Vasari Art Codex

article news schedule Dec 17, 2025 visibility 3 link 6 artists

louvre still on strike morning links december 17 2025 1234767142

Christie's and Sotheby's have released their projected global sales totals for 2025, with Christie's reporting $6.2 billion and Sotheby's $7 billion, both up from 2024 figures of $5.7 billion and $6 billion respectively. The Louvre remains closed due to an ongoing strike by staff that began Monday and continued after a Wednesday vote. Other news includes Artadia and United States Arts announcing a multi-year partnership, Tuan Andrew Nguyen selected for the High Line Plinth commission, and Catherine Telford Keogh winning the inaugural Jack Galef Visual Arts Award.

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trending_up market schedule Dec 15, 2025 visibility 5 link 33 artists, 6 galleries

frieze new york 2025 sales report 1234741303

Frieze New York opened on a warm Wednesday morning, with a packed spring art week schedule that saw the fair and TEFAF's US edition separated by just 24 hours. The VIP day was animated with strong sales, including Jeff Koons's *Hulk (Tubas)* reportedly selling for $3 million at Gagosian, which presented the artist's first collaboration since he left the gallery in 2021. Other notable sales included works by Liza Lou, Joan Snyder, David Salle, and Adam Pendleton, with Pace Gallery selling all six of Pendleton's paintings within hours. Galleries reported a slower but deliberate pace of buying, with collectors taking more time to make decisions.

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article news schedule Dec 1, 2025 visibility 4 link 11 artists

romare bearden digital catalogue raisonne 1234764015

The Wildenstein Plattner Institute (WPI) and the Romare Bearden Foundation have launched the first installment of a digital catalogue raisonné for the artist Romare Bearden, covering his work from 1964 to 1969. The project, which began in earnest in 2017, has so far documented 3,000 artworks, including 210 in this initial chapter, and has uncovered previously unknown works such as a portrait of artist Edmonia Lewis. The research builds on three decades of archival work by the foundation, which digitized Bearden's ephemera to aid in tracking down works he often gave away informally.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 21, 2025 visibility 4 link 13 artists

sfmoma fisher collection galleries reinstallation 1234762592

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) has announced a major reinstallation of its Fisher Collection galleries, titled “Reimagined: The Fisher Collection at 10,” opening April 18, 2026. The overhaul will feature 250 artworks by 35 modern and contemporary artists across 60,000 square feet of gallery space, organized by thematic and monographic floors. The project is led by curator Ted Mann and chief education officer Gamynne Guillotte. The Fisher Collection, a 100-year loan from the Fisher Art Foundation, includes blue-chip works by Alexander Calder, Gerhard Richter, Andy Warhol, and others, assembled by Gap Inc. founders Donald and Doris Fisher.

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rate_review review schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 3 link 5 artists, 4 galleries

jeff koons gagosian porcelain series review 1234762301

Jeff Koons's latest exhibition at Gagosian Gallery in New York features his new series of large-scale porcelain and stainless-steel sculptures, including the centerpiece *Aphrodite* (2016–21), an eight-and-a-half-foot-tall nude. The show marks Koons's first solo presentation in New York in seven years and follows a turbulent period in his career, including record auction sales, a move to Pace Gallery and back to Gagosian, and two lawsuits. Critic Christopher Garcia Valle panned the works as unstimulating and banal, arguing they fail to awe viewers despite their technical ambition and massive scale.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 3 link 18 artists, 2 galleries

sothebys lauder now contemporary sales report klimt record 1234762267

Sotheby's held a marathon double sale at its new Breuer Building location, selling Gustav Klimt's portrait of Elisabeth Lederer for $236.4 million—the second highest price ever paid for an artwork at auction. The evening featured works from the collection of the late cosmetics heir Leonard Lauder, totaling $527.5 million, far exceeding its low estimate. The subsequent "Contemporary and the Now" sale brought in $178.5 million, with a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting selling for $48.3 million. Overall, the night generated $706 million, with multiple auction records set for artists including Cecily Brown, Antonio Obá, Yu Nishimura, Jess, and Noah Davis.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 18, 2025 visibility 5 link 21 artists, 11 galleries

