Performance artist and choreographer Florentina Holzinger followed her widely discussed Austria Pavilion presentation at the 2026 Venice Biennale with a one-time, nine-hour performance titled...
Christie’s appointed François-Henri Pinault as board chairman and non-executive director, a move that signals the end of Guillaume Cerutti’s tenure as chairman. François-Henri Pinault, president of...
Hyperallergic reviewed “In Minor Keys,” the main exhibition of the 2026 Venice Biennale, describing it as a posthumous project initiated by Cameroonian-Swiss curator Koyo Kouoh, who died of liver...
Kazakhstan’s pavilion at the Venice Biennale has been embroiled in controversy after artist Äsel Kadyrhanova’s multimedia installation Machine (2013), addressing Stalin-era repression in Kazakhstan,...
ARTnews’s summer preview lists 46 museum exhibitions and biennials worldwide, identifying spectacle as a major seasonal theme. It highlights projects including Laure Prouvost’s show about quantum...
At the Venice Biennale, performance work in the Austrian and Belgian pavilions drew attention amid a turbulent start that included the death of artistic director Koyo Kouoh in May 2025, along with...
Hyperallergic editor-in-chief Hakim Bishara reflects on skipping New York art fairs and auctions, including a record-breaking $181 million Jackson Pollock sale at Christie’s, and questions whether...
“Fermata: Hong Kong in Venice,” a collateral event of the 61st Venice Biennale, presents works by Hong Kong-born artists Kingsley Ng and Angel Hui and runs through November 22, 2026. Organized by the...
A Paris Administrative Court judge rejected a request to urgently suspend the removal of six 19th-century stained-glass windows by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc from Notre-Dame Cathedral, which are slated to...
In Venice’s Chiesa di Sant’Antonin, South African artist Gabrielle Goliath is presenting Elegy as South Africa’s unofficial pavilion for the 61st Biennale Arte, after Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie...
In a Hyperallergic editor’s letter, editor-in-chief Hakim Bishara argues that the Venice Biennale did not “implode” amid boycotts, resignations, and international disputes, but instead felt “more...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
Iran’s pavilion commissioner Aydin Mahdizadeh Tehrani said Iran has not withdrawn from the 2026 Venice Biennale, contradicting a Biennale statement that the Islamic Republic of Iran “will not...
ARTnews reports that the 2026 Venice Biennale’s main exhibition, “In Minor Keys,” foregrounds mourning and the war in Gaza, beginning with a poem by Palestinian poet and professor Refaat Alareer—“If...
ARTnews reports that the Russian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale sparked controversy after posting on Instagram that Pussy Riot had requested removal of footage featuring the collective from a...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
More than 70 artists participating in the 61st Venice Biennale have withdrawn from consideration for the event’s awards, according to a protest statement published on e-flux on May 9. Signatories...
A coalition of Somalia-based cultural organizations criticized Somalia’s first-ever national pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale, saying local artists and groups were not “meaningfully consulted” or...
Italian culture minister Alessandro Giuli told Corriere della Sera in an interview published May 7 that “Putin won at the Biennale,” criticizing Russia’s controversial return to the Venice Biennale...
A 24-hour strike at the Venice Biennale preview led to more than two dozen national pavilions being partially or fully shuttered, with Palestinian flags draped over artworks, Hyperallergic reported....
On May 9, as the 61st Venice Biennale opened to the public, 54 artists in the international exhibition “In Minor Keys” and 16 national pavilion teams announced they were withdrawing from awards...
ARTnews’s “Venice Diary Day 3” highlights offsite works during the Venice Biennale, focusing on Taiwanese artist Li Yi-Fan’s animated video Screen Melancholy (2026) at the offsite Taiwan Pavilion in...
A group of 52 artists—just under half of those in curator Koyo Kouoh’s Venice Biennale main exhibition “In Minor Keys”—signed an e-flux statement declining consideration for this year’s top prizes,...
