Already 100,000 Visitors at Cologne's Kusama Exhibition

Schon 100.000 Besucher in Kölner Kusama-Ausstellung

The Museum Ludwig in Cologne has reached a significant milestone, welcoming 100,000 visitors to its Yayoi Kusama retrospective within just four weeks of opening. The exhibition, which features 300 works ranging from early childhood drawings to contemporary installations, has proven to be an unprecedented draw for the institution, surpassing the director's initial expectations for attendance speed.

I think I didn't understand many artists

"Ich glaube, ich habe viele Künstler nicht verstanden"

Adrian Searle, the long-standing chief art critic for The Guardian, is stepping down after three decades at the publication and nearly 50 years in art criticism. In a reflective interview, Searle discusses his transition from a practicing painter and educator to a critic, noting that his early interactions with students like Peter Doig and Isaac Julien helped him realize his true strength lay in writing rather than art-making. He recounts his experiences navigating the British art scene, from the decline of Greenbergian abstraction to his encounters with formidable figures like Richard Serra.

An Artist Ponders Pond Scum, Humans and the Meaning of Life

Anicka Yi, an artist known for exploring the intersection of biology and technology, has created a new installation at Storm King Art Center. The work features muck-filled columns that examine pond scum and other microscopic life-forms, using them as a lens to question humanity's role in the natural world. The installation is described as a kind of laboratory where Yi investigates the agency and intelligence of non-human organisms.

With $116 Million Gift, National Gallery Will Send Its Art Around Nation

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., has received a $116 million gift from billionaire art collector Mitchell P. Rales. This donation will fund a new program to send the museum's collection on long-term loans to smaller institutions across the United States in perpetuity, significantly expanding its national reach.

Metropolitan Opera and MoMA Together Put Kahlo at Center Stage

The Metropolitan Opera and the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) have launched a rare cross-disciplinary collaboration centered on the life and work of Frida Kahlo. The project features a new operatic production at the Met, complemented by a specialized exhibition at MoMA conceived by the opera's set designer to provide visual and historical context.

Getty Center in Los Angeles Is Closing for Year of Renovations

The Getty Center in Los Angeles has announced it will close to the public for a full year starting in March 2027. This significant hiatus is required to facilitate a major infrastructure overhaul, primarily focusing on the replacement of its aging computer-operated tram system and the modernization of several gallery spaces within the Richard Meier-designed campus.

Protests in Mexico Challenge Move of Frida Kahlo Trove to Spain

A heated controversy has erupted in Mexico following the decision to move a massive trove of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera artworks to Spain for a long-term loan. Protesters and cultural advocates are challenging the relocation of the Dolores Olmedo Museum collection, which includes some of Kahlo’s most iconic paintings, to a new private museum in Madrid. In response to the backlash, Mexican officials have issued public assurances that the collection remains national heritage and is legally required to return to Mexico by 2028.

Why Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s Go-Go Dancer Piece Remains Subversive

The New York Times examines the enduring power of Felix Gonzalez-Torres's 1991 performance piece "Untitled" (Go-Go Dancing Platform), in which a go-go dancer performs on a pedestal for a brief, scheduled period each day. The work, currently on view at the Art Institute of Chicago, uses the dancer's absence as a central component, creating a poignant metaphor for queer presence and loss.

In a Historic Kyoto Neighborhood, a New Hotel Channels the Past

A new hotel, the Ace Hotel Kyoto, has opened in the historic Umekoji neighborhood, housed within a renovated 1920s brick building that was once the Kyoto Central Telephone Office. The project, a collaboration between Ace Hotel Group and Japanese developer NTT Urban Development, blends the original structure's industrial character with contemporary design by Kengo Kuma and Commune Design, featuring guest rooms, restaurants, and a gallery space.

