What to See in Sydney This Spring 2026

Sydney's art scene is energized by the opening of the 25th Biennale of Sydney, titled 'Rememory' and curated by Hoor Al Qasimi, which explores histories carried in the body rather than physical monuments. Concurrently, four notable exhibitions across the city engage with similar themes of legacy and history. Kirtika Kain's 'Unkept' at the Chau Chak Wing Museum creates a fictional archive from anti-caste traditions to address Dalit lineage and colonial collection politics, while Ron Mueck's 'Encounter' at the Art Gallery of New South Wales uses hyperreal sculpture to confront contemporary brutality and vulnerability.

Georg Baselitz, Lion of German Neo-Expressionism, Dead at 88

Georg Baselitz, the influential German Neo-Expressionist painter, printmaker, and sculptor, died on April 30 at age 88. His death was announced by Thaddaeus Ropac gallery, his longtime representative. Born Hans-Georg Kern in 1938 in Saxony, Baselitz was profoundly shaped by his childhood experience of war and the destruction of Nazi Germany. He was expelled from art school in East Berlin for "socio-political immaturity," moved to West Berlin, and adopted his pseudonym from his hometown. His first solo exhibition in 1963 was raided by police for obscenity, cementing his reputation as a provocateur. Known for his upside-down figures and fierce brushwork, he created series such as "Heroes" and "Fracture" that addressed trauma, violence, and the psychic toll of postwar life.

Trevor Paglen Wins 2026 LG Guggenheim Award

Multidisciplinary artist Trevor Paglen has been awarded the 2026 LG Guggenheim Award. The honor, established by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and LG, includes an unrestricted $100,000 grant and recognizes artists working at the intersection of art and technology.

Peter Doig, Tracey Emin, and More Sign Letter Defending Southbank Centre Chair

A letter signed by environmental activist Greta Thunberg and artists Tracey Emin and Peter Doig is circulating in support of Misan Harriman, chair of London's Southbank Centre. The letter defends Harriman against what it calls a "dishonest smear campaign" by the Telegraph and other right-wing outlets, which accused him of promoting conspiracies and comparing Reform Party voters to Nazis. The controversy stems from Harriman's social media comments about a knife attack on Jewish men and a video referencing Susan Sontag and Kurt Vonnegut on the Holocaust, which critics say minimized antisemitism or drew inappropriate parallels. Harriman denies making such analogies, and 70,000 people have complained to media watchdog Ipso, while 15,000 signed the letter.

Melding Chinese lacquer with European abstraction

A collateral exhibition titled "Alchemical Universe" at the Palazzo Soranzo Van Axel in Venice features 35 lacquer paintings by Chinese-German artist Su Xiaobai. Curated by Stephen Little of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma) and designed by architect Kulapat Yantrasast, the show spans Su's early experiments to recent works created for Venice, including suspended temple tiles and floor pieces on mirrored Murano glass. Su, who was advised by Gerhard Richter in 2003 to focus on lacquer, now works exclusively in the medium, layering and scoring tree sap to create contemplative abstract works.

studio museum in harlem 2026 artists in residence

The Studio Museum in Harlem has selected Derriann Pharr, Simonette Quamina, and Taylor Simmons as its 2026 Artists-in-Residence. This cohort will be the first to work in the museum's new Bruce Llewellyn Artist in Residence Center, with their residency running from March 15 to October 15, culminating in an exhibition and publication funded by the Glenstone Foundation.

swiss artist publisher childrens books rachel harrison

Rachel Harrison's recent exhibition "The Friedmann Equations" at Greene Naftali in New York was a highlight of 2025, featuring her signature brainy, oblique, and funny sculptures and drawings. The show included works alluding to Marcel Duchamp and his alter-ego Rrose Sélavy, as well as drawings riffing on Hans Holbein's portraits of Henry VIII and his court. During a visit to the gallery, Harrison's dealer Carol Greene handed the author a copy of Harrison's new children's book, "Hold Still, Henry!", which reproduces those Holbein-inspired drawings in a board-book format for young readers. The book is published by Rookie Books, a small press founded in 2022 by artist Camillo Paravicini of Basel, Switzerland, who has previously worked with artists like Monster Chetwynd, Martin Parr, and Nathalie Du Pasquier.

