Today's Art Pulse
Arthur Jafa and Richard Prince’s ‘Helter Skelter’ debuts at Fondazione Prada in Venice
The joint exhibition “Helter Skelter” opens at Fondazione Prada’s Ca’ Corner della Regina in Venice, running through November 23, 2026. Curated by former Guggenheim chief Nancy Spector, the show pairs Jafa and Prince, artists noted for aggressive appropriation of cinema, music and American iconography. Critics describe the work as lawless image scavenging that confronts viewers.
Rare Rothko Leads Multi-Million-Dollar Single-Owner Sales at Sotheby’s
Sotheby’s is set to auction a 1957 Mark Rothko, “Brown and Blacks in Reds,” with an estimate of $70‑100 million, a price that could eclipse the artist’s $89.6 million record. The work, long held by the late Robert Mnuchin, has risen more than tenfold since its 2003 sale of $6 million. Across the Atlantic, Sotheby’s will also sell works from Joe Lewis’s collection in June, projected to realize $187‑250 million and likely set a new UK single‑owner sale record exceeding $126 million. The spring calendar also features high‑profile pieces such as Basquiat ($45 million), Picasso ($40 million), Van Gogh ($25‑35 million) and a record $5‑7 million Lichtenstein day‑sale estimate.
Frieze New York 2026 Sets Dates, Program at The Shed, May 13‑17
Frieze New York announced its 2026 edition will take place May 13‑17 at The Shed, unveiling a program of solo, dual and curated shows that emphasize diasporic narratives, ecological concerns and material experimentation. The fair will host 33 New York...
XOXO Festival Archived Online
The XOXO festival, a Portland‑based gathering for internet artists and creators that ran throughout the 2010s, has launched XOXO Explore, a comprehensive online archive of every edition. Hosted by Andy McMilland and Andy Baio, the archive offers videos, talks, performances,...
Van Cleef & Arpels Brings a Spring Garden to Rockefeller Center
Van Cleef & Arpels has returned to Rockefeller Center for a second year with its "Spring is Blooming" installation, a garden‑inspired tableau that transforms the plaza into a seasonal showcase. The display was created in partnership with French artist Charlotte Gastaut and features...
Inside New York’s Biggest Design Auction of All Time
Sotheby’s auction of the Jean and Terry de Gunzburg collection set a world record when Claude Lalanne’s suite of 15 mirrors sold for $28.5 million, $33.5 million including fees. The sale, part of a $96 million auction of 107 design objects, also produced record...
Anna Zemánková Estate Joins Gladstone Gallery, Sandra Vásquez De La Horra Joins Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, and More: Industry Moves for...
Gladstone Gallery has taken on the estate of Czech artist Anna Zemánková and will showcase a solo booth at TEFAF New York. Sandra Vásquez de la Horra, fresh from a Venice Biennale appearance, joins Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, bolstering its Latin...
How Will the Venice Biennale Impact Alma Allen’s Market?
Alma Allen has been appointed the United States representative for this year’s Venice Biennale, sparking controversy over a selection process that bypassed traditional museum commissioning. After the announcement, his long‑standing galleries Olney Gleason and Mendes Wood DM dropped him, while...
Portland’s Converge 45 Reveals Theme and Artists, Including Trisha Baga, Rose Salane, and Srijon Chowdhury
Portland’s Converge 45 triennial will open on August 27, presenting a citywide exhibition across sixteen venues. Curator Lumi Tan titles the edition “Here, To you, Now,” a phrase lifted from Ursula K. Le Guin’s novel *Always Coming Home*. The program features 28 artists, with more than...
Mahogany Opera & Britten Pears Arts to World Premiere Errollyn Wallen’s ‘A Christmas Miracle’
Mahogany Opera and Britten Pears Arts will stage the world premiere of Errollyn Wallen’s community opera “A Christmas Miracle” on Nov. 20‑21 at Orford Church in Suffolk, followed by performances at St. Magnus Cathedral in Orkney on Dec. 4‑5. The work reimagines...
Israel’s Foreign Ministry Slams Venice Biennale Jury for Politicising Awards
Israel’s foreign ministry has condemned the Venice Biennale jury after it announced it will not award prizes to countries whose leaders face International Criminal Court charges. The move, seen as a boycott of Israel’s pavilion, has ignited a diplomatic dispute...
