Boxing News: WBC Honors Rocky Exhibition & Joe Frazier Legacy At Philadelphia Museum Of Art » May 13, 2026

The World Boxing Council (WBC) presented two commemorative championship belts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in connection with the exhibition "Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments," which marks the 50th anniversary of the film "Rocky." On April 23, 2026, Rasheen Farlow of the WBC gave a belt to the family of Joe Frazier, accepted by his daughter Jacquelyn Frazier-Lyde. The following evening, a second belt was presented to the exhibition itself, accepted by guest curator Paul Farber. The belts honor boxing figures Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, and Jose Sulaiman, and one also features the film character Rocky.

Harwood Museum announces closing events for Pursuit of Happiness art exhibit

The Harwood Museum of Art in Taos, New Mexico, is hosting a Mystery Cabaret event on May 22 and 23, 2026, to celebrate the closing of its exhibition *Pursuit of Happiness: GI Bill in Taos*. Written and directed by local playwright John Biscello, the interactive theater experience invites guests to solve a fictional art theft, with actors, mocktails, and 1940s-era costumes. The exhibition closes May 31, after which the museum will remain closed until the opening of *Unearthing Futures / Desenterrando Futuros* on June 27.

How Frida Kahlo Became This Year's Cultural Obsession

In 2026, Frida Kahlo has become a global cultural obsession, with museums, opera houses, and cinemas worldwide celebrating her legacy. The Metropolitan Opera in New York City will premiere Gabriela Lena Frank's Spanish-sung opera *El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego* on May 14, which imagines Diego Rivera summoning Kahlo back to life three years after her death. Set and costume designer Jon Bausor drew inspiration from the trees, veins, and cracked imagery in Kahlo's paintings.

Ali Banisadr: Temple of the Mind | Solo exhibition at Buffalo AKG Art Museum

The Buffalo AKG Art Museum will present "Ali Banisadr: Temple of the Mind," a solo exhibition running from June 26 to November 8, 2026. The show occupies the Hemicycle Gallery and, for the first time, the Wilmers Galleries, where Banisadr's works will be installed alongside Surrealist and Abstract Expressionist pieces from the museum's permanent collection. The exhibition includes an installation exploring the artist's influences, featuring works by Andō Hiroshige and Francisco de Goya, as well as studio materials, a new etching created with Mirabo Press, and an audio journey narrated by Banisadr.

There's still a time to catch Matisse's "Jazz" at the Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago is currently hosting "Matisse's Jazz: Rhythms in Color," an exhibition centered on Henri Matisse's 1947 artist's book "Jazz." The show, on view until June 1, features the iconic cut-paper works Matisse created after a 1941 surgery left him unable to paint. Visitors enter directly into the "Jazz" gallery before backtracking through earlier works, offering a chronological journey that culminates in the cut-paper technique. Wait times can exceed 90 minutes, but the museum recommends joining a virtual queue and exploring other galleries in the meantime.

Landmark Gorky Exhibit Extended at Armenian Museum

The Armenian Museum of America has extended its landmark exhibition "Arshile Gorky: Redrawing Community and Connections" through September 27, 2026, due to overwhelming interest and positive reviews. This is the first exhibition of Arshile Gorky's work in an Armenian museum, featuring paintings and drawings on loan from the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Housatonic Museum of Art, Yale University Art Gallery, private collectors, and other lenders. Curated by Kim S. Theriault and sponsored by the JHM Charitable Foundation, the show opened to coincide with the 100 Years of Arshile Gorky programming in Watertown, Massachusetts.

Arshile Gorky exhibition at AMA extended through September 2026

The Armenian Museum of America (AMA) in Watertown, Massachusetts, has extended its exhibition "Arshile Gorky: Redrawing Community and Connections" through September 27, 2026, due to overwhelming interest and positive reviews from publications such as Boston Art Review and Artscope magazine. Curated by Kim S. Theriault and sponsored by the JHM Charitable Foundation, the show is the first exhibition of Gorky’s work in an Armenian museum, featuring loans from the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Housatonic Museum of Art, Yale University Art Gallery, private collectors, and the Armenian diaspora.

