2 exhibits at Portland Museum of Art show off photography, decorative arts

The Portland Museum of Art (PMA) is presenting two concurrent exhibitions: "Ming Smith: Jazz Requiem — Notations in Blue" (through June 7) and "Precious: The Value of Ornament" (through July 19). The Ming Smith exhibition showcases the pioneering Black photographer's emotive, manipulated images, including jazz club scenes and portraits, drawn from the museum's collection and loans from The Gund at Kenyon College. The decorative arts exhibition highlights the value of ornament in applied arts.

« La Boule » de Villeroy & Boch : l’art explosif et pop du pique-nique

Villeroy & Boch, the historic German porcelain manufacturer founded in 1748, launched "La Boule" ("Die Kugel") in 1971—a stackable 19-piece porcelain dinner service for four that compacts into a colorful decorative sphere. Designed by Helen von Boch, the eighth-generation family director, the set was part of a pop-design wave and came in original color variants that have since become collectors' items. The article also highlights related designs like the "La Bomba" picnic cutlery set (1968) and melamine set (1972), both held by MoMA, and notes Villeroy & Boch's collaborations with artists such as Keith Haring, Paloma Picasso, and Luigi Colani.

Frieze New York will Open With 68 Galleries from 26 Countries, and Other News.

Frieze New York will open on May 13, 2026, at The Shed with 68 galleries from 26 countries, marking its 15th edition. The fair emphasizes Central and South American galleries, supported by new committee members Fátima González and Omayra Alvarado, alongside blue-chip exhibitors like Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, and Pace. In other news, Phillips set a watch auction record with its $96.3 million Geneva sale, the Met Gala generated $1.56 billion in media value, and ICFF announced a November 2027 edition. Tiffany & Co. and the CFDA launched a new jewelry design scholarship.

Michael Garner Explores Truth, Systems & Constructed Reality

Michael Garner, an artist with a background spanning social science and intelligence work, creates immersive works that blend science, espionage, philosophy, and absurdity. His recent exhibitions include a show at the Bomb Factory Art Foundation featuring a vending machine dispensing mock classified information, and a presentation at the Austrian Cultural Forum London exploring his newly acquired Austrian citizenship through neural pathway paintings in the colors of the Austrian flag.

Close encounters: the new wave of women photographers – in pictures

The Saltzman-Leibovitz photography prize, founded in 2025 by Lisa Saltzman and Annie Leibovitz, announces its winners and runners-up for 2026. Bolivian photographer Marisol Mendez wins for her series 'MADRE,' which challenges patriarchal representations of women in Bolivia through portraits of matriarchs and references to the Inca moon goddess. Runner-up Miranda Barnes documents African American debutante cotillions in Detroit, while other featured photographers include Bettina Pittaluga and Cole Ndelu, whose works explore body diversity and the fusion of Zulu cosmology with Catholicism. The exhibition runs at Photo London, Olympia, 13–17 May 2026.

Matthias Grolier nommé à la tête de France Muséums

Matthias Grolier, former chief of staff to Laurence des Cars at the Louvre, has been appointed director general of France Muséums, succeeding Hervé Barbaret after two consecutive three-year terms. The agency, created in 2007 from a Franco-Emirati agreement, oversees the Louvre Abu Dhabi partnership and coordinates contributions from 21 partner institutions including the Louvre, Centre Pompidou, Musée d'Orsay, BNF, and Quai Branly. Grolier brings a background in international business law and government advisory roles, though he has never led a heritage institution or museum.

‘Your homes will be destroyed, your family killed’: the US has dropped millions of war propaganda leaflets – but do they work?

The United States military has been dropping propaganda leaflets in psychological operations (psyops) for over a century, from World War I through the Gulf War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A new interactive exhibit at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn, organized by the digital archive group Khajistan, displays hundreds of these leaflets, including those dropped on Japan during World War II and in more recent conflicts. However, declassified internal documents, such as a 1971 US Air Force report, reveal that leaflets were often used as toilet paper, cigarette rolling paper, or souvenirs by enemy soldiers, undermining the official narrative of their effectiveness.

WeWork (oralmoral)

The article reviews "WeWork (oralmoral)," a temporary exhibition at The Gallery in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, curated by artist-turned-curator Florian Meisenberg. The show transforms a former office space into a free-form, non-hierarchical environment where works by over a dozen artists are placed unpredictably—in trash bins, closets, ventilation shafts, and on whiteboards left by the previous tenant. Artists span three generations, from Post-Minimal figures like B. Wurtz and David Humphrey to younger digital-savvy artists such as Lucas Blalock and Anna K.E., whose sound piece "Tamada" greets visitors. The exhibition runs from April 10 to May 18, 2026.

Sandra Gamarra: “Réplica” Is Not a Copy

Sandra Gamarra Heshiki's exhibition "Réplica" at MASP in São Paulo opens with an unplanned replica of Francisco Laso's "Habitante de las cordilleras del Perú" (1855), which could not travel from Lima due to bureaucracy. Gamarra produced an inverted, altered version, establishing a critical distinction between copying and responding. The exhibition is organized into sections that parody the classical chronology of encyclopedic museums—"Pre-colonial," "Colonial," "Post-independence," "Modern," and "Contemporary"—transforming the museum into an object of analysis. Gamarra's paintings engage with colonial iconographies, such as the pinturas de castas, by inscribing racial classifications directly onto the figures, making the colonial verdict inseparable from the bodies depicted.

Michener Art Museum's retired founding director returns with new exhibition

Bruce Katsiff, the founding director of the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, has returned to the institution with his first-ever exhibition at the museum, titled 'Pieces of a Life.' The retrospective showcases six decades of Katsiff's photography, including series such as 'Face Maps,' 'River Town Portraits,' and 'Nature Morte,' as well as collaborative works never before exhibited. Katsiff, who led the museum from 1989 to 2012, transformed it from an arts center into a full-fledged museum, building a collection focused on regional artists from Bucks County and overseeing the installation of iconic spaces like the Nakashima Room.

France Passes Law Easing Process of Returning Looted Art

France has passed a new law that simplifies the process of returning looted art and cultural artifacts to their countries of origin. The legislation, championed by President Emmanuel Macron, is seen as a major step in addressing colonial-era acquisitions, particularly for African artworks held in French museums. Experts describe the law as a seismic shift in restitution policy, enabling faster and more systematic returns without requiring individual parliamentary approvals for each item.

How do art auctions change if everything online seems like a video game?

Come cambiano le aste d’arte se online tutto sembra un video game?

The article examines how digital infrastructure has transformed art auctions from exclusive in-person rituals into real-time competitive interfaces. Online sales, which peaked during the pandemic, now account for about 16% of the global art market in 2025 (down from 18% in 2024), according to the Art Market Report by Art Basel and UBS. Digital tools enable instant bidding, global streaming, and discreet participation, allowing collectors to compete without physical presence. The piece highlights the gamification of auctions, noting that ArtTactic has launched Art Forecaster, a platform where users predict auction prices in tournament-style competitions, blending market engagement with ludic elements.

At the Venice Biennale there is a pavilion of shit! Luxembourg participates with a project that talks about poop

Alla Biennale di Venezia c’è un padiglione di merda! Il Lussemburgo partecipa con un progetto che fa parlare la cacca

The Luxembourg Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale features an installation titled "La Merde" by artist Aline Bouvy, centered on a cinematic manifesto that uses excrement as a metaphor to explore shame, social classification, and bodily discipline. The immersive environment includes a film, spatialized sound composition, and a steel-and-mirror architecture, with an anthropomorphic talking, walking, and farting excrement puppet interacting with visitors. The work also includes a sculptural alter ego titled "E.T. The Excremential," blending Bouvy's body with Spielberg's extraterrestrial figure.

Kazakh art exhibition opens in Baku

An exhibition of Kazakh art has opened in Baku, organized by the culture ministries of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Featuring 30 paintings from the Abylkhan Kasteyev National Museum of Art, the show includes works by masters such as Abylkhan Kasteyev, Moldakhmet Kenbayev, and Kanafiya Telzhanov, as well as contemporary artists exploring tradition, spirituality, and national identity. The exhibition will run for four months at an unspecified venue in Baku.

Rome: A new cultural space opens in Trastevere (there's also an art radio station)

Roma: apre a Trastevere un nuovo spazio culturale (c’è anche un radio sull’arte)

A new cultural space called ASIF has opened in Rome's Trastevere district at Via della Lungara 24, launching on May 8 with an exhibition titled "Educazione sentimentale per architetti" by artist and illustrator Chiara Carrer, running until June 20. The space is distinguished by an accompanying radio station that extends its reach through programs exploring art and the city, with a team including Yasmin Rosciglione, Arturo Zanaica, Novella Hoffer, Iacopo Taddia, Monica Dell'acqua, Edoardo Taddia, and Blanca Castro Xiques. The inaugural show, curated by Bonvini 1909 (named Artribune's gallery of the year in 2025), features over sixty works including collages, engravings, and sculptures centered on the theme of dwelling.