For Fashion Iconoclast Iris van Herpen, ‘Nature Is the Best Artist’

The Brooklyn Museum has opened "Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses," a major exhibition surveying two decades of the Dutch designer's avant-garde fashion. Curated by Matthew Yokobosky and Imani Williford, the show features over 140 of van Herpen's biomorphic couture pieces, including designs worn by Lady Gaga and Björk, alongside works by contemporary artists like Agostino Arrivabene and Tara Donovan. The exhibition, which originated at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 2023, highlights van Herpen's use of cutting-edge technology such as 3D printing and magnetic sculpting, as well as her deep inspiration from natural phenomena like fossils, coral, and water.

‘It smells like my ranch!’ Diva of dirt Delcy Morelos and her amazing 30-tonne earthworks

The article profiles Colombian artist Delcy Morelos and her immersive earthwork installations, focusing on two major works: 'The Womb Space' in Mexico City, which has drawn over 60,000 visitors in its final month, and 'Origo', a new 24-metre-wide outdoor pavilion opening at the Barbican in London. Morelos creates vast soil sculptures sourced from specific regions, evoking sensory experiences of smell, touch, and memory, and invites visitors to contemplate their connection to the earth. The piece includes her reflections on Andean cosmovision, the sacredness of nature, and her 14-year artistic inquiry into soil as a humble yet life-sustaining material.

Several Eternities in a Day: Form in the Age of Living Materials

The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles presents "Several Eternities in a Day: Form in the Age of Living Materials," a spring 2026 exhibition running from April 5 to August 23. Curated by Jill Spalding, the show features works by artists including Edgar Calel, Guadalupe Maravilla, Carmen Argote, and others, exploring the concept of "Brownness"—a fluid identity rooted in ancestral memory, animal kinship, and a profound connection to living materials. The exhibition is organized into three acts: large-scale installations, paintings and works on paper, and ceramics, offering a visceral and immersive experience that draws on precolonial traditions across the Americas.

Exhibition | Janet Laurence, 'Once Were Forests' at Cassandra Bird, Paris, France

Cassandra Bird Paris, supported by Zimmermann, presents 'Once Were Forests,' an immersive solo exhibition by Australian artist Janet Laurence. The show features a major installation alongside new sculptures, paintings, and photographs that explore ice, forest, and water as carriers of time, memory, and life. Soundscapes from Australian forests and birdsong deepen the sensory experience, inviting visitors into a contemplative space where ancient ecologies, present nature, and possible futures converge.

Bubbles, Algae, and Plastics Go Haute Couture in ‘Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses’

The Brooklyn Museum is opening a new edition of 'Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses,' building on a 2023 retrospective at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. The exhibition features over 140 haute couture designs by Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen, known for merging high-tech materials like laser-cut Plexiglas with biological elements such as glowing algae and plastic bubbles. It includes recent collections like 'Sympoiesis' and works by artists including Kenny Nguyen, Wim Delvoye, and Tara Donovan, alongside a soundscape by Salvador Breed. The show runs from May 16 to December 6.

Ayan Farah and Asmaa Jama on Representing Somalia at the 61st Venice Biennale

Ayan Farah and Asmaa Jama, two of the three artists representing Somalia at the 61st Venice Biennale (2026), discuss their plans for the national pavilion in an interview with ArtReview. Farah will present an installation of large-scale embroidered landscape paintings using clay pigment sourced from Somalia and shell-derived pigment from Scotland, alongside silk paintings exploring time and nature. Jama will focus on the Somali poetry form saddexleey, creating a sensorial experience through moving image, installation, and visual artworks that draw on magical realism and cinematic surrealism. The pavilion is located in the Palazzo Caboto, and the third representative is poet Warsan Shire.

The best and worst we saw at the Venice Art Biennale 2026. Artribune's hits and flops

Il meglio e il peggio che abbiamo visto alla Biennale d’Arte di Venezia 2026. Top e flop di Artribune

The 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys" and directed by Koyo Kouoh, opened amid significant turmoil: the death of a newly appointed curator, diplomatic tensions over the presence of Russia and Israel, political protests, and the unprecedented collective resignation of the jury, which led to the Golden Lions being awarded by public vote for the first time. Despite this chaotic backdrop, the exhibition—featuring a record 100 national pavilions—has been widely praised for avoiding moralistic pedagogy and instead embracing visual seduction, formal quality, and sensory joy while addressing themes of identity, memory, colonialism, ecological crisis, and violence. The article highlights top and flop moments from the opening week, including strong showings by Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco and a standout exhibition at Fondazione Prada.

Jes Chen Makes a Knock at the Door Feel Like an Accusation

London-based artist Jes Chen presents "Occupied" (2026), an interactive installation that strips AI technology down to a knock sensor, a screen, and a live AI system. Viewers knock on a door-like interface and receive varied responses—defensive, evasive, or silence—generated in real time. The work draws from Chen's childhood memory of having her bedroom door lock removed, transforming privacy and vulnerability into a behavioral system. Recent presentations at the London Design Festival, Edinburgh Fringe, and Generative Art Conference 2025 have showcased Chen's restrained, psychologically charged approach to AI art.

