‘Still lots to talk about’: UK galleries team up to shine light on female artists

A new exhibition titled 'Making Her Mark' opens at Penlee House in Penzance, Cornwall, featuring works by prominent British female artists such as Tracey Emin, Barbara Hepworth, Laura Knight, Elizabeth Forbes, and Gillian Ayres. The show is a collaboration between Penlee House, Worcester City Art Gallery and Museum, and Kirkcaldy Galleries in Fife, Scotland, with each contributing more than 20 works. It is the first exhibition launched under Art Fund's £5 million 'Going Places' programme, which unites 20 museums across the UK over five years to share and celebrate their collections.

Meet four artists behind the public art you'll see at L.A. Metro's new D Line stations

L.A. Metro opened the first phase of its D Line extension on Friday, May 1, 2026, adding three new underground stations connecting downtown Los Angeles to Beverly Hills: Wilshire/La Brea, Wilshire/Fairfax, and Wilshire/La Cienega. The stations feature nine site-specific public artworks by artists including Mariana Castillo Deball, Eamon Ore-Giron, Ken Gonzales-Day, Todd Gray, Karl Haendel, Soo Kim, Fran Siegel, Susan Silton, and Mark Dean Veca. The competitive selection process began a decade ago, drawing over 1,200 applicants, with finalists judged by a panel of art professionals including curators from Miracle Mile museums. Metro deputy executive officer Zipporah Yamamoto leads the agency's public art program, which is funded by a 0.5% construction budget set-aside.

New York's Art Week 2026 is underway. A guide to all the fairs to see in the city: Frieze and the others

È in corso l’Art Week di New York del 2026. La guida di tutte le fiere da vedere in città: Frieze e le altre

New York's spring Art Week is underway in mid-May 2026, anchored by two major fairs: Frieze New York (May 13–17) at The Shed, featuring about 70 galleries from over 25 countries, and TEFAF New York (May 15–19) at the Park Avenue Armory, celebrating its tenth edition with 88 galleries. Additional fairs include Independent Art Fair at Pier 36 (May 14–17) with 76 galleries and site-specific installations, and NADA New York at the Starrett-Lehigh Building (May 13–17), promoting emerging artists. The week also involves museums, cultural institutions, and galleries citywide.

Joe Macken Spent 22 Years Building a Miniature New York by Hand

Joe Macken, a truck driver from upstate New York, spent 22 years building a 50-by-27-foot miniature scale model of New York City entirely from balsa wood, cardboard, and glue. The model, which includes all five boroughs and landmarks like the Twin Towers and One World Trade Center, went viral on TikTok after Macken’s daughter encouraged him to post a video. It is now on display at the Museum of the City of New York in an exhibition titled *He Built This City: Joe Macken’s Model*.

WATCH | Steelman to host studio tour with Arts and the Park Saturday and Sunday

Bethannie Newsom Steelman will host a studio tour at 415 Park Ave. in Hot Springs on Saturday and Sunday, starting at 11 a.m., as part of Arts and the Park. The event features live painting by Steelman, musical performances by Ricko Donovan, DJ Schaeffer, Gino Del Ray, and the band Inoculated Log, as well as New Orleans-style snowballs from Spa City Snowballs. Steelman, who creates murals for businesses, began renting her studio in April and is excited to share her creative process with the public.

Maine: A Force Within American Art (1890-2026) At Farnsworth Art Museum

The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine, has opened a year-long exhibition titled "Maine: A Force Within American Art (1890-2026)" in honor of America's 250th anniversary. The show presents 150 works across media, highlighting the state's artistic legacy from the late 19th century to the present. It features leading modernists such as Marsden Hartley, John Marin, Charles Demuth, and Georgia O'Keeffe, who found inspiration in Maine's landscapes, as well as contemporary artists like Theresa Secord. The exhibition is curated by Jaime DeSimone and Francesca Soriano, in collaboration with multiple institutions including the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation and Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.

What Is the 2026 Met Gala Exhibit “Costume Art” All About?

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute will unveil its 2026 exhibition, “Costume Art,” on May 4, 2026, coinciding with the Met Gala. Curated by Andrew Bolton, the show explores the relationship between fashion and the human body, juxtaposing garments like Rei Kawakubo's bulbous Comme des Garçons ensemble with artworks such as Hans Bellmer's “La Poupée” and Albrecht Dürer's “Adam and Eve.” Mannequins cast from real bodies and mirrored heads by artist Samar Hejazi will enhance the immersive experience. The exhibition runs from May 10, 2026, to January 10, 2027, in the new Condé M. Nast Galleries.