Hyperallergic’s “Mom, I’m Gonna Be an Artist!” is a Mother’s Day–themed roundup that links recent art-world coverage—especially protests and labor actions around the Venice Biennale—with a feature in...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
Artist Shirin Neshat presents Do U Dare! at the 16th-century Palazzo Marin in Venice alongside the Biennale, continuing her themes of exile, fractured identity, and power through a...
A 24-hour strike is set to disrupt the Venice Biennale’s opening week on Friday, May 8, protesting Israel’s participation in the event. Nika Grabar of the Nonument Group, representing Slovenia in the...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
Venice Biennale president Pietrangelo Buttafuoco defended the event against critics on 6 May at a conference at Teatro Piccolo dell’Arsenale, accusing opponents of “narcissism” and “censorship” amid...
Taipei Fine Arts Museum will present the Taiwan Collateral Event Screen Melancholy: Li Yi-Fan at the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia from May 9 to November 22, 2026, at...
Multiple media reports say Belu-Simion Fainaru, Israel’s representative at the Venice Biennale, pressured organizers before the Biennale’s five-person jury abruptly resigned last week. Before...
The Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian pavilions at the 2026 Venice Biennale organized a pro-Ukraine solidarity walk on May 6 during preview days, before the Biennale opens to the public on May 9....
Artnet’s critic reports mixed first impressions of “In Minor Keys,” the main exhibition of the 61st Venice Biennale, which opens to the public on Saturday and was completed by five collaborators...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
The Art Newspaper profiles “Helter Skelter: Richard Prince and Arthur Jafa,” a two-artist exhibition at the Prada Foundation’s Ca’ Corner della Regina in Venice, presented during the Venice Biennale...
Pussy Riot staged a protest at the Russia Pavilion in the Venice Biennale’s Giardini at 11 a.m., using pink smoke, Ukrainian flags, and chants including “Disobey!” and “Blood is Russia’s art!” to...
Hyperallergic reports that Israeli Pavilion artist Belu-Simion Fainaru issued legal warnings alleging antisemitism and nationality-based discrimination after the Venice Biennale jury said it would...
ARTnews reports that the Art Not Genocide Alliance (ANGA) announced a 24-hour strike and rally on May 8, ahead of the opening of the 2026 Venice Biennale to the public on Saturday, in protest of the...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
The Art Newspaper reports that the 61st Venice Biennale’s international exhibition, titled “In Minor Keys,” was completed after the death of its artistic director Koyo Kouoh, announced in May 2025....
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
Marina Abramović is staging “Transforming Energy” at Venice’s Gallerie dell’Accademia, becoming the first living female artist to receive a solo show there and the first to have her work installed...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
Austrian artist and choreographer Florentina Holzinger presents “Seaworld Venice” in Austria’s Venice Biennale pavilion as an immersive installation addressing climate change, technology, and a...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
Iran cancelled its participation in the 61st Venice Biennale just days before the opening on 9 May, The Art Newspaper reports, with organisers announcing the withdrawal on 4 May without giving a...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
The Art Newspaper says the Venice Biennale’s long-standing but often downplayed role as a sales platform is unusually overt this year, with dealers, auction houses, and private foundations openly...
Hyperallergic reviews the 59th Carnegie International at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, describing it as reflecting on the exhibition’s 130-year history while commenting on...
MoMA PS1 in New York City will present the first US survey of Mexican artist Teresa Margolles in fall 2026, Hyperallergic reports, bringing together works made over more than 30 years that address...
Chanel and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation are launching a transatlantic curatorial fellowship linking New York and Venice, with an announcement timed to the start of the Venice Biennale,...
Artnet News reports that Berry Campbell in New York is presenting “Louisa Chase: The Eighties,” the largest and most comprehensive Louisa Chase (1951–2016) solo show in New York in more than two...
Hyperallergic’s “May You Live in Less Interesting Times,” edited by Hakim Bishara, links current art-world controversies to the Venice Biennale theme “May You Live in Interesting Times,” used by...
