‘Christmas came early’: Art Basel Miami Beach opens with avalanche of blue-chip sales

Art Basel Miami Beach opened its 23rd edition with a surge of blue-chip sales, signaling renewed market confidence. Major galleries reported strong early results: David Zwirner sold a Gerhard Richter painting for $5.5m and an Alice Neel for $3.3m; Hauser & Wirth saw sales 40% higher than last year, including a George Condo for nearly $4m and a Louise Bourgeois for $3.2m. Other notable sales included works by Alex Katz, Pablo Picasso, Sam Gilliam, and Robert Rauschenberg, with 283 galleries participating at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

$5.5 million Gerhard Richter painting leads Art Basel Miami Beach opening sales.

Art Basel Miami Beach 2025 opened on December 3 with strong sales, led by David Zwirner's sale of an abstract Gerhard Richter painting for $5.5 million. Other major transactions included a $4 million George Condo work at Hauser & Wirth, a $3.3 million Alice Neel painting at David Zwirner, and a $2.85 million Willem de Kooning at White Cube. Hauser & Wirth reported sales 40% higher than its entire 2024 fair week within the first three hours.

Mon oncle d’Amérique

Art Basel Paris officially opened on October 22, 2024, with a new VIP tier called 'Avant-Première' granting early access to favored collectors. The fair saw a shift in mood from socializing to business-focused transactions, with multimillion-dollar works on offer, including a Gerhard Richter painting reportedly sold for over $20 million by Hauser & Wirth. Pre-fair events included dinners hosted by Marian Goodman for artist Paul Sietsema, gallery openings at Salon 94's new Palais-Royal space, and a VIP evening at the Musée d'Orsay for a Bridget Riley exhibition. American galleries and collectors dominated the week's parties, with events by David Zwirner, Gladstone, and others.

Discover 10 Highlights from Art Basel Paris 2025

Art Basel Paris 2025, now in its fourth edition, took place from October 22–26 at the restored 1900 Paris Exposition venue, a Beaux-Arts landmark with Art Nouveau iron and glasswork. The fair hosted 206 international galleries and introduced a new 'Avant-Première' V.V.I.P. day on October 21, where each gallery could allocate six guest passes. Blue-chip sales were swift, led by Hauser & Wirth selling Gerhard Richter's *Abstraktes Bild* (1987) for $23 million to a European collector. Other notable sales included Bruce Nauman's neon sculpture *Masturbating Man* for over $4.7 million and Amedeo Modigliani's *Jeune fille aux macarons* (1918) for $10 million at Pace Gallery. The fair also featured curatorial sectors Emergence (16 solo presentations by emerging artists) and Premise (ten historical projects with works predating 1900).

$23 million Gerhard Richter painting leads Art Basel Paris opening sales.

Art Basel Paris opened its 'Avant Première' day at the Grand Palais on October 21, 2025, with strong early sales led by Hauser & Wirth's sale of Gerhard Richter's *Abstraktes Bild (Abstract Painting)* (1987) for $23 million. Other notable sales included Julie Mehretu's *Charioteer* (2007) for $11.5 million at White Cube, Amedeo Modigliani's *Jeune fille aux macarons* (1918) for just under $10 million at Pace Gallery, and a Ruth Asawa sculpture for $7.5 million at David Zwirner. The fair, running through October 26, features 203 galleries and introduced the exclusive preview day as a new scheduling element.

Ascendant Art Basel Paris rewards top dealers, while smaller galleries compete for attention

Art Basel Paris has rewarded top dealers with significant sales during its new VVIP preview slot, Avant-Première, held on October 21. Hauser & Wirth led with over $30 million in sales, including Gerhard Richter's "Abstrakte Bild" (1987) for $23 million, while David Zwirner sold a Ruth Asawa sculpture for $7.5 million. Goodman Gallery sold two works by William Kentridge to museums, and White Cube placed Julie Mehretu's "Charioteer" (2007) for $11 million. However, some dealers like Philomene Magers found the opening too crowded, and adviser Aileen Agopian noted the market remains far from the frenzy of previous years, with no single sale surpassing the $40 million Mark Rothko painting brought by Pace two years ago.

