Zurbarán review – ecstatic visions, primitive surrealism … and the finest loincloths ever painted

The Guardian reviews a major exhibition of 17th-century Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán, highlighting his visionary and surrealist qualities. The show features works such as "The Apparition of Saint Peter to Saint Peter Nolasco" (1629), newly attributed paintings including a giant mask, and iconic pieces like "The Crucified Christ" and "Saint Serapion," all drawn from collections including the Prado and the National Gallery, London. The review emphasizes Zurbarán's ability to paint supernatural subjects with naturalistic conviction, his exquisite rendering of fabrics—especially loincloths—and his influence on modern artists like Salvador Dalí.

New US exhibition explores power of monuments – with help from Rocky

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has opened a new exhibition titled "Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments," which uses the iconic Rocky Balboa statue as a focal point to explore the power and meaning of monuments across two millennia of boxing and celebrity culture. Curated by Paul Farber, co-founder of Monument Lab, the show features ancient sculptures, 19th-century works, images from boxing's golden age, and contemporary pieces by artists including Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Glenn Ligon. The Rocky statue, placed on the museum's steps in 1982, attracts an estimated 4 million visitors annually, rivaling the Statue of Liberty.

Handpicked review – delightful dancing dahlias and petals so pillowy you can feel them

The Guardian reviews "Handpicked," an exhibition at Kettle's Yard in Cambridge that brings together over 40 artists from the 20th century to the present, all sharing a floral passion. The show features works by Rory McEwen, Vanessa Bell, Cedric Morris, Christopher Wood, Tirzah Garwood, Celia Paul, Gluck, and Caroline Walker, among others, displayed on white and leaf-green walls inspired by the fresh flowers and floral paintings in the neighboring house. The review highlights specific pieces, such as McEwen's exquisite tulip watercolor and Garwood's poignant painting from the last year of her life, noting the technical variety and emotional depth across the exhibition.

Playing it safe: this year’s Turner prize nominees lack the anger – and joy – of previous years

The 2026 Turner Prize nominees have been announced, featuring artists Marguerite Humeau, Tanoa Sasraku, Kira Freije, and Simeon Barclay. The shortlist is notably lacking in painting, video art, and overtly political work, instead offering sci-fi utopianism, jazz performance poetry, ephemeral sculpture, and anti-corporate satire. Critics describe the selection as timid and safe compared to previous years, missing the anger, radicalism, and transformative joy of past editions.

David Bowie: You’re Not Alone review – Ziggy glam and Berlin grime in a bum-shaking yet sanitised immersion

A new immersive film exhibition titled 'David Bowie: You’re Not Alone' has opened at London's Lightroom. Directed by Mark Grimmer, who previously designed the V&A's 2013 Bowie exhibition, the hour-long 360-degree film focuses on the artist's most-streamed hits and features unseen performance footage, including from his 1978 Earls Court show. It aims to appeal to both die-hard fans and a younger audience.

Martin Parr: Global Warning review – the great photographer in all his gluttonous, giddy glory

A major retrospective exhibition of photographer Martin Parr's work, titled 'Global Warning,' has opened at the Jeu de Paume museum in Paris. The show, which Parr helped plan before his death in December 2023, is on track to become the museum's most visited exhibition, showcasing his signature saturated, ironic, and unflinching observations of global tourism and consumerism.

Story of Black British music writ large in first exhibition at V&A East

The V&A East has officially opened in Stratford with its inaugural exhibition, 'The Music is Black,' a comprehensive survey of Black British music. Curated by Jacqueline Springer, the landmark show features over 200 items ranging from traditional African drums and a Ben Enwonwu sculpture to contemporary pieces by Rene Matić and iconic stage outfits from artists like Pauline Black and Stormzy. The exhibition marks the first major show for the new £135m O’Donnell & Tuomey-designed building, which joins the V&A’s expanding portfolio of sites.

