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Kenny Schachter's column reports on the fallout at Michael Werner Gallery following the departure of star artist Peter Doig. Co-owner Gordon VeneKlasen is accused of expensing luxury items—including private jets, Hamptons helicopter rides, and even a solo helicopter trip for his Labrador Retriever—while the gallery faced financial strain. The partnership is dissolving, with VeneKlasen moving to Los Angeles to open his own gallery and listing his West Village home for $20 million. Meanwhile, Schachter also notes Pace Gallery's financial troubles, with founder Arne Glimcher stepping in to stabilize operations.

The 9 Exhibitions to See in April 2026

ArtReview's editors have selected nine notable exhibitions opening globally in April 2026, highlighting shows that explore materiality, memory, and political history. Featured exhibitions include "Several Eternities in a Day: Form in the Age of Living Materials" at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, showcasing artists using organic materials rooted in Brown and Indigenous thinking; a major Veronica Ryan retrospective at London's Whitechapel Gallery; and a historical exhibition in Prague revisiting Jiří Kolář's contested participation in the 1969 São Paulo Bienal under Brazil's military dictatorship.

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Billionaire hedge fund manager and prominent art collector Kenneth C. Griffin has issued a stark warning regarding the global economy, stating that a recession is inevitable if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed through the end of the year. Speaking at the Semafor World Economy summit, Griffin highlighted that the closure of this vital oil passageway has created energy shocks and treacherous conditions for central bankers, potentially forcing further interest rate hikes to combat inflation.

irans art market proving resilient andy warhol foundation names arts writers grant recipients and more morning links for december 4 2025 1234765016

Iran's domestic art market is proving resilient despite severe sanctions and economic hardship. In October 2025, Tehran Auction held a million-dollar sale at the Azadi Hotel in Tehran, totaling 134 trillion toman (roughly $1.5 million), featuring 120 works by leading modern and contemporary Iranian artists. The event, reported by The Art Newspaper, contrasts sharply with weak results for Iranian art at Sotheby’s and Christie’s in London, where Western demand has declined. Tehran Auction founder Ali Reza Sami-Azar notes that real domestic art spending continues to rise as more Iranians invest in art amid soaring inflation and currency collapse.

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Greece's culture minister Lina Mendoni has publicly criticized the British Museum for hosting a lavish £2,000-a-ticket Pink Ball near the Elgin Marbles, attended by celebrities including Mick Jagger, Naomi Campbell, and Janet Jackson. Mendoni accused the museum of showing 'provocative indifference' by using the ancient Greek sculptures as mere 'decorative elements' for entertainment, echoing similar criticism from a fashion show held in the same gallery last year. Separately, disgraced Miami art dealer Les Roberts, previously charged with selling forged Andy Warhols, has opened a shop called Labubu Headquarters in Coconut Grove selling collectible monster figurines, despite bond conditions restricting him from working in the art industry. The article also reports that Richard Diebenkorn's estate has joined Gagosian, the J. Paul Getty Trust and the World Economic Forum will host a cultural table during Art Basel Paris, and Interpol has added stolen Louvre jewelry to its database.

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This week's art industry roundup covers a postponement, financial losses, legal disputes, and leadership changes. New Jersey's Art Fair 14C has been postponed to May 2027, with organizers citing capacity issues unrelated to market conditions. Bonhams reported a 90% pre-tax loss jump to £213 million in 2024 due to impairment charges. A rediscovered Watteau drawing will be auctioned at Christie's Paris, and personal items of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are featured in Christie's 'American Collector' sales. In galleries, Amy Sillman left Gladstone for David Zwirner, Trevor Paglen joined Jessica Silverman, and Maya Hewitt joined Theta. The Louvre partially closed after a staff strike demanding director Laurence des Cars' resignation and reassessment of a renovation plan. Belgium's plan to dismantle Antwerp's M HKA museum has sparked resignations and backlash. New appointments include Will Cary as COO of the Barnes Foundation and Patton Hindle as director of arts at the Knight Foundation. MATHAF museum in Doha announced a campus expansion by architect Lina Ghotmeh. Legal disputes emerged between Gian Enzo Sperone and Angela Westwater over the shuttered Sperone Westwater gallery.

