"One of the most dramatic Biennales": 11 unmissable art shows to see at Venice

Theo Christelis reports from the opening week of the 2024 Venice Biennale, describing it as one of the most dramatic editions in recent memory. Key events include the death of main curator Koyo Kouoh and German Pavilion artist Henrike Naumann, the resignation of the prize jury over the participation of Israel and Russia, a protest by Pussy Riot, and a boycott by half the participating artists. Amid the turmoil, Christelis highlights unmissable shows including the Indian Pavilion (returning after seven years), Jenny Saville at Ca' Pesaro, Michael Armitage at Palazzo Grassi, and presentations at the British, Japanese, and Saudi Arabian Pavilions.

Maine Institutions Dissect the American Semiquincentennial

Boston Art Review (BAR) has published an article examining how Maine-based cultural institutions are approaching the American Semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026. The piece explores the programming, exhibitions, and institutional strategies being developed by museums and art centers across Maine to mark this milestone, focusing on how they interpret American history and identity through contemporary art.

Lorna Simpson Comes Full Circle in Venice with ‘Third Person’

American artist Lorna Simpson has opened a major solo exhibition titled 'Third Person' at Punta della Dogana in Venice, featuring over 50 works across painting, collage, sculpture, installation, and film. The show surveys her practice from the last decade, including new works created in response to the venue, and runs through November 22. Curated by Emma Lavigne of the Pinault Collection, the exhibition also includes pieces from her 2015 Venice Biennale participation and series such as 'Ice,' 'Special Characters,' and 'Earth and Sky.'

A Major Exhibition on Elsa Schiaparelli opens at the V&A

A major exhibition dedicated to the pioneering fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli has opened at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London. The show explores Schiaparelli's innovative designs, her collaborations with surrealist artists like Salvador Dalí, and her lasting influence on fashion and visual culture.

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts receives major gift of photography

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) announced a major gift of 1,986 photographs from Joy of Giving Something, Inc. (JGS), a nonprofit founded by financier Howard Stein. The donation includes works by over 450 artists, spanning the 19th century to the present, with highlights such as rare daguerreotypes by Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey, prints by Gustave Le Gray and Eugène Atget, and significant holdings in American documentary photography from figures like Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans. The gift follows an earlier 2023 donation of portfolios and series, and positions VMFA to open five new photography galleries in 2027 as part of its expansion.

Yoo Young-kuk’s inner landscapes spotlighted in Seoul retrospective

The Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) has opened its largest-ever retrospective of pioneering Korean abstract painter Yoo Young-kuk, titled "Yoo Youngkuk: A Mountain Within Me," marking the 110th anniversary of his birth. Running through Oct. 25 at SeMA's Seosomun branch, the exhibition brings together 178 works, including 115 oil paintings, drawings, photographs, archival materials, and previously unseen pieces, as well as BTS RM's collection "Mountain." Rather than a chronological format, the show begins in 1964—the year of Yoo's first solo exhibition—and moves backward and forward through time, highlighting his geometric compositions and bold primary colors inspired by the mountains and sea of his hometown Uljin.

“Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone” Reconstructs a Life Across Fragments

Boston Art Review (BAR) has published an article titled “Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone” that reconstructs the life of the 19th-century sculptor Edmonia Lewis across fragmented historical records. The piece examines Lewis’s career, her neoclassical marble works, and the challenges of piecing together her biography due to limited archival materials.

Taipei Fine Arts Museum unveils 'Surrealism: The World in Dialogue'

Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM), in collaboration with the Institute for Cultural Exchange in Tübingen, Germany, has launched its major spring exhibition "Surrealism: The World in Dialogue." Featuring over 120 works by nearly 60 international artists, the exhibition marks a century since André Breton's 1924 "Surrealist Manifesto." It juxtaposes historical avant-garde works with contemporary practices, organized into sections such as "Collective Dreams," "Body of Desire," and "Absurd Play." Highlights include Yves Tanguy's dreamscapes, Lauren Moffatt's augmented reality installation, Max Ernst's scraping-method works, Patricia Piccinini's hybrid sculptures, and works by Man Ray, Meret Oppenheim, Sarah Lucas, Luis Buñuel, and Salvador Dalí.

Bright future for the next generation of artistic talent

Hong Kong Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui visited Venice to support the Hong Kong Collateral Event at the 61st Venice Biennale, themed “Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice.” The exhibition features artists Kingsley Ng and Angel Hui, with five installations exploring poetic rhythms in everyday life, curated by the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA). Law also viewed American artist Nick Cave’s sculpture *Amalga (Plot)* and announced the Venice Biennale Internship Programme 2026, which will send six arts-background interns to Venice for a six-week residency.