FAD News: Sarah Lucas unveils new public sculpture commission for New Museum plaza

The New Museum has unveiled a major public sculpture by Sarah Lucas titled "VENUS VICTORIA," installed on its new outdoor plaza as part of the OMA-designed expansion on the Bowery. The large-scale work, which opened on May 12, 2026, and will remain on view for two years, inaugurates a long-term commission series dedicated to public sculpture by women artists. Lucas was selected by an all-artist jury including Teresita Fernández, Joan Jonas, Julie Mehretu, Cindy Sherman, and Kiki Smith, and is the first of five artists to be commissioned over the next decade. The sculpture extends Lucas's Bunny series, placing a reclining figure atop a giant washing machine to subvert traditional monumental statues.

Art as Collective Responsibility: Hestia Artistic Journey Grant Programme Winners

The Hestia Artistic Journey National Grant Programme (Artystyczna Podróż Hestii) has announced the winners of its third edition, selecting eight projects from nearly 200 applications across Poland. The programme, subtitled "Opening Time" (Czas otwarcia), supports artists and cultural institutions planning exhibitions that address collective responsibility for global issues. Winners include "Ślady pamięci" by Fundacja Szałfynster in Katowice, exploring memory and dementia; "Głodne drzewa/Thirsty Trees" by Przemek Branas at the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź, critiquing human greed through eucalyptus metaphors; and "Tymczasowa pława" by Norbert Delman at the State Art Gallery in Sopot, an installation on ecocide using a sunken fishing boat and amber. Each project will present an exhibition between July 2026 and the last quarter of 2027, with increased funding due to exceptional submissions.

‘Drift’ Invites Reverie at the Parrish

Sanford Biggers's first major solo exhibition on the East End, "Drift," opens at the Parrish Art Museum on Sunday and runs through September 13. The show features new works and site-responsive installations, including the monumental "Unsui (Cloud Forest)" (2025), a series of illuminated cloud sculptures suspended from the museum's arched ceiling. Co-curated by Corinne Erni and Scout Hutchinson, the exhibition spans Biggers's multidisciplinary practice—painting, sculpture, video, performance, and textile works—drawing on influences from Buddhism to graffiti culture and Gee's Bend quilts. Highlights include examples from his "Codex" series, made from repurposed antique quilts with spray-painted cloud forms, and a new sand installation inspired by prayer rugs and Japanese Buddhist mandalas.

Akron Art Museum transforms church’s stained glass windows into exhibit

The Akron Art Museum is presenting "Transfiguration: Rachel Libeskind and the Tiffany Window," an exhibition centered on a 137-square-foot stained glass window crafted by Frederick Wilson of Tiffany Studios in 1917. The window, originally installed at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, was rescued after a 2018 fire destroyed the church. Developer Tony Troppe purchased the property in 2022, and Whitney Stained Glass Studio restored the panels. New York-based artist Rachel Libeskind created accompanying works that reframe the window as art rather than a devotional object, with the show running through July 5.

Basquiat: Figures, Signs, Symbols | Pérez Art Museum Miami | Things to do in Miami

The Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) will present "Basquiat: Figures, Signs, Symbols," the largest exhibition of Jean-Michel Basquiat's work ever mounted in Florida, opening June 25, 2026. The show features ten works from the collection of billionaire Kenneth C. Griffin, including the iconic "Untitled" (1982), which sold for $110.5 million at Sotheby's and reportedly traded for $200 million in 2024. Curated by PAMM director Franklin Sirmans, the exhibition focuses on Basquiat's portraiture, use of text and coded language, and his layered visual vocabulary drawing from world history, Renaissance anatomy, hip-hop, and 1980s New York street culture.

