Charlottesville's Confederate statues are centerstage in West Coast art exhibition rooted in tragedy and trauma

The remains of Charlottesville's melted Confederate statue of General Robert E. Lee are now on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles as part of the 'Monuments' exhibition. The statue, originally standing in Market Street Park, was acquired by the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center (JSAAHC) in 2021, melted down at a secret location, and shipped to Los Angeles. The exhibition, presented in partnership with The Brick, also features artist Kara Walker's reconstruction of the Thomas Jackson statue. The bronze ingots and slag from the melting process are displayed alongside other works that reimagine Confederate monuments.

New exhibition at Buxton reveals insights into Chinese conceptual art

The University of Melbourne's Buxton Contemporary has opened a new exhibition titled "Poetry goes no further than language," which examines the emergence of conceptual art in China during the mid-1980s and early 1990s. Featuring works by the Beijing collective New Measurement Group and Shanghai artist Qian Weikang, the show also includes a new commission by Victorian College of the Arts graduate Darcey Bella Arnold. Curated by Dr. Carol Yinghua Lu, Director of Beijing's Inside-Out Art Museum, together with artist Liu Ding, the exhibition brings previously inaccessible or little-known works to Australia for the first time.

Corazón Cafe’s Chingonas gallery honors ‘badass women’ through art

Corazón Cafe in downtown San Luis Obispo hosts an annual art gallery called "Chingonas" during March and April, celebrating Women's History Month. The gallery, curated by co-owner Sara McGrath, features around 20 participants ranging from ages 5 to 85, displaying works that honor "badass women"—from famous figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Gloria Steinem to everyday family members. The term "Chingonas" is a reclaimed Mexican-Spanish slang for strong, independent women.

Recommissioned Rebels

The exhibition "Monuments," co-organized by The Brick and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), features ten former Confederate monuments removed from public spaces across the American South. Highlights include Kara Walker's reconfigured "Unmanned Drone" (formerly Charlottesville's Stonewall Jackson monument), Richmond's toppled Jefferson Davis statue, and a graffitied Matthew Fontaine Maury statue. Co-curator Hamza Walker explains the show began after the 2015 Charleston church shooting and gained urgency following George Floyd's murder in 2020, involving complex negotiations with city governments and stewards to secure the politically charged pieces.

[Gallery Walk] The Vanished Rooms of Women Reopened

Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul is presenting "Into Other Spaces: Synesthetic Environments by Women Artists 1956-1976," a major exhibition opening May 5 that reconstructs immersive environmental artworks by 11 women artists from Asia, the Americas, and Europe. The show features full-scale recreations of works that were often dismantled or lost, including Jeong Gangja's "Muchejeon" (1970), which was shut down by authorities after just days. Curators Andrea Lissoni and Marina Pugliese used archival materials, photographs, and direct consultations with artists or their estates to piece together these ephemeral pieces.

Rare, World-Class Masterworks from Picasso to Dalí Meet Contemporary Artists in Front Royal at Ichiuji Fine Arts Gallery

The Melissa Ichiuji Studio Gallery in Front Royal, Virginia, opened a new exhibition titled 'Slow Image: Material Intelligence Across Generations' on April 25th. The show features original prints by major 20th-century artists including Picasso, Miró, Matisse, Dalí, Chagall, Calder, and Giacometti, displayed alongside contemporary artists working in clay, steel, textiles, collage, drawing, and paint. Gallery proprietor and artist Melissa Ichiuji conceived the exhibition over two years, aiming to create a museum-level experience in an intimate setting for the local community.

In "Dancing the Revolution," Puerto Rico Pushes Back

The article reviews "Dancing the Revolution," a multi-genre collective exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago that explores the music of dancehall and reggaetón, their roots, history, and evolution, and their inextricable link to colonial oppression. The show is inspired by the massive 2019 protests in Puerto Rico against then-Governor Ricardo Rosselló, where music and dance were used as forms of resistance, drawing on centuries of Black Atlantic protest in the Caribbean.

