Rio’s Museum of Image and Sound finally opens after 16 years in development

The Museum of Image and Sound (MIS-RJ) on Rio de Janeiro's waterfront opens to the public on May 8 after 16 years of development. The 10,000-sq.-m building, designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, features eight floors with panoramic views of Copacabana Beach and a façade honoring Roberto Burle Marx. The project faced multiple delays, funding suspensions, and controversy over urban redevelopment, including backlash when a nightclub on the site was demolished in 2010. Work resumed in 2021, and the $62.5 million museum was completed with public and private funds from donors like Itaú, Vale, and Rede Globo.

Pedro Reyes’s new Lacma commission sparks criticism in Mexico

Pedro Reyes's new sculpture 'Tlali' (2026), a four-meter-tall Olmec-inspired volcanic-stone female face installed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma), has sparked criticism in Mexico. An open letter signed by nearly 80 cultural figures, published on the art criticism site Cubo Blanco, alleges the work is a new version of a 2021 project that was canceled after backlash. That earlier project, 'Tlalli', was meant to replace a Christopher Columbus statue on Mexico City's Paseo de la Reforma but faced opposition from over 300 cultural figures who argued a male, non-Indigenous artist should not represent Indigenous women. The site later became the 'Glorieta de las Mujeres que Luchan', an anti-monument against gender violence.

A.I. Identifies Holbein Drawing as Possible Portrait of Anne Boleyn

Researchers at the University of Bradford have used artificial intelligence to analyze preparatory drawings by Hans Holbein the Younger in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle. The AI model, which previously identified a forgotten Raphael painting, suggests that a drawing long believed to depict Anne Boleyn actually shows her mother, Elizabeth Howard, while another drawing labeled "Unidentified Woman" likely portrays Anne Boleyn herself. The findings, published in Heritage Science, are based on biometric analysis of facial features, bone architecture, and proportional relationships, offering quantifiable evidence to resolve long-standing scholarly uncertainty about the sitters' identities.

Archibald prize 2026: Richard Lewer’s portrait of artist Iluwanti Ken wins $100,000

Richard Lewer has won the 2026 Archibald Prize, Australia's most prestigious portraiture award, for his portrait of Pitjantjatjara elder, traditional healer, and senior artist Iluwanti Ken. The $100,000 prize was announced at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, with the judging panel selecting the work unanimously from 59 finalists. Lewer, a six-time Archibald finalist, painted Ken life-size against a yellow ochre background, capturing her quiet authority and role as a working artist. The Wynne Prize for landscape painting was also awarded to Gaypalani Waṉambi for *The Waṉambi tree*.

fondazione dries van noten opens with inaugural exhibition at palazzo pisani moretta, venice

Fondazione Dries Van Noten has opened at Palazzo Pisani Moretta in Venice with its inaugural exhibition, "The Only True Protest Is Beauty," running from April 25 to October 4, 2026. Curated by Dries Van Noten himself, the show features over 200 works across twenty rooms, blending fashion, art, design, ceramics, glass, and photography. Highlights include archival pieces by Christian Lacroix and Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garçons, alongside works by emerging and established artists such as Ayham Hassan, Peter Buggenhout, Ritsue Mishima, and Misha Kahn. The exhibition avoids a fixed curatorial logic, instead using instinctive juxtapositions to explore beauty as tension and disruption.

Roberto Bernardi | The Unknown Event (2025) | Available for Sale

Roberto Bernardi | L'evento sconosciuto (2025) | Available for Sale

Italian hyperrealist artist Roberto Bernardi has listed a new oil on canvas painting titled "L'evento sconosciuto" (2025) for sale through GALERIE VON&VON. The work, priced at €14,400, is being featured in conjunction with his upcoming exhibition "Unfolding," scheduled to run from April 16 to June 20, 2026. Bernardi, known for his meticulous attention to detail and photorealistic style, has a long-standing presence in the international art market and museum circuit.

Anne Hardy’s Hollow Humanoids

British artist Anne Hardy presents a suite of floor-based installations and assemblage sculptures titled "Interloper" at Visual. The exhibition features a series of "Beings"—twisted, life-size humanoid entities constructed from rusted wire, crushed cans, soil, and the artist’s own cast body parts and clothing. These figures, often posed in yoga-like positions or meditative stances, appear as hollow, faceless outlines that blend a sense of vitality with physical disintegration.

literature salman rushdie laurie anderson the satanic verses

Salman Rushdie and Laurie Anderson, two legendary New York-based artists, engage in an intimate conversation published by Cultured magazine. Rushdie discusses his recent appearance at the Sundance Film Festival for the documentary "Knife," which adapts his memoir about surviving a 2022 stabbing attack, and his travels to literary festivals in New Orleans and Tucson. Anderson shares anecdotes about her own touring show "Republic of Love" with the band Sexmob, and the pair trade lighthearted observations about movie theaters, desert landscapes, and aliens.