10 Must-See Shows during Frieze London 2025

Frieze London 2025 has arrived, bringing with it a sprawling public sculpture exhibition and two art-packed tents in Regent's Park, including the historically focused Frieze Masters. Alongside the main fair, London's galleries are hosting a mix of shows ranging from established favorites to emerging talents, with many exhibitions featuring ambitious sculptural works made from unconventional materials like furniture and driftwood. Notable highlights include Sonia Gomes and Kudzanai-Violet Hwami showing bronze sculptures for the first time, Cai Guo-Qiang's controversial gunpowder canvases at White Cube, and Danielle Fretwell's sumptuous oil paintings at Alice Amati. Artsy has curated a list of 10 must-see gallery exhibitions taking place during the fair.

At Art Basel Hong Kong, Blue-Chips Report Flurry of 7-Figure Deals, While Others Lament ‘Slower Than Usual’ Sales

Major galleries reported significant seven-figure sales on the opening day of Art Basel Hong Kong. Hauser & Wirth sold works by Louise Bourgeois and George Condo for millions, while David Zwirner sold paintings by Liu Ye and Marlene Dumas for $3.8 million each. Pace Gallery's CEO noted a renewed energy, and other blue-chip dealers like White Cube and Lehman Maupin also reported high-value transactions, particularly with Asian collectors and institutions.

Hauser & Wirth Partner Cristopher Canizares Departs to Start Artist Agency

Cristopher Canizares, a longtime partner at mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth, is departing after 16 years to launch his own venture, the Artist Legacy Bureau. This new agency will function as an artist management firm, with Canizares working directly for and being paid by a select group of five or six artists to advise on long-term career strategy across their gallery, institutional, and collector relationships.

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A coalition of Los Angeles’s leading art institutions, including the Getty, LACMA, MOCA, and the Hammer Museum, has officially pledged to adopt the Bizot Green Protocol. This collective commitment, which also includes the gallery Hauser & Wirth, establishes climate-minded guidelines for museum operations such as widening temperature and humidity parameters for galleries and reducing air travel for loans. The move was largely catalyzed by the devastating impact of recent wildfires on the region's cultural infrastructure.

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CORE and TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary are launching "Get Up Stand Up: Artists for Jamaica and Los Angeles," a high-profile benefit auction scheduled for February 26 during L.A. Art Week. The event features over 20 works by major contemporary artists including Henry Taylor, Hank Willis Thomas, and Nari Ward, with a live sale led by auctioneer Simon de Pury. Proceeds will fund long-term recovery efforts following Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica and recent wildfires in Los Angeles, as well as CORE’s ongoing emergency response work.

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Thaddaeus Ropac is opening a new project space in New York and has hired Emilio Steinberger as a senior director. Hauser & Wirth now represents artist Conny Maier in collaboration with Société in Berlin. Zippora Elders Tahalele has been appointed director of the Nederlands Fotomuseum. The Tulsa Artist Fellowship announced its 2026–28 cohort of ten artists and arts workers. The ADAA appointed four new board members: Elizabeth Feld, Bridget Moore, Yancey Richardson, and Melissa Timarchi. Sotheby's second sale in Saudi Arabia, 'Origins II,' totaled $19.6 million, with a record $2.1 million for Safeya Binzagr's work. The article also covers Art Basel Qatar's first edition, with comments from Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani and artistic director Wael Shawky.

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Amy Sherald, the painter known for her tender portraits of Black American life, has signed with Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a major talent agency. Sherald, who has been represented globally by Hauser & Wirth since 2018, rose to fame after painting Michelle Obama's official portrait for the National Portrait Gallery. She was set to become the first Black contemporary artist to have a solo exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in 2025, but canceled the show after a censorship controversy involving her painting 'Trans Forming Liberty.'

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Artist George Condo has left Hauser & Wirth and will now be jointly represented by Sprüth Magers and Skarstedt, marking a return to galleries with which he had long-standing relationships. Condo first showed with Monika Sprüth in 1984 and was represented by Skarstedt from 2004 to 2019 before joining Hauser & Wirth in late 2019. Separately, a new BBC documentary titled *Turner: The Secret Sketchbooks* explores whether J. M. W. Turner's creative genius was shaped by childhood trauma and neurodivergence, featuring commentary from artists, actors, and a psychotherapist. The article also reports that Dana Awartani will represent Saudi Arabia at the 2026 Venice Biennale, and that the Trump administration has tightened H-1B visa rules, making it harder for arts institutions to hire foreign specialists.

