All of Italy Rediscovers Bice Lazzari: After the Brera Exhibition, the Second Stage Opens at the National Gallery in Rome

Tutt’Italia riscopre Bice Lazzari. Dopo la mostra a Brera, ecco la seconda tappa alla Galleria Nazionale di Roma

The major retrospective "Bice Lazzari: The Languages of Her Time" has arrived at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GNAMC) in Rome following its debut at Palazzo Citterio in Milan. Curated by Renato Miracco and featuring over 200 works, the exhibition traces the Venetian artist’s journey from her early collaborations with architects to her late-career mastery of abstract painting. The show highlights her constant experimentation across various media, including textiles and jewelry, before she fully dedicated herself to painting in her fifties.

The exhibition of the great artist Lucy Orta in a recovered historic palace in Sansepolcro

La mostra della grande artista Lucy Orta in un palazzo storico recuperato a San Sepolcro

British artist Lucy Orta has unveiled a site-specific installation titled "Trame di Comunità" at CasermArcheologica in Sansepolcro, Tuscany, following an artist residency. The work features five tents constructed from hand-woven vintage linen and hemp, inspired by the protective imagery in Piero della Francesca’s "Polyptych of Mercy." These structures are embroidered with the faces of local residents and adorned with 99 terracotta amulets, incorporating oral testimonies and personal reflections gathered from the community during Orta's stay.

Italy's Soft Power in China Thanks to Two Major Exhibitions on Pompeii and Palladio

Il soft power dell’Italia in Cina grazie a due grandi mostre su Pompei e Palladio

The National Museum of China in Beijing is currently hosting two major exhibitions celebrating Italian cultural heritage: "Pompeii: An Eternal Discovery" and "Geometry, Harmony and Life: The Architecture of Andrea Palladio from Antiquity to Classicism." These exhibitions, marking the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Italy and China, were inaugurated by Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli. The Pompeii showcase traces 250 years of archaeological history using artifacts and multimedia, while the Palladio exhibition explores the Renaissance master’s influence on Western architecture and creates a cross-cultural dialogue with traditional Chinese building techniques.

Venice Biennale Scraps “Golden Lion” Awards as Turmoil Continues

The 61st Venice Biennale has scrapped its traditional Golden Lion awards, replacing them with public-voted “Visitor Lions” after the entire award jury resigned on April 30. The jury had previously announced its intention to exclude countries whose leaders are charged with crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, effectively targeting Russia and Israel. The Biennale Foundation, however, stated that all official national pavilions—including Russia and Israel—will be eligible for the new Visitor Lions, citing principles of inclusion and equal treatment. The awards ceremony has been moved from May 9 to November 22, the final day of the Biennale, to allow ticket holders to vote throughout the event.

Maine Gallery Adds New Artists For 2026 Season

Maine Art Collective's (MAC) Gallery in Portland, Maine, has added five new artists to its roster for the 2026 season: Ann Tracy, Bill Elinoff, Sheri Oliva, donnersmith, and Tracy Hehmeyer. The gallery, which transitioned from a pop-up to a full-time space about a year ago, now features 17 artists total. Founder Susan Vittner, an artist herself, emphasizes the gallery's mission to support emerging artists through a cooperative model where artists retain most of their profits.

19 early-career artists, curators and students to benefit from professional development opportunity at Wales in Venice

The Arts Council of Wales has announced a 19-strong team of early-career artists, curators, and students who will travel to Venice this summer to support Wales' presence at the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, running from May 9 to November 22, 2026. As part of the Invigilator+ programme, participants will spend at least one month in Venice acting as ambassadors for the Wales in Venice exhibition, an official collateral event. The exhibition, titled Sownd, is led by artists Manon Awst and Dylan Huw, jointly organized by Oriel Myrddin in Carmarthen and Oriel Davies in Newtown, with Steffan Jones-Hughes as Curator and Catherine Spring as Exhibition Project Director. The invigilators include Lily Tonkin Wells, Robert Oros, Ophelia dos Santos, Grace Springer, Cerian Wilshire Davies, Megan Evans, Howl Hubbard, Temeka Davies, Llyr Evans, Chloe Goodwin, Abby Pouslon, and Niamh O'Dobhain, while student team members come from Cardiff Metropolitan University, University of Wales Trinity St David, Wrexham University, and Aberystwyth University.

