Art Basel Miami Beach Diary: a pettable bronze piece, an un-buttoned up party and tarot in a grotto

At Art Basel Miami Beach, the art collective MSCHF invites fairgoers to touch their bronze sculpture *Touch Me Sculpture One More Time* (2024) on Perrotin’s stand, featuring a counter that tracks each pat. The Institute of Contemporary Art Miami hosted a VIP opening night with figures like director Alex Gartenfeld and artist Andreas Schulze, while the Thom Browne club stood out in matching attire. Other highlights include kinetic sculptures by Breakfast (Andrew Zolty) at 1 Hotel South Beach, a tarot-reading grotto by Julie Schenkelberg at Nada fair, and Robbie Williams’s furniture debut with Moooi at Design Miami.

Community-Driven Exhibition Transforms Cars Into Unconventional Vehicles for Site-Specific Art

Over a crisp weekend in October, a Harlem parking lot hosted Stay Frosty, a community-driven exhibition organized by BravinLee Programs. The show transformed cars into unconventional vehicles for site-specific art, with works installed in trunks, truck beds, and on rearview mirrors. Highlights included Baloney's "Piggies Undo the World," featuring pigs attacking a red pickup; Ellie Murphy's tapestries draped over the fence; and Amy Rose Khoshbin's interactive "Altars to Agency." Artists, independent curators, galleries, and non-profits participated, turning the lot into an enclosed, vibrant environment for visual art.

Frieze London diary: a boozy gallery bar, head-turning headlines and talking mice

During Frieze London week, Thaddaeus Ropac gallery hosts Tom Sachs’s "A Good Shelf" exhibition featuring a working coffee and mezcal bar alongside 30 ceramic works inspired by Japanese tea bowls. At the satellite fair Minor Attractions, performance artist Mark McGowan (aka Artist Taxi Driver) displays subverted Daily Mail headlines. Ryan Gander’s solo show at Camden Arts Projects introduces a fourth animatronic mouse that critiques the state of contemporary art. Meanwhile, the Gallery of Everything presents "Ectoplasmix," a show of works depicting ectoplasm, including pieces by František Jaroslav Pecka, Mathew Weir, and Susan Hiller.

Palestinian artist ‘cancelled’ by US museum comes to Frieze Masters

Palestinian artist Samia Halaby is presenting a solo stand at Frieze Masters in London, hosted by Sfeir-Semler Gallery. This follows the abrupt cancellation of her retrospective at Indiana University Bloomington's Eskenazi Museum of Art last year, after staff raised concerns about her social media posts expressing support for Palestinian causes during the Israel-Gaza war. A petition launched by her grandniece garnered over 15,000 signatures, and the gallery reports sustained interest in her work from both private collectors and museums.

‘My Love of Art Is Undiminished’: Maureen Paley on Her New Space

Maureen Paley, a prominent London gallerist, announces the opening of a new exhibition space. The article details her enduring passion for art and her plans for the new venue, which will continue to represent her roster of artists and host a program of exhibitions.

Local artists transform waste into striking art at the Melrose Gallery

The Melrose Gallery in Johannesburg is hosting "Junkyard Dogs," an exhibition featuring South African artists Dr. Willie Bester and Prof Pitika Ntuli, running until October 31. The show transforms discarded materials into sculptures, paintings, and installations that address social and political issues, including apartheid and post-colonial identity. Curated by Ashraf Jamal and Tumelo 'Tumi' Moloi, the exhibition includes a soundscape, children's workshops, poetry sessions, and guided walkabouts, all free to the public.

In Hayv Kahraman’s New Show, the Artist Heals From Devastation

Hayv Kahraman's latest solo show, "Ghost Fires," at Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City features paintings of women with smoke rising from their fingertips and pupil-less eyes, using scorched textures and marbled pigments. The body of work is her first since the January wildfires in Los Angeles displaced her and her family from their Altadena home, and it explores trauma, memory, and healing without directly depicting flames.

CSUN Art Exhibits to Focus on Los Angeles, Place and People

California State University, Northridge's Art Galleries presents two new exhibitions exploring Los Angeles, place, and people. The Main Gallery hosts "The Journey is the Destination: Recording Los Angeles," featuring photography, mixed-media, site-specific installations, and sculptures by artists including Marisela Norte, Debra Scacco, Fía Benitez, Aaron Douglas Estrada, Vincent Enrique Hernandez, Erick Medel, and Pamela Smith Hudson. Curated by Holly Jerger, the show challenges colonial mapping conventions and highlights gentrification, environmental depletion, and stereotypes affecting historically neglected parts of the city. In the West Gallery, "The Warmth of the Sun: A Recent Survey of Tierra Del Sol Artists" runs through October 15, the first of a three-part series spotlighting local San Fernando Valley art organizations, with subsequent exhibitions featuring Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural and 11:11 Projects.

