Picasso, Dalí and Degas: iconic works by some of history's greatest artists arrive in Shepparton

The Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) in regional Victoria, Australia, is hosting a touring exhibition from the Auckland Art Gallery titled "Facing Modernity: Degas to Picasso," featuring 37 iconic works by artists including Picasso, Dalí, Degas, and Matisse. The show, on view from May 23 to September 20, 2026, spans modern art from 1860 to the mid-1960s and includes 11 pieces from a bequest by New York collectors Josie and Julian Robertson. SAM Artistic Director Danny Lacy, who previously worked at the gallery with former director Kirsten Paisley, secured the Australian exclusive after maintaining ties with Auckland.

Karla Black

Karla Black presents a new solo exhibition at Rodder, a New York gallery housed in a Neo-Renaissance apartment, from May 5 to June 18, 2026. The show features her signature Post-Minimalist installations that embrace disarray, using fugitive materials, smeared oil paints on mirrors, and ornamental clutter to challenge sculptural conventions. Key works include "Nature at the Court" (2026), a large gestural piece that blends confection and confusion. The exhibition responds to the domestic, Rococo-influenced setting, with mirrored elements and pastel pigments creating a visceral, temporal experience.

​Don’t miss “Secrets of the Soul” painting exhibition by Sayyed Kandil at Picasso East

The article is a roundup of art exhibitions and cultural events in Cairo, Egypt, highlighting several concurrent shows. Key exhibitions include the Egyptian debut of "Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" at District 5 in New Cairo, a retrospective for Said El-Sadr and his students at the Gezira Arts Centre, a photographic exhibition on melting glaciers at the Goethe Institute, and "Expedition Art" at Mashrabia Gallery featuring Swedish artists' polar works. The piece also mentions a permanent exhibition at Al-Fustat Centre for Ceramic and a painting exhibition by Sayyed Kandil at Picasso East.

Fine Art Surveys

This collection of fine art surveys and exhibition catalogues offers a diverse overview of contemporary and modern art history. The selection includes critical examinations of disruptive modern works in 'ArtQuake', a comprehensive guide to 21st-century artists, and specialized studies on printmaking through the lens of Paupers Press and The Paragon Press. Notable entries also feature thematic explorations of humor in art and the intersection of theatrical magic and visual perception.

MOCA announces 2026 gala - Beverly Press & Park Labrea News

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) has announced its 2026 annual gala, scheduled for May 30 at The Geffen Contemporary in Little Tokyo. The event will honor three new 'MOCA Legends': artists Kara Walker and Paul McCarthy, and philanthropist and longtime trustee Eugenio López Alonso. The evening, conceived by artist Piero Golia, aims to raise essential funds for the museum’s programs, staff, and general operations while celebrating individuals who have shaped the institution's nearly 50-year history.

München: VARIOUS OTHERS 2026

The 2026 edition of VARIOUS OTHERS is set to transform Munich into a vibrant hub for contemporary art from May 14 to 24. The festival features a dense program of exhibitions, performances, and talks across 39 venues, including major museums, galleries, and artist-run spaces. Highlights of the opening weekend include the reopening of the Museum Villa Stuck after extensive renovations, a dialogic tour with collector Ingvild Goetz, and the debut of 'Vectors,' a project that converts corporate offices into temporary exhibition spaces inspired by Jan Hoet’s 'Chambres d’Amis.'

Christie's presents Beyond Ordinary - Then. Now. Next. Works from the Zabludowicz Collection

Christie's has announced a major two-part auction titled 'Beyond Ordinary - Then. Now. Next.', featuring 106 lots from the renowned Zabludowicz Collection. Scheduled for June 2026 in London, the sale includes a live auction and a concurrent online session with a combined estimate of approximately £15 million. The selection highlights the collection's deep roots in the 1990s British art scene and its commitment to contemporary innovation, featuring blue-chip works by artists such as Philip Guston, Damien Hirst, and Richard Prince, many of which are appearing at auction for the first time.

Anita and Poju Zabludowicz to Sell $20.1 M. in Art at Christie’s | USA Art News

Anita and Poju Zabludowicz are set to auction 106 works from their renowned private collection at Christie’s London on June 25, with an estimated total value of £15 million ($20.1 million). The sale features high-profile postwar and contemporary artists, led by Philip Guston’s 'Mirror Head' (1977), alongside works by Damien Hirst, Beatriz Milhazes, and Henry Taylor. This move follows the 2023 closure of their London museum as the couple shifts their focus toward lending and their permanent space in Finland.

