Marica Vilcek, art historian and co-founder of the Vilcek Foundation, has died at 89 in New York. She and her husband Jan, both immigrants from Czechoslovakia, established the foundation in 2000 to provide grants and prizes, primarily to immigrant artists, curators, and scientists, celebrating their contributions to American society.
Yoshiko Mori, the founding chairperson of Tokyo's Mori Art Museum, died on December 23 from pneumonia at age 85. Alongside her husband, real estate developer Minoru Mori, she opened the museum in 2003, which has since become one of Japan's premier contemporary art institutions. Mori served as chairperson from 2003 to 2024, then as chairperson emerita until her death. She also founded the Mori Contemporary Art Foundation in 2025 and held numerous international board positions, including trustee at the Royal Academy of Arts and member of the International Council at MoMA and Tate.
Thomas Kellein, a curator and art historian known for leading museums in Europe and the US, died in Berlin at age 70 following a serious illness. He directed the Kunsthalle Basel (1988–1995), organizing shows for Cindy Sherman, Mike Kelley, and Rachel Whiteread, and later led the Kunsthalle Bielefield (1996–2010) with exhibitions of Caspar David Friedrich, Jeff Koons, and others. He briefly directed the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas (2010–2012) before resigning, and subsequently led the Written Art Collection in Germany, commissioning text-based works by Lawrence Weiner, Jenny Holzer, and Qiu Zhijie.
Leonard A. Lauder, the billionaire art collector, philanthropist, and cosmetics magnate, has died at age 92. Lauder helped grow his mother Estée Lauder's namesake business into a global cosmetics empire, serving as president, CEO, and chairman. He was also one of the most significant art philanthropists of his era, donating a Cubist art collection valued at over $1 billion—including 78 works by Picasso, Braque, Léger, and Gris—to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2014, later expanded with additional works and funding for the Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art. He also made the largest gift in Whitney Museum history in 2008, worth $131 million, and amassed a collection of 130,000 historic postcards promised to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Pedro Friedeberg, the Mexico-based artist and designer famed for his iconic Mano Silla (Hand Chair) created in 1962, has died at age 90. A key figure in 20th-century Mexican art, his singular work blended intricate, fantastical architecture with ornament and irony, creating a unique visual universe that defied easy categorization within movements like Surrealism or geometric abstraction.
Leonard Lauder, the eldest son of Estée Lauder and a billionaire cosmetics executive, died at age 92. He served as chairman emeritus of Estée Lauder Companies, having previously been president and CEO, and grew the company's sales from $800,000 to over $16 billion. A major art philanthropist, in 2013 he donated 81 Cubist works worth over $1 billion to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including pieces by Picasso, Braque, Léger, and Juan Gris. He also served as chairman emeritus and trustee at the Whitney Museum.
Guy Ullens, a Belgian billionaire and pioneering collector of Chinese contemporary art, has died at age 90. The news was announced by the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing, which he co-founded. Ullens began collecting Chinese antiquities in the 1980s before shifting to contemporary works, amassing a collection of 1,500 to 2,000 pieces by artists such as Ai Weiwei, Liu Xiaodong, and Zeng Fanzhi. He and his late wife Myriam established the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing's 798 Art Zone in 2007, later selling it to Chinese investors in 2017, after which it was renamed UCCA. Ullens also helped build the secondary market for Chinese contemporary art, notably selling Zeng Fanzhi's 'The Last Supper' for $23.3 million at Sotheby's Hong Kong in 2013, a record at the time.
Robert Grosvenor, a sculptor known for his idiosyncratic works that initially aligned with Minimalism before evolving into unclassifiable forms, died in New York at age 88. His death was confirmed by Paula Cooper Gallery, with no cause given. Grosvenor gained prominence in the 1960s through exhibitions like "Primary Structures" at the Jewish Museum and later created spare, industrial sculptures ranging from ceiling-piercing steel forms to altered car-like objects and works incorporating creosote and water. He appeared in two editions of Documenta and the 2022 Venice Biennale, and a survey of his work opened at the Fridericianum museum in Kassel just days before his death.
Giancarlo Politi, the influential founder and publisher of Flash Art magazine, has died at the age of 89. Established in Rome in 1967, Flash Art became a cornerstone of international art criticism, famously documenting the rise of the Arte Povera movement and providing an early platform for iconic artists like Marina Abramović, Maurizio Cattelan, and Jeff Koons. Politi, alongside his wife Helena Kontova, transformed the publication into a global network that bridged European and American art scenes, effectively serving as a "hands-on school" for generations of critics and curators.
Philip Leider, the founding editor of Artforum, died at his home in Berkeley, California, on January 11 at age 96. Leider helped transform Artforum into a leading source for rigorous art criticism after becoming its editor in 1962, but he left the publication in 1971 and largely disengaged from the mainstream art world, later teaching at the University of California, Irvine and the Bezalel Academy of Fine Arts in Israel.
Umberto Allemandi, the influential Italian publisher and founder of 'Il Giornale dell’Arte', has died at the age of 88. After early career stints in advertising with Armando Testa and directing 'Bolaffi Arte', Allemandi launched his own publishing house in 1982. His most significant contribution was the creation of a monthly publication designed with the rigor and layout of a daily newspaper, dedicated entirely to the art world and modeled after London’s 'The Times'.
Paul Waldman, a multifaceted artist known for his transgressive paintings and unique architectural birdhouses, has died at the age of 89. After overcoming childhood dyslexia and a stint as a competitive bodybuilder, Waldman established a significant career in the New York art scene, characterized by his meticulous technique and a fascination with the human form and avian structures.
Sculptor Lloyd Le Blanc has died at the age of 85. He was known for creating large-scale bronze works of flora and fauna and, with his wife Judith Holmes Drewry, established the Le Blanc Fine Art foundry and studios in Saxby, Leicestershire. Le Blanc was involved in every stage of his sculptures' creation and also cast works for other artists from his foundry.
Hamburger Galeristin Jenny Falckenberg unerwartet gestorben
The Hamburg art world is mourning the sudden passing of gallery owner and art agent Jenny Falckenberg, who died in her sleep at the age of 45. The daughter of the late legendary collector Harald Falckenberg, she had established herself as a significant force in the German contemporary art scene, known for her ability to bridge the gap between established figures and emerging talent.
Éliane Radigue, the pioneering French composer of electronic and electroacoustic music, has died at age 94. A key figure in the development of minimalist and drone music, she was known for her deeply focused, slowly evolving soundscapes created primarily on analog synthesizers like the Buchla 100 and ARP.