An Artnet News analysis of 130 biennials from roughly 2022–2026 identifies a cohort of artists who appeared in nine or more editions, including Ali Eyal, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Basel Abbas &...
An Artnet News market column argues that the Venice Biennale’s claim to be “above the market” is increasingly strained as galleries more often finance artists’ costly biennial projects in hopes of...
Hyperallergic reports that the international jury for the 61st Venice Biennale resigned collectively, without publicly stating a reason, amid controversy over awards eligibility. The resignations...
The Venice Biennale Foundation has scrapped the Golden Lion awards for the 61st Venice Biennale and will instead introduce public-voted “Visitor Lions” for best national pavilion and best artist in...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
German painter Georg Baselitz died on 30 April at age 88, with his death announced by his longtime gallery Thaddaeus Ropac, which did not specify a cause. Born Hans-Georg Kern on 23 January 1938 in...
An Artnet News report dated 1 May 2026 states that members of a Venice Biennale jury resigned after a controversial ban related to prizes. The article frames the resignations as a response to the...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
Artist Michael Armitage is the subject of a major monographic exhibition, The Promise of Change, opening at Venice’s Palazzo Grassi with 46 large paintings and nearly 100 sketches surveying the past...
Artnet outlines major controversies surrounding the Venice Biennale’s next cycle, focusing on Russia’s planned return in 2026 and the resulting political backlash. Italian culture minister Alessandro...
ARTnews reports that artist Alma Allen’s selection to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale has sparked controversy over the commissioning process, as the pavilion was not organized by a...
ARTnews reported on Nalini Malani’s new installation “Of Woman Born,” commissioned by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art and presented at Venice’s Magazzini del Sale, a 15th-century former salt warehouse,...
ARTnews reported that Italian culture minister Alessandro Giuli will not attend the Venice Biennale preview or opening ceremony on May 9 in protest of Russia’s return via its national pavilion, which...
Hyperallergic reported that Russia’s pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale will close to the public after the pre-opening vernissage, in an approach described as complying with international sanctions...
Hyperallergic editor-in-chief Hakim Bishara previews the 61st Venice Biennale in 2026, describing it as likely to be a politically charged edition and noting uncertainty about whether protests will...
The Venice Biennale jury announced on Thursday that Israel and Russia will be ineligible for the Biennale’s top awards (the Golden and Silver Lions) under a new rule barring prizes for countries...
Harmony Korine’s first U.S. retrospective, “Perfect Nonsense,” has opened at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, bringing together more than 50 works spanning his adolescent writings, 1990s...
Sculptor Alma Allen discussed the backlash to his selection to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale in an interview on the podcast “Time Sensitive,” recorded at his home in Mexico City...
Taiwan’s National Culture and Arts Foundation has revoked the National Award for Arts it gave to artist Sakuliu Pavavaljung in 2018 and ordered him to return the NTD 1 million (about $32,000) prize...
The international awards jury for the 61st Venice Biennale announced on April 23 (via a statement published on e-flux) that it will omit from awards consideration any countries “whose leaders are...
The Venice Biennale named a five-member jury to award the Golden Lions at the 2026 Art Biennale, led by president Solange Oliveira Farkas, founder of the Videobrasil Biennial (São Paulo, founded...
Punk feminist collective Pussy Riot is campaigning to replace Russia’s planned return to the Venice Biennale—its first since withdrawing in February 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine—with an...
Sculptor and author Barbara Chase-Riboud told the Financial Times that she declined an invitation to represent the United States at the 61st Venice Biennale, saying “this was not the moment.”...
Barbara Chase-Riboud said she declined an offer to represent the US at the 61st Venice Biennale because, as she told the Financial Times, “as a world citizen, this was not the moment,” according to...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
The US-Israel war on Iran has disrupted art shipping routes and driven up transport costs, particularly affecting Asia-based supply chains, according to art logistics professionals. Brent Crude...
