East Africa meets Western Europe as Michael Armitage takes on Venice's Palazzo Grassi

The artist Michael Armitage opens a monographic exhibition titled 'The Promise of Change' at Venice's Palazzo Grassi, featuring 46 large paintings and nearly 100 sketches that survey his past decade of work. At 42, Armitage is the youngest artist to receive a solo show at the palazzo, which is owned by François Pinault and has previously hosted Albert Oehlen, Luc Tuymans, and Marlene Dumas. The exhibition highlights Armitage's fusion of East African and Western European artistic influences, drawing on his upbringing in Kenya and his training at London's Byam Shaw School of Art, the Slade, and the Royal Academy.

Beer With a Painter: Tom Burckhardt

Artist Tom Burckhardt discusses his creative process and upbringing in a studio interview, highlighting his upcoming work and the influence of his New York School lineage. The son of artists Yvonne Jacquette and Rudy Burckhardt, he explores the concept of "mouthfeel" in painting—a textural quality that parallels culinary experiences—while utilizing humor and skepticism to challenge artistic pretension.

Ionit Behar, the MCA’s Newest Curator, on Opening Windows Into Other Worlds

Dr. Ionit Behar has been appointed as the Marilyn and Larry Fields Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago, effective February 9, 2026. Born in Israel and raised in Uruguay, Behar brings a global perspective shaped by her upbringing in an academic environment and her experience as an immigrant in the United States. Her curatorial philosophy emphasizes the museum as a space for intellectual discovery and emotional resonance rather than a mere repository of information.

Edmonia Lewis Was the Earliest Known Black Artist to Depict Emancipation. This Is Her First Retrospective.

The Peabody Essex Museum is hosting "Said in Stone," the first-ever comprehensive retrospective dedicated to Edmonia Lewis, a pioneering 19th-century sculptor of Black and Ojibwe heritage. The exhibition assembles a significant body of her marble works, including the landmark sculpture "Forever Free" (1867), which is recognized as the first formal visual representation of emancipation by a Black American artist. The show traces her journey from her upbringing with her Ojibwe family and her traumatic years at Oberlin College to her eventual success as an expatriate artist in Rome.

Anna Park's new show at Lehmann Maupin in London offers a voyeuristic mix of the abstract and the figurative

Artist Anna Park is preparing for her first major solo exhibition at Lehmann Maupin’s London space, titled 'Hot Honey'. The show features her signature large-scale charcoal and ink works that blend traditional figurative techniques with chaotic abstraction. Drawing from a diverse range of influences including vintage comics, pin-up culture, and her upbringing as an outsider in Utah, Park’s new pieces explore the 'male gaze' and female archetypes through a satirical, voyeuristic lens.

Book uncovers the life of Barnett Newman, an artist who ran for New York mayor

A new biography titled "Barnett Newman: Here" by Amy Newman (no relation) explores the life of Abstract Expressionist painter Barnett Newman, revealing his little-known 1933 run for mayor of New York City at age 28 under a platform of cultural and environmental reforms. The book details his upbringing as the son of Jewish immigrants in the Bronx, his philosophical studies, and his eventual reinvention as a painter who pioneered the 'zip' painting style with works like Onement I, while also chronicling his combative personality and lifelong battles against political machines and critics.

A Conversation with Milwaukee Art Museum’s New Director

Kim Sajet has been appointed as the new director of the Milwaukee Art Museum, bringing an international perspective shaped by her birth in Nigeria, upbringing in Australia, and Dutch citizenship. In an introductory interview, Sajet discusses her extensive leadership background—having previously run two museums in Australia—and how her personal history, including her relationship with her disabled brother, influenced her path toward art history and museum studies.

Shigeo Toya, artist who looked to nature with his wood sculptures, 1947–2026

Shigeo Toya, the Japanese artist renowned for his chainsaw-hewn wood sculptures, has died at age 79. Born in 1947 in a small village in Nagano Prefecture, Toya began his signature Woods series in 1984, carving rough textures into tall lumber and arranging the pieces like a forest. His series Twenty Eight Deaths featured stacked wooden blocks with cavities and burn marks. Toya represented Japan at the Venice Biennale in 1988 and later exhibited at the Asia Pacific Triennial (1993) and Gwangju Biennale (2000). A major survey of his work was held at the Nagano Prefectural Art Museum and The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama, in 2022–23.

Chrome, Canvas, Cultura: Art On Main’s Chicano Exhibition Redefines East Dallas Experience

Art on Main in East Dallas is hosting "Chicano," a massive group exhibition featuring 79 works by 58 artists from the Dallas-Fort Worth area and beyond. Curated by Junanne Peck and Ariel Esquivel, the show spans painting, photography, metal sculpture, and printmaking to explore themes of identity, resilience, and the lived experiences of the Mexican-American community. Highlights include Rodrigo Paredes’ tribute to street vendors and Lisa Batchelder’s surrealist explorations of her Oak Cliff upbringing.

'Hidden heritage' Metro art shown in exhibition

An exhibition at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead is showcasing "Blazing Trails," a project by local artist Sofia Barton originally commissioned for Tyne and Wear Metro trains. The artwork celebrates the hidden heritage of north-east England by depicting lesser-known community leaders, including suffragette Kathleen Brown and Chinatown founders Koon Kiu Cheng and Peter Cheng. The display runs until 27 September in the Baltic's pop-up shop.

In the Curator’s Words: James Hubbell and his brother Bert still united through art

The Oceanside Museum of Art has opened "Brothers in Arts: James Hubbell and Bert Hubbell," a poignant exhibition curated by Brennan Hubbell, the son of James and nephew of Bert. The show explores the parallel creative lives of the two brothers, who lived on opposite sides of the Pacific for sixty years—James in San Diego and Bert in Japan—yet maintained a deep spiritual and artistic connection through letters and shared philosophies. Both artists passed away within weeks of each other in 2024, shortly after a final video call that reconnected them after a period of silence.

Enrique López Llamas: The Visible, The Invisible

ENRIQUE LÓPEZ LLAMAS: LO VISIBLE, LO INVISIBLE

Artist Enrique López Llamas presents a solo exhibition titled "Lo visible, lo invisible" at Fundación CALOSA in Mexico, exploring the intersection of childhood fears and contemporary adult masculinity. The installation utilizes fluorescent plastic polymers that glow in the dark and video works to create a sensory dialogue between light and shadow, symbolizing the repressed memories and systemic behaviors that persist into adulthood.

Inside ‘The Space Between’: A dialogue between craft and contemporary art

The exhibition ‘The Space Between’ at Ojas Art gallery features a collaborative dialogue between designers Siddhartha Das and Chiara Nath, bridging the gap between traditional Indian craft and contemporary design. Das presents architectural interpretations of historic sites like the Jagannath Temple alongside a vast botanical series that evolves from historical Company School naturalism into modern sculptural forms in brass, marble, and plaster. Nath contributes intimate embroidered works that translate personal memories of her family and upbringing into tactile, design-led narratives.

“Do it together”: Fine Arts seniors pair to explore presence, reflection in senior show

Emporia State University seniors Sydney Hickman and Michael Kidwell debuted their collaborative Bachelor of Fine Arts senior exhibition, "All That Remains," at the Eppink Art Gallery. The show features a dialogue between Hickman’s quilt-inspired ceramics and mosaics, which explore domesticity and femininity, and Kidwell’s nature-oriented paintings and wood displays that reflect on his Kansas upbringing and identity.