L’œuvre « indocile » du photographe Guido Guidi exposée au BAL

The article announces the exhibition of photographer Guido Guidi's work at Le BAL in Paris, curated by Simona Antonacci, Pippo Ciorra, and Antonello Frongia, with scenography by Cyril Delhomme. The show, titled "Col tempo, 1956-2024," runs from February 20 to May 24, 2026, and was previously presented in a larger version at the MAXXI museum in Rome. Guidi, now 85, is described as the last of a generation of Italian photographers—alongside Luigi Ghirri and Ugo Mulas—who radically redefined photographic language through patient, obstinate reflection on the act of seeing.

À Annecy, le cinéma d’animation célébré toute l’année grâce à l’ouverture d’un lieu hybride et ambitieux en juin

A new permanent home for animation cinema, the Cité internationale du cinéma d'animation, will open in Annecy, France, on June 19, 2025, just before the annual Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Housed in a restored 19th-century horse stable (haras) listed as a historic monument, the 54-million-euro project includes a 450 m² permanent museum, a 332-seat cinema, temporary exhibition spaces, educational workshops, artist residencies, and image-education facilities. The city of Annecy contributes 30 million euros, with additional funding from the Haute-Savoie department, the state, and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Designed by architecture firm dd.a and landscape architect Philippe Deliau, the center aims to be a hybrid, year-round hub for animation, blending heritage, creation, and transmission.

Contemporary Architecture

Architecture contemporaine

Two buildings in Nancy, France, have been awarded the "Architecture Contemporaine Remarquable" (Remarkable Contemporary Architecture) label. The Foyer du Groupe des Étudiants du Cours Léopold, built in the 1930s, and the Faculty of Science and Technology of Lorraine, built in the 1970s, received this official designation.

Matisse, Soulages, Chagall… The most beautiful churches and chapels decorated by artists throughout France

Matisse, Soulages, Chagall… Les plus belles églises et chapelles décorées par des artistes dans toute la France

Renowned modern and contemporary artists have transformed various religious sites across France into immersive 'total works of art.' From Pierre Soulages’ translucent stained-glass windows in the Abbey of Sainte-Foy in Conques to Pablo Picasso’s monumental 'War and Peace' murals in Vallauris, these projects demonstrate how secular artists have engaged with sacred architecture. The article highlights ten specific locations where artists like Matisse, Chagall, and Cocteau integrated painting, glasswork, and furniture into historic ecclesiastical settings.

In Rodez, the haunting shadows of Sugimoto and Soulages meet in a cosmic exhibition

À Rodez, les ombres envoûtantes de Sugimoto et de Soulages se rencontrent dans une exposition cosmique

The Musée Soulages in Rodez is hosting a major exhibition titled "Hiroshi Sugimoto. Reprendre la mélodie," which creates a visual dialogue between the Japanese photographer and the late French master of black, Pierre Soulages. Curated and scenographed by Sugimoto himself, the show pairs iconic series such as "Theaters," "Seascapes," and the colorful "Opticks" with Soulages’ "Outrenoir" paintings. The exhibition highlights their shared fascination with the horizon, the origins of humanity, and the architectural presence of art within a space.

Who is Prune Delon, the 24-year-old fashion designer selected for a residency at the Villa Medici?

Qui est Prune Delon, cette créatrice de mode de 24 ans sélectionnée pour une résidence à la Villa Médicis ?

Prune Delon, a 24-year-old fashion designer and Institut français de la mode graduate, has been awarded a prestigious one-month research residency at the Villa Medici in Rome. Moving away from traditional ready-to-wear collections, Delon is using the residency to develop a multidisciplinary project that blends textile art with sculptural installation. Her work at the historic site draws inspiration from the villa's mineral architecture and classical sculptures, as well as her formative experiences studying traditional embroidery and natural dyeing techniques in India.

A phenomenal urban art exhibition with graffiti legends arrives at La Villette: tickets are now on sale!

Une phénoménale expo d’art urbain avec des légendes du graffiti arrive à La Villette : la billetterie est ouverte !

