A new exhibition at the Frick Collection in New York has assembled 25 portraits by the 18th-century British painter Thomas Gainsborough. The show focuses on his depictions of the era's elite, showcasing the powdered wigs, lavish fabrics, and social stature of his sitters.
MOMENTA Biennale d’art contemporain in Montreal has appointed curator and educator Toleen Touq to organize its 20th edition, scheduled for 2027. The biennial will be titled 'The Long Now' and will focus on interrogating concepts of time and duration.
Jeamin Cha wins Hermès Foundation Missulsang
Korean media artist Jeamin Cha has been awarded the 21st Missulsang prize by the Hermès Foundation. She will receive KRW 30 million and production support for a solo exhibition at Atelier Hermès in Seoul, opening in May 2027.
Penny Cooper and Rena Rosenwasser, a Berkeley-based couple, are debuting their private collection of women artists at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). Titled "Rhapsody: Works from the Cooper Rosenwasser Collection," the exhibition features highlights from a half-century of collecting, including works by Marlene Dumas, Nicole Eisenman, and Jacqueline Humphries. The show coincides with the couple's significant donation of nearly 150 artworks to the museum, marking the first time these pieces have been displayed outside their home.
The artist Jack Milroy has launched a new solo exhibition titled 'Bibliophilia' at Shapero Modern in London, featuring his signature 3D cut-out artworks. The 87-year-old artist transforms books and everyday objects, such as sardine tins, into intricate sculptures where illustrated figures like birds and fish appear to escape their physical confines. The show marks Milroy's first collaboration with the gallery, which is uniquely situated beneath an antiquarian bookshop, providing a thematic contrast between preserved rare volumes and Milroy’s "vandalised" artistic interpretations.
The Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice has announced a major exhibition for 2026 titled "Peggy Guggenheim in London: The Making of a Collector." The show focuses on the pivotal period between 1938 and 1939 when Guggenheim operated her first gallery, Guggenheim Jeune, on Cork Street. It will feature approximately 100 works by avant-garde masters such as Vasily Kandinsky, Jean Cocteau, and Yves Tanguy, alongside archival materials documenting her early career as a gallerist and patron.
The Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, North Carolina, has announced its upcoming summer exhibition, "Fresh Air: Inflatable Sculptures," opening June 19. The show features large-scale, interactive works including Nick Cave’s "Augment," a vibrant installation made from repurposed lawn ornaments, and Andy Warhol’s historic 1966 floating installation "Silver Clouds." Other participating contemporary artists include Claire Ashley, Nicole Banowetz, Nancy Davidson, Tamar Ettun, and Momoyo Torimitsu.
Artist Shana Moulton is set to discuss her multidisciplinary practice at the "Humanities Decanted" event on April 21. The talk will focus on her long-running 'Whispering Pines' series and her recent site-specific installation at MoMA’s Kravis Studio, which features her iconic alter ego, Cynthia. Developed in collaboration with composer Nick Hallett, the project utilizes performance and video to explore a multi-chapter narrative centered on themes of wellness and consumerism.
The Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas has launched "Rauschenberg Sculpture," a major exhibition marking the first museum presentation dedicated exclusively to Robert Rauschenberg’s three-dimensional works in three decades. Organized by senior curator Dr. Catherine Craft in collaboration with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, the show features over two dozen works spanning the 1950s to the 1990s, including his iconic "Combines," rotating Plexiglas "Revolvers," and experimental clay and metal assemblages.
The M+ museum in Hong Kong has launched a major retrospective of South Korean artist Lee Bul, timed to coincide with Art Basel Hong Kong 2026. Titled 'Lee Bul: From 1998 to Now,' the exhibition features over 200 works, including her iconic 'Cyborg' and 'Anagram' series, as well as large-scale immersive installations like 'The City of the Sun.' Co-organized with the Leeum Museum of Art, this exhibition marks the artist's largest retrospective to date and traces her evolution from early body-centric performances to complex, sci-fi-inspired urban landscapes.
The Farnsworth Art Museum, Colby College Museum of Art, and Brandywine Museum of Art are launching a collaborative exhibition titled "By Design: The Worlds of Betsy James Wyeth." This landmark show is the first to focus exclusively on the creative legacy of Betsy James Wyeth, the wife of Andrew Wyeth, highlighting her work as a designer of immersive environments and her role in restoring historic properties like the Olson House and Brinton’s Mill. The exhibitions will feature Andrew Wyeth’s paintings alongside Betsy’s archival materials, maps, and collected objects.
The Art Institute of Chicago is preparing to host an exhibition exploring the profound intersection between modern art and jazz music. Focusing on the works of Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, the show highlights how the concept of improvisation—a cornerstone of jazz—served as a vital creative catalyst for these two masters of modernism.
The Parrish Art Museum is hosting a special panel discussion on April 18 to coincide with Earth Day and the centennial of Robert Rauschenberg. The event features Helen Hsu from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and various contemporary artists featured in the museum's current exhibition, "Regeneration: Long Island’s History of Ecological Art and Care." The conversation will explore Rauschenberg’s environmental legacy—including his design of the first Earth Day poster in 1970—alongside modern artistic approaches to ecological activism.
Expo Chicago has distinguished itself within the global art fair circuit through its unique Curatorial Forum, a partnership with Independent Curators International (ICI) that began in 2014. Originally conceived by Tony Karman and Renaud Proch, the program has evolved from a small gathering into a major national convening that provides curators with professional development, networking opportunities, and a platform for thought leadership. The initiative has been so successful that ICI established its only year-round satellite office in Chicago to support the local curatorial community.
