Guest curator Greg de Cuir Jr. interviews five prominent artist duos—including Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, and OJOBOCA—to explore the mechanics of collaborative practice and shared life. The participants discuss the origins of their partnerships, ranging from the necessity of navigating new environments like Berlin’s analog film scene to the shared political and aesthetic urgency following the Lebanese Civil Wars.
At the 60th Venice Biennale, the Sultanate of Oman presents "Zīnah (Adornment)," a pavilion conceived by artist and curator Haitham Al Busafi. The immersive installation, on view at the Arsenale Artiglierie from 9 May to 22 November 2026, draws on the Omani tradition of adorning horses with silver (al-zaanah) to explore themes of relation, movement, and shared presence. Visitors enter through darkness into a field of Omani sand, beneath a canopy of silver elements that respond to movement with sound. The work incorporates drawings by students and emerging artists from a workshop in Muscat, emphasizing collective authorship.
Surrey Art Gallery in British Columbia is hosting a series of events throughout May 2026, centered on the exhibition "In the Shadow of the Pavilions: Expo 86 and Contemporary Art." Highlights include a Family Art Jam on May 3, an artist talk with Leah Murray on May 7, a symposium titled "Expo Lines: Expo 86 and Contemporary Art" on May 9, and a curator’s tour with Jordan Strom on May 28. The events explore the artistic legacy of Vancouver’s 1986 world’s fair, which drew 22 million visitors, and feature works by over 50 artists including Bill Reid, Robert Davidson, Debra Sparrow, and Paul Wong.
The Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery in Saskatchewan is hosting 'Unsilenced,' an interactive art exhibition that explores mental health through the work of five artists. The show features Peter Tucker, Ruth Cuthand, Derek Poe, Amy Snyder, and Richard Boulet, using mediums such as sculpture, ceramics, beadwork, and fibre art to address topics like anxiety, OCD, climate anxiety, and intergenerational trauma. Visitors can engage with installations, including a clay pot piece about eco-stress and a reflection room for deeper contemplation.
The iconic bronze statue of Rocky Balboa, the fictional boxer portrayed by Sylvester Stallone, is moving inside the Philadelphia Museum of Art for the first time starting Saturday, as part of the museum's new exhibition "Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments." The exhibition, which marks the 50th anniversary of the original film, features over 150 artworks and ancient artifacts, and explores how monuments are created and reinterpreted by artists and communities. The statue had stood outside the museum for more than 20 years and was originally a prop from the 1982 film "Rocky III."
Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, closed the exhibition “Hold My Hand In Yours” at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art on October 6, after artists discovered their works had been removed or altered for being “overtly political.” The show, curated by museum director Andrea Gyorody, explored the imagery of hands in relation to labor and care. One artist found her video turned off at the university’s request, and a sculpture was modified to hide text reading “Save the Children” and “Abolish ICE.” The affected artists requested their pieces be removed, and others withdrew in solidarity. University officials cited a policy to avoid overtly political content consistent with its nonprofit status, and offered apologies while honoring compensation agreements.
Prague, opening of the exhibition “De Chirico – Painting is the Magical Art”
The Italian Cultural Institute in Prague has inaugurated a major retrospective titled “De Chirico – Painting is the Magical Art,” dedicated to the master of Metaphysical art. Curated by Lorenzo Canova, the exhibition features over 70 works sourced from prominent private collections across Europe, spanning the artist's career from the 1930s through his final creative years. The display includes his iconic Italian Piazzas, Baroque-inspired horses, and "silent life" still lifes, alongside a significant selection of graphic works and lithographs.
The Arts Council of the Valley is launching two concurrent solo exhibitions at the Smith House Galleries in Harrisonburg, Virginia. 'Young Warriors' by Sukenya Best features vibrant portrait paintings that explore themes of resilience and nature, while 'Water’s Journey' by Anna Freeman showcases ceramic and 2D works focused on the intertidal boundaries between land and water. The opening event on May 1 includes artist talks and a live portrait-drawing pop-up by artist Will Stroud.
Elliot and Erick Jiménez, twin photographers from Miami, have debuted their first museum exhibition, 'El Monte,' at the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM). The immersive installation transforms the gallery into a hybrid chapel-forest, drawing conceptual inspiration from Cuban ethnographer Lydia Cabrera's seminal 1954 book of the same name, which explores Afro-Cuban spiritual traditions. The artists present staged photographs featuring anonymous 'shadow figures' adorned in paint and costumes, creating archetypal representations of spiritual forces.
