I Am Not an Anacronista Painter: The Misunderstood Research of Artist Carlo Maria Mariani

“Io non sono Un Pittore Anacronista”. La ricerca fraintesa dell’artista Carlo Maria Mariani

The Fondazione Carlo Maria Mariani issues a corrective statement defending the late artist Carlo Maria Mariani (1931–2021) against persistent misclassification as an "Anacronista" or "Postmodern" painter. The foundation argues that critics and institutions have superficially lumped Mariani into the anachronistic movement of 1970s–80s Italy, ignoring the conceptual and cerebral foundations of his work. Currently, a solo exhibition titled *I Segni dei Tempi* is on view at the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte in Naples until July 14, curated by Andrea Viliani and Antonio Martino. This follows a 2024 show at the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence and precedes a major retrospective at Palazzo Citterio in Milan in 2026, curated by Eike Schmidt.

“A Milano Fondazione Elpis sarà luogo di sorpresa e di comunità”. Intervista alla nuova direttrice Marcella Ferrari

Fondazione Elpis in Milan has appointed Marcella Ferrari as its new director, effective April 2026, marking a new phase for the foundation founded by Marina Nissim in 2020. Ferrari plans to expand the foundation's spaces in Porta Romana with the addition of Villa and Atelier Elpis alongside the existing Lavanderia, creating a constellation of venues for residencies, production, education, and public programs. She emphasizes listening to staff, artists, curators, and the local community, while strengthening international relations and developing projects that connect artistic production with public space and contemporary research.

Human Connection Cuts Through Technology at Focus Art Fair

Focus Art Fair, New York's only art fair dedicated to contemporary Asian art, returned for its fourth edition at Chelsea Industrial, running through May 24, 2026. The fair's theme, 'human-technology coexistence,' was explored through works such as Hwia Kim's interactive installation 'What if two eyes don't work together?' presented by LG Electronics, and pieces by the Ukrainian-born F-Twins (Anna and Valeriia Lyshchenko), who founded the Primarealism art movement in response to AI's encroachment on critical thinking. Other highlights included Annu Yadav's political installation 'This Land is Wounded' (2025) and Taezoo Park's 'Hacked Snoopy' (2025), which memorializes neglected technologies. The fair featured more than 40 galleries and presenters, with a notable appearance by Japanese pop icon Kento Senga, who shared his FiNGA character as a means of connecting with his grandmother suffering from Alzheimer's.

Workers Push to Rename Wexner Center for the Arts Over Epstein Ties

Unionized staff at Ohio State University's Wexner Center for the Arts, organized as Wex Workers United, have officially called for the renaming of the arts center and other campus buildings named after billionaire benefactor Les Wexner. The union argues that Wexner's name, due to his decades-long association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein—who had power of attorney over Wexner's fortune—harms artists and community members. The call follows similar demands from the Ohio Nurses Association regarding the Wexner Medical Center and ongoing student protests, including an April 10 action where students covered Wexner's name on the art center's façade with a black tarp. OSU spokesperson Chris Booker noted that over 500 renaming requests have been filed under the university's official review procedure, while OSU President Ted Carter has emphasized that name changes require fact-finding and cannot be based on supposition.

Karla Knight’s Cosmic Conspiracies

Karla Knight's exhibition "Orbit" at Andrew Edlin Gallery presents her game-like paintings and tapestries filled with cryptic symbols, cosmic diagrams, and celestial imagery. Works such as "Orbiter 2" (2024–25) and "Feelers" (2025–26) feature irregular black devices, floating spheres, and rows of arcane script, inviting viewers to decode what appear to be blueprints for extraterrestrial systems or maps of hidden dimensions. Knight employs meticulous grids, bold primary colors, and textile techniques to render the paranormal as strangely normal.

