How Dayanita Singh Got Into Venice’s Archives

Artist Dayanita Singh mounted a major exhibition titled "ARCHIVIO" at the State Archives of Venice, which opened to the public as an exhibition venue for the first time in its history. Without institutional funding or a public relations budget, Singh relied on a "friendship economy" to install her signature "photo-pillars"—images of Indian archival documents bound in red cloth. The show attracted visitors despite the lack of traditional promotion, as documented in an interview with Hyperallergic Editor-at-Large Hrag Vartanian.

Chloë Sevigny, Hari Nef, and Mickalene Thomas Just Partied at the Brooklyn Artists Ball

The Brooklyn Museum hosted its annual Brooklyn Artists Ball on Tuesday evening, serving as the opening celebration for the "Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses" exhibition. The event drew a crowd of artists, patrons, designers, and downtown figures, including event hosts Fabiola Beracasa Beckman, Sylvana Durrett, Jordan Roth, Lizzie Tisch, and Amanda Waldron; co-chairs Regina Aldisert, Megan Brodsky, Victoria Rogers, and Carla Shen; CULTURED Editor-in-Chief Sarah Harrelson; designers Iris van Herpen and Wes Gordon; musicians Peggy Gou and Swizz Beatz; artists Mickalene Thomas, Keisha Scarville, Paul Arnhold, and Miles Greenberg; writer Derek Blasberg; and gallerist Saam Niami. Highlights included a special performance by dancers from the New York City Ballet in winged costumes, an afterparty with DJs Swizz Beatz and Runna, and a site-specific photo booth by artist Keisha Scarville.

Parrish Art Museum Summer 2026 Guide

The Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, New York, has announced its Summer 2026 guide, detailing a robust schedule of exhibitions and public programs running through August. Highlights include "Regeneration: Long Island’s History of Ecological Art and Care" featuring 11 intergenerational artists, a solo presentation of Sanford Biggers titled "Drift," and exhibitions of works by Ellsworth Kelly and Will Ryman. The museum also offers a wide range of events such as docent-led tours, art workshops for children, therapeutic programs for Alzheimer's patients and cancer survivors, and member mornings.

Across Venice, Artists Defy Censorship to Mourn and Memorialize Gaza

The 2026 Venice Biennale, titled “In Minor Keys,” features numerous artworks that mourn and memorialize the destruction of Gaza, despite censorship pressures. The main exhibition opens with a poem by slain Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, and includes works by artists such as Theo Eshetu, Mohammed Joha, Manuel Mathieu, and Avi Mograbi that directly or indirectly address the conflict. Outside the official Biennale, South African artist Gabrielle Goliath’s performance series “Elegy” was censored by her country’s culture minister after she proposed a version honoring murdered Palestinian poet Hiba Abu Nada, leading her to present the work independently at a church in Venice.

Metropolitan Museum of Art: Spring Exhibitions in New York

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is unveiling renewed galleries and special exhibitions for spring 2026, including a reinstallation of its American Wing and exhibitions focused on Renaissance portraiture and contemporary responses to classical themes. The museum, which houses over 1.6 million artworks spanning five thousand years, is highlighted as a key destination for US travelers planning summer visits, with May weather ideal for exploring both the museum and nearby Central Park.

Matisse: The Pursuit of Harmony

Acquavella Galleries in New York presents "Matisse: The Pursuit of Harmony," an exhibition running from April 9 to May 22, 2026, featuring fifty works by Henri Matisse including paintings, sculptures, and works on paper. The show is organized across two floors, with early pieces on the ground floor north gallery, sculptures and early works on the second floor north, later works on the second floor south, and a concluding display of the four bronze castings of Matisse's "Back" series on the ground floor south. Key highlights include the painting *Male Model* (ca. 1900) paired with the bronze *The Serf* (1900–04), and the portrait *Mademoiselle Yvonne Landsberg* (1914), which demonstrate Matisse's transformative approach to traditional genres.

What Has the American Inquisition Done to Art?

