Smithsonian under fire from Trump, Frieze Seoul, Dara Birnbaum and Quantum—podcast

The Art Newspaper's podcast 'The Week in Art' returns with three major stories. Ben Luke hosts a discussion with Ben Sutton, the publication's editor-in-chief in the Americas, about the Trump administration's announced comprehensive internal review of eight Smithsonian museums and artist Amy Sherald's cancellation of a long-scheduled exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, citing censorship and institutional fear. The episode also covers Frieze Seoul 2024, the season's first major art fair, with correspondent Lisa Movius reporting from the South Korean capital amid political turmoil. The Work of the Week segment features Dara Birnbaum's landmark video artwork 'Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman (1978-79)', part of a new exhibition 'The Quantum Effect' at the San Marco Art Centre in Venice, curated by Daniel Birnbaum and Jacqui Davies with physicist Ulf Danielsson.

Step into the fire. A new exhibition ignites the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

Dallas-based artist David-Jeremiah presents his solo exhibition "The Fire This Time" at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, featuring 27 shaped paintings created between 2020 and 2024. The paintings are shaped like Lamborghini hoods and arranged in clusters that invite visitors to stand at the center, becoming the focal point of an "inverted performance installation." Curated by Christopher Blay, the show spans four rooms and explores themes of beauty, violence, identity, and transformation, drawing inspiration from James Baldwin's "The Fire Next Time." The exhibition also includes works from the museum's permanent collection by John Chamberlain, Anselm Kiefer, and Mark Rothko that resonate with the show's themes.

London's Dulwich Picture Gallery prepares to reveal £5m redevelopment

Dulwich Picture Gallery in south London will open a newly transformed sculpture garden to the public on 6-7 September, as the centerpiece of its £5m Open Art project. The redevelopment reclaims previously underused green space for a rotating programme of contemporary art on two-year loans, alongside permanent works including a land art piece by Kim Wilkie, an ArtPlay Pavilion designed by HoLD Collective and Carmody Groarke, and a new entrance restoring elements of John Soane's 1811 plans. The project is funded by principal donor The Lovington Foundation, The Julia Rausing Trust, the Manton Foundation, and a public campaign, as the gallery receives no regular government funding.

Works by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith and Reena Saini Kallat to go on sale as Frieze Sculpture returns to London

Frieze Sculpture returns to London's Regent's Park for its 13th edition, running from September 17 to November 2, 2025, alongside Frieze London and Frieze Masters. Curated by Fatoş Üstek under the theme "In the Shadows," the exhibition features works by 14 artists, including the late Jaune Quick-to-See Smith and Reena Saini Kallat. All sculptures are for sale, with highlights including Andy Holden's bronze bird-song pieces, Kallat's sound sculpture using calls of extinct birds, and Smith's tribute to Indigenous memory. Other participants include David Altmejd, Grace Schwindt, Henrique Oliveira, Timur Si-Qin, Burçak Bingöl, Assemble, and Abdollah Nafisi.

LACMA shares images of Zumthor-designed David Geffen Galleries building

LACMA has released new images of the David Geffen Galleries, the centerpiece of its campus transformation designed by architect Peter Zumthor. The building, which is currently under construction, will house the museum's permanent collection and is part of a larger overhaul of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's campus.

Renewed Bern Kunsthalle works to reframe Switzerland's history

The Kunsthalle Bern has reopened after a year-long transformation led by director iLiana Fokianaki, marked by a new entrance designed by ALIAS architects and a trio of exhibitions by Black artists. The reopening follows a symbolic intervention by Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama, who wrapped the building in jute sacks referencing the colonial history of Swiss cocoa extraction in Ghana, echoing Christo and Jeanne-Claude's 1968 wrapping of the same building. The inaugural shows feature solo exhibitions by Melvin Edwards, Tuli Mekondjo, and Tschabalala Self, with Edwards's retrospective traveling from the Fridericianum in Kassel to the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.

Albanian dictator’s fortress-like palace becomes ‘hub for artistic experimentation’

Vila 31, a Brutalist compound in Tirana that once served as the fortress-like residence of Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha, has been transformed into an artistic hub called Vila 31—Art Explora. Opened in April by the Paris-based Art Explora Foundation, the site now hosts up to 30 international artists annually for residencies and experimentation, with programming developed in collaboration with the École nationale supérieure d’arts de Paris-Cergy, the Museum of Contemporary Art Skopje, and Oral History Kosovo. The conversion, led by NeM Architectes, preserves key elements of the original structure while radically reimagining its interior, turning a symbol of repression into a center for creative freedom.

