Valerio Adami, a prominent Italian painter born in 1935, is offering a new acrylic-on-canvas work titled "Valerio Adami @Miart 2026" (2026) through Dep Art Gallery. The painting, sized 198 × 147 cm, is a unique piece accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Adami is known for his graphic, comic-inspired narrative figuration, with works held in major museums including MoMA, Centre Pompidou, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
The Venice Biennale, traditionally a government-subsidized non-commercial institution where sales were downplayed, is experiencing an unprecedented open embrace of commerce. For the first time, Christie's is hosting an invitation-only selling exhibition in Venice, offering works ranging from Old Masters like Lucas Cranach to Modern and contemporary giants such as Andy Warhol, Louise Bourgeois, and Mark Bradford, with prices from $500,000 to over $35 million. Dealers, auction houses, and private foundations are openly pricing and selling works to collectors, spurred partly by Italy's reduced 5% VAT rate on art imports, now Europe's lowest.
The article explores the growing role of artificial intelligence in the art market, examining whether AI tools can effectively assist with tasks such as authentication, valuation, and trend prediction. It discusses the potential benefits of AI in streamlining operations and reducing human bias, while also acknowledging skepticism from traditionalists who question AI's ability to understand artistic nuance and cultural context.