spring 2025 nyc art fairs guide

Spring 2025 in New York City brings a dense calendar of art fairs, headlined by Frieze New York at The Shed (May 7–11) with over 65 galleries from 25 countries, and Independent at Spring Studios (May 8–11) which this year surpasses Frieze in size with 85 exhibitors. Other notable fairs include the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair celebrating its 10th year with a focus on the Caribbean diaspora, the experimental SPRING/BREAK Art Show, and NADA New York featuring 120 galleries and a spotlight on Texas and Mexico. The guide also mentions newer showcases like Esther II and Conductor, offering a comprehensive overview for collectors and art enthusiasts navigating the city's art week.

tefaf new york 2025 sales report

TEFAF New York 2025 opened with 91 exhibitors, featuring a mix of blue-chip and emerging artists. Galleries reported sales including a €250,000 relief by Anne Imhof at Sprüth Magers, a $500,000 Sean Scully painting at Lisson Gallery, and multiple Ruth Asawa works at David Zwirner ranging from $50,000 to $2.8 million. Thaddaeus Ropac sold works by Daniel Richter for €840,000. The fair aims to attract younger buyers while maintaining its prestige, with fewer objects priced above $10 million than in previous years.

eva hesse painting goodwill christies

New York appraiser and art dealer Glenn Spellman discovered an abstract painting signed "E.H." on the Goodwill thrift store website last fall. Suspecting it might be by Eva Hesse, he enlisted his sister Kara Spellman, director of estates and acquisitions at Hollis Taggart gallery, who confirmed the painting's authenticity by consulting the artist's catalogue raisonné at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's library. The painting, titled *Landscape Forms* (1959), was acquired for $40,000 and will be auctioned at Christie's New York on May 15 with an estimate of $60,000–$80,000. A second Hesse work, *No title* (1964–65), will be offered at Phillips New York the previous day.

egon schiele artworks recently restituted head to christies

Seven works on paper by Egon Schiele have been restituted to the heirs of Fritz Grünbaum, a Jewish cabaret performer killed at Dachau concentration camp in 1941 after being forced to surrender his art collection to the Nazis. Six of these pieces will be auctioned at Christie’s New York in November 2024, with three watercolor portraits—including *Stehende Frau (Dirne)* (1912), *Selbstbildnis* (1910), and *Ich liebe Gegensätze* (1912)—headlining the 20th Century Evening Sale on November 9, and three more offered in the Impressionist and Modern Works on Paper Sale on November 11. Estimates range from $150,000 to $2.5 million per work, and proceeds will be split among Grünbaum’s heirs, who plan to fund a scholarship program for young musicians.

hauser wirth uptown sale jens hoffmann project wet paint

Hauser & Wirth has sold its Upper East Side townhouse at 32 East 69th Street for $10.5 million to a developer, ending a decades-long presence in the neighborhood. The property, purchased in the 1990s as a family residence, was renovated by architect Annabelle Selldorf and later used as gallery space from 2009, hosting exhibitions by artists like Pope.L, Anna Maria Maiolino, Luchita Hurtado, and Arshile Gorky. Gallery co-founder Iwan Wirth cited a shift in the family's center of gravity to Chelsea and the business's expansion downtown with new locations on West 18th Street and Wooster Street in SoHo.

hauser and wirth new york museum mega gallery shows

This spring in New York, major museum surveys at MoMA, the Whitney, the Guggenheim, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art feature artists all represented by the mega-gallery Hauser & Wirth: Jack Whitten, Amy Sherald, Rashid Johnson, and Lorna Simpson. The article notes that this concentration has been dubbed "Hauser spring" by some observers, and questions the increasingly blurred line between commercial galleries and museums, especially as Hauser & Wirth has provided financial support for at least three of the four shows.

ruth asawa retrospective sfmoma review

Ruth Asawa's first retrospective at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1973 featured a communal "dough-in" where children made art from baker's clay, a practice that drew skepticism from some onlookers. Now in 2025, SFMOMA presents a larger retrospective of Asawa's work, showcasing her wire sculptures, drawings, and playful, community-oriented art. The exhibition, organized by SFMOMA's Janet Bishop and MoMA's Cara Manes, will travel to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Guggenheim Bilbao, and the Fondation Beyeler.

