Presenting a Summer Showcase Featuring Local Artists and a Reflection on America’s 250th Birthday

The Haggerty Museum of Art at Marquette University in Milwaukee announces a summer 2026 season featuring three exhibitions: the Mary L. Nohl Fund Fellowships for Individual Artists 2025, showcasing five local artists; After the Empire: American Prints from the Haggerty Collection, examining American identity through satire and social commentary; and Defying Empire: Revolutionary Prints from Britain and America, challenging traditional narratives of the American Revolution. The exhibitions run from June 4 to August 1, 2026, with the Nohl Fellowship co-presented with the Lynden Sculpture Garden.

The Art of Performing Maintenance

This article explores the work of artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles, who in 1969 wrote her "Manifesto for Maintenance Art" after experiencing a crisis of meaning following the birth of her first child. She proposed that routine maintenance tasks—like cleaning, cooking, and laundry—could be redefined as art when performed in public, particularly in museums. The article traces her early exhibitions at the Wadsworth Athenaeum, where she swept and mopped as performance, and her later projects interviewing passersby on New York City sidewalks and embedding herself in a Manhattan office building, where she invited workers to declare their maintenance tasks art.

The Muskegon Museum of Art Announces a Landmark Exhibition showcasing the Women who shaped Animation History

The Muskegon Museum of Art has announced a landmark exhibition titled "HerStory of Animation: Mary Blair & Beyond," premiering June 6 through September 27, 2026. The show highlights the overlooked contributions of women animators and artists who shaped animation history, featuring figures such as Helena Smith Dayton, Bessie Mae Kelley, Lotte Reiniger, Mary Blair, Faith Hubley, Lillian Schwartz, Caroline Leaf, Joan Graz, Brenda Chapman, and Nora Towmey. Curated by historian and author Mindy Johnson, the exhibition includes production artwork, studio artifacts, rare imagery, films, and newly uncovered research spanning over a century of animation.

Student artists bring diverse visions to IVC’s annual gallery exhibit

The 2026 IVC Student Art Exhibit opened at Imperial Valley College's Juanita Lowe Art Gallery on May 6, featuring a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a diverse range of student works including sculptures, videos, paintings, mixed media, and photography. Notable pieces include Catalina Gonsalez's acrylic series "Fire-Fuego," "Wind-Viento," "Water-Agua," and "Earth-Tierra," Stephanie Carrillo's watercolor of Salvador Dali, Kimberly Rodriguez's "Fragile Dancer," and Alejandro Mendez's "Self Portrait." Artist Daniel Barrera Jr. showcased Renaissance-inspired drawings, and author Cuauhtemoc (Chucky) Cortez presented his children's book "Joaquiner Stinker" with illustrations by Jesus Felix.

Biennale, rules announced for Visitor's Lion. But dozens of artists withdraw

The Venice Biennale has announced the voting rules for the new Visitors' Lion awards, which replace the traditional Golden Lions after the original jury resigned before the opening. On the same day the popular voting opened, dozens of artists from the central exhibition 'In Minor Keys' and several National Pavilions announced their withdrawal from the competition in solidarity with the resigned jury, releasing a statement via e-flux on May 9, 2026. The voting system requires visitors to have attended both the Giardini and Arsenale venues, with anonymous voting open until November 22, 2026.

Modern Art / Contemporary Art/ Modern Art PartⅡ

Shinwa Auction Co., Ltd. is holding a sale titled "Modern Art / Contemporary Art / Modern Art Part II" on Saturday, May 23, 2026, in Tokyo. The auction features 11 lots by artists including André Brasilier, Jean-Pierre Cassigneul, Bernard Buffet, Marie Laurencin, Maurice de Vlaminck, Maurice Utrillo, and Raoul Dufy, with estimates ranging from 800,000 to 15,000,000 JPY.

The weird, wiggly universe of Icelandic artist Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir

The article profiles Icelandic artist Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir, whose multidisciplinary practice spans visual art, performance, music, poetry, and filmmaking. It describes a recent performance at Reykjavik's Mengi venue where the audience was invited onstage to be stirred with an imaginary spoon, and highlights her upcoming project 'Pocket Universe' representing Iceland at the Venice Biennale, installed in a former shipyard. The piece also explores her fluid relationship with time, her admiration for artists like Meredith Monk and Laurie Anderson, and the tight-knit, artist-run creative ecosystem of Reykjavik that shapes her work.

