A new book series is born, bringing together the world of art and fairy tales

È nata una nuova collana di libri che tiene insieme il mondo dell’arte con quello delle fiabe

Rome-based publisher Bummy Edizioni has launched a new book series titled "Fiabe d’Arte" (Art Fairy Tales), which merges famous artworks with classic folklore. The debut title, "Gli stivali di Vincent" (Vincent's Boots), written by Beniamino Sidoti and illustrated by Ericavale Morello, reimagines the story of Puss in Boots within the world of Vincent van Gogh. In this narrative, the talking cat encourages the artist to express his inner emotions through painting, blending biographical elements with fantasy.

Learning is something aesthetic and emotional. Marco Dallari says so in his latest book (and in this interview)

L’apprendimento è qualcosa di estetico e di emotivo. Lo dice Marco Dallari nel suo ultimo libro (e in questa intervista)

Italian pedagogist Marco Dallari discusses his latest book, "La bellezza di Sophia" (2026), which explores the intrinsic human drive for knowledge as an aesthetic and emotional necessity rather than a pragmatic survival tool. Drawing on Freudian concepts and the work of Alessandra Risso, Dallari argues that the desire to learn is a primal impulse that should be nurtured through beauty and curiosity rather than stifled by rigid institutional structures.

In this L’Aquila High School, there is a Contemporary Art Collection Created by Students and Artists

In questo liceo dell’Aquila c’è una collezione d’arte contemporanea realizzata dagli studenti con gli artisti

The Liceo Bafile in L’Aquila has established a permanent collection of contemporary art featuring over 60 site-specific works created through collaborations between professional artists and students. Initiated by artist and professor Licia Galizia following the devastating 2009 earthquake, the project integrates art into the educational environment as a tool for cultural rebirth. In 2026, the collection will expand further with seven new installations created by artists including Elena Bellantoni and Marco Nereo Rotelli in partnership with the Academy of Fine Arts of L’Aquila.

Philippe Halsman's Portraits Feature the Entire 20th-Century Cultural Elite: The Exhibition in Veneto

Nei ritratti di Philippe Halsman c’è tutta l’élite culturale del Novecento. La mostra in Veneto

The Palazzo Pinato Valeri in Piove di Sacco, Italy, is hosting a comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the legendary photographer Philippe Halsman. The show traces his career from his early 1930s Parisian portraits to his iconic American period, featuring his surrealist collaborations with Salvador Dalí and his famous "Jumpology" series. The collection includes intimate and experimental portraits of 20th-century icons such as Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein, Alfred Hitchcock, and Sophia Loren.

"The Argument of the Dream" at Fondation Pernod Ricard, Paris

“L’argument du rêve” at Fondation Pernod Ricard, Paris

The Fondation Pernod Ricard in Paris has opened a new exhibition titled "L'argument du rêve" (The Argument of the Dream). The show is curated around the philosophical and communal power of dreams, using them as a lens to explore how shared narratives and consciousness are formed within society.

At the Venice Biennale, protests, self-mutilation and rage against Israel and Russia. Is anyone left to talk about the art?

At the 61st Venice Biennale, protests and controversies have overshadowed the art itself. The Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) demonstrated against the inclusion of Israel and Russia, while the Israeli Pavilion became a flashpoint. Artist Belu-Simion Fainaru, presenting his installation "Rose of Nothingness" in a temporary space, complained that he was forced to defend his art's right to exist amid questions about politics rather than his work. The Biennale also saw barricades, strikes, the resignation of the Golden Lion jury, Iran's last-minute withdrawal, and anger directed at the American pavilion over Trump administration policies. The central exhibition, "In Minor Keys," curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, was eclipsed by these events.

ACC Gallery presents "Echoes over the Hudson"

ACC Gallery in Tenafly, New Jersey, presents "Echoes over the Hudson" from May 5-23, 2026, an exhibition featuring contemporary Korean artists based in the New York Tri-State region. The show includes works in painting, sculpture, installation, photography, and new media by artists such as Eunchong Kim, Jinsook Lee, Agnes Woo, and Hyo Jin Jeon, exploring themes of migration, urban experience, memory, and cultural hybridity.

