Gangnam styles: South Korea’s brutalist gems – in pictures

Photographer Paul Tulett has captured the stark, concrete landscapes of South Korea in his new book, *Brutalist Korea*, published by Prestel. The photo series highlights a range of architectural landmarks, from Tadao Ando’s minimalist Jeju Glass House and Zaha Hadid’s futuristic Dongdaemun Design Plaza to the playful geometry of the Paju Kindergarten. Tulett’s work documents how the raw, monumental aesthetic of Brutalism has evolved from the country’s postwar industrialization into a sophisticated tool for modern urban experimentation.

Rare Zaha Hadid Pavilion Comes to Auction

A rare, clamshell-shaped VOLU Dining Pavilion designed by architect Zaha Hadid and Patrick Schumacher is heading to auction at Hermitage Fine Art in Monaco. The prefabricated outdoor structure, originally created for the 2015 Design Miami fair, is expected to fetch between €900,000 and €1.1 million. This marks only the second time a completed edition of this pavilion has been offered at auction.

Meet the Gallerists Trading White Cubes for Unconventional Architecture

A growing number of gallerists are moving away from the traditional 'white cube' gallery model, opting instead for spaces with unconventional architecture and distinct character. These include locations in repurposed industrial buildings, historic structures, and uniquely designed new constructions that actively shape the visitor's experience of the art.

One of John Lennon’s Final Autographs Hits the Auction Block

A promotional poster for John Lennon and Yoko Ono's album 'Double Fantasy,' signed by Lennon on the morning of his murder on December 8, 1980, is being auctioned by Propstore in London. The lot, estimated between £60,000 and £120,000, includes the RKO Radio archives from Lennon's final interview.

Art trade stays buoyant amid global turmoil

Major London auction houses Sotheby's and Christie's posted strong results in early March, with their Modern and contemporary art evening sales raising £131m and £197m respectively. These figures represented significant increases over the previous year, with high sell-through rates, despite concurrent geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East. Key lots included Francis Bacon's 'Self Portrait' selling for £16m and Henry Moore's 'King and Queen' achieving a record £26.3m.

The Art Consultancy Firm Saying No to the Attention Economy

Approximately Blue (AB), a contemporary art consultancy and brokerage, is deliberately operating without a public-facing brand, social media presence, or physical address. Founded by François-Luc Giraldeau and Emily Johnson, the firm focuses exclusively on primary market fine art prints and multiples, prioritizing deep research and direct, substantive relationships with collectors over visibility and hype.

egidio marzona dead avant garde collector archive

Egidio Marzona, the influential German-Italian collector, publisher, and patron, has died at the age of 81 in Berlin. Renowned for his intellectual approach to collecting, Marzona focused on the 20th-century avant-garde, including movements such as Bauhaus, Dada, Fluxus, and Arte Povera. Unlike traditional collectors, he prioritized the preservation of archives, letters, and ephemera alongside physical artworks, viewing the "paper trail of ideas" as essential to understanding artistic history.

auctions houses middle market competition art

The auction industry's "middle market"—typically defined as lots under $1 million—is facing a period of intense competition and shrinking profit margins. While these lower-priced works account for the vast majority of transaction volume and a significant portion of earnings, the overhead costs of selling them remain high. Furthermore, aggressive financial maneuvers like guarantees and "enhanced hammers," once reserved for blue-chip masterpieces, are now being demanded by sellers and advisors at much lower price points.

The Antwerp Six at 40: A New Show Revisits Fashion’s Most Mythic Cohort

The Antwerp fashion museum MoMu is launching the first major exhibition dedicated to the Antwerp Six, the legendary group of Belgian fashion designers who rose to international fame in the 1980s. The show, titled "The Antwerp Six," marks the 40th anniversary of their pivotal debut at London Fashion Week and features never-before-seen archival material, including drawings, collages, and photographs, to trace their individual yet interconnected creative journeys.

Lost Joan Miró Drawings Reemerge at Auction

Three previously unknown drawings by Joan Miró have been discovered among the possessions of his friend, the artist and designer Edmond Vernassa. The works include a 1972 promotional drawing for Mallorca and two large-scale designs for interior balcony railings, created for the influential art dealers Aimé and Marguerite Maeght. The drawings are now set for auction in Antibes with estimates reaching up to €400,000 each, following a public showcase during Paris Drawing Week.

This Small Dorothea Tanning Painting Sold for $120,000 per Square Inch—and Set a New Record

Dorothea Tanning's small 1942 Surrealist painting, 'Children's Games,' sold for £3.8 million ($5 million) at Christie's London, nearly quadrupling its low estimate. With fees, the final price reached $6.26 million, setting a new auction record for the artist and achieving a remarkable price of approximately $120,000 per square inch.

