Plas Art Show goes back to basics with renewed focus on its sculpture, 3-D work

The Plas Art Show, a Seoul-based art fair specializing in sculpture and three-dimensional works, returns for its 11th edition from June 4 at Coex in Gangnam District. Featuring 102 galleries (91 domestic and 11 from Taiwan, Germany, Japan, and Georgia), the fair presents roughly 750 artists and 3,500 works under the theme “New Chance.” Fair president Shin Jun-won acknowledged criticism that the event had drifted from its sculptural focus and announced stricter curation, including on-site inspections and penalties for galleries that fail to include at least one three-dimensional artist and one stereoscopic work. Standard booth prices range from 5.7 to 6.7 million won, which Shin says attracts Gangnam-area galleries priced out of larger venues.

Artist lays bare journey through alcoholism in 'powerful' North East show

Artist Nat Hardy's exhibition 'ISM – Art with Heart' has opened at Arts Centre Washington in northeast England, showcasing over 30 works inspired by her journey through alcoholism and recovery via the 12-step program. A former social worker and self-taught artist working in needle felting, textiles, watercolors, and pastels, Hardy won the 2024 Spotlight Washington Open Exhibition. Her pieces, such as 'The Journey,' use color and natural imagery to represent the emotional landscape of addiction and healing, with the show running until June 6.

Where Art Meets Innovation: Inside the Salt Lake Art Show and the X5 Vision

On May 14, 2026, the Salt Lake Art Museum (SLAM) hosted a launch event for X5, a new convergence platform, inside the historic B'nai Israel Temple in Salt Lake City. The event featured an interactive moment where attendees drew on the museum's bare walls before they are painted over. The following day, the Salt Lake Art Show opened at the Mountain America Expo Center in Sandy, serving as X5's first public activation. X5 Vice Chair Joe Ross outlined the platform's three clusters—industry/STEM, culture, and capital/workforce—positioning it as a successor to Sundance's economic impact in Utah.

Slow Rot at Method Delhi Explores Human Fragility and Psychological Unrest Through Art

Method Delhi is presenting 'Slow Rot', a group exhibition featuring ten contemporary Indian artists whose works explore human fragility, psychological unrest, and the grotesque. The show runs from May 9 to July 3, 2026, at Method's New Delhi space in Defence Colony, with free entry. Participating artists include Aditya Dhabhai, Dhruvi Jain, M. Imran Ahamed, Milan Sharma, Mitali Das, Priyesh T., Revant Dasgupta, Riya Chandwani, Sajid Wajid Shaikh, and Tithi Das, working across painting, sculpture, and mixed media.

Exhibition | Su Meng-Hung, 'The Flowers of Coromandel' at Tina Keng Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan

The article describes an exhibition titled 'The Flowers of Coromandel' by artist Su Meng-Hung, held at Tina Keng Gallery in Taipei, Taiwan. The exhibition showcases Su Meng-Hung's works, likely exploring themes related to the historical Coromandel Coast and its cultural intersections, presented through the artist's unique visual language.

KU students, teachers to show off form-defying ceramics at Off-Site Art Gallery exhibition

University of Kansas students and teachers are showcasing ceramics that defy gravity and traditional form at Off-Site Art Space in Lawrence. The exhibition, titled “Almost a Body: Not Quite a Thing,” features works by artists-in-residence Seuil Chung and SunYoung Park alongside their students, including pieces like Natalie Slutsky’s “Vital Exchange,” an anatomical heart with arteries forming a Möbius strip. The show highlights innovative techniques such as using sand-filled brick boxes for firing, French cleat mounting systems, and beeswax finishes inspired by natural forms from the McGregor Herbarium.

Abbeydale Road art space opens with exhibition celebrating local talent

A new independent art space called The Shop has opened on Abbeydale Road in Sheffield, England, with a debut group exhibition titled Bee Sting Cake featuring 19 South Yorkshire artists. The venue, founded by Sheffield artist Nick Grindrod, combines a studio and exhibition space in a former retail unit. Grindrod, who turned fully to painting during the pandemic and gained traction through the Artist Support Pledge initiative on Instagram, curated the show alongside artists Sean Williams and Kate Jacob. The exhibition runs from 14–28 May 2026, and the space aims to offer original artworks for sale in a relaxed, accessible setting.

Doosan Yonkang Foundation Becomes First-Time Sponsor of Korean Pavilion at Venice Biennale

The Doosan Yonkang Foundation, the philanthropic arm of South Korean conglomerate Doosan, is sponsoring the Korean Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale for the first time. The pavilion, titled "Liberated Space: Fortress and Nest," runs from May 9 to November 22 at the Giardini park in Venice, and explores political events and historical transitions in Korean society from 1945 to the present. Participating artist Noh Hye-ri is an alumna of the foundation's Doosan Art LAB program, and artistic director Choi Binna serves as a supervisor of the Doosan Curator Workshop, highlighting the foundation's direct investment in nurturing artistic talent.

Explore art’s future at Hong Kong’s Affordable Art Fair this May

Hong Kong's Affordable Art Fair (AAF) returns in May with the theme “See Art. Love Art. Own Art.”, featuring 106 local and international exhibitors—up from 98 last year—and artworks priced from HK$1,000 (US$128). The fair, held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, aims to make art accessible to new and seasoned collectors alike, with a focus on transactions under US$50,000. Founder Will Ramsay highlights growing confidence in this market tier, citing a report by Affordable Art Fair × ArtTactic that shows 69% of galleries expect sales growth and that art fairs generate 44% of gallery revenues.

TWAC presents ‘ENTWINED’ Exhibition by Artist-Educators Bob Mosier and Karen Fearon

The Woodlands Arts Council (TWAC) presents 'ENTWINED,' its first exhibition featuring a married couple, artist-educators Bob Mosier and Karen Fearon. The show, on view from May 12 to August 6, 2026, highlights their individual practices—Mosier's intricate thread paintings that evolve into three-dimensional fabric sculptures, and Fearon's expressive drawings, paintings, and assemblages rooted in intuitive mark-making. Both artists incorporate found and reclaimed materials, and their work explores light, form, and the yin-yang of creative process. An opening reception is scheduled for June 18, 2026.

61st Venice Biennale: Cultural workers and artists strike and protest against the Israeli genocide in Gaza

Thousands of artists, cultural workers, and protesters marched through Venice on May 8, 2026, one day before the opening of the 61st Venice Biennale, to protest the Israeli genocide in Gaza and Lebanon. The strike, organized by the Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA), led to the closure of approximately 27 of the Biennale's 100 national pavilions, with signs reading "We Stand with Palestine." The Israeli pavilion remained closed and guarded by armed police, who clashed with protesters. Meanwhile, the European Commission threatened to suspend €2 million in EU grants to the Biennale Foundation over its decision to allow Russia to participate, citing incompatibility with EU sanctions and the invasion of Ukraine.

‘Master Artist AA Raiba: A Unilateral Eclectic’: An art exhibition

An exhibition titled 'Master Artist AA Raiba: A Unilateral Eclectic' is currently on view at Thapar Gallery in New Delhi, showcasing works by Abdul Aziz Raiba from the 1950s and 1960s. The retrospective highlights Raiba’s diverse practice, including murals, paintings on jute, reverse glass paintings, serigraphs, calligraphy, and sketches, and features landscape works from his Kashmir sojourn between 1957 and 1959.

Alton's Elysian Gallery to close, reopen as art cafe and cultural hub

Elysian Gallery in Alton, Illinois, is closing its original location at Mineral Springs Mall on May 10, 2026, to relocate and expand into a new concept called Elysian Gallery and Cafe at 419 E. Broadway. Owner Jeff Bohnert, a photographer, is transforming the 500-square-foot gallery into a larger, pet-friendly cultural hub featuring a cafe serving Goshen Coffee, a book nook, workspaces, and art exhibitions. The new space will open with a soft launch on May 30 during Alton Main Street's Pup Crawl, followed by a grand reopening on June 6. Bohnert and his girlfriend Janel Freeman originally opened the gallery in August 2025.

Gallery: Young Estonian artists' art auction exhibition opens

An exhibition of young Estonian artists has opened at the Art & Tonic gallery in Tallinn, showcasing 92 works selected from 269 submissions for the "Osta noort kunsti" ("Buy Young Art") spring auction. The auction, organized by gallery owner Reigo Kuivjõgi, features starting prices set by the artists themselves, ranging from €1 to €2,000, with past final prices reaching over €20,000. The exhibition runs free of charge from May 1 to May 14, with the live auction on May 15.

Studio 34 Announces Open Studio Weekend + Opening of Collective Pulse Art Exhibition in LIC

Studio 34 Gallery in Long Island City, New York, announces its annual Open Studio Weekend on May 16–17, 2026, from 12:00–6:00 PM, alongside the opening reception of a group exhibition titled 'Collective Pulse' on May 16 from 6:30–9:30 PM. The free event invites the public to explore working artist studios, meet the creators, and experience the artistic process, with live music by Sunshine Music. The exhibition, curated by Alice Lipping and Tina Glavan, features 14 Studio 34 artists and 11 guest artists, and runs through June 7, 2026.

Art on Main presents "Women in Art: Revealing Our Magnificence" opening reception

Art on Main in Dallas is presenting "Women in Art: Revealing Our Magnificence," a juried exhibition featuring bold, expressive works across mediums such as painting, drawing, photography, fiber art, sculpture, printmaking, and ceramics. The opening reception includes live music by the East Dallas Uke-A-Ladies and a set by DJ MISO, along with a Best in Show award presentation, and the exhibit runs through May 30.

Art House Gallery Will Present PLAYING FAVORITES, a Solo Exhibition by Bryant Small

Art House Gallery in Jersey City will present "Playing Favorites," a solo exhibition by artist Bryant Small, curated by Andrea McKenna, from May 2 to May 31, 2026. The show features a selection of Small's most cherished works, many never publicly exhibited before, highlighting his use of alcohol ink on Yupo paper to create luminous, fluid abstract compositions. An opening reception is set for May 2, and an artist talk on April 17.

月を射る @ KAG

KAG in Tokyo is presenting a group exhibition titled "月を射る" (Shooting the Moon), running from May 19 to August 16, 2026. The show takes its starting point from a prose poem of the same name by Korean poet Yun Dong-ju (1917–1945), who wrote it in 1939 under Japanese colonial rule and later died in a Fukuoka prison. The exhibition spans pre-war and wartime educational films, propaganda, performance, and contemporary fieldwork, featuring works by artists such as Inoue Kan (Lee Byung-woo), Choe Seung-hui, Kamei Fumio, Yoshimi Yasushi, Atsugi Taka, Fujii Hikaru, Yamamoto Seiko, T.T. Takemoto, Morita Reine, Gataro, and Shirakawa Masao. It examines the management models formed by the former empire and the spiritual structure of colonialism that underlies contemporary issues, centering on works that carry the "memory of censorship"—banned, deleted, or denied existence by national, administrative, or social norms.

Stilllive Documents 2019–2025 @ The 5th Floor

The 5th Floor in Tokyo is hosting "Stilllive Documents 2019–2025," a retrospective exhibition running from May 14 to June 7, 2026, that reviews the activities of the performance platform Stilllive. The show features unpublished photographs and video materials from 2019 to 2025, presenting them not as mere traces of events but as records of relationships, tensions, and responses that emerged in each moment. Stilllive was founded in 2016 by Yuki Kobayashi and graduates of the Royal College of Art's Performance program, and has held annual events since 2019 at venues including the Goethe-Institut Tokyo. A new performance, "Stilllive 2026," will take place on May 16–17 at BUoY in Senju Nakamachi, Tokyo, connecting past accumulations to future practice.

Provincetown art exhibit celebrates 50 years of coastal studies

A new art exhibition titled "Persistent Curiosity: Charting the Rippled Fabric of the Sea" has opened at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Center for Coastal Studies. The show runs from May 15 through July 19, with an opening reception on May 22.

Seniors showcase their art in a final exhibition

Graduating students at Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) showcased their artwork in a final exhibition held on May 1, 2026, at Crisp Museum. The show featured a wide range of media including 3D works, prints, paper mache, paintings, cloth, video, quilts, and sculptures. Among the participants were painting BFA major Zachary Ross Mayfield, who presented symbolist works centered on nature and a large self-portrait that took over 200 hours to complete, and senior studio art BFA major Kaylee Shelby, whose sculptures question the ethics and aesthetics of taxidermy and human manipulation of animals.

