Remembering Pat Steir, one of the 20th century’s late-blooming great artists

Pat Steir, the acclaimed American painter known for her Waterfall series, died in Manhattan on 25 March at age 87. The article traces her career from early struggles as a freelance illustrator and art director, through her transformative encounter with Sol LeWitt in the early 1970s, to her eventual emergence as a major figure in contemporary painting. It highlights her teaching at CalArts and Parsons, her involvement with feminist and artist-run institutions like Heresies and Printed Matter, and the pivotal moment in the early 1980s when she cut up a reproduction of a Jan Brueghel the Elder flower painting into 64 panels, repainting each in a different historical style.

The Marcel Duchamps That Got Away: On Collecting His Work and the Sprawling MoMA Show

The article recounts the author's personal experience as a collector who passed up the opportunity to buy a complete set of Marcel Duchamp's readymades at a 2002 Phillips de Pury and Luxembourg auction. The set, editioned by dealer Arturo Schwartz in 1964, included iconic works like *Fountain* and *Bicycle Wheel*, but the sale was a financial failure, with many pieces bought-in or selling for far below expectations. The author later acquired some of the unsold works privately. The piece is framed around the concurrent Duchamp exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art and Gagosian.

Georg Baselitz obituary

Georg Baselitz, the German painter and sculptor known for his provocative, expressionistic works and his iconic upside-down paintings, has died at the age of 88. The article traces his life from his childhood in war-torn Germany, through his early career as a rebellious artist in divided Berlin, to his rise as an international art star. It highlights his 1961 manifesto poster "Pandemonium I," his rejection of American abstraction, and his controversial 1963 exhibition that was raided by police for its explicit content.

Gallery Not Paying? Call Kenny Schachter’s Kollection Agency. He Gets Results!

Art world provocateur Kenny Schachter addresses the current climate of anxiety within the industry, touching on everything from the existential threats of advanced AI tools like Anthropic’s Mythos to the 'doomster' narratives of market analysts. Amidst reports of dwindling demand and galleries struggling with non-paying clients, Schachter highlights the enduring value of historical works, such as a 1799 Goya etching, while dismissing claims that screens are replacing physical art in the home.

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.

bob monk gagosian director dead

Bob Monk, a longtime director at Gagosian who worked closely with artists such as Ed Ruscha and Richard Artschwager, died on December 15 at age 75 due to complications from a heart condition. Monk spent over two decades at Gagosian, and his career also included stints at Leo Castelli Gallery, his own SoHo gallery Lorence-Monk Gallery, and Sotheby's, where he headed the contemporary prints and contemporary art departments.

best artworks 2025

Artnet News editors and journalists compiled their annual roundup of the best artworks seen in 2025, highlighting standout pieces from around the world. Among the featured works are Richard Serra's monumental steel sculpture "East-West/West-East" (2014) in the Qatari desert, Emma Ferrer's painting "You Will Return the Evil to Its Steppe (Homage to Josefa de Óbidos)" (2024) shown at New York's Sapar Contemporary, and Kerry James Marshall's "The White Queens of Africa: Colette" (2025) from his retrospective at the Royal Academy of Art. Each artwork is accompanied by a personal reflection from the journalist who encountered it.

dan nadel sixties surreal whitney robert crumb interview

Dan Nadel, a curator recently hired by the Whitney Museum as curator of prints and drawings, is opening a new exhibition titled "Sixties Surreal" that aims to rewrite the history of 1960s art. The show, co-curated with Laura Phipps, Scott Rothkopf, and Elisabeth Sussman, features a wide range of artists from Luis Jimenez to Shigeko Kubota, alongside canonical figures like Andy Warhol and Yayoi Kusama. Nadel, known for championing marginalized and alternative figures in American art, previously curated "What Nerve! Alternative Figures in American Art, 1960 to the Present" at the Rhode Island School of Design and a Gertrude Abercrombie exhibition at Karma gallery. He is also the author of a recent biography of Robert Crumb.