Landmark Exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum Unites U.S. Bicentennial Photography Surveys for the First Time

The Smithsonian American Art Museum will present "Much Here Is Beautiful: Photography Surveys of the U.S. Bicentennial," a landmark exhibition opening September 18, 2026, that brings together for the first time photography surveys created through a federally funded grant program by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) around the 1976 U.S. Bicentennial. Featuring 225 photographs by more than 70 photographers, the show draws on the museum's holdings and collections nationwide, including previously unseen works, and places them in the context of federal survey photography dating back to the 19th century.

New Kickernick Gallery Exhibition Celebrates 50 Years of a Women’s Art Collective

The article reports on a new exhibition at the Kickernick Gallery in Minneapolis celebrating the 50th anniversary of WARM (Women's Art Registry of Minnesota), a pioneering women's art collective founded in 1976. The show features works by founding members including Harriet Bart, whose textile piece "Concrete Poem" (1985) is made from discarded garment labels she collected from her studio floor. The exhibition is curated by Christy Frank and runs until mid-June, highlighting the collective's history of mentorship, activism, and advocacy for gender equity in the arts.

Cultural Compass: Cello takes centre stage, Antwerp galleries open their doors and wartime art

This week's cultural agenda in Belgium highlights three major events: the 75th anniversary of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, which focuses on cello for only the third time since 2017, featuring 64 young cellists from over 20 countries; the 12th edition of Antwerp Art Weekend, spanning 88 venues with a strong emphasis on emerging talent and politically engaged works; and a new exhibition at the Permekemuseum exploring Constant Permeke's formative years in wartime England. The competition includes a world premiere of 'Caffeine' by Belgian composer Harold Noben, and the winner will receive the use of Pablo Casals' historic 1733 Goffriller cello.

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.

Exhibition commemorates Frederic Church 200th

The Olana Partnership opens "Frederic Church: Global Artist" on May 17 at Olana State Historic Site in Hudson, New York, commemorating the 200th anniversary of Frederic Church's birth (1826–1900). The exhibition brings together monumental oil paintings, drawings, oil sketches, and photographs from Church's global travels, with loans from major institutions including the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, The New York Historical, and the Terra Foundation for American Art. It is organized by Elizabeth Kornhauser, Tim Barringer, and Jennifer Raab, and is part of the broader Frederic Church 200 initiative.

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.

Woody De Othello Celebrates First Major Solo Public Exhibition in New York with Public Art Fund

Woody De Othello's first major solo public exhibition in New York, titled "Guardian Spirit," has opened at Brooklyn Bridge Park, presented by Public Art Fund. The exhibition features monumental redwood totems standing 20 to 22 feet tall, carved with chainsaws and grinders, alongside bronze sculptures created between 2021 and 2025. The works explore themes of ritual, spirituality, and the elemental forces of wind and water, drawing inspiration from nkisi, ritual objects from Western and Central Africa. The exhibition runs from May 5, 2026, to March 8, 2027, with sculptures installed at Pier 1 and the Manhattan Bridge View.

How the Arts Club of Chicago Stays Contemporary in its Second Century

The Arts Club of Chicago, founded in 1916, continues to balance its historic legacy with contemporary relevance under executive director and chief curator Janine Mileaf. The club, which gave Pablo Picasso his first solo institutional exhibition in the U.S. in 1923 and hosted figures like Gertrude Stein and John Cage, now operates as both a public space and a private membership club. Mileaf’s programming emphasizes Dada and surrealist roots while showcasing experimental, site-specific works, including a recent installation by Korean artist Haegue Yang. The club maintains a close relationship with Chicago’s arts community, aiming to expose audiences to challenging and surprising art.

The Greenport Group: Vintage art at Floyd Memorial Library’s new exhibition

The Floyd Memorial Library in Greenport, New York, has opened a new exhibition titled "Stow Wengenroth + The Flacks: The Greenport Group," featuring works by lithographer Stow Wengenroth, his wife Edith Flack Ackley, and her sister Marjorie Flack. The show includes Wengenroth's lithographs, watercolors, and drawings, alongside Ackley's handmade dolls and books, and Flack's children's books, many on loan from the private collection of Joanna Lane. The exhibition opened on April 24 and highlights the artistic legacy of these former Greenport residents.