V&A East collection review – a dazzling wealth of inspiration to fire up the geniuses of the future

The Victoria and Albert Museum has unveiled the first look at its new V&A East outpost in London’s Olympic Park, showcasing a collection that emphasizes diversity, global exchange, and the integration of art into daily life. The inaugural displays feature a wide-ranging mix of objects, from Althea McNish’s vibrant Caribbean-inspired textiles and Vivienne Westwood’s punk designs to a talismanic shirt inscribed with the Qur’an and a Japanese screen documenting colonial encounters. While the museum's public-facing branding focuses on community engagement, the actual curation offers a sophisticated, open-ended exploration of how different cultures influence and define one another.

‘A cauldron of people with their tops off!’ Goldie, Estelle, Courtney Pine, Flo and more pick great moments in Black British music

Prominent figures in Black British music, including Goldie, Estelle, and Dennis Bovell, reflect on iconic photographs and visual artifacts that define the history of their genre. The article highlights specific works such as Eddie Otchere’s portrait of drum and bass pioneers Kemistry and Storm, Janette Beckman’s photography of Slick Rick, and Adrian Boot’s documentation of the Race Today offices in Brixton.

Who was Hilma? Af Klint exhibition to highlight exclusion of women from abstract art

The Swedish artist Hilma af Klint is receiving her first major solo exhibition in France, organized by the Grand Palais and the Pompidou Centre. The show focuses on her "Paintings for the Temple," a series of groundbreaking abstract works created years before male peers like Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian claimed to have invented the movement. Af Klint, a mystic who believed she was guided by higher spirits, famously ordered her work to be hidden for 20 years after her death, convinced the world was not yet ready for her vision.

‘The original triple threat’: two exhibitions celebrate Marilyn Monroe as creative pioneer

The British Film Institute (BFI) and the National Portrait Gallery have announced two major exhibitions to celebrate the centenary of Marilyn Monroe’s birth. The BFI will host a two-month film season titled 'Marilyn Monroe: Self Made Star,' featuring a comprehensive look at her filmography and a theatrical re-release of her final film, *The Misfits*. Simultaneously, the National Portrait Gallery will present 'Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait,' an exhibition exploring her influence on visual culture through works by artists like Andy Warhol and Richard Avedon, including rare photographs taken just before her death.

‘The violence of racist tyranny’: African Guernica goes on display alongside Picasso masterpiece

The Reina Sofía museum in Madrid has installed Dumile Feni's 1967 drawing 'African Guernica' directly opposite Pablo Picasso's iconic 'Guernica' painting. This pairing is the centerpiece of the museum's new annual exhibition series 'History Doesn’t Repeat Itself, But It Does Rhyme,' which aims to place works from different cultural contexts in dialogue with Picasso's masterpiece.

I thought my cuckoo clock was amazing, but it’s got nothing on my statue of Bert the cheery chef | Adrian Chiles

Adrian Chiles, a writer and broadcaster, recounts his acquisition of a whimsical figurine of a cheerful chef, which he named Bert after the reclamation yard owner from whom he bought it in the Black Country. He describes the personal joy and daily lift the statue brings him, contrasting it with a cuckoo clock whose novelty eventually wore off. Chiles details the statue's charming, slightly worn appearance and its role as a conversation piece, particularly due to the West Midlands slang word "bostin'" written on its menu board.

‘Absolutely transformative’: Willem de Kooning exhibition uncovers raw intensity of early work

The Princeton University Art Museum is presenting "Willem de Kooning: The Breakthrough Years," an exhibition revisiting the pivotal period from 1945-1950 that led to the artist's first solo show and established his reputation. The show features 18 paintings, including key works like *Black Friday* and *Dark Pond*, highlighting his intense exploration between figuration and abstraction with a restricted palette.