Ready for their close-ups: celebrity passport photos

Dave Sharkey, a former professional boxer, and his wife Ann founded a photographic studio on Oxford Street in London in 1953, offering passport photos with a 10-minute turnaround. The studio, later run by their son Philip, became a popular spot for celebrities including Muhammad Ali, Mick and Bianca Jagger, David Hockney, and Tilda Swinton. A new book titled 'Passport Photo Service,' published by Phaidon Press, compiles over 300 of these celebrity passport portraits from the 1950s to the 2010s.

Jarvis Cocker and Kim Sion to curate art exhibition at Hepworth Wakefield

Jarvis Cocker and his wife Kim Sion will curate a new exhibition titled "Hodge Podge" at the Hepworth Wakefield, opening in May 2027. The show brings together a personal selection of works by artists including Jeremy Deller, Peter Doig, Barbara Hepworth, and others, alongside unknown outsider and visionary artists never before exhibited in UK public museums. The exhibition aims to challenge conventional ideas of art and includes an immersive Dreamachine, a flickering light device co-invented by Brion Gysin and Ian Sommerville in 1959.

‘Tracey Emin said they’re all about death’: Johnnie Shand Kydd on his dog-walk photographs – and capturing the hard-partying YBAs

Johnnie Shand Kydd, a former art dealer turned photographer, reflects on his intimate black-and-white photographs of the Young British Artists (YBAs) in the 1990s, capturing figures like Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, and Sarah Lucas in candid, hedonistic moments rather than traditional studio portraits. Now 66, Shand Kydd has a new exhibition titled 'Ramsholt' at Emin's gallery in Margate, featuring photographs from his dog-walking route, which will also be published as a photobook.

Andy Warhol | Cow II.11A (1971) | For Sale

Andy Warhol's screenprint "Cow II.11A" (1971) is being offered for sale by Composition.Gallery, priced at $15,200. The work is a color screenprint on wallpaper, printed by Bill Miller's Wallpaper Studio, Inc., New York, and published by Factory Additions, New York, for a Warhol exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art from May 1 to June 13, 1971. It is part of a limited edition of 100, stamped by the artist's estate, and includes a certificate of authenticity.

Andrew Lloyd Webber Says He's Writing a New Musical About the Time the 'Mona Lisa' Vanished Without a Trace in 1911

Andrew Lloyd Webber, the legendary composer behind 'The Phantom of the Opera,' has announced he is developing a new musical centered on the 1911 theft of Leonardo da Vinci’s 'Mona Lisa.' The production will dramatize the true story of Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian glazier who stole the masterpiece from the Louvre, leading to a two-year international search before the painting was recovered in Italy.

Remembering James Hayward, LA’s Adored Cowboy Painter

Abstract painter James Hayward, known for his monochromatic oil and wax impasto works, died last week at age 82. A legendary figure in the LA art scene, Hayward was equally celebrated for his magnetic personality, ribald humor, and storytelling. He rose to prominence in 1977 when included in the group show "Less is More" at Sidney Janis Gallery in New York, and was admired by art-world giants such as Dave Hickey, Chris Burden, Nancy Rubins, Ed Moses, and Mike Kelley. Hayward also taught at colleges across the country, including a guest seminar at the University of Southern California, and was a longtime supporter of the LA contemporary art magazine Artillery.

Hunterdon Art Museum presents three new exhibitions: Claybash, Emily Strong, and Bascha Mon

The Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton, New Jersey, will open three new exhibitions on May 17, 2026: 'Claybash,' a triennial juried ceramics exhibition; a solo show of figurative paintings by Emily Strong; and 'Mindscapes,' a solo exhibition of works by 93-year-old artist Bascha Mon. Emily Strong's show features large-scale realist oil paintings that explore themes of cultural identity, gender, and human relationships, with QR codes linking to interviews with her models. 'Claybash' includes 40 artists selected by curator Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy, with cash prizes awarded. Bascha Mon's exhibition highlights her six-decade career of imaginative, color-driven work.

