art world insiders 2026 market predictions new years 1234768290

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.

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The article recounts the author's experience at the 2025 Performa biennial in New York, beginning on November 4 with the death of Dick Cheney and the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor. The author attended Diane Severin Nguyen's performance "War Songs," which restaged historical protest concerts from the Vietnam War era, blending anti-war anthems with pop music. The piece also highlights missing performances by Lina Lapelytė and Ayoung Kim, and expresses anticipation for Aria Dean's play "The Color Scheme."

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The chairman of Abu Dhabi's department of cultural tourism, Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, revealed at a recent briefing that the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, designed by Frank Gehry and set to open in 2026 on Saadiyat Island, will feature Western masters like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Andy Warhol alongside lesser-known contemporary artists from Asia, Africa, and the Arab world. The museum, originally announced two decades ago and delayed multiple times, will also incorporate augmented reality and artificial intelligence to enhance visitor engagement, and will include music, food, and dance as part of its civic space concept.

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Frieze will launch an Abu Dhabi edition in November 2026, shortly after Art Basel opens in Qatar in February 2026, joining Art Dubai and Art Week Riyadh in an increasingly crowded Middle Eastern art fair landscape. Meanwhile, Chanel has opened mainland China's first public contemporary art library, Espace Gabrielle Chanel, at Shanghai's Power Station of Art, housing over 50,000 books and audiobooks. In other news, New York Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani named an arts transition committee including Elizabeth Alexander and Ruba Katrib, and London's major museums have seen a surge in large philanthropic donations, including a £10.3 million pledge to the British Museum and two £150 million gifts to the National Gallery.

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Gagosian became the first exhibitor at Frieze London to announce a complete sellout of its booth, featuring a solo presentation of works by Los Angeles artist Lauren Halsey. The booth included pieces from Halsey's 2025 untitled series of polymer-modified gypsum and stain on wood, as well as a six-foot-tall plaza sign sculpture titled 'LODA PLAZA (2025)'. Gagosian director Antwaun Sargent confirmed that the works were placed with both institutions and serious long-term collectors in the U.S. and Europe.

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British painter William Monk is presenting a new series of paintings at Pace Gallery's solo booth at Frieze London 2025. The works, created during a residency at the Neuendorf House in Mallorca, feature obsessive cactus forms and a sentinel figure evolving from his earlier Ferryman series. Monk's studio visit reveals his meticulous process of controlling every detail, with paintings that recall Seurat and Bonnard in their dense, rhythmic brushwork.

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Frieze, the London-based art fair organizer, announced it will launch Frieze Abu Dhabi in November 2026, partnering with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi). The new fair will replace the existing Abu Dhabi Art fair, which has run since 2007, and will take place at Manarat Al Saadiyat in the Saadiyat Cultural District. The announcement follows Frieze's recent acquisition by Mari, a company founded by Ari Emanuel, and comes amid a wave of international art fair expansions in the Gulf region, including Art Basel's new fair in Doha.

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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Rowena Chiu has been appointed gallery director of Perrotin's new London operation, which opened in March at Claridge's hotel in Mayfair. Chiu previously served as director of museum and institutional relations at Stephen Friedman Gallery for four years and spent six years at Hauser & Wirth across London, Zurich, and New York. Her first exhibition at Perrotin London will be a solo show by Laurent Grasso, winner of the 2008 Marcel Duchamp Prize, opening October 14.

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Four works by Francis Bacon and Auguste Rodin will headline Sotheby’s Frieze Week contemporary evening auction in London on October 16. The lots include Bacon’s paintings *Portrait of a Dwarf* (estimated up to £9 million) and *Study for Self-Portrait* (up to £6 million), alongside Rodin’s final bronze iterations of *Pierre de Wissant* and *Jean de Fiennes* (each estimated at £600,000–£900,000). The works come from an important private collection, with the Bacons acquired directly from the artist and held for over 40 years, and the Rodins purchased from the Musée Rodin. Sotheby’s shared previously unpublished audio featuring art historian Eddy Batache, a close friend of Bacon, who noted that *Portrait of a Dwarf* is the only painting Bacon ever kept for himself.

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Christie's, Sotheby's, and Phillips reported their first-half 2025 auction sales, with Christie's leading at nearly $1.5 billion (down 1.9% year-over-year), Sotheby's at $1.2 billion (down 14%), and Phillips at $190.1 million (down 24.5%). The top lot was Piet Mondrian's *Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue* (1922), sold for $47.6 million from Len Riggio's collection. Separately, the British Museum announced its inaugural ball on October 18, promoted by director Nicholas Cullinan, and Sotheby's opened its first public art exhibition in Abu Dhabi featuring works by van Gogh, Kahlo, and others. UNESCO launched a Virtual Museum of Stolen Cultural Objects, and Heritage Auctions sold part of Guillermo del Toro's "Bleak House" collection for $1.65 million.

