art industry news october 9 2019

Sotheby’s Hong Kong concluded its fall auction series with a robust $426 million total, headlined by a record-breaking $25 million sale for Yoshitomo Nara. Amidst this market momentum, Nara’s upcoming LACMA retrospective was announced to travel to Shanghai’s Yuz Museum. Meanwhile, the New York art scene is bracing for major institutional milestones, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 150th-anniversary plans and the imminent public opening of MoMA’s $450 million expansion.

israeli artist doron langberg addresses atrocities gaza

Israeli artist Doron Langberg is launching his first New York exhibition in seven years at Jeffrey Deitch’s Tribeca gallery, marking a significant shift in his practice. Known primarily for "New Queer Intimism" and domestic portraits, Langberg’s new body of work pivots toward monumental landscapes that grapple with his Jewish identity and the destruction in Gaza. The exhibition features works inspired by his family’s Holocaust history in Ukraine, used as a lens to process current geopolitical violence.

work of the week david hockney english garden

David Hockney’s 1965 painting 'English Garden' is returning to the auction block at Sotheby’s London with an estimate of £2.5 million to £3.5 million ($3.4 million to $4.7 million). Painted while Hockney was teaching at the University of Colorado, Boulder, the work is recognized as his first English landscape and has been held in a private collection for nearly thirty years. It was last sold at auction in 1997 for just £89,500.

rosemarie trockel curious weird spruth magers gladstone

Rosemarie Trockel, the elusive German artist known for her wildly varied and conceptually challenging work, is the subject of a rare profile in ARTnews. The article traces her emergence from the 1980s Cologne art scene, where she became notorious for refusing interviews and producing art that defies easy categorization—spanning knitting machines, video, sculpture, and drawing. A key photograph from her teenage years, showing her in a room plastered with celebrity cutouts, is presented as a rare origin story, though its authenticity is left ambiguous. The piece highlights her declared constants of "woman, inconsistency, reaction to fashionable trends" and her insistence that art should remain a process of discovery rather than a vehicle for fixed meaning.

david diao icons 2025

Artist David Diao reflects on his long engagement with Barnett Newman's work, from his 1966 experience as an art handler installing Newman's 'Stations of the Cross' series at the Guggenheim Museum to his own paintings that reference Newman both admiringly and critically. Diao's 1992 work 'Barnett Newman: Paintings by Title & Size' lists all 118 of Newman's paintings against a red background, treating them as inventory rather than masterpieces, while later works like 'BN: Spine 2' (2013) incorporate the worn fold of a Newman catalog cover. The article, based on a studio visit, captures Diao's matter-of-fact perspective on Newman's art and his own decades-long dialogue with the Abstract Expressionist.

15 museum shop gifts were loving

Artnet News has curated a selection of 15 unusual and art-themed gifts available at museum shops worldwide, ranging from a snake-embroidered brooch inspired by Cartier at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London to a 'Souls in Purgatory' magnet from the Morgan Library & Museum in New York, a traditional palm-leaf fan from Al Ain Museum in Abu Dhabi, a gilded sewing kit from the Neue Galerie in New York, and a CD of a Hanne Darboven composition from the Dia Art Foundation. Each item is presented with its price, source museum, and a brief explanation of its appeal, often tying back to specific exhibitions or artworks.

jack hanley gallery scene

Jack Hanley, a beloved and idiosyncratic New York gallerist, announced he would close his gallery after 37 years in business. In a conversation with Artnet News co-host Kate Brown, Hanley reflects on his career as a disruptor who followed instinct over market logic, giving early shows to now-iconic artists like Günther Förg, Christopher Wool, Sophie Calle, and Christian Marclay, and even hosting Beeple's first gallery show. Hanley, a former Grateful Dead roadie and avid orchid grower, also founded an art fair and ran galleries in multiple cities.

maurizio cattelan america gold toilet auction

Maurizio Cattelan's 18-karat gold toilet sculpture, *America* (2016), sold at Sotheby's New York for $12.1 million to Ripley's Believe It or Not!, the entertainment franchise known for oddities. The work, consigned by hedge-fund manager Steve Cohen, was auctioned from the Breuer Building and drew long viewing lines. Despite a playful bidding process led by auctioneer Phyllis Kao, the final price fell short of Cattelan's auction record of $17.2 million set by *Him* (2001) at Christie's in 2016.

