WA’s Maryhill Museum of Art has ties to royalty, celebrates milestone

The Maryhill Museum of Art in Goldendale, Washington, is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its dedication by Queen Marie of Romania. Founded by entrepreneur Samuel Hill in 1907, the museum houses an eclectic collection including over 80 works by Auguste Rodin, French haute couture fashions, and thousands of Indigenous art objects. To mark the centennial, the museum has opened three new exhibitions highlighting Queen Marie's contributions: Russian icons, Romanian embroidery, and folk pottery, alongside her personal items like coronation gowns and gilded furniture.

A Guillon-Lethière for Worcester

Un Guillon-Lethière pour Worcester

The Worcester Art Museum has acquired Guillaume Guillon-Lethière's painting "Lucien Bonaparte contemplant Alexandrine de Bleschamp Jouberthon" (1802), which depicts the second brother of Napoleon with his second wife. The work had been on loan to the museum from London dealers Lowell Libson and Johnny Yarker, who had purchased it at a Christie's New York auction in October 2019 after it resurfaced in a Portland sale in 2005. The painting was featured prominently in the 2024-2025 Louvre exhibition "Guillon-Lethière. Né à la Guadeloupe," where it was reunited with a portrait of its patron Lucien Bonaparte.

Fold in these exhibitions during festival season

Spoleto Festival USA and Piccolo Spoleto begin on May 22, and the article highlights a curated selection of visual art exhibitions in Charleston to enjoy alongside the festival's performances. Featured venues include Robert Lange Studios, Corrigan Gallery, Stevenson and Co., Atrium Gallery, Meyer Vogl, Duckworth Gallery, and the Gibbes Museum of Art, which opens "Mary Whyte: Salt of the Earth" and continues "Rodin: All the Truth in Nature." The College of Charleston's Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, under new director Michael Dickins, presents "Make Room" by In Kyoung Chun and another exhibition through July 25.

Maddy Inez talks to Phillip Edward Spradley

Maddy Inez, a Los Angeles-based ceramic artist, discusses her practice in an interview with Phillip Edward Spradley. Her work draws on California's natural environment and histories of displacement, using ceramics to explore maternal lineage, oral history, and plant-based knowledge. A key inspiration is a midwifery certificate belonging to her great-great-great grandmother from the era of enslavement. Inez's upcoming solo exhibition at Megan Mulrooney opens May 16, 2026.

High school students to showcase 'Revolutionary Art' at Attleboro Arts Museum

Thirteen high schools from Massachusetts and Rhode Island are preparing installation artworks for the Attleboro Arts Museum's annual High Art exhibition, which runs May 12–18, 2026, under the theme 'Revolutionary Art.' Students from schools including Dedham High School, Hope High School in Providence, and Seekonk High School are creating pieces such as 'Americana' and 'Re-revolution,' with guidance from art instructors like Bridget O'Leary, Delsin Jean-Louis, and Elizabeth Machado-Cook.

Was Beyoncé's Met Gala gown inspired by a Louisiana artist and her Creole heritage?

Beyoncé attended the 2026 Met Gala in a translucent gown by Olivier Rousteing, adorned with a bejeweled skeleton motif. Online sources suggest the design was inspired by 'Visitor,' a 1944 lithograph by Louisiana artist Caroline Durieux, who was a professor at Tulane University and LSU. The artwork, held by the LSU Museum of Art, depicts a skeleton in a translucent frock, echoing the gown's aesthetic. Art collector Jeremy K. Simien noted Durieux's influence and the potential value boost to the print from the Beyoncé connection.

A Rare Presentation of Leonora Carrington’s Surrealist Sculptures Have Landed in New York

A new exhibition at New York's L'Espace Gallery, titled "Shape of Dreams," presents a rare collection of Leonora Carrington's surrealist bronze sculptures, intricate jewelry, and an interactive tarot booth. Carrington, best known as a painter and novelist, created these sculptures late in life, often with the help of her sons, as her eyesight and arthritis made painting difficult. The show highlights works like "The Palmist" (2011) and other hybrid, mythological figures that extend her imaginative universe into three dimensions.

