The Big Review | Venice Biennale 2026: In Minor Keys ★★★½

The Venice Biennale 2026, titled "In Minor Keys," was curated posthumously following the death of artistic director Koyo Kouoh in May 2025. A team of five curators and advisors—Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, Marie Hélène Pereira, Rasha Salti, Siddhartha Mitter, and Rory Tsapayi—executed her vision across the Giardini and Arsenale venues. The exhibition features 110 artists, with a strong emphasis on new commissions, and is structured around themes of procession, resistance, and joy. Key works include Big Chief Demond Melancon's "Amistad Takeover" (2026), Nick Cave's "Amalgam (Origin)" (2025), and Otobong Nkanga's rewilded columns at the Central Pavilion.

In Venice, Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince Ask: What Is Appropriate to Appropriate?

Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince are showing their work together in a joint exhibition titled "Helter Skelter" at the Fondazione Prada in Venice. Curated by Nancy Spector, the show explores the artists' shared practice of appropriation, a connection that began when Prince attended the debut of Jafa's video work AGHDRA (2021) and later deepened through conversations about race, property, and self-authorization. Jafa has long admired Prince's approach, calling him "the blackest white artist I know," and the exhibition pairs their works to examine how appropriation functions differently for a Black artist versus a white artist.

Art Movements: New Museum Names Its First Artist Studio Residents

The New Museum has named Yun Choi, Alison Kuo, and Korakrit Arunanondchai as the first artists-in-residence for its new Artist Studio, a 730-square-foot space created by the museum's OMA-designed expansion. The residencies will run from spring 2025 through winter 2027, with each artist developing new work, onsite exhibitions, and public programs. Separately, Forge Project announced its 2026 fellows—six Indigenous artists including Jay Bellis, Heidi Brandow, and Tiare Ribeaux—who will each receive $25,000 and a three-week residency. In other news, the Robert Therrien Estate has left Gagosian for David Zwirner Gallery, Laurel Nakadate won the Maud Morgan Prize, and Frieze New York revealed a staff uniform designed by artist Reika Takebayashi.

10 Art Shows to See in Los Angeles This May

Hyperallergic's May guide for Los Angeles highlights ten art shows, including a posthumous exhibition of Celeste Dupuy-Spencer's paintings at Jeffrey Deitch, Yoko Ono's first solo museum show in Southern California at The Broad, and a survey of Richard Mayhew's abstract landscapes at Karma. Other notable shows include Joe Brainard's matchbook miniatures at Chris Sharp Gallery, Gordon Parks's musical output at the California African American Museum, and a two-venue presentation of Magdalena Suarez Frimkess's ceramics and drawings.

Pittsburgh’s burgeoning gallery community readies for its moment in art world spotlight

Pittsburgh's commercial gallery scene is experiencing a resurgence as the Carnegie International, the country's longest-running recurring exhibition, prepares to open its largest edition yet with 61 artists. Since the pandemic, several young gallerists with experience in New York and Los Angeles have opened spaces in the city, including Romance gallery (2023) by former Whitney curator Margaret Kross, and april april gallery (2024) relocated from Brooklyn by Patrick Bova and Lucas Regazzi. Longer-established galleries like Concept, Zynka, and James Gallery have welcomed these newcomers, with local figures such as collector Evan Mirapaul noting that Pittsburgh's robust arts ecosystem—including museums, universities, and nonprofits—has long lacked a strong commercial gallery presence.

Digital Art Pioneer Nancy Burson Collapses the Border Between Mysticism and Quantum Physics

Nancy Burson, a pioneering digital artist, presents her latest solo exhibition "Light Matter" at Heft Gallery in New York, featuring "Quantum Entanglement" paintings that appear as white dots on black canvases but reveal jittering forms and depth when viewed through a phone camera. The 78-year-old artist, known for her 1980s composite portraits blending faces of businessmen and movie stars, continues her exploration of perception and technology, claiming a special gift to perceive the universe's emergent energy grid. The exhibition runs through May 2.

Colleen Barry Wants You to Believe in Pictures Again

Artist Colleen Barry presents her exhibition “Iconophilia” at Half Gallery in the East Village, featuring 14 recent paintings that explore motherhood, tenderness, and the complexity of image-making. The works include mythological references like the Capitoline Wolf and juxtapositions of ancient and modern imagery, such as a portrait of Grace Jones combined with the Roman god Janus. Barry, who grew up working class in New York and learned painting from her father, aims to counter contemporary distrust of images—especially among her children—by offering a reverent, iconophilic approach to visual culture.

The Turner Prize Has Revealed Its 2026 Nominees—and Already Courted Controversy

The Turner Prize has announced its 2026 nominees: Simon Barclay, Kira Freije, Marguerite Humeau, and Tanoa Sasraku. The award, administered by Tate Britain, includes a £25,000 prize for the winner. For the first time, the nominees' exhibition will be held at Teesside University's Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, an academic setting. The selection has already drawn criticism for being tame and safe, with Guardian critic Eddy Frankel describing the prize as "timid" and "fearful." Tate Britain director Alex Farquharson defended the nominees, praising the diversity and sculptural focus of their work.

German artist Georg Baselitz dies aged 88

German artist Georg Baselitz has died at age 88, as confirmed by the Thaddaeus Ropac gallery. Known for his expressive paintings and sculptures, Baselitz rose to prominence in the 1960s after a scandal over sexually symbolic works led to a high-profile court case. He pioneered painting canvases upside down from 1969 onward, a technique he used to grapple with German history and collective guilt. His work spanned six decades and included notable sculptures, such as a wooden figure at the 1980 Venice Biennale that appeared to perform a Nazi salute, which he later clarified was inspired by an African artifact. Baselitz achieved international acclaim in the 1980s and became one of Germany's highest-priced living artists, alongside Gerhard Richter.

What You Should Definitely Avoid in Venice

Was man in Venedig unbedingt vermeiden sollte

The article humorously critiques the Venice Biennale, highlighting several disappointments. It describes a Japanese pavilion installation by Ei Arakawa-Nash featuring baby dolls for diaper-changing, which a critic dismisses as a male artist over-romanticizing parenthood. Other flops include long queues for the German and Austrian pavilions, underwhelming main exhibition "In Minor Keys," and annoying self-promotional performers outside venues. The piece also laments the presence of loud American collectors and donors who dominate the event.

Does the Neue Nationalgalerie Have Feelings?

Hat die Neue Nationalgalerie Gefühle?

The Kunsthalle Bremen has opened "Remix. Photographie – Fiktion und Wahrheit," an exhibition drawn from its permanent collection that explores the tension between reality and artifice in photography. The show traces a lineage from Heinrich Zille’s unvarnished turn-of-the-century street scenes to the objective industrial typologies of Bernd and Hilla Becher, eventually moving into the postmodern manipulations of the Düsseldorf School, including works by Thomas Ruff and Thomas Struth.

Venice Biennale 2026 Highlights: Off-Site Exhibitions

ArtReview editors highlight off-site pavilions and exhibitions at the 61st Venice Biennale, running from 9 May through 22 November 2026. Featured works include Li Yi-Fan's film *Screen Melancholy* at Palazzo delle Prigioni, which uses motion capture and a free-trial videogame engine to explore digital alienation and the 'enshittosphere,' and Roberto Diago's installation *Free Men* at the Pavilion of Cuban Republic, comprising rusted iron heads, fragmented wooden figures, and text works critiquing political oppression in Cuba.

The 2026 Venice Biennale Is Quintessential Biennial Art

The 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys" and curated by the late Swiss-Cameroonian curator Koyo Kouoh, opened in 2026. The main exhibition at the Arsenale and Giardini features works by artists such as Éric Baudelaire, Maria Magdalena Campos Pons, Mohammed Z. Rahman, Sohrab Hura, and Rose Salane, among others. The exhibition centers on themes of mourning, colonial history, slavery, and healing, with works like Baudelaire's video installation linking the flower trade to the transatlantic slave trade, and a tribute section honoring artists Beverly Buchanan and Issa Samb.

2026 Venice Biennale pavilions: your go-to list [Updated]

ArtReview has compiled a running list of national pavilions for the 61st Venice Biennale, running from 9 May to 22 November 2026. The Biennale was set to be curated by Koyo Kouoh, who died on 10 May 2025. Recent announcements include Haitham Al Busafi representing Oman, Genti Korini representing Albania with a three-channel video installation titled 'A Place in The Sun (still)', and Matías Duville representing Argentina with an interactive salt-and-charcoal installation. The Australia Pavilion will feature artist Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino, who were initially dropped due to controversy over Sabsabi's 2007 film 'You' but later reinstated. Florentina Holzinger will represent Austria with a water-themed performance.

5 free must-see exhibitions to pick in Parisian galleries in May

5 expos gratuites coups de cœur à cueillir dans les galeries parisiennes en mai

Beaux Arts Magazine highlights five free exhibitions to visit in Parisian galleries in May 2026. At Galerie Mayoral, a show explores Alexander Calder's ties to Paris, featuring gouaches and totems. Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire presents Michel Jocaille's first solo exhibition, "Lily of the Valley," which uses lily-of-the-valley motifs to evoke labor history and camp aesthetics. Galerie Anne-Laure Buffard hosts a poignant dialogue between Diane Esmond, a painter whose works were burned by the Nazis, and her granddaughter Adrianna Wallis, whose photographs reference looted objects. Galerie Templon exhibits Alioune Diagne's paintings inspired by Wolof traditions, and another gallery shows prints by Swedish artist Mamma Andersson.