top 10 german art collectors

Artnet News has published a list of the top 10 German art collectors, coinciding with the opening of Art Cologne 2015. The list includes notable figures such as Frieder Burda, who opened his own museum in Baden-Baden; Nicolas Berggruen, the "homeless billionaire" who favors contemporary American and German artists; Christian and Karen Boros, who display their collection in a repurposed Berlin bunker; industrialist Reinhold Würth, whose collection spans from Renaissance to contemporary; former dealer Désiré Feuerle, known for his eclectic mix of Khmer sculpture and contemporary art; and Hasso Plattner, co-founder of SAP and a major collector of Impressionist and modern works.

middle east art fair race doha dubai and abu dhabi art basel

Art Basel has announced a surprise deal to launch a new art fair in Qatar next year, partnering with Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) and QC+, a subsidiary of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund and commercial arm of Qatar Museums. The fair will debut with around 50 galleries in Doha, intentionally smaller than Basel's other fairs, with a distinct character aimed at building a long-term, sustainable event. The deal comes after rumors that Basel might take over Abu Dhabi Art, and as the region's art scene intensifies, with Art Dubai recently poaching Basel's global head of gallery relations Dunja Gottwies as its new director.

artists gallery representation

Many artists are rethinking traditional gallery representation, seeking not just sales but also help with copyrights, visibility, and partnerships. Flexible co-representation arrangements are on the rise, with major galleries like Hauser & Wirth launching initiatives like Collective Impact to co-represent rising artists alongside their smaller founding galleries. Some artists are joining agencies or representing themselves, driven by social media's past ability to build direct collector relationships, though its power has recently declined due to algorithm changes.

7 yayoi kusama works to know

Artnet News profiles seven key works by Yayoi Kusama, tracing her career from the 1960s to the present. The article highlights her iconic pieces such as *Narcissus Garden* (1966), a guerrilla installation at the Venice Biennale where she sold mirrored spheres, and *Death of a Nerve* (1976), a soft sculpture reflecting her emotional struggles after returning to Japan. It also notes her early life, including her traumatic childhood, move to New York, and friendships with artists like Georgia O'Keeffe and Joseph Cornell.

dynamo room uffner lius frieze wet paint

Artnet News's 'Wet Paint' gossip column reports from Frieze Week in New York, noting a prevailing cultural pessimism fueled by essays on the death of culture and the impact of the second Trump administration. Amidst this, Jeff Koons's 'Hulk Elvis' sculptures at Gagosian's Frieze booth (priced at $3 million each, with one sold) offered a perverse relief. The column also highlights the second edition of the Esther art fair at the Estonian House, described as an 'aura fair' prioritizing community and a welcoming environment over strict commercial focus, contrasting with the more predictable Frieze fair.

10 Practical Reasons We Need to Defend the National Endowment for the Arts

10 practical reasons need fund defend national endowment arts

President Donald Trump's administration has renewed efforts to defund the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), proposing for the fourth consecutive year a budget that would zero out the agency. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that has staffed the current administration, continues to promote its 1997 report 'Ten Good Reasons to Eliminate Funding for the National Endowment for the Arts' as a key reference in debates. This article, originally published in 2020 and republished in response to these developments, systematically rebuts each of the Heritage Foundation's arguments against the NEA, beginning with the claim that private support alone is sufficient.

paint drippings art industry news may 2

This week's art industry roundup covers major developments including the sale of Frieze to Hollywood powerbroker Ari Emanuel for $200 million, the opening of Frieze New York amid a cautious market, and the appointment of Alexander Rotter as global president of Christie's. Other highlights include the collapse of a record $32 million Gustav Klimt sale due to restitution issues, Phillips adding country-of-origin details to lot descriptions due to tariff confusion, and gallery moves such as Petzel now representing Tschabalala Self and Hauser & Wirth selling its Upper East Side townhouse for $10.5 million. The Mellon Foundation announced $15 million in emergency funds for state arts councils to offset cuts by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

