Art News. Vasari Codex

museum exhibitions schedule Jun 26, 2025 visibility 16 link 13 artists

carlos agredano fume los angeles nomadic art division 1234746165

Artist Carlos Agredano, who grew up near the 105 Freeway in Lynwood, California, has created a traveling sculpture titled "FUME" (2025) that uses air quality sensors mounted on his 1992 Toyota Pickup to measure pollution from vehicle exhaust and ambient air. The work was exhibited at the Los Angeles Nomadic Art Division (LAND) and is part of Agredano's broader practice examining how the LA freeway system has harmed working-class communities of color through toxic drift and destructive urban planning. His research draws on sources including Eric Avila's book "Folklore of the Freeway" and studies from UCLA's Center for Occupational & Environmental Health.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 25, 2025 visibility 11 link 6 artists

art lending hong kong real estate sothebys 1234746125

A high-profile Hong Kong real estate family, the Parkview group, explored an art-backed loan with Sotheby’s earlier this year, offering over 200 works by artists including Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, Yue Minjun, Qi Baishi, and Zao Wou-Ki. The deal collapsed due to logistical challenges around transporting and warehousing the large collection at Sotheby’s facilities. Parkview clarified that no agreement was reached and no loan is expected, while Sotheby’s did not comment.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 24, 2025 visibility 17 link 4 artists

art market minute jun 23 2659130

Art Basel 2026 confirmed that the global art market remains a buyer's market, with sales occurring across various price brackets. A new generation of collectors is emerging, driven by curiosity, community, and long-term engagement rather than speculation. Meanwhile, former Sotheby's executive Adam Chinn has quietly built the art lending firm International Art Finance, backed by the Nahmad family.

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article news schedule Jun 19, 2025 visibility 18 link 5 artists

casa batllo restores back facade courtyard 2658852

Casa Batlló, Antoni Gaudí’s iconic Barcelona landmark, has completed a €3.5 million ($4 million) restoration of its long-neglected back façade and courtyard. The project involved stratigraphic paint analysis to uncover original colors—revealing that the now-cream stucco was once deep gray and the windows originally green—along with restoration of trencadís mosaics, ironwork, wooden elements, and an 85,000-piece Nolla mosaic. The courtyard’s custom planters and parabola-shaped pergola were also rebuilt, returning the rear of the house to Gaudí’s original vision for the first time in over a century.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 17, 2025 visibility 10 link 3 artists

art market minute jun 16 2657259

Art Basel, the world's largest art fair, returns from June 17 to 22 amid ongoing market contraction and geopolitical instability. Meanwhile, Sotheby's London will auction the private collection of legendary art patron Pauline Karpidas in a 250-lot sale this September, estimated to fetch a record-setting $81 million. Additionally, Frieze will relocate to a new venue in Seoul for its fourth edition in the South Korean capital.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 17, 2025 visibility 10 link 3 artists

sothebys picasso ceramics 313160

Sotheby's London held a 'white glove' sale of 126 one-of-a-kind ceramics by Pablo Picasso, all from the collection of his granddaughter Marina Picasso. The auction achieved a 100% sell-through rate, generating £12.3 million ($19.4 million), with the top lot—a painted goat-shaped vase titled *Cabri* (circa 1947)—selling for £485,000, nearly quadrupling its estimate.

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article news schedule Jun 16, 2025 visibility 14 link 5 artists

man sits on and breaks crystal encrusted van gogh chair in italian museum before fleeing 1234745181

A visitor at the Palazzo Maffei museum in Verona, Italy, was captured on CCTV breaking a crystal-encrusted chair artwork by Italian artist Nicola Bolla. The man sat on the piece, titled the "Van Gogh" chair, causing it to collapse under his weight. The couple fled before staff realized the damage. Police have been notified but the suspects remain unidentified. The artwork has since been restored and is back on display.

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article culture schedule Jun 12, 2025 visibility 18 link 6 artists

jeffrey deitchs coney art walls exploits artists real estate ploy 307680

Jeffrey Deitch, former dealer and ex-director of MOCA LA, has partnered with property developer Thor Equities to create "Coney Art Walls," a summertime display of street art murals on concrete slabs in Coney Island, New York. Located on a vacant lot at 1320 Bowery Street owned by Thor Equities, the project features works by over a dozen artists including Lady Pink, Daze, Lee Quiñones, Swoon, and Mister Cartoon, and shares space with Smorgasburg, a food and drink pop-up village. The article criticizes the venture as a real estate marketing ploy rather than a genuine art exhibition.

