Un Centre Pompidou en Corée
The Centre Pompidou has officially announced the opening date for its new satellite branch in Seoul, South Korea, scheduled for June 26, 2026. This international expansion is being developed in partnership with the Hanwha Foundation of Culture, a philanthropic arm of the South Korean conglomerate Hanwha, and will be housed in a space designed by architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte.
Indigenous artist Tony Albert has issued a public call for Australians to donate their 'Aboriginalia'—objects that depict Aboriginal people and designs but were created by non-Indigenous people, often as caricatures or exoticized souvenirs. Over 3,000 items from Albert's own collection, including tea towels, ashtrays, and playing cards, are now on display in his solo exhibition 'Not a Souvenir' at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Sydney, opening on 21 May.
Streetwear brand Hurley, known for surf and swim apparel, has released a capsule collection inspired by the late artist Keith Haring. The collection includes T-shirts, board shirts, hats, bathing suits, and sweatshirts for men and women, with prices ranging from $28 to $100. Haring, who died of AIDS-related causes in 1990 at age 31, was internationally known for his graffiti-inspired artworks and recurring motifs like radiant babies and dancing figures.
The Russian Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale has become embroiled in a new controversy after accusing the anti-Putin art collective Pussy Riot of censorship. The pavilion posted on Instagram that Pussy Riot demanded the removal of footage featuring them from a documentary film about the pavilion's project, labeling the request as self-censorship. Pussy Riot responded sarcastically, questioning the pavilion's use of Instagram given Russia's 2022 ban of the platform. The dispute follows earlier protests at the pavilion's opening, led by Pussy Riot and FEMEN, against Russia's participation in the Biennale amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
South Korean ceramic artist Jongjin Park has won the 2026 Loewe Foundation Craft Prize for his piece "Strata of Illusion" (2025), a partially-collapsed seat-like form made from paper and coated in porcelain slip. The award comes with a €50,000 ($58,700) prize, and Park's work will be exhibited alongside other shortlisted entries at the National Gallery Singapore, opening tomorrow and running through June 14.
Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin "won" the 2024 Venice Biennale, criticizing Russia's controversial return to the event. Giuli, who repeatedly denounced Russia's presence, told Corriere della Sera that Russian artists in the pavilion cannot express dissent against their regime. The Biennale faced widespread calls to remove Russia, with the EU threatening to withhold a €2 million grant, but organizers argued they lacked legal authority to exclude the country. Protests by Pussy Riot and FEMEN marked the pavilion's opening, while the Biennale's jury resigned en masse after announcing that nations charged with crimes against humanity would be ineligible for Golden Lions.
The article examines the megayachts docked outside the Venice Biennale, focusing on the 170-foot vessel 'Private GG' owned by Giancarlo Giammetti, cofounder of the Valentino fashion house. Giammetti, a serious art collector, was in Venice for the Biennale opening, posting photos of artworks and a dinner with actress Salma Hayek and her husband François-Henri Pinault, a major art collector. The yacht, built in 2022 by CRN, features luxury amenities including a jacuzzi, cinema saloon, and beach club.
Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, an ARTnews Top 200 collector, inaugurated a new art site on the island of San Giacomo in Venice’s Northern Lagoon during the rainy preview week of the Biennale. The island, purchased in 2018, features two Napoleonic-era powder magazines transformed into exhibition spaces: one hosting the group show “Don’t have hope, be hope!” from the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection, and the other presenting “Fanfare/Lament,” a solo exhibition by Matt Copson curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist. The site also includes permanent installations by artists such as Claire Fontaine, Mario Garcia Torres, Hugh Hayden, Goshka Macuga, Pamela Rosenkranz, and Thomas Schütte, and will serve as a venue for exhibitions, performances, and residencies.
