epstein files leon black indicted dealer douglas latchford

A newly released document from the Department of Justice’s Jeffrey Epstein files has linked billionaire collector Leon Black to a $27.7 million inventory of Southeast Asian antiquities, some of which may be looted. The records indicate that Black acquired high-value Cambodian, Thai, and Vietnamese artifacts, including a $7 million bronze Shiva sculpture that matches the description of a piece handled by the late, indicted antiquities dealer Douglas Latchford. While Black’s representatives state he never dealt with Latchford directly and acquired the works through a reputable dealer, correspondence suggests Latchford was involved in facilitating sales to Black through intermediaries.

Damien Hirst offers his hot take on art dealers

On a recent podcast, artist Damien Hirst identified his manager, Joe Hage, as the most influential person he's met, praising his work with other major artists. Hirst also downplayed the role of major galleries like Gagosian and White Cube, comparing them to 'estate agents,' and revealed a new private commission: an amethyst-encrusted grotto for the Getty family.

state of the art market trophy lots and the new competitive auction landscape

The article examines the growing financialization and opacity of the fine-art auction market, highlighting how auction houses like Christie's and Sotheby's have made it increasingly difficult for outsiders to understand true demand for individual lots. It details how buyer's premiums, guarantees, and irrevocable bids (third-party guarantees) obscure the actual bidding dynamics, with only a small group of wealthy financiers and intermediaries having clear insight into the market's inner workings.

Bharti Kher Commissioned by Powerhouse Parramatta, Australia’s New Cultural Center Opening Later This Year

British-Indian sculptor Bharti Kher has been commissioned to create a monumental sculpture titled 'Tree of Life' for the entrance of Powerhouse Parramatta, a major new cultural center opening later this year in Parramatta, west of Sydney, Australia. The work, made of four stacked bronze and clay heads, is part of Kher's ongoing 'Intermediaries' series, which began in 2016 after she found a collection of broken clay figurines in her Delhi studio. The commission was reported by Art Asia Pacific, and Kher previously installed related public works in Central Park and at Harvard Business School.

Spectral Birds Endemic to New Zealand Find New Life in Fiona Pardington’s Portraits

Spectral Birds Endemic to New Zealand Find New Life in Fiona Pardington’s Portraits

New Zealand artist Fiona Pardington will present her photographic series *Taharaki Skyside* in the Aotearoa New Zealand Pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale. The large-scale, spectral portraits depict preserved specimens of endemic birds, including extinct and critically endangered species like the huia and the South Island Takahe, captured from within the country's natural history collections.

minnie evans legacy high museum whitney

The article reflects on the responsibility of critical art writing in the Southeast, sparked by the announcement that Art Papers, an international art magazine based in Atlanta, will sunset in 2026 after 50 years. The author recounts a debate among local art workers about reviewing the forthcoming Minnie Evans retrospective organized by the High Museum of Art and traveling to the Whitney Museum, which he initially declined due to a conflict of interest with curator Katherine Jentleson. He ultimately agrees to write, emphasizing the need for Black scholars to engage with self-taught Black artists. The piece examines how Evans's narrative has been mediated through the lens of white photographer and art historian Nina Howell Starr, questioning the power dynamics and what remains unknown about Evans's own agency.

Fiona Pardington’s portraits of the lost birds of Aotearoa New Zealand – in pictures

Fiona Pardington has created a new series of human-scale photographic portraits of native New Zealand birds, many of which are extinct or endangered, using taxidermy specimens from regional museums. The series, titled "Taharaki Skyside," will be exhibited at the Aotearoa New Zealand pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale. Pardington, who has Māori and Scottish ancestry, incorporates the birds' eyes with superimposed historical landscapes to evoke their lost habitats and spiritual significance as intermediaries between human and divine worlds in Māori culture.

how artverse helps galleries and advisors navigate todays art world

ArtVerse Advisory, a London-based B2B firm, has launched a suite of services designed to help galleries and art advisors overcome capital constraints and inventory limitations. Founded by CEO Amit Mehra, the company provides professional intermediaries with access to a curated selection of primary and secondary market works—ranging from blue-chip artists like Andy Warhol to rising stars like Raghav Babbar—through flexible deal structures such as consignments and personalized payment plans.