American Miners Photo Exhibition 'Beneath the Surface' Tour: National Gallery (DC)-Milwaukee Art Museum-Amon Carter Museum (Fort Worth, TX)

미국의 광부들 사진전 'Beneath the Surface' 순회: 내셔널 갤러리(DC)-밀워키미술관-에이먼카터미술관(포트워스, TX)

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., will present 'Beneath the Surface: Mining and American Photography' from May 23 to August 23, 2026, the first exhibition to focus exclusively on the relationship between resource extraction and American photography. Featuring 150 photographs by over 100 artists—including Richard Avedon, Walker Evans, Lewis Hine, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Dorothea Lange, and Gordon Parks—the show spans nearly 200 years, from early daguerreotypes of the California Gold Rush to contemporary large-scale works. After its Washington run, the exhibition will travel to the Milwaukee Art Museum (October 23, 2026–January 18, 2027) and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, Texas (February 14–May 9, 2027).

Koyo Kouoh’s Venice Biennale Looks to Ancient Wisdom to Mend a Fractured Present

Koyo Kouoh's Venice Biennale, titled after ancient wisdom, opens with a focus on healing and historical reimagination. The exhibition features works by artists such as Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka, Khaled Sabsabi, Daniel Lind-Ramos, Guadalupe Maravilla, Kennedy Yanko, and Ayrson Heráclito, alongside a strong emphasis on artist-led schools and institutions like Denniston Hill, blaxTARLINES KUMASI, and RAW Material Company. During the opening, the Koyo Kouoh Foundation was announced, set to launch in Basel to support Pan-African cultural infrastructure. The show includes Refaat Alareer's poem "If I Must Die" and addresses political realities, blending spiritual, ecological, and technological themes to explore collective care and restoration.

Cleveland Museum of Art presents 19th-century photo exhibit 'France in the Time of Manet and Morisot'

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) has opened a new photography exhibition, "France in the Time of Manet and Morisot," running through August 23 in the Mark Schwartz and Bettina Katz Photography Galleries. The free show features 50 photographs from CMA's holdings of mid-1800s France, complementing the museum's ticketed Impressionist display "Manet & Morisot." Curator Barbara Tannenbaum selected works by photographers such as Charles Marville, Édouard Baldus, and André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri, including Disdéri's 1861 portrait "Monsieur Merlen," which is noted as an early precursor to the modern selfie. The photographs document historic monuments, new architecture, and figures like Sarah Bernhardt, offering a visual context for the era of painters Édouard Manet and Berthe Morisot.

'TARWUK' at White Cube, Mason's Yard, London, United Kingdom on 9 Jul–15 Aug 2026

White Cube Mason’s Yard in London will present a solo exhibition by the artist duo TARWUK (Bruno Pogačnik Tremow and Ivana Vukšić), running from 9 July to 15 August 2026. The show debuts a major new site-specific installation alongside paintings and works on paper, marking the duo’s first exhibition at the gallery.

Glasgow-based artist's explosive work earns place in major UK exhibition

Frank To, an award-winning Glasgow-based artist known for using gunpowder to create explosive artworks, has been selected to exhibit at the Royal Cambrian Academy’s 2026 Annual Exhibition in Conwy, Wales. He is one of only four Scottish artists chosen from 148 applicants. To's recent London exhibitions at the Stafford Gallery, Wimbledon, and the Mall Galleries sold out, and his collectors include actor Sir Patrick Stewart and art patron Michel Witmer, who displays To's work alongside pieces by Picasso and Warhol.

An Expert’s Guide To Navigating The Art World

An art consultant with experience directing galleries in New York and Seattle, working with Nick Knight at SHOWstudio, and presenting The Art Show on Sky Arts shares insights on navigating the art world. The consultant discusses how to discover emerging artists through galleries, Instagram, graduate shows, and word of mouth, and emphasizes the importance of building relationships with galleries versus working with a consultant. Key galleries mentioned include Lisson Gallery, Josh Lilley, Seventeen Gallery, Esther Shipper, Hauser & Wirth, Cooke Latham, and Robertson Ares Gallery.

