The Studio Museum in Harlem has selected Derriann Pharr, Simonette Quamina, and Taylor Simmons as its 2026 Artists-in-Residence. This cohort will be the first to work in the museum's new Bruce Llewellyn Artist in Residence Center, with their residency running from March 15 to October 15, culminating in an exhibition and publication funded by the Glenstone Foundation.
Auction house Bonhams has opened a new 42,000-square-foot flagship headquarters in New York's Steinway Hall, launching a month of exhibitions and sales. The Philadelphia Museum of Art appointed Katherine Anne Paul as its new curator of Indian and Himalayan Art, while the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) awarded its Fund for Black Art Acquisition Prize to Turner Prize-winning artist Lubaina Himid, acquiring her painting "Horn Seller." Several galleries announced new artist representations, including Bortolami with Nathlie Provosty and Deborah Schamoni with Mariann Metsis, and auction house Freeman's appointed two senior executives.
Painter Louis Fratino has joined the mega-gallery David Zwirner, adding the powerhouse to his existing representation by Berlin's Galerie Neu and New York's Sikkema Malloy Jenkins. This multi-gallery arrangement is a departure from the typical practice of artists severing ties with smaller galleries when aligning with a global giant.
A significant number of New York art galleries, including major players like Pace Gallery, David Zwirner, and Marian Goodman, will close on January 30 to join a nationwide general strike protesting expanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. The strike is a response to allegations of federal overreach, including the use of deadly force against protestors and the detention of Native Americans, which have fueled widespread outrage.
Rachel Harrison's recent exhibition "The Friedmann Equations" at Greene Naftali in New York was a highlight of 2025, featuring her signature brainy, oblique, and funny sculptures and drawings. The show included works alluding to Marcel Duchamp and his alter-ego Rrose Sélavy, as well as drawings riffing on Hans Holbein's portraits of Henry VIII and his court. During a visit to the gallery, Harrison's dealer Carol Greene handed the author a copy of Harrison's new children's book, "Hold Still, Henry!", which reproduces those Holbein-inspired drawings in a board-book format for young readers. The book is published by Rookie Books, a small press founded in 2022 by artist Camillo Paravicini of Basel, Switzerland, who has previously worked with artists like Monster Chetwynd, Martin Parr, and Nathalie Du Pasquier.
Seyni Awa Camara, a Diola sculptor from Bignona, Senegal, known for her totemic clay sculptures of stacked human bodies, has died. Her work, steeped in spirituality and inspired by a ram's horn she called a 'genie,' gained international recognition after being discovered by anthropologist Michèle Odeyé-Finzi and introduced to Europe by gallerist André Magnin. Despite her global following—including fans like Pharrell Williams and Louise Bourgeois—Camara remained largely unknown in her home country, relying on foreign buyers to sustain her practice.
The New Museum in New York will reopen on March 21 after a two-year closure, following a major expansion designed by OMA’s Shohei Shigematsu with Rem Koolhaas that adds 60,000 square feet, nearly doubling exhibition space. The reopening weekend offers free admission and features new commissions by Tschabalala Self, Klára Hosnedlová, and Sarah Lucas, along with the inaugural exhibition “New Humans: Memories of the Future” showcasing over 200 artists. Separately, Phillips will auction the collection of former US Ambassador to Denmark John L. Loeb Jr., comprising the largest private trove of Danish art, with highlights by Vilhelm Hammershøi, Bertha Wegmann, P. S. Krøyer, and Anna Ancher, expected to exceed $12 million.
David Zwirner Gallery now represents New York-based artist Amy Sillman, whose colorful paintings and drawings bridge figuration and abstraction. She previously worked with Gladstone Gallery, where her 2018 show “Mostly Drawing” was praised by critic Phyllis Tuchman. Sillman continues her relationships with Thomas Dane Gallery in London and Capitain Petzel in Berlin, and will participate in a three-person exhibition at Chantel Crousel in Paris this summer. Her first show at Zwirner is scheduled for 2027.
High Line Art and the Chanel Culture Fund have launched a partnership to co-commission rising artists working in digital and time-based media for High Line Originals, a film series hosted at the High Line Channel in Manhattan. The fourth cycle begins September 10 with the premiere of Frank Wang Yefeng's "Groundless Flower – ཨ" (2025), and the program shifts from a biannual to an annual commissioning cycle. Additional U.S. premieres by Cao Fei, Lu Yang, and Jakob Kudsk Steenson will screen on September 8 and 9, with a group show featuring Petra Cortright in November 2025.