Art exhibitions to explore in the UAE this September

This September, the UAE is hosting a diverse array of art exhibitions across Dubai and Abu Dhabi, ranging from group shows to solo presentations and digital art showcases. Highlights include 'Summer Collective: Wavering Hope' at Ayyam Gallery, featuring 12 Syrian artists; Colombian artist Ana Escobar Saavedra's first solo show at 421 Arts Campus; 'To Know Malaysia Is To Love Malaysia' at the Cultural Foundation, presenting works by NYU Abu Dhabi MFA graduates; 'History Encoded' at kanvas, tracing digital art from algorithmic works to AI and blockchain; and Marwan Bassiouni's 'New Western Views' at Lawrie Shabibi, exploring mosque interiors in Western landscapes.

Bollywood Star Sonam Kapoor on the Women Who Shaped Her Eye for South Asian Art

Bollywood star Sonam Kapoor discusses her evolution as an art collector, shaped by the women in her family—her mother Sunita Kapoor and aunt Kavita Singh, a Mumbai-based interior designer and art curator. Kapoor began collecting instinctively, drawn to South Asian modernists like Amrita Sher-Gil and Manjit Bawa, but has recently shifted toward contemporary works and underrepresented artists, especially women and those outside major art hubs. She sources art from galleries such as Jhaveri Contemporary, Chemould Prescott, and Nature Morte, as well as auction houses including Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Saffronart. Kapoor was on the host committee for the Serpentine Summer Party in London, where she admired Arpita Singh’s first institutional solo show outside India.

Another gallery gone: Anderson-Brickler space closes after 9 years on Adams Street

Dr. Celeste Hart, a Tallahassee endocrinologist and daughter of the late Dr. A.D. Brickler, is closing the Anderson-Brickler Gallery after nine years on Adams Street. Opened in 2016, the gallery focused on Modern and Contemporary artists of the African Diaspora, hosting exhibitions by artists such as Joe Roache, Romare Bearden, and Kabuya Bowens-Saffo, as well as lectures, workshops, and thesis shows for Florida State University fine arts students. The space will be taken over by Stan J. Johnson, a professional photographer and FAMU professor, who plans to rename the gallery and continue exhibiting paintings while expanding into spoken word and music.

Explore 200 Years of American Art at the PEM

The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, Massachusetts, is hosting "Making History: 200 Years of American Art," an exhibition organized by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) and on view through September 21, 2025. The show features 85 original works by American artists, including Charles Willson Peale's *The Artist in His Museum*, Patience Wright's wax sculpture of George Washington, and portraits of Ruth St. Denis and Mrs. Chase. PEM's curators have reimagined the exhibition with local relevance and immersive design, and the final gallery invites visitors to contribute personal reflections on history.

'Tony Cragg: Skulptura' at the Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik, Croatia

The Museum of Modern Art Dubrovnik in Croatia will host 'Tony Cragg: Skulptura' from 22 July to 5 October 2025, marking the first-ever presentation of British sculptor Tony Cragg's work to a Croatian audience. Curated by Jelena Tamindžija Donnart and supported by German curator Detmar Westhoff, the exhibition features around 30 sculptures, drawings, and preparatory sketches spanning Cragg's decades-long career, including iconic early works from 1985 and highlights from his 'Early Forms' series. The show occupies the Banac Palace's first two floors, terraces, and garden, offering an indoor-outdoor experience.

Highlights from New York’s Upstate Art Weekend 2025

Upstate Art Weekend (UAW) returns for its sixth edition, running until July 21, 2025, with over 155 participants across galleries, studios, museums, and art centers in New York's Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains. Founded in 2020 by Helen Toomer as a pandemic-era initiative, the event now supported by Space Design + Production and Bloomberg Connects offers highlights such as 'Eclectic Cream' at Army of Frogs Studio, 'Muskeg and Collateral Magic' at Mother-in-Law's Gallery, 'The Rose' at the Center for Photography at Woodstock, tours at Hessel Museum of Art, and 'Peculiar Manufactures' at Jesse Bransford House.

