Here's how Maurizio Cattelan's telephone confessions ended up

Ecco come sono finite le confessioni al telefono di Maurizio Cattelan

Maurizio Cattelan has launched a new performance project called "Hotline," a telephone confessional service running from April 2 to 22, where anyone could call a toll-free number or send a WhatsApp voice message to confess their sins directly to the artist. On April 23, Cattelan responded in a live-streamed event, symbolically absolving selected participants. The project coincides with the release of limited-edition reproductions of his iconic 1999 work "La Nona Ora" (depicting Pope John Paul II struck by a meteorite), sold through Avant Arte in an edition of 666 miniature resin sculptures priced at €2,310 each, with some given as gifts to participants.

Highlights and Hidden Gems at Dumbo Open Studios

DUMBO Open Studios celebrated its 10th anniversary with over 175 artists across 21 buildings participating in the weekend event. The open studios, jointly managed by Team Dumbo and real estate developer Two Trees, featured a wide range of work, with a noted highlight being works on paper from artists like Bianca Fields, Amy Cutler, and Jason Karolak. Despite rainy weather, the event fostered impromptu conversations and community, with more than half of surveyed artists reporting sales and expectations of future exhibition opportunities.

Jule Korneffel Finds Meaning at the End of Light

Artist Jule Korneffel's solo exhibition 'In Search of Lost Light' is on view at Spencer Brownstone Gallery through May 2. The show features seven paintings from 2023 to the present, including a site-specific wall work, that explore themes of fading light, memory, and melancholia through a nuanced palette of grays and blues.

Leonardo Madriz’s Monuments to the Precarity of Now

Artist Leonardo Madriz presents his solo exhibition 'Do Not Be Afraid' at Parent Company, featuring five totemic sculptures constructed from rope, resin, and found objects. These works, which Madriz calls 'sentinels,' use materials like rebar, barbed wire, a fake Rolex, and a fragment of a US flag made in Vietnam to create anthropomorphic forms that appear weary and burdened.

Three things the Fuorisalone should do (and doesn't) to improve the quality of life in Milan

Tre cose che il Fuorisalone dovrebbe fare (e non fa) per migliorare la qualità della vita di Milano

The 2026 Milan Design Week, coinciding with the Salone del Mobile, has officially begun, bringing over 1,850 events to the city. The launch included a special breakfast-barter event in Piazza Duomo with artist Maurizio Cattelan and journalist Nicolas Ballario, kicking off a week expected to draw 300,000 visitors.

What Remains of Democracy? The Answers of Contemporary Art

Che cosa resta della democrazia? Le risposte dell’arte contemporanea

The article is a cultural essay examining how contemporary art reflects and responds to the perceived global crisis of democracy. It argues that recent socio-political accelerations—including rising nationalism, wars, and unchecked capitalism—have eroded the substantive content of democracy, reducing public space to an extension of individual, screen-mediated identity.

The Unnameable Artists of the Canton Trade System

Art historian Winnie Wong’s new book, *The Many Names of Anonymity: Portraitists of the Canton Trade*, investigates the lives and legacies of 18th and 19th-century Chinese artists who produced works for Western traders under the Canton system. These artists, often dismissed by history as mere copyists or left anonymous in museum "tombstone" labels, created complex works that blended European techniques with Chinese traditions. Wong challenges the reductive category of "Asian export art," proposing instead the term "Canton trade painting" to better reflect the unique atmosphere of cultural exchange in Guangzhou.

Tutto Boetti 1966–1993

Tutto Boetti 1966–1993

Magazzino Italian Art has announced a major survey exhibition titled "Tutto Boetti 1966–1993," scheduled to run from April 2026 through April 2028. The show features approximately 30 works tracing Alighiero Boetti’s career from his early industrial material experiments in Turin to his later collaborative embroideries and graph paper works. The exhibition draws from the museum’s permanent collection, the Boetti estate, and private loans, and will be launched alongside a scholarly symposium organized with the Fondazione Alighiero e Boetti.

British ’90s art and fashion exhibition heading to Tate Britain in fall 2026.

Tate Britain will mount the first major exhibition exploring the transformative impact of fashion, art, and photography on 1990s Britain. Curated by former British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful, the show titled “The 90s: Art and Fashion” will bring together over 100 works—including photographs, paintings, films, sculptures, objects, and garments—from nearly 70 artists. It runs from August 8, 2026 through February 14, 2027.

Chanel to open major Lina Lapelytė commission at Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof.

Lithuanian interdisciplinary artist Lina Lapelytė will present a large-scale sonic installation and performance titled "We Make Years Out of Hours (2026)" at Berlin's Hamburger Bahnhof — Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart, opening May 1st during Berlin Gallery Weekend 2026. The work is the second iteration of the Chanel Commission, with performances scheduled on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays through January 10, 2027, and a public preview on April 30th.

Dean Sameshima at Soft Opening

Dean Sameshima's solo exhibition "Wonderland" opened at Soft Opening gallery in London, running from March 27 to May 23, 2026. The show features 31 images documented on Contemporary Art Daily, with photography by Eva Herzog and images courtesy of the artist and the gallery.

Anna Schachinger at Jacky Strenz

Anna Schachinger presents "Freischling" at Jacky Strenz gallery in Frankfurt, running from March 13 to May 23, 2026. The exhibition features 20 images documenting the show, with text available in both German and English.

Selome Muleta at b-side

Selome Muleta presents a solo exhibition at b-side gallery in Jakarta, running from April 1 to May 3, 2026. Curated by 47 Canal, the show features works by the artist, with images provided courtesy of Muleta and Roh Projects, Jakarta. The exhibition is documented on Contemporary Art Daily with five images and no videos.

In ‘Piercing the Veil,’ Marina Kappos Gets to Know the Spectre of Grief

Artist Marina Kappos opens her solo exhibition 'Piercing the Veil' at SHRINE gallery in New York City, running from May 15 to June 27. The show features her signature acrylic-on-wood-panel paintings that use thin layers of pigment to create gauzy, prismatic effects. Inspired by the sculptural figures of grieving women she encountered at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, Kappos explores themes of loss, memory, presence and absence, and the threshold between life and death. Works like 'Veil Study (Eclipse)' (2026) and 'Quantum Study (Green Entanglement)' (2025) depict hazy landscapes and keyhole-shaped portals that invite viewers to contemplate the unknown and the spiritual.

Luscious Hair Sculptures Sprout Like Branches in a Symbiotic Exhibition

Artists Merryn Omotayo Alaka and Sam Frésquez have created a collaborative exhibition titled "Your Birth is My Birth" at Jane Lombard Gallery in Chicago. The show features synthetic hair sculptures made from Kanekalon, suspended from the ceiling and spread across the floor like organic growths. Five distinct "species" of sculptures—Listening Roots, Hearing Bells, Mother & Child, Stacking Pearls, and Umbra Pods—draw inspiration from epiphytes, non-parasitic plants that grow on host specimens. The works explore themes of symbiosis, interdependence, and genetic inheritance, with mirrored forms emerging within vertical tendrils.

Joe Macken Spent 21 Years Hand-Assembling a Vast Model of New York City

Joe Macken, a Queens resident, spent 21 years hand-assembling a vast 50-by-27-foot scale model of New York City, completing it in 2025. The model, built from cardboard, glue, and balsa wood, comprises 340 individual sections and is now on long-term display at the Museum of the City of New York in an exhibition titled "He Built This City: Joe Macken’s Model." Visitors can walk around the model and use binoculars to spot familiar buildings and neighborhoods.

Thiago de Paula Souza Appointed Curator of Eighth Athens Biennale

Thiago de Paula Souza, a Brazilian-born curator and educator, has been appointed curator of the Eighth Athens Biennale, scheduled for spring 2026. De Paula Souza, based in São Paulo and a member of the artistic committee of NESR Art Foundation in Angola, is recognized for focusing on artistic practices involving transmutation through eroticism, gender nonconformity, and intimacy. He previously cocurated the 2025 Bienal de São Paulo, the 2024 Panorama da Arte Brasileira at MAM São Paulo, and the survey “Some May Work as Symbols: Art Made in Brazil, 1950s–70s” at Raven Row, London, and served on the curatorial team of the 2018 Berlin Biennale.

Wen Wu: The Body Thinks in Colour

Wen Wu's exhibition "The Body Thinks in Colour" opens at Paul Smith's Westbourne House in Notting Hill, London, running from 14 May to 28 September 2026. Curated by Virginia Damtsa and Katie Heller, the show presents Wu's paintings that explore the body as a site of consciousness, memory, and emotional intelligence, using gesture and color to create psychological space within a fashion retail environment.

The Art and History Museum of Sainte-Anne Hospital showcases the emblematic works by artist-patients.

The Museum of Art and History of Sainte-Anne Hospital (MAHHSA) in Paris is presenting an exhibition titled "Masterpieces at the Heart of the Sainte-Anne Collection" from April 16 to July 26, 2026. The show features 145 works by artist-patients from the 19th century to today, including pieces by Aloïse Corbaz, Unica Zürn, Guillaume Pujolle, Maurice Blin, and Caroline Macdonald. Curated by Anne-Marie Dubois, the exhibition is organized into six thematic sections—such as "History of asylum and refuge" and "Imaginary universes"—to allow the works to dialogue without being reduced to the artists' illnesses. The museum also highlights Yayoi Kusama, who has long described her art as therapy.

May First Friday 2026: 20+ events, exhibition openings in Lancaster city this Friday

Lancaster city's May First Friday 2026 features over 20 events, including exhibition openings, concerts, and performances. Highlights include a new exhibition 'Hybrids' by artist Jeremy Waak at Curio Gallery & Creative Supply, the Demuth Museum's 'Demuth Invitational: American Reflections' tied to the U.S. 250th anniversary, and the Lancaster Living Poetry Museum II with performers embodying poets at venues like the Lancaster Public Library and Lancaster Art Vault. Other offerings include salsa dancing at Binns Park, works by York County painters at The Framing Concept, and a show inspired by Yayoi Kusama at Friendship Heart Gallery + Market.