Dr Kurt A. Gitter, Japanese Art Collector, 89

Dr. Kurt A. Gitter, a pioneering retinal surgeon and world-renowned collector of Japanese art, has passed away at the age of 89 in New Orleans. Born in Vienna and having escaped the Holocaust as an infant, Gitter discovered his passion for Japanese culture while serving as a U.S. Air Force flight surgeon in the 1960s. Over several decades, he and his wife Alice Yelen Gitter amassed one of the most significant private collections of Edo-period paintings and self-taught American art in the Western world.

Unesco sites in Iranian city of Isfahan damaged by US-Israel strikes

Recent US-Israeli strikes in the Iranian city of Isfahan have caused significant damage to several UNESCO World Heritage sites and historic landmarks. Reports indicate that the 17th-century Chehel Sotoun Palace suffered shattered windows, broken doors, and a large crack in a major fresco depicting Shah Tahmasp and the Mughal Emperor Humayun. Nearby, in the historic Naqsh-e-Jahan Square, the Ali Qapu Palace and the Jame Abbasi Mosque also sustained damage, including the destruction of iconic turquoise tiles and intricate fretwork.

How one Swiss museum helped to evacuate thousands of Gaza artefacts ahead of an Israeli strike

The Geneva Museum of Art and History (MAH) coordinated a frantic evacuation of thousands of archaeological artefacts from Gaza’s main storage facility on 9 September, ahead of an Israeli strike that destroyed the Al-Kawthar residential tower housing the repository. The facility, operated by the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem (EBAF), contained finds from key sites including the fourth-century Saint Hilarion Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage site. MAH staff, led by curator Béatrice Blandin, negotiated with Israeli authorities, Swiss diplomats, UNESCO, and the Aliph Foundation to secure a brief window for removal. Despite the operation, 30% of the artefacts—mostly ceramics and lapidary objects—could not be saved.

OMA, Surf Museum Host Dual Exhibition to Drive Local Tourism

The Oceanside Museum of Art (OMA) and the California Surf Museum (CSM) are partnering for the first time to host a dual-venue exhibition titled “Surf Art: Exploring California’s Coastal Culture.” OMA’s exhibit opens August 23 and CSM’s on September 13, featuring works including Kevin Short’s 2004 oil painting “Crosstown Traffic.” The collaboration aims to merge OMA’s art expertise with CSM’s deep surf history, with OMA investing about $25,000 and CSM about $10,000. The project has been in development for a year and includes a themed popup in OMA’s gift store.

Embark on a creative journey through time and space at the Leiji Matsumoto exhibition

Tokyo City View is hosting 'Leiji Matsumoto Exhibition: A Creative Journey', the first large-scale retrospective dedicated to the legendary manga artist who died in 2023. The show, running until September 7, traces his seven-decade career through original drawings discovered after his death, immersive installations, and recreations of his creative space, highlighting iconic works like 'Space Battleship Yamato', 'Galaxy Express 999', and 'Space Pirate Captain Harlock'.

Around the World

Einmal um die Welt

The article previews the national pavilions at the Venice Biennale, where 99 countries present exhibitions across the Giardini, Arsenale, and venues throughout the city. It highlights Iceland's pavilion, featuring Ásta Fanney Sigurðardóttir's project "Pocket Universe" at the Docks Cantieri Cucchini, a multimedia work combining performance, sound, moving image, and installation centered on a film about a creature.

Venice Biennale chief under pressure

Venedig-Biennale-Chef unter Druck

Just before the opening of the Venice Art Biennale, its president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco is facing mounting criticism after the entire jury resigned. Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli accused Buttafuoco of pursuing a form of "parallel foreign policy" by readmitting Russia to the six-month exhibition, calling him a "victim of a pacifist fantasy." The opening ceremony and the traditional Golden Lion awards have been canceled; prizes will now be decided by visitor vote at the end of the Biennale in November.

We had to make difficult decisions

"Wir mussten schwierige Entscheidungen treffen"

Investor Andrew E. Wolff has stepped down as CEO of Artnet after orchestrating a merger of the company's US operations with Artsy, another major art market platform he recently acquired. Jeffrey Yin, previously the interim head of Artsy, has been appointed as the permanent CEO of the combined entity. The restructuring involves significant layoffs, the closure of Artnet's Berlin office, and a consolidation of management teams, though both brands will continue to operate with distinct editorial voices.

What You Shouldn't Miss at Art Düsseldorf

Das sollten Sie auf der Art Düsseldorf nicht verpassen

The eighth edition of Art Düsseldorf is set to launch at the Areal Böhler with its most diverse lineup to date, featuring 119 galleries. This year's iteration marks a significant organizational shift with the appointment of Gilles Neiens as the fair's first Artistic Director, a role created to oversee the event's curatorial and programmatic direction. The fair continues to balance its strong regional roots in the Rhineland with an increasingly international selection of painting, sculpture, and experimental works.

Mexico faces sales of pre-Columbian art

Le Mexique face aux ventes d’art précolombien

The Mexican government is facing ongoing legal and diplomatic hurdles in its attempts to halt the sale of pre-Columbian artifacts in Paris. Despite formal protests from the Mexican embassy citing national heritage laws from 1827, auction houses like Millon continue to proceed with sales, generating millions in revenue. French authorities and legal experts maintain that Mexican national laws do not supersede French jurisdiction, which largely adheres to the 1970 UNESCO Convention regarding the illicit import and export of cultural property.

The Nicéphore-Niépce Museum is Standing Still

Le Musée Nicéphore-Niépce fait du surplace

The Musée Nicéphore-Niépce in Chalon-sur-Saône remains in a state of stagnation as long-promised modernization plans continue to stall. Despite over twenty-five years of proposals for a new facility or a "Cité de l'image," the project has become a political "sea serpent," hampered by budget cuts, staff reductions, and shifting municipal priorities. Most recently, the city declined to renew the contract of Fannie Escoulen, a former Ministry of Culture official hired to steer the project, further signaling a lack of progress.

Navid Baraty’s Atmospheric Photos Explore Contrasting Scales of Time

Navid Baraty's series "The Time Between" combines digital photographs of urban skylines like Manhattan and Chicago with dramatic natural landscapes such as desert dunes and snow-capped mountains. Using a double-exposure technique, the artist blends city lights and skyscraper outlines with geological features to explore contrasts between contemporary urban life and ancient, timeless terrains.

Hyeree Ro: What Bears

Hyeree Ro is preparing for the 2026 Venice Biennale, where she will present the work "Bearing (2026)" as part of the Korean Pavilion, titled "Liberation Space: Fortress/Nest." The article follows Ro in her temporary Brooklyn studio, where she works with salvaged objects and materials that migrate across multiple works over years—such as a sheet of organza purchased in 2023 that later appeared in "Niro (2024)" and "Carry (2025)" before being repurposed as the pavilion's fabric walls. Her practice is defined by a nomadic, accumulative material logic: objects enter without a fixed destination and gain meaning through repeated reuse.

‘We Are Here’: Queer Presence and Memory in African Art

The Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art has opened 'Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art,' an exhibition curated by Kevin D. Dumouchelle and Serubiri Moses. Developed through years of direct dialogue with LGBTQ+ artists across Africa and its diaspora, the show foregrounds self-representation and community, ensuring artists defined the terms of their inclusion. It features contemporary works alongside historical precedents, creating a continuum of queer presence in African art history.

Mastering the Mood: Exhibition explores emotion through light and color

American Legacy Fine Arts in Pasadena is launching a new exhibition titled 'Mastering the Mood: Atmospheric Emotion,' running from April 24 to June 6. The show features approximately 45 works by 25 contemporary-traditional artists, focusing on how light, color, and atmosphere in representational painting can evoke emotional responses in viewers.

Ephemeral Geographies: Where Land, Light and Time Shift at Gallery Pradarshak

A group exhibition titled 'Ephemeral Geographies: Where Land, Light and Time Shift' opens at Gallery Pradarshak in Mumbai on April 24, 2026. The show features ten emerging and mid-career Indian artists—Alistan Dias, Amol Pawar, Bhoomika Karbhari, Manthan Tambe, Meetul Agarwal, Pradip Suryawanshi, Rohan Bhavsar, Sharu Anjirbag, Siddhant Bansod, and Suresh Jangid—who present landscapes across mediums like painting and mixed media as evolving conditions shaped by perception, memory, and atmospheric change.

