What Is a "Post-Duchamp" Art World?

Scholar Thierry de Duve discusses the legacy of Marcel Duchamp in conjunction with a new exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) featuring seven of the artist’s “boîtes-en-valise.” These portable miniature museums, created decades before Duchamp’s first formal retrospective, are framed as evidence of his genius in anticipating the institutional logic of the modern museum. The conversation explores how Duchamp’s provocative works, such as the readymade "Fountain," fundamentally altered the trajectory of art history and defined the "post-Duchamp" era.

Celeste Dupuy-Spencer, Painter Who Used Her Art to Fight for Justice, Dies at 46

Acclaimed American painter Celeste Dupuy-Spencer has passed away at the age of 46 at her home in Los Angeles. Known for her visceral and politically charged figurative works, Dupuy-Spencer rose to prominence through her inclusion in the 2017 Whitney Biennial and the 2018 Made in L.A. biennial. Her death was announced by the Jeffrey Deitch gallery just ahead of a scheduled exhibition of her new work in Los Angeles.

expo chicago sales vip day report

The thirteenth edition of Expo Chicago opened its VIP preview at Navy Pier with a streamlined floor plan and a focus on emerging talent. Despite a generally slow global art market, exhibitors reported strong early sales, including Nashville-based artist Annie Brito Hodgin’s debut outside her home state and Wenhui Hao’s near-sell-out presentation with Half Gallery. The fair’s decision to reduce the number of exhibitors from 170 to 130 was widely praised by dealers for improving the quality of presentations and making the event more navigable for collectors.

A renewed focus on rigour and connection at Expo Chicago

The 2026 edition of Expo Chicago marks a strategic shift under the leadership of new director Kate Sierzputowski, featuring a leaner roster of 130 galleries at Navy Pier. The fair has introduced a more spacious layout and a new curatorial role, filled by Essence Harden, to deepen institutional ties and scholarly rigor. Notable participants include local mainstays like Monique Meloche Gallery and Gray, alongside international exhibitors from South Korea, South Africa, and Nigeria, as well as high-profile New York newcomers like Karma.

Bettina Pousttchi Recasts Steel Barriers as Poetic Sculptures at Rockefeller Center

German artist Bettina Pousttchi has unveiled a monumental steel sculpture titled "Vertical Highways V03" at New York’s Rockefeller Center. Crafted from repurposed roadway guardrails that have been bent and colored, the vertical installation stands in dialogue with the surrounding Art Deco architecture. The work, which has previously been exhibited in Paris, Berlin, and Istanbul, will remain on public display in Midtown Manhattan through April 17, 2026.

Art Basel’s Parent Company Plans New ‘Ideas Festival’—and More Art Industry News

MCH Group, the parent company of Art Basel, is launching a new global ideas festival called the Futurific Institute in Basel in 2028, backed by billionaires James and Kathryn Murdoch. Art Dubai has postponed its 20th edition due to regional conflict, while several galleries are opening, closing, or changing locations, including Brooke Benington in London and Timothy Taylor in New York. Additionally, Mexico is demanding eBay remove listings for pre-Columbian artifacts, and institutions like the Royal Academy of Arts and MCA Chicago are announcing key leadership changes.

meg webster comme des garcons dia perfume

Artist Meg Webster has collaborated with the Dia Art Foundation and Japanese fashion house Comme des Garçons to release her first signature perfume. The fragrance, inspired by Webster’s sensory earthworks made of soil and salt, features woodsy and petrichor notes housed in a silver tetrahedral box that mirrors her sculptural vocabulary. To celebrate the launch, a 2017 sculpture by Webster will be installed at the Comme des Garçons boutique in Chelsea, Manhattan.

