Arielle and the Politics of Beautiful Things

Arielle und die Politik der schönen Dinge

Josefine Reisch presents new works at Noah Klink gallery during Berlin Gallery Weekend. Her paintings combine mermaids, shipping containers, and Euroboxes to explore themes of standardization, global capitalism, and the politics of beauty. The exhibition, titled "Poxy Proxy," is a duo show with Miriam Umiń. Reisch's studio visit reveals her interest in how objects like Eurokisten (standardized plastic crates) and shipping containers symbolize economic progress and power structures, while mermaid imagery from Disney's "Arielle" questions the equation of beautiful things with moral goodness.

the buzz in bucharest sammy loren on rad and the refreshing romanian art scene

The article reports on the fourth edition of Romanian Art Dealers (RAD), an art fair in Bucharest that exclusively features Romanian galleries and artists. The author, Sammy Loren, travels from Los Angeles to experience the fair, which is co-founded by dealer Catinca Tabacaru and artist-dealer Daniela Pălimariu. The fair includes 31 booths, a Curatorial Summit with 35 international curators, and a central installation titled "Donate a Word" (2025) by Romanian artist Victoria Zidaru. The author attends events like the 10-year anniversary party for Sandwich Gallery and notes the intimate, family-like atmosphere of the local art scene.

The art of chaos

The 61st Venice International Art Biennale has opened in Venice, running until November, amid unprecedented turmoil. The main exhibition, "In Minor Keys," was curated by Koyo Kouoh, who died of cancer shortly after presenting her vision featuring 111 artists including Carsten Höller, Alvaro Barrington, and Laurie Anderson. Her death has eliminated the Lifetime Achievement Award this year. Additionally, the Biennale faces a funding crisis as the EU threatens to withdraw its €2 million subsidy over Russia's participation with 38 artists following the invasion of Ukraine. Iran, Nigeria, and Israel are absent from their pavilions, while the US Pavilion, now organized by the American Arts Conservancy under inexperienced leadership, features self-taught artist Alma Allen.

An old hat gets a new show: ‘Matisse’s Femme au chapeau’ opens at SFMOMA

SFMOMA has opened "Matisse's Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal," a new exhibition centered on Henri Matisse's iconic 1905 painting "Femme au chapeau" (Woman with a Hat). The show recreates the atmosphere of the 1905 Salon d'Automne in Paris, where the painting first caused a scandal for its bold, fauvist colors. It reunites the work with three other Matisse paintings from that debut, alongside pieces by contemporaries like André Derain, Albert Marquet, and Jelka Rosen, and later artists inspired by the painting, such as Mickalene Thomas. The exhibition also includes a gallery dedicated to the Haas bequest, which brought the painting to SFMOMA in 1991.

Photo London Returns with a Global Perspective at Olympia

Photo London has opened its latest edition at Olympia London, marking a significant move from its previous home at Somerset House. The fair brings together international galleries from cities including New Delhi, Cologne, New York, Glasgow, Buenos Aires, Johannesburg, Zurich, Paris, Tokyo, Taipei, Munich, and London, creating a global conversation around photography. Highlights include Alfredo Jaar's installation 'Searching for Africa in LIFE,' which interrogates the absence of African voices in Western media, and presentations by Autograph, Leica Gallery London, and others that explore themes of migration, memory, identity, and representation.

MFA's Nude Exhibition Challenges Art History's Gender Norms

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, has opened a new exhibition that challenges traditional gender norms in art history, featuring a dozen artists who disrupt the conventional nude. The show includes Xandra Ibarra's performance "Nude Laughing," where she paraded naked through the museum's European galleries, and works by Betty Tompkins, whose "Fuck Paintings" and "Women Words Painting" series confront misogyny and the male gaze. The exhibition juxtaposes these contemporary pieces with historical works like Jean-Léon Gérôme's "Moorish Bath" to highlight entrenched racial and gender hierarchies in art.

With Her First Solo Museum Show in the US, Widline Cadet Conjures Scenes She Can’t Quite Remember

Photographer Widline Cadet has opened her first solo museum exhibition in the United States, titled "Currents 40: Widline Cadet," at the Milwaukee Art Museum. The show, on view through August 9, 2026, features 52 photos and videos that explore her family's migration story from Haiti to the United States. Cadet's installation includes a recreated Haitian living room with plastic flowers, ceramic angels, and a wall-size portrait of her father, blending reality and fantasy to evoke fragmented memories of home.

The National Gallery of Art’s Dear America Needs a Postscript

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. has opened "Dear America," an exhibition organized around the themes of "Land," "Community," and "Freedom" that attempts to survey the entire history of the United States through its collection. The show features works by artists including Mitch Epstein, Victoria Sambunaris, Sedrick E. Huckaby, and Nancy Andrews, with sections on the American landscape, industrialization, and diverse communities. However, the review notes that the exhibition feels overly literal, with American flags prominently featured and a sense of ticking off boxes rather than offering a challenging or intellectually rigorous presentation.