The Titan of Land Art Moves Indoors and Gets Intimate

Michael Heizer, the pioneering Land Art figure known for monumental desert works like "City" and "Double Negative," is presenting a new exhibition of smaller-scale, indoor sculptures at Gagosian Gallery in New York. The show, titled "Collapse," features a series of large, geometric steel forms that, while still substantial, represent a significant shift in scale and context from his earth-moving outdoor projects.

culture editors gift guide christmas holidays

Cultured magazine's editors have published a holiday gift guide featuring a curated selection of items ranging from books and film memberships to robes, facials, and art-related products. Recommendations include Elaine Kraf's novel "The Princess of 72nd Street," an AAA24 membership from production company A24, a Hanro shawl collar cotton robe, a facial from Cali Strauhs, and a set of architecture-themed notebooks and books from the New Museum and Special Special. The guide also highlights a bronze sculpture by artist Ryan Schneider, tying the list to contemporary visual art.

art miami art week gallery museum guide

Cultured magazine has published a guide to gallery and museum exhibitions taking place during Miami Art Week, spanning from December 2025 through early 2026. The roundup highlights solo shows by Studio Lenca at David Castillo Gallery, Aneta Grzeszykowska at Voloshyn Gallery, and Woody De Othello at Pérez Art Museum Miami, alongside a posthumous survey of Richard Hunt at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, and a pop-up exhibition organized by Jeffrey Deitch in the Miami Design District. Other featured presentations include Shayla Marshall's installation at a Walgreens storefront, Lawrence Lek's "NOX Pavilion" at the Bass, and a show by Thomas Houseago.

Everyone Keeps Getting Yoko Ono Wrong

Paul Morley's new biography of Yoko Ono, *Love Magic Power Danger Bliss*, attempts to reframe the artist beyond her reputation as a 'Beatles wife' but ultimately fails, according to this critical review. The book covers Ono's first three decades, from her birth in Japan in 1933 to meeting John Lennon in 1969, but is dominated by lengthy asides on male avant-garde figures like George Maciunas and Pete Townshend, leaving Ono a passive presence in her own story. Morley promises not to mention Lennon but breaks that promise, and the review argues the book is aimed more at 'rock dads' still upset about the Beatles breakup than at understanding Ono's artistic contributions.

ArtReview Podcast | Episode 7: Zineb Sedira

The ArtReview Podcast episode 7 features artist and photographer Zineb Sedira in conversation with digital editor Alexander Leissle. Sedira discusses Algerian cinema, the Scopitone, and her new Tate Britain Commission titled "When Words Fall Silent, Cinema Speaks," a site-specific installation in the Duveen Galleries open until January 2027. The episode explores three works chosen by Sedira, including Agnès Varda's "Salut les Cubains" (1963) and William Klein's "The Pan-African Festival of Algiers" (1969), as lenses into her practice and themes of displacement, identity, and cinema as a tool of resistance.

Tuguldur Yondonjamts’s Animalistic Realm

Mongolian artist Tuguldur Yondonjamts explores the habitat of the saker falcon through a series of accordion-style books titled *The Secret Mountain of Falcons* (2011–14), created during fieldwork across Mongolia. The drawings, presented in Perspex vitrines at his solo exhibition *Wolf Loving Princess* at Gallery Ver in Bangkok, depict the falcon's perspective as imagined by the artist, blending black-and-white film-like imagery with abstract textures. The work responds to the falcon trade, particularly to the Middle East, and the species' declining population, which led to its designation as Mongolia's national bird in 2012.

ArtReview April & May 2026 Issue Out Now

ArtReview's April & May 2026 issue explores boundaries and limitations in art, with a focus on the 61st Venice Biennale opening amid global conflicts. The cover features Japanese-American performance artist Ei Arakawa-Nash with his husband and twin babies, whose collaborative installation at the Japanese Pavilion incorporates the unpredictability of childcare. The issue includes coverage of controversial national pavilions (Russian, Israeli, American), profiles of artists representing Mongolia and Singapore, and features on Beverly Buchanan, Arthur Jafa, Richard Prince, and Zehra Doğan's report from Rojava. It also reviews the 82nd Whitney Biennial, the 25th Biennale of Sydney, and the 15th Shanghai Biennale.

