At MoMA, Duchamp Vanishes Into the Shadow of His Own Legend

EXPO Chicago 2026 serves as the backdrop for a series of compelling exhibitions across the city, ranging from Josh Brainin’s frantic two-channel video installation at Tala to a group show at the Chicago Cultural Center exploring the city's physical and social infrastructure. These curated highlights showcase a mix of local talent and conceptual rigor, emphasizing Chicago's diverse contemporary art landscape during the major international fair.

Painted Up: This vibrant exhibition challenges colonial perceptions of Aboriginal art

Artist and cultural practitioner Dean Biŋkin Tyson presents "CREATE EXCHANGE: Painted Up," a dual-venue exhibition at Redland Art Gallery that showcases his multidisciplinary approach to Quandamooka and Gurang traditions. Moving beyond stereotypical "dot art," Tyson utilizes canvas, animal skins, and carved artifacts to translate his background as a dancer and songman into visual form. The exhibition features large-scale murals, traditional tools like boomerangs, and "shadow boxes"—a unique craft form developed in Aboriginal missions during the 1970s.

Kunsthaus Paradiso is Born in Venice: Italian Art Has a Home, Despite the Biennale

Nasce a Venezia la Kunsthaus Paradiso: l’arte italiana ha una casa, malgrado la Biennale

A new project called Kunsthaus Paradiso has opened in Palazzo Molin Querini in Venice, running from May 4 to May 31 in conjunction with the Venice Biennale. Founded by curator Caroline Corbetta, the initiative evolved from her earlier Crepaccio project (2012–2016) in Milan and the Padiglione Crepaccio, which debuted at the 2013 Biennale Arte curated by Massimiliano Gioni. Kunsthaus Paradiso focuses on Italian and Venice-based artists—including Thomas Braida, Fabio De Meo, Caterina Rossato, Ornella Cardillo, Alessandro Miotti, Melania Fusco, Mauro Campagnaro, Marta Spagnoli, Barbara De Vivi, Spazio Punch, Giorgio Andreotta Calò, Mattia Sinigaglia, and the collective Scafandra—offering a platform for emerging and local talent during the Biennale.

In this Milan exhibition, the viewer can modify the spaces. The great artist-architect Gianni Pettena explains why

In questa mostra a Milano lo spettatore può modificare gli spazi. Il grande artista-architetto Gianni Pettena ci spiega perché

Gianni Pettena, a pioneer of the Italian Radical Architecture movement, has unveiled his immersive installation "Paper/Northern Lights" at the BiM urban regeneration project in Milan's Bicocca district. Originally conceived in 1971 as a pedagogical exercise at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, the work consists of 49 kilometers of white paper strips hanging from the ceiling. Visitors are invited to physically interact with the installation by cutting through the paper, effectively reshaping the architectural environment and challenging traditional notions of fixed space and authorship.

Coolidge Corner art gallery relocates, brightening downtown Boston neighborhood

Praise Shadows Art Gallery, a contemporary art gallery focusing on untapped and unrecognized artists, has relocated from Coolidge Corner in Brookline to a larger 2,000-square-foot space on Kingston Street in downtown Boston. The gallery reopened in mid-March after moving in January, with founder and CEO Yng-Ru Chen citing the convenience and breathing room of the new location. The move was facilitated by the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture and the Downtown Boston Alliance, which aims to fill vacant storefronts with arts businesses and revitalize the neighborhood.

Mojave Shadows: Reception and Curator's Talk

The Nevada Humanities Program Gallery is hosting a reception and curator's talk for the exhibition "Mojave Shadows." The event, scheduled for Tuesday, April 14, offers the public an opportunity to engage directly with the curatorial vision behind the show, which explores regional themes through a specific lens of light and landscape.

Spain’s galleries are protesting against high taxes—can Arco Madrid help voice their concerns?

The 45th edition of Arco Madrid, Spain’s premier contemporary art fair, is set to host 206 galleries from 36 countries at the Ifema convention centre. While the fair remains a vital commercial hub, it is currently overshadowed by a nationwide protest from Spanish galleries against the country's 21% VAT on art purchases. This tax rate is among the highest in Europe, significantly outpacing neighbors like Portugal and France, leading to concerns about international competitiveness and the classification of contemporary art as a luxury elite product.

Five art exhibitions to check out around Brookline this summer

Praise Shadows art gallery in Brookline's Coolidge Corner is among five venues offering free art exhibitions this summer. The gallery presents "Pigment Spells," a solo show by Boston-based artist and Boston University professor Lucy Kim, featuring resin casts of found objects covered in oil paint. Other exhibitions include David Weinberg's "Explorations" at Gallery 93 in the Brookline Senior Center, which combines photo montages with medieval manuscripts, and Gateway Arts' "Artists Assortment," a tribute to current and former artists with disabilities featuring celebrity portraits. The roundup also highlights the accessibility of these spaces, which welcome visitors without admission fees.

From Minor Keys to Uproar: The Crisis of the Venice Biennale

DE LAS MINOR KEYS AL ESTRUENDO: LA CRISIS DE LA BIENAL DE VENECIA

The 61st Venice Biennale is engulfed in a structural crisis, marked by geopolitical tensions over the inclusion of Russia (amid its invasion of Ukraine) and Israel (amid the Gaza genocide). The Biennale Foundation, led by Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, defended their participation on legalistic grounds, sparking outrage from over 200 artists, curators, and cultural workers who demanded Israel's exclusion, aligning with Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA). The international jury, chaired by Solange Farkas and including Zoe Butt, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Marta Kuzma, and Giovanna Zapperi, resigned collectively on April 30 after deciding not to award prizes to countries whose leaders face International Criminal Court arrest warrants. This led to the cancellation of the traditional Golden and Silver Lions, replaced by audience-voted "Visitor Lions," with awards deferred until November. The European Commission suspended a €2 million subsidy over Russia's participation, and Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli notably skipped the May 9 opening.

The Long-Awaited Reopening of the Musée Bonnat

La réouverture attendue du Musée Bonnat

After fifteen years of closure, the Musée Bonnat (now renamed Bonnat-Helleu) in Bayonne, France, has finally reopened. The closure was initially due to structural problems, including collapsing skylights and leaks, and even before that, much of the collection had been inaccessible. The renovated museum now features a new extension built from a former school, housing the public reception area, an exhibition space, a courtyard with a café terrace, and storage. The galleries display the museum's full holdings, including Rubens sketches, terracottas from the Paul Cailleux collection, and works by Léon Bonnat himself.

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A University of Alaska Fairbanks undergraduate, Graham Granger, was arrested for eating AI-generated artwork created by MFA student Nick Dwyer. The artwork, titled *Shadow Searching: ChatGPT psychosis* (2025), was part of the exhibition “This Is Not Awful” at the UAF Art Gallery. Granger allegedly destroyed at least 57 of 160 Polaroid-style images in protest of AI-generated art, and was charged with criminal mischief, a class B misdemeanor.

lower pecos cave paintings radiocarbon date 2723015

Three Texas-based researchers have successfully radiocarbon dated ancient cave paintings in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands along the Rio Grande border between Mexico and West Texas, using a novel combination of technologies. By dating the deer bone marrow used as a paint binder—rather than the mineral pigments themselves—and employing plasma oxidation to extract carbon, the team analyzed 53 figures across 12 sites. Their findings, published in *Science Advances*, reveal that individual murals were created in single painting events, not accumulated over centuries, and that the paintings span four millennia, from about 5,760 to 1,035 years ago.

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A rare Fabergé Imperial egg, the Winter Egg, sold for £22.8 million ($30.2 million) at Christie’s London on December 2, 2025, setting a new world auction record for any Fabergé work. The egg was a 1913 Easter gift from Tsar Nicholas II to his mother, Maria Feodorovna, and was designed by Alma Pihl, one of the few women working in Fabergé’s St. Petersburg workshops. It had previously sold at Christie’s in 1994 and 2002, each time setting records.

Into the Open

Ins Offene

The Bauhaus-Archiv / Museum für Gestaltung is presenting a comprehensive survey of female Bauhaus photographers at the Museum für Fotografie in Berlin. The exhibition highlights how these artists utilized avant-garde techniques and unconventional perspectives to document a rapidly changing world, featuring works that span from the innovative interwar period to the post-war era, such as Elsa Thiemann’s 1950s captures of the Wannsee lido.