A major exhibition of graffiti and street art, "Beyond the Streets," is opening at the Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris. The show features monumental sculptures, architectural interventions, archival photos, videos, and murals by legendary artists including Futura 2000, Fab Five Freddy, Shepard Fairey (Obey), Invader, André Saraiva, Fuzi, Felipe Pantone, Lady Pink, and Vhils. The exhibition, which has already drawn over 650,000 visitors worldwide, runs from late May to early September 2026, and ticket sales have just opened.

Thomas Hart Benton, Jessie Wlicox Smith announced for shows at Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, co-founded by filmmaker George Lucas and businesswoman Mellody Hobson, has announced its inaugural exhibitions. The ambitious survey will feature over 1,200 works from a founding collection of more than 40,000 objects, including pieces by Thomas Hart Benton and Jessie Wilcox Smith. The museum is housed in a 300,000-square-foot building designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec.

Jenny Holzer and Arthur Jafa among nominees for Art Basel Awards 2026.

Art Basel has announced the 33 nominees for the second edition of the Art Basel Awards, held in partnership with the fashion brand BOSS. The diverse shortlist features high-profile contemporary artists such as Jenny Holzer, Arthur Jafa, and Barbara Kruger, alongside multidisciplinary figures including architect Kulapat Yantrasast and critic Hilton Als.

FKA Twigs, Brian Eno and Dev Hynes to show in the Vatican Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale.

The Vatican has unveiled the roster for its Pavilion of the Holy See at the 2026 Venice Biennale, featuring a high-profile multidisciplinary lineup. Curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers, the exhibition titled “The Ear is the Eye of the Soul” will showcase new works from 24 contributors, including FKA Twigs, Brian Eno, Devonté Hynes, Patti Smith, and Precious Okoyomon. The presentation aims to bridge the gap between contemporary art, music, and spirituality through a diverse array of creative mediums.

architecture frida escobedo serpentine pompidou

Frida Escobedo, a Mexican architect who founded her Mexico City studio at age 23, is profiled as part of Cultured's 2026 CULT100 honorees. She became the youngest architect to win the Serpentine Pavilion commission and is set to debut her biggest project yet in 2030: the Metropolitan Museum of Art's new modern and contemporary wing. The article presents a Q&A format covering her influences, including architect Lebbeus Woods, her views on patience and imagination, and her reflections on career challenges such as protecting her time.

art exhibition biennials this year curators

In 2026, a rare alignment of major biennial exhibitions will take place globally, including the Venice Biennale (opening May 9, curated by Koyo Kouoh), MoMA PS1's Greater New York, the Whitney Biennial, and the Bronx Museum's AIM Biennial, alongside events in Toronto, Pittsburgh, Gwangju, Sydney, Diriyah, and Busan. CULTURED interviewed curators from four of these shows—such as Marcela Guerrero and Drew Sawyer of the Whitney Biennial—to explore how these sprawling group exhibitions come together, revealing a trend toward smaller, internally organized shows with less declarative themes.

art leah ke yi zheng interview painting

Leah Ke Yi Zheng, a Chinese-born painter based in Chicago, is the subject of a feature interview discussing her first solo institutional exhibition at the Renaissance Society, on view through April 12. Zheng, who earned her MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in 2019, has developed a distinctive practice that moves beyond traditional canvas to Chinese silk and explores asymmetric forms. Her exhibition comprises 64 paintings rooted in the I Ching, the ancient Chinese text, featuring motifs of machine gears, haunting absent faces, and hexagrams. The show is designed in dialogue with the Renaissance Society's architecture, with modified windows and wall proportions to create a recursive, reflective experience.

art gaetano pesce final public sculpture

Gaetano Pesce's final sculpture, "Double Heart," has been installed as his only permanent public artwork in the United States. The 30-foot-tall illuminated piece, featuring two interlocking hearts pierced by Cupid's arrow, now hovers above the Massachusetts Turnpike at the Lyrik Back Bay plaza in Boston. Commissioned by developer Samuels & Associates and art advisory Goodman Taft, the work was overseen by gallerist Lucy Chadwick of Champ Lacombe after Pesce's death in early 2024. The sculpture reflects Pesce's signature blend of playfulness and humanism, contrasting with the rigid geometry of modernist design.

