Károly Ferenczy, insaisissable inventeur de la modernité hongroise au Petit Palais
The Petit Palais in Paris is presenting a major exhibition dedicated to Károly Ferenczy, a pivotal figure in Hungarian modernism. The show features works like his 1896 painting 'Le Sermon sur la montagne,' exploring his role within the Nagybánya artists' colony and his synthesis of plein air painting with a European artistic education.
Sotheby’s Modern evening auction on 19 May in New York achieved $303.3m with fees, falling within its pre-sale estimate of $244m to $322.8m. The standout lot was Henri Matisse’s 1919 painting *La Chaise lorraine*, which sold for $48.4m after a ten-minute bidding battle, becoming the second most valuable Matisse painting at auction. Other highlights included Alberto Giacometti’s *La Clairière (Composition avec neuf figures)* at $23.1m, Pablo Picasso’s *Arlequin (Buste, 1909)* at $42.6m, and a Mark Rothko untitled work on paper at $9.27m. The sale also saw strong demand for works by female Surrealists Leonor Fini and Leonora Carrington, while a Rodin sculpture was passed and a Gottlieb painting was withdrawn.
The Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation in New York is hosting the exhibition "How Asian Is It?", featuring 12 pioneering East Asian American abstractionists born between 1928 and 1955. Curated by Lilly Wei, the show includes works by Barbara Takenaga, Emily Cheng, Charles Yuen, and David Diao, among others. These artists navigated an art world where downplaying their Asian identities often felt necessary for survival, especially after the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act reshaped US immigration policy. The exhibition explores how their abstraction—marked by attention to interval, pause, and what remains unsaid—reflects a disciplined negotiation with space rather than a shared style or manifesto.
The article analyzes the shifting dynamics of the global art market, reporting that regions outside the traditional 'big three' hubs of the US, UK, and China have increased their market share from 17% in 2015 to 24% in 2025. This shift is driven by nationally protective regulations like Brexit and tariffs, which have stifled the free circulation of contemporary art. While the US market remains dominant at 44%, countries such as South Korea, Switzerland, Japan, and Australia have seen growth, and emerging cultural energy is noted in places like Bangkok, Warsaw, Margate, and Qatar.
A mural honoring Koyo Kouoh, the late curator of the 2025 Venice Biennale, has been unveiled in Venice. Created by US artist Derrick Adams, the collage titled "Heavy is the head that wears the crown" adorns the facade of the Palazzetto dello sport Giobatta Gianquinto near the Arsenale. Kouoh died on 10 May 2025 at age 57 after a cancer diagnosis. The tribute was organized by curator Francesco Bonami, who had invited Kouoh to join the jury for the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003.
Three weeks before the Venice Biennale opens on May 5, the city remains a construction site, with the Giardini closed and parts of the Arsenale requiring special access. Artist Faustin Linyekula rehearses his performance *The Galeazze Project* in a 16th-century roofless complex, working with the existing gravel, natural light, and lagoon acoustics rather than imposing a structure. Geopolitical conflicts, supply chain disruptions, and the sudden resignation of the Biennale’s international jury via Instagram add pressure to the already challenging logistics of mounting the global exhibition.
The article examines how the art trade is cautiously experimenting with artificial intelligence, noting that while AI tools are being developed to attract newer collectors, the industry remains heavily reliant on trust and personal relationships that technology cannot replicate. It also reports on Fair Warning's new 'No Warning' sealed-bidding auction format, reflecting a rise in private auctions, and highlights a Sotheby's New York sale of the Jean and Terry de Gunzburg collection that set a U.S. record for design auctions at $96 million, led by a set of 15 mirrors by Claude Lalanne for Yves Saint Laurent that sold for $33.5 million.
Art firms are increasingly experimenting with artificial intelligence, but concrete use cases remain limited and industry-specific tools are still in their infancy. A new partnership between Bonhams and tech company ARTDAI aims to apply AI to market analytics, valuation, and specialist research, while companies like Artsy and Artnet are integrating AI capabilities into their platforms. Industry experts, including former Art Basel chief Marc Spiegler, note that the art market's small size has historically discouraged tech development, but AI now makes high-performance tools accessible to smaller businesses.
Kent County Council, led by the Reform party, has removed and sold Antony Gormley's early public sculpture 'Two Stones' (1979-81) from outside the Kent History and Library Centre in Maidstone. The council sold the work back to the artist himself in a private sale to raise funds, citing severe financial pressures and a need to avoid increasing costs for residents. The council's most recent accounts valued the work at £859,000, but the final sale price remains confidential.
