The Space Between: Denja Harris Brings Innovative Fiber Art to Oceanside Museum

Denja Harris, an innovative fiber artist, is bringing a new exhibition titled "The Space Between" to the Oceanside Museum of Art. The show features her intricate textile works that explore themes of connection, identity, and the physical and emotional spaces between people and places. Harris uses traditional fiber techniques like weaving and knotting, often incorporating unconventional materials to create layered, sculptural pieces that challenge the boundaries of the medium.

New videos of African cultural sites add contemporary context to Rockefeller Wing’s historical artefacts at the Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s newly reopened Michael C. Rockefeller Wing features a series of short documentaries by Ethiopian American filmmaker Sosena Solomon, commissioned to add contemporary context to the wing’s historical artifacts from Africa, Oceania, and the ancient Americas. Solomon spent two years traveling to 12 sites across sub-Saharan Africa, creating videos that highlight royal burial grounds in Uganda, ancient rock paintings in Botswana, bronze casters in Benin City, and the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela and Tigray in Ethiopia. Three of the videos are displayed on screens in the wing, while others are accessible via QR codes and online.

Olivia Bourrat revient au Quai Branly

Olivia Bourrat, a 45-year-old chief heritage curator trained at the École du Louvre, the INP, and the Sorbonne, has been appointed director of the heritage and collections department at the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac in Paris. She succeeds Anne-Solène Rolland, and returns to the museum after previous stints there, as well as at France-Muséums, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the French Ministry of Culture, and Paris Musées.

MUNCH presents Kim Hankyul’s Shore, a new SOLO OSLO exhibition

South Korean artist Kim Hankyul has unveiled a major immersive installation titled 'Shore' at MUNCH in Oslo. The exhibition, which serves as the fifth edition of the museum’s SOLO OSLO series, features a subaquatic landscape constructed from motorized sculptures, holograms, and Foley-inspired soundscapes. Hankyul’s work draws on the personal testimonies of North Korean defectors, female free divers, and rescue teams to explore the ocean as a site of both survival and memory for those marginalized by land-based social structures.

Comment | Art and science rely on freedom of thought—and on each other

The article argues that art and science are deeply interconnected, both relying on freedom of thought and cross-disciplinary collaboration. It cites examples like birds' colorful feathers being explained by a study supported by Schmidt Sciences, which found that birds use a layer of white and black feathers to accentuate color—a technique painters have used for centuries. The piece highlights the Artist-at-Sea programme aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor (too), where artists like Constance Sartor and Jill Pelto collaborate with scientists to communicate marine science to broader audiences. The author, who works with scientists and is married to one, emphasizes that both disciplines pursue truth through different but complementary methods, from Leonardo da Vinci's anatomical studies to medieval Islamic tilework and Alexander von Humboldt's naturalist drawings.

A striking turtle-shaped art gallery has just opened over the sea in Penang

A striking turtle-shaped art gallery, the Lin Xiang Xiong Art Gallery, has opened over the sea in Penang, Malaysia. Designed by Singaporean artist Lin Xiang Xiong, the eight-storey over-water museum at The Light Waterfront is the world's first of its kind, currently in its soft-opening phase. It houses four permanent galleries tracing Lin's six-decade career, plus a special exhibition titled "Picasso and Lin Xiang Xiong: A Dialogue Across Time" that pairs works by Pablo Picasso with Lin's own. The space also includes an Art Seed Garden for education and hosts international exhibitions and forums focused on peace and cross-cultural exchange.

Casa Sanlorenzo in Venice opens its first exhibition with a focus on ocean pollution

Casa Sanlorenzo, a new cultural space in Venice established by yacht builder Sanlorenzo, has opened its inaugural exhibition titled "Breathtaking." The installation by Italian artist and photographer Fabrizio Ferri addresses ocean plastic and microplastic pollution, featuring large-scale portraits of celebrities including Sting, Helena Christensen, Willem Dafoe, Isabella Rossellini, Susan Sarandon, and Naomi Watts, all depicted covered in plastic and debris. At the center of the installation is a glass coffin filled with seawater, symbolizing the fragility of marine ecosystems. The exhibition was previously shown at the Museo di Storia Naturale in Milan, where it attracted over 40,000 visitors in four days.

