Maine: A Force Within American Art (1890-2026) At Farnsworth Art Museum

The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine, has opened a year-long exhibition titled "Maine: A Force Within American Art (1890-2026)" in honor of America's 250th anniversary. The show presents 150 works across media, highlighting the state's artistic legacy from the late 19th century to the present. It features leading modernists such as Marsden Hartley, John Marin, Charles Demuth, and Georgia O'Keeffe, who found inspiration in Maine's landscapes, as well as contemporary artists like Theresa Secord. The exhibition is curated by Jaime DeSimone and Francesca Soriano, in collaboration with multiple institutions including the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation and Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture.

Louisville’s Speed Art Museum shines a light on the women of Abstract Expressionism

The Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, will host "Abstract Expressionists: The Women" from May 16 to August 30, 2026. This is Kentucky's first exhibition devoted to Abstract Expressionism, featuring over 30 major female artists including Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Mitchell, Vivian Springford, Grace Hartigan, and Lee Krasner. The show includes works like Frankenthaler's *Circus Landscape* (1951) and Springford's *Scuba Series* (1972–1984/5), along with archival materials and a timeline of women's artistic achievements. Organized by the American Federation of Arts from the Christian Levett Collection and FAMM (Female Artists of the Mougins Museum), France, the exhibition is curated by Dr. Ellen G. Landau and presented locally by Tyler Blackwell.

Lucas Museum of Narrative Art unveils opening exhibitions

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles has announced its inaugural exhibitions ahead of its opening on September 22. Founded by filmmaker George Lucas and philanthropist Mellody Hobson, the museum was designed by MAD Architects founder Ma Yansong. The opening will feature 18 thematic exhibitions showcasing over 1,200 works across 30 galleries, spanning genres such as cinema, photography, comics, manga, and anime, with dedicated shows for illustrators like Norman Rockwell, Jessie Willcox Smith, and Frank Frazetta. The collection also includes works by Beatrix Potter, Frida Kahlo, Winsor McCay, Alison Bechdel, Gordon Parks, and Dorothea Lange, alongside the Lucas Archives containing props and costumes from Lucas's film career.

art best painting shows guide new york

The article is a guide to three painting shows in New York's Tribeca neighborhood, curated by a critic who recommends visiting them in reverse order, ending with Nicole Eisenman's exhibition at 52 Walker. The featured shows are Katherine Bradford's "Communal Table" at Canada gallery (through December 13, 2025), Leslie Smith III's "Gentle Thoughts" at Chart gallery (through December 20, 2025), and Kate Spencer Stewart's exhibition at Bureau gallery (through December 20, 2025). Each show is described with critical observations about the artists' techniques, themes, and visual impact.

takako yamaguchi moca los angeles show

Takako Yamaguchi, a Japanese-born artist based in Los Angeles since 1987, will receive her first solo museum show in the city at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) starting June 29, 2025. The exhibition will feature 10 new seascapes in MOCA's Grand Avenue space, following a period of heightened attention including a 2023 show at Ortuzar gallery, inclusion in the 2024 Whitney Biennial, and record-breaking auction sales. In an interview with Cultured, Yamaguchi discusses her ambivalent relationship with the actual sea—she lives near the coast but rarely visits—and explains that her seascapes are inspired by other artists' depictions, such as Marsden Hartley and Rockwell Kent, filtered through her own lens of "semi-abstraction in reverse."

Editor’s Letter: Still, Listening

The 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys" and curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, opens in May 2026, shifting focus from Eurocentric narratives to quieter, relational, and improvisational voices from the Global South. ArtAsiaPacific's May/June issue honors Kouoh's vision with features on artists including Gala Porras-Kim (a 2025 MacArthur Fellow), Khaled Sabsabi (representing Australia), and others like Liang Yuanwei, Yuko Mohri, Mona Hatoum, Tadanori Yokoo, Gayane Umerova, Li Yi-Fan, Hyeree Ro, and Ei Arakawa-Nash, with contributions from a curatorial team that carried Kouoh's work forward after her death in 2025.

The Big Art Loop is transforming SF into an open air gallery over the next three years.

The Big Art Loop has transformed San Francisco into an open-air gallery with nearly 100 sculptures installed along a 34-mile walkable and bikeable path through the city. The project, funded by the Sijbrandij Foundation and founded by Sid and Karen Sijbrandij, features works including R-Evolution at the Ferry Building, Echoes: A Voice from Uncharted Waters by Masaki Omor, Coralée by BJB, Got Framed, Desert Shark, and a double feature by Betsabeé Romero. The loop is designed to be encountered spontaneously in daily life, with no fixed starting point, and has support from Mayor Daniel Lurie.

"Freedom Dreams" on view through August 9 at the Barnes Foundation

The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia presents "Freedom Dreams," an exhibition exploring Black freedom through moving images, curated by Maori Karmael Holmes and James Claiborne. The show features five works by intergenerational artists including David Hartt, Ja'Tovia Gary, Garrett Bradley, Tourmaline, and Arthur Jafa, with pieces that draw on historical films, literature, and activism to examine Black identity, joy, and radical imagination. The exhibition runs through August 9, 2026.

Woody De Othello Celebrates First Major Solo Public Exhibition in New York with Public Art Fund

Woody De Othello's first major solo public exhibition in New York, titled "Guardian Spirit," has opened at Brooklyn Bridge Park, presented by Public Art Fund. The exhibition features monumental redwood totems standing 20 to 22 feet tall, carved with chainsaws and grinders, alongside bronze sculptures created between 2021 and 2025. The works explore themes of ritual, spirituality, and the elemental forces of wind and water, drawing inspiration from nkisi, ritual objects from Western and Central Africa. The exhibition runs from May 5, 2026, to March 8, 2027, with sculptures installed at Pier 1 and the Manhattan Bridge View.

Maine art museums overflow with summer exhibits

Maine's art museums are presenting a packed summer season with numerous exhibitions, including the collaborative show "By Design: The Worlds of Betsy James Wyeth" organized by the Colby College Museum of Art, Farnsworth Art Museum, and Brandywine Museum, which explores the design influence of Andrew Wyeth's wife. Other highlights include the largest survey of Carl Spinchorn at the Ogunquit Museum of American Art and Bates College, "Shadow of the Eagle" at the Abbe Museum examining Native American perspectives on the Revolutionary War, and retrospectives of Phyllis Graber Jensen and Spindleworks Art Center at Bates College and Bowdoin College respectively. The Center for Maine Contemporary Art features new abstract sculptures by Bianca Beck, while Colby Museum also presents "Imagining an Archipelago" focusing on art from Cuba, Guam, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and their diasporas.

Museum Exhibitions Opening This Summer in Central Texas

Museums across Central Texas are opening a slate of summer exhibitions, including the Blanton Museum of Art's "Art in Every Corner: The Works Progress Administration (1935-1943)," featuring prints and paintings by Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, and Dorothea Lange. The San Antonio Museum of Art will present "Microhistories of the Andes" with Andean artifacts, while the McNay Art Museum hosts "Garden Party: Nature on Paper" with works by René Magritte and Winslow Homer. Women & Their Work in Austin will showcase "MARK," a group drawing exhibition by 25 Texas women artists.

Stories That Shape Us: Building Stories Reflections

Staff at the National Building Museum share their favorite children's books in celebration of World Book Day, as part of the exhibition 'Building Stories.' Each staff member selects a book that has influenced their imagination or professional work, ranging from century-old illustrated alphabets like C.B. Falls' 'ABC Book' to contemporary picture books such as Christian Robinson's 'Another' and Tony Hillery's 'Harlem Grown.' The selections highlight how storytelling and the built environment intersect, with books like 'Goodnight Moon,' 'Eloise,' and 'The Snowy Day' offering personal and professional insights.

Whistler's Audain Art Museum Raises a Record-Breaking $1.5 Million at Annual Gala Marking its 10-Year Anniversary

The Audain Art Museum in Whistler, British Columbia, raised a record-breaking $1.5 million at its 2026 annual gala, marking the institution's 10-year anniversary. The sold-out event, attended by over 500 guests, featured a live art auction of works by artists in the museum's permanent collection, with Stan Douglas's 1974 piece 'Coat Check' achieving a $200,000 hammer price—the highest ever for the gala.

Hüsker Dü rock star Grant Hart’s collages are on sale

The late Hüsker Dü drummer and vocalist Grant Hart is the subject of a posthumous exhibition and sale of his collage works at Second Shift Studio Space in St. Paul. Curated by Hart’s friend Chris Larson and his widow Brigid McGough Hart, the show features nearly 400 previously unseen collages created from vintage magazines and encyclopedias. The artworks are priced affordably between $200 and $500, with proceeds benefiting the gallery’s residency programs for women and gender-nonconforming artists.