Serpentine to stage major solo exhibition by Amar Kanwar

Serpentine has announced a major solo exhibition by Amar Kanwar, opening at Serpentine North on 23 September 2026 and running until 31 January 2027. The show will feature landmark works from Kanwar's career, including the feature-length film *Such a Morning* (2017), the seven-screen installation *The Peacock's Graveyard* (2023), and the world premiere of a new multi-screen work, *The Charcoal Man* (2026), commissioned by Serpentine. Kanwar, based in New Delhi, is known for poetic, politically charged moving-image works that explore decolonisation, the Partition of India and Pakistan, displacement, violence, justice, ecology, and memory.

Chinese art exhibition reflects transformative modern times

Hundreds of visitors attended the opening of 'Forever Tomorrow: Chinese Art Now' at Auckland Art Gallery, the first major survey of Chinese contemporary art on this scale in Auckland. The exhibition features over 60 works by 42 artists, including Ai Weiwei, Xu Zhen, Xiao Lu, and Cao Fei, spanning photography, sculpture, installations, and new media. Key works include Ai Weiwei's 'Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn' and Xu Zhen's monumental sculpture combining Buddhist and Greek motifs. The show runs through an unspecified period and has drawn diverse audiences, including Chinese New Zealanders and previous visitors to China.

What’s on for spring? Spiritualism and symbolic systems

This article surveys several spring exhibitions in Chicago that explore themes of spiritualism, symbolic systems, and interconnected consciousness. Featured shows include Mindy Rose Schwartz's "Countersealed" at M. LeBlanc, which uses deconstructed fur coats, wands, and twisted fiber sculptures to evoke rituals addressing ecological disaster and historical subjugation. Daniel G. Baird's "Margin" at Patron examines thresholds between material and spiritual realms through a gilded canoe, wax arm cast, and birchwood oar. Leah Ke Yi Zheng's "Change, I Ching (64 Paintings)" at the Renaissance Society presents 64 hexagram paintings on silk, connecting abstract minimalism with Eastern silk painting traditions.

Sebastiaan Bremer: Super Modern Things

Edwynn Houk Gallery presents "Super Modern Things," an exhibition of new works by Sebastiaan Bremer. The artworks blend photography and painting, starting from historical source images such as 17th-century Dutch botanical catalogues and Golden Age still life paintings. Bremer photographs these reproductions and adds ink and acrylic marks—dots, lines, stains, and washes—creating rhythms that evoke language, music, emotion, and constellations. The exhibition continues his long-standing exploration of flowers and the layered histories of still life, addressing themes of beauty, mortality, value, ecology, and global exchange. An accompanying monograph of his flower series is scheduled for Fall 2026.

'You Must Change Your Life' at GRIMM, New York, United States on 26 Jun–7 Aug 2026

GRIMM gallery in New York presents "You Must Change Your Life," a group exhibition curated by Tom Morton, running from June 26 to August 7, 2026. The show features an international roster of painters and sculptors including Alexander Tovborg, Elinor Stanley, Sophie Ruigrok, Sara Rossberg, Jhonatan Pulido, Ken Kiff, Matthew Day Jackson, Ted Gahl, Gabriella Boyd, Anderson Borba, Kinga Bartis, Mahesh Baliga, and Charles Avery. The exhibition takes its title from the final line of Rainer Maria Rilke's poem "Archaic Torso of Apollo" (1918), exploring themes of how the past speaks to the present, the animation of materials, the fragment as synecdoche, and the transformative power of visual contemplation.

When the story has already been told -- ‘Gordon Parks: The South in Color’ at Jackson Fine Art

Gordon Parks: The South in Color, curated by Dawoud Bey, is on view at Jackson Fine Art in Atlanta through June 13. The exhibition celebrates the 20th anniversary of The Gordon Parks Foundation and the 70th anniversary of Parks’ 1956 Life magazine feature on segregation in the South. The show presents a broader selection of Parks’ photographs than the original magazine spread, including iconic works like In-Home Barbershop, Shady Grove, Alabama, 1956. The article, written by a photographer and writer for ArtsATL, reflects on the experience of seeing Parks’ work in person and contrasts the gallery presentation with the editorial framing of the Life feature.

New media art fair launches second edition in Busan, questions the genre's direction

The Loop Plus media art fair has launched its second edition in Busan, South Korea. The fair, dedicated exclusively to new media art, is confronting fundamental market challenges, specifically the public and collector uncertainty about whether such technologically dependent works can be owned and collected. It aims to build the market and ecosystem for the genre.

