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The Los Angeles art scene is navigating a complex recovery as it prepares for Frieze Los Angeles 2026. The city is grappling with the lingering trauma of devastating wildfires that destroyed significant private collections, alongside economic instability caused by massive layoffs in the entertainment industry and recent political unrest. This combination of environmental and financial crises has led to a notable market downturn, resulting in the closure of several high-profile galleries including Blum, Tanya Bonakdar, and Sean Kelly.

stop making sense 2025 art market analysis 1234767291

The article analyzes the chaotic and contradictory state of the global art market in 2025, a year marked by extreme volatility following President Donald Trump's return to office. Key events include strong sales at Frieze Los Angeles in February, a record $13.8 million sale of a painting by M.F. Husain at Christie's, and a sharp downturn after Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on major trading partners. Major auctions in May fell far short of expectations, with only $837.5 million hammered against estimates of up to $1.6 billion. Meanwhile, Art Basel expanded with a new Qatar fair, but sales at Art Basel Switzerland dropped over 35% from 2024. The year also saw a wave of gallery closures, including the sunsetting of Blum & Poe.

guggenheim museum 2026 exhibitions carol bove taryn simon 1234755917

The Guggenheim Museum has announced its 2026 exhibition lineup, headlined by a Carol Bove survey filling the entire Frank Lloyd Wright–designed rotunda from March 5, 2026. The show, curated by Katherine Brinson, spans 25 years of Bove’s work, including early drawings and her signature twisted metal sculptures. Following Bove’s exhibition, Taryn Simon will take over the rotunda from September 18, 2026, to March 2027, with a photo-based installation that invites visitors to navigate a "whirlwind" of images. Additionally, a group show titled "Guggenheim Pop" will feature Pop art icons like Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, and Claes Oldenburg alongside contemporary artists such as Maurizio Cattelan, Lucia Hierro, and Josh Kline.

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Frieze Los Angeles 2026 opened amid concerns over the city's cooling art market, following a wave of gallery closures and a shift toward nomadic dealer models. Despite the economic downturn and the lingering shadow of previous regional fires, the fair week saw a resurgence of energy with 32,000 attendees and significant blue-chip sales, including a $3.75 million Ed Ruscha at Gagosian and a $2.8 million Njideka Akunyili Crosby at David Zwirner. The week was characterized by a mix of high-end commerce at the Santa Monica Airport and grassroots vitality at satellite events like Felix and the newly launched Post-Fair.

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A flurry of art fair activity across Asia marked the early weeks of 2026. Art Basel's inaugural Qatar edition broke format with single-artist presentations, focusing on MENASA artists and discreet institutional buying. The India Art Fair in New Delhi saw strong sales for local galleries like Vadehra Art Gallery and DAG, while international fairs also took place in Indonesia and the Philippines. New events like Pavilion Hong Kong were announced, and Tokyo Gendai confirmed its return.

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Gabi Vidal-Irizarry, a guest writer for Artnet News's Wet Paint gossip column, recounts attending an "Artist Party" at the Museum of Modern Art featuring Arthur Jafa. The column then pivots to a profile of Jim Toth, the audio engineer behind the distinctive white pyramid speakers ubiquitous at New York art world events, tracing his career from the city's legendary 1980s nightlife scene to becoming the preferred sound provider for museums and elite patrons.

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Artnet News published a roundup of five rising artist profiles that defined 2025, highlighting interviews with Alexandra Metcalf and Chase Hall. Metcalf, a British-American artist, blends 1960s psychedelia, 2000s pop music, and Victorian literature in her multimedia works, and debuted at Art Basel with London's Ginny on Frederick. Chase Hall, a painter who uses hot coffee on cotton, explores race and fatherhood, with a solo exhibition "Momma's Baby, Daddy's Maybe" at Galerie Eva Presenhuber in Vienna.

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The Studio Museum in Harlem has selected Derriann Pharr, Simonette Quamina, and Taylor Simmons as its 2026 Artists-in-Residence. This cohort will be the first to work in the museum's new Bruce Llewellyn Artist in Residence Center, with their residency running from March 15 to October 15, culminating in an exhibition and publication funded by the Glenstone Foundation.