Bridge Street Studios mark 30 years with anniversary exhibition

Bridge Street Studios, a cornerstone of the Dundalk arts community, is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a special group exhibition titled "The things that matter most are the things that can’t be seen." Hosted at the Basement Gallery in An Táin Arts Centre, the show features works from current studio members including Orlaith Cullinane, Rachel Tinneswood, and Sarah McKenna, among others.

Emerging Sabah artist debuts solo show at Wei-Ling Gallery

Wei-Ling Gallery in Kuala Lumpur presents 'Trilogy: The Lightseeker', the debut solo exhibition of 25-year-old Sabah-born multidisciplinary artist Iwadh Mahadi. The show, running from Tuesday to November 1 at Wei-Ling Contemporary, is the latest output of the gallery's WLG Incubator programme, launched in 2020 to support emerging Malaysian artists through mentorship and dialogue. Iwadh, who works in bamboo mosaics, frottage, and printmaking under a self-described 'conceptual naturalism', developed the exhibition over seven months under the guidance of established artist Choy Chun Wei, with additional mentorship from British artist Adam Chodzko and gallery director Lim Wei-Ling.

Arts & Science Center hosting artwork by instructor at University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas is hosting the exhibition 'Blaque' by University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff art instructor Jonathan Rashad Wright as a highlight of its 2026 Black History Month programming. The exhibition, on display through July 3, explores themes of identity, heritage, grief, and resilience within the African diaspora through Wright's innovative blend of traditional printmaking and modern technology, using black ink on black paper to create layered, introspective works.

‘In Mali, When Animals Dance’ – Inside the Pulse of Sogo Bò

Yoann Cormier curates 'In Mali, When Animals Dance' at the Musée des Confluences, an exhibition dedicated to sogo bò, a Malian performance tradition blending theater, dance, music, and community. Rejecting static displays, Cormier uses immersive scenography—light, sound, film footage from the early 2000s by Sonia and Albert Loeb, and reconstructed masks made with the Lyon Opera costume workshop—to evoke the festive atmosphere of sogo bò, moving visitors through a simulated Malian day from afternoon to night.

In an exhibition in Naples it is possible to get lost without urgency in an unstable balance. The review

In una mostra a Napoli è possibile perdersi senza urgenza in un equilibrio instabile. La recensione

The exhibition "A Gentle Collapse," curated by Marta Ferrara at Andrea Nuovo Home Gallery in Naples, explores the contemporary psychic state through a spatial and perceptual construction. Featuring works in photography, painting, engraving, and installation, the show creates a sense of instability, with meaning emerging gradually through shifts between familiar and altered forms. Artists include Dorottya Vékony, Matteo Silverii, Flora Villaumié, and Zoë Pelikan, whose works engage with themes of genetic engineering, serial accumulation, and subtle disorientation across two gallery levels.

Louisiana artists travel to world’s oldest, biggest, most prestigious art show

A group of Louisiana artists from Orleans Gallery on Julia Street in New Orleans is preparing to travel to the Venice Biennale, the world's oldest, largest, and most prestigious art exhibition, which has been held since 1895. The artists, led by coach Cayman Clevenger, will show their work at the Biennale from May through November, marking a major milestone for the gallery, which has been open for less than a year.

Art House Gallery Will Present PLAYING FAVORITES, a Solo Exhibition by Bryant Small

Art House Gallery in Jersey City will present "Playing Favorites," a solo exhibition by artist Bryant Small, curated by Andrea McKenna, from May 2 to May 31, 2026. The show features a selection of Small's most cherished works, many never publicly exhibited before, highlighting his use of alcohol ink on Yupo paper to create luminous, fluid abstract compositions. An opening reception is set for May 2, and an artist talk on April 17.

Turner Center for the Arts honors regional artists at the 39th Annual Spring Into Art Exhibition Gala

The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta hosted its 39th Annual Spring Into Art Gala on April 13, drawing hundreds of attendees. Over 150 regional artists submitted more than 300 original works for the region's most prominent art exhibition, which remains on display through June 10. Cash prizes totaling $6,000 were awarded across four categories, with Joe Morgan winning Best of Show for his painting "Lobster Lottery." The exhibition was curated by Madison Caldwell, and admission to the galleries is free.