Don’t miss Ashraf Talaat’s “The Circus” photo exhibition at the Russian Cultural Centre

The article is a roundup of current and upcoming art exhibitions in Cairo, Egypt, spanning May 2025 through June 2026. Highlights include Mostafa El-Razzaz's "Fractals of Art and Soul" at Bibliothek Arkan Plaza, Mahmoud Hamdi's "Journey to the Core" at Difaf, a retrospective for Said El-Sadr and his students at Gezira Arts Centre, and the Egyptian debut of "Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" at District 5 by Marakez in New Cairo. Also featured are a Swiss-Egyptian photography exhibition on glaciers and the Nile at the Goethe Institute, a Colombian embassy exhibition, a Korean embassy show, and a permanent ceramics display at Al-Fustat Centre.

Bruno Birmanis and Mareunrol’s on Representing Latvia at the 61st Venice Biennale

Bruno Birmanis and the artist duo Mareunrol’s (Mārite Mastiņa-Pēterkopa and Rolands Pēterkops) will represent Latvia at the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026, with their pavilion located in the Arsenale. Their project draws on memories of Latvia in the 1990s, particularly the avant-garde fashion event The Untamed Fashion Assembly (UFA), conceived by Birmanis, which took place two months after Latvia regained independence from the Soviet Union. The installation is not a nostalgic archive but a space of dialogue and reflection, using the visual codes of a fashion show backstage to explore themes of memory, freedom, and utopian intentions.

How Can Art Depict Everyday Violence?

Anuar Maauad and Roger Muñoz have cocurated the exhibition "La Alegría de Vivir" at Estudio Anuar Maauad in Mexico City, featuring works by Jorge de León, Benjamin Orlow, Miguel Ángel Rojas, Berenice Olmedo, Miguel Ventura, Paul McCarthy, and Teresa Margolles. The show confronts themes of necropolitics and systemic violence through sculptures, photographs, and installations that depict war, state power, and human suffering as ongoing, normalized conditions.

For Carly Glovinski, Art and Gardening Grow Side by Side

Maine artist Carly Glovinski has opened "Into the Garden," her third solo exhibition with New York's Morgan Lehman Gallery. The show explores gardening as a parallel practice to art-making, inspired by her residency at Surf Point in southern Maine, where she discovered the overgrown grounds of Wild Knoll, the former home of author May Sarton. Glovinski planted a community garden there, the Wild Knoll Foundation Garden, and the experience led her to return to painting after a two-decade hiatus, creating acrylic works that express the experience of gardening rather than traditional landscapes.

The Louvre changes: the project chosen to steer the museum into its new Renaissance

Il Louvre cambia: scelto il progetto che traghetterà il museo nel suo nuovo Rinascimento

The Louvre has announced the winners of its "Nouvelle Renaissance" competition, selecting a team led by STUDIOS Architecture Paris, with Selldorf Architects for museography and BASE Landscape Architecture for landscaping. The jury, chaired by Marc Guillaume and composed of 21 experts, chose this proposal from five finalists for its respectful and contemporary approach, which elegantly connects the city, the palace, and the museum while improving visitor flow and security. The project addresses urgent needs including new underground entrances, a dedicated space for Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, enhanced circulation, and green spaces, following a period of difficulty for the museum including a high-profile theft in October.

Insider’s Look at Curating a Show Inspired by the Declaration of Independence’s 250th Anniversary [Interview]

The Fabric Workshop and Museum (FVM) in Philadelphia has opened "Some American Dreams," an exhibition marking the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Curated by Hilde Nelson, FVM curatorial fellow, the show features 27 works by 20 artists created during the museum's Artist-in-Residence Program over four decades. The exhibition includes pieces in furniture, sculpture, textiles, clothing, video, and photography, and is on view until June 14, 2026. In an interview with My Modern Met, Nelson discusses her curatorial approach, which poses the question, "What if 'America' is not one project, but many?" and explores how these multiple Americas are affirmed, resisted, or remade through the artworks.

Inside the technicolour world of Jack White

Jack White, the musician best known as the frontman of The White Stripes, has begun showing his visual art, which he has been creating since his teenage years. The article offers a glimpse into his vibrant, technicolour artistic practice, marking his debut as a visual artist in the public eye.

