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.

Art Market Minute February 2026

art market minute feb 23

The art market is witnessing a significant shift in the commercial viability and valuation of performance art. While the medium has been sold in various forms for years, its increasing presence at major art fairs and galleries suggests a new era where collectors are beginning to prioritize the documentation and rights to live works as legitimate assets.

jeffrey epstein leon black gagosian picasso sculpture

Newly released documents from the Department of Justice reveal that the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was deeply involved in facilitating major art transactions between mega-collector Leon Black and Gagosian gallery. The files detail Epstein's personal communications with Black's lawyers regarding the acquisition of Pablo Picasso's 1931 sculpture *Buste de Femme (Marie-Thérèse)*, a work that was the subject of a legal dispute before Black acquired it for over $115 million. Epstein also assisted in a complex $48 million swap of a Rothko painting for a Picasso through Gagosian in 2012.

winter show

The Winter Show returns to New York's Park Avenue Armory from January 23 to February 1, 2026, blending blue-chip modernism with decorative arts, design, jewelry, and antiques. The fair features a special presentation titled 'Study of a Young Collector,' curated by Patrick Monahan in collaboration with executive director Helen Allen, which imagines the private study of a next-generation collector using works from 11 international dealers exhibiting for the first time. Notable highlights include Jonathan Boos's presentation of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's early work 'Wrapped Toy Horse' (1963), priced at $450,000, and a rare copper and gilt mask by Harlem Renaissance artist Sargent Claude Johnson from 1933, priced at $245,000. Boccara Gallery also showcases modern and contemporary tapestries by artists like Man Ray and Alexander Calder.

fog fair san francisco komal shah

At the opening of San Francisco's FOG Design and Art fair, prominent collector Komal Shah navigated the crowded aisles, stopping to chat with a who's who of the Bay Area art scene, including FOG founder Stanlee Gatti, ICA San Francisco director Ali Gass, and SFMOMA director Christopher Bedford. Shah, known for her collection focused on women artists, was scouting works with a handwritten list, considering pieces by Ruth Asawa and Joan Brown, though she passed on a $425,000 Asawa sculpture. The fair's gala serves as a fundraiser for SFMOMA, and Shah's collection is currently on view at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive in the exhibition "Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection."

peter hujar archive departs pace gallery joins ortuzar

The Peter Hujar Archive and Foundation has left Pace Gallery and will now be jointly represented by New York-based gallery Ortuzar and Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco. The archive will continue working with Mai 36 Galerie in Zürich and Maureen Paley in London on select projects. Ortuzar founder Ales Ortuzar expressed deep personal excitement about representing Hujar, who will be the first photographer the gallery has represented since its founding in 2018. The gallery plans two concurrent exhibitions this spring: a recreation of Hujar's 1986 show at Gracie Mansion and a group show featuring artists from his circle.

berlin mehdi chouakri gallery temporary pause

Berlin’s Galerie Mehdi Chouakri announced a temporary pause from exhibitions after nearly thirty years and around 250 shows. Owner Mehdi Chouakri cited personal reasons and the increasing demands of the traditional primary market model. The gallery will continue to represent its estates and living artists through collaborations, and may mount a new exhibition as soon as fall 2025. The pause follows a difficult year for galleries globally, with several high-profile closures and retrenchments.

paint drippings art industry news jan 9

This week's art industry roundup covers a postponement, financial losses, legal disputes, and leadership changes. New Jersey's Art Fair 14C has been postponed to May 2027, with organizers citing capacity issues unrelated to market conditions. Bonhams reported a 90% pre-tax loss jump to £213 million in 2024 due to impairment charges. A rediscovered Watteau drawing will be auctioned at Christie's Paris, and personal items of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are featured in Christie's 'American Collector' sales. In galleries, Amy Sillman left Gladstone for David Zwirner, Trevor Paglen joined Jessica Silverman, and Maya Hewitt joined Theta. The Louvre partially closed after a staff strike demanding director Laurence des Cars' resignation and reassessment of a renovation plan. Belgium's plan to dismantle Antwerp's M HKA museum has sparked resignations and backlash. New appointments include Will Cary as COO of the Barnes Foundation and Patton Hindle as director of arts at the Knight Foundation. MATHAF museum in Doha announced a campus expansion by architect Lina Ghotmeh. Legal disputes emerged between Gian Enzo Sperone and Angela Westwater over the shuttered Sperone Westwater gallery.

bing crosby collection sothebys auction

The private collection of Hollywood icons Kathryn and Bing Crosby sold at Sotheby's for $6.7 million on December 18. The white-glove auction, held at Sotheby's new Breuer Building location on Manhattan's Upper East Side, surpassed its pre-sale high estimate of $6.3 million, with two-thirds of the lots exceeding their high estimates. The nearly 200-lot sale featured fine art, furnishings, and collectibles, with the top lot being Alfred James Munnings' painting *On the Moors* (1914), which sold for $1.2 million. Other highlights included works by Charles Marion Russell, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Corot, as well as nearly 50 lots of Fabergé items that achieved $2 million in sales.

annie armstrongs final dispatch farewell 2025 farewell wet paint

Annie Armstrong bids farewell to Artnet Pro's Wet Paint column after 198 editions, reflecting on her four-and-a-half-year tenure as the art world's gossip columnist. She recounts her first assignment at the 2021 Felix Art Fair in Los Angeles, where she nervously approached a group of art-world insiders, and describes the highs and lows of covering galas, parties, and scandals from Frieze Seoul to the Henry Street gallery scene.

in memoriam 2024

Artnet News published an alphabetical in memoriam list commemorating art world figures who died in 2024, including printmaker Norman Ackroyd, museum director Hope Alswang, sculptor Carl Andre, curator and writer David Anfam, painter Frank Auerbach, and gallerist Patti Astor. Each entry includes a brief tribute highlighting their key achievements and contributions, such as Ackroyd's meticulous printmaking techniques, Alswang's diversification of the Norton Museum of Art's collection, Andre's foundational role in Minimalism, Anfam's influential scholarship on Abstract Expressionism, Auerbach's distinctive painterly style, and Astor's pioneering East Village gallery.

rembrandt print old master record

A rare Rembrandt drypoint print, *Arnout Tholinx, Inspector* (ca. 1656), sold for £3.1 million ($4.1 million) at Christie’s London on December 3, setting a new world auction record for an Old Masters print. The work, commissioned by a medical inspector during Rembrandt’s financial struggles, was part of the Sam Josefowitz collection and last appeared at auction 101 years ago. The sale, dedicated to over 100 Rembrandt prints from Josefowitz’s collection, totaled £8.6 million ($11.4 million), with other notable lots including *Christ presented to the People* and *Christ healing the Sick*.

gene hackman collection auction bonhams

Selections from actor Gene Hackman's personal collection, including artworks and film memorabilia, were sold across a series of auctions at Bonhams in New York from November 19 to December 4. The three sales collectively realized $3 million, with all 400-plus lots finding new homes. Highlights included a Milton Avery painting that fetched $508,500, a Richard Diebenkorn etching that sold for $419,600, and Hackman's Golden Globe awards, with his trophy for *The Royal Tenenbaums* bringing in $51,200. Hackman, who died in February at age 95, was also an artist himself, having studied at the Art Students League of New York and maintained a studio in Santa Fe.

marianne faithfull art collection auction bonhams

Bonhams auctioned 29 lots from the collection of late musician and actor Marianne Faithfull in its recurring 'Sound & Cinema' online sale, which concluded on November 24. The lots included eight artworks personally owned by Faithfull, such as an intimate portrait by South African painter Marlene Dumas that sold for $5,806—exceeding its estimate—and works by Anita Pallenberg, Martin Sharp, and others. The entire Faithfull consignment brought in $85,723, with proceeds going to her son Nicholas Dunbar.

jeffrey deitch auction week

Art dealer Jeffrey Deitch shared his impressions of New York's $2.2 billion auction week, praising Sotheby's for its acquisition of the Breuer Building and the intimate atmosphere of its new salesroom. He highlighted the $527 million sale of Leonard A. Lauder's collection, the presence of major figures like Patrick Drahi, Larry Gagosian, and the Mugrabi clan, and lauded auctioneer Ollie Barker's skill. Deitch contrasted the experience with the old days of auction-going, noting the excitement and club-like feeling.