Turkish, international artists meet audiences at Art Thessaloniki

The 9th Art Thessaloniki Contemporary Art Fair opened at the TIF Helexpo exhibition center in Thessaloniki, Greece, running until May 17, 2026. Istanbul-based Gallery Binyil presented a group exhibition titled "Meeting of Cultures," curated by Ilknur Sanal, featuring works by Turkish artists such as Bedri Baykam, Husamettin Kocan, Suleyman Saim Tekcan, Yigit Yazici, Adil Ocak, Tugce Calimbay, Filiz Kiprik, Huseyin Rustemoglu, Can Ozsobay, and Hasan Sefa Sofuoglu, alongside Greek artists Lia Eleftheriadou, Katerina Rimpatsiou, and Lena Morfogeni. The exhibition will travel to Gallery Binyil in Istanbul from June 1 to 19, and then to Flamm Hotel in Golturkbuku from June 24 to July 27.

Lauder heir hands gallery and $135mn Klimt to New York’s Metropolitan Museum

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has received a major donation from the Lauder family: a historic townhouse gallery on the Upper East Side and Gustav Klimt's 1907 portrait "Adele Bloch-Bauer II," valued at $135 million. The gift comes from the estate of Estée Lauder heir Ronald S. Lauder, a longtime museum trustee and collector, and includes the former Neue Galerie building at 1048 Fifth Avenue, which will be renovated to expand the Met's modern and contemporary art exhibition space.

Peter Frankopan unveils BRUSK museum's inaugural exhibition exploring Bruges history

Historian and author Peter Frankopan has curated the inaugural exhibition at BRUSK, a new museum in Bruges, Belgium. Titled "Bigger Picture: Connected worlds of Bruges 900-1550," the show explores the city's medieval role as a global hub for trade, culture, and politics, featuring over 250 objects from 90 lenders worldwide. A rare loan from the Vatican Library—a portrait of Byzantine Emperor Alexios I—is a highlight. The exhibition opens alongside a digital work by Refik Anadol and a fresco by Laure Prouvost.

Exhibition at the Sarasota Art Museum uses shadows to explore the way identity changes based on experiences

Sarasota Art Museum presents 'Penumbra,' a solo exhibition by textile artist Maria A. Guzman Capron. The show features 10 works, including traditional wall hangings and a suspended 15-foot textile sculpture titled 'Sombra,' all exploring how identity shifts based on context and experience. Curator Lacie Barbour explains that the title refers to the penumbra—a liminal space between light and dark—serving as a metaphor for the multiplicity of identities. Capron, who was born in Milan to Peruvian and Colombian parents and later moved to Texas, draws on her own cross-cultural experiences, using hand-dyed, painted, and screen-printed fabrics to create layered portraits of multi-faceted figures.

Boxing News: WBC Honors Rocky Exhibition & Joe Frazier Legacy At Philadelphia Museum Of Art » May 13, 2026

The World Boxing Council (WBC) presented two commemorative championship belts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in connection with the exhibition "Rising Up: Rocky and the Making of Monuments," which marks the 50th anniversary of the film "Rocky." On April 23, 2026, Rasheen Farlow of the WBC gave a belt to the family of Joe Frazier, accepted by his daughter Jacquelyn Frazier-Lyde. The following evening, a second belt was presented to the exhibition itself, accepted by guest curator Paul Farber. The belts honor boxing figures Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, and Jose Sulaiman, and one also features the film character Rocky.

Grand Rapids Art Museum presents: ‘Decadent Spirit: French Art at the Turn of the Century’

The Grand Rapids Art Museum (GRAM) has announced its summer exhibition 'Decadent Spirit: French Art at the Turn of the Century,' on view from May 29 to September 6. Featuring over 130 works spanning 1880 to 1910, the show highlights artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Pierre Bonnard, Jules Chéret, Hector Guimard, and Théophile Alexandre Steinlen, alongside early film pioneers Auguste and Louis Lumière, Georges Méliès, and Alice Guy-Blaché. The exhibition includes works on paper, painting, sculpture, metalwork, interior and urban design, and early film, exploring the cafés, streets, theaters, and domestic scenes of fin-de-siècle Paris. It closes with an 1899 French motorcar, symbolizing the era's new mobility.

