Today's Art Pulse
Hypha Studios Launches Massive South Bank Cultural Hub
Hypha Studios will open its largest cultural destination, Hypha Gallery South Bank, on 25 June 2026 in Bankside. The venue offers 9,000 sq ft of exhibition space and over 4,000 sq ft of artist studios, supporting roughly 600 artists and returning 70% of sales revenue to creators.
A Conversation with Ian Rayer-Smith
Ian Rayer‑Smith, a Manchester‑based painter who began his practice at 37, creates large‑scale works that fuse Old Master composition with the raw energy of Abstract Expressionism. He describes his finished paintings as moments of controlled tension, where the image hovers on the edge of collapse without giving way. His series—*Abstracted*, *Misdemeanor*, and *Trampling Over the Classics*—explore the space between recognition and dissolution, challenging historic canon while maintaining visceral impact. Recent monumental commissions highlight his belief that scale must amplify, not replace, the painting’s inherent force.
Matt Borruso at Et Al., San Francisco
Matt Borruso’s latest show, “Et al., San Francisco,” transforms everyday photographs into mutable collages mounted on magnet‑backed steel sheets. Each arrangement is photographed, then dismantled and stored with its image, allowing the composition to be re‑created later. The exhibition opens with a John Berger...
Russian Dissident Art Is Back On View In New York (Not Moscow)
The Ethan Cohen Gallery in Manhattan is showcasing solo exhibitions by Russian dissident artists Marat Guelman and Vitaly Komar through May 30. Guelman's show, "First Of All It’s Beautiful," features AI‑rendered mushroom‑cloud images that mock Putin’s nuclear rhetoric, while Komar's "Three...
Does Great Art Require Solitude?
At Frieze New York, Ulrik presents the late Bettina Grossman’s work, created during decades of self‑imposed isolation in the Chelsea Hotel’s room 503. Grossman’s serial, hypnotic photographs and sculptures illustrate how solitude can sharpen an artist’s observational rigor. The show is...
KinderKunstLabor for Contemporary Art / Schenker Salvi Weber Architekten
The KinderKunstLabor is the world’s first laboratory where children directly engage with contemporary art. Commissioned by municipal and state authorities, the project began with only a working title, forcing architects Schenker Salvi Weber to invent a new building typology. From day one...
Atong Atem Readies for Her First Major Survey Exhibition at NGV
Melbourne‑based South Sudanese photographer Atong Atem will present her first major solo exhibition, "Passage: The Art of Atong Atem," at the Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia from 30 October 2026 to 2 May 2027. The survey features more than 65 works, including new pieces...
The Artist Population of Greater Sydney Is Shrinking – and Becoming Less Culturally Diverse
Between 2011 and 2021 the professional artist population in Greater Sydney fell 17%, even as overall employment rose 20%. The decline was uniform across all Sydney regions, contradicting the belief that artists are simply moving to the western suburbs. Racial...
Pinta Lima 2026 Art Fair Delivers Strong Sales and Curated Programming in 13th Edition
Pinta Lima’s 13th edition opened with brisk sales and a packed schedule of curated projects, drawing 16,000 attendees to more than 50 booths. The fair’s emphasis on specialist sections such as NEXT and RADAR underscored its role as a trans‑national...
Fresh Out: It’s Degree Shows Season 2026
The 2026 UK degree show season showcases the culmination of art students’ work, drawing galleries, collectors, and peers to discover emerging talent. Organisers and participants are urged to list exhibitions on ArtRabbit, a free platform that amplifies visibility across the...
Los Angeles, California Avital Burg's Mercurial Flower Show in Los Angeles by Lyle Zimskind
Brooklyn‑born painter Avital Burg presents "Mercurial Flower Show" at Los Angeles’ Nazarian Curcio, featuring fourteen large‑scale oil and oil‑stick works that capture wildflowers foraged from Crown Heights streets. The paintings explode with thick impasto, revealing underlying sketches and occasional abstract...
Anduba Launches Seven-Pattern Collection with Indigenous Artists
Anduba, a Denver startup founded in 2025, launched its first wallcovering line, The Brave Ones, featuring patterns created by Indigenous artists from Brazil, Mexico and the United States. The company uses a royalty‑based partnership that lets artists keep copyright and...
