Usher, Spike Lee, and Tyler Mitchell Helped Raise $3.7 Million for the Studio Museum in Harlem at a Party for the Ages

The Studio Museum in Harlem hosted a star-studded gala at the Glasshouse in Manhattan, raising $3.7 million to support its upcoming reopening. The event marked a significant milestone for the institution, which has been undergoing extensive renovations for seven years and is scheduled to open its new doors on West 125th Street on November 15. Director and Chief Curator Thelma Golden described the evening as a 'threshold' moment, celebrating the museum's legacy of shaping cultural history since its founding in 1968.

Hoffnung auf Rekorde bei Auktionen in New York

New York's major auction houses, Sotheby's and Christie's, are gearing up for their spring sales with high-value consignments from prominent collections. Sotheby's will auction Mark Rothko's "Towering Brown and Blacks in Reds" (1957), estimated at up to $100 million, from the estate of investment banker Robert Mnuchin. Christie's is offering works from the collection of the late gallerist Marian Goodman, including Gerhard Richter's "Kerze" (1982) valued at up to $50 million and "Mohn" (1995) around $15 million, alongside pieces from the estates of publisher S. I. Newhouse and collector Agnes Gund, with a Constantin Brâncuși sculpture and a Jackson Pollock painting each estimated at $100 million, and another Rothko at $80 million.

Bruno Bischofberger stirbt im Alter von 86 Jahren

Bruno Bischofberger, the influential Swiss gallerist and art collector, has died at age 86. His gallery announced the news. Bischofberger was a key figure in the international art trade, known for introducing American post-war art to Europe. He formed a close partnership with Andy Warhol, who granted him a lifelong first-refusal right on his works. In 1984, Bischofberger initiated the collaboration between Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, and also facilitated joint works with Francesco Clemente. He opened his first gallery in Zurich in 1963, showing artists like Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Claes Oldenburg, and Gerhard Richter, and later expanded to Männedorf and St. Moritz.

Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art 2026 Review: Up Close and Personal

The 2026 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, titled 'Yield Strength,' features 24 artists across three venues, curated by Ellie Buttrose. The exhibition explores resilience under political and social pressures, with works like Erika Scott's fused assemblages from discarded domestic items, Jennifer Matthew's steel construction that manipulates visitor movement, and Nathan Beard's silicone arms critiquing exoticization of Thai culture. The title borrows an engineering term for the point at which materials transform under stress, reflecting the show's focus on art that strains formal boundaries without breaking.

Artist Nathaniel Mary Quinn, Who Grew Up in the Robert Taylor Homes, Returns to Chicago for New Exhibit

Chicago-born artist Nathaniel Mary Quinn, now based in Brooklyn, is opening his first museum show in his hometown at the National Public Housing Museum. Titled “Nathaniel Mary Quinn: A Love Letter to My Mother,” the exhibition runs from May 21 to August 23, 2026, and features 10 artworks alongside a recreation of his childhood living room in the Robert Taylor Homes. The show is dedicated to his late mother, who encouraged his early drawing on the apartment walls. Quinn, known for his collage-like portraits, recently created the album cover for the Rolling Stones’ upcoming album “Foreign Tongues.” The museum will also host community conversations about the history of the Robert Taylor Homes.

Kick off summer with these 10 must-see NYC art exhibitions

A roundup article highlights ten must-see museum and gallery exhibitions in New York City for the summer season. Featured shows include Carol Bove's interactive installation at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, a dual exhibition of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera at MoMA, Sarah Lucas's public sculpture "VENUS VICTORIA" at the New Museum, and Andreas Schulze's "Cake" at Sprüth Magers Gallery New York. Other notable exhibitions include "Revolutionary Women" at The New York Historical and "Another Wonderland" at the Museum of the City of New York, which presents a restored 1930s Alice in Wonderland mural.