New York City’s cultural landscape is undergoing a significant transformation with the reopening of the New Museum in its expanded 60,000-square-foot building designed by OMA. The inaugural exhibition, "New Humans: Memories of the Future," features over 200 contributors exploring the intersection of technology and humanity. Simultaneously, major institutions are launching landmark shows, including a massive Raphael retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the 2026 Whitney Biennial, which focuses on artificial intelligence and climate grief.
New York City’s cultural landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, anchored by the grand reopening of the New Museum in its expanded 60,000-square-foot building designed by OMA. The inaugural exhibition, "New Humans: Memories of the Future," features over 200 contributors exploring the intersection of technology and humanity. Simultaneously, major institutions are launching blockbuster shows, including a massive Raphael retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the 2026 Whitney Biennial, which focuses on artificial intelligence, climate grief, and geopolitical power.
The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York is hosting a major retrospective titled "Robert Rauschenberg: Spreading Viaducts," which places a significant focus on the artist's formative years in his hometown of Port Arthur, Texas. The exhibition explores how the industrial landscape and unique coastal environment of the Gulf Coast influenced Rauschenberg’s revolutionary approach to materials and his development of the "Combine" paintings.
MoMA PS1 has launched the sixth edition of Greater New York, its signature quinquennial survey featuring 53 artists living and working across the city's five boroughs. Marking the institution’s 50th anniversary, this iteration was organized entirely by the museum’s internal curatorial staff rather than outside contributors. The exhibition moves away from the introspective, surrealist themes of the pandemic-era 2021 edition, focusing instead on the social fabric of the city and the systemic challenges facing its residents.
Greek television art auctioneer Giorgos Tsagarakis was arrested in Athens on felony charges for trafficking forged and stolen artworks and antiquities. Authorities dismantled his alleged counterfeit network after a social media post served as evidence, seizing hundreds of paintings, many believed to be forgeries, along with artifacts and cash. Collectors had grown suspicious after recognizing their own stolen items on his TV show.
Artnet Auctions has launched its Spring Photographs sale, running through April 16, 2026, featuring works by blue-chip artists such as Peter Beard, Adam Fuss, and Diane Arbus. The auction highlights a significant shift in the photography market toward unique, one-of-a-kind works—including photograms, hand-painted images, and collages—that blur the lines between photography and painting. This trend is evidenced by increasing auction prices, with several works recently crossing the $1 million and $2 million thresholds.
Veteran art advisor Patti Wong, who left Sotheby's after three decades to start her own firm, analyzes a significant recalibration in the auction market. She notes a new discipline among auction houses and buyers following the frothy post-pandemic years, with houses becoming more selective, relying heavily on third-party guarantees, and facing greater buyer scrutiny on provenance and estimates. She also highlights the industry's expansion into new geographies like Saudi Arabia and new categories like luxury goods.
Pharrell Williams launched his own auction platform, Joopiter, after finding traditional auction houses ill-suited to sell his collection of fashion, jewelry, and timepieces. The platform has rapidly expanded from single-owner sales into a multi-category auction house, handling luxury goods, sports memorabilia, pop culture artifacts, and contemporary art, with a recent headline lot being a $5 million Triceratops skeleton named Trey.
This Masterpiece by Rembrandt’s Star Pupil Has a New Owner
Willem Drost's 1654 painting *Man With a Plumed Red Beret* has been acquired by the Leiden Collection, a private museum focused on Dutch Golden Age art. The sale was conducted privately through Agnews Gallery at the TEFAF Maastricht fair for an undisclosed sum, with the collection's founder calling it a "capstone acquisition."
Two major museum projects have reached completion as London’s V&A East prepares for its public debut and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) unveils its new $700m David Geffen Galleries. V&A East opens with a focus on community-driven programming and its inaugural exhibition, 'The Music is Black: A British Story,' while LACMA’s long-awaited Peter Zumthor-designed building begins member previews amidst ongoing debates regarding its scale and cost.
Melissa Chiu has been appointed as the new director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, transitioning directly from her decade-long tenure at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. During her time at the Hirshhorn, Chiu was credited with doubling attendance, significantly increasing fundraising, and overseeing a major $68m garden renovation by Hiroshi Sugimoto. She will begin her new role on September 1, while Aaron Seeto steps in as interim director at the Hirshhorn.
Julius Bryant’s new book, the fourth volume in his history of the Victoria and Albert Museum, re-examines the 1851 Great Exhibition through its visual legacy. By analyzing paintings, prints, and ephemera—including the vast archive of Charles Wentworth Dilke—Bryant reconstructs the 'Crystal Palace' experience, highlighting the youth of its organizers and the staggering speed of its construction. The narrative shifts focus away from traditional social theory toward the actual visual evidence of the event, from David Roberts’s massive panoramic paintings to the 235 sculptures that defined the era's artistic output.
Nifty Gateway, a major NFT marketplace launched in 2020, permanently shut down in February 2026. Its closure coincided with a severe cryptocurrency market sell-off, adding to a list of defunct NFT exchanges and contributing to the perception of a market collapse.
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.
Major museums across the United States are preparing to launch a diverse array of exhibitions for the spring season. Highlights include a comprehensive Marcel Duchamp retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, an exploration of Etruscan civilization at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, and a major fashion-focused exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum.
The Getty Center in Los Angeles has announced it will close to the public for a full year starting in March 2027. This significant hiatus is required to facilitate a major infrastructure overhaul, primarily focusing on the replacement of its aging computer-operated tram system and the modernization of several gallery spaces within the Richard Meier-designed campus.