Fondazione Vico Magistretti Connects the Prolific Designer’s Legacy with Students and Art Lovers Alike
The Fondazione Vico Magistretti, led by the designer’s granddaughter Margherita Pellino, safeguards an extensive archive of Vico Magistretti’s work and opens it to students and design enthusiasts. The foundation curates thematic exhibitions, such as the upcoming "Vico Magistretti and Japan"...
Giangiacomo Rossetti Paints Venice Blue
Italian painter Giangiacomo Rossetti is set to debut a major solo exhibition, *The Dead*, at the Venice Biennale. The show features his largest works yet, including a monumental canvas that reinterprets a 2018 piece and a series of blue‑toned monotypes...
Why Wynton Marsalis Thinks Jazz Is the Perfect Metaphor for Democracy
Renowned trumpeter Wynton Marsalis has unveiled "JazzCall for Freedom," a multipart initiative that pairs short video performances of classic jazz pieces with contemporary civic commentary. The project invites established and emerging musicians to record clips that echo current social and political...
Amy Sherald Dresses as Her Own Painting for Art-Themed Met Gala
Amy Sherald arrived at the 2026 Met Gala in a Thom Browne dress that mirrored her 2013 portrait "Miss Everything," turning the red‑carpet into a living artwork. The Costume Institute’s "Fashion Is Art" theme highlighted the new 12,000‑square‑foot galleries opening with the "Costume Art"...
Anish Kapoor Condemns Inclusion of US in Venice Biennale
British‑Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor has publicly urged the exclusion of the United States from the 2026 Venice Biennale, condemning what he calls the nation’s “abhorrent politics of hate and its incessant warmongering.” The call follows a mass resignation of the Biennale’s...
Siteless Athens Arts Institution NEON Closing After 14 Years
NEON, the sit‑less Athens arts institution founded by billionaire collector Dimitris Daskalopoulos in 2012, announced it will close after fourteen years of operation. The organization never owned a permanent venue, instead staging forty‑four exhibitions in museums, archaeological sites and public...
San Francisco Art Fair Elevates Asian-American Artists Amid Anti‑Immigrant Rhetoric
The 14th San Francisco Art Fair showcased more than 70 Asian diaspora artists and the group show “Da Da Daam,” putting Asian‑American voices at the centre of the event. Fair director Kelly Freeman said the fair aims to celebrate immigrant...
A Landmark Benjamin Franklin Collection Is Hitting the Auction Block
A 150‑item Benjamin Franklin collection assembled by sports mogul Jay Snider will be auctioned at Sotheby’s New York on June 24, with a full catalogue valued between $3 million and $4.5 million. The lot includes a 1758 letter to Joseph Galloway, a bound set...
After the Afterparty: Berlin Art Tests Its Pulse During Gallery Weekend
Berlin’s annual Gallery Weekend proved the city’s art scene remains resilient despite recent funding cuts and heightened government censorship. Highlights included Alex Heide’s immersive photography at the new Klix space, a secret‑invite opening at CHB Fine Arts, and politically charged...
New Flagship Space for SAMoCA Announced As Part of Saudi Vision 2030
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, via the Diriyah Company, has pledged a $490 million grant to build a new flagship space for the Saudi Arabia Museum of Contemporary Art (SAMoCA). The 77,000 square‑meter (≈19 acre) museum will be designed by Godwin Austen Johnson...
Preserve Art in Original Condition for Value and History
Whenever possible, keep your art in original condition as you created it, especially your best examples. Do not change it, including reworking it, replacing original frames or bases, taking it apart for shipping or storage, etc. Sometimes changes are unavoidable,...
The Art That Inspired the 2026 Met Gala Red Carpet
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute launched the 2026 Met Gala with the theme “Fashion Is Art,” linking runway couture to fine‑art expression. The accompanying “Costume Art” exhibition, opening May 10, explores the classical, overlooked, and universal bodies, highlighting clothing’s...
The Price Points Powering the Art Market
The $1‑$10 million price segment proved the strongest in 2025, delivering $3.5 billion in sales, a 20.8 % increase over 2024. The $100 000‑$1 million bracket posted $3.2 billion, up 6 %, while the >$10 million tier surged 36.1 % to $2.3 billion, highlighting volatility at the top. Lower‑priced categories...
Pedro Reyes’s New Lacma Commission Sparks Criticism in Mexico
Mexican artist Pedro Reyes unveiled *Tlali*, a four‑metre Olmec‑inspired stone sculpture, on LACMA’s new David Geffen Galleries. The work has sparked a backlash from nearly 80 Mexican cultural figures who argue it repeats the missteps of a 2021 Mexico City...
Tracing the Arc of British Sculpture From Modernism to Today
The Bowman Sculpture gallery in London is hosting “Modern British: Modern & Contemporary British Sculpture,” on view through May 29, 2026. The show pairs iconic modernists such as Henry Moore, Eduardo Paolozzi and Lynn Chadwick with emerging voices like Rufus Martin and Joanna Allen, creating a cross‑generational...
Ciao, Venice.
The 61st Venice Biennale opened amid a wave of turmoil, including the untimely death of director Koyo Kouoh, the resignation of the international jury, and the cancellation of the South African pavilion. Despite these setbacks, the event features roughly 100 national...
The Egyptian Modernist Inji Efflatoun Gains International Exposure with New Biographical Collection
Inji Efflatoun, a leading Egyptian modernist painter and activist, is the subject of a new bilingual biography, *The Life and Work of Inji Efflatoun*, released in August 2025. The volume combines her translated diaries—covering childhood to imprisonment—with scholarly essays that situate...
Billionaire Collector Ken Griffin Buys Second Rare Constitution Printing
Billionaire hedge‑fund founder Ken Griffin has added a second first‑printing of the U.S. Constitution to his collection, making him the only private owner of two of the 14 surviving copies. The Van Sinderen copy was secured in a private deal after...
May Book Bag: From a Guide on Entering the Art World to a Publication About Artists Influenced by Ovid’s Metamorphoses
May’s Book Bag highlights four new titles that bridge scholarship and practice in the visual arts. Francesca Cappelletti and Frits Scholten edit *Metamorphoses: Ovid and the Arts* ($50), pairing Ovid’s mythic narratives with works by Cellini, Rodin, Bourgeois and others....
Magnified Sand Reveals the Hidden Beauty of Individual Grains
Magnified Sand is a continuous microscopic photography project by Robert Maronpot that captures individual sand grains at extreme close‑up, revealing vivid colors, intricate shapes, and crystalline structures invisible to the naked eye. The resulting images transform ordinary beach debris into...
SFMOMA Unveils 'Reimagined' Fisher Collection, Revamping 250 Works
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art opened 'Reimagined: The Fisher Collection at 10', a re‑curated showcase of 250 works by 35 artists across four floors. Curators Ted Mann and Gamynne Guillotte used video, audio and spatial redesigns to center...
FAD News: Offprint London Heads to 180 Studios for Its 2026 Edition
Offprint London 2026 will be held at 180 Studios from May 15‑17, gathering independent, experimental publishers across art, architecture, design, and visual culture. Founded in 2010 and backed by LUMA Arles, the fair now attracts more than 35,000 visitors annually. The...
Nahmad Seeks to Reopen Modigliani Restitution Case With New Witnesses
David Nahmad’s lawyers have filed a motion in New York seeking to reopen the restitution case over Amedeo Modigliani’s *Seated Man with a Cane*, arguing that the painting may have been misidentified. The motion relies on two new witnesses who...
‘A Remarkably Tenacious Motif’: The Many Faces of Marilyn Monroe Revealed in New Book and Show
The National Portrait Gallery in London will launch "Marilyn Monroe: a Portrait" on June 4, 2026, curated by Rosie Broadley and accompanied by a new 256‑page book. The show assembles works by Andy Warhol, Willem de Kooning, Pauline Boty, Rosalyn...
Got Artwork that Deserves Wall Space? Share It with Us!
Dazed Club has partnered with London‑based art‑print platform DROOL to scout emerging talent. Up to ten Dazed Club members will have their artwork turned into official prints sold on DROOL’s site, earning a commission on each sale. Selected pieces will...