An unprecedented 24-hour strike is set to interrupt the Venice Biennale's opening week on Friday, May 8, in protest of Israel's participation in the global art event. The action, organized by the activist group Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA), follows a letter signed by over 230 Biennale participants demanding Israel's exclusion. The strike has exposed divisions among participants, with some artists and pavilion teams weighing solidarity against the rare opportunity to platform their own political messages. The Slovenian pavilion, represented by Nika Grabar of the Nonument Group, has committed to the strike, while others like Ecuador's Tawna Collective remain undecided, balancing protest with their mission to highlight ecological crises in the Amazon.
Venice Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco defended the institution against critics at a conference on May 6, three days before the public opening, amid controversy over Russia's return to the event for the first time since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine and ongoing disputes over Israel's participation. He accused critics of “narcissism” and “censorship,” while Italian culture minister Alessandro Giuli sent inspectors to investigate whether Russia's involvement breached sanctions; a report was submitted to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office. Meanwhile, the Biennale faces legal threats from the artist representing Israel over alleged discrimination, and protests have erupted, including a demonstration by Art Not Genocide Alliance and a Pussy Riot action at the Russia pavilion.
The article is a diary entry from the 2026 Venice Biennale, focusing on the exhibition "In Minor Keys" curated by the late Koyo Kouoh. The author describes an emotional experience, beginning with a poem by Refaat Alareer on the Arsenale wall, and highlights works by Guadalupe Maravilla, Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka, and others that address themes of perseverance, healing, and survival. Maravilla's sculptures reference a child kidnapped by ICE, while Hatanaka's linocuts explore bipolar disorder as an adaptive trait. The show also features artist-led collectives like Denniston Hill and fierce pussy, emphasizing institution-building and world-making.
Major protests erupted during the preview days of the Venice Biennale, with multiple demonstrations targeting the Israeli and Russian pavilions. On Wednesday, the Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) held a large protest outside the temporary Israeli pavilion in the Arsenale, attended by over 200 people calling for its closure. Separately, the Solidarity Drone Chorus performed a sound composition by Gazan artist Ahmed Muin, with 60 artists wearing T-shirts bearing names of artists from Gaza. Meanwhile, Pussy Riot and FEMEN protested Russian participation, forcing the Russian pavilion to shut its doors. These actions follow the resignation of the entire Golden Lion jury days before the opening, after they stated they would not consider pavilions from countries whose leaders are charged with crimes against humanity by the ICC—widely seen as a reference to Russia and Israel.
The Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) has announced a 24-hour strike and rally on May 8, the day before the 2026 Venice Biennale opens to the public, in protest of the Israeli Pavilion. ANGA, formed in opposition to Israel's inclusion in the 2024 Biennale, refers to the current Israeli presentation—featuring Haifa-based artist Belu-Simion Fainaru—as the "Genocide Pavilion." Over 200 artists, curators, and culture workers have signed an open letter demanding Israel's exclusion, and a separate action called Solidarity Drone Chorus involved 60 artists. ANGA is collaborating with local labor and culture organizations including Biennalocene, Vogliamo Tutt'altro, S.a.L.E. Docks, and Mi Riconosci.
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles has announced details of its inaugural exhibitions, set to open on September 22, 2026. Founded by filmmaker George Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson, the museum will feature over 1,200 objects across 30 galleries, tracing the history of visual storytelling from ancient sculptures to Renaissance paintings, photography, comics, and manga. The collection draws from Lucas's personal trove of more than 40,000 works of illustrator art, including pieces by N.C. Wyeth, Norman Rockwell, Frank Frazetta, Beatrix Potter, and Jack Kirby, as well as large-scale murals and photography by artists like Judy Baca and Dorothea Lange. The museum, designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects, also includes archives of Lucas's film sets, props, and costumes.
The 61st Venice Biennale is embroiled in geopolitical controversy over Russia's return to the event in 2026, which has sparked widespread backlash. Nearly 10,000 artists and cultural leaders signed an open letter opposing Russia's participation, and the European Union withdrew €2 million in funding for the 2028 edition. Leaked emails reveal Biennale officials worked with Russian pavilion commissioner Anastasia Karneeva to circumvent EU sanctions, while Italy's culture minister Alessandro Giuli plans to boycott the opening week. Meanwhile, activists continue to push for Israel's removal from the Biennale, though Israel will be accommodated in the Arsenale this year.
