Bold Solos, Global Dialogues: Inside Frieze New York 2026

Frieze New York 2026 will return to The Shed from May 13–17, featuring an expansive program of solo, dual, and curated presentations. The fair brings together 33 New York galleries alongside international exhibitors, with strong solo booths by Virginia Jaramillo (Hales), Akinsanya Kambon (Ortuzar and Marc Selwyn Fine Art), and Kelly Sinnapah Mary (James Cohan). Dual presentations include mor charpentier pairing Anas Albraehe and Nohemí Pérez, and Nara Roesler showing Jonathas de Andrade with Marcelo Silveira. Blue-chip galleries like Hauser & Wirth, White Cube, and Gagosian will present works by major artists including Cindy Sherman, Tracey Emin, and Nan Goldin. The Focus section, curated by Lumi Tan, highlights 11 emerging galleries with solo presentations by Antoni Miralda, Seba Calfuqueo, Reika Takebayashi, and Aki Goto.

Maine art galleries showcase dozens of artists in summer shows

A roundup of summer art exhibitions across Maine highlights dozens of artists showing at galleries and pop-up spaces from Rockport to Portland. Notable shows include Alexandre Gallery's pop-up featuring charcoal works by the late Cooper Union-trained artist Emily Nelligan, who spent decades depicting Cranberry Island; Karma's annual summer pop-up at artist Ann Craven's deconsecrated church in Thomaston; and solo exhibitions at Caldbeck Gallery, Courthouse Gallery, and Cove Street Arts. Other venues such as Carver Hill Gallery, Corey Daniels Gallery, Dowling Walsh, and Moss Galleries present group and solo shows spanning landscape painting, mythical imagery, and works addressing social resistance.

Dozens of Venice Biennale Artists Withdraw From Awards En Masse

Almost half of the artists in the 61st Venice Biennale's international exhibition, along with 16 national pavilion teams, have withdrawn from awards consideration in solidarity with the jury's resignation. The jury resigned on April 30 after stating it would not consider countries whose leaders are charged with crimes against humanity by the ICC, effectively disqualifying Israel and Russia. The Biennale Foundation then replaced the traditional Golden Lions with new "Visitor Lions" decided by public vote, reinstating all pavilions including Israel and Russia. The withdrawal follows protests at the Russian and Israeli pavilions and a historic labor strike that shuttered multiple pavilions.

Who’s Afraid of____? at Turquoise

Turquoise gallery in New York is presenting a group exhibition titled "Who’s Afraid of____?" from March 27 to May 10, 2026. The show features works by Anna-Sophie Berger, K.P. Brehmer, David Diao, Gaylen Gerber, Joseph Grigely, John Heartfield, Nandi Loaf, and Alicia Riccio, with images courtesy of the artists, The Heartfield Community of Heirs / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, and the gallery.

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.

Annual photo show at MacNider Museum showcases local talent

The Charles H. MacNider Art Museum in Mason City, Iowa, has opened its 46th Annual Cerro Gordo Photo Show in the Center Space Gallery, sponsored by the Safford and Lena Lock Photo Endowment Fund. Sixty-two entries were submitted by residents of Cerro Gordo County and students at North Iowa Area Community College, with 36 photographs by 20 artists selected for exhibition. An opening reception and awards ceremony will be held on May 7, 2026, with cash prizes including $125 for Best in Show. The exhibition runs through July 11, 2026, and admission is free.

46th annual Cerro Gordo Photo Show open at Charles H. MacNider Art Museum

The 46th Annual Cerro Gordo Photo Show has opened at the Charles H. MacNider Art Museum's Center Space Gallery in Mason City, Iowa. The exhibition features 36 photographs by 20 artists from Cerro Gordo County and North Iowa Area Community College, selected by a panel of judges from 62 entries. Artists include Alec Heggen, Brad Janson, Wendy Janson, Dennis Nettifee, Margo Underwood, Lisa Wolf, and many others from Clear Lake, Mason City, and Plymouth. The show is sponsored by the Safford and Lena Lock Photo Endowment Fund, with an opening reception and awards ceremony scheduled for May 7, offering cash prizes including $125 for Best in Show.

The Ireland Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Art Biennale Speaks of Dreams and Pays Homage to Aldo Manuzio

Il Padiglione Irlanda alla Biennale Arte 2026 di Venezia parla di sogni e omaggia Aldo Manuzio

The Ireland Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale will present "Dreamshook," a project by Irish artist Isabel Nolan. The exhibition explores dream states and pays homage to the Venetian printer Aldo Manuzio, drawing on the humanist revolution between the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Nolan, who works across sculpture, embroidery, photography, and text, will create new tapestries, drawings, and sculptures that engage with classicism, Christianity, humanism, Irish heritage (including the Book of Kells), and the invention of printing. The project is curated by Georgina Jackson and produced by Cian O'Brien, with support from Culture Ireland and the Arts Council.