8 New Art Exhibitions You Cannot Miss This May

This May, galleries across India are presenting a diverse array of new art exhibitions, ranging from postcolonial installations and forgotten print histories to deeply personal paintings and sculptural storytelling. Highlights include Sri Lankan artist Shanaka Kulathunga's solo show 'Silent Stories' at Bikaner House, exploring memory and displacement; the group exhibition 'In the Telling' at Chemould Prescott Road in Mumbai, focusing on narrative-making and fragmented memory; and 'An Ancient Ballad' at Emami Art in Kolkata, drawing from mythology and folklore. Other notable shows include a retrospective of modernist A. A. Raiba at Thapar Gallery, the politically charged 'The Architecture Of The Void' at Gallery Dotwalk, and Navjot Altaf's 'Waste Archives as Landscape' at CSMVS museum in Mumbai.

Ed Ruscha | Ed Ruscha Records 1971 (1st edition) (1971) | Art & Prints

This article presents Ed Ruscha's artist book "Records" (1971), a photographic survey of thirty vinyl records from his personal collection, offered by Lot 180 Gallery New York. It describes the work as a first edition offset printed book in good vintage condition, measuring 7 x 5.5 inches, from an edition of approximately 2,000 unsigned copies published by Heavy Industries Publications in Los Angeles.

The Must-See Biennale Exhibitions in Venice

The 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, titled "In Minor Keys," opens May 9 as a tribute to its late curator Koyo Kouoh. Alongside the Biennale, Venice hosts numerous concurrent exhibitions: Marina Abramović's "Transforming Energy" at Gallerie dell'Accademia (the only living female artist with a major show there); the Matthew Wong Foundation's inaugural exhibition "Interiors" featuring unseen works by the late Chinese Canadian artist; retrospectives of Michael Armitage at Palazzo Grassi and Lorna Simpson at Punta della Dogana; Hernan Bas's new paintings at Ca' Pesaro; Lu Yang's "DOKU The Illusion" at Espaces Louis Vuitton Venezia; and "Minimal Legends" at the Vincenzo de Cotiis Foundation, staging a dialogue among Minimalist masters.

Alex Katz | Porcelain Beauty 1 (2021) | For Sale

Alex Katz's 2021 porcelain enamel sculpture "Porcelain Beauty 1" (edition 18/25) is being offered for sale through Palm Beach Modern Auctions. The work, measuring 24 by 20.75 inches and mounted on aluminum, was printed and published by Lococo Fine Art Publishing in St. Louis, Missouri, and comes with its original crate and installation brochure. Its provenance includes Vertu Fine Art in Boca Raton, Florida, and a private collection in Florida.

KAWS | BEAUTIFUL LOSERS EXHIBITION POSTER (2004) | Art & Prints

An auction listing for KAWS's "Beautiful Losers Exhibition Poster" (2004) is featured on a digital marketplace, with bidding having ended. The work is an offset lithograph in color, measuring 17 × 11 inches, published by the Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati. The listing includes a detailed biography of KAWS (born Brian Donnelly), highlighting his career from street art subversion in the 1990s to high-profile brand collaborations with Nike, Uniqlo, and Dior, and his record auction sale of $14.8 million at Sotheby's in 2019.

UAE art guide: 13 museum and gallery exhibitions to see, from Picasso to Chilean artist Jorge Tacla

The article presents a curated guide to 13 current museum and gallery exhibitions across the UAE, including shows at Louvre Abu Dhabi, Foundry in Dubai, Sharjah Art Foundation, and Alserkal Avenue. Featured artists range from Pablo Picasso to regional talents like Shamsa Al Omaira, Abdulla Elmaz, and Ahaad Alamoudi, with exhibitions spanning sculpture, photography, and installation art. The guide is published during Alserkal Art Month and ahead of Art Dubai.

Ten Out Of London Exhibitions Spring 2026 – Artlyst Guide

Artlyst has published a guide to ten major exhibitions opening across UK museums and galleries outside London in Spring 2026. Highlights include a year-long programme for the 250th anniversary of John Constable in Suffolk, the Gwen John exhibition 'Strange Beauties' at National Museum Cardiff celebrating her 150th birthday, a Frank Bowling survey at The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, a Joan Eardley show in Edinburgh, and Paula Rego at Newlands House & Gallery. Other featured exhibitions include Andy Hollingworth's photography of comedians at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and a Vivienne Westwood retrospective at the Bowes Museum.

