Hong Kong Art Week 2026: Art Basel Preview

hong kong art week art basel preview

Hong Kong’s art market is signaling a cautious recovery in 2026 as the city prepares for its marquee Art Week. Despite macroeconomic improvements in real estate and equities, the sector is grappling with significant logistical hurdles caused by the US–Israel–Iran War. Shipping costs between Europe and China have surged by 30%, leading to the cancellation of the International Antiques Fair and the withdrawal of high-profile delegations like the Sharjah Art Foundation.

london stephen friedman gallery abruptly closes insolvency

Stephen Friedman Gallery, a fixture of London’s Mayfair district since 1995, has abruptly entered administration and closed its doors to the public. The gallery confirmed the insolvency process following its last-minute withdrawal from the inaugural Art Basel Qatar. Approximately 25 employees are expected to be laid off, and represented artists have been advised to retrieve their works immediately as the firm undergoes a financial review by FRP Advisory.

frieze los angeles satellite fairs report

The Felix Art Fair kicked off LA Art Week at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, drawing significant crowds despite logistical hurdles. While long lines for elevators slowed the initial flow of visitors to the upper floors, exhibitors reported steady interest and early sales. New York-based dealers faced particular challenges arriving for the opening due to a major Nor’easter that disrupted flights across the East Coast, forcing many to finalize their booths just hours before the VIP preview.

ai weiwei royal academy controversy

Artist Ai Weiwei has claimed in a new interview that he faced censorship in the West, citing a specific incident with London's Royal Academy. In late 2023, an exhibition of his new works at the Lisson Gallery was canceled after he posted a controversial tweet about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Subsequently, the Royal Academy held a vote on whether to revoke his honorary membership over accusations of antisemitism, which he won. Ai also claims the Academy then declined to publish an article he wrote on free speech for its magazine.

2022 obituaries

veneklasen gallery appoints new partners winds down los angeles

Dealer Gordon VeneKlasen has announced plans to open his own eponymous gallery after separating from Michael Werner Gallery, where he ran the New York space for over 30 years. As part of the agreement, VeneKlasen will take over Werner's New York and London locations, while the short-lived Los Angeles branch of Michael Werner Gallery will close. Two longtime employees, Justine Birbil and Kadee Robbins, have been promoted to partners at VeneKlasen Gallery. The gallery will debut at the inaugural Art Basel Qatar with a solo presentation of works by Issy Wood, followed by exhibitions of Sigmar Polke's paintings in New York and London.

este arte 2026 fair uruguay report

The 12th edition of Uruguay's Este Arte fair took place last week in José Ignacio, featuring 14 exhibitors and attracting 5,000 visitors over four days. Notable works included Vanderlei Lopes's aluminum installation resembling a silver leak, Germán Tagle's liquid landscapes paired with altered New York Times front pages, and Diego Bianchi's chimeric sculptures. The fair favored abstraction, with strong sales reported across galleries such as Almeida & Dale, Aninat Galeria, Galerie Jocelyn Wolff, Piero Atchugarry Gallery, and Black Gallery.

laura footes shrine nyc

Laura Footes, a British artist living with chronic illness, opened her solo exhibition “Anamnesis” at Shrine NYC in early December 2024. Her paintings feature translucent, ethereal bodies in hallucinogenic landscapes, exploring themes of entrapment, escape, and the porous, temporal nature of the body. Footes, who has Crohn’s disease, draws on her hospital experiences and was discovered by Tracey Emin in 2022 after Emin saw her work on social media. Emin later mentored Footes at TKE Studios in Margate and curated her solo show “A Healing Dream” at Carl Freedman Gallery in late 2024.

alex prager mirage factory miami beach

Los Angeles-based artist Alex Prager has opened "Mirage Factory," an immersive installation on Miami Beach's Lincoln Road, taking over the historic Beach Theatre. The project features three constructed set pieces that explore Los Angeles history, including a 1:12 scale model of Hollywood Boulevard with landmarks like Grauman's Chinese Theatre and Musso & Frank's, an orange grove with real trees and fake citrus, and a lush garden party set in Griffith Park. The installation is part of an ongoing collaboration between Capital One and the Cultivist, and includes an immersive dining experience by chef Dave Beran, with a performance by Diana Ross. The public can visit on December 4 and 5, 2025.