WORDS WORDS WORDS at Everard Read shows the power of words in contemporary art

The article reviews 'WORDS, WORDS, WORDS,' an exhibition at Everard Read Gallery's CIRCA space in South Africa, which explores the role of language in contemporary visual art. Curated with a focus on how words are bent, repeated, fragmented, and reassembled, the show features works by South African artists including Willem Boshoff and Luca Evans, who engage with conceptual art traditions from Dada to Barbara Kruger. Boshoff's braille-inset wooden piece 'Planet of Echinus' questions inclusion and exclusion in language, while Evans' work riffs on Joseph Kosuth's iconic text pieces using ancient wood-inlay techniques.

Prokofiev Studio: new gallery devoted to the abstract art of Oleg Prokofiev son of the composer & father of composer Gabriel Prokofiev

Composer Gabriel Prokofiev has opened Prokofiev Studio in Hackney, London, a new gallery dedicated to the abstract art of his father, Oleg Prokofiev (1928-1998). Oleg, son of the famed composer Sergei Prokofiev, created abstract works in the 1950s that defied the Soviet Union’s strict socialist realism doctrine. His career was shaped by his relationship with British art historian Camilla Gray, whom he married in 1969 after hiding his art for a decade; she died two years later. Oleg moved to the UK but believed his abstract works lost until a 1994 return to Moscow revealed they had been preserved. The gallery houses Oleg’s archive, including 1950s abstract artworks, letters, sketchbooks, and sculptures, with an inaugural exhibition titled "Bending Time" reconstructing his 1990s studio in Hackney Wick.

Museum of Arts and Design Presents First Solo Museum Exhibition for Artist Jessica Lichtenstein

The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York will present "Jessica Lichtenstein: Rewilding," the artist's first solo museum exhibition, from May 30, 2026, through April 18, 2027. The immersive installation transforms the third-floor gallery into a lush, overgrown terrain featuring thousands of digitally rendered female nudes that coalesce into forests, ruins, and flowering canopies, exploring themes of femininity, ecological imagination, and bodily autonomy.

Hermitage Museum – the perfect day adventure and Admission is FREE

The Hermitage Museum in Norfolk, Virginia, is offering free admission again this year, a policy it began during the pandemic. The museum, housed in a turn-of-the-century mansion, features the Sloane Collection—over 5,000 years of art and objects assembled by Florence K. Sloane—and offers tours, gardens, art classes, and special events like the Bruce Munro light art exhibit.

“Rising Up Rocky” Exhibition In Philadelphia Museum Of Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has opened the exhibition “Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments,” featuring the iconic bronze statue of Rocky Balboa, the fictional boxer portrayed by Sylvester Stallone. The statue, which has long stood on the museum steps, was moved inside for the show, which also includes photographs of the historic Blue Horizon Gym and a tribute to boxer Joe Frazier. The exhibition runs until August, after which the statue will return to its outdoor perch.

'Tough Stuff' Women in the American Glass Studio opens May 16 at CMoG

The Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG) will open 'Tough Stuff: Women in the American Glass Studio' on May 16, 2026, running through January 10, 2027. This is the first survey exhibition dedicated to women artists working in glass during the 1960s and 1970s, featuring over 200 objects from artists including Claire Falkenstein, Audrey Handler, Margie Jervis, Susie Krasnican, Kathleen Mulcahy, Ginny Ruffner, Ruth Tamura, and Toots Zynsky. Curated by Tami Landis, the show draws from CMoG's permanent collection, the Rakow Research Library, and notable loans, presenting works that have never been displayed before.

Patchwork Lost – A Critique of the Princeton University Art Museum’s American Art Wing

The article critiques the newly opened American art wing at the Princeton University Art Museum, arguing that its curatorial approach prioritizes contemporary social justice narratives over historical accuracy and national pride. The author contends that the exhibition presents a fragmented, politicized view of American history, highlighting slavery and racial injustice while omitting or minimizing the contributions of Princeton alumni to the nation's founding, such as James Madison and John Witherspoon. Specific examples include the inclusion of a 2022 revisionist painting of the Signing of the Constitution and selective signage that emphasizes marginalized figures while ignoring male patriots.

Venus Lespugue

The Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens presents "Jeff Koons: Venus Lespugue," an exhibition pairing Jeff Koons' monumental stainless steel sculpture *Balloon Venus Lespugue (Orange)* (2013–2019) with ten certified copies of Paleolithic Venus figurines from major European museums. The Koons work, on public display for the first time, is loaned from the Homem Sonnabend Collection and directly references the 28,000-year-old Venus of Lespugue carved from mammoth tusk ivory.

