‘Certain things you can only see from the sky’: artist Precious Okoyomon on how flying planes has inspired their practice

Artist Precious Okoyomon discusses how learning to fly a propeller plane has influenced their artistic practice, from dioramas depicting aerial perspectives to a video work reading poetry from the cockpit. Their first exhibition with Mendes Wood DM in Paris, titled 'It’s important to have ur fangs out at the end of the world' (through 17 January), features sculptures, wallpaper, a fable, and three lightbox dioramas that draw on sky studies taken while flying. Okoyomon earned their pilot’s license before their driver’s license as a teenager in Ohio, and continues to fly when visiting family, finding the experience a reset for their nervous system.

In pictures: a season for newcomers at Art Basel Miami Beach’s Meridians

Yasmil Raymond returns for her second year as curator of Art Basel Miami Beach’s Meridians sector, focusing on showcasing a more diverse group of artists and providing opportunities for newcomers. She highlights several works, including Huang Yong Ping’s political sculpture referencing a US spy plane incident, Stephanie Syjuco’s critique of Western culture through a photography-studio installation, Ward Shelley’s post-truth library, Jesús Rafael Soto’s immersive Pénétrable, Luisa Rabbia’s feminist reimagining of a labor strike painting, and Anne Samat’s woven family portrait made from thrift-store objects.

Southern Guild gallery to close in Los Angeles, open in New York

Southern Guild, a gallery founded in Cape Town, South Africa, is closing its Los Angeles location, which opened in February 2024, and will open a new 4,000-square-foot space in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood in March 2026. The gallery is making its debut at Art Basel Miami Beach this week, featuring works by artists including Zizipho Poswa, Marcus Leslie Singleton, Zanele Muholi, Chloe Chiasson, and Ambrose Rhapsody Murray. Director Andréa Delph, who led the LA outpost, will relocate to New York to head the new space.

NEXT in the Gallery: Pittsburgh in December is a sprawling winter carnival of art

Pittsburgh's visual artists are transforming the city into a sprawling winter carnival throughout December 2025, with a packed calendar of exhibitions and events. Highlights include Sharmistha Ray's three-channel animation "Emergent Realities" at Wood Street Galleries (Dec. 12–July 5, 2026), featuring a commissioned soundtrack by Grammy-winning composer Arooj Aftab; Mary Mazziotti's satirical textile series "Thank You for Your Attention to This Matter" at BE Galleries (Dec. 6–Jan. 31, 2026); and Offroute Art's "Crisis of Empathy // Limit of Empathy" showcasing eight young artists. Wood Street Galleries also partners with Visual AIDS for Day With(out) Art 2025 on Dec. 3, presenting videos exploring drug users and HIV crisis. The month kicks off with holiday markets and arcades, and includes a Neapolitan nativity scene exhibit and an art battle in Sharpsburg.

Stephen Friedman to close New York gallery, two years after opening the Tribeca space

Stephen Friedman, the Canadian-born, London-based dealer, will close his New York gallery in Tribeca at the end of February 2026, less than three years after opening the space in October 2023. The decision is described as a strategic evolution to consolidate operations in London, where several new directors have been hired. The gallery's artist roster will remain unchanged, and Friedman plans to stay active in the US art scene through major fairs. The closure follows a challenging period marked by a £1.7m loss in 2023 due to renovation costs and a downturn in the art market, with cash flow currently tight after slow exhibition sales.

New York gallery Sperone Westwater to close after 50 years amid lawsuit between co-founders

Sperone Westwater, a prominent New York gallery representing artists like Richard Long and Bruce Nauman, will close at the end of 2025 after 50 years. The closure follows a lawsuit filed by co-founder Gian Enzo Sperone against fellow co-founder Angela Westwater, alleging unlawful handling of funds and a "parasitic deadlock" over the gallery's finances, including rent disputes and salary increases. The gallery will continue its current Richard Long exhibition until December 13 and participate in Art Basel Miami Beach before shutting down on December 31.

The British artist David Shrigley wants £1m for piles of old rope

British artist David Shrigley has opened an exhibition at Stephen Friedman gallery in London featuring approximately ten tonnes of discarded rope, collected from seaports, climbing schools, tree surgeons, and other sources over eight months. The rope is piled in four rooms of the gallery, with a neon sign reading “exhibition of old rope”. Shrigley has priced the installation at £1 million plus VAT, describing the figure as a “provocation” that highlights the gap between art-world valuation and public perception. He acknowledges the work may not sell but insists every artwork needs a price.

