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.

Spouses of PIF leaders visit Art Gallery

Spouses of Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders visited the National Art Gallery in Honiara on Monday as part of the official program for the 54th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting. Hosted by Madam Jocelyn Manele, spouse of the Solomon Islands Prime Minister, the delegation toured exhibitions featuring shell money, wood carving, and lava-lava textiles, and engaged with local artisans demonstrating traditional crafts. Acting Curator Julie Fakaia noted that the exhibition showcased gallery collections and live demonstrations, including shell money making and weaving from Rennell and Bellona. The spouses also purchased handmade items from the Solomon Islands Artisans, with traditional gifts exchanged during the visit.

Frustrated by Chicago's Jewish institutions, anti-Zionist artists are forming their own Jewish cultural center

Anti-Zionist Jewish artists in Chicago, led by Gabriel Chalfin-Piney-González, founded the Jewish Museum of Chicago in 2023 as a decentralized cultural center without a permanent physical space. The initiative emerged from frustration with the lack of a Jewish museum in the city and a desire to create a welcoming community for anti-Zionist Jews, especially galvanized by the war in Gaza. The museum has since hosted over a dozen exhibitions and events, including a Liberation Seder and an artists collective, and is planning a brick-and-mortar space.

US museums urged to stop lobbying against Nazi loot restitution bill

US museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, are lobbying against a bipartisan bill that would strengthen the ability of Holocaust survivors and their families to reclaim Nazi-looted art. The Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) paid $8,000 to oppose the bill, which eliminates technical legal defenses such as statutes of limitation and laches that museums have used to dismiss claims. New York Mayor Eric Adams and the World Jewish Restitution Organisation have publicly urged museums to drop their opposition, arguing that the stance contradicts the values of justice and accountability.

Tens of thousands sign petition to stop loan of ‘extremely fragile’ Bayeux Tapestry to UK

Nearly 50,000 people have signed a petition to block the loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum, citing warnings from textile restorers that moving the 1,000-year-old embroidered linen could cause irreparable damage. The petition, launched by art historian Didier Rykner, opposes the planned exhibition in London from September 2026 to July 2027, which coincides with the closure of the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Normandy for renovations. The loan was announced in July by French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Prominent French cultural figures, including former museum director Isabelle Attard, have voiced strong concerns, and Rykner hopes to ally with British opponents of the exchange, which would also send Anglo-Saxon and Medieval treasures from the British Museum to France.

Shellburne Thurber: Full Circle

Shellburne Thurber's retrospective exhibition "Full Circle" runs from October 24, 2025 to March 21, 2026 at the Bates Museum of Art. The show surveys Thurber's decades-long photographic investigation of interior spaces—from her grandmother's home in southern Indiana in the 1970s to psychoanalytic offices published as a book in 2023 by Kehrer Verlag. Curated by Bates curator Samantha Sigmon, the exhibition traces how Thurber has consistently explored the relationship between constructed space and human energy, focusing on private, domestic, and psychological interiors that blur the line between public and private.

A New Generation of Gallerists Is Redefining Artist Representation

A new generation of gallerists is rethinking traditional artist representation models, moving away from rigid exclusivity clauses and transactional relationships. Figures like Bryce Watanasoponwong of The Charoen AArt in Bangkok, Storm Ascher of Superposition, and Lorraine Han of Unveil Gallery are adopting flexible, collaborative approaches that reflect the realities of contemporary artists, who often juggle multiple roles and prefer non-exclusive arrangements. These gallerists emphasize open dialogue, shared responsibility, and long-term relationship-building over strict contracts, as seen in Ascher's seven-year support of artist Haleigh Nickerson, which culminated in a solo show at NADA New York 2025.

Conservation of Tintoretto painting in UK reveals ‘layer of history hiding under the surface’

A two-year conservation project by the National Trust has uncovered significant compositional changes in Jacopo Tintoretto's painting *The Wise and Foolish Virgins* (around 1546), which returns to public display at Upton House in Warwickshire, UK on 28 April. X-ray imaging revealed a hidden stone balcony beneath the final architectural setting, matching a balcony in a related version at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. Infrared scanning and paint analysis also showed that Tintoretto removed criss-cross elements and a balcony section, replacing them with a servant laying a table, while previous restorers had misinterpreted these pentimenti as part of the intended composition.

Why is contemporary art afraid of the present?

Warum fürchtet sich die Gegenwartskunst vor der Gegenwart?

The article critiques the 2024 Whitney Biennial, which emphasizes themes of compassion, vulnerability, and community. It argues that the exhibition feels like a capitulation to reality, failing to confront the rise of contemporary fascism and the political urgency of the present moment.