justin sun responds david geffen counter response giacometti

Hong Kong crypto entrepreneur and art collector Justin Sun has filed a new 100-page legal response in his ongoing lawsuit against megacollector David Geffen over Alberto Giacometti's sculpture *Le Nez* (1949/1965). Sun claims his employee Xiong Zihan Sydney stole the $78.4 million artwork—which he bought at Sotheby's New York in 2021—and sold it to Geffen without his knowledge. Geffen counters that Sun is experiencing "seller's remorse" and that the lawsuit is a sham. Sun's latest filing alleges that Geffen paid $2 million "under the table" to dealers David and Cole Tunkl to secure the piece, and reveals that Xiong has been detained in China since February at the Dezhou Detention Center.

con artist charged for fraudulent sale of courbet painting

American con artist Thomas Doyle, 68, has been charged with wire fraud for allegedly defrauding London gallery owner Patrick Matthiesen over a Gustave Courbet painting. Doyle claimed to manage a family trust with billions in assets and offered to broker the sale of Courbet's 1844 oil painting *Mother and Child on a Hammock* without commission. Instead, he delivered the work to his partner Shalva Sarukhanishvili, who sold it to Jill Newhouse Gallery for $115,000; the gallery then resold it to collector Jon Landau for $125,000. Matthiesen received no proceeds and filed a lawsuit against Doyle, Sarukhanishvili, Jill Newhouse Gallery, and Landau. Doyle has a prior fraud conviction involving a Corot painting and was described by a judge as a "career criminal."

Heirs to the Bic Empire Say They’ve Been Robbed of a Renaissance Masterwork

The heirs to the Bic pen fortune, Gonzalve, Charles, and Guillaume Bich, have filed a lawsuit alleging a 15th-century masterpiece by Fra Angelico was stolen from their family. They claim the painting, 'Saint Sixtus,' was taken by their father's chauffeur in 2006 and sold to art dealer Richard Feigen, who later sold it to Chilean collector Alvaro Saieh in 2018. The heirs are now suing Saieh to reclaim the artwork and seeking the return of sale proceeds from Feigen's estate.

NEW ZEALAND PHOTOGRAPHER FIONA PARDINGTON REPRESENTS AOTEAROA AT THE VENICE BIENNALE

New Zealand photographer Fiona Pardington (born 1961, Auckland) is representing Aotearoa at the 61st Venice Biennale with her exhibition *Taharaki Skyside*, on view from May 9 to November 22, 2026, at the Aotearoa New Zealand Pavilion. The show features large-scale portraits of taxidermied birds from museum collections across New Zealand and Australia, focusing on endemic species including the extinct huia and whēkau. Curated by Felicity Milburn and Chloe Cull, the exhibition is presented by the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand) and Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū.

Foreign Office Reprimands Goethe-Institut for Exhibition

Auswärtiges Amt rügt Goethe-Institut für Ausstellung

The German Foreign Office has formally reprimanded the Goethe-Institut for its involvement in an exhibition in Vilnius, Lithuania, featuring Palestinian-American artist Basma al-Sharif. The ministry stated that events organized by German cultural intermediaries must leave no doubt about the government's firm rejection of antisemitism and hatred of Israel, and demanded greater care in planning and conceptualizing such events with partners. The exhibition, "Bells and Cannons - Contemporary Art in Times of Militarization," was a collaboration between the Goethe-Institut Vilnius, the Contemporary Art Centre Vilnius, and the Berlin Academy of Arts.

ant dec banksy secret profits court order

British television presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly have obtained a High Court order to investigate potential financial misconduct involving their contemporary art collection. The duo is seeking disclosure from art dealer Andrew Lilley regarding transactions for several Banksy prints, alleging that an unnamed intermediary may have pocketed undisclosed profits. The court found a "good arguable case" of wrongdoing after a discrepancy of approximately $335,000 was discovered between what the presenters paid and what the dealer reportedly received.

acquavella and nahmad contemporary billionaire jan koum

WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum has filed a lawsuit against interior designer Remi Tessier, alleging that Tessier inflated prices and misrepresented the quality and origin of luxury goods purchased on his behalf, including several artworks. Koum hired Tessier for nine projects, including residences in the US and Europe and two superyachts. The suit claims Tessier received kickbacks on art purchases, including a $7.8 million Picasso painting, and a judge has granted discovery orders against three galleries—Acquavella Galleries, Nahmad Contemporary, and Perrotin New York—to produce records and testimony. Koum intends to use the evidence to file a criminal complaint against Tessier in France.

jet le parti on founding sibyl a new model of art intelligence and hub for collecting

Self-taught artist Jet Le Parti has launched Sibyl, a Los Angeles-based cultural platform and research-led advisory that operates outside the traditional gallery system. Drawing on his background in neuroscience and philosophy, Le Parti developed Sibyl as an extension of his independent practice and previous ventures like Base 36 and Relaispunkt. The platform functions as a private collection and advisory service, leveraging direct relationships with collectors to bypass traditional intermediaries and formalize a network built on artistic trust.

