Ary Scheffer en 2 minutes

Ary Scheffer (1795–1858) was a Dutch-born Romantic painter who became a central figure in Parisian artistic and cultural life during the July Monarchy. He was the official portraitist of the Orléans family and created deeply melancholic, spiritual works inspired by Dante, Goethe, and the Gospels. His studio at 16 rue Chaptal, in the Nouvelle Athènes district, hosted legendary Friday gatherings attended by Chopin, Liszt, George Sand, and Dickens, and now houses the Musée de la Vie romantique. Key works include *Le Dévouement patriotique des six Bourgeois de Calais* (1819) and *Les Femmes souliotes* (1827), both acquired by the French state.

Serpentine to stage major solo exhibition by Amar Kanwar

Serpentine has announced a major solo exhibition by Amar Kanwar, opening at Serpentine North on 23 September 2026 and running until 31 January 2027. The show will feature landmark works from Kanwar's career, including the feature-length film *Such a Morning* (2017), the seven-screen installation *The Peacock's Graveyard* (2023), and the world premiere of a new multi-screen work, *The Charcoal Man* (2026), commissioned by Serpentine. Kanwar, based in New Delhi, is known for poetic, politically charged moving-image works that explore decolonisation, the Partition of India and Pakistan, displacement, violence, justice, ecology, and memory.

What’s on for spring? Spiritualism and symbolic systems

This article surveys several spring exhibitions in Chicago that explore themes of spiritualism, symbolic systems, and interconnected consciousness. Featured shows include Mindy Rose Schwartz's "Countersealed" at M. LeBlanc, which uses deconstructed fur coats, wands, and twisted fiber sculptures to evoke rituals addressing ecological disaster and historical subjugation. Daniel G. Baird's "Margin" at Patron examines thresholds between material and spiritual realms through a gilded canoe, wax arm cast, and birchwood oar. Leah Ke Yi Zheng's "Change, I Ching (64 Paintings)" at the Renaissance Society presents 64 hexagram paintings on silk, connecting abstract minimalism with Eastern silk painting traditions.

​Walid Nayif’s painting exhibition at Yassin gallery is not to be missed

Walid Nayif is holding a painting exhibition at Yassin gallery, which the article describes as not to be missed. The article also lists numerous other art events in Cairo, including photographic projects, immersive digital exhibitions, and ceramic showcases, featuring artists such as Judi Yassin, Tia Khalil, Mostafa El-Razzaz, Khaled Taher, Mahmoud Hamdi, and Pierre Jeanneret, as well as the 'Beyond Van Gogh' immersive experience directed by Mathieu Saint-Arnaud.

At the Casa di Goethe in Rome, two controversial episodes in the history of science in Mischa Kuball's light installations

Alla Casa di Goethe di Roma due episodi controversi della storia della scienza nelle installazioni di luce di Mischa Kuball

The Casa di Goethe in Rome is hosting a solo exhibition of German conceptual artist Mischa Kuball from April 30 to October 4, 2026. The show features two light installations: "Newton/Goethe luce nera," which contrasts Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's and Isaac Newton's opposing theories on color and light refraction, and "five suns / after Galileo," which visualizes Galileo Galilei's observations of sunspots and his conflict with the Catholic Church. The exhibition is curated by the museum's director, Gregor H. Lersch.

Fight Club Denounces the System From Within the System

Cameroonian artist Pascale Marthine Tayou's first major institutional exhibition in Brazil, "Knockout!," has opened at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo's Pina Luz building. The show spans over 25 years of Tayou's career, featuring installations, sculptures, and paintings across seven rooms. Each room is themed around a historical international conference—including the Berlin Conference of 1884, Yalta, San Francisco, Rome, Rio de Janeiro, Bandung, and a fictional Avignon conference—using these as political and historical axes to critique colonial power structures and global inequality.

The Founders of Open Restitution Africa (ORA) on Their New Open Data Platform

On March 31, the research initiative Open Restitution Africa (ORA) launched the ORA Open Data Platform, a database providing information on the restitution of African artifacts and ancestral remains. Developed over six years by ORA’s all-woman, pan-African team, the site uses case histories and AI-powered tools to offer practical insights into the return process, available in French and English. It presents 25 case histories spanning 200 years, using data visualizations, essays, and interactive tools to help individuals and communities develop their own restitution strategies. ARTnews interviewed founders Chao Tayiana Maina and Molemo Moiloa about the project's origins and goals.

Art and technology meet in the augmented reality of artist Lois He

Arte e tecnologia si incontrano nella realtà aumentata dell’artista Lois He

Lois He, a Chinese-born artist now based in New York, creates immersive XR installations that blend art and technology, transforming viewers into active participants. Her works, such as "Rising River," an AI-driven virtual reality experience, and "The Silent Carnival," a digital reinterpretation of Goethe's Faust, explore identity, emotion, and the impact of external agents like technology and culture. He also collaborates with institutions like the Museo Dalí and the NYU Neuroscience Institute, merging art with literature and science.

Heiner Goebbels’ Landscape Plays faces an uphill battle to appeal to the public

The Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai is hosting the first solo exhibition in India of German composer Heiner Goebbels, titled 'Landscape Plays'. The exhibition, presented by the Goethe-Institut, features six slow-moving, non-narrative video installations that challenge traditional viewing habits with their meditative, plotless approach.

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.

Equatorial Guinea debuts at the Venice Biennale with Paraguayan artist Ingrid Seall and the theme of undergrowth

Equatorial Guinea makes its debut at the Venice Biennale with a national pavilion at Palazzo Donà dalle Rose, featuring Paraguayan artist Ingrid Seall and her work "Manar." The pavilion, titled "The Forest: The Undergrowth," runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026, and presents an immersive journey inspired by Equatorial Guinea's forests. Seall's piece uses materials like paper, cellulose, iron, and cassava paste to create a vertical, living organism that transforms waste into vital matter. The exhibition includes works by multiple international artists and is curated by Joan Abelló, with Brazilian commissioner Paulo Speller.

‘Different Strokes’ returns with vibrant contemporary expressions

The fifth edition of the contemporary art exhibition "Different Strokes" has opened at La Galerie of Alliance Française de Dhaka. Curated by artist Alamgir Kabir, the show features 40 artworks from a diverse group of eight Bangladeshi artists, including both emerging and established figures. The collection spans various mediums and subjects, ranging from abstract compositions and portraits to scenes of the Padma River and nature studies.

Gitte Zschoch wird Generalsekretärin des Goethe-Instituts

Gitte Zschoch has been appointed as the new Secretary General of the Goethe-Institut, taking over the role and chairmanship of the board on July 18. She succeeds Johannes Ebert, who has held the position since 2012 and will now lead the institute's regional office in Athens. Zschoch, currently Secretary General of the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa), previously worked for the Goethe-Institut in various roles, including founding director of its branch in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The appointment was confirmed by German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and approved by the institute's presidium.

‘Scattered Memories’: Fragments That Refuse to Fade

The Goethe-Institut Sudan, in collaboration with the Humboldt Forum Berlin, presents 'Scattered Memories,' a transcontinental exhibition at the Goethe-Institut Kairo from 1 to 3 May 2026. The show features Sudanese artists working across collage, film, music, performance, food, and storytelling to explore themes of loss, remembrance, and cultural memory. Public programs include discussions, guided tours, and a traditional coffee corner, transforming the exhibition into a space for communal gathering and exchange.