May we suggest the art you need to see this May?

Lifestyle Asia has published a curated list of art exhibitions and events to see in May, offering recommendations for art enthusiasts looking to explore new shows and installations during the month. The article serves as a guide to notable cultural happenings, likely highlighting both emerging and established artists across various venues.

Where to see artworks in Marin

This article is a comprehensive listing of art exhibitions and events across Marin County, California, from May through August 2025. It includes details on dozens of shows at venues such as the Belvedere Tiburon Library, Anthony Meier, Blunk Space, Bolinas Museum, Gallery Route One, and many others, featuring works by artists like Carol Thomas, Saif Azzuz, Ian Collings, and Drew Frazier. The listings cover photography, painting, sculpture, and mixed-media exhibits, with opening receptions, artist talks, and benefit events noted.

Wonder Gallery Debuts in Coney Island With Vintage Photos and Mini Zines

Wonder Gallery, a collaboration between Parachute Literary Arts and the Coney Island History Project, opens May 23 at the History Project's Exhibit Center beside the Wonder Wheel in Coney Island. The seasonal gallery will debut with black-and-white photographs by Brooklyn documentary photographer Anders Goldfarb, capturing Coney Island residents and architecture from the 1970s and 1980s, alongside the launch of the Coney Island Zine Machine featuring miniature zines by Sheepshead Bay artist Kelly Luu. The free gallery will be open weekends and holidays from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

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.

Why global gallery studies matters now

University College Cork (UCC) has launched an MA in Global Gallery Studies (Online), a two-year part-time programme designed to prepare students for careers in the international gallery sector. Directed by Dr Mary Kelly, the programme combines core modules in global gallery studies, global art histories, and digital arts with practice-based learning, including online fieldwork connecting students with galleries across multiple countries, guest lectures by international gallery practitioners, and a project-led onsite internship in the second year.

Hear! Hear! Kimball Art Center’s (Re)sounding

The Kimball Art Center in Park City, Utah, is preparing to open its upcoming exhibition "(Re)sounding" on May 15, curated by Nancy Stoaks. The show explores the relationship between sound and visual art through immersive installations, interactive systems, and soundscape sculptures by artists including Jon Bernson, Christine Sun Kim, Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller, Yuri Suzuki, Mary Toscano, and Andrew Rease Shaw. The exhibition coincides with the center's 50th anniversary and its ongoing mission to make contemporary art accessible and personal.

Yinka Ilori: Joy Through Resistance He Who Laughs Last, Laughs Best

The article text is corrupted and unreadable, appearing as garbled binary data. Based on the title "Yinka Ilori: Joy Through Resistance He Who Laughs Last, Laughs Best", it appears to be about British-Nigerian artist and designer Yinka Ilori, likely covering an exhibition or project that explores themes of joy and resistance through his signature colorful, pattern-based work.

La restitution du lit de Louis XVI

The Château de Versailles has inaugurated the restored private bedroom of King Louis XVI, featuring a fully recreated bed that was burned during the French Revolution. The project, which took forty years of research and craftsmanship, involved reconstructing the bed from sparse 18th-century archives, including a sculptor's memorandum by Babel and a fabric sample preserved by the silk manufacturer Tassinari & Chatel. The restoration also includes a commode from the Château de Compiègne, as the original is at Chantilly, and follows principles of harmony in gilding and textile motifs.

"In Minor Keys" Hits All the Right Notes

The 61st Venice Biennale's international exhibition, titled "In Minor Keys," opened with a somber curatorial press conference, as artistic director Koyo Kouoh, who died in May 2024 at age 57, was not physically present. The exhibition features 110 invited participants across the Arsenale and Giardini, including works by Buhlebezwe Siwani, Johannes Phokela, Wangechi Mutu, Ebony G. Patterson, and Kambui Olujimi. Protests marked the opening, with gatherings at the temporary Israeli pavilion and Pussy Riot's presence at the Russian pavilion, while the exhibition itself asks viewers to look closer at overlooked forms of representation and consider innovative models of measuring the world.

Nude Performance at MFA Boston Confronts One of Art’s Oldest Tropes

Artist Xandra Ibarra staged her performance "Nude Laughing" (2014–) at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston on April 16, appearing nude except for a breastplate and yellow heels while dragging a nylon stocking stuffed with blonde wigs and fake breasts. She moved through the galleries, laughing hysterically, and ultimately collapsed in front of Paul Gauguin's painting "Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?" (1897–98). The performance was part of the exhibition "Subvert, Repair, Reclaim: Contemporary Artists Take Back the Nude," which features 12 artists critiquing racial, gender, and power hierarchies in Western art history. The event sparked heated debate on the museum's Instagram, with hundreds of commenters arguing about its legitimacy and obscenity.

