Where did the great artist Joseph Beuys live? The comic story by Gianluca Costantini

Dove viveva il grande artista Joseph Beuys? Il racconto a fumetti di Gianluca Costantini

In the summer of 2022, the author visited Düsseldorf and discovered that Joseph Beuys's former home at Drakeplatz 4 in Oberkassel was for sale, but the city's cultural department declined to purchase it. Beuys lived and worked there from 1961 until his death in 1986, using the space as both a residence and studio. The article recounts the intimate details of family life there, including how Beuys painted the main room white for his wife Eva's photography, and how the family navigated the blend of private life and artistic practice. Two years later, the Brunhilde Moll Foundation acquired the house and opened it to the public, though it was closed for renovations when the author returned. The house now displays about sixty works from Beuys's creative period and will host artist residencies and events.

Printed Matter’s LA Art Book Fair Returns May 7–10

Printed Matter's LA Art Book Fair (LAABF) returns to ArtCenter South Campus in Pasadena, California, from May 7 to 10, 2026. The fair will feature 250 exhibitors, including international artists, publishers, and booksellers, alongside programs such as talks and panels in The Classroom, music and performances on The Stage, and special Project Spaces presentations by groups like Archivos Desviados, Bread & Puppet Press, and Getty. An Opening Night celebration on May 7, co-organized with Orange Radio & Homebody, will include live music by sonrisita and Mia Carucci, a limited edition ticket by Amia Yokoyama for the first 500 guests, and a new collaborative artist edition by Deanna Templeton and Ed Templeton.

Disobedience Archive (Canopy for Broken Time) In Dialogue with Raqs Media Collective at Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Zürich

The Disobedience Archive, a mobile video archive initiated by Marco Scotini in 2005, is presented in dialogue with Raqs Media Collective at the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst in Zürich. The archive contains over one hundred documentary and art films at the intersection of art and activism, documenting forms of resistance, social struggle, and collective self-organization.

The Bahamian Pavilion Brings Junkanoo to Venice in a Biennale Standout

After a thirteen-year hiatus, the Bahamian Pavilion has returned to the Venice Biennale with an exhibition titled "In Another Man's Yard," featuring the late master John Beadle and his former student Lavar Munroe. The pavilion, housed in the San Trovaso Art Space in Dorsoduro, centers on Junkanoo—the vibrant, crepe-costumed procession that is a defining cultural tradition of the Bahamas. Munroe's large-scale sculptural works incorporate strips of discarded Junkanoo costumes, while paintings and installations commemorate Beadle, who died in 2024. The presentation was revived with support from Baha Mar, a resort company, after government funding was withdrawn in 2014.

Michael Jackson Accessories Hit the Market Amid Biopic Buzz

GWS Auctions is offering nine pieces of Michael Jackson memorabilia in a May 2 sale, including a signed pair of the late singer's Florsheim loafers. The auction features 734 items from the collection of Prince Lorenzo de' Medici, with highlights such as a crystal-studded white glove from Jackson's 1984 Victory tour and Swarovski-embellished socks from his Dangerous tour. The loafers, authenticated by Jackson's assistant Rosemary Chavira, carry a starting bid of $7,500, and the sale coincides with the record-breaking opening weekend of a new Michael Jackson biopic.

World Press Photo 2026 winners – in pictures

The World Press Photo 2026 winners have been announced, with Carol Guzy awarded the top honor for her image of distraught girls clinging to their father as ICE agents detain him after an immigration hearing in New York City. Finalists include Saber Nuraldin’s photograph of Palestinians scrambling for aid in Gaza, Victor J Blue’s image of Achi women outside a Guatemala City court, and other powerful works documenting climate displacement in Mexico, a wedding during a typhoon in the Philippines, police detaining a priest at a pensioners’ protest in Argentina, and a social robot in Europe.

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, painter and activist, 1942–2026

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, the American painter, professor, and civil rights activist, has died at age 84. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, she was a co-founder of the Non-Violent Action Group while a student at Howard University, later earning an MFA from Columbia University. Known for monumental abstract works on soot-black surfaces, she developed her signature technique through the Lampblack series (1960s–70s) and continued evolving her practice through series such as Whales Fucking (1970s–80s) and Panthers In My Father’s Palace (1980s–90s). In 1985, she became the first African American woman to receive tenure in the Department of Art Practice at the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught for nearly three decades and served as chair from 1999 until her retirement in 2006.

Miet Warlop on Representing Belgium at the 61st Venice Biennale

Miet Warlop, the artist representing Belgium at the 61st Venice Biennale (2026), discusses her plans for the Belgian Pavilion in the Giardini in an interview with ArtReview. Her installation, inspired by the Belgian motto 'L'union fait la force' ('unity makes strength'), aims to create a space between a workspace, exhibition, and performance that brings people together in introspection. She cites time spent with Venice's artistic communities, including students at the Accademia, as influential, and notes that her work engages with the Biennale's theme 'In Minor Keys' by incorporating minor-key music to evoke nuanced, introspective emotions.