Alle Terme di Diocleziano di Roma spopola la mostra di un’artista cinese. Il curatore spiega perché
Chinese artist Wu Jian'an (born 1980, Beijing) is the subject of a major solo exhibition at the Baths of Diocletian in Rome, part of the Museo Nazionale Romano. Titled "Metamorphoses. L'arte che trasforma," the show explores connections between Chinese and Italian cultures, as well as broader Eastern and European traditions. Curated by Umberto Croppi, president of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma, the exhibition features works such as the monumental leather installation "The Heaven of Nine Levels" (2008–2009) and the series "The Eternal Cycle – Running Through the Seasons" (2024–2025), which combines intricate paper cutouts, silk, wax, and cotton thread. The artist, who represented China at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017, was inspired by the ancient Roman spaces, creating a dialogue between his contemporary pieces and the site's classical mosaics and architecture.
This article outlines a one-day itinerary through Milan's 2026 Fuorisalone design week, highlighting key installations and exhibitions. It begins at Torre Velasca, featuring Polish Modernism and Brazilian modernist Jorge Zalszupin, then moves to the University of Milan's cloisters for the Interni magazine exhibition themed 'Materiae,' with oversized sculptures and a yacht installation by Piero Lissoni for Sanlorenzo. Other stops include Palazzo Litta, where architect Lina Ghotmeh presents 'Metamorphosis in Motion,' and Galleria Rossana Orlandi, focusing on the theme of doors. The itinerary concludes at Alcova in the former Baggio Military Hospital, an abandoned space reactivated by curators Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima.
A rare sapphire necklace known as the “Royal Blue” sold for HKD 125,450,000 ($16,131,051) at Christie’s Hong Kong on Tuesday, during the auction house’s Hong Kong Luxury Week Autumn 2025. The necklace, featuring 104.61 carats of Kashmir Royal Blue sapphires, was the highlight of the “Magnificent Jewels” sale and fell within its pre-sale estimate of HKD 100–150 million.
Lorena Bradford, the first head of Accessible Programs at the National Gallery of Art, has left the institution after pioneering numerous initiatives to make museums more inclusive. Her work included launching American Sign Language tours, creating programs for individuals with memory loss, and spearheading the Short Description Project to provide detailed online artwork descriptions.
川辺ナホ「Flos Filicis：羊歯の花」@ WAITINGROOM
The Tokyo gallery WAITINGROOM is hosting "Flos Filicis: Flower of the Fern," a solo exhibition by Naho Kawabe featuring new installations, photo collages, and drawings. The exhibition centers on the paradoxical concept of the "fern flower" to explore the relationship between fossil fuels, industrial infrastructure, and the myth of progress. Kawabe utilizes materials like charcoal and electrical components alongside research-based lithographs to examine the history of Japanese migrant coal miners in Germany and the broader ecological impact of energy consumption.
Artist Leticia R. Bajuyo presents "Signal Convergence," a large-scale installation at Oklahoma City University's Nona Jean Hulsey Art Gallery that transforms discarded CDs and DVDs into immersive sculptural works. The exhibition runs from May 15 through Sept. 18, featuring horn-like structures built from thousands of discs, and includes a special collaborative performance on Sept. 10 with OCU music theory professor Kate Sekula using a theremin to direct sound through the installation.
The UAE Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale presents 'Washwasha,' an exhibition curated by Bana Kattan with assistant curator Tala Nassar. The show features six artists—Mays Albaik, Jawad Al Malhi, Farah Al Qasimi, Alaa Edris, Lamya Gargash, and Taus Makhacheva—whose works explore the concept of whispering in Arabic, encompassing oral history, language, rumor, and daily noise. Installations include glass sculptures, sound-based pieces from barbershops and farms, and a reconstructed hammam installation by Al Malhi that plays recordings of wedding rituals. The exhibition runs until November 22.
Bildmuseet in Umeå, Sweden, will host the Master's exhibition "Of Love and Care" from the Umeå Academy of Fine Arts at Umeå University, opening on 22 May 2026 with an Art Friday event featuring talks, performances, tours, live music, and a DJ. The exhibition showcases works by ten graduating artists—Christian Abrahamsson, Amanda Angeli Blombäck, Time Bohlin, Renan De Menezes Anan, Elna Dani Liljedahl, Joanne Löfling, Måns Palmberg, Sofia Tien, Fanny Åberg, and Tin Åling—whose pieces explore themes of love, care, mysticism, and the wonder of existence, moving beyond overtly political and consumerist messages. A media preview will be held on 20 May, and the exhibition runs through 23 August 2026.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has revealed photos from inside the Costume Institute's latest exhibition, 'Costume Art,' ahead of the 2026 Met Gala. Curated by Andrew Bolton, the show explores the relationship between clothing and the body, organized around thematic body types such as the Naked Body, Pregnant Body, and Aging Body. It features garments and artworks from The Met's collection, both historical and contemporary, and will be the first exhibition held in the new Condé M. Nast Galleries, a 12,000-square-foot space adjacent to the Great Hall. The exhibition opens to the public on May 10, 2026, and runs through January 10, 2027.