shanghai art021 west bund art recap 1234762135

Shanghai's West Bund Art & Design fair and Art021 opened last week with unexpectedly strong sales, despite economic headwinds and regional competition. Many galleries reported brisk first-day sales, with Thaddaeus Ropac placing five works including a Martha Jungwirth painting for €500,000, and Hauser & Worth selling two works for over $1 million. However, major blue-chip galleries like Gagosian and Pace opted out entirely, while others like Almine Rech, White Cube, and David Zwirner scaled back their participation. The fairs took place against a backdrop of China's ongoing property slump and the overlapping Art Collaboration Kyoto, which siphoned attention from international collectors.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 10, 2025 visibility 3 link 29 artists

ex christies chief jussi pylkkanen works trends watch auction season 1234760790

Jussi Pylkkanen, former Christie's chairman, analyzes the upcoming New York 20th and 21st Century Art sales, noting a return to market confidence after strong European auctions in London and Paris aligned with Frieze and Art Basel Paris fairs. Christie's London posted its best October sales since 2018, Sotheby's had its most valuable Paris season, and a Picasso portrait sold for $37 million at Hôtel Drouot. The season shows a shift from speculative buying toward established artists like Bacon, Freud, Picasso, and Klimt, with 27 works valued over $10 million, led by Gustav Klimt's *Portrait of Elizabeth Lederer* from the Leonard Lauder collection, estimated to exceed $150 million at Sotheby's.

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museum exhibitions schedule Nov 7, 2025 visibility 4 link 5 artists

the 2026 preis der nationalgalerie maurizio cattelan 1234760575

Maurizio Cattelan has been awarded the 2026 Preis der Nationalgalerie, administered by Berlin’s Nationalgalerie. The prize, given every two years to an influential contemporary artist, includes a solo exhibition at the Neue Nationalgalerie. Cattelan was selected by a jury of international directors including Emma Lavigne, Sam Keller, and Klaus Biesenbach. His exhibition will open in September 2026 during Berlin Art Week, curated by Biesenbach and Lisa Botti. Cattelan previously co-curated the 4th Berlin Biennale in 2006.

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trending_up market schedule Nov 5, 2025 visibility 2 link 19 artists

consignors november 2025 new york sales christies sothebys 1234760267

As the fall auction season returns to New York, Christie’s and Sotheby’s are preparing for evening sales amid an uneven art market. The article reveals key consignors behind major lots, including a Frida Kahlo painting from 1931, estimated at $6–8 million, owned by Miami-based Francisco and Fiorella Pérez Díaz, and three French Post-Impressionist works from the collection of the late Argentine patron Nelly Arrieta de Blaquier. The market context includes underwhelming results at Art Basel in Switzerland but strong attendance at Frieze London and Art Basel Paris, with collectors showing willingness to spend only on exceptional, well-priced works.

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person people schedule Nov 4, 2025 visibility 1 link 2 artists

philadelphia art museum director dismissed sasha suda 1234760126

Sasha Suda, director and CEO of the Philadelphia Art Museum (formerly the Philadelphia Museum of Art), was dismissed on Tuesday. Reports from the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Magazine indicate she was terminated for “cause” via email, though the specific reasons were not disclosed. The dismissal follows controversy over the museum’s recent rebranding, which was criticized online and reportedly caught board members off guard. Suda, who joined in 2022 after leading the National Gallery of Canada, faced internal dissent from unionized staff and tense negotiations, as well as the departure of deputy director Carlos Basualdo. The museum has also struggled with a deficit and declining attendance since the pandemic.

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museum exhibitions schedule Oct 31, 2025 visibility 2 link 7 artists

qatar launches quadriennial 2026 1234759277

Qatar has announced the launch of a new quadrennial art event called Rubaiya Qatar, set to debut in November 2026. The inaugural edition will feature a curated exhibition titled “Unruly Waters,” organized by Tom Eccles, Ruba Katrib, Mark Rappolt, and Shabbir Husain Mustafa. The event will take place across Qatar, centered at the Al Riwaq pavilion near the Museum of Islamic Art. A preview performance by artist Rirkrit Tiravanija, titled "untitled 2025 (no bread no ashes)," was unveiled in Doha, involving communal bread baking with diverse bakers. The quadrennial aims to reflect Qatar's cultural diversity and its historical connections to maritime trade routes.