Contemporary art returns to center stage in Ascoli Piceno for the fifth edition of the Premio Sparti

L’arte contemporanea torna protagonista ad Ascoli Piceno per la quinta edizione del Premio Sparti

The fifth edition of the Premio Sparti, titled "Dove finisce la città" (Where the City Ends), will open on May 23 at the Forte Malatesta in Ascoli Piceno, Italy, running through June 28. Curated by Alex Urso, the exhibition features over twenty international artists exploring artistic practice outside major urban centers, with works also installed at the Frida Museum. The show is divided into three sections—"Essere oltre," "Essere qui," and "Essere altro"—highlighting artists who have chosen peripheral, rural, or marginalized locations as bases for their research, including Francesco Arena, Davide Maria Coltro, Andrea Mastrovito, and emerging talents under 35.

Finally, Culture Minister Giuli visited the Italy Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale and made peace with President Buttafuoco

Finalmente il Ministro della Cultura Giuli ha visitato il Padiglione Italia alla Biennale di Venezia 2026 e ha fatto pace con il Presidente Buttafuoco

Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli finally visited the Italy Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale alongside Biennale President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, marking their first public appearance together after earlier tensions led Giuli to skip the opening ceremony. During the visit, Buttafuoco proposed that the work of artist Chiara Camoni, whose exhibition "Con te con tutto" is curated by Cecilia Canziani, should find a permanent home after the Biennale ends, sparking discussion about the future of pavilion artworks.

Notte Europea dei Musei 2026: tornano le aperture serali con biglietto a 1 euro. Il programma

The European Night of Museums returns on Saturday, May 23, 2026, with participating museums across Europe opening their doors for special evening hours. In Italy, the Ministry of Culture organizes extraordinary openings from 8 PM to midnight at the symbolic price of 1 euro, alongside events in theater, music, dance, literature, and cinema. Highlights include Rome's Notte dei Musei (16th edition) with civic museums open until 2 AM, Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este in Tivoli offering evening access and contemporary performances, and the Royal Savoy Residences in Piedmont featuring guided tours, exhibitions, and family activities.

As Democracy Falters, a New York Museum Champions Activism

The Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) in East Harlem will open the Puffin Foundation Center for Social Activism this fall, replacing its existing Puffin Foundation Gallery. The expanded center, funded by an $8 million donation from the Puffin Foundation, will feature a new version of the permanent exhibition "Activist New York," along with temporary shows, public programs, and an annual fellowship. The inaugural temporary exhibition, "Halumii Ktapihna: Lenape Legacies and Future," marks the 400th anniversary of Manhattan's purchase from Indigenous peoples.

“Voglio porre domande che non avranno mai risposte”. Intervista all’artista Ndayé Kouagou in mostra a Reggio Emilia

Ndayé Kouagou, an artist from Montreuil (1992) based in Paris, presents his first solo exhibition in Italy, "Heaven's truth," at Collezione Maramotti in Reggio Emilia, running until July 26, 2026. The show features his video installation "A coin is a coin" (2022) and is part of the 21st edition of Fotografia Europea 2026, themed "Fantasmi del quotidiano." During the opening, Kouagou performed with poet and actress Salber Lee Williams, composing and deconstructing phrases into the expression "Please Be Yourself." The exhibition will travel to Heidelberger Kunstverein from September 3, and new works co-produced with the institution will appear at the 18th Lyon Biennale (September 19 – December 13, 2026). In an interview, Kouagou discusses his background as a self-taught visual artist and performer, having worked as a motion designer in advertising and as a DJ, and emphasizes writing as his central expressive medium, comparing himself more to a writer than a visual artist.

A Rediscovered Beato Angelico Takes Center Stage at Pandolfini's Old Masters Auctions in Florence

Un Beato Angelico riscoperto protagonista alle aste di arte antica di Pandolfini a Firenze

Pandolfini auction house in Florence will auction a rediscovered fragment of Beato Angelico's *Tebaide* on May 20, 2026, after it had been missing for fifty years. The attribution was confirmed by comparison with the version held at the Museo di San Marco and formerly at the Galleria degli Uffizi. The auction house's Old Masters department, led since 2025 by young director Nicolò Pitto, has achieved strong results, including over €5 million in total revenue for the year, with top lots such as Artemisia Gentileschi's *Cleopatra* (€595,600) and a French School *Saint Catherine of Alexandria* (€620,000).

