Frieze New York Kicks Off with Seven-Figure Sales and High Energy: ‘It’s a Fiesta’

Frieze New York kicked off its preview day at the Shed in Manhattan with strong sales and high energy, as many attendees arrived fresh from the Venice Biennale. Galleries reported brisk presales and early placements, with White Cube selling major works by El Anatsui and Antony Gormley for seven-figure sums, and other dealers like James Cohan Gallery nearly selling out their booths. Collectors, advisors, and celebrities including Anderson Cooper, Michael Stipe, and Leonardo DiCaprio were spotted, while the Brooklyn Museum made acquisitions through the new Sherman Family Foundation Acquisition Fund.

Wet Paint Does Frieze Week: The Dinosaur Dealer Downtown, David Zwirner Tribeca, and More Juicy Art-World Gossip

Artnet News' gossip column 'Wet Paint' covers the opening week of Frieze New York, beginning with the group show 'Statics of an Egg' at David Zwirner's newly renamed Tribeca gallery (formerly 52 Walker). Curated by Martin Germann, the exhibition features Japanese artists gathered by Yu Nishimura and Kenji Ide, with Nishimura's painting 'in waiting' highlighted. The column also reports on a private party at the River art-world hangout and a visit to Amanita gallery for 'A Land Before Time: Three Dinosaurs and a Gondola,' which includes a John Chamberlain sculpture. Notable attendees include artists Sasha Gordon, Olivia van Kuiken, Calvin Marcus, and Josh Smith, as well as dealers Marlene Zwirner and Matthew Brown.

Borghese Gallery Faces Pushback Over New Building Plan

The Borghese Gallery in Rome has proposed building an adjacent facility to expand its exhibition space and increase visitor capacity beyond the current limit of 360 people per two-hour slot. The museum, which welcomed over 630,000 visitors in 2025, argues the expansion is needed to display works long held in storage. A press conference is scheduled for May 19 to provide further details.

Venice Biennale 2026 Highlights: Off-Site Exhibitions

ArtReview editors highlight off-site pavilions and exhibitions at the 61st Venice Biennale, running from 9 May through 22 November 2026. Featured works include Li Yi-Fan's film *Screen Melancholy* at Palazzo delle Prigioni, which uses motion capture and a free-trial videogame engine to explore digital alienation and the 'enshittosphere,' and Roberto Diago's installation *Free Men* at the Pavilion of Cuban Republic, comprising rusted iron heads, fragmented wooden figures, and text works critiquing political oppression in Cuba.

New York Is About to Sell $3 Billion in Art. Who’s Buying?

Vanity Fair's Nate Freeman reports on New York's spring art season, where auction houses are poised to sell at least $2.6 billion in art alongside major museum exhibitions (Raphael at the Met, Duchamp at MoMA, Matisse at Acquavella) and the opening of Frieze New York at The Shed. The article follows the social and commercial frenzy, highlighting a David Shrigley gong installation at Anton Kern Gallery's booth and the enduring dominance of New York, where nearly 90% of U.S. art sales occur.

5 very different art fairs throughout two days in New York City

The article reports on five distinct art fairs—Frieze, NADA, Independent, 1-54, and Esther III—visited during New York Art Fair Week. It highlights key artists and works, including Kelly Tapia-Chuning's deconstructed serapes at NADA, Esaí Alfredo's queer nighttime paintings, Alex Burke's textile dolls at 1-54, and Laetitia KY's photographic self-sculpture. The fairs collectively emphasized themes of environmentalism, globalism, decolonization, and a growing textiles sector, with curation varying widely from commercial to conceptually driven.