Art Oscar Picks, Whitney Biennial Star Pat Oleszko, Wet Paint

art oscar picks whitney biennial star pat oleszko wet paint

This installment of the Wet Paint gossip column reports on several high-profile developments within the New York and Los Angeles art scenes. Key highlights include internal museum deliberations at the Whitney Museum regarding Precious Okoyomon’s provocative installation for the upcoming Biennial, which features dolls hanging from nooses, and sightings of former Artforum editor David Velasco meeting with Whitney director Scott Rothkopf. Additionally, the column tracks celebrity sightings at Frieze Los Angeles and confirms Lotus L. Kang as the artist for Bvlgari’s pavilion at the Venice Biennale.

michele pred projecting democracy

Artist and activist Michele Pred has opened a solo exhibition at Nancy Hoffman Gallery in New York, showcasing a body of work that addresses the erosion of civil and reproductive rights. The exhibition features her signature electroluminescent wire-stitched vintage handbags, sculptures made from found objects like wooden gavels and disarmed bullets, and large-scale inflatable abortion pill sculptures. Pred’s practice, rooted in her upbringing between California and Sweden, utilizes approachable domestic objects to deliver urgent political messages regarding bodily autonomy and social justice.

swivel marc straus gallery graham wilson partner

Graham Wilson, founder of the Tribeca-based Swivel Gallery, has joined Marc Straus Gallery as a partner and senior director. As a result of this merger, Swivel will close its independent space, and its roster of emerging artists—including Amy Bravo and Kiah Celeste—will transition to Marc Straus. The partnership will be inaugurated with a group exhibition of Swivel artists at Marc Straus’s Lower East Side location on March 19.

san francisco dealer rena bransten dead at 92

Rena Bransten, a foundational figure in the San Francisco art scene, has died at the age of 92 following a heart attack and a subsequent fall. Since founding her eponymous gallery in 1975, Bransten became a champion for California-based artists, with a pioneering focus on women and artists of color. Her gallery represented major figures including John Waters, Dawoud Bey, and Fred Wilson, evolving from its origins in ceramics to a multidisciplinary powerhouse that recently transitioned to a nomadic model.

scotty ramon kid cudi ruttowski68

Musician Scotty Ramon, better known as Kid Cudi, has launched his debut solo painting exhibition titled "Echoes of the Past" at Ruttkowski;68 gallery in Paris. The show features a series of striking, flat-palette canvases centered around an avatar named Max, who navigates scenes of psychological struggle and liberation. To accompany the visual works, Ramon composed a 10-minute percussive score that plays on a loop in the gallery, intended to transport viewers into his creative psyche.

matisse acquavella spring 2026

Acquavella Galleries in New York will present a major exhibition, 'Matisse: The Pursuit of Harmony,' from April 9 to May 22, 2026. The show assembles 50 paintings, sculptures, and works on paper spanning half a century, including the complete 'Back' series and significant loans from private collections and major museums.

san francisco art week guide

San Francisco Art Week is underway, anchored by the 12th edition of FOG Design and Art (January 21–25) on a historic former Army base. The event arrives amid flux for Northern California's art scene, with several prominent galleries closing and two major art schools—the San Francisco Art Institute and the California College of the Arts—recently shuttering. However, new free-admission fairs Atrium and Skylight Above (both January 22–25) signal fresh energy. The article highlights must-see museum shows across the city, including "Lee ShinJa: Drawing with Thread" at BAMPFA, "Rose B. Simpson: Lexicon" at the de Young Museum, "Rising Tides" at the Floating Art Museum, and "Earthseed Dome: Lily Kwong" at the Institute of Contemporary Art, San Francisco.

martial raysse profile galerie templon paris

Martial Raysse, the 89-year-old, reclusive giant of postwar French art, has debuted a new exhibition of recent paintings and sculptures at Galerie Templon in Paris. The show features 30 works, selected from over 50, and marks his first collaboration with the gallery, initiated by a handwritten letter from founder Daniel Templon.

ai weiwei lego water lilies monet

Ai Weiwei has recreated Claude Monet's monumental triptych "Water Lilies" (1914–26) using 650,000 Lego bricks in 22 colors, spanning nearly 50 feet. The work, titled "Water Lilies #1" (2022), is now on display at the Design Museum in London ahead of a major survey exhibition opening April 7. Ai added a personal touch by inserting a "dark portal" referencing the underground dugout he shared with his father during his family's exile to Xinjiang in the 1960s. The show also includes "Untitled (Lego Incident)", a work made from Lego bricks sent by fans after Ai's Instagram post about Lego temporarily restricting his bulk orders for political artworks.

californias beloved di rosa art center is reborn with a love letter to incorrect art

Six years after announcing plans to deaccession its 1,600-work collection—the world's foremost trove of Post-war Northern California art—the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art has reopened in a new downtown San Francisco space. The inaugural exhibition, "Far Out: Northern California Art," features artists such as Enrique Chagoya, Peter Saul, Viola Frey, Roy De Forest, and Jay DeFeo, celebrating the radical, countercultural ethos of the region. The space, located at the Minnesota Street Project in Dogpatch, had been vacant since the McEvoy Foundation for the Arts closed in 2023. Curator Twyla Ruby reports that visitors have been emotionally moved by seeing the collection reunited.

gordon parks foundation 20th anniversary

The Gordon Parks Foundation is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2026, marking two decades since the founding of the organization dedicated to preserving the legacy of photographer and artist Gordon Parks. Executive Director Peter W. Kunhardt, Jr. reflects on the foundation's growth, including exhibitions, museum partnerships, publications, and fellowships that support emerging artists. The foundation was co-founded by Parks and Kunhardt's grandfather, Phil Kunhardt, in 2006. As part of the anniversary, the foundation is publishing a new edition of "Gordon Parks: Diary of a Harlem Family, 1967/1968" and will realize three gallery exhibitions, starting with "We Shall Not Be Moved" at Alison Jacques Gallery in London, curated by Bryan Stevenson.

venezuela cultural scene mauduro ouster

The United States invaded Venezuela in a military operation that seized President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who will face federal charges in New York. The Trump administration has stated it will run the country until a favored government is installed, while Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has been sworn in as interim president. The operation has sparked global protests and mixed reactions among Venezuelans, with some celebrating Maduro's ouster and others condemning the violation of international law.

magdalene odundo interview

Magdalene Odundo, the 75-year-old Kenyan-born British ceramic artist, discusses her lifelong practice and the cultural and spiritual significance of the ceramic vessel in a recent interview at her studio in Farnham, England. Her career has reached new heights following a record auction result this past summer, when an untitled 1990 piece sold for £723,900 ($995,462) at Sotheby's London, nearly tripling its estimate. This milestone coincides with her debut solo exhibition at Xavier Hufkens in Brussels, running until January 24, featuring works including the large-scale installation Transition II (2014) with 1,001 miniature glass vessels.

year in latinx art 2025 artists museums

The article reflects on the state of Latinx art in 2025, a year marked by devastating wildfires in Los Angeles and the start of the second Trump administration, which has intensified ICE raids and targeted communities of color. Amid this crisis, artists have created poignant responses, including AMBOS's ceramics project at Frieze Los Angeles benefiting migrants awaiting asylum hearings, and Consuelo Jimenez Underwood's solo exhibition at Artpace in San Antonio, which explored borders both literal and cosmic. The piece also highlights a two-person show by Beatriz Cortez and rafa esparza at the Americas Society, titled "Earth and Cosmos," featuring works that challenge time and space.

power of scents delcy morelos madre

The article explores the challenge of articulating olfactory experiences in art, focusing on Norwegian artist Sissel Tolaas, who has dedicated her career to scent as a medium. Tolaas has collected over 15,000 smell molecules for her SMELL RE_searchLab in Berlin and invented a language called NASALO to describe scents more precisely. The piece also highlights the Kunstpalast Düsseldorf's exhibition "The Secret Power of Scents," which integrates smell into its permanent collection display, and references historical and contemporary artists like Ernesto Neto, Mike Kelley, and Oswaldo Maciá who have used scent in their work.

art world insiders 2026 market predictions new years

Art world insiders share their predictions for 2026, anticipating a market rebound after a turbulent 2025 marked by gallery closures and tariff announcements. Key developments include the launch of new art fairs by Art Basel and Frieze in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, the return of the Whitney Biennial and Venice Biennale, and a surge in estate-driven sales as the Great Wealth Transfer accelerates. Experts note a revival of interest in Old Masters and classic taste, with collectors returning to bidding and galleries seeing renewed activity.

paris galerie 1900 2000 closed new york branch

Galerie 1900-2000, a Parisian gallery specializing in Dada and Surrealism, has closed its New York branch on Madison Avenue, which opened in February 2023 as a joint venture with Galerie Georges-Philippe & Nathalie Vallois. The Manhattan outpost's last exhibition ended in September, with principal David Fleiss citing a slow market during difficult global times as the reason for the closure, though he did not rule out a future return to New York.

ufo contemporary art

Two concurrent exhibitions in New York explore the intersection of art and UFOs, paranormal phenomena, and extraterrestrial life. "Voice of Space: UFOs and Paranormal Phenomena" at the Drawing Center (through February 1, 2026) features some three dozen works from artists including René Magritte and Isa Genzken, with Magritte's 1931 painting "Voice of Space" as the conceptual centerpiece. Meanwhile, "Paintings Made for Aliens Above" at P.P.O.W (through December 20, 2025) presents new works by Romanian artist Hortensia Mi Kafchin, probing technofuturism's promises and failures. The shows include historical pieces like Paulina Peavy's multimedia works co-credited to her personal UFO, and contemporary works by Char Jeré that interrogate technology and consumerism.

hot lots top flops november day sales 2025

Artnet News reports on the November 2025 day sales in New York, following the evening sales that signaled a market comeback. Hot lots included Gertrude Abercrombie's "Message for Mercy" (1950), which sold for $1.2 million at Sotheby's, setting a new auction record for the artist. Other strong performers were Julia Jo's "Rhyme or Reason" (2022) at Christie's for $203,200 and Mary Abbott's "Forest of Dak" (1965) at Phillips for $167,700. Top flops included Jacques Lipschitz's "Tete" (conceived 1915), which sold for $152,400 against a $300,000–$400,000 estimate at Sotheby's, and Sterling Ruby's "SP44" (2008), which underperformed at Christie's.

alex katz paul taylor dance gala lincoln center 2025

On November 11, the Paul Taylor Dance Foundation will honor painter Alex Katz at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater, celebrating a decades-long creative partnership between Katz and the late choreographer Paul Taylor. The collaboration began in 1960 when poet Edwin Denby introduced them for a commission at the Spoleto Festival, leading to 16 works together including "Meridian," "Scudorama," "Private Domain," "Diggity," and "Sunset." At the gala, the company will perform "Sunset," which Katz conceived after observing soldiers in Madrid’s Retiro Park. Katz is also showing new paintings at Gladstone Gallery in New York, while the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego hosts "Alex Katz: Theater and Dance," the first major survey of his stage work.

reginald madison uffner liu john sandroni industry moves

Reginald Madison, a self-taught painter and sculptor from the Black Arts Movement in Chicago, has joined Uffner & Liu gallery for representation. Paul Soto Gallery now represents John Sandroni, whose work is currently on view in New York. KSS Architects completed a new Learning and Engagement Center at the Newark Museum of Art. Meanwhile, at least eight blue-chip galleries have dropped out of Art Basel Miami Beach, and Karim Crippa has been appointed director of Art Basel Paris. Christie’s four auctions held concurrently with Art Basel Paris totaled $107.4 million, with Yves Klein’s "California (1KB 71)" selling for $21.3 million, a record for the artist in France.

ica san francisco to adopt citywide model

The Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco (ICA SF) will leave its current home at The Cube in December 2025 to adopt a fully nomadic, citywide model, presenting exhibitions and programs at various sites across the Bay Area starting in early 2026. Its final shows at The Cube are solo exhibitions for Masako Miki and David Antonio Cruz, on view through December 7. The museum has already secured support from the Office of the Mayor of San Francisco and lined up programs for the next year, including exhibitions at the Transamerica Pyramid Center featuring Tara Donovan and Lily Kwong, and a two-person show for Dominique Fung and Heidi Lau at Pier 24 in 2026, with a partnership planned for 2027.

naotaka hiro paintings bortolami

Naotaka Hiro's latest paintings, on view at Bortolami gallery in New York through November 1, were inspired by a harrowing experience seven years ago when he discovered a stranger living in the crawlspace beneath his Los Angeles home. Hiro now creates his works by lying supine with his canvas suspended just 13 inches above his body—the exact height of that crawlspace—often cutting holes through the canvas and wrapping it around himself with ropes to paint from all angles. The resulting abstractions, filled with forms resembling plants, fish gills, and veins, function as a 360-degree body scanner and a form of self-exploration.