Serralves museum director steps down

Philippe Vergne, the French curator who has served as director of the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art in Porto since 2019, will step down at the end of July 2026 at his own request. The Serralves Foundation announced that Vergne will continue contributing to exhibition curation until his departure, and the search for a new director will begin immediately. During his tenure, the museum presented major exhibitions of artists including Alexander Calder, Joan Miró, Cindy Sherman, Mark Bradford, and Maurizio Cattelan, and expanded its space with the Álvaro Siza Wing.

7 D.C. art exhibits to catch this summer before they close

The article highlights seven art exhibitions in Washington, D.C. that are closing at the end of summer 2025, urging visitors to see them before they end. Featured shows include a retrospective of African American artist Alma Thomas at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, a survey of contemporary Indigenous art at the National Museum of the American Indian, and a solo presentation of Yayoi Kusama's infinity rooms at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Other notable exhibits include a photography collection by Gordon Parks at the National Gallery of Art and a showcase of modern Latin American art at the Museum of the Americas.

San Diego Museum of Art is Celebrating 100 Years With its Most Ambitious Exhibition Yet

The San Diego Museum of Art is marking its 100th anniversary with what it describes as its most ambitious exhibition to date. The show brings together a wide range of works from the museum's collection and loans, aiming to celebrate a century of artistic achievement and institutional history.

‘Like a Malfunctioning Theme Park Ride’: Banality and Body Horror at New York Art Week

New York Art Week featured a range of exhibitions that blended banality with body horror, drawing comparisons to a malfunctioning theme park ride. The article highlights several shows that juxtapose mundane, everyday objects with grotesque, unsettling imagery, creating a disorienting experience for viewers. Artists presented works that explore the fragility and absurdity of the human body, often using visceral materials and jarring installations to provoke discomfort and reflection.

Early David Hockney piece expected to fetch thousands at upcoming auction

A rare early artwork by David Hockney, created when he was just 19, is heading to auction at Tennants Auctioneers' Modern and Contemporary Art Sale on June 13. The mixed media piece, titled *Bolton Junction Eccleshill, Bradford*, depicts scenes from Hockney's hometown and is expected to fetch between £7,000 and £10,000. Originally purchased by Hockney's tutor Malcolm Riley at the artist's end-of-year show, the work reflects the perspective lessons Hockney learned at Bradford Regional College of Art. The sale also features works by other notable northern artists, including two drawings by L.S. Lowry, pieces by mining artists Norman Cornish and Tom McGuinness, and ceramics by Pablo Picasso, alongside lots by Damien Hirst and David Bailey.

The most expensive Mark Rothko paintings ever sold at auctions

The article lists the most expensive Mark Rothko paintings ever sold at auction, highlighting record-breaking sales such as *No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red)* (1951), which fetched $186 million in 2014, and *Orange, Red, Yellow* (1961), which sold for $86.9 million in 2012. Other notable works include *No. 1 (Royal Red and Blue)* (1954) at $75.1 million and *No. 10* (1958) at $81.9 million, demonstrating the enduring high demand for Rothko's abstract expressionist canvases in the secondary market.

SeMA opens new retrospective on Yoo Young-kuk, modern master of the 'mountain within'

The Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) has opened a major retrospective on Korean abstract artist Yoo Young-kuk titled "A Mountain Within Me" at its Seosomun main branch. The exhibition, marking the 110th anniversary of the artist's birth, is the largest ever mounted on Yoo, featuring 178 works including 115 oil paintings and 15 canvases from the artist's family's private holdings shown publicly for the first time. Curated by Yeo Kyung-hwan, the show defies chronology, beginning in 1964 and moving backward through Yoo's Tokyo years and the lost decade after Korea's liberation, then forward through his geometric abstractions of the 1960s and 1970s, culminating in his late "mind-image abstraction" phase after 1980.

Inside Frieze New York 2026: The Best Booths and Standout Moments of the Art Fair

Frieze New York 2026 opened at the Shed in Hudson Yards, drawing a record crowd of collectors, artists, and celebrities on preview day. The fair featured over 65 international galleries, with a strong presence of Latin American artists and a notable shift toward textile-based works, sculpture, and paper pieces. Highlights included the Ruinart Art Lounge with preparatory studies by Tadashi Kawamata, and the Focus section spotlighting emerging galleries. Notable attendees included Leonardo DiCaprio, gallerist Almine Rech, and Sotheby's senior vice president Ralph DeLuca.

