Estonia exports a modernist, Glasgow gets poetic and Leonora Carrington goes wild – the week in art

The article is a weekly roundup of art events and news highlights. It spotlights several upcoming exhibitions, including a showcase of Estonian modernist Konrad Mägi in London, a poetic conceptual art show by Fiona Banner in Glasgow, lyrical paintings by Turner Prize-shortlisted Hurvin Anderson at Tate Britain, and a surrealist exhibition of Leonora Carrington's work at London's Freud Museum. It also mentions films by Rehana Zaman and features an image story about a unique, family-run trompe l'oeil painting school in Brussels.

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At Art Basel Miami Beach 2025, the art market showed a strong turn toward historical references, with galleries like Gagosian featuring Jeff Koons' antique-inspired sculptures and Takashi Murakami's reproductions of Cézanne and Van Gogh. The new Zero 10 sector, named after a 1915 Malevich exhibition, highlighted digital artists such as Beeple and Larva Labs. This trend reflects a broader "flight to quality" in an uncertain market, where collectors seek reassurance by associating emerging or overlooked artists with established historical names.

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The Whitney Biennial has announced the 56 artists selected for its 82nd edition, opening March 8, 2026. Curated by Marcela Guerrero and Drew Sawyer, the exhibition explores themes of relationality, kinship, infrastructure, and the US role in global affairs. The curators visited over 300 studios worldwide, and the list includes many emerging and lesser-known artists, with most participants under 45 and a significant number identifying as queer.

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The Art Institute of Chicago has opened an exhibition titled 'Strange Realities: The Symbolist Imagination,' drawn entirely from its own collection. The show features works by Vincent van Gogh, Edvard Munch, Odilon Redon, and lesser-known artists like Gustaf Fjaestad, aiming to present Symbolism through its visual output rather than its often vague literary manifestos. The exhibition sidesteps strict definitions of the movement, instead offering a broad range of works from the late 1880s to early 1900s that evoke mystery, doubt, and inner realities.

From The Magic Faraway Tree to 5 Seconds of Summer: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead

The Guardian has published a comprehensive weekly entertainment guide covering cinema, gigs, art exhibitions, stage performances, and home entertainment options. The guide highlights new film releases like the adaptation of Enid Blyton's 'The Magic Faraway Tree' and the documentary 'Orwell: 2+2 = 5', major concerts from 5 Seconds of Summer, and art exhibitions featuring Estonian modernist Konrad Mägi and Scottish painter Joan Eardley.

The Best Exhibitions to See in Paris Right Now

Les meilleures expos du moment à voir à Paris

Beaux Arts Magazine has published a guide to the best current exhibitions in Paris for spring 2026, highlighting major shows such as "Martin Parr. Global Warning" at the Jeu de Paume, "Matisse. 1941–1954" at the Grand Palais, "Michel-Ange Rodin" at the Musée du Louvre, "Renoir et l'amour" at the Musée d'Orsay, "Calder. Rêver en équilibre" at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, and "Splendeurs du baroque" at the Musée Jacquemart-André. The article also features retrospectives of Hilma af Klint at the Grand Palais, Károly Ferenczy at the Petit Palais, Henry Taylor at the Musée Picasso, a Lee Miller exhibition at the Musée d'Art moderne de Paris, a Giovanni Segantini show at the Musée Marmottan Monet, and a Nan Goldin multimedia presentation at the Grand Palais.

The Top Gallery and Museum Exhibitions to see in late May in London

Tabish Khan, the London-based art critic, selects his top gallery and museum exhibitions to see in late May in London. Highlights include Christopher Page's illusionistic mirror paintings at Ben Hunter, Dirk Braeckman's chemically altered photographs at Grimm, a historical exhibition on Hawai'i's relationship with the UK at The British Museum, a pairing of James Capper's claw-like machines with Anthony Caro's metal sculptures, and a focused display of George Stubbs' horse portrait and anatomical drawings at The National Gallery.