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article news schedule Jun 12, 2025 visibility 10 link 4 artists

moca los angeles closed anti ice protests 1234744990

The Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles (MOCA) has closed its Geffen Contemporary space through the weekend due to nearby anti-ICE protests and increased military activity, including National Guard deployment. The closure affects an Olafur Eliasson exhibition and has postponed a durational performance by Pussy Riot's Nadya Tolokonnikova, who turned part of the venue into a prison cell-like installation. The protests began after ICE raids in Los Angeles, leading to arrests, a curfew, and vandalism of MOCA's facade.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 11, 2025 visibility 8 link 2 artists

sothebys frame clothing collection 2655177

Fashion brand Frame has released a clothing collaboration with Sotheby’s, featuring loungewear, jeans, jackets, and accessories that prominently display the auction house’s logo. The capsule collection, described as a first-of-its-kind partnership, includes items like a $228 beach towel, $278 shorts, and a $1,298 cashmere sweater, modeled by Sotheby’s staff including SVP Ashkan Baghestani and AVP Kelly Pyrtle.

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article policy schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 10 link 7 artists

mark bauerlein trump arts funding 2632017

Mark Bauerlein, a conservative professor and contributing editor to First Things, published an op-ed in the New York Times arguing against cuts to government arts funding while simultaneously attacking progressive scholars and NEH grants he deems wasteful. He suggests that instead of slashing the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Trump administration should repurpose it to promote conservative cultural values, citing examples like funding for a curriculum on race and comics or a database of a historic gay travel guide as wasteful.

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museum exhibitions schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 14 link 7 artists

the gates christo jeanne claude 2609948

Artist duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude developed 'The Gates' for New York City's Central Park in 1979, but the project faced over two decades of bureaucratic hurdles before finally being installed in 2005 under Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The work consisted of 7,503 steel gates with orange nylon fabric along 23 miles of pathways, using 5,390 tons of steel. Now, on its 20th anniversary, a comprehensive survey titled 'Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Gates and Unrealized Projects for New York City' is being held at the Shed, accompanied by an augmented reality experience via the Bloomberg Connects app.

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article culture schedule Jun 10, 2025 visibility 12 link 9 artists

eureka max ernst grattage technique 2521464

The article explores how German Surrealist Max Ernst developed the techniques of frottage and grattage in the mid-1920s. Frottage—rubbing paper over textured surfaces like floorboards, leaves, and netting—allowed Ernst to create spontaneous, unconscious imagery, culminating in his 1926 publication *Natural History*. He later adapted the method to canvas as grattage, scraping layers of paint over textured materials to reveal abstract forms, drawing on influences from Leonardo da Vinci and memories of his childhood in the Rhineland.

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trending_up market schedule Jun 9, 2025 visibility 22 link 16 artists

new york sales underperform may 2025 1234743221

Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Phillips collectively fell short of their spring auction expectations, bringing in just over $1 billion in evening sales against estimates of $1.2 billion to $1.6 billion. The hammer total of $837.5 million was down from $1.4 billion in the same week last year and $1.8 billion in 2022, with a notable drop in high-priced works and fading interest in emerging artists. The top ten lots generated $278.6 million, a 63 percent decline from 2022, and only a handful of artists under 45 appeared in evening sales, compared to previous years.

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article news schedule Jun 6, 2025 visibility 11 link 4 artists

closed sfai campus casa artist residency center 1234744493

The former San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) campus has been transformed into a privately funded nonprofit arts center called the California Academy of Studio Arts (CASA). Backed by philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, who purchased the Chester Street campus for $30 million last year, CASA will host 30 emerging artists annually in an unaccredited studio program. Artists will have access to private studios, shared workspaces, and professional mentors, with no tuition fees. The center is led by director Abbye Churchill and plans seminars for participants. SFAI, one of the oldest art schools in the U.S., suspended operations in 2022 and filed for bankruptcy after a failed merger with the University of San Francisco.

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article news schedule Jun 5, 2025 visibility 16 link 10 artists

pennsylvania man pleads guilty fake picasso basquiat 1234744466

A 77-year-old Pennsylvania man, Carter Reese, pleaded guilty on May 29 to wire fraud and mail fraud for selling artworks falsely attributed to major modern and contemporary artists including Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, Fernand Léger, and Francis Bacon. The scheme ran from February 2019 to March 2021, and was uncovered by the FBI's Art Crime Team in Philadelphia and Miami. Reese, a former teacher and admissions director at Pottstown's Hill School, also claimed a personal collection of 17,000 antiques valued at over $6 million.

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person people schedule May 20, 2025 visibility 13 link 3 artists

mari claudia jimenez art law and advisory withers 1234742515

Mari-Claudia Jiménez, a prominent figure in the international art market and former chairman and president of the Americas at Sotheby's, has joined global law firm Withers to launch Withers Art and Advisory, a hybrid legal-art advisory practice based in New York. The new venture will provide collectors, estates, and institutions with integrated market advice and legal counsel on acquiring and holding art, combining real-time market insight with transactional legal expertise. Jiménez, a barred attorney, has overseen landmark deals including the restitution and sale of five Kazimir Malevich paintings, the $106.5 million sale of Picasso's *Nude, Green Leaves and Bust*, and the record-breaking $922 million Macklowe collection auction.

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trending_up market schedule May 19, 2025 visibility 21 link 11 artists

may marquee auctions recap analysis christies sothebys 1234742284

Christie's marquee auctions in New York generated $489 million across two sales, led by the $272 million 'Leonard & Louise Riggio: Collected Works' sale and a $217 million 20th century art evening auction. The house guaranteed all 39 lots in the Riggio sale and used third-party guarantees on many others to mitigate risk in a soft market. Top lots included Piet Mondrian's *Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black, and Blue* (1922) at $47.6 million, Claude Monet's *Peupliers au bord de l'Epte, crépuscule* (1891) at $49.2 million, and Mark Rothko's *No. 4 (Two Dominants) [Orange, Plum, Black]* (1950–51) at nearly $39 million. Two Warhols were pulled before the sale, highlighting ongoing challenges in selling high-value works at auction.

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article news schedule May 19, 2025 visibility 21 link 29 artists

new talent art in america 2025 1234742376

Art in America, the sister publication of ARTnews, has released its Summer 2025 issue featuring profiles of 20 emerging artists selected as "New Talent." The list includes artists from around the world working in various mediums, such as Agnes Questionmark, Aislan Pankararu, Alejandro García Contreras, Alison Nguyen, and others. This marks a continuation of the magazine's long-running "New Talent" designation, which began in 1954 and ran regularly until 1966, was relaunched in summer 2021, and has continued since.

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article policy schedule May 19, 2025 visibility 9 link 1 artist

smithsonians african american history museum removed objects 1234742628

Two lenders to the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) reported that their objects were removed from the museum’s galleries earlier than expected, raising concerns about the influence of President Trump’s recent executive order targeting “anti-American content” in Smithsonian museums. Amos C. Brown, a civil rights activist and pastor, lent a 1880 book on Black history and his father’s Bible, which Martin Luther King Jr. carried during protests; the museum cited the loan’s May expiration as the reason for removal. Liz Brazelton, who lent the diary of her great-great-grandfather—a lawyer who worked on behalf of Solomon Northup—said the diary was returned in March, six months before a 10-year loan agreement was set to end in September, with the museum citing an “internal gallery rotation schedule.” At least 32 objects have reportedly been removed, though the museum denied planned removals.

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trending_up market schedule May 19, 2025 visibility 18 link 7 artists

by the numbers a marathon night at sothebys moves 186 1 million worth of contemporary art 2646123

Sotheby's held a marathon night of three sales in New York, totaling $186.1 million in contemporary and ultra-contemporary art. The evening began with single-owner sales from the collections of the late dealer Barbara Gladstone and veteran dealer Daniella Luxembourg, both achieving 'white glove' results with no buy-ins. The main sale featured 42 lots, led by Jean-Michel Basquiat's *Untitled* (1981), which sold for $16.4 million. Overall, 66 of 69 lots sold, with a 94% sell-through rate, though the total fell short of the $234.6 million achieved in the equivalent sale last year.

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article culture schedule May 16, 2025 visibility 13 link 9 artists

salvador dali mustache origin 2628935

Salvador Dalí's iconic mustache, voted the Most Famous Mustache of All Time in a 2010 Telegraph survey, originated in the 1940s after he initially sported a more subdued "Menjou" style in the 1930s. The artist developed his flamboyant upturned mustache, first appearing in his painting *Soft Self-Portrait with Grilled Bacon* (1941), and maintained it with meticulous daily grooming using date-based wax. Dalí treated the mustache as a personal logo and creative symbol, even co-authoring a 1954 book with photographer Philippe Halsman titled *Dalí's Mustache*, featuring 28 surreal photographs.

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trending_up market schedule May 15, 2025 visibility 14 link 7 artists

by the numbers despite 70 million giacometti failure sothebys made money at modern evening sale 2644393

Sotheby's Modern art evening sale in New York generated $186.4 million in total sales after fees, but the headline was the failure of Alberto Giacometti's 1955 sculpture *Grande tête mince (Grande tête de Diego)*, estimated at $70 million, which failed to receive a single bid. Despite the high-profile flop, Sotheby's walked away with $34.4 million in buyer's premium net of fees paid to third-party backers, and because it did not guarantee the Giacometti, it faced no financial risk from the unsold lot. The top seller was Pablo Picasso's *Homme assis* (1969), which sold for $15.1 million with fees. The sale's sell-through rate was 76.9 percent, and the hammer total of $152 million fell $88.3 million below the presale low estimate.

