Cash-Strapped Hong Kong Arts Hub Saved—Plus a Rundown of the Latest in Asia’s Art World
Hong Kong's financially struggling West Kowloon Cultural District, a major arts hub, has been rescued from its cash crisis. This development was part of a broader Asia art world update that also included leadership changes at Japan's Art Collaboration Kyoto and the announcement of a new art fair in Shenzhen.
Dealers at TEFAF Maastricht Report Robust Sales, Offering Works Ranging from Two Inches to Room-Size
Dealers at the TEFAF Maastricht art fair reported strong sales, defying concerns over global unrest and geopolitical tensions that limited some collectors' travel. The fair, featuring 277 dealers from 24 countries, saw a high caliber of international collectors engaging with works ranging from monumental 18th-century sculptures to minuscule, intricately detailed pieces. First-time exhibitors and veterans alike expressed satisfaction, with one rare books dealer calling it his best year in three decades of participation.
ARTnews has published a guide to 46 museum shows and biennials to see this summer, highlighting major exhibitions across the globe. Featured artists include Laure Prouvost at Paris's Grand Palais with a quantum physics-themed show, Carsten Höller at Beijing's UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Tomás Saraceno at Munich's Haus der Kunst, and a retrospective of Ana Mendieta at Tate Modern. The article also covers biennials such as the Venice Biennale and Manifesta in Germany's Ruhr region, as well as new biennial-style launches in the Northeastern US. Specific exhibitions detailed include Akinsanya Kambon's survey at SculptureCenter and CARA in New York, Cao Fei's European survey at Kunstmuseum Basel, and the group show "Youth Palace" at Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai.
Adrian Searle, the outgoing chief art critic for The Guardian, reflects on his 30-year career by recounting a vivid, personal montage of the art he has witnessed. He describes unforgettable encounters with works ranging from Vermeer's intimate paintings to Fiona Banner's suspended jet fighter, Roger Hiorns's crystal-filled flat, and Emily Jacir's poignant project on Palestinian displacement, highlighting how these experiences blend memory, story, and direct observation into a critic's life.
Cecily Brown is preparing for her first major museum exhibition in her native London at the Serpentine Gallery, titled 'Picture Making'. The show features new and old paintings, monotypes, and drawings inspired by Kensington Gardens, marking a significant return for the artist who left for New York in the 1990s. Despite her commercial success with Gagosian and inclusion in major museums, she expresses nervousness about the critical reception.
This week's art industry news covers significant developments across fairs, auctions, galleries, and museums. Frieze New York announces its 15th edition with a strong Latin American gallery presence, while the India Art Fair reports robust sales, including works by Atul Dodiya and N.S. Harsha fetching up to $600,000. Sotheby's will offer a major Francis Bacon self-portrait from the collection of Joe Lewis, and Christie's is set to sell three masterpieces from Agnes Gund's collection, estimated at over $123 million. Gallery news includes Federica Beretta's return to Opera Gallery and David Zwirner's new representation of painter Louis Fratino.
Art Basel Miami Beach 2025 has introduced significant changes to its floor plan, including a shift in shared booth arrangements. In the Nova section for young galleries, only two galleries—Isabel Aninat and Espacio Valverde—are sharing a booth, while the main sector now features multiple pairings, such as Andrew Kreps with Anton Kern, March with Parker, and Galatea with Isla Flotante. The Positions sector for solo presentations has moved to a regular gallery booth area, replaced by the new Zero 10 initiative for digital art. The map reflects a reduced footprint for the main sector, possibly responding to a volatile market for contemporary art.
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.
Agosto Machado, an artist and activist central to New York's Downtown scene and a participant in the 1969 Stonewall uprising, has died following a brief illness. His gallery, Gordon Robichaux, announced his passing but, respecting his wishes, did not disclose his age. Machado was known for creating intricate shrine sculptures from collected ephemera to honor figures from his community, and one of these altars is currently featured in the 2024 Whitney Biennial.