southern guild tribeca expansion 2025

Southern Guild, the prominent Cape Town gallery co-founded by Trevyn and Julian McGowan, is opening a new outpost in a restored 19th-century Tribeca townhouse on Leonard Street in New York. The expansion comes as the gallery closes its Los Angeles space, a move the McGowans describe as instinctive rather than strategic. The new space, with its sixteen-foot ceilings and exposed brick, represents a leap of faith amid a challenging 2025 art market marked by gallery closures and industry retrenchment.

vancouver art gallery and walker art center nan goldin

The Vancouver Art Gallery and the Walker Art Center have jointly acquired Nan Goldin's *Stendhal Syndrome* (2024), a slideshow-based video work with an original soundtrack. The acquisition was funded by the Curators’ Council Fund for Women Artists and the Jean MacMillan Southam Fund at the Vancouver Art Gallery. The work will make its Canadian debut at the Vancouver Art Gallery. First presented at Gagosian's New York gallery in September 2024 as part of Goldin's exhibition "You never did anything wrong," the piece pairs two decades of the artist's photographs with a personal voiceover, exploring the emotional power of art. It features images of classical, Renaissance, and Baroque masterpieces from institutions such as the Galleria Borghese, the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Prado, interwoven with portraits of Goldin's friends, family, and lovers.

david adjaye museums open without starchitect

René Magritte's surrealist masterpiece *La Magie Noire*, unseen on the market for nearly a century, will be auctioned at Sotheby's Paris later this month with an estimate over $8 million. The painting was originally purchased by the family of WWII resistance heroine Suzanne Spaak, who supported Magritte during a financially difficult period. Separately, three major museums designed by star architect David Adjaye—the Princeton University Art Museum, the Museum of West African Art in Benin City, and the Studio Museum in Harlem—are set to open this fall, but institutions are downplaying Adjaye's involvement following sexual misconduct allegations he denied in 2023. Other news includes Pace Gallery closing its Hong Kong space, Colnaghi opening in Riyadh, and the death of ARTnews owner Milton Esterow.

david lynch home studio sale

The Hollywood Hills home of the late filmmaker, musician, and artist David Lynch has been listed for sale at $15 million. The 2.3-acre compound, originally built in 1963 by Lloyd Wright (son of Frank Lloyd Wright), was expanded by Lynch over his 35 years of residence to include two neighboring lots. It features 10 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, an art studio, a workshop, and a private screening room. The property served as both living quarters and workspace, and was even used as a film set for Lynch's 1997 movie *Lost Highway*. The listing shows that the home survived the recent destructive fires in the area, from which Lynch had evacuated shortly before his death in January 2025.

museum artist ranking june 2025

Artnet News published its quarterly museum artist ranking for June 2025, analyzing temporary exhibitions at over 250 U.S. museums to identify which living artists received the most institutional attention. The list includes over 4,500 names, with Indigenous contemporary artists dominating the top ranks: Cara Romero and Sky Hopinka remain highly visible, joined by Jeffrey Gibson and Andrea Carlson. Cindy Sherman appears in at least 10 group shows nationwide, while Alex Katz continues as a rare painter favored by museums at age 97. The ranking prioritizes career retrospectives, dedicated exhibitions, and special commissions over group show appearances.

jordan wolfson little room

Jordan Wolfson's latest virtual reality artwork, *Little Room* (2025), debuted at the Fondation Beyeler in Basel during Art Basel. The piece requires participants to undergo a full-body scan using 96 cameras, creating a detailed 3D model that is uploaded into a VR environment. Once inside, pairs of participants find they have swapped bodies, experiencing a disorienting and intimate encounter where they watch their own body being controlled by another person. The work involves a lengthy, ritualistic queue and a twelve-minute VR session that explores themes of identity, voyeurism, and technological mediation.