worst artworks we saw around the world in 2022

Artnet News editors compiled a list of the worst artworks they encountered in 2022, including a chaotic performance by Poncili Creación at NADA Miami, an overproduced Danish Pavilion installation by Uffe Isolotto at the Venice Biennale, and a Paul Cézanne painting at the Barnes Foundation that disappointed a critic. The article offers subjective, critical takes on these works, describing the NADA performance as bizarre and jolting, the Danish pavilion as graphic and lacking a powerful message, and the Cézanne as a disappointment within an otherwise memorable museum visit.

maurice sendak auction christies

Christie's will auction over 100 objects from Maurice Sendak's personal collection on June 10, 2025, at Rockefeller Center, with an online component from May 29 to June 10. The sale includes works by Dürer, Rembrandt, David Hockney, Pablo Picasso, George Stubbs, and William Blake, as well as rare editions of Blake's *Songs of Experience* (1794) and *Songs of Innocence* (1789), a vintage Mickey and Minnie Mouse tinplate toy, and 30 lots by Sendak himself, including a first-edition cover of *Where the Wild Things Are* (1963). Proceeds will support the Sendak Fellowship residency program at the Sendak Foundation in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

Isaac Julien Leads Us Into the Looking Glass

The article previews a major new video installation by artist and filmmaker Isaac Julien, titled "Once Again... (Statues Never Die)," which will be presented at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. The work engages in a complex dialogue with the museum's founder, Albert C. Barnes, and his historic collection of African sculptures, exploring themes of colonialism, modernism, and representation.

10 Art Shows to See in Los Angeles This April

April in Los Angeles features a diverse array of art exhibitions, from major institutional retrospectives to politically charged group shows. Highlights include a 60-year retrospective of the influential printmaking studio Gemini G.E.L. at its own space, a survey of the Grunwald Center at the Hammer Museum, and shows celebrating LA performance art icons Bob & Bob and Rachel Rosenthal. The month also sees a newly discovered collection of matchbook miniatures by Joe Brainard and Dave Muller's work on social connection at ArtCenter.

The 9 Exhibitions to See in April 2026

ArtReview's editors have selected nine notable exhibitions opening globally in April 2026, highlighting shows that explore materiality, memory, and political history. Featured exhibitions include "Several Eternities in a Day: Form in the Age of Living Materials" at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, showcasing artists using organic materials rooted in Brown and Indigenous thinking; a major Veronica Ryan retrospective at London's Whitechapel Gallery; and a historical exhibition in Prague revisiting Jiří Kolář's contested participation in the 1969 São Paulo Bienal under Brazil's military dictatorship.

Can Art Feel?

Hyperallergic's newsletter explores the question of whether artworks can possess personhood, drawing on Lisa Siraganian's essay that references the 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court decision and Pierre Huyghe's uncanny human statues. Other featured pieces include Ed Simon's review of Elizabeth Goldring's new book on Hans Holbein the Younger, Michael Glover's introduction to George Stubbs's equine portraits at the National Gallery in London, and news of a historic $116M gift to the National Gallery of Art for an artwork lending program. The newsletter also covers Byron Kim's exhibition at James Cohan Gallery, the new V&A East museum in London, and obituaries for Desmond Morris, James Hayward, and Flo Oy Wong.

10 Art Books for Your Spring Reading List

Hyperallergic has published a curated list of ten art books recommended for spring reading. The selection emphasizes historical retellings through an artistic lens, featuring works such as a memoir by activist-artist Susan Simensky Bietila, a chronicle of the Jewish Bund by Molly Crabapple, and the first major catalog on artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha in 25 years. The list also includes exhibition catalogs like "Chicano Camera Culture" and a monograph on painter Ewa Juszkiewicz.

The 5 Best Booths at Frieze New York 2026

Frieze New York 2026 opened its VIP day at The Shed on May 13, following the Venice Biennale's opening week. Now in its 15th edition, the fair anchors New York Art Week, a series of concurrent fairs, gallery openings, auctions, and parties that take over the city each May. The article highlights the five best booths at the fair, curated by Artsy Editorial.

maurizio cattelan gioni beware of yourself

Massimiliano Gioni reveals that for nearly a decade, from 1997 to 2006, he acted as Maurizio Cattelan's ghostwriter and public impersonator, writing all of Cattelan's texts, press releases, and interviews, and even giving lectures and television appearances in his place. Gioni describes how he fabricated lies and half-truths, speaking as Cattelan at universities like Yale and NYU, on Vatican Radio, and during the media storm over Cattelan's sculpture of hanged children in Milan, all for a monthly fee of $500.

joel peter witkin photography

Joel-Peter Witkin, the controversial photographer known for his macabre and surreal imagery, is the subject of a new exhibition titled “Joel-Peter Witkin: The World Is Not Enough” at A Gallery for Fine Photography in New Orleans. The show features a wide cross-section of his work, from early pieces like the cadaver-based still life *The Kiss* (1982) to recent works such as *The Soul Has No Gender* (2016), a portrait of a transsexual woman posed as Mary Magdalene. Witkin, a mainstay on artnet’s Top 300 list, personally prints each photograph and continues to explore themes of death, beauty, and the marginalized in society.