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This week's art industry moves include François Ghebaly now representing Paris-based painter Xie Lei, a finalist for the 2025 Prix Marcel Duchamp, whose work is on view at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris. Gray gallery in Chicago and New York has taken on pioneering abstractionist Candida Alvarez, with a solo exhibition planned for Fall 2027, while she continues to be represented by Monique Meloche Gallery. The Khadhok—Tibetan Artists' Collective won the 2025 Rubin Museum Himalayan Art Prize, a $30,000 unrestricted award. The Seattle Art Museum elected five new trustees: Joanna Beitel, Martha Draves, Margaret Morris, Jordon Voss, and returning former trustee Lyn Grinstein. At Christie's London, Canadian collector François Odermatt paid $19 million for Peter Doig's 1994 painting 'Ski Jacket,' far exceeding its presale estimate of $8–10.75 million.

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The 30th edition of the International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) Print Fair concluded at New York’s Javits Center, featuring 77 international exhibitors. The fair showcased a vast chronological range of works, from $2 million Edvard Munch prints to contemporary editions priced at $200, attracting a diverse crowd of collectors and institutional buyers.

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Art Basel Paris is undergoing a major transformation for its third edition, officially rebranding from 'Paris+ par Art Basel' and moving into the newly renovated Grand Palais. The historic venue, fresh from a $500 million restoration, allows the fair to expand its footprint by 26 percent, hosting 194 galleries compared to last year's 154. The move includes the opening of the ornate balconies for emerging galleries and a new sector called Premise, signaling the fair's transition from a successful 'preamble' to a permanent fixture in the French capital.

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Artnet News editors and journalists compiled their annual roundup of the best artworks seen in 2025, highlighting standout pieces from around the world. Among the featured works are Richard Serra's monumental steel sculpture "East-West/West-East" (2014) in the Qatari desert, Emma Ferrer's painting "You Will Return the Evil to Its Steppe (Homage to Josefa de Óbidos)" (2024) shown at New York's Sapar Contemporary, and Kerry James Marshall's "The White Queens of Africa: Colette" (2025) from his retrospective at the Royal Academy of Art. Each artwork is accompanied by a personal reflection from the journalist who encountered it.

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Christie’s postwar and contemporary art day sale in London on Thursday totaled £12.2 million ($16.4 million), with over 80% of lots sold and 90% of those achieving prices within or above their presale estimates. Standout results included a 2020 painting by Somaya Critchlow selling for £57,150 (est. £15,000–£20,000), a small Etel Adnan painting going for £107,950 (est. £30,000–£50,000), and a Michelangelo Pistoletto mirror piece fetching £234,950—seven times its estimate. However, a Toyin Ojih Odutola painting and a Gerhard Richter gray painting failed to sell, reflecting a selective market.

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The VIP opening of Frieze Los Angeles at Santa Monica Airport saw a surge of high-value transactions and heavy foot traffic from both local and international collectors. Major galleries reported multi-million dollar sales within the first few hours, including a $2.8 million work by Njideka Akunyili Crosby at David Zwirner and a sold-out booth of Conny Maier paintings at Hauser & Wirth. Dealers described the atmosphere as a "frenzy," noting that sales figures in some cases already tripled their performance at previous major fairs like Art Basel Miami Beach.

Guardian Art Critic Adrian Searle Steps Down

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Chief art critic Adrian Searle is leaving his full-time role at the Guardian after nearly 30 years, with his final article scheduled for April 1. He will continue to contribute occasional pieces to the publication.

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The FOG Design+Art fair in San Francisco opened with a glitzy preview gala at Fort Mason Center, serving as a fundraiser for SFMOMA's education initiatives. VIP tickets started at $10,000 for the first hour, and by 7 p.m., the event filled to capacity as prices dropped to $250. Dealers reported a different energy this year, partly due to the recent Los Angeles wildfires affecting many participating galleries. Sales were strong, with New York dealer Ales Ortuzar selling multiple works by Suzanne Jackson in the first few hours. Local collector Sonya Yu, a recent ARTnews Top 200 listee, highlighted the resilience and sophistication of the Bay Area art community.

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High Line Art and the Chanel Culture Fund have launched a partnership to co-commission rising artists working in digital and time-based media for High Line Originals, a film series hosted at the High Line Channel in Manhattan. The fourth cycle begins September 10 with the premiere of Frank Wang Yefeng's "Groundless Flower – ཨ" (2025), and the program shifts from a biannual to an annual commissioning cycle. Additional U.S. premieres by Cao Fei, Lu Yang, and Jakob Kudsk Steenson will screen on September 8 and 9, with a group show featuring Petra Cortright in November 2025.

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The ARTnews industry moves column for November 19, 2025 reports several gallery and institutional changes: Ortuzar partners with the Claire Falkenstein Foundation for a multi-year initiative including a booth at Art Basel Miami Beach and a 2026 exhibition at the San Diego Museum of Art; Jessica Silverman now co-represents GaHee Park with Perrotin; Gurr Johns appoints Robert Goff as president of private sales and Tabor Story as director of private sales; Tara Downs adds Diné/Tlingit artist Nizhonniya Austin to its roster; Kohler Arts/Industry announces its 2026 residency cohort of 12 artists; Upsilon Gallery names Camilla Previ managing director in Milan. The column also highlights the record-breaking $236.4 million sale of Gustav Klimt's 'Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer' at Sotheby's, the highest price for any modern artwork at auction.

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Abu Dhabi Art (ADA) held its final edition at Manarat Al Saadiyat before transitioning into a Frieze franchise in November 2025. The fair featured 53 new galleries, a Focus sector highlighting art scenes from Nigeria, Turkey, and South Asia, and a new Emerge section offering discounted booth prices for works under $3,000 to attract emerging collectors. The shift comes as Abu Dhabi’s cultural landscape moves beyond its iconic Saadiyat Island museums—Louvre Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum, and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi—toward more grassroots ventures like the MiZa warehouse district, which hosts experimental spaces such as MamarLab and Iris Projects. Mega-gallery Pace returned after a 14-year absence, citing renewed energy in the Gulf market.

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Art Basel Hong Kong has announced its exhibitor list for the 2026 edition, featuring 240 galleries from 42 countries and territories, roughly the same size as last year's 242 galleries. The fair runs March 27–29 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, with preview days on March 25–26. New additions include 32 first-time exhibitors from Australia, Japan, Turkey, France, Germany, and the US, while 33 galleries from the previous edition are absent—some due to closures (Blum, Clearing, Kasmin) or acquisitions (Millan bought by Almeida & Dale). A new sector called Echoes will showcase works created in the last five years, and the Encounters sector will be curated by a team led by Mami Kataoka. Media artist Ellen Pau will oversee the film program for the first time, and Shahzia Sikander has been commissioned to create a public artwork for the M+ Museum facade.

christies london day sale october 2025 1234757768

Christie’s postwar and contemporary art day sale in London on Thursday totaled £12.2 million ($16.4 million), with over 80% of lots sold and 90% of those achieving prices within or above their presale estimates. Standout results included a 2020 painting by Somaya Critchlow that sold for £57,150 (est. £15,000–£20,000), a small Etel Adnan painting that fetched £107,950 (est. £30,000–£50,000), and a Michelangelo Pistoletto mirror piece that soared to £234,950—seven times its estimate. Works from the Ole Faarup collection and the Tiqui Atencio and Ago Demirdjian collection also performed well. However, a Toyin Ojih Odutola painting failed to sell, and Gerhard Richter’s gray paintings from the 1970s attracted little interest, mirroring a similar failure in Christie’s evening sale the previous day.

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Frieze London 2025 opened with strong VIP preview sales, as major galleries reported brisk business by early afternoon. Thaddaeus Ropac sold a Robert Rauschenberg work for $850,000 and a Tony Cragg sculpture for $420,000, while Hauser & Wirth moved multiple pieces including a George Rouy for £275,000 and an Ellen Gallagher for $950,000. Gagosian sold a new Lauren Halsey sculpture before noon, and White Cube reported six sales. The fair's layout, which places mega-galleries at the back to encourage foot traffic to smaller booths, returned by popular demand.

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V. Joy Simmons, a longtime art collector and physician, opened her Los Angeles home in Baldwin Hills for a tour, revealing a vast collection of over 150 works by Black artists. The collection spans from early purchases like Elizabeth Catlett's 1973 lithograph 'Which Way?' to site-specific installations by Lauren Halsey and works by Romare Bearden, Kerry James Marshall, Mark Bradford, and Kehinde Wiley. Simmons, who began collecting in the 1970s while in medical school, has curated intergenerational juxtapositions throughout her home, including stained-glass windows by Varnette Honeywood and Joyce Dudnick, a church pew by Genevieve Gaignard, and a bottle tree sculpture by Dominique Moody.

v joy simmons collection tour baldwin hills home 1234756282

V. Joy Simmons, a Los Angeles-based physician and longtime art collector, opened her Baldwin Hills home to ARTnews for a tour of her extensive collection. The house features over 150 objects, including stained-glass windows by Varnette Honeywood and Joyce Dudnick, a site-specific column installation by Lauren Halsey, and works by Elizabeth Catlett, Romare Bearden, Kerry James Marshall, Mark Bradford, Kehinde Wiley, and Carrie Mae Weems, among many others. Simmons began collecting in the 1970s with a $50 lithograph by Catlett and has since built a collection that spans generations of Black artists, often juxtaposing older and younger artists in her displays.

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Singapore's Art SG fair featured a new pavilion called South Asian Insights, backed by India's TVS Motor Company, showcasing contemporary art from South Asia. The pavilion, which included eight galleries and featured a tapestry by Raqib Shaw sold to a Japanese collector, was crowded and highlighted the rising market for South Asian art.

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Artnet News highlights 11 must-see gallery shows during Armory Art Week in New York City, running from September 5 to October 26, 2024. Featured exhibitions include Gina Beavers' 'Divine Consumer' at Marianne Boesky Gallery, where she presents semi-sculptural relief paintings inspired by internet blankets and towels; Jenny Holzer's 'Words' at Sprüth Magers, showcasing her text-based works from the 1980s to present, including a new AI-generated LED installation; 'Radical Artists of the 1960s/1970s: Between Geometry and Gesture' at David Nolan, featuring works by Barry Le Va, Bruce Nauman, and others; and Stephen Thorpe's 'Dream House' at Dimin, with oil paintings of interiors merging into dreamlike landscapes.

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Artnet News's 'The Asia Pivot' reflects on its 2025 coverage, highlighting the expansion of Asia's art scene beyond traditional East Asian markets into emerging regions such as the Gulf, South Asia, and Central Asia. Key developments include the debut of the Bukhara Biennial in Uzbekistan, the opening of the Almaty Museum of Arts in Kazakhstan, and the flourishing art scene in Thailand with new private museums like Dib Bangkok. The report also covers major markets like China, Japan, and South Korea, noting the impact of geopolitical dynamics and market shifts.

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Art Basel Miami Beach 2025 opened amid cautious optimism following the $2.2 billion New York auctions, with Google co-founder Sergey Brin and WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum spotted in Miami. Dealers reported strong sales, including an $18.5 million Joan Mitchell painting at Gray purchased by dealer Lillian Heidenberg. The fair introduced a new digital art section, Zero 10, sponsored by OpenSea and curated by Eli Scheinman, aimed at attracting crypto-wealthy collectors and younger audiences. Meanwhile, Art Basel hired Elena Soboleva, formerly of David Zwirner, as global head of audience growth and intelligence to engage the next generation of collectors.

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Artnet Pro has published a roundup of nine artists whose markets it appraised in depth during 2025, including Dorothea Tanning, Gertrude Abercrombie, Emily Kam Kngwarray, Jack Whitten, and Olga de Amaral. The article highlights key market developments for each artist, such as record auction prices, growing international recognition, and shifts in collector interest, drawing on data and expert commentary from dealers, auction-house specialists, and advisors.

Petal passion, super-surreal Polaroids and Billy Childish’s California – the week in art

This week’s art roundup highlights several major exhibitions across the UK, including a floral-themed survey at Kettle’s Yard featuring artists from Henri Rousseau to Lubaina Himid. Other notable openings include Billy Childish’s expressionistic California desert paintings at Carl Freedman Gallery, Katharina Grosse’s site-specific installations at White Cube, and Steve McQueen’s new photography book, 'Bounty', which explores the colonial history of Grenada through its flora.