Florence welcomes the great artist Georg Baselitz with a major exhibition at the Museo Novecento

Firenze accoglie il grande artista Georg Baselitz con una grande mostra al Museo Novecento

The Museo Novecento in Florence has opened "Avanti!", a major retrospective dedicated to German artist Georg Baselitz, featuring 170 works on paper spanning his career from the 1960s to the present. Curated by Sergio Risaliti and Daniel Blau, the exhibition is the first in Italy to focus on Baselitz's graphic output, including woodcuts, linocuts, and etchings, alongside sculptures and installations that explore themes of the human body, war, and inversion.

Il Padiglione della Gran Bretagna alla Biennale d’Arte di Venezia 2026 spiega cos’è l’appartenenza

The British Council has selected artist Lubaina Himid to represent Great Britain at the 2026 Venice Biennale. Her exhibition, titled "Predicting History: Testing Translation," will transform the British Pavilion into a large-scale installation exploring belonging, displacement, and the recreation of home in new contexts. Created in collaboration with artist Magda Stawarska, the show features multi-panel paintings and a surreal soundscape that engages with the neoclassical architecture of the pavilion. Himid, a Turner Prize winner and pioneer of the Black British Art Movement, focuses on cultural memory and identity, challenging Eurocentric narratives and highlighting overlooked Black figures in Western history.

Try Free Art in Tribeca: A Gallery Walkthrough

A budget-friendly walk through Tribeca's gallery scene highlights two free exhibitions. At Savage Wonderground Tribeca, Brent Owens presents "Fancy Feast," a 24-foot-long banquet table of wooden sculptures mimicking gourmet cat food, with prices ranging from $1,000 to $8,000 but viewing free. At Almine Rech Tribeca, Youngju Joung's "Pause and Flow" features melancholic paintings on traditional Korean paper, memorializing the "moon villages" of displaced working-class citizens from South Korea's urbanization.

And We Shall Go Through Their Hills Without Much Delay

This article documents three journeys into and out of Yunnan, China, spanning from 1874 to 2023. It begins with British interpreter Augustus Raymond Margary's failed colonial expedition to establish a trade route, which ended in his violent death and contributed to unequal treaties opening Southwest China. It then follows a Naxi student named Xueshan in 1937, whose railway journey introduced modern timekeeping to the region, and finally describes the construction of the Burma Road, a critical WWII supply route. The narrative concludes with the artist Cheng Xinhao retracing these routes on foot from Kunming toward Burma over a year and a half, reflecting on history, bodily experience, and the layers of infrastructure that have reshaped the landscape.

Exhibition | Celeste Rapone, 'Hyperarousal' at Esther Schipper, Esther Schipper Berlin, Germany

Esther Schipper Berlin presents 'Hyperarousal', Celeste Rapone's first exhibition with the gallery, featuring three new paintings that explore the intersection of sensuous stimulation and nervous tension. The works depict female protagonists in narratively dense, ambiguous scenes that allegorize millennial angst, using techniques like alla prima painting and color-based formal constraints. Key pieces include 'While Waiting' (2025), showing a figure with pepper spray and a digital camera, and 'Den' (2026), where intertwined figures follow a self-defense tutorial on an iPad.

Yves Klein Research Grant 2026: A Funded Residency for Emerging Scholars

The Yves Klein Foundation has launched its first Research Grant for 2026, offering a CHF 6,000 stipend and a one-week funded residency in Paris to emerging scholars under 35 who hold a PhD or postdoctoral degree. The program invites original research projects that deepen understanding of Yves Klein’s work, ideas, and legacy, with access to archives and scholarly guidance provided. Applications are due by 15 June 2026, with selection based on originality, scientific quality, and feasibility.

Seven-Foot-Tall Monument to Ramses II Discovered in Eastern Nile Delta Region

Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered the upper half of a 7-foot-tall statue of Ramses II at the site of Tell El-Faraoun in the eastern Nile Delta. Weighing over 5 tons, the fragment is believed to have originally been carved for a temple in the ancient capital of Per-Ramesses and was later relocated. The find was announced by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, with Hisham El-Leithy of the Supreme Council of Antiquities noting its importance for understanding how statues were moved and reused during the New Kingdom.