Egidio Marzona, Collector Who Built a Monument to the Avant-Garde, Dies at 81

Egidio Marzona, the influential German-Italian collector, publisher, and patron, has died at age 81 in Berlin. His vast collection focused on 20th-century avant-garde movements, from Dada and Bauhaus to Fluxus and Arte Povera, and was distinguished by its deep archival holdings of letters, diagrams, and ephemera that documented the intellectual processes behind the art.

Is Math Art? Werner Herzog Says Yes

The Brooklyn Public Library hosted an overnight festival called "Night in the Library: The Philosophy of Mathematics" on Pi Day, March 14. The event featured a diverse program including tap dancing, textile workshops, talks by novelist Michael Cunningham and artist Molly Crabapple, and concerts, all aimed at exploring math's connections to broader culture. Filmmaker Werner Herzog delivered the keynote address, titled "Mathematics and the Sublime," in which he argued that mathematics is a new form of art, loaded with meaning and poetry.

works by auerbach chadwick and hepworth to spearhead christies modern british and irish art sale in london

Christie’s London has announced its Modern British and Irish Art sale scheduled for March 18, featuring a curated selection of 26 works. The auction is led by Frank Auerbach’s "Christmas Tree at Mornington Crescent," estimated at up to £2 million, alongside significant sculptures by Lynn Chadwick and Barbara Hepworth. Other notable entries include a monumental bronze by Chadwick titled "Back to Venice" and a 1986 painting by Bridget Riley.

christies unveils new rostrum designed jony ive apple former chief design office

Christie’s has unveiled a new auctioneer’s rostrum designed by Jony Ive and his design collective, LoveFrom. The sleek, oak-wood platform replaces the traditional design originally created by Thomas Chippendale in the 18th century, which had been the standard for the auction house for over 260 years. Crafted from French oak, the new rostrum features a contemporary rounded aesthetic and was engineered specifically to enhance the acoustic resonance of the auctioneer's gavel.

phillips modern contemporary sale london

Phillips’s Modern and contemporary evening sale in London concluded with a total of £13 million ($17.3 million), marking a 16 percent decline compared to the previous year's equivalent auction. The sale was led by Andy Warhol’s "Mao" and Vilhelm Hammershøi’s "Interior of Woman Placing Branches in Vase on Table," both of which fetched £1.6 million including fees. Despite the overall contraction in total sales, the auction saw a significant breakout for Danish painter Anna Ancher, whose work "Young Girl Reading a Letter" sold for £154,800, tripling its high estimate and setting a new auction record for the artist.

by the numbers sothebys london march 2026

Sotheby’s London Modern and Contemporary evening sale in March 2026 achieved a robust £130.6 million ($175 million), marking a significant 108.6 percent increase over the previous year's equivalent auction. The event was a "white glove" sale, with all 53 offered lots finding buyers, led by a Francis Bacon self-portrait that fetched £16 million. A notable highlight was a record-breaking £5.2 million sale for Leon Kossoff’s "Children’s Swimming Pool," which sparked a competitive ten-buyer bidding war.

dali museum st petersburg expansion 2028

The Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, has announced a $65 million expansion project set to break ground in 2026. The 35,000-square-foot addition, designed by the Beck Group, will feature flexible gallery spaces for immersive digital art experiences, a dedicated K-12 learning center, and community-focused programming areas. The project, titled "Reveal," aims to modernize the institution's infrastructure while reinterpreting the architectural language of its existing 2011 building.

Mark Bradford and Carrie Mae Weems Among Latest Artists Commissioned for Obama Presidential Center

mark bradford carrie may weem latest artists commissioned obama presidential center

The Obama Presidential Center in Chicago has announced its latest cohort of commissioned artists, featuring high-profile names such as Mark Bradford and Carrie Mae Weems alongside local Chicago talents like Tyanna J. Buie and the duo Sam Kirk + Dorian Sylvain. These site-specific installations will be integrated across the center's 19-acre campus, including a three-story atrium collage by Bradford and a jazz-inflected photo mural by Weems. The project, which has already engaged over two dozen artists including Maya Lin and Julie Mehretu, is overseen by art program leaders Louise Bernard and Virginia Shore with direct input from the Obamas.

gwyneth paltrow juliens auctions sale

Gwyneth Paltrow is partnering with Julien’s Auctions for a two-day sale on March 24–25 featuring personal items from her homes and wardrobe. The auction includes high-profile red carpet gowns by designers like Atelier Versace and Dior, design sketches for her iconic 1999 Oscars dress, and luxury furniture including pieces by Lindsey Adelman and Julian Mayor. A portion of the proceeds will benefit World Central Kitchen, a non-profit providing meals in response to humanitarian crises.

