‘Maintenance Artist’ Highlights Mierle Laderman Ukeles’ Radical, Caring Approach to Public Art

A new documentary titled 'Maintenance Artist,' premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival, profiles New York City artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles, who has served as artist-in-residence at the city's Department of Sanitation since 1977. The film traces her radical practice, which began with her 1969 'Manifesto for Maintenance Art' and includes performances like 'Touch Sanitation Performance' (1980), where she shook hands with all 8,500 sanitation workers, thanking each for keeping the city alive. Ukeles' work elevates overlooked labor—trash collection, street-cleaning—as a form of public art.

Christie’s Third Arab Art Summer Exhibition Marwan: A Soul in Exile 16 July – 22 August - Christie's

Christie’s will host its third annual Arab Art Exhibition, titled "Marwan: A Soul in Exile," at its London headquarters from 16 July to 22 August 2025. The non-selling retrospective features over 150 works on loan from museums, institutions, and private collections across Europe and the Middle East, spanning paintings, drawings, works on paper, and editions. Curated by Dr. Ridha Moumni, Chairman of Christie’s Middle East & Africa, the exhibition traces the six-decade career of Syrian-born artist Marwan Kassab Bachi (1934–2016), known for his facial landscapes that blend German expressionism with Syrian identity and Arab political themes.

Frank Auerbach’s Berlin homecoming, human remains and museums, Ian Hamilton Finlay’s ‘Republic’—podcast

This podcast episode covers three major art-world stories. First, the late artist Frank Auerbach receives his first-ever Berlin exhibition at Galerie Michael Werner, decades after fleeing the city as a Jewish refugee in 1939. Second, curator and author Dan Hicks discusses his new book *Every Monument Must Fall*, which examines the origins of contemporary debates around colonialism, art, and heritage, focusing on the acquisition and display of human remains in museums. Third, the episode highlights the centenary of artist Ian Hamilton Finlay with a look at his work *Republic* (1995) and a series of international exhibitions celebrating his legacy.

125 years of ceramic art at the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum

The Alfred Ceramic Art Museum will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University with an exhibition titled *History: A Legacy in Motion, Alfred Ceramic Art 1900–2025*. Running from May 8 to December 14, 2025, the show features works by principal artist-teachers who shaped the institution, including Charles Fergus Binns, whose early pottery launched American studio ceramics. The exhibition also highlights masterpieces by current and recently retired faculty, curated by Benjamin Evans and Director Wayne Higby.

Guy Ullens, collector and patron of Chinese contemporary art, has died, aged 90

Baron Guy Ullens de Schooten, the Belgian art collector and philanthropist who co-founded Beijing's Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA) in 2007 with his wife Myriam, died on 19 April at age 90. Ullens began collecting Chinese contemporary art in the 1980s and 1990s, amassing a renowned collection of around 1,500 works by artists including Huang Yong Ping, Qiu Zhijie, and Cao Fei. UCCA opened in Beijing's 798 art district with an exhibition on the 1985 New Wave movement, becoming one of China's earliest private institutions and a major force in defining the country's contemporary art scene. In 2017, the Ullenses transferred UCCA to a group of Chinese patrons, and it has since expanded to multiple locations.

How the State Supports Provenance Research

Comment l’État soutient la recherche de provenance

The French Ministry of Culture has created two specialized missions to assist museums in researching the provenance of their collections, addressing looted artworks, human remains, colonial acquisitions, and illicit trafficking. The Mission for Research and Restitution of Looted Cultural Property (M2RS), established in 2019, focuses on Nazi-era spoliations (1933-1945) with a budget of €220,000 annually, while the newer Mission "Provenance," launched in 2024 under curator Catherine Chevillot, covers human remains, colonial-era objects, and illicit goods with a €450,000 budget. These missions provide expertise, funding, and coordination with institutions like the Commission for the Restitution of Property and Compensation of Victims of Anti-Semitic Spoliation (CIVS), though most museums still only initiate provenance checks during acquisitions or donations.

Required Reading

This week's Required Reading roundup from Hyperallergic covers a diverse range of art-world stories. French photographer JR has unveiled "La Caverne du Pont Neuf Paris" (2026), an optical illusion installation that transforms the pathway across the Seine into a black-and-white mountain range cave, paying homage to Christo and Jeanne-Claude's 1985 wrapping of the same bridge. Other highlights include architecture scholar Karrie Jacobs investigating a New York waterfront walking initiative for The Nation, curator Tara Contractor writing in Apollo about James McNeill Whistler's use of metallic pigments influenced by Japanese traditions, and Rob Corsini interviewing Amelia Abraham about their new book celebrating photography of queer nightlife for Dazed.

