Archibald prize 2026 finalists: Virginia Trioli, Jan Fran, Ahmed al-Ahmed and more – in pictures

The Guardian has announced the finalists for the 2026 Archibald Prize, Australia's premier portraiture award, featuring 30 works including Loribelle Spirovski's 'Fingerpainting of Daniel Johns', Vincent Namatjira's self-portrait 'The Dust Bowl', and portraits of notable sitters such as Virginia Trioli, Jan Fran, Ahmed al-Ahmed, Layne Beachley, and Governor-General Sam Mostyn. The list also includes the Packing Room Prize winner, Sean Layh's 'The tragicall historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke', and works by artists like Mitch Cairns, Marikit Santiago, and Michael Zavros, with all finalist images published in a photo gallery.

David Bowie: You’re Not Alone review – Ziggy glam and Berlin grime in a bum-shaking yet sanitised immersion

A new immersive film exhibition titled 'David Bowie: You’re Not Alone' has opened at London's Lightroom. Directed by Mark Grimmer, who previously designed the V&A's 2013 Bowie exhibition, the hour-long 360-degree film focuses on the artist's most-streamed hits and features unseen performance footage, including from his 1978 Earls Court show. It aims to appeal to both die-hard fans and a younger audience.

Venice Showcases an Array of Global Art Stars During the Biennale

During the 2024 Venice Biennale, museums and foundations across the city are presenting solo and group exhibitions featuring major international art figures, including Marina Abramović, Lorna Simpson, Arthur Jafa, Richard Prince, and a tribute to Peggy Guggenheim. These shows run concurrently with the main Biennale exhibition, drawing visitors to venues such as the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and other historic palazzos.

"Kultursenator ist kein Nebenjob"

Berlin's finance senator Stefan Evers is set to additionally take on the role of culture senator following the resignation of Sarah Wedl-Wilson, a move criticized as a stopgap solution that creates a conflict of interest between austerity and cultural advocacy. Meanwhile, the Venice Biennale faces multiple controversies: critics question how to evaluate curator Koyo Kouoh's posthumous main exhibition "In Minor Keys," completed after her death in May 2025; Israeli artist Belu-Simion Fainaru speaks out against his exclusion from the Biennale competition, calling it politically biased and reminiscent of historical persecution; and German press decries the politicization of the Biennale, particularly the exclusion of Israel and Russia from the competition.

25th Biennale of Sydney Review: From the Margins

The 25th Biennale of Sydney, titled "Rememory" and curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, features 143 works by 83 artists and collectives from 37 countries across five venues. The exhibition explores marginalized, fragmented, and repressed histories, drawing on Toni Morrison's concept of 'rememory' as a space between remembering and forgetting. Key works include Tuan Andrew Nguyen's film on Vietnam War trauma, Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme's immersive installation on Palestinian displacement, Khalid Albaih's photographs of Sudan, and Massinissa Selmani's drawings on Algerian socialist building projects.

ArtReview April & May 2026 Issue Out Now

ArtReview's April & May 2026 issue explores boundaries and limitations in art, with a focus on the 61st Venice Biennale opening amid global conflicts. The cover features Japanese-American performance artist Ei Arakawa-Nash with his husband and twin babies, whose collaborative installation at the Japanese Pavilion incorporates the unpredictability of childcare. The issue includes coverage of controversial national pavilions (Russian, Israeli, American), profiles of artists representing Mongolia and Singapore, and features on Beverly Buchanan, Arthur Jafa, Richard Prince, and Zehra Doğan's report from Rojava. It also reviews the 82nd Whitney Biennial, the 25th Biennale of Sydney, and the 15th Shanghai Biennale.

8 Must-See Solo Gallery Shows in May

Galerie magazine has curated a list of eight must-see solo gallery shows across the United States for May, highlighting exhibitions in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Featured artists include Domenico Gnoli at Lévy Gorvy Dayan, John Stezaker at Gray in Chicago, Alison Elizabeth Taylor at Jessica Silverman in San Francisco, Charles Ray at Matthew Marks Gallery and Jeffery Deitch in Los Angeles, Jose Dávila at Sean Kelly, and Peter Hujar at Ortuzar, among others. The article provides details on each artist's practice and the scope of their exhibitions, such as Gnoli's largest U.S. show in five decades and Hujar's restaging of his final solo exhibition.

