‘Year One after Damien Dies’: Hirst announces plans for posthumous works

Damien Hirst has revealed plans for a series of "posthumous drawings" that would allow new works to be created and sold in his name for up to 200 years after his death. In a recent interview with The Times, Hirst described a system where certificates would grant the right to produce a specific sculpture in a given year after his death, with one work released annually. He cited an unrealized 1991 idea for a pig in formaldehyde as an example of a piece that could be made posthumously and dated to its original conception year. The artist also commented on the current art market, noting a "big turn" due to global uncertainty and emphasizing the need to avoid producing unsold work.

‘I feel at home here’: Michael Rakowitz’s Acropolis Museum exhibition locates the lines between stories of lost heritage

The Acropolis Museum in Athens has opened "Allspice: Michael Rakowitz and Ancient Cultures," the first exhibition in a trilogy organized with the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and the nonprofit Neon. It is also the first time the museum has presented work by a living artist. The show pairs ancient objects from the University of Chicago’s Institute for the Study of Ancient Culture and the Thanos N. Zintilis Collection of Cypriot Antiquities with 14 works by Iraqi-American artist Michael Rakowitz, including pieces from his ongoing series "The invisible enemy should not exist," which recreates artifacts looted or destroyed from the National Museum of Iraq. Rakowitz’s lamassu reliefs, reimagined from the Palace of Nimrud, and a new commission featuring his mother’s recipes explore themes of lost heritage, memory, and diaspora.

Just a number: drawing by 11-year-old Joseph Wright of Derby goes on view for the first time

A pencil drawing of the wreathed head of Silenus, created by Joseph Wright of Derby at age 11 in 1745, will go on public display for the first time at the Derby Museum and Art Gallery. The drawing, recently rediscovered in a private family collection, is the earliest known work by the artist and is inscribed “Jos Wright 11 Years”. It features in the exhibition *Life on Paper*, which focuses on Wright’s intimate drawings, letters, and sketches, including tender depictions of his baby daughter and a self-portrait acquired through a public appeal in 2022.

11 New Artist Auction Records Set in May 2025

During New York's spring auction week starting May 12, 2025, major houses Sotheby's, Christie's, Phillips, and Bonhams collectively brought in $1.27 billion, slightly above the estimated $1.25 billion but down 17% from the previous year. The top lot was Piet Mondrian's *Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue* (1922) at $47.56 million, but the mood was tense as trophy works like Andy Warhol's *Big Electric Chair* (1967–68) were withdrawn and several top lots, including Alberto Giacometti's *Grande tête mince* (1955), failed to sell. Amid this volatility, 11 new artist auction records were set, five of which were for women artists, notably Marlene Dumas's *Miss January* (1999) selling for $13.65 million—the most expensive work by a living woman artist at auction.

Rejected by Museums Around the World, This New Art Exhibition Explores the Historical Roots of the Term 'Homosexual'

An ambitious new exhibition titled “The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity, 1869-1939” has opened at Chicago’s Wrightwood 659 gallery, featuring over 300 works by more than 125 artists from 40 countries. Curated by Jonathan D. Katz, the show traces the historical roots of the term 'homosexual,' coined in 1868 by Hungarian writer Karl Maria Kertbeny, and explores the artistic and social transformations surrounding the emergence of homosexual identity up to 1939. The exhibition includes loans from major institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Musée d’Orsay, with works by artists such as George Catlin, Jean Cocteau, John Singer Sargent, and Thomas Eakins, organized into eight thematic sections.

An UES carriage home from a celebrity architect opens up for a public art show

Art dealer and collector Adam Lindemann is presenting a free public exhibition titled "Urhobo + Abstraction" in his East 77th Street carriage house on Manhattan's Upper East Side. The show features five life-size 19th- and early-20th-century sculptures carved by the Urhobo people of southern Nigeria, paired with works by contemporary artists of African descent including El Anatsui, Alma Thomas, and Jack Whitten. The carriage house is the first Manhattan building designed by Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye, whose renovation was completed in the late 2000s. The exhibition runs through June 13, open Mondays through Thursdays, and the sculptures are not for sale.

Artist Alison Saar wins High Museum’s 20th annual Driskell Prize

Alison Saar, a Los Angeles-based artist known for sculptures exploring Black American experience through historic and symbolic imagery, has won the 20th edition of the David C. Driskell Prize from the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. The annual prize, which alternates between honoring an artist and a curator, comes with $50,000 and was announced during a reception at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York on 9 May. Saar succeeds 2024 winner Naomi Beckwith, and past honorees include Ebony G. Patterson, Amy Sherald, Mark Bradford, and Rashid Johnson.