The selection of Alma Allen to represent the United States at the 2026 Venice Biennale has ignited controversy over the process. The U.S. State Department abandoned its traditional selection model, which involved a panel of experts convened by the National Endowment for the Arts, and instead handed control to a new nonprofit, the American Arts Conservancy, led by individuals with little museum experience. This shift has drawn criticism from prominent figures in the art world, with some artists declining to participate due to concerns over the political context and unfamiliar leadership.
The city of Mérida is set to host the inaugural Bienal de Yucatán from November 2026 to February 2027, marking a significant milestone for the region's burgeoning contemporary art scene. Spearheaded by patron and curator Catherine Petitgas with artist Abraham Cruzvillegas serving as artistic director, the biennial aims to provide a formal platform for the city's dense ecosystem of over 40 galleries, international artist studios, and the Universidad de las Artes de Yucatán (UNAY). The announcement follows the successful debut of the Week of Art Yucatán (WAY), a multi-venue festival that showcased the city's unique blend of repurposed industrial spaces and traditional haciendas.
Marcel Duchamp transformed the trajectory of 20th-century art by introducing the 'Readymade,' a concept where mass-produced, everyday objects are elevated to the status of art through the artist's selection rather than manual craft. Beginning with a bicycle wheel in 1913 and a bottle rack in 1914, Duchamp eventually formalized the term during a 1915 stay in New York, where the city's industrial modernity and lack of rigid class structures inspired him to challenge traditional definitions of creativity.
Veteran art advisor Patti Wong, who left Sotheby's after three decades to start her own firm, analyzes a significant recalibration in the auction market. She notes a new discipline among auction houses and buyers following the frothy post-pandemic years, with houses becoming more selective, relying heavily on third-party guarantees, and facing greater buyer scrutiny on provenance and estimates. She also highlights the industry's expansion into new geographies like Saudi Arabia and new categories like luxury goods.
Dorothea Tanning's small 1942 Surrealist painting, 'Children's Games,' sold for £3.8 million ($5 million) at Christie's London, nearly quadrupling its low estimate. With fees, the final price reached $6.26 million, setting a new auction record for the artist and achieving a remarkable price of approximately $120,000 per square inch.
British television presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have obtained a High Court order to investigate potential financial misconduct involving their contemporary art collection. The duo is seeking disclosure from art dealer Andrew Lilley regarding transactions for several Banksy prints, alleging that an unnamed intermediary may have pocketed undisclosed profits. The court found a "good arguable case" of wrongdoing after a discrepancy of approximately $335,000 was discovered between what the presenters paid and what the dealer reportedly received.
Sotheby’s London Modern and Contemporary evening sale in March 2026 achieved a robust £130.6 million ($175 million), marking a significant 108.6 percent increase over the previous year's equivalent auction. The event was a "white glove" sale, with all 53 offered lots finding buyers, led by a Francis Bacon self-portrait that fetched £16 million. A notable highlight was a record-breaking £5.2 million sale for Leon Kossoff’s "Children’s Swimming Pool," which sparked a competitive ten-buyer bidding war.
Kenny Schachter explores the existential threat posed by the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence and its projected impact on the global economy by 2028. Citing the Citrini Report, he highlights a future of mass unemployment among white-collar professionals—the primary demographic for art consumption—who account for over 50% of discretionary spending in the U.S. As tech leaders like Jack Dorsey begin significant workforce reductions attributed to AI, the financial foundation of the art market appears increasingly precarious.
The Darwin D. Martin House in Buffalo, a landmark of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie School architecture, has launched a new exhibition titled “Collecting Ourselves.” The show highlights the museum's decades-long, painstaking effort to track down and repatriate the original furniture and decorative objects designed specifically for the site. While the structural restoration of the complex was completed in 2017, the task of reuniting Wright’s holistic interior vision—including his iconic Barrel chairs and intricate art glass—remains an ongoing archival and curatorial challenge.
The era of high-stakes art speculation that defined the 2010s has largely cooled, but the impulse for financial gambling has migrated to digital prediction markets like Polymarket. While art collectors once treated waitlists and auction rooms as speculative arenas, the public now wagers billions on binary outcomes ranging from election results to celebrity behavior.
The Pritzker Architecture Prize has issued a formal statement defending its selection process following the release of legal documents detailing past ties between foundation director Tom Pritzker and Jeffrey Epstein. The Hyatt Foundation, which sponsors the prestigious award, emphasized that its jury operates with complete independence and remains focused on architectural excellence despite the controversy surrounding Pritzker’s previous association with the disgraced financier.
