Vasari Codex. A living chronicle of the art world.

article news schedule May 6, 2026

Pussy Riot and Topless Activists Rally Against Russian Pavilion at Venice Biennale

On May 6, 2026, the art collective Pussy Riot and the Ukrainian feminist group FEMEN staged a protest outside the Russian Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale. Approximately 50 activists released pink smoke and blue-and-yellow flares evoking the Ukrainian flag, while FEMEN members staged a topless protest with anti-war slogans like “RUSSIA KILLS, BIENNALE EXHIBITS.” Italian police and Biennale security blocked access to the pavilion, and some Pussy Riot activists were tackled after entering. The protest targeted Russia’s participation in the Biennale for the first time since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with activists condemning the event for lending legitimacy to Russian officials and artists aligned with the government.

gavel restitution schedule May 5, 2026

France reckons with Nazi-looted art in a new Paris museum gallery

France has opened a new permanent gallery at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris dedicated to displaying Nazi-looted artworks that remain unclaimed. The gallery features 13 works from the MNR (Musées Nationaux Récupération) collection, including a painting by Alfred Stevens originally destined for Hitler's planned museum in Linz. The display is the first in the museum's history to show the backs of paintings, revealing stamps, labels, and inventory marks that trace how each piece moved from private Jewish homes into Nazi hands. The museum also launched its first research unit to trace rightful heirs, led by Ines Rotermund-Reynard.

museum exhibitions schedule May 4, 2026

Lauren Sánchez Bezos unveils Met’s new exhibit amid gala backlash

Lauren Sánchez Bezos appeared alongside Anna Wintour at a press conference in New York to unveil the Metropolitan Museum of Art's new Costume Art exhibit, which opens May 10 ahead of the Met Gala. Sánchez Bezos and her husband Jeff Bezos are primary sponsors of this year's gala and exhibit, a role that has sparked backlash and a boycott campaign from the activist group Everyone Hates Elon. The exhibit explores themes of the dressed body through garments paired with ancient artifacts, featuring categories like "the naked body," "classic body," and "disabled body."

article local schedule Apr 30, 2026

Helena College exhibits capstone 'The Cost of Living' project at Holter Museum of Art

Helena College is showcasing its annual capstone exhibition, titled 'The Cost of Living,' at the Holter Museum of Art in Helena, Montana. The show features final projects from six second-year art students—Vinessa Sanford, Kraig Mougeot, William Krings, Linus Leeper, Sophie Uda, and Red Romano—and opened on April 3, running through May 3, 2026. Assistant professor Seth Roby organized the exhibition, which includes works ranging from a turbulent abstract painting to a whimsical nook with lavender wisteria and fairy dwellings, all exploring existential themes tied to life and living.

museum exhibitions schedule Apr 28, 2026

Robot dogs with Musk and Zuckerberg heads roam around Berlin gallery in Beeple's new exhibit

American artist Beeple (Mike Winkelmann) has installed an interactive piece titled "Regular Animals" at Berlin's Neue Nationalgalerie, featuring robot dogs with hyper-realistic silicone heads modeled after Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, and Beeple himself. The dogs roam the gallery and "poo" printed AI-transformed images of their surroundings, with each dog's output reflecting the worldview of its human figure—for example, the Picasso dog produces Cubist-style images. The work, first shown at Art Basel Miami Beach 2025, includes QR codes on prints that grant access to free NFTs.

museum exhibitions schedule Feb 5, 2026

New art gallery opens in one of Barcelona’s most famous buildings

A new contemporary art gallery, Casa Batlló Contemporary, has opened on the previously closed second floor of Antoni Gaudí's iconic Casa Batlló building in Barcelona. The inaugural exhibition, "Beyond the Facade," is by the London-based art practice United Visual Artists, founded by Matt Clark, and runs until May 17.

museum exhibitions schedule Aug 24, 2025

Monet and other French artists on display at Gainesville’s Harn Museum

The Harn Museum of Art in Gainesville, Florida, has opened "French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, 1850-1950," an exhibition featuring 56 works from the Brooklyn Museum’s European art collection plus two additional Monet paintings. The show, which took three years to secure, spans a century of French art from Impressionism to Surrealism, with works by Monet, Matisse, and other leading artists. It is divided into four thematic sections and is free to the public thanks to anonymous donations.

museum exhibitions schedule May 31, 2025

Artists come together to celebrate Black art at the Harn

Gainesville art enthusiasts gathered at the Harn Museum of Art for its free 'Silver Linings' Community Day, featuring line dancing, screen printing, notebook making, and a community mural activity titled 'Pieces of Us.' The event centered on the exhibition 'Silver Linings: Celebrating the Spelman Art Collection,' on loan from Spelman College, which includes 39 works by nearly 30 artists of African descent, such as Benny Andrews, Sam Gilliam, and Faith Ringgold. Artist-in-residence Jessica Clermont led the community mural project, inviting visitors to decorate abstract puzzle pieces reflecting personal 'silver linings.'

person The Independent