Edo-Tokyo Museum Reopens with “Great Edo” Exhibition Showcasing Its Collection Highlights

The Edo-Tokyo Museum in Tokyo's Ryōgoku district has reopened on March 31, 2026, after four years of renovation. Its first exhibition, "In Praise of Great Edo" (April 25–May 24), showcases 160 items from the museum's collection of 350,000, including swords, armor, kimonos, ukiyo-e masterpieces by Sharaku, Utamaro, and Hokusai, and artifacts from Edo-period culture such as kabuki, sumō, and firefighting uniforms. The renovated museum features new animation, projection mapping, full-scale reconstructions like Ginza's Hattori watch store, and a multilingual smartphone guide system.

Festival of Cats brings cat-inspired art to Thanet

The Festival of Cats, a community arts festival celebrating feline-themed art, is returning to Margate, Kent, from May 1-4. Featuring exhibitions, events, and workshops across fine art, poetry, film, performance, and craft, the festival showcases work from 100 local artists. Originally launched in 2018 as a satellite event for Turner Contemporary's "Journeys with The Waste Land" exhibition, it was inspired by T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats and has since grown into a Thanet-wide event attracting thousands of visitors.

Two Visitors’ Lions have been established for the Biennale Arte 2026

La Biennale di Venezia has announced the establishment of two Visitors' Lions for the 61st International Art Exhibition, following the resignation of the International Jury appointed by curator Koyo Kouoh. The awards ceremony, originally scheduled for May 9, has been moved to November 22, the final public day, echoing a similar shift during the 2021 Architecture Exhibition due to COVID-19. The Visitors' Lions will be voted on by ticket holders who visit both exhibition venues between May 9 and November 22, with one award for the Best Participant in the exhibition "In Minor Keys" by Koyo Kouoh and another for the Best National Participation.

Interacting with art can slow ageing process, study shows.

A new study by University College London, published in the journal *Innovation in Aging*, finds that engaging with art—both creating and observing it—can slow the biological aging process. The research, published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Gero, is the first to provide evidence that art engagement offers anti-aging benefits comparable to those of physical activity.

Get a first look at the immersive art exhibit that takes over 80 rooms in a shuttered downtown L.A. hospital

The 'Hospital of Emotions' is an immersive art exhibition occupying 80 rooms across four floors of the shuttered St. Vincent Medical Center in downtown Los Angeles. Running from May 27 through July 31, the 45,000-square-foot show features over 70 artists whose works are organized into emotional departments such as grief, fear, hope, joy, and sadness. Installations incorporate the hospital's existing fixtures—surgical lights, beds, IV bags—transforming former medical spaces into interactive art experiences, including a life-size Twister game, ceramic egg-covered walls, and neon-lit beds.

Tugboat Printshop Marks 20 Years of Making Meticulously Crafted Woodblock Prints

Tugboat Printshop, founded by Valerie Lueth, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The studio specializes in meticulously hand-carved woodblock prints, often using up to five distinct blocks layered with colorful ink to create detailed images of flora and fauna. Editions are typically limited to around 100 prints. To mark the milestone, the shop is offering a limited-time discount on original woodcut prints, and Lueth continues to share behind-the-scenes images on Flickr and Instagram.

Double vandalism on the Place de la Concorde

Double vandalisme place de la Concorde

During the PSG Champions League semi-final victory celebrations last Wednesday, vandals destroyed an exhibition by Yann Arthus-Bertrand on the theme of 'Living Together' on the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The article describes this as a double vandalism: the physical destruction by rioters compounded what the author considers the original vandalism—the exhibition itself, which was supported by the French government, the Paris city hall, and several other entities.

A War Souvenir for Düsseldorf

Un souvenir de guerre pour Düsseldorf

The Kunstpalast museum in Düsseldorf has acquired a war-related painting by Bordeaux-born artist William Laparra, who was mobilized in 1917 into the French camouflage section during World War I. Laparra served as a brigadier-chief in the 1st group of the 10th Army at the Chantilly workshop, a unit created in 1915 by figures including Eugène Corbin, Louis Guingot, and painter Guirand de Scévola, who developed earth-toned uniforms and painted canvas to conceal artillery from German aircraft.

Une souscription pour restaurer le réfectoire des Invalides

La Tribune de l'Art reports that a fundraising campaign has been launched to restore the refectory of the Hôtel des Invalides in Paris, specifically the salle de l'Europe. This room features 17th-century murals attributed to Michel Corneille le Jeune, depicting battles from the Franco-Dutch War (1673–1675), including the sieges of Maastricht, Huy, and Limbourg, as well as allegorical scenes of Louis XIV. The restoration is organized by the Musée de l'Armée, which manages the site.