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The New York Times reports that artists' studios are being preserved long after their deaths, with Tom Wesselmann's Cooper Square studio maintained exactly as he left it in 2004 by his widow Claire Wesselmann and a dedicated staff. Former assistant Jeffrey Sturges, now director of exhibitions for Wesselmann's estate, notes the space still feels lived in, with maquettes, labeled gloves, and lingering turpentine scent. Similar preserved studios exist for Auguste Rodin and Francis Bacon in Europe, and America is now following suit.

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Frieze London and Frieze Masters have announced highlights for their 2025 editions, running concurrently October 15–19 in Regent’s Park. Frieze London will feature ceramics and textiles, including a presentation titled “Three Generations of Female California Ceramics” at The Pit, stoneware sculptures by Sanya Kantarovsky at Modern Art, and textile works by Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín at Portas Vilaseca. Major galleries like Gagosian, Pace, Lehmann Maupin, White Cube, and Lisson will present new works by artists such as Lauren Halsey, William Monk, Do Ho Suh, and Marguerite Humeau. The fair’s curated section “Echoes in the Present” by Jareh Das includes artists like Diambe and Tadáskía, while the Focus section emphasizes installation-based works. Frieze Masters highlights include a booth of 19th- and 20th-century paintings curated by Nicolas Party at Hauser & Wirth, a solo of Peter Hujar’s drag portraits at Pace, and a new Reflections section organized by Abby Bangser focusing on decorative art.

leonard lauders klimt painting likely top lot this auction season controversy at tasmania museum and more morning links for september 15 2025 1234751787

A new report reveals that the University of Tasmania's RA Rodda Museum kept and displayed 177 human remains without family consent, collected from coroners' autopsies between 1966 and 1991. The remains were removed from public display in 2018 after a curator raised concerns in 2016, and the university has since apologized and met with affected families. Separately, the late art patron Leonard Lauder's estate includes a Gustav Klimt painting, *Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer* (1914), valued at over $100 million, expected to be the top lot this auction season at either Sotheby's or Christie's.

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The White House published a list denouncing artworks and exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution, including a painting by Amy Sherald of a Black trans woman as the Statue of Liberty, which Sherald later pulled from a National Portrait Gallery show alleging censorship. Separately, Shanghai’s Rockbund Art Museum faced operational challenges after introducing free admission in 2025, including overcrowding and visitor complaints, leading to a hybrid reservation system. Other news includes Frieze London and Frieze Masters announcing collaborations and prizes, Sweden moving a historic church for a mine expansion, and Chanel partnering with the Pinacoteca de São Paulo for a women artists residency.

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ARTnews analyzed publicly reported sales from five blue-chip galleries—Hauser & Wirth, Pace, Thaddaeus Ropac, White Cube, and David Zwirner—at Art Basel 2025, finding a combined total over 35% lower than in 2024, around 8% below 2023, and just over 20% down from 2022. The high-water mark was $204 million in 2024, boosted by eight-figure works from Hauser & Wirth. Meanwhile, the number of artists sold by these galleries rose steadily from 109 in 2022 to 157 in 2025, indicating a shift toward broader, less concentrated inventory. Dealers reported mixed sentiments, though seven-figure deals still occurred, and some noted that market uncertainty has led to more scattershot presentations with wider price ranges.

Gulf art market feels the force of Middle East conflict

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East, involving the US, Israel, and Iran, has disrupted the Gulf region's art market. Key events like Art Dubai have been postponed, and the inaugural Frieze Abu Dhabi faces uncertainty, as the area's stability—crucial for attracting international dealers and auction houses—is now in question.

art frieze los angeles 2026 gallery shows

Cultured magazine has published a guide to the best off-site gallery shows during Frieze Los Angeles 2026, organized by neighborhood. The article highlights six exhibitions: Rodney McMillian's "Some lives in the sunshine" at Vielmetter, Emma McIntyre's "Aragonite and conchiolin" at Château Shatto, Cayetano Ferrer's "Object Prosthetics" at Commonwealth and Council, Vicky Colombet's "Eutierria" at Fernberger, Kye Christensen-Knowles's "ALL & ALL" at Gaylord Fine Arts, and Christina Quarles's "The Ground Glows Back" at Hauser & Wirth. Each entry includes details on dates, key artworks, and curatorial context.

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Alex Da Corte has resurrected his inflatable sculpture "Kermit the Frog, Even" for Art Basel Paris, displayed at Place Vendôme through October 26. The work references the 1991 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade incident where the Kermit float was deflated by a lamppost or tree, leaving its head sagging. Da Corte first debuted the piece in Buenos Aires in 2018 for the Art Basel Cities exhibition curated by Cecilia Alemani. The artist, known for mining children's media like Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street, also activated the sculpture with performers for the first time in Paris, navigating wind and rain during the performance.