Longevity and Obsoletion Impress Upon Alexander Endrullat’s Intaglio Prints

Longevity and Obsoletion Impress Upon Alexander Endrullat’s Intaglio Prints

Artist Alexander Endrullat has created a new series of intaglio prints by running discarded laptops through a century-old printing press. The process, discovered impulsively, physically deforms the devices with each pass, revealing worn keys and internal damage while transferring their textures and residues onto paper.

Nolan Lucidi “Bildersaal” at Kunsthaus Glarus

Kunsthaus Glarus presents "Bildersaal," the first institutional solo exhibition by Swiss artist Nolan Lucidi (b. 2000, based in Basel). The installation combines videos and objects to explore male homosexual desire drawn from literature, art history, and personal experience, while also interrogating formal language and claims to authority.

Disobedience Archive (Canopy for Broken Time) In Dialogue with Raqs Media Collective at Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich

The Disobedience Archive, a mobile video archive initiated by Marco Scotini in 2005, is presented in dialogue with Raqs Media Collective at the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst in Zürich. The archive contains over one hundred documentary and art films at the intersection of art and activism, documenting forms of resistance, social struggle, and collective self-organization.

Reba Maybury “I Come in Peace” at Secession, Vienna

Reba Maybury presents her exhibition "I Come in Peace" at Secession in Vienna, an installation that spans four sites within the building—including the façade, foyer, and upstairs spaces. Maybury, an artist, writer, and political dominatrix, uses her multidisciplinary practice to explore themes of feminism, sexuality, labor, and power, directly engaging with the institution's history by questioning how to dominate the legacy of Gustav Klimt.

“Feedback. The Environments of Franco Vaccari” at Museion, Bolzano

Museion in Bolzano has launched a major retrospective titled "Feedback. The Environments of Franco Vaccari," focusing on the influential Italian conceptual artist. The exhibition marks the first comprehensive institutional survey to prioritize Vaccari’s "environments"—immersive spaces that utilize photography, video, and archival materials to engage the viewer in a process of real-time feedback.

2026 Art Basel Award Winners Announced

Art Basel has unveiled the 33 medalists for its 2026 global honors program, recognizing a diverse group of artists, curators, and institutions. The selection highlights a strong Southeast Asian presence, including architect Kulapat Yantrasast and filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul, alongside international figures like Laurie Anderson and Julie Mehretu. These awards celebrate practitioners across categories such as Emerging Artist, Established Artist, and Cross-Disciplinary Creator, with winners to be celebrated at the upcoming Basel fair in June.

Qatar Pavilion Announces Artists for 2026 Venice Biennale

The Qatar Pavilion has unveiled its artist lineup and conceptual framework for the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026. Titled "untitled 2026 (a gathering of remarkable people)," the exhibition will feature a collaborative presentation centered around a tent-like structure designed by Rirkrit Tiravanija. The pavilion will include a film by Sophia Al-Maria, a large-scale sculpture by Alia Farid, sound performances by Tarek Atoui, and a culinary program curated by chef Fadi Kattan, all hosted within a temporary site in the Giardini designed by architect Lina Ghotmeh.

Ali Cherri Files War Crime Case Over Israeli Airstrike on Beirut

French-Lebanese artist Ali Cherri, in collaboration with the International Federation for Human Rights, has filed a civil complaint in a French court regarding a 2024 Israeli airstrike in Beirut. The strike, which occurred in the Noueiri neighborhood just hours before a ceasefire, destroyed Cherri’s family home and killed seven civilians, including his parents and their domestic helper. The legal action, submitted to a specialized war crimes unit, alleges that the targeting of a civilian residence constitutes a war crime under both French and international law.

Art Central Enters Its Second Decade with a Discovery‑Led 11th Edition

Art Central 2026, the Hong Kong art fair, is launching its 11th edition with a record 117 galleries and over 500 artists. The event, staged on the Central Harbourfront, emphasizes discovery through large-scale installations, performances, and moving-image works, transforming its architecture into an immersive arena. It solidifies its role as a key regional platform.