WangShui, an artist known for AI-assisted abstract paintings, challenges the stereotype of tech-focused artists as isolated nerds. In a studio visit, they described their practice as a spiritual project, using machine learning to create works like 'Scr∴ pe II (Isle of Vitr∴ ous)' at the 2022 Whitney Biennial and pieces at the 2024 Venice Biennale. Their latest collaboration with Maryam Hoseini, 'The Demon and the Muse (DM),' is on view at SITE Santa Fe International, covering the facade with red oil and black ink. WangShui emphasizes that AI is a tool for exploring consciousness and healing, not a replacement for human creativity.
ARTnews reporter Daniel Cassady recounts his experience navigating the nightlife and social events surrounding Art Basel Miami Beach 2024. The article details his week from Monday to Wednesday, including parties at Untitled Art's venue at The Moore, a dinner at Joe's Stone Crab hosted by dealer Rob Dimin, Gagosian's party at Mr. Chow, and late-night gatherings at Casa Tua and Mac's Club Deuce. He spotlights art-world figures such as dealer Lindsey Jarvis, collector Beth DeWoody, and artist Lucy de Kooning Villeneuve, while noting the chaotic, phone-thieving atmosphere of the Deuce.
The International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) is expanding its annual print fair to include drawings dealers, rebranding as the International Fine Prints & Drawings Association. The 2026 edition, running April 9–12 at New York's Park Avenue Armory, will feature 77 exhibitors, including new drawings-focused member Sigrid Freundorfer Fine Art and returning dealers like Crown Point Press and Hauser & Wirth. The change follows a membership vote and legal restructuring, driven by record attendance of over 21,000 visitors at the 2025 fair and a 57% jump in VIP registrations, fueled by Gen Z and millennial collectors.
The ARTnews industry moves column for November 19, 2025 reports several gallery and institutional changes: Ortuzar partners with the Claire Falkenstein Foundation for a multi-year initiative including a booth at Art Basel Miami Beach and a 2026 exhibition at the San Diego Museum of Art; Jessica Silverman now co-represents GaHee Park with Perrotin; Gurr Johns appoints Robert Goff as president of private sales and Tabor Story as director of private sales; Tara Downs adds Diné/Tlingit artist Nizhonniya Austin to its roster; Kohler Arts/Industry announces its 2026 residency cohort of 12 artists; Upsilon Gallery names Camilla Previ managing director in Milan. The column also highlights the record-breaking $236.4 million sale of Gustav Klimt's 'Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer' at Sotheby's, the highest price for any modern artwork at auction.
The New York Gallery History Project, a partnership between Independent and Contemporary Art Library, has launched the digital archives of Jay Gorney Modern Art, a seminal New York gallery that operated from 1985 to 1998. The archive includes documentation of landmark exhibitions such as Lari Pittman's first New York solo show, Nan Goldin's first prints of "The Ballad of Sexual Dependency" (1985), and shows by Catherine Opie, Barbara Bloom, and others. The project also collects material from other closed galleries like Foxy Production, Off Vendome, and Paradise Garage to preserve art history that might otherwise be lost.
The Chelsea Art Fair returned for its second edition at New York's Chelsea Hotel, with a VIP preview on Saturday and a one-day public run on Sunday. Organized by Platform (now owned by Basic Space), the intimate fair featured just five exhibitors—56 Henry, Lomex, Magenta Plains, Ramiken, and Castle—plus a special presentation by Off Paradise. Collector Beth Rudin DeWoody was the first to arrive, and other VIPs included Mark Ronson, Jamie Cohen Hort, and Whitney Museum curator Dan Nadel. Dealer Ellie Rines reported strong sales, swapping out a work after it sold within 30 minutes, and some 3,000 people registered for the event.
