Proposed Restitution Law in France Advances in National Assembly

The French National Assembly’s Cultural Affairs Committee has approved a landmark bill aimed at streamlining the restitution of cultural property looted from Africa during the colonial era. Moving away from the previous requirement for case-by-case legislation, the new framework allows restitutions to be ordered by ministerial decree, provided they fall within the 1815–1972 timeframe. This advancement follows years of debate sparked by President Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 pledge and the influential 2018 Sarr-Savoy report.

The Music Is Black: Frequencies of Belonging in Britain

V&A East Museum is launching its inaugural exhibition, 'The Music is Black: A British Story,' a comprehensive exploration of Black British music spanning over a century. Curated by Jacqueline Springer, the show features more than 200 objects—including instruments, fashion, and personal artifacts—alongside significant artworks by figures such as Sonia Boyce and Frank Bowling. The exhibition traces the evolution of genres from early 20th-century compositions to contemporary grime and drill, framing them as vital expressions of migration, resistance, and cultural identity.

Hong Kong show offers 'most comprehensive survey' of 21st-century Chinese art

Tai Kwun in Hong Kong is presenting a two-part exhibition titled 'Stay Connected: Art and China Since 2008,' aiming to be the most comprehensive survey of 21st-century Chinese art. The first part, 'Navigating the Cloud,' examined the early internet's influence, while the current second part, 'Supplying the Globe,' focuses on the physical world of labor and China's manufacturing supply chain. The show is structured thematically, exploring ecological footprints, reconfigured labor, networks of exchange, and global realignment.

250-Year-Old Kiln Discovered on Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Estate

Archaeologists at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello estate have unearthed a 250-year-old kiln used to fire bricks for the plantation’s original construction. Located on the East Lawn just feet from the main house, the site was identified through the discovery of specialized curved bricks, including cyma-shaped and ovolo-molded specimens. These architectural details confirm the kiln dates back to the "Monticello I" period (1768–1782), as these specific water table features were omitted during Jefferson’s later 18th-century renovations.

At 95, Artist Heinz Mack Still Believes in the Power of Art: ‘I Affirm My Commitment to Beauty’

German artist Heinz Mack, co-founder of the influential ZERO movement, is being celebrated with a solo exhibition at Beck and Eggeling gallery in Düsseldorf to mark his 95th birthday. The show features recent and rarely exhibited works, including ceramics, collages, and pastel drawings, demonstrating his continued exploration of light, color, and materiality.

April Book Bag: from a Matthew Wong catalogue to a history of dogs in art

The Art Newspaper’s April book roundup highlights four significant new publications spanning art history and contemporary practice. Featured titles include Thomas Laqueur’s visual history of dogs in art, a study of marble depictions in Late Gothic and Early Renaissance painting edited by Karl Kolbitz, a comprehensive overview of Antony Gormley’s drawings, and a new catalogue focusing on Matthew Wong’s interior scenes.

Nicéphore Niépce in 2 Minutes

Nicéphore Niépce en 2 minutes

Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, a Burgundian engineer and inventor, is credited with creating the world's first permanent photograph, "Point de vue du Gras," in 1827. Using a process he termed heliography, Niépce utilized bitumen of Judea on pewter plates to fix images captured in a camera obscura. Despite his groundbreaking achievement, he died in relative obscurity in 1833, shortly after entering a partnership with Louis Daguerre, who would later receive the primary credit for the invention of photography.

1815, a Key Year for the Question of Art Restitution at the Heart of an Enlightening Book

1815, année clé de la question des restitutions d’œuvres d’art au cœur d’un ouvrage éclairant

Art historian Bénédicte Savoy has released a new book, "1815, le temps du retour," which examines the massive wave of art restitutions following the collapse of the Napoleonic Empire. Between 1794 and 1811, French revolutionary and imperial forces seized thousands of artworks and cultural objects from across Europe to fill the Louvre under the guise of creating a universal museum. After Napoleon's defeat in 1815, the subsequent return of these works sparked a global debate involving intellectuals and politicians regarding national identity, cultural property, and the legal status of looted heritage.

Art Collaboration Kyoto announces new leadership

The contemporary art fair Art Collaboration Kyoto (ACK) has announced a major leadership change, transitioning from a single director to a seven-member leadership committee. The new committee, effective April 1, includes Doi Miho, Hattori Yoko, Mine Keiko, Ohishi Masako, Suzuki Hidenori, Takamura Miwa, and Tezen Wakako. Current director Yamashita Yukako will step down and assume the role of chair of ACK Ambassadors. The fair's sixth edition is scheduled for November 7–9 at the Kyoto International Conference Center.

Renoir: A festival of loans for a double exhibition

Renoir : un festival de prêts pour une double exposition

The Musée d'Orsay in Paris has launched a major two-part exhibition dedicated to Auguste Renoir, titled "Renoir dessinateur" (Renoir as a Draughtsman) and "Renoir et l'amour" (Renoir and Love). The initiative began with a study for Renoir's controversial painting *Les Grandes Baigneuses* and has grown into an international loan effort, featuring over 150 rarely seen drawings, watercolors, pastels, and paintings from major museums and private collections worldwide, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the MET, and the Barnes Foundation.

Mari Katayama: tree of life @ Yutaka Kikutake Gallery (Roppongi)

片山真理：tree of life @ Yutaka Kikutake Gallery（六本木）

Mari Katayama presents her latest solo exhibition, "tree of life," at Yutaka Kikutake Gallery in Roppongi, Tokyo. The exhibition, running from March 19 to May 16, 2026, features a new series of photographic works created in 2025 that continue her exploration of the body, prosthesis, and self-representation through meticulously staged compositions.

IN LYON, CONTEMPORARY ART HAS A HISTORY : THREE STAGES TO EXPLORE IT

The Lyon Museum of Contemporary Art (MAC Lyon) has launched a major seasonal program featuring three distinct exhibitions that explore memory, archives, and the evolution of contemporary media. Central to the program is Giulia Andreani’s solo exhibition, "Cold Painting," which presents sixty canvases created between 2011 and 2025 that interrogate historical power structures and the erasure of women from art history. Complementing this is a significant showcase of video art drawn from a massive donation by collectors Isabelle and Jean-Conrad Lemaître, alongside a retrospective dedicated to Jean-Claude Guillaumon.

‘New Humans’: A Hallucinatory Humanism Worth Moving Toward

Milan’s art scene is currently anchored by 'New Humans' at Pirelli HangarBicocca, a major solo exhibition by Cao Fei that explores the intersection of technology, labor, and human identity. The show features immersive installations and films that document global farming practices and the surreal evolution of social structures in the digital age, alongside other key city-wide exhibitions including Anselm Kiefer’s portraits of female alchemists.

What Can We Learn from Édouard Glissant’s Art Collection?

An exhibition at the Musée du quai Branly–Jacques Chirac in Paris is showcasing the personal art collection of the late Martinican philosopher and poet Édouard Glissant. The show, titled 'Édouard Glissant: Un monde en relation,' features over 150 works he and his wife, Sylvie Glissant, acquired, including pieces by artists like Wifredo Lam, Roberto Matta, and Hervé Télémaque, offering a tangible map of his intellectual and aesthetic affinities.

The Museum Breathing Life Into New York's Downtown Performance Scene

The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art in SoHo has emerged as a vital hub for New York’s downtown performance scene through its intergenerational exhibition, "Sacred and Profane." Featuring a collaborative residency between poet Pamela Sneed and performance artist Carlos Martiel, the programming centers on themes of Black maternal grief, queer identity, and the exhumation of suppressed histories. Recent performances included Martiel’s "No Resurrection," a ritualistic piece involving his mother and a mound of earth, and Sneed’s readings that address the collective trauma and "urgent care" status of the LGBTQ+ community.

Anthony Elms and Hamza Walker in Conversation

The Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh has announced a public conversation between its new Artistic Director, Anthony Elms, and renowned curator Hamza Walker to mark the institution's 50th anniversary. The event focuses on the evolution of artist-centered institutions and Elms's vision for the museum following his tenure as Chief Curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania.

V&A Pulls Catalog Materials Due to Chinese Censorship Laws

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London has admitted to removing maps and images from two exhibition catalogs following censorship demands from a Chinese printing firm. Documents revealed that C&C Offset Printing flagged content in the catalogs for the exhibitions "Music Is Black" and "Fabergé: Romance to Revolution" as violating Chinese law. The censored items included a 1930s map of British trade routes and a photograph of Vladimir Lenin, which the printer claimed could not be produced under Beijing’s strict regulations.

Is Chinese Censorship Reaching Inside Britain’s Museums?

London’s Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) has come under fire following reports that it altered exhibition catalogues to comply with Chinese government censorship. To reduce production costs, the museum utilized printers in China, which are subject to Beijing’s General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) regulations. Consequently, the museum removed historical maps and an image of Vladimir Lenin from publications for the "Music is Black" and "Fabergé: Romance to Revolution" exhibitions after they were flagged by Chinese authorities.

Digital Art Exhibit Showcases Tech's Creative Potential in Austin

The Blanton Museum of Art in Austin has launched 'Run the Code: Data-Driven Art Decoded,' a major exhibition featuring over 20 digital artworks produced between 2004 and 2022. On loan from the Thoma Foundation, the collection includes pieces by prominent figures such as teamLab, Leo Villareal, and Marina Zurkow that utilize coding, real-time data, and generative AI. The show highlights the evolution of digital practice in the "post-social media era," ranging from interactive installations to algorithmic critiques of environmental and social issues.

Exhibit traces 250 years of American history at Greenville County Museum of Art

The Greenville County Museum of Art has launched "American Stories," a comprehensive exhibition drawn from its permanent collection to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States. Featuring pivotal works such as Thomas Sully’s "Passage of the Delaware," the show spans two centuries of artistic production to explore the complexities of the American experience, from the Revolutionary War to the modern era.

Raphael Exhibition at the Met Offers Rare Glimpse Into Renaissance Master's Genius

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has launched a major retrospective titled 'Raphael: Sublime Poetry,' featuring over 230 works sourced from more than 60 international institutions and private collections. The exhibition provides a chronological survey of the Renaissance master’s career, spanning his early years in Urbino to his definitive period at the papal court in Rome, and includes iconic paintings such as the 'Alba Madonna' alongside rare preparatory sketches and immersive projections of his Vatican frescoes.

Two museums are looking back on the entire history of American art through political teapots and a 'death cart'

The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) have launched a massive joint exhibition titled "A Nation of Artists," featuring over 1,000 works spanning from 1700 to 2026. The collaboration utilizes a chronological approach at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and a thematic framework at PAFA, showcasing a diverse array of objects including colonial teapots, a New Mexican "death cart," and works by masters like Georgia O'Keeffe and Horace Pippin. The project also incorporates significant loans from the private collection of Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton.

Portland Japanese Garden debuts stunning new art exhibition through June 15th

The Portland Japanese Garden has launched its first major exhibition of 2026, "Enduring Impressions: Contemporary Woodblock Prints," running through June 16th. This showcase explores the evolution of mokuhanga, a traditional Japanese woodblock printing technique that originated in the 17th century as an accessible art form for the masses. The exhibition features a diverse array of works ranging from historical masterpieces to contemporary interpretations by artists from Portland, Japan, and across the United States.

Gustave Courbet: realist and rebel

The Leopold Museum in Vienna, in collaboration with Museum Folkwang in Essen, is hosting a major retrospective titled "Gustave Courbet: Realist and Rebel." Featuring 130 exhibits, including 90 paintings and 20 graphic works, the exhibition traces the artist's journey from his early rejection of academic training to his role as the pioneer of Realism. The show highlights his revolutionary choice to depict everyday life and ordinary people on a monumental scale, a practice previously reserved for heroic or mythological subjects.

The portrait

López de la Serna CAC has launched a collective exhibition exploring the evolution of portraiture through the works of four major contemporary artists: Francesco Clemente, Alex Katz, David Salle, and Henry Taylor. The exhibition moves beyond traditional representation to examine how identity is constructed in the postmodern era, utilizing diverse approaches ranging from Clemente’s mystical pastels and Katz’s flat, vibrant aesthetics to Salle’s fragmented collages and Taylor’s socially conscious figuration.

Tate Modern opens largest ever exhibition of Tracey Emin's work

Tate Modern has launched the most comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the work of British artist Tracey Emin. The show brings together a vast range of her pieces, spanning several decades of her provocative and confessional career.

Middletown Arts Center presents Garden State Watercolor Society's Annual Juried Exhibition 2026

The Middletown Arts Center is currently hosting the Garden State Watercolor Society’s 56th Annual Open Juried Exhibition alongside the 8th Annual Art Installation Exhibition. Juried by Joseph Gyurcsak, the main showcase features 64 selected watercolor paintings, while a special installation titled "Revolution as Reinvention" presents 55 miniature works exploring the history of artistic rebellion. The exhibition is open to the public through May 30, 2026, with a digital version available online.

CRUZ DIEZ AT ISLAA COLOR AS AN EXPERIENCE IN CONSTANT TRANSFORMATION

The Institute for Studies on Latin American Art (ISLAA) in New York is presenting "Carlos Cruz-Diez: Color at Stake," an exhibition of twenty-three works by the late Venezuelan artist. Spanning from 1955 to 1988, the show highlights his pioneering investigations into color as a dynamic, participatory experience, featuring key series like Physichromie and Chromointerférence alongside archival materials.

Madrid: Hypnotic Laugh Track by Manga Ngcobo

Writer Manga Ngcobo reflects on the architectural and cultural landscape of Madrid in early 2025, juxtaposing the city's historic art institutions with its rapid technological and commercial evolution. Drawing on Ben Lerner’s novel 'Leaving the Atocha Station', the piece explores the growing disconnect between the profound emotional experiences promised by masters like Velázquez and Goya and the reality of a city increasingly designed for content creation, retail aesthetics, and digital consumption.

Exhibition | Anna Park, 'Hot Honey' at Lehmann Maupin, London, United Kingdom

Anna Park makes her United Kingdom solo debut at Lehmann Maupin London with 'Hot Honey,' an exhibition of large-scale charcoal works running from April 30 to May 30. The show features Park’s signature fractured, cinematic compositions that explore female archetypes like the 'vixen' and the 'bombshell.' For the first time, the artist introduces shaped supports that turn her drawings into sculptural reliefs, alongside restrained passages of color that heighten the psychological intensity of her social critiques.