Vasari Art Codex

trending_up market schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 14 link 14 artists, 5 galleries

the art market has lost its grip on price 2653663

Former Sotheby's rainmaker Brooke Lampley, now a director at Gagosian, discusses the art market's loss of control over pricing, citing a failed $70 million Alberto Giacometti bust at auction as a symptom of deeper market confidence issues. The article traces the evolution of art pricing from opaque, dealer-driven norms to a data-rich system enabled by Artnet's Price Database in 1989, which fueled a price spiral and attracted speculators. Now, in 2025, the market faces a correction with auction sales down 27.3 percent to $10.2 billion, and buyers are pausing as traditional pricing signals become scrambled.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jul 10, 2025 visibility 9 link 19 artists, 11 galleries

art dealer provocative solution poaching problem 2655240

Art dealer Wendi Norris of San Francisco has introduced buyout clauses in contracts with her artists, borrowing a strategy from professional sports. If an artist leaves for a mega-gallery like Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Pace, or David Zwirner, Norris receives financial compensation—such as the right to purchase works at her original prices for potential resale. This practice aims to address the widespread problem of poaching, where larger galleries lure rising artists away from the smaller dealers who nurtured their careers, often causing financial and emotional strain.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jul 4, 2025 visibility 5 link 14 artists, 6 galleries

blum a market force for three decades will close galleries 2663456

Blum gallery, a powerhouse with locations in Los Angeles and Tokyo, is closing its brick-and-mortar operations after 31 years. Founded as Blum and Poe in 1994, the gallery laid off most of its staff and will transition to a flexible studio model with no permanent public space or formal artist roster. The gallery represents high-profile artists including Yoshitomo Nara and Mark Grotjahn, whose works have sold for over $10 million. Co-founder Jeff Poe left the partnership two years ago, leaving Tim Blum in control alongside managing partner Matt Bangser.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jul 2, 2025 visibility 7 link 13 artists

london summer auctions 2662076 2662076

London's summer auction season saw Sotheby's evening sale bring in $85.7 million, a significant drop from $105 million last year and a 70% decline from $280.1 million in 2015. Christie's opted out of an evening auction entirely, holding only a day sale that netted $12.7 million, while Phillips' combined sales totaled $17.6 million. Highlights included a Tamara de Lempicka painting selling for $10 million, a Jenny Saville drawing setting a new auction record at $2.11 million, and six works from the Dorothy and Roy Lichtenstein collection. The sales were described as 'sensible' by advisor Todd Levin, reflecting a cautious market post-Art Basel.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jun 27, 2025 visibility 14 link 111 artists, 27 galleries

price check art basel basel 2025 2660511

Art Basel in Basel has concluded, with galleries reporting hundreds of sales despite low expectations set by lackluster New York auction results. Dealers shared prices ranging from $1 million to $17 million, with top sales including David Hockney's *Mid November Tunnel* (2006) at Annely Juda Fine Art ($13M–$17M), a Ruth Asawa sculpture at David Zwirner ($9.5M), and a Gerhard Richter painting at David Zwirner ($6.8M). Other notable transactions include works by Keith Haring, Mark Bradford, Georg Baselitz, and George Condo, though many galleries provided only price ranges and withheld exact titles or mediums.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Jun 3, 2025 visibility 4 link 4 artists

sfmoma pastry plagiarism 504596

Bay Area pastry chef Caitlin Freeman has accused the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) of copying her art-themed cakes after the museum replaced her Blue Bottle café with a new vendor, McCalls Catering. Freeman, who operated the café on SFMOMA's fifth floor from 2009, created pastries inspired by artworks by Andy Warhol, Jeff Koons, and Roy Lichtenstein, including a signature Piet Mondrian cake, and published a cookbook titled *Modern Art Desserts* in 2013. After SFMOMA's renovation, the contract was awarded to McCalls Catering, which Freeman claims is now producing similar desserts.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule May 28, 2025 visibility 3 link 6 artists

rashid johnson nosedive auction 2644742

Rashid Johnson's mixed media work *Untitled Escape Collage* sold for $292,100 at Phillips's Modern and contemporary art day sale in New York on May 14, falling short of its low estimate and representing a 72 percent loss in value for the consignor, who had purchased it for $816,500 at the same auction house in 2022. The disappointing result coincides with Johnson's solo exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule May 16, 2025 visibility 6 link 18 artists, 5 galleries

new york frieze auctions 2642395

Frieze New York kicked off at the Shed in Hudson Yards with a notable sale: Jeff Koons's Incredible Hulk sculpture (Tubas) purchased for around $3 million, signaling a reunion between the artist and Gagosian after his departure to Pace in 2021. Despite a cautious market amid President Trump's tariff uncertainties, dealers reported better-than-expected sales on VIP day, with a focus on affordable works in the $50,000-to-$200,000 range. However, challenges emerged including U.S. Customs delays affecting international shipments and tariff confusion that led some fashion designers to withdraw from the Esther II fair.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule May 16, 2025 visibility 5 link 21 artists, 3 galleries

phillips nets lean 52 million in new york led by basquiat that david bowie bought for 93000 2644336