The All-Women Exhibition Putting Penzance On The Art Map This Summer

An all-women exhibition titled 'Making Her Mark: A Celebration of Women in Art' has opened at Penlee House Gallery & Museum in Penzance, Cornwall, as the first stop on a three-part UK tour. The show features over 60 works by female artists from the 19th century to the present day, including Tracey Emin, Barbara Hepworth, Elizabeth Forbes, and Laura Knight. It is a collaboration between Penlee House, Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum, and Kirkcaldy Galleries, curated jointly by the three venues with local leadership from Penlee House deputy director Katie Herbert. The exhibition is part of Art Fund's £5.36 million Going Places programme and will travel to Worcester and Kirkcaldy in 2026 and 2027.

Garden Party: Nature on Paper

The McNay Art Museum in San Antonio presents "Garden Party: Nature on Paper," an exhibition running from May 7 to August 9, 2026, that explores humanity's relationship with the natural world. Featuring prints, drawings, photographs, paintings, and sculpture from the museum's permanent collection, the show includes works by René Magritte, Rufino Tamayo, Kara Walker, Luis Jiménez, and Honoré Daumier. Organized by Elizabeth Kathleen Mitchell, the exhibition is divided into two narratives: one celebrating nature's abundance through gardens and flowers, and another examining human extraction through hunting and exploitation imagery.

The Met Costume Institute Unveils Its New Condé M. Nast Galleries

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute has unveiled its new 12,000-square-foot Condé M. Nast Galleries, named for the founder of Architectural Digest's parent company. Designed by the architecture firm Peterson Rich Office (PRO), the five-room exhibition space was carved from a former interior courtyard and gift shop, revealing historic brick and masonry facades that highlight the museum's architectural evolution. The galleries debuted alongside the exhibition "Costume Art," which explores the significance of dressed human form in fashion and fine art, curated by Andrew Bolton and celebrated at the Met Gala on May 4, 2026.

Musée d’Orsay displays Renoir and Degas works looted by Nazis

The Musée d’Orsay in Paris has opened a new gallery dedicated exclusively to artworks suspected of being looted or forcibly sold during the Nazi occupation of France. Among the 13 works on display is Edgar Degas's *Dinner at the Ball* (1919), originally owned by Jewish collector Fernand Ochsé, who was deported to Auschwitz with his wife in 1941. The painting passed through multiple hands before being identified as one of over 100,000 artworks plundered by the Nazis. The museum has assembled a team of six provenance researchers to spend three years tracing the original owners of these works, which are part of the "MNR" (Musées nationaux récupération) collection—some 2,200 pieces deemed too important to sell but whose owners remain unknown.

Everything to know about the Met Gala 2026: Theme, hosts and what to expect

The Met Gala 2026 will take place on the first Monday in May, with the theme "Costume Art" and a dress code of "Fashion is Art." The accompanying exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art explores depictions of the dressed body throughout time, pairing garments with artworks from the museum's collection. Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour are named co-hosts, while Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos serve as honorary chairs. The event will debut the newly named Condé M. Nast Galleries, a permanent 12,000-square-foot space in the museum's Great Hall, allowing the exhibition to run for nine months from May 10, 2026 to January 10, 2027.

Music & Maker's Night with “Get Surreal (A Surreal Lens)” Tour, May 14

The Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa, is hosting a Music & Maker's Night on May 14, featuring a guided tour of the exhibition "Get Surreal (A Surreal Lens)" led by Co-Senior Curator Joshua Johnson. The event includes an art-making activity and live music in the museum's Quad City Bank & Trust Grand Lobby. The exhibition explores how photographers from the earliest days of the medium have used techniques like montage, double exposure, and digital manipulation to distort reality and create dreamlike imagery, featuring works by artists such as Alan Cohen, György Kepes, Olivia Parker, and Emmet Gowin.

Bruegel to Rembrandt at Compton Verney: From Brussels to the English Countryside

Compton Verney in Warwickshire is hosting the exhibition 'Bruegel to Rembrandt: Drawing Life, Sketching Wonder,' featuring 50 old master drawings from the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. This marks the first time these works, including pieces by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Rembrandt, and Rubens, have been shown in the UK, offering a rare glimpse into 16th and 17th-century artistic practice through intimate sketches of everyday life.