The Russian pavilion is set to return to the Venice Biennale for the first time since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, presenting an exhibition titled 'The tree is rooted in the sky.' This has sparked significant controversy, with artists, curators, and politicians from Ukraine and several European nations calling for the pavilion's exclusion, citing the ongoing war and sanctions. The Biennale organizers have refused to remove Russia, stating they lack the authority to exclude a state recognized by Italy and emphasizing the event's role as a neutral space for cultural dialogue.
Jennifer Gilbert, the Detroit-based entrepreneur and philanthropist, is auctioning a selection of Modernist masterpieces from her private collection to fund Lumana, a new nonprofit arts organization. The sales, scheduled for May and June at Sotheby’s New York, include high-profile works by Joan Mitchell and Kenneth Noland, with an overall fundraising goal exceeding $10 million.
The Obama Presidential Center in Chicago has unveiled its final cohort of artist commissions ahead of its scheduled opening in June. This group includes high-profile contemporary artists such as Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Jeffrey Gibson, and Lorna Simpson, who will contribute site-specific works ranging from a multi-layered portrait of the Obamas to a 34-foot stainless steel sculpture by Martin Puryear honoring the late John Lewis. These eight artists join a previously announced roster, bringing the total number of new commissions for the 19.3-acre South Side campus to 30.
The Julia Stoschek Collection has made its United States debut with a sprawling exhibition titled "What a Wonderful World: An Audiovisual Poem," staged at the historic Variety Arts Theater in Los Angeles. Curated by Udo Kittelmann, the presentation features 45 time-based media works by a high-profile roster of artists including Marina Abramović, Arthur Jafa, and Anne Imhof, alongside early cinema classics. Eschewing traditional "white cube" gallery aesthetics, the show utilizes the dilapidated grandeur of the six-story theater, allowing for overlapping soundtracks and non-linear viewing experiences.
The opening ceremony of the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics featured significant art-historical references, including a flame cauldron inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's knot drawings and performances that brought to life the marble sculptures of Antonio Canova. Dancers animated recreations of works like 'Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss,' and the ceremony included symbolic representations of Italian architectural landmarks like the Colosseum and Florence's Duomo.
A Leonardo da Vinci mural undergoing restoration at Sforza Castle in Milan will be temporarily opened to the public for five weeks starting February 7, coinciding with the Winter Olympics in Italy. Visitors can climb a 20-foot scaffold inside the Sala delle Asse to observe conservators at work on the delicate tempera painting, which was begun shortly before Milan fell to France in 1499 and was later covered by plaster and lost for centuries. The mural was rediscovered in the late 19th century, with further sections uncovered in the 20th century, and the current restoration uses Japanese rice paper and demineralized water to clean the surface.
Vienna will temporarily close several museums dedicated to famous composers, including the apartments of Franz Schubert, Johann Strauss, and Joseph Haydn, as part of city-wide budget cuts. The closures, announced on Wednesday, are expected to last up to two years, with Schubert's birthplace also closing for a redesign ahead of the 200th anniversary of his death in 2028. The city's cultural budget has dropped from €29.7 million in 2025 to €28.4 million this year, with further reductions planned for 2027. Other institutions, such as the Prater Museum and Hermes Villa, will also reduce opening hours.
Italian fashion designer and art collector Valentino Garavani died in Rome on January 19 at age 93. Born in Voghera, he moved to Paris for fashion studies, worked for Jean Dessès and Guy Laroche, then launched his own brand in Rome in 1959. Known for elegant gowns worn by icons like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Princess Diana, he retired in 2008. Garavani and his longtime business partner Giancarlo Giammetti built significant art collections; Garavani sold a Basquiat painting for $67 million at Christie’s in 2023, and Giammetti sold another for $93 million in 2021. Garavani also owned works by Warhol, Lichtenstein, and de Kooning. In 2024, he opened PM23, an exhibition space in Rome run by the Fondazione Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti, which launched its second show, “Venus,” featuring Joana Vasconcelos, two days before his death.