‘Just Dudes Hanging Out’: Dustin Yellin and Paul Rudd on Making the Artist’s First Film

Dustin Yellin, known for his glass sculptures and as founder of Pioneer Works, has made his first film, *Goodnight Lamby*, produced by Darren Aronofsky's A.I.-focused studio Primordial Soup. The short film, a hero's journey to rescue his daughter Zia's favorite stuffed animal, premiered at Cannes. Yellin discusses the project with his friend actor Paul Rudd, who voices the character "Papa," exploring how fatherhood and his existing artistic practice of "frozen cinema" inspired the animation.

Billionaire Collector Fred Eychaner Sued Over Chicago Museum Expansion

Billionaire philanthropist Fred Eychaner, founder of the private exhibition space Wrightwood 659 in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, is being sued by Lisa Berron, a condo owner who claims the museum's planned expansion will block natural light and skyline views from her top-floor home. Berron filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court in March, alleging that the expansion would rise above her roofline and sit just feet from her windows. Eychaner's team has already purchased two of the three units in her building and argues the project complies with existing zoning laws, while Berron reportedly rejected settlement offers and demanded nearly $4 million for her condo, which was appraised at around $1.2 million.

The Black American Artists Who Dazzled Post-War Paris

An exhibition titled "Paris in Black: Internationalism and the Black Renaissance" at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center in Chicago celebrates the Black American artists, writers, and performers who moved to Paris after World War II to escape American racism. Curated by Danny Dunson, the show features over 100 artworks from the museum's permanent collection, including paintings by Archibald J. Motley Jr., sculptures by Richmond Barthé, Augusta Savage, and William Artis, and ephemera related to Josephine Baker. It traces the global influence of the Harlem Renaissance and the cross-pollination between Paris and U.S. cities like Chicago.

Russian art today is blood. A tough interview with Pussy Riot

“L’arte russa oggi è il sangue”. Una dura intervista alle Pussy Riot

During the preview of the 2026 Venice Biennale, the Russian Pavilion became the site of a protest by Pussy Riot and FEMEN, who staged an action called "STORM OF VENICE." Wearing pink balaclavas and carrying radical slogans, they denounced Russia's presence at the Biennale, accusing the Kremlin and the European cultural system of complicity. The protest centered on the phrase "Blood is Russia's art." In an interview, Pussy Riot member Nadya Tolokonnikova argues that artists who represent the official Russian Pavilion become instruments of the aggressive imperial state, and that the Biennale confuses cultural dialogue with political normalization.

A New York il Metropolitan museum ingloba la Neue Galerie: ovvero la più importante collezione d’arte austriaca e tedesca fuori dall’Europa

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Neue Galerie in New York have announced a merger set for 2028. The Neue Galerie, founded by collector Ronald S. Lauder, will become The Met Ronald S. Lauder Neue Galerie, absorbing the most significant collection of early 20th-century Austrian and German art outside Europe, including Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I." Lauder and his daughter Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer will donate thirteen major works from their private collection, and a fundraising campaign has been launched to support the integration.

New Exhibitions Unveiled At Expanded Art Gallery

Newcastle Art Gallery in Australia has unveiled the first three exhibitions from its 2026 program, marking the first changeover since its major expansion reopened in February. The shows include "Multiverse," a survey of Torres Strait Islander artist Brian Robinson featuring over 30 new and rarely seen works, including his first immersive installation; a debut solo exhibition by Newcastle-based artist Tiyan Baker; and "The Mordant Family Gift," presenting 25 works donated by philanthropists Simon Mordant AO and Catriona Mordant AM from artists including Ian Abdulla, María Fernanda Cardoso, and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer.

Nan Goldin Gets a Major UK Moment with ‘You Never Did Anything Wrong’

The Hayward Gallery at London's Southbank Centre has announced 'You Never Did Anything Wrong,' Nan Goldin's first major UK exhibition in over 20 years. The show, on view from November 24, 2026, to March 7, 2027, will survey Goldin's autobiographical photography, highlighting her intimate depictions of love, loss, queer and post-punk communities, and her recent anti-war activism. The exhibition follows the UK debut of her opera 'The Ballad of Sexual Dependency' at Gagosian London earlier this year.

