxer Joe Frazier. The exhibition runs until August, after which the statue will return to its outdoor perch.

Monopol gives away 5 × 2 tickets for Peter Hujar and Liz Deschenes at the Gropius Bau

Monopol verlost 5 × 2 Tickets für Peter Hujar und Liz Deschenes im Gropius Bau

Monopol magazine is giving away 5 × 2 tickets to the exhibition "Peter Hujar / Liz Deschenes: Persistence of Vision" at the Gropius Bau in Berlin. The show pairs Hujar's iconic black-and-white photographs of New York's downtown scene—featuring figures like Susan Sontag, Divine, and David Wojnarowicz—with Liz Deschenes' abstract, material-focused works on glass and photosensitive paper. To enter, readers must email their name with the subject line "Hujar" by May 30.

100 anni tra arte e poesia per annullare i confini. Intervista a Lamberto Pignotti

Lamberto Pignotti, the 100-year-old Florentine artist and poet and a leading figure in visual poetry, is celebrated with two concurrent exhibitions: "Pignotti 100. Pop-esie visive" at the Mart in Rovereto (in collaboration with the Collegio Cairoli of Pavia) and the dual solo show "Identikit di Pignotti e Hogre" curated by Marco Giovenale at Galleria Bianco Contemporaneo in Rome. The latter exhibition, born from a dialogue between Pignotti and the anonymous artist Hogre, centers on a collection of envelopes Pignotti has saved for over fifty years—each addressed to him with varying titles (architect, artist, poet, professor) or altered names (Alberto, Lorenzo, Mario, Giuseppe)—revealing his fragmented identity. Pignotti co-founded the Gruppo '70 in Florence in 1963 with Eugenio Miccini, a movement that brought together multidisciplinary artists including Lucia Marcucci, Ketty La Rocca, and musicians Giuseppe Chiari and Sylvano Bussotti.

Italian Renaissance masterpieces debut in Beijing exhibition

An exhibition titled 'Homage to the Virtuosos: From Leonardo da Vinci to Caravaggio - Masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance' has opened at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, featuring 36 Renaissance masterpieces from Italy's Uffizi Galleries. The show includes works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Caravaggio, with many pieces traveling to China for the first time. The exhibition is jointly curated by the National Art Museum of China and the Uffizi Galleries, and is divided into three thematic sections tracing the evolution of Renaissance painting, from early Florentine masters through Mannerism to Venetian and Caravaggio's revolutionary works.

Merlin Carpenter “Warning Signs” at Karma International, Zurich

Merlin Carpenter presents "Warning Signs" at Karma International in Zurich, featuring his latest paintings that evolve from his earlier "anti-painting" style. The artist reflects on how his early 2000s work, characterized by a semi-finished, indifferent aesthetic, had become decorative by the time of his 2013 POLICE show, prompting him to update his approach.

Amanda Carneiro and Raphael Fonseca to curate 2027 Bienal de São Paulo

Amanda Carneiro and Raphael Fonseca have been named curators of the 2027 Bienal de São Paulo. Carneiro, a curator at MASP since 2018, has organized solo exhibitions for artists including Santiago Yahuarcani, Beatriz Milhazes, and Sonia Gomes, and was part of Adriano Pedrosa’s curatorial team for the 2024 Venice Biennale. Fonseca, visual arts programmer at Culturgest and curator-at-large at the Denver Art Museum, is currently curating the Taiwan Pavilion for the 2026 Venice Biennale and co-curating the 3rd Counterpublic Triennial. He also curated the 2025 Bienal do Mercosul.

From monumental glass sculptures to a lagoon in the sky: what to see beyond the Venice Biennale pavilions

The article highlights several must-see exhibitions and installations beyond the main Venice Biennale pavilions. Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo's redevelopment of the island of San Giacomo opens on 7 May, transforming abandoned Napoleonic-era powder magazines into exhibition spaces with a solo show by British artist Matt Copson and a group show from her collection. American artist Melissa McGill presents 'Marea', a street-spanning installation of 100 paintings created with local residents and students, addressing climate change and rising sea levels. Dale Chihuly returns to Venice with 'Chihuly: Venice 2026', featuring monumental glass installations along the Grand Canal, including 'Gold Tower' (2025). Wallace Chan unveils titanium sculptures at the Chapel of Santa Maria della Pietà, with a parallel exhibition at the Long Museum in Shanghai.

