sothebys to host major sale in abu dhabi larry gagosian talks discreet art dealing curator flees thailand over arrest fear and more morning links for september 25 2025 1234753625

Sotheby's will host a landmark exhibition in Abu Dhabi on October 1-2, 2025, at the Bassam Freiha Art Foundation, showcasing masterworks by Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Frida Kahlo, Edvard Munch, René Magritte, and Camille Pissarro, collectively valued at $150 million. This marks the first public fine art exhibition ever staged by Sotheby's in Abu Dhabi and the most valuable presentation the auction house has held in the Middle East. Separately, Larry Gagosian discussed the art market recession at Puck's Art of Influence conference, noting that private sales are rising as collectors shy away from auction houses. Other news includes controversy over Cai Guo-Qiang's performance in Tibet, a curator fleeing Thailand over arrest fears, and declining sales at Sydney Contemporary.

The Pet Food Store Owner Behind the Venice Biennale’s US Pavilion, 400-Year-Old Pendant in English Painting Resurfaces, and More: Morning Links for April 20, 2026

The New York Times profiled Jenni Parido, the 37-year-old commissioner of the upcoming US Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, who has no professional arts background and previously ran a luxury pet food store in Florida. She selected Jeffrey Uslip as curator, and artist Alma Allen will represent the US after other artists reportedly declined.

rothschilds mini louvre at center of family feud british museum on decolonization mission and more morning links for december 18 2025 1234767389

The British Museum is lending 80 significant Greek and Egyptian artifacts to Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) as part of a new initiative promoting "decolonization through collaboration" rather than restitution. Director Nicholas Cullinan described the long-term loans as a form of "cultural diplomacy" that offers a constructive alternative to ownership disputes. Separately, the Rothschild family's secretive private art collection at Château de Pregny, dubbed a "mini-Louvre," is at the center of a legal battle between Nadine de Rothschild and her daughter-in-law Ariane de Rothschild over whether the artworks should remain in the château or be moved to a public museum in Geneva.

tate director steps down smithsonian returns khmer sculptures and more morning links for december 12 2025 1234766706

Maria Balshaw, director of Tate in London, will step down in spring 2026 after nearly a decade leading the institution. During her tenure, she oversaw major exhibitions including "Van Gogh and Britain," "Yoko Ono," and "Sargent and Fashion," and her final project will be a Tracey Emin survey at Tate Modern. Separately, the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Asian Art announced it will return three Khmer Empire sculptures—Head of Harihara, The Goddess Uma, and Prajnaparamita—to Cambodia, citing evidence they were looted during the country's civil conflict. The US Senate also unanimously approved the HEAR Act of 2025 to help heirs reclaim art looted during the Holocaust.

The Top 10 Exhibitions to See Around the World This May

Ocula's global team of editors has curated a list of the top 10 exhibitions to see worldwide in May, highlighting diverse shows from Rio de Janeiro to New York. Featured exhibitions include Jungjin Lee's photographic works blending Icelandic landscapes and intimate objects on traditional Korean paper, a millennial-themed group show titled "Genuine Premium Fake Economy" examining precarity through artists like Jasmine Gregory and Buck Ellis, Joan Semmel's solo exhibition "Continuities" at Xavier Hufkens and Alexander Gray Associates showcasing her erotic self-portraiture at age 93, and Wynnie Mynerva's Berlin Gallery Weekend show addressing colonial violence and Andean mythology.

The Art World This Week, 19 September 2025

Ocula's weekly briefing reports strong sales at viennacontemporary with 15,000 visitors and six-figure results for Galerie Zimmermann Kratochwill. Sotheby's announced $248 million in pre-tax losses for 2024 but achieved $100 million from the Karpidas collection sale and consigned the Pritzker and Lauder collections for November. Haegue Yang was appointed chair of the executive board at Kunst-Werke Berlin. Yemen's National Museum in Sanaa was damaged by Israeli airstrikes. Gallerist Sebastian Gladstone opened a new Los Angeles space, while L.A. Louver closed its Venice Beach gallery after 50 years. Taymour Grahne Projects opened in Dubai. Samia Halaby won the MUNCH Award, Jennifer Packer and Marie Watt received Heinz Family Foundation awards, and the Henry Moore Foundation distributed £100,000 to UK sculptors.

Salman Toor to See First Solo Show in Europe Next Year

The Courtauld Gallery in London has announced its 2026 programme, headlined by Pakistani-born, New York-based painter Salman Toor's first solo exhibition in Europe. Titled "Someone Like You," the show will feature around 20 of Toor's emblematic canvases, including "The Bar on East 13th" (2019), which directly references Édouard Manet's "A Bar at the Folies-Bergère" (1882) from the Courtauld's collection. The exhibition will also include a selection of Toor's works on paper, such as "Fag Puddle in Vitrine" (2021), recently acquired by the museum. Toor's profile has risen sharply over the past five years as his intimate paintings of queer, South Asian men have resonated with institutions and the art market.

top architecture firm accused of illegally firing union supporting staff founding editor of artforum dies morning link for january 20 2025 1234770173

The National Labor Relations Board has accused Snøhetta, a prominent New York-based architecture firm, of illegally firing eight employees who supported a 2023 unionization campaign. The NLRB complaint alleges that managers tracked union supporters and improperly questioned staff about their sympathies, while Snøhetta denies the claims, attributing layoffs to business pressures predating the union drive. Separately, Singapore Art Week is spotlighting women artists from Southeast Asia, with the launch of Krystina Lyon's book "You Are Seen" and the National Gallery Singapore exhibition "Fear No Power: Women Imagining Otherwise." Other news includes the death of Artforum founding editor Philip Leider at 96, LANZA chosen for the Serpentine Pavilion, and a Louvre heist caught on newly released footage.

us museums under report wwii era provenance morning links 1234753811

A new report by the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) finds that most U.S. museums are not transparent enough about the provenance of artworks with World War II-era gaps, making it harder for families to track down Nazi-looted art. The American Alliance of Museums shut down an online portal that had listed nearly 30,000 such works, and the WJRO discovered that only 10,668 of those can now be located online through individual institutions. Separately, the Central State Museum in Almaty, Kazakhstan, abruptly canceled a planned exhibition of Taiwanese artists amid allegations of Chinese censorship, and Marina Abramović will be the subject of a historic solo exhibition at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Venice in May 2026.

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Suki Seokyeong Kang, a South Korean artist known for blending traditional Korean heritage with contemporary abstract forms, died on Sunday at age 47 (48 in Korean reckoning) after a battle with cancer. Her New York representative, Tina Kim Gallery, confirmed the cause. Kang's work spanned painting, textiles, sculpture, and installation, often incorporating postminimalist structures, craft techniques, and industrial materials. Notable series include her precarious "Grandmother Tower" sculptures and "Mountain" pieces made from curved steel and thread. She was born in Seoul in 1977, studied at Ewha Womans University and the Royal College of Art in London, and later became a professor of painting.

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The Gallery Climate Coalition (GCC), a London-based organization with 2,000 members across 60 countries, released a report titled "Five-Year Review of Climate Action in the Visual Arts" during London Art+Climate Week, timed with the UN climate summit Cop30 in Brazil. The report reveals that 80 percent of members who began tracking their carbon footprint in 2019 have reduced their impact by 25 percent, and are on track to cut emissions by 50 percent by 2030. Key sources of emissions include shipping, air travel, and energy use, accounting for 80 to 95 percent of members' carbon output. Christie's London, which hosted a launch event, reported a 69 percent reduction in emissions from 2019 to 2024 through renewable energy and reduced catalog publishing.

goliath goes to court abramovic brings installation to davos morning links for january 21 2026 1234770406

South African artist Gabrielle Goliath is taking legal action after her artwork was removed from the country's Venice Biennale pavilion. Goliath and curator Ingrid Masondo will file an application with South Africa's High Court in Pretoria, arguing that the decision by Sport, Arts, and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie is unconstitutional. They have also sent a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, demanding that the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) honor the selection committee's original choice and allow the exhibition to proceed. Meanwhile, the DSAC has reportedly restarted the Biennale planning process with the collective Beyond the Frames.

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Unionized staff at the Louvre Museum in Paris voted unanimously to continue a strike that began on Monday, with hundreds of workers walking out to protest deteriorating working conditions, insufficient staffing, and a proposed dual pricing system for non-EU visitors. The strike has forced partial closures, with the museum offering only a limited 'masterpiece route' featuring works like the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo. Unions rejected a Culture Ministry offer to cancel a planned €5.7 million budget cut, recruit more staff, and raise pay, deeming the proposals insufficient. Workers also oppose a plan to raise ticket prices for non-EU visitors from €22 to €32 to fund renovations, and criticize the use of funds from a brand licensing deal with Abu Dhabi.

WATCH | Steelman to host studio tour with Arts and the Park Saturday and Sunday

Bethannie Newsom Steelman will host a studio tour at 415 Park Ave. in Hot Springs on Saturday and Sunday, starting at 11 a.m., as part of Arts and the Park. The event features live painting by Steelman, musical performances by Ricko Donovan, DJ Schaeffer, Gino Del Ray, and the band Inoculated Log, as well as New Orleans-style snowballs from Spa City Snowballs. Steelman, who creates murals for businesses, began renting her studio in April and is excited to share her creative process with the public.

Lebanon’s Art Scene Is Living in ‘War Mode’

On April 8, 2025, a wave of Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon killed 357 people and injured over 1,200, a day now known as 'Black Wednesday.' Amid the violence, Lebanese artist Abed Al Kadiri, who grew up during Lebanon's civil war and Israeli occupation, has been working with displaced children in shelters, using art to help them process trauma. He collects their drawings and plans to combine them with sketches by other artists reflecting their own war experiences, creating concertina-style books to be exhibited and sold to raise funds for over 1.1 million displaced people.

10 Exhibitions to See in Venice Which Aren’t Part of the Biennale

Ocula's editors have curated a list of 10 must-see collateral exhibitions in Venice that are not part of the main Biennale. Highlights include Shirin Neshat's film trilogy "Do U Dare!" about YouTuber Nasim Aghdam, Hernan Bas's ironic paintings of tourists at Ca' Pesaro, and the group show "Outta Love" featuring Francesca Woodman, Jenny Saville, and Wolfgang Tillmans. Another notable exhibition is "Turāndokht" from Parasol unit, which brings together 11 female artists from Central Asia to challenge Orientalist stereotypes.

Six Shows to See in Beijing This Month

Ocula's China team has selected six must-see exhibitions in Beijing during Gallery Weekend Beijing (23 May–1 June 2025), highlighting emerging to mid-career Chinese artists. The article profiles shows at galleries including White Space, Tabula Rasa Gallery, and others, featuring artists such as Tant Yunshu Zhong, Xinyi Cheng, Evelyn Taocheng Wang, and Li Shurui. The 2025 edition of Gallery Weekend Beijing removes the Visiting Sector, which previously hosted international galleries like Chantal Crousel, Gladstone, and Sprüth Magers, shifting focus to domestic talent.

Joe Macken Spent 21 Years Hand-Assembling a Vast Model of New York City

Joe Macken, a Queens resident, spent 21 years hand-assembling a vast 50-by-27-foot scale model of New York City, completing it in 2025. The model, built from cardboard, glue, and balsa wood, comprises 340 individual sections and is now on long-term display at the Museum of the City of New York in an exhibition titled "He Built This City: Joe Macken’s Model." Visitors can walk around the model and use binoculars to spot familiar buildings and neighborhoods.

Seen in Venice, Bought in Venice

"In Venedig gesehen, in Venedig gekauft"

The article reports on multiple developments surrounding the Venice Biennale. Iran has withdrawn from the Biennale, citing political and economic crises, with logistical challenges such as no flights or postal service making participation nearly impossible. Artist Anish Kapoor has called for the exclusion of the United States from the Biennale, criticizing its "abhorrent policy of hate" and "ongoing warmongering." A memorial installation by Derrick Adams for the late curator Koyo Kouoh, who was set to lead the main exhibition, will be displayed near the Arsenale. Additionally, the Biennale faces a funding cut from the EU due to Russia's continued participation despite the Ukraine war, leading to the resignation of the jury and the culture minister's withdrawal.

Binoculars, selfies and epic leaps: Grand National meeting 2026 – in pictures

Award-winning photographer Tom Jenkins captures the high-stakes atmosphere of the 2026 Grand National meeting at Aintree. The photo essay documents the dramatic physical feats of the horses, including falls at the notorious 'Chair' fence, alongside the vibrant social culture of the spectators, from the high-fashion 'Style Awards' on Ladies’ Day to the rain-soaked crowds of the final day.

Untitled, 1982 by Anni Albers, Ink and gouache on paper, 15.9 x 22.9 cm (5)

Ocula, an online platform for contemporary art, has published a promotional piece highlighting its services: partnering with leading galleries to showcase artists and artworks, offering vetted gallery membership by application and invitation, and providing art advisory with access to influential galleries, collectors, and auction houses. The article also mentions Ocula's editorial content that celebrates people and ideas shaping contemporary art.

Anti-Russia Protests Spread Beyond the Biennale and Into Venice

Protests against the reopening of the Russian pavilion erupted at the Venice Biennale and spread across the city on the second day of the 61st edition. Visual artist Shalva Nikvashvili, who grew up in post-Soviet Georgia, began a silent performance wearing a muzzle-style mask and carrying a chair, holding a sign reading “La Biennale di Venezia” and “violence.” Shortly after, a group of about 20 protesters led by Pussy Riot co-founder Nadya Tolokonnikova gathered outside the Russian pavilion, chanting against Vladimir Putin, waving Ukrainian flags, and releasing a pink smoke flare. The protests followed the Biennale's decision to allow Russia to participate for the first time since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, despite calls from artists and politicians to exclude the country.

‘When Crises Happen, That’s When The Arts Get To Work’: Inside The Dubai Gallery On A War Footing

The Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai has been forced to implement rigorous emergency protocols, including 'shelter in place' procedures, following a series of missile and drone strikes across the UAE. Director Antonia Carver, managing operations remotely from the UK due to travel disruptions, describes a new reality where staff must balance the physical safety of visitors with the institution's role as a sanctuary for the community. Despite a recent conditional ceasefire, the center remains on high alert while supporting a workforce deeply affected by regional instability.

What’s That Musky Aroma at the New Museum?

The New Museum in New York has unveiled a sensory-driven installation that utilizes scent as a primary medium, challenging the traditional ocular-centric experience of contemporary art spaces. Visitors are greeted by a distinct, musky aroma that permeates the galleries, part of a curated effort to explore the intersection of olfaction, memory, and physical space.