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Hauser & Wirth's UK subsidiary reported an 87% decline in pretax profit for 2024, falling to $1.6 million from $12.5 million the previous year, as revenue dropped by more than half to $91.4 million. The gallery attributed the downturn to a sharp fall in secondary-market sales, which can fluctuate significantly based on a few high-value transactions. The UK entity represents only a small portion of the gallery's global business, which the founders said remained aligned with the prior year's successful performance. Separately, the gallery's hospitality arm, Artfarm Group, posted a wider pretax loss of $24 million despite a 16% rise in turnover.

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Hauser & Wirth's UK subsidiary reported an 87% decline in pretax profit for 2024, falling to $1.6 million from $12.5 million the previous year, as revenue dropped by more than half to $91.4 million. The gallery attributed the downturn primarily to a sharp fall in secondary-market sales, which can fluctuate significantly based on a few high-value transactions. The UK entity represents only a small portion of the gallery's global business, which the founders said remained aligned with the previous year's successful performance. Meanwhile, the gallery's hospitality arm, Artfarm Group, posted a wider pretax loss of $24 million despite a 16% rise in turnover.

rowena chiu appointed gallery director of perrotins new london operation ahead of frieze week 1234755248

Rowena Chiu has been appointed gallery director of Perrotin's new London operation, which opened in March at Claridge's hotel in Mayfair. Chiu previously served as director of museum and institutional relations at Stephen Friedman Gallery for four years and spent six years at Hauser & Wirth in London, Zurich, and New York. Her first exhibition at Perrotin London will be a solo show by Laurent Grasso, winner of the 2008 Marcel Duchamp Prize, opening October 14.

rowena chiu appointed gallery director of perrotins new london operation ahead of frieze week 1234755248

Rowena Chiu has been appointed gallery director of Perrotin's new London operation, which opened in March at Claridge's hotel in Mayfair. Chiu previously served as director of museum and institutional relations at Stephen Friedman Gallery for four years and spent six years at Hauser & Wirth across London, Zurich, and New York. Her first exhibition at Perrotin London will be a solo show by Laurent Grasso, winner of the 2008 Marcel Duchamp Prize, opening October 14.

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Sotheby’s is offering María Berrío’s mixed-media collage "Act II, Scene 4: Threshold" in its "Contemporary Discoveries" online sale with an estimate of $60,000–$80,000. This specific work previously sold for $380,000 at the Two x Two for AIDS and Art charity auction in 2023, far exceeding its then-retail value of $125,000. The current auction serves as a litmus test for the artist's secondary market resilience following a period of intense speculative trading.

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Hauser & Wirth and art shipping company Artay Rauchwerger Solomons face trial over charges of evading U.K. sanctions by allegedly making artist George Condo's 2021 work on paper, *Escape from Humanity*, available to a person connected with Russia in 2022. The U.K. Crown Prosecution Service brought the charge in November, and a judge has scheduled a 10-day trial for January 2028, with a hearing on May 5, 2026, for arraignment. Hauser & Wirth has stated it will plead not guilty, while the shipping firm, which went into voluntary liquidation in April 2024, did not respond to requests for comment.

The Asian Market Carries Art Basel Hong Kong

Le marché asiatique porte Art Basel Hong Kong

Art Basel Hong Kong 2026 concluded with strong attendance and significant sales, demonstrating the fair's central role in the Asian art market. The event attracted over 91,000 visitors and featured 240 galleries, with a strong presence from the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and the United States. Major international galleries like Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, and David Zwirner reported multimillion-dollar sales of works by artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Liu Ye, and Marlene Dumas, alongside notable transactions for works by Tracey Emin and Antony Gormley.

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The article recounts the author's experience at Art Basel Miami Beach 2025, beginning with a moment of reflection on the beach before the fair week's chaos. Three veteran attendees—an artist, an advisor, and a gallery owner—chose to skip the event this year, citing lackluster parties, declining collector interest in Miami compared to Paris, and poor sales attrition. Despite these doubts, the fair saw strong sales, with Hauser & Wirth reporting a 40% increase in the first three hours, and a new digital art sector boosting optimism. Pop-up exhibitions, like "The Body is The Body" at the Rice Hotel, were highlights, while Vanity Fair's party remained the most coveted invite.

Pat Steir, known for her colorful, cascading “Waterfall” paintings, dies at 87.

Pat Steir, the influential abstract painter celebrated for her large-scale "Waterfall" works created by pouring paint down the canvas, has died at the age of 87. Her death was confirmed by family and her gallery, Hauser & Wirth.