TOXIC’s ‘ALWAYS EVER SINCE 83’ brings four decades of uncompromising practice to Woodbury House

Torrick Ablack, known as TOXIC, will present a major solo exhibition titled 'ALWAYS EVER SINCE 83' at Woodbury House in London from 14th May to 26th June 2026. The show features new paintings alongside rarely seen early works dating back to 1983, marking what the gallery calls a long-overdue recognition of TOXIC's career. TOXIC emerged from the downtown New York scene of the early 1980s alongside figures like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Rammellzee, and participated in the landmark Post-Graffiti exhibition at Sidney Janis Gallery in 1983. The exhibition positions 1983 as a psychological and artistic turning point, tracing over four decades of his uncompromising practice.

SOPAC's Herb + Milly Iris Gallery presents "INSPIRED MINDS: Young Artist Exhibition"

The South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) presents "INSPIRED MINDS: Young Artist Exhibition" in its Herb + Milly Iris Gallery from May 14 through August 16, 2026. Over 300 students from 20 area high schools submitted more than 1,000 original works; 70 pieces were selected for the show, spanning photography, digital art, painting, drawing, sculpture, fiber arts, and ceramics. An opening reception will be held on May 14.

Local artists’ works in national IHC exhibition

An exhibition showcasing artwork by 20 local artists with intellectual disabilities will be held at The Loan & Merc in Oamaru next Friday. The North Otago IHC Association Art Exhibition features works by artists including Lisa Graham, Dan Joyce, Katie Mcrae, Christopher Wright, and Katrina Hewitt, with all participants also set to appear in a national exhibition in Wellington next month as part of the IHC National Art Awards. Artists receive 100% of proceeds from sales, and the group attends weekly art classes throughout the year.

Pro Arts Jersey City presents A Margin of Influence: Artists and the books that inform them

Pro Arts Jersey City presents "A Margin of Influence: Artists and the books that inform them" at ART150 Gallery from May 8-31, 2026. Curated by Raymond E. Mingst and Arthur Bruso, the group exhibition features ten artists—including Agnieszka Wszolkowska, Alvin Quiñones, Brad Terhune, Dorie Dahlberg, Elliot Appel, Hank Yaghooti, Josephine Barreiro, Laura Lou Levy, Nanette Reynolds Beachner, and Peter Delman—who explore how books shape their creative practice. The show runs weekends with an opening reception on May 8.

Old toys, new life: Bloomingdale’s Step Mother Nature art gallery opens 'Child's Play'

Michael Greathouse's exhibition "Child's Play" opened at the Step Mother Nature gallery in Bloomingdale, featuring a dozen portraits of discarded stuffed animals. The show marks the gallery's third season reopening and is paired with a toy drive for the Saranac Lake Holiday Helpers, a local volunteer group that collects toys for children at Christmas. Greathouse's paintings depict battle-worn toys with scars, ripped fabric, and chipped paint, aiming to capture the history and soul of each object.

At Maya Gallery, a Benefit Sale Becomes a Map of Israeli Contemporary Art

Maya Gallery in New York is hosting a benefit sale that features works by over 50 Israeli contemporary artists, including prominent names like Michal Rovner and Sigalit Landau. The sale aims to raise funds for the gallery's programming and to support Israeli artists amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.

Exhibition | Merlin James, 'See Through' at P420, Bologna, Italy

The gallery P420 in Bologna has opened "See Through," the second solo exhibition by Welsh artist Merlin James. The show features a non-linear curation that blends works from different decades, ranging from landscapes and interiors to erotic scenes and near-abstract compositions. James’s approach treats the exhibition as a "jam session," where visual and thematic repetitions provide a structure for diverse painterly explorations.