At Tokyo's National Museum of Modern Art, the anti-action art of Japan’s women artists finds a new lease of life

The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (Momat) is presenting "Anti-Action: Artist-Women’s Challenges and Responses in Post-war Japan," an exhibition that highlights the work of women artists in 1950s and 1960s Japan. Curated by Hajime Nariai, the show features Yayoi Kusama alongside figures like Atsuko Tanaka, Tsuruko Yamazaki, and Hideko Fukushima, as well as ten lesser-known artists whose names have been largely forgotten. The exhibition uses the term "anti-action," coined by art historian Izumi Nakajima, to describe these artists' shared determination to resist the dominant masculine ethos of action painting and Eurocentric art trends, instead forging their own unique practices.

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Cultured magazine has published a winter exhibition guide for New York museums, highlighting six major shows running through early 2026. Featured exhibitions include Ayoung Kim's "Delivery Dancer Codex" at MoMA PS1, a survey of UFO-themed works at The Drawing Center, a Ruth Asawa retrospective at MoMA, Renoir drawings at the Morgan Library & Museum, Robert Rauschenberg's photography at the Museum of the City of New York, and Alexander Calder's circus at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Each entry provides dates, curatorial context, and visitor tips.

Fondation Cartier’s Latest Museum Invents New Ways of Displaying Art

The Fondation Cartier for Contemporary Art has opened a new building in Paris, designed by architect Jean Nouvel, after ten years of planning and construction. Located near the Louvre in the former Grand Hotel du Louvre, the 8,500-square-meter space features transformable architecture with movable walls and floors, conceived as a "machine" for flexible exhibitions. The opening show, "Exposition Générale," curated by Grazia Quaroni and Béatrice Grenier and designed by Formafantasma, highlights the building's structural innovations and features works from the foundation's permanent collection, including pieces by Cai Guo-Qiang, Joan Mitchell, James Turrell, and Malick Sidibé.

Color and Spirit: The Blue Rider at Lenbachhaus

The Lenbachhaus museum in Munich has opened a major exhibition titled "Beyond the World. The Blue Rider," running from March 10, 2026, to September 5, 2027. The show explores the cultural exchanges and historical context of the Blue Rider movement, featuring newly acquired works by Wilhelm Morgner, Emmy Klinker, and Albert Bloch, alongside iconic pieces by Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, and Gabriele Münter. The exhibition is organized chronologically, beginning with the cross-cultural inspirations behind the 1912 Blue Rider Almanac and concluding with a reflection on the Nazi suppression of German Expressionism, including inventory lists of confiscated "degenerate" art.

Surrealism at 100 Sprawls and Seduces in Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Museum of Art has opened a major exhibition titled "Surrealism at 100," marking the centennial of the Surrealist movement. The show brings together a vast array of works from the movement's key figures, including Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, and Max Ernst, alongside lesser-known artists, aiming to capture the full breadth and subversive spirit of Surrealism across painting, sculpture, photography, and film.

With works by Munch and Mamma Andersson, the British Museum reveals the darkness of Nordic noir

The British Museum in London will open a free exhibition titled "Nordic Noir" on October 9, featuring over 150 works by 100 artists. The show begins with Edvard Munch, including his woodcut "Gammel fisker (Old fisherman, 1897)", and moves chronologically to explore how Nordic artists responded to political transformations since 1944. Curated by Jennifer Ramkalawon, the exhibition highlights works by contemporary artists such as Yuichiro Sato, Anna Zimmerman, Maria Nordin, Per Kirkeby, and the Norwegian radical collective GRAS, many of which have never been seen outside the Nordic region.

Exhibition Of Contemporary Anishinaabe Art At Detroit Institute Of Arts

The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) has opened "Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation," a major exhibition featuring over 60 Anishinaabe artists from Michigan and the Great Lakes region. The show, running from September 28, 2025, to April 8, 2026, includes nearly 100 contemporary artworks and was sparked by a request from artist Kelly Church, whose black ash top hat was donated to the DIA in 2020. Church collaborated with DIA Assistant Curator Denene De Quintal and a Native advisory board—the "Council of the Three Fires"—to select artists, blending established figures like Frank Big Bear and George Morrison with lesser-known artists receiving their first major institutional exposure.

