Art as Experimental Setup

Kunst als Versuchsanordnung

The influential Berlin-based artist and professor Thomas Zipp has passed away unexpectedly. Known for his immersive installations that blurred the lines between art, science, and madness, Zipp created complex "experimental setups" involving painting, sculpture, and performance. His work often explored dark parallel worlds, notably evidenced in his haunting 2013 Venice Biennale project that transformed a palazzo into a derelict psychiatric ward.

Who are the members of the Venice Biennale jury?

Qui sont les membres du jury de la Biennale de Venise ?

The 61st Venice Biennale, opening May 9, 2026, has announced its international jury, which is composed entirely of women. The five members are Solange Oliveira Farkas (president), Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi, hailing from Brazil, Thailand, Spain, the United States, and Switzerland. Their backgrounds span the Global South, feminist studies, and transnational curatorial practices.

Art Paris: A Better Result Than Expected

Art Paris, un bilan meilleur que prévu

The 28th edition of Art Paris concluded with stronger-than-expected sales despite a sluggish start and a volatile global climate. Featuring 165 galleries, the fair solidified its position as a key regional event for French collectors, offering a price range typically between €10,000 and €40,000. While mega-galleries like Almine Rech participated with accessible works, the fair also welcomed newcomers like Esther Schipper and In Situ-Fabienne Leclerc, who reported positive results across various media including ceramics, photography, and painting.

The Best and Worst of the Stars at the 2026 Met Gala Inspired by Art History

Le meilleur et le pire des stars au Met Gala 2026 inspiré par l’histoire de l’art

On May 4, 2026, the Met Gala brought together 450 guests at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York under the theme "Fashion is Art," tied to the exhibition "Costume Art." Attendees were asked to draw inspiration from specific artworks, resulting in standout looks: Madonna channeled Leonora Carrington's "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" (1945) in a Saint Laurent gown, Kim Kardashian wore a custom piece by Allen Jones extending his "Cover Story 4/4" (2021), Hunter Schafer embodied Gustav Klimt's portrait "Mäda Primavesi" (1912-1913) in Prada, and Tessa Thompson referenced Yves Klein's "Anthropométries" in Valentino. Gracie Abrams also paid homage to Klimt's "The Kiss."

Art Basel’s Swiss Fair Will Include a New Initiative Where Galleries Will Withhold Works from Their PDF Previews

Art Basel has announced a new initiative called "Basel Exclusive" for its upcoming Swiss fair, running June 18–21 with VIP previews June 16–17. Under the program, participating galleries will withhold at least one artwork—or even their entire booth—from the PDF previews sent to clients ahead of the fair, encouraging collectors to visit in person. So far, 170 of 232 exhibitors (nearly 75%) have signed on, including major galleries like Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Pace Gallery, David Zwirner, Gladstone, Lehmann Maupin, Lisson, Matthew Marks, Paula Cooper, Thaddaeus Ropac, and White Cube, as well as secondary-market dealers such as Galerie 1900-2000, Helly Nahmad, Landau, Mayoral, Pace Di Donna Schrader, and Van de Weghe. Art Basel’s chief artistic officer Vincenzo de Bellis described it as a "gallery-led process" developed from conversations with exhibitors, formalized during Art Basel Hong Kong.

tefaf new york names 88 exhibitors for 2026

TEFAF New York has announced the exhibitor list for its 2026 edition, set to take place at the Park Avenue Armory from May 15 to 19. The fair will feature 88 galleries from 14 countries, including nine new participants and 78 returning dealers, with a focus on modern and contemporary art, design, jewelry, and antiquities. Major international galleries like Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, and David Zwirner will be present.

united states artists 2026 fellowships

United States Artists, a Chicago-based nonprofit, has named 50 artists as recipients of its 2026 USA Fellowship and awarded the Berresford Prize to Lori Lea Pourier. Each fellowship comes with an unrestricted $50,000 grant, marking the 20th anniversary of the organization founded in 2006. The 2026 cohort spans nine disciplines, including visual art, media, and writing, with notable fellows such as Mendi + Keith Obadike, Nancy Baker Cahill, Edra Soto, Eric-Paul Riege, Macon Reed, Maia Chao, and Johanna Hedva. The Berresford Prize honors Pourier for her decades of advocacy for Native artists and her role in founding the First Peoples Fund.

