Joseph Gargasz Art Exhibition at the Eulalia Building in Monroe Saturday

Local artist Joseph Gargasz will hold an art exhibition titled "A Familiar Place" at the Eulalia Building in Monroe on Saturday, May 3, 2025, from 6 to 9 p.m. The show features over 30 original oil paintings and drawings, all available for purchase. Gargasz, a Lorain, Ohio native with a BFA from the Columbus College of Art and Design, has studied in Japan and participated in international stone carving symposia. His work has been exhibited in China, Germany, and Japan, and is held in collections including the City of Hillsborough, North Carolina, and the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University, where he currently serves as Director of Exhibition Design.

Portraits of the student artists in the 2025 Senior Thesis Exhibition

Bates College's 2025 Senior Thesis Exhibition, titled "Under the Parachute," opened on April 11 at the Bates College Museum of Art, showcasing works by seven studio art majors. The exhibition features a range of media including mixed-media pieces, cyanotype quilts, ceramics, watercolors, and sculptural installations. Student artists such as Avery Lehman, Miryam Keller, Danny Zuniga Zarat, Alex Provasnik, Lila Schaefer, and Lizi Barrow presented year-long projects that explore themes of memory, empathy, family, and modern life. The exhibition is open through May 24, with faculty advisers Carolina González Valencia and Susan A. Dewsnap supporting the seniors.

Above & Beyond, Wisconsin folk artist will explore Mexican immigrant experience in next cultural exhibit

Above & Beyond Children's Museum (ABCM) in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, will host a listening session on May 4, 2025, as it prepares the second iteration of its Culture Exchange Exhibit, this time focusing on the Mexican immigrant experience. The museum is partnering with Gabriela Marván, a Mexican artist from Viroqua and co-founder of the Mexican Folk Art Collective, who specializes in cartonería (paper sculpture). Marván will create monumental alebrijes, an ofrenda altar, and papel picado for the exhibit, which will be installed in November. The project also includes workshops, Aztec dance, bilingual story times, and loteria games, aiming to engage visitors in Mexican folk traditions over several years.

Holy ground: why Persian carpets played an important symbolic role in the funeral of Pope Francis

Persian carpets from northwest Iran were used in the funeral proceedings of Pope Francis, placed beneath his casket in St. Peter's Basilica and later in St. Peter's Square. The article traces this tradition back over 600 years, explaining how carpets from Islamic lands—first Anatolia, then Iran, Egypt, and the Levant—were depicted in Renaissance religious paintings as markers of sacred space, appearing at the feet of the Virgin Mary and other holy figures.

Hamburg Gallerist Jenny Falckenberg Dies Unexpectedly

Hamburger Galeristin Jenny Falckenberg unerwartet gestorben

The Hamburg art world is mourning the sudden passing of gallery owner and art agent Jenny Falckenberg, who died in her sleep at the age of 45. The daughter of the late legendary collector Harald Falckenberg, she had established herself as a significant force in the German contemporary art scene, known for her ability to bridge the gap between established figures and emerging talent.

When the Pergamon Altar can be seen again

Wann man den Pergamonaltar wieder sehen kann

The Pergamon Museum in Berlin is set to partially reopen in the spring of 2027 following extensive renovations, allowing public access to the hall containing the world-famous Pergamon Altar. However, the reopening will be staggered and subject to further interruptions; the altar hall is scheduled to close again for five months in 2034 to facilitate connections to the museum island's archaeological promenade. Full completion of the museum's renovation, including the South Wing housing the Ishtar Gate, is not expected until 2037.

The Ten Best Books to Complement Your Viewing of This Year’s Oscar-Nominated Movies

Smithsonian magazine has curated a list of ten books to enhance the viewing experience of this year's Oscar-nominated films, published ahead of the 2026 Academy Awards. The selections include direct source material for nominated adaptations, such as Thomas Pynchon's *Vineland* for Paul Thomas Anderson's *One Battle After Another*, as well as thematic companions like *Frankenstein* and *The Vegetarian* for other recognized movies.

In Venice, the Wagner Museum changes status

À Venise, le Musée Wagner change de statut

The Wagner Museum in Venice, currently a discreet institution housed within the Casino di Venezia in the Ca' Vendramin Calergi palace on the Grand Canal, is set to join the network of the Fondazione dei Musei Civici di Venezia (MUVE) by 2027. An agreement signed in March 2025, after thirty years of discussions, between MUVE, the Casino, and the Richard Wagner Association will make the museum the fourteenth institution under MUVE's management, alongside the Museo Correr, Ca' Pesaro, and the Museo Fortuny. The museum, established in 1995 in the rooms where Richard Wagner stayed and died in 1883, holds significant collections including the Josef Lienhart and Walter Just collections, making it one of the most important private Wagnerian collections outside Bayreuth, Germany.

White Lace Proliferates Across Urban Spaces in Patterned Murals by NeSpoon

Polish street artist NeSpoon continues her global project of painting large-scale lace murals on urban buildings, transforming residential complexes and historic facades with intricate, symmetrical patterns. Her recent and upcoming projects include participation in festivals in Valence, France, and a commission for the reopening of Berlin's Pergamonmuseum in 2027.

Gallery openings and exhibits in Central Oregon this week

Central Oregon’s art scene is hosting a diverse array of exhibitions this week across Bend, Sisters, Sunriver, and Redmond. Notable highlights include Jana Charl’s mixed-media showcase "This is not a Love Story" at Art Adventure Gallery, Hilary Baker’s moth-themed "Prophets" at the High Desert Museum, and a collection of literary-inspired quilts at the Deschutes Historical Museum. The offerings span various mediums, from nomadic woven macramé and custom jewelry to volcanic science explorations and historic cartography.

Besser Museum hosts Dr. Kelly Bushey for final Gallery Talk in Divine Comedy Series

Dr. Kelly Bushey will deliver the final Gallery Talk titled “The Agnostic and The Atheist” at the Besser Museum for Northeast Michigan on May 28, as part of a four-part lecture series accompanying the museum's exhibition *Divine Comedy Reenvisioned*. The talk explores Salvador Dalí's transition from surrealism to neo-classicism, influenced by his encounter with Sigmund Freud and his renewed spiritual perspective, offering insight into his illustrations of Dante Alighieri's *Divine Comedy*. The exhibition remains on view through July 18.

In Kyoto, a photography festival unites artists on society's fringes

Kyotographie, an independent international photography festival in Kyoto, has announced 'The Edge' as its theme for the 2026 edition, following a focus on humanity in 2025. The festival will feature exhibitions exploring fringes, darkness, and extremes of life, including a posthumous show of Fatama Hassona's 'The Eye of Gaza', a focus on South Africa with works by Lebohang Kganye, Pieter Hugo, and a peripatetic library from A4 Arts Foundation, as well as Ernest Cole's 'House of Bondage' at the Kyoto City KYOCERA Museum of Art—his first exhibition in Japan. Other highlights include Linder Sterling's survey 'Goddess of the Mind' at the Museum of Kyoto Annex and Anton Corbijn's 'Presence' at the Shimadai Gallery.

Photography in all its letters, an artistic ABC on display at the MEP

The Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP) in Paris is presenting a special exhibition titled "La photographie en toutes lettres" from June 10 to September 13, 2026, celebrating the bicentennial of photography. The show brings together 35 artists, including Nan Goldin, Ralph Gibson, Martin Parr, Sophie Calle, and Frank Horvat, organizing works alphabetically around key words to explore the medium's history, evolution, and thematic diversity.

Art Born of Pain: Frida Kahlo

This article is a promotional piece for the DW English program 'Arts Unveiled,' highlighting several upcoming segments. It announces the start of the 61st Venice Biennale, the world's largest art exhibition, and poses questions about its standout features and art's role in times of crisis. Other segments explore the American Dream as a nightmare on the 250th anniversary of US independence, and feature Indigenous artist Britta Marakatt-Labba, who creates embroidered polar landscapes reflecting Sámi culture.

yuko mohri tunes into the unseen energies connecting people and objects

Japanese artist Yuko Mohri has created an exhibition where decomposing fruit powers electronic systems, and visitors move through the installations, becoming part of the circulation of energy within the show. The work explores the unseen energies connecting people and objects, blending organic decay with technological interactivity.

