7 New Art Books to Step Into Spring

Artnet News has curated a selection of seven significant new art book releases for the spring season, highlighting diverse subjects from historical archives to contemporary memoirs. Featured titles include a deep dive into Frida Kahlo’s private sanctuary, 'Casa Roja,' authored by her descendants; a curatorial history of Hong Kong’s avant-garde art scene by Oscar Ho Hing-kay; and a vibrant exploration of color in contemporary art featuring works by Yayoi Kusama and Tomás Saraceno.

Fascinante artiste des Années folles, Sarah Lipska remise en lumière dans une exposition à Poitiers

The Musée Sainte-Croix in Poitiers, France, is hosting a new exhibition reviving the legacy of Sarah Lipska, a Polish-born artist who thrived in 1920s Paris as a costume designer, decorator, and fashion creator. Once a celebrated figure with her own boutique on the Champs-Élysées, Lipska collaborated with Léon Bakst and designed for the theater, including the operetta 'Annabella' (1922), before falling into obscurity. The museum, which holds the world's largest collection of her work, has built this through decades of acquisitions and a major donation from Lipska's daughter.

LA LECHUZA DE MINERVA

The Círculo de Bellas Artes in Madrid, founded in 1926 by a small group of artists, has launched a centenary exhibition titled "La lechuza de Minerva" (The Owl of Minerva). Curated by Isabella Lenzi, the project revisits the institution's most disruptive exhibition, "El sueño imperativo" (1991), curated by Mar Villaespesa, which invited twelve artists to intervene in both exhibition spaces and transit areas, challenging traditional display logic. The new exhibition features works by artists including Dagoberto Rodríguez, Elo Vega, Rogelio López Cuenca, Isidoro Valcárcel Medina, Itziar Okariz, Los Carpinteros, María Salgado, Pedro G. Romero, Regina Silveira, Silbatriz Pons, and Tino Sehgal, who activate hidden and unexpected corners of the building through visual and sound actions. The project also restores Nancy Spero's 1991 intervention "Minerva, Sky Goddess," which had largely disappeared, through archaeological research led by restorer Rocío Casasus.

The forgotten Chinese conceptualists: Melbourne show brings together works by New Measurement Group

An exhibition at Buxton Contemporary in Melbourne, titled "Poetry Goes No Further Than Language: a Historical Moment of Art Becoming Art Again," brings together the complete artistic output of the New Measurement Group, a pioneering Chinese conceptual art collective from Beijing, alongside four conceptual experiments by Shanghai-based artist Qian Weikang. Curated by Carol Yinghua Lu and artist Liu Ding, the show aims to reassess early Chinese conceptual art, featuring works by the New Measurement Group (Chen Shaoping, Gu Dexin, Wang Luyan), pieces from the New Wave art movement, and new commissions by Melbourne artist Darcey Bella Arnold. The curators faced challenges locating the group's five publications, including one purchased on eBay from Europe, and used re-enactment and re-fabrication to recreate lost works like Qian's "Ladder Poem" (1990).

Sorolla and Valencia: an itinerary in the light of the master who captured the soul of the Mediterranean

The city of Valencia is actively promoting a cultural itinerary dedicated to Joaquín Sorolla, tracing the master painter's life from his birthplace in the historic center to the Mediterranean shores that inspired his most famous works. The route encompasses key biographical sites including the Church of Santa Caterina, the School of Craftsmen, and the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Carlos, where his early sketches and academic records are preserved.

Boston had Isabella Stewart Gardner, and Fitchburg had Eleanor Norcross

The Fitchburg Art Museum is celebrating its 100th anniversary with the exhibition “Kaleidoscope: 100 Years of Collecting for our Community.” The show honors the legacy of founder Eleanor Norcross, a Victorian-era artist and collector who studied under William Merritt Chase and exhibited in Parisian salons. Although Norcross died in 1923 before the museum opened, her estate and personal collection of paintings and decorative arts provided the foundation for the institution, which officially opened in 1929.

News, April 14, 2026

The University of Colorado Boulder's Department of Art and Art History has announced a series of spring events, including the 'Art History Showcase' featuring scholarship by Tylyn King, Bella Malherbe, and Felicity Wong. The program also highlights the second group of the 2026 MFA Thesis Exhibition featuring Ethan Cherry, Brionna Garcia, and Cal Young, alongside a visiting artist lecture by Rutgers professor Barbara Madsen and a symposium on Black Queer Aesthetics.

Famous “Walk” by Marc Chagall to be exhibited in Minsk

The National Art Museum of Belarus in Minsk has opened a special exhibition featuring Marc Chagall’s 1917 masterpiece, "The Walk." On loan from the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, the painting is being showcased alongside a VR tour developed by students from the Minsk Hlebau Art College. The exhibition, which runs until July 6, focuses on this singular programmatic work that depicts the artist and his wife, Bella Rosenfeld, in a gravity-defying expression of love.

In this L’Aquila High School, there is a Contemporary Art Collection Created by Students and Artists

In questo liceo dell’Aquila c’è una collezione d’arte contemporanea realizzata dagli studenti con gli artisti

The Liceo Bafile in L’Aquila has established a permanent collection of contemporary art featuring over 60 site-specific works created through collaborations between professional artists and students. Initiated by artist and professor Licia Galizia following the devastating 2009 earthquake, the project integrates art into the educational environment as a tool for cultural rebirth. In 2026, the collection will expand further with seven new installations created by artists including Elena Bellantoni and Marco Nereo Rotelli in partnership with the Academy of Fine Arts of L’Aquila.