Altman Siegel, stalwart of San Francisco’s gallery scene for 16 years, will close

Altman Siegel, a prominent San Francisco gallery, will close on 22 November after 16 years in business. Founder Claudia Altman-Siegel announced the decision on 15 October, citing the difficulty for a gallery of its size to scale in the current climate. The gallery, which opened in 2009 at 49 Geary, expanded to a 5,000-square-foot space in the Minnesota Street Project complex and an outpost in Presidio Heights. Over its history, it staged 213 exhibitions and art fairs, representing artists such as Lynn Hershman Leeson, Trevor Paglen, Richard Mosse, Simon Denny, and Kiyan Williams. Its final exhibition will be an eighth solo show with Japanese painter Shinpei Kusanagi.

Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection | Exhibition

The exhibition "Making Their Mark: Works from the Shah Garg Collection" will be on view from February 27 to July 26, 2026, featuring approximately 80 works by nearly 70 influential women artists from the 20th and 21st centuries. Artists include Magdalena Abakanowicz, Cecily Brown, Sheila Hicks, Jenny Holzer, Julie Mehretu, Joan Mitchell, Faith Ringgold, Tschabalala Self, Amy Sillman, Lorna Simpson, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Pat Steir, Sarah Sze, Kara Walker, and Zarina. The show is organized into seven thematic sections—Gestural Abstraction, Luminous Abstraction, Pixelated Abstraction, Disobedient Bodies, Of Selves and Spirits, The Power of Form, and Craft is Art—juxtaposing emerging artists with their predecessors to highlight intergenerational connections and subversions of traditional art hierarchies.

Inside Clarissa, the Hottest Art Show of Frieze Week

Clarissa, a new curatorial platform from Émergent Magazine, launched its first group exhibition during Frieze Week in London. Staged across three levels of a former club and sex shop in King’s Cross, the show features a mix of established and emerging artists—including Michael Dean, Hilary Lloyd, Tobias Spichtig, Joel Wycherley, Remi Ajani, and Tiago Francez—alongside works by Patricia L Boyd, Oscar Enberg, Hamish Pearch, and others. Curated by Reuben Beren James and Albert Riera Galceran in collaboration with the nomadic collective Soft Commodity, the exhibition aims to ignore art-world hierarchies and focus on intuitive dialogues between artists across generations and geographies.

New York’s Tilton Gallery staging final exhibition after more than four decades in business

New York’s Tilton Gallery has announced that its upcoming exhibition dedicated to German-born American conceptual artist Ruth Vollmer will be its final show, closing after more than four decades in business. The gallery, founded by Jack Tilton in 1983, has been run by his widow Connie Rogers Tilton since his death in 2017. The Vollmer exhibition runs from 30 September to 15 November, after which Rogers Tilton plans to transition to private sales and research projects.

Picasso or Bitcoin? How art’s status is changing among the super-rich

Christie's and Sotheby's reported nearly flat first-half 2025 sales of $2.1bn and $2.2bn respectively, with Christie's 20th/21st-century art sales down 2% but luxury up 29%. The Mei Moses Art Index shows over 50% of auction lots sold at negative compound annual returns, which analyst Michael Moses calls 'the worst overall financial performance in the 21st century.' Meanwhile, Bitcoin, gold, and stocks have significantly outperformed art, with BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF alone attracting $84bn—far exceeding the global art market's total value. A record $43.9m Canaletto sale to a Bezos-linked buyer underscores that top-tier works still command attention, but the broader trend suggests wealthy investors are prioritizing financial returns over art as a status symbol.

5 Standout Shows to See at Small Galleries This September

This article highlights five standout exhibitions at small and rising galleries for September 2025. Featured shows include Ali Tahayori's "Archive of Longing" at THIS IS NO FANTASY in Melbourne, where family photographs are transformed into fragile glass sculptures exploring memory; Michael Batty's "Ladders and Tone Poems" at Mark Moore Fine Art, an online exhibition of abstract, geometrically arranged paintings; and "William S. Burroughs: REDUX 1995–2025" at Robert Berman Gallery in Santa Monica, a survey of the Beat writer's gestural abstract paintings and mixed-media works.

Making Waves – Breaking Ground

The third annual Space to Breathe summer art exhibition, titled 'Making Waves – Breaking Ground,' is on view at Bowhouse in St Monans, Fife, Scotland, from 19 July to 4 August 2025 and 16-31 August 2025. Organized by Sophie Camu Lindsay and Alexander Lindsay in collaboration with Purdy Hicks Gallery, the show features 11 artists and over 100 works—paintings, drawings, and photographs—that explore the natural world, particularly land and sea. The installation uses a unique hanging system in the 900-square-meter barn space, allowing visitors to create their own journey through the works. Artists push boundaries in technique, with many using innovative photographic processes that blur the line between photography and painting, such as Anaïs Tondeur's rayograms of radioactive plants from Chernobyl.