Philadelphia Museum of Art and PAFA team up for a massive American art show

The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) have launched "A Nation of Artists," a massive collaborative exhibition marking the United States' 250th anniversary. Spanning 20,000 square feet across both institutions, the show features over 1,000 works ranging from 18th-century portraiture and Hudson River School landscapes to contemporary pieces by local artists. The exhibition was catalyzed by significant loans from the private collection of Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton and his wife, Leigh, which filled critical gaps in the museums' permanent holdings.

Surrey Art Gallery spotlights Expo 86 with In the Shadow of the Pavilions, April 18 to June 7

The Surrey Art Gallery is launching "In the Shadow of the Pavilions: Expo 86 and Contemporary Art," a multidisciplinary exhibition running from April 18 to June 7. Curated by Jordan Strom, the show features archival works and documentation from over 40 artists created between 1984 and 1988. It brings together official commissions from the world’s fair alongside unofficial, parallel art initiatives that emerged during Vancouver’s Centennial celebrations, covering media ranging from kinetic sculpture to performance art.

High Museum shines a light on an artist who protested, ‘I am not a designer’

The High Museum of Art in Atlanta has launched a major retrospective titled “Isamu Noguchi: ‘I am not a designer,’” exploring the prolific career of the Japanese-American artist. Curated by Monica Obniski, the exhibition features over 200 objects including sculptures, stage sets, furniture, and architectural models. A central highlight is the connection to Atlanta’s own Piedmont Park, which houses "Playscapes," the only artist-designed playground Noguchi completed in the United States, currently celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Churchill Landscape Gets First U.K. Showing in Exhibition Tracing His Artistic Life

The National Trust has unveiled a new exhibition titled "Churchill the Artist" at Chartwell, the former home of Winston Churchill. The show features personal artifacts including his paint-spattered Savile Row overalls and spectacles, alongside the painting "Quiet Waters" (c. 1920s), which is being exhibited in the U.K. for the first time. The work, an impressionistic river scene, was originally a gift from Churchill to the press baron Lord Beaverbrook.

Basquiat's 'Museum Security' to Headline Sotheby's May 2026 Contemporary Evening Auction

Jean-Michel Basquiat’s monumental 1983 painting 'Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown)' is set to headline Sotheby’s Contemporary Evening Auction in May 2026. Estimated to fetch in excess of $45 million, the work is appearing at auction for the first time in over a decade. Before the sale, the canvas will undergo a global tour with stops at the Breuer building in New York, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, and London.

Blanton show reimagines American modernism through private collection of H-E-B chairman Charles Butt

The Blanton Museum of Art has unveiled a new exhibition featuring approximately 80 works of American modernism drawn from the private collection of H-E-B chairman Charles Butt. Curated by Carter Foster, the show eschews a "trophy collection" approach in favor of intimate, transitional works by canonical artists such as Edward Hopper, Alice Neel, and Alma Thomas. The exhibition is organized thematically, focusing on urban life, precisionism, and the evolution toward abstraction, presenting these works together in a single gallery for the first time.

Women of Abstract Expressionism Featured in Muscarelle Museum of Art Exhibition

The Muscarelle Museum of Art in Williamsburg, VA, has opened “Abstract Expressionists: The Women,” an exhibition featuring nearly 50 paintings by 32 women artists who were pivotal to the Abstract Expressionist movement. Running from January 23 through April 26, 2026, the show draws from the Christian Levett Collection and the FAMM (Female Artists of the Mougins Museum), France, and is organized by the American Federation of Arts. It spans the movement’s development from the late 1930s to 1977, with works by artists such as Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Helen Frankenthaler, and Grace Hartigan, and is structured around four thematic sections covering New York, San Francisco, Paris, and the artists’ own voices.

The best art exhibitions in Europe in 2026

A major exhibition tracing the evolution of the European art market from Greco-Roman antiquity to the 19th century is on view, featuring loans from institutions such as the Rubenshuis and the Princely Collections of Liechtenstein, including works by Titian, Rembrandt, Klimt, and Monet. Additionally, a show by Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos at PM23 presents her monumental, participatory fabric sculpture *Valkyrie Venus*, created with over 200 contributors from Lisbon and Rome. A dedicated Cézanne exhibition at Fondation Beyeler in Switzerland highlights the artist's posthumous reputation, with early collectors like Rudolf Staechelin and Oskar Reinhart. Other notable exhibitions across Europe include Brancusi in Berlin, Brassaï in Stockholm, Canaletto and Bellotto in Vienna, and Hammershøi in Madrid.