Who is Yto Barrada, France's representative at the Venice Biennale with a world-spanning work?

Qui est Yto Barrada, représentante de la France à la Biennale de Venise avec une œuvre-monde ?

Yto Barrada, the artist representing France at the 2026 Venice Biennale, has created a multidisciplinary installation titled "Saturne" for the French Pavilion. The work centers on textiles and natural dyeing, weaving together themes of postcolonial history, migration, craft transmission, and the symbolism of Saturn—from its astronomical mystery to its mythological role as the devourer of children. The installation features wool curtains, Aubusson tapestry, goat skins, wasp-nest sculptures, masks, muzzles, a color chart, and video, all housed in a renovated pavilion designed with the help of numerous artisans. Barrada, born in Paris in 1971 and raised in Tangier, founded the Cinémathèque de Tanger and later The Mothership, a research center focused on textiles and natural dyes. The exhibition is curated by Myriam Ben Salah.

Allison Katz’s Playful Paintings Hide Serious Ideas in Plain Sight

Painter Allison Katz, who lived in New York for seven years but hasn't shown in Manhattan for over a decade, returns with a major debut solo exhibition at Hauser & Wirth's Wooster Street location. Titled "Outta the Bag," the show features a suite of New York–centric paintings, including depictions of the city's museums and skyscrapers, as well as an ironically small "Big Apple" composition, marking a significant moment for the mid-career artist.

Art Movements: Michelle Millar Fisher Heads to Cooper Hewitt

Michelle Millar Fisher, formerly curator of Contemporary Decorative Arts at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, has been appointed chief curator at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in Manhattan. She succeeds Matilda McQuaid, who is retiring after 24 years. Separately, the Getty Foundation awarded $1.8 million in grants to eight institutions through its Black Visual Arts Archive initiative, supporting the processing of historical records related to Black art. Other notable appointments include Jamie Blosser as curator of the Loeb Fellowship at Harvard Graduate School of Design, Graham C. Boettcher as director and CEO of the Norman Rockwell Museum, and Susan Fisher Sterling's retirement from the National Museum of Women in Arts. Artist Nora Turato also unveiled a humorous billboard near the High Line reading 'GIVE US MOM!!!'.

Collateral Events Not to Miss at 61st Venice Biennale

The article highlights several collateral events not to miss at the 61st Venice Biennale, including "The Spirits of Maritime Crossing 2026" at Palazzo Rocca Contarini Corfù, featuring 20 artists from Southeast Asia, Ireland, and Serbia, anchored by Marina Abramović's performance piece "Sea Punishing" (2006). Other notable exhibitions include a seven-decade survey of Korean artist Lee Ufan at San Marco Art Centre, "TURANDOT: To the Daughters of the East" at ACP Palazzo Franchetti featuring 11 female artists from Central Asia, Li Yi-Fan's "Screen Melancholy" at Palazzo delle Prigioni, and Nalini Malani's "Of Woman Born" at Magazzini del Sale.

The Essential Works of Rirkrit Tiravanija

ArtAsiaPacific profiles Rirkrit Tiravanija, a pioneering figure in relational aesthetics known for participatory works centered on communal dining and shared rituals. The article traces his career from his first solo exhibition "untitled 1990 (pad thai)" at Paula Allen Gallery in New York, where he cooked and served pad thai to visitors, to his current major retrospective "The House That Jack Built" at Pirelli HangarBicocca in Milan, running through July 26. Tiravanija, born in Buenos Aires in 1961 and raised across multiple countries, has received numerous accolades including the Hugo Boss Prize (2004) and a nomination in the Established Artist category at the 2026 Art Basel Awards. He is also preparing to present a tent-like structure at the Qatari pavilion for the 2026 Venice Biennale, featuring contributions by Sophia Al-Maria, Tarek Atoui, Alia Farid, and Fadi Kattan.

Frieze New York, the Cranach in Hitler’s Munich apartment, Ajamu X—podcast

This episode of The Art Newspaper's podcast covers several art-world stories. Ben Sutton and Kabir Jhala discuss the current edition of Frieze New York, alongside other concurrent fairs like Esther and Tefaf, and preview the upcoming New York auctions. Ben Luke interviews Martin Bailey about a Lucas Cranach the Elder painting, 'Cupid Complaining to Venus' (1526-27), which once hung in Adolf Hitler's Munich apartment, with a newly published photograph from the 1940s. The episode also features a segment on Ajamu X's 'Glamour Posse' series from the early 1990s, part of the touring exhibition 'Gender Stories' opening at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, with comments from gallery head Charlotte Keenan.