The Slow Death of the Contemporary Art Gallery

The article reports on the decline of the traditional contemporary art gallery model, driven by rising rents, changing collector behavior, and the rise of new artist categories. Tim Blum closed his Blum & Poe galleries in Los Angeles and Tokyo, citing systemic issues rather than market conditions. Art Basel and UBS data show the art market shrank overall but the number of sales increased, indicating a shift toward mid-priced works. Collectors are moving away from "blue-chip" artists toward "red-chip" artists who gain value through viral hype and cultural relevance, exemplified by Olaolu Slawn's accessible solo show at Saatchi Yates. Celebrities like actor Adrien Brody are also entering the market, though his work has been criticized as derivative. Meanwhile, smaller galleries like Tiwa Gallery, Landdd, and Marta are thriving by focusing on genuine connection, and retail spaces like Gentle Monster and Dover Street Market are blending art with commerce.

CLEARING to close its New York and Los Angeles galleries after 14 years.

CLEARING, a New York-based gallery known for representing artists such as Marguerite Humeau, Korakrit Arunanondchai, and Harold Ancart, is closing its Manhattan and Los Angeles locations after 14 years. Founder Olivier Babin announced the closure on Instagram, citing no viable path forward due to rising overhead costs for rent, shipping, and art fairs, alongside declining revenues. The gallery opened in Brooklyn in 2011, later expanded to Brussels, and moved to a larger Bowery space in 2023 before the financial pressures became unsustainable. Its final exhibitions were solo shows by Coco Young in New York and Henry Curchod in Los Angeles.

All that is trending in the art, entertainment, and culinary world

This article highlights several cultural events in India, including Kallol Datta's solo exhibition "Volume IV: Truths, Half-Truths, Half-Lies, Lies" at Experimenter Colaba in Mumbai, which critiques historical regulations on women's attire using textile-based works. It also covers the 8th edition of Delhi Contemporary Art Week (DCAW) at Bikaner House, featuring six women-led galleries; Partha Pratim Deb's solo show "Play-Forms" at Emami Art in Kolkata; the group exhibition "Non-Residency" at Jaipur Centre for Art curated by Rajiv Menon; and the reopening of Bombay Club café in New Delhi. Additionally, it mentions Khyber restaurant's 65th anniversary menu and a forthcoming exhibition "What Am I Made Of?" at Latitude 28.

Spencer Finch and Lindsay Adams to create large-scale commissions for Obama Presidential Center

The Obama Presidential Center has commissioned new site-specific works by artists Spencer Finch and Lindsay Adams for its 19-acre campus in Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood. Finch will create a wall tile installation inspired by the color palettes of Honolulu, Nairobi, Jakarta, and Chicago—cities formative to Barack Obama's life—while Adams will translate her 2024 painting "Weary Blues" into silkscreened fabric panels for the public cafe. The center, opening in the first half of 2026, will feature over 20 commissioned artworks, including previously announced pieces by Maya Lin, Richard Hunt, and Julie Mehretu.

Stars feiern Mode und Kunst bei Met-Gala

The Met Gala, hosted by Anna Wintour at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, raised millions for the museum's Costume Institute. This year's event featured celebrities like Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, and Heidi Klum, with a dress code of "Fashion is Art." Beyoncé and Kidman brought their daughters for the first time, while Klum dressed as a stone statue. The gala opened the "Costume Art" exhibition and was co-sponsored by Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos, drawing protests over Bezos's involvement.

Group "New Generation" Plans "Art Protest" on Wednesday

Gruppe "Neue Generation" plant "Kunstprotest" am Mittwoch

The activist group "Neue Generation" has announced a week of protests in Berlin under the theme "Revolution Days," promising creative and artistically designed actions. Their activities began with a "protest dance" on the steps of the Reichstag building, leading to three participants being investigated for trespassing. The group has scheduled a "Kunstprotest" (art protest) for Wednesday and a "revolutions attempt in the government district" for Thursday.

Jule Korneffel Finds Meaning at the End of Light

Artist Jule Korneffel's solo exhibition 'In Search of Lost Light' is on view at Spencer Brownstone Gallery through May 2. The show features seven paintings from 2023 to the present, including a site-specific wall work, that explore themes of fading light, memory, and melancholia through a nuanced palette of grays and blues.

