John Phelan, a prominent figure on ARTnews's Top 200 Collectors list, has been fired from his position as Secretary of the Navy. His departure follows reported disagreements with senior Pentagon officials over a shipbuilding initiative, including a proposal for a "Trump-class" of battleships. Undersecretary Hung Cao will serve as acting secretary.
The 13th edition of Expo Chicago has opened at Navy Pier with a streamlined selection of 130 international exhibitors. This year’s fair features a more curated and manageable scale, drawing a significant crowd of museum directors, curators, and collectors to the Windy City. Notable presentations range from contemporary Canadian artist duos to rare historical artifacts, reflecting a high bar for quality across diverse media.
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.
Artist Nic Nicosia, known for decades as a photographer and member of the Pictures Generation, has pivoted into surreal sculpture after losing interest in fabricated images. His work was featured in the 1983 Whitney Biennial alongside Cindy Sherman and others, and in major exhibitions like Documenta IX. Now, after years of exploring sculpture in private, he is preparing for his largest museum exhibition since 2000: "Everyday Surrealism" at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, opening May 16, tracing his career through over 70 works.
Four Indianapolis-based artists—Salma Taman, Alejandra Carrillo, Bailey Jörk, and Iryna Bondar—are creating work that directly responds to contemporary political and social crises, including the war in Gaza, immigration, and political division. Their art, ranging from Taman's Arabic calligraphy painting promoting forgiveness to Carrillo's digital drawing protesting a migrant detention center, serves as a form of personal and communal expression in a fraught global climate.
Frieze New York 2026 will return to The Shed from May 13–17, featuring an expansive program of solo, dual, and curated presentations. The fair brings together 33 New York galleries alongside international exhibitors, with strong solo booths by Virginia Jaramillo (Hales), Akinsanya Kambon (Ortuzar and Marc Selwyn Fine Art), and Kelly Sinnapah Mary (James Cohan). Dual presentations include mor charpentier pairing Anas Albraehe and Nohemí Pérez, and Nara Roesler showing Jonathas de Andrade with Marcelo Silveira. Blue-chip galleries like Hauser & Wirth, White Cube, and Gagosian will present works by major artists including Cindy Sherman, Tracey Emin, and Nan Goldin. The Focus section, curated by Lumi Tan, highlights 11 emerging galleries with solo presentations by Antoni Miralda, Seba Calfuqueo, Reika Takebayashi, and Aki Goto.
The global photography market experienced a significant surge in 2025, with auction turnover at major houses like Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips rising 19.1% to $40.4 million. A key trend identified in the Deloitte Private report is the shift away from specialized photography-only auctions toward the integration of high-value photographic works into broader modern and contemporary art sales. This transition has helped drive the average hammer price up by nearly 39%, as seen with million-dollar results for artists like Man Ray, Cindy Sherman, and William Eggleston.
The Muskegon Museum of Art is set to premiere a landmark exhibition titled “HerStory of Animation: Mary Blair & Beyond,” running from June 6, 2025, through September 27, 2026. Curated by animation historian Mindy Johnson, the show features production artwork, rare films, and studio artifacts from over a century of female contributions to the field. Highlights include works by early pioneers like Helena Smith Dayton and Bessie Mae Kelley, alongside modern icons such as Mary Blair and Oscar-winner Brenda Chapman.
A team of six graduates from the École des Nouvelles Images in Avignon has released 'Jour de Vent' (Windy Day), a sweeping animated short film that captures a transformative moment in a public park. The narrative follows a diverse cast of characters—ranging from a businessman to a picnicking family—whose mundane routines are abruptly upended by a powerful gust of wind. This meteorological disruption serves as a catalyst for themes of surrender and human connection, mirroring a fluid production process where the filmmakers finalized the story's conclusion just days before completion.
A new documentary film by Cindy Meehl, titled 'Jimmy & the Demons,' profiles the life and work of artist James Grashow. The film explores his whimsical yet profound sculptural practice and delves into the dynamics of his long-lasting marriage, offering an intimate portrait of the artist's personal and creative world.
Bonnie Keren He, a 17-year-old artist born in New York and raised between Suzhou, China, and New York, opened her solo exhibition "INNA BEAUTI" at Flushing Town Hall Gallery in New York City on April 19, 2026. The exhibition, curated by Dr. Hao Qingsong, Cindy Jiang, and Grace Jiang, features works across media including colored pencil, acrylic, oil painting, embroidery, and performance art, exploring themes of cultural identity, memory, and inner reflection. Notable attendees included political figures Jimmy Meng and Ron Kim, and the opening was hosted by Ge Chen of Global Cloud Media.
The Contemporary Art Museum of Indianapolis (CAMi) is set to open its doors from May 1-3 in a renovated 125-year-old dairy barn in Garfield Park. Managed by the Big Car Collaborative, the 40,000-square-foot facility features six exhibition spaces, 18 artist studios, and various community hubs including a cafe and storefronts for local creative businesses. The opening weekend will feature the main exhibition “Campo de Resonancia” by Puerto Rican painter Ivelisse Jiménez, alongside sound installations and experimental documentaries.