Two Shows, One Desert: “Desert Rinpa” & “Wander” at EPMA

Two concurrent exhibitions at the El Paso Museum of Art explore the Southwestern desert through distinct artistic lenses. "Desert Rinpa" presents Mitsumasa Overstreet's large-scale panels that blend Chihuahuan Desert flora with the classical Japanese Rinpa tradition, using techniques like tarashikomi and metallic leaf to evoke desert light. Upstairs, "Suzi Davidoff: Wander" features nearly 100 works from 1991 to the present, including drawings, prints, and installations made with natural materials like dirt, clay, and charcoal gathered from wildfire sites, emphasizing the physical presence of the desert itself.

In Venice, Wallace Chan’s Titanium Sculptures Offer Introspection and Reckoning

Wallace Chan, a Chinese sculptor and gem master, has opened a new exhibition titled “Vessels of Other Worlds” at the Chapel of Santa Maria della Pietà in Venice during the 61st Venice Biennale. The show features large-scale titanium sculptures that explore themes of life cycles, mortality, and introspection, with the artist drawing inspiration from the sounds of the city, including Vivaldi’s music from a neighboring church. Chan, who has presented works at two previous biennials in Venice, also marks his 70th birthday this year with a concurrent show at Shanghai’s Long Museum in July.

TUNGA S YO VOS Y LA LUNA MAKES ITS EUROPEAN DEBUT

Collegium has presented the installation *Yo, vos y la luna* by Brazilian artist Tunga (1952–2016) for the first time in Europe. The work, part of the Sarina Tang collection, was previously shown at MALBA in Buenos Aires and MAM in São Paulo. It is now installed in the Iglesia de San Miguel de Arévalo in Ávila, Spain, where it will be on view until 18 October 2026. The piece incorporates stones, mirrors, glass, plaster, resin, suspended structures, and a fossilized tree trunk, with sensory elements including dripping amber essence and bronze finger fragments.

Artist Murari Jha sculpts memory and home in his New Delhi exhibition

Artist Murari Jha presents *The Future of Nostalgia*, a solo exhibition at Nature Morte in New Delhi, running through May 17, 2026. The show features abstract sculptures in stone, bronze, wood, brass, aluminum, and synthetic putty that explore themes of home, migration, memory, and belonging. A live durational performance is scheduled for May 16, with Jha describing the gallery as a stage and his sculptures as performative objects. The works are deliberately untitled to invite viewers to become co-creators of meaning.

A sonic tribute to the act of speech on New York City’s Roosevelt Island

Sound artist Hans Rosenström has launched a site-specific sound installation titled "Out of Silence" at Four Freedoms Park on New York City's Roosevelt Island, running until 21 June. The multi-speaker work features layered voices sung by the Estonian choir Vox Clamantis, arranged across four sections of the park as an homage to Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1941 Four Freedoms speech. Rosenström, a Finnish artist based in Stockholm, developed the project during an International Studio & Curatorial Program residency in New York in 2024, after being approached by Latvian curator Alina Girshovich to mark the 90th birthday of composer Arvo Pärt. The park's memorial to FDR was designed by architect Louis Kahn, who was born in Estonia and benefited from New Deal programs.

Morton Contemporary Gallery exhibition will combine art, music and light

Morton Contemporary Gallery in Philadelphia will open “Alchemy: The Sound of Color,” a new exhibition combining painting, music and light, on Saturday, June 6. The show is a collaboration between Los Angeles artist Donna Isham and Emmy and Grammy-winning composer Mark Isham, marking their first exhibition in Philadelphia. It will feature large-scale installations that blend Donna Isham’s paintings with original music, animation and light effects, alongside additional paintings. The opening reception runs from 6 to 8 p.m. on June 6, is free and open to the public, and includes wine and a chance to meet the artists.

Serakai Studio unveils dreamedcore, a multi-sensorial exhibition exploring digital nostalgia in Hong Kong

Serakai Studio presents 'dreamedcore', its second exhibition at GOLD in Hong Kong's Wong Chuk Hang district, running from June 6 to August 1. Curated by Shirley Lau and Tobias Berge, the show blends an art exhibition, concept store, and runway format to explore digital-age nostalgia through the lens of 'dreamcore' aesthetics—drawing on 1990s and early 2000s visual textures. Featuring 22 emerging multi-disciplinary artists and creative practitioners from across Asia, including Li Shuang, Wong Ping, and Peng Ke, the exhibition is divided into two chapters: 'The Lure' and 'The Twist', with a central runway stage, ambient lighting, and a mini cinema screening a video by Wong Ping.

iris van herpen's colossal body of intricate work on view at the brooklyn museum

Iris van Herpen's exhibition "Iris Van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses" opens at the Brooklyn Museum from May 16 to December 6, 2026, featuring over 140 haute couture creations alongside contemporary art, design objects, and natural history specimens. The show, previewed by designboom, is organized around natural themes from water to planetary scale, with the Dutch designer leading a walkthrough that emphasized her inspirations from micro and macro worlds and her process of turning material experiments into wearable sculptures.

