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Frieze has announced plans to launch a new art fair in Abu Dhabi in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism, converting the existing Abu Dhabi Art into a Frieze-branded franchise by 2026. This follows a previously reported but unrealized deal between Abu Dhabi and Art Basel, which instead chose to launch a fair in Qatar. Meanwhile, a new London art space called Ibraaz, funded by Swiss Tunisian banker Kamel Lazaar and focused on global majority arts, will open October 15. Gagosian also announced Jeff Koons's return to the gallery with a solo show titled "Porcelain Series." Additionally, the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation is selling the artist's Florida compound due to hurricane damage, and Pepperdine University closed an exhibition early after artists withdrew works over alleged political censorship.

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This week's art industry roundup covers a flurry of developments across art fairs, auction houses, galleries, and museums. A new boutique fair called Enzo will launch alongside Frieze Los Angeles in an Echo Park warehouse with 10 New York galleries, while Felix Los Angeles returns to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel with 50 exhibitors. Art Cologne's revived Palma Mallorca fair announces 88 exhibitors for its April debut. At auction, Christie's London will offer the Vanthournout collection of modernist and Surrealist works, including a Magritte painting estimated at $4.7 million, while Bonhams sells rare Oscar Wilde materials and three Bob Ross paintings. In gallery news, Roland Augustine steps down at Luhring Augustine, Lehmann Maupin opens a London space, and several galleries announce new artist representations. Museums see leadership changes at the Park Avenue Armory and Wrightwood 659, and the Rijksmuseum plans a new sculpture garden.

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The Whitney Museum of American Art is preparing to open its new Meatpacking District building, designed by Renzo Piano, on May 1. The museum's exhibition space will nearly double, with two floors dedicated to its collection, and it expects to attract visitors from the nearby High Line. Despite potential criticism, insiders like former MoMA curator Robert Storr and former Whitney director David Ross express strong support for the move, contrasting it with expansions at MoMA and the Guggenheim. The article also traces the museum's origins from Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney's rejected gift to the Met, its early days under director Juliana Force, and its previous homes, including the Marcel Breuer-designed Upper East Side building.

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Los Angeles boasts a dense museum landscape that reflects the city's unique architectural history and commitment to contemporary art. This guide highlights five essential cultural destinations, including The Broad, which houses the expansive postwar collection of Eli and Edythe Broad within its innovative 'veil and vault' architecture, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House, a UNESCO World Heritage site that pioneered California's indoor-outdoor living aesthetic.

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Frieze Los Angeles returns to a city landscape significantly altered by both commercial development and recent environmental tragedy. While blue-chip galleries like David Zwirner, Marian Goodman, and Lisson have established new strongholds in districts like Melrose Hill and Hollywood, the local community is simultaneously reeling from devastating January wildfires that displaced numerous artists and collectors. This guide provides a strategic roadmap for navigating the sprawling city's geography, highlighting key exhibitions such as Bruce Nauman at Marian Goodman and a 90-artist benefit show for fire victims.

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Ralph Lemon has been awarded the 2025 ARTnews Lifetime Achievement Award for his multidisciplinary practice spanning dance, drawing, painting, installation, sculpture, and writing. The article highlights his career trajectory from founding the Ralph Lemon Dance Company to disbanding it in 1995 to focus on broader artistic collaborations. Central to his work is the Geography Trilogy (1996–2004) and his long-term collaboration with Walter Carter, a former Mississippi sharecropper, whose life and family became a recurring subject. Lemon's recent exhibition "Ceremonies Out of the Air: Ralph Lemon" at MoMA PS1 (November 14, 2024–March 24, 2025), curated by Connie Butler and Thomas Lax, featured videos, found African sculptures, drawings, and a four-channel performance piece, Rant (redux), with Kevin Beasley and Okwui Okpokwasili.

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Almine Rech is closing her London gallery in Mayfair after more than a decade, as reported by Melanie Gerlis in the Art Newspaper. The space, which opened in 2014 on Savile Row before moving to Grosvenor Hill, hosted exhibitions by artists including Javier Calleja, Chloe Wise, Jeff Koons, and Esther Mahlangu. Rech stated that London remains "important" to her and that she plans to open something in the city in the future, but offered no specifics. The London branch was put into liquidation, with Companies House filings indicating a £6.3 million deficit, though Rech said she owes no money to artists, workers, or suppliers and described the filing as a technical step to restructure a lease. Her gallery will continue operating its other eight locations across Paris, New York, Brussels, Shanghai, Monaco, and Gstaad.