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The Louvre closed on Monday due to a strike by employees demanding improved working conditions and pay equity, marking the fourth closure since mid-December. Roughly 300 workers voted to extend the strike, which began December 15, after fruitless negotiations with the Ministry of Culture and Louvre management. The dispute has been intensified by an October 19 burglary that exposed systemic security failures, and workers have also protested the museum's long-term redevelopment plans, including a proposed standalone gallery for the Mona Lisa, calling them unrealistic given staffing shortages and maintenance issues.

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Jack Shainman Gallery has formally responded to a lawsuit filed by artist Odili Donald Odita, who accused the New York gallery of refusing to return his artworks. Odita, whose work has been shown at the Venice Biennale and who recently painted the atrium of the Museum of Modern Art, claimed the artworks were worth $1.12 million. In a late November filing, the gallery countered that it holds far less inventory than Odita alleges and that the artist still owes money for production costs. The gallery disclosed that it had paid Odita a monthly stipend starting in 2016—$14,000 per month at its peak—which stopped in 2024, and that Odita had received $586,000 in loans. The gallery claims it has the right to retain five works valued at $650,000, which were consigned to David Kordansky Gallery, and that Odita must repay over $292,000 in outstanding loans.

Alma Allen Speaks Out on Backlash Over U.S. Pavilion Commission: ‘A Little Stressful’

Sculptor Alma Allen has spoken out for the first time about the backlash he faced after accepting the commission to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale. In a rare interview on the podcast *Time Sensitive*, recorded at his home in Tepotzlán, Mexico, Allen described the response as “a little stressful” but said he never hesitated when curator Jeffrey Uslip invited him last fall. His selection sparked controversy because the State Department’s requirement that proposals “reflect and promote American values” while not promoting DEI initiatives led higher-profile artists like William Eggleston and Barbara Chase-Riboud to refuse. Allen’s former galleries, Mendes Wood and Olney Gleason, dropped him after he accepted, though he has since joined Perrotin. He also hinted that his exhibition, “Call Me the Breeze,” will include work about conflict and surveillance.

sculptor henrike naumann dies at 41 museo de arte moderno de bogota fires director morning links for february 16 2026 1234773508

The Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogota (MAMBO) has fired its artistic director, Italian curator Eugenio Viola, who held the position since 2019. Viola stated his dismissal followed his decision to raise concerns with the board about deteriorating working conditions, while the museum called the move part of a "comprehensive review." Separately, German sculptor Henrike Naumann, who was set to represent Germany at the upcoming Venice Biennale, has died at age 41 after a short, serious illness.

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Employees at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) announced plans to unionize on November 4, joining a growing wave of labor organizing at U.S. cultural institutions. The staff, organizing as DIA Workers United, are seeking recognition under AFSCME Cultural Workers United (AFSCME Michigan), which already represents workers at major museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, and Philadelphia Museum of Art. The DIA acknowledged the request and stated it respects employees' legal rights to organize. The announcement follows recent unionization efforts at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and a broader trend that began with the New Museum in 2019.

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France's historic loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum has sparked controversy over the proposed £800 million ($1.1 billion) insurance cover, which critics argue is unsuitable for such a fragile, 950-year-old textile. Art historians and conservators have raised concerns that the U.K.'s Government Indemnity Scheme does not cover damage from preexisting conditions or inherent vice, and that no sum can adequately insure an irreplaceable heritage object. A French petition calling on President Emmanuel Macron to cancel the loan has garnered over 75,000 signatures, but the U.K. government has proceeded with plans, including a practice "dry run" using a facsimile and a custom crate designed to minimize vibrations.

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On December 15, 2025, the Musée du Louvre in Paris was forced to close as approximately 400 of its 2,100 employees went on strike, picketing outside the museum's glass pyramids and turning away visitors. The strike follows a series of crises at the institution, including a $102 million jewel heist in broad daylight two months prior, a flooding incident from a burst water pipe in November, and ongoing concerns about deteriorating facilities, long lines, and substandard restrooms and dining areas. Workers are demanding higher wages and better conditions, with three trade unions—CGT, SUD, and CFDT—warning in an open letter that staff feel like "the last bastion before collapse."

Hydrojustice: A Review

A Non-Aspirational Justice: Review of Hydrojustice

The article is a critical review of Andreas Philippopoulos-Mihalopoulos's book 'Hydrojustice,' which uses the concept of water as a lens to critique traditional, top-down legal justice and propose a more fluid, collective, and embodied alternative. The review frames this analysis through the recent erasure of a Banksy graffiti piece on the London Courts of Justice, which depicted a judge violently silencing a protester.

