giancarlo politi founder flash art magazine died at 89

Giancarlo Politi, the influential founder and publisher of Flash Art magazine, has died at the age of 89. Established in Rome in 1967, Flash Art became a cornerstone of international art criticism, famously documenting the rise of the Arte Povera movement and providing an early platform for iconic artists like Marina Abramović, Maurizio Cattelan, and Jeff Koons. Politi, alongside his wife Helena Kontova, transformed the publication into a global network that bridged European and American art scenes, effectively serving as a "hands-on school" for generations of critics and curators.

documentary pretty dirty marilyn minter art

A new documentary titled "Pretty Dirty: The Life and Times of Marilyn Minter" premiered at the DOC NYC film festival at IFC Center, chronicling the artist's four-decade career and personal struggles. Directed by Jennifer Ash Rudick and Amanda Benchley, the film follows Minter's journey from a dysfunctional upbringing in the South—with an emotionally abusive mother and her own battles with addiction—to her eventual rise as a major figure in contemporary art. It highlights her gritty, provocative enamel-on-metal paintings, her commercial work for Tom Ford and Zara, and her cultural impact through projects like Madonna's 2009 tour and the TV show Gossip Girl. The documentary features interviews with celebrities such as Lizzo, Jane Fonda, and Miley Cyrus, as well as art-world peers like Laurie Simmons and Jeff Koons.

christies marquee fall 20th century evening sale report

Christie’s fall marquee 20th-century evening sales on Monday night generated a combined $690 million across two auctions, far exceeding the pre-sale low estimate of $534.7 million. The first sale featured 18 lots from the collection of the late Robert and Patricia Ross Weis, including works by Picasso, Matisse, Mondrian, and Rothko, while the second 62-lot sale included pieces by Calder, Hockney, Chagall, and Giacometti. Bidding wars drove 16 lots to sell at or above their high estimates, with adviser Ralph DeLuca winning several high-profile battles, including a Matisse painting for $32.3 million and a Max Ernst sculpture for $20.2 million. The sell-through rate was 97% by value and 96% by lot, with only one withdrawn lot and three unsold works.

christies robert patricia weis collection sale

Christie’s has secured the collection of Robert F. Weis and Patricia G. Ross Weis for its November sales in New York, with 80 lots valued at over $180 million. The collection spans Cubism to Abstract Expressionism and includes major works by Picasso, Matisse, Mondrian, and Rothko, with top estimates reaching $50 million. The Weis family, founders of Weis Markets, assembled the collection over more than seventy years, and 18 lots will be sold in a single-owner sale ahead of Christie’s 20th-century evening sale.

rare m c escher works auction

A cache of M.C. Escher drawings and prints, created during his time in Italy and later, fetched a stunning total of $7.8 million at Christie’s on July 22, quadrupling its low presale estimate. The auction, titled 'The Art of Infinity,' featured 65 lots, with nearly every work on paper surpassing the previous record for an Escher work in the medium. The top lot, *Reptiles* (ca. 1943), sold for $529,200—five times its low estimate—while *Relativity* (ca. 1953) achieved $504,000, ten times its low estimate. The sale largely came from the collection of Robert Owen Lehman Jr., a documentary filmmaker and member of the Lehman banking family.

christies first half results 2025

Christie's reported that its auction sales for the first half of 2025 totaled $2.1 billion, identical to the same period last year, suggesting the art market may be stabilizing. However, the $2.1 billion figure marked a 22 percent drop from the first half of 2023, indicating stabilization at a lower level. The house sold seven of the top 10 works at auction, led by Piet Mondrian's *Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black, and Blue* (1921) for $47.6 million from the collection of Barnes & Noble founder Leonard Riggio. Luxury sales rose 29 percent, while Old Master sales increased 15 percent, but Asian art and Classics fell 28 percent and 32 percent respectively. The Americas led buyer activity at 45 percent, followed by EMEA at 34 percent and APAC at 21 percent.

by the numbers christies 20th century sale totals modest 217 million

Christie’s held a doubleheader evening sale on May 12, 2025, featuring its regular 20th-century art auction and the Riggio collection. The various-owners sale achieved $216.9 million in total sales after fees, a 52% decline from the $413 million equivalent sale the previous year. The top lot was Claude Monet’s *Peupliers au bord de l’Epte, crépuscule* (1891), which sold for $42.9 million with fees. The sale had a 94% sell-through rate, with 34 of 36 lots sold and none bought in. Notable moments included a new auction record for Dorothea Tanning at $2.3 million and a strong result for Remedios Varo’s *Revelación* (1955) at $6.22 million.

christies names alex rotter global president

Christie’s has promoted Alex Rotter to global president, a new role in which he will retain his existing title as global chairman of 20th- and 21st-century art. Rotter will collaborate with regional presidents and global chairmen to develop strategies for auction and private sales. He joined Christie’s in 2017 after 16 years at Sotheby’s and created the “20/21” department, which unified postwar, contemporary, and Impressionist and modern art sales. Rotter has overseen landmark sales including Jeff Koons’s *Rabbit* (1986) for $91 million, Andy Warhol’s *Shot Sage Blue Marilyn* (1964) for $195 million, and Leonardo da Vinci’s *Salvator Mundi* (ca. 1500) for $450 million.

Work in Progress: Akinsanya Kambon

Akinsanya Kambon’s work is featured as a highlight in a curated guide of six must-see exhibitions during the EXPO Chicago 2026 art fair. The selection spans a diverse range of media and venues, including Josh Brainin’s frantic two-channel video installations at Tala and a thematic exploration of urban infrastructure hosted at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Andrew Lloyd Webber Says He's Writing a New Musical About the Time the 'Mona Lisa' Vanished Without a Trace in 1911

Andrew Lloyd Webber, the legendary composer behind 'The Phantom of the Opera,' has announced he is developing a new musical centered on the 1911 theft of Leonardo da Vinci’s 'Mona Lisa.' The production will dramatize the true story of Vincenzo Peruggia, an Italian glazier who stole the masterpiece from the Louvre, leading to a two-year international search before the painting was recovered in Italy.

Meet the ‘Bop Artist’ Who Was Inspired by Dreams and Hosted Some Surreal Salons in Her Chicago Brownstone

Gertrude Abercrombie, a self-taught Chicago painter dubbed the "bop artist" by jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie for translating the spirit of bebop into visual art, is receiving her largest-ever traveling retrospective. The exhibition, "Gertrude Abercrombie: The Whole World Is a Mystery," organized by the Milwaukee Art Museum, highlights her dream-inspired, surrealist paintings and celebrates her role as a bohemian salon hostess who brought together iconic jazz musicians and writers in her home.

Riyadh Art Extends Its Citywide Permanent Collection

Riyadh Art, a public art initiative led by the Royal Commission for Riyadh City, is expanding its Permanent Collection with 115 new installations planned through 2026 and beyond, adding to the 75 works already installed across the Saudi capital. The collection includes works by international artists such as Alexander Calder, Anish Kapoor, Jeff Koons, Giuseppe Penone, and Ugo Rondinone, alongside Saudi practitioners like Zaman Jassim and Mohammed Al Saleem, with recent additions including Calder's 'Janey Waney' and Nobuo Sekine's 'Phase of Nothingness'.

Tanka Fonta wins 2026 Wi Di Mimba Wi Prize

Cameroon-born artist and polymath Tanka Fonta has been named the recipient of the 2026 Wi Di Mimba Wi Prize. Awarded by SAVVY Contemporary and the AKB Stiftung, the prize includes a €30,000 grant, production funds for a new commission, and dedicated curatorial support. Fonta, whose multidisciplinary practice spans visual art, composition, and philosophy, was selected from a shortlist of five Germany-based artists by a jury of prominent curators and academics.

Want to See a Variety Show With Barbara Kruger, Anne Imhof, Julio Torres, and More?

Performa, the New York City-based nonprofit dedicated to performance art, is hosting a one-night-only variety show fundraiser on June 10 at Midtown's Town Hall theater. The cabaret-style event will feature 12 acts blending comedy, dance, music, and acrobatics, with participants including visual artists Barbara Kruger, Laurie Simmons, and Marcel Dzama, performance artist Anne Imhof, dancer Yvonne Rainer, actor Julio Torres, and musicians Slauson Malone, Precious Renee Tucker, and Lonnie Holley. The fundraiser supports Performa's biennial, which takes place every other November.

art nicole eisenman 52 walker politics

Nicole Eisenman's solo exhibition "STY" is on view at 52 Walker in New York through January 10, 2026. The show features recent paintings including "The Auction" (2025) and "Archangel (The Visitors)" (2024), which blend styles from realism to post-Cubist caricature. Curated by Ebony L. Haynes, the gallery is transformed into a single room lined with Homasote board, creating an intimate studio-like atmosphere that includes reference ephemera from Eisenman's Brooklyn studio, such as a printout of Martin Kippenberger's 1984 abstraction.

Pinta Panama Art Week 2026 Reaffirms the Country as a Hub for Regional Contemporary Art

PINTA PANAMA ART WEEK 2026 REAFFIRMS THE COUNTRY AS A HUB FOR REGIONAL CONTEMPORARY ART

The second edition of Pinta Panamá Art Week will be held from March 18-22, 2026, featuring works by Panamanian artists like Cisco Merel, Lulu Molinares, Arístides Ureña Ramos, and Isabel de Obaldía. Their projects, ranging from sculpture and textiles to immersive installations and studio visits, explore themes of memory, territory, and everyday life through the manipulation of materials and space.

Uncertainty in the Art Market is Currently Extreme

"Im Moment ist die Verunsicherung auf dem Kunstmarkt extrem"

Prominent Cologne gallerist Gisela Capitain is celebrating her 40th anniversary amid a period of significant market volatility. In recent interviews, she reflects on her career—defined by long-term artist relationships like that with Martin Kippenberger—while critiquing the current state of the art world. She notes that buyers have become increasingly hesitant and deliberate, describing the current level of uncertainty in the art market as extreme and calling for reforms to institutions like Art Cologne.

At the Tuileries, the PAD Paris Fair Celebrates Design with Elegance This Weekend

Aux Tuileries, le salon PAD Paris célèbre le design avec élégance ce week-end

The PAD Paris (Pavillon des Arts et du Design) returns to the Jardin des Tuileries, showcasing 75 French and international galleries specializing in vintage and contemporary collectible design. Highlights of the 2025 edition include the debut of Gallery Gaïa & Romeo with mid-century Italian ceramics, a contemporary reimagining of Claude Monet’s studio by Amélie du Chalard, and a strong focus on international female designers at Maria Wettergren. Parallel to the main fair, the third edition of the Sustainable Design Biennale is presenting plastic-free material innovations and eco-friendly furniture solutions.

MONET TO MATISSE: DEFYING TRADITION to Launch at Art Gallery of South Australia

The Art Gallery of South Australia is set to launch a new exhibition titled 'MONET TO MATISSE: DEFYING TRADITION,' which will feature works by iconic modern artists such as Claude Monet and Henri Matisse. The show aims to highlight how these artists broke away from conventional artistic norms to pioneer new movements in art history.

Get a Peek Into the Newly Opened David Geffen Galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has officially opened its new David Geffen Galleries, a major wing designed by architect Peter Zumthor. The 900-foot-long glass-and-concrete structure, which opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 19, 2026, houses the museum's permanent collection and features an open-concept layout intended to let visitors explore freely.

Art Gallery of Ontario gets gift of more than 450 works

The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in Toronto has received a major gift of 474 artworks from the late collectors Carol and Morton Rapp, including prints, photographs, sculptures, and artist books by 203 artists. Highlights include 13 screenprints by Andy Warhol, eight works by Robert Rauschenberg, nine by Jasper Johns, and pieces by Roy Lichtenstein, Barnett Newman, Claes Oldenburg, Lee Bontecou, and David Hockney, as well as contemporary works by Kara Walker, William Kentridge, Yinka Shonibare, and Rachel Whiteread. The Rapps, who began collecting in the 1960s, had a long relationship with the AGO dating back to 1966.