wet paint in the wild li hei di debut solo show

Artist Li Hei Di documents her first solo show with Pace Gallery, titled "Tongues of Flare," in Hong Kong through a disposable camera photo diary for Artnet News's "Wet Paint in the Wild" column. The 28-year-old London-based artist shares behind-the-scenes moments from her opening at Pace HK, including dinner with friends, visits to Tai Kwun Museum and M+, and an after party at an ice-cream shop where a custom flavor named Plum_Black_Field was created. The show is set to travel to the Pond Society during Shanghai Art Week in the fall.

artificial intelligence robot painting

Artist Gretta Louw reflects on her year-long residency with the e-David robotic painting lab at the University of Konstanz, part of the Embodied Agents of Contemporary Visual Arts (EACVA) research group. She describes how the public conversation around AI and robotics in art is inflated and imprecise, noting that terms like "AI painting" are often misapplied to digital outputs rather than physical, materially executed works. Louw details the limitations of robotic painting, including the inability of robots to perform basic tasks like stretching canvases or mixing paints, and argues that much of what is presented as robotic painting is actually pre-programmed performance art.

literature salman rushdie laurie anderson the satanic verses

Salman Rushdie and Laurie Anderson, two legendary New York-based artists, engage in an intimate conversation published by Cultured magazine. Rushdie discusses his recent appearance at the Sundance Film Festival for the documentary "Knife," which adapts his memoir about surviving a 2022 stabbing attack, and his travels to literary festivals in New Orleans and Tucson. Anderson shares anecdotes about her own touring show "Republic of Love" with the band Sexmob, and the pair trade lighthearted observations about movie theaters, desert landscapes, and aliens.

art nazy nazhand ist festival

Nazy Nazhand has been appointed Arts & Culture director of ISTANBUL’74 and is curating the 15th anniversary edition of IST.FESTIVAL in Istanbul, running from October 10-12. The festival, founded by Demet Müftüoğlu-Eşeli and Alphan Eşeli, adopts the theme “What Is Really Real?” and features public art installations, conversations, and performances. Participants include Jeff Koons, Flavin Judd, Stefan Sagmeister, Lou Doillon, Kid Cudi, and CULTURED editor-at-large Julia Halperin. The main exhibition will take place in the historic Arnavutköy neighborhood along the Bosphorus.

In Lugano, there are 5 exhibitions dedicated to the Orient to discover around the city

A Lugano ci sono 5 mostre dedicate all’Oriente da scoprire in giro per la città

Five exhibitions dedicated to East Asian art are currently on view across Lugano, Switzerland. Four are housed in the city's two major museums, MASI and MUSEC, while the fifth is presented by Primo Marella Gallery. The shows feature a range of works, from historical Japanese kakemono scrolls and screens to contemporary art by Chinese artists Zhang Hong Mei and He Wei, and a survey of video art from South Korea.

Peter Doig and Marina Abramović celebrated at star-studded Praemium Imperiale ceremony

Peter Doig and Marina Abramović were honored at the Praemium Imperiale Awards ceremony in Tokyo, hosted by the Japan Arts Association at the Meiji Kinenkan hall. Princess Hitachi presented the laureates with gold medals; other winners included Eduardo Souto de Moura (architecture), András Schiff (music), and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker (theatre/film). Each received 15 million yen. Attendees included international advisors Hillary Rodham Clinton, Lord Patten, and Lamberto Dini, as well as past laureates Hiroshi Sugimoto and Lee Ufan. Clinton spoke about art's unifying power, while Dini warned of declining arts education worldwide.

art fashion ivana basic claire sullivan interview

Cultured magazine pairs three artists with three independent fashion designers to mark the reopening of the New Museum on March 21, 2026, following a 60,000-square-foot expansion by OMA. In this installment, Serbian sculptor Ivana Bašić, whose work *Blossoming Being #2* appears in the inaugural exhibition “New Humans: Memories of the Future,” meets designer Claire Sullivan of Miss Claire Sullivan. Their conversation covers their New York origin stories, the city’s affordability crisis, and the challenges of making a creative life in the city.

