Airstrikes conducted by the United States and Israel on Isfahan, Iran, have caused significant damage to the 17th-century Chehel Sotoun Palace and several other nearby cultural landmarks. The palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, suffered shattered windows, damaged vaulted ceilings, and cracked historic murals, likely due to shock waves from strikes on a nearby government building.
Japanese writer-director Koji Fukada's new film *Nagi Notes* premiered on 13 May at the Cannes Film Festival. The story follows Yuri (Shizuka Ishibashi), who visits the remote town of Nagi to sit for a sculptor friend, Yoriko (Takako Matsu). The film explores how characters use art—from drawings to sculptural busts—as a medium to express unspoken desires, grief, and identity, with key scenes set at the Nagi Museum of Contemporary Art featuring a permanent installation by Arakawa and Madeline Gins.
The Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation in New York is hosting the exhibition "How Asian Is It?", featuring 12 pioneering East Asian American abstractionists born between 1928 and 1955. Curated by Lilly Wei, the show includes works by Barbara Takenaga, Emily Cheng, Charles Yuen, and David Diao, among others. These artists navigated an art world where downplaying their Asian identities often felt necessary for survival, especially after the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act reshaped US immigration policy. The exhibition explores how their abstraction—marked by attention to interval, pause, and what remains unsaid—reflects a disciplined negotiation with space rather than a shared style or manifesto.
The 2026 Venice Biennale is defined by themes of ruin and decay, with standout national pavilions exploring bodily, infrastructural, and archaeological collapse. The Slovenian Pavilion features the Nonument Group repurposing materials from past Biennales into a ruin of a mosque for Bosnian Muslim soldiers from World War I. Syria presents its first national pavilion since the Civil War, with Sara Shamma invoking Palmyra, destroyed by ISIS. Germany's pavilion, titled "Ruin," features works by Henrike Naumann (who died in February) and Sung Tieu, questioning the pavilion's fascist architecture and nationalist residue. The Austrian Pavilion, curated by Florentina Holzinger, offers a visceral performance titled "Sea World." The Biennale is also marked by the abrupt resignation of its five-member jury, who refused to consider nations charged with crimes against humanity, leading to awards being chosen by public vote. Additionally, the main exhibition "In Minor Keys" was affected by the death of its curator, Koyo Kouoh.
Venice Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco defended the institution against critics at a conference on May 6, three days before the public opening, amid controversy over Russia's return to the event for the first time since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine and ongoing disputes over Israel's participation. He accused critics of “narcissism” and “censorship,” while Italian culture minister Alessandro Giuli sent inspectors to investigate whether Russia's involvement breached sanctions; a report was submitted to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office. Meanwhile, the Biennale faces legal threats from the artist representing Israel over alleged discrimination, and protests have erupted, including a demonstration by Art Not Genocide Alliance and a Pussy Riot action at the Russia pavilion.
The 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys," opens amid turmoil: its curator Koyo Kouoh died of cancer during planning, and the festival jury resigned after a controversial statement about excluding Israel and Russia from prizes, replaced by a Eurovision-style people's choice award. The main exhibition, completed by a team of five collaborators using Kouoh's plans, features over 110 artists and collectives, with highlights including works by Big Chief Demond Melanchon, Tammy Nguyen, Guadalupe Maravilla, Ayrson Heráclito, and a section focused on Michael Armitage's Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute.
Henrike Naumann's posthumous installation at the German Pavilion, which retains its 1938 Nazi-era fascist architecture, refuses to make the space 'cozy' by adorning windows with violently ripped domestic fabrics. The 2026 Venice Biennale is the first under president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, associated with neo-fascist politics, and is overshadowed by controversy over his 'neutrality' policy allowing all countries to participate despite human rights concerns. The exhibition jury initially announced it would not consider pavilions from countries whose leaders are charged with crimes against humanity, then abruptly quit, leaving the situation unresolved. The US Pavilion features unimpressive blobs by Alma Allen, while the Russian Pavilion offers cut flowers and free vodka, and Andreas Angelidakis responds to fascist aesthetics at the Greek Pavilion.
Rutherford Chang, who died last year at age 45, is the subject of a posthumous survey at UCCA Center for Contemporary Art Beijing titled "Hundreds and Thousands." The exhibition centers on Chang's socially engaged works that explore value, circulation, and systems through the deceptively simple form of the square. His best-known piece, "We Buy White Albums" (2013–25), involved amassing roughly one percent of the first pressing of the Beatles' "White Album," highlighting how objects accrue personal and economic worth through use and history. Other works include melting 10,000 copper pennies into a cube and assembling Wall Street Journal portraits from 2008 into a grid that captures a year of crisis and change.
