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.
Met Unveils First U.S. Raphael Retrospective, Showcasing 175 Works
The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened "Raphael: Sublime Poetry" on March 29, 2026, the first major U.S. exhibition of the Renaissance master. The show assembles 237 objects, including 175 works by Raphael, after curator Carmen Bambach secured loans from more than 60 institutions. It aims to rewrite the artist’s modern reputation.
Unseen Lee Miller Photographs Discovered In Assistant’s Private Album
A scrapbook compiled by Lee Miller’s wartime assistant, Roland Haupt, has surfaced after eight decades, containing previously unseen prints of Miller’s iconic war photographs and rare personal images. Haupt, who processed Miller’s 120‑format film from Normandy to Hitler’s bunker, kept...
The New Museum’s ‘New Humans’ Reckons With Human-Machine Relations in the Workplace
The New Museum’s inaugural exhibition “New Humans: Memories of the Future” examines the evolving relationship between workers and machines, tracing themes from ancient Mesopotamian creation myths to 1920s Bauhaus performances. By juxtaposing historic works such as Oskar Schlemmer’s Mechanical Ballets...
Rare Portraits Reveal How Elizabeth I Turned Image Into Power
The Philip Mould & Company gallery in London is showcasing "Elizabeth I: Queen and Court," a rare collection of four previously unseen portraits that trace the Virgin Queen from princess to sovereign. The exhibition pairs these works with paintings of...
What's up in NY This Week?
This week’s New York cultural roundup highlights the closing of MoMA’s Wifredo Lam exhibition with free tickets on Friday, and the final days of Frank Diaz Escalet’s leather‑painting show. The Central Park Conservancy launched a cherry‑blossom tracker, while BAM kicks off its Stand...
‘Time Capsule’ Scrapbook of Lee Miller and Cecil Beaton Photographs Discovered, and More: Morning Links for April 6, 2026
A previously unseen scrapbook of World War II photographs by Lee Miller and Cecil Beaton, compiled by their assistant Roland Haupt, has been acquired by Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries, featuring Miller’s famous shot of Hitler’s bathtub. The find is hailed as a...
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‘He Stands for Something We Really Need Right Now’: Inside an Immersive New David Bowie Exhibition at Lightroom
The immersive exhibition "David Bowie: You’re Not Alone" opens at London’s Lightroom on 22 April 2026, curated by Mark Grimmer with direct involvement from Bowie’s estate. It blends archive footage, handwritten lyrics, fashion pieces and mixed‑media installations to reveal the artist’s true...
‘It Was a Way of Processing Violences I’ve Survived’: How Iconoclastic Musician Arca Beat Burnout with Frenzied Painting
Venezuelan‑born electronic pioneer Arca (Alejandra Ghersi) stepped away from a decade‑long music career after supporting icons like Madonna and Beyoncé, confronting burnout through an intense visual‑art practice. The resulting mixed‑media canvases, titled “Angels,” debuted at the ICA in London, featuring...
Mexican Artists Protest Export of Frida Kahlo Masterpieces to Spain
Around 400 Mexican artists, historians and museum officials have signed an open letter demanding transparency after the government agreed to send 160 works from the Gelman collection – among them Frida Kahlo paintings – to Spain’s new Faro Santander cultural...
Frieze New York Programming Announced, and Other News.
Frieze New York will extend its fair beyond The Shed, staging performances and installations at the Whitney Museum, Dia Chelsea, and other city venues. A one‑of‑a‑kind handbag made from lab‑grown Tyrannosaurus rex collagen is set to fetch over $500,000 at auction, showcasing...
Artist Carlos Vega’s Transhistoric Exploration of Spirituality in “Anima Mundi”
Carlos Vega’s solo show "Anima Mundi" at Jack Shainman Gallery runs through April 18, 2026, featuring large‑scale lead panels embellished with gemstones, stamps, and Renaissance motifs. The artist positions lead as a storytelling surface, exploiting its toxic history and alchemical...
‘The Original Triple Threat’: Two Exhibitions Celebrate Marilyn Monroe as Creative Pioneer
British cultural institutions are marking Marilyn Monroe’s 100th birthday with a “summer of Marilyn” program. The BFI will run a two‑month film season, “Marilyn Monroe: Self Made Star,” highlighting her comedies, dramas and lesser‑known roles, and will re‑release “The Misfits”...
This Performance Artwork Wants Us to “Feel Things Differently”
London‑based artist Edward Thomasson uses performance as a lens to examine human vulnerability. His latest work, The Whole Routine, is a musical piece that fuses song, dance, and poetry to explore control, longing, and the discomfort of feeling differently. Developed...
Angelica Mesiti: Traces in Time
Angelica Mesiti’s first comprehensive solo exhibition in Switzerland opens at Museum Tinguely in Basel, titled *Reverb*. The show features five new video works, most notably the seven‑channel installation *The Rites of When* (2024), which maps the Pleiades stars and draws...
The Business of KAWS: What Data and a Museum Show Reveal About His Market
KAWS has turned his street‑art roots into a diversified business, launching a $300 museum membership that includes a figure and limited‑edition cards while partnering with luxury and mass‑market brands. A SFMOMA survey of his work has drawn 106,000 visitors, highlighting...
Exhibition in Hangzhou Reconstructs Lives From Song Dynasty Artefacts
The China National Silk Museum in Hangzhou has launched the "Unveiling the Wardrobe of the Southern Song Dynasty" exhibition, showcasing 83 artefact sets from seven museums, including 15 first‑grade cultural relics. The show is organized into three thematic sections—identity, daily...
Monumental 37ft-Long Indian Scroll Goes on Public View for the First Time at Yale Center for British Art
After a two‑year conservation project, the 37‑foot Lucknow scroll—an early 19th‑century Indian watercolor panorama—has been placed on public view at Yale Center for British Art. The scroll, created between 1821 and 1826, is featured in the “Painters, Ports and Profits”...
Discovering Vancouver's Hidden Metal Sculptures Along the Seawall
I love finding these metal sculptures in Vancouver. The first one is on the seawall near David Lam Park, the pair was near Science World last year but was quickly removed.
King’s Cross Transformation Fuels Anne Howeson’s Artistic Vision
Anne Howeson has witnessed the many changes to the King’s Cross area, and it has become a central part of her art. I spoke to her about the changes and how they’ve inspired her practice >> https://t.co/3ivXygQHeW @Londonist #LondonArtCritic #LondonArt...
Delvin Lugo
Delvin Lugo, a Dominican‑born artist, merges his textile upbringing with oil painting on reclaimed vintage linens. After studying cinema and working on film sets and as a celebrity stylist, he turned to self‑portraiture, culminating in the Bronx Museum’s installation *Country...
Top Exhibitions Explore Protest, War, Surveillance, and Edible Earth
Protest, war, surveillance, landscapes and edible earth are part of this week's top exhibitions on @worldofFAD https://t.co/JN5VCXn3L0
Celebrating the Popal Family: Washington's Culinary Royalty Portrait
Loved this exquisite @liamjscott portrait of the Popal family, Washington culinary royalty. A pure joy to read. https://t.co/GVdVZMS8I1
What You See Is Already Shifting - Curated by Gin Lin by Clare Gemima
"What You See Is Already Shifting," curated by Gin Lin at Cub_ism_ Artspace in Shanghai (March 14–April 25 2026), gathers five artists who treat perception as a mutable, real‑time negotiation. Silvia Muleo’s 2024 oil‑pastel diptych blurs digital‑physical boundaries, while Sam King’s 2025 paintings deploy pixel‑like brushwork...
Emi Kusano's Stunning Ghost in the Shell Exhibit
Awesome art by Emi Kusano for the Ghost in the Shell exhibit in Tokyo https://t.co/CxfvCTXZXh
Raja Ravi Varma's 'Yashoda and Krishna' Sells for $20.1 Million, Shattering Indian Art Record
Raja Ravi Varma's masterpiece 'Yashoda and Krishna' sold for ₹167.20 crore ($20.1 million) at Saffronart's Mumbai auction, bought by billionaire Cyrus S. Poonawalla. The sale establishes a new benchmark for modern Indian art and highlights the accelerating appetite for South Asian works among global...
Artists Wanted: Deakin’s Contemporary Small Sculpture Award Is Calling for Entries
The Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award enters its 17th year as a free‑entry, nationwide competition that attracted 735 submissions in 2025 and will award a $26,000 AUD prize pool (≈$17,000 USD) in 2026. The First Prize of $15,000 AUD (≈$10,000 USD) is...
SuperRare and Objkt Unveil First Cross‑Platform Digital Art Festival at Offline Gallery
SuperRare and objkt have launched the inaugural Digital Art Festival at Offline Gallery, running April 16‑29, 2026. The two‑week event features 24 one‑of‑one hybrid artifacts, moving‑image NFTs and a poetry‑centric showcase by generative artist Sasha Stiles. Organizers say the festival...
South London Has a New Art and Short Film Festival – and It’s Free
WePresent, the artist‑led platform backed by WeTransfer, is staging a free three‑day festival in Peckham’s Copeland Gallery from May 8‑10. The event blends panel discussions, a short‑film cinema, and the “On Belonging” exhibition that probes identity and community. Complementary brunch, cocktails...
Melvin Edwards, Sculptor Who Welded The African Diaspora, Has Died At 88
Melvin Edwards, the acclaimed African‑American sculptor who reshaped contemporary art with his welded‑steel series “Lynch Fragments,” died at 88. He first unveiled the series in 1963, using reclaimed steel to form chains, barbed wire and sharp tools that evoke the trauma...
Hurvin Anderson Retrospective Opens at Tate Britain, Fusing Politics and Beauty
Tate Britain unveiled a sweeping retrospective of Hurvin Anderson, the 61‑year‑old Birmingham‑born painter, featuring his most celebrated works and an hour‑long documentary on Black British migration. The show highlights record‑breaking auction sales – including a £7.4 million ($9.3 million) canvas – and...
Visualising the Passion Across Cultures
The post explores how Passion rituals across Europe and colonial Latin America were visualized, focusing on two 16th‑century paintings now in Colnaghi’s collection—Luca Cambiaso’s *Flagellation of Christ* and Willem Key’s *Crucifixion*. It outlines the evolution of public processions in Spain,...
Le Huu Hieu Breaks Ground with First Vietnamese Solo Show at 61st Venice Biennale
Vietnamese artist Le Huu Hieu will present his solo installation "Silkworm" at the 61st Venice Biennale, becoming the first Vietnamese creator to hold a dedicated pavilion. The exhibition runs from May 9 to November 22, 2026, in the historic Ca'...
V&A Dundee Celebrates the History of the Catwalk, From Discreet Salons to Today’s Extravaganzas
The V&A Dundee has opened “Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show,” a sweeping exhibition that chronicles more than a century of runway history, from 19th‑century living mannequins to today’s immersive, livestreamed spectacles. It showcases over 100 artifacts, including Manolo Blahnik’s...
Move over, Easter Bunny: Cats Are the Stars in Hong Kong This Holiday
Hong Kong has swapped the Easter Bunny for a series of giant cat installations, from an eight‑metre interactive feline at the airport to inflatable cats at the West Kowloon Cultural District. Artists have also painted cat‑themed murals, including a van Gogh...
Art Basel 2026 Posts Strong Sales as BTS Takes the Guggenheim Stage
Art Basel 2026 announced strong sales across its fairs, underscoring continued vigor in the global market. At the same time, K‑pop megastar BTS performed inside the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, a high‑profile cultural moment that bridges pop music and contemporary...
Art of Noise:How Design Shapes Music
The Cooper Hewitt’s “Art of Noise” exhibition explores how visual design has shaped music perception and memory, featuring archival posters, album art, and vintage playback devices. Spanning two galleries, the first highlights the evolution from early phonographs to modern Bluetooth...
Art Central 2026 Opens in Hong Kong, Highlights a Decade of Growth
Art Central kicked off its 11th edition in Hong Kong from March 25‑29, drawing more than 100 galleries and 500 artists. The fair introduced a new “Central Stage” program for internationally recognized mid‑career creators, while reporting stronger sales and higher...
Nan Goldin’s Mourning Retrospective Opens at Paris’s Grand Palais
Nan Goldin’s new solo exhibition, titled “This Will Not End Well,” opened this week in the Salon d’Honneur of Paris’s Grand Palais. The five‑installation retrospective, built from videos and slideshows rather than prints, mourns half a century of lost loved...
MoMA Opens 'Woven Histories' Exhibition Spotlighting Labor Exploitation in Textile Art
The Museum of Modern Art opened 'Woven Histories: Textiles and Modern Abstraction' on April 20, showcasing roughly 150 works that trace a century of weaving, abstraction, and labor exploitation. The show runs through September 13 and aims to reshape narratives around textile...
Seattle Asian Art Museum Showcases Stunning Geometry of Light
Seeing 'Geometry of Light' at the Seattle Asian Art Museum. Gorgeous. Still on for another week or so.
From Private Papal Chapel to Michelangelo’s Iconic Ceiling
The Sistine Chapel (1473-1481) in Vatican City, began as the Pope's private chapel, featuring early work by masters Botticelli and Perugino on its side walls, but was famously transformed when Michelangelo painted the iconic ceiling (1508-1512) https://t.co/bYJ8AsiDFG
UBS and Art Basel Report Shows Global Art Market Rebounds to $59.6 B in 2025
UBS and Art Basel released their 2026 market report, finding the global art market grew 4% in 2025 to $59.6 billion. Auction sales jumped 9% to $20.7 billion, while dealer sales rose 2% to $34.8 billion, highlighting a resurgence after two years of...
Last Week to Experience ‘Erasure’ at Goodwood
One week left to visit 'Erasure' at Goodwood Art Foundation - read more in my review for @worldofFAD & plan your visit now >> https://t.co/1c0RiT6ki7 #LondonArtCritic
Nick Ferguson’s London Icons Come Alive in New Exhibition
Nick Ferguson is an artist who has painted London icons in an exhibition that's currently on. Read my interview with him for @Londonist Urban Palette https://t.co/fjwccmHa6p
African Fashion’s Plurality Takes Center Stage at Paris Museum
The 'Africa Fashion' exhibition, co‑curated with London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, opened at Paris’s Musée du Quai Branly and will run until 12 July 2026. Featuring designers from across the continent’s 54 nations, the show underscores a growing demand for African narratives...
Picasso and Matisse Masterpieces Debut in Houston’s MFAH Exhibition
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston will host "Picasso–Klee–Matisse: Masterpieces from the Museum Berggruen," showcasing more than 95 paintings, drawings and sculptures by Picasso, Matisse, Klee and others. The show, running May 20‑September 13, marks the first U.S. appearance of...
Go See Something 💫
The latest "Go see something" newsletter from Exhibits in New York blends a curated guide to current city exhibitions with reading recommendations and a promotion for its iOS app. It spotlights major shows such as Raphael’s “Sublime Poetry” at the...
Cardiff Hosts Stunning “Museum of the Moon” Installation
Since we’re all talking about Artemis II and the moon, we got to see the moon up close—well, the next best thing, anyway. It’s an art installation called the Museum of the Moon by @lukejerramartist and it travels around to...
Pioneering Gallerist Angela Westwater on New York’s 80s Art Scene
Angela Westwater recalls a legendary 1985 dinner at Mr. Chow that brought together icons like Basquiat, Keith Haring, Robert Mapplethorpe and David Hockney. At the time she was a decade into running the Sperone Westwater Gallery on Greene Street in...
Gisela Colón on Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny, and the Power Beneath the Island
Gisela Colón, a former environmental lawyer, is mounting two major solo shows—"Radiant Earth" at the Bruce Museum and "The Mountain, The Monolith" at Puerto Rico’s Museo de Arte Contemporáneo. The installations combine aerospace‑grade plastics, engineered pigments and stone sourced from California...