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.

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.

The Future Will Be Neither Good Nor Bad, But Strange

"Die Zukunft wird nicht gut oder schlecht, sondern seltsam"

Mike Winkelmann, known as Beeple, has brought his "Regular Animals" series to the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. The works feature digital creatures that blend pop-culture figures like Mark Zuckerberg with art-historical references such as Picasso, continuing Beeple's signature style of satirical, software-generated imagery. The exhibition marks a significant institutional debut for the artist, who rose to fame by selling the most expensive NFT ever and posting daily digital art online.

"Eine Idee, die gut ist, kann fast alles verändern"

Henrike Naumann's final major artistic project, the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, is completed posthumously by friends after her death from cancer at age 41. Meanwhile, the sudden death of curator Koyo Kouoh at 57 has left her team to finish the central exhibition "In Minor Keys" for the Biennale, opening May 9. The US Pavilion is openly crowdfunding for its 2026 presentation by sculptor Alma Allen, citing opaque funding under the Trump administration. Israel's foreign ministry has accused the Venice Biennale jury of boycotting its artist Belu-Simion Fainaru by excluding countries whose leaders face International Criminal Court charges.

Thomas Hart Benton, Jessie Wlicox Smith announced for shows at Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles, co-founded by filmmaker George Lucas and businesswoman Mellody Hobson, has announced its inaugural exhibitions. The ambitious survey will feature over 1,200 works from a founding collection of more than 40,000 objects, including pieces by Thomas Hart Benton and Jessie Wilcox Smith. The museum is housed in a 300,000-square-foot building designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec.

“Clean / Clear / Cut” Malta Biennale 2026

The Malta Biennale 2026, titled "Clean / Clear / Cut," launched on March 11 and runs through May 29, transforming historical sites and cultural landmarks across Malta and Gozo into venues for contemporary art and critical dialogue. The biennale is under the artistic direction of international curator Rosa Martínez.

Venice Biennale’s Visitor Lions Face Artist Boycott

Would you sit on this? Australian designers take on the humble chair – in pictures

For the 10th edition of Melbourne Design Week, over 100 chairs by Australian designers are on display in an exhibition titled '100 Chairs', curated by Friends & Associates. Selected from an open call, each chair had to be made in Australia and functional for sitting. The designs range from traditional timber dining chairs to experimental pieces, including a chair that transforms into a table, a horse-shaped chair, and one with a satanic theme. The exhibition is held at South Magdalen Laundry, Abbotsford Convent in Melbourne until 24 May 2026.

The Christophers review – Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel are the double act of the year

Steven Soderbergh's new film "The Christophers" is a London-set movie about contemporary art, starring Ian McKellen as Julian Sklar, a once-dominant but now outmoded English painter, and Michaela Coel as Lori Butler, a former art student hired as his assistant. The plot revolves around a series of hidden paintings called "The Christophers" that Julian's grasping adult children want to find and potentially forge for profit. The film is described as fast, literate, and funny, with McKellen and Coel delivering a compelling double act.

Salisbury Cathedral restores stained-glass treasure by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris

Salisbury Cathedral has completed a two-year restoration of a stained-glass window designed by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris. The 6.5-metre "Angels" window, depicting ministering and praising angels, was carefully removed in February 2024, cleaned, and fitted with protective glazing and oak frames. Head glazier Sam Kelly, who began as an apprentice at the cathedral 40 years ago, led the project alongside colleagues Vicky Pearce, Kate Kersey, and Alfie Durrant. Lost details were restored on backing glass rather than the original surface, and the window will be rededicated at an evensong service on 7 May.

Rose Finn-Kelcey review – flying puns, smart pranks and prayers for 20p

The Guardian reviews "Rose Finn-Kelcey: House Rules," a posthumous exhibition at the new Arts Collective in Northampton, UK. The show features works by the British conceptual artist (1945–2014), including her 1972 flag installation "Power for the People" at Battersea Power Station, a prayer vending machine titled "It Pays to Pray," and pieces exploring permission, spirituality, and societal restrictions. The exhibition is presented as a homecoming for Finn-Kelcey, who was born in Northampton.

Arts Collective to Open New Arts Center in Northampton England

Arts Collective will open a new arts center in Northampton, England on May 1st, following a £5.2m renovation of the city's municipal offices and town hall annex. The complex will feature 17 artist studios, community spaces, a gallery, and "The Northampton Rooms," a series of public spaces designed by artist Giles Round as a "living work of art." The inaugural exhibition will showcase Northamptonshire-born artist Rose Finn-Kelcey.