Here’s What LACMA’s Lavish New Building Looks Like

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has finally unveiled its new flagship building, the David Geffen Galleries, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. The concrete-and-glass structure famously straddles Wilshire Boulevard, featuring a continuous glass facade that offers panoramic views of the Los Angeles landscape and newly installed outdoor sculptures. Inside, the layout encourages a non-linear experience, moving visitors through varying light conditions and diverse gallery sizes that house a mix of contemporary and classical works.

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This article argues that the traditional view of art as a vanguard force predicting cultural change is outdated in the early 21st century. It contends that the rapid acceleration of mainstream culture, driven by social media and news cycles, makes it nearly impossible for traditional fine art media like painting and sculpture to stay ahead of the curve. The author suggests that forward-looking art now emerges from para-artistic digital practices such as AI experiments, Red Chip art, NFTs, memes, and TikTok lore, which often challenge conventional aesthetic and ethical standards. Citing Claire Bishop's 2024 book *Disordered Attention*, the piece notes that contemporary artworks tend to be symptomatic of larger conditions rather than anticipatory, and that artists like Artie Vierkant, Joshua Citarella, and Brad Troemel have pivoted from art-making to art-adjacent content creation.

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Ayoung Kim's video "Delivery Dancer's Sphere" (2022) captures the experience of delivery workers during the Covid-19 pandemic in Seoul, following two female riders navigating the city via app-based systems. Kim shadowed real delivery workers to create the work, which blends documentary footage, anime-style animation, and AI-generated imagery. The video is part of a series that will be featured in Kim's first US solo exhibition at MoMA PS1 in New York, opening this week, and she will also debut a new motion-capture piece at the Performa festival later this month. Kim recently won a $100,000 award from the Guggenheim Museum and LG.

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Athens-based artist Marina Xenofontos has been selected to represent Cyprus at the 2026 Venice Biennale with a pavilion titled “It rests to the bones.” Curated by Kyle Dancewicz, deputy director of SculptureCenter in New York, the exhibition will be housed at the Associazione Culturale Spiazzi near the Arsenale. Xenofontos, born in Limassol in 1988, works across sculpture, kinetic objects, and film, often exploring Cyprus’s history and British colonial legacy. Her proposal was chosen from 21 submissions via an open call organized by Cyprus’s Department of Contemporary Culture, with a five-person advisory committee praising its engagement with Cypriot micro-histories and global issues.

Eugenio Viola, Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá

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The Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá (MAMBO) terminated the contract of its artistic director, Eugenio Viola, earlier this month. Viola claims his dismissal came after he raised concerns with the board in September 2025 about deteriorating working conditions at the museum, concerns he says were shared by other staff. The museum stated the decision resulted from a comprehensive review and that it has begun searching for a new artistic director.

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A water leak occurred in the Denon Wing of the Louvre Museum in Paris, damaging an early 19th-century painting. The leak, labeled an emergency, forced the closure of several rooms and caused two micro-tears and paint layer lifting on Charles Meynier's 1820 work 'Triumph of French Painting: Apotheosis of Poussin, Le Sueur and Le Brun'.

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The Louvre Museum in Paris was forced to close on Monday, January 12, 2026, after staff launched a strike over pay, staffing levels, and working conditions. The closure is the latest in a series of disruptions since mid-December, including a three-day walkout before Christmas and multiple delayed openings in early January. Unions representing employees say the museum is understaffed, poorly maintained, and workers are overworked, calling for increased hiring, higher wages, and greater infrastructure investment. The labor unrest has been compounded by heightened scrutiny following an October daytime robbery of crown jewels valued at over $100 million, and tensions have also flared over a proposed standalone gallery for Leonardo da Vinci's *Mona Lisa*, which unions deem unrealistic given existing problems.

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Ron Rivlin, owner of Revolver Gallery in Los Angeles and a prolific collector of Andy Warhol works, lost his Pacific Palisades home and 340 artworks—including 30 Warhols and pieces by Keith Haring, John Baldessari, Damien Hirst, Alex Katz, and Kenny Scharf—to the January 2025 wildfires that swept through Los Angeles County. The fires, fueled by powerful winds and dry conditions, consumed approximately 60,718 acres and 17,291 structures, killing 30 people. Numerous other artists, collectors, and arts professionals, including Beatriz Cortez, Amir Nikravan, Salomón Huerta, and curator Paul Schimmel, also reported losing homes and artworks.

