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Berlin’s Galerie Mehdi Chouakri announced a temporary pause from exhibitions after nearly thirty years and around 250 shows. Owner Mehdi Chouakri cited personal reasons and the increasing demands of the traditional primary market model. The gallery will continue to represent its estates and living artists through collaborations, and may mount a new exhibition as soon as fall 2025. The pause follows a difficult year for galleries globally, with several high-profile closures and retrenchments.

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Beatriz González, a pioneering Colombian painter and one of the most important Latin American artists of the 20th century, died on Friday at her home in Bogotá at age 93. Her Zurich-based representative, Galerie Peter Kilchmann, announced her passing but did not specify a cause. González first gained fame in the 1960s by remaking art historical masterpieces by Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci in a deliberately garish color palette, later pivoting in the 1980s to explicitly political works critiquing government violence in Colombia. Her career included major exhibitions at Documenta 14 in 2017, the Museum of Modern Art's 2019 rehang, and a retrospective that premiered at the Pinacoteca de São Paulo and will travel to the Barbican Centre in London and the Astrup Fearnley Museet in Oslo.

mauritshuis loaning girl with a pearl earring to japan us withdrawing from international arts and cultural heritage groups morning links for january 9 2025 1234769316

The Mauritshuis in The Hague announced it will loan Johannes Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (circa 1665) to the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka, Japan, this summer while the Dutch museum closes for building alterations from August 24 to September 20. Separately, President Donald Trump's administration released a memo on January 7 stating the US will withdraw from over 60 international groups, including ICCROM and IFACCA, which focus on arts and cultural heritage preservation, arguing these bodies operate contrary to US interests.

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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.

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John P. Axelrod, a prominent art collector and retired lawyer, was killed in a hit-and-run incident on January 3 in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood while walking his dog. The suspect, William Haney, 42, allegedly drove onto a pedestrian mall and struck Axelrod before fleeing; he has been charged with murder and animal cruelty. Axelrod, 79, was a longtime collector of American painting, African American and Latin American art, and decorative arts, and was listed on the ARTnews Top 200 Collectors list from 1997 to 2000.

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This ARTnews industry moves roundup from December 30, 2025, reports that Fabienne Levy Gallery now represents Amit Berman, whose work is currently in a group show at the Haifa Museum of Art and was previously presented at the Jewish Museum of Venice during the 2024 Venice Biennale. Kevin Umaña has joined The Pit gallery; the New York-based artist had his first solo exhibition in Los Angeles in 2025 and received the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award that same year. Additionally, Qatar Museums and the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Center have signed a five-year partnership to create educational programs in India and Qatar. The article also notes that the Bayeux Tapestry will be loaned to the British Museum in 2026, requiring a UK Treasury guarantee of $1 billion to insure the work while its French owner undergoes renovation.

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The Mattress Factory, a contemporary art museum and residency program in Pittsburgh, has appointed Anthony Elms as its artistic director, effective February 2024. Elms, who previously served as chief curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia and as a director at Peter Freeman, Inc., will oversee all artistic programming, including exhibitions, commissions, and the residency program. He was also a cocurator of the 2014 Whitney Biennial and recently organized a solo exhibition for Rodney McMillian at the Henry Art Gallery.

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This week's art industry moves include South Arts appointing Doug Shipman as its next president and CEO, departing his role as Atlanta City Council president to lead the regional nonprofit across nine Southern states. London gallery Alison Jacques now represents Cape Town–born painter Gina Kuschke, with a debut solo exhibition opening January 15. Gallery Wendi Norris in San Francisco will represent the Marie Wilson estate, while Berlin's Galerie Judin adds Jorinde Voigt to its roster in partnership with David Nolan, Dirimart, and Sicardi | Ayers | Bacino. Thaddaeus Ropac appoints John Utterson as director in London, and Aperture secures $2 million in gifts toward its new permanent home. A record $31.4 million was paid for François-Xavier Lalanne's 'Hippopotame Bar' at Sotheby's New York, tripling its high estimate. The article also notes a growing trend of consultancies—mostly US- and European-based—being hired to help the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia build their cultural sectors.

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High Art, a Parisian gallery known for launching the careers of artists like Lucy Bull and Julien Creuzet, is closing its physical space after 12 years. The gallery announced on Instagram that its last exhibition closed in July and that it will transition toward collaborations, offsite exhibitions, and individual artworks. Founded in 2013 by Romain Chenais, Jason Hwang, and Philippe Joppin, High Art became a tastemaker in Paris's gallery scene, known for its challenging and often unconventional program. Many artists who showed there early, including Rachel Rose, Matt Copson, and Frieda Toranzo Jaeger, later achieved international recognition.

Who is Alma Allen, US Pavilion Artist for the 2026 Venice Biennale?

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The US Department of State has confirmed that sculptor Alma Allen will represent the United States at the 2026 Venice Biennale. Allen, a Utah-born, Mexico-based artist known for abstract biomorphic sculptures, was selected after a fraught selection cycle that included updated guidelines requiring proposals to promote American values. He was approached directly by curator Jeffrey Uslip, who will organize the US pavilion, and accepted the offer despite reportedly being advised against it by his former galleries Mendes Wood DM and Olney Gleason, which subsequently cut ties with him.

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Maggie Harrison, head winemaker at Antica Terra in Oregon's Willamette Valley, has collaborated with artists Julie Mehretu, Paul Pfeiffer, and Jessica Rankin to create a limited-edition box set of wines. Each set includes wines blended collaboratively and individual artworks packaged with the bottles, described as a “Museum in a Box.” Proceeds from the 150 sets benefit Denniston Hill, the artist residency founded by Mehretu and Pfeiffer. Harrison also opened an Art Meadow at Antica Terra this past summer, featuring a site-specific installation by Lily Clark, with plans for another exhibition next year.

martin wong painting unseen art basel miami beach ppow 1234762898

A long-unseen 12-foot-wide painting by Martin Wong, titled *Tai Ping Tien Kuo (Tai Ping Kuo)* (1982), will be exhibited at Art Basel Miami Beach next month courtesy of New York gallery P.P.O.W. The work, which features a rare nude portrait of the artist’s mother and stepfather, was last shown publicly in 1987 at the Asian Arts Institute in New York. It was kept in storage for decades because Wong’s mother, Florence Wong Fie, objected to its display out of modesty. The painting adopts a classical three-panel altarpiece format, blending Chinese American history with references to Western art, the Taiping Rebellion, and Wong’s own Lower East Side influences.

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The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., has opened "Photography and the Black Arts Movement, 1955–1985," a major survey featuring some 150 images by Black photographers who documented the civil rights and Black liberation movements. Curated by Deborah Willis and Philip Brookman, the exhibition includes works by Doris Derby, John W. Mosley, Ming Smith, and about 100 other artists, capturing both iconic protest imagery and quieter, intimate moments of Black life. The show runs through January 11, 2026.

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An Amoako Boafo painting, *Red Dress* (2017), has been consigned to Phillips’s upcoming modern and contemporary art day sale by actor and ARTnews Top 200 collector Jesse Williams. The work, estimated at $150,000 to $200,000, depicts Thelma Golden, director of the newly reopened Studio Museum in Harlem. It was previously featured in Boafo’s 2022 solo exhibition “Soul of Black Folks” at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. This marks another instance of a work from Williams’s collection appearing at Phillips, following a Noah Davis painting consigned by his ex-wife in 2024.

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Pace Gallery announced highlights for its Art Basel Paris presentation, including a major Amedeo Modigliani painting from 1918, *Jeune fille aux macarons (Young Woman with Hair in Side Buns)*, priced around $10 million. The work previews a new partnership between Pace and the Institut Restellini, founded by Modigliani scholar Marc Restellini. Restellini will collaborate with Pace on symposia in New York in 2026 and an exhibition in 2027, while his long-awaited Modigliani catalogue raisonné—authenticating 424 works—is set for publication in March 2025 by Yale University Press.