maurizio cattelan america sothebys sale toilet 12 million

Maurizio Cattelan's 18-karat gold toilet, titled *America* (2016), sold for $12.1 million at Sotheby's “The Now & Contemporary” sale on Tuesday evening, falling short of the artist's auction record. The work, owned by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, hammered at $10 million—just above the value of its gold content—after a single bid. It was installed in a bathroom at Sotheby's Breuer Building for viewing but not use. The consignor was revealed to be Cohen, who acquired the piece from Marian Goodman Gallery in 2017. The sale accepted cryptocurrency, and the work did not carry a guarantee.

studio museum in harlem reopening review

The Studio Museum in Harlem has reopened after a seven-year closure in a new building designed by David Adjaye, with Thelma Golden continuing as director and chief curator. The museum has expanded its indoor spaces, replacing a garden with a public staircase called the Stoop, and added a rooftop terrace with city views. Adjaye faced sexual misconduct allegations in 2023, leading to Pascale Sablan taking over the project, though Adjaye remains listed as founder and principal of his firm.

consignors november 2025 new york sales christies sothebys

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.

maurizio cattelan golden toilet sothebys auction

Sotheby's is auctioning Maurizio Cattelan's solid gold toilet, titled "America" (2016), during its November evening sale at the Breuer Building in New York. The 18-karat, 100-kilogram functional toilet will be on view from November 8, though visitors will not be allowed to use it. The starting bid will be determined by the work's weight in gold, estimated around $10 million. The piece was previously exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum in 2016, where over 100,000 visitors used it, and at Blenheim Palace in the UK, where it was infamously stolen in a smash-and-grab heist and never recovered. Sotheby's will accept cryptocurrency for the sale, following the precedent set by Cattelan's banana artwork last year.

new trustees at seattle art museum industry moves

This week's art industry moves include François Ghebaly now representing Paris-based painter Xie Lei, a finalist for the 2025 Prix Marcel Duchamp, whose work is on view at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris. Gray gallery in Chicago and New York has taken on pioneering abstractionist Candida Alvarez, with a solo exhibition planned for Fall 2027, while she continues to be represented by Monique Meloche Gallery. The Seattle Art Museum elected five new trustees: Joanna Beitel, Martha Draves, Margaret Morris, Jordon Voss, and returning former trustee Lyn Grinstein. The Khadhok—Tibetan Artists' Collective won the 2025 Rubin Museum Himalayan Art Prize, a $30,000 unrestricted award. Additionally, Canadian collector François Odermatt paid $19 million for Peter Doig's 1994 painting *Ski Jacket* at Christie's London, far exceeding its presale estimate.

met opera super duper exhibition

The Metropolitan Opera House is hosting an exhibition titled “Super Duper,” featuring 25 works by nearly as many contemporary artists, cartoonists, and provocateurs, including Roz Chast, Art Spiegelman, Maurizio Cattelan, and Rashid Johnson. The show, commissioned to coincide with the Met Opera's premiere of *The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay*, reimagines superheroes for the 21st century, moving away from capes and spandex toward more grounded, satirical, and human figures. Except for two works by Spiegelman, all pieces were created specifically for the exhibition, which spreads across the opera house's lobbies and foyers.

collectors reveal key advice

Collectors share advice for aspiring art patrons in a two-part series, recounting their early mistakes and lessons learned. Diana Bowes, board chair of the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, recalls buying her first pieces at Art Basel in 2006 and warns against purchasing art online without seeing it in person, as well as protecting works from water, children, and house painters. Mana Jalalian, an interior designer based in Dubai with over 400 works by Iranian artists, emphasizes following instincts, continuous learning, and the value of working with an art advisor.

carroll dunham matthew brown

Carroll Dunham, a leading painter known for his psychologically charged works, has joined the fast-rising Matthew Brown gallery, which has locations in Los Angeles and New York. Dunham, 75, left Gladstone Gallery after nearly 20 years, citing a desire for change. His first solo show with Brown is scheduled for September 2026 in Tribeca. Dunham will continue to be represented by several established dealers including Galerie Max Hetzler, Blum, Eva Presenhuber, and Gerhardsen Gerner.