At 1-54 New York 2026, Afro-Brazilian art takes centre stage for the first time

The 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in New York (May 13–17, 2026) will debut a curated section titled '1-54 Presents: Brazil Beyond Brazil,' focusing exclusively on Afro-Brazilian art and artists. Organized by Brazilian curator Igor Simões, the section features works by ten Black Brazilian artists—including Ana Claudia Almeida, Rebeca Carapiá, and Rommulo Vieira Conceição—presented by leading Brazilian galleries such as Almeida & Dale, Fortes D’Aloia & Gabriel, Nara Roesler, and Aura. The initiative draws on archival research, reinterprets modernist legacies, and challenges narrow narratives around Afro-Brazilian art, highlighting the cultural links between Africa and Latin America.

Cedars Union in Dallas Opens Call for 6th Artist Cohort

The Cedars Union, a nonprofit arts incubator in Dallas, has opened applications for its sixth cohort of artists. The 18-month program offers affordable studio spaces (64–200 sq ft at $1.60/sq ft), 24/7 access to communal workspaces with woodworking, printing, and textile equipment, plus critiques, workshops, lectures, and exhibitions. The jury includes Emily Budd, Thomas Feulmer, Christina Hahn, Ade Omotosho, and Ahava Silkey-Jones. Applications close June 12, 2026, with the cohort running September 1, 2026 to February 29, 2028.

Issy Wood’s first solo exhibition in the Nordics opened at Kistefos

Kistefos presents *Fish, Fish, Duck*, the first solo exhibition in the Nordic region by London-based painter Issy Wood, opened at Nybruket Gallery on 9 May 2026. The show features psychologically charged paintings on velvet and linen, self-portraits, animals, household objects, and a painted chaise longue, organized around the thematic frameworks "Ways of Seeing" and "The Artist as Archivist." Curated by Live Drønen and Kate Smith-Raabe, the exhibition draws on sources from the internet, advertising, and auction catalogues to explore desire, power, vulnerability, and objectification.

72 Hours in Venice: Palazzos, Protests, and a Biennale on the Brink

The article recounts a journalist's 72-hour visit to the Venice Biennale, beginning with a protest by Pussy Riot and Femen at the Russian Pavilion. The action features pink smoke, chants of "Blood is Russia's art," and a guerrilla performance of the song "Disobey," set against a backdrop of internal Biennale strife—including juror resignations over countries whose leaders face ICC arrest warrants (Netanyahu and Putin). The narrative also notes the presence of alt-right figures like Ryan Coyne and sculptor Alma Allen's troubled U.S. pavilion representation.

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.

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.

Dozens of Pavilions Close During Strike at 61st Venice Biennale

On May 8, 2026, a 24-hour strike organized by the Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) and several Italian activist groups brought the 61st Venice Biennale to a standstill. Approximately 27 of the 100 national pavilions closed fully or partially in solidarity with protesters demanding Israel’s exclusion from the event, including those of Austria, Belgium, France, Great Britain, Japan, South Korea, and Ukraine. Over 3,500 people marched through Venice, with speakers including artist Gabrielle Goliath and curator Caroline Dumalin. The main exhibition, "In Minor Keys," curated by the late Koyo Kouoh, closed by late afternoon, and riot police were stationed outside the Arsenale. The Israeli pavilion, already shuttered during previews, remained closed.

The Founders of Open Restitution Africa (ORA) on Their New Open Data Platform

On March 31, the research initiative Open Restitution Africa (ORA) launched the ORA Open Data Platform, a database providing information on the restitution of African artifacts and ancestral remains. Developed over six years by ORA’s all-woman, pan-African team, the site uses case histories and AI-powered tools to offer practical insights into the return process, available in French and English. It presents 25 case histories spanning 200 years, using data visualizations, essays, and interactive tools to help individuals and communities develop their own restitution strategies. ARTnews interviewed founders Chao Tayiana Maina and Molemo Moiloa about the project's origins and goals.

Architecture as Microcosm: Interview with Architects Barclay & Crousse Coming to an Exhibition in Milan

Architettura come microcosmo. Intervista agli architetti Barclay & Crousse che arrivano in mostra a Milano

Architects Sandra Barclay and Jean Pierre Crousse, founders of Barclay & Crousse Architecture, are the subject of a feature interview and exhibition in Milan. The studio, established in Paris in 1994 and now based in Peru, is known for projects that deeply engage with the Peruvian landscape, particularly the coastal desert between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes. Their notable works include the Lugar de la Memoria (Lima, 2015), the Museo de Paracas (2016), and the Franco-Peruvian School in Lima (2025), which recently won the Grand International Prize at the X Bienal Internacional de Arquitectura de Santa Cruz (Bolivia) in 2026. The article traces their education across Peru, France, and Italy, and their return to Peru in 2006, where they continue to run a French branch called Atelier Nord Sud.

