Return of Aparicio painting to Prado exemplifies trajectory of human taste

The Prado Museum in Madrid has launched a new exhibition series called "A Work, a Story," beginning with José Aparicio's 1818 painting "El año del hambre de Madrid" (The Year of the Famine in Madrid). Once the museum's most popular attraction, the propagandistic work celebrating Spanish resistance to Napoleon fell from favor and was removed from display for over 150 years, residing in government buildings and other museums before returning to the Prado.

Archibald prize 2026: Jacob Collins portrait wins the Packing Room prize as finalists revealed

The Packing Room prize for the 2026 Archibald Prize has been awarded to Sean Layh for his portrait of actor Jacob Collins, titled 'The tragicall historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke'. The prize, worth $3,000, is chosen by Art Gallery of NSW staff who unpack and hang the exhibition. Layh, a self-taught Melbourne-based painter, drew inspiration from Collins' performance as Hamlet in a 2024 Melbourne Shakespeare Company production. The Archibald Prize main announcement, along with the Wynne and Sulman prizes, will take place on 8 May, with finalists including portraits of Bondi shooting hero Ahmed al-Ahmed, journalists Virginia Trioli and Jan Fran, surfer Layne Beachley, and artist Khaled Sabsabi.

Archibald prize 2026 finalists: Virginia Trioli, Jan Fran, Ahmed al-Ahmed and more – in pictures

The Guardian has announced the finalists for the 2026 Archibald Prize, Australia's premier portraiture award, featuring 30 works including Loribelle Spirovski's 'Fingerpainting of Daniel Johns', Vincent Namatjira's self-portrait 'The Dust Bowl', and portraits of notable sitters such as Virginia Trioli, Jan Fran, Ahmed al-Ahmed, Layne Beachley, and Governor-General Sam Mostyn. The list also includes the Packing Room Prize winner, Sean Layh's 'The tragicall historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke', and works by artists like Mitch Cairns, Marikit Santiago, and Michael Zavros, with all finalist images published in a photo gallery.

Concrete sun tunnels and shimmering pools of water: the monumental land art of Nancy Holt

Nancy Holt (1938-2014), a pioneering land artist known for her monumental work *Sun Tunnels* (1976) in the Utah desert, is the subject of a new exhibition at the Goodwood Art Foundation in Sussex. Titled *MOONSUNSTAR EARTHSKYWATER*, the show is the first UK retrospective to bring together Holt's photographic works, films, poetry, indoor installations, and outdoor pieces, including *Hydra's Head*, a constellation-inspired installation of six circular pools in a chalk quarry. The exhibition highlights Holt's recurring motifs of circles and systems, tracing them from her early concrete poem to her large-scale cosmological works.

Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art Gets $490 M. from Powerful Real Estate Firm

The forthcoming Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art has received a $490 million construction grant from Diriyah Company, a real estate firm chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Designed by Dubai-based Godwin Austen Johnson, the museum will span 883,000 square feet—larger than the Louvre in Paris—and will be located in Diriyah, with additional exhibitions in Riyadh. The grant supports Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 plan to diversify the economy away from oil.

Book uncovers the life of Barnett Newman, an artist who ran for New York mayor

A new biography titled "Barnett Newman: Here" by Amy Newman (no relation) explores the life of Abstract Expressionist painter Barnett Newman, revealing his little-known 1933 run for mayor of New York City at age 28 under a platform of cultural and environmental reforms. The book details his upbringing as the son of Jewish immigrants in the Bronx, his philosophical studies, and his eventual reinvention as a painter who pioneered the 'zip' painting style with works like Onement I, while also chronicling his combative personality and lifelong battles against political machines and critics.

This 17th-Century ‘Supercomputer’ Could Set a New Auction Record

A rare 17th-century Mughal astrolabe, crafted in Lahore in 1612 by brothers Qa'im Muhammad and Muhammad Muqim, is heading to Sotheby's London on April 29 with an estimate of £1.5 million to £2.5 million ($2 million to $3.4 million). Weighing nearly 20 pounds and measuring the diameter of a large cooking pot, it is one of only two known astrolabes by these makers—the other resides in the National Museum of Iraq. Commissioned by Aqa Afzal, a Safavid-born deputy governor of Lahore, the instrument lists 94 cities, 38 stars, zodiac signs, and includes quadrants for trigonometry and solar calculations, blending Islamic and Sanskritic astronomical traditions.

Artists Sell More Than $1 M. in Art at Sotheby’s in Support of a Debt-Free Yale MFA Program

A group of artists including Mickalene Thomas, Tammy Nguyen, and Richard Prince are donating works to a Sotheby’s contemporary art day sale next month, with proceeds expected to exceed $1 million. All funds will go toward making Yale University’s MFA art program tuition-free. The sale features works by Yale alumni both historical—Walker Evans, Josef Albers—and contemporary, such as Dominic Chambers and Do Ho Suh, whose $200,000–$300,000 piece is among the lots. The highest-estimated work is a Richard Prince photograph from his “Spiritual America” series, valued at $500,000–$700,000.

Judd Foundation Taps Copper Hewitt Curator as New Director of Design

The Judd Foundation has appointed Alexandra Cunningham Cameron as its first director of design, a new role overseeing Donald Judd Furniture LLC. Cameron, currently a curator of contemporary design at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York, will start on April 27, guiding product development, operations, and strategic growth for the foundation's furniture line, which produces over 70 designs based on Donald Judd's original specifications.

Has the world grown weary of art biennials? In search of an antidote, a Portuguese festival turns to anarchism

Anozero, a biennial art festival held in Coimbra's Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova, has opened a ghostly edition that uses installations—including Taryn Simon's sound piece of laments in multiple languages—to protest plans by the Portuguese government to redevelop the 17th-century convent into a hotel under its Revive programme. Festival co-founder Carlos Antunes threatens to cancel the biennial if the development proceeds, framing the event as a warning to the developer about the spirits that haunt the building.

From the World Cup and the Olympics to two new museums: upcoming cultural attractions in Los Angeles

Los Angeles is preparing for a major influx of cultural and sporting events, including hosting matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup at SoFi Stadium and the 2028 Summer Olympics. The city is also enhancing its cultural infrastructure with new Metro stations featuring site-specific art commissions and the imminent openings of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and the David Geffen Galleries at LACMA.

Memories Bathed in Color

In Farbe getauchte Erinnerungen

The Fondation Luma in Arles, France, has opened three exhibitions exploring memory and archives, headlined by Gerhard Richter's "Overpainted Photographs." The show features 120 works from Richter's private archive, some exhibited for the first time, created since the mid-1980s by dragging photographs through leftover paint in his studio. Richter, now 94, personally selected and hung the works chronologically starting from the fall of the Berlin Wall, reflecting his lost homeland and the passage of time. The exhibition also includes early sketches and oil paintings by the late architect Zaha Hadid, previously shown at London's Serpentine Gallery in 2016.

Everyone Keeps Getting Yoko Ono Wrong

Paul Morley's new biography of Yoko Ono, *Love Magic Power Danger Bliss*, attempts to reframe the artist beyond her reputation as a 'Beatles wife' but ultimately fails, according to this critical review. The book covers Ono's first three decades, from her birth in Japan in 1933 to meeting John Lennon in 1969, but is dominated by lengthy asides on male avant-garde figures like George Maciunas and Pete Townshend, leaving Ono a passive presence in her own story. Morley promises not to mention Lennon but breaks that promise, and the review argues the book is aimed more at 'rock dads' still upset about the Beatles breakup than at understanding Ono's artistic contributions.

8 Must-See Solo Gallery Shows in May

Galerie magazine has curated a list of eight must-see solo gallery shows across the United States for May, highlighting exhibitions in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Featured artists include Domenico Gnoli at Lévy Gorvy Dayan, John Stezaker at Gray in Chicago, Alison Elizabeth Taylor at Jessica Silverman in San Francisco, Charles Ray at Matthew Marks Gallery and Jeffery Deitch in Los Angeles, Jose Dávila at Sean Kelly, and Peter Hujar at Ortuzar, among others. The article provides details on each artist's practice and the scope of their exhibitions, such as Gnoli's largest U.S. show in five decades and Hujar's restaging of his final solo exhibition.

Jon Batiste, Troye Sivan, and Amy Sherald lead a Met Gala 2026 rooted in art-historical homage.

The 2026 Met Gala, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, centered on the theme "Fashion Is Art," marking the opening of the Costume Institute's spring exhibition "Costume Art." Attendees including Jon Batiste, Troye Sivan, and artist Amy Sherald interpreted the dress code through art-historical references, with Sivan wearing Prada to channel Robert Mapplethorpe. The event brought together fashion, art, entertainment, and high society to make a deliberate case for fashion as a legitimate art form.

A Contemporary Art Haven Just a PATH Ride Away

Luis Emilio Romero, a Jersey City native, moved from Bushwick to the Monira Foundation's residency at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City, where he now paints intricate, textile-influenced patterns in a calm basement studio. Mana Contemporary, a 2 million-square-foot former tobacco warehouse converted in 2011 by Moishe Mana, Eugene Lemay, and Yigal Ozeri, hosted its Spring Open Studios on May 17, with over one-third of its 300 artists participating—the largest turnout in years. The event featured installations by TLaloC, sculptures by John Chamberlain, and an exhibition of artist books, "Open Book(s): Observations," presented by Pierogi Gallery, Mana, and the Monira Foundation. Pierogi co-owners Joe Amrhein and Susan Swenson also brought their Flat Files containing nearly 4,000 works to Mana for six months to a year.

12 Art Books to Kick Off Summer

Hyperallergic's Lakshmi Rivera Amin presents a curated list of 12 art books for summer reading, including a novel lampooning the art world, Megan O'Grady's meditation on art and living, Kory Stamper's exploration of color lexicography, Nan Goldin's reissued photo essay, and Jennifer Higgie's prose poetry novel. The roundup also features Vincenzo Latronico's 'Perfection,' Nina Burleigh's satirical 'Turn Around, Don’t Drown,' and a graphic novel by Naoki Matayoshi and Shinsuke Yoshitake, among others.

Rare Early Basquiat Works Return to Brooklyn After HBCU Tour

An intimate collection of early Jean-Michel Basquiat works and ephemera, titled "Our Friend, Jean," is returning to Brooklyn's The Bishop Gallery starting May 16, 2026. The exhibition draws primarily from the archive of Alexis Adler, Basquiat's former roommate and partner from 1979–80, and includes paintings on sweatshirts, postcards, writings, and photographs Adler took of the artist. Originally presented in 2019, the show traveled to six historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) between 2022 and 2024, attracting 10,000 visitors and involving students in the installation process.

The Making of a Maintenance Artist

A new documentary titled "Maintenance Artist" (2025) traces the decades-long practice of Mierle Laderman Ukeles, a pioneering artist who focused on marginal, unpaid, and feminine labor. The film covers her career from her 1969 "CARE" manifesto, through her role as artist-in-residence at the New York City Department of Sanitation, to her first retrospective at the Queens Museum in 2017. It highlights her critique of art-world gender biases and her efforts to recognize discounted labor in all fields.

The Box LA, Beloved Risk-Taking Art Space, Closes After 19 Years

The Box LA, a pioneering experimental art space in Los Angeles known for its fearless support of unconventional and performance art, is closing after 19 years. Founded in 2007 by Mara McCarthy in Chinatown (later moving to the Arts District), the gallery operated as a commercial space but with a nonprofit ethos, championing underrecognized artists from her father Paul McCarthy's generation alongside emerging talents. Its final exhibition, a retrospective of Wally Hedrick presented with Parker Gallery, ended April 4, with a closing celebration planned for June 6 featuring a fashion show by Johanna Went. The closure is attributed to financial struggles, exacerbated by the Eaton Fire that destroyed McCarthy's home and her family's, and a shift in support from McCarthy Studios.

12 exciting fashion and jewelry exhibitions that will make you travel this summer

12 expos de mode et de bijoux passionnantes qui vous feront voyager cet été

Beaux Arts Magazine presents a curated selection of twelve fashion and jewelry exhibitions across France, Paris, and Vienna, running through summer 2026. Highlights include a retrospective of Mossi Traoré at the Mucem in Marseille, a showcase of Thai haute couture at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and "Africa Fashion" at the Musée du quai Branly, celebrating African design from the independence era. Other featured exhibitions cover Christian Dior, Gianni Versace, Daniel Brush, Provençal costumes, and anniversaries of glittering fashion houses.

New York Galleries: Openings and Closings (04/27-05/03)

fondazione dries van noten opens with inaugural exhibition at palazzo pisani moretta, venice

Fondazione Dries Van Noten has opened at Palazzo Pisani Moretta in Venice with its inaugural exhibition, "The Only True Protest Is Beauty," running from April 25 to October 4, 2026. Curated by Dries Van Noten himself, the show features over 200 works across twenty rooms, blending fashion, art, design, ceramics, glass, and photography. Highlights include archival pieces by Christian Lacroix and Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garçons, alongside works by emerging and established artists such as Ayham Hassan, Peter Buggenhout, Ritsue Mishima, and Misha Kahn. The exhibition avoids a fixed curatorial logic, instead using instinctive juxtapositions to explore beauty as tension and disruption.

Where to go this weekend?

Wohin am Wochenende?

This week's art tips from Monopol magazine highlight exhibitions and events across Germany and Europe. In Berlin, the Helmut Newton Museum reopens with a new immersive film space and a fresh presentation of its collection, while the Neue Nationalgalerie showcases Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's iconic painting "Potsdamer Platz" in the exhibition "Ruin und Rausch. Berlin 1910-1930." In Bozen, Chinese artist Evelyn Taocheng Wang presents new works at Museion, blending painting, textiles, and installation. The Art Brussels fair returns with a reduced lineup of 138 galleries, focusing on Belgian and neighboring markets. In Duisburg, Anish Kapoor receives the Wilhelm-Lehmbruck Prize, accompanied by a solo exhibition at the Lehmbruck Museum.