Phillips’s Modern and contemporary art evening sale in New York totaled $52 million, a sharp decline from $86.3 million last year. Four lots were withdrawn before the sale, including works by Pablo Picasso and Jasper Johns, and five lots failed to sell, yielding an 86% sell-through rate (78% including withdrawals). The hammer total of $41.8 million fell below the pre-sale low estimate of $52.3 million. Notable sales included a Basquiat piece once owned by David Bowie, which sold for $6.59 million (Bowie bought it in 1995 for $93,400), and a Kiki Kogelnik painting that set a new artist record at $356,000. Five auction records were set overall, including for Ilana Savdie, Olga de Amaral, Grace Hartigan, and James Turrell.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule May 1, 2025 visibility 4 link 12 artists, 9 galleries

from the studio to the auction block morgan stanley 2202991

This article from Artnet News Pro analyzes how early auction market interest impacts the long-term prospects of contemporary artists, using data from Sotheby's, Christie's, and Phillips. It focuses on two categories: "Ultra-Contemporary" art (artists born 1975–present) and "Postwar and Contemporary" art (artists born 1900–1974). The study examines macro trends over the past 20 years and presents five case studies of living artists whose auction sales peaked at different points. Key findings show that from 2013 to 2021, sales of Ultra-Contemporary art grew by over 700%, from $91.4 million to $739.3 million, while sales for the older cohort peaked in 2014 at $6.95 billion, a modest 16% increase. The number of Ultra-Contemporary lots sold also surged by 250%.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Mar 23, 2026 source 9 sources visibility 22 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

The Met’s blockbuster Raphael exhibition looks beyond the artist’s idealised Madonnas

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has opened "Raphael: Sublime Poetry," the first comprehensive exhibition of the Renaissance master in the United States. The ambitious show gathers 237 works, including 33 paintings and 142 drawings, spanning Raphael's entire career and featuring major loans like *The Alba Madonna* from the National Gallery of Art in Washington and *Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione* from the Louvre.

newspaper The Art Newspaper Also: Artnet News, Google News, Hyperallergic open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule May 4, 2026 visibility 5 link 12 artists

Next stop – infinity! My transcendental experience on Japan’s ‘art island’ guided by its master Lee Ufan

The article profiles Korean-born artist Lee Ufan, who turns 90 next month, and his transcendental art on Japan's Naoshima island. It describes his upcoming major shows: a retrospective in Venice coinciding with the Biennale, and an exhibition at Dia Beacon in New York. Lee, a key figure in the Mono-ha movement, creates works like the steel arch "Porte Vers l'Infini" on Naoshima that engage with nature and perception. The piece traces his career from early violent, resistant sculptures involving cracked glass and boulders to later meditative paintings and installations.

newspaper The Guardian open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule May 1, 2026 visibility 12 link 18 artists

A mind-bending Spaniard, an imagistic Puerto Rican and a lush Latvian – the week in art

This week's art roundup from The Guardian features a major exhibition on Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán at the National Gallery in London, described as a mind-bending and revelatory show with loans from the Prado and other top museums, positioning him alongside Goya and Picasso. Other highlights include Gilbert & George's tribute to their late homeless friend at their London centre, outdoor sculptures by Lynn Chadwick at Houghton Hall, thickly built-up paintings by Angel Otero at Hauser & Wirth Somerset, and abstract works by Latvian sculptor Daiga Grantina at Warwick Arts Centre. The article also covers a new Banksy statue in central London depicting a man marching with a flag, and a Masterpiece of the Week feature on Guido Reni's 'Saint Mary Magdalene'.

newspaper The Guardian open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Apr 27, 2026 visibility 20 link 21 artists

Back to the 90s: Tate exhibition to explore decade’s art and fashion

Tate Britain will stage a major exhibition titled "The 90s: Art and Fashion" this autumn, curated by former British Vogue editor Edward Enninful. The show will feature nearly 70 artists, photographers, and designers, including Steve McQueen, Chris Ofili, Damien Hirst, Alexander McQueen, and Tracey Emin, alongside works by Juergen Teller, Mark Leckey, and others. It will explore the decade's art, fashion, and club culture, with pieces such as McQueen's film "Bear" (1993), Ofili's Turner Prize-winning "No Woman, No Cry" (1998), and images from Manchester's Haçienda and London's Bagley's nightclubs.

newspaper The Guardian open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Mar 27, 2026 source 2 sources visibility 16 link 2 artists, 2 galleries

Sotheby’s Sets 12 Records for South Asian Artists in a Single Sale

Sotheby's Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art auction in New York achieved a total of $22.1 million with 100% of lots sold, setting 12 new auction records for artists from the region. The sale was headlined by Vivan Sundaram's 1967 painting 'Inbetweeness,' which sold for $896,000 and more than doubled his previous annual auction total, and M.F. Husain's 'Second Act,' which fetched $5.1 million.

newspaper Artnet News Also: The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

rate_review review schedule Mar 20, 2026 source 3 sources visibility 11 link 1 artist, 1 gallery

Matisse, 1941-1954 review – hit after glorious hit in a show of life-enhancing genius

A major exhibition at the Centre Pompidou and the Grand Palais focuses on the final, revolutionary period of Henri Matisse's career, from 1941 to 1954. The show charts his artistic reinvention following a life-threatening surgery, beginning with obsessive, reworked paintings from his Nice studio during the war and culminating in the radiant, large-scale cut-outs for which he is widely celebrated.

newspaper The Guardian Also: New York Times Art, The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule May 5, 2026 link 2 artists, 3 galleries

Rare Keith Haring Self-Portrait and Other Intimate Works Go on View in NYC

A collection of intimate works by Keith Haring, including a rare self-portrait, a painted crib, and personal letters, has gone on view at Sotheby's Breuer building in New York City. The works were gifted by Haring to his childhood best friend and fellow artist, Kermit Oswald, over the course of their friendship from 1977 to 1989. The free public exhibition precedes a series of three auctions beginning May 14, with highlights including the self-portrait estimated at $3–5 million and a crib-and-dresser set expected to fetch $250,000–350,000.