Georg Baselitz ist tot

German artist Georg Baselitz has died at the age of 88. According to Galerie Thaddeus Ropac, he passed away peacefully on Thursday. Born Hans-Georg Bruno Kern in 1938 in Deutschbaselitz, Saxony, Baselitz fled East Germany in 1957 after political repression and academic conflicts. His first solo exhibition in West Berlin in 1963 was shut down due to scandal, and works were confiscated. He became internationally known in the late 1960s for his radical upside-down painting, a signature inversion that destabilized pictorial logic. He also created an extensive sculptural body of work. Key career milestones include representing Germany at the Venice Biennale in 1980 alongside Anselm Kiefer, multiple Documenta appearances, the Praemium Imperiale in 2004, and election to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 2019. Major late-career exhibitions included "Nackte Meister" at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna in 2023.

art elian almeida nara roesler alberto pitta

Curator Luis Pérez-Oramas has organized a two-person exhibition at Nara Roesler's New York gallery pairing Afro-Brazilian artists Alberto Pitta, 64, and Elian Almeida, 31. The show collapses generational and medium-based boundaries, featuring Pitta's layered canvas silkscreens with symbolic folk elements alongside Almeida's colorful explorations of Brazil's history in paint. A functioning coffee cart by Pitta, elevated to artwork status, greets visitors. The exhibition runs through early January.

2026 Spring Arts Preview: The top visual art exhibitions we’re excited about this season

The article previews the spring 2026 visual arts season in San Diego County, highlighting a diverse range of exhibitions and events. It announces the return of Art Gallery Month, a collaborative effort involving 11 local galleries aimed at boosting the visibility of the commercial gallery ecosystem and encouraging local art collecting. Key exhibitions featured include Ruben Ulises Rodriguez Montoya's first California solo museum show, 'In the Garden of Earthly Delights: I Bend to Paradise,' at the Institute of Contemporary Art, San Diego, and the La Jolla Historical Society's 'Space Maker,' which explores the intersection of art and architecture. The preview also notes Richard Allen Morris's work at R.B. Stevenson Gallery and lists numerous participating commercial galleries.

Art Dubai 2026 first look: What to expect at the 20th fair

Art Dubai returns to Madinat Jumeirah for its 20th edition, running from Friday to Sunday with a free preview day on Thursday. The fair features a more concentrated layout than previous years, with gallery booths, institutional exhibitions, public art, poetry readings, DJ sets, performances, and multimedia installations gathered in the main conference area. Notable participants include co-founder John Martin, who returns as a gallerist nearly 20 years after helping launch the event, and Emirati artist Rami Farook, whose sand-built booth presents works reflecting on Dubai and the Gulf. Gallery One from Ramallah draws attention with Palestinian artist Amjad Ghannam's reinterpretations of Pablo Picasso, inspired by his experience as a former political prisoner.

What to See at the 2026 Venice Biennial

The 2026 Venice Biennale, opening May 9 and running through November 22, features a main exhibition titled "In Minor Keys" organized by the late Koyo Kouoh, alongside 99 national pavilions. The event spans the Giardini and Arsenale sites, with concurrent shows across the city, including a group exhibition at the Fondazione Dries Van Noten, Melissa McGill's installation "Marea" at Corte Nova, Illy's artist-designed espresso cups at Giardini Reali, and a solo exhibition of Hernan Bas's paintings at Ca' Pesaro International Gallery of Modern Art.

Art in Wisconsin: A Guide for Collectors, Curators and the Curious

This article, written by Brian Hieggelke, serves as an editorial introduction to a special issue focused on the visual art scene in Wisconsin. It contrasts the state's art world with that of neighboring Illinois, highlighting Wisconsin's unique, friendly quirkiness and its abundance of self-taught artists. The piece recounts a visit to the inaugural Door County Contemporary art fair in Fish Creek, noting the small scale but immense charm, and the multi-hyphenate nature of Wisconsin's art players who are simultaneously artists, gallerists, and writers. The article then provides a table of contents for the issue, covering topics from the Kohler Arts Residency to the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts, and introduces several contributors including artists, writers, and educators.

Where the WashU community goes to see art in St. Louis

Washington University in St. Louis community members—including students, faculty, and alumni—share their favorite places to view visual art around the St. Louis region during the summer. Recommendations include the St. Louis Virtuoso Collective, a co-op gallery of over 50 local artists on Cherokee Street; the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, which is showing exhibitions like “Like Water” and “Make the River Present”; the Saint Louis Art Museum, featuring works by Van Gogh, Sorolla, and Cézanne; and neighborhood public art projects in areas such as Holly Hills, The Grove, and the Delmar Loop.