Van Gogh Museum Acquires Only Third Painting by a Female Artist at TEFAF
The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has acquired Virginie Demont-Breton's 1887-88 painting *L'homme est en mer* at the TEFAF Maastricht fair. The work, depicting a woman and child awaiting a sailor's return, becomes only the third painting by a female artist in the museum's collection and was purchased for a sum between $543,000 and $1.1 million.
Van Gogh painted five major wheatfield landscapes in July 1890, just days before his death, while living in Auvers-sur-Oise. The article examines these late works—including *Wheatfield with Crows*, *Wheatfield under Thunderclouds*, *The Fields*, and *Wheatfields with Reaper*—and analyzes the artist's letters to his brother Theo and sister-in-law Jo, in which he described the fields as "under turbulent skies" and expressed both sadness and a sense of health in nature. It also corrects the long-held assumption that *Wheatfield with Crows* was his final painting, now believed to have been completed on 8 July, before the letters were written.
ARTnews previews the high-value artworks that galleries are bringing to Art Basel 2026 in Basel, Switzerland. The fair introduces a new opt-in program called Basel Exclusive, where 193 of the 240 exhibitors agree to withhold at least one top work from pre-fair previews to encourage in-person attendance. Among the highlighted offerings are a Francis Picabia canvas priced up to $600,000 at Galerie 1900-2000, and a 10-foot-square Robert Rauschenberg work from the ROCI MEXICO series at Gladstone, alongside a 1984 Keith Haring painting. Gallery principals express optimism about the market, noting the absence of competing auctions during the fair.
Galleries Olney Gleason and Gagosian will present a solo exhibition of works by Lee Krasner at Gagosian’s Rue de Ponthieu space in Paris, opening October 19, 2026. The show, organized in collaboration with the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, will feature paintings and works on paper by the Abstract Expressionist artist. It coincides with the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s blockbuster Krasner–Jackson Pollock exhibition opening October 4, and precedes Art Basel Paris’s 2026 edition.
Independent 20th Century, the art fair launched in 2022, is moving from the Battery Maritime Building to Marcel Breuer's former Whitney Museum building—now Sotheby's global headquarters—for its fifth edition, running September 24–27. The fair will be nearly twice the size of previous editions, featuring 56 exhibitors and over 130 artists, with roughly 80% of presentations dedicated to one or two artists. Highlights include Hauser & Wirth's presentation of Emma Kunz, Lévy Gorvy Dayan's presentation of Yves Klein, and Nahmad Contemporary's presentation of Lucio Fontana.
Independent 20th Century, the art fair focused on modern and overlooked 20th-century works, will move to Sotheby’s Breuer Building on Madison Avenue for its September 2026 edition. The new venue, a landmark designed by Marcel Breuer and formerly home to the Whitney Museum, allows the fair to expand to 56 exhibitors—a 75% increase from previous years. This marks the first collaboration between a commercial art fair and a major auction house. Among the 33 new exhibitors are blue-chip galleries like Hauser & Wirth, Thaddaeus Ropac, and Sprüth Magers, alongside a stronger contingent of Latin American galleries. Returning participants include Luxembourg + Co and Salon 94, while around 80% of stands will feature solo or dual-artist presentations.
Lee Krasner will make her Paris debut in October 2024 with a solo exhibition at Gagosian's rue de Ponthieu gallery, organized in collaboration with Olney Gleason and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. The show will focus on her bold, large-scale works from the 1960s, a period of renewed confidence after she survived an aneurysm and a broken arm. It opens ahead of Art Basel Paris and coincides with a major survey at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous," which pairs her work with that of her husband, Jackson Pollock.
This episode of 'A brush with...' podcast features artist Lisa Yuskavage, who discusses her painting practice, influences, and career. Yuskavage, born in Philadelphia in 1962 and based in New York, creates stylized, often eroticized female figures in invented interiors and landscapes, drawing from art history, pop culture, and soft-porn magazines. She reflects on the 'emotional formalism' of her work, transformative visits to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Italy, the impact of Giovanni Bellini and Marcel Duchamp's Étant Donnés, and her admiration for artists like Agnes Martin, Philip Guston, and Laura Owens. The podcast is sponsored by Bloomberg Connects, which highlights museums where Yuskavage has had solo exhibitions, including the Morgan Library and Museum, Baltimore Museum of Art, Aspen Art Museum, and Contemporary Art Museum (CAM), St. Louis.