An exhibition titled "American Inquisition" opened in mid-March at No Place Gallery, an artist-run space in Columbus, Ohio. Featuring paintings by Shiva Addanki and Nikholis Planck, the show draws its name from a statement by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine supporting detained activist Mahmoud Khalil, and its critical framework from Mike Davis's book "Buda's Wagon." Addanki's works depict scenes of US imperial violence, including downed drones and counterinsurgents at detention centers, while Planck's paintings map extractive infrastructure, subverting traditional landscape painting with industrial detritus and petroleum tankers.

The Château de Boutemont: An Architectural Gem to Discover in Normandy

Il Castello di Boutemont: un gioiello architettonico da scoprire in Normandia

The Château de Boutemont in Ouilly-le-Vicomte, Normandy, has reopened for its new season running through November. Now in its sixth year under owners Johanna Wistrøm-Monnier and Bruno Monnier, the property has seen steady growth in visitors thanks to investments in its gardens and the opening of three castle rooms. Bruno Monnier founded Culturespace in the 1990s, a private company that manages museums such as the Palais des Papes in Avignon and the Ateliers des Lumières immersive art centers. Johanna Wistrøm-Monnier, formerly director of the Dan Graham Foundation, now dedicates herself full-time to the estate, which features gardens designed by famed landscape architect Achille Duchêne.

Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa “Lugar de Consuelo (Place of Solace)” at MoMA, New York

MoMA's Kravis Studio is presenting Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa's multimedia work "Lugar de Consuelo (Place of Solace)" (2020), marking the artist's first solo presentation at the museum. The work, jointly acquired in 2022 through MoMA's Latin American and Caribbean Fund and Fund for the Twenty-First Century, includes prints, drawings, costumes, sculptures, videos, and a related performance that explore political and personal histories of Guatemala.

Three Venice shows everyone is talking about

The Korea Herald recommends three must-visit museum shows in Venice during the Venice Biennale. At Palazzo Grassi, the Pinault Collection presents "Michael Armitage. The Promise of Change," featuring the Kenya-born British painter's vivid works addressing sociopolitical tensions and migration. At Gallerie dell'Accademia, "Transforming Energy" by Marina Abramovic marks her 80th birthday, creating a dialogue between her performance art and Renaissance masterpieces. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection hosts "Peggy Guggenheim in London: The Making of a Collector," revisiting her formative years and her short-lived London gallery Guggenheim Jeune.

Art as Collective Responsibility: Hestia Artistic Journey Grant Programme Winners

The Hestia Artistic Journey National Grant Programme (Artystyczna Podróż Hestii) has announced the winners of its third edition, selecting eight projects from nearly 200 applications across Poland. The programme, subtitled "Opening Time" (Czas otwarcia), supports artists and cultural institutions planning exhibitions that address collective responsibility for global issues. Winners include "Ślady pamięci" by Fundacja Szałfynster in Katowice, exploring memory and dementia; "Głodne drzewa/Thirsty Trees" by Przemek Branas at the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź, critiquing human greed through eucalyptus metaphors; and "Tymczasowa pława" by Norbert Delman at the State Art Gallery in Sopot, an installation on ecocide using a sunken fishing boat and amber. Each project will present an exhibition between July 2026 and the last quarter of 2027, with increased funding due to exceptional submissions.

Adrian Ghenie: Roman Campagna | Exhibition review

Adrian Ghenie's exhibition "Roman Campagna" at a Paris gallery presents a series of paintings and charcoal drawings that subvert the romantic cliché of an artist's transformative encounter with Rome. Ghenie populates landscapes inspired by the Appian Way with grotesque, alien-headed figures hunched over smartphones, urinating on monuments, or weeping at sunsets, using brown and grey tones punctuated by bright colors. The works reference Francis Bacon and William S. Burroughs, and include direct allusions to Bacon's reinterpretation of van Gogh's self-portrait, as well as a copy of a Pompeii mosaic. The show also features large charcoal drawings on paper that reveal Ghenie's process of constructing his contemporary, alienated figures.

