top artists december list

Artnet News published its quarterly list of the most exhibited living artists in U.S. museums for December 2025, compiled by tracking temporary exhibitions across hundreds of institutions. The list ranks artists based on the number and type of shows they appear in, prioritizing career retrospectives, dedicated exhibitions, and biennial appearances. Among the top artists featured are Marie Watt, whose touring print exhibition "Storywork" and numerous group show appearances earned her a high ranking, and Jeffrey Gibson, known for his installation at MASS MoCA. The article notes that Watt also won the $250,000 Heinz Award in September 2025.

museum artists

The article reflects on the final 2025 edition of the Museum Artists list, which tracks the most exhibited artists in U.S. museums each quarter. The author notes that the top artists—such as Marie Watt, Jeffrey Gibson, and Rose B. Simpson—have remained consistent throughout the year, with a narrow band of stars appearing in many shows while a long tail of artists have limited visibility. Below the top 15, notable names include Julie Mehretu, Wangechi Mutu, and Jean Shin, with a cluster of older white female artists like Petah Coyne and Joyce Kozloff also gaining recognition.

10 Must-See Museum Exhibitions This Spring

Major museums worldwide are launching a series of high-profile exhibitions this spring that challenge traditional art historical narratives. Highlights include a Marcel Duchamp retrospective at MoMA, a deep dive into Pop art's legacy at the Guggenheim, and significant surveys of icons like Frida Kahlo and Agnes Martin. Meanwhile, UCCA Beijing is presenting a major exhibition of Duan Jianyu, highlighting the evolution of Chinese painting in relation to Western influence.

times esther kim varet campaign wet paint

Lower Manhattan is getting a new nonprofit art space called Times (styled in lowercase), founded by Summer Guthery and Francesca Sonara. Located on the fourth floor of 151 Lafayette Street above the Museum of Chinese in America, the 3,000-square-foot venue will operate for only three years. Its inaugural exhibition, featuring Danish artist Nina Beier, opens February 21 with a display of melting Cornetto ice cream cones. The space will officially open February 12 with a performance by Latvian choreographer Jana Jacuka. Guthery, previously founding artistic director of Canal Projects, and Sonara, former director of communications at Minnesota Street Project, met as graduate students at Bard College's Center for Curatorial Studies.

tony shafrazi independent art fair return

Tony Shafrazi, the legendary and controversial New York art dealer, is returning to the art fair circuit for the first time since 2012 with a booth at the Independent 20th Century fair in New York. He is presenting works by Armenian sculptor Zadik Zadikian, whose installation of gold bricks Shafrazi first exhibited in Tehran in 1978 before they were lost in the Iranian Revolution, alongside paintings by Brandon Deener. Shafrazi, now in his 80s, closed his New York gallery in 2011 and was banned from Art Basel in 2012 for breaking the fair's rules.

oscar yi hou james fuentes

Artist Oscar Yi Hou curated the group show "Deviations" at James Fuentes gallery in Tribeca, featuring 12 queer and trans artists including Juliana Huxtable, Martine Gutierrez, and Ser Serpas. The exhibition, on view through May 7, includes works by Yi Hou himself and explores themes of hybridity, queer intimacy, and the illusion of function through sculptures and paintings. Yi Hou, a 26-year-old breakout star on the gallery's roster, previously had a highly successful solo show "The Beat of Life" in November, with works acquired by institutions like the Brooklyn Museum.

Jean-Marc Bottazzi on why good collecting is not about 'ticking boxes'

Jean-Marc Bottazzi, a Japanese bond trader and collector based in Hong Kong, discusses his philosophy of collecting in an interview with The Art Newspaper. He emphasizes deep, focused support of artists rather than acquiring a superficial variety, citing his extensive holdings of over 100 works by the 96-year-old Japanese artist A-Yo and deep collections of Abstract Expressionism, Gutai, and conceptual photography.

Dark Mofo: 2026 festival to show Willem Dafoe film that can only be watched by one person at a time

Tasmania's Dark Mofo festival for 2026 will feature an exclusive, single-viewer experimental film titled 'Sculpt: Eye of the Duck,' starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Rampling. Created by French artist Loris Gréaud, the 50-minute film will be shown to only 90 individuals at a secret, remote location outside Hobart, with viewers transported to the site after securing one of nine daily slots.

Art Oscar Picks, Whitney Biennial Star Pat Oleszko, Wet Paint

art oscar picks whitney biennial star pat oleszko wet paint

This installment of the Wet Paint gossip column reports on several high-profile developments within the New York and Los Angeles art scenes. Key highlights include internal museum deliberations at the Whitney Museum regarding Precious Okoyomon’s provocative installation for the upcoming Biennial, which features dolls hanging from nooses, and sightings of former Artforum editor David Velasco meeting with Whitney director Scott Rothkopf. Additionally, the column tracks celebrity sightings at Frieze Los Angeles and confirms Lotus L. Kang as the artist for Bvlgari’s pavilion at the Venice Biennale.

golestan palace tehran damaged us israel bombing

The Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Tehran, has sustained damage following US-Israeli airstrikes targeting the Iranian capital. According to Iran’s cultural heritage minister, Reza Salehi-Amiri, the Qajar-era complex suffered damage to its historic windows, doors, and mirrors due to blast shockwaves and debris. The escalation of the regional conflict has further impacted cultural hubs across the Middle East, with debris falling near Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island and major institutions in Qatar and the UAE temporarily closing their doors.

amid ongoing layoffs brown university terminates both bell gallery curators rankling faculty

Brown University terminated both curators at the David Winton Bell Gallery—Kate Kraczon, director of exhibitions and chief curator, and Thea Quiray Tagle, associate curator—on December 4, as part of broader layoffs and austerity measures amid a financial crunch. The university eliminated 55 vacant positions and laid off 48 staff across campus, but has not publicly commented on the curators' terminations, which were confirmed via an internal message shared with ARTnews. Faculty members expressed surprise and frustration, saying they received no clear explanation beyond budget cuts, and it remains unclear who will handle future programming at the gallery.

chicago gallery weekend dealers artists collaborate

Luke Agada, a Nigerian painter who completed his MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2023, chose to remain in Chicago rather than move to New York or Los Angeles, citing the city's balance of opportunities. He opened his solo exhibition "To Translate Is to Move Across" at Monique Meloche Gallery during the third edition of Chicago Exhibition Weekend (CXW), a four-day event involving over 70 galleries, talks, studio visits, and a tennis mixer. CXW was founded by Abby Pucker of the consultancy firm Gertie and co-organized with Expo Chicago, expanding this year to include the Chicago Architecture Biennial and a curated exhibition of conceptual art.

cristin tierney marks 15 years tribeca

Cristin Tierney, a seasoned art dealer, has opened a new gallery space in New York's Tribeca district, marking her fourth relocation in fifteen years. The inaugural exhibition, titled “Fifteen,” is a group show featuring over 30 artists who have shaped the gallery's identity, including Dread Scott, Mary Lucier, Judy Pfaff, and Shaun Leonardo. Tierney's move comes amid widespread reports of gallery closures, positioning her expansion as a strategic bet on the viability of midsize, independent dealers. The gallery's model combines a conceptual front-room program with secondary-market sales, a practice Tierney likens to the legacy of Leo Castelli.

Peter Doig, Tracey Emin, and More Sign Letter Defending Southbank Centre Chair

A letter signed by environmental activist Greta Thunberg and artists Tracey Emin and Peter Doig is circulating in support of Misan Harriman, chair of London's Southbank Centre. The letter defends Harriman against what it calls a "dishonest smear campaign" by the Telegraph and other right-wing outlets, which accused him of promoting conspiracies and comparing Reform Party voters to Nazis. The controversy stems from Harriman's social media comments about a knife attack on Jewish men and a video referencing Susan Sontag and Kurt Vonnegut on the Holocaust, which critics say minimized antisemitism or drew inappropriate parallels. Harriman denies making such analogies, and 70,000 people have complained to media watchdog Ipso, while 15,000 signed the letter.

The Paradoxical Delights of South America’s Biggest Art Fair

The 22nd edition of SP-Arte has opened at the Oscar Niemeyer Pavilion in São Paulo, featuring 180 exhibitors. As Latin America’s largest art fair, the event continues to serve as a critical bridge for 'South-South' artistic relationships, drawing international curators like the Met’s Brinda Kumar. Despite a slightly smaller footprint than previous years, the fair showcases a robust selection of Brazilian talent alongside international galleries navigating the country's complex market.

consuelo jimenez underwood icons 2025

Consuelo Jimenez Underwood, a textile artist born in 1949 in Sacramento, has spent decades creating works that confront the US-Mexico border. In 2009, she was invited to participate in the group exhibition “Xicana: Spiritual Reflections/Reflexiones Espirituales” at the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara, California. Faced with a blank museum wall, she decided to “blow up the border,” creating her first large-scale installation, *Undocumented Border Flowers* (2010), which features a red gash representing the border surrounded by paper flowers of the four border states. This work launched her ongoing “BORDERLINES” series, which she has produced some 15 times across the country, often collaborating with schoolchildren or recently incarcerated women. Her practice is deeply personal: her father was an undocumented immigrant from Mexico of Huichol ancestry, and she spent her childhood as a migrant farmworker, following harvests along Highway 99. Her first woven artwork, *C.C. Huelga* (1974), was inspired by the United Farm Workers flag and leader César Chávez.

New Ways of Seeing at the Outsider Art Fair

The 2025 Outsider Art Fair in New York City, featuring 68 exhibitors at the Metropolitan Pavilion, showcased a vibrant range of work by self-taught and autodidactic artists. The event was marked by strong sales and enthusiastic attendance, serving as an egalitarian counterpoint to more traditional blue-chip art fairs.

kenneth griffin 13th amendment emancipation proclamation sothebys

Billionaire hedge funder and art collector Kenneth Griffin revealed he was the buyer of record-breaking copies of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment, both signed by President Abraham Lincoln, at a Sotheby's New York auction. The Thirteenth Amendment sold for $13.7 million, more than five times the previous record, while the Emancipation Proclamation fetched $4.4 million. Griffin, founder of Citadel, is an avid collector of rare historical documents and high-value art, having previously purchased a copy of the U.S. Constitution for $43.2 million and major works by artists like Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

hot lots and top flops 6 artworks that had shocking results at the marquee may auctions

Artnet News analyzed six standout lots from the marquee May auctions at Christie's and Phillips, highlighting both surprising successes and failures. Among the 'hot lots,' Mark Tansey's study for "The Enunciation" (1992–93) sold for $3.2 million at Christie's—over ten times its low estimate—while Henri Matisse's tiny portrait "Henriette, robe jaune" (1923) fetched $1.4 million, nearly quadrupling expectations. Firelei Báez's "Untitled" (2017) also soared, selling for $381,000 at Phillips, more than triple its high estimate. The article contrasts these with 'top flops,' though the provided text focuses on the successes.

A new Istanbul gallery is offering an outlet for Iran’s artists

Shiva Zahed Gallery has opened in Istanbul’s Pera district, specifically dedicated to showcasing Iranian contemporary art. The gallery's inaugural exhibition, "Echoes," features works by the influential artist Fereydoun Ave and installation artist Shaqayeq Arabi. The opening was significantly delayed and reconfigured after civil unrest in Iran and a communication blackout prevented the founder from coordinating with the 20 emerging artists originally scheduled for the debut.

Frida Kahlo Icon Headlines

frida kahlo icon headlines

Tate Modern has announced a major exhibition for 2026 titled "Frida Kahlo: The Making of an Icon," featuring over 130 artworks and archival materials. The exhibition aims to explore the cult-like following surrounding the Mexican artist and how her personal biography became inseparable from her creative legacy. This announcement follows a series of global institutional efforts to deconstruct the Kahlo myth, including recent shows at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Dallas Museum of Art.

10 young female artists feminism

The article profiles ten young female artists who are using their work to explore and assert feminist perspectives in the face of contemporary misogyny, particularly referencing the US president-elect's rhetoric. Featured artists include Emma Sulkowicz, known for her durational performance 'Carry That Weight' protesting campus rape culture, and Sarah Maple, a British artist whose multimedia works tackle identity and gender with provocative humor. The piece highlights how these artists address themes such as sexual violence, gender fluidity, and the reclaiming of femininity through mediums ranging from performance and video to painting and photography.

in the hamptons this summer catch a new art show every week

Cultured magazine's article rounds up seven new art exhibitions opening in the Hamptons this summer, each running for a limited time. Highlights include "Unbreakable" at Onna House featuring mother-daughter artist duos, Shirin Neshat's first New York-area museum show in two decades at the Parrish Art Museum, Almond Zigmund's immersive "Wading Room" at Guild Hall, a Rosalyn Drexler retrospective at the Pollock-Krasner House, and "The Ark" at The Church curated by Eric Fischl with animal sculptures by over 40 international artists. Other shows include "Veronica Veronica" at Hesse Flatow's former potato barn and a ceramic-focused exhibition at Onna House.

On Curating Carnage

On Curating Carnage

The Berlin-based art journal *OnCurating* published a September 2025 issue titled "Let’s Talk About… Anti-Democratic, Anti-Queer, Misogynist, Antisemitic, Right-Wing Spaces and Their Counter-Movements." The article critiques this publication, arguing it uses the language of feminism, anti-racism, and anti-Semitism as a political tool to unconditionally support Israel and demonize the Palestinian cause, thereby aligning with German state policy and a specific strain of leftist thought known as Antideutsch.

At the ‘art world Olympics,’ Team USA is chaotic

The US Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale, often called the 'art world Olympics,' is mired in controversy and delays under the Trump administration. Curator Jeffrey Uslip insists the process has been smooth and artistically autonomous, but the selection of sculptor Alma Allen and commissioner Jenni Parido—a former pet supply shop owner with a new nonprofit—has raised eyebrows. The usual vetting process by the National Endowment for the Arts was disrupted, new language banning diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts was added to applications, and a government shutdown left only six months to fundraise and plan the exhibition, which coincides with the US's 250th anniversary.

exhibition canceled by trump dei ban opens

An exhibition titled "Before the Americas," originally scheduled to open at the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington, D.C., was canceled after the Trump administration deemed it a DEI program and cut its funding. The show, which surveys work by Afro-Latino, Caribbean, and African American artists from the Greater Washington area, has now opened at Gillespie Gallery at George Mason University School of Art in Fairfax, Virginia, thanks to about 50 to 60 private donors who stepped in to fund it. Curated by Cheryl Edwards, the exhibition features 39 artists from 17 countries, including Amy Sherald, Renee Stout, Alma Thomas, Elizabeth Catlett, and Alonzo Davis, and runs through November 15 before traveling to the University of Maryland Global Campus.

rhea dillon sculpture new talent

Rhea Dillon, a 29-year-old artist and writer, is preparing for three exhibitions opening over the summer: a group show at the Whitney Independent Study Program (ISP), a solo exhibition at Heidelberger Kunstverein, and a booth in the Statements section of Art Basel Switzerland. Her work, which draws on Black and Caribbean intellectual traditions, uses everyday objects and symbols to critique postcolonial diasporic identity, as seen in sculptures like *Caribbean Ossuary* (2022) and *Swollen, Whole, Broken...* (2023). Dillon also discusses her linguistic approach, explored in drawings at Paul Soto Gallery, where she repeats and redefines the shape of a spade to transform a racial slur into new forms.

8 Must-See Art Exhibitions in Tokyo This May

This article, published by Tokyo Weekender, lists eight art exhibitions opening in Tokyo during May. The featured shows span a range of venues and styles, including a solo presentation by Yayoi Kusama at the National Art Center, a group show of contemporary Japanese photography at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, and an installation by teamLab at their borderless digital art museum. Other highlights include a retrospective of the Gutai movement at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and a showcase of emerging artists at the Mori Art Museum.

Miami Art Week guide: Some of the top art fairs to visit

Miami Art Week, headlined by Art Basel Miami Beach, returns December 1-7, 2025, transforming Miami-Dade County into a sprawling arts celebration. The guide highlights major fairs including Art Basel (283 galleries from 43 countries), Art Miami + Context Art Miami (celebrating 35 years with 160 international galleries), Scope Art Show (featuring padel matches and 80+ galleries), and Untitled Art Fair (160 exhibitors including nonprofits for the first time). Notable new additions include Cuban gallery El Apartamento making history as the first gallery founded on the island to participate in Art Basel, and a new digital art sector called Zero 10.

What does a so-called ‘buyer’s market’ look like at Art Basel?

At Art Basel 2025, a consensus has emerged among dealers and advisers that the fair represents a 'buyer's market,' characterized by slow sales, modest expectations, and increased negotiating power for collectors. Galleries are offering discounts of 20-30% below asking prices, particularly for works under $1 million, though open discussion of discounts remains taboo in Switzerland. Some dealers, like Tim Blum of Blum gallery, acknowledge a paradigmatic shift, with galleries adapting by focusing on established artists and estates, while still seeing demand for reasonably priced younger artists.