Pierre Huyghe has unveiled his most ambitious project to date in Berlin, a major exhibition titled 'Liminals' staged at the cavernous Halle am Berghain. Commissioned by the LAS Art Foundation as part of its 'Sensing Quantum' program, the installation features a massive 50-minute film projected in a former electrical station, accompanied by a droning, atmospheric soundscape. The work continues Huyghe’s exploration of AI-driven systems and 'unworlding,' attempting to create a space that transcends human subjectivity through bio-technological environments.
The Washington Post laid off approximately 30% of its newsroom staff, including Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Sebastian Smee, as part of broader cuts to sports, local news, and international coverage. Smee, who joined the Post in 2018 after working at the Boston Globe and The Australian, confirmed his departure in a statement to ARTnews, expressing gratitude to former editor Marty Baron and solidarity with affected colleagues. Another Pulitzer-winning critic, Philip Kennicott, reportedly remains on staff. The layoffs come shortly after the release of a documentary produced by Amazon MGM Studios, owned by Post owner Jeff Bezos.
A 36-foot-tall stainless steel sculpture by Jaume Plensa, titled *Endless*, collapsed outside the Raclin Murphy Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame on December 10, 2024. The work was found broken into two pieces after standing for nearly three years; no injuries occurred and only minor damage to the surrounding concrete was reported. Museum director Joseph Becherer stated the cause remains unknown, with no evidence of external force, and the remaining portion was dismantled as a precaution. The sculpture, installed in 2023 as a permanent outdoor commission, was donated by alumnus Charles Hayes and reflects Plensa's signature motif of letters exploring language and shared humanity.
Artist Ai Weiwei returned to his native China after 10 years in exile, making a quiet three-week trip to Beijing last month. It was his first visit since authorities returned his confiscated passport in 2015, allowing him to leave China and live in Europe. During the trip, Ai was briefly interrogated at the airport but otherwise faced no interference. He shared photos and videos on Instagram, and told CNN the visit felt like a reconnection after a decade-long disconnection. The trip was partly motivated by a desire for his 17-year-old son and 93-year-old mother to meet.
Archaeologists in Fano, Italy, have unearthed the remains of a 2,000-year-old Roman basilica during redevelopment work on Piazza Andrea Costa. The rectangular structure, bordered by eight columns on the long side and four on the shorter sides, matches the precise measurements and layout described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book V of his treatise *De Architectura*. This is the first time a physical building has been attributed to Vitruvius, whose writings have long been studied but whose structures had never before been found.
The San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI), a historic art school founded in 1871, permanently closed on July 15 after the University of San Francisco (USF) withdrew from a proposed acquisition deal. USF cited financial risks, low enrollment projections, and deferred maintenance as reasons for backing out. SFAI will continue as a small nonprofit to protect its archives and legacy, but the fate of its prized Diego Rivera fresco, valued at up to $50 million, remains uncertain.
Immigration lawyers report that social media influencers and OnlyFans models are increasingly qualifying for O-1B visas—the U.S. visa category for individuals with extraordinary ability in the arts—by presenting online metrics such as follower counts, earnings, and brand deals as evidence of distinction. Traditionally, visual artists have needed exhibition histories, recommendation letters, and press clips to apply, but attorneys say the criteria have shifted to accommodate digital fame, with some arguing that the quality of approved applicants has been "watered down."
Phillips reported global sales of $927 million for 2025, a 10% increase over the previous year. Auction sales accounted for $725 million, while private sales surged 66% to $202 million. The auction house attributed growth to the launch of Priority Bidding, a platform offering reduced buyer's premiums for early bids, which led to a 275% increase in early selling bids. Phillips achieved an 88% sell-through rate by lot, with seven white-glove auctions and over 110 world auction records. Notable sales included a Patek Philippe watch for $17.6 million and Francis Bacon's *Study for Head of Isabel Rawsthorne and George Dyer* (1967) for $16 million. The luxury watch division generated $290 million, its highest annual total, and the Dropshop platform attracted many first-time and younger buyers.
Marina Abramović has announced production dates for her upcoming performance piece "Seven Deaths," a seven-part film incorporating death scenes from influential operas such as "Madam Butterfly" and "Carmen." The 68-year-old artist has invited controversial filmmaker Roman Polanski, along with directors Alejandro González Iñárritu, Marco Brambilla, Giada Colagrande, Yorgos Lanthimos, and screenwriter Petter Skavlan, to contribute segments. Abramović will portray singer Maria Callas, whom she describes as a muse, and plans to produce a making-of documentary and a biography on Callas's life. Lars von Trier was invited but declined due to scheduling conflicts.