Mimmo Jodice in mostra al nuovo Museo del Tesoro di San Gennaro a Napoli. Rare foto ‘barocche’ a colori

Mimmo Jodice, the renowned Italian photographer who died in October 2025 at age 91, is being honored with a new exhibition at the Museo del Tesoro di San Gennaro in Naples. The show, curated by former Capodimonte director Sylvain Bellenger, presents Jodice's rare color photographs from the 1980s—his only color project—which focus on 17th-century Neapolitan Baroque paintings by artists such as Caravaggio, Jusepe de Ribera, and Artemisia Gentileschi. The exhibition runs until January 10, 2027, and also marks the inauguration of newly renovated welcome spaces at the museum, designed by Vanni del Gaudio.

Giuli Buys Everything! The Ministry of Culture Also Wants to Take Over Rome's Teatro delle Vittorie and Venice's Palazzo Labia?

Giuli compra tutto! Il Ministero della Cultura vuole prendersi anche Il Teatro delle Vittorie di Roma e Palazzo Labia a Venezia?

Italian Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli is pursuing an aggressive acquisition campaign for cultural properties. After high-profile purchases including Antonello da Messina's *Ecce Homo* and Caravaggio's *Portrait of Monsignor Maffeo Barberini* (€30 million), the Ministry has now expressed interest in acquiring Rome's Teatro delle Vittorie and Venice's Palazzo Labia—both part of a real estate portfolio being sold by state broadcaster Rai. The Ministry also recently bought Verona's historic Cinema Astra (with a €7.5 million restoration plan) and Naples' Teatro Sannazzaro after a fire.

Seattle Art Museum Workers Move to Unionize

Over 100 employees at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) have announced their intention to unionize, forming Seattle Art Museum Workers United (SAMWU) and affiliating with the Washington Federation of State Employees/AFSCME Council 28. In a letter to Director and CEO Scott Stulen and the museum board, staff across departments including visitor experience, collections care, curatorial, and education cited unsustainable wages, subpar health benefits, and top-down decision-making as key grievances. They are urging voluntary recognition by May 27 to bypass a formal election, and also call for just-cause job protections. The effort follows a successful 2024 strike by SAM's unionized security guards.

Future Fair Is a Big Artist Party

Future Fair, held at Chelsea Industrial in New York from May 13–16, 2026, brought together 69 exhibitors from nine countries. Unlike traditional art fairs with segmented booths, the fair emphasized interconnectedness and interpersonal connection, featuring artist-run booths and family-led presentations. Notable participants included Nanor Hakimian showing her brother Garo's paintings, Olivia Janna Genereaux exhibiting with her son Hans Silas Jovine, and artists Cloe Galasso, John Vitale, and Miles Ingrassia. The fair also highlighted its profit-sharing model, dedicating 15% of proceeds plus exhibitor donations to subsidize emerging galleries.

Gulag Museum rebrand marks latest phase in Kremlin’s assault on free speech

The Kremlin is systematically erasing the memory of Soviet repression under Joseph Stalin from Russian museums. The Gulag Museum in Moscow, which documented Stalin-era crimes, has been rebranded as a "Museum of Memory" focused on Nazi war crimes, with its entire website replaced and exhibitions packed up. Simultaneously, Russia's supreme court banned Memorial, a human rights organization founded to document Stalin-era atrocities, labeling it an "anti-Russian" extremist group. The Yeltsin Presidential Center in Yekaterinburg has also removed references to Memorial from its walls, and the Sakharov Center in Moscow was disbanded and evicted from its facilities.

Did Zurbarán Believe What He Painted?

An exhibition of Francisco de Zurbarán's 17th-century religious paintings at London's National Gallery prompts a critic to question whether the artist's personal faith influenced his artistic skill. The show features monumental works from Spanish churches and monasteries, displayed dramatically against black walls, including crucifixion scenes, monks, and saints. The critic notes that no personal records of Zurbarán survive—only contracts—leaving his beliefs unknown, and compares him to Agnolo Bronzino, who painted pious scenes but wrote obscene verses. A small painting of a crucified Christ with a painter, possibly a self-portrait of Bronzino, is presented as ambiguous evidence of faith.

