A new exhibition titled 'News from Nowhere: Laboratory of Spring and Autumn Collection' has opened at the SCAI THE BATHHOUSE gallery in Tokyo. The show presents a curated collection of works, though the specific artists involved are not detailed in the provided text.
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.
The Korea Herald recommends three must-visit museum shows in Venice during the Venice Biennale. At Palazzo Grassi, the Pinault Collection presents "Michael Armitage. The Promise of Change," featuring the Kenya-born British painter's vivid works addressing sociopolitical tensions and migration. At Gallerie dell'Accademia, "Transforming Energy" by Marina Abramovic marks her 80th birthday, creating a dialogue between her performance art and Renaissance masterpieces. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection hosts "Peggy Guggenheim in London: The Making of a Collector," revisiting her formative years and her short-lived London gallery Guggenheim Jeune.
San Francisco museums are navigating a mix of upcoming exhibitions and financial challenges in May 2026. SFMOMA is closing "KAWS: Family" on May 3 and opening "Matisse’s Femme au chapeau: A Modern Scandal" from May 16 to September 13. The Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts has suspended operations due to funding issues, and SOMArts is also facing a budget gap. Meanwhile, the Museum of Craft and Design presents "Video Craft" through August 16, and the Letterform Archive hosts "Black Memory Scholar: The Language of Storytellers" and "Piet Zwart: Brand Architect." SFMOMA has announced three SECA award winners—CrossLypka, Em Kettner, and Chanell Stone—who will exhibit from December 2026 to May 2027, and the museum continues to showcase "Reimagined: The Fisher Collection at 10" and new installations by Alexander Calder, Claes Oldenburg + Coosje van Bruggen, and Rose B Simpson.
Dr. Lee So-young, the first Korean American director of a major U.S. art museum, discussed the rising global prominence of contemporary Korean art during an interview in Seoul. She was visiting with San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie to celebrate the cities' 50th anniversary of sister-city ties and to promote an upcoming retrospective on Korean abstract artist Ha Chong-hyun at the Asian Art Museum in September. Lee, who previously curated at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Harvard Art Museums, noted that Korean art has shifted from traditional focus to contemporary work, with museums and collectors increasingly engaging with dynamic artists from Korea.
The Vancouver Art Gallery, in partnership with Canada's National Observer, will open "Future Geographies: Art in the Century of Climate Change" on May 10, 2026. The exhibition, co-created by publisher Linda Solomon Wood and curator Eva Respini, features over 35 international artists including Ed Burtynsky, Huma Bhabha, Jean Shin, Clarissa Tossin, and Josh Kline. Works explore climate change through photography, sculpture, installation, and film, avoiding a doom-and-gloom tone in favor of poetic and thought-provoking approaches.
The Almine Rech gallery in Brussels is presenting a solo exhibition of work by Korean artist Ha Chong-Hyun from April 22 to June 27, 2026. The show will feature his signature 'Conjunction' series and recent works that continue his exploration of materiality and abstraction.
The Sungkok Art Museum in Seoul is hosting a photography exhibition titled 'Paris Unseen' or 'Paris, Invisible Paris'. The show features works by 51 artists, including three Koreans, and was co-curated with Alain Sayag, former head of photography at the Centre Pompidou. It aims to move beyond the city's iconic tourist imagery to present lesser-known perspectives of Paris, coinciding with the 140th anniversary of Korea-France diplomatic relations.
RM, the leader of K-pop group BTS, will present his personal art collection at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) in an exhibition titled "RM x SFMOMA," running from October 3 to February 7. The show features around 200 works from RM’s collection and SFMOMA’s holdings, many never before shown in the US, and is co-curated by RM, SFMOMA curatorial project manager America Castillo, and assistant curator Kim Hyo-eun. Key Korean artists in RM’s collection include Yun Hyong-keun, Park Rehyun, Kwon Ok-yon, Kim Yun-shin, To Sang-bong, and Chang Ucchin, while SFMOMA contributes works by Kim Whan-ki, Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin, Henri Matisse, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Paul Klee.
Korean artist Ha Chong-hyun, a pioneer of the dansaekhwa (monochrome painting) movement, will be the subject of a major retrospective at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. The exhibition, "Ha Chong-hyun: Retrospective," will feature approximately 50 works spanning his 60-year career, including his signature "Conjunction" series and early informal experiments.
The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco will present a major retrospective of Korean artist Ha Chong-hyun in September 2024. The exhibition, the artist's first full US retrospective, will span his decades-long career, showcasing his evolution from art informel works to his renowned 'Conjunction' series and his role as a leading figure in the dansaekhwa (Korean monochrome painting) movement.
The National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) in Gwacheon has unveiled a major reorganization of its permanent collection exhibitions, "Korean Modern and Contemporary Art I & II." The highlight of the refresh is a dedicated "Artist's Room" featuring 43 works by Park Su-geun, including 20 oil paintings and 23 drawings from the 1950s and 1960s. The update also introduces a spotlight on the prodigy Lee In-sung and expands the "Modernist Women Artists" section with newly acquired and rarely seen craft works.
New Orleans-based conceptual artist Dawn DeDeaux is preparing for a career-defining presentation at the 2026 Venice Biennale. Selected by curator Dan Cameron and featured in the central exhibition "In Minor Keys," the 73-year-old artist will occupy the final room of the Arsenale. Her work, which spans photography, video, and large-scale installation, often explores existential themes, environmental fragility, and the relationship between the antique and the futuristic.
Art Sonje Center in Seoul has launched 'Spectrosynthesis Seoul,' a landmark exhibition featuring 74 artists and collectives that explores the history and current state of queer art. The show, organized in collaboration with the Hong Kong-based Sunpride Foundation, features major international figures like Mark Bradford and Shin Wai Kin alongside prominent Korean artists such as Ayoung Kim and Mire Lee. By moving beyond small-scale independent shows into a major institutional space, the exhibition aims to map a comprehensive landscape of LGBTQ+ artistic practices.
Major American art institutions are undergoing a significant shift in perspective, prioritizing themes of diversity, selfhood, and renewal in their programming. This evolution is evidenced by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s total re-evaluation of its permanent collection display in anticipation of its new building, alongside a wave of exhibitions featuring contemporary voices like Derrick Adams and Nick Cave, and retrospectives for historical figures such as Edmonia Lewis and Isamu Noguchi.
The Carnegie Museum of Art has announced the full list of 61 artists and collectives for the 59th Carnegie International, which opens in May. The exhibition will feature a record 36 new commissions and includes notable participants such as 2024 Turner Prize-winner Jasleen Kaur and Li Yi-Fan, who will represent Taiwan at the Venice Biennale, alongside a significant number of Indigenous artists.
Beirut-born artist and composer Tarek Atoui has been selected to create the next Hyundai Commission in Tate Modern's Turbine Hall, running from 13 October 2026 to 11 April 2027. Known for his innovative musical performances with intricately engineered instruments, Atoui will transform the vast space into a multisensory environment exploring sound and vibration. His previous works include performances at Tate Modern's South Tank in 2016 and a presentation at the 2019 Venice Biennale. The announcement comes amid reports that Tate chair Roland Rudd floated offering naming rights to the Turbine Hall for £50m, though a Tate spokesperson called that hypothetical.
The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art in Connecticut has announced the 40 participating artists for its first-ever Aldrich Decennial, a survey exhibition titled "I am what is around me." Opening June 7 and running through January 10, 2027, the show focuses on artists living and working in Connecticut who have never had a solo museum exhibition in the state. Notable participants include painter Dominic Chambers, multimedia artist Arghavan Khosravi, and novelist-poet Renee Gladman. The exhibition draws its title from a 1917 poem by Wallace Stevens, a longtime Connecticut resident.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston unveils a monumental Frida Kahlo exhibition, alongside eight other new art openings across Houston museums and galleries. Shows include Cynthia Isakson's "Anachronous" at Holocaust Museum Houston, "norMAL and unreMARKable" at Throughline, "The Uncanny In-Between" at Blaffer Art Museum, "End Cash Bail" at Lawndale Art Center, and "Magic Mirrors" at Art League Houston, among others, spanning photography, ceramics, multimedia, and social justice themes.
The exhibition 'Prism of the Real: Making Art in Japan 1989-2010' at the National Art Center, Tokyo (NACT), explores Japanese contemporary art from the late Shōwa era through the Heisei era, a period of economic turmoil and social change. Curated by Doryun Chong, Isabella Tam, Kamiya Yukie, and Jihye Yun, the show originated from a friendship between Osaka Eriko and Suhanya Raffel, who collaborated on the 1999 Asia-Pacific Triennial. It features works by artists like Joseph Beuys, Nam June Paik, Lee Bul, Tsuyoshi Ozawa, Gimhongsok, Chen Xiaoxiong, and Navin Rawanchaikul, tracing Japan's artistic exchanges with Asia and the world, and addressing themes of gender, immigration, and national identity.
Miami Art Week 2025 is set to take place December 3–7, headlined by Art Basel Miami Beach (public days December 5–7) and concurrent fairs including Design Miami (20th anniversary) and NADA Miami. The article highlights 16 must-see exhibitions across venues such as the Miami Beach Convention Center, Wynwood, and the Miami Design District. Featured galleries include Pace Gallery (presenting Alexander Calder, Elmgreen & Dragset, James Turrell), Locks Gallery (Louise Bourgeois, Isamu Noguchi), Southern Guild (debuting at Art Basel with Zizipho Poswa and others), and Leon Tovar Gallery (focusing on Latin American women modernists).