design amalia ulman home

Artist Amalia Ulman shares a personal inventory of 44 objects from her home, ranging from a pigeon-shaped oven mitt and a 1920s Austrian bronze cat figurine to a telephone-shaped lamp bought from a subway vendor and a graphite portrait of her late dog Holga. The list includes quirky functional items like a cane that turns into a stool, a wooden chair that transforms into a ladder, and sentimental keepsakes such as a red pompom from Holga's casket and a bag of gravel from the dog park. The objects reflect her daily life, travels, and memories, blending humor with melancholy.

art basel paris gallery exhibition guide openings

Cultured magazine published a guide to gallery exhibitions opening during Art Basel Paris, highlighting six shows across Paris galleries. Featured artists include Shelby Jackson (founder of 15 Orient) with his first solo show at Lo Brutto Stahl, Rirkrit Tiravanija at Galerie Chantal Crousel exploring the concept of 'alien,' Tomasz Kowalski at Crèvecoeur, a group show curated by Reena Spaulings at Galerie Hussenot, Yann Stéphane Bisso at Exo Exo, and Walter De Maria at Gagosian Le Bourget. Each entry includes dates, a brief description, and why the show is worth seeing.

cultured young dealers list art gallerists

Cultured magazine has published its first Young Dealers List, highlighting 23 galleries under five years old that are revitalizing the art world. The list was compiled from over 100 recommendations gathered from more than 40 collectors, advisors, and curators. The article profiles one of the selected gallerists, Adora Mba, founder of ADA Contemporary Art Gallery in Accra, Ghana, who opened her space in 2020 after working as a cultural news producer. Mba emphasizes supporting emerging African artists and has dedicated her 2025 program to women artists and curators.

Edvard Munch’s Paintings for a Chocolate Factory Get a Rare Museum Outing

A series of 12 monumental paintings by Edvard Munch, created for the workers' canteen of the Freia chocolate factory in Oslo, have been temporarily removed from their original location for the first time. The works, known as the Freia Frieze, are now on display at the nearby Munch Museum in an exhibition titled "Edvard Munch and the Chocolate Factory," which also includes preparatory sketches and examines the artist's output in the 1920s.

An Intimate Portrait of Basquiat’s Early Life Returns to Brooklyn

The exhibition “Our Friend, Jean” returns to Brooklyn this May at The Bishop Gallery, coinciding with Frieze Week. The show features twenty artworks alongside personal ephemera and photographs from Jean-Michel Basquiat’s formative years between 1979 and 1980, primarily sourced from the collection of his former roommate Alexis Adler. This iteration includes previously unseen items from Adler’s trove, such as hand-painted garments and postcards, and will be activated by panels featuring Basquiat’s early collaborators.

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

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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.

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LG OLED has partnered with the Whanki Foundation to present "We Meet Again In New York" at Frieze New York, featuring digital reinterpretations of works by the late Korean abstractionist Kim Whanki. The presentation utilizes high-definition screens to showcase five of Kim’s iconic "all-over dot" paintings, animated by contemporary Korean multimedia artists including Je Baak and Mano Ahn. This digital showcase coincides with a physical exhibition of Kim’s work at the Korean Cultural Center New York, marking the artist's first major posthumous return to the city where he spent his final decade.

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The Los Angeles art scene faced a moment of introspection during Frieze Week as logistical hurdles and rumors of New York gallery departures sparked debates about the city's long-term viability. Despite whispers of downsizing from major transplants and the 'quiet quitting' of spaces like Tanya Bonakdar and Sean Kelly, the week was defined by high-energy alternative events. Highlights included a massive group show curated by Barry McGee and Jeffrey Deitch in a defunct 99 Cent Only Store and the 'Away From Desk' micro-fair, which showcased the city's resilient underground and Chinatown-adjacent gallery circuit.

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Billionaire Ari Emanuel, whose company Endeavor recently acquired the Frieze art fairs, kicked off the VIP opening of Frieze Los Angeles by acquiring three works by 86-year-old Black quiltmaker Yvonne Wells. Emanuel entered the Santa Monica Airport venue ahead of the general VIP crowd, purchasing textile portraits of Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis Presley from New York gallery Fort Gansevoort. The transaction, facilitated by Emanuel's long-time advisor Jeffrey Deitch, set a high-energy tone for an opening day that saw brisk sales, including a $3.75 million Ed Ruscha painting at Gagosian.

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The Gulf region is rapidly transforming into a primary axis for the international art trade, marked by the upcoming debut of Art Basel Qatar and the rebranding of Abu Dhabi Art as a Frieze event. While state-led museum projects have long dominated headlines, a surge of commercial activity is now taking hold as blue-chip galleries like Pace and David Zwirner join local stalwarts. This expansion comes at a strategic time as traditional markets in the U.S., U.K., and China face contraction.

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Annie Armstrong bids farewell to Artnet Pro's Wet Paint column after 198 editions, reflecting on her four-and-a-half-year tenure as the art world's gossip columnist. She recounts her first assignment at the 2021 Felix Art Fair in Los Angeles, where she nervously approached a group of art-world insiders, and describes the highs and lows of covering galas, parties, and scandals from Frieze Seoul to the Henry Street gallery scene.