[ANN] Kuala Lumpur looks set to enter its 'museum moment' this year

Kuala Lumpur is experiencing a wave of new museum and gallery openings in 2025, marking a significant cultural expansion for the Malaysian capital. Key developments include the Merdeka Textile Museum, set to open in August within the Merdeka 118 tower and billed as Asia's first state-of-the-art textile museum; Muara Arts, a public gallery project by Creador Foundation opening in September in the historic Medan Pasar district; and recent openings such as the heritage building Seri Negara and restored gallery spaces at Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad. These join earlier private collector-led spaces like Ur-Mu (2022), Toffee (2023), and +N (2025), as well as the established Ilham Gallery (2015).

'All the Lands from Sunrise to Sunset' at Green Art Gallery, Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 18 Apr–1 Jun 2026

Green Art Gallery in Dubai is hosting 'All the Lands from Sunrise to Sunset,' a group exhibition featuring Alla Abdunabi, Fatma Al Ali, Alessandro Balteo-Yazbeck, and Michael Rakowitz. The show explores the persistence of imperial logics and extractive economies through diverse media, including text-based collages, reconstructed artifacts made from food packaging, and archival interventions. By examining acts of naming, erasure, and symbolic circulation, the artists treat empire not as a historical relic but as a mutating contemporary condition.

The top 10 art exhibitions in London right now

London's 2026 exhibition season is anchored by major retrospectives and career-spanning surveys across the city's premier institutions. Highlights include a 40-year retrospective of Tracey Emin's provocative career at the Royal Academy, a significant solo exhibition of Hurvin Anderson’s vibrant paintings at Tate Britain, and a celebratory nine-room exhibition marking the 40th anniversary of the Saatchi Gallery.

All Things Art You Cannot Miss This April

The Indian art scene is set for a bustling April 2026 with a series of high-profile exhibitions across major cities like Delhi and Mumbai. Key highlights include Subodh Gupta’s monumental installations at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre, a photographic tribute to Bombay by Raghubir Singh at Jhaveri Contemporary, and the public viewing of Raja Ravi Varma’s iconic 'Yashoda and Krishna' at the ShowKeen exhibition. These shows span a diverse range of media, from Akanksha Patil’s introspective narratives on migration to Laila Khan Furniturewalla’s raw, expressive paintings.

The US pavilion's curator on the controversial choice of Alma Allen for the Venice Biennale

The US pavilion at the Venice Biennale has selected Alma Allen, a Utah-born, Mexico-based sculptor, as its representative artist—a controversial and surprising choice given his relative obscurity compared to past pavilion artists. The selection process was unusually fraught: the first artist chosen was dropped before official announcement, and the announcement was delayed by the US government shutdown. The pavilion's curator, Jeffrey Uslip, discusses the exhibition titled "Call Me the Breeze," which will feature Allen's sculptures in stone, bronze, and wood that appear to defy their own weight, emphasizing artistic autonomy despite the State Department's framing of the choice as showcasing "American excellence."

Chicago’s Neighbors and Barely fairs show the strengths of smaller, alternative formats

Chicago’s art week is being defined by the success of alternative, small-scale satellite fairs like Barely Fair and Neighbors, which offer an intimate counterpoint to the massive Expo Chicago. Barely Fair, located in a storefront in McKinley Park, features 32 exhibitors presenting works in 20-inch-square miniature booths. This format encourages rigorous curation and creative risk-taking from a mix of artist-run spaces and established galleries, with price points ranging from $20 to $8,000.

designboom's ultimate guide to the venice art biennale 2026

Designboom has published a comprehensive guide to the 2026 Venice Art Biennale, featuring a curated list of must-see exhibitions, installations, and events across the city. Highlights include Miet Warlop's "IT NEVER SSST," Michael Armitage's "The Promise of Change" at Palazzo Grassi, and DRIFT's "Shy Society" at Palazzo Strozzi, alongside works by Lotus L. Kang, Lida Abdul, and Kan Yasuda. The guide also points to collateral shows in Pietrasanta and Berlin, offering visitors a broad itinerary beyond the main Biennale venues.

Why Is Beeple So Successful?

The article examines the meteoric rise of artist Mike Winkelmann, known as Beeple, who broke auction records in 2021 by selling an NFT for $69.3 million at Christie's, becoming the third most expensive living artist. His robot dogs, featuring heads of figures like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, debuted at Art Basel Miami Beach and are now on view at Berlin's Neue Nationalgalerie during Gallery Weekend. The show, titled "Regular Animals," has sparked controversy, with critics like Markus Lüpertz denouncing the works as trivial entertainment unworthy of a museum, while curators Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev and Lisa Botti defend the exhibition.