Angela de la Cruz review – wonky chairs and busted pianos are monuments to resilience

Angela de la Cruz's solo exhibition "Upright" at Birmingham's Ikon gallery presents a collection of broken and mended artworks. Her canvases are crumpled, folded, and snapped, while sculptures are assembled from precarious junk like a three-legged chair on a stool and a piano stacked atop another. The works, though appearing on the verge of collapse, are all repaired and propped back up, reflecting a state of post-collapse resilience.

Melissa Chiu leaves Hirschhorn directorship for Guggenheim

Melissa Chiu has been appointed as the new director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, effective September 1. She departs the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., where she has served as director since 2014. This leadership transition follows a decade of growth at the Hirshhorn under Chiu’s tenure and marks a significant shift for the Guggenheim’s administrative structure.

Siri Aurdal, Artist Who Elevated Industrial Materials Into Visions of Shared Humanity, Dies at 88

Norwegian artist Siri Aurdal, known for her pioneering use of industrial materials to create socially-driven sculptures, has died at the age of 88 in Oslo. Born into a prominent artistic family, Aurdal rose to prominence in the late 1960s by repurposing materials like reinforced fiberglass and plexiglass—often sourced from Norway’s oil industry—into modular, interactive installations. Her work frequently bridged the gap between fine art and public utility, manifesting in monumental playground structures and politically charged pieces that responded to global events like the Vietnam War.

Historic Architecture Emerges from Stone in Matthew Simmonds Ethereal Sculptures

Historic Architecture Emerges from Stone in Matthew Simmonds Ethereal Sculptures

Sculptor Matthew Simmonds meticulously carves miniature, hyper-realistic architectural interiors—including gothic cathedral arches, vaulted ceilings, and stairwells—directly into hunks of Carrara marble and limestone. His recent works, often based on real sites like Bamberg Cathedral or Tuscan cities, reveal ornate, smooth interiors that contrast with the stone's raw exterior, and he is currently using a quieter period to experiment with how light and space within the sculptures can express a sacred quality.

Turkey Notches Another Successful Restitution After Denver Art Museum Returns 1500-Year-Old Marble Head

The Denver Art Museum has repatriated a 1,500-year-old marble head of a bearded man to Turkey, following a successful restitution claim. The sculpture, which dates back to the fifth century BCE, was originally unearthed in the agora of the ancient city of Smyrna (modern-day Izmir) and was likely trafficked illicitly before entering the museum's collection. The artifact is now on public display at the İzmir Archaeology Museum.

Self-Made at the American Folk Art Museum explores a century of artists inventing themselves

The American Folk Art Museum has launched "Self-Made: A Century of Inventing Artists," an exhibition exploring the work of self-taught creators who operated outside traditional institutional frameworks. Featuring a diverse array of drawings, paintings, and sculptures by figures such as Henry Darger, Bill Traylor, and Sister Gertrude Morgan, the show examines how these artists used their practice to construct identities and narratives in environments that often offered little formal recognition.

Museum Storytellers: Three Art Scholars Curate Exhibitions at the North Shore’s World-Class Museum

The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem is highlighting the work of its curatorial team, specifically focusing on how Lydia Peabody, Lan Morgan, and Ruthie Dibble are revitalizing the institution's collections. A primary focus is the exhibition 'Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone,' where Peabody integrated contemporary photography and video by artist Gisella Torres to create a dialogue with Lewis’s 19th-century neoclassical marble sculptures. Other initiatives include Lan Morgan’s 'Beyond the Broom' project, which uses short films to showcase a community-focused perspective of Salem beyond its 'witch city' reputation.

Exhibition | Hiroshi Sugimoto, 'Form Is Emptiness' at Singapore Art Museum, Singapore

The Singapore Art Museum is hosting "Form Is Emptiness," the first major Southeast Asian exhibition dedicated to the acclaimed Japanese artist Hiroshi Sugimoto. The showcase features 63 works spanning five decades of his career, including 11 distinct series and 14 fossils from his personal collection, all arranged within a mandala-inspired layout designed by the artist himself.

German artist Thomas Zipp, who explored the dark side of humanity, dies at 60.

German artist Thomas Zipp, a prominent figure in the Berlin art scene known for his dark, immersive installations, has died at the age of 60. His longtime representative, Galerie Barbara Thumm, confirmed his passing on April 4th, noting that the artist died far too soon. Zipp gained international recognition for his multidisciplinary approach, blending painting, sculpture, and performance into theatrical environments that often felt like unsettling psychological experiments.

Isa Genzken at Galerie Buchholz

Galerie Buchholz in New York is presenting "Projects for Outside — ISA USA," a solo exhibition by the influential German artist Isa Genzken. Running from March 11 through April 25, 2026, the show focuses on Genzken's outdoor proposals and large-scale sculptural projects, documenting her career-long engagement with public space and urban architecture through a comprehensive selection of works.