Artist Nathaniel Mary Quinn, admired by the Rolling Stones and Leonardo DiCaprio, returns with hometown show

Artist Nathaniel Mary Quinn, known for his distinctive collage-like composite portraits, is opening his first solo exhibition in his hometown of Chicago at the National Public Housing Museum. Titled "A Love Letter to My Mother," the show honors his late mother and includes a replica of his family's living room in the Robert Taylor Homes public housing project. Quinn, who is represented by Gagosian, has seen his work acquired by major institutions including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago. His art will also appear on the cover of the Rolling Stones' forthcoming album "Foreign Tongues."

At TEFAF New York, the Masterpiece Market Had Plenty to Celebrate

TEFAF New York returned to the Park Avenue Armory with record attendance on its Collector Preview day, May 14, featuring 90 exhibitors showcasing modern and contemporary masterpieces, antiques, decorative arts, and jewelry. Dealers reported strong sales across price tiers, including an Andy Warhol Mao sold by ML Fine Art within the first hour, a Lucio Fontana *Concetto Spaziale* for $2.3 million at Mennour, and works by Giorgio Morandi, Giosetta Fioroni, and Meret Oppenheim sold by Galleria d’Arte Maggiore g.a.m. A new secondary-market partnership, Pace Di Donna Schrader Galleries, debuted with a booth anchored by a 1956 Rothko, signaling renewed confidence in the market.

Guggenheim New York Announces Spring and Summer Public Programs

The Guggenheim New York has announced its spring and summer 2026 public programs, featuring a range of events including a performance lecture by LG Guggenheim Award recipient Trevor Paglen on May 18, a conversation between artist Carol Bove and curator Katherine Brinson on June 2, and the annual Museum Mile Festival on June 9. Other highlights include Late Shift evening events with live music, family-friendly activities like Stroller Hour and Art Cart, Teen Circle and Teen Tuesdays, and a screening of Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno's video work "Zidane, a 21st century portrait" in celebration of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Poet-in-Residence Patrick Rosal will also launch summer activations.

Dear Mary, For Chicago, Sincerely Nathaniel Mary Quinn

The National Public Housing Museum in Chicago opened its doors on April 4, 2025, becoming the only museum in the United States dedicated to the histories of public housing and its residents. Located on the site of the historic Jane Addams Homes, the museum was remodeled by architect Peter Landon and features permanent installations, artist residencies, and temporary exhibitions. Current initiatives include Open Mike Eagle's residency as 'Artist as Instigator,' building on his album 'Brick Body Kids Still Daydream' (2017) about life in Robert Taylor Homes, and the art-glass frieze 'Resilient Hues' by Amanda Williams and Olalekan Jeyifous. The museum is led by executive director Lisa Yun Lee and has earned third place on USA Today's list of 'Best New Museums.'

Review. VARIOUS OTHERS 2026

The 2026 edition of VARIOUS OTHERS in Munich featured a tightly curated program of exhibitions across participating galleries, institutions, and artist-run spaces. For the first time, the event awarded the "VARIOUS OTHERS Prize" (VO Award) to both a gallery and an off-space: Gallery Sperling and space n.n. won for their respective exhibitions. Notable presentations included solo shows by Paola Siri Renard at nouveaux deuxdeux, Milena Muzquiz at Galerie Rüdiger Schöttle, and a dual exhibition at Knust Kunz Gallery Editions featuring Robert Motherwell and Merce Cunningham. Museum Brandhorst also opened the "Carrying" project with works by international artists.

Basquiat’s 'Museum Security' leads Sotheby’s New York contemporary evening sale at US$52.7m

Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1983 painting 'Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown)' sold for US$52.7 million at Sotheby's Now and Contemporary Evening Auction in New York, becoming the fifth-most expensive Basquiat ever auctioned. The work, estimated at over US$45 million and backed by an irrevocable bid, hammered at US$45.3 million to a telephone bidder represented by Sotheby's Lucius Elliott. The auction totaled US$266.8 million with fees, selling 40 of 44 lots, and combined with the preceding Robert Mnuchin collection sale—led by Mark Rothko's 'Brown and Blacks in Reds' at US$85.8 million—the evening brought in US$433.1 million.