The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., plans to auction major works by Georgia O'Keeffe, Arthur Dove, and Georges Seurat at Sotheby's New York on November 20, sparking controversy. Director Jonathan Binstock says proceeds will support commissions from living artists and new acquisitions, but the decision has drawn intense opposition from longtime supporters and museum members. A last-minute agreement allows the sale to proceed while imposing tighter limits on future deaccessioning. Separately, the Vatican has returned 62 artifacts from its Anima Mundi ethnographic collection to Indigenous peoples in Canada, including an Inuit kayak, as part of ongoing reconciliation efforts.
Christie’s opened New York’s fall marquee auctions with a $690 million evening sale across 79 lots, surpassing the pre-sale low estimate of $534.7 million. The doubleheader included the Robert and Patricia Ross Weis collection, featuring works by Picasso, Matisse, Mondrian, and Rothko, followed by a 20th-century sale. The auction achieved a 97% sell-through rate by value and a 96% by lot, marking a 41% increase from May’s auctions. Separately, Sperone Westwater gallery announced it will close after 50 years, and Art Basel Hong Kong revealed details for its 2026 edition featuring 240 galleries.
Sperone Westwater, a pioneering New York gallery that launched artists like Bruce Nauman, Richard Long, and Francesco Clemente, will close on December 31 after 50 years. Co-founders Angela Westwater and Gian Enzo Sperone are pursuing separate endeavors. The gallery’s final show is a current exhibition for Long, and it will still participate in Art Basel Miami Beach next month. Founded in 1975 in SoHo, the gallery was known for championing Neo-Expressionism and transavanguardia, and later diversified its roster with artists like Joana Choumali and Gamaliel Rodriguez. Its eight-story Bowery building, designed by Norman Foster, faces an uncertain future.
London-based gallery White Cube has announced representation of German artist Katharina Grosse, with her first exhibition scheduled for April 2026 at its Bermondsey space. The gallery will also feature a new painting by Grosse at Art Basel Miami Beach next month. Grosse will continue to share representation with Gagosian, Galerie Max Hetzler, and Galerie nächst St. Stephan. White Cube founder Jay Jopling, who first worked with Grosse in 2002, expressed admiration for her evolving practice.
Galleries Sprüth Magers and Skarstedt have announced joint representation of artist George Condo, ending his six-year partnership with Hauser & Wirth. Condo has a long history with both galleries: he first showed with Monika Sprüth in 1984 and was represented by Skarstedt from 2004 to 2019. The announcement comes after a two-venue exhibition earlier this year that involved both Sprüth Magers and Hauser & Wirth. Condo's market remains strong, with recent auction sales exceeding $6 million and a current retrospective at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris.
The article reports on the inaugural Bukhara Biennial in Uzbekistan, titled "Recipes for Broken Hearts," which opened in the historic 16th-century Khoja Gavkushon complex. Curated by Diana Campbell, the biennial features over 70 projects spanning 500 meters of public space, including works by artists Subodh Gupta, Laila Gohar, and Carsten Höller. The exhibition embraces the local environment—sun, wind, and dust—as collaborators, rejecting the sterile white cube model. Food is a central theme, with communal plov parties, performative cooking sessions, and installations like Gohar's edible rock sugar pavilion. The biennial runs through November 20.
Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang staged a fireworks performance titled *Le Dernier Carnival (The Last Carnival)* outside the Centre Pompidou in Paris on October 22, during Paris Art Week, to mark the museum's five-year closure for renovations. The show, created in collaboration with White Cube gallery, used pyrotechnics, paint, and a custom-built AI model. Activists from Students for a Free Tibet France protested the event, condemning Cai for a previous pyrotechnic stunt in Tibet that sparked environmental concerns and led to the dismissal of four Chinese officials.
Sotheby's will offer Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1981 painting *Crowns (Peso Neto)* in its fall contemporary evening sale in New York with a high estimate of $45 million, the highest estimate ever for a Basquiat work from that pivotal year. The painting, never before auctioned, is described by the house as marking the artist's transition from street artist to international art star. Separately, Art Basel has released the exhibitor list for its inaugural fair in Qatar, featuring 87 galleries including heavyweights like Hauser & Wirth, Gagosian, and Pace, with all booths dedicated to solo presentations curated by artistic director Wael Shawky.