At Home at Hong Kong Art Week

During Hong Kong Art Week, beyond the dominant Art Basel Hong Kong fair, a series of intimate interventions and installations across the city explore the boundaries between art, design, and everyday life. One notable event is a 'Listening Session' organized by Guangzhou's Vitamin Creative Space in a private home in the New Territories, where Lebanese artist-composer Tarek Atoui debuted two new 'instruments' that transform the living room itself into an interactive sound sculpture. The gathering of about 30 people, mostly in town for art week, blurred the lines between performance, installation, and domestic space.

Megadealer Larry Gagosian Is the Subject of Unauthorized Documentary In the Works from Director Barry Avrich

Director Barry Avrich is producing an unauthorized documentary titled "Shadow Man: Inside The Secret World of Larry Gagosian" about the legendary art dealer. The film, confirmed by Avrich via email, promises to feature interviews with former employees and artists sharing insider stories about Gagosian's rise from selling posters on LA streets to running a global gallery empire with 18 locations. Avrich previously directed art-world documentaries including "Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art" about the Knoedler & Co. forgery scandal and "Blurred Lines: Inside the Art World."

Still in 'war mode': Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art reopens with exhibitions about conflict

The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMoCA) has reopened with a weekly rotating post-ceasefire program called 'Art and War,' following weeks of bombardment that forced its closure and prompted emergency efforts to protect its collection. The program began with works by American Pop artists James Rosenquist, Roy Lichtenstein, and Robert Indiana, and this week features three works from Pablo Picasso's Weeping Woman series, focusing on Spain. Museum director Reza Dabirinezhad described the challenges of safeguarding the collection during US-Israeli strikes, including removing 80% of the oil from Noriyuki Haraguchi's installation 'Matter and Mind' (1977) to prevent fire risk, and protecting outdoor sculptures by Henry Moore, René Magritte, and Max Bill.

Venice Biennale Controversies Continue, French Parliament Report Finds Flaws in Museum Security, and More: Morning Links for May 13, 2026

Iran has denied withdrawing from the Venice Biennale, with Mahdizadeh Tehrani, general director of visual arts at Iran's Ministry of Culture, stating the country still hopes to participate despite Biennale organizers announcing Iran would not be represented at its pavilion. Meanwhile, the Somalia Pavilion has sparked controversy, with the Somali Arts Foundation alleging it was led by diaspora figures and European collaborators without meaningful consultation of artists based in Somalia, and the queer collective Warbixinta Cidda demanding the removal of an Italian co-curator due to Italy's colonial history. Separately, a French parliamentary inquiry has exposed major security flaws in the country's museums, following the theft of France's crown jewels from the Louvre in October, calling for reforms in security resources and museum leadership appointments.

The British Museum Is Recreating the Bayeux Tapestry’s Medieval Woodland

The British Museum is installing a temporary woodland installation called "Tapestry of Trees" in its forecourt from May 16 to June 2, evoking the 11th-century English landscape depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry. Designed by garden designer Andy Sturgeon, the installation features 37 silver birch trees and planters with dyed hessian wraps matching the tapestry's colors, alongside woodland species like Guelder Rose and Foxglove. It launches public programming ahead of the tapestry's historic loan from France, which will be displayed in a blockbuster exhibition on the Norman Conquest starting in September.

Under new ownership, Art Monte Carlo voices 'global ambitions'

The 10th edition of Art Monte Carlo took place from April 29 to May 1 in the Grimaldi Forum, featuring 26 exhibitors ranging from Old Master paintings to contemporary works by Picasso, Warhol, and Richter. The fair was acquired last year by Informa Prestige, a luxury offshoot of Informa, which also owns Miami's Untitled fair. Executive chair John Paton aims to grow the fair, nearly double its size within two years, and expand to another location, leveraging complementary audiences from yachting and supercars.

What Does Damien Hirst Have to Do With This Giant McDonald’s Ball Pit in Milan?

An installation called "POOL. Ti sblocco un ricordo" was on view during Milan Design Week, organized by Nicolas Ballario and presented as part of the Tortona Rocks offsite exhibitions. The centerpiece is a giant swimming pool-shaped pit filled with hundreds of thousands of colorful balls, celebrating McDonald's 40th anniversary in Italy. The installation claims to be "informed by" Damien Hirst's "Spot Paintings" and also features a work from Vedovamazzei's "Early Works" series, which imagines how famous artists might have drawn as children. Other elements include vitrines of Happy Meal toys, a Ronald McDonald replica, and nostalgic McDonald's memorabilia.

The Same Dead Thing Alive: Contemporary Archives in L.A. and Beyond

MONUMENTS at MOCA and The Brick

The article reviews the exhibition "MONUMENTS" held at both MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles) and The Brick, as covered by Contemporary Art Review LA. The review, written by Qingyuan Deng, appears in Issue 43 (February 2026) of the publication, which also features other reviews, interviews, and essays on topics ranging from olfactory art to tarot and video art.