‘An incredible instinct for contemporary art’: Doris Lockhart, the overlooked figure behind the Saatchi collection, has died aged 88

Doris Lockhart, the US-born art collector who played a pivotal role in shaping the Saatchi collection and championing contemporary art in the UK, has died at age 88. Alongside her then-husband Charles Saatchi, she helped introduce postwar American artists like Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and Robert Rauschenberg to British audiences, and was instrumental in recognizing the Young British Artists (YBAs) of the 1990s, including Damien Hirst and Gary Hume. After their divorce in 1990, Lockhart continued collecting independently, backing emerging talents and expanding her interests to architectural models and drawings.

The 2026 Venice Biennale, Explained

The 2026 Venice Biennale, the 61st edition of the world's oldest and most prestigious contemporary art biennial, will run from May 9th to November 22nd, with previews from May 6th to 8th. Its central curated exhibition is titled "In Minor Keys," and it will be accompanied by a series of national pavilions.

A Radical Post-Impressionist Movement Returns to Paris

Waddington Custot gallery has opened a new Paris location in Saint-Germain-des-Prés with the inaugural exhibition "The Nabi Shock." The show presents works by key figures of the late-19th-century Nabis movement, including Émile Bernard, Pierre Bonnard, and Edouard Vuillard, alongside contemporary artists like Fabienne Verdier and Pierre Knop to illustrate the movement's ongoing influence.

The Art of Asking for a Discount on Art, According to Experts

sperone westwater dealers lawsuit gallery closure

Three months before announcing the closure of Sperone Westwater after 50 years, co-founder Gian Enzo Sperone sued his partner Angela Westwater, alleging a "parasitic deadlock" and accusing her of wresting control of a corporation holding a 50 percent stake in the gallery. The lawsuit claims Westwater mishandled funds, withheld records, mismanaged rent payments, and increased her own salary without approval. The gallery, founded in 1975 as Sperone Westwater Fischer, has represented major artists including Bruce Nauman, Francesco Clemente, and Richard Long, and will close this December.

art basel air de paris

The French gallery Air de Paris has publicly withdrawn from Art Basel in Switzerland after being assigned a booth position its founders considered unfavorable. In an open letter, owners Florence Bonnefous and Edouard Merino stated they were offered a choice between their usual stand and a new one, only to have the rejected option imposed. The gallery, which has participated in Art Basel since 1999, accused the fair of prioritizing managerial efficiency over longstanding relationships. Art Basel defended its placement process, citing curatorial vision and logistical factors. Bonnefous, who served on the fair's selection committee, confirmed the gallery will still participate in Art Basel Paris in the fall.

Pharmakon at Galerie Chantal Crousel

A major group exhibition titled *Pharmakon* has opened at Galerie Chantal Crousel in Paris, featuring works by over twenty international artists. The show includes both historical and contemporary figures, from Marcel Broodthaers and Felix Gonzalez-Torres to emerging artists, exploring the dual nature of substances that can be both remedy and poison. It presents a diverse range of media, including painting, sculpture, and installation, curated around this central, ambiguous theme.

Mark Manders at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York

Mark Manders presents his sixth solo exhibition at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in New York, featuring new works that include monumental bronze busts, abstract sculptural landscapes, and discrete paintings and works on paper. The pieces are described as dreamlike and fragmented, populating the gallery like a series of thoughts given form and frozen in time.

Adelaide’s Tarnanthi is going on tour

Tarnanthi, the Art Gallery of South Australia's annual exhibition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, is launching a national tour titled 'Tarnanthi on Tour: Too Deadly' starting July. The touring exhibition features over 30 works from the past decade of the festival, many conceived for Tarnanthi and never seen outside Adelaide. It will visit six regional galleries across Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and Western Australia over the next two years, including Rockhampton Museum of Art, Maitland Regional Art Gallery, Ngununggula, Caboolture Art Gallery, Geelong Gallery, and Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery.