frieze london preview 2025 1234756143

The 23rd edition of Frieze London opens next Wednesday with its VIP preview in Regent's Park, featuring 168 galleries from 43 countries. The fair arrives amid a subdued art market, with dealers favoring conservative, recognizable works by established names rather than betting on younger artists. Notable presentations include Modern Art showing Sanya Kantarovsky's stoneware sculptures, Lehmann Maupin presenting Do Ho Suh's translucent installations, and Gagosian featuring Lauren Halsey's sculptural tribute to South Central Los Angeles. Hauser & Wirth highlights rising star George Rouy alongside other artists, while White Cube focuses on the natural world with works by Marguerite Humeau, Howardena Pindell, and Sara Flores.

labubu mania frieze abu dhabi morning links 1234756440

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.

Shoptalk: New Guggenheim Director Melissa Chiu on How She Got the Job

Melissa Chiu has been appointed as the new director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, transitioning from her long-standing leadership at the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. The appointment was the result of a confidential search led by Mariët Westermann, the Guggenheim’s overall director and CEO, who determined that the expanding global "constellation" of museums required a dedicated leader for the New York flagship. Chiu will officially assume the role in September, just ahead of the highly anticipated opening of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi in 2025.

art collaboration kyoto director to depart tap 2713429

Yukako Yamashita will step down as director of Art Collaboration Kyoto (ACK) after leading the fair since 2022. The four-day event, which concluded at the Kyoto International Conference Center, featured 72 galleries from 19 countries and regions, with 29 Japan-based galleries hosting 30 international galleries in shared booths—its largest edition yet. Highlights included Annely Juda Fine Art's sale of three David Hockney works and Kurimanzutto selling 75 percent of its solo booth with artist WangShui. The fair also launched the Bangkok Collaborate Kyoto Fellowship, awarding WangShui and Takuro Tamayama a residency in Bangkok. ACK will return November 6–9, 2025.

7 yayoi kusama works to know 2637394

Artnet News profiles seven key works by Yayoi Kusama, tracing her career from the 1960s to the present. The article highlights her iconic pieces such as *Narcissus Garden* (1966), a guerrilla installation at the Venice Biennale where she sold mirrored spheres, and *Death of a Nerve* (1976), a soft sculpture reflecting her emotional struggles after returning to Japan. It also notes her early life, including her traumatic childhood, move to New York, and friendships with artists like Georgia O'Keeffe and Joseph Cornell.

10 Practical Reasons We Need to Defend the National Endowment for the Arts

10 practical reasons need fund defend national endowment arts 1789539

President Donald Trump's administration has renewed efforts to defund the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), proposing for the fourth consecutive year a budget that would zero out the agency. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that has staffed the current administration, continues to promote its 1997 report 'Ten Good Reasons to Eliminate Funding for the National Endowment for the Arts' as a key reference in debates. This article, originally published in 2020 and republished in response to these developments, systematically rebuts each of the Heritage Foundation's arguments against the NEA, beginning with the claim that private support alone is sufficient.

paint drippings art industry news may 12 2643106 2643106

This week's art industry roundup covers major auction activity, including Christie's $250 million sale of Barnes and Noble founder Len Riggio's collection, and Sotheby's postponement of an ancient Buddhist gemstone auction after criticism from academics and India's Ministry of Culture. Frieze New York, recently sold to Ari Emanuel, reported strong sales with a $3 million Jeff Koons sculpture at Gagosian, while Gagosian's TEFAF New York booth featuring Anna Weyant's jewelry-themed paintings sold out. Other news includes Céline Assimon's appointment as chief commercial officer at Bonhams, the Spring Break Art Show's return, and gallery representation changes.

paint drippings art industry news may 2 2639285

This week's art industry roundup covers major developments including the sale of Frieze to Hollywood powerbroker Ari Emanuel for $200 million, the opening of Frieze New York amid a cautious market, and the appointment of Alexander Rotter as global president of Christie's. Other highlights include the collapse of a record $32 million Gustav Klimt sale due to restitution issues, Phillips adding country-of-origin details to lot descriptions due to tariff confusion, and gallery moves such as Petzel now representing Tschabalala Self and Hauser & Wirth selling its Upper East Side townhouse for $10.5 million. The Mellon Foundation announced $15 million in emergency funds for state arts councils to offset cuts by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

paint drippings art industry news feb 2 spanish dealers 2742104

A series of significant developments occurred across the global art industry this week. Expo Chicago announced a scaled-back edition under new director Kate Sierzputowski, while the Outsider Art Fair revealed its exhibitor list. A long-lost Renaissance portrait by Sofonisba Anguissola resurfaced at the Winter Show. Christie's will sell the collection of the late MoMA trustee Barbara Jakobson, featuring works by Jeff Koons and others. Bonhams made a key hire, and Sotheby's priced a major art-backed securitization. In gallery news, Alissa Friedman returned to Salon 94, Mary Cork joined Lehmann Maupin London, and several artists gained new representation, while New York's Francis Irv gallery announced its closure.

Filthy fossil fuels, a dizzying debut and the ominous side of the moon – the week in art

The Guardian’s weekly art roundup highlights the opening of 'Extraction' at Jupiter Artland, an exhibition featuring artists like Marguerite Humeau and John Gerrard that explores the environmental impact of fossil fuels. Other notable UK openings include Michaela Yearwood-Dan’s museum debut at The Whitworth, a survey of Paula Rego’s drawings at Victoria Miro, and a showcase of Thérèse Oulton’s textured landscapes at Vardaxoglou.

Robert Therrien Estate Leaves Gagosian for David Zwirner, Olney Gleason Now Represents Jill Magid, and More: Industry Moves for May 6, 2026

The ARTnews article reports a series of significant gallery representation changes and industry moves in the art world as of May 6, 2026. Key shifts include the Robert Therrien Estate leaving Gagosian for David Zwirner, Olney Gleason now representing Jill Magid, and several other artists—Tianyue Zhong, Africanus Okokon, Seung Ah Paik, Khalif Tahir Thompson—joining or switching galleries. Miriam Machado has been named director of the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum. The article also notes the rising costs and commercial realities of staging exhibitions at the Venice Biennale, including a Christie's selling show at Palazzo Ca' Dario.

Ceramics Are Everywhere, in Museums, Galleries, and Fairs—Has the Market Caught Up?

Ceramics are experiencing a surge in visibility across museums, galleries, and art fairs in major US cities. The article catalogs numerous recent and upcoming exhibitions, including Kathy Butterly's sold-out show at James Cohan with pieces at $45,000 each, Nicole Cherubini's nearly sold-out show at Friedman Benda with prices up to $65,000, and Ruby Neri's work at Salon 94 peaking at $75,000. Other highlights include Ron Nagle at Matthew Marks, Theaster Gates' Gagosian show celebrating David Drake, NADA Ceramics in Tribeca, and ceramic presentations at Frieze Los Angeles, Post-Fair, Expo Chicago, and David Zwirner. Institutional shows include Toshiko Takaezu at Princeton University Art Museum and a ceramic collection at RISD Museum.

art basel qatar preview galleries 1234771706

Art Basel has launched its first edition in Doha, Qatar, with a deliberately small and tightly controlled format. The fair features only 87 galleries, all required to mount solo presentations, with strict limits on booth size, power sources, and rehanging of works. This creates a slower, calmer atmosphere distinct from its larger, more chaotic sister fairs in Miami and Paris.

art basel hong kong 2026 exhibitor list announced 1234761975

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.

frieze london frieze masters 2025 exhibitor lists 1234744374

Frieze has announced the exhibitor lists for its two concurrent October fairs in London: Frieze London and Frieze Masters, which will run from October 15 to 19 in Regent's Park. Frieze London will feature around 160 galleries, including blue-chip names like Gagosian, Pace, Hauser & Wirth, and David Zwirner, alongside 58 London-based galleries. Frieze Masters, with some 120 exhibitors, will be the first edition under the direction of Emanuela Tarizzo. Curated sections include Artist-to-Artist at Frieze London, where artists nominate peers, and Spotlight at Frieze Masters, organized by Valerie Cassel Oliver. Frieze Sculpture, curated by Fatoş Üstek, will run from September 17 to November 2 in the English Gardens.