Maia Chao Performs the Museum

Artist Maia Chao will activate the seventh-floor galleries of the Whitney Museum of American Art with her performance "Being Moved" as part of the 2026 Whitney Biennial programming. The work explores the theatricality and choreography of a museum visit, examining the gap between the fantasy of profound encounter and the ambivalence of spectatorship. Chao, who studied cultural anthropology at Brown University and grew up with artist parents in Providence, Rhode Island, approaches the museum as a structure that quietly trains behavior and participation. Her earlier projects include "My Business (Cards)" (2017), which invokes Adrian Piper's work, and "Look at Art, Get Paid" (2015–20), which paid non-museum-goers to serve as guest critics.

The Kyrgyzstan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale Builds a Bridge Between Two Cultures

Il Padiglione del Kirghizistan alla Biennale di Venezia getta un ponte tra due culture

Alexey Morosov presents "BELEK" at the Kyrgyzstan Pavilion of the 61st Venice Biennale, a project inspired by the mountainous landscapes, glaciers, and brutalist dams of Kyrgyzstan. Combining video, sculpture, painting, and sound, Morosov explores water as a key resource for the future and a deep cultural memory of Central Asia, linking the region's hydro-engineering transformations with the nomadic heritage of the Kyrgyz people. The project centers on the traditional equestrian game Kok-Börü, which Morosov describes as constitutive of Kyrgyz identity, and features centaur-like figures made from raw earth used in local dwellings.

American Folk Art Museum Workers Picket Gala, Calling for Higher Wages

Workers at the American Folk Art Museum in New York City, represented by UAW Local 2110, picketed the museum's annual gala at the Mandarin Oriental in Manhattan on May 6, 2026. They demanded higher wages and better benefits after contract negotiations stalled for nearly two years. Frontline workers earn $19 per hour, about $12,000 below the city's living wage, while the museum's CEO Jason Busch earned $321,882 in 2024. The union requested a three-year contract raising wages to $30 per hour, but management offered only $21.50 and refused to guarantee existing benefits, leading to the protest.

Pussy Riot Storms Russia Pavilion at Venice Biennale

Pussy Riot staged a dramatic protest at the Russia Pavilion during the Venice Biennale, releasing pink smoke and waving Ukrainian flags while chanting slogans like 'Blood is Russia’s art.' Around 50 protesters, including members of Femen, occupied the area. Pussy Riot founder Nadya Tolokonnikova called for the pavilion to be closed and given to oppressed peoples, challenging Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco to meet her. The protest lasted about 20 minutes, with performers climbing the pavilion and exposing political slogans on their chests.

Pussy Riot and FEMEN Join Forces in Punk Protest in Venice: ‘Russia Kills! Biennale Exhibits!’

On Wednesday morning, Pussy Riot and FEMEN led a protest outside the Russian Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, chanting slogans like “Russia kills! Biennale exhibits!” and “Blood is Russia’s art!” Dozens of protesters, some in pink balaclavas and others bare-chested with floral crowns, gathered in the Giardini under light rain, carrying guitars and blasting punk rock and hip-hop. The action was organized by Nadya Tolokonnikova and other Pussy Riot members alongside FEMEN, a Ukrainian-founded women’s movement. They released pink, yellow, and blue smoke, and Tolokonnikova criticized the Biennale for allowing Russian participation while artists who oppose the war in Ukraine are imprisoned. She proposed an alternative exhibition, “Resistance Imprisoned,” currently on view in Strasbourg, featuring incarcerated artists.

Is This What “Made in America” Looks Like?

Christopher Payne's exhibition "Made in America: The Industrial Photography of Christopher Payne" at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum showcases 72 large-format photographs documenting active American factories and manufacturing processes. The trained architect turned photographer spent a decade visiting dozens of production sites across the United States, from the New York Times printing plant in Queens to the Bollman Hat Company in Pennsylvania, capturing workers' craftsmanship and the intricate steps involved in making everything from Peeps candies to jet engines. The exhibition is organized into three sections—traditional handcraft, large-scale production, and cutting-edge technologies—and coincides with the Smithsonian's celebration of the nation's 250th anniversary.

The Enigma of Alison Knowles

Lauren Moya Ford reviews the only book dedicated to Fluxus artist Alison Knowles, who died six months ago. The book, "Performing Chance: The Art of Alison Knowles In/Out of Fluxus" by Nicole L. Woods (2026), attempts to illuminate Knowles's life and work, but Ford notes that much of her personal life remains mysterious despite the author's efforts. The article is part of a broader books newsletter that also features new tomes on Hans Holbein’s portraits, Jan Staller’s photographs of Manhattan construction sites, and a discussion of a Black Panther family album at the Studio Museum in Harlem.