Reggie Burrows Hodges Debuts First European Solo Exhibition at Malta’s MICAS

The Malta International Contemporary Art Space (MICAS) has opened "Mela," the first European solo exhibition by American artist Reggie Burrows Hodges. Running from May 9 to August 30, the show features 30 newly created works inspired by Malta, including the monumental painting "Mamajamma" (over 14 feet high and 26 feet wide), which responds to Caravaggio's "The Beheading of St. John the Baptist." Hodges relocated his studio to Malta to develop the exhibition, engaging with the island's coastline, architecture, labor traditions, and communities.

Public art exhibit coming to Rideau Heights Community Centre

Later this month, the interactive art installation "The Clearing" by Kingston artists Marney McDiarmid and Clelia Scala will be displayed outside the Rideau Heights Community Centre. The installation, housed in a transformed shipping container, offers a calm, nature-inspired space for reflection and includes a poem by Sadiqa de Meijer, sound design by Matt Rogalsky, and an exterior mural by Lee Stewart. Visitors are invited to contribute personal papers to a shredder, allowing the exhibition to evolve over time. The installation runs from May 20 to May 31, 2026, with scheduled hours including an open house with the artists on May 29.

Young artists show at The Fraser Art Gallery

Fifty-one students from Wallace Consolidated Elementary School and Tatamagouche Regional Academy displayed their artwork in a group show at The Fraser Art Gallery in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia. The exhibition featured individual and class projects, including a collage inspired by the Artemis II moon flyby and a sculptured monster garden. The opening reception included remarks from gallery president Jackie Robertson, who thanked volunteers and sponsor PharmaChoice, and noted the importance of early art exposure.

Local artist featured in exhibition in Italy

Medicine Hat artist Poul Nielsen, 78, is exhibiting his work in Venice, Italy, as part of the exhibition 'Anima Mundi (Rituals)' held in conjunction with the Venice Biennale. Nielsen, who has shown his art in around 100 solo and collaborative exhibitions across decades, began his international career with a show in Copenhagen in 2000 and has since exhibited in England, the United States, and China. His current series, 'Atmospheric Possibilities,' was started around 2015 after his retirement from teaching at Medicine Hat College, where he helped develop a pioneering program merging fine art and graphic design.

Maine College of Art & Design Presents the 2026 MFA Thesis Exhibition

Maine College of Art & Design (MECA&D), in collaboration with the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at MECA&D, presents the 2026 MFA Thesis Exhibition, showcasing the culminating work of nine graduate candidates in the Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art program. The exhibition features artists Abigail G. Cloutier, Harley Ngai Grieco, Molly Knobloch, Stephen Medeiros, Darby Miller, Dylan Ouellette, Caitlin Perrigo, Jonathan Spath, and Isaac L. Stern, working across ceramics, drawings, photography, prints, sculpture, sound, and video installations. The show runs from May 7–16, 2026, at the ICA in Portland, Maine.

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.

Creativity as Curation

Yalin Hu, a Creative Director, has led several international exhibition projects over the past year, including "Infinite Weave" during New York Design Week (NYCxDESIGN Festival), the online exhibition "Unraveling" during London Design Festival, and "Touching the Void" at The Blanc Gallery in New York. In May 2026, she will lead "Becoming" at Artech Space in New York. Hu approaches each project as a complete creative system, focusing on theme development, spatial structure, audience journey, and cross-media integration, blending art, design, digital technology, and public experience.

Imaginative Sculptures Herald an Austin Artist’s First Solo Museum Show

Laura Lit, an Austin-based artist, has opened her first solo museum exhibition, "Impossible Beings," at Laguna Gloria. The show features four abstract sculptures that are the outdoor debut of The Contemporary's HOST series, running from April 23, 2025, through January 17, 2027. Lit, who began her artistic reinvention after becoming a mother in 2020, creates dream-like figures inspired by meditation, using industrial materials like expanded polystyrene and Pal Tiya. The exhibition also includes a companion show at The Jones Center opening in September.