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Madrid's Prado Museum has announced it will cap visitor numbers after a record-breaking 3.5 million visits in 2025, with director Miguel Falomir declaring the institution does not want or need 'a single visitor more.' The museum unveiled 'Plan Host,' a new strategy prioritizing visitor experience over volume, including measures to limit crowds and attract more local Spanish audiences, as 65 percent of current visitors are overseas tourists. Falomir warned against chasing ever-higher attendance, citing the Louvre as a cautionary example where overcrowding has led to deteriorating conditions, staff strikes, and calls for the director's resignation.

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Louvre staff went on strike again on Monday over understaffing, working conditions, and the museum's $820 million renovation plan, echoing calls for director Laurence des Cars to step down. The walkout forced the museum to close to the public, reopening only a few major attractions like the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory of Samothrace. The strike, originally launched in December, was suspended briefly but resumed after all 350 staff voted unanimously in favor. Unions demand a re-evaluation of the renovation project, dubbed "Nouvelle Renaissance," arguing the high cost is unrealistic and that priorities should shift to urgent technical maintenance.

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Journalist Bianca Bosker went undercover as a studio assistant for painter Julie Curtiss and other artists, revealing the gritty, athletic reality behind art-making—a world of blood, sweat, and sleepless nights. The article explores how mounting financial pressures, especially for sculptors and installation artists like Ivana Bašić, Erwin Wurm, and Lindsey Mendick, force tough decisions about studio space and production. Bašić, despite critical acclaim, lost a subsidized Dumbo studio and now outsources production to keep costs down, while a growing number of established artists pass on wisdom through residencies and assistant teams.

How Much Is That Chagall in the Window: Metropolitan Opera Faces Funding Crisis After Saudi Deal Collapse

The Metropolitan Opera in New York faces a $30 million deficit after a $200 million funding deal with Saudi Arabia collapsed. The Saudi government withdrew from the agreement, which would have sent Met performers to the Royal Diriyah Opera House for three weeks each February, citing economic pressures from the Iran War and the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz. To address the shortfall, the Met is considering selling two monumental Marc Chagall paintings—The Sources of Music and The Triumph of Music (1966)—valued at $55 million, along with other options like selling naming rights or seeking a similar deal with another country.

London’s Timothy Taylor to Close New York Outpost After a Decade

London gallery Timothy Taylor will close its New York outpost next month after nearly a decade of operation. The gallery cited current market conditions and the high costs of maintaining a second permanent space as reasons for the consolidation, though it will maintain an office and viewing room in the city.

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Zona Maco, one of Latin America's premier art fairs, will return to Mexico City from February 4–8, 2026, at Centro Banamex. The fair will feature 241 exhibitors across nine sections, including a new section called Forma, which blends contemporary art and design, and a revised Diseño Emergente section for emerging designers. Notable participants include Pace Gallery, Galleria Continua, Kurimanzutto, and OMR, with curated sections led by Aimé Iglesias Lukin and Manuela Moscoso. Founder Zélika García highlighted the fair's growth and its commitment to showcasing blue-chip galleries alongside emerging and mid-career talent.

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A French Senate hearing revealed that Louvre security failures allowed thieves to steal $102 million in French crown jewels from the Apollo Gallery in October, with officials stating that the escape could have been prevented if exterior camera footage had been monitored in real time. Noël Corbin of the General Inspectorate of Cultural Affairs and Pascal Mignerey of the Security, Safety and Audit Mission testified that a 2019 security audit by Van Cleef & Arpels identifying gallery weaknesses was not transmitted to new leadership under director Laurence des Cars, contributing to the heist.

louvre museum reopens despite crown jewel heist investigations 1234758368

The Louvre Museum reopened on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, after a dramatic jewel heist on Sunday, October 19, in which robbers used a cherry picker and angle grinder to steal eight pieces of jewelry worth an estimated $102 million from the Apollo Gallery in just seven minutes. The second-floor gallery housing France’s crown jewels remains closed as investigations continue, and the museum’s security systems—deemed outdated and inadequate in a prior official report—are under heavy scrutiny. Museum director Laurence des Cars was booed by staff and is expected to address questions in a hearing later Wednesday, while the thieves remain at large.