Pharmakon at Galerie Chantal Crousel

A major group exhibition titled *Pharmakon* has opened at Galerie Chantal Crousel in Paris, featuring works by over twenty international artists. The show includes both historical and contemporary figures, from Marcel Broodthaers and Felix Gonzalez-Torres to emerging artists, exploring the dual nature of substances that can be both remedy and poison. It presents a diverse range of media, including painting, sculpture, and installation, curated around this central, ambiguous theme.

Moffat Takadiwa’s Scrounged Sculptures Confront Africa’s ‘Colonial Hangover’

Zimbabwean artist Moffat Takadiwa transforms discarded consumer waste—including computer keys, toothbrush heads, and plastic combs—into intricate, tapestry-like sculptures. His latest solo exhibition, "The Crown!" at Semiose in Paris, features large-scale works foraged from landfills in Harare’s Mbare neighborhood. These meticulously sorted and woven objects create organic patterns that mask their industrial origins, forcing a confrontation with the physical reality of global overconsumption.

Semiprecious Stones Coat Kathleen Ryan’s Oversized Sculptures of Rotting Food

Artist Kathleen Ryan creates large-scale sculptures of rotting fruit and food items, meticulously covering them with thousands of semiprecious stones and beads to mimic the textures and colors of mold and decay. Works like "Bad Lemon (Slice of Paradise)" and "Screwdriver" juxtapose luxurious materials like amethyst, turquoise, and serpentine with salvaged metal from vintage cars, creating a dual personality of hidden beauty and grotesque rot.

“Atlante” at Thomas Dane Gallery, Naples

Claudio Parmiggiani’s seminal 1970 portfolio, "Atlante," is the focal point of a new exhibition at Thomas Dane Gallery in Naples. The show highlights a pivotal moment in 1968 when Parmiggiani began experimenting with cartographic imagery, including painting continents onto cows and encasing globes in glass, all documented through the lens of fellow artist Luigi Ghirri.

Sanou Oumar & Matt Paweski “Forma di Utilità / Shape of Utility” at Gordon Robichaux, New York

Gordon Robichaux in New York is hosting a dual exhibition titled "Forma di Utilità / Shape of Utility," featuring drawings by Sanou Oumar and sculptures alongside functional design by Matt Paweski. This marks the third solo-presentation context for both artists at the gallery, showcasing a dialogue between Oumar’s intricate, geometric pen-on-paper works and Paweski’s meticulously crafted, painted metal forms.

In Munich, Two Artists Imagine Futures Both Playful and Epic

The Munich gallery Filser and Gräf is presenting a two-person exhibition titled "Medèn ágan – Nothing in Excess," featuring artists Paris Giachoustidis and Toshihiko Mitsuya. The show uses the ancient Greek maxim as a curatorial framework, with Mitsuya's delicate, reflective aluminum sculptures and Giachoustidis's paintings of futuristic, cosmic landscapes exploring themes of balance, scale, and humanity's place in the universe.

MEMORY AND PUBLIC SPACE THE 18 ARTISTS OF SONSBEEK 2026

Sonsbeek 2026 has announced the 18 artists and collectives who will participate in its thirteenth edition, scheduled from July 2 to October 11, 2026, in Arnhem, Netherlands. The event, curated by Amira Gad and Christina Li with assistant curator Berber Meindertsma, will feature 12 new commissions across Park Sonsbeek and various city locations, presenting site-specific installations, sculptures, and performances.

Picasso and Africa in dialogue at Beijing museum - China Daily

The National Art Museum of China in Beijing has launched "Wood and World," an exhibition that juxtaposes Pablo Picasso’s 1970 painting "Man and Woman with a Vase of Flowers" with dozens of traditional African wooden sculptures. By placing these works side-by-side, the show highlights how the exaggerated and deconstructed forms of African art served as a foundational influence for Picasso’s African period and the eventual birth of Cubism.

CAM “Fresh Air: Inflatable Sculptures” exhibit set to open this summer

The Cameron Art Museum (CAM) in Wilmington, North Carolina, has announced its upcoming summer exhibition, "Fresh Air: Inflatable Sculptures." Running from June 19 through September 6, 2026, the show features large-scale, immersive works by a roster of high-profile contemporary artists including Nick Cave, Andy Warhol, and Claire Ashley. The exhibition is designed to be interactive, utilizing scale and movement to engage visitors with contemporary art in an accessible, unconventional format.

Art March Hong Kong | 8 Kusama pumpkins head to auction during Basel week – here’s every one of them

Eight signature pumpkin works by Yayoi Kusama are set to headline the spring auction season in Hong Kong, coinciding with Art Basel week. Major auction houses including Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Bonhams are offering a diverse range of these iconic motifs, featuring everything from a massive two-meter-tall fiberglass sculpture to rare red and yellow canvases. Notable highlights include a unique 2015 sculpture at Sotheby’s with a high estimate of HK$60 million and a rare red pumpkin painting at Bonhams.

Art March Hong Kong | 8 Kusama pumpkins head to auction during Basel week – here’s every one of them

Eight signature pumpkin works by Yayoi Kusama are set to headline the spring auction season in Hong Kong, coinciding with Art Basel Hong Kong. Major auction houses including Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Bonhams are offering a diverse range of the artist's iconic motif, featuring everything from a massive two-meter-tall fiberglass sculpture to rare canvases in red and yellow. The sales include a unique single-owner collection at Bonhams titled "More than Red," showcasing the breadth of Kusama’s most commercially successful subject.

Suki Seokyeong Kang’s Works Are Still Unfolding

Suki Seokyeong Kang's posthumous exhibition at Tina Kim Gallery in New York presents a body of work characterized by its mobility and open-ended nature. The show features paintings and sculptures that are designed to be rearranged, challenging static notions of display and completion.

Exhibitions, workshops, festivals… 7 family cultural outings in Paris to grow creativity during the holidays

Expos, ateliers, festivals… 7 sorties culturelles en famille à Paris pour faire pousser la créativité durant les vacances

Paris and the Île-de-France region are hosting a diverse array of family-oriented cultural events for the spring 2026 holiday season. Key highlights include the inauguration of the Manufacture at the Fondation Cartier, a Japanese-themed spring festival at le 19M, and the relocation of the Centre Pompidou’s Studio 13/16 for teenagers to the Gaîté Lyrique. Other notable activities include aerospace-themed workshops at the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace and the fifth anniversary of the Atelier Rodin.

Revolutionary-era themes shape 2026 Chesterwood exhibitions, workshops and performances

Chesterwood, the historic summer home and studio of sculptor Daniel Chester French, has announced its 2026 season opening on May 15. The programming will center on themes of patriotism and American history, specifically highlighting the Revolutionary era through a dedicated exhibition on the "Minute Man" statue. The season will feature a diverse array of workshops, performances, and gallery shows hosted across the 122-acre National Trust for Historic Preservation site.

9 new art museum and gallery exhibits opening in Houston this month

Houston is experiencing a significant surge in artistic activity this month, anchored by the 40th anniversary of FotoFest and major new installations at the city's leading institutions. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) is hosting "Buddha/Nature," a dialogue between ancient sculptures and contemporary works, alongside the return of Ernesto Neto’s massive immersive crochet installation, "SunForceOceanLife." Meanwhile, the Menil Collection is showcasing recent gifts, and Artechouse has launched a technology-driven spring celebration featuring AI-assisted sculpting and digital floral environments.

Santiago museum, set on fire during 2020 protests, reopens

The Violeta Parra Museum in Santiago, Chile, has reopened after being closed for over six years due to arson attacks during the countrywide social protests of February 2020. The museum, dedicated to the multifaceted artist and musician, suffered three fires but its distinctive guitar-shaped building, designed by architect Cristián Undurraga, did not sustain major structural damage. A $1 million restoration, funded by the museum's fire insurance and overseen by director Denise Elphick, focused on cleaning soot and rehabilitating the concrete, while adding heat-resistant windows and enhanced security.

The New Victoria & Albert Museum Opens in April: Once Again in East London

Ad aprile inaugura il nuovo museo del Victoria&Albert. Ancora una volta nell’East London

The Victoria & Albert Museum has announced the official opening date for the V&A East Museum, a new five-story cultural landmark in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Designed by architects O’Donnell + Tuomey, the museum will debut on April 18, 2026, featuring two permanent galleries titled "Why We Make" that showcase over 500 objects ranging from Renaissance paintings to contemporary fashion by Vivienne Westwood. The entrance will be anchored by a monumental bronze sculpture by Thomas J Price, marking the start of a robust contemporary commission program.

Crown's New Art Project

Crown Equipment has announced the construction of the Modern Aboriginal Art Museum in New Bremen, Ohio, a 23,700-square-foot facility scheduled to open in late 2026. The museum will house one of North America’s largest collections of contemporary Australian Aboriginal art, featuring over 100 paintings and sculptures. The project stems from the company’s 60-year business history in Australia and follows the philanthropic model of Crown’s previous local cultural investments.

Review: “The Things We Carry” at Un Grito Gallery

The exhibition "The Things We Carry" at Un Grito Gallery serves as the centerpiece for the 2026 Contemporary Art Month (CAM) Perennial in San Antonio. Curated by Casie Lomeli and Leslie Moody Castro, the show features eight artists including Matt Rebholz, whose vibrant, alien-like landscapes subvert traditional Western imagery, and Tina Linville, who presents tactile sculptures composed of salvaged materials and concrete. The exhibition is part of a larger city-wide initiative spread across five artist-run spaces.

New works by gallery artists

Gow Langsford Gallery is presenting a group exhibition of new works by its roster of represented artists at its Auckland City gallery. The show features a diverse range of mediums including painting, sculpture, and installation, highlighting the current directions of contemporary practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.