Frieze Los Angeles will return to Santa Monica Airport from February 26 to March 1, 2026, for its seventh edition, featuring more than 95 galleries from 22 countries. The fair includes returning blue-chip participants like Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, and David Zwirner, alongside a strong local Los Angeles gallery presence and more than a half-dozen first-time exhibitors. Special sectors include Sector for emerging artists, supported by Stone Island and curated by Essence Harden, and outdoor commissions organized with Art Production Fund. The Deutsche Bank Frieze Los Angeles Film Award and the Frieze Impact Prize, presented with Titus Kaphar’s Nxthvn incubator, will also return.
The Royal Academy of Arts in London presents "A Story of South Asian Art: Mrinalini Mukherjee and Her Circle," a visually thrilling exhibition running from 31 October 2025 to 24 February 2026. Curated by Tarini Malik, the show pivots around the work of Mrinalini Mukherjee (1949-2015), placing her in dialogue with key figures of the Indian cultural scene, including her parents Benode Behari Mukherjee and Leela Mukherjee, as well as artists Gulammohammed Sheikh and Nilima Sheikh. The exhibition highlights Mukherjee's hemp sculptures like 'Adi Pushp II' (1998-99) and bronze works such as 'Forest Flame IV' (2009), and emphasizes the importance of art schools and places—Santiniketan, Baroda (Vadodara), and New Delhi—in shaping her practice.
Mauricio Muñoz and Andrew Roberts' installation "The Harvest" (2021) is featured in "otherwise," a thesis exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art at MECA&D in Portland, running through Dec. 13. The show also includes works by Ayana V. Jackson, whose project "From the Deep: In the Wake of Drexciya" was targeted by Donald Trump in his attacks on the Smithsonian Institution. The exhibition explores how artists use storytelling and worldbuilding to cope with difficult contemporary issues and imagine better futures, serving as a companion to the Ogunquit Museum of American Art's "Where the Real Lies."
CIMB Artober Art & Soul 2025, an annual art event organized by CIMB Group in Malaysia, has evolved from a pandemic-era lifeline for artists into a major cultural and commercial platform. This year’s edition features over 30 galleries, more than 100 artists, and includes never-before-seen works by the late Malaysian artist Datuk Ibrahim Hussein. The event has been recognized as an official programme of the Asean Economic Ministers’ Meeting, underscoring its growing significance in the region.
Christiana Ine-Kimba Boyle, a former director at Lehmann Maupin, Canada, and Pace, has launched Gladwell Projects, a nomadic gallery with a staff of one. The gallery's second show, "The Spirituality of Color," opens October 3 in a Harlem townhouse, featuring works by Sam Gillam, Kylie Manning, and others. Its first show, "The Metroplex," was held in collector Christie Williams's Dallas home during the Dallas Art Fair, resulting in acquisitions by the Dallas Art Museum. Ine-Kimba Boyle aims to present blue-chip rigor at a smaller, community-focused scale, part of a "Domestic Interventions" series in private homes.
The fourth edition of Frieze Seoul (3-6 September) will host around 120 galleries at the Coex convention centre in Gangnam, including mega-galleries like Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Pace, David Zwirner, and White Cube. The fair welcomes about 20 new exhibitors, such as 10 Chancery Lane Gallery and de Sarthe from Hong Kong, The Breeder from Athens, Carvalho from New York, Make Room from Los Angeles, and Ota Fine Arts from Tokyo. However, more than 40 galleries are not returning, including Karma, Mariane Ibrahim, Michael Werner, and Neugerriemschneider. The event unfolds amid significant political and economic turbulence in South Korea, including the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk Yeol after a martial law declaration, the election of new President Lee Jae Myung, and ongoing tariff negotiations with the United States, all contributing to a climate of uncertainty.
The Teiger Foundation, a US-based nonprofit supporting art curators, has announced its 2025 grantees, awarding a total of $7 million to 85 curators at institutions across the country. This nearly doubles last year’s grants as the foundation transitions to a biennial model, with individual grants ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 for exhibitions, research, touring shows, and three years of programming. Notable projects include a major survey of the late artist L.V. Hull organized by curators Ryan N. Dennis, Annalise Flynn, and Yaphet Smith, and a Theresa Hak Kyung Cha retrospective curated by Victoria Sung and Tausif Noor.
The Imperial War Museum (IWM) in London has opened "Unsilenced: Sexual Violence in Conflict," the first major UK museum exhibition to address the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Featuring video testimony from journalist Christina Lamb, the show draws on the IWM's collections and new testimonies from survivors, including propaganda posters, photographs by Lee Miller, and a newly acquired miniature Sonyeosang statue. Curators Maeve Underwood and Helen Upcraft re-examined the museum's holdings to uncover hidden narratives of sexual slavery and humiliation from World War II to the Russia-Ukraine war.