Where to go on Potsdamer Straße?

Wohin auf der Potsdamer Straße?

The article previews the Gallery Weekend Berlin, focusing on the Potsdamer Straße art scene. It highlights several exhibitions, including Adam Gordon's "Months Turn to Years" at Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi, which transforms the space into a secluded enclave with quiet paintings. Other featured shows include luminous color experiments, soap foam as an art form, and works exploring identity.

New exhibition at Buxton reveals insights into Chinese conceptual art

The University of Melbourne's Buxton Contemporary has opened a new exhibition titled "Poetry goes no further than language," which examines the emergence of conceptual art in China during the mid-1980s and early 1990s. Featuring works by the Beijing collective New Measurement Group and Shanghai artist Qian Weikang, the show also includes a new commission by Victorian College of the Arts graduate Darcey Bella Arnold. Curated by Dr. Carol Yinghua Lu, Director of Beijing's Inside-Out Art Museum, together with artist Liu Ding, the exhibition brings previously inaccessible or little-known works to Australia for the first time.

Buxton Unveils Chinese Conceptual Art Exhibition

The University of Melbourne's Buxton Contemporary has opened "Poetry goes no further than language: A historical moment of art becoming art again," an exhibition examining the emergence of conceptual art in China during the mid-1980s and early 1990s. It features works by the Beijing collective New Measurement Group and Shanghai artist Qian Weikang, alongside a new commission by Victorian College of the Arts graduate Darcey Bella Arnold. The exhibition is curated by Dr. Carol Yinghua Lu, Director of Beijing's Inside-Out Art Museum, and artist Liu Ding.

La Rocabella : une résidence d’artistes paradisiaque qui croise les disciplines près de Toulon

La Rocabella, a Belle Époque villa near Toulon, France, has been transformed into an interdisciplinary artist residency by Jean-Baptiste Rudelle, co-founder of Criteo. Built in 1898 by architect Hans-Georg Tersling, the estate now hosts ceramic sculptors, comic artists, documentary filmmakers, and musicians in two-month sessions, with themes like 'Les Gardiennes de la mer' linking their work. The residency, funded entirely by Rudelle, aims to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration in a serene Mediterranean setting.

John Bellany exhibition in Haddington shines spotlight on his unknown work

A major exhibition of rarely seen works by Scottish painter John Bellany has opened at the John Gray Centre in Haddington, East Lothian. Curated by his widow Helen Bellany and Alexander Moffat RSA, the show features early and lesser-known pieces, many never publicly displayed before. It runs until September 19 as part of the Royal Scottish Academy's RSA200: Celebrating Together project, marking the RSA's 200th anniversary. Loans come from the Bellany estate, Alexander Moffat's private collection, East Lothian Council Museums Service, and the Royal Scottish Academy.

SCV News | May 1: Go Figure Art Exhibit Opens at SCAA Gallery in OTN

The Santa Clarita Artists Association Gallery in Old Town Newhall is presenting "Go Figure," a month-long art exhibit running May 1-31 that explores the human form through a variety of styles and mediums. An opening reception on May 2 from 5-8 p.m. will feature live music by Isabella Bazler and live art demonstrations by Mardilan Georgio and Meressa Naftulin, with free admission and light refreshments.

MEMORY MOURNING AND REBELLION BETTINI AT DA2

DA2 Domus Artium in Salamanca has opened the first Spanish retrospective of Gabriela Bettini, titled "Cierta tarde, la más bella de las tardes de mi vida." The exhibition surveys the Spanish-Argentine artist's career, centering on themes of memory, exile, and the trauma of the Argentine military dictatorship. A focal point is the work "Memoria del agua," inspired by an unfinished poem found in a book belonging to her grandfather, who was disappeared during the regime.

Inside Bangalow’s new art gallery transforming former newsagency

A new commercial art gallery, Nissarana Galleries Bangalow, has opened in the former newsagency building on the main street of Bangalow, a town in New South Wales, Australia. The gallery is the third location for the Nissarana Galleries network, joining existing spaces in Noosa and Richmond, Melbourne, and showcases contemporary and Indigenous art from established and emerging artists.

Visual Artists Debut Capstone Projects At Senior Exhibition

Graduating seniors at California Lutheran University have unveiled their capstone projects in the Visual Arts Senior Exhibition at the William Rolland Art Center. The showcase features a diverse range of media, including digital design, photography, and fine art, resulting from two semesters of self-directed research and experimentation. Notable works include Bella Dinovitz’s ink-based explorations of mental health and Stephanie Nolasco’s pieces addressing identity and the U.S.-Mexico border.

Italian-American DJ Anyma Transforms the Coachella Desert with His Spectacle

Il dj italo-americano Anyma trasforma il deserto di Coachella col suo spettacolo

Italian-American DJ and producer Anyma, also known as Matteo Milleri, debuted his immersive audio-visual spectacle "ÆDEN" at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The performance utilized massive LED screens and architectural-scale visuals to blend electronic music with digital art, featuring appearances by artists like Matt Bellamy and LISA who transitioned from digital avatars to physical presences on stage.