CONDUCTOR Is New York’s First Art Fair Committed to the Global Majority

A new art fair called CONDUCTOR: Art Fair of the Global Majority will launch in Brooklyn from April 30 to May 3, 2026. Hosted at Powerhouse Arts, the inaugural edition will feature 27 gallery exhibitors and 17 special projects dedicated to artists from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Oceania, and Indigenous Nations worldwide.

OMA, Surf Museum Host Dual Exhibition to Drive Local Tourism

The Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA) and the California Surf Museum (CSM) are partnering for the first time to host a dual-venue exhibition titled “Surf Art: Exploring California’s Coastal Culture.” OMA’s exhibit opens August 23 and CSM’s on September 13, featuring works including Kevin Short’s 2004 oil painting “Crosstown Traffic.” The collaboration aims to merge OMA’s art expertise with CSM’s deep surf history, with OMA investing about $25,000 and CSM about $10,000. The project has been in development for a year and includes a themed popup in OMA’s gift store.

Vibrant Sea Creatures Spring to Life in Lisa Stevens’ Textured Sculptures

Bristol-based artist Lisa Stevens creates vibrant ceramic sculptures inspired by marine life. Her work features sea urchins, coral, and nudibranchs, transformed into unique pieces with colorful glazes and textures that often blend aquatic forms with celestial and anatomical references.

Resonances from the Abyss: Uruguayan Artists

Resonancias Desde El Abismo Artistas Uruguayos

The exhibition 'Resonancias desde el abismo. Prácticas artísticas entre presiones y frecuencias extrañas' (Resonances from the Abyss. Artistic Practices Between Pressures and Strange Frequencies), curated by Fabiana Puentes, opened at the Centro Cultural de España in Montevideo. It features works by eight Uruguayan artists—including Guadalupe Ayala, Karina Flores, and Sofía Córdoba—working across sculpture, video, sound, and installation. The show uses the extreme, dark, and high-pressure ecosystem of the ocean abyss as a conceptual framework to explore artistic practices that resist immediate interpretation and conventional systems of reference.

Reston Art Gallery Presents its May Exhibit “ Down the Shore ” by Pat Macintyre

Reston Art Gallery and Studios (RAGS) in Reston, Virginia, is presenting its May exhibition titled “Down the Shore,” featuring acrylic paintings by gallery director and artist Pat Macintyre. The show depicts coastal scenes from the Eastern Shore, Isle of Wight Bay, and Ocean City, including images of rural villages and large shells on pale canvases. A reception will be held on May 10 from 2-4pm, and the exhibit runs through May 31.

Tides of creation: New IU Eskenazi Museum exhibit explores ocean biodiversity through art

The Indiana University Eskenazi Museum of Art has opened “Mulyana: Vital Ecosystems,” an immersive exhibition by Indonesian artist Mulyana. The installation features a vibrant underwater world constructed from hand-knitted crochet, felt, and repurposed plastic waste, including takeout bags collected during the pandemic. Central to the display is the artist’s signature character, "Mogus," an octopus-like creature that serves as a symbol of empathy and environmental stewardship.

Monumental sculpture honours women’s service in US Coast Guard during Second World War

A monumental sculpture titled "Reflection" by French-born artist Prune Nourry has been installed at Ocean Terrace Park in Miami Beach, honoring the women of the U.S. Coast Guard Women’s Reserve (Spars) who served during World War II. The 21.3-foot sculpture features a half-face resting in water, completed by its reflection, with a mangrove tree sprouting from the side of the head. It was unveiled on October 30 and is Nourry’s first public art project in the U.S. The work uses the likeness of Yeoman Third Class Nellie Locust, a Cherokee woman who served in the Spars, with permission from her family. The sculpture was created in collaboration with landscape architect Raymond Jungles.