Bharti Kher Commissioned by Powerhouse Parramatta for Major Public Artwork

British Indian artist Bharti Kher has been commissioned by Powerhouse Parramatta to create a large-scale public artwork for the museum, which is set to open later this year in Parramatta, Western Sydney. Titled *Tree of Life*, the seven-meter-tall bronze sculpture features four stacked heads and incorporates clay fragments from figurines found in Indian secondhand markets, drawing on themes of ancestral memory, interconnectedness, and community.

TikTok Shop adds ‘fine art’ category—will it disrupt the art market?

TikTok Shop has launched a new "fine art" category within its collectibles section, allowing artists to sell original artworks directly through shoppable videos, photographs, and livestreams. The category debuted with a three-hour live sale by artist Sophie Tea, who created a series of 20 oil paintings titled *Bric-a-Brac* and sold them for £2,800 each. The sale faced technical glitches—items added to baskets were prematurely marked as sold, causing confusion—and required workarounds for TikTok's pricing caps, automatic discounts, and shipping policies.

the art marketplace private sales

A new digital platform called the Art Marketplace, founded in mid-2025 by Elliot Safra and a group of partners, aims to streamline private art sales by addressing common frustrations in the secondary market. Unlike traditional auction houses or gallery sales, the platform lists artworks without images, revealing only key details like artist name, description, price, and last update. Requests for images or condition reports are vetted to ensure qualified interest, prioritizing confidentiality and avoiding public exposure that could harm a work's market value. Sellers can list works in minutes, bypassing intermediaries like advisors or dealers, while buyers gain access to previously obscure off-market inventory.

senator john fetterman proposes bill to apply anti money laundering protections to us art market

On July 23, U.S. Senator John Fetterman introduced the Art Market Integrity Act, a bill that would apply anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing regulations to art dealers, auction houses, galleries, advisers, consultants, custodians, museums, collectors, and other intermediaries in the art market. The legislation amends the Bank Secrecy Act, requiring these entities to conduct client due diligence, maintain records, and report suspicious transactions. It exempts artists selling their own work, nonprofits, and businesses with under $50,000 in annual art transactions. The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Chuck Grassley, Sheldon Whitehouse, Bill Cassidy, Andy Kim, and David McCormick.

Vertiginous 2658, 2007 by Lucas Samaras

The article highlights a partnership with leading global galleries to showcase artists, artworks, and exhibitions, with membership vetted by industry peers and available by application and invitation only. It also emphasizes the role of art advisors who provide visibility and access to influential galleries, collectors, and auction houses, while celebrating contemporary art through editorial content.

New exhibition opens at the Silo Hotel

The Silo Hotel in Cape Town has launched "The Salon," a new year-long exhibition located in its subterranean gallery space, The Vault. Curated in collaboration with Brundyn Arts & Culture, the show utilizes a traditional floor-to-ceiling salon hang to present works by emerging contemporary artists alongside South African masters such as William Kentridge, Zanele Muholi, and Dumile Feni. Access to the exhibition is restricted to private, guided walkthroughs led by the hotel’s dedicated art concierge, Michael Jacobs.

Australian Indigenous Art Speaks to Contemporary Concerns

The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne, in collaboration with the National Gallery (NGA) in Washington, D.C., has organized 'The Stars We Do Not See,' the largest and most comprehensive exhibition of Australian Indigenous art ever shown outside Australia. Opening in Washington on October 25 and running through March 1, 2026, the show features over 200 works from the 19th century to the present, including 130 of the NGV's most prized pieces by revered artists from across Australia. The title is inspired by late Yolŋu artist Gulumbu Yunupiŋu, known for her celestial mappings, and the exhibition will travel to several U.S. cities and Toronto over two and a half years.