the asia pivot state of play 2026 02 12

A flurry of art fair activity across Asia marked the early weeks of 2026. Art Basel's inaugural Qatar edition broke format with single-artist presentations, focusing on MENASA artists and discreet institutional buying. The India Art Fair in New Delhi reported strong sales for local and international galleries, while new fairs launched in Jakarta, Manila, and Hong Kong. Tokyo Gendai announced its return, and Art Basel's digital platform Zero 10 expanded to Hong Kong.

paint drippings art industry news mar 10

This week's art industry roundup covers NADA New York's 11th edition with 111 galleries at a new venue, the Starrett-Lehigh Building, and Photo London's 10th edition at Somerset House with 99 exhibitors. In auctions, Sotheby's London saw a Yoshitomo Nara work sell for £9.03 million, while Christie's achieved £10 million for René Magritte's 'La reconnaissance infinie' and over £3.3 million for a Nazi-looted Egon Schiele drawing, plus $728,784 in its first all-A.I. auction. Galleries saw moves including Charles Moffett's new Tribeca space, Lisson Gallery representing Tishan Hsu, and Mika Yoshitake joining Blum as senior curatorial director. Museums and institutions feature the opening of Khao Yai Art Forest in Thailand with works by Louise Bourgeois, and the J. Paul Getty Trust appointing Kelly S. Moody as vice president.

The Artists Who Ruled the Biennial Circuit Over the Last Four Years

Artnet News critic Ben Davis analyzed 130 recurring global art events—including biennials and triennials—that opened between the 2022 and 2026 Venice Biennales, tallying over 15,000 participating artists. He identified the most frequently featured artists, with Nolan Oswald Dennis topping the list at 14 biennial appearances. Dennis, a South Africa-based artist born in Lusaka, is known for works like "Black Liberation Zodiac" (2017-ongoing) and was included in the 2026 Venice Biennale curated by the late Koyo Kouoh.

artnotnet facebook marketplace art la scene

Artnet News is searching for a permanent writer for its Wet Paint gossip column, with guest writers like Janelle Zara filling in temporarily. The column focuses on speculating about the identity of the anonymous Instagram account @artnotnet, which posts humorous, all-caps commentary on art world headlines, and notes the rise of art sales on platforms like Facebook Marketplace.

Art Movements: New Museum Names Its First Artist Studio Residents

The New Museum has named Yun Choi, Alison Kuo, and Korakrit Arunanondchai as the first artists-in-residence for its new Artist Studio, a 730-square-foot space created by the museum's OMA-designed expansion. The residencies will run from spring 2025 through winter 2027, with each artist developing new work, onsite exhibitions, and public programs. Separately, Forge Project announced its 2026 fellows—six Indigenous artists including Jay Bellis, Heidi Brandow, and Tiare Ribeaux—who will each receive $25,000 and a three-week residency. In other news, the Robert Therrien Estate has left Gagosian for David Zwirner Gallery, Laurel Nakadate won the Maud Morgan Prize, and Frieze New York revealed a staff uniform designed by artist Reika Takebayashi.

Kamrooz Aram Is Everywhere

Iranian artist Kamrooz Aram is currently experiencing a significant institutional and commercial moment, with his work appearing in three major exhibitions across two continents simultaneously. Critic Aruna D’Souza highlights Aram’s ability to synthesize Islamic visual idioms with Western abstraction, creating a painterly language that transcends cultural hierarchies and treats historical narratives with a unique lightness.

The Week in Art: Iran's Heritage, Art Market Recovery, Sydney Biennale

Art communities and heritage in Iran, moderate recovery in the art market, Sydney Biennale—podcast

The latest episode of The Week in Art podcast covers three main topics. First, it discusses the impact of the ongoing Middle East conflict on cultural communities and heritage sites in Iran and Lebanon, including damage to the Chehel Sotoun palace in Isfahan. Second, it analyzes the new Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report, which indicates a market recovery but reveals a complex picture. Third, it features a new installation by Indigenous American artist Cannupa Hanska Luger at the Sydney Biennale, consisting of ceramic dingo skulls, which has gained relevance following a recent tragedy in Australia.