DOGE Cuts to National Endowment for the Humanities Were Unconstitutional, Court Rules

A federal judge ruled that the cancellation of over 1,400 grants by the National Endowment for the Humanities, carried out by Elon Musk's Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE), was unconstitutional. Judge Colleen McMahon of the Federal District Court in Manhattan ordered DOGE to rescind the cancellations, finding that the cuts violated the First Amendment and the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment. The lawsuits were filed after the NEH chairman was dismissed and the agency was redirected under President Donald Trump's "America First" cultural campaign, with acting chair Michael McDonald cutting most grants awarded by the previous administration. The cuts, totaling more than $100 million, disrupted research, publications, and humanities programming, and were reportedly flagged using ChatGPT to target grants related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Steel And Shadows Converge in “Larry Kagan: Men”

Louis K. Meisel Gallery in New York City will present “Larry Kagan: Men,” an exhibition of steel and shadow sculptures by artist Larry Kagan, opening May 9 and running through June 20. Kagan, a former engineer turned sculptor, creates intricate steel assemblages that, when lit from a calculated angle, project remarkably detailed shadow images onto the wall, blending material and illusion. The show includes works like “Michelangelo's Adam” (2025) and highlights his career shift from acrylics to metal in the 1980s under the mentorship of Richard Stankiewicz.

Met Gala Boycott Message Projected on Bezos’s Manhattan Penthouse

On May 3, 2026, the activist group Everyone Hates Elon projected messages condemning Jeff Bezos and Amazon onto Bezos's luxury penthouse in Manhattan's Madison Square Park, ahead of the Met Gala on May 4. The projections included a video testimony from Amazon warehouse worker Mary Hill, who called for honoring workers instead of billionaires, and slogans such as 'Boycott The Bezos Met Gala.' The group also projected onto the Chrysler and Empire State buildings. This action follows earlier protests, including littering the Met with fake urine bottles and wheatpasting posters across the city, all targeting Bezos's role as an honorary co-chair of the gala.

Al Padiglione del Giappone della Biennale di Venezia vi affidano una bambola da accudire

The Japan Pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale 2026 features an immersive, interactive exhibition titled "Grass Babies, Moon Babies" by Japanese-American artist Ei Arakawa-Nash. Visitors are invited to care for one of 200 dolls, each with a QR code that provides a "diaper poem" linked to the doll's symbolic birth date—reflecting the artist's personal experience of becoming a father in 2024 and broader social dynamics in Japan. The pavilion, curated by Lisa Horikawa and Mizuki Takahashi, evolves over the seven months of the Biennale as a platform for shared care and participation.

The Ireland Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Art Biennale Speaks of Dreams and Pays Homage to Aldo Manuzio

Il Padiglione Irlanda alla Biennale Arte 2026 di Venezia parla di sogni e omaggia Aldo Manuzio

The Ireland Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale will present "Dreamshook," a project by Irish artist Isabel Nolan. The exhibition explores dream states and pays homage to the Venetian printer Aldo Manuzio, drawing on the humanist revolution between the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Nolan, who works across sculpture, embroidery, photography, and text, will create new tapestries, drawings, and sculptures that engage with classicism, Christianity, humanism, Irish heritage (including the Book of Kells), and the invention of printing. The project is curated by Georgina Jackson and produced by Cian O'Brien, with support from Culture Ireland and the Arts Council.

At the Venice Biennale there is also Taiwan. With a collateral event on melancholy

Alla Biennale di Venezia c’è anche Taiwan. Con un evento collaterale sulla malinconia

Taiwan will present a collateral event at the 2026 Venice Biennale titled "Screen Melancholy," curated by Raphael Fonseca and featuring artist Li Yi-Fan. The exhibition, organized by the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, will be held at Palazzo delle Prigioni and run until November 22, 2026. It explores anxieties of the digital age through a site-specific installation combining a single-channel video and monumental human sculptures, reflecting on information overload, fragmented perception, and the limits of human knowledge.