Art on a Yacht, Art in a Shed, and a New Museum Director for the Frye

Local artist Light Guerrilla projected the message "TAX THE RICH" onto Mark Zuckerberg's megayacht Launchpad in Seattle, briefly illuminating the vessel before security confiscated the equipment. The Frye Art Museum appointed Rangsook Yoon, PhD, as Senior Director of Curatorial Affairs, a new role overseeing the curatorial department as the museum approaches its 75th anniversary in 2027. The article also notes the passing of art-world commentator Hilde Lynn Helphenstein (Jerry Gogosian) and highlights upcoming events including Lars Bergquist's solo exhibition at Europa Gallery and Philippe Hyojung Kim's show at SOIL Gallery.

Leila Babirye: The Architecture of Belonging

Leilah Babirye presents a new body of work at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, centered on the concept of a queer wedding. The exhibition features sculptural figures made from discarded materials such as chains, bicycle gears, rubber tires, and salvaged debris, combined with carved wood and ceramics. These figures—brides, grooms, attendants, and guardians—form a ceremonial landscape that celebrates LGBTQ+ lives and chosen community. Babirye, who fled Uganda after being outed as gay, transforms these materials into regal, intimate, and defiant portraits that evoke both celebration and protection.

A Guide to the Best and Worst of Marilyn Monroe in the Culture

Marilyn Monroe would have turned 100 on June 1, and institutions worldwide are marking her centennial with exhibitions. The National Portrait Gallery in London opens “Marilyn Monroe: A Portrait” on June 4, featuring works by Andy Warhol, Cecil Beaton, and Richard Avedon alongside her personal effects. The Academy Museum in Los Angeles presents hundreds of posters, photographs, letters, and costumes, while the Cinémathèque Française in Paris runs a film retrospective through June 12. The article also surveys the best and worst cultural works Monroe inspired, including Joyce Carol Oates’s novel *Blonde*, Gloria Steinem’s *Marilyn Monroe*, and Warhol’s iconic “Marilyn” series.

Met Museum Announces Free Memberships for NY SNAP Recipients

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has launched a new free membership tier called "Explorer" for New York State residents who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Announced on June 2, the program offers perks including free general admission for the member and one guest plus children under 18, streamlined digital entry, access to select member previews, and event invitations. Enrollment is available at the Met Fifth Avenue and the Met Cloisters. The initiative is a collaboration with the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and the Department of Social Services, building on the museum's existing pay-what-you-wish admission for state residents and its 2024 Museums for All participation.

John Armleder: Ripple: Furniture Sculpture and Painting after 1982

The article reviews John Armleder's exhibition "Ripple: Furniture Sculpture and Painting after 1982" at David Kordansky Gallery in New York, running from May 7 to June 13, 2026. It examines Armleder's practice from his Fluxus-influenced anti-art gestures of the 1960s and '70s to his poured and striped paintings, surrogates, and furniture sculptures of the 1980s and '90s. The Swiss artist uses chance, indifference, and ambient conditions—informed by John Cage—to create works that function as loosely scored situations, blurring boundaries between art and furnishing, contemplation and domestic comfort.

SPECTERS AT PLAY Tim Griffin on “What a Wonderful World: An Audiovisual Poem,” Julia Stoschek Foundation at the Variety Arts Theater, Los Angeles

Curated by Udo Kittelmann, the Julia Stoschek Foundation’s exhibition “What a Wonderful World: An Audiovisual Poem” transforms the dilapidated Variety Arts Theater in Downtown Los Angeles into a hauntological site of media exploration. By placing contemporary video works from the Stoschek Collection alongside historical silent films within a 1920s Renaissance-style building, the exhibition leverages the site’s architectural decay to evoke a sense of absence and spectral presence. The venue, which once hosted figures ranging from Charlie Chaplin to Hüsker Dü, serves as a poignant backdrop that blurs the lines between the past and the contemporary moment.