How Frida Kahlo Became This Year's Cultural Obsession

In 2026, Frida Kahlo has become a global cultural obsession, with museums, opera houses, and cinemas worldwide celebrating her legacy. The Metropolitan Opera in New York City will premiere Gabriela Lena Frank's Spanish-sung opera *El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego* on May 14, which imagines Diego Rivera summoning Kahlo back to life three years after her death. Set and costume designer Jon Bausor drew inspiration from the trees, veins, and cracked imagery in Kahlo's paintings.

Art as Collective Responsibility: Hestia Artistic Journey Grant Programme Winners

The Hestia Artistic Journey National Grant Programme (Artystyczna Podróż Hestii) has announced the winners of its third edition, selecting eight projects from nearly 200 applications across Poland. The programme, subtitled "Opening Time" (Czas otwarcia), supports artists and cultural institutions planning exhibitions that address collective responsibility for global issues. Winners include "Ślady pamięci" by Fundacja Szałfynster in Katowice, exploring memory and dementia; "Głodne drzewa/Thirsty Trees" by Przemek Branas at the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź, critiquing human greed through eucalyptus metaphors; and "Tymczasowa pława" by Norbert Delman at the State Art Gallery in Sopot, an installation on ecocide using a sunken fishing boat and amber. Each project will present an exhibition between July 2026 and the last quarter of 2027, with increased funding due to exceptional submissions.

‘Drift’ Invites Reverie at the Parrish

Sanford Biggers's first major solo exhibition on the East End, "Drift," opens at the Parrish Art Museum on Sunday and runs through September 13. The show features new works and site-responsive installations, including the monumental "Unsui (Cloud Forest)" (2025), a series of illuminated cloud sculptures suspended from the museum's arched ceiling. Co-curated by Corinne Erni and Scout Hutchinson, the exhibition spans Biggers's multidisciplinary practice—painting, sculpture, video, performance, and textile works—drawing on influences from Buddhism to graffiti culture and Gee's Bend quilts. Highlights include examples from his "Codex" series, made from repurposed antique quilts with spray-painted cloud forms, and a new sand installation inspired by prayer rugs and Japanese Buddhist mandalas.

American Miners Photo Exhibition 'Beneath the Surface' Tour: National Gallery (DC)-Milwaukee Art Museum-Amon Carter Museum (Fort Worth, TX)

미국의 광부들 사진전 'Beneath the Surface' 순회: 내셔널 갤러리(DC)-밀워키미술관-에이먼카터미술관(포트워스, TX)

The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., will present 'Beneath the Surface: Mining and American Photography' from May 23 to August 23, 2026, the first exhibition to focus exclusively on the relationship between resource extraction and American photography. Featuring 150 photographs by over 100 artists—including Richard Avedon, Walker Evans, Lewis Hine, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Dorothea Lange, and Gordon Parks—the show spans nearly 200 years, from early daguerreotypes of the California Gold Rush to contemporary large-scale works. After its Washington run, the exhibition will travel to the Milwaukee Art Museum (October 23, 2026–January 18, 2027) and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, Texas (February 14–May 9, 2027).

Exhibition commemorates Frederic Church 200th

The Olana Partnership opens "Frederic Church: Global Artist" on May 17 at Olana State Historic Site in Hudson, New York, commemorating the 200th anniversary of Frederic Church's birth (1826–1900). The exhibition brings together monumental oil paintings, drawings, oil sketches, and photographs from Church's global travels, with loans from major institutions including the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, The New York Historical, and the Terra Foundation for American Art. It is organized by Elizabeth Kornhauser, Tim Barringer, and Jennifer Raab, and is part of the broader Frederic Church 200 initiative.

5 exhibitions across the globe celebrating women who shaped art and culture

Five museums across the globe are opening exhibitions this month that celebrate women who have shaped art and culture. The shows include Björk's multidisciplinary "Echolalia" at the National Gallery of Iceland in Reykjavík, Iris van Herpen's New York exhibition, Marina Abramović's historic showing at Venice's Gallerie dell'Accademia, the Tate Modern's first major Frida Kahlo retrospective, and centenary tributes to Marilyn Monroe. The article notes that despite women making up 51% of visual artists worldwide, their work remains underrepresented in public institutions, with 78% of London galleries showing more male than female artists.

kengo kuma's first US museum emerges within vast art and nature campus in pennsylvania

Kengo Kuma & Associates has unveiled the design for its first museum in the United States, a wood-clad pavilion complex at the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art in Pennsylvania. The 3,716-square-meter structure, part of a major expansion, will transform the 6-hectare campus into a 131.52-hectare public preserve and garden designed with Field Operations. Construction is planned to begin in spring 2027, with an opening in fall 2029, adding 80% more exhibition space and integrating art, ecology, and conservation.

