The Gaza Biennial, a major exhibition featuring 25 artists from Gaza, concluded its full run at the Brooklyn nonprofit space Recess, with an abbreviated version remaining on view until December 20. The show presents painting, video, drawing, and testimony created under siege, offering a powerful artistic response to the ongoing conflict and displacement.
The Pinchuk Art Centre in Kyiv has transformed its Venice Biennale presentation from a glamorous celebration of young artists into a somber exhibition responding to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This year's show, titled "Still Joy — From Ukraine into the World" (9 May-1 August) at the Palazzo Contarini-Polignac, features works by international artists like Tacita Dean and Julian Charriere alongside Ukrainian artists, as well as testimonials from soldiers collected by former marine Hlib Stryzhko. The exhibition explores how joy can persist amid trauma, with installations including pink scrolls bearing survivors' quotes, light box photographs of bombed interiors with rescued pot plants, and a sculpture of bells with displaced women's fingerprints.
"Es ist naiv zu glauben, dass Bomben Freiheit bringen"
Iranian-born artist Peyman Rahimi discusses the profound impact of his childhood experiences during the Iran-Iraq War and his subsequent mandatory military service on his creative practice. Breaking a long-held silence, Rahimi argues against the naivety of believing that military interventions or foreign bombings can bring true freedom to Iran, emphasizing that war only generates new trauma and suffering. He highlights the central role of Iranian women in the struggle for change, noting that their resilience remains the most potent threat to the current regime.
Aschaffenburg, Germany, is hosting a landmark exhibition titled 'A European Collection' at the Christian Schad Museum, opening April 30, 2026. The show features 73 European masterpieces from the 15th to 19th centuries, loaned from the Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum in Kyiv, Ukraine. Works by Peter Paul Rubens, Bernardo Bellotto, and Claude-Joseph Vernet are included, alongside a contemporary piece by Ukrainian artist Maria Kulikovska juxtaposed with Antonio Canova's sculpture 'La Pace'. This is the first comprehensive presentation of these Ukrainian-held works in Germany.