In Lugano, there are 5 exhibitions dedicated to the Orient to discover around the city

A Lugano ci sono 5 mostre dedicate all’Oriente da scoprire in giro per la città

Five exhibitions dedicated to East Asian art are currently on view across Lugano, Switzerland. Four are housed in the city's two major museums, MASI and MUSEC, while the fifth is presented by Primo Marella Gallery. The shows feature a range of works, from historical Japanese kakemono scrolls and screens to contemporary art by Chinese artists Zhang Hong Mei and He Wei, and a survey of video art from South Korea.

JOSÉ WOLFF: DÍAS HONDOS

JOSÉ WOLFF: DÍAS HONDOS

José Wolff, a Guatemalan artist who grew up in the 1980s watching television with his family, has developed a unique visual language that oscillates between digital and traditional media. After studying at SCAD in Georgia and working in Miami and Los Angeles for channels like MTV Latino, NBC, and Locomotion, he created 3D animations, music videos, and TV interstitials. Now based back in Guatemala, Wolff continues to paint in oil while also producing digital installations, such as his 2026 multi-channel piece "Sin Novedad." His practice reflects a lifelong dialogue between the tangible and the intangible, influenced by artists like Laurie Anderson and Nam June Paik.

Bones and crystals greet visitors at Marina Abramovic show in Venice

Marina Abramović, the Serbian pioneer of performance art, inaugurated her latest exhibition "Transforming Energy" at the Gallerie dell’Accademia in Venice, days before the official opening of the Biennale International Art Exhibition. The show features a pile of plaster bones and crystal objects, with guides in white coats encouraging visitors to interact with the crystals to detox from modern technology. Abramović is the first living woman artist to present an exhibition at the Gallerie, which is known for its Renaissance masterpieces.

The 10 best pavilions to see at the 2026 Venice Art Biennale. Artribune's top ten

I 10 migliori padiglioni da vedere alla Biennale d’Arte di Venezia 2026. La top ten di Artribune

Artribune presents its top ten must-see national pavilions at the 2026 Venice Biennale, which features a record 100 participating countries. The article highlights standout projects including Greece's escape room by Andreas Angelidakis critiquing nationalist populism, Belgium's participatory dance installation by Miet Warloop, and Canada's greenhouse-like pavilion by Abbas Akhavan exploring colonial botany. The Biennale, curated by Koyo Kouoh under the theme "In Minor Keys," is marked by last-minute jury resignations leading to public voting for the Golden Lions, as well as protests over the participation of Russia and Israel.

PinchukArtCentre opens new exhibition at the Venice Biennale

The PinchukArtCentre has opened a new exhibition titled "Still Joy — From Ukraine Into the World" as part of the official parallel program of the 61st Venice Biennale. The show, which opened on May 7 at Palazzo Contarini Polignac and runs through August 1, features works by over 20 international and Ukrainian artists exploring joy as an act of resilience and humanity. Central to the exhibition are testimonies from Hlib Stryzhko, a marine veteran who returned from Russian captivity, which are transformed into sculptural elements. Notable works include a protest performance by Yurii Hruzinov at the Russian pavilion, a video installation of Kyiv rave parties by Malashchuk and Khimei, and installations by Future Generation Art Prize laureates Ashfika Rahman and Zhanna Kadyrova.

Pinta Lima Offered Curated Content–and Context–for the Curious

Pinta Lima, the 13th edition of the art fair, opened with a vibrant VIP preview and strong attendance of 16,000 visitors. The fair features around 50 booths and special presentations, with a curation-driven approach that includes sections like NEXT (curated by Juan Canela) and RADAR (curated by Ilaria Conti), as well as FORO panel discussions. The fair emphasizes Latin American art, particularly Peruvian contemporary art, and is part of the broader Pinta network that stages fairs and Art Weeks across Latin America and the U.S. Textile, fiber, and ceramic works are notably prominent, recontextualizing indigenous craft traditions.

Dahiye, il quartiere di Beirut che non esiste quasi più. Nelle foto di un artista italiano

Italian photographer Armando Perna (born 1981 in Reggio Calabria) has documented Dahiye, a southern suburb of Beirut known as Hezbollah's stronghold, using a digital camera hidden inside a car and controlled remotely via Bluetooth. His project, initiated in 2013 and exhibited in 2017 at the Fondazione Pino Pascali in Polignano a Mare (Bari), creates a street-view-style mapping of a neighborhood that has been heavily bombed by Israeli forces, most recently in the past weeks. The work was promoted by Planar gallery, founded by Antonio Ottomanelli, with Perna and Anna Vasta as part of the #showcase project.