India's Kochi-Muziris Biennale was forced to close briefly in late December 2024, just weeks after its mid-December opening, following protests by Christian groups over a painting of the Last Supper by artist Tom Vattakuzhy. The work was displayed not in the main biennial exhibition, “For the Time Being,” but in a side exhibition called “EDAM” at the Garden Convention Centre in Kochi. Christian organizations, including the Kerala Latin Catholic Association and the Syro-Malabar Church, condemned the painting as offensive and called for its removal, questioning the use of public funds. Vattakuzhy, who is from a Christian family, said he did not intend to offend and that the work was inspired by a play based on a poem about Mata Hari. The biennial's curators and president defended the work, refusing to remove it on grounds of censorship, and organizers announced the exhibition would reopen on January 2.
The Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP) at Columbia College Chicago will host an exhibition titled “If Emmett Till Lived: Freedom on American Ground,” guest curated by Harvard professor Sarah Lewis. Opening September 3, the show draws from MoCP’s permanent collection and features 70 photographers—including Gordon Parks, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Dorothea Lange, and Carrie Mae Weems—to imagine the life Emmett Till might have lived had he not been lynched in 1955. The exhibition includes images of Chicago, the railways Till traveled, and milestones he missed, such as the Chicago Bulls phenomenon, Barack Obama’s election, and ongoing civil rights protests.
The High Line in New York has selected Vietnamese artist Tuan Andrew Nguyen to create its next plinth commission, titled *The Light That Shines Through the Universe*, opening spring 2026. The 27-foot sandstone sculpture reimagines one of the Bamiyan Buddhas, destroyed by the Taliban in 2001, replacing the lost hands with melted brass artillery shells. The work is an "echo" meant to invoke memory of the lost cultural treasures.
Frank Frazetta's iconic painting *Conan the Berserker* (1967) is being auctioned at Heritage Auctions with an opening bid of $10 million. The work, originally created for the cover of the 1967 paperback *Conan the Conqueror*, has become one of the definitive images of the fantasy hero. This year alone, five Frazetta paintings have sold for over $1 million, including *Man Ape* (1966) which fetched $13.5 million in September. The artist's total sales volume was just $674,640 in 2018, according to the Artnet Price Database.
Pantone has announced 11-4201 Cloud Dancer, a soft shade of bright white, as its 2026 Color of the Year. This marks the first time the company has chosen a white hue since launching the initiative in 1999, following last year's Mocha Mousse. The decision, announced by Pantone Color Institute vice president Laurie Pressman, is framed as a symbol of calm and a desire for a fresh start in a frenetic society, drawing comparisons to Kazimir Malevich's Suprematist compositions and Robert Ryman's white paintings. The announcement has sparked debate over its cultural and political implications, with critics noting the choice's potential elitism and its resonance amid ongoing racial tensions.
Dubai has announced plans for its first museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art, the Dubai Museum of Art (DUMA), designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Tadao Ando. Located along Dubai Creek, the five-story museum will feature a curved shell inspired by the sea and pearl, with a central roof opening, library, study rooms, and flexible spaces for art fairs. The project is developed by the Al-Futtaim Group with support from Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. No opening date has been set.
Kiran Nadar, a prominent Indian collector, revealed she purchased M.F. Husain's 1954 painting *Untitled (Gram Yatra)* for $13.8 million at Christie's New York, making it the most expensive work of Indian modern art ever sold at auction. The painting, estimated at $2.5–3.5 million, was originally owned by Norwegian surgeon Leon Elias Volodarsky and later donated to Oslo University Hospital, which consigned it after a 13-year deaccessioning process.