could bangkok be the next miami

Thailand is emerging as a major contemporary art destination, with a wave of new institutions, fairs, and tax incentives drawing international attention. The government-initiated Thailand Biennale opens in Phuket, while the third and final edition of the Ghost biennial just concluded in Bangkok. Collector Marisa Chearavanont recently opened Bangkok Kunsthalle and Kai Yao Art Forest, and Purat “Chang” Osathanugrah is launching Dib Bangkok, billed as the country’s first international contemporary art museum, on December 21. New York dealer Harper Levine plans to open a Bangkok outpost of his Harper’s gallery in spring, and Seoul-based Artue is planning a scaled-up art fair called Art Bangkok International for next year. In August, the Thai government approved tax deductions for purchasing artworks by national artists and higher tax breaks for artists.

anonymous was a woman symposium report

A symposium organized by Anonymous Was A Woman, an arts nonprofit, was held at New York University to discuss findings from a new survey on the status of women artists. The survey, commissioned by the nonprofit and compiled by Julia Halperin and Charlotte Burns with SMU Data Arts, revealed that women artists face significant challenges including financial precarity, lack of studio space, and limited time to create art. Over 300 attendees heard panel discussions featuring artists like Coco Fusco, Steffani Jemison, and Judith Bernstein, followed by roundtables where 40 women professionals in the arts anonymously shared insights on community and resource gaps.

art institute of chicago investigation james rondeau

James Rondeau, president and director of the Art Institute of Chicago since 2016, has voluntarily stepped away from his role amid an investigation into an alleged incident on a flight from Chicago to Munich in April. According to a CBS News report citing anonymous sources, police were called after a passenger reportedly stripped off his clothes following consumption of alcohol and prescription medication; sources identified that passenger as Rondeau. The museum confirmed it has opened an independent investigation and that Rondeau is taking time off during the process.

Researchers Identify Enslaved Boy in Joshua Reynolds Painting

Researchers in the U.K. have identified the enslaved boy depicted in Joshua Reynolds's 1748 painting of Royal Navy lieutenant Paul Henry Ourry. For centuries known only as "Jersey," the boy has been identified as George Walker, also called Boston Jersey, through baptismal and admiralty records. Walker was baptized at age 15 in Westminster in 1752, served on HMS Monmouth and HMS Deptford, and was discharged in 1753, after which his fate remains unknown. The research, a collaboration between the National Trust, the National Gallery in London, and Royal Museums Greenwich, also used scientific analysis to reveal Reynolds's original compositional intentions.

‘He sent someone to intimidate me’: Christopher Anderson, the photographer who shot Jeffrey Epstein

Photographer Christopher Anderson has revealed the details behind his 2015 encounter with Jeffrey Epstein, whom he photographed for a cancelled New York magazine profile. Anderson describes a series of unsettling interactions, including Epstein's attempts to buy the image rights for $20,000 and the eventual dispatch of a "mafia-esque" intimidator to Anderson's studio to seize a hard drive. The photographer's email exchanges with Epstein’s staff were recently made public as part of the Department of Justice's release of the Epstein files.

jean dufy galerie jacques bailly

French artist Jean Dufy (1888–1964), brother of Raoul Dufy and a contemporary of Picasso and Braque, is the subject of a major new catalogue raisonné. Galerie Jacques Bailly in Paris has released Volume III of the catalogue, a 495-page volume with 801 reproductions and essays by Vanessa Schmitz-Grucker and Chantal Meslin-Perrier. The book explores Dufy's use of color, his depictions of post-war Parisian life, and his lesser-known work in porcelain design for Haviland Limoges.

Researchers at Art Gallery of Ontario identify painter and subject of 18th-century portrait of Black woman

Researchers at the Art Gallery of Ontario have identified the artist and sitter of an 18th-century portrait of a young Black woman. The painting, purchased in 2020, is now titled 'Portrait of Eleonora Susette' (1775), revealing the subject as a woman born around 1756 in the Dutch colony of Berbice (now Guyana). The artist is Berlin-born Jeremias Schultz, who painted the portrait in Amsterdam after Eleonora Susette was brought there by her enslaver, the artist's cousin.

Whistleblower Complaint Alleges Misconduct at Palm Springs Art Museum, Where an Ex-Trustee Describes a ‘Shattered Moral Compass’

An anonymous whistleblower has filed a complaint alleging misconduct by leadership at the Palm Springs Art Museum, including improper movement of funds between accounts to address cash shortages, the forced resignation of a former director based on fabricated staff complaints, and a failure to properly interview external candidates for the director position. The complaint, forwarded to ARTnews, also references a $3 million discrepancy in the reported endowment value and the departure of several trustees, leaving the board below its required size. The museum has formed a special committee to investigate the allegations, which were first reported by the Los Angeles Times in November 2025.