‘In Minor Keys’: discover the themes that define the 61st Venice Biennale exhibition

The 61st Venice Biennale's main exhibition, 'In Minor Keys', curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, has opened after her sudden passing in 2025. Kouoh had fully planned the exhibition before her death, and a team of seven realized her vision. The show features 110 artists, including Wangechi Mutu, Nick Cave, Alfredo Jaar, and emerging talents like Ranti Bam. It opens with a poem by Refaat Alareer and an installation by Khaled Sabsabi, setting a contemplative tone amid themes of mourning, grief, and healing. The exhibition also highlights minority perspectives, including Caribbean and Central American artists, and confronts colonial histories through works like Florence Lazar's film on a hurricane-exposed necropolis.

George Herms Dies at 90; Turned Castoff Objects Into Art

George Herms, the California artist who transformed discarded objects into evocative assemblages, has died at age 90. Known for his poetic, often whimsical sculptures made from rusted tools, old photographs, and other found materials, Herms was a central figure in the West Coast assemblage movement that emerged in the 1960s. His work bridged Beat-era spontaneity with a deeply personal, tactile approach to art-making, earning him a devoted following and exhibitions at major institutions.

Raven Halfmoon’s Empowering Sculptures Go on View at Ballroom Marfa

Raven Halfmoon's traveling exhibition "Flags of Our Mothers" has opened at Ballroom Marfa in Texas, featuring her monumental ceramic sculptures that explore her dual identity as Caddo and American. The show includes the 12.5-foot-tall outdoor piece "Flagbearer" (2022), her largest work to date, along with two new works debuting at this venue. Halfmoon, who drove from her home in Norman, Oklahoma, to Marfa for the installation, uses a coil technique to build imposing forms that evoke both protective matriarchs and the violence faced by Indigenous women, with her signature graffiti-like scrawl asserting resilience.

Anti-Russia Protests Spread Beyond the Biennale and Into Venice

Protests against the reopening of the Russian pavilion erupted at the Venice Biennale and spread across the city on the second day of the 61st edition. Visual artist Shalva Nikvashvili, who grew up in post-Soviet Georgia, began a silent performance wearing a muzzle-style mask and carrying a chair, holding a sign reading “La Biennale di Venezia” and “violence.” Shortly after, a group of about 20 protesters led by Pussy Riot co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova gathered outside the Russian pavilion, chanting against Vladimir Putin, waving Ukrainian flags, and releasing a pink smoke flare. The protests followed the Biennale's decision to allow Russia to participate for the first time since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, despite calls from artists and politicians to exclude the country.

Venice Biennale in crisis: The controversies explained

The Venice Art Biennale's official awards ceremony, scheduled for May 9, has been canceled after the entire five-member jury resigned days before the event. The jury had previously announced they would not consider countries whose leaders face International Criminal Court charges, directly impacting Russia and Israel. Instead of jury-selected prizes, visitors will vote throughout the Biennale's run, with "Visitor Lions" awarded on November 22. The event, running from May 9 to November 22, features 100 national participations, including seven first-time countries, and a posthumous main exhibition titled "In Minor Keys" curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, the first African woman to lead the show. Iran withdrew on May 4 amid Middle East tensions, while Russia's return to the Biennale in 2026 has sparked EU threats to cut funding.

Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts Adds ‘Star Wars in Motion’ Exhibit to Opening Lineup

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has announced a new exhibition titled "Star Wars in Motion" as part of its inaugural lineup, set to open on September 22, 2026, in Los Angeles's Exposition Park. The showcase will feature vehicle designs, props, costumes, and illustrations from the first six Star Wars films, including iconic items like Luke's Landspeeder and General Grievous's Wheel Bike. The museum, co-founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, will open with over 30 exhibitions and more than 1,200 objects spanning visual storytelling from ancient sculptures to modern cinema.

Lucas Museum of Narrative Art Announces 'Star Wars In Motion' As Part of Inaugural Cinema Exhibition

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has announced details of its inaugural Cinema exhibition, titled 'Star Wars In Motion,' set to open on September 22. Curated by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, the exhibition will feature vehicle designs, props, costumes, and illustrations from the first six Star Wars films, including Luke's Landspeeder and General Grievous's Wheel Bike. The museum, located at Exposition Park in Los Angeles, will launch with over 30 installations tracing visual storytelling from ancient sculptures to modern cinema, drawing from a founding collection of more than 40,000 works.

'The Bean' Sculptor Kapoor Blasts America's 'Politics Of Hate' And 'Warmongering'

British-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor, best known for Chicago's 'Cloud Gate' sculpture (commonly called 'The Bean'), publicly criticized American politics in a recent interview, denouncing what he described as a 'politics of hate' and 'warmongering.' Kapoor, whose monumental public artworks have become global icons, did not specify particular events but spoke broadly about the current political climate in the United States.

New Joyful Noise exhibition coming to Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral will host a new art exhibition titled 'Joyful Noise' from May 16 to October 25, featuring works by international artists including Denzil Forrester, Christine Sun Kim, Yuri Suzuki, Sokari Douglas Camp, Phyllida Barlow, Caroline Walker, Tim Etchells, and Emeka Ogboh. The exhibition reimagines the biblical call to 'make a joyful noise unto the Lord' and spans painting, sculpture, video, text, and sound, with installations both inside and outside the cathedral. Highlights include Tim Etchells' neon piece 'Songs (2026)' in the North Porch, Phyllida Barlow's six-metre-high sculpture 'untitled: megaphone (2014)' on Choristers' Green, and Emeka Ogboh's outdoor choral sound installation 'Abide with me (2026)' featuring the Salisbury Cathedral Choir. Entry is included with cathedral admission and free for local residents in SP1 to SP5 postcode areas.

Meet the Canadian artists heading to Venice Biennale

Five Canadian artists have been selected for the main exhibition of the Venice Biennale, titled *In Minor Keys*, which opens to the public next Saturday. The participants are Abbas Akhavan (featured in the Canada Pavilion), Manuel Mathieu, Rajni Perera, Marigold Santos, and one additional artist. The exhibition is the first Biennale curated by a Black woman, Cameroonian-Swiss curator Koyo Kouoh, who died suddenly in May last year after a cancer diagnosis, just six months after her appointment. Despite her death, the Biennale proceeded with her plans, with her team completing the work.

Guntersville Museum Welcomes ARTS Works

The Guntersville Museum hosted a recognition ceremony for the 18th annual ARTS Works All-County Student Art Exhibit, organized by the nonprofit Artists Responding to Students (ARTS). The exhibit featured around 100 artworks from K-12 students across Marshall County, including Boaz, Grant, Guntersville, and Albertville. For the second year, the show included special needs artists, with the Kamryn HeART Award presented in memory of a young artist. Additionally, the Lakeview Community Civic Organization displayed posters from its Black History Month contest. Winners were announced across multiple grade categories, judged by two National Board Certified Teachers from Decatur.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art Announces First Exhibitions Curated by George Lucas

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, set to open on September 22, 2026, in Los Angeles's Exposition Park, has announced its inaugural exhibition schedule curated by George Lucas. The museum will showcase a wide range of narrative art, from Americana works by Thomas Hart Benton and Norman Rockwell to documentary photography by Gordon Parks, Dorothea Lange, and Robert Capa, as well as public murals by Diego Rivera and Judith F. Baca. The collection also includes production designs, props, and costumes from the Lucas Archives, alongside illustrations by Frank Frazetta, Maxfield Parrish, and N.C. Wyeth, children's literature art by Beatrix Potter and Jacob Lawrence, and comics and manga by Jack Kirby, Alison Bechdel, and Mœbius.

The Vatican brings Hildegard of Bingen to the Biennale. "The ear is the eye of the soul", by Brian Eno and Patti Smith

The Holy See Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale, titled "The Ear is the Eye of the Soul," centers on the 12th-century Benedictine abbess and visionary Hildegard of Bingen. Curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers in collaboration with Soundwalk Collective, the pavilion spans two Venetian venues—the Mystical Garden of the Discalced Carmelites and the Complesso di Santa Maria Ausiliatrice—and features new sound works by 24 artists, musicians, and poets including Brian Eno, Patti Smith, FKA Twigs, Meredith Monk, and Jim Jarmusch. The title is borrowed from the final work of German director Alexander Kluge, who died in March 2026, and his monumental film installation forms a core part of the exhibition.

Bertil Vallien celebrates 60 years of glass art with Brooklyn solo exhibition

Swedish glass artist Bertil Vallien, now 88, has opened a major solo exhibition titled "Starman: Sixty Years of Exploring Glass Art" at the Robert Lehman Gallery in Brooklyn. The show features 35 works spanning his 64-year career, highlighting his mastery of sand-casting and his long collaboration with the heritage brand Kosta Boda. Notable pieces include the *Resting Head* series, *Idun’s Magical Apples*, and the *Ships* series, which draw on Norse mythology and themes of life cycles.