In the new documentary Architecton, buildings collapse and stones dance

Victor Kossakovsky's new documentary *Architecton*, opening in US theaters on August 1, premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival. The film is a silent, drone-shot meditation on the destruction of the built environment, showing war-ravaged buildings in Ukraine, earthquake ruins in Turkey and Lebanon, and the violent process of stone being blasted for concrete. It contrasts modern structures that collapse within decades with ancient buildings that still stand, and features architect Michele di Lucchi as a quiet voice for thoughtful, enduring design. The film's score is by Russian expatriate composer Evgueni Galperine.

Duke Riley’s Art Exhibition at the MOCA in Virginia Beach

The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Virginia Beach is presenting "O'er the Wide and Plastic Sea," an exhibition of multimedia works by Brooklyn artist Duke Riley, running through August 31. The show spans two decades of Riley's practice, with the centerpiece artwork created from beach trash—including lighters, buoy pieces, and syringes—collected largely from Virginia Beach shores. Riley's work explores tensions between individual and collective behavior, institutional power, and nature's struggle with modern problems, blending early American styles, folklore, and sea-craft aesthetics.

In Venice, an Ocean-Inspired Exhibition Takes Visitors Under the Sea

An ocean-inspired exhibition titled "Ocean Space" has opened inside a former convent on an island in Venice, featuring immersive artworks that invite visitors to explore the depths of the sea and expand their sense of self. The show includes installations by contemporary artists that use sound, light, and sculpture to evoke underwater environments and marine life.

How can art fairs become greener?

Art fairs face significant sustainability challenges due to their temporary nature. Untitled Art in Miami Beach, held in a tent on the beach, works with environmental departments to ensure zero impact, reusing its tent annually. Fairs in permanent venues like Art Basel Miami Beach at the LEED Silver-rated convention center must manage temporary walls, energy use, and waste. Exhibitors struggle with high carbon emissions—art fair activities account for a third of a gallery's annual emissions—and waste from packing materials. Shipping constraints often force reliance on air freight over slower, greener options like ocean or rail, especially for last-minute, high-value consignments. The competitive, secretive atmosphere further hinders consolidated shipments and sustainable practices.

Upcoming exhibit at Oceanside Museum of Art highlights burnout and rest

The Oceanside Museum of Art is set to launch a new exhibition titled "The Art of Burnout and Rest," exploring the psychological and physical impacts of modern exhaustion. The show features a diverse range of contemporary works that examine the societal pressures leading to burnout while offering visual meditations on the necessity of recovery and stillness.

A taster of the British Museum's Hawaii show in three objects

The British Museum in London is opening a major exhibition titled 'Hawai‘i: a Kingdom Crossing Oceans' (15 January–25 May), accompanied by a catalogue featuring over 150 works from ancient Hawaiian treasures to contemporary pieces. The show explores the historical and cultural ties between Hawaii and the UK, highlighting objects such as an 18th-century feather cloak gifted to a British captain, portraits of King Kamehameha II and Queen Kamāmalu from their 1824 London visit, and a crested helmet. The catalogue includes an inventory of the entire Native Hawaiian collection at the British Museum, the largest outside Hawaii.

New exhibition at the Spencer Museum of Art examines the relationship between art and the sea

The Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas has opened a new exhibition that explores the relationship between art and the sea. The show brings together works from the museum's collection and loans to examine how artists have depicted, interpreted, and engaged with oceanic themes across different periods and cultures.

Tide of Returns: Reclaiming Memory Through Oceanic Ritual

Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary (TBA21) Academy has opened its 2026 program at Ocean Space in Venice with the exhibition 'Tide of Returns'. Developed by the Repatriates Collective, the show features artists, filmmakers, and Indigenous communities from across the globe, transforming the former Church of San Lorenzo into an immersive environment. It moves beyond conventional restitution debates by presenting repatriation as a living, tidal process expressed through ritual, memory, and community care, using materials like sand from Anindilyakwa Country and returned shell dolls.

'Ocean of Peace' Micronesian art exhibition opens at Honolulu Hale

The Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts, in collaboration with the East-West Center Arts Program, will present 'Ocean of Peace,' a group exhibition featuring seven artists of Micronesian heritage at Honolulu Hale from May 8 to June 11, 2026. The exhibition centers on the 'Ocean of Peace' declaration, a political and cultural framework endorsed at the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ meeting in the Solomon Islands in September 2025, which envisions Pacific Island nations as sovereign and free from geopolitical conflict and coercion. Participating artists include James Bamba, Carol Ann Carl, Gillian Duenas, Kalany Omengkar, Anthony Watson, Lissette Yamase, and Manny Crisostomo, exploring themes of Indigenous Pacific knowledge, identity, and storytelling.

New exhibits open during First Friday reception at Ocean City Center for the Arts

The Art League of Ocean City will host its May First Friday reception on May 1, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Ocean City Center for the Arts. Highlights include Patrick Leib's participatory "Little Free Art Gallery" installation, a new utility box mural by Brandon Bell, and several gallery exhibitions: "Saltwater Taffy" (fiber arts) at the Thaler Gallery, "Flora and Fauna" (juried photography) at the Sisson Gallery, "Celebrating the Year of the Horse" by Joanne Guilfoil and Lynn Yockelson at Studio E, and mosaic works by William Camelio at the Spotlight Gallery. Satellite exhibits are also on view at The Princess Royale and The Coffee Beanery.

25/8 Art Gallery – when blue meets blue

Artist Joanna Tam's solo exhibition "when blue meets blue" opened at the 25/8 Art Gallery on April 13, 2026. The show, presented in partnership with the Harvard Square Business Association and Intercontinental Management, features photographic works and installations exploring the ocean and sky as motifs tied to migration, memory, and the complex duality of nature. Tam, who grew up in Hong Kong and moved to the US, draws from personal experience to create a space for meditation on comfort, freedom, trauma, and tension.

Artist Sandra Hansen spotlights plastic pollution with ‘Our Exquisite Pollution Series: Under the Sea’

International environmental artist Sandra Hansen's exhibition 'Our Exquisite Pollution Series: Under the Sea' is on view at the Evanston Art Center from March 28 to April 26. The show features large-scale marine scenes made from handmade paper and repurposed plastics, including a 12-foot paper whale and kelp columns braided from hundreds of plastic bags, all highlighting the impact of plastic pollution on oceans. Hansen began the series in 2014 after learning about agricultural runoff in Lake Erie and has since collected beach trash to incorporate into her conceptual art.

East Coast painter dives into life, water and legacy in new exhibition

East Coast artist Prudence Davis has unveiled her latest exhibition, "Going with the Flow," at the Matawhero Art Gallery. The collection features a series of paintings deeply inspired by the local landscape and the artist's personal connection to the ocean. Davis, who comes from a significant artistic lineage, uses this body of work to explore her environment through fluid, nature-focused compositions.

Artwork made with coal from the Titanic to debut at exhibition in Conroe

The Conroe Art League is set to debut a unique sculpture crafted from authentic coal recovered from the wreckage of the Titanic. The piece, created by local artist and retired engineer Dr. Robert 'Bob' G. Stevens, will be featured at the league’s upcoming exhibition in Conroe, Texas. The artwork utilizes a rare sample of the fuel that powered the ill-fated ocean liner, transforming a historical artifact into a contemporary sculptural form.

Arts of Oceania

The article explores the rich artistic traditions of Oceania, emphasizing how the vast network of islands and ocean passageways fostered a dynamic exchange of cultures, materials, and ideas over millennia. It describes Oceanic art as vessels for metaphysical journeys, with objects like fishhooks, stick charts, and carved figures serving as tangible expressions of ancestral power and cultural knowledge. The text highlights the role of artists as chiefs and orators who manipulate local materials to manifest spirits, and traces the region's entanglements with European colonial powers from the sixteenth century onward.

A Titanic life jacket sold for a record price

Un gilet de sauvetage du Titanic vendu à un prix record

A life jacket worn by a survivor of the Titanic's 1912 sinking was sold at auction for nearly €800,000, setting a new record price for an artifact from the doomed ocean liner. The sale was conducted by the British auction house Henry Aldridge & Son, which specializes in Titanic memorabilia.