The Most Unique and Research-Focused Exhibitions to See in Brussels in Spring 2026

Le mostre più particolari e ricercate da vedere a Bruxelles nella primavera 2026

Brussels is hosting a series of niche and research-focused contemporary art exhibitions in spring 2026, coinciding with the 42nd edition of Art Brussels. Highlights include Jean-Michel Othoniel's "Diary of Happiness" at the Boghossian Foundation, Caroline Achaintre's "Extrazimmer" at La Verrière, a six-decade survey of the Art & Language collective at Fondation CAB, and a dialogue between Nassos Daphnis and Rita McBride titled "Abstract Constructions."

Generations A Solo Exhibition by Julie Torres May 15 – July 11, 2026

Julie Miller Torres, a Tallahassee native and Maclay School graduate now based in Atlanta, is presenting a solo exhibition titled "Generations" at the Gadsden Arts Center & Museum in Quincy, Florida, from May 15 to July 11, 2026. The exhibition showcases her signature works—woven screenprints and paper quilts—that blend everyday materials like crochet and weaving with themes of freedom and empowerment. One of her most recognized pieces, "Super Diva," a portrait of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, is part of the permanent collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Torres holds degrees from the University of Florida, the University of Miami, and the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), and her work appears in major collections including Delta Airlines, the Ritz-Carlton, SCAD, and the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation.

Marina Abramovic on bringing audiences inside art

Performance art pioneer Marina Abramović, now 80, has opened a major exhibition titled "Transforming Energy" at the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice, making her the first living woman to receive such a show at the institution. The exhibition, running until October, features interactive "transitory objects" like crystal structures and minerals, alongside re-enactments of her iconic works including a performance with her late partner Ulay. In an interview with Reuters, Abramović discusses her shift from being the subject of her work to focusing on audience participation, a realization she had after her landmark 2010 performance "The Artist Is Present" at MoMA.

HistoryMiami rebrands as Museum of Miami, a ‘museum without walls’

HistoryMiami, the historical museum of South Florida, has rebranded as the Museum of Miami, adopting a 'museum without walls' concept. The change reflects a shift away from a traditional brick-and-mortar institution toward a more flexible, community-engaged model that will operate across various locations and digital platforms throughout Miami.

Ellen Noël Art Museum Looks Toward Future Following Renovation & Reopening

The Ellen Noël Art Museum of the Permian Basin in Odessa, Texas, reopened in December 2025 after a decade-long, $20 million renovation. The project added 8,000 square feet, a new silver oval exterior, a two-story lobby, renovated galleries, and a state-of-the-art lighting system. The museum is currently in transition, with interim director Steve Patton overseeing operations while a search for a permanent executive director is underway. Recent exhibitions include "Home, Love, and Loss" and "Shifting Subjects: The Heroes of the West."

National Museum of Bucovina to host Stefan Luchian painting exhibition as first

The National Museum of Bucovina in Suceava will open a major exhibition of works by Romanian painter Ștefan Luchian, marking 110 years since the artist's death. The exhibition, titled 'Ștefan Luchian - a universal artist,' will feature 42 works showcasing his flowers, landscapes, portraits, and still lifes, and is presented by gallerist and curator Damian Florea.

Small Formats, Great Tensions

Kleine Formate, große Spannungen

The Paper Positions art fair in Berlin is celebrating its tenth anniversary, held in the vast Tempelhof Airport hangar with around 70 galleries. The fair focuses exclusively on works on paper, showcasing artists like Kubra Khademi, whose series "Women in simple situations" features nude female bodies as acts of resistance and political visibility. Other highlights include Annegret Soltau's pierced paper works, Una Ursprung's layered collages, Dirk Krecker's typewriter compositions, and Tina Heuter's tissue-paper sculptures, alongside photography by Stefanie Moshammer and vibrant works by Madita Kloss.

Venus Lespugue

The Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens presents "Jeff Koons: Venus Lespugue," an exhibition pairing Jeff Koons' monumental stainless steel sculpture *Balloon Venus Lespugue (Orange)* (2013–2019) with ten certified copies of Paleolithic Venus figurines from major European museums. The Koons work, on public display for the first time, is loaned from the Homem Sonnabend Collection and directly references the 28,000-year-old Venus of Lespugue carved from mammoth tusk ivory.

Two New Italian Paintings for the Bemberg Collection in Toulouse

Deux nouveaux tableaux italiens pour la Collection Bemberg à Toulouse

The Collection Bemberg in Toulouse has acquired two new Italian paintings, including a still life by Bernardo Strozzi (1581-1644) purchased at the Maastricht art fair from Galerie Canesso. The work, a vibrant depiction of peonies and fruit, was previously sold at Sotheby's London in July 2013 and first published in 1985. The acquisition continues the museum's decade-long strategy of enriching its holdings with major works sourced from the art market, guided by its scientific council.

The great artist Remo Salvadori has died. He was 79 years old

È morto il grande artista Remo Salvadori. Aveva 79 anni

Italian artist Remo Salvadori has died at age 79. Known for his rigorous, independent practice, Salvadori explored matter, energy, science, philosophy, and spirituality through sculpture, installations, and site-specific works. Born in Cerreto Guidi, he studied at the Accademia delle Belle Arti di Firenze and moved to Milan in the early 1970s, where he participated in the experimental scene without joining any movement. His career included solo shows in Milan galleries from 1971, appearances at the Venice Biennale (1982, 1986, 1993) and Documenta in Kassel (1982, 1992), and works held in major museums worldwide. In 2019 he received the Premio Presidente della Repubblica for sculpture. A major retrospective in 2025 at Palazzo Reale, Museo del Novecento, and San Gottardo in Corte in Milan showcased over 50 works from 1969 to 2025.

The Craziest Venice Biennale Ever: One Week Before Opening, the Jury Resigns (The Public Will Decide the Lions!)

La Biennale di Venezia più pazza di sempre: a una settimana dall’apertura si dimette la giuria (I Leoni li deciderà il pubblico!)

The entire international jury of the 61st Venice Biennale has resigned en masse just one week before the opening. The jury, chaired by Solange Oliveira Farkas and including Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi, had publicly announced they would not consider countries whose leaders are accused of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court—effectively excluding Russia and Israel from the Golden Lion competition. This decision came amid ongoing tensions between Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli and Biennale President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco over Russia's participation, as well as controversy surrounding Israel's presence. After a meeting with Buttafuoco, the jury resigned, leaving the Biennale without a key body to award its top prizes.

Art Beat feature: A gallerist rooted in craft

Leana Hoadley has opened Hoadley Gallery West in downtown Edmonds, Washington, a boutique gallery specializing in handmade ceramics, jewelry, glass, and sculptural objects. The gallery builds on the legacy of the original Hoadley Gallery in Lenox, Massachusetts, founded over 40 years ago by her aunt and uncle, Stephanie and Thomas Hoadley. After a winding career that included studying at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and working as a creative director for an AI company, a 2023 layoff prompted Hoadley to reassess her path and pursue opening her own gallery. The space features works including porcelain vessels by Thomas Hoadley made using the ancient Japanese Nerikomi technique, which are held in collections such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Renwick Gallery and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Lee Jong-gu turns 'Pensive' in self-reflective solo exhibition at Hakgojae Gallery

Veteran Korean artist Lee Jong-gu, a key figure in the 1980s minjung art movement, has opened a solo exhibition titled "Pensive" at Hakgojae Gallery in Seoul. The show features 38 paintings that mark a shift from his decades-long focus on social realism toward a more contemplative approach, centering on the bangasayusang (contemplative bodhisattva figures) from the National Museum of Korea. Lee blends these sacred images with nude bodies, flames, and crowd scenes, drawing on the Buddhist concept of non-duality to explore themes of life, death, and the sacred versus the profane. The exhibition runs through June 20.

The Death of the Art School

In a faculty meeting at Purchase College in New York, an administrator referred to students as "consumers," prompting the author to reflect on the pervasive corporatization and "administrification" of American higher education. The article argues that this language reflects a broader restructuring of universities as businesses, where students are customers, knowledge is a product, and faculty are service providers. It cites data showing that between 1976 and 2011, non-faculty professional positions grew by 369% while tenure-track faculty grew by only 23%, and at Purchase College, administrator salaries rose over 45% from 2016 to 2024 while assistant professor salaries rose just 14%, with inflation at 31%.

Provincia Cosmica. Interview with Giuseppe Stampone, the artist who chose Gran Sasso as his home

Provincia Cosmica. Intervista a Giuseppe Stampone, l’artista che ha scelto il Gran Sasso come casa

Italian contemporary artist Giuseppe Stampone, born in Cluses in 1974, has returned to his native Abruzzo after years living in New York, Rome, and Brussels. Following the loss of his parents, he established his studio in the province of Teramo, where he is restoring a farmhouse under the Gran Sasso mountain to house the Archivio Giuseppe Stampone-Maria Crispal and an artist residency called Abruzzo Mon Amour. Stampone won the PAC2021 prize for his project "La natura delle cose," which explores his bond with the region and will create an archive dedicated to the flora and fauna of the Monti della Laga, Parco Nazionale d’Abruzzo, and Gran Sasso areas.