Eyecatchers and Discoveries

Eyecatcher und Entdeckungen

The 42nd edition of Art Brussels has scaled down to 138 exhibitors from 165 in 2025, responding to a sluggish contemporary art market and economic uncertainty. The fair introduces a new section called 'Horizonte,' curated by Devrim Bayar of Kanal Centre Pompidou, featuring six large-scale installations including Pao Hui Kao's delicate paper-and-lacquer refuge and Oswald Oberhuber's €380,000 panoramic painting 'Paradiesgarten.' Galleries are now consolidated into one hall, with fewer blue-chip participants but a continued focus on living artists (95% of the 500 shown). Notable presentations include Xavier Hufkens' solo show of Cassi Namoda, Krinziger's works by Marina Abramović and Monica Bonvicini, and Richard Saltoun's historical mix of Fernand Khnopff, Everlyn Nicodemus, and Suzanne Van Damme.

Tate Britain will Exhibit ‘90s Art and Fashion, and Other News.

Tate Britain will stage "The 90s: Art and Fashion" in autumn 2026, guest curated by Edward Enninful, featuring nearly 70 artists, designers, and photographers including Steve McQueen, Damien Hirst, Alexander McQueen, and Vivienne Westwood. The exhibition explores how the decade reshaped British cultural identity through art, fashion, and social commentary, highlighting DIY anti-fashion aesthetics and themes of identity, race, class, and representation. Separately, Gagosian opened a new ground-floor flagship at 980 Madison Avenue in New York, replacing its longtime sixth-floor space after 37 years. A rare 17th-century Mughal astrolabe is heading to Sotheby's London with a £1.5–2.5 million estimate. Fondazione Sozzani launched an award for emerging creative talent. A Manhattan federal jury ordered art publisher Michael McKenzie to pay $102.2 million in damages to the Morgan Art Foundation for producing unauthorized works by Robert Indiana.

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The article reports on several moves in the art world: the Frankenthaler Climate Initiative opens its sixth grant cycle with over $17.5 million awarded to date for clean energy in visual arts. Gallery news includes P·P·O·W now representing Phoebe Helander, Séverin Guelpa joining Fabienne Levy Gallery, Catinca Tabacaru taking on Andrei Nițu, and Roland Augustine stepping down from Luhring Augustine. Bonhams saw a 9% revenue decline in 2024, part of broader auction house drops, and was sold to Pemberton Asset Management. The piece also highlights an interview with Met director Max Hollein on the museum's global identity.

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Artnet News's Talentspotter feature profiles six emerging Asian artists shaping contemporary art. The artists, including Chen Ronghui, Steph Huang, and Cole Lu, explore themes of urbanization, migration, identity, and consumer culture through photography, sculpture, and installation.

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Ten years after London dealer Vanessa Carlos launched the gallery sharing initiative Condo in the East End, the collaborative model has become a key survival strategy for galleries of all sizes, especially smaller ones. The latest edition of Condo London runs from Saturday to February 14. Brunette Coleman, a photography-forward gallery launched in 2023 by Anna Eaves and Ted Targett in Bloomsbury, exemplifies this trend: it has grown quickly through cooperative exhibitions rather than costly fairs, participating in Condo for the second time this year by hosting Milan’s Zero gallery. The gallery represents six international artists, and its artist Nat Faulkner won Frieze London’s Emerging Artist Award in 2024, with a solo show opening at Camden Art Centre.

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Taiwanese artist Li Chen is the subject of a major solo exhibition at Asia Art Center in Beijing, titled “Heavenly Realm, Mortal World: Spiritual Journey through the Mundane World—Li Chen Ink-Black Sculpture 2020–2023,” on view through June 8, 2025. The show features smaller-scale works rendered in Ink-Black, contrasting transcendent heavenly realms with the complexities of the mortal world, and marks Li Chen's first solo show in Beijing in six years.

Notes from New York: The World in a Convex Mirror

The article reviews the sixth edition of MoMA PS1's quinquennial survey 'Greater New York 2026,' which coincides with the institution's 50th anniversary. It highlights works by artists such as Covey Gong, Win McCarthy, Mekko Harjo, and Sophie Friedman-Pappas, noting how the exhibition's themeless structure and use of reflective surfaces create a hall of distorted reflections. The show includes 53 emerging and midcareer artists, mostly millennials, and is accompanied by a block party and gala rather than a dedicated commemorative exhibition like FORTY (2016).

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British artist Gavin Turk is set to debut a new body of work at Ben Brown Fine Arts in London for his sixth solo exhibition with the gallery, titled "The Escapologist." The exhibition features a series of trompe l’oeil paintings depicting partially open doors set within frames, hung low to create a sculptural, illusionistic effect. Drawing on art historical references ranging from Gerhard Richter’s modernist doors to René Magritte’s surrealist metaphors, the works explore the door as a symbol of the threshold and the psychological tension between anticipation and absence.

At the ‘art world Olympics,’ Team USA is chaotic

The US Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, often called the 'art world Olympics,' is mired in controversy and delays under the Trump administration. Curator Jeffrey Uslip insists the process has been smooth and artistically autonomous, but the selection of sculptor Alma Allen and commissioner Jenni Parido—a former pet supply shop owner with a new nonprofit—has raised eyebrows. The usual vetting process by the National Endowment for the Arts was disrupted, new language banning diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts was added to applications, and a government shutdown left only six months to fundraise and plan the exhibition, which coincides with the US's 250th anniversary.

Gagosian to open new ground-floor space at 980 Madison Avenue with major Duchamp presentation

Gagosian is set to expand its footprint at 980 Madison Avenue by opening a new ground-floor gallery space on April 25, 2026. The inaugural exhibition features a landmark presentation of Marcel Duchamp’s iconic readymades, including "Fountain" and "Bicycle Wheel." This selection specifically highlights the 1964 editions produced with Arturo Schwarz, returning these works to the exact building where they made their American debut at the Cordier & Ekstrom Gallery over sixty years ago.

'Marcel Duchamp' at Gagosian, 980 Madison Avenue, New York, United States on 25 Apr–27 Jun 2026

Gagosian is set to inaugurate its new ground-floor gallery space at 980 Madison Avenue with a major exhibition of Marcel Duchamp’s work, opening April 25, 2026. The presentation features the artist’s iconic 1964 readymade editions, including "Fountain" and "Bicycle Wheel," returning them to the exact historic location where they made their American debut at Cordier & Ekstrom Gallery sixty years prior. The show coincides with a major Duchamp retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Six artists having a museum moment: Basquiat, Hockney, Bove, Brown, Wylie and Goldin

Six blue-chip artists are currently experiencing a significant wave of institutional recognition through major museum exhibitions across the globe. Cecily Brown is preparing for a homecoming solo show at London’s Serpentine South, while Jean-Michel Basquiat is the subject of a focused study on his works on paper at Denmark’s Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. Other featured artists include David Hockney, who recently opened a massive 400-work retrospective at the Fondation Louis Vuitton, alongside Carol Bove, Rose Wylie, and Nan Goldin.

These Are the Exhibitions to See During Frieze Los Angeles 2026

Frieze Los Angeles 2026 has sparked a city-wide surge of artistic activity, characterized by large-scale artist-led group shows and the creative reclamation of non-traditional spaces. Key highlights include the transformation of a massive abandoned 99 Cents Only store into a chaotic exhibition featuring over 120 artists, a sprawling video art installation across six floors of a historic vaudeville theater, and major collection surveys focusing on influential women and artists of color.

Discover 10 Highlights from Art Basel Paris 2025

Art Basel Paris 2025, now in its fourth edition, took place from October 22–26 at the restored 1900 Paris Exposition venue, a Beaux-Arts landmark with Art Nouveau iron and glasswork. The fair hosted 206 international galleries and introduced a new 'Avant-Première' V.V.I.P. day on October 21, where each gallery could allocate six guest passes. Blue-chip sales were swift, led by Hauser & Wirth selling Gerhard Richter's *Abstraktes Bild* (1987) for $23 million to a European collector. Other notable sales included Bruce Nauman's neon sculpture *Masturbating Man* for over $4.7 million and Amedeo Modigliani's *Jeune fille aux macarons* (1918) for $10 million at Pace Gallery. The fair also featured curatorial sectors Emergence (16 solo presentations by emerging artists) and Premise (ten historical projects with works predating 1900).

With Ruth Asawa, MoMA is set to open its biggest show ever by a woman artist

MoMA is opening "Ruth Asawa: Retrospective" on October 19, 2025, running through February 7, 2026, featuring 275 works by the artist, including over 60 looped-wire sculptures, bronze casts, paper folds, and drawings. The exhibition, which previously appeared at SFMoMA, occupies 16,000 square feet on MoMA's sixth floor and is the largest show ever devoted to a woman artist at either institution by checklist count, though neither museum has emphasized this superlative.

Phillips' Priority Bidding drives 100% sell-through at Hong Kong evening sale, totalling US$20.5m

Phillips achieved a 100% sell-through rate at its Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Sale in Hong Kong on 27 September, totaling nearly HK$160 million (US$20.5 million). All 20 lots sold, with six works exceeding HK$10 million. The top lot was Yoshitomo Nara's *Pinky* (2000), which sold for HK$56.64 million (US$7.2 million) after its estimate was lowered from HK$60–80 million to HK$35–55 million. The sale was the first major test of Phillips' new Priority Bidding (PB) system, which offers a reduced buyer's premium to collectors who place written bids at or above the low estimate at least 48 hours before the auction. Seven lots were withdrawn and several estimates revised downward ahead of the sale, contributing to the white-glove result.

The Art World This Week: 20 June 2025

This week's art news is dominated by the opening of Art Basel 2025, where dealers reported a strong start with numerous six-figure sales, including a David Hockney painting at Annely Juda Fine Art for $13–17 million and a $9.5 million Ruth Asawa sculpture at David Zwirner. Other major developments include the Museum of Modern Art announcing a major Marcel Duchamp survey for 2026, the reopening of a historic Paris building (temporary home for Centre Pompidou) after a £395 million rebuild, and the Studio Museum in Harlem receiving a significant gift from Vancouver real estate magnate Bob Rennie. The article also covers gallery representation changes, awards, and the passing of sculptor Joel Shapiro and businessman/art patron Leonard Lauder.

The 10 Best Booths at Art Basel 2025

Art Basel 2025 opened on June 17 with its VIP preview at Messeplatz in Basel, Switzerland, under intense heat. The 55th edition of the fair features 289 galleries from 42 countries, including 19 newcomers, and introduces a new Premiere section for mid-sized galleries showing recent works. Despite a challenging art market, the VIP day saw packed booths, international crowds, and strong sales of six- and seven-figure works, with dealers expressing optimism. The fair also includes returning sections like Statements and Feature, plus Art Basel Unlimited for monumental works, alongside concurrent events such as Liste Art Fair and museum shows by Jordan Wolfson and Steve McQueen.

The Ultimate Guide to New York Art Week 2025

New York Art Week 2025 is underway as the international art world converges on the city for a series of major spring fairs. Galerie has surveyed six key fairs—Frieze New York, Independent, TEFAF New York, NADA New York, Future Fair, and Esther II—highlighting standout artworks and notable presentations. Highlights include Jeff Koons' Hulk sculptures at Gagosian, Claire Tabouret's new paintings at Perrotin, and Tuan Andrew Nguyen's kinetic sculptures at James Cohan. Independent returns to Spring Studios with its 16th edition, featuring a new curatorial initiative, Independent Debuts, showcasing 26 emerging artists including Shafei Xia, Laura Footes, and Lewis Brander.

From ‘Game of Thrones’ to ‘Downton Abbey’—Iconic Costumes Go on View in Scotland

An exhibition titled "Costume Couture: Sixty Years of Cosprop" is opening at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh, featuring over 80 iconic costumes from major film and television productions such as 'Game of Thrones,' 'Downton Abbey,' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean.' The show, which premiered last year in London, celebrates the six-decade legacy of the renowned costume house Cosprop, founded by Oscar-winning designer John Bright.

Hauser & Wirth Partner Cristopher Canizares Departs to Start Artist Agency

Cristopher Canizares, a longtime partner at mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth, is departing after 16 years to launch his own venture, the Artist Legacy Bureau. This new agency will function as an artist management firm, with Canizares working directly for and being paid by a select group of five or six artists to advise on long-term career strategy across their gallery, institutional, and collector relationships.

No Need to Shed a Tear for the Jury

"Man muss der Jury keine Träne nachweinen"

The entire jury of the Venice Biennale resigned shortly before the opening, prompting criticism of Biennale President Pietrangelo Buttafuoco. Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli accused Buttafuoco of pursuing a misguided "pacificist fantasy" by readmitting Russia to the six-month exhibition, calling it failed "side foreign policy." Commentators in German media, including Niklas Maak (FAZ) and Marcus Woeller (Die Welt), see the resignation as a symptom of a crisis in the art world, with the jury having acted as a "political tribunal" by pre-judging artists based on nationality, particularly regarding Israel. The Biennale leadership defended inclusion, but the standoff has caused significant "image damage." Separately, Dirk Knipphals (wochentaz) delivers a scathing review of Wolfram Weimer's first year as cultural policy commissioner, accusing him of empty rhetoric and failing to counter right-wing cultural politics. Juliane von Mittelstaedt (Der Spiegel) reports on Saudi Arabia's use of a spectacular new art museum in Riyadh as a stability narrative amid regional conflict.

In Geneva, John M Armleder’s Stunning Lesson in Art History

À Genève, la renversante leçon d’histoire de l’art de John M Armleder

The Musée d’Art et d’Histoire (MAH) in Geneva has unveiled its sixth "carte blanche" exhibition, curated by the influential Swiss artist John M Armleder. Following in the footsteps of figures like Ugo Rondinone and Wim Delvoye, Armleder was invited by museum director Marc-Olivier Wahler to mine the institution's vast collection of 800,000 objects. The resulting show defies traditional museum hierarchies by juxtaposing fine art with decorative objects, such as silver-topped corks and musical instruments, alongside Armleder's own prolific output of multiples.

Why Was Sarah Miriam Peale, Pioneering Member of America’s First Art Dynasty, Left Behind?

Sarah Miriam Peale, a member of the prominent Peale art dynasty and arguably the first professional woman artist in the United States, is finally receiving long-overdue institutional recognition. Despite a prolific sixty-year career painting portraits of political figures and still lifes in Baltimore and St. Louis, her legacy was largely overshadowed by her uncle Charles Willson Peale and her male cousins. Her independence as an unmarried woman who supported herself entirely through her craft marked a radical departure from the gender norms of the 19th century.

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A rediscovered painting by Baroque master Artemisia Gentileschi, titled 'Lucretia,' sold for €4.8 million ($5.28 million) at an Artcurial auction in Paris, shattering the artist's previous auction record. The price soared to six times its high estimate, reflecting intense market competition for the rare work.

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A previously unknown Renaissance portrait attributed to Hans Baldung Grien, executed in silverpoint in 1517 and depicting Susanna Pfeffinger, is expected to sell for up to $3.5 million at a Paris auction on March 23. The drawing, which measures just four by six inches, has remained in the Pfeffinger family for 500 years and was only recently discovered by Old Master drawings expert Patrick de Bayser. It is being offered by French auction house Beaussant Lefèvre and Associés and Paris gallery Cabinet de Bayser at Hôtel Drouot.

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Wong Ping and Heidi Lau have been named joint winners of the third edition of the Sigg Prize, a biennial award stewarded by Hong Kong's M+ museum since 2018. This marks the first time the prize has recognized two artists simultaneously. Wong, based in Hong Kong, won for his animated narrative *Debts in the Wind* (2025), a lo-fi, darkly humorous commentary on a local land dispute over a golf course. Lau, born in Macau and now based in New York, won for *Pavilion Procession* (2025), an altar-like ceramic installation with a robotic spider inspired by the ancient Chinese text *Shanhaijing*. Both artists were selected from a shortlist of six, all born after the 1980s and '90s.

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Artnet News's weekly roundup highlights six free holiday-themed art installations and events across New York City through early January 2019. Featured works include Bovey Lee's paper snowflake installation 'Flower Knot Snowflake' at 10 Hudson Yards, Studio Cadena's yellow vinyl 'Happy' installation at Flatiron Plaza, David Hoey's window displays at Bergdorf Goodman, a For Freedoms Christmas tree at the New York EDITION hotel, LAB at Rockwell Group's 'Luminaries' light show at Brookfield Place, and a Charles Dickens manuscript exhibition at the Morgan Library & Museum.

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More than 100 staff members at the Tate galleries in England began an indefinite strike on August 18, 2020, protesting the institution's plan to cut over 300 jobs from its commercial arm, Tate Enterprises. The PCS union voted overwhelmingly in favor of striking after Tate confirmed 313 redundancies, citing anticipated revenue loss from a long-term drop in visitor numbers due to the pandemic. Workers are demanding that 10% of government bailout funds be invested in Tate commerce, that no redundancies occur while senior staff earn six-figure salaries, and that Tate push for more government aid. The strike has closed several Tate gift shops, with picketing scheduled through August 22 and an indefinite strike from August 24.

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art has returned a late-18th century Buddhist painting, *The Tenth King of Hell* (1798), to the Sinheungsa Temple in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, South Korea. The work is believed to have been taken by U.S. troops during the Korean War. The repatriation was celebrated at a ceremony in Seoul attended by Met Director and CEO Max Hollein, Korean government officials, and religious leaders. The painting is part of a larger series of ten scrolls depicting the Ten Kings of the Underworld; three remain abroad, while six others previously at LACMA have already been returned.