Can an Artwork Have Personhood?

The article explores a growing trend in contemporary art where artists like Pierre Huyghe, Nina Katchadourian, and Marge Monko create works that blur the line between art objects and sentient beings. These works incorporate human performers, animals, AI, and smart devices, prompting viewers to question whether these entities possess or simulate personhood, and forcing an examination of our instinct to anthropomorphize.

Stühle, die zum Reden zwingen

The article examines a peculiar three-seat sofa called the "Indiscret" on display in the Louvre, designed in 19th-century France under Napoleon III to force conversation among sitters. This "Conversation Chair" reflects an era when furniture was deliberately crafted to create social intimacy and control guest behavior, in stark contrast to modern public seating that often discourages lingering through hostile architecture.

On High Heels into the Museum

Auf High Heels ins Museum

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) closed its newly opened David Geffen Galleries just days after their official debut to host a Dior fashion show. The show, designed by Dior creative director Jonathan Anderson, featured a Cruise collection inspired by Hollywood glamour, with models walking through the museum's outdoor spaces amid vintage cars and historical lamps. The event highlighted the ongoing tension between the museum's architectural ambitions—Peter Zumthor's amoeba-like concrete structure has drawn both criticism and praise—and its use as a venue for luxury brand marketing.

Some cry censorship, others cry antisemitism

"Die einen schreien Zensur, die anderen Antisemitismus"

A constitutional law scholar, Christoph Möllers, warns in an interview with Die Zeit about the dangerous escalation of cultural policy conflicts, sparked by Documenta 15, where accusations of censorship and antisemitism collide. In Poland, Adam Budak was removed as director of MOCAK in Krakow after just a few months, facing 79 allegations including mobbing and problematic leadership. Meanwhile, the New York spring auctions have launched, and Jason Farago's review of the Venice Biennale in the New York Times criticizes the shift from aesthetic innovation toward identity-driven art. Robin Pogrebin also reports on the merger of the Met and the Neue Galerie, described as a rare convergence of two museum models.

Überraschende Begegnungen

The ninth edition of the "Various Others" festival in Munich brings together institutions, off-spaces, and galleries for a city-wide series of exhibitions in May. Highlights include Walter Storms Galerie presenting Anselm Reyle's first Munich solo show with Istanbul's Dirimart; Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler collaborating with Rome's T293 to show Simon Denny's tech-critical works; Max Goelitz pairing Lukas Heerich and Rindon Johnson with Eva Hesse in dialogue with Hauser & Wirth; Lohaus Sominsky and Paris's Mennour featuring Ilit Azoulay and Alicja Kwade; and Rüdiger Schöttle hosting Milena Muzquiz and Elif Saydam. A new parcours exhibition, "Vectors," inspired by Jan Hoet's "Chambres d'Amis," places contemporary art in tech company offices across Munich.

"Man besitzt Kunst nicht, man ist nur ihr Verwalter"

The 61st Venice Biennale opened on Saturday without ceremony or an opening celebration, amid political turmoil over the participation of Russia and Israel. Italy's Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli criticized Biennale director Pietrangelo Buttafuoco for not informing the government about Russia's participation request, suggesting it could have been used as leverage for a ceasefire in Ukraine. The entire jury resigned after attempting to exclude both Russia and Israel from prize awards, leading to the cancellation of the traditional jury decision in favor of a public vote, which over 70 participating artists have protested by withdrawing from this year's prizes. Separately, a rare photograph from the early 1940s has surfaced showing Lucas Cranach the Elder's painting "Venus with Cupid as Honey Thief" in Adolf Hitler's Munich apartment, raising unresolved questions about whether the work was looted from Jewish owners before 1935.

How Tech Billionaires Turn Couture into Content

Wie Tech-Milliardäre Couture zu Content machen

The Met Gala, long considered the premier event for fashion and cultural influence, has become increasingly dominated by tech billionaires. This year, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos purchased their role as co-hosts, sparking protests in New York and raising questions about whether money alone now buys entry into the highest echelons of fashion. Individual tickets cost $10,000 and a table $350,000, with sponsors including OpenAI, Snapchat, and Meta. The event, organized by Anna Wintour to raise funds for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, raised $31 million last year but has transformed from a benefit into a spectacle optimized for viral moments and algorithmic appeal.

Here You Have the Feeling That Reality Is a Different One

"Man hat hier das Gefühl, dass die Realität eine andere ist"

Austrian artist Erwin Wurm discusses his exhibition at the Museo Fortuny in Venice, where he confronts the overwhelming collection of the 19th-century polymath Mariano Fortuny. In an interview, Wurm describes the venue as a historic atelier house filled with tapestries and artifacts, and reflects on how his contemporary sculptures and performances will engage with the dense, time-capsule atmosphere of the space.