‘It takes an entire museum to do it justice’: the Smithsonian celebrates America in 250 objects

The Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington DC is marking the 250th anniversary of US independence with a major exhibition titled "In Pursuit of Life, Liberty & Happiness," opening on 14 May. The show displays 250 objects spanning all three floors of the museum, ranging from a Revolutionary War-era gunboat (the Philadelphia) to a Donald Trump "Make America great again" hat. Seventy-six rarely seen objects are concentrated in entry hall cases, while the rest are embedded throughout existing galleries, connected by a "ribbon" design. Director Anthea Hartig frames the exhibition as a commemoration of moments where individuals and communities fought for recognition and identity, pairing each object with an action verb to emphasize democracy as participatory.

Lakefront Festival of Art Returns June 12–14 with 145 Artists, Live Music, Local Food, and New Extended Evening Hours

The Lakefront Festival of Art returns to the Milwaukee Art Museum campus from June 12–14, 2026, featuring 145 juried artists from Milwaukee and across the country. Presented by Bank of America, the three-day event includes live music from acts like The Belle Weather, Field Report, and Brett Newski, local food vendors, hands-on artmaking at Kohl's Art Studio, and a Silent Auction Tent with works by participating artists. New this year, extended evening hours until 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday allow visitors to enjoy after-work outings and sunset views. The festival is organized by Friends of Art, the museum's longest-running volunteer support group, and serves as an annual fundraiser for acquisitions and programs.

Tate St Ives to host first UK museum exhibition of groundbreaking artist

Tate St Ives will present the first UK museum exhibition of Aleksandra Kasuba, a Lithuanian American artist (1923–2019), from May 2 to October 4, 2026. The show spans seven decades of her career, featuring early paintings, mosaics, sculptures, and public artworks, including the spatial environment *Spectrum: An Afterthought* and a recreation of her *Live-In Environment*. Works are drawn from the Lithuanian National Museum of Art's collection, where Kasuba donated her pieces.

The Politics of In-action: Review of In-action: Viennese Actionism and the Passivities of Performance Art

Caroline Lillian Schopp's new book *In-action: Viennese Actionism and the Passivities of Performance Art* (2025) offers a revisionist history of Viennese Actionism, a movement retroactively named in 1970 by Peter Weibel and Valie Export. Schopp introduces the term "in-action" to describe a politics of artistic action that emphasizes intimacy, hesitation, and vulnerability rather than the violent or liberatory extremes typically associated with the movement. She expands the canon to include women artists such as Anna Brus, Hanel Koeck, and Ingrid Wiener, and reexamines the work of Rudolf Schwarzkogler, whose death was mythologized as a suicide by self-castration but was actually a fall from a window. Through close readings of photographs, Schopp argues that Schwarzkogler's performances were characterized by passivity and "in-sincerity," challenging the dominant narrative of actionism as aggressive or heroic.

At Frieze New York and Beyond, Indigenous Artists Are in the Spotlight

At Frieze New York and other concurrent exhibitions, Indigenous artists Sara Flores, Suzanne Kite, and Seba Calfuqueo are presenting works that challenge and expand traditional definitions of Indigenous art. Their pieces are on view in New York, Venice, and beyond, marking a significant moment for contemporary Indigenous voices in the global art scene.

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, painter and activist, 1942–2026

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, the American painter, professor, and civil rights activist, has died at age 84. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, she was a co-founder of the Non-Violent Action Group while a student at Howard University, later earning an MFA from Columbia University. Known for monumental abstract works on soot-black surfaces, she developed her signature technique through the Lampblack series (1960s–70s) and continued evolving her practice through series such as Whales Fucking (1970s–80s) and Panthers In My Father’s Palace (1980s–90s). In 1985, she became the first African American woman to receive tenure in the Department of Art Practice at the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught for nearly three decades and served as chair from 1999 until her retirement in 2006.