Artists Pay Tribute to Koyo Kouoh in Poetry Caravan at Venice Biennale

At the Venice Biennale on May 7, 2026, Cuban artist María Magdalena Campos-Pons led a poetry caravan across seven locations in the Giardini to honor Koyo Kouoh, the late curator of the Biennale's main exhibition "In Minor Keys," who died of cancer at age 57 in 2025. The procession, inspired by a 1999 voyage Kouoh took with nine African poets from Dakar to Timbuktu, featured performances by poets Natalie Diaz, Robin Coste Lewis, Batool Abu Akleen, and Anne Waldman, kora player Saliou Cissokho, and Kouoh's husband, Swiss saxophonist Philippe Mall, who played a composition dedicated to her. The event was organized by a team of Kouoh's assistants and advisers, including Marie Hélène Pereira, who served as stand-in lead of the 2026 Biennale.

Steven Durland, Champion of Performance Art, Dies at 75

Steven Durland, a longtime editor of *High Performance* magazine and a champion of performance art, died on March 11 at age 75 after a brief illness. His life partner, Linda Frye Burnham, confirmed his death in Saxapahaw, North Carolina. Durland was born in Long Beach, California, raised in South Dakota, and trained as a ceramic artist with a BFA from the University of South Dakota and an MFA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He became deeply involved in performance and mail art, and from 1986 to 1994 served as editor of *High Performance*, a magazine founded by Burnham that featured thousands of artists including Nancy Buchanan, Carolee Schneemann, Paul McCarthy, Suzanne Lacy, and Ulysses Jenkins. Durland also maintained his own artistic practice, creating performances such as "Win Defeat/BID FOR POWER" (1978) and "Death and Taxis" (1982), and produced the micro-newspaper *Tacit*.

Where did the great artist Joseph Beuys live? The comic story by Gianluca Costantini

Dove viveva il grande artista Joseph Beuys? Il racconto a fumetti di Gianluca Costantini

In the summer of 2022, the author visited Düsseldorf and discovered that Joseph Beuys's former home at Drakeplatz 4 in Oberkassel was for sale, but the city's cultural department declined to purchase it. Beuys lived and worked there from 1961 until his death in 1986, using the space as both a residence and studio. The article recounts the intimate details of family life there, including how Beuys painted the main room white for his wife Eva's photography, and how the family navigated the blend of private life and artistic practice. Two years later, the Brunhilde Moll Foundation acquired the house and opened it to the public, though it was closed for renovations when the author returned. The house now displays about sixty works from Beuys's creative period and will host artist residencies and events.

Remembering Asher Remy-Toledo, Media Art Luminary

Asher Remy-Toledo, a Colombian-born cultural producer and a central figure in New York's media art scene, died on February 22 at age 62 from Hodgkin's lymphoma. He was the founder and director of Hyphen Hub, an international art organization, and previously ran the influential Remy Toledo Gallery in Chelsea, which showcased feminist and post-feminist artists.

Raymond Saunders at David Zwirner

The David Zwirner gallery in Los Angeles is presenting "Raymond Saunders: Notes from LA," a solo exhibition of the late artist's work. The show, curated by Ebony L. Haynes, runs from February 24 to April 25, 2026, and features works courtesy of the artist's estate.

A Delightful Short Film Highlights the Remarkable Self-Taught Art of George Voronovsky

Ukrainian-born artist Jonko “George” Voronovsky transformed his modest retirement room at Miami’s Colony Hotel into a dense, vibrant sanctuary of over 5,000 artworks. After surviving the horrors of the Russian Revolution, Nazi labor camps, and permanent separation from his family, Voronovsky immigrated to the U.S. and spent his final years creating "memoryscapes." These works, crafted from found materials like pizza boxes and soda cans, depicted idyllic, colorful scenes of his youth in Ukraine, contrasting sharply with the trauma of his past.

"Eine Idee, die gut ist, kann fast alles verändern"

Henrike Naumann's final major artistic project, the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, is completed posthumously by friends after her death from cancer at age 41. Meanwhile, the sudden death of curator Koyo Kouoh at 57 has left her team to finish the central exhibition "In Minor Keys" for the Biennale, opening May 9. The US Pavilion is openly crowdfunding for its 2026 presentation by sculptor Alma Allen, citing opaque funding under the Trump administration. Israel's foreign ministry has accused the Venice Biennale jury of boycotting its artist Belu-Simion Fainaru by excluding countries whose leaders face International Criminal Court charges.