Dataland AI museum unveils olfactory art experience

Dataland, the world's first museum of AI arts, has partnered with L'Oréal Luxe to create an olfactory art experience for its inaugural exhibition, *Machine Dreams: Rainforest*. Co-founded by Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkılıç, the museum opens on 20 June in downtown Los Angeles. L'Oréal Luxe has developed 12 unique 'olfactive imprints' that will be diffused through smart devices, responding to artworks and visitor presence. The scents, including 'Scent of Rain' and 'Scent of Data', are drawn from Anadol's Large Nature Model, an open-source AI system based on data from 16 rainforests worldwide. The exhibition runs through 31 January 2027.

kazakhstan pavilion turns silence into a sensory landscape at venice biennale

Kazakhstan presents its third national pavilion at the Venice Biennale, titled 'Qoñyr Äulie: Immersion into Quiet Depths' by artist Ardak Mukanova. The exhibition, called 'Qoñyr: the Archive of Silence,' is housed at the Museo Storico Navale near the Arsenale entrance and transforms silence into a sensory landscape.

Two photographers tried to tell Tuscany beyond the usual clichés

Due fotografi hanno provato a raccontare la Toscana oltre i soliti cliché

The article profiles photographers Gioconda Rafanelli and August Kaciuruba, who are contributing to the "How Italy Feels" project curated by Marina Serena Cacciapuoti and Cesare Cacciapuoti of Italy Segreta. The project involves twenty local photographers capturing Italy beyond stereotypes. In the Tuscany chapter, Rafanelli and Kaciuruba present a lived, off-duty vision of the region, blending fashion, architecture, and cinematic influences. They discuss their collaborative process, their shared gaze, and how their work shifts between the fast pace of Milan and the slower rhythms of Tuscany, drawing inspiration from filmmakers like Wong Kar-wai, Stanley Kubrick, Luchino Visconti, and Michelangelo Antonioni.

DE AZAMBUJA S FOUNDATION INTERVENTION AND REFLECTION AT LA CASA ENCENDIDA

La Casa Encendida in Madrid has opened "Fundación," a site-specific sculptural installation by Brazilian artist Marlon de Azambuja. The work transforms one of the building's central towers into a walk-through sculpture, curated by Bruno Leitão. Using materials and gestures that modify existing architecture, the installation explores the concept of "founding" as a search for foundational knowledge, questioning divisions between reason and sensation while positioning the exhibition space as an experiential environment. The piece is on view until September 27, 2026.

Who is the new Minister of Culture in Hungary in the first post-Orbán government? The profile of Zoltán Tarr

Chi è il nuovo Ministro della Cultura in Ungheria nel primo governo post-Orbán? Il profilo di Zoltán Tarr

Zoltán Tarr è stato nominato Ministro delle Relazioni Sociali e della Cultura nel primo governo post-Orbán in Ungheria, guidato dal nuovo Primo Ministro Peter Magyar. Tarr, 52 anni, ex pastore della Chiesa riformata ungherese ed europarlamentare per il PPE, ha promesso di ripristinare la libertà d'espressione e smantellare il sistema di favoritismi politici nella cultura, dopo 16 anni di governo autoritario di Viktor Orbán.

Three exhibitions set to open at Hunterdon Art Museum

The Hunterdon Art Museum in New Jersey will open three new exhibitions on May 17, 2025. The shows include a solo exhibition of figurative painter Emily Strong, featuring large-scale realist oil paintings that explore identity and relationships; “Claybash,” the museum’s second triennial juried ceramics exhibition curated by Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy; and “Mindscapes,” a retrospective of 60 years of work by 93-year-old New Jersey artist Bascha Mon, whose recent pieces are inspired by the music of composer Olivier Messiaen.

The Biennale and the Weight of Flags. What Is the Point of National Pavilions?

La Biennale e il peso delle bandiere. Che senso hanno i padiglioni nazionali?

The article examines the inherent contradiction within the Venice Biennale: its historical structure of national pavilions, a legacy of 19th-century world fairs and state-sponsored art, clashes with the transnational, post-identity vision of the international exhibition curated by Koyo Kouoh. The return of the Russia Pavilion amid geopolitical conflict and the international show titled "In Minor Keys," which rejects national belonging as an interpretive criterion, highlight this tension. The piece also addresses the controversy over the lack of Italian artists in the main exhibition, questioning whether a Biennale hosted in Italy should guarantee national representation.

Immersive Art Exhibition Coming to Porsche Studio Portland

Porsche Studio Portland in the Pearl District is hosting a summer-long immersive art exhibition titled 'Shifting Realities,' running from June 4 to August 31. Created by Kelly Max and Aleks Davidovich of Portland's OWOW Inc., the exhibition features interactive rooms where visitors can paint a Porsche 911 with gestures, visualize engine sounds, and race in a simulator, with a robot arm serving Porsche-themed macarons at a flavor bar. The experience takes about 100 minutes and is open to all ages.