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The estate of Robert Colescott, the influential American painter who died in 2009, has signed with Gladstone Gallery for representation. Gladstone will debut Colescott's work at Art Basel Miami Beach next month and mount its first solo exhibition for the artist in 2025. Colescott is best known for satirical, large-scale paintings like "George Washington Carver Crossing the Delaware: Page from an American History Textbook" (1975), which critiques the exclusion and caricaturing of Black figures in American history and art. The estate sought new representation after its longtime gallery, Blum, closed this summer. Gladstone senior partner Max Falkenstein said the gallery had long admired Colescott and that the partnership felt like a natural fit given the gallery's focus on identity and politics.

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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.

matthew wong paintings venice biennale show 1234759506

A rare exhibition of works by the late artist Matthew Wong, including never-before-exhibited pieces, will open in Venice during the 2026 Biennale. Titled “Matthew Wong: Interiors,” the show is curated by John Cheim and organized by the artist’s foundation, run by his mother Monita Wong. The 35-work exhibition focuses on interior spaces, both physical and psychological, and highlights Wong’s vibrant color palette and expressive brushwork, which he developed before his death by suicide at age 35 in 2019.

ica san francisco to adopt citywide model 1234759381

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.

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Bonhams will auction works from the collection of late actor Gene Hackman, who died in February, across one live and two online sales this November. The sale includes fine art by Milton Avery, Auguste Rodin, and Richard Diebenkorn, as well as Hackman's own paintings, his Golden Globe awards, annotated scripts, and cinematic memorabilia. The live sale, titled “Gene Hackman: A Life in Art, Part I,” takes place November 19 in New York, with the highest-estimated lot being Avery's 1957 painting *Figure on the Jetty* valued at $500,000–$700,000.

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Bonhams will auction works from the collection of late actor Gene Hackman this November, spanning three sales—one live and two online. The live sale, titled “Gene Hackman: A Life in Art, Part I,” takes place November 19 in New York and features highlights such as Milton Avery’s 1957 painting *Figure on the Jetty* (estimate $500,000–$700,000) and Richard Diebenkorn’s 1986 color etching *Green* (estimate $300,000–$500,000). Online sales include two of Hackman’s Golden Globes, a still life painting by the actor himself, and additional lots of annotated books, scripts, and cinematic memorabilia. Hackman, who died in February, was a major arts patron in Santa Fe, a painter, and a board member of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.

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Olney Gleason, a new gallery founded by former Kasmin senior staff Nick Olney and Eric Gleason, has been appointed as the exclusive representative for the estates of Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner through the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. The gallery, which opened earlier this year, succeeds Kasmin in handling the artists' work; Kasmin had represented Pollock since 2024 and Krasner since 2017. Olney and Gleason previously organized multiple Krasner exhibitions at Kasmin and supported major museum shows, including a 2019 Krasner retrospective at the Barbican Centre and a 2024 Pollock exhibition at the Picasso Museum in Paris.

olney gleason jackson pollock and lee krasner 1234757049

Olney Gleason, a new gallery founded by former Kasmin senior staff Nick Olney and Eric Gleason, will exclusively represent the estates of Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner through the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. The gallery succeeds Kasmin, which had represented Pollock since 2024 and Krasner since 2017, and opened earlier this year after founder Paul Kasmin died in 2020. Olney and Gleason previously organized multiple Krasner exhibitions at Kasmin and supported major museum shows, including a 2019 Krasner retrospective at London's Barbican Centre and a 2024 Pollock exhibition at the Picasso Museum in Paris.

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Sotheby's will sell ten works from the Matthew and Carolyn Bucksbaum collection in its fall auctions, with six pieces by René Magritte, Jean Dubuffet, Salvador Dalí, Joan Miró, and Paul Klee featured in the Modern Evening auction on November 20. The group of six works carries a total estimate of $18 million to $24 million, led by Magritte's *Le Jockey perdu* (1942) at $9–12 million and Dubuffet's *Restaurant Rougeot II* (1961) at $6–8 million. Sotheby's executives Julian Dawes and Grégoire Billault emphasized the rarity and importance of these works, noting that the Magritte is the only oil version of its subject and the Dubuffet is one of just three paintings of the iconic Paris restaurant.

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Two leading museum organizations, CIMAM (International Committee for Museums and Collections of Modern Art) and L'internationale, have sharply criticized the Flemish government's decision to transfer the collection and mission of Antwerp's M HKA to a newly formed museum in Ghent by 2028. In a statement dated October 10, CIMAM's Museum Watch Committee expressed profound concern, calling the plan based on "false administrative logic" and urging the Flemish minister of culture to reverse the decision. L'internationale also published a statement condemning the lack of transparency and consultation, noting that the plan was announced without input from M HKA's leadership or stakeholders. The building housing M HKA will be renovated into a Kunsthalle, and the government has canceled a planned $151 million new building for the museum.

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The Otto Kallir family has donated over 130 Austrian Expressionist works valued at more than $60 million to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). The gift includes the first paintings by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and Richard Gerstl to enter LACMA’s collection, along with works by Oskar Kokoschka, Alfred Kubin, Marie-Louise von Motesiczky, Lovis Corinth, and Käthe Kollwitz. The donation spans paintings, drawings, prints, posters, and mixed-medium works from the turn of the 20th century through the 1920s, and will be transferred over several years. A selection of 24 works will be on view in the exhibition “Austrian Expressionism and Otto Kallir” from November 23, 2025 to May 31, 2026, with a comprehensive exhibition planned for 2030.

jean michel basquaits 45 m crowns peso neto to headline sothebys fall auctions in new york 1234756255

Sotheby's will offer Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1981 painting *Crowns (Peso Neto)* as the headline lot of its contemporary evening sale in New York this fall, carrying a high estimate of $45 million. The work, which has never been auctioned before, debuted at Basquiat's landmark 1982 solo show at Annina Nosei Gallery and later appeared at Documenta 7. It will be exhibited in London during Frieze Week, then in Paris coinciding with Art Basel Paris, before arriving at Sotheby's new Breuer Building headquarters in New York ahead of the November 8 sale.

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Christie’s will sell over 70 works from the collection of Arnold and Joan Saltzman during its fall marquee sales in November, with a group estimate exceeding $70 million. The modern art collection includes pieces by Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger, Edvard Munch, František Kupka, Robert Delaunay, Henri Matisse, and Henry Moore. The top lot is Léger’s 1914 painting *Composition (Nature Morte)*, estimated around $20 million, from his celebrated 'Contraste de formes' series. Other highlights include Henry Moore’s bronze sculpture *Reclining Woman: Elbow* (1981), estimated at $9–12 million, and Henri Matisse’s *Femme au chapeau fleuri* (1923), estimated around $10 million. The collection, built over 60 years, will be featured in Christie’s 20th century evening sale on November 17 and day sales on November 18.

christies arnold joan saltzman fernand leger picasso matisse 1234756050

Christie’s will sell over 70 works from the collection of Arnold and Joan Saltzman during its fall marquee sales in November, with a group estimate exceeding $70 million. The modern art collection includes pieces by Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger, Edvard Munch, František Kupka, Robert Delaunay, Henri Matisse, and Henry Moore. The top lot is Léger’s 1914 painting *Composition (Nature Morte)*, estimated around $20 million, from his celebrated 'Contraste de formes' series. Other highlights include Henry Moore’s bronze *Reclining Woman: Elbow* (1981), estimated at $9–12 million, and Henri Matisse’s *Femme au chapeau fleuri* (1923), estimated around $10 million. The collection was assembled over 60 years and will be featured in Christie’s 20th century evening sale on November 17, with additional lots in day sales on November 18.

flemish government eliminates m hka smak museum controversy 1234756101

The Flemish government has announced a plan to close the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp (M HKA), Belgium's oldest contemporary art museum, and transfer its collection of around 8,000 objects to the S.M.A.K. in Ghent, which will be rebranded as the Flemish Museum of Contemporary and Current Art by 2028. The decision, part of a broader reform of Flanders' museum landscape, has sparked outrage: M HKA's board chairman Herman De Bode resigned, and staff published an open letter and launched a petition that gathered over 2,600 signatures, accusing the government of acting without transparency or consultation.