Artist's books by Guido Strazza in Subiaco (Rome): the exhibition at Santa Scolastica

The State Library of Santa Scolastica in Subiaco, Rome, is hosting an exhibition titled 'Libri d’artista. Guido Strazza for Subiaco' from April 30 to June 2, 2026, dedicated to the artist's books of Guido Strazza. Curated by Simona Ciofetta with scientific coordination by Stefano Petrocchi, the show is part of Subiaco's initiatives as Italian Book Capital 2025. It explores the artist's book as an autonomous art form blending text, image, and materials, featuring limited-edition works and engravings by Strazza, including his 1980 portfolio 'Insects'.

For the 2026 Venice Biennale, the RojoNegro duo brings a collective ritual to the Mexico Pavilion

Per la Biennale Arte 2026 il duo RojoNegro porta nel Padiglione del Messico un rituale collettivo

The article announces that the RojoNegro collective, formed by María Sosa and Noé Martínez, will represent Mexico at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026 with a project titled "Actos invisibles para sostener el universo." Curated by Jessica Berlanga Taylor, the installation combines organic materials, sound, video, and performance to create a ritualistic space that invokes invisible presences, memories, and energies. The work draws on decolonial perspectives, centering Indigenous and Afro-descendant cosmogonies as living knowledge systems, and aims to activate a dialogue between situated ritual practices and the global context of the Biennale.

Silent Stories Solo Exhibition by Shanaka Kulathunga to Debut in India at Bikaner House

Gallery Silver Scapes will present 'Silent Stories', a solo exhibition by Sri Lankan artist Shanaka Kulathunga, at the CCA Building, Bikaner House in New Delhi from May 21 to 28, 2026. This marks the artist's first solo presentation in India, featuring acrylic and oil paintings that explore memory, everyday life, and rural Sri Lankan landscapes through figuration and narrative depth. Curated by Archana Khare-Ghose, the exhibition includes a publication launch and aims to foster cross-cultural dialogue between India and Sri Lanka.

Not an exhibition, but a game: Vietnamese artist’s lifelong dialogue with fallen leaves

The Vietnam Fine Arts Museum in Hanoi is hosting "Cuộc Chơi Với Lá (A Game with Leaves)," an exhibition showcasing over six decades of work by self-taught Vietnamese artist Tạ Hải. The show features dozens of artworks selected from more than 500 pieces he has created entirely from natural materials, primarily fallen leaves, since his first work in 1965. Hải, who works outside formal artistic traditions, transforms leaves into landscapes depicting rivers, rooftops, and village paths, driven by a philosophy that sees fallen leaves as enduring symbols of life rather than discarded remnants.

WHO ARE THE CURATORS THAT WILL LEAD THE NEXT BIENAL DE SAO PAULO

The Fundação Bienal de São Paulo has appointed Amanda Carneiro and Raphael Fonseca as chief curators for the 37th Bienal de São Paulo, scheduled for 2027 at the Pavilhão Ciccillo Matarazzo in Ibirapuera Park. Carneiro, a curator at MASP since 2018 and an artistic organizer for the 2024 Venice Biennale, and Fonseca, a visual arts curator at Culturgest and curator-at-large at the Denver Art Museum, will lead the largest visual arts event in Latin America.

Anna-Sophie Berger, Benjamin Hirte at Shore Gallery

Shore Gallery in Vienna presents "Baader Streisand Komplex," a two-person exhibition featuring artists Anna-Sophie Berger and Benjamin Hirte, curated by Nik Geene. Running from April 1 to May 16, 2026, the show brings together their respective practices in a dialogue framed by the exhibition's title.