5 Standout Shows to See at Small Galleries in May 2026

Artsy Editorial highlights five standout exhibitions at small and rising galleries for May 2026. Among them is British-born, Amsterdam-based painter K. T. Kobel's first major Swiss show, "Hand, Body, Object, Sin," at Kutlesa in Goldau, Switzerland, running through May 29. Kobel, who has exhibited from Los Angeles to Milan since 2022, presents cinematic, storyboard-like paintings that embrace fragmentation and loose ends.

Ary Scheffer en 2 minutes

Ary Scheffer (1795–1858) was a Dutch-born Romantic painter who became a central figure in Parisian artistic and cultural life during the July Monarchy. He was the official portraitist of the Orléans family and created deeply melancholic, spiritual works inspired by Dante, Goethe, and the Gospels. His studio at 16 rue Chaptal, in the Nouvelle Athènes district, hosted legendary Friday gatherings attended by Chopin, Liszt, George Sand, and Dickens, and now houses the Musée de la Vie romantique. Key works include *Le Dévouement patriotique des six Bourgeois de Calais* (1819) and *Les Femmes souliotes* (1827), both acquired by the French state.

Delegitimation, Denunciation and Insecurity

"Delegitimation, Denunziation und Verunsicherung"

German cultural critic Georg Seeßlen warns in his taz column of a right-wing 'war of conquest' targeting liberal cultural institutions through systematic delegitimation, denunciation, and intimidation. Meanwhile, a new Berlin artist study reveals that the average annual income from artistic work is just €6,000, highlighting a structural dysfunction in the art system. Additionally, Jonathan Meese's play 'Alaska Kid' has been canceled at the Volksbühne Berlin following the death of his mother Brigitte Meese, who was his organizer, muse, and confidante.

Memories Bathed in Color

In Farbe getauchte Erinnerungen

The Fondation Luma in Arles, France, has opened three exhibitions exploring memory and archives, headlined by Gerhard Richter's "Overpainted Photographs." The show features 120 works from Richter's private archive, some exhibited for the first time, created since the mid-1980s by dragging photographs through leftover paint in his studio. Richter, now 94, personally selected and hung the works chronologically starting from the fall of the Berlin Wall, reflecting his lost homeland and the passage of time. The exhibition also includes early sketches and oil paintings by the late architect Zaha Hadid, previously shown at London's Serpentine Gallery in 2016.

"Kultursenator ist kein Nebenjob"

Berlin's finance senator Stefan Evers is set to additionally take on the role of culture senator following the resignation of Sarah Wedl-Wilson, a move criticized as a stopgap solution that creates a conflict of interest between austerity and cultural advocacy. Meanwhile, the Venice Biennale faces multiple controversies: critics question how to evaluate curator Koyo Kouoh's posthumous main exhibition "In Minor Keys," completed after her death in May 2025; Israeli artist Belu-Simion Fainaru speaks out against his exclusion from the Biennale competition, calling it politically biased and reminiscent of historical persecution; and German press decries the politicization of the Biennale, particularly the exclusion of Israel and Russia from the competition.

The Prototype of an Artist

Der Prototyp eines Künstlers

Timm Ulrichs, the self-proclaimed "Totalkünstler" (total artist) known for his boundary-pushing performances—tattooing himself, locking himself inside a hollowed boulder, and running naked in thunderstorms—has died at age 86 in Berlin. A pioneer of Land Art, Body Art, concrete poetry, and endoscopic imaging, Ulrichs created works that anticipated later artists like Isa Genzken, and was invited to Documenta 6 in 1977. Despite his prolific output and influence on younger generations, he often lamented being overlooked by the international art market compared to peers like Georg Baselitz and Gerhard Richter.

Metropolitan Opera and MoMA Together Put Kahlo at Center Stage

The Metropolitan Opera and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) have launched a rare cross-disciplinary collaboration centered on the life and work of Frida Kahlo. The project features a new operatic production at the Met, complemented by a specialized exhibition at MoMA conceived by the opera's set designer to provide visual and historical context.