Ruban I.P.’s 1964 Tretyakov Masterpiece Highlights Chartbook
Ruban I.P. Not for tourists. 1964. State Tretyakov Gallery, featured on today's Chartbook Top Links in the comment below. https://t.co/fudbk4AW4h
Ellie Kayu Ng: Catching the Big Fish
Brooklyn‑based painter Ellie Kayu Ng makes her UK solo debut at Twilight Contemporary with the exhibition “Catching the Big Fish,” on view May 8‑30, 2026. The show extends her decade‑long practice of painting herself into imagined scenarios, using borrowed garments to embody...
Eva Franco Mattes Are Bonafide Experts in Ragebait and Cat Memes
Eva and Franco Mattes are being hailed as leading practitioners of "ragebait," a term that topped the 2025 Word of the Year list for content designed to provoke anger. Their newest Venice exhibition, backed by the Autotelic Foundation, showcases AI‑generated...
Remnants of an Optimistic Era
Erik Otsea’s solo exhibition “Clever Animals & Static” at Alto Beta showcases hand‑built ceramic sculptures that evoke Soviet‑era brutalism while softened by pastel accents. The show pairs the three‑dimensional pieces with a grid of 25 black‑and‑white panels created 35 years...
Walter Pfeiffer’s World of Beauty and Desire
Walter Pfeiffer, the 90‑year‑old Austrian photographer, opened his latest solo show, “Walter Pfeiffer. In Good Company,” at Turin’s Pinacoteca Agnelli. The exhibition, known for its erotic and surreal portraiture, only introduces formal fashion photography in a striking triptych featuring supermodel Eva Herzigová in sequinned outfits and a...
ASIAN DOPE BOYS, Ziúr and More to Play at Kuboraum’s Venice Biennale Takeover
Kuboraum is staging a four‑day "We Travel to Know Our Own Geography" program at the Venice Art Biennale from May 6‑9, hosted at the historic Pier Fortunato Calvi State Secondary School. The lineup blends performance art, music, and multidisciplinary collaborations, featuring...
Dozens of Venice Biennale Artists Stage ‘Drone’ Perfomance in Protest of Israel’s Participation
The Venice Biennale’s professional pre‑opening featured about 60 artists staging a “Solidarity Drone Chorus” to protest Israel’s participation. The performers hummed a Gaza‑originated “Drone Song,” aiming to sonically occupy the space and echo the daily drone strikes that Palestinians endure....
Si Newhouse's Collection Sells $60 Million Picassos
Si Newhouse was a helluva collector. This latest sale from his collection features Picassos valued at up to $60 million each. https://t.co/pLtyrxczf8
AI Reshapes Art Creation without Hurting Artists' Earnings
AI is changing creative work, but not replacing it. Early data shows little evidence of broad income declines for artists, even in fields highly exposed to generative tools. The reality is more nuanced. AI is reshaping how art is made, not whether...
The Stone Sculptures of Joan Bennàssar in Can Picafort, Spain
Mallorca artist Joan Bennàssar installed a series of stone and cement figures along Can Picafort’s waterfront in 2016. The sculptures, grouped under the themes "El Deseo," "El Ritual," "El Tesoro" and "La Herida," range from solitary female forms to a...
Nicholas Pope, Sculptor Whose Career Came in Two Acts, 1949–2026
Nicholas Pope, a British sculptor known for his organic wooden columns, died in May 2026. He first gained prominence in the 1970s alongside peers like Tony Cragg and Antony Gormley, culminating in a 1980 showing at the British Pavilion in...
On View: Joan Semmel
The Jewish Museum is presenting “In the Flesh,” a career‑spanning survey of painter Joan Semmel that runs through May 31. The exhibition features only sixteen of Semmel’s large‑scale works, arranged chronologically around a central wall that also displays paintings and photographs...
Venice Biennale’s Fierce Pussy Group Says City Censored Posters About Queer and Trans People
Lesbian artist collective fierce pussy announced that its Venice Biennale posters celebrating queer and trans people were censored by the city of Venice before the exhibition opened. The works, featuring slogans like “Welcome queers and trans people” alongside a cat‑rendered...
Phillips Collection Launches 'Miró and the United States' Exhibition Mapping Transatlantic Legacy
The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., opened the exhibition “Miró and the United States,” a comprehensive survey that maps Joan Miró’s artistic dialogue with America. Curators present newly researched works and archival material, positioning the Spanish modernist within a broader...