the very quotable larry gagosian turns 80 and more juicy art world gossip

Larry Gagosian turned 80 on Saturday, and the art world marked the occasion with two blockbuster exhibitions: a de Kooning show in Chelsea and a Picasso exhibition uptown, curated by Paloma Picasso. This edition of Wet Paint, an Artnet News gossip column by Annie Armstrong, celebrates Gagosian's lesser-known talent for delivering memorable quotes to journalists, despite his legendary elusiveness. The article catalogs some of his most striking lines, including a menacing comment to an employee after the 2008 crash, a Bond-villain-style text to artist Issy Wood, and a six-word response to Jeff Koons leaving for Pace Gallery.

carroll dunham matthew brown

Carroll Dunham, a leading painter known for his psychologically charged works, has joined the fast-rising Matthew Brown gallery, which has locations in Los Angeles and New York. Dunham, 75, left Gladstone Gallery after nearly 20 years, citing a desire for change. His first solo show with Brown is scheduled for September 2026 in Tribeca. Dunham will continue to be represented by several established dealers including Galerie Max Hetzler, Blum, Eva Presenhuber, and Gerhardsen Gerner.

Rashid Johnson Photographs Jay-Z for New GQ Cover Story

Rashid Johnson photographed Jay-Z for the cover of GQ's new special global issue, which features an extensive interview with the rapper and mogul. Johnson, a contemporary art star known for exploring Black male identity, was chosen for his artistic alignment with Jay-Z's career-long challenge of simplistic notions of Blackness in American culture.

10 Power Players in Paris

10 power players paris

The inaugural edition of Paris+ by Art Basel has opened in Paris, marking a significant shift in the city's art fair landscape. The article profiles ten key figures instrumental in shaping the French art market, including fair director Clément Delépine, dealer and committee president Marion Papillon, and institutional leaders like Suzanne Pagé of the Fondation Louis Vuitton and Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel of Lafayette Anticipations.

new gagosian director marian goodman edith dekyndt

Marian Goodman Gallery has taken on representation of artist Edith Dekyndt, whose multidisciplinary practice spans video, sculpture, installation, and performance, with plans to debut her work at Art Basel Paris in October. In other industry moves, Salon 94 now represents Raven Halfmoon, Timothy Taylor Gallery represents Martha Tuttle, Templon adds Martial Raysse, Acquavella Galleries represents Harumi Klossowska de Rola, and Gagosian has hired Aaron Baldinger as a director. Additionally, Jennie Goldstein has been named the inaugural Kippy Stroud Curator at the Whitney Museum, and Sotheby's will sell a tranche of artworks from the collection of the late Leonard Lauder, including Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, estimated at over $150 million.

saudi arabia art scene athr gallery interview

ARTnews interviews Mohammed Hafiz, co-founder of Athr Gallery in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as part of its Newsmakers series. Hafiz discusses the evolution of the Saudi art scene since Athr's founding in 2009, the gallery's expansion into multiple locations and a foundation offering grants and residencies, and the role of grassroots patrons and collectors before the Ministry of Culture's involvement in 2018. The interview, conducted at the Athr Foundation in Riyadh during the first annual Art Week Riyadh, also touches on Hafiz's personal history with art, including buying his first artwork in high school in the 1990s, and challenges misconceptions that the Saudi art scene began only recently.

industry moves december 30 2025

This ARTnews industry moves roundup from December 30, 2025, reports that Fabienne Levy Gallery now represents Amit Berman, whose work is currently in a group show at the Haifa Museum of Art and was previously presented at the Jewish Museum of Venice during the 2024 Venice Biennale. Kevin Umaña has joined The Pit gallery; the New York-based artist had his first solo exhibition in Los Angeles in 2025 and received the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award that same year. Additionally, Qatar Museums and the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Center have signed a five-year partnership to create educational programs in India and Qatar. The article also notes that the Bayeux Tapestry will be loaned to the British Museum in 2026, requiring a UK Treasury guarantee of $1 billion to insure the work while its French owner undergoes renovation.