An expansive monograph of Celia Paul paints a portrait of a single-minded, singular artist

A new monograph on Indian-born British painter Celia Paul (b. 1959) presents an expansive survey of her career, featuring over 500 color reproductions and essays by Hilton Als, Clare Carlisle, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Edmund de Waal, and Rowan Williams, alongside contributions from the artist herself. The book traces Paul's trajectory from her training at the Slade School of Fine Art and her decade-long relationship with Lucian Freud to her recent solo exhibition *Colony of Ghosts* at Victoria Miro in London, positioning her as a singular figure distinct from the shadow of Freud and the School of London painters.

‘A true champion of artists’: Victoria Miro's artists celebrate gallery's 40th anniversary

Victoria Miro opened her eponymous gallery on Cork Street in London in December 1985, at a time when the punk collective The Grey Organisation was protesting the conservative art establishment. To mark the gallery's 40th anniversary, Miro is hosting an exhibition of works by all her artists at her 17,000 sq. ft space in Hoxton, with 23 of them creating new works specifically for the show, including Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Flora Yukhnovich, Elmgreen & Dragset, Chris Ofili, Chantal Joffe, Grayson Perry, and Celia Paul. The article features heartfelt tributes from artists like Isaac Julien, who calls Miro 'a true champion of artists,' and Joffe, who describes the gallery as family.

District Gallery hosts Hunt Slonem for opening of new exhibition

District Gallery in Shaker Heights, Ohio, will host internationally acclaimed artist Hunt Slonem for the opening of his new exhibition, “Spring Awakening,” on May 29. The 73-year-old New York-based painter, known for his neo-expressionist depictions of bunnies, butterflies, and tropical birds, will attend a sold-out VIP reception. The exhibition runs through June 27 and marks Slonem’s first solo show in Cleveland.

Six Shows to See in Beijing This Month

Ocula's China team has selected six must-see exhibitions in Beijing during Gallery Weekend Beijing (23 May–1 June 2025), highlighting emerging to mid-career Chinese artists. The article profiles shows at galleries including White Space, Tabula Rasa Gallery, and others, featuring artists such as Tant Yunshu Zhong, Xinyi Cheng, Evelyn Taocheng Wang, and Li Shurui. The 2025 edition of Gallery Weekend Beijing removes the Visiting Sector, which previously hosted international galleries like Chantal Crousel, Gladstone, and Sprüth Magers, shifting focus to domestic talent.

At the Grand Palais, the Paris Book Festival Puts Comics in the Spotlight

Au Grand Palais, le Festival du livre de Paris met la bande dessinée à l’honneur

The Festival du livre de Paris returns to the Grand Palais from April 17 to 19, 2026, marking a continued transformation from a massive trade fair into a curated cultural event. This year’s edition features 450 publishers and places a significant emphasis on comic books (BD), highlighted by two thematic exhibitions on the Balcon d’Honneur and a dedicated youth village. The program also includes a culinary-themed nocturne and the "Cabaret Extra!" performance series produced in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou.

Middletown Arts Center presents Garden State Watercolor Society's Annual Juried Exhibition 2026

The Middletown Arts Center is currently hosting the Garden State Watercolor Society’s 56th Annual Open Juried Exhibition alongside the 8th Annual Art Installation Exhibition. Juried by Joseph Gyurcsak, the main showcase features 64 selected watercolor paintings, while a special installation titled "Revolution as Reinvention" presents 55 miniature works exploring the history of artistic rebellion. The exhibition is open to the public through May 30, 2026, with a digital version available online.

Culture Workers Announce Venice Biennale Strike in Israeli Pavilion Protest

Cultural workers, unions, and grassroots groups are planning a 24-hour strike on Friday, May 8, at the Venice Biennale to protest Israel's participation amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Organized by the Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA), the action includes a rally on Viale Garibaldi and calls for a boycott of Israel's "genocide pavilion." Participating groups include Biennaleocene, Sale Docks, Mi Riconosci, Vogliamo Tutt’altro, and several Italian trade unions. The strike follows months of activism, including a letter signed by over 200 event participants, and comes after the Biennale jury resigned over award eligibility rules that initially excluded Israel and Russia.