TV veteran Dawn Airey heads Arts Council England

Dawn Airey, a veteran television executive with a career spanning Channel 5, Sky, ITV, Yahoo!, and Getty Images, has been appointed chair of Arts Council England, the arms-length body that distributes over £680 million annually in UK government funding for culture. She will be paid £60,000 a year for a two-day-a-week role, succeeding a period of significant review and policy change for the organization.

Emmanuel Kasarhérou, président du musée du quai Branly : « Nous tentons d’être des observateurs attentifs et respectueux des évolutions du monde »

Emmanuel Kasarhérou, president of the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, reflects on the museum's 20th anniversary in June 2026. He discusses the institution's founding vision to move beyond traditional ethnographic museums, its iconic architecture by Jean Nouvel, and the evolution of its relationship with the Louvre's Pavillon des Sessions, which became the Galerie des Cinq Continents. Kasarhérou also addresses geopolitical changes, the destruction of cultural heritage, and the museum's efforts to build international partnerships, particularly with countries of origin for its collections, such as Mali.

Finally Completed! Sagrada Família at the Heart of a Special Evening on Arte

Enfin achevée ! La Sagrada Família au cœur d’une soirée spéciale sur Arte

A documentary titled "Sagrada Família, le rêve achevé de Gaudí" will air on Arte on June 6, 2026, chronicling the final stages of the Sagrada Família basilica in Barcelona, designed by Antoni Gaudí. The film, directed by Marc Jampolsky, follows the completion of the monument 100 years after Gaudí's death, including the installation of the last arm of the cross atop the Tower of Jesus in February 2026. It features interviews with historians, engineers, and architects, and includes fictional sequences of Gaudí in his reconstructed workshop. The broadcast will be followed by a performance of Mozart's Requiem by the Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, recorded inside the basilica.

Lucian Freud’s Dozing Nude Could Fetch $47M at Auction

Lucian Freud's monumental nude painting "Sleeping by the Lion Carpet" (1995–96) is heading to auction at Sotheby's in London on June 24, with an estimate of up to £35 million (~$47 million). The over-seven-foot-tall work depicts model Sue Tilley, who met Freud through performance artist Leigh Bowery, and is the last in a series of four monumental portraits of Tilley in resting postures. The painting was purchased directly from Freud by collector Joe Lewis via dealer Bill Acquavella, and will be exhibited at Sotheby's Bond Street Galleries from June 10–23 alongside works by Degas, Matisse, and Klimt.

Kara Walker Fronts Loewe’s 180th Anniversary Campaign Nodding to Its Art-Filled Past

Loewe has launched a campaign for its 180th anniversary, featuring a capsule collection, an anniversary magazine, and an animated film that highlight the brand's deep ties to the art world. The campaign includes photographs by Talia Chetrit of the collection—adorned with lion motifs—alongside brand ambassadors Julia Garner, Sissy Spacek, and artist Kara Walker, who also appears in a promotional video. This follows the tenure of former creative director Jonathan Anderson, who emphasized art collaborations with figures like Lynda Benglis and Richard Hawkins, and the brand's new creative directors Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez continue that tradition.

Comment | Furor over ‘colourised’ Ansel Adams photo reflects problems with the art market, not AI

At the Aipad Photography Show in April, gallerist James Danziger presented and sold a colorized version of Ansel Adams's iconic black-and-white photograph "Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico" (1941), generated using artificial intelligence. The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust and many in the photography community condemned the move, while Danziger defended it on the grounds that the image is in the public domain.

How Andy Warhol’s textile and fashion work influenced his art

A new publication by Montreal-based curator Paul Maréchal, titled *Andy Warhol: The Complete Textiles and Fashion*, catalogs over 200 textile designs by Andy Warhol, spanning from border patterns in the 1950s to screen-printed garments from the 1960s through the 1980s. The book explores Warhol’s early commission for an awning at the Fleming-Joffe boutique in St. Louis, his 1966 use of cellulose and cotton dresses from Abraham & Straus as silk-screen supports, and his late 1970s hand-printed T-shirts featuring logos like Brillo, Hershey, Campbell’s soup, and Coca-Cola. Maréchal argues that these textile works paved the way for Warhol’s Pop aesthetic.