Blue-Chip Names Anchor Showplace’s Art and Design Auction
Showplace’s Important Fine Art and Design Auction will open on May 14, 2026, featuring 145 lots that span Old Masters, modern painting, sculpture, decorative arts and contemporary design. The catalog includes blue‑chip names such as Andy Warhol, Yayoi Kusama and Alexander Calder,...
May 2026 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists
Colossal’s May 2026 roundup lists dozens of open calls, grants, fellowships and residencies for visual artists worldwide. Highlights include the Scenerium 2026 Art Award with an online exhibition, Artsy feature and global promotion; the Hopper Prize offering two $4,500 and...
TikTok Shop Adds “Fine Art” Category and Launches with Live Sale by Influencer Artist Sophie Tea
TikTok Shop introduced a dedicated “fine art” category within its collectibles section, allowing creators to sell original works through shoppable videos and livestreams. The rollout debuted with a three‑hour live sale on March 11 featuring 20 oil paintings by influencer Sophie Tea,...
Lina Lapelytė’s 400,000-Block Installation Opens at Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof
Lithuanian interdisciplinary artist Lina Lapelytė, commissioned by Chanel, has transformed Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof into a field of 400,000 pine and spruce cubes. The installation, titled “We Make Years Out of Hours,” opens on May 1 and runs through January 10,...
Bunny Hennessey: Radical Happiness
Union Gallery will present Bunny Hennessey’s "Radical Happiness" from May 2‑30, 2026, showcasing her high‑chroma, sensation‑driven paintings that fuse figuration and abstraction. The London‑based artist, a Slade MFA candidate and 2024 Freeland’s Painting Prize winner, uses oil, acrylic and watercolor to explore...
Toronto’s CONTACT Festival Turns 30 in May — And Its Lens Is As Sharp As Ever
The CONTACT Festival marks its 30th anniversary in May 2026, celebrating three decades of photography with over 8,500 artists and more than 20 million attendees. A gala at the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto highlighted Chipewyan artist Jake Kimble’s self‑portrait "Pow,...
Tefaf Awards $27,000 Grant to Restore 500‑Year‑Old Medici Tapestry at Minneapolis Institute of Art
The Tefaf Museum Restoration Fund has granted €25,000 (about $27,000) to the Minneapolis Institute of Art to restore the 500‑year‑old Medici tapestry "The Meeting of Dante and Virgil." The award marks the fund’s first support for a tapestry and will...
Spell Your Name with NASA’s Earthly Alphabet of Aerial Images
NASA and the USGS celebrated Earth Day 2026 by unveiling a playful name‑generator that turns any word into a vertical collage of Landsat satellite images. The tool pulls from the program’s five‑plus decades of Earth observation, mapping each letter to...
Silent Auction: Beautiful Puffin Sculpture
Protect the Wild is holding a silent auction for a one‑of‑a‑kind hand‑made ceramic Puffin created by artist Sarah Brabbin. The piece, featured on the BBC series “I Made it at Market,” will be sold to the highest bidder, with all proceeds...
A Brush With... Andrew Cranston—Podcast
Andrew Cranston, a 1969‑born Scottish painter, creates layered works that fuse personal memory with art‑historical and cinematic references. He often paints on bleached hardback book covers, allowing the material itself to convey the passage of time. His recent pieces draw...
Has a New Banksy Artwork Appeared in Central London?
A sculptural work signed by Banksy has appeared on a plinth at Waterloo Place in central London, depicting a suited figure marching forward with a flag obscuring its face. The piece sits near historic monuments such as the Crimean War...
Matthew Wong’s Rhapsodies in Blue Claim Their Place in Art History
Matthew Wong, the self‑taught Hong Kong‑born painter who died in 2019, is the focus of the solo exhibition “Matthew Wong: Interiors” at Venice’s Palazzo Tiepolo Passi. The show spotlights his signature blue‑dominated interior works, expanding beyond the landscapes that fetched record...
Jack White Is Now A Visual Artist Should We Care?
Jack White is debuting his visual art at Damien Hirst’s Newport Street Gallery in London with the exhibition "These Thoughts May Disappear," running from 29 May to 13 September 2026. The show, co‑curated by Connor Hirst and White, features sculptures,...
Christie's to Offer Roy Lichtenstein’s “Anxious Girl” With $60 Million Estimate
Christie's is set to auction Roy Lichtenstein’s 1964 painting “Anxious Girl” with a high estimate of $60 million, positioning it as potentially the second‑most expensive work by the Pop‑art icon sold at public auction. The lot heads the house’s May 18 20th‑century...