Mapping the Invisible: Saudi Arabia’s A Necessary Fiction Unfolds in Venice

A new exhibition titled "A Necessary Fiction: Maps, Art, and Models of Our World" has opened in Venice, presented by the Saudi Ministry of Culture in tandem with the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. Held at the Abbazia di San Gregorio from 6 May to 22 November 2026, the show is curated by Sara Almutlaq and Aurora Fonda, with associate curators Zaira Carrer and Amina Diab. It features historical maps and contemporary artworks by artists including Wael Shawky, Nasser Al Salem, Matilde Sambo, Monira Al Qadiri, Shilpa Gupta, Reena Saini Kallat, Manal AlDowayan, Nolan Oswald Dennis, Ibrahim Mahama, Trevor Paglen, Eva & Franco Mattes, Giorgio Andreotta Calò, and Yoko Ono, exploring cartography as an imaginative and ideological act rather than a neutral science.

Remembering F. John Sierra, Valie Export, and Mary Lovelace O’Neal

This week's In Memoriam column honors seven figures from the art world who recently passed away, including muralist and Chicano art champion F. John Sierra (1942–2026), Austrian feminist performance and film artist Valie Export (1940–2026), and painter and Civil Rights activist Mary Lovelace O'Neal (1942–2026). Also remembered are Maltese coin and monument designer Noel Galea Bason (1955–2026), Iranian-Irish gallerist and polymath Jamshid MirFenderesky (1947–2026), Philadelphia painter and educator Peter Paone (1936–2026), and Italian sculptor and installation artist Remo Salvadori (1947–2026). Each entry highlights their key contributions, from founding institutions and participating in major biennials to shaping cultural identity and challenging societal norms through art.

Sex Dreams, Piss Takes, and Fake Trends: A Week in the NY Art World With Domenick Ammirati

Domenick Ammirati returns to New York after a year-long writing residency in Siena and Provincetown to cover the spring art fairs, including Frieze New York 2026. He observes a notably calm art week, attributing the subdued atmosphere to the fair's proximity to the Venice Biennale, which left key players exhausted. Highlights include a Rei Kawakubo installation at Independent, Gucci's Cruise show in Times Square, and MoMA PS1's 50th anniversary gala, where he mingles with curator Jody Graf and spots Klaus Biesenbach.

Chloë Sevigny, Hari Nef, and Mickalene Thomas Just Partied at the Brooklyn Artists Ball

The Brooklyn Museum hosted its annual Brooklyn Artists Ball on Tuesday evening, serving as the opening celebration for the "Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses" exhibition. The event drew a crowd of artists, patrons, designers, and downtown figures, including event hosts Fabiola Beracasa Beckman, Sylvana Durrett, Jordan Roth, Lizzie Tisch, and Amanda Waldron; co-chairs Regina Aldisert, Megan Brodsky, Victoria Rogers, and Carla Shen; CULTURED Editor-in-Chief Sarah Harrelson; designers Iris van Herpen and Wes Gordon; musicians Peggy Gou and Swizz Beatz; artists Mickalene Thomas, Keisha Scarville, Paul Arnhold, and Miles Greenberg; writer Derek Blasberg; and gallerist Saam Niami. Highlights included a special performance by dancers from the New York City Ballet in winged costumes, an afterparty with DJs Swizz Beatz and Runna, and a site-specific photo booth by artist Keisha Scarville.

How Artist Iréne Norén Used Painting to Reclaim Her Relationship to Her Body

Artist Iréne Norén, who began painting just three years ago after a personal crisis, is now mounting her first solo gallery show in New York. Titled "Reliquary of the Body: Returning to Eden," the exhibition opens at Harper’s Chelsea and explores themes of shame, self-acceptance, and the female body, drawing on Catholic art historical imagery and Renaissance altarpiece structures. Norén started painting after an abortion while living in New York without a work visa, using art as a tool for emotional expression and confidence.

Felix Art Fair Founder Mills Morán Steps Back From Gallery Duties

Mills Morán, cofounder of the Los Angeles gallery Morán Morán, is stepping away from its day-to-day operations to focus on Felix Art Fair, the fair he cofounded with his brother Al Morán and collector Dean Valentine in 2018. The fair, held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel alongside Frieze Los Angeles, has staged eight editions. Morán announced the decision in a statement shared with artists and colleagues, citing personal recalibration after nearly two decades in the art world and a desire to be more present for loved ones.