Venice Biennale 2026: How Do You Critique a Posthumous Exhibition?

The article, published by ArtReview, examines the upcoming 61st Venice Biennale (2026), titled *In Minor Keys*, which was conceived by artistic director Koyo Kouoh before her death from cancer in May 2025 at age 57. The exhibition, based on Kouoh's drafted concept and completed by a curatorial team including Rory Tsapayi, Siddhartha Mitter, Marie Hélène Pereira, Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, and Rasha Salti, adopts a musical metaphor of "minor-ness" and aims to avoid the pitfalls of previous Biennales by focusing on soul frequencies and dissonant harmony rather than direct commentary on world crises. The author, Martin Herbert, questions how critics will respond to a posthumous exhibition of this unprecedented scale, noting that previous artistic directors like Robert Storr, Cecilia Alemani, Christine Macel, and Adriano Pedrosa have faced varied critical receptions.

Taiwan revokes Sakuliu Pavavaljung’s National Award for Arts

Taiwan’s National Culture and Arts Foundation has revoked the National Award for Arts granted to artist Sakuliu Pavavaljung in 2018, ordering him to return the NTD 1 million prize. The revocation follows a Supreme Court ruling on 1 April that upheld a January 2025 conviction by the Pingtung District Court, which found the artist guilty of rape and sentenced him to four years and six months in prison.

There Has Never Been an Apolitical Venice Biennale

The Venice Biennale, with its national pavilion structure, has always been a platform for political expression and soft power, a reality evident from its early 20th-century origins. Contemporary critic Arturo Lancellotti's 1909 review of the German and British pavilions was steeped in geopolitical context, revealing how national artistic displays were interpreted through the lens of imperial power and military alliances.

Anne Hardy’s Hollow Humanoids

British artist Anne Hardy presents a suite of floor-based installations and assemblage sculptures titled "Interloper" at Visual. The exhibition features a series of "Beings"—twisted, life-size humanoid entities constructed from rusted wire, crushed cans, soil, and the artist’s own cast body parts and clothing. These figures, often posed in yoga-like positions or meditative stances, appear as hollow, faceless outlines that blend a sense of vitality with physical disintegration.

Event: Hammad Nasar and Billy Tang, Off the Record

ArtReview and Ursula magazine have announced a collaborative talk featuring curators Hammad Nasar and Billy Tang as part of their "Off the Record" series in London. The event, held at the Farm Shop in Mayfair, is designed as an intimate, live conversation focused on the working methods and inspirations of creative visionaries. Nasar, a veteran curator and MBE recipient, will join Tang, the Artistic Director of the new Yan Du Project, to discuss their respective practices and the evolution of creative thinking.

Museum as Networked Modality

The article examines the evolving and often problematic relationship between museums and digital art. It highlights the institutional struggle to define and categorize works that use contemporary technologies like AI, blockchain, and robotics, noting that canonical figures like Leo Villareal, Jenny Holzer, and Andreas Gursky are often excluded from the "digital art" label. The piece cites specific examples, from Harold Cohen's early algorithmic work to Sougwen Chung's robotic collaborations and Rhea Myers's responsive NFTs, to illustrate the diverse and transmedia nature of these practices.

Hunker Down With John Skoog

Artist John Skoog has premiered a new black-and-white feature film, 'Redoubt' (2025), starring Denis Lavant, and opened a concurrent exhibition at Moderna Museet in Malmö. The film follows a farmhand building an apocalyptic shelter, while the museum installation features the full-scale, fabricated bunker from the film's production.