frank frazetta captive princess propstore

Frank Frazetta’s 1973 painting 'Captive Princess,' originally created as cover art for Edgar Rice Burroughs’s novel 'The People That Time Forgot,' is heading to auction at Propstore with a high estimate of $1 million. The work, which depicts a dramatic abduction scene involving prehistoric figures, leads a major sale of entertainment memorabilia that includes iconic film props like a 'Jaws' harpoon gun and a C-3PO head.

pritzker prize tom pritzker epstein files response

The Pritzker Architecture Prize has issued a formal statement defending its selection process following the release of legal documents detailing past ties between foundation director Tom Pritzker and Jeffrey Epstein. The Hyatt Foundation, which sponsors the prestigious award, emphasized that its jury operates with complete independence and remains focused on architectural excellence despite the controversy surrounding Pritzker’s previous association with the disgraced financier.

olympics opening ceremony art references

The opening ceremony of the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics featured significant art-historical references, including a flame cauldron inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's knot drawings and performances that brought to life the marble sculptures of Antonio Canova. Dancers animated recreations of works like 'Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss,' and the ceremony included symbolic representations of Italian architectural landmarks like the Colosseum and Florence's Duomo.

pope francis art artists

Artnet News has compiled a selection of artworks created in anticipation of Pope Francis's first visit to the United States. The works include Anthony VanArsdale's portrait for the North American College in Rome, a new addition to the 'Franks' mural at Philadelphia's Dirty Franks bar, a massive photo-realistic mural by Van Hecht-Nielsen overlooking Madison Square Garden in New York, a large-scale mural by Caesar Viveros for the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program, and a controversial, officially licensed portrait by Perry Milou. Other featured pieces include an illustration by Omkar Shivaprasad and a vandalized mural in Bolivia by William Luna and Guillermo Rodriguez.

claire tabouret criticism notre dame cathedral commission

French figurative painter Claire Tabouret has been awarded the commission to create new stained glass windows for Notre-Dame Cathedral, replacing 19th-century works by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc and Jean-Baptiste Lassus that survived the 2019 fire. Her designs, featuring multiethnic, multigenerational worshipers during Pentecost, were unveiled in the exhibition "Claire Tabouret: In a Single Breath" at the Grand Palais. The project, chosen by President Emmanuel Macron and Archbishop Laurent Ulrich from 110 candidates, has drawn criticism as an act of vanity and a possible violation of heritage guidelines, though Tabouret and Macron remain undeterred.

casa batllo contemporary gaudi barcelona

Casa Batlló, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Barcelona designed by Antoni Gaudí, has opened a new exhibition space called Casa Batlló Contemporary dedicated to contemporary art. The program launched with a show by United Visual Artists (UVA), a London-based collective founded by Matt Clark, running from January 31 to May 17. The space, located on the second floor and restored by architecture studio Mesura, will host two annual exhibitions. This initiative expands on Casa Batlló’s existing "Mapping" series, which commissions artists to project audiovisual works onto Gaudí’s façade.

warhol foundation grant program expansion small nonprofits

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts is launching a new grant program to support U.S.-based visual arts nonprofits with budgets under $200,000, offering awards between $20,000 and $30,000. The program will begin accepting applications for its Spring 2026 grant cycle, with a deadline of March 1. This marks a significant expansion of the foundation's previous focus, which had been on organizations with budgets of $300,000 or more.

gene hackman santa fe home sale

The Santa Fe home of the late actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa has been listed for sale at $6.25 million. The 13,000-square-foot hilltop compound, designed by architect Ed Boniface, includes a main residence, guesthouse, and a studio where Hackman painted, all set within a gated community with expansive mountain views.

yet to be built frida kahlo branded apartments in miami hit the market

A luxury condominium development in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood, branded with Frida Kahlo's name and image, has begun selling units despite construction not yet starting. The project, called the Frida Kahlo Wynwood Residences, features a 14-story tower designed by architect Carlos Ott with a massive portrait of the artist on its facade and plans for 244 furnished units priced from $500,000 to $1.6 million.

frank lloyd wright walser house foreclosure

Frank Lloyd Wright's Walser House, a rare Prairie-style home in Chicago's Austin neighborhood, is returning to market after being acquired by Fannie Mae through foreclosure. The house has been vacant and neglected since 2019, when its long-time owner died, and requires an estimated $2 million in restoration work. A foreclosure sale in December 2025 failed when preservation advocates were priced out by a minimum bid of $240,000, well above the property's appraised value of $65,000. Fannie Mae now holds the title and is preparing the property for listing, offering a potential path to new ownership.