Gallery of Peter Zumthor’s LACMA David Geffen Galleries Open in Los Angeles - 4

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has opened its new David Geffen Galleries, a major building designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor. The structure, which replaces four older buildings on the museum's campus, is a single-story, concrete-and-glass pavilion spanning Wilshire Boulevard, designed to create a more unified and accessible visitor experience.

Future home of the Vancouver Art Gallery turned back into parking lot

Crews have begun filling in the excavation work at the future home of the Vancouver Art Gallery at West Georgia and Cambie, turning the site into a parking lot operated by Easy Park. The project, originally set to open in 2028, has been scaled back after costs rose from $400 million to $600 million, and $60 million had already been spent on planning and pre-construction. The gallery has appointed new architects—Chipewyan architect Alfred Waugh of Formline Architecture and Bruce Kuwabara of Toronto-based KPMB—to lead a redesigned, smaller-scale project, effectively starting from scratch.

Jumper Maybach Turns Abstraction Into Emotional Space

American artist Jumper Maybach, known for his abstract expressionist paintings, debuted a new suite of works titled "Radiant Spaces" at the inaugural Salt Lake Art Show in 2026. The series explores themes of emotional energy, human resilience, and healing, using layered textures and color fields to create immersive experiences. Maybach has also created site-specific installations in architecturally significant buildings, including the 1900K building in Washington, D.C., and continues to blur the lines between fine art, installation, and luxury design.

Mexican filmmakers to co-host Serpentine Summer Party

The Serpentine Summer Party, a major fixture in London's art calendar, will take place on 23 June, co-hosted by Mexican actress Salma Hayek Pinault and celebrated filmmakers Alfonso Cuarón and Alejandro González Iñárritu. The event, an invite-only fundraiser, celebrates the Serpentine pavilion, which this year is titled 'a serpentine' and designed by Mexico City-based architecture firm Lanza Atelier. Last year's co-host was movie icon Cate Blanchett.

‘Touch the earth lightly’: the Australian home that floats above the landscape

The article profiles the Ball-Eastaway House, a home designed by pioneering Australian architect Glenn Murcutt in 1983 for artist Sydney Ball and his partner Lynne Eastaway. Located on a 10-hectare block of dry sclerophyll forest northwest of Sydney, the house is elevated on 14 steel columns sunk into a sandstone rock shelf, allowing it to float above the landscape and minimize its environmental impact. Murcutt, who later won the Pritzker Prize, incorporated sustainable design features such as natural ventilation, a gutter system inspired by eucalypt leaf patterns, and a structure that can be dismantled without trace.

S&M-inspired Greek Pavilion in Venice confronts its fascist chains

The Greek Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, titled "Grecia" and conceived as a drag artist, presents an S&M-inspired installation by artist and architect Andreas Angelidakis. The immersive space features a red neon-lit floor, soft sculptures resembling beanbags, fragmented marble columns wrapped in chains, and souvenirs bearing images of queer artists and the late activist Zak Kostopoulos (Zackie Oh). The pavilion aims to deconstruct the idea of a fixed national identity, exploring themes of queerness, fascism, and historical trauma.

Abbas Akhavan Transforms the Canada Pavilion Into a Greenhouse, Daring Viewers to Leave Behind Their Preconceptions

Artist Abbas Akhavan has transformed the Canada Pavilion at the Venice Biennale into a functioning greenhouse for his exhibition "Entre chien et loup." The pavilion now houses a 6,000-gallon pool containing giant Victoria water lilies, with modifications including grow lights, water misters, a new ventilation system, and structural reinforcements to support the 25-ton water tank. The installation evokes Victorian-era Wardian cases and London's Crystal Palace, but Akhavan emphasizes that his interest in the lilies began intuitively, not as a commentary on colonialism or empire. The project, developed with curator Kim Nguyen, involved collaboration with Kew Gardens and the Orto Botanico di Padova to cultivate the plants, and the outcome remains uncertain as the lilies may thrive or wither over the exhibition's six-month run.