Twelve Exhibitions, One Looming Question: Bard Student Curators Take on the Meaning of Now at Hessel Museum

The Hessel Museum at Bard College has launched its annual spring exhibition season, featuring twelve distinct curatorial projects titled "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today." Organized by graduating students from the Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS), the showcase serves as a professional debut for an emerging cohort of curators. The projects range from solo retrospectives of under-recognized artists like Brazilian painter Maria Auxiliadora Silva to explorations of feminist art history through the work of A.I.R. Gallery co-founder Anne Healy.

Aria Dean, Sandra Mujinga and Tschabalala Self

Galerie Eva Presenhuber is hosting a group exhibition featuring the works of Aria Dean, Sandra Mujinga, and Tschabalala Self. The show explores the construction and erasure of the human body through diverse mediums, including Aria Dean’s 3D-animated film of an empty slaughterhouse and Sandra Mujinga’s spectral, fabric-based sculptures. By focusing on the architectures of violence and the labor of repair, the artists move away from traditional representation toward conceptual and structural critiques of subjecthood.

Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles acquires Kara Walker sculpture made from dissected Confederate monument

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Los Angeles has acquired "Unmanned Drone" (2023), a significant bronze sculpture by Kara Walker. The work was created by dissecting and reassembling a decommissioned 1921 monument of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson, which was removed from Charlottesville, Virginia, following the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally. The acquisition was announced alongside more than 150 other new additions to the museum's permanent collection, including major works by Cynthia Daignault and Paul Pfeiffer.

December First Friday 2025: 20+ art show openings, markets and concerts

LancasterOnline reports on the December First Friday 2025 event in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, featuring over 20 art show openings, markets, and concerts. The monthly gallery walk and cultural celebration brings together local galleries, artists, and musicians for a night of visual art, live performances, and community commerce.

Featured Artists & Exhibitions

Relévant Galleries in Vail, Colorado, is hosting a series of artist meet-and-greet events and exhibitions throughout July 2025, featuring works by renowned photographer David Yarrow, jeweler Dan Telleen, and painter Sarah Winkler, among others. The gallery also highlights its other locations in Scottsdale, Park City, and Denver, while C. Anthony Gallery in Beaver Creek and Vail International Gallery present concurrent shows with artists like Britten and Sarah Winkler.

Summer Guide 2025: Gallery Openings

The Summer Guide 2025 highlights a diverse array of gallery openings in Santa Fe, New Mexico, focusing on both established and emerging art spaces. Notable exhibitions include Gerald Peters Contemporary's "Material Girl: Pop Culture and the Female Gaze" (June 13), featuring six female artists examining gender and commodification through Pop Art; Daniel Cooney Fine Art's "George Dureau, Photographs" (May 31), showcasing intimate portraits of New Orleans' counterculture; and Station 5 Micro-Gallery's two shows—"ACCUMULATION" (June 7) by Michael Sumner and Melody Sumner Carnahan, and "THE NARROW LINE TO THE INTERIOR" (August 2) inspired by poet Bashō. Other highlights include ELECTR∆ Gallery's queer mysticism group show "The Third Way" (July 11), new works by Tim Jag (June 12), and Pie Projects' "MOMENTUM" (June 14) featuring Florence Miller Pierce's rediscovered resin reliefs.

9 artists break auction records at Sotheby’s South Asian sale.

Nine artists broke auction records at Sotheby’s modern and contemporary South Asian sale in New York on March 17, 2025. The sale totaled $16.8 million, more than tripling its low estimate of $4.9 million. The top lot was Jagdish Swaminathan’s triptych *Homage to Solzhenitsyn* (1973), which sold for $4.68 million, far exceeding its estimate. Jehangir Sabavala’s *The Journey of the Magi* (1963) followed at $2.73 million. Other record-breakers included Ganesh Pyne, Madhvi Parekh, Nelly Sethna, Sheikh Mohammed Sultan, Mohan Sharma, and M. Sain.

