newsmakers alissa friedman salon 94 art design 1234770977

Alissa Friedman has returned to Salon 94, the New York gallery where she spent 15 years shaping its identity, after a stint at Stephen Friedman Gallery's US outpost, which is closing. In an interview with ARTnews, she discusses the gallery's early days in the mid-2000s, its unconventional program that embraced Indigenous artists, ceramics, and design before such categories were widely accepted, and how the art world has since aligned with that vision. She also explains her departure in 2021 when founder Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn joined LGDR, as Friedman preferred working directly with living artists.

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The Winter Show returns to New York's Park Avenue Armory from January 23 to February 1, 2026, blending blue-chip modernism with decorative arts, design, jewelry, and antiques. The fair features a special presentation titled 'Study of a Young Collector,' curated by Patrick Monahan in collaboration with executive director Helen Allen, which imagines the private study of a next-generation collector using works from 11 international dealers exhibiting for the first time. Notable highlights include Jonathan Boos's presentation of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's early work 'Wrapped Toy Horse' (1963), priced at $450,000, and a rare copper and gilt mask by Harlem Renaissance artist Sargent Claude Johnson from 1933, priced at $245,000. Boccara Gallery also showcases modern and contemporary tapestries by artists like Man Ray and Alexander Calder.

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A rediscovered Renoir painting, *L'enfant et ses jouets – Gabrielle et le fils de l'artiste, Jean* (created before 1910), sold for over €1.8 million ($2 million) at Hôtel Drouot in Paris on November 25. The intimate portrait of Renoir's young son Jean with his nursemaid Gabrielle had remained in the same private collection for over a century, never before published or exhibited. It was offered by auctioneer Christophe Joron-Derem in the "Tableaux Modernes" sale and purchased by an international buyer, with the hammer price of €1.45 million falling within the presale estimate.

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A Renoir painting that had been missing for a century sold for $2 million at auction in Paris. The work, titled *L’enfant et ses jouets – Gabrielle et le fils de l’artiste, Jean* (circa 1910), depicts the artist’s young son Jean with his nursemaid Gabrielle. It had never been published or exhibited and was discovered in remarkably good condition. Auction house Joron-Derem offered the painting in its Tableaux Modernes sale at Hôtel Drouot on November 25, where an international collector secured it for a hammer price of €1.45 million ($1.68 million), with buyer’s fees bringing the total to about €1.8 million ($2 million). The painting had been gifted by Renoir to his pupil and close friend Jeanne Baudot, then passed to her adopted son Jean Griot, who kept it in his bedroom until his death in 2011.

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A wave of exhibitions and projects is celebrating the 90th anniversary of the births of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, the late husband-and-wife duo known for monumental environmental installations. Their nephew Vladimir Yavachev, who directs their foundation, is overseeing the realization of their final permanent work, *The Mastaba* in Abu Dhabi, while temporary works like *The Gates* in Central Park are being revived through augmented reality. The anniversary also marks 30 years since *Wrapped Reichstag* and 20 years since *The Gates*.

Museum acquisitions round-up: Andy Warhol in an apron, a solid-silver relief and Christo's luggage rack

Major international institutions have secured significant new acquisitions, ranging from intimate photographic archives to monumental silver reliefs. The Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art received over 400 stereoscopic slides by Ronnie Cutrone documenting Andy Warhol’s Factory, while the Germanisches Nationalmuseum acquired Luigi Valadier’s final silver masterpiece, 'Lamentation of Christ'. Additionally, the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation donated 14 works to the City of Paris, including the early sculpture 'Package on a Luggage Rack' for the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris.

Art Basel’s ‘Basel Exclusive’ Initiative Asks Galleries to Withhold at Least One Work from PDF Previews, and Other News.

Art Basel is launching a new initiative called "Basel Exclusive" for its June 2026 Switzerland fair, asking exhibitors to withhold at least one key work from pre-fair digital PDF previews to encourage in-person viewing. Around 170 of 232 exhibitors, including major galleries like Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, Pace, and David Zwirner, have already adopted the program. Separately, Tate Britain announced the 2026 Turner Prize shortlist featuring artists Simeon Barclay, Tanoa Sasraku, Kira Freije, and Marguerite Humeau, with the exhibition opening at Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA) in September. The Museum of Sonoma County will also commemorate the 50th anniversary of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's land art installation "Running Fence" with a major exhibition opening June 27.

'I want to show the real deal': property developer Rajan Bijlani on his Modernist design collection

Property developer Rajan Bijlani, based in north London, has turned his home Fonthill Pottery—formerly the residence and studio of ceramicist Emmanuel Cooper—into a showcase for his collection of 20th-century design, sculpture, and paintings. His focus is Modernist furniture, particularly works by Pierre Jeanneret, one of the architects of Chandigarh, India. Bijlani owns over 500 pieces, including Jeanneret's 1960 Dining Table and Easy Chairs (1956), as well as works by Le Corbusier and George Nakashima. He staged his first home exhibition last year featuring South Asian diaspora artists, and this year presents 'Electric Kiln,' pairing Jeanneret and Le Corbusier pieces with works by Cooper, Lucie Rie, and Frank Auerbach. Some works are for sale to fund future shows, including a Japan-themed exhibition and one timed to London Gallery Weekend.