The Best Exhibitions to See in Paris Right Now

Les meilleures expos du moment à voir à Paris

Beaux Arts Magazine has published a guide to the best current exhibitions in Paris for spring 2026, highlighting major shows such as "Martin Parr. Global Warning" at the Jeu de Paume, "Matisse. 1941–1954" at the Grand Palais, "Michel-Ange Rodin" at the Musée du Louvre, "Renoir et l'amour" at the Musée d'Orsay, "Calder. Rêver en équilibre" at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, and "Splendeurs du baroque" at the Musée Jacquemart-André. The article also features retrospectives of Hilma af Klint at the Grand Palais, Károly Ferenczy at the Petit Palais, Henry Taylor at the Musée Picasso, a Lee Miller exhibition at the Musée d'Art moderne de Paris, a Giovanni Segantini show at the Musée Marmottan Monet, and a Nan Goldin multimedia presentation at the Grand Palais.

Art as seen by… Louise Bourgoin

L’art vu par… Louise Bourgoin

French actress Louise Bourgoin discusses her deep-rooted connection to the visual arts, stemming from her studies at the Beaux-Arts de Rennes. She reflects on her first art purchase in the Czech Republic, her obsession with line drawing, and how the abstract works of Mark Rothko have informed her acting performances. Bourgoin also reveals her upcoming project: illustrating a children's book written by Arthur Dreyfus, set for release in September.

How the British Museum is preparing for the arrival of the Bayeux Tapestry

Comment le British Museum prépare l’arrivée de la tapisserie de Bayeux

The British Museum will display the Bayeux Tapestry from September 10, 2025, to July 11, 2027, in its Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery, coinciding with the closure of the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux for renovation. The 68.38-meter embroidery will be shown flat for the first time in over two centuries, in a custom-designed case with low lighting and continuous visitor flow. Tickets go on sale July 1, 2026, priced between £25 and £33, with free entry for under-16s. The exhibition includes loans such as the Junius II manuscript from the Bodleian Library and coins from the Chew Valley hoard, plus an outdoor installation by Andy Sturgeon. The UK government has provided an £800 million indemnity guarantee.

The Asian Market Carries Art Basel Hong Kong

Le marché asiatique porte Art Basel Hong Kong

Art Basel Hong Kong 2026 concluded with strong attendance and significant sales, demonstrating the fair's central role in the Asian art market. The event attracted over 91,000 visitors and featured 240 galleries, with a strong presence from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and the United States. Major international galleries like Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, and David Zwirner reported multimillion-dollar sales of works by artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Liu Ye, and Marlene Dumas, alongside notable transactions for works by Tracey Emin and Antony Gormley.

Wyeth-Centric Brandywine Museum Will Be Transformed by Kengo Kuma & Associates

The Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, has selected Tokyo-based architecture firm Kengo Kuma & Associates to lead a $100 million transformation of its campus. The project will expand the current 15-acre site into a 325-acre public preserve and garden with ten miles of trails, including a new 40,000-square-foot freestanding museum and a renovation of the existing 19th-century grist mill building. Kengo Kuma will add 14,000 square feet of gallery space, and the new trails will connect the two museums to the original studios of N. C. Wyeth and Andrew Wyeth.

Siteless Athens Arts Institution NEON Closing After 14 Years

The Athens-based cultural institution NEON, founded by prominent art collector Dimitris Daskalopoulos in 2012, is closing after 14 years. Operating without a permanent building, NEON organized 44 exhibitions across unconventional spaces, including ancient archaeological sites, commissioning works by artists such as Marina Abramović, Anastasia Douka, and Danh Vo. Its final project is a trilogy by artist Michael Rakowitz titled "Michael Rakowitz & Ancient Cultures," which began at the Old Acropolis Museum and will conclude later this year.

Ascendant Philanthropists Make $23 Million Donation to Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has received a $23 million donation from newly elected trustee Jennifer Rubio and her husband Stewart Butterfield, made through the Rubio Butterfield Foundation. The principal gift will endow the museum's undergraduate and graduate internship program in perpetuity, which will be renamed after the couple starting September 2026. An additional donation supports the Met's new Tang Wing for modern and contemporary art, set to open in 2030.