Pressing issues: the vital role of printmaking in the history of art

Author and journalist Holly Black has released a new book titled 'The Story of Printmaking: A Global History of Art', published by Yale University Press. The publication traces the evolution of the printed image from its 9th-century origins in East Asia through the innovations of Old Masters like Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt to modern digital techniques. Drawing on her training at the London College of Printing, Black demystifies complex technical processes such as intaglio and mezzotint while highlighting both canonical figures like Picasso and influential but lesser-known pioneers like Robert Blackburn.

Whitney Biennial Trends, a New Baroque Art Star, and Banksy Unmasked

The Art Angle podcast, hosted by Ben Davis and Kate Brown with guest Eileen Kinsella, recapped major art stories from March 2026. The discussion centered on three key developments: the opening of the 2026 Whitney Biennial, the rising art historical prominence of 17th-century Flemish painter Michaelina Wautier, and a new investigation claiming to have definitively unmasked the identity of the anonymous street artist Banksy.

acer tags new museum graffiti

An anonymous graffiti artist known as Acer 444 successfully tagged the third-story facade of the New Museum on New York’s Bowery. The large-scale piece, featuring black lettering against a red background, was placed in a precarious, high-visibility location directly above Glenn Ligon’s neon installation. Despite the museum's security measures and its specialized aluminum mesh exterior, the artist managed to complete the work undetected before maintenance crews began removal efforts the following morning.

michelangelo attributions painting bust

Recent scientific and archival investigations have led to two significant new attributions to the Renaissance master Michelangelo Buonarroti. The first involves a painting titled 'Spirituali Pietà,' which was previously sold as an anonymous work but has now been linked to the artist through pigment analysis, X-ray fluorescence of monograms, and stylistic parallels to his known masterpieces. Simultaneously, researcher Valentina Salerno has identified a marble bust of Christ the Savior in Rome’s Basilica of St. Agnes Outside the Walls as a potential Michelangelo original, based on a decade of archival research.

rembrandt authenticated rijksmuseum

Advanced imaging and material analysis have officially reattributed the 1633 painting "Vision of Zacharias in the Temple" to Rembrandt van Rijn. The work, which had been dismissed by scholars in the 1960s as the product of a collaborator, underwent a rigorous two-year study by the Rijksmuseum’s conservation department. Using macro-XRF scanning and dendrochronological analysis, researchers identified characteristic pentimenti and period-accurate materials that confirm it as a masterpiece from the artist's early Amsterdam period.

rembrandt discovered rijksmuseum zacharias in the temple

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has officially authenticated a long-lost painting, 'Vision of Zacharias in the Temple' (1633), as a genuine work by Rembrandt van Rijn. The painting had been dismissed by scholars in the 1960s and remained in a private collection for over six decades until the owner approached the museum for a technical analysis. Using advanced imaging and material studies similar to those used on 'The Night Watch', experts confirmed that the pigments, signature, and date align perfectly with Rembrandt’s early Amsterdam period.

plautilla bricci painter roman architect

The nonprofit organization Artemisia Gold has announced a major restoration project for Plautilla Bricci’s 17th-century altarpiece, 'Birth of the Virgin' (ca. 1660), located in Rome’s Church of Santa Maria in Campo Marzio. Bricci, a rare female polymath of the Baroque era, was Italy’s first professional female architect as well as a prolific painter and sculptor. The restoration team, led by Jane Adams, aims to clean the darkened canvas and conduct X-ray analysis to potentially uncover a hidden signature and more details regarding its commission by Abbess Anna Maria Mazzarino.

flaming hot cheetos meme artist sunday nobody

An artist known as Sunday Nobody has created a new work consisting of a bag of Flamin' Hot Cheetos encased in resin and suspended inside a 3,000-pound concrete sarcophagus, which he has buried outside Seattle with instructions for it to be opened in 10,000 years. The 28-year-old motion graphics designer, who maintains anonymity, funds his complex, labor-intensive projects through his day job and documents their creation in viral social media videos.