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article news schedule Oct 29, 2025 visibility 1 link 9 artists

artists withdraw relational aesthetics exhibition maxxi rome 1234759280

Seven artists—Tania Bruguera, Dora Garcia, Phil Collins, Siniša Mitrović, Alessandra Saviotti, and Gemma Medina—have withdrawn their work from the exhibition “1+1: The Relational Years” at MAXXI in Rome, scheduled to open this week. In an open letter published by Nero Editions, they accuse the museum of having “links to genocide in Palestine” through its acceptance of funding from and collaborations with Italian companies Eni and Leonardo s.p.a., which have ties to Israel's military and energy sectors. The exhibition, curated by Nicolas Bourriaud, surveys relational aesthetics and also includes works by Vanessa Beecroft, Maurizio Cattelan, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Pierre Huyghe, and Rirkrit Tiravanija. Five anti-Zionist activist groups have added their own statement supporting the boycott.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 22, 2025 visibility 3 link 29 artists, 14 galleries

art basel paris vip preview sales report 1234758480

Art Basel Paris opened its VIP preview on Wednesday, following a new invite-only preview called Avant Première on Tuesday. Major galleries reported strong sales, including Hauser & Wirth's $23 million Gerhard Richter abstract, the highest reported sale at the fair. Other notable sales included Julie Mehretu's $11.5 million painting at White Cube, a $4.7 million Bruce Nauman neon at Hauser & Wirth, and a $2.5 million Marlene Dumas painting at David Zwirner. Dealers noted that the staggered two-day opening helped spread out crowds and allowed collectors to return for the official VIP day, with many describing the fair as the most successful edition in Paris to date.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 22, 2025 visibility 3 link 28 artists, 12 galleries

art basel paris avant premiere vip sales report 1234758287

Art Basel Paris launched a new ultra-exclusive invitation-only preview called Avant Première, held one day before the official VIP preview. The four-hour event on Tuesday afternoon saw strong sales, with Thaddaeus Ropac selling works including a 1953 Alberto Burri for €4.2 million and two George Baselitz pieces, while Hauser & Wirth sold Gerhard Richter's 1987 *Abstraktes Bild* for $23 million, the highest reported sale. The fair limited each gallery to six invites with plus-ones, resulting in an estimated 3,000 attendees compared to 6,000 for the regular First Choice preview, creating a more manageable and urgent atmosphere.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 16, 2025 visibility 3 link 2 artists, 2 galleries

kerry james marshall frieze london royal academy 1234757330

Kerry James Marshall's paintings are on offer at Frieze London, with two major works appearing on the show floor. Alexander Gray Associates is presenting Marshall's 1992 painting "A Woman with a Heart of Gold" for $2.9 million, a collage built from Harlequin romance novel covers that critiques racial fantasies in mass-market desire. David Zwirner is showing the 1990 painting "A Little Romance" priced at $3.2 million, depicting a reclining figure with floating heads. The sales coincide with the Royal Academy's exhibition "Kerry James Marshall: The Histories," which has generated significant buzz among dealers and collectors, with some attending multiple times.

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article news schedule Oct 13, 2025 visibility 2 link 11 artists

ruth asawa moma smithsonian closes morning links 1234756779

The Smithsonian Institution, a government-funded museum network in Washington, D.C., was forced to close this weekend due to the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, marking another blow after repeated attacks by the Trump administration. Meanwhile, a traveling Ruth Asawa retrospective opening at New York's Museum of Modern Art on October 19 is reportedly the museum's largest show ever dedicated to a woman artist, featuring 376 works across 16,000 square feet, though MoMA has not officially confirmed this record. Other news includes a forgotten Paul Gauguin painting heading to auction at Artcurial, Sotheby's seeking third-party guarantees for three Klimt paintings from the Leonard Lauder collection, a reattributed Liotard portrait, and Chilean artist Cecilia Vicuña winning the 2025 Roswitha Haftmann Prize. Additionally, musician Kate Bush has invited 52 UK visual artists to raise money for children affected by war through an online auction.