I Have Always Been Drawn to the Despised

"Ich habe mich schon immer zum Verachteten hingezogen gefühlt"

Irish artist Alice Maher discusses her ongoing exploration of patriarchal structures, mythology, and the symbolic power of female hair in her practice. Her current work focuses on large-scale drawings of Sibyls—ancient female prophets—whose excessive hair serves as a metaphor for identity, power, and the 'monstrous feminine.' Maher reflects on her career-long engagement with Irish history, from collecting hair during the Troubles to her collaborative textile masterpiece, "The Map," which reclaims the legacy of Mary Magdalene from Catholic institutional narratives.

Richmond Acquires an 18th-Century Terracotta

Richmond s'enrichit d'une terre cuite du XVIIIe siècle

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond has acquired a rare 18th-century terracotta sculpture by the French artist Jean-Baptiste Boudard. A winner of the Grand Prix de Sculpture in 1732, Boudard spent much of his career in Italy serving the court of Philip of Bourbon in Parma, which contributed to his relative obscurity in his native France despite his significant contributions to Roman and Parmese landmarks.

Valie Export en 2 minutes

Valie Export (1940–2026), the Austrian avant-garde artist known for radical feminist body art and video, has died at age 85. Born Waltraud Lehner in Linz, she studied design in Vienna before adopting her iconic pseudonym from a Canadian cigarette brand in 1967. Export rose to prominence with her 1969 performance *Genitalpanik*, which critiqued the male gaze and women's societal roles. She became a key figure in body art alongside the Vienna Actionists, later expanding into film and photography. Her first feature *Unsichtbare Gegner* (1976) screened at the Berlinale, and she won the Golden Bear in 1985 for *Die Praxis der Liebe*. She taught in Cologne from 1995 and participated in Documenta 6.

Château-Chinon unveils the astonishing gifts of President François Mitterrand

Château-Chinon déballe les étonnants cadeaux du président François Mitterrand

The Cité des présents-François Mitterrand, formerly the Musée du Septennat, has reopened in Château-Chinon, France, after a renovation. The museum displays thousands of diplomatic gifts received by President François Mitterrand during his 14-year tenure (1981–1995), including a portrait of Prince Charles, a vermeil oasis from the king of Saudi Arabia, and taxidermy lions from the Central African Republic. The collection of 4,800 objects spans 80 countries, with one-third donated by French citizens. The site also houses a fashion museum featuring 5,000 pieces from the 17th century to contemporary designers like Alexis Mabille and Yves Saint Laurent.

Victorien Bornéat : « De l’échec de la démocratisation culturelle est né un sentiment d’exclusion »

Victorien Bornéat has published a manifesto arguing that French cultural democratization policy, rooted in André Malraux's vision of making masterworks accessible to all, has failed. He cites budget cuts by regional presidents Laurent Wauquiez and Christelle Morançais, police raids on bookshops like Violette and Co, and statistical studies showing that working-class audiences still do not spontaneously attend theaters, museums, or opera. Bornéat contends that the policy's emphasis on direct confrontation with canonical works ignored the need for cultural codes and institutional literacy, creating an exclusion that politicians now exploit for electoral gain.

Theater in Paris: Studio Hébertot brings to life the companions of Pablo Picasso, from Fernande Olivier to Françoise Gilot

Théâtre à Paris : le Studio Hébertot fait revivre les compagnes de Pablo Picasso, de Fernande Olivier à Françoise Gilot

A theatrical production titled 'Les Amours de Pablo' is being staged at the Studio Hébertot in Paris until the end of May 2026. The play, created by the Compagnie Bille en Tête, focuses on the intimate and tumultuous relationships of Pablo Picasso, but primarily aims to give voice and substance to seven of his romantic partners, portraying them as complex individuals and artists in their own right.

In Rodez, the haunting shadows of Sugimoto and Soulages meet in a cosmic exhibition

À Rodez, les ombres envoûtantes de Sugimoto et de Soulages se rencontrent dans une exposition cosmique

The Musée Soulages in Rodez is hosting a major exhibition titled "Hiroshi Sugimoto. Reprendre la mélodie," which creates a visual dialogue between the Japanese photographer and the late French master of black, Pierre Soulages. Curated and scenographed by Sugimoto himself, the show pairs iconic series such as "Theaters," "Seascapes," and the colorful "Opticks" with Soulages’ "Outrenoir" paintings. The exhibition highlights their shared fascination with the horizon, the origins of humanity, and the architectural presence of art within a space.

Lee Miller at the Musée d’Art Moderne: The Future Great Photographer Who Went from Rebel Child to Vogue Model

Lee Miller au musée d’Art moderne : la futur grande photographe passée de l’enfant rebelle au mannequin Vogue

The Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris is hosting a major retrospective dedicated to Lee Miller, tracing her evolution from a rebellious child in upstate New York to a celebrated Vogue model and pioneering surrealist photographer. The exhibition highlights her early life under the influence of her father, Theodore Miller, an amateur photographer who introduced her to the technical aspects of the darkroom, and her subsequent move to Paris in 1930 where she transitioned from being a muse for photographers like George Hoyningen-Huene to a formidable artist in her own right.

Major new Jean-Michel Basquiat collector’s book, priced at $1,400, released from Assouline.

Assouline has released a new collector's book titled "Basquiat: The World of Jean-Michel," a 348-page volume featuring over 200 artworks and archival photographs of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Priced at $1,400, the book is part of the publisher's Ultimate Collection of large-format, hand-bound volumes, and is organized thematically into six chapters covering Basquiat's depictions of heads, New York City's influence on his work, his use of silkscreens, and spiritual themes.

8 Artists to Follow if You Like Elsa Schiaparelli

The article profiles eight contemporary artists whose work resonates with the legacy of fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli. It highlights creators like Shona McAndrew, whose soft sculptures explore the body's interior, and Kiki Smith, known for visceral, anatomical forms, drawing direct parallels to Schiaparelli's surrealist and corporeal inspirations.

7 Contemporary Artists to Follow If You Like Cecily Brown

The article presents a curated list of seven contemporary artists whose work shares aesthetic or thematic connections with the painter Cecily Brown. It highlights artists like Jenna Gribbon, known for intimate, luminous portraits; Issy Wood, who blends Old Master techniques with contemporary malaise; and others such as Flora Yukhnovich, Doron Langberg, Louis Fratino, Maia Cruz Palileo, and Somaya Critchlow, each exploring figuration, sensuality, and painterly abstraction in distinct ways.

art gaetano pesce final public sculpture

Gaetano Pesce's final sculpture, "Double Heart," has been installed as his only permanent public artwork in the United States. The 30-foot-tall illuminated piece, featuring two interlocking hearts pierced by Cupid's arrow, now hovers above the Massachusetts Turnpike at the Lyrik Back Bay plaza in Boston. Commissioned by developer Samuels & Associates and art advisory Goodman Taft, the work was overseen by gallerist Lucy Chadwick of Champ Lacombe after Pesce's death in early 2024. The sculpture reflects Pesce's signature blend of playfulness and humanism, contrasting with the rigid geometry of modernist design.

Beatriz González at the Barbican: Images Against Oblivion

BEATRIZ GONZÁLEZ EN EL BARBICAN: IMÁGENES CONTRA EL OLVIDO

The Barbican Centre in London is hosting a major retrospective of the late Colombian artist Beatriz González, marking her first solo exhibition in the United Kingdom and her most extensive show in Europe to date. Featuring over 150 works, the exhibition traces her six-decade career, from her early experiments with pop-inflected figuration to her iconic use of domestic furniture as canvases. Central to the show is her 1965 masterpiece 'Los suicidas del Sisga,' which exemplifies her method of translating degraded press photographs into vibrant, critical paintings that challenge historical erasure.

“Magnanrama. Portraits, Networks, and News of Nathalie Magnan” at Villa Arson, Nice

Mousse Magazine reports on the exhibition “Magnanrama. Portraits, Networks, and News of Nathalie Magnan” at Villa Arson in Nice, which celebrates the life and work of Nathalie Magnan (1956-2016). Magnan was a media theorist, filmmaker, cyberfeminist, educator, webmistress, hacktivist, and interdisciplinary figure who navigated the internet and the high seas, contributing to the history of thought, technology, feminism, and LGBTQI+ struggles. The show presents portraits, networks, and news related to her legacy, positioning her as a mediator and artist despite her reluctance to use that term.

Reba Maybury “I Come in Peace” at Secession, Vienna

Reba Maybury presents her exhibition "I Come in Peace" at Secession in Vienna, an installation that spans four sites within the building—including the façade, foyer, and upstairs spaces. Maybury, an artist, writer, and political dominatrix, uses her multidisciplinary practice to explore themes of feminism, sexuality, labor, and power, directly engaging with the institution's history by questioning how to dominate the legacy of Gustav Klimt.

Polygon Gallery exhibition features 'one of the most important artists working in Canada'

The Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver has launched "Photolithics," a major exhibition by Secwépemc and Scottish-settler artist Tania Willard. The show features a decade of Willard’s work, including monumental recreations of historical postcards on sandpaper and photographs viewed through ulexite crystals. The exhibition utilizes innovative installation techniques, such as a traditional kekuli structure, to recontextualize archival imagery and explore the intersection of geological time and Indigenous history.