
All Blow, No Buy? London’s Big Frieze Week Test
Frieze Week has perfected the optics of a buoyant market. Yet recent evidence suggests underlying issues for London dealers. Do the parties, dinners and openings demonstrate confidence – or just perform it?
Five Galleries Making Their Frieze London Debut
From London newcomers to galleries bringing artists from Haiti, Bosnia and Romania, these are five first-time exhibitors to seek out at Frieze London this week
What Did Roy Lichtenstein Ever Do for Us?
Lichtenstein made Pop art look simple. It was easy to take his appropriation at face value; the rigour behind it was harder to see. As the Whitney in New York prepares a major retrospective, we ask what his work means in an age drowning in images
News

The Onassis Foundation Opens New Open-Air Arts Space In Athens
The Onassis Foundation unveils Onassis Mandra, a restored Belle Époque theatre in Athens, with Céleste Boursier-Mougenot’s immersive sound installation

Austrian presidential hopeful pledges to return Aztec headdress to Mexico
As Austria prepares for 2028 elections, a presidential hopeful said he would return a contested Aztec object to Mexico

Prague’s First International Contemporary Art Fair to Launch Next Spring
The Czech Republic’s first international art fair, Prague Contemporary, will hold its inaugural edition at the Industrial Palace in Výstaviště Praha at the end of April next year.

Bangkok Art Biennale Announces the Complete Lineup for Its Fifth Edition
72 artists from around the world will take over Bangkok across temples, museums, cultural institutions and public spaces from 29 October 2026 to 28 February 2027.

The Van Gogh Museum Reaches Agreement on Renovation Budget
The Van Gogh Museum has reached a settlement with the Dutch government over the financing of the museum’s renovation, set to start in late 2028.

Louvre Abu Dhabi Names New Director
Souraya Noujaim returns to the museum where she previously spent five years as its collections director.

Tang Contemporary Closes Its Hong Kong Gallery
Tang Contemporary’s Wong Chuk Hang space in Hong Kong has indefinitely shut following allegations of outstanding debts across its network

Paris Photo Looks to Younger Collectors in Its Bicentenary Edition
As the fair marks 200 years of photography, its programme spans historical work, environmental concerns and AI-generated images

British Library Announces New CEO
The recently departed head of the UK Space Agency has been announced as the British Library’s new chief executive, as the institution emerges from a turbulent period and announces a new partnership with Netflix

A New Hope for George Lucas’s $1 Billion Museum
Far more than a home for Star Wars, George Lucas and Mellody Hobson’s new Los Angeles museum brings fine art, comics, illustration, photography and cinema together under the banner of ‘narrative art’
Market

All Blow, No Buy? London’s Big Frieze Week Test
Frieze Week has perfected the optics of a buoyant market. Yet recent evidence suggests underlying issues for London dealers. Do the parties, dinners and openings demonstrate confidence – or just perform it?

Nepo Babies Are Taking Over the Art Market
The Art Basel and UBS survey suggests a youthquake: Gen Z collectors spend the most on average. But, as collectors buy less at auction and more directly from artists, galleries are feeling the squeeze. For Messy Business, Jeni Fulton reports

How Minor Attractions Breaks the Fair Template with its Citywide Programme
The Minor Attractions fair returns to London this October, bringing together independent cultural venues and projects at The Newman Hotel in Fitzrovia

Sotheby’s Unveils Blaquier-Arrieta Collection Estimated at $450m
Led by rarely seen works by Van Gogh and Cézanne, the November sale is being touted as a coup for Sotheby’s – and offers another test of how far exceptional collections can propel the auction market’s recovery

Martha Diamond Finally Gets Her Own Show in Europe
Admired by fellow artists but little known to wider audiences, Martha Diamond made New York’s skyline her own. Her first European solo exhibition, at Finland's Sara Hildén Art Museum, asks us to look beyond the cityscape

After the Turner Prize, What Happens Next?
As this year’s Turner Prize arrives at Middlesbrough's MIMA, two of its four shortlisted artists are also on view at Thaddaeus Ropac in London. Their simultaneous exposure offers a test of what a nomination now does for an artist’s career and market
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Why Are Spain’s Galleries Still Paying 21% in VAT?
As Madrid’s contemporary art fair ESTAMPA opens tomorrow, Spanish galleries say they are being left at a growing competitive disadvantage. After strikes, protests and years of lobbying, frustration is growing

Sotheby’s Private Sales Are Becoming More Public
As private sales take a growing share of the art market, Sotheby’s is making them more visible, more theatrical and more closely tied to the luxury experience economy
Opinion

What Did Roy Lichtenstein Ever Do for Us?
Lichtenstein made Pop art look simple. It was easy to take his appropriation at face value; the rigour behind it was harder to see. As the Whitney in New York prepares a major retrospective, we ask what his work means in an age drowning in images

Help! I Hate... Fair Week
Artworld Agony Aunt Charlotte Jansen advises a disillusioned fair-goer on how to survive one of the busiest weeks in the art calendar

Help! I Hate My... Broken Artwork
Artworld Agony Aunt Charlotte Jansen advises a panicked gallery assistant through the crucial steps of damage control after an artwork mishap

At Contemporary Istanbul, Politics Is Everywhere – Except The Art
At Turkey’s annual art fair, talk of political uncertainty competes with lavish hospitality. Over a week of art and dinners, the politics of who is funding the fair is more conspicuous than anything in the booths. For Private Views, Gabriella Angeleti reports

Help! I Hate My... Work Crush
Art world Agony Aunt Charlotte Jansen advises a gallery artist liaison struggling to balance her professional relationship and personal feelings for an artist she works with