Why Contemporary Artists Are Raiding the Renaissance Toolkit

Three contemporary artists—Alison Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Bühler-Rose, and Nick Doyle—are reviving the Renaissance woodworking techniques of intarsia and marquetry in their current exhibitions. Taylor is showing marquetry hybrid paintings at Jessica Silverman Gallery in San Francisco, Bühler-Rose is presenting a solo booth with Stems Gallery at Independent, and Doyle is also participating in the trend. Their work draws inspiration from the Gubbio Studiolo at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a 15th-century trompe-l'œil room that exemplifies the decorative inlay tradition.

A $15M De Kooning Leads Lévy Gorvy Dayan’s New Auction-Style Sales Experiment

Lévy Gorvy Dayan is launching LGD Hammer, a new live-bidding platform that blends private sales with auction dynamics. The inaugural sale on May 16 will feature a 1984 Willem de Kooning painting estimated at $10–15 million, led by co-founder Brett Gorvy, a former auction veteran. The article also reports on gallery closures (Stephen Friedman Gallery, Galerie Philipp Zollinger, Astor Gallery), artist moves (Zoe Leonard to Maxwell Graham, Kehinde Wiley among creditors), and Sotheby’s upcoming single-owner sale of Joe Lewis’s collection expected to exceed $200 million.

The Venice Biennale’s Polite Fiction of Being ‘Above the Market’ Is Wearing Thin

The 61st Venice Biennale is underway, with art world figures flocking to Venice for the opening. While the Biennale is officially a non-selling curatorial platform, commercial interests are increasingly visible: galleries are funding artists' projects to recoup investments, auction houses like Christie's are hosting private selling exhibitions (including a 'Ghost Pavilion' at the Ca' Dario Palazzo), and fashion houses such as Bottega Veneta and Chanel are sponsoring events. Sotheby's has pulled support for the U.S. Pavilion, which is now crowdfunding, while Frieze is bankrolling the British Pavilion for a second time.

the asia pivot singapore doha delhi 2741393

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.

fiona tan rijksmuseum asian art roundup 2641705

This roundup covers multiple developments across the Asian art world. Notable events include the death of Korean artist Suki Seokyeong Kang at age 47; Robin Peckham leaving his role as co-director of Taipei Dangdai; Lucy Liu becoming a partner at Rachel Uffner Gallery, which will rebrand as Uffner and Liu; STPI Creative Workshop and Gallery presenting the first Southeast Asian solo show for Cuban artist Wifredo Lam; Art Week Tokyo returning with Adam Szymczyk curating its AWT Focus platform; Japanese painter Yu Nishimura joining David Zwirner; and the Rijksmuseum inviting Fiona Tan to curate a major exhibition. Other highlights include the 13th Seoul Mediacity Biennale, Tate Liverpool's planned 2027 reopening with a Chila Kumari Singh Burman retrospective, a Louvre-Doraemon collaboration, Boo Ji-hyun's permanent installation in Japan, Christie's Hong Kong Spring Asian Art Week sales totaling HK$567.6 million, and Sotheby's postponing a controversial Hong Kong auction of Buddhist relic-linked jewels. Hyundai Artlab named Jiaying Sim and Elvia Wilk as its 2025 Artlab Editorial Fellows.

artist made furniture 2639835

This article explores the growing trend of artist-made furniture, which blurs the line between functional design and fine art. It highlights how artists like Salvador Dalí, Isamu Noguchi, Donald Judd, Tracey Emin, and the duo Les Lalanne have created pieces that invite physical interaction—such as sitting or touching—while retaining high art status. Gallerist Massimo de Carlo notes that collectors are drawn to this merging of art and life, and that such works offer both conceptual depth and investment value. The article also notes market disparities, with editions of furniture costing far less than unique works, though some pieces, like a François-Xavier Lalanne rhinoceros desk, have sold for nearly $20 million at auction.

eva hesse painting goodwill christies 2641140

New York appraiser and art dealer Glenn Spellman discovered an abstract painting signed "E.H." on the Goodwill thrift store website last fall. Suspecting it might be by Eva Hesse, he enlisted his sister Kara Spellman, director of estates and acquisitions at Hollis Taggart gallery, who confirmed the painting's authenticity by consulting the artist's catalogue raisonné at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's library. The painting, titled *Landscape Forms* (1959), was acquired for $40,000 and will be auctioned at Christie's New York on May 15 with an estimate of $60,000–$80,000. A second Hesse work, *No title* (1964–65), will be offered at Phillips New York the previous day.