Mirna Bamieh “Sour Things: The Door” at NIKA Project Space, Paris

NIKA Project Space in Paris presents "Sour Things: The Door," a new installation by Palestinian artist Mirna Bamieh, on view from April 17 to May 23, 2026. Curated by Anne Davidian, the exhibition marks Bamieh's return to the gallery following her solo presentation that inaugurated NIKA's Paris space in 2024, and serves as the latest chapter in her ongoing "Sour" series.

Stano Filko “Painting” at Layr, Vienna

Stano Filko's exhibition "Painting" at Layr in Vienna challenges the persistent binary opposition between painting and conceptualism. The show presents Filko's work from around 1980, a period when debates over the merits of painting versus conceptual art were at their peak, offering a nuanced perspective that complicates this historical divide.

“Gucci Memoria” at Chiostri di San Simpliciano, Milan

During Fuorisalone 2026, Gucci presents "Gucci Memoria," an immersive exhibition curated by Demna at Milan's Chiostri di San Simpliciano. The project traces the House's 105-year history through a continuous narrative of installations across the cloisters, reflecting its evolving identity while staying rooted in its Florentine origins.

The Many Sheddings of Valie Export

Die vielen Häutungen der Valie Export

Valie Export, the Austrian media and performance artist known for using her body as a site of social critique, has died at age 85 in Vienna. Her final works include a black-and-white photo series of her forearm resting on a stone snake sculpture at the University of Vienna, exploring themes of skin, transformation, and mimesis. From the 1970s onward, she created iconic "Body Configurations" in which she placed her body on streets and against buildings along Vienna's Ringstrasse, tracing architectural forms to expose institutional power and patriarchal authority.

Is Berlin not over yet?

Ist Berlin doch noch nicht over?

Çağla Ilk, who curated the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennale two years ago, has presented her plans as the new artistic director of the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin. Her program reimagines theater from the perspective of visual art, signaling a major shift in the city's theater landscape. The announcement comes amid broader reforms in Berlin's theater scene, including Matthias Lilienthal's upcoming takeover of the Volksbühne, and was met with both anticipation and anxiety, reminiscent of Chris Dercon's failed tenure at the Volksbühne in 2017.

"Gesundheitseffekt der Künste auf biologischer Ebene"

A roundup of art news covers multiple stories: Stefan Trinks criticizes Berlin's 'MuseumsMeileMitte' as a symptom of urban and cultural misdevelopment, where museums are co-opted by real estate marketing. At the Venice Biennale, the German Pavilion by Henrike Naumann and Sung Tieu explores East German identity and post-reunification trauma, while Patti Smith performed a 'sonic prayer' at the Vatican Pavilion curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers. A study from University College London suggests regular arts engagement may slow biological aging.

I'm a punk artist, I don't give a damn

"Ich bin Punk-Künstlerin, ich geb einen Scheiß drauf"

During the opening week of the Venice Biennale, the Russian activist and Pussy Riot member Nadya Tolokonnikova staged a protest against the Russian pavilion, wearing pink balaclavas and chanting slogans like "Blood is Russia's Art." Meanwhile, Florentina Holzinger's Austrian pavilion, subtitled "I Live in Your Piss," drew massive crowds with its scatological installations and extreme performances, causing wait times of up to two and a half hours. German media critics have widely covered the Biennale's heightened political tone, with debates over boycotts of Russia and Israel, and the tension between art and activism.

Anyone who never feels uncomfortable as a tourist is not a good tourist

"Wer sich als Tourist nie unbehaglich fühlt, ist kein guter Tourist"

American painter Hernan Bas has created a new series of paintings inspired by Venice and its tourists, drawing from his long-standing relationship with the city. His first encounter with Venice came through an invitation to exhibit at Bruna Aickelin's renowned gallery Il Capricorno, and he has since shown there multiple times, considering Aickelin his Italian connection.

Our Highlights from the Supporting Program

Unsere Highlights aus dem Rahmenprogramm

This article from Monopol highlights the must-see collateral events at the Venice Biennale, focusing on exhibitions and performances beyond the main show. It features Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince at Fondazione Prada, as well as works by Marina Abramović and other artists across video and performance art.

"Hier darf laut gelacht werden"

During the opening week of the Venice Biennale, multiple reports detail controversies surrounding the Israeli and Russian pavilions. According to Hyperallergic, artist Belu-Simion Fainaru of the Israeli pavilion threatened legal action against the Biennale after the jury sought to exclude Israel and Russia from prizes over alleged human rights violations, citing antisemitism and nationality-based discrimination. This may have prompted the jury's sudden resignation. Meanwhile, taz reports that Russia's pavilion is a macabre 'dance of death' blending techno and political denial, while Israel's pavilion faces a 'silent boycott' and social ostracism. Zeit describes protests by Pussy Riot and Femen outside the Russian pavilion as a defining image, with activists chanting 'blood sticks to the art of this country.'