Berlin Modern Museum Construction Delayed Until 2030

Museumsbau Berlin Modern verzögert sich bis 2030

The completion of Berlin Modern, a major new museum in Berlin, has been delayed again until 2030 due to moisture damage and microbial infestation found in parts of the raw structure. The Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz (SPK) announced an estimated eight-month postponement, though no construction stop was required. The museum, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, is being built near Potsdamer Platz to expand the Neue Nationalgalerie's exhibition space. Costs have risen from an initial €200 million to a projected €507 million.

Condemned by Francoism, a writer rehabilitated by the Spanish Congress

Condamné par le franquisme, un écrivain réhabilité par le Congrès espagnol

The Spanish Congress has officially rehabilitated Cipriano Salvador (1894-1975), a Republican intellectual wrongly accused by the Franco regime of stealing a Renaissance painting he actually saved. During the Spanish Civil War, Salvador hid Fernando Yáñez's "La Santa Generación" (c. 1525-1532) from destruction. After Franco's victory, a priest sold the work to the Prado Museum for 15,000 pesetas, while Salvador was arrested, sentenced to death (later commuted to 30 years), and spent seven years in prison. He died in 1975 without exoneration. The rehabilitation motion passed with 32 votes in favor, 3 against, and 1 abstention, with only far-right party Vox opposing.

Sécurité dans les musées

This issue of Le Journal des Arts (No. 676, May 2, 2026) covers a range of visual art news: the Whitney Biennial's perceived neutrality, the increasing complexity of art taxation in 2025, an interview with Bourges mayor Yann Galut about scaling back the Bourges 2028 project, the opening of a contemporary gallery at Angers Cathedral, the abandonment of the Frigos artist site in Paris, and a profile of auctioneer Hubert L'Huillier.

L’architecte du Musée Gandur

The article covers several art news items from the May 2, 2026 issue of Le Journal des Arts, including the Whitney Biennial's perceived neutrality, the increasing complexity of art taxation in 2025, an interview with Bourges mayor Yann Galut about the resized Bourges 2028 project, the unveiling of a contemporary gallery at Angers Cathedral, the abandonment of the Frigos artist site in Paris, and a profile of auctioneer Hubert L'Huillier.

« La Dame à la licorne » : le portrait idéal du divin Raphaël

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is hosting the first-ever exhibition dedicated to Raphael in the United States, running until June 28. The show brings together over 200 works by the celebrated Renaissance master, including the enigmatic portrait *La Dame à la licorne* (1505–1506), which exemplifies Raphael's signature qualities of grace, light, and harmony.

Michael Asher at MOCA, Los Angeles

The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) is presenting a major exhibition dedicated to the work of conceptual artist Michael Asher. The show focuses on his site-specific interventions that critically examined the social, economic, and institutional frameworks of the spaces he engaged with.

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.

Hall Art Foundation Opens Season With Three Major Exhibitions

The Hall Art Foundation is reopening its Vermont campus for the 2026 season with three major exhibitions running through November 29. The centerpiece, "A Farewell to the Western World," is a group show of roughly 70 works exploring global power shifts and political instability, featuring artists such as Ai Weiwei, Aleksandra Mir, and Philip Guston. Also on view are Christian Marclay's video installation "Made To Be Destroyed," which compiles film scenes of artworks being damaged or destroyed, and Piotr Uklański's photographic installation "The Nazis," examining how film and popular culture have shaped representations of the Third Reich. The campus, set on a former dairy farm in Reading, includes converted gallery buildings and outdoor sculptures by Olafur Eliasson, Antony Gormley, Richard Long, and Marc Quinn.

[Gallery Walk] The Vanished Rooms of Women Reopened

Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul is presenting "Into Other Spaces: Synesthetic Environments by Women Artists 1956-1976," a major exhibition opening May 5 that reconstructs immersive environmental artworks by 11 women artists from Asia, the Americas, and Europe. The show features full-scale recreations of works that were often dismantled or lost, including Jeong Gangja's "Muchejeon" (1970), which was shut down by authorities after just days. Curators Andrea Lissoni and Marina Pugliese used archival materials, photographs, and direct consultations with artists or their estates to piece together these ephemeral pieces.

Paul’s Show of the Month: Cristallina Fischetti – Alchemea

Cristallina Fischetti's solo exhibition 'Alchemea' is on view at the Art Centre in the crypt of St Marylebone Parish Church, London, from 25 April to 18 May. The show presents ten works from the first two acts of a planned 33-painting cycle, incorporating unconventional materials such as coffee, wine, plastic, and leather. Fischetti's process involves ritualistic dance, drawing on her background in ballet, yoga, alchemy, and mystical healing, with influences from abstract expressionists like Frankenthaler and Motherwell, as well as Hilma af Klint.

From Gaza to Syria: Stories from Middle East dominate art exhibition in Portugal

The Anozero – Bienal de Coimbra in Portugal is presenting a significant number of works addressing conflict and displacement in the Middle East. The biennial, curated by John Zeppetelli and Hans Ibelings, features projects like Taysir Batniji's "Just in Case #2," a series of 250 photographs of keys belonging to displaced Palestinians, and Adam Broomberg and Rafael Gonzalez's "Anchor In The Landscape," documenting destroyed olive trees.

Two Exhibits, Four Artists and a Lot to Think About

The Maude Kerns Art Center is currently hosting two concurrent exhibitions, "Witness: Earth & Sky" and "Consume & Dispose," curated by Liberty Rossel. The shows feature the work of four artists—Rich Bergeman, Amanda Thomas, Rolf Huber, and Jennifer Bucheit—whose practices converge on themes of environmental stewardship, colonial history, and social justice. From Bergeman’s infrared photography documenting indigenous Kalapuya lands to Thomas’s use of toxic mine drainage in her ceramic glazes, the works utilize specific materials and historical research to challenge viewers' perceptions of the landscape and industrial impact.

Top York artist opens his one-of-a-kind York home for new 5-day exhibition

Renowned York-based artist Mark Hearld is hosting an independent five-day exhibition at his private residence in The Mount. The showcase features twenty new collages and a series of prints, including works inspired by a recent trip to Jaipur and a collaborative screenprint with Penfold Press. The event is notable for being held outside the official York Open Studios program, a circuit Hearld has participated in for two decades but was not selected for this year.

AstaGuru Auction house brings Raza, Husain, Souza and other masters to Nehru Centre, Mumbai

AstaGuru Auction House is launching the third edition of its 'ShowKeen' exhibition at the Nehru Centre in Mumbai. The two-day showcase features a curated selection of modern and contemporary Indian art, highlighting works by over 40 influential masters including S.H. Raza, M.F. Husain, F.N. Souza, and Akbar Padamsee, alongside contemporary figures like Meetali Singh and Tom Vattakuzhy.

Carver Museum Exhibits

The George Washington Carver Museum in Austin has unveiled its 2026 programming, headlined by the exhibition "Who Draws the Maps?" featuring three decades of work by the late artist Steven Bernard Jones. The museum is also debuting "And Still I Speak," a window installation of century-old photographs from Clarksville, one of the first freedman's communities in the United States, alongside a new core exhibition titled "The African American Presence in 19th Century Texas."

The Shape of Today - Romanian Contemporary Art

Ans Azura is hosting a major auction in Bucharest titled "The Shape of Today," featuring a curated selection of Romanian contemporary and modern art. The sale spans generations, from historical avant-garde masters like Marcel Iancu and Victor Brauner to global contemporary stars like Adrian Ghenie. The collection explores how Romanian artists have navigated identity, language, and resistance through various political and cultural shifts over the last century.

Hanwha Foundation to Open Michael Joo Solo Show at Space Zero One in New York

The Hanwha Foundation will present a solo exhibition by Korean American artist Michael Joo titled 'Sweat Models 1991-2026' at its New York space, Space Zero One, from February 20 to April 18, 2026. This marks the first exhibition of the year for the Tribeca-based platform, which opened in November with a mission to support emerging artists internationally.

TIERRA FUTURA: Boricua Land Futures, a solo exhibition by Shey Rivera Ríos and a group exhibition of 22 Boricua artists

The WaterFire Arts Center in Providence, Rhode Island, is presenting "TIERRA FUTURA: Boricua Land Futures," a dual exhibition featuring a solo show by Shey Rivera Ríos and a group exhibition of 22 Boricua (Puerto Rican) artists from both Puerto Rico and its U.S. diasporas. The exhibition, curated by Rivera Ríos with co-curators Ruchika Nambiar and Anabel Vázquez Rodríguez, runs from March 5 to March 29, 2026, and explores themes of land-based memory, eco-feminism, queer joy, and cultural sovereignty through diverse media.

Last Year’s Art Market: Only Works by Proven Artists Survived

The Korea Art Authentication and Appraisal Institute (KAAAI) released its "2025 Art Market Analysis Report" on January 21, 2026, revealing that the Korean art market grew 5.16% in total auction sales to 142.7 billion won, despite a decline in the number of lots offered. The global market saw a similar trend: combined sales at Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips rose 11.1% to $4.56 billion, but the number of works sold fell by 33.3%. Demand concentrated on high-priced blue-chip works by artists like Gustav Klimt, Claude Monet, Mark Rothko, René Magritte, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, while ultra-contemporary art sales plunged 39.1%.

21c Museum Hotel Louisville hosting public opening for next exhibition

21c Museum Hotel Louisville is hosting a free public opening reception on January 17, 2026, for its new contemporary art exhibition, "Revival: Digging Into Yesterday, Planting Tomorrow." Curated by 21c Museum Director and Chief Curator Alice Gray Stites, the exhibition features 70 works by 47 international artists, including Isaac Julien, Yinka Shonibare, Myrlande Constant, Hew Locke, and Kehinde Wiley. The show explores how examining the past can clarify the present and reimagine the future, with themes of imperial legacies, colonialism, diaspora, and personal memory. It remains on view through December 2026, open 24/7 year-round.