The Art Galleries of New York

A visitor recounts a personal gallery crawl through New York City neighborhoods like Tribeca, Chelsea, and the Lower East Side, highlighting specific exhibitions at Andrew Kreps Gallery, James Cohen Gallery, Chapter NY, and Bortolami Gallery. The article details works by artists including Thérèse Oulton, Elias Sime, Sonya Kelliher-Combs, Rosha Yaghmai, Vian Sora, and Sophie Reinhold, emphasizing the diversity of styles and materials on view.

Brazil’s Modernist Art Gets a Celebration in London

The Royal Academy of Arts in London is hosting "Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism," a major exhibition featuring over 130 works by 10 Brazilian modernist artists from the first half of the 20th century, plus landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. Curated by Adrian Locke, who has Brazilian heritage, the show includes iconic pieces by Tarsila do Amaral, Candido Portinari, and Alfredo Volpi, alongside lesser-known artists like Afro-Brazilian painter Rubem Valentim. The exhibition revisits a historic 1944 show at the same institution, which was the first to present Brazilian modernist painting in the U.K.

London's pre-contemporary art market gets boost from two new summer events

Two new summer events for pre-contemporary art are launching in London: Classic Art London (CAL), running from 23 June to 4 July, and Studiolo, a one-day showcase on 26 June. CAL fills the gap left by London Art Week, which ended in 2024, and features gallery exhibitions across Mayfair, St. James's, Cecil Court, and Belgravia, along with a talks programme at the Society of Antiquaries. Highlights include a rediscovered Titian, a solo show of Paul Nash landscapes, and a focus on Swedish Cubo-Futurist Gösta Adrian-Nilsson (GAN). Studiolo, held at Spencer House, presents art, antiquities, and sculpture.

‘A more complex picture’: Singapore marks 60th anniversary of independence from British rule with slew of cultural offerings

Singapore is celebrating its 60th anniversary of independence from British rule on 9 August with a series of cultural offerings under the banner SG60. National Gallery Singapore launched a signature exhibition, *Singapore Stories: Pathways and Detours in Art*, featuring over 400 works from the 19th century to the present, housed in the former supreme court and city hall buildings. The show, curated by Adele Tan, reduces colonial imagery and opens with John Turnbull Thomson's *The Esplanade from Scandal Point* (1951) to present a more complex, multicultural picture of Singapore's history.

Sotheby's auction: Works of five Bangladesh artists cross all expectations

Sotheby’s held a “Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art” auction in London, where seven works by five Bangladeshi masters—Zainul Abedin, Shahid Kabir, Mohammad Kibria, Rashid Choudhury, and Kalidas Karmakar—were sold, exceeding pre-sale estimates. A painting by Zainul Abedin fetched £50,800 against an estimate of £15,000–£20,000, while three works by Shahid Kabir sold for £53,340, far above the £7,500–£9,500 estimate. Artists Shahid Kabir and Kalidas Karmakar appeared at a Sotheby’s auction for the first time, and seven new records were set overall, including for Kabir, Karmakar, Francis Newton Souza, Ganesh Pyne, Laxman Shrestha, Laxman Pai, and Adeela Suleman.

De Bruyne to auction art from personal collection for charity

Kevin De Bruyne, the Napoli and Belgium midfielder, is auctioning a piece from his personal art collection to benefit Metabolic Diseases UZ Gent, a non-profit funding research into metabolic disorders. He announced the initiative on X, starting with an abstract painting by German artist Claus Bertermann, and called on other artists and collectors to contribute works to the auction.

At TEFAF New York, Lesser-Known Artists Delight

At TEFAF New York, held at the Park Avenue Armory, the art fair known for its European roots showcased a range of works. Our critic highlights five lesser-known artists who stood out, offering fresh perspectives that cut through the traditional art-world star system.

Art exhibitions in Chiang Mai this May

This May, Chiang Mai's art scene offers a diverse lineup of exhibitions across galleries, museums, and independent spaces. Highlights include a group show on regional identity at Chiang Mai Art Museum, a calligraphy-focused solo exhibition by Jin Li at Makok Art Space, and 'Class 2 Canvas' at Fãr Studios featuring artist-educators. Mid-month brings two openings: Chitti Kasemkitvatana's 'Epilogue: A Diffraction Grating' at Gallery Seescape, exploring time and light, and Kailash Mani's solo show of outsider art at Head High Second Floor.