Sandra Gamarra: “Réplica” Is Not a Copy

Sandra Gamarra Heshiki's exhibition "Réplica" at MASP in São Paulo opens with an unplanned replica of Francisco Laso's "Habitante de las cordilleras del Perú" (1855), which could not travel from Lima due to bureaucracy. Gamarra produced an inverted, altered version, establishing a critical distinction between copying and responding. The exhibition is organized into sections that parody the classical chronology of encyclopedic museums—"Pre-colonial," "Colonial," "Post-independence," "Modern," and "Contemporary"—transforming the museum into an object of analysis. Gamarra's paintings engage with colonial iconographies, such as the pinturas de castas, by inscribing racial classifications directly onto the figures, making the colonial verdict inseparable from the bodies depicted.

John Hitchcock’s sonic and cultural rhythms

The New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut will present "John Hitchcock: We are Defined by the Beat" from May 16 to November 29, 2026, marking the artist's first mid-career retrospective. John Hitchcock, an enrolled member of the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma with Comanche and Northern European ancestry, has spent over three decades transforming the sonic and cultural rhythms of his homeland into a distinct visual language. The exhibition explores his integration of visual and sonic forms across printmaking, neon, textiles, sound, video, and installation, featuring series such as "Flatlander" (2011-18), "Bury the Hatchet" (2019-2020), "Blanket Songs" (2022-2023), "Soundscapes" (2021-2024), and "Celebration" (2025). Hitchcock's work pays homage to his ancestors, confronts histories of Indigenous displacement and trauma, and celebrates community, resilience, and survival, drawing on the sounds and landscapes of his ancestral home in Medicine Park, Oklahoma.

"Freedom Dreams" on view through August 9 at the Barnes Foundation

The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia presents "Freedom Dreams," an exhibition exploring Black freedom through moving images, curated by Maori Karmael Holmes and James Claiborne. The show features five works by intergenerational artists including David Hartt, Ja'Tovia Gary, Garrett Bradley, Tourmaline, and Arthur Jafa, with pieces that draw on historical films, literature, and activism to examine Black identity, joy, and radical imagination. The exhibition runs through August 9, 2026.

BlackBook Art Gallery Rewrites the Rules

BlackBook Art Gallery announces its 2026 season in Southampton, featuring two major exhibitions: "The Lost Generation: Then and Now," which pairs New York School legends like Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner with contemporary artists Julie Mehretu and Rashid Johnson, and "Summer Figuration," showcasing Amy Sherald, Kerry James Marshall, and Toyin Ojih Odutola. Founder Evanly Schindler frames the season around the concept of "urgency," drawing parallels between the postwar abstract expressionist era and today's climate of war, digital saturation, and political polarization. The gallery also plans to open a new location in Detroit's Eastern Market in fall 2026, with the Detroit Salon following in 2028.

At this art show, kids make the rules

The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery in Toronto is hosting 'Colourful Parachutes: Imagining Alternative Futures Through the Power of Play,' a group exhibition that centers children as active participants rather than passive observers. Curated by Frances Loeffler, the show features interactive works by artists including Temitayo Ogunbiyi, Leisure (Meredith Carruthers and Susannah Wesley), Claire Greenshaw, Rivane Neuenschwander, Harold Offeh, Sassa Linklater, Tobias Linklater, and Robin Rhode, with installations that invite climbing, drawing, playing, and touching. The exhibition draws inspiration from a 1968 show at Moderna Museet in Stockholm that transformed the museum into an adventure playground.

Discover the Architecture of LACMA’s David Geffen Galleries at These Free Workshops with AIA Los Angeles

LACMA's new David Geffen Galleries, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor, are now open to the public. The building features a single-floor, sculptural form made of architectural concrete and glass, with natural light and transparency that encourages visitors to explore 6,000 years of art and culture. In collaboration with the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles, LACMA is hosting a series of free workshops on May 15-17, including guided walks, drawing sessions, and landscape tours, to help visitors engage with the building's architecture and design.

High Museum opens sweeping Isamu Noguchi exhibition with an Atlanta connection

The High Museum of Art in Atlanta is presenting a major exhibition titled "Isamu Noguchi: 'I am not a designer'" running from April 10 to August 2, 2026. The show spans Noguchi's career across sculpture, design, and functional objects, and includes a model of Piedmont Park's Playscapes—the only playground Noguchi saw built in the U.S. during his lifetime, giving the exhibition a direct Atlanta connection. Curator Monica Obniski organized the landmark display.

The Carnegie International is a Once Every Four Year Treat

The Carnegie International, the longest-running international art show in North America, returns in 2026 for its 59th edition at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. Founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1896, the exhibition takes place roughly every four years and features contemporary works from artists around the world, including Zhao Yao (China), Hans Ragnar Mathisen (Sapmi/Norway), Cinthia Marcelle (Brazil), and Walter Scott (Canada). The 2026-2027 edition is themed "If The Word We," exploring the first-person plural as an open and evolving concept. The show is integrated throughout the museum alongside permanent collection pieces, and extends to venues such as the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh, Mattress Factory, and the Thelma Lovette YMCA.

Bruges’s new city art gallery BRUSK opens on Friday

Bruges' new city art gallery, BRUSK, opens on Friday in a substantial new building designed by architects Robbrecht and Daem and Olivier Salens. Located in the museum quarter, the gallery features two enormous first-floor exhibition spaces and a light, open ground floor. It debuts with two simultaneous exhibitions: 'Breedbeeld' ('Wide Angle'), a historical show curated by Oxford professor Peter Frankopan and Sibylla Goegebuer, exploring Bruges' medieval global connections through 250 objects including Hans Memling's 'The Passion of Christ'; and 'Latent City', a data-driven installation by Turkish-American artist Refik Anadol that delves beneath the city's surface.

MoMA Curatorial Eye Comes to Greenwich Art Society

Caitlin Chaisson, a curatorial assistant in the Department of Painting and Sculpture at The Museum of Modern Art, will serve as juror for the Greenwich Art Society’s 109th Annual Juried Exhibition. The show runs from May 14 through June 11 at the Bendheim Gallery in the Greenwich Arts Council’s space at 299 Greenwich Avenue, featuring selected works by local artists competing for a place in one of the town’s established juried art events.

Ascension Weekend 2026: 10 must-see exhibitions to check out in Paris over this long weekend

For the Ascension long weekend (May 14–17, 2026), Paris offers a curated selection of ten must-see exhibitions. Highlights include a major Hilma af Klint retrospective at the Grand Palais, exploring her spiritualist and abstract works; 'Jardins des Lumières' at the Grand Trianon in Versailles, focusing on 18th-century landscape garden design; 'Sèvres, a Rothschild Passion' at the Mobilier National, showcasing Rothschild porcelain collections; and a Giovanni Segantini exhibition at the Marmottan Monet Museum, featuring his Alpine Symbolist and Divisionist paintings.

Lowe Art Museum to host two major exhibitions on Afro-Cuban art curated by Alejandro de la Fuente

The Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami will present two complementary exhibitions on Afro-Cuban art from May 1 to Sept. 12, 2025, both guest-curated by Alejandro de la Fuente, director of the Afro-Latin American Research Institute at Harvard University. "El Pasado Mío/My Own Past" features 43 Afro-Cuban artists from the 1820s to the present in an amplified version with 83 works, while "Afrocubanismo: Highlights from the Ramón and Nercys Cernuda Collection" focuses on early 20th-century Afrocubanista works, including pieces by Wifredo Lam.