Dries Verhoeven on Representing the Netherlands at the 61st Venice Biennale

Dries Verhoeven will represent the Netherlands at the 61st Venice Biennale (2026) with a new work titled *The Fortress*, installed in the Dutch Rietveld Pavilion in the Giardini. The 25-minute performance piece transforms the sunlit pavilion into a darkened bunker, featuring a raw vocal composition using only false vocal cords. Verhoeven describes the work as a meditation on transition and self-preservation, reflecting a Western society caught between its enlightened self-image and a dark vision of the future. The piece responds to geopolitical unrest outside the Biennale grounds and is designed to be melancholic and confrontational, contrasting with the main exhibition's theme, *In Minor Keys*.

‘My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein’ by Deborah Levy, Reviewed

Deborah Levy’s latest novel, *My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein*, follows a first-person narrator who travels to Paris to research the American writer and collector Gertrude Stein. The narrative slips between the early twentieth century and the autumn of Donald Trump’s 2024 reelection, using stream-of-consciousness prose and liquid metaphors to blur past and present. The narrator’s research into Stein’s role in shaping modernity becomes a vehicle for exploring her own sense of helplessness and lack of agency in a hyperconnected, war-weary present.

Somali Cultural Organizations Unhappy With Somalia Pavilion at the Venice Biennale

Somali artists and cultural organizations are protesting the Somalia pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale, arguing it excludes artists based in Somalia and relies on diaspora figures and an Italian co-curator, which they view as colonial. The Somali Arts Foundation issued a statement condemning the lack of consultation, while the queer arts collective Warbixinta Cidda criticized the appointment of Italian curator Fabio Scrivanti. Somali American poet Ladan Osman boycotted the pavilion, calling it "anti-indigenous."

JOSÉ WOLFF: DÍAS HONDOS

JOSÉ WOLFF: DÍAS HONDOS

José Wolff, a Guatemalan artist who grew up in the 1980s watching television with his family, has developed a unique visual language that oscillates between digital and traditional media. After studying at SCAD in Georgia and working in Miami and Los Angeles for channels like MTV Latino, NBC, and Locomotion, he created 3D animations, music videos, and TV interstitials. Now based back in Guatemala, Wolff continues to paint in oil while also producing digital installations, such as his 2026 multi-channel piece "Sin Novedad." His practice reflects a lifelong dialogue between the tangible and the intangible, influenced by artists like Laurie Anderson and Nam June Paik.

A new AGWA exhibition will showcase giant 12-metre paintings by a WA street artist

Perth-raised street artist Stormie Mills will present his first-ever solo exhibition at an Australian state gallery, titled *All the secrets are buried between the oceans and the mountains*, at the Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) from August 1 to November 8, 2026. The show features works from his four-decade career, including two monumental 12-metre-long paintings inspired by the sea and mountains, exploring themes of connection, isolation, and human vulnerability.

Art Gallery of Burlington opens vibrant spring exhibition you have to experience

The Art Gallery of Burlington (AGB) opens its spring exhibition "A material called Earth, Volume 1: The life of corners" on May 16th, featuring the immersive textile art of Argentinian artist Celina Eceiza. The installation transforms the main gallery with hand-dyed, stitched, and embroidered works, including sculptures ranging from palm-sized to near-monumental, and incorporates ceramics from the AGB's collection. A public opening on May 16th includes a talk and tour with curator Sylvie Fortin and the artist, plus free programming by artist Camila Salcedo and refreshments from local vendors.

Art Gallery of Swan Hill Opens Three Powerful First Nations Exhibition

The Art Gallery of Swan Hill in Victoria, Australia, will open three significant First Nations exhibitions on 29 May 2026. The shows are: 'JXSH MVIR: Forever I Live', the first major solo retrospective of the late Yorta Yorta, Gunditjmara and Barkindji artist Josh Muir, co-curated by his partner and mother; 'Gulgawarnigu | Thinking of Someone. Something', a touring digital portrait and landscape exhibition by young Indigenous artists from Roebourne, Western Australia, developed through a partnership with NEO-Learning and Big hART; and 'Big Place', a new exhibition drawn from the gallery's permanent collection featuring works from Western Australia, the Northern Territory, the Tiwi Islands and South Australia.