MKFA Awards Grants: Supporting innovation and community engagement

The Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts (MKFA) has announced the recipients of its 2026 Infinite Expansion Grants (IEG), awarding funding to nine contemporary arts organizations across Los Angeles County. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the grant program, with six of the nine organizations receiving MKFA funding for the first time. The grantees include Art in the Park, Clockshop, and Color Compton, among others, each undertaking projects that explore themes of place, memory, diaspora, and community resilience through exhibitions, installations, and public programming. The grants were selected by a jury of five arts professionals including Tiffany Barber, Jibz Cameron, Justen Leroy, Jenny Lin, and Rodrigo Valenzuela.

The investigation of intimacy at the center of an exhibition in a Paris gallery

L’indagine sull’intimità al centro di una mostra in una galleria di Parigi

French artist Guillaume Valenti (b. 1987) presents his solo exhibition "Système domestique" at Parliament Gallery in Paris, exploring how personal identity can be conveyed through intimate domestic spaces rather than traditional portraiture. The show centers on repeated depictions of the artist's studio bookshelf, captured from the same viewpoint and proportions, which serves both as a subject and a structural grid. Valenti's paintings investigate the interplay of light, color, and abstraction, with works such as "Grise" (2026) and "Bibliothèque blanche" (2026) using overexposure and artificial coloration to deconstruct realistic representation. Other pieces like "The florist" (2026) depict views from the studio window, further examining the boundary between interior and exterior perception.

A fairy-tale exhibition in Milan: the paintings look like Disney film sets

A Milano una mostra da fiaba: i quadri sembrano scenografie da film Disney

The Galleria Gaburro in Milan is presenting a solo exhibition of British artist Iain Andrews, titled "Whispers from the Red Room." The show features over 30 paintings and a handcrafted diorama, the "Diorama del Leviatano," which Andrews uses as a source of inspiration. His work blends fairy-tale and nightmare imagery, drawing on his background as a psychotherapist specializing in childhood trauma. The paintings evoke the visual language of Disney films and Rococo art, with oil and acrylic works that range from large immersive canvases to small, intricate panels.

'Slime family portrait' shown at top exhibition

Kutub Uddin, a photographer from West Sussex, is one of only two UK photographers selected for the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. His image, described as a "slime family portrait," captures the reproductive parts of a slime mold—tiny blue spheres on stalks—on a fallen tree in Slindon Wood, magnified many times using a specialist lens. The exhibition recently opened at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery and runs until September 6.

JUNKANOO EN VENECIA ARTE MEMORIA Y COLABORACION POSTUMA EN EL PABELLON DE BAHAMAS

The Bahamas presents its second pavilion at the Venice Biennale after a 13-year hiatus, featuring the exhibition "In Another Man's Yard" curated by Dr. Krista Thompson. The show brings together the late John Beadle (1964–2024) and Lavar Munroe in an intergenerational dialogue rooted in the Junkanoo festival tradition, exploring themes of collaboration, commemoration, and material transformation through discarded materials like cardboard and salvaged objects.

JUNKANOO IN VENICE ART MEMORY AND POSTHUMOUS COLLABORATION AT THE BAHAMAS PAVILION

The Bahamas Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale presents "In Another Man's Yard," an intergenerational exhibition curated by Dr. Krista Thompson featuring works by the late John Beadle (1964–2024) and Lavar Munroe. The show explores Junkanoo, the biannual Bahamian festival, through collaborative artmaking, discarded materials, and posthumous collaboration—including Munroe's monumental 11-panel painting based on photographs by Jackson Petit and works incorporating materials from Beadle's studio.

Animated Bodies

Animierte Körper

Latefa Wiersch presents her exhibition "Atlas Studios" at the Istituto Svizzero in Rome, featuring unsettling, puppet-like sculptures that resemble film sets. The works explore themes of bodily helplessness, imperfection, and geopolitical displacement, drawing on her earlier project "Hannibal" at the Dortmunder Kunstverein, which addressed post-migrant German realities and the demolition of a housing complex. The new installation references the Atlas Studios in Ouarzazate, Morocco, and the history of cinema, with figures made from rags and nylon stockings that appear as actors or set workers.

First Look at the “Costume Art” Exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is hosting a new exhibition titled "Costume Art," timed to coincide with the 2026 Met Gala. The article provides a first look at the exhibit, featuring images credited to photographer Masato Onoda of WWD, showcasing the intersection of fashion and visual art within the museum's galleries.

Jon Pestoni at Zodiac Pictures

Jon Pestoni's exhibition "More Bermuda Than Pizza" is on view at Zodiac Pictures in Los Angeles from April 11 to May 9, 2026. The show presents a series of new paintings by the artist, documented through 32 images on the exhibition page, with a press release and works list available for reference.