Julian Schnabel: “I Painted My Way Into a Lot of Trouble”
Julian Schnabel, the 74‑year‑old painter who burst onto the 1980s New York scene with his signature plate paintings, says he "painted my way into a lot of trouble" and later out of it. His large‑scale works, which embed broken crockery into canvas, challenged the minimalist dominance of the era and cemented his reputation as a provocateur. The artist’s latest exhibition at the French‑Italian resort Château La Coste showcases new pieces that fuse sculpture, painting, and landscape. The show reaffirms Schnabel’s lasting influence on contemporary art and collector demand.
Art Basel Qatar 2027’s Artistic Director and Theme Announced, and Other News.
Art Basel announced Wassan Al‑Khudhairi as artistic director for its 2027 Qatar edition, unveiling the curatorial theme “between / نیب” that emphasizes cross‑cultural exchange. The National Trust for Historic Preservation released its 2026 list of America’s 11 most endangered historic...
The Art World This Week: Met Merges With Neue Galerie, Architects Selected for Louvre Transformation, Artist Valie Export Dies at...
The Metropolitan Museum of Art will acquire the Neue Galerie’s Fifth Avenue building and its 20th‑century Austrian and German collection beginning in 2028, marking the museum’s first major merger. In France, Studios Architecture Paris and Selldorf Architects won the competition...
Hong Kong Artists Bring Quiet Reflection to Venice
The Hong Kong Museum of Art curates "Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice," a collateral exhibition at the 61st Venice Biennale running through 22 November 2026. The show aligns with the Biennale’s "In Minor Keys" theme, emphasizing quiet, reflective experiences over spectacle. It features two...
Bharti Kher Commissioned by Powerhouse Parramatta, Australia’s New Cultural Center Opening Later This Year
British-Indian sculptor Bharti Kher has been commissioned to create a monumental entrance piece for Powerhouse Parramatta, the new cultural hub slated to open in late 2026. The work, titled “Tree of Life,” consists of four stacked bronze and clay heads...
Tilda Swinton Is Bringing a New Performance Piece to Guggenheim Bilbao
Celebrated actor Tilda Swinton will debut the live performance piece “House of Gestures” at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao on June 5‑6. Developed with French fashion curator Olivier Saillard, the interpretive work draws on the heritage of luxury champagne house Dom Pérignon. The...
Boats and Trains, Not Planes: Reflections on a Greener—But Sometimes Greenwashed—Venice Biennale
The 61st Venice Biennale placed climate and ecology at its core, from the curator Koyo Kouoh’s "In Minor Keys" to installations that visualized mineral extraction and water scarcity. Artists such as Otobong Nkanga, Theo Eshetu, and Alfredo Jaar used flora,...
Podcast Episode: Dorothea Tanning and Surrealism
Yale University Press released a new podcast episode featuring author Alyce Mahon, who wrote "Dorothea Tanning: A Surrealist World," and Mark Polizzotti, author of "Why Surrealism Matters." The conversation delves into the history of Surrealism with a focus on American...
Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s “Perte Loss”
Theresa Hak Kyung Cha proposed the two‑channel video work Perte Loss in 1979, a piece that juxtaposed present‑time moving images with past‑time stills to explore loss, memory, and language. She withdrew the work two months before its scheduled debut, citing insufficient financial and philosophical...
Musealia Presents North American Debut of The Berlin Wall: A World Divided
Musealia, a global leader in touring exhibitions, will debut its show *The Berlin Wall: A World Divided* at Union Station in Kansas City on May 29, marking the exhibition’s North American launch. The 90‑minute experience showcases over 200 original artifacts,...
Asad Raza to Create the First Art Hall Commission at Transformed Tate Liverpool
Tate Liverpool announced that artist Asad Raza will create the inaugural commission for its new Art Hall, slated to open when the museum reopens in 2027. Raza, known for immersive, nature‑centric installations, will transform the ground‑floor space into an experiential...
‘A Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity’: Europe’s Biggest Exhibition of James McNeill Whistler in 30 Years Will Open in London This Week
London’s Tate Britain opens the most extensive James McNeill Whistler retrospective in Europe in three decades, displaying 150 paintings, drawings, prints and design objects. The show, running from May 21 to September 27, uniquely explores Whistler’s teenage years alongside his...
