France Passes Landmark Restitution Law for Looted Art

France has passed a landmark restitution law for looted art, marking a significant shift in the country's approach to addressing Nazi-era confiscations and colonial-era acquisitions. The legislation establishes a legal framework for returning artworks and cultural objects to their rightful owners or heirs, streamlining a process that previously required case-by-case parliamentary approval. This law is expected to accelerate the return of thousands of items held in French museums and public collections.

Melding Chinese lacquer with European abstraction

A collateral exhibition titled "Alchemical Universe" at the Palazzo Soranzo Van Axel in Venice features 35 lacquer paintings by Chinese-German artist Su Xiaobai. Curated by Stephen Little of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Lacma) and designed by architect Kulapat Yantrasast, the show spans Su's early experiments to recent works created for Venice, including suspended temple tiles and floor pieces on mirrored Murano glass. Su, who was advised by Gerhard Richter in 2003 to focus on lacquer, now works exclusively in the medium, layering and scoring tree sap to create contemplative abstract works.

Who Went to Venice Last Week? Jenny Saville, Glenn Lowry, Jewel, and Many Other Power Players

Artnet News reporter Katya Kazakina recounts her experience at the opening week of the 61st Venice Biennale, describing a whirlwind of art, parties, and chance encounters. Notable figures spotted include former MoMA director Glenn Lowry, singer-songwriter Jewel (who debuted her visual art show "Matriclysm: An Archaeology of Connections Lost"), and Japanese Nintendo heir and collector Banjo Yamauchi. High-profile events included Thaddaeus Ropac gallery's reception for Georg Baselitz's final paintings (priced up to $1.5 million) and François Pinault's annual party at Fondazione Giorgio Cini, attended by Selma Hayek, Lorna Simpson, and JR. The article also highlights the social dynamics of the biennale, where dealers, curators, and collectors network across historic palazzos and hotels.

Artists v fascists, Khmer Rouge horrors, fab flowers and an eye-popping nude – the week in art

This week's art roundup from The Guardian features a major exhibition at Towner Eastbourne titled 'Comrades in Art: Artists Against Fascism,' which examines how artists, poets, and intellectuals used their work to resist the rise of extremism in 1930s Europe, drawing on the history of the Artists International Association (AIA). Other highlights include 'Hidden: Photography and Displacement Under the Khmer Rouge' at The Wiener Holocaust Library in London, a show of early Netherlandish drawings at the British Museum, Katharina Grosse's colorful installations at White Cube, and a flower-themed survey at Kettle's Yard. The image of the week is Sylvia Sleigh's 1963 portrait 'The Bridge (Johanna Lawrenson),' part of a new exhibition of the Welsh artist's work. The article also covers news items such as Lydia Ourahmane's Venice Biennale installation, a Holbein portrait mystery, a restored stained-glass window by Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris, and Anish Kapoor's call to exclude the US from the Venice Biennale due to 'politics of hate.'

Venice Biennale 2026 Highlights: Arsenale & Giardini

ArtReview editors highlight the must-see national pavilions at the 61st Venice Biennale, running from 9 May to 22 November 2026. Notable presentations include Austria's Florentina Holzinger turning her pavilion into a toilet and sewage-treatment plant with naked performers, and Germany's pavilion featuring works by Sung Tieu and the late Henrike Naumann, who died in February 2026, exploring East German memory and conceptual minimalism.

Controversial Painter Georg Baselitz Knew His Venice Show Would Be His Last. He Went Out Quietly.

Six days after Georg Baselitz's death, his dealer Thaddaeus Ropac opened "Eroi d'Oro" ("Heroes of Gold") at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice. The exhibition features the final paintings Baselitz made before he died in April at age 88. In a prerecorded film, Baselitz calls these works his "last paintings," intended as a summation of his six-decade career. The large-scale, gold-ground paintings depict thin, ink-like figures of himself or his wife Elke lying horizontally, floating in undefined space. Baselitz connected the gold grounds to Fayum mummy portraits, Sienese altarpieces, and Byzantine icons, using them to absorb space and create a shadowless, eternal condition.

Asian Artists Set the Stage at Independent Art Fair 2026

At the 17th edition of the Independent art fair in New York, six galleries are presenting solo booths dedicated to Asian artists, including a U.S. debut by Taiwanese artist Tseng Chien-Ying and works by Japanese painter Rika Minamitani and Chinese conceptual artist Pu Yingwei. Founder Elizabeth Dee highlights the trend as reflecting broader geopolitical shifts and artists' desire to engage with complex cultural debates in New York.