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article news schedule Oct 13, 2025 visibility 2 link 10 artists

ruth asawa moma smithsonian closes morning links 1234756779

The Smithsonian Institution, a government-funded museum network in Washington, D.C., was forced to close this weekend due to the ongoing government shutdown, marking another blow after repeated attacks by the Trump administration. The National Gallery of Art had already closed the previous weekend, while the Smithsonian had used its own funds to stay open until now. Separately, a traveling Ruth Asawa retrospective opening at New York's Museum of Modern Art on October 19 is reportedly the museum's largest show ever dedicated to a woman artist, featuring 376 works across 16,000 square feet, though MoMA has not officially confirmed this record. Other news includes a forgotten Paul Gauguin painting heading to auction at Artcurial, Sotheby's seeking third-party guarantees for three Klimt paintings from the Leonard Lauder collection, a reattributed Liotard portrait, and Chilean artist Cecilia Vicuña winning the 2025 Roswitha Haftmann Prize.

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museum exhibitions schedule Oct 11, 2025 link 4 artists, 3 galleries

jeff koons first new york show 2025 gagosian 1234756367

Jeff Koons will present his first solo show at Gagosian in seven years, titled “Porcelain Series,” opening November 13 at the gallery’s 541 West 24th Street location. The exhibition features new and recent sculptures and paintings that explore beauty and mythology, including mirror-polished stainless steel figurines modeled on 18th- to early-20th-century porcelain and oil paintings incorporating historical engravings. Koons, who left Gagosian in 2021 for Pace and returned in 2025, debuted new work at Frieze New York in May.

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museum exhibitions schedule Oct 11, 2025 visibility 1 link 5 artists, 4 galleries

jeff koons first new york show 2025 gagosian 1234756367

Jeff Koons will present his first solo show at Gagosian since 2018, titled “Porcelain Series,” opening November 13 at 541 West 24th Street in New York. The exhibition features new and recent sculptures and paintings that explore beauty and mythology, including mirror-polished stainless steel figurines modeled on 18th- to early-20th-century porcelain works, alongside oil paintings incorporating engravings by historical artists. This marks Koons’s first major New York exhibition in seven years, following a brief and reportedly turbulent tenure at Pace Gallery, which he joined in 2021 after leaving Gagosian and David Zwirner.

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article news schedule Oct 9, 2025 visibility 2 link 7 artists

la fire suspect identified dystopian painting image chatgpt 1234756274

Authorities arrested Jonathan Rinderknecht for allegedly starting the Pacific Palisades fire in January, which killed 12 people and destroyed over 6,000 homes. Investigators found evidence on his phone, including a ChatGPT query where he asked for a "dystopian painting" depicting rich people watching the poor struggle in a fire, as well as searches about culpability for starting fires with cigarettes. The fire also damaged the Getty Villa grounds, forcing a four-month closure, and destroyed the home and 340 artworks of collector Ron Rivlin, including pieces by Warhol, Haring, and Baldessari.

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trending_up market schedule Oct 4, 2025 visibility 4 link 5 artists, 2 galleries

almine rech closes london gallery 1234755425

Almine Rech is closing her London gallery in Mayfair after more than a decade, as reported by Melanie Gerlis in the Art Newspaper. The space, which opened in 2014 on Savile Row before moving to Grosvenor Hill, hosted exhibitions by artists including Javier Calleja, Chloe Wise, Jeff Koons, and Esther Mahlangu. Rech stated that London remains "important" to her and that she plans to open something in the city in the future, though no specifics were given. The London branch was put into liquidation, with Companies House filings indicating a £6.3 million deficit, though Rech denied owing money to artists, workers, or suppliers, calling the filing a technical step to restructure a lease. Her gallery will continue operating its remaining eight locations across Paris, New York, Brussels, Shanghai, Monaco, and Gstaad.

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museum exhibitions schedule Oct 3, 2025 visibility 2 link 9 artists

rm curating exhibition sfmoma opening kpop 1234755332

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) has announced a new exhibition titled “RM x SFMOMA,” opening in October 2026 and running through February 2027. The show will feature around 200 works from both SFMOMA’s permanent collection and the personal collection of K-pop star RM (of BTS), who will serve as lead curator alongside assistant curator Hyoeun Kim and curatorial project manager América Castillo. The exhibition pairs modern Korean artists—including Yun Hyong-keun, Park Rehyun, Chang Ucchin, Kwon Okyon, To Sangbong, and Kim Yun Shin—with Western masters such as Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin, Henri Matisse, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Paul Klee. A highlight is Kim Whanki’s painting *26-I-70* (1979), owned by SFMOMA.