With more than 3,000 participating institutions, the European Night of Museums returns this Saturday, May 23

Avec plus de 3 000 institutions participantes, la Nuit européenne des musées revient ce samedi 23 mai

The 22nd edition of the European Night of Museums returns on Saturday, May 23, with over 3,000 institutions across France and Europe opening their doors free of charge from late afternoon. Many museums are offering special activities such as concerts, performances, games, guided tours, and walks. The youth program "La classe, l'œuvre!" will again involve primary, middle, and high school students acting as mediators for artworks they studied throughout the year. Highlights include exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou-Metz dedicated to François Morellet and Louise Nevelson, a concert at Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle's Cyclop in Milly-la-Forêt, a dance performance by Korean artist Eun-Me Ahn at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris, and exhibitions at museums in Tours, Vernon, Rouen, and Sète, as well as a Brazilian ball at the Château des ducs de Bretagne in Nantes.

DOZIE KANU’S FIRST FORAY INTO MASS-PRODUCTION

Artist Dozie Kanu has debuted his first mass-production collaboration with Knoll, a line of leather-tasseled tables launched in 2026 during Milan's Salone del Mobile, shortly after the opening of his solo exhibition at Fondazione ICA Milano. The Texas-born, Portugal-based artist, who first appeared in PIN–UP magazine in 2018 as an emerging design wunderkind, has since expanded his practice beyond collectible design into art, exhibition-making, film, and music. His recent projects include a documentary short screened at South by Southwest, a two-person exhibition with László Moholy-Nagy at Meyer Voggenreiter's project space piece*unique in Cologne, and a solo show at ICA Milano that dialogues with Marc Camille Chaimowicz and Jean Cocteau, featuring works alongside selections from the Nicoletta Fiorucci Foundation collection.

More than 70 Venice Biennale artists withdraw from awards

More than 70 artists participating in the 2025 Venice Biennale have withdrawn from consideration for the Golden Lion awards, which this year will be decided by public vote. The artists, including Walid Raad, Laurie Anderson, and Yto Barrada, signed a statement published on e-flux on May 9, withdrawing in solidarity with the entire prize jury that resigned last month over a dispute regarding the participation of Israel and Russia. The Biennale management replaced the traditional jury-selected awards with a new "Visitor Lion" system where ticket holders can vote, but the Biennale has acknowledged that if any of the withdrawing artists win, they will not collect the award.

FAD News: Trevor Paglen to co-curate Zero 10 at Art Basel Basel 2026.

Art Basel 2026 has announced that artist Trevor Paglen will co-curate the latest edition of Zero 10, the fair's global initiative dedicated to digital art, alongside digital art strategist Eli Scheinman. Making its debut at Art Basel's flagship Swiss edition, Zero 10 will take over the Event Hall on Messeplatz from June 17–21, 2026, with a Preview Day on June 16. The expanded presentation will feature 19 exhibitors showcasing artists working at the forefront of digital, generative, and media-based practices, and is themed "The Condition," examining life within algorithmic systems and AI. Highlights include works by Hito Steyerl, Avery Singer, Andreas Gursky, Vera Molnar, Ryoji Ikeda, John Gerrard, and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, presented by galleries such as Hauser & Wirth, Marian Goodman Gallery, Sprüth Magers, Esther Schipper, Almine Rech, bitforms gallery, Art Blocks, and HEK (Haus der Elektronischen Künste).

MFAH's blockbuster modern art exhibit and 7 more openings in Houston this month

The article highlights eight major art exhibitions and events opening in Houston in May 2025, including the U.S. debut of "Picasso–Klee–Matisse: Masterpieces from the Museum Berggruen" at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), which features works by Picasso, Klee, Matisse, and Giacometti. Other notable events include the "Freedom Plane National Tour" of founding-era documents at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the 20th Annual Empty Bowls fundraiser at Silver Street Studios, and "No Longer, Not Yet" by Marisol Valencia at Art League, which uses materials from a migrant shelter. The article also mentions shows at CAMH, Moody Art Center, and Sawyer Yards.

Exhibition | Paul P., 'The Fugitive Marvels of Sunset' at Maureen Paley, London, United Kingdom

Maureen Paley presents *The Fugitive Marvels of Sunset*, the fifth solo exhibition of Canadian artist Paul P. at the gallery. The show features his signature portraits of anonymous young men, sourced from gay erotic magazines from the late 1960s to early 1980s, alongside paintings of bats, laundry, and seascapes that explore twilight and threshold moments. The exhibition draws on coded visual languages from Victorian-era dandies and post-Stonewall culture, with works also included from a recent two-person show at KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin.