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles has announced details of its inaugural exhibitions, set to open on September 22, 2026. Founded by filmmaker George Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson, the museum will feature over 1,200 objects across 30 galleries, tracing the history of visual storytelling from ancient sculptures to Renaissance paintings, photography, comics, and manga. The collection draws from Lucas's personal trove of more than 40,000 works of illustrator art, including pieces by N.C. Wyeth, Norman Rockwell, Frank Frazetta, Beatrix Potter, and Jack Kirby, as well as large-scale murals and photography by artists like Judy Baca and Dorothea Lange. The museum, designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects, also includes archives of Lucas's film sets, props, and costumes.
Giorno Poetry Systems, the nonprofit founded by artist John Giorno in 1965, has launched a new need-based grant program called the Treat a Stranger Grant. The inaugural round awards $4,545 each to 12 artists, including Jacolby Satterwhite, Puppies Puppies (Jade Guanaro Kuriki-Olivo), Samiya Bashir, Malcolm-X Betts, Pe Ferreira, Mercy Kelly, the late Agosto Machado (whose funds go to his estate), Gavilán Rayna Russom, Keioui Keijaun Thomas, Christopher Udemuezue, and two anonymous recipients. The program revives the spirit of Giorno's AIDS Treatment Project from the 1980s and '90s, which provided direct financial support to artists affected by the epidemic.
A father and daughter from New Jersey, Erwin Bankowski and Karoline Bankowska, pleaded guilty in federal court on April 28 to running a counterfeit art scheme that sold fake works attributed to Andy Warhol, Banksy, Pablo Picasso, Richard Mayhew, and others. Between 2020 and 2025, they placed over 200 counterfeit pieces, many made by an artist in Poland, into galleries and auction houses across the U.S., defrauding buyers of at least $2 million. They fabricated provenance, forged gallery stamps and certificates of authenticity, and misrepresented Native American heritage works, violating the Indian Arts and Crafts Act. They face up to 20 years in prison, restitution of at least $1.9 million, and deportation after serving their sentences.
Nalini Malani's latest installation, *Of Woman Born*, opens at the Magazzini del Sale in Venice during the Venice Biennale. Commissioned by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, the work projects hand-drawn animations onto the crumbling brick walls of a 15th-century salt warehouse, creating a cave-like environment where images flicker like ancient cave paintings. The installation draws on tens of thousands of drawings and incorporates mythology, literature, and sound, with a central focus on the myth of Orestes to explore themes of violence, displacement, and gender politics. Malani has also extended her recurring 'Skipping Girl' figure across Venice via posters and public signage to guide viewers to the exhibition.
Cultural strategist András Szántó has published the third and final volume of his trilogy on the future of museums, titled *What Is the Future of the Art World?*. The book features dialogues with a wide range of art-world figures—including gallerists José Kuri and Atsuko Ninagawa, collectors Alain Servais and Sylvain Levy, artists William Kentridge and Holly Herndon & Mathew Dryhurst, curator Fatoş Üstek, network scientist Albert-László Barabási, former Art Basel director Marc Spiegler, and Sheikha Al-Mayassa Al Thani—who discuss topics such as the definition of the art world, its rules, and its future trajectory. Szántó notes that there is no consensus on whether the art world is still expanding or entering a phase of slowdown, with different regions moving on divergent paths.
Julia Stoschek, a leading art collector and ARTnews Top 200 figure, is closing her Berlin exhibition venue after a decade of operation. The 3,000-square-meter space in the former Czech Cultural Center, which opened in 2016, will shut at the end of October 2026, having hosted 22 exhibitions and attracted 450,000 visitors. The Stoschek Foundation will maintain its Düsseldorf venue, while Stoschek shifts focus to international projects, such as the recent Los Angeles exhibition “What a Wonderful World: An Audiovisual Poem,” curated by Udo Kittelmann.
Pittsburgh has unveiled over 35 new public art installations across its downtown area in preparation for the influx of visitors for the NFL Draft. The projects, funded by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, include light installations, murals, and window displays by local artists, designed to revitalize empty storefronts and underused blocks.
A rare, typewritten lyric sheet for Bob Dylan’s song “I’m Not There” has resurfaced after being hidden for nearly 60 years inside a first-edition book of poetry by Allen Ginsberg. The document, which was discovered by a book dealer handling the estate of Sally Grossman, is set to be auctioned by Omega Auctions with an estimate of £20,000–£40,000. Other high-profile collectibles hitting the block include Stephen Curry’s game-worn sneakers at Sotheby’s and a signed Albert Einstein etching.
Bonhams has announced an online auction titled “A Lasting Impression,” featuring 21 previously unseen or little-known paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. These works originate from the personal collection of Gabrielle Renard, the artist’s longtime muse and his children's nanny, who sat for the Impressionist master nearly 200 times. The sale, scheduled for May 10–20, includes intimate portraits of Renard, landscapes, and a floral still life, with estimates ranging from $220,000 to $700,000.
The Château de Chambord, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the second-most visited castle in France, has launched a €30 million ($35 million) crowdfunding campaign to fund urgent structural restorations. Decades of flooding and drought in the Loire Valley have severely compromised the foundations of the François I Wing, leading to warped walls and a 2023 incident where 20 visitors fell through a collapsing floor. Director General Pierre Dubreuil has initiated a three-phase plan to shore up the masonry, modernize accessibility, and create new educational facilities.
