A Pittsburgh "Pity Party," the Carnegie International and more art - Pennsylvania News Beep

Each month NEXTpittsburgh features new openings and special art events in our series, NEXT in the Gallery. Keep us posted on what’s new in your neighborhood and email lemccullough@mac.com.

As a prelude to June’s Three Rivers Arts Festival, May holds its own with three festive art walks, visits by urban sketchers and Robin Hood, shoebox memories, the Mother of All Pottery Sales and the quadrennial convening of contemporary artists from around the world (including Pittsburgh): the 59th Carnegie International.

“This is not a composition, it’s a place where things are, as on a table” by R.J. Messineo (photo courtesy of the artist and CANADA), “Exsiccata Diaspora: Perilla, folio #8” by Ginger Brooks Takahashi (photo by Zachary Riggleman), Joar Nango, “Girjegumpi: The Sámi Architecture Library” by Joar Nango (photo by Laurian Ghinițoiu).

“If the word we” – 59th Carnegie International on view May 2, 2026, to Jan. 3, 2027; opening reception May 1, 8:30 p.m.

Organized every four years by Carnegie Museum of Art, the Carnegie International is the longest-running exhibition of international art in North America. This year’s theme focuses on the variety of approaches, fusions and partnerships shaping contemporary art and creative practice today.

“If the word we” features new and existing works by 61 artists representing the U.S. and 23 other countries, along with four new artist commissions at the Mattress Factory, Kamin Science Center, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh and Thelma Lovette YMCA. Pittsburgh artist Ginger Brooks Takahashi is among the U.S. artists featured.

The exhibit opens to the public May 2, but kicks off with a May 1 opening night party that includes exclusive early access to the exhibition along with beverages, desserts and music by HUNY XO and Las Flaquitas.

Clockwise from top left: “Shimmer II” by Adrian Deckbar, “On the edge of Killarney’s lower lake” by Sue Abramson, “Entr’acte ami” by Gil Gorski, “Stiltgrass” by Susan Danko (James Gallery). Photos courtesy of James Gallery.

“Down to Earth: Revealing the Natural World” on view April 30-May 29; opening reception April 30, 5-8 p.m.

“Down to Earth: Revealing the Natural World” spotlights the work of 11 contemporary painters (Sue Abramson, Paul Chojnowski, Susan Danko, Fred Danziger, Adrian Deckbar, Gil Gorski, Catherine Kernan, Rick Landesberg, Tom McNickle, Chuck Olson and Melinda Rosenberg) exploring the natural world in uniquely vibrant and compelling ways.

“Pity Party” by Jody Shell (mossArchitects). Photo by artist.

“Jody Shell: Shoebox Memories” on view May 1-31, opening reception 6-9 p.m.

Painter, potter, printmaker and pillow crafter Jody Shell uses pages from vintage children’s books, ephemera and paint in her new exhibit to explore the world of children and how they find imaginary or real escapes from the adult world.

“Spirals of Ndu” by Dominique Swift (Artists Image Resource). Photo by artist.

“Uli Awakened: In Her Name – New Work by Dominique Swift” on view May 22-June 28, opening reception May 22, 6-9 p.m.

Inspired by the Nigerian Igbo art form of Uli, Dominique Swift blends painting, poetry, digital storytelling and multimedia art in her first solo exhibit examining themes of identity, womanhood and cultural memory through narrative paintings.

“Skills” by Laura Jean McLaughlin, “Dogs Today” by James Simon, “Orangutan Dreams, 1999” by Robert Qualters (Irma Freeman Center for Imagination). Photos courtesy of Irma Freeman Center for Imagination.

“Laura Jean McLaughlin, James Simon, Robert Qualters” on view May 1-June 5, opening reception May 1, 6-9 p.m.

This exhibit by three iconic local artists provides a provocative new “point of Pittsburgh” where imagination and history meet in a multimedia confluence of ceramics, sculpture, mosaics, murals, collage and painting.

Laura Jean McLaughlin’s handcrafted works number in the thousands, each infused with political, cultural and personal references tinged with whimsy and what she’s termed “automatic sculpting.” Thirty years of international apprenticeship guided James Simon back to Pittsburgh at the turn of the millennium; since then he has enshrined that knowledge in artwork embedded in neighborhoods across the city. Acclaimed for vivid and expressive evocations of memory and place, 92-year-old Robert Qualters continues to create art showcasing Western Pennsylvania’s dynamic urban and riverfront life.

“Filopodia” by Eva Kwong, “Mother Lode II” by Jane Powers, “Spider Bite” by Kathy Ruttenberg (International Sculpture Center). Photos by artists.

“Ceramics as Sculpture” on view May 22-Nov. 6.

“Ceramics as Sculpture” is a radiant and riveting sampler of works from International Sculpture Center members and artists from around the world who have activated ceramics as an expressive medium of resistance, storytelling and experimentation. Featured are Helaine Blumenfeld OBE, Deborah Bridges, Susan Budge, Louise Deroualle, Helen Duncan, Rachel Eng, C.J. Escobar Rodgers, Leslie Fry, Qwist Joseph, Trevor King, Eva Kwong, Asia Mathis, Nnenna Okore, Dina Perlasca, Jane Powers, Kathy Ruttenberg, James Simon, Ian F. Thomas and Lydia C. Thompson.