Sotheby’s Auction Raises Funds for Yale MFA Scholarships

The Yale School of Art is partnering with Sotheby’s to host an auction benefiting scholarships for its Master of Fine Arts program. The 13 lots, including works by Howardena Pindell, Josef Albers, Richard Prince, Mickalene Thomas, Do Ho Suh, and Barkley L. Hendricks, will be sold as part of Sotheby’s Contemporary Day Auction in New York on May 15. Estimates range from $5,000 to $700,000. Dean Kymberly Pinder, who has raised $13 million toward debt-free graduation since 2021, stated the auction supports a larger initiative to ensure MFA students graduate without debt.

Where did the great artist Joseph Beuys live? The comic story by Gianluca Costantini

Dove viveva il grande artista Joseph Beuys? Il racconto a fumetti di Gianluca Costantini

In the summer of 2022, the author visited Düsseldorf and discovered that Joseph Beuys's former home at Drakeplatz 4 in Oberkassel was for sale, but the city's cultural department declined to purchase it. Beuys lived and worked there from 1961 until his death in 1986, using the space as both a residence and studio. The article recounts the intimate details of family life there, including how Beuys painted the main room white for his wife Eva's photography, and how the family navigated the blend of private life and artistic practice. Two years later, the Brunhilde Moll Foundation acquired the house and opened it to the public, though it was closed for renovations when the author returned. The house now displays about sixty works from Beuys's creative period and will host artist residencies and events.

The Museum Breathing Life Into New York's Downtown Performance Scene

The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art in SoHo has emerged as a vital hub for New York’s downtown performance scene through its intergenerational exhibition, "Sacred and Profane." Featuring a collaborative residency between poet Pamela Sneed and performance artist Carlos Martiel, the programming centers on themes of Black maternal grief, queer identity, and the exhumation of suppressed histories. Recent performances included Martiel’s "No Resurrection," a ritualistic piece involving his mother and a mound of earth, and Sneed’s readings that address the collective trauma and "urgent care" status of the LGBTQ+ community.

Brett Goodroad at Crèvecoeur, Left Bank

Brett Goodroad at Crèvecoeur, rive gauche

San Francisco-based artist Brett Goodroad presents a solo exhibition titled "Bells" at Crèvecoeur’s Rive Gauche location in Paris. The exhibition features a series of new paintings that showcase Goodroad’s signature style of fluid, gestural abstraction and figurative ambiguity, documented through an extensive digital archive of installation views and individual work shots.

Raoul de Keyser at Trautwein Herleth

Trautwein Herleth in Berlin is hosting a solo exhibition of works by the late Belgian painter Raoul de Keyser. The presentation features a selection of the artist’s signature abstract compositions, characterized by their tactile surfaces, muted palettes, and the subtle tension between formalist geometry and organic forms.

Grant Falardeau at Galerie Neu

Artist Grant Falardeau opened a solo exhibition at Galerie Neu in Berlin. The show, which ran from March 14 to April 18, 2026, was documented extensively with 41 installation photographs.

Mirna Bamieh “Sour Things: The Door” at NIKA Project Space, Paris

NIKA Project Space in Paris presents "Sour Things: The Door," a new installation by Palestinian artist Mirna Bamieh, on view from April 17 to May 23, 2026. Curated by Anne Davidian, the exhibition marks Bamieh's return to the gallery following her solo presentation that inaugurated NIKA's Paris space in 2024, and serves as the latest chapter in her ongoing "Sour" series.

“Where it doesn’t reach” at Lo Brutto Stahl, Paris

Lo Brutto Stahl in Paris is hosting a group exhibition titled "Where it doesn’t reach," featuring the works of Hélène Janicot, Park McArthur, and the late conceptual artist Bas Jan Ader. The show creates a dialogue between contemporary sculpture and installation by Janicot and McArthur and historical lens-based media by Ader. Notably, the exhibition's reach extends beyond the Parisian gallery space to include a presence in Basel.

Federal President praises Emder Kunsthalle: 'Extraordinary quality'

Bundespräsident lobt Emder Kunsthalle: "Außerordentliche Qualität"

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier praised the Emder Kunsthalle on its 40th anniversary, calling its collection of "extraordinary quality." The museum was founded in 1986 by Henri Nannen, the late founder of Stern magazine, and his wife Eske Nannen. Steinmeier spoke at a ceremony attended by 500 guests, including his wife Elke Büdenbender and Lower Saxony's Minister President Olaf Lies. The anniversary exhibition "Bilder, die wir lieben" (Pictures We Love) showcases 200 works from the collection, which has grown to around 1,700 pieces, including pieces by Gabriele Münter, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Max Beckmann, and Franz Marc.