Leader of Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum to depart after a decade at the helm

Josh Basseches, director and CEO of the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), announced on June 5 that he will step down at the end of 2025 after a decade in the role. Under his leadership, the museum underwent three renovations and one expansion, including the reopening of the Weston Entrance, the creation of the Willner Madge Gallery Dawn of Life, and the launch of the C$130m OpenROM renovation project. Notable exhibitions during his tenure included Christian Dior, Kent Monkman: Being Legendary, and Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away.

Mbare Art Space: a colonial beer hall in Zimbabwe has become a vibrant arts centre

Moffat Takadiwa, a leading figure in Zimbabwe's artist-run spaces movement, has transformed a former colonial-era beer hall in the Mbare township of Harare into the Mbare Art Space. Opened in 2019 under a long lease from the Harare City Council, the nonprofit hub now houses studios, an exhibition hall, a digital hub, and office space, serving as a vibrant center for artistic and community revival. The beer hall was originally built by British colonial authorities as a tool of social control and segregation, but Takadiwa has repurposed it into a site of creative freedom and empowerment, inspired by global precedents like Theaster Gates' Stony Island Arts Bank in Chicago.

The Met Reopens Newly Reimagined Galleries Dedicated to the Arts of Africa, the Ancient Americas, and Oceania, Following a Multiyear Transformation of The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has reopened its newly reimagined galleries dedicated to the arts of Africa, the Ancient Americas, and Oceania, following a multiyear transformation of the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. The renovated spaces present a refreshed installation of the museum's extensive collection, highlighting cross-cultural connections and updated interpretive approaches.

Rejected by Museums Around the World, This New Art Exhibition Explores the Historical Roots of the Term 'Homosexual'

An ambitious new exhibition titled “The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity, 1869-1939” has opened at Chicago’s Wrightwood 659 gallery, featuring over 300 works by more than 125 artists from 40 countries. Curated by Jonathan D. Katz, the show traces the historical roots of the term 'homosexual,' coined in 1868 by Hungarian writer Karl Maria Kertbeny, and explores the artistic and social transformations surrounding the emergence of homosexual identity up to 1939. The exhibition includes loans from major institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Musée d’Orsay, with works by artists such as George Catlin, Jean Cocteau, John Singer Sargent, and Thomas Eakins, organized into eight thematic sections.

Tate Modern, the ‘cathedral to contemporary art’, celebrates 25 years

Tate Modern in London celebrates its 25th anniversary this month, marking the transformation of a derelict Bankside power station into a landmark contemporary art museum. Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the museum opened on 11 May 2000 and quickly reshaped London's art landscape, catalyzing the launch of the Frieze London art fair in 2003 and attracting international commercial galleries. Artist Michael Craig-Martin, a former trustee, recalls how the project was driven by then-director Nicholas Serota's ambitious vision to elevate modern art from its status as 'art's poor cousin.' The museum pioneered free-admission thematic collection displays and a global curatorial approach, though its inaugural exhibition 'Century City' was widely criticized as overambitious.

In ‘Life Forms,’ Janny Baek Imagines a Speculative Landscape

In ‘Life Forms,’ Janny Baek Imagines a Speculative Landscape

Sculptor Janny Baek is presenting her solo exhibition *Life Forms* at Chicago's Joy Machine gallery from March 20 to May 9, 2026. The exhibition features her speculative ceramic sculptures, which blend recognizable natural forms like blossoms and creatures with unexpected, abstract elements to create imagined landscapes and primordial organisms. Using techniques like hand-building and the Japanese *nerikomi* method of patterning colored clay, Baek's work captures beings in a state of playful mutation and transformation.

Humans, Machines, and Possible Futures: The Last 100 Years at New Museum

HUMANS MACHINES AND POSSIBLE FUTURES THE LAST 100 YEARS AT NEW MUSEUM

The New Museum has launched "New Humans: Memories of the Future," a massive exhibition spanning its entire building and featuring over 200 international contributors. The show traces a century of artistic, scientific, and social evolution, pairing 20th-century masters like Constantin Brâncuși and Salvador Dalí with contemporary commissions from artists such as Hito Steyerl and Wangechi Mutu. By exploring themes of automated labor, artificial intelligence, and mechanized warfare, the exhibition frames the relationship between humanity and technology as a series of cyclical leaps and reversals rather than linear progress.

CRUZ DIEZ AT ISLAA COLOR AS AN EXPERIENCE IN CONSTANT TRANSFORMATION

The Institute for Studies on Latin American Art (ISLAA) in New York is presenting "Carlos Cruz-Diez: Color at Stake," an exhibition of twenty-three works by the late Venezuelan artist. Spanning from 1955 to 1988, the show highlights his pioneering investigations into color as a dynamic, participatory experience, featuring key series like Physichromie and Chromointerférence alongside archival materials.

The Most Unique and Research-Focused Exhibitions to See in Brussels in Spring 2026

Le mostre più particolari e ricercate da vedere a Bruxelles nella primavera 2026

Brussels is hosting a series of niche and research-focused contemporary art exhibitions in spring 2026, coinciding with the 42nd edition of Art Brussels. Highlights include Jean-Michel Othoniel's "Diary of Happiness" at the Boghossian Foundation, Caroline Achaintre's "Extrazimmer" at La Verrière, a six-decade survey of the Art & Language collective at Fondation CAB, and a dialogue between Nassos Daphnis and Rita McBride titled "Abstract Constructions."

Madrid: Hypnotic Laugh Track by Manga Ngcobo

Writer Manga Ngcobo reflects on the architectural and cultural landscape of Madrid in early 2025, juxtaposing the city's historic art institutions with its rapid technological and commercial evolution. Drawing on Ben Lerner’s novel 'Leaving the Atocha Station', the piece explores the growing disconnect between the profound emotional experiences promised by masters like Velázquez and Goya and the reality of a city increasingly designed for content creation, retail aesthetics, and digital consumption.

tom price radical material experimentation

Artist Tom Price discusses his material-driven practice in an interview with Artnet News. Based in Mallorca, Spain, and a Royal College of Art graduate, Price explores how materials like coal, resin, and tar carry symbolic weight and drive conceptual narratives in his sculptures. His "Meltdown" series and works such as "The Presence of Absence" (2014) demonstrate his focus on material transformation, figuration, and abstraction.

bonhams first saudi arabia exhibition

Bonhams, the New York-based auction house, will hold its first exhibition in Saudi Arabia next month. Titled "Judhoor / Roots: The Origins of Saudi Modernism," the three-day show opens October 8 at the LIFT Gallery in Riyadh's JAX District, followed by a London auction on November 25. The exhibition surveys Saudi modern art from early pioneers like Abdulrahman Al Soliman, Safeya Binzagr, and Mohammed Al Saleem to later generations, highlighting works such as Al Saleem's horizon paintings and Al Soliman's 1981 depiction of Al-Ahsa oasis made with local soil. It also features archival material from Dar Al-Funoon, Saudi Arabia's first modern art space, and foregrounds female voices, including Binzagr, the first woman to stage a solo exhibition in the kingdom. A panel discussion will accompany the show, cohosted by collectors Taha Al Kuwaiz and Muneera Al Touq.

Nel Padiglione Germania alla Biennale di Venezia un gruppo di donne riflette sulle rovine del passato per capire il mondo

The German Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale will present the work of two women artists, Henrike Naumann and Sung Tieu, following the death of Naumann at age 41 in February 2026. Curated by Kathleen Reinhardt, director of the Georg Kolbe Museum in Berlin, the pavilion's project, titled "Ruin," explores the dual meanings of the word in English and German—architectural decay versus economic, social, or moral collapse. The exhibition draws on research into East Germany (DDR) and the post-reunification period, using the pavilion's fascist architecture as a lens to examine historical ruptures and their impact on the present. For the first time in its history, the German Pavilion is represented solely by women, mirroring the Italian Pavilion.

In Pol Taburet’s New Show, Being Paranoid Is the Point

French artist Pol Taburet has opened a solo exhibition titled *Paranoia as Method* at Villa Medici in Rome, on view through July 15. The show features sculptures, large-format paintings, and charcoal drawings created during his spring residency at the institution, transforming the villa’s gardens, loggias, and salons into tense psychic landscapes. Taburet’s figures drift between human and animal, evoking transformation, mortality, and spiritual tension, drawing on his Caribbean roots, voodoo traditions, contemporary culture, and classical painting.

Major Exhibition Creates World Class Art Trail Across North Yorkshire

An exhibition featuring works by 50 leading contemporary artists will be staged across four venues in North Yorkshire, England, from April to September 2025, as part of the 20th anniversary of the Aesthetica Art Prize. The venues include Skipton Town Hall, the Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate, Scarborough Art Gallery, and Woodend Gallery, with free entry at most sites. The exhibition is a joint venture between Aesthetica and Culture North Yorkshire, the council's culture and archive service, and is divided into four thematic parts: Future(s), Perception, Intervention, and Transformation.