Amid Urban Spaces, Alex Senna’s Bold Murals Embrace Connection and Belonging

Brazilian artist Alex Senna creates large-scale, black-and-white murals that depict figures gathering, interacting, and connecting with their own shadows. His work, often set against colorful urban backdrops, emphasizes themes of community, emotional bonds, togetherness, and belonging.

Diego Perrone “There’s a certain Slant of light” at Umberto Di Marino Gallery, Naples

Diego Perrone presents his first solo exhibition at Umberto Di Marino Gallery in Naples, titled "There’s a certain Slant of light." Taking its name from an Emily Dickinson poem, the show explores the concept of lateral, non-frontal light through a series of experimental works. The exhibition features Perrone’s signature technical mastery, including intricate glass sculptures and works on paper that manipulate transparency and shadow.

Expo 86-themed events and ‘A Little Art Buzz’ at Surrey Art Gallery in May

Surrey Art Gallery in British Columbia is hosting a series of events throughout May 2026, centered on the exhibition "In the Shadow of the Pavilions: Expo 86 and Contemporary Art." Highlights include a Family Art Jam on May 3, an artist talk with Leah Murray on May 7, a symposium titled "Expo Lines: Expo 86 and Contemporary Art" on May 9, and a curator’s tour with Jordan Strom on May 28. The events explore the artistic legacy of Vancouver’s 1986 world’s fair, which drew 22 million visitors, and feature works by over 50 artists including Bill Reid, Robert Davidson, Debra Sparrow, and Paul Wong.

Elliot Erick Jimenez El Monte

Elliot and Erick Jiménez, twin photographers from Miami, have debuted their first museum exhibition, 'El Monte,' at the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM). The immersive installation transforms the gallery into a hybrid chapel-forest, drawing conceptual inspiration from Cuban ethnographer Lydia Cabrera's seminal 1954 book of the same name, which explores Afro-Cuban spiritual traditions. The artists present staged photographs featuring anonymous 'shadow figures' adorned in paint and costumes, creating archetypal representations of spiritual forces.

This Day in History, 1986: A Gianthropologist documents Expo 86 at new Surrey Art Gallery exhibit

The Surrey Art Gallery in British Columbia is presenting a new exhibition titled "In the Shadow of the Pavilions: Expo 86 and Contemporary Art," running from April 18 to June 7, 2026. The show features over 50 artists, including a project by Michael de Courcy who took 1,700 photos of Expo 86 visitors, and works by Henri Robideau, a self-described 'Gianthropologist' who photographed giant roadside attractions across Canada in the 1980s.

'Past Perfect' at Two Rooms, Auckland, New Zealand on 17 Apr–30 May 2026

Two Rooms gallery in Auckland presents 'Past Perfect,' a group exhibition featuring works by Gretchen Albrecht, Noel Ivanoff, John Nixon, Jeena Shin, and Helen Calder. The show explores geometric abstraction and the interplay of light, shadow, and transparency through works produced over the last several decades.

Spirited art—Sharon Stone looks to the afterlife for her latest paintings

Sharon Stone, the actress turned artist, has created a new series of paintings titled "Rogues Gallery" that she claims were inspired by channeling spirits from different historical eras. The works include a portrait called "Him" (2025), which she says depicts an enslaved person who drowned in the East China Sea on a slave ship. Stone describes her process as communicating with these spirits while painting, evoking the spiritualist approach of artists like Hilma af Klint. She plans to exhibit the works in intimate, phone-free settings to enhance the ethereal experience.

Art Galleries Emanate a Warm Glow in Winter

Winter on Cape Cod presents a challenge for local artists and galleries, as off-season landscapes often go unsold. However, several gallery owners are embracing the season with experimental programming: Liz Carney of Four Eleven Gallery in Provincetown is hosting a group show titled "Long Blue Shadow" and planning artist residencies and a "Knitney Biennial." Gary Marotta Fine Art and Schoolhouse Gallery remain open on weekends, while Susie Nielsen's Farm Projects in Wellfleet features a group exhibition of works on paper. These gallerists find that winter visitors are more engaged, fostering richer conversations and a stronger sense of community.