‘I am very decisive’: designer Jennifer Gilbert on what she collects and why

Designer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Jennifer Gilbert, based in Detroit, is selling select works from her contemporary art and design collections at Sotheby's in New York this spring to fund the opening of her own cultural space, Lumana, in Detroit's Little Village neighborhood. Highlights include Joan Mitchell's 1976 canvas *Loom II* (est. $5m-$7m) and Kenneth Noland's 1958 *Circle* (est. $4m-$6m), with proceeds supporting new generations of artists and institutions. Gilbert, who serves on the boards of Cranbrook Academy of Art and BasBlue, recently featured works from her collection in the exhibition *Seen/Scene* at the Shepherd art space.

israeli artist doron langberg addresses atrocities gaza

Israeli artist Doron Langberg is launching his first New York exhibition in seven years at Jeffrey Deitch’s Tribeca gallery, marking a significant shift in his practice. Known primarily for "New Queer Intimism" and domestic portraits, Langberg’s new body of work pivots toward monumental landscapes that grapple with his Jewish identity and the destruction in Gaza. The exhibition features works inspired by his family’s Holocaust history in Ukraine, used as a lens to process current geopolitical violence.

7 must see museum shows on view across asia in 2026

Artnet News highlights seven must-see museum exhibitions across Asia in 2026, with a focus on women artists and diverse themes. Key shows include a retrospective of Korean sculptor Kim Yun Shin at the Hoam Museum of Art in Yongin, a posthumous exhibition of Japanese painter Rey Camoy at the Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, a manga and fantasy art survey at M+ in Hong Kong, and a solo show by Belgian artist Carsten Höller at the UCCA Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing.

met opera super duper exhibition

The Metropolitan Opera House is hosting an exhibition titled “Super Duper,” featuring 25 works by nearly as many contemporary artists, cartoonists, and provocateurs, including Roz Chast, Art Spiegelman, Maurizio Cattelan, and Rashid Johnson. The show, commissioned to coincide with the Met Opera's premiere of *The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay*, reimagines superheroes for the 21st century, moving away from capes and spandex toward more grounded, satirical, and human figures. Except for two works by Spiegelman, all pieces were created specifically for the exhibition, which spreads across the opera house's lobbies and foyers.

golden thread show textile art

New York art dealers Karin Bravin and John Lee of BravinLee Programs have mounted "The Golden Thread II" at 207 Front Street in South Street Seaport, a historic 1797 building. The exhibition brings together 60 artists, including 10 new site-specific installations, with works spanning textile techniques such as needlework, embroidery, felting, quilting, and weaving. Highlights include Tura Oliveira's "Wheel of Fortune" (2025), a bloodred humanoid figure tangled in a historic grain hoist. Prices range from a few hundred dollars to $70,000. The show runs for a month, coinciding with the Frieze fair, and is curated with input from Elissa Auther, deputy director of curatorial affairs and chief curator at the Museum of Arts and Design.

The Most Expensive Jean-Michel Basquiat Works Ever Sold at Auction

ARTnews published a listicle ranking the most expensive Jean-Michel Basquiat works ever sold at auction, updated as of May 15, 2026. The article traces Basquiat's rise from street artist under the moniker SAMO to a major figure in the downtown New York scene, highlighting key relationships with Keith Haring, Diego Cortez, and curator Henry Geldzahler. It notes that Basquiat's entire mature output was created between 1981 and 1984, and that his 1983 painting *Museum Security (Broadway Meltdown)* sold at Sotheby's in May 2026 for $52.7 million, placing it among his top sales. The piece also details earlier top sales, including *Untitled* (1982) for $29.3 million at Christie's in 2013 and *Flesh and Spirit* (1982–83) for $30.7 million at Sotheby's in 2018.