Artist Alma Allen’s selection to represent the United States at the 2026 Venice Biennale has prompted scrutiny of the US Pavilion’s selection process after the State Department replaced its...
Artnet News reports that the San Francisco Art Fair (SFAF), presented by Art Market Production (AMP), opened this week with 88 local, national, and international exhibitors and 46 regional cultural...
Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture said Finland’s political leadership will not attend the Venice Biennale this year if the Russian Pavilion returns as planned, citing Russia’s ongoing war...
The Metropolitan Museum of Art will stage “Giacometti in the Temple of Dendur” beginning June 12, placing 17 sculptures by Swiss modernist Alberto Giacometti in and around the Temple of Dendur, an...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
The Holy See (Vatican City) will present a sound-focused pavilion at the Venice Biennale running 9 May–22 November, featuring artists and musicians including Brian Eno, FKA Twigs, Precious Okoyomon,...
Somalia’s first-ever Venice Biennale pavilion has drawn criticism from Somali art organizations and artists who say the project failed to meaningfully consult or include Somalia-based practitioners...
Artnet’s data analysis of the 2026 Venice Biennale finds a shift back toward living, mid-career artists, with more than 90% of the main-exhibition participants still alive. The exhibition, titled “In...
The European Commission has given the Venice Biennale 30 days to address allegations that including a Russian Pavilion in the 2026 edition violates EU sanctions, warning it could suspend or terminate...
Artnet News reported on 10 April 2026 that Melissa Chiu, 54, has been appointed the next director of the Guggenheim in New York, following a quiet search led by Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree on Friday imposing sanctions on five Russian cultural figures linked to organizing the Russian Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, ARTnews...
German artist, painter, installation artist, and punk musician Thomas Zipp has died, according to an announcement by Berlin’s Galerie Barbara Thumm, which said he “passed away far too soon.” Born in...
Belu-Simion Fainaru, the artist representing Israel at the forthcoming Venice Biennale, issued a statement to ARTnews rejecting calls to exclude Israel and saying, “As an artist, I do not support...
Lebanese artist Ali Cherri and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) filed a civil complaint on April 2 in France with the French War Crimes Unit, seeking an investigation into an...
An open letter by artists connected to the Venice Biennale called for the exclusion of the United States, Israel, and Russia from the exhibition, according to an Artnet News report published March...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
Guillaume Cerutti is leaving all roles across François Pinault’s companies, including the chairmanships of Christie’s and Stade Rennais, after previously being reported to be departing as president...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
German artist Anne Imhof will have her first solo exhibition in Asia at Tai Kwun in Hong Kong, running from September 26, 2026 to January 3, 2027, according to The Art Newspaper. The presentation is...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
At least 34 members of the European Parliament (with Politico reporting 37 signatories) have urged the EU to suspend all funding to the Venice Biennale Foundation if Russia participates, The Art...
ARTnews reports that 37 members of the European Parliament signed a letter urging the European Union to stop all funding to the Venice Biennale amid controversy over Russia’s planned pavilion, its...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
South African artist Gabrielle Goliath will present her Venice Biennale project Elegy independently in Venice after South Africa’s sports, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie cancelled the...
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha called for Russia to be barred from the Venice Biennale after a March 24 Russian drone strike damaged a 17th-century Bernardine monastery complex in the...
South African artist Gabrielle Goliath will present in Venice a version of the project that had been planned for South Africa’s national pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale but was later canceled....
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
A Russian drone strike on March 24, 2026, damaged buildings in the historic center of Lviv, Ukraine, including a Unesco-protected area around the 17th-century Bernardine Monastery and St. Andrew’s...
Artist Yto Barrada said French organizers had “full awareness” of her views on Israel when selecting her for France’s pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, after criticism from the Representative...
Ghanaian artist Ibrahim Mahama said he is considering legal action after members of Ghana’s Special Operations Team, known as the “Black Maria,” allegedly assaulted him on March 21, 2026, following...
