“Foreigners Everywhere,” the theme of Adriano Pedrosa’s 60th Venice Biennale, is palpable across the city, as artists and curators mount dynamic exhibitions that contend with what it means to be an outsider. As is typically the case, the curator’s conceptual framework for the International Art Exhibition has also surfaced prominently in national pavilions, from the typically mighty blockbusters in the Giardini to the less expected (but equally compelling) presentations across the neighborhoods of Giudecca, Cannaregio, Castello, and Dorsoduro. In the midst of multiple wars and political and so ..read more

The 2024 edition of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People features conceptual visual artist Jenny Holzer, photographer LaToya Ruby Frazier, and prestigious curator Thelma Golden. These names are among stars such as Oscar-award winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph, singer Dua Lipa, director Sofia Coppola, and actor Elliot Page. Jenny Holzer, an American conceptual and installation artist, is recognized for her provocative use of language in public spaces. Employing various media such as carved stone and electronic signs, Holzer prompts public debate and shines a light on social and political issue ..read more

Miles McEnery Gallery has announced its representation of Detroit-based artist Conrad Egyir. Known for his vivid, graphic portraits of Black subjects, Egyir is joining the gallery on the heels of a 2023 solo presentation with San Francisco gallery Jessica Silverman and inclusion in “Skilled Labor: Black Realism in Detroit,” a group exhibition at the Cranbrook Art Museum in Michigan that closed last month. The artist’s first show with Miles McEnery will be held in New York in September. “I have long admired Conrad’s work and had the good fortune of meeting him through our shared friend, Beverl ..read more

Lips to Breathe Her Name, 2024 Hayal Pozanti Timothy Taylor Relocation has long been essential to Hayal Pozanti’s painting practice. Little did she know that moving to Houston from Turkey at age eight, for example, would influence the sinuously abstract and buoyantly colored body of work for which she first became known a decade ago. That immersion in English, and the sudden return to Turkish a few years later when her family moved back home, inspired “Instant Paradise,” the series of paintings Pozanti created based on an imaginary alphabet she composed with 31 glyphs. Each shape refers to a ..read more

Leonora Carrington’s Les Distractions de Dagobert (1945), a landmark painting by the celebrated British Mexican Surrealist, is set to be auctioned at Sotheby’s modern evening auction in New York on May 15th. The painting, anticipated to fetch between $12 million and $18 million, is likely to set a new auction record for Carrington. The low estimate is nearly quadruple the artist’s current auction record of $3.3 million, set by The Garden of Paracelsus (1957) at Sotheby’s in May 2022. This sale marks the first time the work will hit the market in 30 years while also coinciding with the 100th a ..read more

When Los Angeles–based artist Kira Maria Shewfelt began painting kisses, she encountered a problem: On canvas, these passionate images appeared violent. The figures seemed to suffocate each other. The artist reconfigured her renderings so they’d work in the symbolic, romantic register she sought. In one of her oil paintings, Lohengrin Supernova (2023–24), the figures’ lips barely brush. Yet their blushing cheeks and Shewfelt’s decorative confetti flourishes suggest tenderness and love. These values bear out across the 14 canvases at Make Room in Los Angeles, where Shewfelt’s debut solo exhibi ..read more

The 11th edition of EXPO Chicago, newly under Frieze ownership, wrapped up its vibrant 11th edition on Sunday, having welcomed over 35,000 visitors including collectors, curators, and museum directors. The atmosphere from VIP day—defined by a relaxed yet positive energy—lingered throughout the weekend as the Chicago community descended upon Navy Pier. This year, EXPO featured 170 leading galleries from 29 countries, upholding its reputation as the preeminent art fair in the American Midwest. “The fair, EXPO Chicago, has surely played its role in fostering the growth of a new collector base ..read more

It’s a two-sided canvas: One half is full of color, the other gray, and nearly empty. In 2020, Manuel Mathieu first debuted his large-scale painting Sacred Burden, made earlier that year in response to ongoing political instability in Haiti. In an interview, he called the acrylic, chalk, charcoal, fabric, and tape on canvas painting “really powerful,” repeating the “really” several times, noting its links to the politics of the Caribbean nation. “Haiti’s been through a lot of struggles in the last few years,” said the Haitian-born artist, whose work is partly influenced by his homeland’s comp ..read more

Faith Ringgold, one of the most influential artists of her generation, has passed away at the age of 93. The artist is best known for her innovative “story quilt” artworks that narrate the history of the Civil Rights Movement, as well as her activism and more than a dozen illustrated children’s books. The artist’s passing was confirmed by ACA Galleries, which has represented her exclusively worldwide since 1995. Ringold was born in Harlem in 1930 and studied art at the City College of New York, where she also received a master’s degree. The artist first reached mainstream acclaim with the 12 ..read more

It might be in its 11th edition, but EXPO Chicago is embarking on a new chapter. This year’s fair—the largest in the U.S. Midwest—is the first since Frieze announced last summer that it’d be acquiring EXPO, along with The Armory Show in New York. How the new ownership would influence EXPO was a hot topic among art world whisperers heading into the fair, and on its VIP day Thursday, Tony Karman, the fair’s president, was in an enthusiastic mood. EXPO’s legacy of community involvement will continue, if not get stronger, he said, as Frieze helps elevate Chicago’s presence on the international st ..read more