Art in Chicago: A Guide for Collectors, Curators and the Curious

This article introduces a comprehensive guide to Chicago's art world, published by a local outlet. The guide features multiple sections exploring the city's art history, key institutions, and lesser-known venues, including feature stories on the Hyde Park Art Center, the Arts Club of Chicago, the National Museum of Mexican Art, the South Side Community Art Center, the Renaissance Society, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. It also includes a massive 22-page "Art Geography" directory of museums, nonprofits, galleries, and alternative spaces, written by seasoned art critics. The editor, Brian Hieggelke, acknowledges the daunting task of covering a hometown art scene after forty years, but aims to provide both a resource for newcomers and fresh insights for longtime locals.

Sarah Lucas Unveils VENUS VICTORIA at the New Museum’s Bowery Plaza

The New Museum has unveiled "VENUS VICTORIA," a new public sculpture by British artist Sarah Lucas, inaugurating the museum's outdoor plaza at the junction of Bowery and Prince Street in downtown Manhattan. The sculpture, which features Lucas's signature Bunny figure seated atop a giant washing machine, was selected by an all-artist jury including Teresita Fernández, Joan Jonas, Julie Mehretu, Cindy Sherman, and Kiki Smith. It opens on May 12, 2026, and will remain on view for two years as the first of five commissions dedicated to public sculpture by women artists.

Exhibition | RonNAGLE, 'Phantom Banter' at Gio Marconi, Milan, Italy

Gió Marconi Gallery in Milan, Italy, is presenting 'Ron Nagle. Phantom Banter,' the first solo exhibition in Italy dedicated to West Coast sculptor Ron Nagle. The show features eleven ceramic sculptures produced between 2024 and 2026, along with recent drawings, highlighting Nagle's refined small-scale works and his process of translating drawings into three-dimensional objects. Nagle, born in 1939 in San Francisco, apprenticed with Peter Voulkos in the 1960s and became a key figure in the California Clay Movement, influenced by artists like Ken Price.

For Carly Glovinski, Art and Gardening Grow Side by Side

Maine artist Carly Glovinski has opened "Into the Garden," her third solo exhibition with New York's Morgan Lehman Gallery. The show explores gardening as a parallel practice to art-making, inspired by her residency at Surf Point in southern Maine, where she discovered the overgrown grounds of Wild Knoll, the former home of author May Sarton. Glovinski planted a community garden there, the Wild Knoll Foundation Garden, and the experience led her to return to painting after a two-decade hiatus, creating acrylic works that express the experience of gardening rather than traditional landscapes.

Inside Frieze New York 2026: The Best Booths and Standout Moments of the Art Fair

Frieze New York 2026 opened at the Shed in Hudson Yards, drawing a record crowd of collectors, artists, and celebrities on preview day. The fair featured over 65 international galleries, with a strong presence of Latin American artists and a notable shift toward textile-based works, sculpture, and paper pieces. Highlights included the Ruinart Art Lounge with preparatory studies by Tadashi Kawamata, and the Focus section spotlighting emerging galleries. Notable attendees included Leonardo DiCaprio, gallerist Almine Rech, and Sotheby's senior vice president Ralph DeLuca.

A new wing to solve the problems of the Galleria Borghese in Rome. Beautiful challenge, tedious controversy

Una nuova ala per risolvere i problemi della Galleria Borghese a Roma. Bella sfida, stucchevoli polemiche

The Galleria Borghese in Rome, one of Italy's most extraordinary museums, faces significant accessibility and capacity issues due to its historic 17th-century structure. The museum is difficult for visitors with disabilities, overcrowded, and forces visitors to book far in advance—often waiting over a month for a time slot—while many masterpieces remain in storage. In 2025, the engineering firm Proger offered to sponsor a feasibility study for a new wing, contributing nearly 900,000 euros to fund an international architecture competition and a technical-economic feasibility plan. The study, currently underway, aims to explore whether a new annex can be built within the protected Villa Borghese park to create new entrances, exhibition spaces, and services.