Theatre, production, performance: fashion invests in art

Fashion houses like Chanel are increasingly investing in contemporary art, not merely as inspiration for prints or patterns but as a strategic tool for brand positioning and cultural credibility. Gallery owner Tristan Paprocki, who recently opened a Milan space with partner Guido Romero Pierini, notes that brands now seek out emerging artists to demonstrate foresight and support new talent. Chanel has collaborated with Berlin's Hamburger Bahnhof museum for large-scale installations by artists such as Klára Hosnedlová and Lina Lapelytė, and has announced ten artists for the third edition of its Next Prize 2026, including Bárbara Sánchez-Kane, Pan Daijing, and Álvaro Urbano. These artists work across fashion, sculpture, and performance, blurring the lines between clothing and contemporary art.

SFMOMA’s ‘Matisse’s Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal’ revisits an old controversy

SFMOMA has opened 'Matisse’s Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal,' an exhibition that revisits the 1905 debut of Henri Matisse's iconic painting at the Salon d’Automne in Paris, which sparked the Fauvist movement. The show reconstructs Gallery VII of that salon, reuniting works by all ten original artists—including Matisse, André Derain, and Maurice de Vlaminck—and places the painting in dialogue with contemporary artists to trace its lasting influence. The painting, which was purchased by collectors Leo and Gertrude Stein at the 1905 salon, entered SFMOMA’s collection in 1991 as a bequest from Elise S. Haas and never travels, making this the exclusive venue for the exhibition.

Hube Guide: What to Do in New York During Frieze

Frieze Art Fair returns to New York from May 13th to 17th, 2026, at The Shed for its 15th edition, featuring over 65 galleries from 26 countries. The fair emphasizes Latin American practices and includes a Focus section curated by Lumi Tan highlighting younger galleries and experimental works. Notable presentations include Reika Takebayashi’s ecological dreamscapes, Bruno Cançado’s meditations on Brazilian vernacular architecture, and Abraham González Pacheco’s graphite works. Beyond the fair, performances and installations extend to institutions like the Whitney Museum of American Art and Dia Art Foundation. The article also previews concurrent exhibitions: "Costume Art" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (May 2026–January 2027), a David Hammons and Jannis Kounellis show at White Cube (May 1–June 13, 2026), and Carol Bove’s exhibition at the Guggenheim (March 5–August 2, 2026).

6 Rising Artists to Watch at This Year’s Venice Biennale

The article profiles six rising artists at the 2026 Venice Biennale, focusing on Sung Tieu and Gala Porras-Kim. Tieu transforms the German Pavilion with a tile shell recreating a former housing complex for Vietnamese contract workers, while inside she scatters chocolate ladybugs as a symbol of occupation. Porras-Kim presents work in the Arsenale examining 'institutionally defined damage' and how decay can realign objects with their natural state.

Everything You Need to Know About LACMA’s New David Geffen Galleries

LACMA has opened its new David Geffen Galleries, a single-story building spanning Wilshire Boulevard that houses the museum's permanent collection spanning 6,000 years of art. The galleries feature a revolutionary curatorial approach organized around bodies of water—Atlantic, Mediterranean, Indian, and Pacific—creating nonhierarchical displays that mix works across time and geography, such as 17th-century Dutch paintings alongside 20th-century photography. The building also includes 3.5 acres of shaded public space below, outdoor sculptures by artists like Alexander Calder and Jeff Koons, and a 220,000-square-foot pavement artwork by Mariana Castillo Deball.