french artist jr to wrap pont neuf in paris as christo tribute

French artist JR has announced plans to wrap the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris in June 2025, as a tribute to Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The project, titled "Pont Neuf Cavern," marks the 30-year anniversary of the couple's original wrapping of the same bridge in 1985. JR was approached by Christo's nephew Vladimir Yavachev, director of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation, to take on the challenge. The 761-foot bridge will be swathed in fabric, recalling the couple's signature monumental interventions.

david shrigleys latest installation is a 1 3 m pile of old rope at stephen friedman gallery in london

British artist David Shrigley has opened a solo exhibition at Stephen Friedman Gallery in London titled “David Shrigley: Exhibition of Old Rope,” featuring a 1.3-meter-high pile of ten tons of discarded rope as a conceptual installation. The work, priced at £1 million ($1.3 million), was assembled from rope salvaged from maritime, climbing, and industrial sources that would otherwise have gone to landfill. Shrigley describes the piece as a literal exploration of the idiom “money for old rope,” questioning the value people place on art.

art basel miami 2025 exhibitor changes

Art Basel Miami Beach 2025 has lost at least eight exhibitors from its main sector since the fair released its initial list over the summer. Among the dropouts are blue-chip galleries including Miguel Abreu, Chantal Crousel, Alison Jacques, Peter Kilchmann, Edward Tyler Nahem, Luisa Strina, and Lia Rumma, as well as Shanghai's BANK gallery. Two galleries, Altman Siegel and Tilton, closed entirely between the list's release and the present. Kasmin changed its name to Olney Gleason and will still participate. Reasons for withdrawal vary: Miguel Abreu chose a solo presentation at Frieze Masters over Miami, citing a "less than stellar" experience the previous year and the burden of three fall fairs. The fair's contract imposes escalating financial penalties for late withdrawals, with galleries owing 50% of their fee after August 1 and 100% after October 1.

art toronto 2025 showcasing indigenous art

Art Toronto, Canada's oldest and largest international fair for modern and contemporary art, opens to the public on Friday with a strong focus on Indigenous artists. Over half of the fair's 100-plus booths feature works by Indigenous makers from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Latin America. The fair includes a mix of Canadian, European, Latin American, and US galleries, with a dedicated 'Arte Sur' section highlighting Mexican and Central and South American art. Notable exhibitors include Ceremonial Art, Fazakas, Feheley Fine Arts, and N. Smith Gallery, showcasing works by artists such as Ningiukulu Teevee, Shuvinai Ashoona, Gerardo Ramírez, and Manuel Mathieu.

palais de tokyo removes martinique flag cameron rowland

The Palais de Tokyo in Paris removed Cameron Rowland's artwork "Replacement" (2025) just one day after it went on view in the exhibition "ECHO DELAY REVERB." The piece replaced the French flag above the museum with the flag of Martinique, adopted in 2023, and included a wall text criticizing French colonial rule and quoting the Martinican independence movement. The museum appended a new label stating the work "could be considered illegal" and was no longer included. Neither the Palais de Tokyo nor Rowland's representative commented.

galerie gmurzynska to open in fuller building new york

Galerie Gmurzynska is relocating its New York operations to the historic Fuller Building at 595 Madison Avenue later this month. The gallery, which had been at 43 East 78th Street since 2018, will inaugurate its new space on September 16 with an exhibition of works by Joan Miró and Roberto Matta. The Fuller Building, an Art Deco landmark built between 1928 and 1929, was once a major hub for New York galleries, housing such notable dealers as Pierre Matisse, Charles Egan, André Emmerich, and Marlborough-Gerson.

amy sillman cameron martin sikkeman jenkins malloy dia bridgehampton

Artist Cameron Martin discusses his new exhibition “Baseline” at Sikkema Malloy Jenkins in New York with fellow painter Amy Sillman. The conversation explores Martin’s shift from earlier landscape-derived graphic paintings to a more abstract approach involving “almost signs”—forms where signifier and signified don’t fully align. Martin describes his work as engaging with paradox and contradiction, using surrogates for gesture and juxtaposing elements that don’t quite fit together, which can produce a sense of humor or drollness.