Whitney Museum of American Art invites visitors to take in the river view

The Whitney Museum of American Art is celebrating the tenth anniversary of its Meatpacking District building by inviting visitors to experience Mary Heilmann's installation "Long Line" on the fifth floor. The work features a large-scale mural of sea green and foamy white waves, accompanied by whimsically colored boxy chairs that visitors can rearrange. The installation, which runs until January 19, 2026, encourages rest and contemplation, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of the Hudson River. Curator Laura Phipps notes that Heilmann, who created the inaugural commission "Sunset" for the building in 2015, has long prioritized visitor comfort and seating in her work.

First look: the ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ rehang at London's National Gallery

On May 10, London's National Gallery will unveil its first full rehang of the collection since the Sainsbury Wing opened in 1991. The wing has been closed for over two years to create a larger entrance foyer. Christine Riding, the director of collections and research, oversaw the rehang, which she calls a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity. Nearly 40% of the collection—1,045 paintings—will be displayed, including 919 from the collection and 126 on loan. The rehang is sponsored by Hong Kong-based property developer C C Land and is called "C C Land: The Wonder of Art." Works by female artists have been given greater prominence, and some paintings were conserved or reframed. The chronological arrangement from west to east remains similar, but many pictures have been repositioned to highlight artistic influences across generations.

10 Must-See Gallery Shows to Catch in New York This May

This article highlights ten must-see gallery shows opening in New York this May, timed to coincide with major art fairs like Frieze and TEFAF. Featured exhibitions include Yu Nishimura's debut U.S. solo show at David Zwirner, Thalita Hamoui's first U.S. solo exhibition at Marianne Boesky, and presentations by Willem de Kooning, Anastasia Komar, Theodora Allen, Ilana Savdie, Rosana Paulino, Alicjia Kwade, Xingzi Gu, and Moffatt Takadiwa. The roundup spans venues across the Upper East Side, Chelsea, and Tribeca, reflecting the city's vibrant gallery scene during a packed season of auctions and fairs.

The nonconformist: Ben Shahn is honoured in a ‘homecoming’ show at New York's Jewish Museum

A major retrospective titled "Ben Shahn, On Nonconformity" opens this month at New York's Jewish Museum, honoring the American artist's lifelong activism. The exhibition includes 175 artworks and objects from the 1930s to the 1960s, organized into sections covering Shahn's Social Realism, New Deal-era work, responses to McCarthyism and the Atomic Age, and support for the civil rights movement. Co-curated by Laura Katzman and Stephen Brown, the show is adapted from a 2023 retrospective at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, which was a surprise hit.

Turner vs Constable: is it time for art historians to choose?

Art historian and author James Hall, writing in The Art Newspaper, reviews Nicola Moorby's new book "Turner and Constable: Art, Life, Landscape" and uses it as a springboard to argue that art historians should not shy away from making value judgments about artists. He compares the legacies of J.M.W. Turner and John Constable, noting that Turner currently dominates popular and institutional esteem—appearing on banknotes, celebrated by Tate Britain as the greatest British artist, and fitting modern conceptions of the artist as a rebellious, eccentric genius. Hall contrasts this with Constable's more conservative image and declining presence in commercial culture.

Shirin Neshat: Born of Fire

The Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, New York, presents "Born of Fire," a major exhibition of Iranian-born artist Shirin Neshat running from April 20 to September 1, 2025. The show features three photographic series—"Women of Allah" (1993–97), "The Book of Kings" (2012), and "Land of Dreams" (2019)—alongside two double-channel videos and a full-length film. Neshat's work explores themes of alienation, repression, and identity, drawing on her experience of living between Iranian and American cultures after the 1979 Islamic Revolution prevented her from returning home.

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.

One of the most important galleries in Brazil is in Rome these weeks with an exhibition. The interview

Una delle più importanti gallerie del Brasile in queste settimane è a Roma con una mostra. L’intervista

Brazilian gallery A Gentil Carioca has brought the first Italian solo exhibition of artist Miguel Afa to the Fondazione Capitolina in Rome, in collaboration with the Rhinoceros space. Titled "Il tempo che vive in me" (The Time That Lives in Me), the show features works created during Afa's residency in Rome, exploring themes of time, memory, and light through oil paintings that blend Brazilian and Roman imagery.