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trending_up market schedule May 14, 2025 visibility 8 link 2 artists

frank lloyd wright lamp sothebys auction 2634454

A rare Frank Lloyd Wright lamp, the Double-Pedestal lamp, sold at Sotheby’s Modern Evening Auction on May 13 for $7.5 million, far exceeding its $3–5 million estimate after an 11-minute bidding war. Designed in 1902 for the Susan Lawrence Dana House in Springfield, Illinois, the lamp is one of only two surviving examples; the other remains in the house’s collection. The sale set a new auction record for a Wright work, surpassing the previous high of $2.9 million for a 1902 ceiling light sold in 2023.

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trending_up market schedule May 14, 2025 visibility 18 link 4 artists

giacometti bust fails to sell at sothebys may 2025 sale 1234742177

A 1955 bronze bust by Alberto Giacometti, estimated at $70 million, failed to sell at Sotheby's modern evening auction in New York on May 13, 2025. The sculpture, from the estate of real estate magnate Sheldon Solow, was offered without a guarantee and bidding reached $64 million before the lot was pulled after four minutes, likely because the reserve price was set above that amount. Auctioneer Oliver Barker presided over the sale, which Sotheby's CEO Charles Stewart described as an organic auction moment despite the lack of a sale.

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trending_up market schedule May 12, 2025 visibility 13 link 2 artists

art market minute may 12 2643096

New York's marquee auction season begins this week, headlined by Christie’s offering the $250 million art collection of Barnes & Noble founder Len Riggio, including Pablo Picasso’s *Femme à la coiffe d’Arlésienne sur fond vert (Lee Miller)*. Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department has released the grant application for the 61st Venice Biennale, introducing tighter deadlines and new ideological guidelines. Separately, Sotheby’s Hong Kong has postponed an auction of ancient Indian gemstones linked to the Buddha.

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article culture schedule May 9, 2025 visibility 13 link 4 artists

the art angle art frames 2633422

Artnet News published a podcast episode featuring writer and editor Katie White, who discusses her article "Bordercore: Why Frames Became the New Frontier in Contemporary Art." White explores how contemporary artists are reimagining picture frames as surreal, sculptural, and symbolic elements that actively comment on, disrupt, or extend the artwork beyond its traditional boundaries. She cites examples like Stephanie Temma Hier's 2021 work "Sparks and Tremors," which combines oil on linen with glazed stoneware sculpture, and notes that statement frames are increasingly appearing at art fairs and exhibitions after a long period of frameless display.

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trending_up market schedule May 3, 2025 visibility 19 link 9 artists

how much should an art fair cost 2639061

Frieze, the international art fair group, has been sold to Ari Emanuel, the Hollywood power broker who previously owned it through Endeavor. Emanuel acquired Frieze via a new, unnamed company from his former entertainment conglomerate, which was recently taken private by Silver Lake. The deal, valued at approximately $200 million according to sources, includes all seven fairs, Frieze magazine, and the No. 9 Cork Street exhibition space. Simon Fox will remain CEO. The sale comes just days before Frieze New York’s 2025 edition and follows months of speculation about the fair's future ownership.

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trending_up market schedule May 2, 2025 visibility 12 link 14 artists

wayne thiebaud pie bonhams 2637637

Wayne Thiebaud's 1961 painting *Pie a la Mode* will headline Bonhams' 20th and 21st century sale in New York on May 14, with an estimate of $1.2 million to $1.8 million. The work, which depicts a lone slice of pie with melting ice cream against a stark black background, is making its auction debut after six decades in a private collection. The 25-lot sale also includes works by Willem de Kooning, Alexander Calder, Fernando Botero, Joel Shapiro, and Ernie Barnes.

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trending_up market schedule May 1, 2025 visibility 9 link 3 artists

gustav klimt portrait failed auction sale fraulein lieser 1234740370

The sale of Gustav Klimt's *Portrait of Fräulein Lieser* (1917), which fetched €35 million ($37.51 million) at im Kinsky in Vienna in 2024, has collapsed after the anonymous Hong Kong buyer withdrew. The buyer had attempted to negotiate indemnification settlements with all known heirs of Adolf and Henriette Lieser for 60% of the sale proceeds, but one heir refused to sign, causing the deal to fall through. The auction house now faces estimated losses of at least €1.5 million ($1.7 million).

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