V&A East opens as ‘civic space’ for creativity and community

V&A East Museum, a major new branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum, opened on 18 April in London's Olympic Park as part of the East Bank cultural quarter. The free-entry museum features permanent galleries and temporary exhibitions, launching with a landmark show titled 'The Music is Black: A British Story,' which traces over a century of Black British music through more than 200 objects. Developed with BBC Music, the exhibition includes items from artists like Winifred Atwell, Little Simz, Skepta, and Mis-Teeq. The museum's permanent display, 'Why We Make,' was co-created with the V&A East Youth Collective and explores global creative motivations. The opening was marked by a star-studded event with performances by AJ Tracey, Beverley Knight, and MNEK.

Inside the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s 2026 Gala

The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF) held its 2026 gala, a major fundraising event attended by prominent figures from the city's art, philanthropy, and social circles. The event featured notable attendees including artist Andy Goldsworthy, museum director Thomas Campbell, and major donors like Dede Wilsey and Mayor Daniel Lurie.

Art Market Auctions Recovered Late 2025, But Not A "Comeback" – Citi Wealth

Citi Wealth's report, "State of the Art Market 2026: Don’t Call It A Comeback," finds that the global art market entered 2026 with renewed optimism, but confidence is highly selective and concentrated at the high and accessible ends. The November 2025 Modern and Contemporary Art auctions in New York surged 77% year-on-year to $2.2 billion, driven by the record-breaking $236.4 million sale of Gustav Klimt's *Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer* from the Leonard Lauder collection. However, numerous galleries closed in 2025, including BLUM gallery and Venus Over Manhattan, and traditional hubs like London and New York face slow growth while emerging regions gain influence.

Art Lovers Movie Club: Elisabeth Brun, ‘Big Tech Blues’, 2025

ArtReview's Art Lovers Movie Club presents Elisabeth Brun's film 'Big Tech Blues' (2025), an auto-documentary that follows a small village in northern Norway as it resists the installation of a SpaceX Starlink 'Gateway' transmission site. The film blends personal essay, documentary footage, and interviews with residents who protest the hub over concerns about noise pollution, radiation, and environmental impact on the rural coastline. Brun contrasts slick Starlink promotional material with slow, intimate scenes of the landscape and community organizing on Facebook, highlighting the irony of using digital tools to fight digital infrastructure.

Nel Padiglione Germania alla Biennale di Venezia un gruppo di donne riflette sulle rovine del passato per capire il mondo

The German Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale will present the work of two women artists, Henrike Naumann and Sung Tieu, following the death of Naumann at age 41 in February 2026. Curated by Kathleen Reinhardt, director of the Georg Kolbe Museum in Berlin, the pavilion's project, titled "Ruin," explores the dual meanings of the word in English and German—architectural decay versus economic, social, or moral collapse. The exhibition draws on research into East Germany (DDR) and the post-reunification period, using the pavilion's fascist architecture as a lens to examine historical ruptures and their impact on the present. For the first time in its history, the German Pavilion is represented solely by women, mirroring the Italian Pavilion.

Nancy Holt: MoonSunStarEarthSkyWater

The first UK presentation of Nancy Holt's work, titled "MoonSunStarEarthSkyWater," opens at the Goodwood Art Foundation in Sussex from 2 May to 1 November 2026. The exhibition includes both a gallery-based show and works in the landscape, featuring key pieces such as the monumental site-responsive installation "Ventilation System" (1985-92) and the earthwork "Hydra's Head" (1974). The show aims to highlight Holt's exploration of perception, language, and light, and includes works from her diverse practice spanning concrete poetry, film, photography, and public sculpture.

Troublemakers and Prophets: Elizabeth Allen and Other Visionary Artists

Compton Verney in Warwickshire is staging a major exhibition titled "Troublemakers and Prophets: Elizabeth Allen and Other Visionary Artists," running from 28 March to 31 August 2026. The show reintroduces Elizabeth "Queen" Allen (1883–1967), a self-taught British artist who created intricate patchwork artworks inspired by the Apocrypha and biblical visions, using scraps of fabric, buttons, and sequins. Despite achieving success in her lifetime, Allen fell into obscurity; the exhibition pairs her work with thematically related contemporary artists to contextualize her legacy.