Remembering Pat Steir, one of the 20th century’s late-blooming great artists

Pat Steir, the acclaimed American painter known for her Waterfall series, died in Manhattan on 25 March at age 87. The article traces her career from early struggles as a freelance illustrator and art director, through her transformative encounter with Sol LeWitt in the early 1970s, to her eventual emergence as a major figure in contemporary painting. It highlights her teaching at CalArts and Parsons, her involvement with feminist and artist-run institutions like Heresies and Printed Matter, and the pivotal moment in the early 1980s when she cut up a reproduction of a Jan Brueghel the Elder flower painting into 64 panels, repainting each in a different historical style.

Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West | Hong Kong Museum of Art | Art in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Museum of Art has opened 'Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West,' a major exhibition featuring over 100 rare artifacts and paintings from the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Palace of Versailles. Highlights include Claude Monet's 'Water Lilies' (1906) and 'Water Lily Pond' (1900) on loan from Chicago, alongside works by Chinese masters Zhang Daqian and Wen Zhengming, plus an immersive digital recreation of the Orchid Pavilion Gathering.

At the Venice Biennale, Canada’s entry blooms with unease

Montreal artist Abbas Akhavan's installation "Entre chien et loup" transforms the Canadian pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale into a living climate system, featuring a humid, Amazon-like environment with a pond of Victoria water lilies. The seeds were sourced from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and germinated at the Orto Botanico di Padova, with the lilies growing and blooming over the course of the biennale.

Two Monet paintings have arrived in Hong Kong and entry is completely free

The Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) has opened a new free exhibition titled 'Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West', featuring over 100 paintings and artefacts. A major collaboration between the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Palace of Versailles, the show includes masterpieces by Claude Monet—specifically 'Water Lilies' (1906) and 'Water Lily Pond' (1900)—on loan from Chicago, alongside works by Chinese artists such as Leng Mei, Wen Zhengming, and Zhang Daqian. The exhibition explores garden imagery across cultures, from the royal grounds of King Louis XIV to the imperial retreats of Emperor Qianlong, and runs until July 29, 2026, with free admission.

Explore HKMoA's large-scale exhibition "Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West" Starting April 24

The Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) opens its large-scale exhibition "Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West" on April 24, featuring over 100 sets of paintings and artefacts from the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Palace of Versailles, and HKMoA's own collection. Works include paintings, prints, lacquerware, sculpture, ceramics, and glassware, with highlights such as Claude Monet's "Water Lilies" and "Water Lily Pond," Zhang Daqian's "Entrance of Bade Garden," and a Ming dynasty bowl with garden scenes. The exhibition also includes a scenographic recreation of the Orchid Pavilion Gathering enhanced with technology for an immersive experience.

This week in the Greater Bay Area: Where to see Monet paintings, a robotics exhibition and more

The Greater Bay Area is hosting a diverse range of cultural events this week, highlighted by the exhibition "Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West" at the Hong Kong Museum of Art. This show features rare works by Claude Monet, including his iconic Water Lilies, alongside traditional Chinese garden-themed art. Other notable visual arts events include the "Fragrance of Youth" exhibition at the Guangdong Museum of Art, showcasing contemporary Lingnan female artists, and the Tap Siac Craft Market in Macao, which features over 200 artisanal stalls.

"Wir wollen Rücknahme von Kürzungen"

Berlin's cultural senator Sarah Wedl-Wilson resigned on Friday after the Berlin Court of Auditors ruled that millions in funding for antisemitism prevention projects were illegal. The resignation has sparked a political debate, with CDU general secretary Ottilie Klein defending governing mayor Kai Wegner against opposition criticism, while Franziska Stoff of the Berlin Culture Conference demands stability and a reversal of budget cuts. Thomas Fehrle, director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, expressed personal regret over Wedl-Wilson's departure, praising her competence and engagement.

Twelve Exhibitions, One Looming Question: Bard Student Curators Take on the Meaning of Now at Hessel Museum

The Hessel Museum at Bard College has launched its annual spring exhibition season, featuring twelve distinct curatorial projects titled "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today." Organized by graduating students from the Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS), the showcase serves as a professional debut for an emerging cohort of curators. The projects range from solo retrospectives of under-recognized artists like Brazilian painter Maria Auxiliadora Silva to explorations of feminist art history through the work of A.I.R. Gallery co-founder Anne Healy.

Ray Burgoyne obituary

Ray Burgoyne, a self-taught painter, carpenter, and musician, has died at the age of 80. After a career as a carpenter and set builder, he began exhibiting his paintings in the late 1980s and spent the next three decades organizing numerous exhibitions along the Essex and Suffolk coastline. His work, characterized by thick oil paint, abstract forms, and deep colors, drew on carnivalesque characters and forgotten landscapes. He also played drums in the 1960s mod band the Flowerpots, which opened for the Animals and the Who.

Old toys, new life: Bloomingdale’s Step Mother Nature art gallery opens 'Child's Play'

Michael Greathouse's exhibition "Child's Play" opened at the Step Mother Nature gallery in Bloomingdale, featuring a dozen portraits of discarded stuffed animals. The show marks the gallery's third season reopening and is paired with a toy drive for the Saranac Lake Holiday Helpers, a local volunteer group that collects toys for children at Christmas. Greathouse's paintings depict battle-worn toys with scars, ripped fabric, and chipped paint, aiming to capture the history and soul of each object.

Japanese artist Mari Ito debuts in India with bold, thought-provoking exhibition

Japanese contemporary artist Mari Ito has opened her first solo exhibition in India, titled 'Origin of Desire,' at Bikaner House in New Delhi. The show features recent paintings and a large-scale installation created between 2024 and the present, exploring themes of identity, resistance, and the human body. Ito's practice is rooted in Nihonga, a classical Japanese painting technique using mineral pigments and sumi ink on washi paper or silk, which she blends with contemporary subject matter. A highlight is the installation 'Flowers Blooming in Defiance of the Bombs,' previously shown in Spain and reimagined for the Indian context. The exhibition is supported by Galerie Geek Art, which aims to connect Asian contemporary artists with Indian audiences.

In an exhibition in Naples it is possible to get lost without urgency in an unstable balance. The review

In una mostra a Napoli è possibile perdersi senza urgenza in un equilibrio instabile. La recensione

The exhibition "A Gentle Collapse," curated by Marta Ferrara at Andrea Nuovo Home Gallery in Naples, explores the contemporary psychic state through a spatial and perceptual construction. Featuring works in photography, painting, engraving, and installation, the show creates a sense of instability, with meaning emerging gradually through shifts between familiar and altered forms. Artists include Dorottya Vékony, Matteo Silverii, Flora Villaumié, and Zoë Pelikan, whose works engage with themes of genetic engineering, serial accumulation, and subtle disorientation across two gallery levels.

Parkville exhibit celebrates 99-year-old artist who began drawing later in life

Nita Draut, a 99-year-old artist who began drawing at age 70, is being honored with a new exhibition at Fusion Art Gallery in Parkville. Staff at Ascend Healthcare noticed her graphite drawings and helped organize the show as she approaches her 100th birthday while receiving hospice care. Draut sketches people she encounters in everyday life, often asking strangers for permission to draw them.