10 artists liaisons picks june 2023

Artnet News has published a curated list of ten artists selected by their gallery liaisons in June 2023. The featured artists include Amy Barker, Meron Engida, Liam Everett, Franziska Furter, Iulian Bisericaru, Anne Rowland, Jim Richard, Isamu Kenmochi, Rita Maas, and Kyle Dunn, with works ranging from paintings to design objects. The artworks are available through the Artnet Gallery Network, which connects buyers with galleries worldwide, from Tokyo to Zurich, New Canaan to Paris.

independent 20th century names 31 exhibitors for 2025 edition in september

Independent 20th Century, the art fair focused on 20th-century works, has announced the 30 exhibitors for its fourth edition, running September 4–7 at Casa Cipriani in New York's Battery Maritime Building. The fair emphasizes single-artist presentations, spotlighting underknown figures such as Raymond Jonson, Gertrude Greene, Elda Cerrato, and Bruce Richards, alongside established names like Picasso, Munch, and Judy Pfaff. Notable collaborations include Nahmad Contemporary and Skarstedt Gallery on Georges Rouault, and presentations of self-taught artists like the Florida Highwaymen and Balraj Khanna.

faye wei wei musicality paint new talent 2025

Faye Wei Wei, a figurative painter known for her ethereal and romantic style, is profiled following her enrollment in Yale's MFA program. The article highlights her recent works, including "Calcium Stars (severed romanesque ears)" (2024) and "A Telescope Made of Champagne Glass" (2024), which blend motifs of hearts, lovers, and architectural forms with musical energy. Wei Wei, who graduated from the Slade School of Fine Art in 2016 and has shown at Situations in New York and Galerie Kandlhofer in Vienna, discusses her improvisational studio practice and the influence of music on her painting.

lucia painted her own myth

The article profiles Lucia Wilcox, a nearly forgotten Surrealist painter born in 1899 who lived an extraordinary life—raised in Beirut, partying with Surrealists in Paris, fleeing to New York in 1938, and becoming a doyenne among expatriate artists in the Hamptons. She painted joyful, mythical women and was shown by major dealers Sidney Janis and Leo Castelli, but after her death in 1974 she faded into obscurity. Now, a tightly curated exhibition titled "Lucia Wilcox: LUCIA" at Berry Campbell in New York (through June 28) reintroduces her work, focusing on over 20 paintings from the 1940s, including the vibrant "Untitled (Jungle)" (1944).

londons art scene saturation point

London Gallery Weekend (LGW) returned for its fifth edition from June 6 to 8, 2025, drawing art enthusiasts across 126 participating spaces despite dark clouds and drizzle. The event showcased cutting-edge performances, digital experiments, and bold textile art, but faced challenges as several trendy younger galleries—including Union Pacific, Guts Gallery, The Sunday Painter, and Xxijra Hii—chose not to participate this year. The weekend also overlapped with the debut London edition of South by Southwest (SXSW), a tech and arts conference that brought 20,505 pass-holders from 77 countries, including King Charles III, and featured visual art offerings such as LDN LAB curated by Alex Poots. While SXSW included works by Andy Warhol and Beeple, coordination between the two events was minimal, though a hastily planned SXSW VIP gallery tour occurred before LGW officially began.

alexandra metcalf

Alexandra Metcalf, a rising artist based in Berlin, is gaining attention for her multidisciplinary work that blends Victorian and psychedelic aesthetics with the dark history of women's psychiatric facilities. Her upcoming Art Basel debut with London's Ginny on Frederick features an installation titled "Assembly," consisting of four reclaimed grandfather clocks transformed into psychologically charged dioramas, which has been nominated for the Baloise Art Prize 2025. Metcalf also recently opened a solo exhibition "Gaaaaaaasp" at The Perimeter in London, an immersive installation evoking a 1960s doctor's waiting room and surgical theater, further exploring themes of madness, gendered labor, and Freudian psychology.

beijing china gallery weekend art season recap

Beijing concluded its inaugural "Beijing Art Season" from May 22 to June 1, comprising the long-running Gallery Weekend Beijing and two local art fairs, Beijing Dangdai and Art021 Beijing. The event took place shortly after a diplomatic breakthrough in U.S.–China tariff tensions, but amid China's economic slowdown, the atmosphere was subdued: the Visiting Sector for international galleries and the large-scale group show were scrapped, and satellite events were fewer. Despite this, collectors, curators, and institutional directors from Germany, the UK, Korea, and Japan attended, with some noting China's strategic importance due to its deep collector base. French billionaire Laurent Dassault reported better market sentiment in Beijing than in Europe, while Berlin galleries PSM and Galerie Thomas Schulte made their first appearances at Beijing Dangdai, collaborating with Hua International for a "Berlin Section." The fair grew from 32 galleries in 2018 to 87 this year, reflecting local collectors' appetite for international and experimental contemporary art.

