Academic museums at Princeton, Yale, Cornell, and Skidmore have organized several standout exhibitions worth visiting beyond TEFAF New York. These shows highlight the rich programming happening on campuses outside the city, offering diverse artistic perspectives and scholarly depth.
Branchport Galleries in Long Branch, New Jersey, presents "The New Botanical," an exhibition curated by Ellen Martin that reimagines traditional botanical art through contemporary works by Suzan Globus, Kevin Hinkle/Ellen Martin, Daniel Sroka, and Gao Yuan. The show, on view from May 14 to June 30, 2026, features techniques such as flower-pounding, extreme close-up photography, and photo-based wall sculptures, moving away from classical precision toward essence and abstraction. An opening reception and artist talk are scheduled.
Art House Productions in Jersey City, NJ, presents "Playing Favorites," a solo exhibition by artist Bryant Small, curated by Andrea McKenna. The show runs from May 2 to May 31, 2026, at the Art House Gallery, featuring a selection of Small's most cherished works, many never publicly exhibited before. The exhibition includes an opening reception on May 2 and an artist talk on April 17, with all artwork available for purchase in person and online.
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.
Tony Chrenka's studio in the Gowanus neighborhood of New York City is the subject of this article, which explores his artistic practice centered on salvaged materials and industrial processes. Chrenka works with PET plastic (Mylar) and polyester fabrics, creating collages and sculptures that investigate the gap between use-value and exchange-value. His upcoming exhibition at Toby78 in Brooklyn will feature new works made from pleated polyester textiles, inspired by Issey Miyake's Pleats Please clothing line.
Scottish artist Andrew McIntosh presents a new series of crimson-hued landscape paintings in his solo exhibition "I Hope This Transmission Finds You Soon" at School Gallery in Folkestone, U.K. The works, including pieces titled "Whitney," "K2," "Gasherbrum," and "Matterhorn" (all 2026), transform familiar mountain forms into eerie, otherworldly scenes with glowing orbs and uncanny light, drawing inspiration from Cormac McCarthy's novel "Blood Meridian." The exhibition runs through May 30.
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.
A free outdoor exhibition titled 'Pop Goes Brum!' will honor Birmingham-born Pop artist Peter Phillips at Snow Hill Square from June 9 to June 30, 2026. Curated by art historian Ruth Millington and organized by Birmingham Colmore, the showcase features Phillips' striking artworks and photographs, alongside contemporary works by current Birmingham School of Art students. Phillips, who studied and later taught at the Birmingham School of Art, was a key figure in the international Pop art movement alongside David Hockney, Pauline Boty, Peter Blake, Andy Warhol, and Roy Lichtenstein. He passed away in June 2025 at age 86.
This article explores the enduring fascination that visual artists have with opera, tracing a historical lineage from figures like Oskar Kokoschka and David Hockney to contemporary practitioners such as William Kentridge and Tacita Dean. It examines how opera's fusion of music, drama, and visual spectacle has inspired artists to create set designs, costumes, and even direct productions, often blurring the boundaries between fine art and performance.
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.
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.
The Los Medanos College Art Gallery is preparing for its spring student exhibition, which opened April 15. Gallery director Sarah Lee oversees the installation process, working with student workers and volunteers like Jordan Castro, Dasha Shevchenko, and Eric Sanchez to arrange artworks—including paintings, sculptures, and ceramics—into a cohesive display. A guest juror selected the pieces, and this year's show features an interactive element created by senior lab coordinator Cesar Reyes and Nick Nabas, inviting visitors to engage directly with the exhibit.
The Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens presents "Jeff Koons: Venus Lespugue," an exhibition pairing Jeff Koons' monumental stainless steel sculpture *Balloon Venus Lespugue (Orange)* (2013–2019) with ten certified copies of Paleolithic Venus figurines from major European museums. The Koons work, on public display for the first time, is loaned from the Homem Sonnabend Collection and directly references the 28,000-year-old Venus of Lespugue carved from mammoth tusk ivory.
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 article lists current and upcoming art exhibitions in the Fort Wayne, Indiana area, including shows at The Orchard Gallery of Fine Art, Garrett Museum of Art, Clark Gallery, ArtSpace/Lima, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Artlink, Ruth Koomler Art Gallery, Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory, Visual Arts Gallery at Purdue University Fort Wayne, Allen County Public Library, Langhinrichs Art Gallery, and Atelier. Featured artists include Heidi Malott, Hope Wallace, Greg Lookerse, Jim Gabbard, Angela Green, Chuck Sperry, Jeff Schofield, Katherine Kratzer, Julie Wall, Andrea Granger, and KristinA, with exhibitions ranging from oil paintings and mixed-media to photography, printmaking, and electric vehicle art.
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.
Lista dei piccoli musei d’Italia dedicati alla scrittura. Tra diari, macchine da scrivere e memorie
The article highlights the phenomenon of cultural overbooking, where major museums like the Louvre, Vatican Museums, and British Museum attract millions of visitors, turning art appreciation into a physical endurance test. It then pivots to a series of small, specialized museums across Italy dedicated to writing, diaries, and memory, offering a quieter, more intimate alternative. Featured institutions include the Piccolo Museo del Diario in Pieve Santo Stefano, which houses over 10,000 personal diaries and letters, and the Museo della Lettera d’Amore in Torrevecchia Teatina, with 25,000 love letters. Other stops include the Parco Poesia Pascoli in San Mauro Pascoli, dedicated to the poet Giovanni Pascoli.
Les Franciscaines de Deauville, a former convent turned cultural center, celebrates its fifth anniversary by unveiling its first permanent commission: a monumental contemporary stained glass window by Clara Rivault. Titled "Ceux qui traversent," the double-sided work spans the entrance of the Grande Galerie, blending traditional glass techniques with photographic transfers, lead, and light. Rivault, born in 1991 and trained at Montpellier's École supérieure des beaux-arts, La Cambre in Brussels, and the Centre international d'Art verrier de Meisenthal, has previously created works for the Institut français in Paris and the church of Saint-Paterne in Saint-Pair-sur-Mer.
En Seine-Saint-Denis, les logements futés pour les migrants de l’architecte Patrick Rubin
Architect Patrick Rubin of the firm Canal has transformed the former National Road Information Center, known as Bison Futé, in Rosny-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis) into a housing complex for 169 migrants. The project, commissioned by social landlord Batigere Habitats Solidaires, preserves the original 1986 half-moon building by Ludwik Peretz and Gilbert Delecourt, adding a new floor and a rear half-crown structure. Rubin used 79 prefabricated modules (17–25 m² each), built in workshops near Lyon, each equipped with a bed, kitchenette, bathroom, and window. Inspired by ship cabin manufacturing in Dunkirk and traditions of tiny houses and capsule hotels by Charlotte Perriand, Herman Hertzberger, and Shigeru Ban, the modules were craned into place. The project faced delays due to differing tolerances between concrete and wood construction, pushing delivery from early 2026 to late 2026.
A satirical workout video titled "20 minute workout" created by the Hawaiʻi-based artist initiative kekahi wahi is featured at the Whitney Biennial in New York. The video shows dancers in spandex stretching in front of the Captain Cook Monument at Kealakekua Bay on Hawaiʻi Island, set to electronic music. The project was part of a larger effort to reimagine public space and challenge commemorative monuments in Hawaiʻi, drawing on the energy of debates over Confederate statues in the continental U.S.
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.”
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.
Dalla criminalità alla cultura. A Ville Couëlle apre il primo museo della Costa Smeralda
The former Ville Couëlle complex in Sardinia's Costa Smeralda, an iconic example of organic architecture designed by French visionary Jacques Couëlle, has been officially transferred to the municipality of Arzachena after being seized from organized crime by Italy's National Agency for Seized and Confiscated Assets. The 37-million-euro property, spanning 30,000 square meters in the Abbiadori district, will be transformed into the first museum of the Costa Smeralda, featuring exhibition spaces, conference halls, educational labs, a bookshop, and a café.
I dimenticati dell’arte. La storia dell’artista Valeria Alberti
Valeria Alberti (1930-2011), a courageous, rebellious, and nonconformist Italian artist, had a brief but intense career before disappearing from the art world. Recent research by scholar Manuel Barrese reconstructs her trajectory as the only woman in a circle of artists and intellectuals around poet Emilio Villa and the Galleria Appia Antica. Alberti debuted in 1957 alongside Alberto Sartoris, collaborated with ceramist Mario Molli, and created painted panels for the transatlantic liners Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo. She exhibited at Galleria Ferro di Cavallo and Galleria Azimuth, and received Piero Manzoni's Certificate of Authenticity No. 26 in 1961. Her later work included geometric metal sculptures, but she ultimately vanished from the art scene.
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.
L’archivio del grande architetto Piero Portaluppi apre al pubblico: succede a Villa Necchi a Milano
The Fondo Ambiente Italiano (FAI) has opened a new permanent archive space dedicated to the architect and intellectual Piero Portaluppi (1888-1967) inside Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan, the architect's own masterpiece. The archive, acquired by FAI in December 2025 from the closing Fondazione Portaluppi, is housed in three attic rooms and includes thousands of original documents, drawings, photographic prints, sketchbooks, caricatures, postcards, and 16 mm film reels totaling eight hours of footage shot between the 1930s and 1960s. The collection also features Portaluppi's personal library of three thousand volumes and architecture journals, which will be made available for study in collaboration with the Soprintendenza Archivistica e Bibliografica della Lombardia and the Politecnico di Milano.
A Venezia due nuove realtà culturali nel circuito dei Musei Civici: nasce un centro d’arte contemporanea a Mestre e entra nella rete il Museo Wagner
The Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia (MUVE) has opened a new contemporary art museum called MUVEC (Casa delle Contemporaneità) at the Centro Candiani in Mestre, inaugurated on April 24. Simultaneously, MUVE has signed an agreement with the Casinò di Venezia and the Associazione Richard Wagner to bring the Museo Wagner in Ca' Vendramin Calergi into its network starting in 2027, expanding the MUVE circuit to 14 museums (excluding MUVEC). MUVEC features a permanent collection spanning from 1948 to the present, drawn from the Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Venezia Ca' Pesaro, and will host temporary exhibitions including a 2026 show on Klimt, Schiele, Kokoschka and the body.
Video intervista a Cecilia Canziani e Chiara Camoni curatrice e artista del Padiglione Italia alla Biennale di Venezia
The article is a video interview with curator Cecilia Canziani and artist Chiara Camoni about the Italy Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale. Camoni's installation, titled "Con te e con tutto," features large, monumental figures called "Sisters" that evoke ancient yet contemporary presences, created through a slow, collective, and materially responsive process. The pavilion is divided into two spaces: a vertical, sacred-like area and a horizontal, convivial one that includes a sub-exhibition called "Dialoghi." The project builds on years of friendship and collaboration between Canziani and Camoni, and involves a fluid community of international students, weavers, midwives, and artists working at Camoni's studio in Fabbiano, on the Apuan Alps.
7 nuovi libri d’arte e cultura in libreria. Mappe del presente: tra arte, lavoro, memoria e forme della percezione
This article from Artribune presents a curated selection of seven new art and culture books recently released in Italy. The featured titles range from a theoretical lexicon for 21st-century arts edited by Nicolas Martino, which redefines key terms like 'author,' 'AI,' and 'care,' to a poetic pop-up book by Japanese designer Katsumi Komagata titled 'Piccolo Albero,' which uses paper engineering to narrate the cycle of life. Other works explore themes of labor, memory, domestic space (Giorgio Morandi), inner labyrinths (Andrea Bocconi), and direct testimony from Gaza, all aiming to provide new frameworks for understanding a fractured present.
Riscoprire Jorge Luis Borges come critico d’architettura. A 40 anni dalla morte
The article commemorates the 40th anniversary of Jorge Luis Borges's death, reflecting on his legacy as a writer and his lesser-known role as an architectural critic. It highlights a 2025 book by Estela Canto, a close friend, which reveals Borges's personal fragility and contradictions, such as his love for popular cinema over classical music. The piece also explores Borges's fictional architectural criticism, particularly his 1967 work *Cronache di Bustos Domecq* co-written with Adolfo Bioy Casares, where he satirized functional architecture through invented pioneers like Adam Quincey and Alessandro Piranesi.