7 Artists to Have on Your Radar at Gallery Weekend Berlin 2026
Gallery Weekend Berlin returns May 1‑3, 2026 for its 22nd edition, uniting more than 50 galleries across 66 venues in the city. The three‑day program will feature works from artists representing over 30 countries, blending established names with fresh talent....
Partaking in Ananas Ananas’ Site-Specific Food Installation for Casa Laveni
Mexico‑ and Los Angeles‑based food‑art studio Ananas Ananas staged a site‑specific installation for the opening of Milan’s new boutique hotel Casa Laveni. The studio presented marzipan pieces shaped like cherries and plums alongside fresh strawberries on stainless‑steel experimental tableware. The edible display...
East Africa Meets Western Europe as Michael Armitage Takes on Venice's Palazzo Grassi
British-Kenyan painter Michael Armitage opens his first solo exhibition at Venice’s Palazzo Grassi, showcasing 46 large paintings and nearly 100 sketches that span a decade of work. The show, titled “The Promise of Change,” positions the artist alongside Pinault‑owned masters...
These Photos Capture the Halcyon Days of 1970s Ibiza
German photographer Walter Rudolph’s newly published book showcases 16 striking images of Ibiza taken in the mid‑1970s, a period before the island’s tourism boom. The photos capture pristine beaches, modest villages, and a laid‑back lifestyle that contrasts sharply with today’s...
Sara Shamma on Representing Syria at the 61st Venice Biennale
Syrian artist Sara Shamma will represent her country at the 61st Venice Biennale with a 15‑metre‑high immersive installation called “The Tower Tomb of Palmyra.” The work fuses painting, architecture, light, sound and scent to evoke the ancient funerary towers destroyed...
Aileen Murphy Sleeps on the Ceiling
Aileen Murphy’s third solo exhibition at Deborah Schamoni in Munich uses a deceptively simple table motif to anchor a series of five new paintings dominated by pink and rosé hues. The works blend meticulous animal figuration with abstract gestures, introducing...
Natasha Tontey to Unveil Major New Immersive Installation Exploring Indigenous Resistance During Venice Biennale
Artist Natasha Tontey will debut her immersive installation "The Phantom Combatants and the Metabolism of Disobedient Organs" at the Venice Biennale’s Ateneo Veneto. Jointly commissioned by Berlin’s LAS Art Foundation and Helsinki’s Amos Rex, the work reimagines Len Karamoy, a...
A Theatre Group of Exiled Belarusian Artists Arrive in Venice, With an Exhibition That Shows What Repression Feels Like
The Belarus Free Theatre, an underground group exiled since 2020, will present its first unofficial collateral exhibition at the 61st Venice Biennale. Titled “Official. Unofficial. Belarus.”, the show uses site‑specific paintings, sound, and large‑scale sculptures to make visitors physically experience...
Roy Lichtenstein’s Anxious Girl Goes Under The Hammer At Christie’s
Roy Lichtenstein’s 1964 painting Anxious Girl will be auctioned at Christie’s New York on May 18, with an estimate of $40 million to $60 million. The work is making its first public appearance after three decades in the private collection of Horace...
Torsten Slama at Neuer Essener Kunstverein, Essen
The Neuer Essener Kunstverein in Essen opens "Die Vatermaschine," a solo exhibition of Torsten Slama’s work running from February 28 to May 24, 2026. The show presents a curated selection of drawings and paintings created between 2007 and 2020, highlighting the artist’s recurring...
New York City Beyond the Monument: Jean Shin S Living Memorial at Green-Wood by Soojung Hyun
Jean Shin’s new earthwork "Offering" opened at Green‑Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, burying two mature oaks as "tree elders" within earthen mounds. The project draws on the artist’s Korean diaspora heritage, echoing ancient tumuli and Korean funerary rituals. Visitors participate by...
LACMA Opens $724 Million David Geffen Galleries, Redefining Museum Display
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art launched its new David Geffen Galleries, a $724 million project designed by Peter Zumthor that eliminates traditional hierarchies among artworks. The interconnected concrete galleries aim to foster non‑linear discovery and may set a new...
Byron Kim: The Big and Small Have Something to Do with Love
Byron Kim’s 2024 "Sunday Paintings" at James Cohan continue his weekly ritual of pairing a painted sky with a handwritten diary entry, collapsing personal moments into a cosmic frame. The artist disclosed his aphantasia, explaining that he cannot visualize images...
Venice Biennale 2026: The Seeds Koyo Kouoh Sowed, and The Tree We Are Living Under
The 61st Venice Biennale, titled *In Minor Keys*, opens on May 9, 2026, realizing Koyo Kouoh’s posthumous vision. More than 140 exhibitions—including over 100 national pavilions and 30+ collateral events—span the historic Giardini and the Arsenale shipyards. Six countries—Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Nauru, Qatar, Sierra Leone,...
AI Gets a Museum; Its Story Cracks
Refik Anadol’s Dataland, billed as the world’s first AI‑generated art museum, is slated to open in June inside Frank Gehry’s Grand LA complex. At the same time, a new Google DeepMind paper contends that large language models will never achieve consciousness,...
Star Wars Artwork Coming to Samsung TVs
Samsung announced eight new Star Wars artworks will join its Samsung Art Store, timed for Star Wars Day on May 4. The collection, created with Disney, adds iconic scenes—from Yoda’s lightsaber duel to C‑3PO and R2‑D2 at Jabba’s palace—to the existing Disney lineup....
The US Pavilion Is Taking Online Donations
The United States Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, featuring self‑taught sculptor Alma Allen, is turning to online donations after the State Department pledged only $375,000 of an estimated $5‑7 million budget. The American Arts Conservancy (AAC) launched a “Support Our...
Arts Collective to Open New Arts Center in Northampton England
Arts Collective will open a new arts center in Northampton, England on May 1, following a £5.2 million (≈$6.6 million) renovation of the town‑hall annex. The complex houses 17 artist studios, community spaces, a new gallery, and the centerpiece “The Northampton Rooms,” a...
Original Art: Tangible Proof of Creative Problem Solving
Conveying the benefits of owning orignal art will always be challenging, particularly in tangible terms, maybe now more so than ever. Why do we need it? Here's a thought: Consider an artwork's creation as an exercise in problem solving, as...
Notre Dame Offers Free Visio Divina Sessions, Merging Art and Meditation
The University of Notre Dame held a free, guided Visio Divina meditation session on May 5, 2026, at the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art’s Mary, Queen of Families Chapel. The event invited participants of all backgrounds to engage in “sacred...
Alessandro Michele Unveils Limited‑Edition ‘Specula Mundi’ Book at LA Event
Valentino’s creative director Alessandro Michele and CEO Riccardo Bellini introduced a limited‑edition ‘Specula Mundi’ book at a cocktail event in Los Angeles, tying the spring 2026 couture collection to a 260‑page visual narrative. The 1,500‑copy volume, priced at $350, will...
Art Brussels 42nd Edition Draws 139 Galleries, Marks Strong Market Rebound
Art Brussels’ 42nd edition welcomed 139 galleries from 26 nations, 65% of which were returning exhibitors, and showcased more than 500 artists. Organizers highlighted a redesigned layout and steady visitor flow, underscoring a renewed confidence in the European art‑fair circuit.
The Newest Docent at This Historic Italian Palace Is a Robot
Turin’s historic Palazzo Madama has deployed R1, a four‑foot‑tall AI‑powered robot docent, to guide visitors through its Baroque collections. Developed by the Italian Institute of Technology under Project Convince, the robot runs on a two‑hour battery and uses cameras to...
What Does Damien Hirst Have to Do With This Giant McDonald’s Ball Pit in Milan?
During Milan Design Week, McDonald’s celebrated its 40th anniversary in Italy with an immersive installation called “POOL. Ti sblocco un ricordo.” The centerpiece is a massive ball‑pit‑like pool filled with hundreds of thousands of colorful plastic balls, echoing the brand’s...
Leonora Carrington’s Enigmatic Sculptures Get a Rare Outing in New York
Leonora Carrington’s rarely seen sculptures are on display at New York’s L’Space Gallery in the exhibition “Shape of Dreams: Sculptures by Leonora Carrington,” running through June 27, 2026. The show, produced with Mexico City’s Consigna Gallery and the Leonora Carrington Council, features...
When A Fierce Street-Dancing Competitor Starts Choreographing On Contemporary Dance Companies
Courtney Washington, founder of the House of Juicy Couture, has built a reputation as a fierce choreographer in both ballroom and street‑dance circles. After leading the kiki house to a surprise victory on HBO’s “Legendary” in 2022 and producing alumni...