met revamp african and oceanic galleries

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has unveiled its renovated Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, featuring 1,800 objects from 663 cultures across Africa, Oceania, and the ancient Americas. The $70 million, 12-year project includes Fang masks, ceremonial dance paddles, and 15-foot funerary poles, with a multi-day celebration that featured a sunrise blessing. The wing, named after Nelson Rockefeller's son who disappeared in 1961, opened in 1982 and was revitalized as part of a master plan by Beyer Blinder Belle Architects.

gunther uecker zero artist dead

Günther Uecker, the German postwar artist known for hammering nails into canvases to create abstract works, died at age 95. His death was announced by his New York gallery, Lévy Gorvy Dayan, after he had been hospitalized in Düsseldorf. Uecker was a core member of the avant-garde ZERO group, founded in 1957 by Otto Piene and Heinz Mack, and his nail-based abstractions—applied to surfaces from canvases to lightboxes and TV sets—defined his practice from the 1950s onward. He participated in major exhibitions including Documenta and MoMA's 1965 "The Responsive Eye," and continued working daily in his Düsseldorf studio into his 90s.

state of play asia art world news may 22

This edition of State of Play, part of Artnet Pro's Asia Pivot newsletter, reports on recent developments across Asia's art world. Taipei Dangdai Art and Ideas and Art Busan both concluded with slower sales and reduced attendance, citing economic and geopolitical uncertainty. Meanwhile, Art Basel announced a new fair in Doha for February 2026, and more Asian galleries are opening spaces in New York. In institutional news, philanthropist Yan Du is launching Yan Du Projects in London, the Simose Art Museum in Japan is hosting its first contemporary exhibition, and the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art has repatriated looted Zidanku Silk Manuscripts to China.

dan colen sky high farm biennial exhibition

Artist Dan Colen and his nonprofit Sky High Farm are launching a new biennial exhibition titled “TREES NEVER END AND HOUSES NEVER END,” opening June 28 at a historic apple cold storage warehouse in Germantown, New York. The exhibition, curated by Colen, features over 50 artists including Alvaro Barrington, Nan Goldin, Roni Horn, and Rirkrit Tiravanija, and marks the farm’s relocation from its original 40-acre site in Ancramdale to a new 560-acre property in Ancram. The biennial serves as an alternative fundraising model for the organization, which grows nutritious food for communities lacking access to fresh produce and has never sold its harvest.

paint drippings art industry news mar 10

This week's art industry roundup covers NADA New York's 11th edition with 111 galleries at a new venue, the Starrett-Lehigh Building, and Photo London's 10th edition at Somerset House with 99 exhibitors. In auctions, Sotheby's London saw a Yoshitomo Nara work sell for £9.03 million, while Christie's achieved £10 million for René Magritte's 'La reconnaissance infinie' and over £3.3 million for a Nazi-looted Egon Schiele drawing, plus $728,784 in its first all-A.I. auction. Galleries saw moves including Charles Moffett's new Tribeca space, Lisson Gallery representing Tishan Hsu, and Mika Yoshitake joining Blum as senior curatorial director. Museums and institutions feature the opening of Khao Yai Art Forest in Thailand with works by Louise Bourgeois, and the J. Paul Getty Trust appointing Kelly S. Moody as vice president.

john chamberlain foil sculptures rockefeller center

Three large-scale aluminum foil sculptures by John Chamberlain have been installed at Rockefeller Center in New York City, marking their first U.S. appearance. The works—BALMYWISECRACK (2011), FIDDLERSFORTUNE (2010), and RITZFROLIC (2008)—were scaled up from Chamberlain's original palm-sized foil sculptures with the help of fabricator Ernest Mourmans, whose workshop solved the structural challenges of recreating foil's texture in monumental form. The installation is presented by Mnuchin Gallery and coincides with a mini Chamberlain festival at Rockefeller Center this spring, with Christie's also exhibiting related works.

golden thread show textile art

New York art dealers Karin Bravin and John Lee of BravinLee Programs have mounted "The Golden Thread II" at 207 Front Street in South Street Seaport, a historic 1797 building. The exhibition brings together 60 artists, including 10 new site-specific installations, with works spanning textile techniques such as needlework, embroidery, felting, quilting, and weaving. Highlights include Tura Oliveira's "Wheel of Fortune" (2025), a bloodred humanoid figure tangled in a historic grain hoist. Prices range from a few hundred dollars to $70,000. The show runs for a month, coinciding with the Frieze fair, and is curated with input from Elissa Auther, deputy director of curatorial affairs and chief curator at the Museum of Arts and Design.

An Audacious $724 Million Building Reinvents LACMA

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has unveiled the David Geffen Galleries, a $724 million architectural feat designed by Peter Zumthor. This massive, horizontal structure spans over Wilshire Boulevard, replacing several older buildings with a single, elevated concrete form. The new space abandons traditional chronological and geographical silos in favor of rotating, thematic displays that integrate the museum’s diverse encyclopedic collections.

Dealers at TEFAF Maastricht Report Robust Sales, Offering Works Ranging from Two Inches to Room-Size

Dealers at TEFAF Maastricht Report Robust Sales, Offering Works Ranging from Two Inches to Room-Size

Dealers at the TEFAF Maastricht art fair reported strong sales, defying concerns over global unrest and geopolitical tensions that limited some collectors' travel. The fair, featuring 277 dealers from 24 countries, saw a high caliber of international collectors engaging with works ranging from monumental 18th-century sculptures to minuscule, intricately detailed pieces. First-time exhibitors and veterans alike expressed satisfaction, with one rare books dealer calling it his best year in three decades of participation.

Artist Trevor Paglen Will Curate the Swiss Edition of Art Basel’s Digital Art Sector

Artist Trevor Paglen will curate the third edition of "Zero 10," Art Basel's digital art sector, at the fair's Swiss edition from June 17–21. Major galleries including Marian Goodman, Hauser and Wirth, and Almine Rech will present works by artists such as John Gerrard, Agnieszka Kurant, Avery Singer, and Hito Steyerl. Paglen co-curates with digital art strategist Eli Scheinman, and the presentation, titled "The Condition," surveys seven decades of instruction-based and computational art, featuring pioneers like Vera Molnár, Mary Ellen Bute, Ted Nemeth, and Ben F. Laposky alongside contemporary stars.

Nominees for the Turner Prize 2026 announced by Tate

Tate Britain has announced the four nominees for the 2026 Turner Prize: Simeon Barclay, Kira Freije, Marguerite Humeau, and Tanoa Sasraku. The shortlist was revealed during a press conference broadcast online. An exhibition of their work will open at the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (Mima) on 26 September, with the winner announced on 10 December. The winner receives £25,000, while each runner-up gets £10,000. The jury, chaired by Tate Britain director Alex Farquharson, praised the diverse range of work spanning installation, performance, and sculpture.

Agosto Machado, Artist and Activist Whose Shrine Sculptures Kept Queer History Alive, Has Died

Agosto Machado, an artist and activist central to New York's Downtown scene and a participant in the 1969 Stonewall uprising, has died following a brief illness. His gallery, Gordon Robichaux, announced his passing but, respecting his wishes, did not disclose his age. Machado was known for creating intricate shrine sculptures from collected ephemera to honor figures from his community, and one of these altars is currently featured in the 2024 Whitney Biennial.

Your Summer Guide: 20 Art World Highlights Not to Miss

ARTnews has published a summer guide highlighting 20 art world events and exhibitions not to miss in the coming months. Featured highlights include the opera 'El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego' at the Metropolitan Opera, the 'Costume Art' exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a Björk show titled 'echolalia' at the National Gallery of Iceland, a book on the Venice Biennale by Massimiliano Gioni, Raven Halfmoon's 'Flags of Our Mothers' at Ballroom Marfa, a Pierre Huyghe exhibition at Fondation Beyeler Basel, a James McNeill Whistler retrospective at Tate Britain, and the inaugural Medina Triennial in New York.

Pace Gallery Takes Representation of Brâncuși Estate Ahead of $100 M. Sculpture Coming to Auction

Pace Gallery has taken global representation of Constantin Brâncuși's estate, announced hours before a $100 million Brâncuși sculpture, Danaïde (1913), goes to auction at Christie's. The sculpture comes from the collection of S. I. Newhouse and is among the most expensive works in New York's marquee sales. The announcement coincides with a major retrospective of the artist, organized by the Centre Pompidou, currently at the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin and heading to the Museum of Modern Art in New York later this year.