The 17 Gallery Shows to See During Frieze Week in New York

Frieze New York has drawn collectors, curators, and art enthusiasts to the city, but this article highlights 17 gallery shows across Manhattan that are worth seeing during the fair week. Featured exhibitions include Katharina Fritsch's return to Matthew Marks with monumental sculptures, Kim Dacres' tire-based busts at Charles Moffett, Sasha Brodsky's debut solo show at Margot Samel, Jasper Johns' "Copy/Trace" at David Zwirner, and Lucia Hierro's packing-box sculptures at Marc Straus, among others.

In Venice, 22 unmissable exhibitions on the sidelines of the biennial

À Venise, 22 expositions incontournables en marge de la biennale

The article highlights 22 must-see exhibitions happening alongside the 61st Venice Biennale, which is expected to be affected by geopolitical tensions but still promises artistic vibrancy. Notable events include Bvlgari's dual projects featuring artists Lotus L. Kang, Lara Favaretto, and Monia Ben Hamouda; the unveiling of the Asscher collection at the Ama Venezia foundation with works by Charles Ray, Jenny Saville, and Richard Serra; and the inaugural exhibition "The Only True Protest Is Beauty" at the Fondation Dries Van Noten, showcasing 200 objects across fashion, design, and art. Other highlights include a dialogue between Picasso, Morandi, and Parmiggiani at the Fondazione Bevilacqua La Masa.

At a Powerful Carnegie International, Solidarity Is a Means of Survival

The 2026 Carnegie International, titled “If the word we,” opened at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, featuring 61 artists from around the world. Curated by Ryan Inouye, Liz Park, and Danielle A. Jackson, the exhibition emphasizes collective survival and interdependence, with works including Khalil Rabah’s video about Palestinian resilience, Shala Miller’s abstraction inspired by Toni Morrison, and a performance by Brooke O’Harra and collaborators celebrating teamwork through a historic basketball dunk by Julius Erving. The show extends to three other venues, including the Mattress Factory, where married artists Claudia Martinez Garay and Artur Kameya present a sprawling installation.

‘This is the place of dreams’: Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo’s Venetian island venue opens to public

Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo opened San Giacomo, a Venetian lagoon island she and her husband bought in 2018, to the public on May 7 during the Venice Biennale. The former military site now houses exhibition spaces in converted munitions storehouses, featuring a solo show by Matt Copson curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, selections from the Sandretto collection with works by Michael Armitage, Sarah Lucas, Victor Man, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, and outdoor installations by Pamela Rosenkranz, Claire Fontaine, Hugh Hayden, and Goshka Macuga. The island also includes a chapel-like structure by Hayden and a rocket sculpture by Macuga.

The Big Review | Venice Biennale 2026: In Minor Keys ★★★½

The Venice Biennale 2026, titled "In Minor Keys," was curated posthumously following the death of artistic director Koyo Kouoh in May 2025. A team of five curators and advisors—Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo, Marie Hélène Pereira, Rasha Salti, Siddhartha Mitter, and Rory Tsapayi—executed her vision across the Giardini and Arsenale venues. The exhibition features 110 artists, with a strong emphasis on new commissions, and is structured around themes of procession, resistance, and joy. Key works include Big Chief Demond Melancon's "Amistad Takeover" (2026), Nick Cave's "Amalgam (Origin)" (2025), and Otobong Nkanga's rewilded columns at the Central Pavilion.

In Venice, Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince Ask: What Is Appropriate to Appropriate?

Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince are showing their work together in a joint exhibition titled "Helter Skelter" at the Fondazione Prada in Venice. Curated by Nancy Spector, the show explores the artists' shared practice of appropriation, a connection that began when Prince attended the debut of Jafa's video work AGHDRA (2021) and later deepened through conversations about race, property, and self-authorization. Jafa has long admired Prince's approach, calling him "the blackest white artist I know," and the exhibition pairs their works to examine how appropriation functions differently for a Black artist versus a white artist.

Canadian Masterworks Lead Heffel’s Spring Sales

Heffel Fine Art Auction House will hold its Spring Auction on May 21, 2026, featuring two sessions: Post-War & Contemporary Art and Old Master, Impressionist, & Modern Art. The sale, held in Toronto and online, includes works by Canadian masters such as Alex Colville, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Guido Molinari, and E.J. Hughes, with top estimates reaching up to $1.75 million CAD for Hughes' 'Coastal Boats Near Sidney, BC'.

Mom, I'm Gonna Be an Artist!

Hyperallergic's Saturday newsletter, edited by Valentina Di Liscia, rounds up a week of art-world activity marked by protests and resistance. Staff Writer Isa Farfan asked 15 artists to share advice from their mothers for Mother's Day, featuring responses from Pat Oleszko, whose work is in the Whitney Biennial. The newsletter also covers editor-in-chief Hakim Bishara's report on a historic strike for Palestine and workers' rights at the Venice Biennale, where dozens of national pavilions shut down, and Editor-at-Large Hrag Vartanian's review of the central exhibition "In Minor Keys." Additional stories include Damien Davis on artists and consignment agreements, Matt Stromberg on the LA Art Book Fair, a protest against Jeff Bezos at the Met Gala, MoMA PS1's upcoming Teresa Margolles survey, and a picket at the American Folk Art Museum.