Kim Gordon canceled her noise show at Lonti Ebers's Amant nonprofit in East Williamsburg at the last minute due to illness, leaving her Body/Head bandmate Bill Nace to improvise with Aaron Dilloway. The concert marked the closing of 'Folded Group,' a group exhibition curated by Gordon and Nace, and featured opening sets by MV Carbon and Jeff Hartford, with audio bleeding into Amant's upscale restaurant Zoli.
Sotheby's attempted a private auction of Jackson Pollock's "Number 19, 1951" at its Manhattan headquarters on June 2, with an asking price of $50 million, but the sale collapsed due to insufficient bidders. The work was owned by Pace Gallery founder Arne Glimcher, and Sotheby's star auctioneer Oliver Barker was flown in from London for the event. In other news, Pace Gallery downsized by cutting 50 artists and laying off 50 staff, Sotheby's London announced a Lewis Collection sale headlined by a Modigliani estimated at over £45 million, and Freeman's appointed Muys Snijders as CEO. The British Art Fair returns to Saatchi Gallery in September, and Art Basel released its "Basel Exclusive" artist list.
The Guardian's weekly entertainment guide includes a section on art exhibitions, highlighting two shows. Camille Henrot's drawing-focused exhibition is on view at The Perimeter in London until July 25, showcasing a more personal side of the French artist known for complex video and sculpture. Pallant House in Chichester opens 'British Landscapes: A Sense of Place' from May 30 to November 1, surveying over 200 years of British landscape art by artists including Thomas Gainsborough, Paul Nash, and Barbara Hepworth.
Canadian artist Steven Shearer, known for his reclusive nature, discusses his first UK exhibition since 2007 at David Zwirner Gallery in London. The show spans 40 years of his work, including paintings of long-haired teens, collages of appropriated images, and billboard-sized poetry inspired by heavy metal lyrics. Shearer, who grew up near serial killer Robert Pickton in Port Coquitlam, Vancouver, draws on suburban teenage angst, death metal iconography, and art historical references to create a unique visual language.
In June 1926, London's Tate Gallery opened its first rooms dedicated to modern foreign art, an event presided over by King George V and Queen Mary. To celebrate, the gallery mounted a massive loan exhibition of over 250 works, as its own collection of international art was too small. Among the loans were five works by Vincent van Gogh—four paintings and one drawing—all lent by British collectors. The article traces the provenance of each work, including Oleanders (now at the Met), Interior of a Restaurant (still in a private collection), Stairway at Auvers (now at the Saint Louis Art Museum), and a lost drawing titled The Hut. It also highlights the role of early female collectors Elizabeth Workman and Esther Sutro.
The Sainsbury Centre near Norwich, England, has received a landmark gift of £91.2 million ($122.4 million) from Lord David Sainsbury through his Gatsby Charitable Foundation. In other news, Art Basel has appointed Wassan Al-Khudhairi as artistic director for its 2027 Qatar edition; Christie's led New York's spring auction season with $1.3 billion, driven by the S.I. Newhouse collection; Sotheby's brought in $737 million; Phillips rebounded with $115.2 million; and Bonhams achieved $22 million. Pace now represents the Constantin Brancusi Estate, Yinka Shonibare joined Mennour, and several other gallery and museum appointments were announced, including Clarissa Morales as COO of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and new interim leadership at Dallas Contemporary. The Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt will inherit Henrike Naumann's estate, Dubai announced a new Museum of Digital Art, and the Centre Pompidou partnered with Chanel.
Kenny Schachter offers a sardonic, first-person account of the spring 2025 art season in New York, weaving together observations from auctions, art fairs, and gallery openings. He notes brisk business at Sotheby's and Phillips, citing specific sales like James Ensor's tiny "Still life with Stingray" ($140,800) and Georgia O'Keeffe's double-sided "Maple Leaves and Flowering Cactus" ($1.68 million). Schachter also recounts his experience at Larry Gagosian's new Madison Avenue gallery, where security guards outnumbered the artworks, and reflects on the broader economic climate, including a tax lawyer moonlighting as a 3-D printer for his own sculpture project. He contrasts the wealthiest collectors—one driving a Lamborghini but staying at a Holiday Inn Express—with dealers wearing grim faces at TEFAF, painting a picture of a bifurcated art economy.