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article policy schedule Oct 2, 2025 visibility 3 link 1 artist

saudi arabia deutsche bank ink cultural partnership 1234754701

Saudi Arabia announced over 5 billion Saudi riyals ($1.3 billion) in new cultural funds and agreements at the first Cultural Investment Conference in Riyadh, held under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Key developments include a partnership with Deutsche Bank for training and cultural exchanges, the immediate establishment of the Riyadh University of Arts (opening 2026 with film, performing arts, and theater programs), and a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Culture and the Royal Commission for AlUla to boost cultural infrastructure in the AlUla oasis.

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article news schedule Sep 29, 2025 visibility 2 link 3 artists

greek police arrest abbot art trafficking morning links 1234754255

Greek authorities arrested an abbot from the historic Mega Spilaio monastery in Peloponnese following a months-long undercover sting operation, charging him with trafficking Byzantine icons and other antiquities. Six defendants were arrested on Monday for their alleged involvement in an attempt to sell 14 looted Byzantine icons and two gospels for €200,000 ($235,000), with connections to auction houses in Germany and Cyprus. Separately, the Almaty Museum of Arts (ALMA) opened in Kazakhstan as the country's first private museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art, showcasing over 700 artworks from the collection of auto and real estate tycoon Nurlan Smagulov. A major Yoshitomo Nara painting, 'Haze Days' (1998), is heading to Christie's London with an estimate of £6.5-8.5 million, and the Museum of Women's Art (MOWA) opened in China as the first art institution dedicated to women artists.

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trending_up market schedule Sep 27, 2025 visibility 3 link 6 artists

yves klein blue painting christies paris 1234753827

Christie’s has secured a monumental Yves Klein painting, *California (IKB 71)*, for its October 23 sale in Paris. Measuring 14 feet wide, it is the largest format the artist ever made in his signature International Klein Blue (IKB) and carries an estimate of €16–25 million ($18–29 million). The work was created in 1961 and has a newly uncovered provenance: after being shown in Los Angeles at Virginia Dwan’s gallery, it stopped in New York for an exhibition with dealer Leo Castelli before returning to Paris. It has been in a New York collection since 2005 and was on long-term loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 2005 to 2008.

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museum exhibitions schedule Apr 16, 2026 visibility 34 link 18 artists

Here’s What LACMA’s Lavish New Building Looks Like

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has finally unveiled its new flagship building, the David Geffen Galleries, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. The concrete-and-glass structure famously straddles Wilshire Boulevard, featuring a continuous glass facade that offers panoramic views of the Los Angeles landscape and newly installed outdoor sculptures. Inside, the layout encourages a non-linear experience, moving visitors through varying light conditions and diverse gallery sizes that house a mix of contemporary and classical works.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 15, 2026 visibility 26 link 8 artists

Billionaire Collector Ken Griffin’s Basquiat Buying Spree Continues

Billionaire collector Ken Griffin has significantly expanded his holdings of Jean-Michel Basquiat, notably acquiring the 1983 masterpiece 'In Italian' from the collection of Peter Brant. The acquisition came to light through press materials for an upcoming exhibition at the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) titled "Basquiat: Figures, Signs, Symbols," which will showcase nearly a dozen works from Griffin’s private collection. The show, curated by PAMM director Franklin Sirmans and Griffin’s curator Megan Kincaid, includes other high-profile acquisitions such as the 1982 'Untitled (Skull)' previously purchased from Yusaku Maezawa.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 14, 2026 visibility 30 link 38 artists, 7 galleries

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.

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trending_up market schedule Apr 14, 2026 visibility 48 link 8 artists

Inside ‘Prince of Prints’ Jordan Schnitzer’s Sprawling Collection

Jordan Schnitzer, the Portland-based philanthropist often called the 'Prince of Prints,' recently provided a rare tour of his massive 50,000-square-foot art warehouse. The facility utilizes a sophisticated 'floating bin' logistics system, similar to those used by major retailers, to manage over 22,000 works, including extensive holdings by Andy Warhol, Joseph Beuys, and Richard Prince. Schnitzer’s foundation operates as a lending library, frequently shipping works to museums and hosting educational tours for students from districts where arts funding has been eliminated.

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