saudi arabia art scene athr gallery interview

ARTnews interviews Mohammed Hafiz, co-founder of Athr Gallery in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as part of its Newsmakers series. Hafiz discusses the evolution of the Saudi art scene since Athr's founding in 2009, the gallery's expansion into multiple locations and a foundation offering grants and residencies, and the role of grassroots patrons and collectors before the Ministry of Culture's involvement in 2018. The interview, conducted at the Athr Foundation in Riyadh during the first annual Art Week Riyadh, also touches on Hafiz's personal history with art, including buying his first artwork in high school in the 1990s, and challenges misconceptions that the Saudi art scene began only recently.

bass house art auction christies

Christie's is offering nine artworks from the collection of Anne and Sid Bass as part of its Spring Marquee Week in May. The works, which include pieces by Mark Rothko, Agnes Martin, Frank Stella, Ellsworth Kelly, Morris Louis, and Gino Severini, were displayed in the Bass House in Fort Worth, Texas—a Modernist residence designed by architect Paul Rudolph in the early 1970s. The house was built to serve both as a home and a gallery for the couple's renowned art collection.

deaccessioning to diversify

In late April 2018, the Baltimore Museum of Art announced a plan to deaccession seven works by white, male postwar artists to fund acquisitions of works by African American and female artists. Since then, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Art Gallery of Ontario have adopted similar diversity-focused deaccessioning strategies, selling works at auction to diversify their collections. The BMA sold pieces by Franz Kline, Kenneth Noland, and Andy Warhol at Sotheby's, using proceeds to acquire works by artists including Jack Whitten, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, and Amy Sherald. SFMOMA is deaccessioning a Mark Rothko painting estimated at $35–50 million, while the AGO is selling 20 works by A.Y. Jackson through Heffel Fine Art Auction House.

sothebys 70 million giacometti bust may auction

Sotheby’s will offer Alberto Giacometti’s 1955 bronze bust *Grande tête mince (Grande tête de Diego)*, hand-painted by the artist as a tribute to his brother Diego, at its May 13 modern art evening sale in New York with an estimate exceeding $70 million. The 25-inch-tall work, one of six casts, is being sold anonymously through the Soloviev Foundation and comes from the estate of real estate magnate Sheldon Solow. It was exhibited at the 1956 Venice Biennale and spent nearly two decades at the Fondation Maeght before Solow acquired it in 1980. The sale also includes a Piet Mondrian painting estimated at $50 million at Christie’s as part of the Leonard Riggio collection.

leonor fini

On the 100th anniversary of Surrealism, the article highlights the belated recognition of Leonor Fini (1907–1996), a self-taught artist who rejected labels such as 'Surrealist' or 'woman artist.' Despite her insistence on being seen simply as an artist, her sensual, mythological paintings are gaining renewed attention. Fini debuted in 1929, was featured in the 2022 Venice Biennale, and had a solo exhibition at Kasmin gallery in New York. Her market high came in 2021 when a self-portrait sold for $2.3 million at Sotheby's, and her work is now included in the centennial surrealist show 'Imagine!' at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Belgium.

Venice Biennale 2026 Highlights: Arsenale & Giardini

ArtReview editors highlight the must-see national pavilions at the 61st Venice Biennale, running from 9 May to 22 November 2026. Notable presentations include Austria's Florentina Holzinger turning her pavilion into a toilet and sewage-treatment plant with naked performers, and Germany's pavilion featuring works by Sung Tieu and the late Henrike Naumann, who died in February 2026, exploring East German memory and conceptual minimalism.

What’s the True State of Bangkok’s Art Ecosystem?

The article examines the current state of Bangkok's art scene, which is experiencing a surge of private investment and international attention. New institutions like UNITED Unlimited and Misiem's/bangkok are opening, and events like the Bangkok Art Biennale are gaining prominence, leading some international media to compare the city's potential to art hubs like Miami.

5 free must-see exhibitions to pick in Parisian galleries in May

5 expos gratuites coups de cœur à cueillir dans les galeries parisiennes en mai

Beaux Arts Magazine highlights five free exhibitions to visit in Parisian galleries in May 2026. At Galerie Mayoral, a show explores Alexander Calder's ties to Paris, featuring gouaches and totems. Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire presents Michel Jocaille's first solo exhibition, "Lily of the Valley," which uses lily-of-the-valley motifs to evoke labor history and camp aesthetics. Galerie Anne-Laure Buffard hosts a poignant dialogue between Diane Esmond, a painter whose works were burned by the Nazis, and her granddaughter Adrianna Wallis, whose photographs reference looted objects. Galerie Templon exhibits Alioune Diagne's paintings inspired by Wolof traditions, and another gallery shows prints by Swedish artist Mamma Andersson.