nan goldin neue nationalgalerie 2

Nan Goldin used the opening of her retrospective “This Will Not End Well” at Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie to deliver a forceful 14-minute speech condemning the Israel-Gaza war and criticizing Germany’s censorship of pro-Palestinian voices. She called for a phone-free moment of silence for the dead in Palestine, Israel, and Lebanon, and framed her exhibition as a test case for artistic freedom. The event drew a large crowd, police presence, and was widely shared on social media by figures like Ai Weiwei and Wolfgang Tillmans.

contemporary art galleries 2025

The article reflects on the closure of several notable contemporary art galleries in 2025, including Clearing, Blum, High Art, Venus Over Manhattan, Sperone Westwater, Galerie Francesca Pia, Tilton Gallery, Altman Siegel, Kasmin, Rena Bransten Gallery, L.A. Louver, and Canal Projects. It opens with a eulogy for Florine Stettheimer by Georgia O'Keeffe, drawing a parallel between the artist's unique way of life and the distinctive, charismatic spirit of galleries that have shuttered. The author recounts personal experiences at now-closed spaces like Metro Pictures, JTT, and Clearing, and quotes dealer Olivier Babin and the legendary Leo Castelli on the fleeting importance of galleries.

10 art restorations in 2025

In 2025, a series of major art restorations unveiled transformative discoveries in masterpieces by Caravaggio, Raphael, and Artemisia Gentileschi, among others. Caravaggio's final work, *The Martyrdom of St. Ursula* (1610), owned by Intesa Sanpaolo, was cleaned ahead of Rome's "Caravaggio 2025" exhibition, revealing hidden faces and a soldier's helmet previously only visible by x-ray. At the Vatican Museums, a decade-long restoration of the Raphael Rooms concluded with the revelation that two allegorical figures in the Hall of Constantine were painted by Raphael himself, not just his assistants, rewriting art history. Meanwhile, Artemisia Gentileschi's *Hercules and Omphale* (ca. 1635–37), damaged in the Beirut explosion, underwent emergency conservation by the Getty.

anonymous was a woman 2025 grant winners

Anonymous Was a Woman, a grant-making organization supporting woman-identifying artists, has announced 15 recipients of its $50,000 grants for 2025. The winners include Candida Alvarez, Park McArthur, Lola Flash, Kunié Sugiura, and Sonya Kelliher-Combs, among others. Founder Susan Unterberg, who initially remained anonymous, revealed herself in 2018 and named the organization after a Virginia Woolf quotation. The grants are primarily for artists over 40, and the organization has recently expanded to fund environmentally minded projects.

canal projects art space new york closing

Canal Projects, a nonprofit art space in New York's Tribeca neighborhood, announced it will close its physical location on May 23, 2026, after just four years of operation. The organization will pivot to a grant-making model, allocating $3 million over three years to support arts projects, including Ayoung Kim's upcoming exhibition at MoMA PS1. The decision was driven by the high costs of maintaining an outdated building and a desire to redirect resources toward direct financial support for artists. The space, launched in 2022 by the YS Kim Foundation, hosted notable shows by artists such as Karimah Ashadu, Sin Wai Kin, Candice Lin, Geumhyung Jeong, and Seung-taek Lee. Artistic director and curator Summer Guthery departed at the end of March 2025. The final exhibition will feature Jakkai Siributr, opening January 30, 2026.

romare bearden catalogue raisonne

The Wildenstein Plattner Institute (WPI) has released the first online tranche of the Romare Bearden Catalogue Raisonné Project, covering over 200 works from 1964 to 1969—a pivotal period when Bearden honed his signature collage style. The free digital publication fills a long-standing gap for the canonical Black American artist, who died in 1988, and includes works verified by an anonymous committee of experts, with a verified icon for examined pieces.

pacita abad archives stanford university

Stanford University's libraries and Cantor Arts Center have acquired the archives of Filipina American artist Pacita Abad, who died in 2004 at age 58. The 120-foot-long collection, a gift from her estate managed by her husband Jack Garrity, includes correspondence with artists like Faith Ringgold, photographs from her childhood in Manila, and materials from her global travels and exhibitions. The acquisition comes with a donation to support processing, and is seen as a homecoming for Abad, who left the Philippines in 1969 after student protests and later settled in the Bay Area, where she studied and began her art career.