'I want to show the real deal': property developer Rajan Bijlani on his Modernist design collection

Property developer Rajan Bijlani, based in north London, has amassed a collection of over 500 pieces of Modernist design, with a particular focus on Pierre Jeanneret's furniture created for Chandigarh, India. He recently opened his home, Fonthill Pottery, for a second exhibition titled 'Electric Kiln', pairing works by Jeanneret and Le Corbusier with ceramics by Lucie Rie and Emmanuel Cooper, and paintings by Frank Auerbach. Some works are for sale to fund future shows and preservation efforts.

'I want to show the real deal': property developer Rajan Bijlani on his Modernist design collection

Property developer Rajan Bijlani, a north London collector, has amassed over 500 pieces of Modernist design, focusing on Pierre Jeanneret’s furniture from Chandigarh, India. He recently opened his home, Fonthill Pottery, for a second exhibition titled "Electric Kiln," pairing Jeanneret and Le Corbusier works with pieces by ceramicist Emmanuel Cooper, potter Lucie Rie, and painter Frank Auerbach. Some works are for sale to fund future shows, including a Japan-themed exhibition and one timed to London Gallery Weekend.

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The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation has donated 14 artworks to two Parisian museums, the Musée Carnavalet and the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris. The donation includes preparatory collages, silkscreens, lithographs, and a scale model related to both realized and unrealized projects by the artist duo, such as the wrapped Arc de Triomphe and Pont-Neuf, as well as early sculptures.

A World-Class Art Museum Arrives in the Texas Hill Country

A new museum called Arthouse is opening in Marble Falls, Texas, on April 25, 2026, during the town's Paint the Town Festival. Its inaugural exhibition, "Words Matter," features text-based artworks by artists including Faith Ringgold, Ed Ruscha, Terry Allen, and Jenny Holzer, drawn from the collection of oil and gas entrepreneur Mickey Klein and his wife Jeanne, who are longtime art collectors named to ARTnews' Top 200 Collectors list. The building, designed by Lake Flato, is a limestone and metal structure on Main Street that will serve as both a public gallery and an office.

Lake Flato Shapes a Stunning New Art Space in Texas Hill Country

A new art space called Arthouse is opening on April 25, 2026, in Marble Falls, Texas. Designed by the architecture firm Lake Flato, the 2,000-square-foot white building will display works from the personal collection of philanthropists Mickey and Jeanne Klein, including pieces by Mary C. Sloane, Kenturah Davis, Faith Ringgold, Ed Ruscha, James Turrell, and Teresita Fernández. The debut exhibition, "Words Matter," curated by Mickey Klein, explores text and narrative and coincides with the town's Paint the Town Art Festival. The building also features a courtyard designed by landscape designer Sada Uchiyama.

With the help of exhibitions, Jeanne Lanvin's eponymous fashion house is keeping her legacy alive

Jeanne Lanvin, a trailblazer in 20th-century French fashion and interiors, is being honored through exhibitions that explore her legacy. The article features a conversation between Peter Copping, Lanvin's current artistic director, and Olivier Gabet, director of the Department of Objets d'Art at the Musée du Louvre. Gabet curated the exhibition "Louvre Couture" featuring 99 looks from 45 fashion houses, while Copping has drawn inspiration from the Lanvin archive and the preserved rooms of Jeanne Lanvin's apartment now on permanent display at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

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French artist JR has announced plans to wrap the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris in June 2025, as a tribute to Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The project, titled "Pont Neuf Cavern," marks the 30-year anniversary of the couple's original wrapping of the same bridge in 1985. JR was approached by Christo's nephew Vladimir Yavachev, director of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation, to take on the challenge. The 761-foot bridge will be swathed in fabric, recalling the couple's signature monumental interventions.

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French artist JR will wrap Paris's oldest bridge, the Pont Neuf, in images of the limestone rock formations from which it was originally built in the 16th century. The project, titled "La Caverne du Pont Neuf," is scheduled for June 2026 and marks the 41st anniversary of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's iconic wrapping of the same bridge in 1985. JR's installation was delayed by a year due to logistical and technical complications, echoing the famously tardy nature of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's large-scale works. The project was offered to JR by Vladimir Yavachev, director of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation, who wanted an interpretation rather than a reinstallation.

Newport Art Museum launches the Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Society

The Newport Art Museum has launched the Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Society, a new fund to support ambitious exhibition programming. The initiative was previewed at the Members' Show Exhibition and will be announced at the Julie Keyes Gallery Pop Up at Palm Beach Modern Auctions on February 13. The fund will support major projects including 'Sheila Isham: Between Worlds' opening July 10 and a 2028 exhibition on Edward Mitchell Bannister developed with multiple partners. The society is named after Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, a charter member of the Newport Art Association and influential arts patron.