Tate Britain opens Europe’s largest James McNeill Whistler retrospective in 30 years

Tate Britain has opened the largest European retrospective of James McNeill Whistler in over 30 years, featuring 150 works across painting, drawing, printmaking, and design. The exhibition traces Whistler's career from his student days at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St Petersburg and West Point to his bohemian years in Paris and London, highlighting his pioneering nocturnes, the iconic *Arrangement in Black and Grey: Portrait of the Painter’s Mother* (known as *Whistler’s Mother*), and rarely seen sketchbooks. It reunites a familial triptych of portraits and assembles the largest-ever collection of his nocturnes, exploring his radical approach to composition and color.

The best museums in the U.S. for art, history and culture

The article presents a curated list of the 10 best museums in the United States, as compiled by U.S. News & World Report, covering art, history, science, and cultural heritage. It begins with a philosophical reflection on the unique power of museums to provide direct, physical encounters with objects that cannot be replicated by digital media. The first museum profiled is The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, highlighting its 5,000-year collection, 5 million annual visitors, and its two distinct locations: The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters.

Anish Kapoor Returns to the Hayward Gallery with Monumental New Works

Anish Kapoor will return to the Hayward Gallery in London in 2026 with a major exhibition of new and celebrated works, running from 16 June to 18 October. Curated by Ralph Rugoff, the show will fill the gallery and its outdoor terraces with monumental installations, including a vast inflated PVC membrane, a dark mountainous threshold, and the suspended sculpture 'Mount Moriah at the Gate of the Ghetto' (2022). The exhibition also features Vantablack-coated works, mirrored steel sculptures, and recent paintings and sculptures in silicone, resin, and pigment, marking Kapoor's first major return to the Hayward since 1998.

Facing Modernity: Degas to Picasso to open at Shepparton Art Museum

Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) in Victoria, Australia, will host the exhibition "Facing Modernity: Degas to Picasso" from 23 May to 20 September 2026. The show features 37 paintings and sculptures from Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, including works by masters such as Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Salvador Dalí. Many of these works are part of a major philanthropic gift from New York-based collectors Julian and Josie Robertson, donated to the Auckland gallery in 2023, and have never before been shown in Australia.

Landmark exhibition of Alex Katz drawings at Colby College

Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, Maine, will present “Alex Katz | Out of Sight,” a landmark exhibition of drawings by Alex Katz, on view from May 21 to October 11, 2026. The show brings together more than 80 works, including never-before-exhibited drawings from Katz’s personal collection, pieces from the museum’s holdings, and loans from private and institutional collections. It spans Katz’s career from high school sketches to recent portrait drawings, featuring preparatory studies, collages, cartoons, and related paintings, and is organized by Kiko Aebi, Katz Curator at the Colby Museum.

Georgia State’s Welch School Presents Exhibition Celebrating Legacy of Artist Larry M. Walker

Georgia State University's Ernest G. Welch School of Art & Design will present "Where Being Takes Root: Works by Southern Artists From the Larry M. and Gwendolyn E. Walker Collection," a landmark exhibition running from June 4 to October 15 in the Welch School Galleries. The show celebrates the legacy of artist and professor emeritus Larry M. Walker (1935–2023), whose personal collection of over 300 works was donated to the university after his death. Curated by Lauren Jackson Harris, the exhibition features artists including Charles White, Radcliffe Bailey, Kevin Cole, Bethany Collins, Benny Andrews, David Driskell, Steve Prince, and Kara Walker, with a dedicated Walker Family Gallery showcasing works by Larry Walker, his wife Gwen, and their children Dana, Larry Jr., and Kara Walker.

Adelaide’s Tarnanthi is going on tour

Tarnanthi, the Art Gallery of South Australia's annual exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, is launching a national tour titled 'Tarnanthi on Tour: Too Deadly' starting July. The touring exhibition features over 30 works from the past decade of the festival, many conceived for Tarnanthi and never seen outside Adelaide. It will visit six regional galleries across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia over the next two years, including Rockhampton Museum of Art, Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Ngununggula, Caboolture Art Gallery, Geelong Gallery, and Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery.

America the Artful: U.S. 250th anniversary exhibits bring revolt and revolution to The Wadsworth

The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut, has launched a series of exhibitions under the collective title "Framing American Democracy" to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States. The exhibits include "Radical Roots," which explores 18th-century America through historical artifacts like the Charter Oak; "Contemporary Artists Reflect," featuring protest works by Sam Durant and the Guerilla Girls; and "Rebel/Revolt/Resist," which examines Black civil rights struggles with pieces by Jacob Lawrence and Sonya Clark. The shows run through various dates in 2025, 2026, and 2027.