Why do people appear in architectural drawings?
An exhibition at the Soane Museum shows that technical drawings of buildings are often more complex than they may seem
Four things to see: Toys and games
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the invention of the Rubik’s Cube, we look at four toys and games spanning centuries and continents that offer different perspectives on how to have fun
For the Loewe Foundation, there is no higher art than craft
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to tell whether the finalists of the annual Craft Prize are artisans aspiring to art, or artists getting crafty
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
Fossil fuelled – the sticky relationship between art and the oil industry
Cultural institutions are increasingly cutting ties with fossil fuel sponsors, but art and oil have long been intertwined in surprising ways
The ancient role models that inspired women after the French Revolution
In the late 1790s, modern women looking for new forms of freedom were often inspired by distant and mythical histories
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Transforming the National Gallery, one painting at a time
The museum’s head of framing, Peter Schade, is quietly changing how we see some of the world’s most famous pictures
There’s more to Japan’s Arts and Crafts movement than meets the eye
In its telling of the story of the Mingei movement, the William Morris Gallery takes a refreshingly international approach
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In the studio with… Erwin Wurm
The artist finds solace in Annie Ernaux and a booming Tibetan sound bowl while working on his playful sculptures in the Austrian countryside
In the studio with… Matthew Krishanu
The artist takes inspiration from Billie Holiday, El Greco and a pair of old Indian puppets when painting large-scale canvases in his East London studio
May 2024
• An interview with Alvaro Barrington
• The National Gallery in London at 200
• The sticky relationship between art and the oil industry
• How the Hirshhorn Museum keeps things fresh
Plus: the delicate art of Meissen, a bronze statue claimed by both Thailand and Cambodia, why art should be a multi-sensory pleasure, and a preview of TEFAF New York, and reviews of 15th-century French art in Paris, Japan’s Arts and Crafts movement in London and Pierre Huyghe in Venice.
Acquisitions of the Month: April 2024
A luscious portrait by Johann Richard Seel and a magnificent bronze statue by Giambologna are among the most important works to have entered public collections last month
Kendrick, Drake and the art of the feud
The rappers remain locked in a vicious musical battle, but how does it compare with other artistic rivalries over the years?
Gustave Courbet’s ‘L’origine du monde’ spray-painted with the slogan ‘MeToo’
Plus: two Just Stop Oil protestors in their eighties attempt to break the glass protecting the Magna Carta, and 3,000-year-old gold jewellery has been stolen from Ely Museum
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Four things to see: The passage of time
To mark the anniversary of the birth of Salvador Dalí, who played all sorts of temporal tricks in his paintings, we look at four artworks that address the forward march of time
How national is the National Gallery in London?
The museum is founded on the collection of John Julius Angerstein and, 200 years later, the banker’s taste is still making itself felt
The ceramics at TEFAF New York are worth getting fired up about
The wares on offer at the event this month are enough to bowl over any ceramics aficionado
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
Judy Chicago: Revelations
In this survey of the artist’s six-decade career at the Serpentine, drawings take centre stage
Isaac Julien: Lessons of the Hour
The artist’s 10-channel film about the life and legacy of the abolitionist has been recently acquired by MoMA
Art and Social Change in Spain (1885–1910)
Spanish painting took a more realistic turn in the late 19th century, as this exhibition at the Prado demonstrates
Splendor and Misery: New Objectivity in Germany
After the First World War, German artists took an unflinching look at the realities of everyday life in the Weimar Republic
What Frank Stella saw – and what he made us see
The painter who began as a master of modernist abstraction kept reinventing himself right until the end