‘Like a Klingon prison’: inside Barack Obama’s audacious, near-windowless, $850m presidential library

The article describes the upcoming opening of Barack Obama's $850 million presidential library on Chicago's South Side, designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects. The 70-meter-tall, mostly windowless granite monolith, nicknamed the "Obamalisk," has drawn comparisons to a flak tower or Klingon prison due to its angular, fortress-like appearance. Obama was deeply involved in the design, pushing for angular forms inspired by sculptor Brâncuși, reversing the architects' usual process of designing from the inside out.

5 New Books to Transport You Elsewhere This June

ARTnews lists five new art books for June 2026 that use art and history as portals to other times and places. The selections include Isaac Butler's 'The Perfect Moment' on the 1980s culture wars, Deborah Levy's 'My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein' on the modernist icon, Ruth Bernard Yeazell's 'Vermeer's Afterlives' on the Dutch painter's legacy, Rem Koolhaas's 'Rem Before Koolhaas' collecting his early journalism, and Katja Hoyer's 'Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe' on the artistic golden age of the Weimar Republic.

Miró-Gemälde aus Monaco wird in München versteigert

Munich auction house Karl & Faber will auction a Joan Miró painting from a private collection in Monaco on June 11, as part of its 'Modern Art, Post War & Contemporary Art' sale. The work, titled 'Peinture' (1936), is estimated at €2–2.5 million and is described as one of the most significant Miró pieces offered on the German auction market in over 25 years. The auction also features around 310 lots, including a tempera by Paula Modersohn-Becker valued at €300,000–400,000.

Kölner Dom kostet bald 12 Euro Eintritt - aber nicht immer

Cologne Cathedral, one of Germany's most famous churches and a UNESCO World Heritage site, will charge a €12 entry fee starting July 1. The decision, announced by the cathedral chapter after years of debate, aims to cover rising costs for maintenance, protection, and operations. Exceptions include free entry on certain religious and national holidays, and for worshippers, children under 13, and people with disabilities. Two separate entrances will be used: a free north entrance for prayer and a paid west entrance for full sightseeing, though the chapter says it will trust visitors rather than enforce a 'belief check'.

M+ Sigg Collection: Documenting Chinese Contemporary Art | M+ Museum

The M+ Sigg Collection serves as a comprehensive historical archive documenting the evolution of Chinese contemporary art from the 1970s to the present. Founded by Dr. Uli Sigg, a former ambassador who systematically collected over 1,500 works, the collection aims to mirror China’s social transformation and the intersection of politics, personal destiny, and artistic production. Sigg emphasizes that the collection's value lies in its historical significance and its role as a public cultural treasure rather than its market price.

News Archive - BlueMedium

This archive from Blue Medium highlights a diverse range of art world activities scheduled for late 2025 and early 2026. Key events include the RISD Graduate Show, the Venice Biennale featuring the Australia Pavilion, and the 'MONUMENTA' legacy exhibition at Rosecliff. The period is also marked by significant institutional updates, such as the Indigo Arts Alliance's leadership expansion and residency cohort announcement, alongside the release of a major report by Museums Moving Forward addressing labor conditions and inequity within U.S. art museums.

Matisse – BRIDGING THE GAP

This article reflects on the profound impact of Henri Matisse’s visual language, centered around a 1964 exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Art titled '1914'. The author recounts the transformative experience of viewing 'A View of Notre Dame', noting how Matisse’s abstraction of space and form challenged traditional perceptions of depth and representation. The narrative connects this personal art school memory to the broader historical context of the museum's leadership under Charles Parkhurst, a former 'Monuments Man'.

The Dreamer | Nigel Cooke | Ding Yi | Artribune

The Fondazione Querini Stampalia in Venice is set to host 'The Dreamer', an ambitious multi-part exhibition opening in May 2026. Conceived as a 'cinematic multiscreen' experience, the project transforms the historic 16th-century palace into a series of film-like sets where reality and imagination blur. The exhibition centers on the figure of Count Giovanni Querini, integrating over 170 classical masterpieces by artists such as Giovanni Bellini, Pietro Longhi, and Palma il Vecchio with contemporary interventions by artists including Giusy Calia, Silvia Giambrone, and Davide Rivalta.

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY

This article presents a curated series of profiles featuring prominent global figures across the disciplines of art, history, fashion, and human rights. The collection highlights individuals such as art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon, fashion historian Valerie Steele, and photographer Marco Delogu, emphasizing their contributions to cultural discourse and the intersection of their work with religion and philosophy.