joe coleman jeffrey deitch tribeca film festival

Artist Joe Coleman is the subject of a new documentary film, "How Dark My Love," directed by Scott Gracheff, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. Concurrently, Coleman has curated a group exhibition titled "Carnival" at Jeffrey Deitch gallery, featuring his own hyperrealistic paintings alongside works by artists such as Derrick Adams, George Condo, and Anne Imhof, as well as his personal collection of oddities and ephemera. The film centers on the creation of Coleman's magnum opus, a life-size portrait of his wife, Whitney Ward, titled "Doorway to Whitney," which took nearly four years to complete.

ilana savdies shapeshifting worlds

Artist Ilana Savdie, known for her electrically colorful and biomorphic paintings, presents a new series titled "Glottal Stop" at White Cube in New York. The exhibition explores themes of camouflage, animal mimicry, and the physical toll of global discord, featuring works that use pigmented beeswax, oil, and acrylic to create nearly sentient surfaces. Savdie draws from horror films, Baroque painting, and anatomy books, incorporating suspended painted latex sheets into an immersive, maze-like installation.

art bites dan flavin airily dog

Dan Flavin, the renowned Minimalist artist known for his fluorescent light installations, created two artworks dedicated to his golden retriever Airily, who was a champion show dog. The works, titled "untitled (to my dear bitch, Airily)" (1981) and "untitled (to my dear bitch, Airily) 2" (1984), are discussed in the context of Flavin's practice of dedicating pieces to people and pets. The second work, held by Kunstmuseum Basel, was displayed at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in 2008 and at Dia Bridgehampton in 1985.

oscar yi hou james fuentes

Artist Oscar Yi Hou curated the group show "Deviations" at James Fuentes gallery in Tribeca, featuring 12 queer and trans artists including Juliana Huxtable, Martine Gutierrez, and Ser Serpas. The exhibition, on view through May 7, includes works by Yi Hou himself and explores themes of hybridity, queer intimacy, and the illusion of function through sculptures and paintings. Yi Hou, a 26-year-old breakout star on the gallery's roster, previously had a highly successful solo show "The Beat of Life" in November, with works acquired by institutions like the Brooklyn Museum.

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.

How a Louise Bourgeois Print Inspired Eden Xu-Martinez’s Intimate Collection

Eden Xu-Martinez, a collector and art administration professional, has built a personal collection centered on the accessibility and intimacy of prints. Her journey into collecting was catalyzed by a lithography course at Columbia University and a profound encounter with a Louise Bourgeois print, which shifted her perspective on the medium from mere reproduction to a deeply personal form of artistic expression.

The 11 Exhibitions to See in May 2026

ArtReview's editors have curated a list of 11 must-see exhibitions worldwide for May 2026, excluding Venice. Highlights include Audie Murray's solo show at april april in Pittsburgh, featuring works made with her own hair and breast milk; Delcy Morelos's monumental earthwork 'origo' at the Barbican Sculpture Court in London; and Bold Tendencies' 20th anniversary season in Peckham, titled 'Euphoria', with new commissions across multiple disciplines.

Elle Pérez Envisions New Residency Built on Family Legacy

Artist Elle Pérez is raising $100,000 to buy out relatives from a family home in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, that has been in their family since the 1920s, with the goal of transforming it into an artist residency called Casa Pérez. To fund the project, Pérez is selling a portfolio of chromogenic studio prints for $1,795 each, produced in collaboration with the cultural office Public Relations. The artist’s work, known for intimate portraits and scenes of underground music, has been featured in the Whitney Biennial and solo exhibitions at the Baltimore Museum of Art and Carnegie Museum of Art.

Jumper Maybach Turns Abstraction Into Emotional Space

American artist Jumper Maybach, known for his abstract expressionist paintings, debuted a new suite of works titled "Radiant Spaces" at the inaugural Salt Lake Art Show in 2026. The series explores themes of emotional energy, human resilience, and healing, using layered textures and color fields to create immersive experiences. Maybach has also created site-specific installations in architecturally significant buildings, including the 1900K building in Washington, D.C., and continues to blur the lines between fine art, installation, and luxury design.