Sea change: inside LACMA’s new curatorial strategy

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is debuting a radical curatorial overhaul within its new David Geffen Galleries, moving away from traditional 19th-century departmental silos. Led by Director Michael Govan and a team of 45 curators, the museum is implementing a cross-disciplinary approach that organizes the collection around "oceanic nodes"—the Mediterranean, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific. This strategy allows for the juxtaposition of disparate media and cultures, such as contemporary photography alongside ancient textiles, to highlight the historical circulation of ideas and people across bodies of water.

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The article analyzes the auction performance of Chinese artists born after 1990 (post-90s) in the first half of 2025, based on data from the Artnet Price Database and the Artnet Intelligence Report. It highlights a shift from short-term speculation to longer-term competition, with the market showing more robust structure including stratified pricing and wider transactional geography. Key figures include Li Hei Di, whose large-scale painting sold for HK$2.67 million at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, and other artists like Zhang Zipiao, Yuan Fang, and Wang Qianyao achieving consistent mid-range prices between HK$300,000 and HK$800,000. Sales in Hong Kong reached HK$12.4 million, while artists also entered Western markets in New York and London.

V&A East architecture review – from ceramics to codpieces, this is a honey-coloured treasure trove of human ingenuity

V&A East has officially unveiled its new museum building in London’s Olympic Park, a striking architectural addition to the city's burgeoning 'East Bank' cultural district. Designed by O’Donnell + Tuomey, the structure features a faceted, honey-colored concrete exterior inspired by the intricate folds of a sleeve in a Vermeer painting and the structural tailoring of Cristóbal Balenciaga. The interior houses a diverse collection of human ingenuity, ranging from Leigh Bowery’s sequined codpieces to historical ceramics, all organized within a framework that emphasizes the process of making.

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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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Lebanese-born artist Ali Cherri discusses his latest exhibition, "Last Watch Before Dawn," currently on view at Almine Rech in New York. The show centers on his new film, *The Sentinel* (2025), which explores the psychological and physical toll of military service through the figure of a French soldier. This exhibition marks a shift in Cherri’s practice, as he integrated the creation of sculptures and watercolors directly into the filmmaking process, allowing the gallery space to function as an extension of the cinematic set.

Chicago Art Movements Over The Years, From the Monster Roster to the Modern Moment

Chicago’s art history is defined by a series of indigenous movements that prioritized visceral, existential expression over commercial appeal. The article traces this lineage back to the late 1940s with the emergence of the Monster Roster, a group of artists including Leon Golub and Dominick Di Meo who returned from World War II to produce agonistic work. This movement was catalyzed by institutional resistance at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, leading to the creation of the independent Momentum Exhibitions which bypassed conservative juried systems.

AIPAD : The Photography Show 2026 : Robert Koch Gallery – Booth B6

Robert Koch Gallery, a founding member of AIPAD, will present a group exhibition at The Photography Show 2026, held at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City from April 22–26. The gallery's booth B6 will feature the premiere of key early Edward Burtynsky images in a larger 48 × 60–72 inch format, previously unavailable at that scale, along with recent mine tailing images shown for the first time. Also on view will be photographs from Matt Black's American Geography and New World Atlas series, works by Mimi Plumb, whose retrospective is currently at the High Museum of Art, and pieces by historic photographers including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Frank, Helen Levitt, and Man Ray.

Art Rotterdam focuses on photography

The 27th edition of Art Rotterdam took place at the Rotterdam Ahoy, featuring over 150 galleries with a heavy emphasis on the Dutch art scene. This year’s fair was marked by a strategic integration with the photography fair Unseen and coincided with major local developments, including the relocation of the Nederlands Fotomuseum to its new 'Santos' home and the opening of the Fenix Museum of Migration. Notable presentations included Sakir Khader’s poignant photography of Palestinian resistance at No Man's Art Gallery and Shimon Kamada’s atmospheric oil paintings at Diez Gallery.

The eight hotly awaited art-venue openings we are most looking forward to in 2026

The article previews eight major art-venue openings expected in 2026, including the long-awaited Guggenheim Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island, Cardiff's first contemporary art museum (AMOCA), the V&A East Museum in London, the revived Palais de Danse studio of Barbara Hepworth in St Ives, and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. It also notes the uncertain status of the Museum of West African Art in Benin City amid political disputes. These projects range from vast new museums and subterranean expansions to restored artist studios, many delayed by funding, planning, or construction challenges.

Fondation Cartier’s Latest Museum Invents New Ways of Displaying Art

The Fondation Cartier for Contemporary Art has opened a new building in Paris, designed by architect Jean Nouvel, after ten years of planning and construction. Located steps from the Louvre in the former Grand Hotel du Louvre, the 8,500-square-meter space features transformable architecture with movable walls and floors, allowing exhibitions to float in space. The inaugural show, "Exposition Générale," curated by Grazia Quaroni and Béatrice Grenier and designed by Formafantasma, highlights the building's structural innovations and presents works from the foundation's permanent collection, including pieces by Cai Guo-Qiang, Joan Mitchell, James Turrell, and lesser-known artists like Freddy Mamani.

San Francisco’s Museum of the African Diaspora marks 20 years with a show about Blackness and the cosmos

San Francisco's Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) has reopened its renovated ground-floor lobby to mark its 20th anniversary, alongside two new exhibitions. The larger show, "Unbound: Art, Blackness & the Universe" (on view until 16 August 2026), explores Blackness and the cosmos through painting, photography, sculpture, and installation. Curated by MoAD's first full-time curator Key Jo Lee, the exhibition features 17 artists including Torkwase Dyson, Barkley L. Hendricks, Lorna Simpson, Oasa DuVerney, and Mikael Owunna, organized under three themes: "Geo-Cartographic," "Religio-Mythic," and "Techno-Cyborgian." The $500,000 renovation also upgraded lighting and HVAC systems.

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Paris Internationale, the emerging art fair known for hosting independent galleries, announced it will launch a Milan edition in April 2026, just before its 11th edition opened in Paris. The fair, founded in 2015 by a group of independent galleries, plans to establish a lasting presence in Milan, with founder Nerina Ciaccia citing alignment with the fair's values and approach to the art market. The Milan edition is partly driven by Italy's recent reduction of VAT on art exchanges from 22% to 5%, making it more competitive than France's 5.5%. The fair has not yet secured a venue but intends to choose an architecturally historic location, continuing its nomadic tradition.

In 2025, new ‘independent and nimble’ art fairs began redrawing the market map

In 2025, several established art fairs were cancelled or postponed, including the Art Dealers Association of America's Art Show in Manhattan, Taipei Dangdai, Photofairs Hong Kong, and the India Art Fair's Mumbai expo. Amid these retrenchments, a wave of smaller, alternative art fairs emerged in cities like New York, Paris, and the Berkshires, organized by gallerists and curators seeking new formulas focused on coalition, affordability, and intimacy. Examples include Esther in Manhattan (co-founded by Margot Samel and Olga Temnikova), the Arrival Art Fair in North Adams (co-founded by Yng-Ru Chen, Crystalle Lacouture, and Sarah Galender Meyer), 7 rue Froissart in Paris (organized by Sara Maria Salamone and Brigitte Mulholland), and Post-Fair in Santa Monica (founded by Chris Sharp).

Why St. Louis Is A World-Class Art Destination

The Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) is presenting "Anselm Kiefer: Becoming the Sea," a landmark exhibition featuring new, large-scale paintings and sculptures by the renowned German artist. The works, including 30-foot-tall paintings like "Missouri, Mississippi" (2024) and "Lumpeguin, Cigwe, Animiki" (2025), were created specifically for SLAM's soaring Sculpture Hall after Kiefer revisited St. Louis in 2023. The exhibition draws on Kiefer's 1991 visit to the city, where he was deeply impressed by the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and brings together themes of rivers, borders, memory, and cultural metaphor.

Solidarity and shared optimism take centre stage at 1-54 fair in London

The 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London, held at Somerset House until 19 October, showcases a wide range of African and diaspora artists. Galleries from Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, and beyond present works that highlight both historical and contemporary practices, with notable sales and institutional interest already reported. The fair coincides with Tate Modern's Nigerian Modernism exhibition and the opening of the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) in Benin City, creating a moment of heightened global attention on African art.

After Five Years of Community Building, Social Practice CUNY Initiative to End in 2027

The Social Practice CUNY (SPCUNY) initiative, a major program fostering the intersection of art and social justice across the City University of New York’s 25 campuses, will officially sunset in February 2027. Co-directed by artists Chloë Bass and Greg Sholette, the program will conclude following its final 2025–26 fellowship cohort. The decision to end the project stems from the directors' personal transitions, including Sholette’s upcoming retirement and Bass’s shift away from full-time teaching to focus on her studio practice.

In Naples, an International Exhibition to Map Instability and Deactivate Borders

A Napoli una mostra internazionale per mappare l’instabilità e disattivare i confini

The exhibition "Atlante" at Thomas Dane Gallery in Naples, curated by James Lingwood, brings together works by eight international artists—Igshaan Adams, Teju Cole, Luigi Ghirri, Emma McNally, Claudio Parmiggiani, Anri Sala, Tatiana Trouvé, and Akram Zaatari—to challenge traditional cartographic representations. Through maps, drawings, textiles, and photographs, the show interrogates the ideological and political assumptions embedded in mapping, reframing the Mediterranean not as a border but as a connective space, and exposing the instability and power asymmetries underlying historical worldviews.

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The Henry Street Settlement, a nonprofit social-service organization on New York's Lower East Side, lost its primary annual fundraiser when the Art Dealers Association of America canceled The Art Show in July 2025. After months of uncertainty, Henry Street has partnered with Independent, the art fair that recently relocated to Pier 36, to host its 37th gala preview on May 14, 2026. The collaboration was brokered by art dealer James Fuentes, a Henry Street board member and longtime Lower East Side gallerist. The gala had raised over $38 million since 1989, and the cancellation left a budget gap that forced the organization to launch a virtual campaign raising only $600,000—half the usual amount—while federal cuts compounded the financial strain.

University of Richmond Museums kicks off a new season with immersive exhibitions and films

The University of Richmond Museums has launched a new season with three exhibitions at the Harnett Museum of Art. The centerpiece is 'Politics of Place,' a rotating film program curated by professor Jeremy Drummond, featuring works by nine contemporary filmmakers and two collectives exploring identity and power through geography. Other shows include a newly commissioned installation by sculptor Abigail DeVille examining Black mental health care, and 'Black Work: Absence/Absorption,' a group exhibition investigating the material and conceptual nature of the color black.

The Third Line presents Anuar Khalifi's Remember the Future solo show

The Third Line gallery in Dubai is presenting 'Remember the Future', the third solo exhibition by Spanish-Moroccan artist Anuar Khalifi, running from January 17 to March 1. The show features large-scale paintings and works on paper that blend reality and imagination, drawing on magical realism, art history, and poetry. Khalifi’s works incorporate recurring symbols like chairs, vessels, and flora, and explore themes such as identity, diaspora, orientalism, and consumerism, often with ironic and humorous undertones.

Frieze lines up more than 95 exhibitors for next Los Angeles fair

Frieze Los Angeles will return to Santa Monica Airport from February 26 to March 1, 2026, for its seventh edition, featuring more than 95 galleries from 22 countries. The fair includes returning blue-chip participants like Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, and David Zwirner, alongside a strong local Los Angeles gallery presence and more than a half-dozen first-time exhibitors. Special sectors include Sector for emerging artists, supported by Stone Island and curated by Essence Harden, and outdoor commissions organized with Art Production Fund. The Deutsche Bank Frieze Los Angeles Film Award and the Frieze Impact Prize, presented with Titus Kaphar’s Nxthvn incubator, will also return.

Flying Back With the Birds to My Hometown of Tehran

The author, an Iranian artist living in the diaspora, describes the profound psychological impact of the ongoing war on her homeland. She experiences a constant state of displacement and terror, feeling tethered to Tehran through news of bombings in the Alborz Mountains, which transforms her sense of geography and home into one of anxiety and helplessness.

A world of magic and monsters arrives at the CU Art Museum

The CU Art Museum at the University of Colorado Boulder has launched "Fairy Tales and the Power of Wonder," an exhibition that explores the dark and complex origins of folklore. Moving away from sanitized modern interpretations, the show features a diverse array of works including Jaro Hess’s "The Land of Make Believe," Don Ed Hardy’s "Sea Dragon," and rare illustrated books like William Wallace Denslow’s "Wonderful Wizard of Oz." The display utilizes early fantasy maps and historical artifacts to ground visitors in the "geography of the impossible."