On the cover: Cy Twombly, Staten Island beach, New York, ca. 1951. Photo: Robert Rauschenberg.

April 2026 The April 2026 issue of Artforum, featuring “Five Friends,” Bettina, Jacob Lawrence, and the state of Biennials.

In Artforum’s April 2026 issue, James Meyer traces the intimate and generative relationships among Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, Merce Cunningham, John Cage, and Jasper Johns. “There are people we meet when we are young—irreplaceable people.”

Works by Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse Snatched in Major Italian Art Heist Works by Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse have been stolen in a major heist at the Magnani-Rocca Foundation in Parma, Italy. The works are worth millions.

Four men have pulled off a major heist of works by Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse from the Magnani-Rocca Foundation in the rural Italian city of Parma. www.artforum.com/news/renoir-...

Kate McNamara Named Director of Harvard’s Carpenter Center for Visual Arts The Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has appointed Kate McNamara director.

The Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has appointed Kate McNamara John R. and Barbara Robinson Family Director. www.artforum.com/news/kate-mc...

Cristopher Canizares Leaves Hauser & Wirth to Start Artist Management Firm Cristopher Canizares, a partner at Hauser & Wirth has announced plans to leave the gallery to start his own artist management firm.

Cristopher Canizares, an integral partner at Hauser & Wirth, has announced his intention to depart the juggernaut art gallery in order to start his own artist talent management agency. www.artforum.com/news/cristop...

Mystery Subject of Portrait at Art Gallery of Ontario Identified Researchers at the Art Gallery of Ontario have found the unknown subject of a painting is Eleonora Susette, an enslaved mixed-race woman from Guyana

After more than six years, a mystery woman captured in a portrait that was acquired by the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2020 has been identified. www.artforum.com/news/subject...

Gabrielle Goliath to Show Work Banned from Venice Biennale Outside Main Exhibition Gabrielle Goliath will show her controversial work outside the Venice Biennale after South Africa's government canceled her pavilion there.

Gabrielle Goliath, who was to have to have represented South Africa at the Sixty-First Venice Biennale before a government official abruptly canceled her exhibition, will instead show her work outside the event. www.artforum.com/news/gabriel...

Pat Steir, Whose “Waterfalls” Dazzled, Dies at 87 Pat Steir, known for her iconic and vibrantly hued "Waterfall" paintings, died on March 25 at the age of 87.

Pat Steir, who rose to prominence in the 1980s for her iconic “Waterfall” paintings, which she made by pouring paint onto canvas from atop a ladder, died in Manhattan on March 25. She was eighty-seven. www.artforum.com/news/pat-ste...

Calvin Tomkins, Master Profiler of the Contemporary Art World, Dead at 100 Calvin Tomkins, who wrote about art for the New Yorker for more than sixty years, died on March 20 at his home in Middletown, Rhode Island.

Calvin Tomkins, whose vivid and revealing profiles of contemporary art’s most fabled figures graced the pages of the New Yorker for more than sixty years, has died at the age of one hundred. www.artforum.com/news/calvin-...

Art Dubai Postpones 2026 Fair Amid Iran War Fears Art Dubai announced that its 2026 fair would not take place in April as planned but instead would be held May 14–17 in an “adapted format."

Art Dubai today announced that its 2026 fair would not take place in April as planned but instead would be held May 14–17 in an “adapted format” at its longtime home, the resort Madinat Jumeirah. www.artforum.com/news/art-dub...

Board Votes Unanimously to Shut Down Kennedy Center for 2 Years The fate of the Kennedy Center remains murky after its board unanimously votes to close for two year renovation.

The beleaguered John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts will close for two years to undergo renovations following a unanimous vote from the board, which is helmed by Donald Trump. www.artforum.com/news/board-v...

Lisa Yuskavage Lisa Yuskavage shares her admiration for Bellini’s Sacred Conversation, relays advice from Mel Bochner, and the influence of David Lynch's films

In this episode of Under the Influence, Lisa Yuskavage shares her admiration for Bellini’s Sacred Conversation, relays advice from her MFA teacher Mel Bochner, and discusses Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s impact on how she structures her work. www.artforum.com/video/lisa-y...

“Wild Card” James Taylor-Foster to Helm Hong Kong’s Para Site British Swedish curator James Taylor-Foster has been named executive director of Hong Kong's nonprofit contemporary arts space Para Site.

British Swedish curator and writer James Taylor-Foster has been appointed executive director of Para Site in Hong Kong. www.artforum.com/news/james-t...

Trevor Paglen Trevor Paglen reveals his anxieties about the future of images, shares advice he’s received from Rebecca Solnit, and reflects on his favorite painting

Paglen discussed his anxieties about the future of images, his favorite Paul Klee painting, and much more with Artforum for the February episode of Under the Influence. www.artforum.com/video/trevor...

Trevor Paglen Wins 2026 LG Guggenheim Award Trevor Paglen, known for his work investigating the hidden systems of tech and power, has been named the winner of the fourth LG Guggenheim Award.

Multidisciplinary artist Trevor Paglen, known for his work investigating the hidden systems of tech and power, has been named the winner of the fourth LG Guggenheim Award. www.artforum.com/news/trevor-...

DOGE Canceled Museum Grant for HVAC Systems After ChatGPT Flagged It As DEI A ChatGPT prompt by DOGE employees found a grant proposal for an HVAC system to be DEI related. The NEH grant was then canceled.

DOGE reportedly cancelled a grant awarded to the High Point Museum in North Carolina after ChatGPT flagged it as DEI. The grant in question was meant to fund the replacement of the museum’s HVAC system. www.artforum.com/news/doge-ca...

Popcorn Pop Revisiting Hoberman’s 2011 essay on Orson Welles, Douglas Sirk, and Alfred Hitchcock as proto-Pop artists

On the heels of the 98th Academy Awards, Artforum revisits J. Hoberman’s essay on midcentury cinema as proto-Pop, which looked at the films of iconic directors Orson Welles, Douglas Sirk, and Alfred Hitchcock and found in them “avant-garde experiments in the guise of Hollywood movies.”

Toleen Touq Will Curate the Twentieth Edition of MOMENTA Biennale Toleen Touq has been selected to curate the 20th edition of MOMENTA. Touq is known for her focus on programming that unfolds over time.

Curator and educator Toleen Touq has been appointed the curator of the twentieth edition of the Montreal-based MOMENTA Biennale d’art contemporain, which will take place in 2027. www.artforum.com/news/toleen-...

Keisha Scarville Awarded Brooklyn Museum’s $25,000 UOVO Prize The Brooklyn Museum has named Keisha Scarville the winner of its sixth UOVO Prize. Founded in 2019, the award honors emerging artists from Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn Museum has announced Keisha Scarville as the winner of its sixth UOVO Prize. www.artforum.com/news/keisha-...

Roman Khimei & Yarema Malashchuk on wartime imagemaking Artist-filmmakers Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk introduce their exhibition at Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

In a new interview, Ukrainian artists Roman Khimei and Yarema Malashchuk discuss their exhibition “Pedagogies of War,” on view at @museothyssen.org and TBA21, which confronts the competing depictions of war in today’s technologically enhanced media ecology. www.artforum.com/features/rom...

Researchers Link Two Unattributed Works To Michelangelo Experts use scientific analysis and historical records to link two forgotten works—a painting and a sculpture—to Michelangelo.

Last week researchers at the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage of Belgium (KIK-IRPA) announced that they had used scientific analysis to connect a centuries-old Pietà painting to the Italian master Michelangelo. www.artforum.com/news/researc...

US Supreme Court Declines Appeal Hearing For Case On Copyrighting AI Artwork AI art copyright rejected by Supreme Court, affirming human authorship in law. Thaler's case sparks debate on AI's role in creative ownership.

The US Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal for computer scientist Stephen Thaler’s attempt to secure copyright protection for an AI-generated image. www.artforum.com/news/us-supr...

“Jeffrey Epstein Walk of Shame” Appears in Washington, DC Public Park A guerrilla sidewalk installation in DC names Epstein links with stars featuring prominent figures like Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Bill Clinton.

A guerrilla art installation featuring the names and visages of twenty public figures who’ve been linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein appeared in a public park close to the White House in Washington, DC earlier this month. www.artforum.com/news/guerril...

Curators Announced for 16th Baltic Triennial The Contemporary Art Center Vilnius has appointed artist Nikita Kadan and art historian Natalia Sielewicz curators of the 16th Baltic Triennial.

The Contemporary Art Center (CAC) Vilnius has appointed artist Nikita Kadan and art historian, writer, and curator Natalia Sielewicz curators of the Sixteenth Baltic Triennial, to take place in 2027. www.artforum.com/news/curator...

Ancient Egyptians Altered Book of the Dead with “Wite-Out,” Scholars Say Cambridge scholars found Ancient Egyptian scribes used a calcite-based white pigment to correct mistakes in a 3,000-year-old Book of the Dead papyrus.

Researchers from Cambridge University’s Fitzwilliam Museum recently discovered that Ancient Egyptians used a 3,000-year-old version of Wite-Out to amend mistakes on their papyrus creations. www.artforum.com/news/ancient...

Opening Day: Rachel Wetzler’s Mini-Tour of the Whitney Biennial Rachel Wetzler on Emilie Louise Gossiaux, Michelle Lopez, Pat Oleszko, Jordan Strafer, Akira Ikezoe, David L. Johnson in the 2026 Whitney Biennial.

Yesterday, the 2026 Whitney Biennial opened to the public. For Artforum’s website, Co-Editor Rachel Wetzler provides a mini-tour of the survey, Senior Editor Alex Jovanovich selects the standout works, and Editorial Assistant Theo Belci weighs some high and low points.

Thaddeus Mosley, Acclaimed Self-Taught Sculptor, Dead at 99 Thaddeus Mosley, known for his dramatic abstract sculptures made from reclaimed wood, died on March 6 at his home in Pittsburgh.

Thaddeus Mosley, known for his dramatic abstract sculptures made from reclaimed wood, died on March 6 at his home in Pittsburgh. He was ninety-nine. www.artforum.com/news/self-ta...

Russia Returns to Venice Biennale for First Time Since Invading Ukraine Russia will have a presence at the 61st Venice Biennale, four years after canceling its pavilion in 2022, just after the country attacked Ukraine.

Russia will have a presence at the Sixty-First Venice Biennale, four years after canceling its pavilion in 2022, just after the country attacked Ukraine. www.artforum.com/news/russia-...

Anna-Sophie Berger on religious garb and consumer aesthetics The artist introduces her new exhibition at Baltimore's Art Hall

In a new interview with Artforum’s Theo Belci, Anna-Sophie Berger discusses religious garb, consumer aesthetics, and her current exhibition, “Two Fixed Ideas Will Unite” at Baltimore’s Art Hall. www.artforum.com/features/the...

Serpentine’s Kostas Stasinopoulos to Helm Greece’s Forthcoming Kyklos Kostas Stasinopoulos has been named director of exhibitions and programs at Greece's Kyklos, a forthcoming center devoted to African and Oceanic art.

Kostas Stasinopoulos, the longtime curator of live programs at London’s Serpentine contemporary art gallery, has been appointed director of exhibitions and programs at Kyklos, the Renzo Piano–designed center for art and culture set to open in 2028 in Piraeus, Greece. www.artforum.com/news/serpent...