Exhibition at La Jolla’s Tim Bessell gallery to showcase surf-inspired art

An upcoming exhibition at Tim Bessell's surfboard shop and gallery in La Jolla will showcase surf-inspired works by a group of artists connected by their shared love of surfing and the ocean. The show, expected to open in the first week of June, features painter, sculptor, photographer, and mixed-media artists, including Joel Pessoa, Tim Bessell, Robin Bessell, Shaun Donovan, and Steve Sherman. Pessoa will display wood carvings from Portugal and paintings from his time in La Jolla, while Bessell—an internationally known surfboard maker and artist—will also exhibit his own works, alongside his wife Robin's floral mixed-media pieces and informal contributions from his daughter Natalie.

The Art of Performing Maintenance

This article explores the work of artist Mierle Laderman Ukeles, who in 1969 wrote her "Manifesto for Maintenance Art" after experiencing a crisis of meaning following the birth of her first child. She proposed that routine maintenance tasks—like cleaning, cooking, and laundry—could be redefined as art when performed in public, particularly in museums. The article traces her early exhibitions at the Wadsworth Athenaeum, where she swept and mopped as performance, and her later projects interviewing passersby on New York City sidewalks and embedding herself in a Manhattan office building, where she invited workers to declare their maintenance tasks art.

Student artists bring diverse visions to IVC’s annual gallery exhibit

The 2026 IVC Student Art Exhibit opened at Imperial Valley College's Juanita Lowe Art Gallery on May 6, featuring a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a diverse range of student works including sculptures, videos, paintings, mixed media, and photography. Notable pieces include Catalina Gonsalez's acrylic series "Fire-Fuego," "Wind-Viento," "Water-Agua," and "Earth-Tierra," Stephanie Carrillo's watercolor of Salvador Dali, Kimberly Rodriguez's "Fragile Dancer," and Alejandro Mendez's "Self Portrait." Artist Daniel Barrera Jr. showcased Renaissance-inspired drawings, and author Cuauhtemoc (Chucky) Cortez presented his children's book "Joaquiner Stinker" with illustrations by Jesus Felix.

SF Asian Art Museum provides cultural enrichment for visitors

The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, located at 220 Larkin Street, offers a vast collection of both contemporary and ancient art from across Asia, including Japanese, Chinese, and Southeast Asian works. The museum features permanent exhibits with artifacts such as a Japanese tea set, Chinese jade, and a notable Buddha sculpture dated to 338 C.E., alongside rotating special exhibitions like Chiharu Shiota's "Two Home Countries," which uses red string installations to explore bicultural identity. The museum also hosts events like Mahjong and Mocktails, film screenings, and talks, with general admission at $14 for students and $20 for adults.

Untitled, 1982 by Anni Albers, Ink and gouache on paper, 15.9 x 22.9 cm (5)

Ocula, an online platform for contemporary art, has published a promotional piece highlighting its services: partnering with leading galleries to showcase artists and artworks, offering vetted gallery membership by application and invitation, and providing art advisory with access to influential galleries, collectors, and auction houses. The article also mentions Ocula's editorial content that celebrates people and ideas shaping contemporary art.

Raven Halfmoon’s Empowering Sculptures Go on View at Ballroom Marfa

Raven Halfmoon's traveling exhibition "Flags of Our Mothers" has opened at Ballroom Marfa in Texas, featuring her monumental ceramic sculptures that explore her dual identity as Caddo and American. The show includes the 12.5-foot-tall outdoor piece "Flagbearer" (2022), her largest work to date, along with two new works debuting at this venue. Halfmoon, who drove from her home in Norman, Oklahoma, to Marfa for the installation, uses a coil technique to build imposing forms that evoke both protective matriarchs and the violence faced by Indigenous women, with her signature graffiti-like scrawl asserting resilience.

‘Broadening access to contemporary art’: The best art-inspired stays in Europe

A Euronews Travel article highlights several European hotels that integrate contemporary art into the guest experience, positioning themselves as destinations for cultured travelers. Featured properties include the MACAM Hotel in Lisbon, which opened in March 2025 and shares a building with the Museu de Arte Contemporânea Armando Martins, offering guests access to a private collection spanning Portuguese and international art from the 19th century to the present. Other hotels mentioned are the Byblos Art Hotel Villa Amistà in Verona, blending Renaissance architecture with avant-garde works by artists like Andy Warhol, and the Elizabeth Arthotel in Ischgl, Austria, which has showcased art and sculpture since 1976 and recently added a rooftop commission by the artist duo NONOS.