An exhibition of an artist who brought post-impressionism to England

The Museum of Somerset is hosting "A Life in Art: Roger Fry," an exhibition dedicated to the painter, critic, and curator Roger Fry, who introduced post-impressionism to England. The show features nearly 40 of Fry's paintings from a recent Charleston exhibition, alongside works by his wife, Arts & Crafts artist Helen Coombe, whose career and life have been largely overlooked. Through artwork, archival photos, and a film, the exhibition explores Fry's complex personal life, including Coombe's institutionalization for mental illness, and his role within the Bloomsbury Group.

Kengo Kuma & Associates to expand campus of Pennsylvania’s Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art

Kengo Kuma & Associates has been selected to design an expansion of the Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art in Pennsylvania. The project will add new gallery spaces, educational facilities, and improved visitor amenities to the institution, which is known for its collection of American art and its conservation work along the Brandywine River.

Mr.’s New Museum Show Is All About Otaku Fantasy

Japanese Superflat artist Mr. has opened 'We’ll Meet Again', his first major museum solo exhibition in Japan in over a decade, at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum. Running through June 21, 2026, the show features over 80 works including paintings, sculptures, installations, and video pieces, exploring themes of nostalgia, video games, manga, and the yanki subculture. Highlights include an immersive bedroom installation filled with beer cans and manga, a screening of his 2008 film 'Nobody Dies', and a new motorcycle work called 'itasha'.

De Pont Director Maria Schnyder On Why Financial Independence Is a Museum’s Greatest Asset

Maria Schnyder, who has served as deputy director of the De Pont Museum of Contemporary Art in Tilburg, Netherlands, since 2021, has been appointed as its new director, succeeding Martijn van Nieuwenhuyzen. In an interview, Schnyder discusses the advantages of rising from within, emphasizing continuity and deep knowledge of the institution's artist-first ethos. The museum, housed in a former woolen mill with 7,000 square meters of exhibition space, operates with only 18 full-time employees and is financially independent, allowing it to prioritize artistic vision over audience-driven agendas.

The Greenport Group: Vintage art at Floyd Memorial Library’s new exhibition

The Floyd Memorial Library in Greenport, New York, has opened a new exhibition titled "Stow Wengenroth + The Flacks: The Greenport Group," featuring works by lithographer Stow Wengenroth, his wife Edith Flack Ackley, and her sister Marjorie Flack. The show includes Wengenroth's lithographs, watercolors, and drawings, alongside Ackley's handmade dolls and books, and Flack's children's books, many on loan from the private collection of Joanna Lane. The exhibition opened on April 24 and highlights the artistic legacy of these former Greenport residents.

Inside The Met's New 'Costume Art' Exhibition

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute has announced a new exhibition titled 'Costume Art,' opening to the public on May 10 and running through January 10, 2027. The show inaugurates the Met's nearly 12,000-square-foot expansion adjacent to the Great Hall, providing a permanent home for the Costume Institute's annual spring exhibitions. Featuring nearly 400 objects—half garments and half traditional art like sculpture and painting—the exhibition explores how clothing alters and enhances the human body, dividing 'the body' into 13 types such as 'The Classical Body' and 'The Corpulent Body.' The show includes works from designers like Coco Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Thom Browne, and Alexander McQueen, paired with historical artifacts and contemporary art. The exhibition follows this year's Met Gala, co-chaired by Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour, which raised a record $42 million for the Costume Institute.

Met Gala 2026: Celebrities Wearing Art — Decoding the Inspirations Behind Their Looks

At the 2026 Met Gala, held on May 4 at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, celebrities interpreted the dress code 'Fashion is Art' with looks inspired by iconic artworks. ROSÉ wore a Saint Laurent gown based on Georges Braque's 'The Birds,' Emma Chamberlain's dress fused Vincent van Gogh's 'The Garden at Arles' and 'The Starry Night,' and Ben Platt donned a jacket reimagining Georges-Pierre Seurat's 'A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte' through bead embroidery.

This Museum Show Will Make You Question Whether You’re Still Human

The New Museum in New York has opened "New Humans: Memories of the Future," an exhibition curated by Chief Curator Massimiliano Gioni that explores a century of art predicting the fusion of humans and machines. The show features works by artists including Anicka Yi, Francis Picabia, Constantin Brancusi, and Marcel Duchamp, alongside robots and technological artifacts that blur the boundaries between bodies and technology. The exhibition is housed within OMA's newly expanded museum space on the Bowery.