L'excellent rapport de la commission d'enquête sur la sûreté des musées est paru

A French parliamentary commission of inquiry into museum security, initiated by Alexandre Portier (president) and reported by Alexis Corbière, has published its findings. The report, unanimously adopted across party lines, includes forty recommendations and is notably critical of the Louvre's management under director Laurence des Cars, accusing her of neglecting security priorities and causing significant delays in the museum's master plan. The commission validated earlier criticisms by La Tribune de l'Art, describing the Louvre as an "État dans l'État" (state within a state) and estimating that twenty to twenty-seven months were lost due to postponed decisions.

A new watercolor by Marie-Désiré Bourgoin acquired by Orsay

Une nouvelle aquarelle de Marie-Désiré Bourgoin acquise par Orsay

The Musée d’Orsay has expanded its collection with the acquisition of a watercolor by Marie-Désiré Bourgoin. The work depicts a somber interior scene featuring an elderly woman in black seated before a commemorative display of the late painter Ernest Meissonier’s personal effects, including his Academician's sword, Legion of Honor insignia, and his final self-portrait on an easel.

An Important Urbino Maiolica Basin for the Clark

Un important bassin en majolique d'Urbino pour le Clark

The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown has acquired a significant 16th-century Urbino maiolica basin from the gallery Camille Leprince following its display at TEFAF. Attributed to the workshop of Orazio or Flaminio Fontana, the trilobed basin features intricate historiated scenes from the life of Joseph and elaborate grotesque decorations. The piece was a highlight of the fair and is accompanied by extensive research regarding its complex provenance.

An important Italian relief for Nuremberg

Un important relief italien pour Nüremberg

The Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg has acquired and publicly unveiled a previously unknown masterpiece: a large silver relief depicting the Lamentation of Christ, created in the workshop of Luigi Valadier in 1786. The work, purchased from a private collector in 2024 with support from several foundations, is now on temporary display and will later join the museum's permanent collection.

Guillermo Del Toro Scored a Different Prize at the Oscars: A Rare Frankenstein Painting

Guillermo del Toro received a rare painting of Frankenstein's Monster by the late British artist Josh Kirby as a gift from collaborators during Oscars festivities, despite his film not winning Best Picture. The painting, which depicts Boris Karloff's iconic portrayal, was previously owned by famed horror collector Forrest J. Ackerman and was sourced through a gallery specializing in pop culture art.

parties metropolitan museum vanguard dinner

The Metropolitan Museum of Art hosted its 2026 Vanguard Council dinner, celebrating the institution's youngest patrons. The evening featured a Chinese-inflected menu developed by James Beard Award-nominated wine bar Lei, remarks from Met CEO Max Hollein and Vanguard Council co-chair Arielle Patrick, and a crowd of New York tastemakers including dealer Lucas Zwirner, patron Laila Blavatnik, and designer Isabel Wilkinson Schor. Guests departed with custom tote bags as parting gifts.

frick museum young fellows ball party

The Frick Collection in New York hosted its annual Young Fellows Ball, a fundraising gala themed 'Porcelain Garden' that celebrated the museum's newly renovated mansion. Benefit chairs included ballet dancer Misty Copeland, collector Laurence Ross Milstein, actor Lola Tung, and others. The event featured porcelain flower sculptures by Ukrainian artist Vladimir Kanevsky, inspired by the museum's original 1935 opening, and drew over 400 young patrons aged 21 to 45 who toured the galleries and danced to a DJ set.

Tuan Vu | Nhat Binh (2026) | Art & Prints

This article presents the artwork "Nhat Binh" (2026) by Vietnamese Canadian artist Tuan Vu, offered through Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery. The painting, executed in oil and oil stick on linen, measures 35 2/5 × 29 1/2 inches and is a unique, hand-signed work accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. The listing includes details about the artist's background, his immigration to Canada as a refugee, his shift from engineering to full-time art practice in 2021, and his exhibition history including a solo show at Simard Bilodeau Contemporary in 2023 and subsequent shows in Berlin, London, New York, and across Canada.

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.