An installation view of the exhibition “Willem de Kooning: Endless Painting” at Gagosian. Photograph by Maris Hutchinson. Artwork © 2025 The Willem de Kooning Foundation/ Artists Rights society (ARS, New York Alongside Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning has long been considered one of the twin pillars of abstract expressionism. But his most cited works, his […]
Our Favorite Looks from the Frick Collection’s Young Fellows Ball
Laurence Milstein and Misty Copeland. Matteo Prandoni/BFA.com Last week, the Frick Collection threw open its doors for one of New York’s most anticipated fêtes: the Young Fellows Ball. Now nearing its third decade, the annual gathering drew more than 600 of the city’s best-dressed under-45s there to serve looks and support the museum’s exhibitions, conservation […]
Satellite Collective’s Kevin Draper and Lora Robertson On Making Art in Turbulent Times
Kevin Draper and Lora Robertson’s works in conversation at Mriya Gallery. Roman Gorbun Photography Back in 2016, then-Observer contributor Wayne Northcross—now co-curator of the 2026 Detroit Queer Biennial, among other appellations—filed a brief update on a “stylish art collective” that, since 2010, had been “bringing together choreographers, visual artists, composers, writers and musicians to collaborate […]
At Christie’s, Women Commanded the Market While Rewriting Records
Auctioneer Yü-Ge Wang sells Miss January by Marlene Dumas for $13.6 million. Christie’s Women dominated Christie’s 21st Century Evening Sale on May 14. Led by auctioneer Yü-Ge Wang and largely powered by phone bids with female specialists, it brought in $96.5 million, with a 92 percent sell-through by lot and 97 percent by value. The […]
One Fine Show: “Wayne Thiebaud, Art Comes from Art” at the Legion of Honor
Wayne Thiebaud, Five Seated Figures, 1965; oil on canvas, 60 x 72 in. (152.4 x 182.88 cm). Wayne Thiebaud Foundation © Wayne Thiebaud Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY Welcome to One Fine Show, where Observer highlights a recently opened exhibition at a museum not in New York City, a […]
Sotheby’s Closes Marquee Week With $186.1M in Contemporary Sales
Sales on May 16 reflected renewed energy in the contemporary and ultra-contemporary segments. Bre Johnson/BFA.com Closing out a week-long marathon of evening marquee sales, Sotheby’s capped its final major May auction with a combined total of $186.1 million across three sales. After Tuesday’s disappointment, when the star Giacometti went unsold, the tone shifted notably. The […]
Looking Back at 25 Years of Tate Turbine Hall Commissions
Kara Walker, Fons Americanus, 2019. Photo © Tate (Matt Greenwood) The first time Maman appeared at the Tate Modern gallery in London, she wasn’t supposed to be the central attraction. Louise Bourgeois’s enormous bronze spider was part of a larger installation entitled “I Do, I Undo and I Redo,” commissioned to mark the opening of […]
Building a Living Archive at the Guggenheim: An Interview with Rashid Johnson
Rashid Johnson recently opened an expansive career survey in New York. Photo: David Heald © Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York Being honored with a solo exhibition at the Guggenheim is arguably one of the most significant milestones an American artist can achieve. Despite the curatorial challenges posed by its distinctive architecture, the museum’s spiraling […]
Art Stars Party With the Power Patrons: Inside This Year’s MoMA PS1 Gala
Pete Scantland, Michelle Scantland and Rafael Flores. Jiraurd Key/BFA.com MoMA PS1’s annual gala, staged each year in the museum’s airy courtyard, always defies expectations. Last year, the scene-stealers on the red carpet weren’t celebrities but two stunning parrots brought in by art collective Shanzhai Lyric. This year, the step-and-repeat wasn’t a carpet at all, but […]
U-Haul Gallery’s Mobile Model Takes Art to the Streets
By turning rental trucks into exhibition spaces, U-Haul Gallery challenges the conventions of brick-and-mortar galleries. Jack Chase of Uhaul Gallery During the jam-packed New York art week, you may have spotted a nondescript U-Haul truck parked outside any one of the city’s main fairs or high-profile gallery openings. It stands to reason—U-Haul, with its relatively […]