Help! I Hate My... Nemesis
Artworld Agony Aunt Charlotte Jansen advises an industry regular on disarming an omnipresent rival through flawless civility

Yayoi Kusama: From Scandal and Shame to National Icon
Once dismissed as scandalous and disreputable at home, Yayoi Kusama returned to Japan an international star. Her transformation into a national icon reflects the power of foreign recognition, as well as Japan’s enduring conflicts with mental illness, sexuality and female autonomy

Help! I Hate My...Ennui
Art world Agony Aunt Charlotte Jansen offers solace to an art worker who fears she has lost the love for everything that surrounds art – and maybe the work itself
Features
Five Galleries Making Their Frieze London Debut
From London newcomers to galleries bringing artists from Haiti, Bosnia and Romania, these are five first-time exhibitors to seek out at Frieze London this week
Is the Great Wealth Transfer Already Reshaping the Art Market?
As $18.3 trillion prepares to pass between generations, two New York art fairs suggest the inheritance at stake is one of taste as much as capital, with younger collectors steering demand towards forgotten artists and lower price points.
The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: The Armory Show
Once upon a time on Manhattan’s far West Side: Aimee Walleston visits the Armory Show, where the art has to compete with the sheer misery of the Javits Center.
Turner Prize 2026: What to See and Who Might Win
As the Turner Prize opens in Middlesbrough, we look at what its four shortlisted artists are asking viewers to see – and set the early odds on who might take home the £25,000 prize
The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: Independent 20th Century
For a few dollars more, collectors at Independent 20th Century’s new home at the Breuer can take home art with plenty of life left in it – while younger artists might pick up a few lessons for free
The Artist Pension Trust Promised Security. What Went Wrong?
The Long Read: Around 200 London artists handed their work to a scheme that offered financial support later in life. Twenty years on, the trust has paid out nothing. Nearly 50 affected artists – including a Turner Prize winner and eight nominees – are fighting to recover their work
What the AfD’s Victory Means for Culture in Eastern Germany
After winning 43.8% of the vote, the far-right party wants public funding to promote German identity. Cultural institutions warn its plans could subordinate artistic freedom to political ideology
The Art 9/11 Made
Before artists could respond to 9/11, images of the event had already circled the world. Twenty-five years later, art still struggles to represent a uniquely cinematic catastrophe, one experienced and understood largely through its visual record
Places
Painting on Pashminas in Srinagar, Kashmir
In one of the most militarised regions in the world, what can an art exhibition offer?
In Rio, the Art Market Plays It Safe
Brazil’s premier art fair retains its spectacular setting, but as political uncertainty and a subdued market weigh on collectors, dealers are finding that the appetite for high-priced works has cooled
Berlin Is Learning to Live With the Cuts
Berlin Art Week finds a city remaking its cultural economy, as institutions seek private money, galleries test new models and artists are squeezed out. For Messy Business, Jeni Fulton reports on the ground
Siena Puts Teodora Axente’s Madonna on Trial
The Romanian artist was commissioned to paint the Palio’s sacred banner. A standing ovation quickly gave way to controversy over her commanding depiction of the Virgin
Art in a Gilded Peak: the Aspen Festival for the One Percent
At the second edition of the Aspen Art Museum’s AIR festival, ambitious performances and pointed critiques of class and inequality unfolded to a select audience of extraordinary wealth
On an Ancient Hilltop, a Biennial Takes Root
Set among monasteries, archaeological sites and former prisons in Turkey’s southeastern borderlands, the Mardin Biennial is testing whether contemporary art can leave a legacy beyond an exhibition
In Corsica, a Biennale Finds Politics on the Dancefloor
From deserted nightclubs to former military barracks, Nimu Dormi examines how celebration has shaped the island's social and political identity
How Ghana’s Artists Built Their Own Ecosystem
From studios and galleries to residencies, artists have built the infrastructure sustaining Ghana’s flourishing contemporary art scene, stepping in where public support has failed
Profiles

The Artist: Tom Sachs
The American visual artist talks to The Art Journal about desire, intellectual property and the sometimes uneasy business of success.

The Painter: Renée Levi
For the opening of her commissioned installation at London’s Hayward Gallery, Swiss artist Renée Levi talks about making the work, her artistic influences and the importance of architecture in her practice

The Dealer: Almine Rech
Parisian gallerist Almine Rech speaks on backing young artists, navigating the fluctuations of the art market and why art still needs to be seen in person.

In conversation: Pooya Abbasian
Ahead of two group shows in and around Paris, the dissident French-Iranian artist Pooya Abbasian talks about his association with invasive plants, the deceptive truth of documentary and the visit to France that became fifteen years of exile
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Sagarika Sundaram: Taking Wool Seriously
At her first solo museum exhibition in Leeds, Sundaram discusses the physical demands of her felt sculptures, the politics of cloth and why collaboration should not diminish her authorship

The Collector: Selim Bouafsoun on Art and North Africa
The Tunisian-born, Dubai-based collector Selim Bouafsoun talks access, patronage and the dangers of runaway prices – and explains why supporting artists means investing in the ecosystem around them

The Collector: Désiré Feuerle Enters a New Era
Ten years after opening in a former Berlin bunker, the private collection is expanding into a multidisciplinary “house” in partnership with Sara Puig. Désiré Feuerle explains what comes next

What Will Lonnie Bunch’s Legacy Be?
In his 38-years working for the Smithsonian museums, departing Secretary Lonnie Bunch, has led the Smithsonian through expansions and turbulent times, standing firm in the telling of America’s history






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