The Best Exhibitions to See in Paris Right Now

Les meilleures expos du moment à voir à Paris

Beaux Arts Magazine has published a guide to the best current exhibitions in Paris for spring 2026, highlighting major shows such as "Martin Parr. Global Warning" at the Jeu de Paume, "Matisse. 1941–1954" at the Grand Palais, "Michel-Ange Rodin" at the Musée du Louvre, "Renoir et l'amour" at the Musée d'Orsay, "Calder. Rêver en équilibre" at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, and "Splendeurs du baroque" at the Musée Jacquemart-André. The article also features retrospectives of Hilma af Klint at the Grand Palais, Károly Ferenczy at the Petit Palais, Henry Taylor at the Musée Picasso, a Lee Miller exhibition at the Musée d'Art moderne de Paris, a Giovanni Segantini show at the Musée Marmottan Monet, and a Nan Goldin multimedia presentation at the Grand Palais.

Ascendant Philanthropists Make $23 Million Donation to Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has received a $23 million donation from newly elected trustee Jennifer Rubio and her husband Stewart Butterfield, made through the Rubio Butterfield Foundation. The principal gift will endow the museum's undergraduate and graduate internship program in perpetuity, which will be renamed after the couple starting September 2026. An additional donation supports the Met's new Tang Wing for modern and contemporary art, set to open in 2030.

How Much Is That Chagall in the Window: Metropolitan Opera Faces Funding Crisis After Saudi Deal Collapse

The Metropolitan Opera in New York faces a $30 million deficit after a $200 million funding deal with Saudi Arabia collapsed. The Saudi government withdrew from the agreement, which would have sent Met performers to the Royal Diriyah Opera House for three weeks each February, citing economic pressures from the Iran War and the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz. To address the shortfall, the Met is considering selling two monumental Marc Chagall paintings—The Sources of Music and The Triumph of Music (1966)—valued at $55 million, along with other options like selling naming rights or seeking a similar deal with another country.

Closely Watched Curator Raphael Fonseca Joins Lisbon’s Culturgest

Raphael Fonseca, a prominent curator specializing in Latin American art, has been appointed as the new visual arts programmer at Culturgest in Lisbon. He will relocate to Portugal in June, succeeding Bruno Marchand, while maintaining a curator-at-large position with the Denver Art Museum, where he has served since 2021.

What you (perhaps) didn't know about Alexander Calder

Ce que vous ne saviez (peut-être) pas sur Alexander Calder

The Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris has launched the exhibition "Calder. Rêver en équilibre," prompting a retrospective look at the life and technical mastery of Alexander Calder. The article explores the artist's journey from his arrival in Paris in 1926 to his interactions with avant-garde masters like Duchamp and Miró, highlighting how he defied traditional artistic labels through his innovative use of movement and simple materials.

La grande fiera TEFAF si tiene a New York da 10 anni. Come sarà l’edizione 2026?

TEFAF New York returns to the Park Avenue Armory from May 15–19, 2026 (with a collector preview on May 14), marking the fair's tenth anniversary. The 2026 edition will host 88 top international galleries from 15 countries across four continents, offering museum-quality selections of modern and contemporary art, jewelry, antiques, and design. Highlights include Andy Warhol's Mao (1973) at ML Fine Art, Cecily Brown's Functor Hideaway (2008) at Berggruen Gallery, and a 2026 work by Minjung Kim at Voena. The fair also extends into the Armory's historic period rooms, and the TEFAF Museum Restoration Fund will support the conservation of a Medici tapestry owned by the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

On Paranoid Time

Film Notes has published Qingyuan Deng's essay exploring the intersection of Lacan's concept of retroactive meaning and Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick's distinction between paranoid and reparative reading, as applied to recent artists' films and moving-image installations. The essay examines how works like Alison Nguyen's installation "Perforation, Ellipse" at New York's Storefront for Art and Architecture use cinematic techniques—such as perforations, splices, and missing scenes—to hold the temporal gap between an event and its belated political comprehension, focusing on the censorship of Vietnamese bolero songs after the American War.

No Need to Shed a Tear for the Jury

"Man muss der Jury keine Träne nachweinen"

The entire jury of the Venice Biennale resigned shortly before the opening, prompting criticism of Biennale President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco. Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli accused Buttafuoco of pursuing a misguided "pacificist fantasy" by readmitting Russia to the six-month exhibition, calling it failed "side foreign policy." Commentators in German media, including Niklas Maak (FAZ) and Marcus Woeller (Die Welt), see the resignation as a symptom of a crisis in the art world, with the jury having acted as a "political tribunal" by pre-judging artists based on nationality, particularly regarding Israel. The Biennale leadership defended inclusion, but the standoff has caused significant "image damage." Separately, Dirk Knipphals (wochentaz) delivers a scathing review of Wolfram Weimer's first year as cultural policy commissioner, accusing him of empty rhetoric and failing to counter right-wing cultural politics. Juliane von Mittelstaedt (Der Spiegel) reports on Saudi Arabia's use of a spectacular new art museum in Riyadh as a stability narrative amid regional conflict.

16 Of The Best Free Art Exhibitions In London - Spring 2026

Harriet Cooper's guide highlights 16 free art exhibitions in London for spring 2026, including David Hockney's inaugural show at Serpentine North Gallery, a solo display by designer Simone Brewster at the Design Museum, and Somerset House's 'Holy Pop!' exploring modern idolatry. Other featured shows range from Paula Rego drawings to Gilbert & George works, all accessible without admission charges.

Mapping the Invisible: Saudi Arabia’s A Necessary Fiction Unfolds in Venice

A new exhibition titled "A Necessary Fiction: Maps, Art, and Models of Our World" has opened in Venice, presented by the Saudi Ministry of Culture in tandem with the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. Held at the Abbazia di San Gregorio from 6 May to 22 November 2026, the show is curated by Sara Almutlaq and Aurora Fonda, with associate curators Zaira Carrer and Amina Diab. It features historical maps and contemporary artworks by artists including Wael Shawky, Nasser Al Salem, Matilde Sambo, Monira Al Qadiri, Shilpa Gupta, Reena Saini Kallat, Manal AlDowayan, Nolan Oswald Dennis, Ibrahim Mahama, Trevor Paglen, Eva & Franco Mattes, Giorgio Andreotta Calò, and Yoko Ono, exploring cartography as an imaginative and ideological act rather than a neutral science.

art milan design week shows

Cultured magazine has compiled a guide to art exhibitions worth visiting during Milan Design Week 2026, beyond the main Salone del Mobile fair. Featured shows include Rirkrit Tiravanija's first retrospective at Pirelli HangarBicocca, Cao Fei's exploration of smart agriculture at Fondazione Prada, Anselm Kiefer's dual exhibitions at Palazzo Reale and Lia Rumma Gallery, Gabrielle Goliath's painting show at Galleria Raffaella Cortese, and Dozie Kanu's mirroring of Marc Camille Chaimowicz at Fondazione ICA Milano.

art agosto machado obituary whitney

Agosto Machado, a legendary downtown New York artist, archivist, and activist, died on March 21, 2026, at an estimated age in his 80s. The article recounts his life through a personal tribute, describing a drag performance in Chicago honoring him, and details his decades-long career as a street queen, Warhol-era fixture, and participant in the Stonewall uprising and first Gay Liberation March. Machado performed in Off-Off-Broadway plays, created solo shows, and amassed an extensive archive of ephemera, art, and photographs of his friends and community.

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Abstract Painter Who Refused to Conform, Dies at 84

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, an abstract painter known for her gestural, unruly works that defied categorization, died on Sunday in Mérida, Mexico, at age 84. Her galleries, Jenkins Johnson and Marianne Boesky, announced her passing. O’Neal produced sprawling paintings characterized by tangles of drippy strokes, often using lamp black pigment to create intensely black canvases. She rejected labels like Abstract Expressionist or Minimalist, insisting she was simply a painter. Her series "Whales Fucking" (1979) and a 2020 exhibition at Mnuchin Gallery revived her profile, leading to inclusion in the 2024 Whitney Biennial.

Shirin Neshat's Venice exhibition explores identity, exile and a social media tragedy

Shirin Neshat presents a new film trilogy, *Do U Dare!*, at the 16th-century Palazzo Marin in Venice alongside the Biennale. The work explores exile, fractured identity, and power through a female protagonist whose public isolation transforms into empowered expression in private. The trilogy is directly inspired by the story of Nasim Aghdam, an Iranian American known as the 'YouTube Shooter,' who in 2018 attacked YouTube's headquarters before taking her own life. Neshat interprets Aghdam's double life as a recluse and a social media star, focusing on the unstable boundary between self and performance in digital culture.

Alma Allen’s US Pavilion Is One of the Emptiest Shows at the Venice Biennale

Alma Allen represents the United States at the 2026 Venice Biennale with a subdued, apolitical exhibition inside the US Pavilion. The show features roughly 25 sculptures—mostly in bronze, wood, and stone—many titled "Not Yet Titled," and deliberately avoids overt political messaging. This marks a stark departure from the previous two US pavilions, curated by Simone Leigh (2022) and Jeffrey Gibson (2024), which directly confronted colonialism and empire. The Trump administration’s call for proposals explicitly asked for work that "reflects and promotes American values," and Allen’s presentation has been criticized as safe, unremarkable, and lacking the incisive edge of contemporary American art.

José Dávila Makes Space the Subject in His New York Show

José Dávila's solo exhibition "The Simple Act of Positioning" opens at Sean Kelly gallery in New York, featuring sculptures that explore the relational placement of objects in space. The show includes totemic pillars of steel, concrete, volcanic rock, and automotive paint, framed by large black structures, inviting viewers to move through the gallery to fully experience the visual conversations between works. Dávila, originally from Guadalajara and trained in architecture, draws on Modernist precedents from artists like Marcel Duchamp and architects like Luis Barragán.

City Life Org - New York Art World Celebrates Angela Davis, Amy Sherald, Clara Wu Tsai, Crystal McCrary, Raymond McGuire at Awards Dinner in NYC

The Gordon Parks Foundation held its annual Awards Dinner and Auction at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City, raising nearly $2 million to support its mission of social justice through the arts. The gala honored a distinguished group of changemakers, including activist Angela Davis, painter Amy Sherald, philanthropist Clara Wu Tsai, producer Crystal McCrary, and businessman Raymond McGuire. Hosted by Kaseem Dean (Swizz Beatz) and Executive Director Peter W. Kunhardt, Jr., the event celebrated the enduring legacy of Gordon Parks and his commitment to documenting and advancing civil rights.

A Time of Transition

During the preview week of the 61st Venice Biennale, escalating protests targeted the national pavilions of Israel and Russia, with demonstrations by Pussy Riot, ANGA (Art Not Genocide Alliance), and Baltic pavilions. A major protest on May 8 drew over 3,000 people in solidarity with Palestine, and 27 national pavilions—including Austria, the Netherlands, France, and Japan—staged a strike, the first at the Biennale since 1968. The Golden Lion jury resigned after declaring they would not consider countries under ICC investigation (Israel and Russia), and the Biennale administration replaced the prize with a visitors' award, from which half the artists in the main exhibition have withdrawn.

Exhibition | Janet Laurence, 'Once Were Forests' at Cassandra Bird, Paris, France

Cassandra Bird Paris, supported by Zimmermann, presents 'Once Were Forests,' an immersive solo exhibition by Australian artist Janet Laurence. The show features a major installation alongside new sculptures, paintings, and photographs that explore ice, forest, and water as carriers of time, memory, and life. Soundscapes from Australian forests and birdsong deepen the sensory experience, inviting visitors into a contemplative space where ancient ecologies, present nature, and possible futures converge.

Ed Ruscha, Lawrence Weiner | Hard Light (1978) | Art & Prints

An auction listing for Ed Ruscha and Lawrence Weiner's collaborative print "Hard Light" (1978) has ended, with the work described as an offset lithograph in colors on 60 lb. Mountie Matte paper, measuring 7 × 5 inches. The print is from an edition of 3560 published by Heavy Industry Publications, Los Angeles and Moved Pictures, New York, and is in good condition with pale toning and faint stains. The listing also promotes similar available works by Ed Ruscha, including "Mr. Ray" (1975), "Wall Rocket" (2013), and "Dead End III" (2014), with prices ranging from €13,500 to request-based.

6 Rising Artists to Watch at This Year’s Venice Biennale

The article profiles six rising artists at the 2026 Venice Biennale, focusing on Sung Tieu and Gala Porras-Kim. Tieu transforms the German Pavilion with a tile shell recreating a former housing complex for Vietnamese contract workers, while inside she scatters chocolate ladybugs as a symbol of occupation. Porras-Kim presents work in the Arsenale examining 'institutionally defined damage' and how decay can realign objects with their natural state.

Everything You Need to Know About LACMA’s New David Geffen Galleries

LACMA has opened its new David Geffen Galleries, a single-story building spanning Wilshire Boulevard that houses the museum's permanent collection spanning 6,000 years of art. The galleries feature a revolutionary curatorial approach organized around bodies of water—Atlantic, Mediterranean, Indian, and Pacific—creating nonhierarchical displays that mix works across time and geography, such as 17th-century Dutch paintings alongside 20th-century photography. The building also includes 3.5 acres of shaded public space below, outdoor sculptures by artists like Alexander Calder and Jeff Koons, and a 220,000-square-foot pavement artwork by Mariana Castillo Deball.

34 Of The Best London Art Exhibitions To See In May 2026

The article highlights 34 of the best London art exhibitions to see in May 2026, focusing on three major shows: the V&A's 'Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art', the first UK exhibition dedicated to designer Elsa Schiaparelli; Tate Modern's 'Tracey Emin: A Second Life', the largest retrospective of the YBA artist's 40-year career; and the Design Museum's 'NIGO: From Japan with Love', a retrospective of Japanese creative NIGO spanning over 700 objects. These exhibitions showcase fashion, contemporary art, and street culture, with the V&A show running until November, Tate Modern until August, and the Design Museum until October.