Art Dubai Downsizes Dramatically as War Reshapes Plans

Art Dubai has announced a significantly scaled-back 20th-anniversary edition, reducing its exhibitor list by 57 percent following regional conflict and logistical disruptions. Originally scheduled for April, the fair has been postponed to May 15–17 at Madinat Jumeirah and will now feature only 50 galleries, with a heavy emphasis on regional participants. To support dealers during this period of uncertainty, organizers have implemented a "risk-sharing" booth fee model where galleries pay a percentage of sales capped at their original fee.

Art Dubai to Present Significantly Smaller Event After Iran War Forces Postponement

Art Dubai has announced a significantly scaled-down 'special edition' fair to be held in May, replacing its postponed twentieth-anniversary event. The new iteration will feature just fifty exhibitors, down from the originally planned 120, and will be held at its traditional venue, Madinat Jumeirah.

CHIHULY AT MEIJER GARDENS TO TRANSFORM MEIJER GARDENS MAY 2 TO NOV. 1 WITH EXPANSIVE OUTDOOR AND INDOOR EXHIBITION, FEATURING ENHANCED EXPERIENCES INCLUDING RADIANT FORMS AND INSIDER TOURS

Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park will host a major exhibition of Dale Chihuly's work from May 2 to November 1. The expansive show, titled 'CHIHULY at Meijer Gardens,' will feature large-scale installations across 12 outdoor locations on the 158-acre campus, complemented by indoor gallery displays, making it the largest Chihuly exhibition in the institution's history.

NGV Has Been Named As One Of The Most Visited Art Museums In 2025, Ranking Among Other Notable Sites Like The Louvre And Tate Modern

The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) has secured its position as Australia’s most visited art museum, ranking 25th globally in The Art Newspaper’s 2025 attendance report. The institution welcomed over 3 million visitors across its two Melbourne locations, bolstered significantly by a record-breaking Yayoi Kusama retrospective that drew 570,537 attendees. This blockbuster exhibition became the most popular ticketed show in the gallery's history, attracting international celebrities and a high percentage of overseas tourists.

Portland Art Museum unveils major Hockney show

The Portland Art Museum has opened a major retrospective of David Hockney's work, featuring over 200 pieces spanning six decades. The exhibition, drawn from the collection of philanthropist Jordan Schnitzer, includes iconic works like the swimming pool series, iPad drawings, and photographic collages, and is designed with immersive, perspective-shifting gallery spaces.

Ten essential works of art to see in Dresden

The article presents a curated guide to ten essential artworks in Dresden, Germany, highlighting the city's recovery from World War II devastation to reclaim its status as a Kunststadt (city of art). It focuses on masterpieces housed in the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD), including Raphael's *Sistine Madonna* (1512/13) at the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Caspar David Friedrich's *The Great Enclosure* (1832) at the Albertinum, and a tiny cherry pit with 185 carved heads from the Grünes Gewölbe. The piece traces Dresden's golden age under rulers Augustus the Strong and Frederick Augustus II, whose acquisitions built one of Europe's most celebrated art collections.

These Are the 44 Best Art Museums in the U.S. Right Now

Time Out has published a list of the 44 best art museums in the U.S., ranking institutions like the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) at the top. The article highlights each museum's collection highlights, architectural features, and visitor tips, with prices and recommendations for immersive experiences.

Discover Takashi Murakami’s New Exhibition at Cleveland Museum of Art

Takashi Murakami's solo exhibition "Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow" has opened at the Cleveland Museum of Art, expanding on a survey that began at The Broad in Los Angeles in 2022. The centerpiece is a 32-foot-tall reinterpretation of the Yumedono (Dream Hall) from Hōryūji Temple in Nara, Japan, built with set builders from the FX series *Shōgun*. The show features around 100 paintings and sculptures dating back to 1993, including a yellow DOB t-shirt, and new works such as *Kansei Hokkyō Kōrin Flowers* (2025).

parties young artist prize 2025 mz wallace

CULTURED magazine and fashion brand MZ Wallace celebrated the 10-year anniversary of their Young Artists List with an event at (SUB)MERCER in SoHo, where they announced Iraqi-born, Los Angeles-based artist Ali Eyal as the winner of the 2025 Young Artist Prize. Eyal received an unrestricted $30,000 grant, selected by a jury of curators from the Met, the Hammer, and MoMA, for his multidisciplinary practice reflecting on violence endured during his upbringing in Baghdad.