The Vancouver Art Gallery and the Walker Art Center have jointly acquired Nan Goldin's *Stendhal Syndrome* (2024), a slideshow-based video work with an original soundtrack. The acquisition was funded by the Curators’ Council Fund for Women Artists and the Jean MacMillan Southam Fund at the Vancouver Art Gallery. The work will make its Canadian debut at the Vancouver Art Gallery. First presented at Gagosian's New York gallery in September 2024 as part of Goldin's exhibition "You never did anything wrong," the piece pairs two decades of the artist's photographs with a personal voiceover, exploring the emotional power of art. It features images of classical, Renaissance, and Baroque masterpieces from institutions such as the Galleria Borghese, the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Prado, interwoven with portraits of Goldin's friends, family, and lovers.
Photographer Sally Mann has spoken out about government censorship after her photographs were seized from the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth in Texas earlier this year. The controversy stemmed from her 1990s images of her children, which included nude depictions that some critics characterized as "child porn," leading to their removal from an exhibition following an open letter from the conservative Christian advocacy group Danbury Institute. Though the photos were returned and charges dropped, Mann expressed deep concern about the future of American museums, warning of a "new era of culture wars" and describing the situation as "Orwellian." She noted that social media has given censors more tools, and that the Trump administration is actively rolling out policies targeting museum programs, including a review of the Smithsonian.
Marian Goodman Gallery has taken on representation of artist Edith Dekyndt, whose multidisciplinary practice spans video, sculpture, installation, and performance, with plans to debut her work at Art Basel Paris in October. In other industry moves, Salon 94 now represents Raven Halfmoon, Timothy Taylor Gallery represents Martha Tuttle, Templon adds Martial Raysse, Acquavella Galleries represents Harumi Klossowska de Rola, and Gagosian has hired Aaron Baldinger as a director. Additionally, Jennie Goldstein has been named the inaugural Kippy Stroud Curator at the Whitney Museum, and Sotheby's will sell a tranche of artworks from the collection of the late Leonard Lauder, including Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, estimated at over $150 million.
The fourth edition of Frieze Seoul opened with strong collector turnout and solid first-day sales, despite a turbulent global art market. High-profile attendees included MoMA PS1 director Connie Butler, Hawai‘i Triennial 2025 cocurator Wassan Al-Khudhairi, and Top 200 Collectors Lonti Ebers, Yassmin Ghandehari, and Qiao Zhibing, alongside K-pop stars Lisa (BLACKPINK), RM (BTS), and The8 and Vernon (Seventeen). Major sales included Hauser & Wirth’s $4.5 million sale of Mark Bradford’s triptych "Okay, then I apologize" (2025) and a George Condo painting for $1.2 million, while White Cube, Thaddaeus Ropac, Pace Gallery, and others reported significant transactions. International blue-chip galleries with Seoul spaces are doubling down, presenting top-tier shows of star artists like James Turrell, Antony Gormley, and Lee Bul, with Korea’s private museums also mounting blockbuster exhibitions.
Kadist, a Paris-based nonprofit art organization, announced the closure of its San Francisco gallery after 14 years of operation. The space, which opened in 2011, was known for commissioning and exhibiting works by international artists such as Hank Willis Thomas, Jota Mombaça, and Ad Minoliti. Joseph Del Pesco, Kadist’s Americas director, stated that the closure was not due to funding issues but rather a strategic shift toward international collaborations with museums across the Americas and beyond. The organization will continue to operate its original space in Paris and maintain its collection of over 2,000 artworks.
Claire Oliver Gallery is expanding its Harlem townhouse location in New York, adding the upper floors to its existing street-level space. The new areas will be dedicated to a more intimate, salon-style presentation, moving away from the traditional white cube model. The expansion will be inaugurated on September 5 with a solo exhibition by BK Adams on the ground floor and a group show upstairs featuring represented artists including Barbara Earl Thomas, Carolyn Mazloomi, Gio Swaby, and others.
Raymond Saunders, a multimedia artist known for his enigmatic, sociopolitical paintings and assemblage style, has died at age 90. His passing was announced jointly by his representing galleries—Casemore, Andrew Kreps, and David Zwirner—on Instagram. Saunders's work often explored the Black American experience through extensive use of black paint and complex narratives, as articulated in his influential 1967 essay "Black Is a Color." His first career-spanning retrospective, "Flowers from a Black Garden," recently closed at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, his hometown. Saunders had a long teaching career in the Bay Area and received numerous honors, including a Rome Prize Fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship.