Turner prize 2026 shortlist points to sculpture as a way of thinking about power, ecology and belief

The Turner Prize 2026 shortlist has been announced, featuring four artists—Simeon Barclay, Marguerite Humeau, Kira Freije, and a fourth unnamed artist—whose practices are rooted in sculpture and installation. The jury, chaired by Alex Farquharson (director of Tate Britain) and including Sarah Allen, Joe Hill, Sook-Kyung Lee, and Alona Pardo, praised the artists for their material intelligence and ability to link sculptural language to systems of power, memory, and belief. Barclay's work combines performance and industrial materials to explore British national identity, Humeau's speculative sculptures investigate non-human intelligence and belief systems, and Freije's hybrid figures examine vulnerability and identity through fabric and metal.

'There's Always a Beef': A New Exhibition Turns Identity Politics Between Arabic Speakers Into Art

A new exhibition titled 'Mother Tongue' has opened at the Haifa Museum of Art, exploring the hierarchy of Arabic dialects and the politics of language among Arabic speakers. The show turns identity politics into art, examining how language can be a battlefield in a region where one language holds power over another and political expression can lead to legal consequences.

PATRICK HERON: Early works, 1950-54

Hazlitt Holland-Hibbert presents a focused exhibition of Patrick Heron's early works from 1950 to 1954, tracing the British modernist's decisive shift from figuration to abstraction. The show brings together pieces from the artist's estate, including several never before exhibited, alongside loans from museums and private collections, highlighting a formative moment in post-war British art. Key works such as 'Christmas Eve: 1951' and 'Black Fish on Blue Table' demonstrate Heron's evolving visual language, influenced by the School of Paris and encounters with Braque, Matisse, and Bonnard.

Exhibition | EILEEN AGAR, 'Leaves of the World' at Andrew Kreps Gallery, 22 Cortlandt Alley, New York, United States

Andrew Kreps Gallery in New York is presenting 'Leaves of the World,' an exhibition of works by Eileen Agar (1899–1991) spanning seven decades of her career, from 1927 to 1980. The show highlights Agar's enduring engagement with collage and her unique blend of surrealism, cubism, and abstraction, featuring pieces such as 'Leaves of the World' (c. 1940) and 'Personnage' (1949). A parallel exhibition of Agar's work will open at Alison Jacques in London this June.

At the ‘art world Olympics,’ Team USA is chaotic

The US Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, often called the 'art world Olympics,' is mired in controversy and delays under the Trump administration. Curator Jeffrey Uslip insists the process has been smooth and artistically autonomous, but the selection of sculptor Alma Allen and commissioner Jenni Parido—a former pet supply shop owner with a new nonprofit—has raised eyebrows. The usual vetting process by the National Endowment for the Arts was disrupted, new language banning diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts was added to applications, and a government shutdown left only six months to fundraise and plan the exhibition, which coincides with the US's 250th anniversary.

Has the world grown weary of art biennials? In search of an antidote, a Portuguese festival turns to anarchism

Anozero, a biennial art festival held in Coimbra's Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova, has opened a ghostly edition that uses installations—including Taryn Simon's sound piece of laments in multiple languages—to protest plans by the Portuguese government to redevelop the 17th-century convent into a hotel under its Revive programme. Festival co-founder Carlos Antunes threatens to cancel the biennial if the development proceeds, framing the event as a warning to the developer about the spirits that haunt the building.

Exhibition | Sopheap Pich, 'Works' at Axel Vervoordt Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium

Axel Vervoordt Gallery in Antwerp is presenting the first Belgian solo exhibition of Cambodian artist Sopheap Pich. The show features a new body of work, including large-scale sculptures made from bamboo, rattan, hand-forged copper, and recycled aluminum, as well as wall-based pieces. Visitors can physically enter some of the large sculptural forms.

'Under Pressure': San Francisco artist's exhibit in Chicago is an SOS to save the planet

San Francisco-based artist Ana Teresa Fernández has opened a solo exhibition titled 'Under Pressure' at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. The exhibition, a four-year project, features works including oil paintings and a sculptural piece made from a transformed hose, all centered on themes of water and environmental fragility. A key installation involves a white balloon pressed by a stiletto heel, symbolizing human activity pushing the planet to a breaking point.

Tania Yakunova’s Expressive Figures Entwine with Plant Life in Digital and Graphite Illustrations

Kyiv-born illustrator Tania Yakunova creates lush digital and graphite illustrations characterized by grainy textures, gestural lines, bold shapes, and vibrant colors. Her work, which often features expressive human figures entwined with plant life, conveys brand narratives and personal emotions, such as homesickness following her 2023 move from Ukraine to London.

Artist Mär Martinez explores the threads that bind and separate us in new exhibition

Artist Mär Martinez is presenting her first solo exhibition in Orlando, titled 'a loom, a fence, a wire, a thread,' at the Art & History Museums of Maitland. The exhibition features paintings and a loom, inspired by her experiences during a Fulbright Scholar grant in Istanbul and her family's history with Syrian textiles.

San Francisco artist Ana Teresa Fernandez's Chicago exhibit, 'Under Pressure,' is a call to climate action

San Francisco-based artist Ana Teresa Fernández has opened a solo exhibition titled 'Under Pressure' at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. The four-year project features a range of works, including detailed oil paintings and a sculptural piece, all centered on the theme of water and climate change. A key performance element involved Fernández leading hundreds of participants on Chicago's lakefront to form a giant S.O.S. signal using mirrors, a 'social monument' she previously staged in California.

Anne-Claire Legendre: 'Restoring serenity and transparency to the institution'

Anne-Claire Legendre : « Redonner de la sérénité et de la transparence à l’institution »

Anne-Claire Legendre has been appointed to succeed Jack Lang as president of the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA) in Paris. A French diplomat, Legendre aims to restore confidence in the institution through governance reform, increased transparency, and a new strategic plan following an external financial audit.