3 key insights from the art business conference new york

The sixth edition of the Art Business Conference took place in Midtown Manhattan on May 22, drawing over 200 art professionals including gallery staff, auction-house specialists, and lawyers. Chaired by former Artnet executive editor Julia Halperin and founded by Louise Hamlin, the event featured keynotes and panels addressing the state of the art market, legal challenges, and the impact of tariffs. Christie’s CEO Bonnie Brennan reported a $700 million haul from recent auctions, noting a thin top end but strong activity for female Surrealists and Simone Leigh sculptures. Advisors Megan Fox Kelly and Alex Glauber described the market as 'recalibrating' rather than in crisis, with buyers showing increased selectivity.

the view from paula tsai

Paula Tsai, a key figure in Asia's art market, discusses the evolving landscape of collecting in the region, focusing on mainland China and Korea. She notes a surge of new buyers from China, many of whom are young entrepreneurs, while the Korean market remains more mature and stable. Tsai addresses the impact of tariffs on importing art, particularly for Chinese collectors, but asserts that passionate collectors will continue to buy, adjusting timing rather than abandoning purchases. She also highlights the growing Thai market and the complexity of the Chinese market, where established collectors are cautious but new entrants keep activity high.

thalita hamaoui botanical dramas

Brazilian artist Thalita Hamaoui presents her New York debut exhibition "Nascer da Terra" at Marianne Boesky Gallery, featuring large-scale, jewel-toned landscapes inspired by her grandmother's stories of Romania. Hamaoui, who was raised in São Paulo and had never visited Romania, translates her grandmother's vivid tales into fantastical, tropical-infused scenes filled with explosive plant life and dreamlike terrains. The exhibition runs through June 14 and includes paintings and drawings created during lockdown, reflecting her instinctual compositional process and influences from Brazilian Tropicália and artist Alberto da Veiga Guignard.

ian hamilton finlay

David Nolan Gallery in New York is presenting “Ian Hamilton Finlay: Fragments,” an exhibition marking the centenary of the Scottish artist Ian Hamilton Finlay (1925–2006). On view through June 7, 2025, the show features works from the late 1970s through the late 1990s in mediums including porcelain, ceramic, stone, bronze, plaster, metal, and prints. It highlights Finlay’s multidisciplinary practice as an artist, poet, philosopher, and gardener, with notable pieces such as *Watering Can (Shenstone)* (1995) and references to his famous garden *Little Sparta* (1966). The exhibition coincides with a book of the same title containing 100 works and fragmentary texts by writers including Stephen Bann, Tom Lubbock, and Alec Finlay.

70 million giacometti flops at sothebys as demand for trophy art softens

The top lot of Sotheby's May auction season in New York, Alberto Giacometti's bronze sculpture *Grande tête mince (Grande tête de Diego)* (1955), estimated at $70 million, failed to sell on Tuesday night. The work was consigned by the Soloviev Foundation, set up by Stefan Soloviev, son of late mega-collector Sheldon Solow, and was offered without a financial guarantee, a risky strategy that backfired when no bidders emerged. Auctioneer Oliver Barker made several chandelier bids before declaring the lot unsold at $64.2 million, shocking the packed salesroom.

basquiat baby boom christies auction

Christie’s will auction Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1982 painting *Baby Boom* with an estimate of $20–$30 million during its May 14 sale of 21st-century art in New York. The work, which depicts three figures thought to be the artist and his parents, was first shown in a landmark 1982 exhibition at Fun Gallery and later appeared at Lévy Gorvy gallery in 2017 with a $30 million price tag. Its seller at that time was collector Peter Brant.

How to Feel the Benefits of Art, According to Psychologists

Recent psychological research confirms that engaging with visual art provides significant physical and mental health benefits, including the alleviation of depression, anxiety, and stress. Studies indicate that viewing art can also enhance cognitive functioning and social skills, prompting new initiatives to explore the specific mechanisms behind these wellness improvements.