Nel Padiglione Germania alla Biennale di Venezia un gruppo di donne riflette sulle rovine del passato per capire il mondo

The German Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale will present the work of two women artists, Henrike Naumann and Sung Tieu, following the death of Naumann at age 41 in February 2026. Curated by Kathleen Reinhardt, director of the Georg Kolbe Museum in Berlin, the pavilion's project, titled "Ruin," explores the dual meanings of the word in English and German—architectural decay versus economic, social, or moral collapse. The exhibition draws on research into East Germany (DDR) and the post-reunification period, using the pavilion's fascist architecture as a lens to examine historical ruptures and their impact on the present. For the first time in its history, the German Pavilion is represented solely by women, mirroring the Italian Pavilion.

At the Casa di Goethe in Rome, two controversial episodes in the history of science in Mischa Kuball's light installations

Alla Casa di Goethe di Roma due episodi controversi della storia della scienza nelle installazioni di luce di Mischa Kuball

The Casa di Goethe in Rome is hosting a solo exhibition of German conceptual artist Mischa Kuball from April 30 to October 4, 2026. The show features two light installations: "Newton/Goethe luce nera," which contrasts Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's and Isaac Newton's opposing theories on color and light refraction, and "five suns / after Galileo," which visualizes Galileo Galilei's observations of sunspots and his conflict with the Catholic Church. The exhibition is curated by the museum's director, Gregor H. Lersch.

In Venice, a new project aims to transform museums into living, participatory spaces

A Venezia un nuovo progetto punta a trasformare i musei in spazi vivi e partecipati

The Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia (MUVE) has launched "Performing MUVE," a new program set to begin in spring 2026 that reimagines museums as dynamic, participatory spaces. The initiative, developed by MUVE Academy and MUVE Education, will unfold across three venues: Museo Fortuny, Casa di Carlo Goldoni, and the new MUVEC – Casa delle Contemporaneità in Mestre. The program includes four distinct projects—led by Mattia Berto, choreographer Elena Ajani, actress Sara Urban, and dancer Giulia Gemma Manfrotto—that use dance, theater, and embodied practices to transform visitors from passive observers into active participants.

Gallery hopping: A new way to experience & engage with art

The article reports on the rise of gallery hopping in Delhi, particularly in neighborhoods like Lado Sarai, Defence Colony, and Okhla, where galleries cluster together. The Defence Colony Galleries Association, founded by Pristine Contemporary owners Arjun Butani and Arjun Sawhney, launched the monthly Def Col Art Night, keeping 10 galleries open until 9pm on the third Thursday with openings, music, and performances. Gallery directors and owners note that these events attract a broader audience beyond traditional collectors, making art more accessible and fostering community.

Basel Abbas & Ruanne Abou-Rahme: Archivists and Activists

New York- and Ramallah-based Palestinian artists Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme present *Prisoners of Love: Until the Sun of Freedom* (2025), an hour-long four-channel film installation at The Bell/Brown Arts Institute in Providence. The work layers psychedelic imagery of figures in nature with spoken and written testimonies from Palestinians formerly detained by Israeli authorities, exploring themes of incarceration, surveillance, and resistance through fragmented montage and poetic text. The exhibition also includes drawings by Abou-Rahme’s father and printed screenshots of reflections on the genocide in Gaza.

The AfD Rehearses the Seizure of Power

Die AfD probt die Machtergreifung

The article reports that in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the far-right party AfD could achieve an absolute majority in the upcoming September election—a first in postwar German history. The state government has preemptively introduced a cultural funding law to protect the arts. The AfD's platform includes a "new patriotic cultural policy" under the slogan "#deutschdenken," which explicitly targets the Bauhaus and modernist art as symbols of an "identity disorder" they promise to "heal."

"Geschichtspolitisch fatal und realitätsblind"

A German media roundup reports on a planned restructuring of the Stiftung Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung (Foundation Flight, Expulsion, Reconciliation), which would shift its focus toward German expellees and reduce the influence of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. The reform, criticized by FAZ commentator Andreas Kilb as a fundamental cultural-political intervention, would detach the foundation from the German Historical Museum and give greater weight to the Federation of Expellees in its board. Separately, the roundup covers a review of a legal study on artistic freedom sparked by the antisemitism debate around Documenta Fifteen, and a speech by Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer warning of democratic backsliding and rising antisemitism.