The Obama Presidential Center in Chicago has unveiled its final cohort of artist commissions ahead of its scheduled opening in June. This group includes high-profile contemporary artists such as Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Jeffrey Gibson, and Lorna Simpson, who will contribute site-specific works ranging from a multi-layered portrait of the Obamas to a 34-foot stainless steel sculpture by Martin Puryear honoring the late John Lewis. These eight artists join a previously announced roster, bringing the total number of new commissions for the 19.3-acre South Side campus to 30.
Prominent Ukrainian artist Nikita Kadan is launching a new exhibition titled 'A New Integrity' at Pavilion 13 in Kyiv. The installation features prostheses suspended in mid-air, accompanied by a soundscape of recorded testimonies from veterans who have experienced limb loss during the ongoing Russian invasion. The project, commissioned by the non-profit RIBBON International, uses these mechanical replacements to symbolize the broader losses of territory, people, and future perspectives that Ukraine has endured.
A previously unknown scrapbook containing over 150 unseen photographs by Cecil Beaton and Lee Miller has been acquired by the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library. Compiled between 1943 and 1949 by Roland Haupt, a darkroom assistant who processed film for both photographers during World War II, the album includes rare war reportage, portraits, and personal mementos. Among the highlights is an unpublished alternative shot of Miller in Adolf Hitler’s bathtub and Surrealist-inflected images of the conflict's aftermath.
Actor and comedian Pete Davidson has listed his Westchester County home for $2.2 million, revealing a vibrant art collection rooted in pop culture and nostalgia. The 2,300-square-foot residence features a diverse array of works ranging from Peter Max prints and Al Hirschfeld caricatures to contemporary design pieces like the Gufram x Paul Smith 'Sunset Cactus.' The interior reflects Davidson's 'man cave' aesthetic, blending high-end collectibles with whimsical references to television, film, and his native Staten Island.
A rare, clamshell-shaped VOLU Dining Pavilion designed by architect Zaha Hadid and Patrick Schumacher is heading to auction at Hermitage Fine Art in Monaco. The prefabricated outdoor structure, originally created for the 2015 Design Miami fair, is expected to fetch between €900,000 and €1.1 million. This marks only the second time a completed edition of this pavilion has been offered at auction.
A promotional poster for John Lennon and Yoko Ono's album 'Double Fantasy,' signed by Lennon on the morning of his murder on December 8, 1980, is being auctioned by Propstore in London. The lot, estimated between £60,000 and £120,000, includes the RKO Radio archives from Lennon's final interview.
Global fine-art auction sales reached $11.7 billion in 2025, marking a 13.3 percent increase over the previous year and the first market growth since 2021. While the first half of the year was hampered by inflation and geopolitical tensions, a surge in the second half—particularly during New York’s November marquee sales—pushed the market upward. This recovery was led by a renewed appetite for "trophy works," highlighted by the record-breaking $236.4 million sale of Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer at Sotheby’s.
pedro friedeberg surrealist artist dead hand chair
Pedro Friedeberg, the prolific artist and designer central to Mexico’s Surrealist-aligned circles, has died at age 90 in San Miguel de Allende. Born in Italy and having fled to Mexico to escape fascism, Friedeberg became a singular figure in Latin American art, known for his architectural paintings and whimsical, absurdist sculptures. His death was confirmed by his New York representative, Ruiz-Healy Art.
Artist Michael Joo has unveiled a major survey exhibition, "Sweat Models 1991–2026," at Space ZeroOne, a new institutional initiative by the Hanwha Foundation of Culture in Tribeca. The show features career-spanning works including "Concatenations," a massive architectural installation composed of century-old aluminum baking trays and personal ephemera, and salt-block sculptures that reference his background in biology and his family's history in cattle ranching.
Three previously unknown drawings by Joan Miró have been discovered among the possessions of his friend, the artist and designer Edmond Vernassa. The works include a 1972 promotional drawing for Mallorca and two large-scale designs for interior balcony railings, created for the influential art dealers Aimé and Marguerite Maeght. The drawings are now set for auction in Antibes with estimates reaching up to €400,000 each, following a public showcase during Paris Drawing Week.
The 2026 Whitney Biennial has quickly generated a consensus among critics, prompting a deeper analysis of its underlying themes. The exhibition features a notable tension between works exploring artificial intelligence, such as Zach Blas's maximalist installation and Cooper Jacoby's emotionally resonant sculptures, and a contrasting trend of delicate, nostalgic art focused on domesticity and ecology, exemplified by artists like Kelly Akashi and Jasmin Sian.
Dorothea Tanning's small 1942 Surrealist painting, 'Children's Games,' sold for £3.8 million ($5 million) at Christie's London, nearly quadrupling its low estimate. With fees, the final price reached $6.26 million, setting a new auction record for the artist and achieving a remarkable price of approximately $120,000 per square inch.