Masha Foya’s Airy Illustrations Embrace the Universality of Emotions

Kyiv-based illustrator Masha Foya has released a new series of dreamlike works that blend human emotion with the natural world. Her illustrations often feature surreal architectural and organic elements, such as foliage tunnels forming into hands or planes flying through bird-shaped apertures, to represent the boundlessness of the human imagination. The collection includes a mix of personal explorations and high-profile commissions for international publications.

Brook Hsu ”The Barcelona Pavilion (including work by Georg Kolbe)” at Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler, Berlin

Brook Hsu's exhibition "The Barcelona Pavilion (including work by Georg Kolbe)" at Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler in Berlin presents a series of works that interweave references to architecture, film, literature, and animal carcasses. The show's title alludes to Mies van der Rohe's iconic Barcelona Pavilion and the sculptor Georg Kolbe, whose work was originally installed there, while the list of pieces—ranging from paintings like "Daybreak:Orange Tree" to works dedicated to figures such as Anne Wiazemsky and Pasolini—creates a dense, associative network of cultural and personal memory.

“Gucci Memoria” at Chiostri di San Simpliciano, Milan

During Fuorisalone 2026, Gucci presents "Gucci Memoria," an immersive exhibition curated by Demna at Milan's Chiostri di San Simpliciano. The project traces the House's 105-year history through a continuous narrative of installations across the cloisters, reflecting its evolving identity while staying rooted in its Florentine origins.

Un Rothko adjugé près de 86 M$

A painting by Mark Rothko was sold for nearly $86 million at auction. The sale, conducted by an undisclosed auction house, achieved a price within the upper range of expectations for the artist's mature abstract works, reflecting sustained demand for top-tier modern art.

A Monet Sold at Auction in France

Un Monet adjugé en France

Claude Monet’s painting 'Vétheuil, effet du matin' sold for nearly €10.2 million at an auction in Paris this Thursday. The sale highlights the continued demand for high-quality Impressionist works within the French capital's growing secondary market.

A Frenchman wins a Picasso in a lottery

Un Français gagne un Picasso à la loterie

A Parisian resident has won a painting by Pablo Picasso valued at €1 million through a charity raffle. The winner acquired the masterpiece after purchasing a single lottery ticket for just €100.

On ARTE, the Ruffini Affair or the Autopsy of an Extraordinary Scandal in the Art World

Sur Arte, l’affaire Ruffini ou l’autopsie d’un scandale hors norme dans le monde de l’art

The documentary series "Le Peintre, la Pizza et le Corbeau" (The Painter, the Pizza and the Crow), available on ARTE, investigates a sprawling art forgery scandal centered on discreet dealer Giuliano Ruffini. Beginning in spring 2014 with an anonymous letter, the case led to a judicial inquiry by judge Aude Burési and France's Central Office for the Fight against Trafficking in Cultural Goods (OCBC). The series follows multiple suspicious artworks—including a Lucas Cranach Venus seized from an exhibition at the Hôtel de Caumont, a David and Goliath by Artemisia Gentileschi, and a Frans Hals portrait—each raising questions of authenticity. Ruffini, a former painter turned collector, remains an enigmatic figure, portrayed as both intuitive genius and possible cog in an opaque system.

For the 61st Venice Biennale, a quest for beauty despite a troubled world

Pour la 61e Biennale de Venise, une quête de beauté malgré un monde troublé

Koyo Kouoh, the Swiss-Cameroonian curator who was set to become the first African woman to direct the Venice Biennale, died suddenly on May 10, 2025, at age 57, just weeks before the opening of the 61st edition she had conceived. Titled "In Minor Keys," the exhibition at the Giardini and Arsenale will proceed posthumously based on her detailed directives, featuring 111 artists including Laurie Anderson, Wangechi Mutu, and Kader Attia, with a focus on beauty, resilience, and radical emotional connection amid global turmoil.

Annette Messager Enters the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature with Her Entire Bestiary

Annette Messager entre avec tout son bestiaire au musée de la Chasse et de la Nature

The Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature in Paris is hosting a major exhibition dedicated to the animal-themed works of Annette Messager. Titled "Une hirondelle ne fait pas le printemps," the show integrates Messager’s diverse practice—including drawings, sculptures, and her signature use of plush toys—into the museum’s permanent collection of taxidermy and hunting artifacts. Curated by Colin Lemoine, the exhibition spans three floors and features works ranging from a ceramic cat from the artist's own kitchen to provocative installations like a taxidermied dachshund wearing a surgical mask.