Exhibition | Kang Cheol Gyu, 'KANG Cheolgyu: Discarded Host' at Arario Gallery, Seoul, South Korea

Arario Gallery Seoul presents 'Discarded Host', a solo exhibition by South Korean artist Kang Cheolgyu (b. 1990), running from May 1 to June 20, 2026. The show features new paintings that transform personal emotions and psychological sensations into visual narratives, exploring themes of anxiety, tension, identity, and transformation through fictional environments and indirect self-confrontation.

Marianne Vitale exhibition and performance in Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presents "Marianne Vitale: On Liberty: A Summoning," an exhibition and performance project at SPACE gallery in downtown Pittsburgh, running from May 1 to October 11, 2026. Guest curated by Benjamin Tischer of New Discretions, the project explores the layered social and cultural history of the 818 Liberty Avenue building, a former hub of nightlife, performance, and queer gathering. Vitale's work incorporates sculpture, painting, film, and live activations, using decommissioned locomotive parts and industrial debris to engage with post-industrial America. The exhibition transforms into a functioning club during select Final Fridays, drawing on the site's history as home to venues like Pegasus Lounge, a key LGBTQ+ space during the AIDS crisis.

Exhibition | 'Human Traces: Presence, Absence, and Material Memory' at Axel Vervoordt Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium

A group exhibition titled 'Human Traces: Presence, Absence, and Material Memory' is on view at the Axel Vervoordt Gallery in Antwerp. It features works by four artists—Ida Barbarigo, William Turnbull, El Anatsui, and Bosco Sodi—who explore themes of memory and transformation through material, shifting focus from the human body to its traces.

'A Serene Look upon the World' at Mendes Wood DM, Brussels, Belgium on 22 Apr–30 May 2026

Mendes Wood DM in Brussels presents 'A Serene Look upon the World,' a group exhibition running from 22 April to 30 May 2026. The show features 22 artists including Lucas Arruda, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Lee Ufan, and Daniel Steegmann Mangrané, whose works explore the sublime as a tension between permanence and transformation. The exhibition juxtaposes painting, photography, sculpture, and mixed media to evoke moments of pause before the overwhelming, drawing on philosophical ideas from Longinus and Kant.

A Space Between Selves Exhibition Explores Identity and Cultural Hybridity

Art Heritage and the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute at Harvard University have opened 'A Space Between Selves,' an exhibition featuring work by three former Visiting Artist Fellows: Cop Shiva, Pattabi Raman, and Sunanda Khajuria. The show explores themes of identity, transformation, and cultural hybridity, with a guided walkthrough by the artists and remarks from Tariq Allana and Hitesh M. Hathi.

Yuan Fang’s Visceral Paintings at Skarstedt Confront the Body’s Fragility and Its Strength

Yuan Fang presents a new series of visceral abstract paintings at Skarstedt Chelsea, created after she was diagnosed with cancer. The works mark a shift from her earlier gestural abstraction, confronting the fragility and resilience of the body through intuitive, layered processes that evoke cycles of generation, decay, and rebirth. Fang, who gained international attention during the pandemic, joined Skarstedt last year and continues to attract collectors in Hong Kong and beyond.

Engineering a bold new chapter for the historic Buffalo AKG Art Museum

The article details the transformation of the Buffalo AKG Art Museum through its AK360 expansion project, led by engineering firm Buro Happold in partnership with OMA and Cooper Robertson. The centerpiece is the new Jeffrey E. Gundlach Building, a 29,000-square-foot structure adding three levels of gallery space, along with flexible event spaces, educational classrooms, and public areas like the Town Square and sculpture gardens. Buro Happold provided MEPFP engineering, IT/AV systems, security, and sustainability consulting to integrate modern infrastructure while preserving the historic campus.

Explore Contemporary Art At These 3 Must-Visit Exhibitions | Grazia India

The article highlights three must-visit contemporary art exhibitions in India. The first, 'India in Dialogue: Tradition & Transformation' at Jaipur Centre for Art (May 3–June 8, 2025), is a group show curated by Noelle Kadar featuring artists like Shilpa Gupta and Jitish Kallat. The second, 'Bachpan' by Vicky Roy at Vadehra Art Gallery in New Delhi (May 2–30, 2025), is a solo photography exhibition capturing childhood resilience, with 30% of proceeds supporting the Barefoot Skateboarders Organisation. The third, 'A Moment in Modernity' by Haren Thakur at Art Magnum and Gallery Time and Space in New Delhi (May 4–June 30, 2025), blends tribal art with modernist aesthetics.