Art News: A Preview Of The Lucas Museum Of Narrative Art and A Roberta Flack Auction at Julien’s

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, a 300,000-square-foot institution designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec, will open in Los Angeles' Exposition Park on September 22. The 11-acre campus includes a park by Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA and will feature over 1,200 objects across 30 galleries, showcasing narrative art from ancient sculptures to modern cinema, drawn from the museum's founding collection. Separately, Julien's Auctions will host "Roberta Flack: Style, Art & Music," a no-reserve auction celebrating the singer's life and cultural impact, including her Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand Piano.

Old toys, new life: Bloomingdale’s Step Mother Nature art gallery opens 'Child's Play'

Michael Greathouse's exhibition "Child's Play" opened at the Step Mother Nature gallery in Bloomingdale, featuring a dozen portraits of discarded stuffed animals. The show marks the gallery's third season reopening and is paired with a toy drive for the Saranac Lake Holiday Helpers, a local volunteer group that collects toys for children at Christmas. Greathouse's paintings depict battle-worn toys with scars, ripped fabric, and chipped paint, aiming to capture the history and soul of each object.

Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts Adds ‘Star Wars in Motion’ Exhibit to Opening Lineup

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has announced a new exhibition titled "Star Wars in Motion" as part of its inaugural lineup, set to open on September 22, 2026, in Los Angeles's Exposition Park. The showcase will feature vehicle designs, props, costumes, and illustrations from the first six Star Wars films, including iconic items like Luke's Landspeeder and General Grievous's Wheel Bike. The museum, co-founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, will open with over 30 exhibitions and more than 1,200 objects spanning visual storytelling from ancient sculptures to modern cinema.

Heard Museum to open exhibition pairing artists’ work with letters to their younger selves

The Heard Museum in Phoenix has opened a new exhibition titled "Wisdom from the Future," which pairs artwork by 28 Indigenous artists aged 55 and older with personal letters they wrote to their younger selves. The letters offer reflections on creativity, identity, and lived experience, with participating artists including Kay WalkingStick, Norbert Peshlakai, Preston Singletary, and others. The exhibition was developed in connection with the museum's Creative Aging program, which supports older adults in developing artistic skills.

Picasso immersive digital exhibition at Museum of Art + Light

The Museum of Art + Light (MoA+L) in Manhattan, Kansas, will host the U.S. debut of "Picasso: Art in Motion," a landmark immersive exhibition exploring Pablo Picasso's life and work, opening May 3, 2026. Produced in agreement with the Picasso Administration, the exhibition uses large-scale projections, film, and digital environments in the museum's 21,500-square-foot Mezmereyz gallery, featuring 108 projectors and over 188 million pixels. It will be accompanied by "Picasso on Paper," a quieter exhibition of etchings, lithographs, and linocuts, and will anchor a broader season including "Interference: The Interactive Art of Daniel Rozin" and "EMULATION: Selections from the Art Blocks 500."

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.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art Announces First Exhibitions Curated by George Lucas

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, set to open on September 22, 2026, in Los Angeles's Exposition Park, has announced its inaugural exhibition schedule curated by George Lucas. The museum will showcase a wide range of narrative art, from Americana works by Thomas Hart Benton and Norman Rockwell to documentary photography by Gordon Parks, Dorothea Lange, and Robert Capa, as well as public murals by Diego Rivera and Judith F. Baca. The collection also includes production designs, props, and costumes from the Lucas Archives, alongside illustrations by Frank Frazetta, Maxfield Parrish, and N.C. Wyeth, children's literature art by Beatrix Potter and Jacob Lawrence, and comics and manga by Jack Kirby, Alison Bechdel, and Mœbius.

Watercolor dreams come alive at New Mexico spring show

The New Mexico Watercolor Society is hosting its annual juried Spring Exhibition at Expo New Mexico's Fine Arts Building from May 2 through May 23, featuring approximately 100 watercolors by over 300 society members. The show includes works by artists like Marcia Birmingham, Tom Cassidy, and Junko Nakao, who paint subjects ranging from old grain elevators to historic rail yard interiors and Japanese shrines. The society holds free monthly meetings open to anyone interested in learning watercolor techniques.