Bruno Bischofberger, Art Dealer of Stars Like Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Dies at 86

Bruno Bischofberger, the legendary Swiss art dealer who championed American artists like Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat in Europe, has died at age 86. His Zurich-based gallery announced his death on Saturday. Bischofberger founded his eponymous gallery in 1963, which became one of Switzerland's most important blue-chip art spaces. He forged deep personal and professional relationships with artists, including acquiring a stake in Warhol's Interview magazine, producing Warhol's film L'amour, and famously proposing the collaborative paintings between Warhol and Basquiat in 1984. Bischofberger also maintained a decades-long tradition of placing advertisements on the back page of every Artforum issue.

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.

Jasper Johns Keeps Looking

Jasper Johns’s latest exhibition at Gagosian, 'Between the Clock and the Bed,' serves as a profound meditation on the artist's career-long investigation into the 'things the mind already knows.' By revisiting his signature motifs—including flags, targets, and crosshatch patterns—the show highlights Johns’s rejection of Abstract Expressionist spontaneity in favor of a deliberate, analytical process using encaustic and collage. The works document a transformation where familiar symbols are rendered into a complex visual language that bridges the gap between memory and physical presence.

anicka yi pace future ai interview

Conceptual artist Anicka Yi has joined Pace Gallery, where she will be represented in partnership with Gladstone Gallery, 47 Canal, and Esther Schipper. Known for her research-heavy practice that utilizes scents, bacteria, and robotics, Yi cited Pace CEO Marc Glimcher’s background in biology and the gallery's history with light and space pioneers as primary reasons for the move. Her work will be featured in the New Museum’s upcoming expansion inaugural exhibition, "New Humans: Memories of the Future."

Nan Goldin: Why The Ballad of Sexual Dependency is So Important

nan goldin the ballad of sexual dependency why so important

Gagosian London is hosting an exhibition of all 126 photographs from Nan Goldin’s seminal work, "The Ballad of Sexual Dependency," to mark the 40th anniversary of the photobook's publication. The exhibition traces the evolution of the project from its origins as a DIY slideshow performance in New York nightclubs to its status as a cornerstone of contemporary photography, featuring intimate portraits of Goldin’s inner circle across New York, Berlin, and beyond.

frieze los angeles city guide

Frieze Los Angeles returns to a city landscape significantly altered by both commercial development and recent environmental tragedy. While blue-chip galleries like David Zwirner, Marian Goodman, and Lisson have established new strongholds in districts like Melrose Hill and Hollywood, the local community is simultaneously reeling from devastating January wildfires that displaced numerous artists and collectors. This guide provides a strategic roadmap for navigating the sprawling city's geography, highlighting key exhibitions such as Bruce Nauman at Marian Goodman and a 90-artist benefit show for fire victims.

Paint Drippings: Art Industry News February 23

paint drippings art industry news feb 23

This week’s art industry roundup highlights major shifts across the global market, including Art Basel’s announcement of 290 galleries for its flagship Swiss fair and Sotheby’s adjustment of its buyer’s premium rates. Significant personnel moves include Devyani Saltzman’s abrupt departure from the Barbican, which sparked an open letter from over 170 cultural figures, and Anne-Claire Legendre becoming the first woman to lead Paris’s Arab World Institute.

ultra contemporary old masters

A significant trend is emerging in the New York art scene this winter, as a wave of gallery and museum exhibitions highlights contemporary artists engaging deeply with European Old Masters. While some critics dismiss art historical references as "reference-baiting" to boost market value, artists like Émile Brunet and Eleanor Johnson are demonstrating a profound technical and intellectual commitment to these lineages. Their work moves beyond mere pastiche, utilizing traditional materials, Northern Renaissance aesthetics, and Baroque glazing techniques to address modern themes of labor, humanism, and information overload.

seyni awa camara sculptor dead

Seyni Awa Camara, a Diola sculptor from Bignona, Senegal, known for her totemic clay sculptures of stacked human bodies, has died. Her work, steeped in spirituality and inspired by a ram's horn she called a 'genie,' gained international recognition after being discovered by anthropologist Michèle Odeyé-Finzi and introduced to Europe by gallerist André Magnin. Despite her global following—including fans like Pharrell Williams and Louise Bourgeois—Camara remained largely unknown in her home country, relying on foreign buyers to sustain her practice.