Alma Allen Flops in Venice

Hyperallergic reports on the 2026 Venice Biennale, with Editor-in-Chief Hakim Bishara criticizing the U.S. pavilion's exhibition of Alma Allen's work as a disappointing departure from the previous editions' profound explorations of Indigenous life and Black sovereignty. Editor-at-Large Hrag Vartanian offers a positive review of the main exhibition "In Minor Keys," while Greta Rainbow covers a poetry procession honoring the late artistic director Koyo Kouoh. Additional stories include a review of the film "The Christophers" about an artist and forger, and news of workers at the American Folk Art Museum picketing for higher wages.

What You Should Definitely Avoid in Venice

Was man in Venedig unbedingt vermeiden sollte

The article humorously critiques the Venice Biennale, highlighting several disappointments. It describes a Japanese pavilion installation by Ei Arakawa-Nash featuring baby dolls for diaper-changing, which a critic dismisses as a male artist over-romanticizing parenthood. Other flops include long queues for the German and Austrian pavilions, underwhelming main exhibition "In Minor Keys," and annoying self-promotional performers outside venues. The piece also laments the presence of loud American collectors and donors who dominate the event.

The 2026 Venice Biennale Is Quintessential Biennial Art

The 61st Venice Biennale, titled "In Minor Keys" and curated by the late Swiss-Cameroonian curator Koyo Kouoh, opened in 2026. The main exhibition at the Arsenale and Giardini features works by artists such as Éric Baudelaire, Maria Magdalena Campos Pons, Mohammed Z. Rahman, Sohrab Hura, and Rose Salane, among others. The exhibition centers on themes of mourning, colonial history, slavery, and healing, with works like Baudelaire's video installation linking the flower trade to the transatlantic slave trade, and a tribute section honoring artists Beverly Buchanan and Issa Samb.

5 Trends Shaping the 2026 Venice Biennale

The 2026 Venice Biennale has opened to the public, featuring the main exhibition 'In Minor Keys' conceived by the late Cameroonian Swiss curator Koyo Kouoh, who died unexpectedly in May 2025. Kouoh, the first African woman appointed to lead the Biennale, had her curatorial team—including Rasha Salti, Marie Hélène Pereira, and Gabe Beckhurst Feijoo—carry forward her vision of art as a 'shared and sustaining force.' The opening was weighted with politics and emotion.

11 Must-See Shows During New York Art Week 2026

New York Art Week 2026 is set to be a packed event, with major art fairs including Frieze, TEFAF, and Independent all scheduled within a single week this May. The art world will arrive directly from the Venice Biennale, and New York galleries are opening their major spring exhibitions to coincide with the influx of curators and collectors.

Collateral Events Not to Miss at 61st Venice Biennale

The article highlights several collateral events not to miss at the 61st Venice Biennale, including "The Spirits of Maritime Crossing 2026" at Palazzo Rocca Contarini Corfù, featuring 20 artists from Southeast Asia, Ireland, and Serbia, anchored by Marina Abramović's performance piece "Sea Punishing" (2006). Other notable exhibitions include a seven-decade survey of Korean artist Lee Ufan at San Marco Art Centre, "TURANDOT: To the Daughters of the East" at ACP Palazzo Franchetti featuring 11 female artists from Central Asia, Li Yi-Fan's "Screen Melancholy" at Palazzo delle Prigioni, and Nalini Malani's "Of Woman Born" at Magazzini del Sale.

Venice Biennale Controversies Continue, French Parliament Report Finds Flaws in Museum Security, and More: Morning Links for May 13, 2026

Iran has denied withdrawing from the Venice Biennale, with Mahdizadeh Tehrani, general director of visual arts at Iran's Ministry of Culture, stating the country still hopes to participate despite Biennale organizers announcing Iran would not be represented at its pavilion. Meanwhile, the Somalia Pavilion has sparked controversy, with the Somali Arts Foundation alleging it was led by diaspora figures and European collaborators without meaningful consultation of artists based in Somalia, and the queer collective Warbixinta Cidda demanding the removal of an Italian co-curator due to Italy's colonial history. Separately, a French parliamentary inquiry has exposed major security flaws in the country's museums, following the theft of France's crown jewels from the Louvre in October, calling for reforms in security resources and museum leadership appointments.