Bahar Behbahani Brings the Persian Garden to NYC

Bahar Behbahani's project "Damask Rose: A Gathering" transformed three fountains on Governors Island into a Persian garden using handwoven carpets and crocheted canopies. The event, part of Governors Island Arts's annual Interventions series, brought together over two dozen community practitioners and cultural groups for a four-hour gathering focused on storytelling, music, and art-making. The article also covers Mana Contemporary's Spring Open Studios in Jersey City, a new Gaza monument in Paterson, Sarah Lucas's public sculpture at the New Museum, and other New York-area art news.

‘This is the place of dreams’: Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo’s Venetian island venue opens to public

Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo opened San Giacomo, a Venetian lagoon island she and her husband bought in 2018, to the public on May 7 during the Venice Biennale. The former military site now houses exhibition spaces in converted munitions storehouses, featuring a solo show by Matt Copson curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, selections from the Sandretto collection with works by Michael Armitage, Sarah Lucas, Victor Man, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, and outdoor installations by Pamela Rosenkranz, Claire Fontaine, Hugh Hayden, and Goshka Macuga. The island also includes a chapel-like structure by Hayden and a rocket sculpture by Macuga.

Mom, I'm Gonna Be an Artist!

Hyperallergic's Saturday newsletter, edited by Valentina Di Liscia, rounds up a week of art-world activity marked by protests and resistance. Staff Writer Isa Farfan asked 15 artists to share advice from their mothers for Mother's Day, featuring responses from Pat Oleszko, whose work is in the Whitney Biennial. The newsletter also covers editor-in-chief Hakim Bishara's report on a historic strike for Palestine and workers' rights at the Venice Biennale, where dozens of national pavilions shut down, and Editor-at-Large Hrag Vartanian's review of the central exhibition "In Minor Keys." Additional stories include Damien Davis on artists and consignment agreements, Matt Stromberg on the LA Art Book Fair, a protest against Jeff Bezos at the Met Gala, MoMA PS1's upcoming Teresa Margolles survey, and a picket at the American Folk Art Museum.

The Big Review | Venice Biennale 2026: In Minor Keys ★★★½

The Venice Biennale 2026, titled "In Minor Keys," was curated posthumously following the death of artistic director Koyo Kouoh in May 2025. A team of five curators and advisors—Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, Marie Hélène Pereira, Rasha Salti, Siddhartha Mitter, and Rory Tsapayi—executed her vision across the Giardini and Arsenale venues. The exhibition features 110 artists, with a strong emphasis on new commissions, and is structured around themes of procession, resistance, and joy. Key works include Big Chief Demond Melancon's "Amistad Takeover" (2026), Nick Cave's "Amalgam (Origin)" (2025), and Otobong Nkanga's rewilded columns at the Central Pavilion.

In Venice, Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince Ask: What Is Appropriate to Appropriate?

Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince are showing their work together in a joint exhibition titled "Helter Skelter" at the Fondazione Prada in Venice. Curated by Nancy Spector, the show explores the artists' shared practice of appropriation, a connection that began when Prince attended the debut of Jafa's video work AGHDRA (2021) and later deepened through conversations about race, property, and self-authorization. Jafa has long admired Prince's approach, calling him "the blackest white artist I know," and the exhibition pairs their works to examine how appropriation functions differently for a Black artist versus a white artist.

Art Movements: New Museum Names Its First Artist Studio Residents

The New Museum has named Yun Choi, Alison Kuo, and Korakrit Arunanondchai as the first artists-in-residence for its new Artist Studio, a 730-square-foot space created by the museum's OMA-designed expansion. The residencies will run from spring 2025 through winter 2027, with each artist developing new work, onsite exhibitions, and public programs. Separately, Forge Project announced its 2026 fellows—six Indigenous artists including Jay Bellis, Heidi Brandow, and Tiare Ribeaux—who will each receive $25,000 and a three-week residency. In other news, the Robert Therrien Estate has left Gagosian for David Zwirner Gallery, Laurel Nakadate won the Maud Morgan Prize, and Frieze New York revealed a staff uniform designed by artist Reika Takebayashi.