The 2026 Met Gala will take place on the first Monday in May at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, supporting the Costume Institute. The spring exhibition is titled "Costume Art" and will be the first to occupy the new Condé M. Nast Galleries. The dress code is "Fashion is Art," inviting guests to explore fashion as an embodied art form. Co-chairs include Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour, with Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos as honorary chairs. The event will be livestreamed by Vogue, hosted by Ashley Graham, La La Anthony, Cara Delevingne, and Emma Chamberlain.
Art Formes presents a multi-disciplinary group exhibition curated by Jean Dreyer at The Old Biscuit Mill in Cape Town, running from 16 April to 11 June 2026. The show features 21 artists including Maja Marx, Katherine Glenday, Gerhard Marx, and others, with works that explore themes of soil, text, and interconnection through painting, ceramics, and sculpture. The exhibition emphasizes dialogue between works and the gallery's architecture, with a press release highlighting the gallery's focus on contemporary African sculpture.
The Philomath Museum's Moreland Gallery will open a new exhibition titled "Refuge: Where Life Endures" on May 2, running through July 25. The show features works from the Corvallis Art Guild, a community art group founded 80 years ago after World War II, and explores themes of shelter, safety, and survival. A public reception will be held on May 8.
The Lynden Sculpture Garden in Milwaukee announces its May 2026 events, including exhibitions, workshops, and outdoor installations. Featured exhibitions include Faythe Levine's "Time is Running Out," which explores the legacy of Charlotte Partridge and Miriam Frink, co-founders of the Layton School of Art, and "Slow Growing in the Time of Trees" by the mycology-focused collective mycollective. A bonsai exhibit opens on World Bonsai Day in collaboration with the Milwaukee Bonsai Society and Milwaukee Bonsai Foundation, alongside free community events like Knit @ Lynden with Sara Caron.
The Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) in West Bend is presenting a new exhibition titled "The American Landscape: Beyond the Horizon" from Saturday through July 19, in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. The show brings together works from MOWA’s permanent collection and select loans, spanning the 19th century to the 2020s, to examine how artists have interpreted Wisconsin’s landscape through painting, photography, and sculpture, highlighting native voices and immigrant narratives.
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.
A new exhibition titled "From Hermès to Home" at the Waco Welcome Center showcases the work of internationally acclaimed artist Kermit Oliver alongside local artists Cade Kegerreis and Vincent Thomas, who were mentored by Oliver. Oliver is the only American artist to have designed scarves for Hermès, and the show features his iconic scarf designs alongside paintings and self-portraits by all three artists, marking the first time their work has been exhibited together. The exhibition coincides with a limited-edition re-release of Oliver's scarf design "Faune et Flore du Texas" and the upcoming publication of a book about him by Texas A&M University Press.
Dirimart presents Olivia Sterling's first solo exhibition in Istanbul, titled 'Jelly,' at its Pera location from May 7 to June 14, 2026. The show explores themes of race, power, and desire through scenes involving food, the body, and stains, using fruit and dark colors as metaphors for consumption and objectification. Sterling's paintings incorporate letters that expose how race is constructed through language, while the title 'Jelly' evokes flexibility, fluidity, and a grotesque bodily quality that mirrors the instability of identity and social conventions.
Tashkeel, a Dubai-based art organization founded in 2008 by Sheikha Lateefa bint Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is presenting "Unfolding," the debut solo exhibition by Emirati artist Moza Al Falasi. Opening May 12 at Tashkeel's Nad Al Sheba 1 Gallery, the show marks the culmination of Al Falasi's participation in the Tashkeel Critical Practice Programme (CPP), where she was mentored by Luisa Menano and Hanaa Bou Hamdan. The exhibition explores memory, loss, and the passing of time through photography, sound, painting, plaster, and fabric, reflecting on inherited grief and personal loss, including the deaths of her parents and husband.
Morocco will debut its first-ever national pavilion at the 2026 Venice Art Biennale, presenting a monumental installation titled "Asǝṭṭa" by multidisciplinary artist Amina Agueznay. Curated by Meriem Berrada, the project is housed in the Arsenale's Artiglierie and explores themes of traditional craftsmanship, shared memory, and the symbolic threshold (âatba). The installation, which involves 166 Moroccan artisans and two Venetian collaborators, is conceived as a porous, liminal space that engages with the Biennale's theme "In Minor Keys," curated by Koyo Kouoh.
Cary Kwok's exhibition at Sessions Arts Club in London presents four new paintings created with support from Herald St, Cabin Studio, Jonny Gent, and David Southard. The works, rendered in acrylic and ink on paper, explore still lifes, silhouettes, and staged interiors inspired by 1980s visual culture, including interior design, cinematography, fashion editorials, and advertising. Featured pieces include *Eclipse* (2026) and *Anticipation* (2026), with the artist's signature subtly embedded in objects like jewelry and glassware. The show opens May 18 and is viewable by appointment or during dining hours, alongside a related wine label collaboration for the Sessions Arts Club Lost Wines Project.
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.