California nonprofits keep losing funding in what new study calls ‘the shadow of the pandemic cliff’

A new Otis College Report on the Creative Economy, titled "In the Shadow of the Pandemic Cliff," was presented at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. The report, prepared by Westwood Economics and Planning Associates, analyzes financial data from 2011 to 2023 for nonprofit cultural organizations in Los Angeles County, including museums, art schools, and performing-arts groups. It reveals that while revenues for these nonprofits surged by 47% during the early pandemic years due to special relief funding, that support has since faded. By 2023, 60% of surveyed organizations reported less public funding and 51% saw declines in private donations, a trend the report calls the "Covid cliff."

Fibre Arts Australia touring exhibit highlights 39 artists

Fibre Arts Australia's third International Art Textile Biennale is now touring Australia, featuring 39 textile artists from 10 countries. The exhibition will visit nine galleries across the country through September 2026. At its debut at East Gippsland Art Gallery, three Australian artists received biennale awards: Sue Coppock won the Major Award (AU$2,000) for her embroidered fencing mask 'Are You Wearing a Mask Right Now?', Claudia Mazzotta won the Australian Excellence Award for 'Untouched Terrains', and Nicola Oliver won the Glenys Mann Award for 'Shadows Where Life Once Was'.

'Through the Veil' exhibition at Sarasota Art Museum an immersive labyrinth of mixed media hanging assemblages

Nassau-born, Atlanta-based artist Lillian Blades presents 'Through the Veil,' her first solo museum exhibition, at the Sarasota Art Museum. The show features suspended mixed-media assemblages called 'veils,' made from Plexiglas, wood, family photographs, and found objects, stitched together with a metallic knotting technique. Inspired by her mother, who was a quilter and died in childbirth, Blades creates immersive, tapestry-like works that envelop viewers and cast intricate shadows on the museum's walls and floors. The exhibition also includes earlier wall assemblages encrusted with three-dimensional materials like antique mirrors and empty picture frames.

Don’t Miss These August Museum Exhibits in New Orleans

The article highlights several must-see museum exhibits in New Orleans for August 2025, part of the city's Museum Month program. Featured shows include "Louisiana Contemporary 2025" at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, a juried exhibition of 53 works by 50 Louisiana artists; Vince Fraser's immersive Afro-surrealist installation "Ancestral Odyssey" at the New Orleans African American Museum; and Ben Depp's aerial photography series "Edge of Tomorrow: Aerial Views of Louisiana’s Changing Coastline" at The Historic New Orleans Collection.

Artists call for regional exhibition

The Fitchburg Art Museum has announced the 89th annual Regional Exhibition, one of the longest-running juried exhibitions in New England. Local artists and crafters living or working within 30 miles of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, have until May 23 to submit artwork created between 2023 and 2025 via an online-only process. The exhibition aims to spotlight regional talent and connect creators with patrons and art enthusiasts.

Man Ray: When Objects Dream

The article presents an extensive list of artworks by the avant-garde artist Man Ray, spanning from 1914 to the mid-1940s. It includes paintings, sculptures, photographs, and readymades such as "Cadeau (Gift)" (1921), "The Rope Dancer Accompanies Herself with Her Shadows" (1916), and "L’énigme d’Isidore Ducasse" (1920). Many entries are marked "Returned to lender," indicating these works were part of a loan exhibition that has now concluded, with pieces being sent back to their respective owners.

Anna-Eva Bergman

The article reports on the life and work of Anna-Eva Bergman, a Norwegian-born painter whose abstract, minimalist works are gaining renewed attention. It highlights her recent exhibitions and the growing recognition of her contributions to post-war European art, particularly her use of metallic pigments and geometric forms inspired by Nordic landscapes.

A Napoli c’è una mostra ispirata a Emily Dickinson dove è la luce a creare le opere

Diego Perrone's exhibition "There's a certain Slant of light" opens at Galleria Umberto Di Marino in Naples, taking its title from an Emily Dickinson poem. The show features new photographic and painted works born from the artist's observation of light passing through domestic glass objects in Naples, where architecture and daily life are shaped by an interplay of light and shadow. Photographs are enclosed in hand-molded glass frames, while large surfaces created with airbrush, charcoal, and chalk present shadow fields on white backgrounds, forming a visual sequence that unfolds like a film in black and white.