ARTnews reports that the Venice Biennale’s Central Pavilion in the Giardini has been fully renovated ahead of the Biennale’s May 2026 opening, with a total budget of €31 million (about $36 million)....
ARTnews reports that Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro warned Russia that its pavilion at the upcoming Venice Biennale will be closed if it engages in propaganda. Brugnaro made the remarks at the opening...
Hyperallergic’s weekend roundup “Iranian Artist Speaks Her Heart,” introduced by editor-in-chief Hakim Bishara, centers on a text by Iranian artist Leila Seyedzadeh, who lives in New York and writes...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro said on March 19 that Russia’s pavilion at the Venice Biennale would be closed if it engages in propaganda, while also arguing that Venice should remain a place for...
Hyperallergic argued for a boycott of the 2026 Venice Biennale, presenting the case as a response to political and ethical concerns surrounding the event and its institutional relationships. The...
Artnet News reported on 25 February 2026 that 111 participating artists have been announced for “In Minor Keys,” the main exhibition of the 61st Venice Biennale, conceived by the late curator Koyo...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
At a Venice briefing reported by The Art Newspaper on 25 February 2026, the curatorial team for the 61st Venice Biennale detailed how they are implementing the late Koyo Kouoh’s exhibition “In Minor...
Video artist Alexandre Estrela has been selected to represent Portugal at the Venice Biennale, according to Artnet News. The announcement is part of Artnet’s running list of national pavilion...
Hyperallergic’s “South Africa’s Fiasco in Venice” examines controversy surrounding South Africa’s participation in the Venice Biennale, describing organizational and governance problems that led to...
South Africa has withdrawn from the Venice Biennale following a legal dispute over its planned presentation. The decision was announced after a court dismissed artist Gabrielle Goliath’s attempt to...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
South African artist Gabrielle Goliath’s urgent court application to overturn the cancellation of her planned 2026 Venice Biennale pavilion was dismissed by South Africa’s high court, in a decision...
Artnet News reviewed Pierre Huyghe’s exhibition Liminals at Halle am Berghain in Berlin, describing it as a major project within the LAS Art Foundation’s “Sensing Quantum” program that took three...
A court has dismissed an artist’s legal challenge related to South Africa’s canceled presentation for the Venice Biennale. The case concerned the termination of South Africa’s planned pavilion...
German artist Henrike Naumann, who had been set to represent Germany at the Venice Biennale, has died at age 41, Artnet News reported on 17 February 2026. The article identifies her as the artist...
ARTnews reports that German sculptor Henrike Naumann, known for work examining East Germany’s troubled postwar legacy, died at age 41. Naumann was recognized for installations that used domestic...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
Tate Modern is staging Tracey Emin’s largest retrospective to date, titled “A Second Life,” spanning work from her first solo exhibition at White Cube in 1993 through her most recent paintings. Emin,...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Art announced that the 59th Carnegie International will feature 61 artists and collectives and run from 2 May 2026 to 3 January 2027. Reported by The Art Newspaper on...
Ecuador announced it will participate in the Venice Biennale with its first-ever national pavilion, featuring artist Óscar Santillán and the Tawna Collective. According to Artnet News, the pavilion’s...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
The Art Newspaper published a running list on 9 February 2026 of national pavilion announcements for the 61st Venice Biennale, which opens 9 May 2026 and runs through 22 November 2026 across the...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
Ukraine announced on 5 February 2026 that artist Zhanna Kadyrova will represent the country at the Venice Biennale with a pavilion titled "Security Guarantees," referencing the 1994 Budapest...
ARTnews reported that Japanese sculptor Yuko Mohri won the Calder Prize, which carries a $50,000 award. The prize recognizes an artist whose practice reflects the innovative spirit associated with...
The Art Newspaper - International art news and events
The Art Newspaper compiled the national-pavilion announcements made so far for the 61st International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, which opens 9 May 2026 and runs through 22 November...