An exhibition in Milan brings visionary contemporary landscapes into dialogue with a great Turner watercolor. Review and interview

Una mostra a Milano fa dialogare visionari paesaggi contemporanei con un acquerello del grande Turner. Recensione e intervista

The exhibition "Continuum" at Robilant+Voena in Milan marks the first solo show in the city for American artist Maria Kreyn. It presents a selection of her contemporary landscapes—charged with pathos, abstract geometries, and references to art history—alongside a rare watercolor by J.M.W. Turner, *The Splügen Pass* (1842–43). Kreyn’s seascapes, influenced by her background in mathematics and philosophy, feature turbulent waves, ovoid and parabolic forms, and a sense of latent tension, creating a visual dialogue with Turner’s Romantic vision of nature.

Rocky statue gets its own exhibition in museum after years of tension

The iconic Rocky statue, a symbol of Philadelphia and the beloved film franchise, is now the subject of its own dedicated exhibition at a museum after years of tension between the city, the film's creators, and local institutions. The statue, originally created as a prop for the 1976 film 'Rocky' starring Sylvester Stallone, has had a complicated history, moving from the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps to the Spectrum arena and back, with debates over its artistic merit and placement.

‘Into Other Spaces' to reexamine trailblazing women artists across decades

The Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul is hosting 'Inside Other Spaces: Environments by Women Artists, 1956-1976,' an exhibition that reconstructs immersive room-scale works by 11 women artists from underrepresented regions. Co-curated by Andrea Lissoni and Marina Pugliese, the show traces two decades of experimental environments made from light, sound, plastic, and foam, which anticipated installation and media art. The Seoul edition features a new version of Jung Kang-ja's 1967 work 'Muche-jeon (Incorporal Exhibition),' a smoke-filled chamber that evokes the tension of 1970s authoritarian Korea.

National Cowboy Museum's Route 66 exhibit is closing soon

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City is closing its Route 66 exhibit soon. Chief Curatorial Officer David Davis explains that the museum's location on Route 66 was the original reason for its founding, and the exhibit explores the historic highway's deep connection to the institution.

Here's what's happening for First Friday in May

Juneau's First Friday in May 2026 features a diverse array of events, including a storytelling project called "Tambayan at Kwentuhan" that shares oral histories from Filipino elders, an exhibition titled "Dizzy Hooligan" by Kiyana Fonua recalling Kava gatherings in Anchorage, and a retrospective of Indigenous fashion designer Dorothy Grant at the Alaska State Museum. Other offerings include a chamber music concert by Taku Winds, a "Critter Trek" exhibition at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum featuring local wildlife art, planetarium explorations, a book release by author Corinna Cook, and displays of woodworking by Phil Paramore and jewelry by Colleen Goldrich.

Zurbarán review: Even the godless will be enraptured by this drama

The article reviews a major exhibition of 17th-century Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán, highlighting his dramatic religious works such as a stark crucifixion, a depiction of St. Peter crucified upside down, and a series of saintly princesses. It notes the exhibition's effective hanging, the artist's use of vivid color and theatrical lighting, and includes recently attributed works like a mysterious giant head. The review emphasizes the blend of high drama, emotion, and Catholic piety in Zurbarán's paintings, as well as his still lifes that rival those of Velázquez.

‘Art of Manga’ makes East Coast debut at Brooklyn Museum

The article announces the East Coast debut of the 'Art of Manga' exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. This marks the first time the show, which explores the history and cultural impact of Japanese manga, is presented on the East Coast of the United States.

MOCA Jacksonville announces new exhibition featuring international artist Amer Kobaslija

The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville announced a new exhibition featuring Jacksonville-based artist Amer Kobaslija. Titled "Outside Looking In: The Paintings of Amer Kobaslija," the show runs from April 30 to September 20 and traces his artistic journey from early works to the present. It includes series such as Florida Diaries, One Hundred Views of Kesennuma (inspired by Japan's 2011 tsunami), and his ongoing Artist Studios series. Kobaslija, originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina, draws on his experiences as a refugee and life across multiple countries, exploring themes of memory, displacement, and belonging.