With His New Agency, Spencer Young Advises Artists and Collectors
Spencer Young Inc, launched by veteran arts professional Spencer Young, operates as a hybrid agency that simultaneously represents artists and advises collectors. The firm draws on Young’s Yale MFA, a decade at LVMH, and a deep transatlantic gallery network to offer...
$1.1 Billion Christie’s Auctions Shatter Records for Pollock, Brancusi, Rothko
Christie’s New York auction on Monday generated more than $1.1 billion in under three hours, delivering record prices for Jackson Pollock ($181.2 million), Constantin Brancusi ($107.6 million) and Mark Rothko ($98.4 million after fees). Sixteen works from the late media magnate S.I. Newhouse accounted for $630.8 million, beating the...
59th Carnegie International Tests the Limits of Connection and Inclusion
The 59th Carnegie International, titled *If the word we*, foregrounds community, listening, and collaboration through immersive, tactile installations. Curators Ryan Inouye, Danielle A. Jackson and Liz Park enlist thought partners like Egyptian writer Haytham el‑Wardany to shape a exhibition that invites...
Horst Antes at 90: Major Shows Celebrate German New Figuration Pioneer
German post‑war pioneer Horst Antes turns 90, prompting two major retrospectives in Hannover. Galerie Koch opens a solo show that surveys his seven‑decade oeuvre, while the Sprengel Museum presents a dedicated collection of roughly 80 works. The exhibitions highlight his signature "Head‑Footer"...
Hong Kong’s M+ And Centre Pompidou Announce Strategic Partnership
Hong Kong’s M+ museum has signed a multi‑year strategic partnership with Paris’s Centre Pompidou. The deal includes co‑organized exhibitions beginning in 2027 and a joint show to open Pompidou’s renovated space around 2030, followed by a presentation at M+. A four‑year...
At Birmingham's Ikon Gallery, Angela De La Cruz's Audacious, Visceral Art Takes No Prisoners
Angela de la Cruz’s "Upright" opens at Birmingham’s Ikon Gallery, marking her first UK institutional show since a 2010 Turner‑Prize‑nominated survey. The exhibition blends painting and sculpture through works like Still Life with Table, Limp, and Bloated 111, emphasizing anthropomorphic forms...
Finnish Museum Creates a New and Radical Support Model for Artists
Finland’s Espoo Museum of Modern Art (Emma) has unveiled a multi‑year support model for four mid‑career artists, providing acquisition of their work, external production grants, a year‑long stipend and health insurance. The €10,000 (~$10,800) stipend replaces the typical symbolic fee...
Art Dubai’s Delayed ‘Special Edition’ Drew Strong Local Support, and Other News.
Art Dubai’s delayed 2026 “Special Edition” opened May 15‑17 with roughly 50 exhibitors, focusing on Gulf resilience, digital art and Global South perspectives. TEFAF New York launched at the Park Ave Armory with 88 exhibitors, early sales including Warhol’s *Mao* and a $2.3 million Fontana,...
The Problem With Venice
The 61st Venice Biennale opened in May and will run through November, sparking fierce debate over its political and aesthetic choices. President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco’s decision to host both Russian and Israeli pavilions ignited accusations of legitimizing pariah states and of censorship....
Otis College’s Annual O-Launch Exhibition Weekend Showcased Work by Graduating Artists and Designers
Otis College of Art and Design held its annual O‑Launch Exhibition Weekend on May 15‑16, 2026, featuring a campus‑wide showcase of graduating student work across ten majors. The event included an industry preview for employers, an alumni reception, and the...
The 'Prince of Pop Art Who Was Forgotten by His Home' City Finally Gets Exhibition
Birmingham will stage a free outdoor exhibition, "Pop Goes Brum!", from June 9‑30 to honor Peter Phillips, a pioneering British pop‑art figure who died in June 2025. Phillips, whose work sat alongside David Hockney, Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, has long been overlooked...
Getting Younger with the Arts
This week’s arts headlines spanned creative reinvention and political backlash. Davóne Tines transformed Langston Hughes’s 1931 monologue into an 18‑stanza opera, while Washington National Opera announced a world‑premiere about Georgia O’Keeffe after its split from the Kennedy Center. Visual artists...
Landmark Works Lead Cowley Abbott’s Sale of Indigenous and International Art
Cowley Abbott is staging its spring auction, "Select Masterworks of Indigenous and International Art," on May 27 in Toronto. The catalog features Impressionist icons like Renoir and Van Gogh, Canadian modernists such as Emily Carr and Lawren Stewart Harris, and early‑20th‑century illustrators. Estimated hammer...
The Works, Trends, and Artists Artnet Specialists Can’t Stop Thinking About
Artnet is hosting three concurrent sales—Post‑War and Contemporary Art (through May 20), Contemporary Editions (through May 29), and a Private Sales portal—featuring works by Robert Rauschenberg, Emily Mason, and Andy Warhol. Specialists highlight Rauschenberg’s “Hoarfrost” series as a case study in how...
‘I Couldn’t Believe We Weren’t Falling over Ourselves for It’: Asia-Pacific Art Finally Conquers Britain
British museums are finally spotlighting contemporary art from the Asia‑Pacific, highlighted by the V&A’s new Rising Voices exhibition. The show features over 70 works from 25 countries, many never before displayed in the UK, and is anchored by a striking...
Independent Art Fair Makes the Most of More Spacious Digs
Independent art fair Independent has moved from Spring Studios to Pier 36, doubling its footprint while trimming its exhibitor roster to 76 galleries. The single‑level layout creates broader sightlines and smoother circulation, drawing more collectors early in the show. Highlights include...
Landor Partners with Museum of Contemporary Art Australia on Landmark AI Exhibition
Landor Australia teamed with the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia to launch *Data Dreams: Art and AI*, featuring a generative identity system called Data Dreamscape. The AI‑driven tool let visitors type personal dream memories, which were transformed into unique artworks,...
Artists Spar Over Credit For A Dress Displayed In The Met’s ‘Costume Art’ Exhibition
London‑based artist Anouska Samms alleges that the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute displayed a dress, *Corpus Nervina 0.0*, that replicates her patented hair‑based textile without credit. The piece is attributed solely to Israeli designer Yoav Hadari, who says the dress evolved from his...
These Three Artworks Could Sell for $100 Million Each Next Week as May Auctions Begin
Nearly $2 billion of art will be auctioned in New York next week, the largest test of the market since the Iran war began. Three marquee pieces—a Constantin Brâncuși sculpture, a Jackson Pollock drip painting and a Mark Rothko work—are each estimated at $100 million....
Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Painter and Activist, 1942–2026
Renowned painter and civil‑rights activist Mary Lovelace O’Neal died at 84. A Howard University alum and Columbia MFA graduate, she pioneered the lamp‑black abstract series and later incorporated color inspired by California and Morocco. In 1985 she became the first...
This Graffiti Artist Spreads Poetry on Trucks Across Berlin
German street artist Monty Richthofen turned Berlin’s freight trucks into moving canvases, spray‑painting lines of Shakespearean poetry as part of his "HARD 2 4GET" project. The roving exhibition debuted during Berlin Gallery Weekend, turning ordinary traffic routes into a public...
Rene Matić, Chronicler of British Class, Wins 2026 Deutsche Börse Photography Prize
London‑based artist Rene Matić has been awarded the 2026 Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, receiving a £30,000 award (approximately $38,000). The win recognizes the photographer’s 2025 solo show *As Opposed To The Truth* at Berlin’s Center for Contemporary Arts, which interrogates British working‑class...
Latin American Galleries Dominate at Frieze New York
Latin American representation surged at Frieze New York, with 14 galleries from Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and beyond. Non‑profit Latitude, backed by ApexBrasil and ABACT, subsidized all eight Brazilian participants, offsetting higher shipping costs. Despite lingering visa hurdles—illustrated by Dr Lakra’s denied entry—new‑generation...
Dinosaurs Roam New York’s Bowery
Amanita’s Bowery gallery in New York has mounted three rare Maiasaura dinosaur skeletons alongside John Chamberlain’s 1982 sculpture *Gondola Marianne Moore*. The fossils, composed of 62‑85% real bone, represent the first full‑size Maiasaura display in a downtown commercial gallery. Their...
Esther Fair Goes Out on Top
Esther, the boutique art fair hosted in New York’s historic Estonian House, concluded its third and final edition with two galleries selling out on opening day. The fair’s unconventional museum‑like layout showcased 22 galleries and three special projects across five...
Gallery Weekend Beijing Reveals 10th Anniversary Programme
Gallery Weekend Beijing marks its 10th anniversary with a city‑wide programme from May 22‑31, featuring 30 galleries and ten non‑profit institutions across the capital. Originating in 2017 as a Berlin‑inspired initiative, the event has grown under the state‑run 798 Art Zone...
‘The Content, Material and Form Support Each Other’: Sandy Rodriguez on Her Hispanic Society Museum Show
Sandy Rodriguez’s new show, Tierra Insurgente, opens at the Hispanic Society Museum, pairing her hand‑drawn, amate‑paper maps with historic codices such as the 1584 Map of Tequaltiche. The maps overlay contemporary scenes of state violence—riot police, surveillance helicopters shaped like...
The Immersive Hairy Worlds of Shoplifter
Icelandic artist Hrafnhildur Arnardóttir, known as Shoplifter, is debuting Xanadu at Arkansas' Format Festival – a ten‑pole, outdoor installation draped in multicolored synthetic hair that reaches up to ten meters. The work continues her signature practice of turning hair extensions into...
Five Highlights From the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize
The Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, launched in 2014 and first awarded in 2017, marks its tenth anniversary in 2026. The award, now overseen by newly appointed creative directors Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough, continues to champion inventive contemporary craft. This...
5 Shows Not to Miss at Frieze New York 2026
Frieze New York returns for its 15th edition, running May 13‑17 at The Shed in Chelsea. The fair will host more than 65 galleries from 26 countries, presenting a broad spectrum of contemporary art. Among the hundreds of booths, the editorial...
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Announces 314 New Acquisitions During 50th Anniversary Year
The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden marked its 50th anniversary by announcing 314 new acquisitions for 2025, pushing its holdings past 13,000 works. The additions span large‑scale mixed‑media pieces by Lorna Simpson, Sarah Sze and Mickalene Thomas, as well...
A Madelon Vriesendorp Retrospective Is Coming to Sir John Soane’s Museum This Summer
Sir John Soane’s Museum in London will host “Madelon Vriesendorp: Mind Games,” a summer exhibition featuring 50 artworks drawn from the Dutch artist’s personal collection. Vriesendorp, a co‑founder of OMA and 2025 Soane Medal recipient, is known for surreal illustrations and...
Art Basel Doubles Down on Digital Art with Zero 10 Expansion
Art Basel is expanding its Zero 10 digital‑art segment for the June 2026 Basel fair, featuring 20 exhibitors across 16 solo and four shared booths. The program is co‑curated by MacArthur‑fellow Trevor Paglen and former Yuga Labs director Eli Scheinman, signaling a blend...
Palestinian-Saudi Artist Dana Awartani: ‘Art Gives You a Reason to Live’
Saudi artist Dana Awartani rushed to assemble the Kingdom’s national pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale, constructing 29,221 hand‑made clay‑earth bricks in just ten days after war‑related shipping delays. Her floor‑based installation, “May your tears never dry, you who weep...
Facelift for 'The Four Doctors'
John Singer Sargent’s 1906 painting *The Four Doctors*, featuring Johns Hopkins founding physicians, has completed a comprehensive five‑week conservation. The project removed decades of grime, varnish and unauthorized over‑painting, restoring the original flesh‑toned palette and detailed background. Conservation was led...
Cato Ink’s Paintings Offer an Experimental Vision of Black British Life
London-based artist Cato Ink’s latest series depicts Black British life through an experimental, narrative-driven style. Drawing on the “uncle quality” of his family, Ink portrays multigenerational stories that blend street culture with fine‑art techniques. The work, featured in Dazed’s spring...
Macron Promises Conditional Return of African Artefacts
French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed France’s commitment to return African cultural artefacts, but stressed that restitution must be paired with the development of well‑equipped museums on the continent. He cited past returns—including a sword to Senegal (2019), royal treasures to...
Seven Significant National Pavilions From the 2026 Venice Biennale
The 61st Venice Biennale opened on May 12, 2026 under the theme “In Minor Keys,” featuring 99 national pavilions, seven of them debuting. Highlights included Australia’s historic first Australian artist in its pavilion, Iceland’s dreamlike “Pocket Universe” with a viral...