On View: 'Nigerian Modernism' at Tate Modern Charts Artistic Revolution Against Backdrop of Political and Cultural Rebellion

Tate Modern in London has opened 'Nigerian Modernism,' a major exhibition tracing the modern art movement in Nigeria from the 1940s through the post-independence era. Spanning 50 years, the show features over 250 works by more than 50 artists, including Jimo Akolo, El Anatsui, Nike Davies-Okundaye, Uzo Egonu, Ibrahim El-Salahi, Ben Enwonwu, Ladi Kwali, Aina Onabolu, Bruce Onobrakpeya, Uche Okeke, and Obiora Udechukwu. Curated by Osei Bonsu and Bilal Akkouche, the exhibition draws from Tate’s holdings and public and private collections across Africa, the United States, and Europe, and runs from October 8, 2025 to May 10, 2026.

An expert’s guide to late Pablo Picasso: five must-read books on the second half of his career

Pablo Picasso remains one of the most prolific and studied artists in history. This article presents a curated reading list of five essential books focused on the second half of his career, timed to coincide with the exhibition 'Late Picasso' at Stockholm's Moderna Museet. The books, selected by curators Dieter Buchhart and Anna Karina Hofbauer, include 'Picasso: Painting Against Time' (2006), 'A Life of Picasso: The Triumphant Years, 1917-1932' (2008), 'Picasso: Endlessly Drawing' (2024), 'Picasso's Animals' (2014), and 'Pablo Picasso: A Retrospective' (1980), each offering unique insights into his later works, personal life, and artistic evolution.

Phillip Bahar steps into top job at MSU's Broad Art Museum

Phillip Bahar has been appointed as the fourth director of the Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University, succeeding previous leadership since the museum opened in 2012. In an interview with WKAR's Inside The Arts, Bahar discussed his vision for the museum, emphasizing his role as an institutional curator rather than a hands-on curator of exhibitions, and his commitment to supporting artists at all career stages, from established figures like Zaha Hadid to emerging and mid-career artists such as Diana Al-Hadid.

An eerie Renaissance masterpiece, fresh from a four-year restoration process, goes on show in Berlin

Berlin's Gemäldegalerie has unveiled Vittore Carpaccio's "The Preparation of Christ's Tomb" (circa 1505-20) after a four-year restoration that removed decades of dirt and discolored varnish. The cleaned painting reveals new subtleties, including a striking sky of bright blue and stubborn grey clouds, and will be the centerpiece of a small exhibition titled "Tribute to Vittore Carpaccio" running from November 20 to April 6, 2026. The restoration was led by recently retired head conservator Babette Hartwieg, who also reinvestigated a false Mantegna signature that had misled earlier attributions.

A new hope: Lucas Museum of Narrative Art sets September 2026 opening date

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles has announced its opening date of September 22, 2026, more than a decade after the project was first conceived by filmmaker George Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson. The museum, which moved from San Francisco to Chicago before settling in Los Angeles's Exposition Park, has grown from a $700 million budget to a reported $1 billion and will house over 40,000 works across 100,000 square feet of exhibition space. The collection spans ancient artifacts, canonical artists like Frida Kahlo and John Singer Sargent, comic book legends such as Jack Kirby and Alison Bechdel, photography by Gordon Parks and Dorothea Lange, and the Lucas Archives of film memorabilia.

On the ground at Art Week Tokyo: amid shifting national politics, Japan’s ‘sleeping beauty’ art scene is waking up

The fifth edition of Art Week Tokyo (AWT) took place from November 5-9, bringing together over 50 commercial galleries and museums across the city in a hybrid "post-art fair" model. The event unfolded against the backdrop of Sanae Takaichi becoming Japan's first female prime minister, a political shift that has sparked mixed reactions in the Japanese art world, with calls for improved tax incentives, international promotion, and stronger public collections. AWT, directed by Atsuko Ninagawa and organized in collaboration with Art Basel, featured museum shows including "What is Real?" at the Okura Museum of Art, curated by Adam Szymczyk, and "Prism of the Real: Making Art in Japan 1989-2010" at the National Art Center, Tokyo.

Opening date for London’s V&A East Museum announced

The V&A East Museum in London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will open on 18 April 2026, completing the institution's east London cultural campus. Designed by O'Donnell + Tuomey, the five-story museum will feature two free permanent "Why We Make" galleries co-curated with local youth groups, showcasing over 500 objects from the V&A collection alongside contemporary works by artists including Yinka Ilori, Tania Bruguera, Carrie Mae Weems, and Thomas J. Price. The opening exhibition, "The Music Is Black: A British Story," will chart the influence of Black British music from 1900 to the present.

New York Galleries: Openings and Closings of the Week (11/03—11/09)