Medieval Art: Christ's Side Wound as Vulva

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The Met Cloisters in New York is hosting "Spectrum of Desire: Love, Sex, and Gender in the Middle Ages," an exhibition exploring how medieval art depicted the body, sexuality, and gender. A central focus of the show is the intentional depiction of Christ’s side wound as a vulva-like shape, or mandorla, in illuminated manuscripts such as the 14th-century Prayer Book of Bonne of Luxembourg. These images were designed as intimate devotional tools, inviting viewers to meditate on Christ's suffering through a lens that transcended traditional gender binaries.

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Gustave Courbet's 1855 masterpiece *The Artist's Studio* originally included a portrait of Jeanne Duval, the mixed-race actress and courtesan who was the muse and longtime lover of poet Charles Baudelaire. After a falling out, Baudelaire asked Courbet to remove her from the painting. Courbet painted over her figure with watercolor rather than oil, and over the past 170 years, the image of Duval has gradually reappeared as a pentimento—a ghostly trace of the erased figure.

From 1999: Charlotte Perriand, Designer, Is Dead at 96

Charlotte Perriand, the pioneering French designer and architect, has died at age 96. Her career spanned most of the 20th century, during which she collaborated with giants like Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, creating iconic modernist furniture and championing a vision of functional, democratic design.

Feeling Nature According to Nicolas Poussin

Ressentir la nature d’après Nicolas Poussin

An exhibition titled "Le sentiment de la nature. L’art contemporain au miroir de Poussin" has opened at the NMNM – Villa Paloma in Monaco. Curated by Guillaume de Sardes, it places Nicolas Poussin's 1651 painting *L'Orage* in dialogue with works by over twenty contemporary artists, including Sarah Moon, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Thomas Demand, Pierre Thoretton, Ange Leccia, Marine Wallon, and Claudio Parmiggiani.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Iconic California Installation Returns in a Museum Show

The Museum of Sonoma County is commemorating the 50th anniversary of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's iconic 1976 installation "Running Fence" with an exhibition featuring blueprints, original construction materials, and documentary photographs. The temporary work, which stretched nearly 25 miles across Sonoma and Marin counties in California, required four years of negotiations with ranchers, 18 public hearings, and the first-ever Environmental Impact Report for a public artwork, ultimately costing $2.25 million funded by the artists through preparatory drawing sales.

The artist who blocked an Ice projectile with her drawing board during protests

Artist Isabelle “Izzy” Brourman narrowly escaped serious injury while documenting protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minneapolis. While sketching the scene for her project Starring America News, a masked federal agent fired pepper balls at her at point-blank range; Brourman managed to block the projectile with her wooden drawing board, which was left with a jagged hole. The incident, captured on video by her collaborators Peter Hambrecht and Jeannette Berlin, occurred on the same day a nurse was killed by federal agents during the unrest.

Alain Passard’s Art Recipe: An Island of Tastes Wrapped in the Style of Christo and Jeanne-Claude

La recette d’art d’Alain Passard : un îlot de goûts emballé façon Christo et Jeanne-Claude

Michelin-starred chef Alain Passard pays tribute to the monumental environmental installations of Christo and Jeanne-Claude through a culinary creation. The article highlights the duo's 1983 project 'Surrounded Islands,' where they encircled eleven islands in Miami's Biscayne Bay with 600,000 square meters of floating pink polypropylene fabric, a work that exemplified their commitment to self-funded, accessible, and ephemeral public art.

NSU Art Museum Receives $1.5 Million Gift for Exhibitions

The Jerry Taylor and Nancy Bryant Foundation has donated $1.5 million to NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale to fund exhibition development and educational programming. The gift will provide an ongoing income stream to support the museum's exhibitions, which are central to its regional and national distinction. Philanthropists Jerry Taylor and Nancy Bryant, who established their foundation in 1999, have a long history of supporting Nova Southeastern University and the museum, including a $5 million donation for a trading floor at the university's business school.

February at The Shops at Wailea: Art Exhibitions, Live Music and Cultural Evenings

The Shops at Wailea in Maui has announced a full schedule of art and cultural events for February. The lineup includes 'The Art of Aloha,' Maui's largest annual art exhibition hosted by Lahaina Galleries, and an 'Art Night' featuring five local galleries and a debut by artist Jeanne Bitz.

Jeannette art gallery hosts 6th annual ‘Women in Art’ exhibit

The Jeannette Art Gallery in Pennsylvania has opened its sixth annual 'Women in Art' exhibition, featuring works by female artists from the local region. The show includes a variety of mediums such as painting, sculpture, and photography, and aims to provide a dedicated platform for women artists during Women's History Month.