La Seconda guerra mondiale con gli occhi dei grandi fotografi in una mostra a Gorizia

Palazzo Attems-Petzenstein in Gorizia hosts the exhibition "Back to Peace? La guerra vista dai grandi fotografi Magnum," which presents the Second World War and its aftermath through two hundred photographs, video installations, and soundscapes by legendary Magnum photographers. The show features iconic works by Robert Capa, Eve Arnold, Henri Cartier-Bresson, David Seymour, Eric Hartmann, René Burri, Thomas Hoepker, George Rodger, Wayne Miller, and Werner Bischof, covering the Normandy landings, the liberation of Bergen-Belsen, the atomic devastation of Hiroshima, and the return of French prisoners. Curated by Andrea Holzherr and Marco Minuz, the exhibition is divided into two sections: one focusing on wartime imagery and the other on the immediate consequences of the conflict, including the suffering of civilians and the fragile hope of reconstruction.

In Veneto, a New Art Center is About to Open in Two 16th-Century Villas on the Brenta Riviera (Opening on the Same Day as the Biennale)

In Veneto sta per inaugurare un nuovo centro d’arte con sede in due ville cinquecentesche della Riviera del Brenta (apertura lo stesso giorno della Biennale)

A new cultural center named Ca' Riviera will open on May 9, 2026, in Mira, Veneto, housed within two 16th-century villas on the Brenta Riviera. The project, founded by Riccardo Corò and Leonardo Tiezzi, aims to be a permanent hub for contemporary art, design, and architecture, featuring exhibitions, installations, and artist residencies. Its inaugural exhibition, 'The Shape of the Self / La forma del Sé,' is organized in collaboration with the Milan gallery Cassina Projects.

a tbilisi exhibition reintroduces merab abramishvili to the wider art world 2734711

A major multi-venue exhibition in Tbilisi, titled “Merab Abramishvili – Transparent Memory,” reintroduces the Georgian painter Merab Abramishvili to the wider art world. Organized by ATINATI’s Cultural Center and complemented by Baia Gallery, the show features over fifty works spanning the artist’s career, including pieces like *Kiss of Judas* (1989) and *Sunflower* (1989). Abramishvili’s work blends medieval visual culture with Neo-expressionism, using the traditional levkas technique on plywood to create timeless, mythic compositions that explore religious motifs, landscapes, and figuration.

Read a book, flip off a Nazi: when reading meant resistance – in pictures

A new exhibition at Poster House in New York, titled "Reading Under Fire: Arming Minds & Hearts During Wartime," showcases vintage posters from World War I and World War II that promoted reading and book donations to support troops. The posters, drawn from the collections of the American Library Association, the YMCA, and other organizations, encouraged the public to supply soldiers with reading material as a form of morale-boosting and education. The exhibition runs until 1 November and is curated by Molly Guptill Manning.

Barbara Chase-Riboud Speaks Out on Declining US Biennale Pavilion

Sculptor and author Barbara Chase-Riboud has publicly declined an invitation to represent the United States at the 2026 Venice Biennale, stating it was "not the moment" for her to do so. She was among the artists initially considered by the newly formed American Arts Conservancy (AAC), which is organizing the US pavilion after both she and photographer William Eggleston turned down the opportunity.

'L.A. has changed me,' says architect of LACMA's divisive David Geffen Galleries

Peter Zumthor, the Pritzker Prize-winning architect, discusses the making of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's (LACMA) new David Geffen Galleries in an interview. He explains his rejection of overly slick, corporate architecture in favor of a raw, handmade concrete structure, describing the building as a "concrete sculpture." Zumthor details his collaboration with LACMA director Michael Govan, who encouraged him to incorporate "American roughness" into the design, a lesson Zumthor says he has brought back to his European practice.

An Important Urbino Maiolica Basin for the Clark

Un important bassin en majolique d'Urbino pour le Clark

The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown has acquired a significant 16th-century Urbino maiolica basin from the gallery Camille Leprince following its display at TEFAF. Attributed to the workshop of Orazio or Flaminio Fontana, the trilobed basin features intricate historiated scenes from the life of Joseph and elaborate grotesque decorations. The piece was a highlight of the fair and is accompanied by extensive research regarding its complex provenance.

Annual photo show at MacNider Museum showcases local talent

The Charles H. MacNider Art Museum in Mason City, Iowa, has opened its 46th Annual Cerro Gordo Photo Show in the Center Space Gallery, sponsored by the Safford and Lena Lock Photo Endowment Fund. Sixty-two entries were submitted by residents of Cerro Gordo County and students at North Iowa Area Community College, with 36 photographs by 20 artists selected for exhibition. An opening reception and awards ceremony will be held on May 7, 2026, with cash prizes including $125 for Best in Show. The exhibition runs through July 11, 2026, and admission is free.