Mario Schifano in mostra a Roma, non solo a Palazzo delle Esposizioni. Alla Galleria Lombardi il pittore che sapeva osservare

A major retrospective of Mario Schifano (1934–1998) continues at Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome through May 27, showcasing over 100 works from his entire career—from early informal and material pieces to the first monochromes of the 1960s, TV Landscapes, oversized 1980s paintings, and 1990s works. Concurrently, a smaller exhibition titled "Mario Schifano | Io guardo" is on view until May 16, 2026, at Galleria Lombardi in Rome. Curated by Lorenzo and Enrico Lombardi, it features about twenty works spanning thirty years of the artist's activity, including monochromes, advertising signs, anemical landscapes, the Futurism revisited cycle, equestrian paintings, and chromatic materials of the 1990s. The show is accompanied by a catalog with a critical text by Silvia Pegoraro.

The End-of-Term Grand Interview with Stefano Boeri After 8 Years as President of Triennale di Milano

La grande intervista di fine mandato a Stefano Boeri dopo 8 anni da presidente della Triennale di Milano

Stefano Boeri reflects on his eight-year tenure as president of Triennale Milano in a wide-ranging exit interview. He discusses the institution's transformation into a more international and accessible cultural hub, highlighting key achievements such as the three major International Exhibitions—"Broken Nature" (2019), "Unknown Unknowns" (2022), and "Inequalities" (2025)—and the physical reclamation of spaces like the "Cuore" hall and the garden-level floor, which were opened free to the public. Boeri also touches on financial management, governance challenges, and his hopes for the future leadership.

LACMA Director Michael Govan ’85 talks museum architecture, public art, mounds of dirt

Michael Govan, director of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and a 1985 graduate of Williams College, discussed his career and philosophy in an interview with the Williams Record. Govan reflected on his early work at the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA), where he helped install pieces in Lawrence Hall after an expansion by architect Charles Moore, and his subsequent collaborations with Frank Gehry on the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and Zaha Hadid at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. He also highlighted his recent oversight of LACMA's new David Geffen Galleries, a $720 million project that has drawn significant attention.

The Cape Ann Museum’s Newest Exhibition, Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea, Coincides With the Reopening of the Museum’s Main Campus

The Cape Ann Museum has opened a landmark exhibition titled "Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea," featuring 82 works by Milton Avery, Adolph Gottlieb, and Mark Rothko. The show explores the artists' formative summers on Cape Ann in the 1930s and '40s, where they escaped New York City and developed a deep artistic camaraderie. The exhibition coincides with the reopening of the museum's main campus after 20 months of renovations, and will travel to The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. in October—the first time a Cape Ann Museum-organized exhibition tours to a national museum.

Australian Sculptor Ron Mueck Returns to Tokyo

A major retrospective of Australian sculptor Ron Mueck has opened at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, featuring eleven of his meticulously crafted figurative works, including the Japan premiere of 'Mass' (100 giant human skulls). The exhibition, co-organized by the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, travels to Tokyo after stops in Paris, Milan, and Seoul, and includes iconic pieces such as 'Woman with Sticks' and 'Angel', the latter installed on the museum's 53rd floor overlooking the city.

Venice in Crisis Mode

Venedig im Krisenmodus

The 61st Venice Biennale has opened under extraordinary circumstances, marked by political protests, a jury resignation, and canceled awards. The Biennale's jury resigned en masse after announcing they would exclude Israeli and Russian contributions from their decisions, leading to the cancellation of the Golden Lion awards and a crisis over the international competition's legitimacy. A newly introduced audience prize also faced boycotts from artists in solidarity. Protests, closed pavilions, and pro-Palestinian actions dominated the preview days, with artists pasting protest posters directly onto their works, reflecting heightened tensions.