Our Guide to New York Art Week 2026

New York Art Week 2026 brings a major convergence of art events across the city, including several prominent art fairs such as Frieze New York, Independent New York, TEFAF New York, and NADA New York. The week also features gallery openings spanning from Tribeca to the Upper East Side, as well as auction previews ahead of key sales at Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Phillips.

The 11 Exhibitions to See in May 2026

ArtReview's editors have curated a list of 11 must-see exhibitions worldwide for May 2026, excluding Venice. Highlights include Audie Murray's solo show at april april in Pittsburgh, featuring works made with her own hair and breast milk; Delcy Morelos's monumental earthwork 'origo' at the Barbican Sculpture Court in London; and Bold Tendencies' 20th anniversary season in Peckham, titled 'Euphoria', with new commissions across multiple disciplines.

nnena kalu turner prize winner 2025

Nnena Kalu, a Glasgow-born, London-based artist known for her charged abstract works driven by rhythmic repetition, has won the 2025 Turner Prize, the U.K.'s top award for contemporary art. The announcement was made at a ceremony at Bradford Grammar School, with Kalu receiving £25,000 ($33,000) for her presentation at Bradford's Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, featuring a colorful installation of suspended bundles made from found materials like VHS tape, fabric, rope, and paper. Kalu, born in 1966, is the first learning disabled artist to be nominated for and win the Turner Prize, marking a historic milestone.

Elle Pérez Envisions New Residency Built on Family Legacy

Artist Elle Pérez is raising $100,000 to buy out relatives from a family home in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, that has been in their family since the 1920s, with the goal of transforming it into an artist residency called Casa Pérez. To fund the project, Pérez is selling a portfolio of chromogenic studio prints for $1,795 each, produced in collaboration with the cultural office Public Relations. The artist’s work, known for intimate portraits and scenes of underground music, has been featured in the Whitney Biennial and solo exhibitions at the Baltimore Museum of Art and Carnegie Museum of Art.

At the Venice Biennale, the Thrill of Victory, the Agony of Defeat

The article reports on the opening of the 61st Venice Biennale, highlighting the central exhibition "In Minor Keys" conceived by the late Koyo Kouoh, along with national pavilions and collateral events. It notes standout contributions from artists such as Alvaro Barrington, Kaloki Nyamai, Florentina Holzinger, Ei Arakawa-Nash, Li Yi-Fan, and Dries Verhoeven, while describing the American pavilion as lackluster and the overall commercial offerings as uneven. The text also covers performances and exhibitions featuring nudity and body horror, including Tino Sehgal's "The Kiss" and Maja Malou Lyse's video with the collective DIS.

Renowned feminist artist and film-maker Valie Export dies aged 85

Valie Export, the Austrian performance artist and film-maker known for her provocative feminist works that challenged the male gaze, has died at age 85. Her foundation announced she died in Vienna on Thursday, three days before her 86th birthday. Export gained notoriety in the late 1960s for low-budget performances such as "Tapp und Tastkino" (1968), where she invited shoppers to touch her bare breasts through a tiny curtain strapped to her chest. She also co-founded the Austrian Filmmakers Cooperative, participated in documenta (1977, 2007) and the Venice Biennale (1980), and was a professor of multimedia and performance at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne.

Valie Export, Groundbreaking Feminist Artist Who Questioned the Nature of Art, Dies at 85

Valie Export, the pioneering Austrian feminist artist known for challenging the conventions of art and cinema through body-centered, tactile works, died on May 14 at age 85, three days before her birthday. Her death was confirmed by Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery, which represents her. Over six decades, Export created influential works such as "TAP and TOUCH CINEMA" (1968) and "Action Pants: Genital Panic" (1968), using her own body to question gender norms and the nature of film. Born Waltraud Lehner in Linz, she reinvented herself as VALIE EXPORT in 1967, a name symbolizing her exportation of personal ideas. She was associated with the Viennese Actionists but developed her own expanded cinema practice, producing works like "Abstract Film No. 1" (1967–68) that redefined the medium.

In Pictures: New Museum curator Gary Carrion-Murayari’s Frieze favourites

New Museum curator Gary Carrion-Murayari shares his personal highlights from the Frieze New York art fair, selecting works by artists including Arthur Simms, Haegue Yang, Abel Rodriguez and Aycoobo-Wilson Rodríguez, Sung Tieu, Maryam Hoseini, Pedro Neves, and Melvin Way. Each pick is accompanied by a brief commentary explaining why the work resonates with him, ranging from underappreciated talents to artists featured in the 2024 Venice Biennale.