A Thomas J Price Bronze Opens Door to London’s V&A East

British artist Thomas J Price has unveiled a monumental bronze sculpture at the entrance of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s new outpost, V&A East, in Stratford, East London. The large-scale work depicts an anonymous Black figure, continuing Price's practice of utilizing the traditional language of monumental sculpture to celebrate everyday individuals who are often marginalized in public spaces.

MoMA Survey Shows How Marcel Duchamp Changed the Art Game

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) has launched a comprehensive survey of Marcel Duchamp’s work, highlighting the artist's revolutionary impact on the definition of art. The exhibition traces Duchamp's transition from traditional painting to his radical 'readymades,' which prioritized intellectual concepts over aesthetic craftsmanship.

culture editors gift guide christmas holidays

Cultured magazine's editors have published a holiday gift guide featuring a curated selection of items ranging from books and film memberships to robes, facials, and art-related products. Recommendations include Elaine Kraf's novel "The Princess of 72nd Street," an AAA24 membership from production company A24, a Hanro shawl collar cotton robe, a facial from Cali Strauhs, and a set of architecture-themed notebooks and books from the New Museum and Special Special. The guide also highlights a bronze sculpture by artist Ryan Schneider, tying the list to contemporary visual art.

ArtReview Podcast | Episode 7: Zineb Sedira

The ArtReview Podcast episode 7 features artist and photographer Zineb Sedira in conversation with digital editor Alexander Leissle. Sedira discusses Algerian cinema, the Scopitone, and her new Tate Britain Commission titled "When Words Fall Silent, Cinema Speaks," a site-specific installation in the Duveen Galleries open until January 2027. The episode explores three works chosen by Sedira, including Agnès Varda's "Salut les Cubains" (1963) and William Klein's "The Pan-African Festival of Algiers" (1969), as lenses into her practice and themes of displacement, identity, and cinema as a tool of resistance.

Tuguldur Yondonjamts’s Animalistic Realm

Mongolian artist Tuguldur Yondonjamts explores the habitat of the saker falcon through a series of accordion-style books titled *The Secret Mountain of Falcons* (2011–14), created during fieldwork across Mongolia. The drawings, presented in Perspex vitrines at his solo exhibition *Wolf Loving Princess* at Gallery Ver in Bangkok, depict the falcon's perspective as imagined by the artist, blending black-and-white film-like imagery with abstract textures. The work responds to the falcon trade, particularly to the Middle East, and the species' declining population, which led to its designation as Mongolia's national bird in 2012.

Taiwan revokes Sakuliu Pavavaljung’s National Award for Arts

Taiwan’s National Culture and Arts Foundation has revoked the National Award for Arts granted to artist Sakuliu Pavavaljung in 2018, ordering him to return the NTD 1 million prize. The revocation follows a Supreme Court ruling on 1 April that upheld a January 2025 conviction by the Pingtung District Court, which found the artist guilty of rape and sentenced him to four years and six months in prison.

Desmond Morris, zoologist, presenter and surrealist painter, 1928–2026

Desmond Morris, the zoologist, author, television presenter, and surrealist painter, has died at the age of 98. He was best known for his 1967 book *The Naked Ape* and the television program *Zoo Time*, but maintained a parallel, influential career in the visual arts as a painter and curator.

Ibrahim Mahama awarded 2026 Arnold Bode Prize

Ghanaian visual artist Ibrahim Mahama has been awarded the 2026 Arnold Bode Prize by the city of Kassel. The prize, announced by his gallery White Cube, includes a €10,000 award in recognition of his artistic practice.

Anne Hardy’s Hollow Humanoids

British artist Anne Hardy presents a suite of floor-based installations and assemblage sculptures titled "Interloper" at Visual. The exhibition features a series of "Beings"—twisted, life-size humanoid entities constructed from rusted wire, crushed cans, soil, and the artist’s own cast body parts and clothing. These figures, often posed in yoga-like positions or meditative stances, appear as hollow, faceless outlines that blend a sense of vitality with physical disintegration.