46th annual Cerro Gordo Photo Show open at Charles H. MacNider Art Museum

The 46th Annual Cerro Gordo Photo Show has opened at the Charles H. MacNider Art Museum's Center Space Gallery in Mason City, Iowa. The exhibition features 36 photographs by 20 artists from Cerro Gordo County and North Iowa Area Community College, selected by a panel of judges from 62 entries. Artists include Alec Heggen, Brad Janson, Wendy Janson, Dennis Nettifee, Margo Underwood, Lisa Wolf, and many others from Clear Lake, Mason City, and Plymouth. The show is sponsored by the Safford and Lena Lock Photo Endowment Fund, with an opening reception and awards ceremony scheduled for May 7, offering cash prizes including $125 for Best in Show.

Museum diplomacy in action at ICOM UK 2026: museums in a changing world

ICOM UK hosted its 2026 annual conference in Oxford, bringing together delegates from over 20 countries to explore the theme of 'Museum Diplomacy.' Keynote speaker Dr. Sascha Priewe of the Aga Khan Museum and ICOM Canada framed the current geopolitical moment as a 'GZERO World,' where no country is willing or able to lead globally, and discussed how sanctions, export controls, and shifting alliances are straining international museum collaborations. Sessions featured case studies from the Science Museum Group and International Arts & Artists, emphasizing that trust and networks, not grand gestures, are essential for enduring partnerships.

More Than 100 PPS Student Art Pieces Are on Display at the Portland Art Museum This Summer

The Portland Art Museum is hosting the "HeART of Portland" exhibition, featuring over 100 artworks created by students from all 81 Portland Public Schools. The showcase includes a diverse range of media, from ceramics and rug tufting to screen-printed apparel and zines, and for the first time, the student work is being displayed in a professional gallery space within the museum's main building. The exhibition, which opened on Tax Day, serves as a tangible demonstration of the results of the city's unique arts tax.

Shirley Gorelick: Figuring It Out

The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) is presenting "Shirley Gorelick: Figuring It Out," an exhibition running from March 27 to June 28, 2026, that centers on three large-scale paintings by the American realist artist Shirley Gorelick (1924–2000). The show brings together these works from NMWA’s collection for the first time, including the first canvas in her "Three Graces" series, a triple portrait of activist Libby Ourlicht, and a depiction of longtime friends Gunny and Lee Benson. More than 30 additional paintings, drawings, and prints further illuminate Gorelick’s practice and her subjects. Gorelick, who was active in New York artist-run women’s cooperative galleries in the 1970s, developed a bold realist style that combined vigorous brushwork, heightened shadows, and vivid patterns, yet she was largely omitted from art historical narratives that focused on Pop art, Minimalism, and conceptual art.

Witness a poetic dialogue between humanity and nature come alive at this exhibition in New Delhi

Artist Yashika Sugandh presents 'Vartaman,' a solo exhibition exploring the relationship between humanity and nature, at the Living Traditions Centre, Bikaner House, New Delhi, from September 27 to October 1, 2025. The show features intricate paintings and mixed-media works that blend whimsical hybrid creatures—such as snails carrying giraffes and turtles becoming tomatoes—with motifs like tree branches, reflecting Sugandh's reverence for the natural world. After its run at Bikaner House, the exhibition will continue at Black Cube Gallery, New Delhi, until October 31.

Participants withdraw from Chicago Architecture Biennial over sponsor’s investment in weapons manufacturer

Nine participants in the Chicago Architecture Biennial (CAB), which opened on September 19, have withdrawn in protest over exhibition sponsor Crown Family Philanthropies' investment in General Dynamics, a military contractor supplying weapons to the Israeli military. A letter signed by 22 individuals, collectives, and firms—nearly half of whom also withdrew—argues that the sponsorship contradicts the biennial's mission of addressing architecture's role in shaping a collective future. The biennial's sixth edition, titled SHIFT: Architecture in Times of Radical Change, is led by artistic director Florencia Rodriguez. Participants had raised concerns last month, and organizers clarified that Crown Family funds support education programming, not the exhibition itself, which the letter calls "even more painful" given the destruction of schools in Gaza.

Maui art exhibit to showcase works by Satoru Abe

The Maui Arts & Cultural Center will present "Satoru Abe: Reaching for the Sun," a retrospective exhibition showcasing over seven decades of work by the late Hawaiʻi-based artist Satoru Abe (1926–2025). Running from September 16 to November 22, 2025, at the Schaefer International Gallery, the show features more than 70 paintings, sculptures, and works on paper drawn from the Honolulu Museum of Art’s permanent collection and private lenders. Co-curated by HoMA curators Katherine Love and Alejandra Rojas Silva, the exhibition traces Abe’s evolution from figurative works in the 1950s through abstract explorations of natural forms, marking his first solo exhibition on Maui.