The Palaces of Memory
The article reports that Israeli and US airstrikes on Isfahan, Iran, damaged several centuries-old palaces and cultural buildings. It draws a parallel to the destruction of cultural heritage in Gaza, suggesting this may be a targeted strategy to erase cultural identity and history, which are seen as threats to occupying forces.
The article highlights 11 contemporary Emirati artists, providing an overview of their practices and significance within the Gulf's evolving art scene. It contextualizes this list against recent major events in the region, including the debut of Art Basel Qatar in early February and the subsequent U.S. attacks on Iran, which caused turmoil across the Gulf, disrupted airline operations, and forced Art Dubai to scale back its event to a smaller fair in mid-May. Artists and galleries in the Gulf also had to temporarily close.
The estate of American painter Martha Diamond, who died in 2023, has been signed for representation by the international gallery Thaddaeus Ropac. The gallery will collaborate with the Martha Diamond Trust and David Kordansky Gallery to manage and promote her artistic legacy.
Chicago's annual art week unfolded with gallerist Daisy Sanchez documenting the scene for Artnet News's 'Wet Paint in the Wild' column. Sanchez, who recently co-opened Hans Goodrich gallery with Peter Anastos, attended the Renaissance Society's annual benefit, EXPO Chicago, and after-parties. The week featured artists including Joanne Greenbaum, Leah Ke Yi Zhang, B. Ingrid Olsen, and Isabelle Frances McGuire, with appearances by curators Myriam Ben Salah, Karsten Lund, and Giampaolo Bianconi, among others.
A group of artists participating in the Whitney Museum's Independent Study Program (ISP) have withdrawn their work from a capstone exhibition at Westbeth Gallery to protest the museum's cancellation of a pro-Palestine performance. The performance, titled "No Aesthetics Outside My Freedom: Mourning, Militancy, and Performance," by artists Fadl Fakhouri, Noel Maghathe, and Fargo Tbakhi, was scheduled for May 12 as part of the ISP curatorial exhibition "a grammar of attention." The Whitney canceled it after viewing a recording of an earlier presentation, citing the performers' demand that attendees who believe in Israel leave the audience and the valorization of specific acts of violence. ISP Associate Director Sara Nadal-Melsió stated that the cancellation was imposed by Whitney leadership, including director Scott Rothkopf, and that the independence of the ISP has been seriously compromised.
The Dia Art Foundation and the Sam Gilliam Foundation have announced Edgar Calel as the winner of the 2026 Sam Gilliam Award. The Guatemala-based artist and poet, born in 1987 in Chi Xot (San Juan Comalapa), will receive $75,000 and participate in a public program at a Dia location this fall. Calel, of Maya Kaqchikel heritage, works across painting, drawing, sculpture, and performance, and is known for monumental installations reflecting Mayan cosmovision and themes of ownership and stewardship. He was selected by a panel including Dia curators Jordan Carter and Matilde Guidelli-Guidi, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Annie Gawlak, Shanay Jhaveri, and Clara Kim.
Eileen Harris Norton, a foundational figure in the Los Angeles art scene, is being celebrated with a major exhibition of her collection at Hauser & Wirth. The show, "Destiny Is a Rose: The Eileen Harris Norton Collection," features over 80 works, many from her home, highlighting her five-decade commitment to collecting artists who were often her friends and neighbors, particularly women, artists of color, and Southern California-based artists.
Harrison Kinnane Smith's exhibition "Tracings and Arrangements" is on view at Emmelines, a small gallery tucked inside a former newsstand in the Fifth Avenue & 53rd Street MTA station in New York, directly beneath the Museum of Modern Art and the building formerly known as 666 Fifth Avenue. The show features two works by Louise Lawler on consignment from Sprüth Magers—"Bulbs (traced), 2005/06/19" and "(Bunny) Sculpture and Painting (traced), 1999/2019"—which are black-and-white traced decals of her earlier photographs, displayed in the gritty, fluorescent-lit subway mezzanine. Kinnane Smith, at 28, frames Lawler's works as his opening gesture in a conceptually recursive chain that extends her critique of art's circulation through commerce, collecting, and institutional contexts.
Brooklyn-based painter Shara Hughes is entering a major career phase with a series of high-profile exhibitions and commissions. In September 2025, her first New York solo show since 2019, “Weather Report,” opens at David Kordansky Gallery, featuring nine large-scale paintings. Two months later, a mid-career survey titled “Shara Hughes: Inside Outside” debuts at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, including both paintings and ceramics. Next year, she will unveil a large-scale mosaic floor installation at JFK International Airport’s Terminal 6, alongside works by Charline von Heyl and Candida Alvarez. The article includes an interview with Hughes, who discusses her studio routine, creative process, and the emotional depth behind her psychedelic landscapes.
Art Basel has appointed Iraqi curator Wassan Al-Khudhairi as artistic director for the 2027 edition of Art Basel Qatar, succeeding Egyptian artist Wael Shawky who shaped the inaugural edition. The fair will take place January 28–30, 2027, with preview days on January 26–27, at Doha Design District and M7 in Msheireb Downtown Doha. Al-Khudhairi, former founding director of Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, brings deep ties to Qatar and international curatorial experience from biennials including Gwangju and the Asian Art Biennial.
Artist Kelly Akashi created "Field Set," an installation and performance on the site of her former home and studio in Altadena, California, which was destroyed by the Eaton wildfire last year. The project, supported by the nonprofit Los Angeles Nomadic Division (Land), featured salvaged materials, hand-blown glass orbs, wildflower plantings, and a soundscape by artist Phil Peters, drawing around 500 visitors over two days. Akashi integrated remnants from the fire into her recent Lisson Gallery show and has been awarded the Hyundai Terrace Commission for the 2026 Whitney Biennial, where she will present a glass replica of her chimney titled "Monument (Altadena)."
Guadalupe Rosales, a Los Angeles–based artist known for her Instagram archive @veteranas_and_rucas documenting 1990s Chicana life, has been selected to participate in the main exhibition of the 2026 Venice Biennale, curated by the late Koyo Kouoh. In an interview with ARTnews, Rosales discusses how her invitation came about after Kouoh's passing, her evolving practice that includes photography, murals, and installations, and the emotional depth of her archival work—balancing joy and grief, as exemplified by her cousin's death certificate. She will also publish a memoir titled *East of the River* in September.
Gladstone Gallery has announced its representation of the estate of the late performance and conceptual artist Pope.L. The gallery will present its first solo exhibition of his work in New York in 2027, joining existing representatives Modern Art in London and Vielmetter Los Angeles in stewarding his legacy.
The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles has announced the prize winners for its 2025 Made in L.A. biennial. Ali Eyal received the $100,000 Mohn Award, Carl Cheng won the $25,000 Career Achievement Award, and Greg Breda was selected by public vote for the $25,000 Public Recognition Award. The winners were chosen by a jury of curators from prominent institutions.
Diego Marcon, an Italian video artist known for his uncanny and meticulously crafted films, is gaining significant attention in the United States. He recently had his first American solo show at the Renaissance Society in Chicago and is preparing for another at the New Museum in New York. His work, such as the video "La Gola" (2024), features hyper-realistic, inanimate busts with animated eyes that speak about bodily experiences, blending narrative with structuralist film techniques. Marcon's films often explore family dynamics and the materiality of film, creating dreamlike experiences that haunt viewers.
Artnet News profiles eight Gulf artists who are shaping the region's cultural renaissance, including Mohammad Alfaraj and Dana Awartani. The article highlights their growing international recognition, with Alfaraj winning Art Basel Emerging Artist and Gold Awards in 2025 and Awartani exhibiting at the 2024 Venice Biennale. It notes the expansion of major art fairs like Art Basel and Frieze into the Gulf, alongside new homegrown initiatives such as the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale and Rubaiya Qatar.
Artnet Pro's Talentspotter feature highlights seven Asian artists pushing boundaries in contemporary art through diverse media such as 3D printing, VR, photography, and large-scale installation. The artists include Hà Ninh Pham from Vietnam, who creates speculative topographical works and virtual games, and Heecheon Kim from South Korea, who examines digital cognition and reality using GPS, AR, and VR. The article provides critical and market insights into each artist's practice, background, and recent exhibitions, originally published in the Asia Pivot newsletter.
Charisse Pearlina Weston, a rising artist known for transforming industrial materials like shattered glass and concrete into harmonious abstract works, is the subject of a profile highlighting her rapid ascent. Her first solo exhibition with Jack Shainman Gallery, titled "Mis-/Mé- (Squeeze)," opened in New York's Chelsea and runs through December 20, 2025. Weston, who gained attention with a solo presentation at Patron gallery during Frieze New York 2024, was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in April 2025 and has an installation at the Cecilia Alemani-curated SITE Santa Fe International. She will also have dual representation at Art Basel Miami Beach next month.
Earlier this spring, artist Julia Isídrez led a guided tour at São Paulo's Gomide & Co. gallery for a joint exhibition with Maria Lira. The show highlights two artists from different generations and mediums—Lira from Brazil (painting) and Isídrez from Paraguay (sculpture, featured in the 2024 Venice Biennale)—who both engage Indigenous and Afro-Indigenous traditions from a contemporary perspective. Gallerist Thiago Gomide rejects labels like 'folk' or 'popular,' insisting it is simply an art exhibition. The article profiles a network of Brazilian dealers, including Vilma Eid of Galeria Estação and Antonio Almeida of Almeida & Dale, who have worked to revive interest in arte popular, a category historically applied to self-taught, Indigenous, and Black artists.
Mary Lovelace O’Neal, an activist, educator, and artist known for her monumental lampblack paintings that expanded the possibilities of abstraction, died on May 10 in Mérida, Mexico, at age 84. Despite a six-decade career, she was long considered an "artist's artist" before gaining international acclaim in recent years, with major exhibitions at Mnuchin Gallery, Marianne Boesky Gallery, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and inclusion in the 2024 Whitney Biennial and the 2025 group show "Paris Noir" at the Centre Pompidou.
Journalist Bianca Bosker went undercover as a studio assistant for painter Julie Curtiss and other artists, revealing the gritty, athletic reality behind art-making—a world of blood, sweat, and sleepless nights. The article explores how mounting financial pressures, especially for sculptors and installation artists like Ivana Bašić, Erwin Wurm, and Lindsey Mendick, force tough decisions about studio space and production. Bašić, despite critical acclaim, lost a subsidized Dumbo studio and now outsources production to keep costs down, while a growing number of established artists pass on wisdom through residencies and assistant teams.
Adam Lindemann, a collector-turned-dealer, announced he will close Venus Over Manhattan, the New York gallery he founded 14 years ago. The gallery's final exhibition, a solo show for painter Susumu Kamijo, will run until July 18. Lindemann revealed the decision in an opinion piece for Artnet News, citing the challenges of straddling the roles of collector and dealer, as well as the politics of art fairs. He plans to return to collecting full-time.
The US Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, often called the 'art world Olympics,' is mired in controversy and delays under the Trump administration. Curator Jeffrey Uslip insists the process has been smooth and artistically autonomous, but the selection of sculptor Alma Allen and commissioner Jenni Parido—a former pet supply shop owner with a new nonprofit—has raised eyebrows. The usual vetting process by the National Endowment for the Arts was disrupted, new language banning diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts was added to applications, and a government shutdown left only six months to fundraise and plan the exhibition, which coincides with the US's 250th anniversary.
TONO, the time-based art festival, has announced its 2026 lineup, running March 6–22 across Mexico City and Puebla. The program includes video installations, performance commissions, music events, and screenings at venues such as Laboratorio Arte Alameda, Casa del Lago UNAM, Museo Jumex, Museo de Arte Moderno, and Museo Amparo. Featured artists include Tino Sehgal, Space Afrika, Franziska Aigner, Kelman Duran, Ho Tzu Nyen, Avantgardo, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, and Melanie Smith. International collaborations bring dance works via 99 Canal and Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels, and a joint evening with Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie. The festival is also co-producing Camille Henrot’s exhibition Água Viva at São Paulo’s Instituto Bardi.
WWD asked top international gallerists, collectors, and artists to name the cities they find most exciting for contemporary art. Karen and Christian Boros recommend Naples and the Amalfi Coast, highlighting galleries like Galleria Giangiacomo Rossetti, Thomas Dane Gallery, and Lia Rumma, as well as Fondazione Morra Greco and Le Sirenuse hotel. Daniel Arsham points to Sugar Beach in St. Lucia for its large contemporary sculpture collection. Jean-Michel Othoniel champions South Korea, citing Seoul's Leeum Samsung Museum of Art, Kukje Gallery, and the Kiaf Seoul fair, plus the city of Busan. Emma Lavigne of the Pinault Collection names Venice, especially during the Biennale Arte di Venezia, as an essential destination.
Galerie has curated a selection of eight essential solo gallery exhibitions across the United States for April, highlighting diverse practices from New York to Los Angeles. Key features include David Smalling’s debut at Templon, where he employs Old Master techniques to critique gender expectations and social hierarchies, and Zhang Huan’s first New York solo show in over a decade at 125 Newbury, which pairs his legendary 1990s performance documentation with his signature incense ash paintings.
The Hyperallergic Spring 2026 New York Art Guide outlines a massive seasonal program featuring nearly 70 exhibitions across the city's major institutions and alternative spaces. High-profile highlights include a Marcel Duchamp retrospective at MoMA, the first major U.S. exhibition of Raphael at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the return of the Whitney Biennial, and the reopening of the New Museum. The guide also previews diverse showcases ranging from Molly Crabapple’s activist posters at Poster House to a rare Caravaggio loan at the Morgan Library.
Six blue-chip artists are currently experiencing a significant wave of institutional recognition through major museum exhibitions across the globe. Cecily Brown is preparing for a homecoming solo show at London’s Serpentine South, while Jean-Michel Basquiat is the subject of a focused study on his works on paper at Denmark’s Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Other featured artists include David Hockney, who recently opened a massive 400-work retrospective at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, alongside Carol Bove, Rose Wylie, and Nan Goldin.