A Venice Biennale in Protest

Hundreds of protesters, led by the Art Not Genocide Alliance, blocked the entrance to the Israeli pavilion at the Venice Biennale on May 6, waving Palestinian flags and accusing Israel of operating a "genocide pavilion." Activists from Pussy Riot and FEMEN also staged a pink smoke-filled protest against Russia's participation. Meanwhile, the Biennale jury suddenly resigned, and Israeli pavilion artist Belu-Simion Fainaru made legal threats against the Biennale alleging antisemitism and discrimination. The article also covers exhibitions in Upstate New York, a tribute to Beat Generation icon Jack Kerouac, and obituaries for performance art champion Steven Durland, artist Georg Baselitz, cartoonist Nicole Hollander, and arts patron Doris Fisher.

The Permanence of Refusal: Interview with Ding Yi

Chinese artist Ding Yi, who first appeared at the Venice Biennale in 1993 as part of the inaugural Chinese contemporary art exhibition, has returned to Venice with his first solo show in the city, titled “Cosmotechnics: Ding Yi as a Planetary Code” at Fondazione Querini Stampalia. The exhibition, referencing philosopher Yuk Hui's concept of cosmotechnics, traces Ding Yi's abstract visual language from the 1980s to the present, featuring new and historic works that engage with the modernist architecture of Carlo Scarpa. In an interview with ArtAsiaPacific during the 61st Venice Biennale preview week, Ding Yi reflects on the evolution of his practice, his travels, and the deep perceptual frameworks of ancient civilizations.

What’s Gone Wrong in the Glasgow Art Scene?

Rachel Ashenden surveys the precarious state of Glasgow's visual arts scene in March 2026, following the liquidation and closure of the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) after years of mismanagement, a winter shutdown in 2024, and a protest by Arts Workers for Palestine Scotland that led to arrests. She visits artists and organizers across the city, including Rae-Yen Song's exhibition at Tramway, which evolved from a research show at the now-closed CCA, and speaks with Transmission co-founder Alastair Strachan about the city's artist-led legacy.

Ed Ruscha | Billy (1968) | Art & Prints

Ed Ruscha's 1968 exhibition catalogue 'Billy', designed for a show of works by his friend Billy Al Bengston, is being offered for sale. The catalogue features a flocked sandpaper cover, satin ribbon bookmark, and machine screw and hex nut binding, and was published by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for an exhibition that traveled to the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Vancouver Art Gallery. The work is listed on an art marketplace platform with a price of €62,600, and the listing includes details about its condition, provenance, and the artist's broader career.

What does a woman swimming in urine tell us about the state of the world? Lots! – Venice Biennale review

The 2026 Venice Biennale, curated by the late Koyo Kouoh under the theme "In Minor Keys," has been plagued by months of turmoil including countries withdrawing, artists being fired, exhibitions cancelled, funding pulled, and protests during the preview. A five-person curatorial team took over after Kouoh's death, resulting in what the critic describes as a disjointed, committee-driven exhibition that prioritizes quiet contemplation and healing over direct political engagement. The central shows in the Giardini and Arsenale feature a vast, poorly explained array of art from the global south, with installations of ceramics, textiles, slide projectors, and serene natural scenes that the critic finds anachronistic and dull.

Damien Hirst | Hands in Prayer (Coral) (2010) | For Sale

This article is a sales listing for Damien Hirst's sculpture "Hands in Prayer (Coral)" (2010), a limited-edition bronze work from his series "Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable." The piece is offered by Kristy Stubbs Gallery in Dallas, Texas, priced at $225,000. The listing includes details about the work's materials, dimensions, edition number (2/3), and condition, along with a biography of Hirst highlighting his career as a Young British Artist, his major exhibitions at institutions like Tate Modern and the National Gallery of Art, and his record-breaking auction sales.

It’s the Most Controversial Venice Biennale in Years. Can the Art Stand Up to the Noise?

The 2026 Venice Biennale is embroiled in controversy, with the US Pavilion at the center of a political storm. The Trump administration's State Department overhauled the selection process, bypassing the usual NEA panel and commissioning a nonprofit, the American Arts Conservancy, to organize the pavilion. Artist Alma Allen, who accepted the invitation despite threats from galleries and curators, presents a show that critics find politically muted. The Biennale's jury resigned days before the opening, and annual prizes were canceled, adding to the turmoil.

Un’isoletta tutta dedicata all’arte nel mezzo della Laguna di Venezia. Va avanti il progetto della Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo sull’Isola di San Giacomo

The Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo has opened a new art space on the island of San Giacomo in the northern Venetian lagoon, acquired in 2018 by Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo and Agostino Re Rebaudengo. The island, previously abandoned, has been transformed into a laboratory for art and sustainability, with a gradual opening plan that initially aligns with the Venice Biennale. The inaugural program launched on May 7, 2026, includes a solo exhibition by Matt Copson curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, a group show titled 'Don’t have hope, be hope!', and a photographic documentation of the restoration process by Giovanna Silva and Antonio Fortugno.