Art historian Julia Engelmayer has published a study titled 'Simply ‘Vincent’: An Overview of Van Gogh’s Signed Paintings' on the Van Gogh Museum's website, analyzing why and how Vincent van Gogh signed his works. The research reveals that only 133 of his 840 surviving paintings bear a signature (16%), an unusually low proportion for a 19th-century artist. Van Gogh signed with only his first name due to strained family relations and the difficulty non-Dutch speakers had pronouncing his surname. The study also highlights his predominant use of red signatures (on 75 works), angled signatures on over half of his signed pieces, and a distinctive horseshoe-shaped 'V' used during his Arles period.
Christie’s 21st-century evening sale in New York on Wednesday achieved $162.7 million, its highest total in the category since 2021. The sale featured eight works from the collection of the late dealer Marian Goodman by Gerhard Richter, which together sold for $78.8 million, nearly half the evening’s haul. Richter’s photorealistic candle painting *Kerze (Candle)* (1982) hammered at $30 million, below its $35 million low estimate, but still set a new auction record for the series. Other Richters performed strongly, with six of seven exceeding high estimates, including *Mohn (Poppy)* (1995) at $20.1 million. A modest Basquiat work on paper, *Asbestos*, sold for $6.54 million, and one lot by Ed Ruscha was bought in.
The article reports on several key moves in the art world as of May 20, 2026. Tina Kim Gallery will represent the estate of Singaporean British sculptor and printmaker Kim Lim, with a debut at Art Basel in June and a solo show in 2027. Yinka Shonibare has joined Paris gallery Mennour, which will host his first solo exhibition in October. Pace Gallery now represents the Brâncuși estate, planning a London exhibition this fall. Clarissa Morales has been named the first Chief Operating Officer of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, moving from the Carnegie Museum of Art. Additionally, Jackson Pollock's Number 7A, 1948 sold for $181.2 million at Christie's, setting a new artist record. A viral social media post featuring a fake Monet painting created by AI sparked debate online.
Phillips’ modern and contemporary art evening sale on Tuesday achieved $115.2 million against a presale estimate of $84.2 million, its highest since 2022. All 40 lots sold, with standout results for works by living artists like Joseph Yaeger, whose painting fetched $477,300 against a $60,000 estimate, and Anna Weyant, whose work sold for $980,400. Works by 20th-century female artists including Lee Bontecou, Olga de Amaral, and Helen Frankenthaler also exceeded expectations, with Bontecou’s pastel setting a record for a two-dimensional work by the artist at $4.3 million.
Christie’s achieved $1.1 billion in sales during a single evening auction on Monday, marking a dramatic rebound from the previous year when the three major New York auction houses combined sold that amount over the entire May season. The sale featured trophy works from the collections of S.I. Newhouse and Agnes Gund, with Jackson Pollock’s *Number 7A (1948)* selling for $181.2 million and Mark Rothko’s *No. 15 (Two Greens and Red Stripe)* fetching $98.4 million. Despite the strong overall results, seven of the 16 works in the Newhouse sale hammered below their low estimates, and Constantin Brancusi’s *Danaïde* failed to reach its $100 million estimate, indicating price resistance even for top-tier art.
Christie's held back-to-back evening auctions in New York, featuring the esteemed S.I. Newhouse collection and a 20th-century evening sale, achieving a combined total of $950 million (or $1.1 billion with fees). The Newhouse sale was a white-glove affair, 100% sold, though entirely backed by third-party guarantees. Highlights included Constantin Brancusi's bronze 'Danaïde' (1913) selling for $107.5 million with fees, a record for the artist, and Pablo Picasso's 'Tête de femme (Fernande)' fetching $48.3 million. Other top lots included works by Piet Mondrian, Joan Miró, Henri Matisse, Francis Bacon, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, and Jackson Pollock, with many going to anonymous telephone bidders.