Canadian artist Nicole Young has joined Vancouver's Kostuik Gallery as its represented artist. Her work, which blends painting and textile collage using reclaimed fabrics and natural pigments, is noted for its minimalist, Color Field-inspired compositions and its focus on sustainable artistic practices.
The Gallerist, a new satire directed by Cathy Yan, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The film follows struggling gallerist Polina Polinski (Natalie Portman), who is betting everything on a one-artist debut at Art Basel Miami Beach. After an obnoxious art influencer, Dalton Hardberry (Zach Galifianakis), dies accidentally by impalement on a sculpture titled The Emasculator, Polina and her assistant Kiki (Jenna Ortega) conspire to pass off his corpse as part of the artwork, duping wealthy clients. The ensemble cast also includes Catherine Zeta-Jones as a legendary dealer reminiscent of Marian Goodman, Da'Vine Joy Randolph as the earnest artist Stella Burgess, and Sterling K. Brown as Polina's ex-husband.
Artist Briony Godivala is performing a year-long piece called *The Inked Link*, in which she has a QR code tattooed on her forearm that redirects to a new link each day based on public votes. Since January 2025, the voting site has been hacked to repeatedly play an anime episode, and participants have submitted links to pornographic, fascist, and racist content, as well as footage of death. Godivala, a graduate of the Glasgow School of Art, previously explored collective responsibility in physical performances where audience members carried her until they dropped her; she now uses social media to continue these experiments in a virtual space.
An AI-generated image falsely attributed to Austrian Expressionist Egon Schiele has gone viral on X, posted by the account @lovedropx. The image, which mimics Schiele's style and borrows the title of a real 1917 watercolor, has garnered hundreds of thousands of views. Art-world readers quickly pointed out anachronisms—such as the model's modern makeup, hair, and nails—and the image's six-fingered hand, as well as its lack of Schiele's characteristic provocativeness. This is not an isolated incident; Art Detective flagged similar AI fakes on Facebook in December, warning that undisclosed AI-generated images are becoming common.
The di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art in Napa, California, has listed its 217-acre estate for $10.9 million amid ongoing financial struggles. The property, which houses a significant collection of postwar Northern California art including works by Mark di Suvero, Peter Saul, and Jay DeFeo, was founded by collector Rene di Rosa and his wife Veronica. The center has been seeking financial stability since 2019, when it briefly attempted to sell its holdings before reversing course after local backlash. Director Kate Eilertsen hopes a wealthy philanthropist will purchase the estate and lease it back to the center, or that Napa County may acquire the land for public use while preserving the sculptures.
The Joan Mitchell Foundation has announced the 31 artists selected for its 2026 residency program at the Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans. The residencies, lasting six or 14 weeks across three seasons, will host no more than nine artists at a time, beginning February 2. The cohort includes 17 local New Orleans artists and participants from cities such as New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, and Atlanta, ranging in age from 27 to 75. Notable participants include Edra Soto, who also won a United States Artists Fellowship, and two leaders of New Orleans’s Black Masking Indian tradition, Kelly Pearson Boles and Efrem Z. Boles. The selection was made by a jury of artists, curators, and academics.
Croatian artist Edita Schubert (1947–2001), a contemporary of Marina Abramović, is the subject of a major retrospective at Muzeum Susch in Switzerland. Titled "Edita Schubert: Profusion," the exhibition is the first comprehensive survey of her work outside Croatia, spanning twelve galleries and covering her evolution from early anatomical realism to abstraction, collage, sculpture, and performance. Curated by historian David Crowley, the show draws its name from a description by critic Ješa Denegri, who called Schubert a pioneer of Yugoslav art and her practice a "profusion." The exhibition highlights Schubert's conceptual rigor and her engagement with the human body, influenced by her work as a draftswoman at the University of Zagreb's Institute of Anatomy.
Daisy Rockwell, granddaughter of Norman Rockwell, stated in an interview with the Bulwark that her grandfather was "antifa," pushing back against recent uses of his paintings by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Over the summer, DHS posted cropped and edited versions of Rockwell's works, including "Salute the Flag" (1971) and "Working on the Statue of Liberty" (1946), with captions urging readers to "protect your homeland" and "defend your culture." The Rockwell family had already publicly rebutted these posts in a USA Today op-ed, arguing that Rockwell would have been "devastated" to see his art used to promote persecution of immigrant communities and people of color.
Russia’s justice ministry has officially designated Pussy Riot, the feminist punk rock band and art collective co-founded by Nadya Tolokonnikova, as an “extremist organization.” The ruling follows a December 15 closed-door hearing at Moscow’s Tverskoy Court, where prosecutor general Alexander Gutsan filed a lawsuit against the group. The designation bans all Pussy Riot activities in Russia and allows the state to seize property of members and their families, and to prosecute anyone supporting the group. Tolokonnikova told ARTnews the group will appeal, calling the decision a source of “anxiety and bureaucratic nonsense.” In September, five members were sentenced to 8–13 years for spreading “fakes” about the Russian military, and Tolokonnikova was placed on Russia’s wanted list in 2023 after her performance *Putin’s Ashes*.
Christie's closed 2025 with $6.2 billion in projected global sales, a nearly seven percent increase from $5.8 billion in 2024 and in line with its 2023 total. Auction sales reached $4.7 billion, up eight percent year-over-year, while private sales held steady at $1.5 billion. The year's top lot was Mark Rothko's *No. 31 (Yellow Stripe)*, which sold for $62.1 million in New York. Other highlights include a record Picasso sale in Hong Kong ($25.4 million) and the Fabergé Winter Egg in London (£22.9 million). The house also saw strong performance from its automobiles business, Gooding Christie's, which delivered $234 million in sales. Geographically, the Americas grew 15 percent to $2.58 billion, while Asia-Pacific slipped 5 percent.
Marina Abramović has announced production dates for her upcoming performance piece "Seven Deaths," a seven-part film incorporating death scenes from influential operas such as "Madam Butterfly" and "Carmen." The 68-year-old artist has invited controversial filmmaker Roman Polanski, along with directors Alejandro González Iñárritu, Marco Brambilla, Giada Colagrande, Yorgos Lanthimos, and screenwriter Petter Skavlan, to contribute segments. Abramović will portray singer Maria Callas, whom she describes as a muse, and plans to produce a making-of documentary and a biography on Callas's life. Lars von Trier was invited but declined due to scheduling conflicts.
A Moscow court designated the feminist art collective Pussy Riot as an extremist organization on December 15, following a lawsuit from Russia's Ministry of Justice. Founder Nadya Tolokonnikova, currently living in exile, condemned the ruling, warning that owning a balaclava, having a song on a computer, or liking a post could lead to prison time. She learned of the lawsuit while finishing her durational performance "Police State" at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, which she described as a warning about surveillance authoritarianism. Tolokonnikova co-founded Pussy Riot in 2011 and was previously imprisoned for performing anti-Putin songs at a Moscow cathedral.
Australian architect Bianca Censori, known globally for her fashion and marriage to rapper Kanye West, debuted her first performance art piece titled "BIO POP" in Seoul. The 14-minute silent performance, staged over two days, features Censori baking a cake in a kitchen before pushing it to a living room filled with contortionists resembling her. The work is the first of seven planned performances over seven years, with future installments including "CONFESSIONAL (THE WITNESS)" and "BIANCA IS MY DOLL BABY (THE IDOL)."
The article recounts the creation and controversy surrounding Michelangelo's fresco of the Last Judgement on the west wall of the Sistine Chapel. While the chapel attracts 25,000 daily visitors and is celebrated as a pinnacle of Renaissance art, the west wall initially provoked scorn from church officials and critics like Biagio da Cesena and Pietro Aretino, who objected to its nudity, pagan imagery, and perceived idolatry. Michelangelo retaliated by painting his detractors into the fresco—Da Cesena as King Minos with donkey ears and a snake biting his genitals, and Aretino as Saint Bartholomew holding flayed skin resembling the artist.
Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier has filed a motion in federal court in Manhattan to recover 91 artworks valued at an estimated $100 million, which he claims were entrusted to French dealer Pascal de Sarthe. Bouvier is seeking to compel at least 15 banks and two major auction houses—Sotheby's and Christie's—to provide information about the artworks' whereabouts. The legal action, initiated in Hong Kong in October, targets de Sarthe, who disputes Bouvier's ownership. Bouvier alleges that after his long-running legal battle with Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, he was blacklisted by auction houses and entered into an oral agreement with de Sarthe and dealer Jean Marc Peretti for custody of the artworks, but de Sarthe has allegedly failed to respond to inquiries. A Hong Kong hearing was held in early October for orders including injunction and preservation.
Frank Frazetta's iconic painting *Conan the Berserker* (1967) is being auctioned at Heritage Auctions with an opening bid of $10 million. The work, originally created for the cover of the 1967 paperback *Conan the Conqueror*, has become one of the definitive images of the fantasy hero. This year alone, five Frazetta paintings have sold for over $1 million, including *Man Ape* (1966) which fetched $13.5 million in September. The artist's total sales volume was just $674,640 in 2018, according to the Artnet Price Database.
Art Basel launched its inaugural Art Basel Awards ceremony at the New World Center in Miami Beach during Art Basel Miami Beach week. The awards, first introduced in New York in May, recognized 36 medalists across categories including Icon, Established, Emerging, Patron, Institution, Curator, and Media & Storytelling. Top winners included Cecilia Vicuña (Icon), Nairy Baghramian and Ibrahim Mahama (Established), Mohammad Alfaraj and Saodat Ismailova (Emerging), and Meriem Bennani (BOSS Award). The event was hosted by musician and collector Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, with performances by cellist Kelsey Lu and recorded narration by actor Emma D'Arcy. Each artist received $50,000, and established artists will debut commissions at Art Basel in Switzerland next year.
In 1995, artist Red Grooms created the Tennessee Foxtrot Carousel, a working carousel featuring 36 figures from Tennessee history, installed at the base of Nashville's Broadway. After financial troubles forced its closure in 2003, the Tennessee State Museum acquired and dismantled it in 2004, storing it for years. Though the museum moved to a new $160 million building in 2018, the carousel remained in storage. Now, the museum has issued a request for information seeking partners to restore and operate the carousel, as reported by the New York Times.
Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier has filed a Section 1782 petition in US federal court to locate 91 artworks he claims are his, worth approximately $100 million. The filing targets roughly 15 major banks and two auction houses (Sotheby's and Christie's) to compel disclosure of financial and transactional records. The request is tied to Hong Kong legal proceedings against French dealer Pascal de Sarthe, whom Bouvier accuses of failing to return works placed with him for safekeeping. De Sarthe disputes Bouvier's ownership, and his attorney has asked the New York court to delay or deny the application as premature.
François-Xavier Lalanne’s copper sculpture-bar 'Hippopotame Bar' sold for $31.4 million at Sotheby’s in New York, more than tripling its $7–10 million estimate after a 26-minute bidding war among seven bidders. The work, commissioned in 1976 by patron Anne Schlumberger and unique in its copper execution, set a new auction record for the artist and became the most expensive work of design ever sold at auction. The sale capped a year of strong performance for Lalanne’s hybrid animal-furniture works, which have consistently outperformed expectations even in a tougher art market.
Diana Ross performed an intimate 20-minute set at a dinner celebrating Alex Prager's immersive installation 'Mirage Factory' during Art Basel Miami Beach. The event, held in a green room evoking Griffith Park, featured Ross singing hits from her Supremes days and solo career. Prager's installation, located in the old Beach Theatre on Lincoln Road, includes a 1:12 scale miniature of Hollywood Boulevard and was created with Capital One and the Cultivist. A performance based on Prager's photograph 'Beverly Palms Hotel' (2025) also took place, with actors embodying characters from the image.
An exhibition of work by late Arte Povera artist Marisa Merz, planned for the Fridericianum museum in Kassel, Germany, has been canceled by her daughter Beatrice Merz. Beatrice, president of the Fondazione Merz, called off the show in protest of Documenta's newly adopted Code of Conduct, which uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. The exhibition was originally scheduled to open in August 2025 and was replaced with a Robert Grosvenor survey. The cancellation was confirmed by Andreas Hoffmann, managing director of Documenta and the Fridericianum.
Russia’s justice ministry is seeking to have Pussy Riot, the feminist punk rock art collective, designated as an extremist organization, with a hearing set for December 15 at Moscow’s Tverskoy Court. The lawsuit, filed by prosecutor general Alexander Gutsan, aims to ban the group’s activities in Russia, marking the first time Pussy Riot faces official allegations of extremism. The move coincided with a performance of Police State by member Nadya Tolokonnikova at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, where she transformed the theater into a replica Russian prison cell for a five-day immersive piece. Tolokonnikova, who was previously imprisoned by Russia on religious hatred charges, has been placed on the country’s wanted list, and other members have received lengthy prison sentences for spreading alleged "fakes" about the Russian military.
Parisian auction house Gros and Delettrez is offering a 66 million-year-old Triceratops prorsus skull on December 11, with an estimate of €300,000–€500,000 ($345,615–$576,025). The specimen, which surfaced from Wyoming's Lance Formation, is exceptionally complete with over 70 percent of its original bones and all three original horns intact. This marks the auction house's first dinosaur offering and will christen its new Rive Gauche headquarters, with the skull going on view on December 9 alongside works by Pablo Picasso and Pierre Soulages.
The second edition of Manar Abu Dhabi has launched under the theme “The Light Compass,” featuring 22 site-specific light-based installations across Abu Dhabi and Al Ain through January 4, 2026. Organized by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, the exhibition includes works by Emirati and international artists such as Pamela Poh, DRIFT, Shaikha Al Mazrou, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, and KAWS, with venues spanning Jubail Island, Al Jimi and Al Qattara oases, and Mina Zayed. A parallel performance program and educational lectures accompany the installations.
The Julia Stoschek Foundation, one of the world's largest collections of video art, will present its first major U.S. exhibition at the Variety Arts Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Titled "What a Wonderful World: An Audiovisual Poem" and curated by Udo Kittelmann, the show opens February 6, 2026, pairing contemporary video works by artists such as Marina Abramović, Dara Birnbaum, Cyprien Gaillard, Arthur Jafa, Jesper Just, and Lu Yang with historic films by Luis Buñuel, Walt Disney, Alice Guy-Blaché, Winsor McCay, and Georges Méliès. The exhibition spans 120 years of filmmaking and will occupy a historic 1920s Venetian-style landmark that once housed L.A.'s first women's clubhouse and a vaudeville theater.
Phillips held its modern and contemporary evening sale in New York on Wednesday, following Christie’s and Sotheby’s auctions that had already generated nearly $1.4 billion. The 33-lot sale achieved $67.3 million, a 24% increase from the equivalent sale last year, with a 94% sell-through rate. Headlining lots included an untitled Joan Mitchell painting ($14.3 million), a Francis Bacon diptych ($16 million), and a juvenile triceratops skeleton that sold for $5.3 million, exceeding its high estimate. Only two lots failed to sell, and notable results included works by Ruth Asawa, Firelei Báez, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Max Ernst.
A 1969 Fender Competition Mustang guitar owned by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain is being auctioned by Christie's in March, with an estimated price of $2.5–$5 million. The guitar was used on the albums *Nevermind* and *In Utero*, as well as in the music video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and numerous live performances. It is part of the Jim Irsay Collection, assembled by the late Indianapolis Colts owner, which includes instruments from John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Prince, and others.
The Park Avenue Armory in New York has announced its 2026 program, headlined by the US premiere of Marina Abramović's provocative performance piece "Balkan Erotic Epic" on December 8. The four-hour work, centered on nude fertility rituals rooted in Balkan traditions, will be joined by other multidisciplinary works including Céleste Boursier-Mougenot's sound installation "clinamen," Steve Reich's "Music for 18 Musicians" conducted by Alan Pierson, a Simon Stone production of "The Cherry Orchard" set in modern-day Seoul, and a Benjamin Millepied dance piece based on Romeo and Juliet. All performances will take place in the Armory's Drill Hall.
Scope Art Show Miami has announced its 2025 edition, themed "Be Here Now," which will take place December 2–7. The fair will feature 95 galleries from 18 countries and territories, including over 30 first-time exhibitors, along with large-scale installations, performances, and collaborative activations. Highlights include a reprisal of The Better Together Bar by Chris Allen Darsow and Al Hamm, a monumental installation by Victor Quiñonez (Marka27) titled "Elevar La Cultura" (2025), Shepard Fairey's "Phone Booth" presented by Mortal Machine Gallery, and Dan Witz's hyperrealist painting "Crown Heights" (2025).