egon schiele artworks recently restituted head to christies 2372976

Seven works on paper by Egon Schiele have been restituted to the heirs of Fritz Grünbaum, a Jewish cabaret performer killed at Dachau concentration camp in 1941 after being forced to surrender his art collection to the Nazis. Six of these pieces will be auctioned at Christie’s New York in November 2024, with three watercolor portraits—including *Stehende Frau (Dirne)* (1912), *Selbstbildnis* (1910), and *Ich liebe Gegensätze* (1912)—headlining the 20th Century Evening Sale on November 9, and three more offered in the Impressionist and Modern Works on Paper Sale on November 11. Estimates range from $150,000 to $2.5 million per work, and proceeds will be split among Grünbaum’s heirs, who plan to fund a scholarship program for young musicians.

oscar yi hou james fuentes 2636059

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.

leonor fini 2442240

On the 100th anniversary of Surrealism, the article highlights the belated recognition of Leonor Fini (1907–1996), a self-taught artist who rejected labels such as 'Surrealist' or 'woman artist.' Despite her insistence on being seen simply as an artist, her sensual, mythological paintings are gaining renewed attention. Fini debuted in 1929, was featured in the 2022 Venice Biennale, and had a solo exhibition at Kasmin gallery in New York. Her market high came in 2021 when a self-portrait sold for $2.3 million at Sotheby's, and her work is now included in the centennial surrealist show 'Imagine!' at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Belgium.

Raghu Rai obituary

Raghu Rai, the renowned Indian photographer known for capturing his country's post-independence history through singular, enduring images, has died at age 83 from cancer. Rai's career spanned six decades, during which he documented events from the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster to the Bangladesh war of independence, and photographed figures including Indira Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and the Dalai Lama. He joined Magnum Photos in 1977 after being invited by Henri Cartier-Bresson, and worked as a staff photographer for the Statesman and as picture editor for India Today.

Venice Biennale 2026 Highlights: Arsenale & Giardini

ArtReview editors highlight the must-see national pavilions at the 61st Venice Biennale, running from 9 May to 22 November 2026. Notable presentations include Austria's Florentina Holzinger turning her pavilion into a toilet and sewage-treatment plant with naked performers, and Germany's pavilion featuring works by Sung Tieu and the late Henrike Naumann, who died in February 2026, exploring East German memory and conceptual minimalism.

jack shainman esther schipper victoria miro olney gleason roster 1234771271

This article from ARTnews reports on recent industry moves in the art world, including gallery roster additions and appointments. Jack Shainman Gallery added Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary artist Donyel Ivy-Royal, Esther Schipper now represents Tuan Andrew Nguyen in collaboration with James Cohan, Emalin took on Ghanaian artist Jonathan Okoronkwo, and Victoria Miro and Olney Gleason will jointly represent Emil Sands. Additionally, the Bass Museum of Art appointed Jasa McKenzie as associate curator. The piece also highlights a record-breaking $84.1 million sale of William I. Koch's Western art collection at Christie's, which set five new artist records, including Frederic Remington's reset twice.

gladstone gallery celia paul art basel paris 1234757919

Gladstone Gallery now represents British painter Celia Paul, known for her moody figurative works drawn from her life. Paintings by Paul are on view at Art Basel Paris this week, and the gallery plans a solo New York exhibition in 2026. Paul has long been represented by Victoria Miro in London but lacked a New York gallery presence since a 2015 show at Gallery Met. Her market has grown following a 2018 exhibition at the Yale Center for British Art and a recent profile in The New Yorker by Karl Ove Knausgaard. Her auction record was set in 2023 when Self-Portrait (2017) sold for $122,700 at Christie’s London.

isaac julien us retrospective de young museum review 1234739199

Isaac Julien’s retrospective at the de Young Museum in San Francisco features 13 multiscreen video installations, including works like *Baltimore* (2003) and *Ten Thousand Waves* (2010). The exhibition blends Renaissance art, Black cinema, science fiction, and documentary, with Julien’s signature use of multiple screens to create an overwhelming visual experience. Curated by Claudia Schmuckli, the show is billed as Julien’s largest in the US, requiring about four and a half hours to view in full.