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UK tax authority HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has charged mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth with breaching criminal sanctions by allegedly making a luxury artwork available to a person connected with Russia. The case involves a 2021 work-on-paper by George Condo titled *Escape from Humanity*, sold by the gallery between April and December 2022, after the UK banned luxury goods exports to Russia-linked individuals in April 2022. The gallery, along with shipping company Artay Rauchwerger Solomons, faces charges under the sanctions law, which was enacted following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Hauser & Wirth has stated it strongly contests the charge and intends to plead not guilty.

Art Basel’s ‘Basel Exclusive’ Initiative Asks Galleries to Withhold at Least One Work from PDF Previews, and Other News.

Art Basel is launching a new initiative called "Basel Exclusive" for its June 2026 Switzerland fair, asking exhibitors to withhold at least one key work from pre-fair digital PDF previews to encourage in-person viewing. Around 170 of 232 exhibitors, including major galleries like Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Pace, and David Zwirner, have already adopted the program. Separately, Tate Britain announced the 2026 Turner Prize shortlist featuring artists Simeon Barclay, Tanoa Sasraku, Kira Freije, and Marguerite Humeau, with the exhibition opening at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA) in September. The Museum of Sonoma County will also commemorate the 50th anniversary of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's land art installation "Running Fence" with a major exhibition opening June 27.

The Dallas Art Fair: A Balance Of Growth And Consistency

The Dallas Art Fair (DAF), founded in 2009 by developer John T. Sughrue and curator Chris Byrne, concluded its eighteenth edition this past weekend. Director Kelly Cornell, who started as an intern and became director in 2016, has strengthened partnerships with the Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, and Dallas Contemporary, while securing sponsors like Bank of America. The fair has grown from 35 to over 90 galleries, though it still lacks mega-galleries like Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, David Zwirner, and Pace. International participation this year included about 20 galleries, with notable names such as Perrotin, Anat Egbi, and Hesse Flatow, while galleries from Germany and China were absent.

‘My paintings are always really kitchen sink, everything’s thrown into them’: Christina Quarles on her new solo show in Los Angeles

Artist Christina Quarles has launched her first solo exhibition with Hauser & Wirth in Los Angeles, titled "The Ground Glows Black." The new body of work features her signature fluid, elastic depictions of bodies, but introduces a more "untethered" and monochromatic aesthetic influenced by recent personal trauma. The paintings and works on paper were created in the aftermath of the Eaton fire, which destroyed the artist's home and community in Altadena.

In pictures: a sculptural celebration at Art Basel Miami Beach

Nora Lawrence, executive director of Storm King Art Center, curated a selection of her favorite three-dimensional works at Art Basel Miami Beach, highlighting sculptures by Thaddeus Mosley, Rashid Johnson, Mary Ann Unger, Paloma Varga Weisz, and Claes Oldenburg, as well as a painting by Saif Azzuz. The tour, published by The Art Newspaper, showcases works from galleries including Karma, Hauser & Wirth, Berry Campbell, Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, Konrad Fischer Galerie, and Paula Cooper.

Paris art exhibitions to see this month

Paris is hosting a diverse array of art exhibitions this month, ranging from Jeffery Gibson's first solo show in France at Hauser & Wirth to a retrospective on photographer Denise Bellon. Other highlights include 'Radical Making' at Carpenters Workshop Gallery, featuring designs by Charlotte Perriand and Jean Prouvé alongside contemporary artists; Gareth Mason's ceramic-focused exhibition at the same gallery; Inez & Vinoodh's 'Think Love' series at India Mahdavi's Project Room #21; and a major Art Deco centenary exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. The guide also notes ongoing photography shows following Paris Photo 2025.

Why Hong Kong is one of the greatest places in the world to buy art

Hong Kong has overtaken London to become the world's second-largest contemporary art auction market, according to ArtTactic. The city's commercial art scene is bolstered by outposts of top international galleries like Hauser & Wirth, Gagosian, Pace, and David Zwirner, as well as a successful annual Art Basel fair. Major auction houses including Sotheby's, Phillips, and Bonhams operate significant spaces there, with Sotheby's selling a Claude Monet for $65.5 million in Hong Kong in 2024. The city's art calendar peaks during March's Art Month, which hosts both Art Basel Hong Kong and Art Central.