How Detroit’s Art Scene Is Ushering in a New Chapter for the City

Detroit's art scene is experiencing a resurgence, marked by the reopening of the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) after an eight-month renovation. The museum, now renamed the Julia Reyes Taubman Building, unveiled four new exhibitions, including a career survey of local artist Olayami Dabls titled "Olayami Dabls: Detroit Cosmologies," his first solo museum show in over 40 years. The reopening follows a 2020 reckoning over toxic workplace allegations, leading to the appointment of co-directors Jova Lynne and Marie Madison-Patton, who have refocused the institution on accessibility, civic engagement, and local contemporary art.

Gagosian Relocates to Ground Floor at Historic 980 Madison Avenue

Gagosian gallery has relocated to a new street-level space at 980 Madison Avenue in New York, opening on April 25, 2026. Designed by architect Jonathan Caplan of Caplan Colaku Architects, the 12,000-square-foot ground-floor gallery replaces the previous upstairs headquarters, offering direct public access from the street and featuring a restaurant, Kappo Masa, on the lower level. The inaugural exhibitions focus on Marcel Duchamp, including works from his 1960s readymades produced with Arturo Schwarz, and a selection of early Robert Rauschenberg pieces from the Cy Twombly Foundation.

Ready, Set, Go: Ten Spring Exhibitions Opening or Closing Within Six Weeks

Boston Art Review (BAR) has published a guide titled "Ready, Set, Go: Ten Spring Exhibitions Opening or Closing Within Six Weeks," highlighting a curated selection of ten spring exhibitions in the Boston area and beyond. The article provides a concise overview of each show, including opening and closing dates, venues, and featured artists, aimed at helping readers plan their art-viewing schedules during a compressed six-week window.

In Giuseppe Penone’s Sculptures, Humankind and Nature Are One

Giuseppe Penone is preparing for his exhibition 'The Reflection of Bronze' at Gagosian's New York flagship, running from April 22 through July 2. The show, curated by former Whitney Museum director Adam D. Weinberg, features eighteen artworks from 1995 to the present, including the new sculpture 'Marsia (Marsyas)', and is designed to create a forest-like sensory immersion using materials like cork.

Hyperallergic’s Guide to the 2026 Venice Biennale

Hyperallergic has published its guide to the 2026 Venice Biennale, detailing what to see and do at this year's edition. The guide covers the three main categories of the Biennale—the Giardini with 29 permanent national pavilions, the Arsenale with temporary rented spaces, and collateral events across the city. Key developments include the return of Russia to its permanent Giardini pavilion and Israel's participation with a new contractual stipulation preventing its artist from closing the pavilion, after Ruth Patir's protest in 2024. South Africa withdrew following the cancellation of Gabrielle Goliath's video installation 'Elegy,' which mourns victims of Israel's genocide in Gaza and will now be shown at a historic church. The United States will be represented by Alma Allen after Barbara Chase-Riboud stepped down, and Qatar is set to become the first country in decades to build a new pavilion in the Giardini.

Affaire Indiana : un éditeur d’art condamné à 102 millions de dollars

A federal jury in Manhattan has ordered Michael McKenzie and his company American Image Art to pay $102 million (€95 million) to the Morgan Art Foundation for unauthorized exploitation of works by artist Robert Indiana (1928-2018), including his iconic LOVE image. The case, filed in May 2018 just before Indiana's death, alleged that McKenzie—a former agent of the artist—produced and sold unauthorized editions, sculptures, and merchandise under Indiana's name, violating exclusive reproduction and commercialization rights granted to the foundation in the 1990s. The jury found McKenzie guilty of trademark infringement, copyright violation, and contractual interference, with $6.2 million specifically tied to 44 LOVE works. The defense, weakened by sanctions for hiding evidence and refusing to cooperate, plans to appeal.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Ronald S. Lauder Neue Galerie New York Announce Plans for a Landmark Merger

The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Ronald S. Lauder Neue Galerie New York have announced a landmark merger agreement, set to take effect in 2028. The merger will unite the Neue Galerie's collection of 20th-century Austrian and German art—including Gustav Klimt's *Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I*—with The Met, while preserving the Neue Galerie's distinct museum experience. Ronald S. Lauder and his daughter Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer plan to donate 13 additional paintings from their personal collection, and several Met trustees have pledged significant endowment gifts to support the integration and long-term operations.

MFAH's blockbuster modern art exhibit and 7 more openings in Houston this month

The article highlights eight major art exhibitions and events opening in Houston in May 2025, including the U.S. debut of "Picasso–Klee–Matisse: Masterpieces from the Museum Berggruen" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), which features works by Picasso, Klee, Matisse, and Giacometti. Other notable events include the "Freedom Plane National Tour" of founding-era documents at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the 20th Annual Empty Bowls fundraiser at Silver Street Studios, and "No Longer, Not Yet" by Marisol Valencia at Art League, which uses materials from a migrant shelter. The article also mentions shows at CAMH, Moody Art Center, and Sawyer Yards.

Weekly News Roundup: May 5, 2026

The article reports three major developments in the global art world. Saudi Arabia's Diriyah Company has awarded a $490 million contract for a new flagship space of the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art (SAMoCA) in Diriyah, designed by Godwin Austen Johnson. The Sharjah Art Foundation has announced details for Sharjah Biennial 17 (SB17), titled "What remains, sits restive," curated by Angela Harutyunyan and Paula Nascimento, featuring 109 artists and set to open in 2027. Additionally, DATALAND, a new AI art museum founded by Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç, will open on June 20 in Los Angeles, showcasing digital and immersive artworks.

5 Exhibitions in Avignon and its Surroundings to Shine from Spring to Summer

5 expos à Avignon et ses environs pour rayonner du printemps à l’été

A series of five art exhibitions are scheduled from spring to autumn 2026 in and around Avignon, France. The program includes a refreshed permanent display of 1980s art at the Collection Lambert featuring Jean-Michel Basquiat and Nan Goldin, a solo show by Julien Prévieux critiquing artificial intelligence at Le Grenier à Sel, a photography exhibition of South Korean landscapes by Michael Kenna at Galerie Rousset, and other shows focusing on artists from Asia and the Middle East.

ターナー賞2026最終候補

The Turner Prize 2026 shortlist has been announced, featuring four artists: Simeon Barclay, Kira Freije, Marguerite Humeau, and Tanoa Sasraku. The exhibition will be held at MIMA (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) from September 26, 2026 to March 29, 2027, with the winner revealed on December 10, 2026. The jury includes Sarah Allen, Jo Hill, Suk-Kee Lee, Alona Pardo, and Alex Farquharson as chair.

Turin's new art gallery is an apartment where works are displayed in the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom

La nuova galleria d’arte di Torino è un appartamento dove le opere si espongono in cucina, bagno e camera da letto

The Italian branch of Paris-based gallery CiacciaLevi is relocating from Milan to Turin in September 2026, opening a new space that is an apartment where artworks will be displayed in the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. Founders Antoine Levi and Nerina Ciaccia, who first met and began their careers in Turin between 2005 and 2010, describe the move as both a professional and personal life choice, deepening their ties to the city where they previously worked with Galleria Franco Noero and a.titolo.

Picasso–Klee–Matisse: Masterpieces from the Museum Berggruen

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston will host the U.S. debut of "Picasso–Klee–Matisse: Masterpieces from the Museum Berggruen" from May 20 to September 13, 2026. The exhibition features over 95 works by Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, Henri Matisse, Alberto Giacometti, and other postwar European avant-garde artists, drawn from the collection assembled by famed gallerist and collector Heinz Berggruen. It explores Berggruen's relationships with artists and his Paris gallery, Berggruen & Cie, and includes thematic galleries on still life, portraits, and the human figure, as well as a dedicated space on Berggruen's life story.