LILIA CARRILLO IN NEW YORK THE MEXICAN PAINTER WHO WAS AHEAD OF HER TIME

Americas Society in New York has opened "Lilia Carrillo: Ruptures and Premonitions," curated by Tobias Ostrander. The exhibition presents 24 paintings by Mexican artist Lilia Carrillo (1930–1974), created between 1961 and 1974, alongside archival materials. It introduces Carrillo to New York audiences as a key figure of the Generación de la Ruptura, a postwar movement that broke with Mexican muralism in favor of abstraction. The show highlights her experimental techniques—carving and scraping paint, embedding fabric and paper—and her engagement with mortality, Surrealism, and political turmoil, including the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre.

Political Fallout Rocks Venice Biennale Prize System

Dozens of artists participating in the 2026 Venice Biennale have withdrawn from consideration for the newly created Visitor Lion awards, replacing the traditional Gold and Silver Lion prizes. A total of 57 artists from the main exhibition and 22 national pavilions signed a statement published on e-flux on May 9, acting in solidarity with the five-person prize jury that resigned on April 30 over the continued participation of Russia and Israel. The jury had objected to awarding prizes to artists from countries whose leaders face International Criminal Court charges, including Russian president Vladimir Putin and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In response, the Biennale organizers postponed the awards ceremony to November 22 and introduced visitor voting, a move they described as consistent with openness and dialogue. Meanwhile, the Russian Pavilion, which returned after lending its space to Bolivia in 2024, faced protests, closure after previews, and a €2 million funding pull by the European Union for the 2028 Biennale.

Putin ‘Won’ the Venice Biennale, Quips Italian Culture Minister

Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin "won" the 2024 Venice Biennale, criticizing Russia's controversial return to the event. Giuli, who repeatedly denounced Russia's presence, told Corriere della Sera that Russian artists in the pavilion cannot express dissent against their regime. The Biennale faced widespread calls to remove Russia, with the EU threatening to withhold a €2 million grant, but organizers argued they lacked legal authority to exclude the country. Protests by Pussy Riot and FEMEN marked the pavilion's opening, while the Biennale's jury resigned en masse after announcing that nations charged with crimes against humanity would be ineligible for Golden Lions.

Billboards celebrating peace will arrive in L.A. as part of the Broad's Yoko Ono exhibit

Yoko Ono will install seven digital billboards across Los Angeles bearing peace messages like "THINK PEACE" and "IMAGINE PEACE," as part of her upcoming exhibition "Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind" at the Broad museum opening May 23. The billboards echo her 1969 "WAR IS OVER!" campaign with John Lennon. Ancillary programming includes re-creations of her performance works "Cut Piece" (1964) and "Sky Piece to Jesus Christ" (1965), plus a concert series "Yoko Only" guest-curated by Yuka Honda featuring Yo La Tengo, Nels Cline, Sleater-Kinney, and others.

The Swiss Collector Building a Massive Trove of Chinese Art

Swiss businessman and former diplomat Uli Sigg has spent over three decades assembling one of the largest private collections of contemporary Chinese art, comprising thousands of works. Artist Ai Weiwei has referred to Sigg as “my maker,” highlighting the collector’s pivotal role in promoting Chinese contemporary art on the global stage.

‘Monochrome’ at the Seattle Art Museum bridges contemporary art between decades

The Seattle Art Museum's new exhibition, 'Monochrome: Calder and Tara Donovan,' opened May 13, pairing works by mid-20th-century American artist Alexander Calder with newly developed pieces by contemporary artist Tara Donovan. Curated by Catharina Manchanda, the show features Calder's iconic mobile 'Jacaranda' and his massive 'Mountains' stabiles alongside Donovan's site-specific works like 'Transplanted,' a slab of layered roofing tiles, and other pieces made from slinkys, mylar, and stir sticks. Donovan's process emphasizes letting materials dictate form, creating contrasts in mass and movement while engaging with the gallery space.