Clockwise from left: “Coffee,” “Dall’s Ram,” “Greetings” by The Narfs (BoxHeart Gallery). Photos by artist.

“The Narfs: I Want to Believe” on view May 20-July 3, opening reception May 23, 5-7 p.m.

The Narfs (Jeremy Murray and Nicole Betters) draw inspiration from nature, cartoons, folk art and the Mon River cultural iconography that nurtured their first creative forays. It’s a fusionary forager aesthetic blending sustainable materials, childhood memories, track side trash, yesterday’s conversations and, inevitably, a harvest of plastic bags processed into PLARN (plastic yarn).

Clockwise from left: Lu Randall, Christopher B. Mitchell, Cassandra Wilcox, Kate Bower, (Spinning Plate Gallery). Photos by artists.

“Urban Sketchers Pittsburgh Group Show 2026” on view May 2-31, opening reception May 2, 4-7 p.m., closing reception May 31, 12-3 p.m.

The Urban Sketchers Pittsburgh exhibit features on-site illustrations by 27 local artists taking a break from their studio confines to create impromptu works in public spaces, from parks and bars to street corners and warehouses.

May’s “Unblurred: First Fridays on Penn Avenue” features a Robin Hood exhibit at VaultArt Studios; from left: “Robin Hood Hunting with his Merry Man in Sherwood Forest” by Frank Principe, “The Merry Girls” by Maggie Kambic, “Knight in Shining Armor” by Tafara Bundrige (VaultArt Studios). Photos courtesy of VaultArt Studios

Check these art happenings, too:

• May 1, 6-10 p.m. Pittsburgh’s longest-running visual art stroll, Unblurred: First Fridays on Penn Avenue, returns with a lively evening of art openings, live performances, sidewalk markets and innumerable diverse food and beverage selections along the 4800–5500 blocks of Penn Avenue in Bloomfield/Garfield/Friendship.

• May 8, 6-9 p.m. On second Fridays May through October, the Carnegie Crawl enlivens East and West Main Street with gallery openings, live music and food spotlighting the borough’s growing artmaking community — Double Dog Studios, Firebox Art Studios, 3rd Street Gallery, Pittsburgh Pottery, Eccentricity Designs, Matt Polk Photography and Studio Forget-Me-Not.

• May 9, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Union Project’s “Mother of All Pottery Sales” features more than 40 ceramic artists, unique ceramic artwork, clay demonstrations and hands-on activities. 801 N. Negley Ave., Morningside.

• May 11-15. Spring 2026 Plein Air returns to Latrobe Art Center, with dozens of artists competing for awards, painting or drawing locations within the scenic environs of Latrobe. Register online or by calling 724-537-7011. 819 Ligonier St., Latrobe.

• May 21, 7 p.m. Art Battle Pittsburgh returns to Atithi Studios, with doors open at 7 p.m., painting at 7:30 p.m. Founded in 2001 in New York City’s Soho Arts District and now flourishing in 50 cities on five continents, Art Battle gives contestants 20 minutes to paint a masterpiece, with the audience voting on the winner. 1020 N. Canal St., Sharpsburg.

• May 29, 5:30-9 p.m. Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s spring Downtown Gallery Crawl is a free, multi-venue open house showcasing Pittsburgh’s dynamic art and entertainment scene featuring visual arts, live music, dance, spoken word and more.

“Cross Contamination” by Jamie Ho, “Bread and roses on a smoky day, Oregon, 2019” by Helen Jones, “8×25 44º7’32.29’ N 124º7’32.69’ W (Interrelation)” by Conner Gordon (Silver Eye Center for Photography). Photos by the artists.

More May openings:

• Dual Intent: New Shapes by Jen Renk and Tim A. Green (Christine Fréchard Gallery, May 1-June 3)

• This Ain’t No Disco: Works on Paper by Patrick Schmidt (Groove Gallery, May 1-31)

• Kathleen Mulcahy: “A Fine Intoxication: Gathering Glass” (Pittsburgh Glass Center, May 1-July 31)

• Mayday! New Work by Abigail Franzen-Sheehan, Meryl Engler, Casey Connelly, Micalee Sullivan (Pullproof Studio, May 1-31)

• Things to Come: OUTLINES, 1941–1947 (ROMANCE, May 2-June 28)

• Bodies Don’t Lie and The Wealth of Emerald (Manos Gallery, May 2-31)

• “May the 4th Gallery Strikes Back” (Ketchup City Creative, May 2-4)

• On Liberty: A Summoning – A Site-Responsive Performance Exhibition by Marianne Vitale (SPACE Gallery, May 1-Oct. 11)

• Plot Pilot Drawings by Lucas Regazzi (Bottom Feeder Books, May 2-30)

• Claudia Martínez Garay and Arturo Kameya (Mattress Factory, May 2, 2026-Jan. 3, 2027)

• Topsoil: Carnegie Mellon University School of Art 2026 Senior Exhibition (Tomayko Foundation, May 2-8)