Colleen Barry Wants You to Believe in Pictures Again

Artist Colleen Barry presents her exhibition “Iconophilia” at Half Gallery in the East Village, featuring 14 recent paintings that explore motherhood, tenderness, and the complexity of image-making. The works include mythological references like the Capitoline Wolf and juxtapositions of ancient and modern imagery, such as a portrait of Grace Jones combined with the Roman god Janus. Barry, who grew up working class in New York and learned painting from her father, aims to counter contemporary distrust of images—especially among her children—by offering a reverent, iconophilic approach to visual culture.

Kamrooz Aram Is Everywhere

Iranian artist Kamrooz Aram is currently experiencing a significant institutional and commercial moment, with his work appearing in three major exhibitions across two continents simultaneously. Critic Aruna D’Souza highlights Aram’s ability to synthesize Islamic visual idioms with Western abstraction, creating a painterly language that transcends cultural hierarchies and treats historical narratives with a unique lightness.

Never-Before-Seen Paintings Reveal Anthony Van Dyck’s Formative Italian Period

A major new exhibition at Genoa's Palazzo Ducale, "Van Dyck: The European. The Journey of a Genius from Antwerp to Genoa and London," presents a comprehensive survey of Anthony van Dyck's formative years in Italy. Featuring around 60 works, including loans from the Louvre, Prado, and National Gallery, the show reveals how his six-year Italian sojourn was a period of intense experimentation and emancipation from his master Rubens, leading to his signature theatrical portrait style.

The Week in Art: Iran's Heritage, Art Market Recovery, Sydney Biennale

Art communities and heritage in Iran, moderate recovery in the art market, Sydney Biennale—podcast

The latest episode of The Week in Art podcast covers three main topics. First, it discusses the impact of the ongoing Middle East conflict on cultural communities and heritage sites in Iran and Lebanon, including damage to the Chehel Sotoun palace in Isfahan. Second, it analyzes the new Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report, which indicates a market recovery but reveals a complex picture. Third, it features a new installation by Indigenous American artist Cannupa Hanska Luger at the Sydney Biennale, consisting of ceramic dingo skulls, which has gained relevance following a recent tragedy in Australia.

ultra contemporary old masters

A significant trend is emerging in the New York art scene this winter, as a wave of gallery and museum exhibitions highlights contemporary artists engaging deeply with European Old Masters. While some critics dismiss art historical references as "reference-baiting" to boost market value, artists like Émile Brunet and Eleanor Johnson are demonstrating a profound technical and intellectual commitment to these lineages. Their work moves beyond mere pastiche, utilizing traditional materials, Northern Renaissance aesthetics, and Baroque glazing techniques to address modern themes of labor, humanism, and information overload.

kevin mcgarry reviews jason faragos even

Kevin McGarry reviews the debut issue of *Even*, a new print art journal launched by *Guardian* contributor Jason Farago during Frieze New York. Named after a phrase from Marcel Duchamp's *The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even*, the magazine is a small, paperback-sized publication that prioritizes text over images, positioning itself as an antidote to market-driven art discourse. The first issue features a lengthy essay on artist Joan Jonas by Elisabeth Lebovici, timed to Jonas's U.S. pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale, and a piece by Zachary Woolfe on the Björk exhibition at MoMA. McGarry critiques the journal's ambition to revitalize art criticism, noting that while its goals are lofty, the content sometimes falls back on familiar artspeak.

art basel paris satellite fairs art week 2025

Art Basel Paris at the Grand Palais has drawn a constellation of satellite fairs across the city, including Paris Internationale and Asia Now, both celebrating their 10th anniversaries. Paris Internationale, founded in 2015 by gallerists Ciaccia Levi, Crèvecœur, and Gregor Staiger, presents 59 galleries and seven non-profit spaces from 19 countries at the Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées, emphasizing independence and artist-centered values. Asia Now, held at the Monnaie de Paris, returns with the theme “Grow,” featuring 68 galleries and focusing on plural, borderless Asian contemporary art. Newcomers 7 rue Froissart and Upstairs Art Fair add community and irreverence, while Detroit Salon launches a three-year global roadshow with its first stop in Paris.