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, Painter Who Defied the Bounds of Abstraction, Dies at 84

Mary Lovelace O’Neal, the American painter known for her large-scale abstract works that defied easy categorization, died in Mérida, Mexico, on May 10 at age 84. Her death was confirmed by her galleries, Jenkins Johnson and Marianne Boesky, on May 13. Active in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, O’Neal developed a distinctive practice that blended Minimalism, Abstract Expressionism, and figurative elements, most notably through her Lampblack series and later the "Whales Fucking" series. Her work gained renewed attention in the 21st century, with exhibitions at Mnuchin Gallery and the Museum of the African Diaspora, and her painting *Blue Whale a.k.a. #12* (1983) was selected for the 2024 Whitney Biennial.

In Pictures: the best of Venice at Frieze New York

Frieze New York 2025 features a curated selection of works by artists also showing at the Venice Biennale, including Precious Okoyomon, Alma Allen, Dayanita Singh, Alvaro Barrington, and Paulo Nazareth. The fair highlights pieces ranging from Okoyomon's intimate works on paper at Mendes Wood DM to Allen's bronze wall sculpture at Perrotin, priced between $30,000 and $150,000. Other notable stands include Nabil Nahas's fractal-inspired painting at Lawrie Shabibi and P420, Singh's archival photographs at Frith Street Gallery, and Barrington's carnival-themed paintings at Emalin, alongside a sculpture by Sung Tieu.

Beer With a Painter: Keith Mayerson

Hyperallergic interviews Los Angeles-based painter Keith Mayerson, who discusses his ongoing 'My American Dream' series—a cosmology of paintings blending American identity, activism, and popular culture. The conversation covers his early influences from comics, the Muppets, and Hunter S. Thompson, his transition from cartooning to painting, and his vibratory, swirling brushwork. Mayerson's work has been featured in the 2014 Whitney Biennial and is currently on view at the Aspen Art Museum and the Pollock-Krasner House.

At a Powerful Carnegie International, Solidarity Is a Means of Survival

The 2026 Carnegie International, titled “If the word we,” opened at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, featuring 61 artists from around the world. Curated by Ryan Inouye, Liz Park, and Danielle A. Jackson, the exhibition emphasizes collective survival and interdependence, with works including Khalil Rabah’s video about Palestinian resilience, Shala Miller’s abstraction inspired by Toni Morrison, and a performance by Brooke O’Harra and collaborators celebrating teamwork through a historic basketball dunk by Julius Erving. The show extends to three other venues, including the Mattress Factory, where married artists Claudia Martinez Garay and Artur Kameya present a sprawling installation.

Asian Artists Set the Stage at Independent Art Fair 2026

At the 17th edition of the Independent art fair in New York, six galleries are presenting solo booths dedicated to Asian artists, including a U.S. debut by Taiwanese artist Tseng Chien-Ying and works by Japanese painter Rika Minamitani and Chinese conceptual artist Pu Yingwei. Founder Elizabeth Dee highlights the trend as reflecting broader geopolitical shifts and artists' desire to engage with complex cultural debates in New York.

New £5.5m record for Islamic glass leads London sales

The spring Islamic and Indian art auctions in London, held at Sotheby's and Christie's in late April, achieved strong results despite geopolitical tensions. Sotheby's Arts of the Islamic World & India sales totaled £14.8m, while Christie's Art from the Islamic and Indian Worlds sale and the Mary and Cheney Cowles collection brought in £17.6m. The top lot was a rare 14th-century Mamluk gilded glass bowl from the Toledo Museum of Art, which sold for £5.5m—a new auction record for Islamic glass. Other highlights included a 17th-century Mughal astrolabe that sold for £2m at Sotheby's, setting a record for an Islamic scientific instrument, and strong sales of Iznik ceramics from two old English collections.

Controversial Painter Georg Baselitz Knew His Venice Show Would Be His Last. He Went Out Quietly.

Six days after Georg Baselitz's death, his dealer Thaddaeus Ropac opened "Eroi d'Oro" ("Heroes of Gold") at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice. The exhibition features the final paintings Baselitz made before he died in April at age 88. In a prerecorded film, Baselitz calls these works his "last paintings," intended as a summation of his six-decade career. The large-scale, gold-ground paintings depict thin, ink-like figures of himself or his wife Elke lying horizontally, floating in undefined space. Baselitz connected the gold grounds to Fayum mummy portraits, Sienese altarpieces, and Byzantine icons, using them to absorb space and create a shadowless, eternal condition.