The everyday radicalism of Joanne Leonard
The artist’s 1979 photo arranges the documents of a family’s life in humorous – and radical – style
Greece welcomes Turkish rejection of Lord Elgin’s right to remove Parthenon marbles
Plus: Dealers Robilant+Voena hit by employee lawsuit, and French Fluxus artist Ben Vautier has died at the age of 88
Acquisitions of the month: May 2024
An immaculately rendered family portrait by Lavinia Fontana and a striking copy of a Velázquez painting by Joaquín Sorolla are among the most important works to have entered public collections last month
Enter the void with Pierre Huyghe
An exhibition in Venice of the French artist’s work is conceptually dense, but does it work in visual terms?
Does this year’s Venice Biennale live up to the hype?
There are delightful discoveries to be made at this year’s event, but sometimes the central exhibition fizzles where it should spark
Beyond the Biennale – the shows to see around Venice this month
The rest of the city still has plenty to offer, from an exploration of the travels of Marco Polo to a celebration of Jean Cocteau’s genius
Must-see pavilions at the Venice Biennale 2024
From the recent history of Timor-Leste to world-building in Bulgaria, this year’s shows present a rich and varied cross-section of contemporary art from around the world
Four things to see: Heavy weather
As climate change continues to affect the world and the way we see it, here are four paintings of weather events, which serve as dramatic reminders of the power of nature and of human vulnerability
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The British colourist who passed down the lessons of Matisse
Matthew Smith’s striking use of colour, learnt from the Post-Impressionists, left a mark on the British artists who succeeded him
The burning ambitions of Roger Ackling
Using nothing but a magnifying glass and the sun’s rays, the artist created sculptures that defy easy categorisation
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In the studio with… Wendy Sharpe
The artist has all she needs in her capacious studio in Sydney, where her artist partner, some audiobooks and a Mexican papier-mâché skeleton keep her company
In the studio with… Joan Semmel
The New York native keeps up with current affairs, listens to Radio Garden and works every day – that is, when she’s not entertaining Leonardo DiCaprio
June 2024
• Should museums charge entry fees?
• The awesome art of Caspar David Friedrich
• Picnicking with the Impressionists
• The rise of Indigenous art
Plus: Early Renaissance painting, egomaniac architects in film, Norway’s new grain silo-turned-museum, and the Barber Institute in Birmingham; and reviews of Jean Cocteau in Venice, Constantin Brancusi in Paris, and Michelangelo in London
In Norway, a converted grain silo contains a bumper crop of Nordic art
A 1930s structure has been repurposed to house the collection of Nicolai Tangen. It’s certainly impressive, but how coherent is the work on show?
The Renaissance patrons who were no saints in religious paintings
Christopher Wood’s account of a turning point in early Renaissance art is typically demanding and always stimulating
Picnicking with the Impressionists
Comparing the spreads on offer in scenes by Manet and Monet suggests that eating outdoors offered the artists a very particular kind of freedom
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Once upon a time in Tasmania for the Wu-Tang
The Museum of Old and New Art is offering a rare chance to listen to the only copy of Once Upon A Time in Shaolin in existence, but what will happen to the album next?
The British collectors who developed a decided taste for Degas
William Burrell came to own 23 paintings by the artist, but an exhibition in Glasgow shows that his contemporaries were just as appreciative
Four things to see: The Venetian School
To mark the anniversary of the death of Tintoretto, we look at four magnificent artworks from the influential Venetian School of painting
When Robert Rauschenberg went on tour
The artist spent much of the 1980s making works inspired by his international trips – and showing off the results in the countries themselves
Why everyone loves Keith Haring
The pop artist believed that artists should make work for the masses. Decades after his death, his images are everywhere
Fjord focus – how Ibsen inspired the art of Edvard Munch
The Norwegian painter was referring to Ibsen’s play ‘Ghosts’ when he painted his dream-like landscape of 1906
The restless spirit of Sonia Delaunay
The artist’s irrepressible energy shines out in this survey of her long career at Bard Graduate Center, writes Eve M. Kahn
The sentimental side of Angelica Kauffman
In the 18th century, Europe was swept by a trend for art that revealed the inner lives of its subjects – and the Swiss painter encapsulated the ideas of the age
Collecting Inspiration: Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co.
The firm’s chief silver designer was also an avid collector of decorative arts from all over the world, many of which he donated to the Met
Rembrandt & the World
The artist never left the Netherlands, but these etchings show that the animals, architecture and clothing from faraway places certainly sparked his imagination
William Blake’s Universe
A collaboration between the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Hamburger Kunsthalle puts Blake’s myth-making in the context of his European contemporaries
The Book of Marvels: Wonder and Fear in the Middle Ages
The Getty Center presents an illuminated French manuscript that takes armchair travellers to foreign and often fantastical places
Why London’s auction houses are feeling so flat
With cancelled sales and market uncertainty, Christie’s and Sotheby’s have been taking hammer blows in recent months – but it’s not just a London problem