emerging artist aiza ahmed up next

Emerging artist Aiza Ahmed, a 28-year-old Pakistani-born painter and sculptor who recently completed her MFA at the Rhode Island School of Design, is having a breakout moment in New York. Her first solo show, "The Music Room," is on view at Sargent's Daughters, while she participates in two prestigious residencies: Silver Art Projects at 4 World Trade Center and the Fire Station residency in Doha, directed by Wael Shawky. Ahmed's work explores themes of migration, belonging, and identity, drawing on her family's experience of Partition and her own upbringing across Dubai, London, and the U.S. She will also be the youngest artist at the inaugural Art Basel Qatar in February 2025.

laurie simmons and carroll dunham

Husband-and-wife artists Laurie Simmons and Carroll Dunham, who met in 1977 and married in 1983, are holding their first-ever concurrent solo shows in New York City. Dunham is exhibiting new paintings of naked men wrestling at Gladstone Gallery, while Simmons presents photographic portraits of women in body paint at Salon 94 and a revisitation of her ventriloquism dummy photographs from the 1990s at Mary Boone Gallery. In an interview with artnet News, the couple discusses their contrasting work habits—Dunham works steadily over long periods, while Simmons works in intense, episodic bursts—and how they have balanced their careers and family life, including raising daughters Lena Dunham and Grace Dunham.

ArtReview Podcast | Episode 3: Noémie Goudal

ArtReview Podcast | Episode 3: Noémie Goudal

The ArtReview Podcast released its third episode featuring an interview with artist Noémie Goudal. Hosted by ArtReview editor J.J. Charlesworth, the conversation explores Goudal's practice through three selected artworks, touching on VR technology, the representation of time in photography, and the concept of 'immersiveness' in contemporary art.

Hirshhorn Director Melissa Chiu Departs to Lead Guggenheim Museum

Melissa Chiu is stepping down as director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden after a decade-long tenure to lead the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. Appointed by Guggenheim Foundation CEO Mariët Westermann, Chiu will officially assume her new role on September 1, while deputy director Aaron Seeto takes the interim helm at the Hirshhorn.

meg molloy interview

Meg Molloy, founder of the Working Arts Club, discusses the systemic barriers facing working-class professionals in the art world. Launched last year, the independent network provides social and professional support for arts workers from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, a demographic often excluded by the industry's reliance on unpaid internships, low entry-level salaries, and expensive urban hubs like London.

Transformative Director Madeleine Grynsztejn to Leave MCA Chicago

Madeleine Grynsztejn, the director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago since 2008, will step down at the end of 2026. Her departure marks the end of an 18-year tenure during which she significantly expanded the museum's budget and collection, secured major donations, and launched high-profile exhibitions and artist-focused programs.

Re-Air: The Young Painter Curators Are Rushing to Work With

Artnet News resurfaces an interview with painter Taína H. Cruz, who is featured in both the Whitney Biennial and MoMA PS1's Greater New York exhibition. Cruz, born in 1998 and a recent MFA graduate from Yale School of Painting, creates moody paintings often depicting Black female figures, drawing on African American and Caribbean folklore, horror, fantasy, and personal imagery. The interview, conducted by Ben Davis, explores her influences and her response to the sudden surge of attention from major institutions.

aria dean art race tech

Critic and artist Aria Dean, known for her influential essays on digital culture and race, has staged a new theatrical work titled "The Color Scheme" as part of the Performa biennial. The piece imagines a 1920s meeting in Berlin between two Black intellectuals, marking a shift from her usual focus on contemporary online life to historical Black culture and politics. Dean's essays are collected in the recent book "Bad Infinity" from Sternberg Press, and her art has appeared in major exhibitions including the Hammer Museum's Made in L.A. Biennial and the Whitney Biennial.

film wealth consultant fanny pereire devil wears prada

Fanny Pereire is a fine art coordinator for film and television, responsible for curating the art seen in the homes and offices of fictional characters, particularly the ultra-wealthy. Her work spans productions like *The Devil Wears Prada 2*, *Succession*, *Industry*, and *The Menu*, where she sources, reproduces, and often destroys artworks to ensure authenticity and copyright compliance. She typically uses high-quality replicas for expensive pieces and oversees their destruction after filming.

art advisor power list collecting 2026

CULTURED magazine has published its 2026 list of 16 Power Advisors, highlighting the professionals who guide collectors in building influential art collections. The list includes established figures like Samy Ghiyati and Nicolas Nahab of the Paris-based advisory NG Partners, as well as Los Angeles-based advisor Nancy Gamboa, who worked with collector Jarl Mohn on the MAC3 donation to LACMA, MOCA, and the Hammer. The article notes that the number of art advisors has grown alongside the art market, with a 2020 survey finding that 30% of New York collectors had worked with one.

art mary boone prison art dealer interview

Mary Boone, the renowned gallerist who closed her eponymous gallery in 2019 after being sentenced to prison for tax evasion, has returned to the New York art scene. She is collaborating on the exhibition "Uptown/Downtown" at Lévy Gorvy Dayan, on view through December 13. The show features works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Richard Prince, and Cindy Sherman, among others, and explores the 1980s New York art world. In an interview, Boone discusses her comeback, the optimism of the 1980s that allowed her to succeed as a woman without family connections, and the current re-examination of that era.

andisheh avini gagosian

Andisheh Avini, a senior director at Gagosian who has been with the gallery for over 25 years, discusses his career trajectory and the gallery's evolution in an interview timed to the inaugural edition of Art Basel Qatar. Avini, who is also an artist, recounts key moments such as the post-9/11 global market expansion that led Gagosian to open spaces in Europe and Hong Kong, and his work with artists including Cy Twombly, Adam McEwen, Piero Golia, and Maurizio Cattelan. He also shares insights into the gallery's approach to art fairs, emphasizing tailored presentations based on location and audience.

evan beard left masterworks launch new york gallery

Evan Beard, a former Navy intelligence officer and Oxford economics graduate, is launching a new secondary market gallery called Beard & Co. on New York's Upper East Side after leaving Masterworks, the $1 billion art-tech startup where he ran its secondary market gallery Level & Co. Beard's career path includes stints at Deloitte and Bank of America, where he managed art financing operations and worked with major U.S. collectors. His new gallery will employ a half-dozen staff and function as a discreet private bank for collectors, offering services such as art loans, auction guarantees, consignments, and estate planning.

8 times david hockney broke rules

David Hockney, the legendary British artist, turns 88 on July 9, and Artnet News reflects on his seven-decade career of rule-breaking. The article highlights eight key moments of defiance, including his openness about his homosexuality before decriminalization in the U.K., his public smoking habit that led to a Paris Metro ad being pulled, and his controversial "Hockney-Falco thesis" arguing that Old Masters used optical tools like the camera lucida. Hockney currently ranks third on the Artnet Intelligence Report for best-selling and most bankable postwar artists, and his largest-ever exhibition is on view at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris.

The Interview: Ei Arakawa-Nash

Ei Arakawa-Nash, a Japanese American performance artist, was selected to represent Japan at the 61st Venice Biennale, becoming the first non-Japanese national to do so in a solo presentation. This follows his first solo museum exhibition, "Paintings Are Popstars," at Tokyo's National Art Center in 2024, which was also the center's first solo show devoted to a performance artist. In an interview with ArtReview, Arakawa-Nash discusses his naturalization as a U.S. citizen, his complex relationship with national identity, and his upcoming Venice exhibition titled "Grass Babies, Moon Babies," cocurated by Lisa Horikawa and Takahashi Mizuki, which will explore themes of care and reparation using babies as a central motif.

leah ke yi zheng painting new talent

Leah Ke Yi Zheng, a Chinese-born artist who initially pursued law and business before committing to art, is gaining significant recognition. She opened her second solo exhibition with Mendes Wood DM in New York in January and is preparing upcoming shows in Vienna and at the Renaissance Society in Chicago. Zheng's paintings use Chinese silk on custom wooden stretchers, often irregularly shaped, blending traditional Chinese materials with Western avant-garde formal provocations. Her work explores themes of spirituality and interrupts the data-saturated modern experience, often depicting mechanical devices like fusees from antique clocks or abstract compositions inspired by the I Ching.

art shara hughes studio david kordansky

Brooklyn-based painter Shara Hughes is entering a major career phase with a series of high-profile exhibitions and commissions. In September 2025, her first New York solo show since 2019, “Weather Report,” opens at David Kordansky Gallery, featuring nine large-scale paintings. Two months later, a mid-career survey titled “Shara Hughes: Inside Outside” debuts at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, including both paintings and ceramics. Next year, she will unveil a large-scale mosaic floor installation at JFK International Airport’s Terminal 6, alongside works by Charline von Heyl and Candida Alvarez. The article includes an interview with Hughes, who discusses her studio routine, creative process, and the emotional depth behind her psychedelic landscapes.

maria balshaw departs tate

Maria Balshaw, director of London’s Tate, has announced she will step down in spring 2026 after nearly a decade leading the museum network. She joined in 2017, succeeding Nicholas Serota, and previously directed the Manchester Art Gallery and the Whitworth Art Gallery. During her tenure, she oversaw major exhibitions including “The EY Exhibition: Van Gogh and Britain” (2019), a Yoko Ono retrospective, and “Sargent and Fashion.” Her final project will be co-curating the largest-ever survey of Tracey Emin at Tate Modern, running from February 27 to August 31, 2026.

Secretive LA art dealer Larry Gagosian to be subject of 'juicy' unauthorized doc

An unauthorized documentary about mega-gallerist Larry Gagosian is in the works, directed by Barry Avrich, who previously helmed the Netflix hit "Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art." Titled "Shadow Man: Inside The Secret World of Larry Gagosian," the film promises to feature former employees and artists sharing insider stories about Gagosian's empire. Avrich has a track record of documentaries on high-profile figures, including Lew Wasserman and Harvey Weinstein.

Meet 14 Women Shaping India’s Booming Art Scene

Artsy profiles 14 influential women who are shaping India's rapidly evolving art market, including Nita Mukesh Ambani, Jaya Asokan, Shireen Gandhy, and others. The article highlights their roles as founders, directors, collectors, and patrons, with a focus on the upcoming 17th edition of the India Art Fair, which will feature a record 135 exhibitors. Each woman is described as contributing to the growth of galleries, auction houses, biennales, and cultural institutions across the country.

Evelyn Lin to Lead Sotheby’s Asia Modern and Contemporary Art, After Pace Hong Kong Shutters

Evelyn Lin is returning to Sotheby’s as chairman of Modern and contemporary art, Asia, starting November 3, after a one-year stint at Pace gallery. She will help lead the inaugural marquee sale at Sotheby’s new global headquarters in New York’s Breuer Building. The appointment follows the departure of Elaine Holt and the closure of Pace’s Hong Kong space, which will not renew its lease at H Queen’s after its current exhibition closes on October 18.

Amanda Carneiro and Raphael Fonseca to curate 2027 Bienal de São Paulo

Amanda Carneiro and Raphael Fonseca have been named curators of the 2027 Bienal de São Paulo. Carneiro, a curator at MASP since 2018, has organized solo exhibitions for artists including Santiago Yahuarcani, Beatriz Milhazes, and Sonia Gomes, and was part of Adriano Pedrosa’s curatorial team for the 2024 Venice Biennale. Fonseca, visual arts programmer at Culturgest and curator-at-large at the Denver Art Museum, is currently curating the Taiwan Pavilion for the 2026 Venice Biennale and co-curating the 3rd Counterpublic Triennial. He also curated the 2025 Bienal do Mercosul.

liam lis child star music art collection

Liam Lis, a 23-year-old former child star who toured with Fifth Harmony and Zendaya, is now building a private art collection with his family in New York. In an interview with Cultured, he discusses key works in the collection, including Jean-Michel Basquiat's "Gringo Pilot (Anola Gay)" (1981), Damien Hirst's "Damnation" (2004), and Richard Prince's "A Nurse Involved" (2002), and credits his father, real estate developer Harry Lis, for nurturing his passion for art.